Playoff opponent predictor

[60WinTim]

Pels win again at home against the Bucks. A game they could have easily lost without Ingram, but they are a good team. I still foresee a Clipper/Pels in the 4/5 first round, unless the Mavs really come on and overtake them.

The Mavs play at the Kings tomorrow, and if they win, they will displace the Kings for the 6th seed.

Big game for the Wolves tomorrow! A win would put them in really solid position for the #1 seed.

[Coolbreeze44]

The one team that truly scares me in the first round is the Lakers who are playing well and bring along all their unspoken advantages. Because of that, finishing 2nd wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to avoid a 1-8 matchup with LA. I wouldn't want to fall down to 3rd though and face not having home court in the 2nd round.

[rapsuperstar31]

The one team that truly scares me in the first round is the Lakers who are playing well and bring along all their unspoken advantages. Because of that, finishing 2nd wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to avoid a 1-8 matchup with LA. I wouldn't want to fall down to 3rd though and face not having home court in the 2nd round.

We shall see how this all unfolds in the next few weeks. Right this minute I have a feeling Phoenix loses the first 7/8 matchup game against Dallas or Sacramento, and I don't think The Lakers beat Phoenix in a single game elimination. That's assuming the Lakers are able to beat Houston in the 9/10 game who is very hot right now.

[FNG]

I liked the Suns Klunker last night against the Pels, because it reduced the chances of us having to face them in a first round 3-6 matchup (The wolves can still finish first if they can upset Denver). Before last night, Phoenix was in 6th in my forecast with 49 wins, 1 behind Dallas. But now they have dropped to a 3-way tie for 6th with the Kings and Pels. I don't know how the 3-way tiebreaker works, but at least the Suns no longer sit alone in 6th in my forecast.

[kekgeek]

I liked the Suns Klunker last night against the Pels, because it reduced the chances of us having to face them in a first round 3-6 matchup (The wolves can still finish first if they can upset Denver). Before last night, Phoenix was in 6th in my forecast with 49 wins, 1 behind Dallas. But now they have dropped to a 3-way tie for 6th with the Kings and Pels. I don't know how the 3-way tiebreaker works, but at least the Suns no longer sit alone in 6th in my forecast.

I’m still a little surprised you have the Thunder finishing ahead of us. If the wolves go 2-2 down the stretch the Thunder would need to go 4-0 to pass them (they play 3 playoff teams).

Its obviously still possible they fall to 3 but with tiebreakers wolves in a very good spot to not fall behind 2

[FNG]

I liked the Suns Klunker last night against the Pels, because it reduced the chances of us having to face them in a first round 3-6 matchup (The wolves can still finish first if they can upset Denver). Before last night, Phoenix was in 6th in my forecast with 49 wins, 1 behind Dallas. But now they have dropped to a 3-way tie for 6th with the Kings and Pels. I don't know how the 3-way tiebreaker works, but at least the Suns no longer sit alone in 6th in my forecast.

I’m still a little surprised you have the Thunder finishing ahead of us. If the wolves go 2-2 down the stretch the Thunder would need to go 4-0 to pass them (they play 3 playoff teams).

Its obviously still possible they fall to 3 but with tiebreakers wolves in a very good spot to not fall behind 2

I hear ya, kek, and agree to some extent. And obviously I'm still hoping that the Wolves finish ahead of the Thunder (and Denver). But my forecast generally awards a win to a team based on what I think the betting line will be, and I think OkC will be favored in all four of their remaining home games (1 against woeful Washington, 2 against floundering Sac-town and Milwaukee, and a final tougher one against Dallas). So I think OkC will finish with 57 wins. So the question is whether the Wolves can also get to 57, and we have to beat either Denver or the Suns to get there. The flaw in my forecast model is that we are likely to be favored in our finale against the Suns, so I should have that one as a win. But we look so bad against the Suns, I have a difficult time predicting a win in that one.

So let's just take care of Denver on Wednesday and make the Suns game a little less relevant. (Because don't the Wolves have the tiebreaker if all 3 teams finish with 57 wins? Wouldn't that be something!)

