How many ping pong balls will we get?

[theBigLip]

I'm assuming we do not make the playoffs. Not a huge assumption. So that begs the question, where will we be slotted for the lottery. Here are my thoughts:

Tier 3 - Most likely 12-14 - good teams that are on the playoff bubble
Portland (25-24)
LA Lakers (23-26)
Dallas (21-28)


Tier 2 - Most likely 5-11 - who can tank the best will make the diff between 5 and 11
Philadelphia (21-27)
Detroit (18-32)
Minnesota (18-28)
Phoenix (17-33)
Toronto (17-32)
Sacramento (17-33)
New Orleans (16-33)

Tier 1 - Most likely 1-4 - bottom of the barrel
Cleveland (15-34)
Orlando (14-35)
Washington (13-35)
Charlotte (11-37)

[Jodi]

Dang, I didn't know Minnesota was a lottery team this season...

[theBigLip]

Dang, I didn't know Minnesota was a lottery team this season...

That's what happens when you lose an All Star forward for the entire year.

[Brt19]

Four teams have better won't tank, I think Toronto will have a better record than Detroit but other Tier 2 teams are worse. 9th worst record is my prediction at the moment.

[mercury]

The 5th slot has 73% chance of landing a top 6 pick

[princeofpalace]

We have 4 more losses than MN so we are sitting at 9th, not 10th.

I think we finish 8th or 9th.

[vege]

We will probably finish ~9-10th.

[MrBigShot]

Hopefully enough to nab Ben Mclemore. Not likely, but a guy can dream.

[coolness]

Let's just tank the worst. 25% chance of Nerlens Noel = 25% chance of contending next season.

[princeofpalace]

This is my standings projection

Bottom Feeders
1. Charlotte
2. Washington
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Sacramento
6. New Orleans

Next Tier
7. Phoenix
8. Detroit
9. Toronto (no lottery pick and no incentive to tank, which is why Raptors jump is in the standings)
10. Minnesota

Just missed the playoffs
11. Philadelphia
12. Dallas
13. Portland
14. Houston

Despite the struggles, I can't see Kobe not making the playoffs, so I have LA sneaking into the 8th seed.

I dont anticipate us winning the lottery but still think we can find a good fit at #8, and you never know, maybe someone will drop to us

[The Penguin]

Tier 3 - Most likely 12-14 - good teams that are on the playoff bubble
Portland (25-24)
LA Lakers (23-26)
Dallas (21-28)


Tier 2 - Most likely 5-11 - who can tank the best will make the diff between 5 and 11
Philadelphia (21-27)
Detroit (18-32)
Minnesota (18-28)
Phoenix (17-33)
Toronto (17-32)
Sacramento (17-33)
New Orleans (16-33)

Tier 1 - Most likely 1-4 - bottom of the barrel
Cleveland (15-34)
Orlando (14-35)
Washington (13-35)
Charlotte (11-37)

I think Cleveland belongs in Tier 2. Kyrie is really coming on and I could see them being like the Pistons were last year and hovering around .500 after the all star break.

[retrolenny]

I think Tor and Cle will pass us but I also think Bos is a fluke and will unravel. Det finishes 8th.. Hopefully we get lucky with the ping pong balls and fall into the top 3.

If I'm Dumars, I trade Stuck & Max to take on salary or for a rental player, sign Ben and really let Drummond develop by giving him 30+ per game. We would be making a commitment to our youth, dumping those without a future here, and trying to give our future nucleus a 1/2 season to gel together.

The team is going to look very different next year regardless. Dumars is going to spend some money and make some changes. We will have a very strong team next year!!

[Snakebites]

This year feels a lot like the last 2 in terms of where we stand lottery-wise.

I'd say our ceiling is probably 7th or so, since we never tank deliberately. I don't see us falling past 11th though.

[theBigLip]

This is my standings projection

Bottom Feeders
1. Charlotte
2. Washington
3. Orlando
4. Cleveland
5. Sacramento
6. New Orleans

Next Tier
7. Phoenix
8. Detroit
9. Toronto (no lottery pick and no incentive to tank, which is why Raptors jump is in the standings)
10. Minnesota

Just missed the playoffs
11. Philadelphia
12. Dallas
13. Portland
14. Houston

Despite the struggles, I can't see Kobe not making the playoffs, so I have LA sneaking into the 8th seed.

I dont anticipate us winning the lottery but still think we can find a good fit at #8, and you never know, maybe someone will drop to us

Good point on Toronto. Hate to see OKC get a better pick than us.

[ComboGuardCity]

I'm still living in Homerland: Zero

[theBigLip]

As we wake up the morning of 2.13.2013, we are #8.

As I recall, CV goes off late in the year and gets wins for us in meaningless games, so I certainly think we need to trade him asap

[Cowology]

I honestly have no clue. Historically we do not tank. Even when we are clearly one of the worst in the league we find a way to improve down the stretch, win some games with other teams tanking and move up in the standings. I wouldn't be surprised if from that 5-11 range we finish at 11.

But we still know very little about Gores and what sort of impact he's going to have. The Tay/Jose trade shows we're willing to buck the trends of past regimes and go in a different direction. I think we'll have a better idea once the trade deadline passes, but I'm still going to have a lot of questions. Drummond or not I think we score enough pts to win some games and probably finish 9th or 10th.

[jaredtyshaf]

How I see it at this point in time.

I think the Cav's, T'Wolves, Hornets and Wizards are going play better than us for the remainder of the season.

1. Bobcats
2. Magic
3. Kings
4. Suns
5. Pistons
6. T'Wolves
7. Wizards
8. Hornets
9. Cavs
10. Blazers
11. Bucks
12. 76ers
13. Jazz
14. Warriors

[Snakebites]

I forecasted 7-10 range at the beginning of the year and I'm sticking to it.

We are a bad team that doesn't tank. That's were those teams typically end up.

[rmfc]

^ I can see this happening and I can also see us ending up with Shabazz. His stock seems to be falling and he may really be he type of player we need. A ball handler, competitor, a competent defender and a player who can put up 20 pts in every game without chucking up 100 shots.

EDIT: We might also see the end of Frank's tenure here after this season.