Official "Holy Xenu the West Standings are Insane!" Thread

[rsavaj]

Inspired by Hollinger's recent article:

. Suns, Mavs In Running For Top-4 Finish
By John Hollinger
ESPN.com

Surprisingly, the Phoenix Suns are still in the discussion of teams vying for the top four seeds in the Western Conference playoffs. The Suns faded badly after a 14-3 start but seemed to have regained their footing this month. They've quietly dispatched nine of 11 impressive opponents, including Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, Denver, Memphis and Oklahoma City. Thanks to another big game by Amare Stoudemire and a strong relief effort at the point from Goran Dragic, the Suns were able to beat the Thunder on the road Tuesday night despite not having Steve Nash.

Additionally, the schedule turns in Phoenix's favor over the final two months: The Suns have only 10 road games left during the regular season and play 10 noncontenders in their last 24 games. The Playoff Odds project a 15-9 finish for the Suns, but if they can go more like 17-7, they very well could push into a top-three seed.

One false step, however, and they'll be fifth or sixth, especially if the Dallas Mavericks continue playing well in the wake of a midseason trade for Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood; the Mavs have won four straight since making the deal. The Power Rankings remain skeptical of the Mavs (they're 12th), thanks to an unimpressive plus-1.95 average scoring margin. But Dallas has 36 wins squirreled away and a West-high 14 home games remaining; only Chicago and Milwaukee have more.

Dallas also has clinched the tiebreaker over Phoenix, and that could prove helpful in any tussle over home-court advantage. Standing just a half-game behind Utah and 1½ games behind Denver, Dallas could move as high as second with a strong finish.

Still, the odds of such a strong close remain in question. Coming out of the All-Star break, Dallas wasn't playing nearly as well as the two other clubs -- it was just 10-10 in 20 games before the break, and it remains to be seen how big a difference Butler and Haywood ultimately will make. Additionally, Utah owns the tiebreaker against Dallas by virtue of a 2-1 series lead.

http://espn.go.com/nba/dailydime/_/page ... unday-dime

I figure that we could use a place to discuss our playoff positioning and what not.

[GHillDrnksSpryt]

3 or 4 seed!

[rsavaj]

3 or 4 seed!

3 seed I hope to get out of LA's bracket

[DBrimstone]

3 or 4 seed!

3 seed I hope to get out of LA's bracket

+1

4 seed means we'll have a tough 1st round, and a doomed 2nd round. If we get a 3rd seed we'll get a winnable series, as well as a maybe we can win if we get lucky kind of series. Assuming Utah and Dallas are #4 and 5, that would also be good as they've both beaten LA, and could take them to 7 games or MAYBE even beat em. I'd pick Dallas for that upset as they're 2-1 right now (I think)

[Qwigglez]

If the Suns don't get a 2nd or 3rd seed then we better drop to 6th or 7th. Play our bench more toward the end of the season, use Earl Clark, whatever.

[Qwigglez]

Utah has 9 home games and 14 away games.
Back to backs include: @ Chicago @ Detroit, @ Thunder Vs Wizards, @ Phoenix Vs Hornets, @ Pacers @ Wizards, @ Thunder Vs Rockets, @ Warriors VS Phoenix. They have 19 games against teams above .500.

Denver has 11 home games and 13 away games.
Back to backs include: @ Lakers @ Phoenix, @ Hornets @ Grizzlies, @ Rockets @ Wizards, @ New York @ Boston, @ Magic @ Dallas, @ Thunder @ Lakers, @ Grizzlies @ Phoenix. They have 18 games against teams above .500

Mavericks have 13 home games and 10 away games.
Back to backs include: Vs Hornets @ Charlotte, VS Kings @ Bulls, @ Hornets Vs Clippers, @ Grizzlies Vs Magic, @ Blazers @ Kings. They have 13 games against teams above .500.

And now for Phoenix. Suns have 10 away games and 12 home games.
Back to backs include: @ Spurs Vs Nuggets, @ Clippers Vs Utah, Vs Blazers @ Warriors, @ Bulls @ Nets, @ Detroit @ Milwaukee, Vs Nuggets @ Jazz. Suns have 14 games against teams above .500.
I like our chances of getting the third seed.

[JMac1]

Dallas beating LA at home, and Orl and Atl on the road were big for them. I thought they'd be at 24 loses in the 5th spot right now. That hurt us. I know we can and will catch Utah, but Dallas is the wildcard. We will see. I would rather be 4 than 6, but 6 rather than 5!!

[impulsenine]

Y'know -- for all the sturm & drang going into the season, and in our mid-season superfunk, we're really talking about the Suns finishing between 2-4 in the West.

I'm a little dazed by that.

And it's not like we've never beat the Lakers, Denver, Utah, OKC, etc., this year. I think, like most, we should be skeptical about winning 7 games versus some of them, but still.

But then again - who am I to doubt Amare and Steve?

[rsavaj]

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/article ... rence.html

[MrVince]

3 or 4 seed!

