Kings Playoff Standings Watch!!!
- Thread starter Rain man
- Start date
I disagree, but it's only my opinion. I think the East is better than the West by far this year. But I do think you're right about the meat grinder. The West is pretty much stacked on talent, and a lot of teams that are out of the top 10 like Utah, OKC or Portland are only a 5 game win streak from being in the play-in tournament.
I think in the West you have a team like Denver which will be the #1 seed. Then you have these teams below which are about equal talent wise, and in any other year could be where we are right now;
If I was rating teams like the NBA games on PS5 or whatever you would get something like this... (The higher number the better, capped at 100)
1. Denver 95
2. Sacramento 88
3. Memphis 86
4. Phoenix 84
5. Golden State 86
6. Minnesota 82
7. Dallas 83
8. Los Angeles Clippers 85
9. Los Angeles Lakers 84
10. New Orleans 79
11. OKC 80
12. Portland 79
13. Utah 80
14. San Antonio 63
15. Houston 64
I think in the West you have a team like Denver which will be the #1 seed. Then you have these teams below which are about equal talent wise, and in any other year could be where we are right now;
If I was rating teams like the NBA games on PS5 or whatever you would get something like this... (The higher number the better, capped at 100)
1. Denver 95
2. Sacramento 88
3. Memphis 86
4. Phoenix 84
5. Golden State 86
6. Minnesota 82
7. Dallas 83
8. Los Angeles Clippers 85
9. Los Angeles Lakers 84
10. New Orleans 79
11. OKC 80
12. Portland 79
13. Utah 80
14. San Antonio 63
15. Houston 64
Based upon what? Please lay out your reasoning, as I’m genuinely interested in reading it.
You kinda sorta just admitted the West is more stacked on talent.
As I stated previously, most the elite talent is in the West. Which should lead anyone to conclude the better teams are in the West.
You can’t judge by record, as Eastern teams play far more games against their own conference and vice versa. And you can’t fairly judge solely off the 2 game litmus test both conferences play against each other, with factors such as longer distance travel and playing teams in the midst of a 5, 6, or 7 game roadie.
In terms of what I believe most would consider “elite talent”, the East has Giannis, Embiid, Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell.
Meanwhile, the West boasts: Jokic, Dame, Steph, Klay, Kawhi, LBJ, AD, KD, Booker, #77, Kyrie, and Ja.
It’s really not even close.
You kinda sorta just admitted the West is more stacked on talent.
As I stated previously, most the elite talent is in the West. Which should lead anyone to conclude the better teams are in the West.
You can’t judge by record, as Eastern teams play far more games against their own conference and vice versa. And you can’t fairly judge solely off the 2 game litmus test both conferences play against each other, with factors such as longer distance travel and playing teams in the midst of a 5, 6, or 7 game roadie.
In terms of what I believe most would consider “elite talent”, the East has Giannis, Embiid, Tatum, and Donovan Mitchell.
Meanwhile, the West boasts: Jokic, Dame, Steph, Klay, Kawhi, LBJ, AD, KD, Booker, #77, Kyrie, and Ja.
It’s really not even close.
Kings Playoff Tracker
Note that teams are listed in order of the Kings' magic number, which is affected by tiebreakers, so the order may be slightly different than the order in the actual standings. Eliminated teams will be removed from the tracker after one day.
I have moved the Kings to #2, because we currently hold the tiebreaker against Memphis, but the tiebreaker is not final.
Please note that the best conference win% tiebreaker may be pre-empted by division standings, because division winners get the second tiebreaker over non-division winners.
Today's games (7):
Boston def. POR
NOP def. DAL
Chicago def. DEN
PHX def. OKC
LAC def. Toronto
Magic Number To Eliminate (TB=TieBreaker):
DEN (46-20) 25, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
SAC (38-26) --, 18 games remaining
MEM (38-26) 19, 18 games remaining, TB 2-2 (best conference win% gets TB, Kings currently lead)
PHX (37-29) 16, 16 games remaining, TB=Suns
GSW (34-32) 13, 16 games remaining, TB 1-2, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
DAL (34-33) 12, 15 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
--- Playoffs ---
MIN (34-33) 12, 15 games remaining, TB 1-2, 1 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
LAC (35-33) 11, 14 games remaining, TB=Kings
NOP (32-34) 11, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
POR (31-35) 10, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 2 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
--- Play-In Games ---
LAL (32-34) 10, 16 games remaining, TB=Kings
UTA (31-35) 10, 16 games remaining, TB 2-0, 2 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
OKC (31-35) 9, 16 games remaining, TB=Kings
Tomorrow's games (4):
UTA at Orlando, 4 PM
GSW at MEM, 4:30 PM
New York at SAC, 7 PM
Note that teams are listed in order of the Kings' magic number, which is affected by tiebreakers, so the order may be slightly different than the order in the actual standings. Eliminated teams will be removed from the tracker after one day.
I have moved the Kings to #2, because we currently hold the tiebreaker against Memphis, but the tiebreaker is not final.
Please note that the best conference win% tiebreaker may be pre-empted by division standings, because division winners get the second tiebreaker over non-division winners.
