NBA Season 2021-22

[celticsclay]

10 teams in the East are currently over .500. Obviously we are one of the very few teams below this mark and the bucks are only .500. There are only 4 or 5 above .500 teams in the west depending if mavs win. Very bad news for Celtics how deep the East is.

[celticsclay]

Do the Cavs know they're tanking?

They are not any more. They got Sexton, garland, Mobley, Allen, okoro, markenen. They are gonna sink or swim with those guys. I am impressed and think I was wrong on them preseason. I thought they had a similar hope as the magic as a franchise for the foreseeable future, but young guys seem to be really developing.

[Briantir]

The East is good this year dam.

[celticsclay]

The East is good this year dam.

Wonder if anyone saw this coming  . Charlotte currently giving warriors all they can handle.

[pokeKingCurtis]

The East is good this year dam.

Wonder if anyone saw this coming  . Charlotte currently giving warriors all they can handle.

Wasnt it the same thing last year? Multiple East teams started hot. Then the Pacers got injured, and then various things happened. Heat and Bucks came out on top after all that.

I like me some parity though, hope this keeps up.

[Moranis]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami v. Utah
Philly v. Golden St.
Chicago v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York v. LA Clippers - close
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta v. Portland - close
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of the really good to great teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

[pokeKingCurtis]

Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston

That just sums it up. Top teams are adapting to a few changes (refereeing changes, COVID, and Kyrie being a weirdo, Olympic hangover).

And Celts need to play better.

[Celtics2021]

Regarding the East vs. West battle.  Assuming Golden State holds on, the East will be up 17-9 vs. the West on the year.  Two weeks in, it’s probably too early to jump to many conclusions, but the East has played better than the West so far.

[celticsclay]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

[celticsclay]

Regarding the East vs. West battle.  Assuming Golden State holds on, the East will be up 17-9 vs. the West on the year.  Two weeks in, it’s probably too early to jump to many conclusions, but the East has played better than the West so far.

Yeah this is actually relevant data… unlike some obscure cross conference hypothetical play in tournament with arbitrary matchups. Also while it is early 26 games is actually a significant portion of the East versus west matchups for the year. It would seem
Unlikely the west will finish above .500 against the East this year and that is really the only objective standard we can use. (Again lol at the arbitrary cross conference matchups with subjective picks).

[Moranis]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

you do know Atlanta also lost to Cleveland, right?  Even still I had Atlanta winning the series though Lillard is clearly the best player in that series.

As for the Clippers, I expect Kawhi to play at some point this year, making them a vastly different team. Without Kawhi, it is a different series though George would be the best player in it.

[nickagneta]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

you do know Atlanta also lost to Cleveland, right?  Even still I had Atlanta winning the series though Lillard is clearly the best player in that series.

As for the Clippers, I expect Kawhi to play at some point this year, making them a vastly different team. Without Kawhi, it is a different series though George would be the best player in it.

What exactly does this extremely arbitrary exercise prove exactly?

Wouldn't overall record of all the East teams vs all the West teams or perhaps East teams vs West teams be more pertinent to the discussion as to which conference is better?

[Moranis]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

you do know Atlanta also lost to Cleveland, right?  Even still I had Atlanta winning the series though Lillard is clearly the best player in that series.

As for the Clippers, I expect Kawhi to play at some point this year, making them a vastly different team. Without Kawhi, it is a different series though George would be the best player in it.

What exactly does this extremely arbitrary exercise prove exactly?

Wouldn't overall record of all the East teams vs all the West teams or perhaps East teams vs West teams be more pertinent to the discussion as to which conference is better?

at the end of the year sure, 8 games in not so much.  Sample size matters. Isn't that what you always say when I bring up Boston's record without Brown.  And at least then we have half a season of sample size. 

[nickagneta]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

you do know Atlanta also lost to Cleveland, right?  Even still I had Atlanta winning the series though Lillard is clearly the best player in that series.

As for the Clippers, I expect Kawhi to play at some point this year, making them a vastly different team. Without Kawhi, it is a different series though George would be the best player in it.

What exactly does this extremely arbitrary exercise prove exactly?

Wouldn't overall record of all the East teams vs all the West teams or perhaps East teams vs West teams be more pertinent to the discussion as to which conference is better?

at the end of the year sure, 8 games in not so much.  Sample size matters. Isn't that what you always say when I bring up Boston's record without Brown.  And at least then we have half a season of sample size.

