Playoff Seedings 2014
May 16, 2014 21:15:32 GMT
Allen Iverson, Bryan Colangelo, and 1 more like this
Post by Ian Noble on May 16, 2014 21:15:32 GMT
Playoff Seedings 2014
With only 4 days of sims left to play some interesting dynamics have formed in the Eastern and Western playoff seedings.
West
East
With only 4 days of sims left to play some interesting dynamics have formed in the Eastern and Western playoff seedings.
West
Out West the Top 4 seeds are now set in stone:
1. Golden State Warriors (63 - 17)
2. Portland Trail Blazers (56 - 24)
3. Dallas Mavericks (48 - 32)
4. Denver Nuggets (53 - 30)
Of these top four teams it's clear to see that the Mavericks are the weak link. They may have won their division, but with only 48 wins they'd otherwise be battling for 7th seed.
This dynamic makes it interesting because the next three seeds (5 to 7) are all battling to finish 6th and face the Mavericks in the first round! They are all within 1 game of each other with only 2 games remaining!
The Mavericks however are 2W 1L versus the Lakers on the season, beat the Thunder all 3 matchups, but lost all 3 to the Timberwolves!
5. LA Lakers (50 - 30)
6. Oklahoma City Thunder (49 - 30)
7. Minnesota Timberwolves (48 - 32)
Lastly the most hotly contested battle is for the final remaining 8th Seed. Both Sacramento and the LA Clippers are plotting every last game.
8. Sacramento Kings (45 - 35)
9. LA Clippers (44 - 35)
East
The interesting dynamic in the East is that it has been a conference that's been in constant flux throughout the season, with veteran teams turned rebuilding and vice verca. Some of the teams in the East have low seedings but have been on a roll since the All Star break because they only recently changed their rosters with trades.
The top 3 teams in the East are now set in stone:
1. Miami Heat (57 - 22)
2. Chicago Bulls (50 - 29)
3. Brooklyn Nets (46 - 33)
Detroit follows up behind these three and could finish either 4 or 5.
4. Detroit Pistons (45 - 34)
Seeds 5 to 8 could all change within the next two games however:
5. Cleveland Cavaliers (43 - 36)
6. Indiana Pacers (41 - 39)
7. Milwaukee Bucks (41 - 39)
8. Toronto Raptors (41 - 39)
The fascinating dynamic in the East however is that seedings and regular season records don't really portray the strength of each team accordingly. Both Toronto and Indiana lived fairly miserable seasons but acquired strong rosters towards the end of the season, Toronto especially has been the East's hottest team. Two months ago the Raptors were 6th from bottom of the Tankings, now they're the team most likely to cause an upset in the East.
Just like the Western Conference there's a weak link in the top seeds: the Nets. Brooklyn's regular season record doesn't reflect the team that started the season and the team that ended it. Once again the eventual 6th Seed may have easy pickings in the first round!