H o o p s C o r n e r . c o m
-------------------- March 23, 2002 In Kings we hope
Every single team in the Eastern Conference has long been eliminated from a 60-win season. In the Western Conference, "not yet" is what can be said at this time. Back in the days, in the late 90's when it was MJ not Shaquille wrecking havoc, 60-win teams were common occurences in both conferences. Not so anymore. No team in the east has recorded a 60-win record the last season and the Lakers were the only team in the NBA to do it in the 1999-2000 season. Remember when they did it, it was with Shaq setting the bar of greatness for himself. These days it's hard to even expect a team to finish with 60 wins. The Western Conference has so many giants with a "it's me, or no one else" mentality that they beat up on each other trying to climb the ranks. In the East...well in case you don't already know it's where the West's giants come to feast, take sabbaticals, and nurse their egos, before returning to the West's battle fields. In other words, to the Western conference the East has the best climate for winning. In fact last year the Houston Rockets who were the 9th seed in the West, never lost a game against the East's Central division teams. The best bet to see a win column with a 60 in it, is to cheer for the Kings. They have the least amount of loses with 18 and...it seems that's about it. If they loved playing away from the warm and fuzzy feeling of their fans then we'd be really rooting for them. Of their remaining 15 games, only 6 are at home. A 6-game road trip starting on the 28th of March. Most of the teams they'll play are from the East and the best team in that mix is Detroit. The Kings have fattened on the tender chemistries of East teams to the tune of a 20-6 record. So that's not where the real threat lies. I mean if we the fans watch the standings so closely, how much more do you think the players themselves do? Well the West's other giants are watching and ready to pounce, because of the above mentioned mentality "it's me, or no one else". If they won't register 60 wins they'll do their best to make sure the Kings don't do it either. Of the Kings remaining 15 games they have to play the L.A tag team of Clippers and Lakers a total of 4 times (twice each). The Clippers are out for the most entertaining squad crown, and the Lakers are not just one of the giants, but they're The Giant. Dallas just like the Lakers (April 14th), is also waiting in the street corners to deliver a blow, and the Timberwolves (April 9th) still need to gain some legitimacy before the end of the season. With 18 records of futility on their belt they have room for 4 more losses to just finish with exactly 60 wins. You ask what their chances are? Before getting to that, we forgot to mention that the Houston Rockets' (March 28th) duo of Wink and Cat have a little beef with C-Webb. The Utah Jazz (April 5th) really won't mind knowing exactly how they stack up against their possible first round opponent. We see Sacramento just missing the plateau with 59 wins. However if they decided to use the rest of the season as a preparation for a long playoff run and impose some dictature, or defense in basketball speak, it's all in their reach. Next: Seasonal changes Previous: The rookie monologues Articles main Back to top
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