?@WindhorstESPN The Heat now have the lead, the run is 40-12 over 10:30.

@nicolas88batum Watching Miami vs Cleveland... Lebron is really somebody else.

The Western Conference is so ####### awesome man. It's really ###### up that at least 1 of SAS, OKC, MEM, DEN, LAC will be going home after the 1st round.

The Western Conference is so ####### awesome man. It's really ###### up that at least 1 of SAS, OKC, MEM, DEN, LAC will be going home after the 1st round.

Jazz should just pull a Warriors and tank the rest of the season.

I would say the odds are better than 50/50 that two of them will.

Would it even be worth it though? With 34 wins, they'll have one of the best records of the lottery teams

Really? I think GSW/HOU/LAL are clearly on a lower level than any of the top 5.

for the odds to be above 50% that all 3 top seeds win in the 1st round, they need to be pretty enormous favorites.

I'd argue that they should be considered exactly that.

Those are the same thing. (P(1-seed wins) * P(2-seed wins) * P(3-seed wins) is all you need.

I don't know that any team can be considered an "enormous" favorite over Denver or Memphis, not even SA or OKC. Favorites, of course, but it's closer to 60-40 than 80-20.

I think most would agree that if Hou / GSW were in the east, they're probably a #2 or #3 seed team. (hell both might still finish with better record than the eastern #2 seed.)

Would it even be worth it though? With 34 wins, they'll have one of the best records of the lottery teams, even if they lose out the rest of the season. The chances of a worthwhile pick for their efforts aren't very good.

Golden State is weird since they have had a huge peak and valley type of season. Though I'm intrigued by Bogut now finally playing with a semblance of health this month , though the stats haven't bare it out yet, and the GSW's recent small surge may be more due to weak schedule then not. But Curry's basically a top 5 PG this season, when he's on he'll set the world on fire and if they get a semblance of D presence with Bogut they certainly should be as good as any second teir team.

I think most would agree that if Hou / GSW were in the east, they're probably a #2 or #3 seed team. (hell both might still finish with better record than the eastern #2 seed.)

Lakers, yes. Rockets and Warriors, no.

Well "tanking" for Corbin would lead to more wins since it'd presumably lead to more minutes for the young players.

I'd argue that they should be considered exactly that.

Well, how enormous?

No offense to our resident Rockets fan, but no. They might (might) be a 4.

“Variety is hard because we’re random and you can’t really structure randomness,” said Lin after the game. “But you can impose certain guidelines or themes that you want to do in your randomness. The coaches are doing a great job of teaching us to vary it up and to change looks so that we don’t hit them five times in a row with the same one because that’s when (opponents) adjust and figure it out.”

Leave it to the Harvard grad to flip a basketball question on its head by providing a response that leads one perilously close to the rabbit hole of chaos theory. But the big picture truth within Lin’s answer is clear enough: the Rockets came one step closer to reaching their playoff goal Wednesday night while taking a potentially more significant step toward becoming the team they’ll need to be if they want to wreak a little havoc once they get there.

It doesn't even take that level of record parsing, just look at the performance as a whole and look at the rosters. The Rockets clearly would be in the race for the 3 seed in the East IMO.

It doesn't even take that level of record parsing

Obviously that has not happened, with this team becoming the poster boys for how bad chemistry and poor coaching can mitigate great talent.

royce white left rgv, reportedly on the advice of a team physician. his PER w/ the vipers: 10.8

But at the end of the day, if he or any NBA player really, doesn't want to play, no one can really make them.

I don't know that want to play is the real problem. Clearly he has issues though.

also, the denver nuggets (who are 30-3 at home) are down 5 to the sixers (who are 6-23 on the road) with about 14 seconds left in the 4th quarter despite the sixers being terrible and denver having a 14 game win-streak and philly being on the second half of one of those dreaded B2Bs that end in denver.

he's an interesting guy to follow, sure, but he's too short to be a 4, too slow to be a 3, he doesn't rebound all that well, he's a terrible shooter, a mediocre defender and he turns the ball over a ton. there's noone who looks like him or plays like him, but i don't think that's a particularly positive thing in white's case.

Having watched Philly sports for a period of my life, I've known to expect them to always fail

My Minnesota fandom snears. Without the twins and their brief moments in the sun in 87 and 91 MN would only have its four super bowl losses to define it*. At least I am also a fan of San Fransico teams (grew up there) to consol me.

Agree, Cleveland has it worst.

Plus, Cleveland is a Rust-Belt city that some people make fun of anyway.

two greatest basketball players ever both specifically F'd Cleveland in different ways