How Much Does Eastern Conference Suckage Matter?

[Superjudge]

its like 12-8 or something over all.

meh

toronto is just fine

[CalgaryRapsFan]

The weak EC (and the dreadfully bad Atlantic division) definitely causes an artificial inflation of the Raptors' record, at least in terms of comparing against other teams, especially WC teams.

It also puts MU in a very odd situation, going back to last season.

On one hand, if you don't think your team has a core that is or will become good enough to compete for the NBA championship, you make the strategic decision to go another direction (ie: trade Gay and attempt to trade at least Lowry).

On the other hand, your place in the standings has a huge impact on the immediate and short-term decision making, especially with the unexpected surge in fan support and media hype. With the division and a top-4 seed all but guaranteed, how does a GM not try to maximize the opportunity that has presented itself?

I think a lot of the ongoing debates here on RR, whether it was about tanking/rebuilding, trading Lowry/DeRozan/whoever or the best coach going forward, all stem from the two fundamental positions noted above. Some posters see through the record and the Raptors spot in the standings, and even their playoff appearance/performance last season, believing that this team should still be primarily in rebuild/retool/build/development mode. Other posters believe the record and performance speaks for itself and deserves to be acknowledged, with this team (players and coaches) given every chance to repeat and hopefully improve upon last season.

There really isn't a 'right' or 'wrong' answer either, since it's all about having different time horizons for success, making assumptions and forecasting via extrapolation. Again, as much as I'd love to be GM, I really don't envy the unique position MU has been in the past season-and-a-half.

[octothorp]

Good points, no I didn't take the time to pick apart the West's record by conference, but like you said I think the basic discussion point remains. Yup, a .588 record vs. the West would put Toronto 6th out of the top 11 Western teams when only considering records vs. other Western teams, but you'd have Portalnd, Dallas, and San Antonio so close (within .025) and obviously Spurs and OKC are better but have had injuries problems, combined with the small sample size and DeRozan's injury - just too many variables to go to that level of detail. None of it would change where I'd have the Raps, in the 7-10 range, probably on the most equal footing with Dallas, the Suns, and NO.

Honestly all of this is mostly a reply to the "yeah, well we're 33-15 so everything must be pretty good" comment I'm seeing more and more. Hey, I love 33 wins before the All-Star break, but just flip conferences and this team could be 50/50 for just making the playoffs instead of talking about the 2nd and 3rd rounds.

What you said about the number of variables and sample sizes and all is so true. I'd also say that even if the Raptors finished top 4 in the West, they'd should be considered underdogs in the first round given the sort of playoff experience a lot of those teams have. As vicious as the regular season West is, playoff West is an absolute war, and there's no question in my mind the Raptors aren't ready for that.
However, the great thing about this year is that we've got a shot at putting together a playoff run in the east, win a round, hopefully two, and then see who we get in the east finals. And while those rounds aren't going to be as fierce as the West, they'll give our guys some more of the experience they desperately need. They'll also give MU a much better picture of exactly where our team is at and what pieces he needs to go get.
So yeah, people shouldn't look at the current record as a great show of league-wide strength. The record means nothing once the playoff seeding is set, and as a playoff team we still have a long way to go. But compared to the years where we were desperately watching the out-of-town scoreboards down the stretch hoping we'd sneak into eighth (in an even weaker east), fans should feel good that we are now at that point where the regular season doesn't matter a whole lot.

[3inthekeon]

Let's see what all these teams, including ours, look like after the trade deadline.

I'm cautiously optimistic.

[bryan colangelo]

If the assessment is that we're a lower rung playoff team in the west, that's not anything to be ashamed of considering how brutal the western conference is this year.

But yeah, we're probably a third allstar and a better coach away from getting to the finals. Considering how far we've come in the year and a half since the Bargs trade I can live with that as a fan.

[raptors999]

If the assessment is that we're a lower rung playoff team in the west, that's not anything to be ashamed of considering how brutal the western conference is this year.

But yeah, we're probably a third allstar and a better coach away from getting to the finals. Considering how far we've come in the year and a half since the Bargs trade I can live with that as a fan.

The lower rung is OKC, Spurs and Dallas

[bryan colangelo]

The lower rung is OKC, Spurs and Dallas

You forgot Phoenix. I think this team can squeak by Phoenix and OKC (given their crappy health this year).

[raptors999]

You forgot Phoenix. I think this team can squeak by Phoenix and OKC (given their crappy health this year).

Don't really like Phoenix nothing wrong but they seem about .500. OKC will get healthy eventually, they aren't like the Bulls or Spurs. Although Durant has foot problems and he's a 7 footer

[bryan colangelo]

Don't really like Phoenix nothing wrong but they seem about .500. OKC will get healthy eventually, they aren't like the Bulls or Spurs. Although Durant has foot problems and he's a 7 footer

From Royce Young's Twitter today.

"Dion Waiters will start in place of Durant. Scott Brooks says Perry Jones is out with a sore left ankle."

I know there's still time but sometimes a team has such crap luck you just have to write their season off. It's just not OKC's year.

[raptors999]

From Royce Young's Twitter today.

"Dion Waiters will start in place of Durant. Scott Brooks says Perry Jones is out with a sore left ankle."

I know there's still time but sometimes a team has such crap luck you just have to write their season off. It's just not OKC's year.

OKC might just need to figure out if Waiters sucks