3 seed I hope to get out of LA's bracket

Agreed. Would hate to see us get swept by the Lakers.

[hunterxaz]

We won't get swept in any first round. Lol

[DirtyDez]

The only chance we get past the 1st Round is if we surpass Utah for home-court and play them. We won't surpass DAL, DEN or LA so the 4 spot is a must... In other news RIP Richard Jefferson http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dFeN2vRxLs

[Qwigglez]

What are you talking about. Denver and Utah have horrible schedules compared to the Suns. I think its an easy lock that the Lakers and Dallas are going to be 1 and 2. The Suns need to get that number 3 seed somehow. Watch, someone on Utah and Denver will get injured and cause them to lose a few easy games and the Suns will pass them in the standings. I'm hoping...

[albasuna]

Just skimming though the schedule it looks like the Mavericks have #2 locked. They play Minnesota twice, Chicago twice, Sacramento, New York and New Jersey for their next 7 games, which could easily turn into a big 15 game winning streak.

Denver on the other hand looks like it'll fade to the #5 spot with two tough road trips ahead. Having to play on the road against the likes of New Orleans, Memphis, Houston, Boston, Toronto, Orlando and Dallas.

Seems like it'll be a race between the Suns and the Jazz for the #3 spot and avoiding the Laker's bracket. Assuming the Jazz lose tonight against the Clippers, they will be 1 game ahead of the Suns. The Suns can tie it with a win in Utah, which will even the series at 1-1. They'll have a rematch 2 weeks later. Major land mines this month for the Suns consist of the Lakers, Portland and New Orleans. The Jazz have the Toronto, Boston, OKC and New Orleans as tough opponents this month. Both the Jazz and the Suns have a tough April in which every game is vs potential playoff teams.


But of course, since anything can happen OKC, SA and Portland can go on big runs and ruin the party at the top. 4 games seperate #3 - #8. It doesn't seem like Memphis, New Orleans or Houston can sneak into the playoffs at this point.

So we can safely assume the playoff picture will look like this.

1. LA Lakers
2. Dallas
-Utah
-Phoenix
-Denver
-OKC
-San Antoni
-Portland

[lilfishi22]

I still wouldn't put the Nuggets down to 5th spot. Outside of 1st seed (Lakers) I don't think you can safely assume anything in the West. Utah was hot a hot week ago and then they sorta lost a bit of that momentum but it;ll be tough for them to get it back considering they have a pretty tough schedule to end the regular season.

We seem to be on a bit of a streak even though we got unlucky against the Spurs and could've been looking at a 7 game win streak and we have a pretty easy schedule in March.

The Nuggets have been average as well since the All-star break, going 4-3 with losses to Lakers, Washington and us while beating Boston and Cleveland in that stretch. But I could see them coming back for either 3rd or 4th seed. I can't see them going lower than 4th. They also have a very easy first half of March were they can easily go on a 8 game winning streak.

[WTFsunsFTW]

... Suns have 10 away games and 12 home games.
Back to backs include: @ Spurs Vs Nuggets, @ Clippers Vs Utah, Vs Blazers @ Warriors, @ Bulls @ Nets, @ Detroit @ Milwaukee, Vs Nuggets @ Jazz. Suns have 14 games against teams above .500.
I like our chances of getting the third seed.

If we can sweep that road trip we will be in fantastic shape for 3rd.

I LOVE our schedule by the way.

Final games:

Wed, Mar 3 @ LA Clippers W
Thu, Mar 4 Utah L
Sat, Mar 6 Indiana W
Fri, Mar 12 LA Lakers L
Sun, Mar 14 New Orleans W
Tue, Mar 16 Minnesota W
Fri, Mar 19 Utah W
Sun, Mar 21 Portland W
Mon, Mar 22 @ Golden State W
Fri, Mar 26 NY Knicks W
Sun, Mar 28 @ Minnesota W
Tue, Mar 30 @ Chicago W
Wed, Mar 31 @ New Jersey W
Fri, Apr 2 @ Detroit W
Sat, Apr 3 @ Milwaukee W
Wed, Apr 7 San Antonio W
Fri, Apr 9 @ Oklahoma City W
Sun, Apr 11 Houston W
Tue, Apr 13 Denver L
Wed, Apr 14 @ Utah L


16 - 4 run to close out the season?

54-28 final record? Not out of reach imo

Makes 52-30 almost seem inevitable.


50+ or bust!

[garrick]

The only thing that worries me is there is a long lay off between Indiana and the Lakers games. While it's good that they get the extra rest the Suns are on a roll and I hope that doesn't disrupt their momentum.

[lilfishi22]

lol that's a 14 game win streak you got there WTF. I reckon we lose to one of those lesser team during that stretch. Can't see us with a 14 game win streak.

[Sun Scorched]

3 more games against the Jazz huh?

Sweep them. Those games need to be playoff-like in terms of intensity for us.

[lilfishi22]

3 more games against the Jazz huh?

Sweep them. Those games need to be playoff-like in terms of intensity for us.

Could be potential tie-breakers as well so they are very important.