Today's games (7):
Boston def. POR
NOP def. DAL
Chicago def. DEN
PHX def. OKC
LAC def. Toronto
Magic Number To Eliminate (TB=TieBreaker):
DEN (46-20) 25, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
SAC (38-26) --, 18 games remaining
MEM (38-26) 19, 18 games remaining, TB 2-2 (best conference win% gets TB, Kings currently lead)
PHX (37-29) 16, 16 games remaining, TB=Suns
GSW (34-32) 13, 16 games remaining, TB 1-2, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
DAL (34-33) 12, 15 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
--- Playoffs ---
MIN (34-33) 12, 15 games remaining, TB 1-2, 1 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
LAC (35-33) 11, 14 games remaining, TB=Kings
NOP (32-34) 11, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 1 to play (winner gets TB)
POR (31-35) 10, 16 games remaining, TB 1-1, 2 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
--- Play-In Games ---
LAL (32-34) 10, 16 games remaining, TB=Kings
UTA (31-35) 10, 16 games remaining, TB 2-0, 2 to play (best conference win% gets TB if tied)
OKC (31-35) 9, 16 games remaining, TB=Kings
Tomorrow's games (4):
UTA at Orlando, 4 PM
GSW at MEM, 4:30 PM
New York at SAC, 7 PM
Kind of. The number goes down with either a win by the Kings or a loss by that team. So while your statement is true that if the Kings win 12 more games of 18 left and DAL runs the table, DAL cannot pass us, what the number really means is any combination of Kings wins and Dallas losses that equals 12 or more leads to Kings finishing in front of Dallas.
Without getting into the debate on which conference is more stacked, I think we need to redefine the term "better", in terms of talent in the West.
Certainly, more recognizable top level talent is in the West. Guys who have been dominating the league for years, have won multiple championships, MVPs, and are first ballot HOFers; the West is certainly lot more stacked with these guys.
OTOH, many of these guys have missed a ton of games, which has impacted their teams' standing. That too is a function of age (to some extent at least, though obviously it varies from player to player). In another thread, we had another controversial debate on "availability being the best ability". Again, don't want to get into that, but availability is certainly a factor.
Some time back I had said that the league had seen a huge talent infusion since the early 2000s, but last few years have been relatively underwhelming. Bron, Durant, Irving, Curry, Dame, George, Kawahi etc. continue to remain some of the top stars. The last 4 MVPs have been won by guys drafted in 2013 (Giannis, MVP in 19, 20) and 2014, (Jokic, in 21, 22, and likely 23). One of their major competitors has been Embiid, also drafted in 2014.
The only guys since who have had a reasonable chance since are Luka, and to a lesser extent, Tatum. There have been some good players (including our 2 all-stars) since, but not many who have owned the league, at least not yet.
There is still time, particularly for the more recent draft classes. Ultimately, someone will fill the vacuum that will be created at the top as guys retire/play fewer games due to injuries. Teams like Lakers, Suns, Wolves, and Mavs have mortgaged a lot of their future for a shot at the title, and as they slip (hopefully), other players and teams will replace them. It's already happening. Apart from injuries, we are also seeing decline of some stars like Paul and Klay.
I personally believe the gap is minimal. West loses in age and injuries, what it gains in big name recognition (and guys who can still take over games on their own). Unless it can prove otherwise, West can't dismiss games lost due to injuries as a freak coincidence, particularly if it continues to happen to older stars.
Certainly, more recognizable top level talent is in the West. Guys who have been dominating the league for years, have won multiple championships, MVPs, and are first ballot HOFers; the West is certainly lot more stacked with these guys.
OTOH, many of these guys have missed a ton of games, which has impacted their teams' standing. That too is a function of age (to some extent at least, though obviously it varies from player to player). In another thread, we had another controversial debate on "availability being the best ability". Again, don't want to get into that, but availability is certainly a factor.
Some time back I had said that the league had seen a huge talent infusion since the early 2000s, but last few years have been relatively underwhelming. Bron, Durant, Irving, Curry, Dame, George, Kawahi etc. continue to remain some of the top stars. The last 4 MVPs have been won by guys drafted in 2013 (Giannis, MVP in 19, 20) and 2014, (Jokic, in 21, 22, and likely 23). One of their major competitors has been Embiid, also drafted in 2014.
The only guys since who have had a reasonable chance since are Luka, and to a lesser extent, Tatum. There have been some good players (including our 2 all-stars) since, but not many who have owned the league, at least not yet.
There is still time, particularly for the more recent draft classes. Ultimately, someone will fill the vacuum that will be created at the top as guys retire/play fewer games due to injuries. Teams like Lakers, Suns, Wolves, and Mavs have mortgaged a lot of their future for a shot at the title, and as they slip (hopefully), other players and teams will replace them. It's already happening. Apart from injuries, we are also seeing decline of some stars like Paul and Klay.
I personally believe the gap is minimal. West loses in age and injuries, what it gains in big name recognition (and guys who can still take over games on their own). Unless it can prove otherwise, West can't dismiss games lost due to injuries as a freak coincidence, particularly if it continues to happen to older stars.
Barring injuries (like Fox out a bunch; if hamstring, Kings ought to think about shelving him for playoffs) I think 8 or 9 wins is the most likely win total, so only OKC they outright eliminate while the #10 teams are also possible,
Hamstring injury is a minefield. The tendency is to rely on your burst to beat defenders which unfortunately increases the likelihood of re-injury.
I think the reason why there's so much more "parity" in the West this year is 100% because of injuries. hat have dealt with substantial injuries this year where there stars missed more than 20+ games:
I don't think the East is better than the West this year. I would say they're equal, however, their top teams might be better than our top teams. The West has gone through an injury outbreak while the East has been relatively healthy
- Suns
- Clippers
- Pelicans (they were a top seed at one point)
- Warriors
- Lakers
- Timberwolves
I don't think the East is better than the West this year. I would say they're equal, however, their top teams might be better than our top teams. The West has gone through an injury outbreak while the East has been relatively healthy
