[RP McMurphy]

I know it's early, but I'm bored with most of the threads on the NBA board right now, and I'm interested in whether anyone's mind has changed yet about who's making the playoffs.

San Antonio, Dallas, and Utah are all locks, I think, and while Minnesota hasn't been incredibly impressive so far, they always get off to a slow start and finish strong, so I'm going to go ahead and call them a lock, too.

I'm not ready to call Phoenix a lock, only because their coach seems pretty bad to me, and that will make them lose more games than they should. But they're talented enough that they should make the playoffs. Steve Nash was a great fit for them.

I'm ruling out Golden State and New Orleans, who both look awful so far. And I'm going to put Portland and the Clippers in the lottery too, they're playing all right so far, but I just can't see either of them keeping it up.

That leaves Seattle, Denver, the Lakers, Sacramento, Houston, and Memphis fighting for three spots. It's going to be awfully tough to make the playoffs in the West this year. Of course, we already knew that before the season started.

Of the three, Denver, Sacramento, and Memphis are the ones I had making the playoffs before the season started, but they've all started off slow. Memphis is struggling because James Posey is hurt. He's the leader of that team, and they're struggling defensively without him. I think when he comes back and gets in shape, the Grizzlies will go on a big winning streak and make the playoffs easily.

Denver and Sacramento are playing badly even though they don't have the excuse of missing one of their best two players. Sacramento seems to be recovering from their awful start, I think they'll be all right, although their championship window is definitely over. But Denver looks especially bad, and unless someone can explain what's going wrong with them and why it's going to change, I have to assume they'll fall short in a tough Western Conference. Seattle was my ninth seed, and they're off to a very impressive start, so I'll pick them to take Denver's spot.

So my eight are Minnesota, San Antonio, Utah, Dallas, Phoenix, Memphis, Seattle, and Sacramento.

[Jewelz]

Houston is getting in, I can't imagine them not getting in

Seattle may look great right now, but they started this way last season as well and turned out to be one of the worst in the west

I'm also not so sure about Memphis at this point

[HKF]

I still don't feel Minnesota will win the division. I had the Nuggets winning the division and they still could, but they need to deal soon and get rid of Bzdelik. What Kiki is waiting for, I have no idea.

1. Dallas (regular wins will be the most of the league more than likely)
2. Utah
3. Sacramento
4. San Antonio
5. Minnesota
6. LA Lakers
7. Phoenix
8. Denver

I still think Denver will turn it around and Seattle will fall back. The current setup with the way 3 divisions, is a very interesting thing as I find it more likely by the day, that the Spurs and T'Wolves could meet in round one, because first I am not sold on Minny and second I think Dallas will have the best record. In years past San Antonio would be the 3rd seed. Should be an interesting playoffs, yes, no?

[Jewelz]

Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!
I still don't feel Minnesota will win the division. I had the Nuggets winning the division and they still could, but they need to deal soon and get rid of Bzdelik. What Kiki is waiting for, I have no idea.

1. Dallas (regular wins will be the most of the league more than likely)
2. Utah
3. Sacramento
4. San Antonio
5. Minnesota
6. LA Lakers
7. Phoenix
8. Denver

I still think Denver will turn it around and Seattle will fall back. The current setup with the way 3 divisions, is a very interesting thing as I find it more likely by the day, that the Spurs and T'Wolves could meet in round one, because first I am not sold on Minny and second I think Dallas will have the best record. In years past San Antonio would be the 3rd seed. Should be an interesting playoffs, yes, no?

I know this is only your opinion, but you actually think Lakers will be that high? And that Denver will make it over Houston or even Memphis?...

lol Nevermind, I already know what's going on here

[Johnny Mac]

1. Spurs - Bad news for the rest of the league when this team starts 5-1. Last season and the season before, they started something like 8-10, and eventually they get it rolling. I hate to think that they dont even have it rolling right now, and still are a top team. Ginobili is quickly become a top shooting guard in the league.

