Can Orlando be overtaken for slot #3?

[td00]

Now that Nelson is out, can the Hawks somehow play well enough to catch them for the 3rd position? To me, it will be critical to get to the 3rd slot in such an opportune position.
Does that help in the first round? I think it helps more in the 2nd round of the playoffs if that is possible.

[JoshB914]

I don't think so. We aren't good enough to make up nine games over the rest of the season.

[ATLfan]

No

[Skyhawk1]

I'd say yes, it's possible. Imagine if they lose anybody else, but I think the key guy there is Turkoglu. If he goes down, the Magic are in deep trouble.

[td00]

What if they lose AJ? You think they go along as they have so far? I still say Orlando hasn't seen a slump yet and will at some point.

[JoshB914]

Nine games back with 34 to play is still too much. That would require them to collapse completely and we turn it on and turn into world beaters down the stretch. That would mean we start playing well on the road, and I don't see any reason whatsoever to believe we have that in us.

Fourth seed should be our goal. It's also our ceiling.

[tontoz]

No chance

[lethalweapon3]

The Magic COULD be overtaken for #3...





By Miami.

I'd say no for the Hawks based the way they're playing now. They'd do well fending off the Heat, Pistons and Sixers of the world in the meantime, and may cut into the lead a tiny bit by April.

I'd reconsider if Dwight or maybe Shard/Hedo get injured for significant spells.


~lw3

[HMFFL]

Anything is possible. I feel we can do it if they don't click with Anthony Johnson and Tyronn Lue. Theres still plenty of season to go.

[parson]

Basically, you're asking if losing Nelson will reduce them to winning at less than a 2 out of 5 rate from here on out, and you asking if we can win slightly better than 2 out of 3 the rest of the way (there are other possibilities, of course, but this scenario seems to be the closest to reality).

We're a streaky team and the combo of AJ and Lue didn't exactly make us world-beaters when we had them, but that's asking alot. Problem - for us - is, AJ can provide some really good play at the point for limited periods of time... and Lue will drive you crazy and then win some games for you.

[HoopsGuru25]

You won't have to worry about the 3rd seed but what are the advantages of the 3rd seed over the 4th seed? Is it because you want to say you won your division or is it because you think we would have a more favorable matchup in the 1st round? If anything I would be worried for Orlando going against Dwyane Wade in the 1st round w/o Nelson. The most realistic scenario that I can hope for is that we hold on to the 4th seed and get another crack at Boston if we were to advance.

[td00]

My thought on the advantage was the 2nd round...say Boston climbs back in the top slot. I like us against Cleveland more than I do Boston.
It probably doesn't matter at the end of the day; getting to the 2nd round will be considered a successful season. Hey, after last night, we are 8 back.
I just think that Orlando didn't address their PG position like they should have this offseason. We know that AJ and Lue can help in spurts, but long stretches is where they are vulnerable. I had always thought they might be able to do the job for us, but that didn't happen.

It would be interesting to bring Orlando back to the pack. They had been playing much better than I could have imagined. We still have a lot left to be able to make a statement. Winning 2 w/o JJ says alot when they could have been expected to lose normally.