Playoff Teams W-L Records Since The Allstar Break - Trends to the End?

[nba is the worst]

Here's the records of the probable playoff teams since the break (plus any teams within 2 games of the 8th seed):

Lakers 11-1
Bulls 11-3
Rockets 10-3
Spurs 9-3
Nuggets 9-3
OKC 10-4
76ers 9-4
Celtics 8-5
Mavs 8-5
Magic 8-5
Knicks 7-7
Grizzlies 6-6

Heatles 6-7
Jazz 5-7
Pacers 6-9
Hawks 5-9
Bcats 4-8

Spurs are #1 for sure, and will finish as probably the only team over 60, perhaps 63-19.

Lakers look like they will end up #2 or 3 overall, and 2nd in the west as well, with just 4 road games left. I think they finish 59-23.

Mavs are struggling, and now Marion is hurt - I'm guessing 57-22.

OKC on a major roll (W6, 9-1 L10), could end up leapfrogging the Mavs - but for now, I'll go with 56-26 - lots of tough games left on their schedule.

Bulls on track for #2-3 overall, #1 in the east, with the easiest schedule remaining, ending at 59-23 - maybe even getting 60.

I still think the Celtics will outdo the heatles for #2 in the east despite the tough schedule, how does 58-24 sound?

Heatles finally get through the 11-game stretch vs winning teams tonight (and if they beat Denver, end up with an underwhelming 5-6 record, despite 9 of the 11 at home).

The tough games remaining are vs Denver Tonight, hosting the Rockets and 76ers, and of course the Celtics game 4. I'll say 55-27.

What do you guys think?

[greenpride32]

Celtics/Bulls #1 East - Bulls have a much easier schedule but C's currently hold the first few tie breakers.

Heat and Magic are locked into 3 and 4.

SA #1 West.
Lakers/Mavs could flip flop for 2 and 3.
OKC locked in at #4.

There's so few games left in the year it's really difficult to gain ground when you do the math.  For example, if a team has a 2 game lead in the loss column and owns tiebreakers effectively making the lead 3 games, TEAM A could go 10-5 down the stretch, and TEAM B would need to go 13-2 to pass them.  When you're talking about the top 4 teams in each CONF, they all play roughly 10-5 (.666 record) or better.

A team really has to tank for something to happen; which is really what happened to the C's; 2-4 strech over the past 6 games vs non-playoff or fringe playoff opponents.

[nba is the worst]

And the road B2B hasn't been kind tothe Celtics - but I think tonight they finally play like they're capable of.

I don't see how the Mavs can possibly beat the lakers consedering the schedules of the two - nor do I think the Heat are "locked in - the only thing locked for them is their inconsistency.

[Cman]

Nuggets 9-3
...
Knicks 7-7

Thanks for posting the records.  Regardless of the trend, I think an interesting thing to (re)consider is the Den-NYK trade involving Melo.  

Based on the post-trade W-L records, Denver is looking like they did okay in that trade (the numbers would be even more in favor of Denver if including the more recent games).

[pearljammer10]

The nuggets are actually a pretty exciting team to watch and they have a nice core of players to build around. I think this trade was one of the better overall deals in the past few years with both teams benefitting greatly. The Knicks weren't going far with the players they traded, and the Nuggets weren't going far with Melo. However, the Nuggets can make some noise with the players received from the Knicks just as the Knicks could make some playoff noise with Melo.

[Cman]

The nuggets are actually a pretty exciting team to watch and they have a nice core of players to build around. I think this trade was one of the better overall deals in the past few years with both teams benefitting greatly. The Knicks weren't going far with the players they traded, and the Nuggets weren't going far with Melo. However, the Nuggets can make some noise with the players received from the Knicks just as the Knicks could make some playoff noise with Melo.

yes, good point about the trade being "win-win".  Melo was leaving Denver in the offseason, so Denver was happy to get anything at all for him (and as it turns out, looks like they made out well).  The Knicks haven't been playing well post-Melo trade, but on the other hand it does make them a potentially dangerous team in the short run, and also potentially attractive place for good FAs, which helps them in the long run.

In any case, I'm looking forward to a Cs win tonight!