Quote:
Originally Posted by grndmstr_c
That sounds pretty short-sighted considering: 1) they're almost halfway through the season and they still haven't had the benefit of franchise-player Dirk, and 2) *if* they get into the playoffs they will have done it by closing out the season playing at a considerably higher level than would ever be expected of an 8th seed. That might still not account for more than a first-round out given the inevitable difficulty of their first-round matchup, but taken in full context the "upside" of an 8th seed would still unarguably imply that Dallas fielded a strong, competitive team this year.
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True.
I think though reaching the playoffs is only possible if teams like Houston (5-game losing streak! ya!) and Utah will experience a serious dropoff and finish well below 43 wins. Don't think Portland will be a real threat long term, Wolves are injury-bitten, so there would be room for Dallas and the Lakers. We should hope to sneak in there with 40 wins and the right tiebreakers, which means a 27-19 record in the remainder (including the current streak). That record for 46 games translates into 48 wins for a 82-game season. 48 win in the West is good for the 7th seed. So I would correct the "upside" one spot.
If they do come up with 43+ wins, meaning going 30-16 or better along the way, it would truly be impressive.