One of the great things about the internet is that it gives anyone a platform to air their views. Speculating about that sixth seed is a heck of a lot of fun.
We're just not going to get it. Time is working against us. Milwaukee has 14 games left, among which they play Brooklyn twice, Orlando, the Knicks and Philadelphia. They've been playing terribly, but not that terribly that they will lose more than eight or nine of their last 14. Regression to the mean is their friend. Miami also has 15 left. Put Denver, 2xDetroit, Orlando, Philly and Milwaukee (since we didn't count on Milwaukee beating Miami above) in, as well. Of the two, Milwaukee will be tougher to pass, so let's use them as our base.
Assuming that Milwaukee only wins the games above and goes 5-9 for the rest of the season, they'll finish 39-43. We would have to go 9-6 for the rest of the season to tie. Two of those wins would have to be our games against Milwaukee, since we would then be 2-1 on the season against them, having lost our first head-to-head. Our schedule between now and then is evil. Sure, we have Brooklyn, Miami and the Knicks coming up, but after that, we've got the Clippers, Toronto (twice) and Cleveland (twice). And that's not counting tonight's game against San Antonio. Maybe Cleveland will be in a position to rest some starters in one of the games, but nobody else will be.
Right now, I'm rooting for an 8-seed. But it's a heck of a lot of fun to speculate, isn't it?
Mike