2. Jazz - Jazz will win this division, it will be close though. Sloan has this team playing top notch basketball almost every night, and that goes really far in the regular season. Talented teams with mediocre to horrible coaching go through the season just trying to get through and rely on talent. Jerry Sloan got that team up for every game last season, and now he has a talented team that will get up for every game.

3. Suns - Its a stroke of luck that they are in the worst division in the west. Either way, this team has been impressive and Nash was a perfect fit for this team. Marbury was good, but he controlled the ball too much. Nash gets the ball up in a hurry, finds the right man, can shoot, etc. They will continue to attack teams right off the bat and keep them on their toes.

4. Mavericks - Its Nowitzki season. In the past, the Mavericks were built poorly, too much offense, not enough defense. That only kept Dirks amazing offense hidden, and magnified his poor defense. However, now the Mavs are more balanced on both the inside and outside, and Dirk is shining as the unquestionable go to guy. This team is deep, balanced, and has its superstar.

5. Timberwolves - I'm still not sold on this team. I thought they had an unbelievable year last season, and I'm not sure they can repeat it. Garnett, on top of an MVP season, played all 82 games. Cassell played 81 games, Sprewell played 82 games. Cassell had his best season in years. As of right now, theres a lot of question marks on this team, and next to no interior presence. Still, Garnett wont let this team fall any further than 5th seed.

6. Grizzlies - I think they'll get it going at some point, We're still so early in the season. I can't see a team that is so deep, so well-coached, and so talented not making the playoffs. I think eventually they will have to up the minutes of the starters and quit with the whole 10 man rotation thing. Gasol can handle a lot more minutes. They can play the starters a lot, and still have the bench play a huge role.

7. Rockets - I think McGrady and Yao are still in the phase of being too unselfish so they don't take away from the other superstar. They'll adjust, and find a better balance. Add to the fact that their defense should improve over the course of the season, and getting Sura back should help them out since they are so deprived of solid guards.

8. Kings - Their experience will get them here. With Peja unhappy though, who knows.

[EHL]

Just before preseason, I ranked the West (here: http://www.basketballboards.net/foru...87#post1558387) as follows:

1. Spurs
2. Twolves
3. Kings
4. Grizzlies
5. Nuggets
6. Mavs
7. Lakers
8. Rockets

I don't see the 1 and 2 seed changing, I'm still confident about that.

Despite what some people may believe, the Kings are still easily good enough to win the Pacific, which would automatically place them 3rd seed no matter what their record is compared to non-Pacific teams. People underestimate chemistry and experience. They lost Vlade, but that's it.

4-8 is a little more difficult to figure out. The Grizzlies don’t look good right now, but I still see them breaking through eventually. As I said before preseason, they’re young but have gone through a full regular season and one postseason series as a unit. I believe they’ll be able to push themselves into the upper echelon of playoff teams in the West. Perhaps not 4th seed as I originally predicted, but not all that far off.

It appears I was dead wrong about the Nuggets, so far that is. Martin doesn’t seem to be meshing well at all with anyone on that team, and Melo doesn’t appear to be any better than last season. I expect them to make a push for the playoffs, but I’ll admit that I overrated them and am going to place them 9th seed instead of the 5th seed I originally placed them in.

The Mavs will take that 5th-ish seed, nothing about that team has surprised me so far. Second year players are doing nicely, Dirk is having a big season now that he finally has the ball in his hands more, and Stackhouse has been somewhat of a surprise meshing in well with that team. Even if they go through extended slumps during the season, they have enough of their old core (Dirk, Finley, Howard, and coach Nelson) to make a solid Western playoff push in the mid-range area.

Besides the Nuggets (who have been a disappointment), the Jazz have been this season’s most surprising team IMO. While you could see they would be better this season after barely missing the playoffs last season, it’s quite clear they’re not just better, but on another level, especially defensively and on the boards. I’m still not convinced they are an elite Western Conference team like some claim they are, as it’s too early in the season and they still lack a go-to scorer. That said, instead of the 9th seed I placed them in before preseason, I’m going to give them 6th seed this time around. Sloan et al does it again.

