Playoffs?

[l3ulls3y3]

We're 5.5 games back from the 8th seed. We're on a 4 game winning streak, 2 coming without our best player.

18 games left.

8th seed Indiana has lost 6 straight, 9th seed Charlotte just ended it's losing streak today, and are 3-7 in their last 10, but they're tied with 8 seed Charlotte.

What do you guys think?

[Rich Rane]

They're both on pace for 34 wins. We would have to be 14-4 to get to 35 (of course with the assumption that the first sentence is true). Our chances aren't that great, but at the very least, if things keep going this way, we're in for some good basketball for the rest of the season.

[Revolutionistt]

Lets see how these next 3 games go. Vs Boston, Vs Chicago and @ Milwaukee. Two very tough opponents and then one of the teams fighting for the 8th seed.

[8 Mile Ilic]

Don't see it happening too many teams in front of us, thinking that they're all going to super suck at once is just wishful thinking... We'll leapfrog Detroit before the season is done and probably end with 30-32 wins.

[Netaman]

Lets see how these next 3 games go. Vs Boston, Vs Chicago and @ Milwaukee. Two very tough opponents and then one of the teams fighting for the 8th seed.

agreed. Winning 2 out of 3 is going to be tough but if we can do it then we should start talking. Indy has a home/home with the Bricks this weekend, followed up by Boston and the Bulls. Definitely a chance for things to get interesting quickly.

Gotta think Charlotte is going to continue a slow fall from their current position without Gerald Wallace.

[Stone]

It's definetly a longshot but possible. What a story it would be...from 12 wins last season to making the playoffs in the next. No doubt I would Love to see us make it.

[Ronito]

Pacers are collapsing IMO. 6 straight losses, all by double digits except to the Mavs when they lost by 8. The rest of the losses have been ugly including blow out losses to Minnesota and OKC. They get the Knicks for 2 games, and Amare will be there for at least the first since his 16th technical got rescinded. Billups is coming back as well I believe against the Pacers. They could give up on their season sooner than later with Knicks, Knicks, Boston, Chicago, and Memphis as their next 5 games.

[Da big3]

im sorry i had to do it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3-eavMSBnk&feature=related

[JoseRizal]

We theoretically have a chance, but it still depends on the other teams in the hunt, unless they decide to dive into lottery heaven...

[Lamak]

It would be nice to make it in the playoffs, but I don't know if I really wanna see our team get slaughtered.

[Netaman]

I took the time to highlight the playoff race as of right now so I figured this was a good place to put it.

The main teams in the mix for the 8th seed are IND (27-38), CHA (27-38), and MIL (25-38). We are 5 games behind each of them in the loss column. Detroit (23-43) is in the same boat, with 2 extra wins already earned. Assuming time is the greatest obstacle for any team making a run right now, we are basically in the same situation therefore I will leave them out of the analysis.

IND 27-38 next 6 games @NYK, NYK, @BOS, CHI, @MEM, @NJN
- Currently riding a 6 game lossing streak including back to back losses against Toronto and Minnesota, losing every game by 8 points or more
- Team has only won 2 games since Mike Dunleavy got injured on Feb 22 - with a broken finger he is likely out until April (6-8 weeks)
- Jeff Foster and Josh McRoberts are also both banged up having missed some time this week, however both were back for last night's loss
- 4 of their next 6 are on the road where they are 13 gms under .500
- At the PCNY on 3/21 for our final meeting of the year
- Their last 3 gms of the season are vs. ATL, NYK, and at ORL.
bottomline - Indy is ice cold and likely to continue to fall back. They're banged up and their defense has been awful which makes this a terrible time for 2 in a row vs. the Knicks, who are looking to avenge a bad loss of their own. This next stretch has a very real chance to stretch their losing streak to 10+ games and we know what that can do to a team's confidence. I'd very surprised if they're able to win 5 or 6 more games the remainder of the season

CHA 27-38 next 6 games @TOR, @HOU, @OKC, @SA, vs. IND, @BOS
- Had a 6 game losing streak of their own going which was broken last night by beating Portland, only their 2nd win since trading Gerald Wallace (2-6)
- Have a brutal road trip coming up and also have 2 games remaining against ORL and 1 game remaining at MIA
- Of all the teams in the hunt I think it's safe to say they have the most difficult remaining schedule
- 2nd to last game of the season is at the PCNY, and I would be very surprised if they were more then 1 game ahead of us at that point
- Finish the season vs. ATL on ESPN
bottomline - this team is basically Stephen Jackson or bust. In their 2 wins since trading Wallace he has had 30 and 29 respectively. They have no depth and a brutal schedule so as the season goes on it's very hard to imagine them playing anywhere close to .500 ball. Of all the teams in the race this one is clearly the easiest to imagine running on fumes as the season winds down.

