S82 Town Hall 8

[Mike Lowry]

Which teams will be the 4, 5, and 6 seeds in each conference?
Why?

Rules: 1 point if you give thoughtful answers, which I will award after the timer ends for responses. The timer ends for responses at the moment the corresponding week's Sim is run.

Note: Use approximately 5 sentences as your bare minimum for 1 point. If you write 3 long, complex sentences, you'll still get a point. If you write 5, 3 word sentences, you will not get a point. Don't @ me.

Due: Due by the deadline for sim 8

[BigDaddyd8720]

Eastern Conference: Current Standings- Pacers (4), Knicks (5), Celtics (6)

I see it staying as it is now with the Pacers at 4, Knicks at 5 (unless they sell), Celtics at 6. If the 76ers decided to do anything, they could make a push to try and jump the Celtics. But that doesn't seem likely. Seems like all these teams are going to just kinda hover around each other the rest of the regular season without anybody really taking a commanding lead on the 4 seed.

Western Conference: Current Standings- Jazz (4), Suns (5), Lakers (6)
These 3 also likely stay in the 4-6 range unless the Supersonics can figure out some offense. If they make a last minute deal or finally figure out their DC, they could jump one of these teams. Without that though, it's likely these three teams will stay where they are. Although I could see the Suns and/or Lakers making a leap over the Jazz. Jazz have a tough stretch this next sim so they could fall behind. But ultimately, these teams should be thanking the clippers and Supersonics for not being good because the way they all play defense will not be a recipe for success.

[IamQuailman]

Which teams will be the 4, 5, and 6 seeds in each conference?
Why?

4. Pacers - Pacers are the gold standard of consistency in a league of teams that are quick to pull the trigger on a contending team or rebuild. Adrian Dantley & Joe Barry Carroll are unsung heroes of the league and deserve more credit for their contributions on the court and off the court in the Indiana community.

5. Celtics - Celtics have finally started to click after deciding to go all in on sabotaging their draft pick's positioning for the Trailblazers after trade talks went south. The dividends could yield nicely too. If my predictions hold true, they are poised to match up with the Pacers (who they have beat in 2 out of their 3 match-ups this season... including twice in the last month). Could that success carry over to the playoffs and catapult them into a round 2 series?

6. Knicks - If we had someone who paid a little more attention to their team running the 76ers, this may have been a tougher decision. This is the biggest surprise for me that the Knicks are this low on the totem pole in the East. They made some great moves mid-season that I was for sure thinking that it would put them in a position to be competing for the division or a higher seed at least. But something just hasn't clicked yet. In the last month they are 6-10, with only 2 of those wins coming against teams with a current playoff seeding. It's natural to expect a co-existence learning curve between Darrell Griffith and Alex English, but once they figure it out, will it even matter?

EDIT: I thought this said EAST conference in the first post lol so i went into super detail for the East. So I'm gonna skimp the West.

4. Suns - Is Dr. Kavarga going finally give his team the attention it deserves?
5. Jazz - Jazz will hold tight with the Suns and this will come down to one of those weird tied record/simputer decides some random tie breaker we cant comprehend putting the Jazz at 5.
6. Lakers - They are healthy and just need to keep afloat. Question is whether or not they can keep the Sonics off their heels.

[greepleairport]

East
4. Pacers
5. Knicks
6. 76ers

Pending some trade deadline moves, I don't see anything shaking up above. Maybe the Pacers and Knicks swap, but with the Pacers having played more out of conference games than the Knicks, I think they have more upside to hold the 4 spot. I don't think they will be able to catch the Bucks at #3 either unless they make a big trade. I think the Celtics fall out of the playoffs without Bernard King on their roster, and the 76ers only need to hold tight and do nothing to stay their course into the 6 spot.


West
4. Lakers
5. Jazz
6. Suns

Outside of the top 3 in the west, these are the clear next best teams. While I think the Sonics have a chance to make one more move to make things interesting and change the above, I'm not sure it will be enough to catch up with Magic and the Suns. I think they fall to 6 because they're not doing anything to improve. (Prove me wrong!) The Jazz have been consistently good, but will likely finish the season on their current trajectory. The Lakers, on the other hand, are the only team with clear upside. Having dealt with Donaldson's injury, their W-L record has improved dramatically, and their point diff is growing, too. It's already the highest of the 3 teams, and I think it will continue to grow. Just stay healthy, LA!

