Chances for Winning by the Losers
In baseball, it has come close (see 2005 San Diego Padres, 1973 NY Mets). In the NFL, only two .500 teams have made the playoffs since 1991 (1991 NYJ, 2004 STL). In the NBA, however, it has been the norm to find teams with a losing record compete in late April and into May.
Below, a table of the number of (IWC Replica Watches).500 win percentage teams, the number of first round games they have won, and the number of series they have gone on to win.
First Round Playoff Stats Last 10 Years
Year Teams at Fake IWC Watch.500 or under Total first round games won Series Won
1996 2 2 0
1997 3 2 0
1998 1 2 0
1999 1 1 0
2000 0 0 0
2001 1 1 0
2002 0 0 0
2003 0 0 0
2004 4 4 0
2005 0 0 0
2006 3
Courtesy: Basketball-Reference.com
Parody just hasn抰 existed in the NBA playoffs Invicta Fake Watches. These 15 teams in the last 10 years have combined to win just 12 playoff games and have never advanced. In 2004, four teams in the East had the shot and surely one could pull off the upset? Not even the four vs Replica Watches. five could do it Raymond Weil Replica.
The last time a team with a losing record entered the playoffs and won a Series was 1988. Then, the Seattle Supersonics boasted a 39-43 record as the 7-seed and made it all the way to the conference finals Replica Handbag. They upset both Dallas and Houston, before being swept by Pat Riley抯 Los Angeles Lakers. Since Seattle, a total of 31 teams have entered the playoffs with a record at or below .500. And these teams are 0-31 in playoff series.
So, how good of a chance do Milwaukee (40-42), Chicago (41-41) and Indiana (41-41) have this year? I抦 not going to say 搉one,?because that抯 why they play the game梑ut let抯 delve into these match-ups.
(1) Detroit vs. (8) Milwaukee
One-seeds haven抰 lost since 1999. But there was a technicality about that year: First, 1999 was the NBA lockout year, and only 50 regular season games were played. Second, three other teams had the same 33-17 record, but Miami won by a tiebreaker Ebel Mens Watches.
In a full 82-game season, it was the 1994 Denver Nuggets who upset the top-seeded Supersonics to advance to the second round Watches Replica.
With Flip Saunders at the helm, we抳e seen the Pistons play looser offensively, but still maintaining impressive defense條eading them to their best regular season record ever (64-18). Don抰 worry about the nonsense concerning Ben Wallace not getting along with Flip: This team is focused when it comes to the playoffs Replica Oris Watches.
Having said this, Milwaukee has their hands full Montblanc Fake Watch. Let抯 just look at player vs. player matchups Luxury Breguet.
Detroit Milwaukee Advantage
PG Billups Ford Detroit
SG Hamilton Redd Detroit
SF Prince Simmons Detroit
PF R. Wallace Bogut Detroit
C B. Wallace Magloire Detroit
Billups will substitute size for speed and can dominate Ford(Fake Invicta). Hamilton is a workhorse Fake Watch Fake Watches. Prince is undoubtedly better than Simmons Audemars Piguet Wristwatch. And I抣l just point out the experience from the front court to suffice my argument for the Wallaces.
To make matters worse, the only type of success they had against Detroit was when they played Toni Kukoc at the three Glashutte Watches. Kukoc is already banged up and will miss the first game, so his health will be a definite factor.
Prediction: Pistons in a sweep
(2) Miami vs. (7) Chicago
Chicago is the hottest of the East抯 bottom-3, finishing 12-2 in their final 14 to slip into the show. They had a similar run in the final month of the season last year, winning 15 of their last 19 games(Jacob & Co. Wristwatch). The Bulls?only win against the Heat in the regular season came back on April 15 when the Heat rested most of their stars Philip Stein Ladies Watches.
In the playoffs, it comes down to defense and though the 揃aby Bulls?are young, they do buckle down, leading the NBA for the second straight season in defensive field-goal percentage (.426).
Offensively, the Bulls?patented 揹rive-and-kick?out game has given opposing teams a hard time(Replica Bvlgari Watches). Ben Gordon ranks 2nd in the Eastern Conference, hitting 43(Fake Raymond Weil).9-percent from 3-point land, and point-guard Kirk Hinrich has shot 42.9-percent from behind the arc in his last five games IWC Wristwatch.
Although the Heat have been locked into the No. 2 spot since basically January, I don抰 see them having trouble kicking into high gear. Even when the Bulls shut down Wade in their meetings this year (12 Watch Replica.3 ppg), the Heat have found a way to win.
The Bulls have no answer for Shaq, who had 14 points and 6 rebounds in just 20 minutes of action on April 15.
Prediction: Heat in 5
(3) New Jersey vs Longines Wristwatch. (6) Indiana
This might very well be the best shot for a team at the .500 mark in the regular season to win a Series. The Nets came from the weak Atlantic Division that sent no other teams beside themselves to the playoffs Replica Watches. The two teams have similar defensive work ethics, as they are 5th and 6th in points allowed, respectively, in the NBA. The interesting thing about this series is the way they view each other: New Jersey players have said the Pacers are a good transition and look to slow it down, while Indiana players have said the exact same thing about the Nets! Wow, this should be a fun series to watch!
Jermaine O扤eal looks to be healthy into the playoffs, having played 30-plus minutes in his final 11 regular season games, but I don抰 foresee him being the difference. The difference must come from the defense side of the ball, in particular, the ability to stop Vince Carter.
Peja Stojakovic and Stephen Jackson must play top-notch to pull the upset.
I have a feeling this series will go seven. The Nets were 29-12 at home, fourth-best home record in the Eastern conference, so that抯 the way I lean.
Prediction: Nets in 7
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