Pick Watch 2018

[pokerface]

I can't imagine the Suns going 3-1 in the final 4 games. That means Memphis is pretty much the only team that needs to be monitored on the top pick front.

Of course, the Bucks-Heat-Wizards thing could go several directions.

Yeah right...it's all about Memphis now. I'm not going to worry or even think about the other teams until we win one.

 

[Errntknght]

There were 3 words in that post that are frequently misspelled. Eric was teasing DevonCardsFan because he got 1 of them correct (the other 2 words were in the phrase "to short sited").

Thanks, I didn't catch that.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

Not that there are many games left in the season but NBA.com says the Suns have the hardest schedule remaining, which is surprising since we have games against Sacramento and Dallas. It's from an article posted today also so it doesn't include yesterday's matchup with the Warriors. Here is who they have for toughest and easiest remaining schedules...

• Toughest schedules so far: 1. Phoenix, 2. Dallas, 3. Chicago
• Easiest schedules so far: 1. Cleveland, 2. Toronto, 3. Houston

That is based on strength of schedule. Here's a link to that article.
http://www.nba.com/powerrankings/2017-18-week-25


We got a 2 game lead on Memphis, 3 games on Atlanta and Orlando with only 4 games remaining. A win for the Hawks or Magic should put them out of reach. Orlando has the easiest schedule of all of the teams vying for the worst record. Here is who they'll play, in the order they'll meet them. I put the potential playoff teams in bold.

Orlando plays New York, Dallas, Charlotte, Toronto, and Milwaukee.
Atlanta plays Miami twice, Washington, Boston, and Philadelphia.
Memphis plays New Orleans, Sacramento, Detroit, Minnesota, and Oklahoma City.

Isn’t that referring to our schedule up to this point and not our remaining schedule?

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Tank Watch 4/3:

Suns vs. Kings (Losing this one is still a good thing)

Bucks vs. Celtics (Bucks winning is disastrous)

Wizards vs. Rockets (An upset would be huge for us)

Heat vs. Hawks (I know it feels weird, but we're rooting for the Heat in this one)

 

[ColdPickleNachos]

Wizards, Heat and Bucks have the same record with four games to go. Unfortunately, the Bucks probably have the easiest remaining schedule. So what happens if teams tie?

Tankathon says the tiebreaker is a random draw. This is supported by this article from last year. Looks like the tiebreaker draw happens right after the season ends and well before the draft lottery.

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/04/18/ties-broken-2017-nba-draft

 

[Mainstreet]

Wizards, Heat and Bucks have the same record with four games to go. Unfortunately, the Bucks probably have the easiest remaining schedule. So what happens if teams tie?

Tankathon says the tiebreaker is a random draw. This is supported by this article from last year. Looks like the tiebreaker draw happens right after the season ends and well before the draft lottery.

http://www.nba.com/article/2017/04/18/ties-broken-2017-nba-draft

Hope I'm wrong but I am not optimistic about getting the Bucks pick any longer.

However, it can still be traded.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

We now have zero wiggle room. No more wins.

 

[Sun Devil Mania]

We now have zero wiggle room. No more wins.

If the Suns win (more ping pong balls) the tiebreaker with Memphis if they are tied at the end of the season?

 

[TJ]

First try. This is gonna happen

You must be registered for see images attach

 

[Phrazbit]

Don't the Suns win (more ping pong balls) the tiebreaker with Memphis if they are tied at the end of the season?

If we tie we split the lotto balls between 1st and 2nd evenly.

 

[CardsSunsDbacks]

If we tie we split the lotto balls between 1st and 2nd evenly.

And a coin flip to determine who gets the one extra ball.

 

[pokerface]

At least the Grizzlies have to play the Kings too.

Yeah I know we need to play Dallas. But it's Dirk's last game! ...and it's @Dallas.

 

[pokerface]

We now have zero wiggle room. No more wins.

I keep staring at your response and it's burning into my brainnnn.

Ahh...this season needs to end. My reality is slippen...

 

[Chaplin]

First try. This is gonna happen

You must be registered for see images attach

Rigged so that Atlanta gets the first pick? Shyeah, right.

 

[Hoop Head]

I can see claiming the lottery is rigged if Cleveland gets the #1 pick. Maybe if New York or Chicago get it as well but not Atlanta. Cleveland is the only small market team the NBA would rig a pick for because it would help them retain Lebron. If Lebron bolts from the Cavs again they will go back to being bottom feeders for the next decade because their salary situation is a disaster. I could see a lot of Cavs fans giving up on the NBA completely as a result also. Why bother watching when your hometown hero has burned your club down twice? Lebron staying in Cleveland is best for own his brand and for the league because if he goes somewhere else that team will become the new villains of the league.