MIL 25-38- next 6 games vs. PHI, @BOS, @ATL, vs. ORL, vs. NJN, vs. NYK
- Easily the biggest threat left in the hunt
- On a 2 game winning streak beating CLE and WAS back to back
- While they have some cupcake games remaining they do still need to play @ MIA, @ ORL, and @ OKC (final game of their season)
- Corey Maggette is a little banged up missing their last 2 games, Illyasova has been out their last 6 games with a concussion
overall - as I said, this team would scare me the most out of those remaining. They are deep and they have a difference maker in Bogut. He effects the game a lot more then Stephen Jackson or Granger, especially against bad teams. They do have some tough games left but an out and out collapse is unlikely. But for them to get to 34 wins they would have to go 9-10 the rest of the season. With 11 games left against playoff teams, including 6 games against ORL, MIA, OKC, BOS, and CHI that is still going to be a tough task

Analysis from a NJN point of view

Quite surprisingly making the playoffs is a very realistic possibility. We have the most momentum right now, by a landslide, and if we were ever able to get 1 of these next 2 with Deron back we would likely gain another game in the race and even more momentum. It's hard to imagine all 3 of these teams collapse but it's very easy to imagine at least 1, and very possibly 2. It's practically impossible for all 3 to collapse so we will still have to post a very good record the rest of the season and win a lot of key games to be able to give ourselves a chance. The key however is looking at the schedules of the other teams we do have a clear advantage.

Doing the math is kind of useless but here's a pretty simple hypothetical. We have 18 games remaining. If we were to beat the 4 teams in the race head to head and then go 7-7 vs. everyone else that puts us at 32 wins. I think 33-34 is the key number so while it's doable it's not a layup by any means.

It's times like these however that you look back at games like the OKC 3 OT game and both Suns games and say

[Netaman]

It would be nice to make it in the playoffs, but I don't know if I really wanna see our team get slaughtered.

Getting slaughtered games-wise doesn't matter to me, but I would love to see Brook and Deron look really good against a good team. That would give us a lot of momentum going into the offseason for FA and attracting players (not to mention selling Deron that he's already on a playoff team).

Let's not forget a few years ago when the Hawks took the Celts team that won the championship to 7 games as an 8 seed. Sometimes upstart teams can get momentum and earn themselves a little respect even in losing.

[clifffside]

I don't think we'll make it this year, but it would be a huge story if both of NJ's teams the Devils and Nets make a huge comeback to make the playoffs after horrible starts.

Next year I think we can make a run to make it into the playoffs. We have one of the best low post scorers, one of the best rebounders, one of the best shooters and one of the best passers in the league to set them all up. Just resign Hump, add a lockdown wing defender who can also rebound to start at the 3 (Kirilenko?) and a big man for depth and who knows, anything is possible.

[vincecarter4pres]

They're both on pace for 34 wins. We would have to be 14-4 to get to 35 (of course with the assumption that the first sentence is true). Our chances aren't that great, but at the very least, if things keep going this way, we're in for some good basketball for the rest of the season.

They're both 10 games + under .500, I don't think it's a reach to say the 8th seed will wind up with 33 or 34 wins, especially with how terrible they've been playing lately.

It's a reach, but we have a decent shot here.

[vincecarter4pres]

It would be nice to make it in the playoffs, but I don't know if I really wanna see our team get slaughtered.

Stop it.

We don't own our draft pick anymore and Deron, Brook Morrow and Hump in the playoffs together would really accelerate the learning curve.

[vincecarter4pres]

Next year I think we can make a run to make it into the playoffs. We have one of the best low post scorers, one of the best rebounders, one of the best shooters and one of the best passers in the league to set them all up. Maybe we can add a lockdown wing defender who can also rebound to start at the 3 and a big man for depth and who knows, anything is possible.

We absolutely need to make the playoffs next year and with a win total at least in the high 40's with the true upside to become something much better.

If not, say goodbye to Deron.

[vincecarter4pres]

I took the time to highlight the playoff race as of right now so I figured this was a good place to put it.

The main teams in the mix for the 8th seed are IND (27-38), CHA (27-38), and MIL (25-38). We are 5 games behind each of them in the loss column. Detroit (23-43) is in the same boat, with 2 extra wins already earned. Assuming time is the greatest obstacle for any team making a run right now, we are basically in the same situation therefore I will leave them out of the analysis.

