Arnold Jacob
"Red" Auerbach
Basketball Legend
September 20, 1917 - October 28, 2006
"And
the day will come when,
Stooped
with Age and Steeped with Life,
I
must bring my days to an end.
Let
me not weep over times of sadness,
Nor
curse the battles lost,
Nor
mourn the tasks unfinished.
Rather,
let me dance joyful in
happiness,
Roar
my celebration in Victory,
Revel
in the work well done.
Should
you ask, "Would you do this
again?"
Let
me not vacillate, picking and
choosing portions.
I
will dare to do it all, live my
whole life, again.
For
the most crushing agonies of
life's defeats
Was
my strength's source to achieve
life's victories."
--Mike
Buckley, 2006 used with permisssion of the author
Measure Once,
Cut
Twice, or, NBA Division
Math
It's a good idea
to remind everyone--myself
included--about the NBA's current Divisional alignment and Playoff
seeding. Here's how
the divisions go now, with the official explanation following:
Eastern
Conference
Atlantic
Division: Boston Celtics,
New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Toronto Raptors
Central
Division: Chicago
Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers, Milwaukee
Bucks
Southeast
Division: Atlanta
Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards
Western
Conference
Southwest
Division: Dallas
Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Memphis Grizzlies, New Orleans Hornets, San
Antonio Spurs
Northwest
Division: Denver
Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, Portland Trailblazers, Oklahoma City
Thunder, Utah Jazz
Pacific
Division: Golden
State Warriors, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns,
Sacramento Kings
Under
this plan, teams will play divisional opponents four times each (two
home games/two road games), conference opponents outside the division
three or four times each and opponents outside the conference two times
each (one home game/one road game).
The three regular season divisional winners in each conference
will
earn a playoff berth and one of the conference’s top three playoff
seeds based on regular season record. The remaining five playoff berths
for each conference will be based on regular season records with no
regard to divisional alignment.
Home court advantage throughout the NBA playoffs will be based
solely
on regular season record, not playoff seeding, thus a divisional
winner
that has a higher playoff seed than an opponent will not necessarily
have home court advantage in the playoff series.
What changed? Not much, as far as the regular season
goes.
The teams still play 82 regular season games. Boston is
even still in it's original division. The C's will still play WC
teams twice a year, home and away. Some of the teams outside the
division we might see only three times a year instead of four--it'll
depend on the schedule.
The big change comes in the
playoffs. There are now three
potential Divisions to win instead of two, with each Division winner
guaranteed a playoff berth and
one of the top three conference playoff
seedings. The remaining five spots are based on regular season
records, as they are now.
A
word about game reviews
As
is obvious to one and all, I've fallen far behind. The problem is
one of health--and stamina. I record the games--and zap
commercials in the process. Then, I have to watch the games again
to review them--this in order to replay crucial possessions, get a
better look at who did what, and so on. Then I start typing up
and posting the review. From start to finish, that takes 5-6
hours per game (including needed breaks). Right now, I'm doing
well to watch the initial game before falling over.
I WILL be reviewing all the games AND putting them up
here--but it's
going to take some time. People have been phenomanally patient
about this and I wanted to let everyone know I appreciate it. I
have already decided that the major offseason project will be catching
up on any reviews not done, with the goal of having everything caught
up before the start of next season. The good news is, once they're up,
they'll STAY up, and you can compare games from different seasons,
etc., to your heart's content.