[kekgeek]

I liked the Suns Klunker last night against the Pels, because it reduced the chances of us having to face them in a first round 3-6 matchup (The wolves can still finish first if they can upset Denver). Before last night, Phoenix was in 6th in my forecast with 49 wins, 1 behind Dallas. But now they have dropped to a 3-way tie for 6th with the Kings and Pels. I don't know how the 3-way tiebreaker works, but at least the Suns no longer sit alone in 6th in my forecast.

I’m still a little surprised you have the Thunder finishing ahead of us. If the wolves go 2-2 down the stretch the Thunder would need to go 4-0 to pass them (they play 3 playoff teams).

Its obviously still possible they fall to 3 but with tiebreakers wolves in a very good spot to not fall behind 2

I hear ya, kek, and agree to some extent. And obviously I'm still hoping that the Wolves finish ahead of the Thunder (and Denver). But my forecast generally awards a win to a team based on what I think the betting line will be, and I think OkC will be favored in all four of their remaining home games (1 against woeful Washington, 2 against floundering Sac-town and Milwaukee, and a final tougher one against Dallas). So I think OkC will finish with 57 wins. So the question is whether the Wolves can also get to 57, and we have to beat either Denver or the Suns to get there. The flaw in my forecast model is that we are likely to be favored in our finale against the Suns, so I should have that one as a win. But we look so bad against the Suns, I have a difficult time predicting a win in that one.

So let's just take care of Denver on Wednesday and make the Suns game a little less relevant. (Because don't the Wolves have the tiebreaker if all 3 teams finish with 57 wins? Wouldn't that be something!)

If it’s a 3 way tie the wolves are the 2 seed. Thunder are the 1 and nuggets are the 3

[FNG]

I’m still a little surprised you have the Thunder finishing ahead of us. If the wolves go 2-2 down the stretch the Thunder would need to go 4-0 to pass them (they play 3 playoff teams).

Its obviously still possible they fall to 3 but with tiebreakers wolves in a very good spot to not fall behind 2

I hear ya, kek, and agree to some extent. And obviously I'm still hoping that the Wolves finish ahead of the Thunder (and Denver). But my forecast generally awards a win to a team based on what I think the betting line will be, and I think OkC will be favored in all four of their remaining home games (1 against woeful Washington, 2 against floundering Sac-town and Milwaukee, and a final tougher one against Dallas). So I think OkC will finish with 57 wins. So the question is whether the Wolves can also get to 57, and we have to beat either Denver or the Suns to get there. The flaw in my forecast model is that we are likely to be favored in our finale against the Suns, so I should have that one as a win. But we look so bad against the Suns, I have a difficult time predicting a win in that one.

So let's just take care of Denver on Wednesday and make the Suns game a little less relevant. (Because don't the Wolves have the tiebreaker if all 3 teams finish with 57 wins? Wouldn't that be something!)

If it’s a 3 way tie the wolves are the 2 seed. Thunder are the 1 and nuggets are the 3

Thanks for that, kek. Okay, then I need us to go 4-0...not out of the question. One thing we know for certain...the Wolves control their own destiny. If we win out, we get the first seed.

[Q-is-here]

Feels like we'll avoid Dallas in the first round as they seem to be firming their grip on the 5th seed. They have been red hot as of late and Phoenix, currently the 6th seed, is getting crushed by the Clippers.

[FNG]

The Kings Klunk at home against the Pels, and create a little separation in my 5-8 forecast:

Dallas 51 wins and destined to face the Clips
Pels 49
Suns 48
Kings 47

So right now it looks like the Wolves would face the Suns if they win out and pass OkC, or the Pels if they finish 3rd. I'm not sure who I want to face. The Suns seem to own us, but the Pels could be really tough if Ingram comes back healthy. I see it as a toss up, so I'm going to cheer for the Wolves to win out and finish second (note we also finish ahead of OkC if they lose one of their two remaining home games, and Dallas is hot right now). That way we know we have home court advantage in the semis if we can win our first round matchup.