I still think the Lakers and Rockets will make it into those 7th and 8th slots. Despite both teams being relatively thin all around, they’ll led by talented players and bonafide superstars. Both teams are new and still learning each other, but both teams have shown positive enough flashes, especially on the road, that it leads me to believe they both will continue to mesh throughout the season and make the playoffs.

I don’t see the Suns making the playoffs. As a unit they’re not at all experienced, which would be OK if they had a superstar or two, but they only have Amare, who’s still budding. They’re going to be inconsistent all season long, their defense will continue to be suspect, and worst of all they have the wrong coach for the job. They’ll make a push for the postseason, just as the Nuggets will, but just miss out. Both teams have a young core and bright future, though.

I see very little chance of the Hornets, Clippers, Warriors, Blazers, or Sonics making a playoff appearance. Those first four teams are pretty self-explanatory. The Sonics, on the other hand, have started out well this season, and I admit I never thought they would start out the way they did this season. However, they’ve started out hot like this the past two seasons, that’s nothing new for them, and I’m still not convinced Fortson/Evans can pull down enough boards consistently to make them playoff bound. A jump shooting team like the Sonics cries out for rebounders, so if Fortson and Evans can somehow manage to pull down a good deal of boards often enough, don’t be surprised if the Sonics sneak into that 8th spot.

So, my adjusted rankings after two weeks of regular season ball:

1. Spurs
2. Twolves
3. Kings
4. Grizzlies
5. Mavs
6. Jazz
7. Lakers
8. Rockets

Injuries, obviously, derail any of these rankings.

[HKF]

Originally posted by <b>Jewelz</b>!


I know this is only your opinion, but you actually think Lakers will be that high? And that Denver will make it over Houston or even Memphis?...

lol Nevermind, I already know what's going on here

It's what I predicted dude for the most part. I'm not going to back off it two weeks into the season.

[Jewelz]

Originally posted by <b>Hong Kong Fooey</b>!


It's what I predicted dude for the most part. I'm not going to back off it two weeks into the season.

Oh that's what you predicted at the beginning of the season?

My bad, thought those were your predictions after 2 weeks

and I'm just curious, but what made you believe that the Grizzlies and Rockets wouldent make the playoffs?..

I'll give you props though for predicting before the season that Utah would win their division

[Ron Mexico]

what have the Grizzlies shown that makes people think they will make the playoffs? or finish high as fourth?????

[HKF]

Originally posted by <b>Jewelz</b>!


Oh that's what you predicted at the beginning of the season?

My bad, thought those were your predictions after 2 weeks

and I'm just curious, but what made you believe that the Grizzlies and Rockets wouldent make the playoffs?..

I'll give you props though for predicting before the season that Utah would win their division

I had Utah, Denver and Minnesota as a tossup with Utah just out, but it was more because they had changed everything. However, I didn't realize their PG situation would be such a non-factor. They get so many high percentage shots, it's ridiculous.

As for Memphis, that stupid Hockey style rotation that they use was a big factor in me thinking they won't make the playoffs. Gasol should be playing 38 minutes a night and last nights loss to the Sonics showcased, exactly why he needs to play more minutes. Hubie is too stuck in getting everyone PT. This aint little league.

The Rockets depth is just so poor, I didn't have them in the playoffs. I think T-Mac and Yao are terrific, but Mo Taylor, Lue, Ward, Howard, ugh...

I don't know how they can carry those shlubs to the playoffs anything higher than the 7th or 8th spot. Although, it's two weeks in, what the hell do I know? Again when it comes to the NBA, so much of what you do, is determined on injuries, who wins the close ball games and who beats the teams they are supposed to beat.

However, I will be shocked if Minnesota wins the division.

[Jewelz]

Originally posted by <b>sboydell</b>!
what have the Grizzlies shown that makes people think they will make the playoffs? t

I think they are a toss up if you ask me, I'm not sold on them yet. But if you were reffering to me asking why Honk Kong Fooey didnt have Memphis in the playoffs before the season started was because just about everyone had Memphis in the playoff picture before the playoffs started, we didnt know they would be so awful early on