[IamQuailman]

East
4. Pacers
5. Knicks
6. 76ers

Pending some trade deadline moves, I don't see anything shaking up above. Maybe the Pacers and Knicks swap, but with the Pacers having played more out of conference games than the Knicks, I think they have more upside to hold the 4 spot. I don't think they will be able to catch the Bucks at #3 either unless they make a big trade. I think the Celtics fall out of the playoffs without Bernard King on their roster, and the 76ers only need to hold tight and do nothing to stay their course into the 6 spot.

To be fair, he hasn't been on their roster all season lol

[greepleairport]

East
4. Pacers
5. Knicks
6. 76ers

Pending some trade deadline moves, I don't see anything shaking up above. Maybe the Pacers and Knicks swap, but with the Pacers having played more out of conference games than the Knicks, I think they have more upside to hold the 4 spot. I don't think they will be able to catch the Bucks at #3 either unless they make a big trade. I think the Celtics fall out of the playoffs without Bernard King on their roster, and the 76ers only need to hold tight and do nothing to stay their course into the 6 spot.

To be fair, he hasn't been on their roster all season lol

i saw elvin hayes and bernard king and they USED to be celtics, right? i dont fact check, buck off, m8

[Mike Lowry]

East
4. Knicks
5. Celtics
6. Pacers
This got really interesting because I like the marginal moves at the deadline, and I know Pauly knows how to squeeze wins and production out of moves like that, but I Loved the Gervin move that lifted the Celtics, and I equally appreciate the King move that rebalanced the Knicks. I think they already had the most talent of these teams, but adding that pure scorer helped them out where they needed it.

West
4. Lakers
5. Jazz
6. Suns

This is fairly straightforward for me. It's good to see Seattle grab Reid at the deadline and push further in, but I would say they made an ill timed investment on Kareem. This team can probably use this version of him in about 5 seasons, but he is declining, and the young studs aren't ready. That hole is too deep for them to climb out of. I also see the Lakers surging into the playoffs with a ton of momentum and I won't be surprised if they can knock off the Kings in the first round. The Jazz will maintain an edge over the Suns solely based on the hands on the wheel. Magic is doing all that he can to lift, but the inactivity is costing them.

[WigNosy]

Which teams will be the 4, 5, and 6 seeds in each conference?
Why?

EAST:
The Pacers will be the #4 seed; they have two bona fide stars in Dantley and Joe Barry Carroll and those two have carried them to the playoffs easily in both of the past two seasons. The Knicks will be the #5 seed as they have both a scoring stud in Alex English and some raw big man talent with Greenwood and the Cooper/Johnson combo. The 76ers will be the #6 seed on the strength of having bigs that most of the rest of the conference simply can't deal with between Thompson and Nance with solid guard support. The Celtics might slip in, but I think they fall to #7 despite having both Gervin and Dr. J simply because they are a team that has no bigs to speak of and this league has so far been a big man's league.

WEST:
The Suns will take the #4 seed for one very easy reason: Magic will win MVP. Again. The #5 seed I think winds up with the Lakers; they are healthy and have a home-heavy schedule the rest of the way (17 home games and just 12 road games). The #6 seed will go to the Jazz; they are falling back to the pack following a hot start but a 4-game lead on the Sonics this late in the season is going to be tough to catch since they've gone 8-2 in their last 10 games. There just isn't enough time left for the Sonics to catch them unless they get an injury or something else that changes their trajectory drastically. That said, Seattle could pull off a last minute trade to catapult themselves into the playoffs, but I just don't see it happening for them this season.

[NY_Magic_Garrett]

East
4. Knicks
5. Pacers
6. Celtics
I think I have settled in to a game plan that can make a real push that last 3-4 sims and give myself a chance at a cinderella run. I also will never disrespect Pauly and the Pacers. They are always a hard to team to beat and I don't think their record totally reflects them as a team, especially after today's trade. Charlie and the Celtics have also made moves that I think could easily get them to the 5 spot. This will be a fun race to the end while the top 3 spots are pretty in hand.

West
4. Jazz
5. Suns
6. Lakers

Would love to see the Supersonics prove me wrong, but I just feel like the hole is too big to dig out of and Reid simply wont move the needle enough to make up the ground. Kiki is one of the best scorers in the league and is so hard to stop, I will take the safe play in him scoring the Jazz into the 4 spot. I do think the Suns and Magic could make a late run for that 4 spot as well and give some teams in the west some trouble in the playoffs. The Lakers are a conundrum to me. I haven't really dug in but it seems like they have the pieces to be better than they are, but this group never seems to be able to put it all together. That being said, there is too much talent to not project them into that 6 spot.

[Mike Lowry]

@BigDaddyd8720
@IamQuailman
@greepleairport
@Mike Lowry
@WigNosy
@NY_Magic_Garrett

+1 Point