Yup, sample size matters and this does need to happen at year's end, or close to the end of the season.

Truly, I don't have a dog in this race. I just thought the whole "who wins in 7 game series exercise" is irrelevant, arbitrary and subjective and proves nothing and that total record of conference and head to head records of teams in different conferences is the way to prove which conference is better.

As you point out though, it's too early for that, but as of right now, those records point to the East being better. But who knows what those records will be at the quarter, half and three quarter points of the season. The numbers could be quite different. We shall see.

[celticsclay]

Ah yes, the good old grand projections 8 games into the season.

That said, in a 7 game playoff series, who you taking (I bolded who I would take)

Miami wins  v. Utah
Philly wins v. Golden St.
Chicago wins v. Dallas
Toronto v. LA Lakers
Charlotte v. Memphis - close
Brooklyn v. Denver
Washington v. Phoenix
New York wins v. LA Clippers - (have you watched clippers?)
Cleveland v. Sacramento - close
Milwaukee v. Minnesota
Atlanta wins v. Portland - have you watched portland? They literally lost to cavs tonight
Boston v. San Antonio
Indiana v. Houston
Orlando v. OKC - close
Detroit v. New Orleans

That is the standings as they showed up on ESPN so obviously has no reflection of where I think teams will actually end up (i.e. Milwaukee and Brooklyn will be much higher, as will Boston), but it also shows that the East still has a ways to go to catch up to the West, especially in the solid playoff team range i.e. 1-6 in the conference.  It makes no difference if the worst team in the East is a bit better than the worst team in the West as they are both going to be awful teams.  Same with the 2nd and 3rd worst teams.  If you ranked the top 10 teams in the sport, 7 are in the West, and that matches things like gambling lines that while subjective are less prone to actual bias. 

I get people want to run out this narrative that the East is so deep and better than the West, I just don't see it.  More of the best players in the sport are in the West and more of th reallygoodtogreat teams are in the West.  That is what really and truly matters.

What a strange post. This may be the worst post I have seen this year and it’s pretty late in the year. Also adjusted your absurdity above. You somehow had 5 of them wrong, and frankly some of them weren’t even close.

you do know Atlanta also lost to Cleveland, right?  Even still I had Atlanta winning the series though Lillard is clearly the best player in that series.

As for the Clippers, I expect Kawhi to play at some point this year, making them a vastly different team. Without Kawhi, it is a different series though George would be the best player in it.

What exactly does this extremely arbitrary exercise prove exactly?

Wouldn't overall record of all the East teams vs all the West teams or perhaps East teams vs West teams be more pertinent to the discussion as to which conference is better?

at the end of the year sure, 8 games in not so much.  Sample size matters. Isn't that what you always say when I bring up Boston's record without Brown.  And at least then we have half a season of sample size.

Yup, sample size matters and this does need to happen at year's end, or close to the end of the season.

Truly, I don't have a dog in this race. I just thought the whole "who wins in 7 game series exercise" is irrelevant, arbitrary and subjective and proves nothing and that total record of conference and head to head records of teams in different conferences is the way to prove which conference is better.

As you point out though, it's too early for that, but as of right now, those records point to the East being better. But who knows what those records will be at the quarter, half and three quarter points of the season. The numbers could be quite different. We shall see.

Yes Nick this was my main point and how a reasonable person would respond. “East certainly is off to a better start, but it is early and I think it could change because of x”. Not the arbitrary subjective comparison that I have never seen anyone try to make in my 30 years of following sports. I personally don’t think this is going to change by the end of the year.l (barring injuries). For the East I think derozen is a very nice fit, better than I thought for the bulls. Kemba and Fournier seem to have bumped the Knicks into at least matching their overachieving of last year (plus they have Robinson now). The hornets have a competitive team with rozier, hayward and ball. There also isn’t really a single team that is really underachieving. On the flip side in the west the bottom teams appear to be really awful and there quite a few of them. Pelicans, Spurs, rockets, OKC are all absolute train wrecks and Zion looks to be very very overweight. The clippers and mavs and Nuggets have all looked worse that I would have thought and I’m not sure if murray or porzingas or leonard are going to save them from mediocrity/play at all this year at full strength. I guess memphis would be the one time that has surprised me. This could all look very dumb in two months, but I will happily admit I am wrong if that was the case (not create some weird cross playoff tournament where I matchup the blazers and hawks).