IND 27-38 next 6 games @NYK, NYK, @BOS, CHI, @MEM, @NJN
- Currently riding a 6 game lossing streak including back to back losses against Toronto and Minnesota, losing every game by 8 points or more
- Team has only won 2 games since Mike Dunleavy got injured on Feb 22 - with a broken finger he is likely out until April (6-8 weeks)
- Jeff Foster and Josh McRoberts are also both banged up having missed some time this week, however both were back for last night's loss
- 4 of their next 6 are on the road where they are 13 gms under .500
- At the PCNY on 3/21 for our final meeting of the year
- Their last 3 gms of the season are vs. ATL, NYK, and at ORL.
bottomline - Indy is ice cold and likely to continue to fall back. They're banged up and their defense has been awful which makes this a terrible time for 2 in a row vs. the Knicks, who are looking to avenge a bad loss of their own. This next stretch has a very real chance to stretch their losing streak to 10+ games and we know what that can do to a team's confidence. I'd very surprised if they're able to win 5 or 6 more games the remainder of the season

CHA 27-38 next 6 games @TOR, @HOU, @OKC, @SA, vs. IND, @BOS
- Had a 6 game losing streak of their own going which was broken last night by beating Portland, only their 2nd win since trading Gerald Wallace (2-6)
- Have a brutal road trip coming up and also have 2 games remaining against ORL and 1 game remaining at MIA
- Of all the teams in the hunt I think it's safe to say they have the most difficult remaining schedule
- 2nd to last game of the season is at the PCNY, and I would be very surprised if they were more then 1 game ahead of us at that point
- Finish the season vs. ATL on ESPN
bottomline - this team is basically Stephen Jackson or bust. In their 2 wins since trading Wallace he has had 30 and 29 respectively. They have no depth and a brutal schedule so as the season goes on it's very hard to imagine them playing anywhere close to .500 ball. Of all the teams in the race this one is clearly the easiest to imagine running on fumes as the season winds down.

MIL 25-38- next 6 games vs. PHI, @BOS, @ATL, vs. ORL, vs. NJN, vs. NYK
- Easily the biggest threat left in the hunt
- On a 2 game winning streak beating CLE and WAS back to back
- While they have some cupcake games remaining they do still need to play @ MIA, @ ORL, and @ OKC (final game of their season)
- Corey Maggette is a little banged up missing their last 2 games, Illyasova has been out their last 6 games with a concussion
overall - as I said, this team would scare me the most out of those remaining. They are deep and they have a difference maker in Bogut. He effects the game a lot more then Stephen Jackson or Granger, especially against bad teams. They do have some tough games left but an out and out collapse is unlikely. But for them to get to 34 wins they would have to go 9-10 the rest of the season. With 11 games left against playoff teams, including 6 games against ORL, MIA, OKC, BOS, and CHI that is still going to be a tough task

Analysis from a NJN point of view

Quite surprisingly making the playoffs is a very realistic possibility. We have the most momentum right now, by a landslide, and if we were ever able to get 1 of these next 2 with Deron back we would likely gain another game in the race and even more momentum. It's hard to imagine all 3 of these teams collapse but it's very easy to imagine at least 1, and very possibly 2. It's practically impossible for all 3 to collapse so we will still have to post a very good record the rest of the season and win a lot of key games to be able to give ourselves a chance. The key however is looking at the schedules of the other teams we do have a clear advantage.

Doing the math is kind of useless but here's a pretty simple hypothetical. We have 18 games remaining. If we were to beat the 4 teams in the race head to head and then go 7-7 vs. everyone else that puts us at 32 wins. I think 33-34 is the key number so while it's doable it's not a layup by any means.

It's times like these however that you look back at games like the OKC 3 OT game and both Suns games and say

Good breakdown.

I was going to say Milwaukee scares me the most as well.

Indy a little just because the obvious, they are already ahead of the curve with 27 wins.

Charlotte isn't even in the discussion IMHO, they're toast.

[Netaman]

I was going to say Milwaukee scares me the most as well.

Indy a little just because the obvious, they are already ahead of the curve with 27 wins.

Charlotte isn't even in the discussion IMHO, they're toast.

Agreed about Charlotte. Indy honestly doesn't scare me too much anymore. For one thing we are due to beat them head to head and we play them at the right time, in our building. Their schedule sets up really bad and considering they have a first time coach who took over midseason, how they respond to the adversity they're currently going through is going to be very interesting.

Some article out there made a really interesting observation that the Knicks play all the teams fighting for the last spot a total of 7 times the rest of the year. They could end up being the deciding factor in the East in a lot of ways.

[Netaman]

It would be nice to make it in the playoffs, but I don't know if I really wanna see our team get slaughtered.

Stop it.

We don't own our draft pick anymore and Deron, Brook Morrow and Hump in the playoffs together would really accelerate the learning curve.

Bingo. I would love to get a look at Hump in a playoff series to see if he could still pull down 15 rebound games.

[Revolutionistt]

We don't own our draft pick anymore and Deron, Brook Morrow and Hump in the playoffs together would really accelerate the learning curve.

Hmm, thats funny. Correct me if Im wrong but wasnt that exactly the same reason I wanted to see the Nets in the playoffs? And then someone came back at me trying to say it never helped the Sixers. Could that have been you??? No really was it? I know you have argued against a lot of my points but I dont know for sure if that was one of them haha.