How do you see the WC shaking out

[Fafnir]

ESPN's daily dime got me thinking about the WC playoff picture.

We're about a sixth of the way through the season.

The current standings are:
1. Phoenix
2. Dallas
3. LA Lakers
4. Portland
5. Denver
6. Houston
7. Utah
8. OKC
9. San Antonio
10. New Orleans
11. LA Clippers
12. Sacramento
13. Memphis
14. Golden State
15. Minnesota

How do you think the standings end up? I think OKC or Houston is likely to fall out to let San Antonio climb back in. But I have no idea about seeding.

[Kwhit10]

1. Lakers
2. Spurs
3. Jazz
4. Mavs
5. Hornets
6. Denver
7. Blazers
8. Suns

That is what I had posted in the predictions thread...

If I had to re do it now I'd say

1.LA
2.Denver
3.Dallas
4.Phoenix
5.Portland
6.San Antonio
7.Utah
8.Houston

[RebusRankin]

Portland will be an interesting team to watch as will Denver.

[PosImpos]

- Lakers
- Nuggets
- Suns
- Blazers
- Mavericks
- Spurs
- Hornets
- Rockets


The last two require explanation: 
I think Chris Paul comes back and gets his team to play even better than they have in his absence.  He'll will his team to a 7th or 8th seed.  The Rockets will continue scrappy play and will eventually be bolstered by the return of McGrady, who will have something to prove coming off a major injury and in a contract year.  He won't be great, but it'll be enough to get them to the playoffs.

About the Spurs...they'll have some great stretches but they won't be able to stay healthy enough to wrap up anything higher than the 6th (maybe 5th) seed.  Whether they can get it done in the playoffs will depend on their health.

I think Utah won't be able to maintain good play to get into the playoffs.  Boozer might even be traded.

[Who]

Ah, I don't care too much about the seedings. It's the West. There's a bunch of teams who are close to one another talent wise so the difference in W-L will only be a small one. That means that seedings could come out in a bunch of different ways and will likely be decided by injuries.

The Lakers will win the West. If they're healthy and playing well there's only two teams that have half a chance of beating them and that's San An and Portland.

Seedings by Talent (Not W-L)

(1) Lakers
(2) Spurs
(3) Blazers -- Portland may match up better with San An + LA though. Need to see those head-to-head games. They may be the second best team in the Conference. Undetermined for now.
(4+5) Mavs + Nuggets
(6) Jazz
(7) Suns
[8] Hornets

The Hornets look the most vulnerable but the only way they miss the playoffs is if they continue to self-destruct or Chris Paul gets hit by another injury or three. If that does happen, then the Oklahoma Thunder and Houston Rockets are neck and neck with one another for that final seed.

[scoop]

I have no idea, but the Spurs and the Blazers are the only teams with a chance of knocking out the Lakers in the play-offs.

[j804]

Ah, I don't care too much about the seedings. It's the West. There's a bunch of teams who are close to one another talent wise so the difference in W-L will only be a small one. That means that seedings could come out in a bunch of different ways and will likely be decided by injuries.

The Lakers will win the West. If they're healthy and playing well there's only two teams that have half a chance of beating them and that's San An and Portland.

Seedings by Talent (Not W-L)

(1) Lakers
(2) Spurs
(3) Blazers -- Portland may match up better with San An + LA though. Need to see those head-to-head games. They may be the second best team in the Conference. Undetermined for now.
(4+5) Mavs + Nuggets
(6) Jazz
(7) Suns
[8] Hornets

The Hornets look the most vulnerable but the only way they miss the playoffs is if they continue to self-destruct or Chris Paul gets hit by another injury or three. If that does happen, then the Oklahoma Thunder and Houston Rockets are neck and neck with one another for that final seed.

I think Dallas or Denver got a shot as well!

[PosImpos]

I have no idea, but the Spurs and the Blazers are the only teams with a chance of knocking out the Lakers in the play-offs.

If the Nuggets continue to play at their current level, I think they have a chance of beating the Lakers in the playoffs.

[Greenbean]

1. Denver
2. Spurs
3. Mavs
4. Blazers
5. Suns
6. Jazz
7. Rockets
8. Thunder

That's it. I dont think I forgot anybody

[Brickowski]

Lakers all the way.  No other team has any real chance. I don't care what the talking heads say.

[Who]

Ah, I don't care too much about the seedings. It's the West. There's a bunch of teams who are close to one another talent wise so the difference in W-L will only be a small one. That means that seedings could come out in a bunch of different ways and will likely be decided by injuries.

The Lakers will win the West. If they're healthy and playing well there's only two teams that have half a chance of beating them and that's San An and Portland.

Seedings by Talent (Not W-L)

(1) Lakers
(2) Spurs
(3) Blazers -- Portland may match up better with San An + LA though. Need to see those head-to-head games. They may be the second best team in the Conference. Undetermined for now.
(4+5) Mavs + Nuggets
(6) Jazz
(7) Suns
[8] Hornets

The Hornets look the most vulnerable but the only way they miss the playoffs is if they continue to self-destruct or Chris Paul gets hit by another injury or three. If that does happen, then the Oklahoma Thunder and Houston Rockets are neck and neck with one another for that final seed.

I think Dallas or Denver got a shot as well!

The Nuggets made it to the Conference Finals last year but there was no point during that season/playoffs where I felt they had a legitimate chance of beating a good LA performance.

Could they clean up the leftovers if LA bottled it? Sure. Could they beat them when LA is playing well? Not a chance.

For the Nuggets to change that scenario I think JR Smith needs to become an All-Star caliber talent. He has shown glimpses of that potential but not consistency. Not altogether impossible, but definitely improbable. Until that happens, I don't think the Nuggets are a contender. They're like the Hawks in the East.

The Mavericks ... okay, maybe ... I want to wait and see how they play with a healthy Josh Howard in the lineup before putting them up amongst the best in the West. But if that goes well then they could be there. If that doesn't happen, if he continues to be injured or plays poorly after returning, then I don't think the Mavs have enough in them to beat the top teams in the West and make it to the Finals.

[Greenbean]

Lakers all the way.  No other team has any real chance. I don't care what the talking heads say.

IF they make the playoffs, LA will have their hands full with a hungry young Blazers team, a peaking Carmelo who will have a full year with Chauncey, and a "rounding into shape for one last run" Spurs team. It will not be a cake walk through the West for the Lakers, I will promise you that.

[Amonkey]

For a second there, I thought you were talking about the World Cup.

[BballTim]

For a second there, I thought you were talking about the World Cup.

 Funny, so did I.

[Celtics17]

Got to agree with Brickowski on this one. LA is looking too tough for anyone out west. If everybody is healthy and barring any major changes, I just cant see the Lackers not coming out of the west. I just hope KG is very near %100 and the rest of the C's are all healthy so we can put them back where they belong.