Category: NBA (Page 407 of 595)

      John Hollinger’s Western Conference playoff odds

      November 20, 2008 /

      Yesterday, we took a look at John Hollinger’s Eastern Conference playoff odds. Today we’ll look at the Western Conference.

      1. LA Lakers (100)
      2. Phoenix (96.5)
      3. Portland (96.3)
      4. Denver (93.8)
      5. Utah (88.6)
      6. New Orleans (81.1)
      7. Dallas (80.6)
      8. Houston (78.1)
      ==============
      9. Golden State (34.4)
      10. Memphis (20.3)
      11. San Antonio (19.9)
      12. Sacramento (7.7)
      13. Minnesota (2.6)
      14. L.A. Clippers (0.1)
      15. Oklahoma City (0.0)

      He looks like he has the West pegged save for one big problem. I don’t see how the Mavericks – who are 5-7 at full strength – will make the playoffs but the Spurs – who are 5-6 and missing two of their three best players – will not. Hollinger’s formula is probably heavily mathematical, so he can’t account for injuries, and that’s part of the problem with taking a pure statistical approach to something like this. Tony Parker is due back in mid-December, while Ginobili is ahead of schedule and should be back a bit earlier. The Spurs are getting good play from George Hill and Roger Mason, and if they can stay near .500, they shouldn’t have a problem making the playoffs if Parker and Ginobili come back strong.

      As for the Mavericks, barring a major injury to one of the other eight teams (including the Spurs), I don’t see how they make the postseason. Denver’s 8-4 record seems a little odd, but they are getting good play from Chauncey Billups, who has changed the team’s attitude defensively.

      Even without Monta Ellis, Golden State has surprisingly kept its head above water, and if the Warriors can stay close to .500 until January (when Ellis is set to return), they would be a dark horse to make the playoffs.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Finals

      Analyzing sports dreams

      November 20, 2008 /

      THE LOVE OF SPORTS dedicates one of their latest columns to helping people interpret what their sports dreams mean.

      My brother told me about this nightmare he had where Al Davis was chasing him while shouting weird phrases in Latin. He wakes up before he can catch him.
      -Dan, CA

      Well, there’s an important distinction you failed to mention in your description. Was he chasing him on foot or on a Segway? They mean two different things. If Davis was chasing your brother on foot it could simply mean he has a minor financial matter that’s troubling him. If he was chasing him on a Segway, however, there’s much cause for concern. Is there a history of ‘antichrist’ in your family? You might want to look into it.

      I once had a dream I was Tim Kurkjian’s personal masseuse. Am I weird?
      -B.

      Yes.

      I had a dream last night where I was trapped in a hot tub with these girls from Florida State University:

      FSU Girls

      Now take out the words “dream” and “was trapped” and replace them with “fantasy” and “wishing I was trapped” and you’ll have a more accurate sentence.

      General Sports, Golf, Humor, MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, Women

      John Hollinger’s Eastern Conference playoff odds

      November 19, 2008 /

      John Hollinger is ESPN’s numbers guy for the NBA, and he has a statistical formula that predicts the playoff odds for every NBA team. Here’s a look at the East:

      1. Cleveland (98.9)
      2. Boston (95.9)
      3. Detroit (90.1)
      4. Atlanta (88.8)
      5. Philadelphia (67.7)
      6. Miami (63.6)
      7. Orlando (63.6)
      8. Indiana (63.1)
      ============
      9. Chicago (57.2)
      10. Toronto (53.7)
      11. Milwaukee (32.4)
      12. New York (10.5)
      13. New Jersey (7.6)
      14. Charlotte (6.8)
      15. Washington (0.2)

      Things are obviously looking dire for the Wizards right now. They are 1-7 and will be without Gilbert Arenas for a while. It’s early, but unless they are able to put together some wins with the current lineup, it looks like they will indeed miss the playoffs this season.

      With all that talent, I would be shocked if the Raptors miss the playoffs. Hollinger says they have a 54% chance, but with Jose Calderon, Chris Bosh and Jermaine O’Neal, I think it’s just a matter of time before Toronto gels and strings a few wins together. I suspect that Toronto will replace Indiana in the top eight. Chicago and Milwaukee are darkhorses – they need more consistent play and a healthy Kirk Hinrich and Michael Redd, respectively.

      Interestingly, the Knicks are 6-5, but Hollinger says that they only have a 11% chance to make the postseason.

      NBA

      Surprise, surprise…the Rockets are nicked up again

      November 18, 2008 /

      Tracy McGrady has a sore knee. Yesterday, he proclaimed that he was probably going to have to shut it down, but he was able to practice today and is listed as questionable for Wednesday’s game.

      Yao Ming has a foot injury, but the x-rays were negative, so he should be able to play.

      Ron Artest sprained his ankle, but should be able to go.

      As part of our 2008 NBA Preview, I wrote the following about the Rockets…

      Keep Your Eye On: The Rockets’ injury report
      If T-Mac, Yao Ming and Ron Artest can all play 75+ games and are healthy for the playoffs, this team will be very competitive. But as history has shown us, that is a HUGE “if.” Yao hasn’t played more than 57 games in any of the last three seasons and McGrady is averaging 61 games played over the same span. So the Rockets can’t really hope that the duo will stay healthy, they just have to hope that whatever injuries T-Mac and Yao do sustain aren’t of the season-ending variety.

      The Rockets were a popular preseason pick to make some serious noise come playoff time, but the team needs its three stars to be healthy at the end of the season. Rockets fans surely have their fingers crossed, but already each star has his own nagging injury. It’s going to be interesting to see if Houston can stay healthy all season.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA

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