misterearl wrote:Why Watch?

dk7th (and bonn1997) - by obsessing over the odds, you both overlook the prime reason most people watch sports in the first place. We watch because it is immediate, and unscripted. We watch because of the stories that capture our imagination - not because sports create profits for a Las Vegas bookie.

Many of us watch sports for the magic that happens on those priceless moments when the Allan Houston shot bounces off the rim and in, for an eighth seeded team to beat the odds. Or when a manchild from New Jersey turns a troubled/ talented past into a productive present. Or when a 35 year old Argentinian tourist unpacks his bags in a new country and discovers a second life as a starter in March. That same tourist leads a bunch of creaky veterans to the most fun win streak since the Taiwanese American from Harvard had his fantastic blip on the NBA radar. Was that insanity against the odds?

You can sulk about the past, and fear the future (because of the odds) until you are green with envy of all the eventual champions for the next half century. Personally, The Answer Man will bleed orange and blue, and expect a miracle, no matter what the odds are.

yellowboy90 wrote:Interesting note: The Knicks have played less games than the other teams and less games against teams over .500 so they could end up in the top 4. The odds are in the top 2 seeds favor and the Knicks sit at number 2 in the east but yet the odds are not in their favor.

How can you respect someone who doesn't respect themselves?

fair enough. if the knicks get the second seed their odds do increase in terms of an appearance in the ECF. here's out sked btw:

@MIAMI
@ATLANTA this is a big game

these 2 games are on the road b2b i don't think they can win both

MILWAUKEE
@OKLAHOMA
WASHINGTON

@CHICAGO
@CLEVELAND

these two games are on the road b2b i hope they win both

INDIANA this is a huge game
@CHARLOTTE
ATLANTA this is a big game

meanwhile indiana's schedule is:

@CLIPS

OKC
@WASHINGTON

these are b2b but one of them is at home

CLEVELAND
BROOKLYN this is a big game
@KNICKS this is a huge game

@BOSTON
PHILADELPHIA

they finish the season with b2b but one is at home

if you go on basketball-reference.com and click on the "forecast" jump it shows the pacers edging out the knicks by 1 game. the forecast is based on 1000 simulations and is something to carefully consider. this is significant when the real season starts, ie the second round of the playoffs.

CrushAlot wrote:

dk7th wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:That is informative. Against > .500 teams, we have the 8th best record in the league, which seems reasonable. We probably are a top 8 team in the league, or at least top 10.

we are a top 8 team. trouble is only the top 6 teams have favorable enough odds to win it all.

spurs
thunder
miami
denver
clippers
memphis
indiana

The Knicks are in second in the east and the hottest team in the nba. Not sure how you came up with that top six.

i base it on projected record going forward into the future-- see basketball-reference-- and SOS up to this point from the beginning of the season. look, the knicks are definitely giving fans reasons for hope but then again, with the exception of the grizzlie game they are merely beating teams that they should beat, par for the course. the memphis game was weird. randolph and coach hollins appeared to be at odds.