 

[elindholm]

And a coin flip to determine who gets the one extra ball.

Which they should specifically track, so that Suns fans can be particularly anguished when they lose the flip and it's that one ball that is selected.

For those interested, the #1 lottery seed gets 250 out of 1000 possible combinations (virtual balls, if you like) and the #2 seed gets 199. If the two worst teams are tied, one will get 225 and one will get 224.

 

[elindholm]

And the lottery isn't rigged. That's right up there with Obama birtherism and the moon landings being faked.

 

[JCSunsfan]

And the lottery isn't rigged. That's right up there with Obama birtherism and the moon landings being faked.

The only way Suns fans will be convinced it is not rigged is if the Suns end up with the top pick--and then it will only be that year.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The only way Suns fans will be convinced it is not rigged is if the Suns end up with the top pick--and then it will only be that year.

A lot of fans will never be convinced but that still doesn't mean it's rigged. There isn't a shred of real evidence but that doesn't seem to matter to some. I give no more credibility to the Obama Birthers, the Flat-Earthers and the Holocaust and Moon Landing deniers.

No one can reasonably explain to me why a group of rich men would allow Stern and company to dictate which owner would get richer. These guys are all about the money. And no one can explain why the accounting firm would risk everything to allow this fraudulent activity.

 

[JCSunsfan]

A lot of fans will never be convinced but that still doesn't mean it's rigged. There isn't a shred of real evidence but that doesn't seem to matter to some. I give no more credibility to the Obama Birthers, the Flat-Earthers and the Holocaust and Moon Landing deniers.

No one can reasonably explain to me why a group of rich men would allow Stern and company to dictate which owner would get richer. These guys are all about the money. And no one can explain why the accounting firm would risk everything to allow this fraudulent activity.

Its because Silver has a secret dossier on each of them. They probably almost all colluded with the Russians and the Chinese and the rest were abducted by aliens and replaced with dopplegangers.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Its because Silver has a secret dossier on each of them. They probably almost all colluded with the Russians and the Chinese and the rest were abducted by aliens and replaced with dopplegangers.

Finally an answer we can all buy into!

 

[DevonCardsFan]

And the lottery isn't rigged. That's right up there with Obama birtherism and the moon landings being faked.

Read Tim Donaghy' book the Entire NBA is rigged!

 

[Hoop Head]

If the lottery were actually rigged you can bet that Mark Cuban wouldn't be able to keep his mouth shut about it. I question the NBA's agenda in the playoffs, not necessarily fixing games but doing what they can in order to extend series, but even with that I don't know how much is being a bitter Suns fans who hasn't been able to experience his team winning a championship or being bad enough to get a #1 pick versus legitimately believing that it's fixed, I'll admit it's probably the former rather than the latter.

I know a lot of people question the 85 draft lottery with the "frozen envelope" for the Knicks so they could draft Patrick Ewing but I wasn't old enough to experience that live. Looking back over NBA history though it would have been incredibly stupid for them to rig that for the Knicks though. At that time they started becoming immensely popular on their own with Bird's Celtics vs Magic's Lakers rivalry at it's peak and a whole new crop of stars entering the league the year before in Jordan, Barkley, and Hakeem. They would have been risking everything to get New York a rookie, who was a good college player but in no way was he dominant enough to guarantee that New York would become contenders with him on their team. The league was doing great even without a contending team in New York, they didn't need one there to be successful. Had they been busted rigging that lottery their growth would have stopped quickly because their credibility would be shot. We wouldn't have gotten the Dream Team in 92 and Jordan probably doesn't become the most famous athlete in the world in the late 80's and early 90's. That would have been a huge risk on their part. They could have done something else if they really wanted to turn New York into a contender in 85, something that wouldn't jeopardize their credibility if found out.

I don't think they rig it now, I know I've been guilty of saying some things like that but like I said at the beginning of this post, that's part of being a jilted Suns fan that hasn't been able to see his team get lucky enough to win a title or lucky enough to get the #1 overall pick. The Suns are the perennial 2nd place team with absolutely no luck on their side and sometimes that sucks. It's easier to blame David Stern and the NBA than it is to go over every individual action that has cost them championships or #1 picks.

 

[elindholm]

Read Tim Donaghy' book the Entire NBA is rigged!

I have no doubt that officiating is biased, but it's probably unintentional in most cases. Either way, that's totally different from rigging ping-pong balls with a bunch of high-end accountants signing off on the outcome.

 

[Mainstreet]

Perhaps the question should be, can the lottery be rigged?

If not, fans should be able to view the process.

I think the NBA contributes to these rumors by not allowing the process to be viewed by the public.