Fourth Seed Is Possible But At What Price

by da suns on Mar 11, 2010 2:03 PM MST

With 16 games left on their schedule and with 5 days of rest under their belts The Suns are about to embark on their final push for the highest possible seed. A realistic look tells us that a fourth seed is about the best the team could hope to achieve.

The top six teams are all winning at well above a 60% rate. Barring any sort of collapse by the Utah Jazz and assuming they maintain their present winning percentage, The Jazz will win 54 or 55 games. To have a chance at a fourth seed, the Suns will have to win at least 15 of their final 16 and probably will have to win out because the Jazz have the tie break.

Could the Jazz stumble? Sure, it could happen. Is it likely? I think not. The Jazz are playing really well and they are relatively healthy. They appear to have a fair chance to catch Denver and finish as the third seed.

What would it cost the Suns in terms of energy and physical breakdown to try and win their last 16 games? Is this even any sort of realistic goal? Is there any team in any sport that could actually function under that load of pressure?

We all do our best when we play or work 'in the moment'. So called 'clutch players or teams' are simply those who perform to their usual standard in pressure situations. (Bill Ellias has proven this in baseball).

I hope that the Suns will simply approach each of their last 16 games just like they have approached every game since the All Star break. There is no "must win 16 in a row" pressure on this team. If Denver or Utah suddenly shift into reverse and come back below the Suns, we'll take it.

Hopefully, The Suns can enter the playoffs in a relaxed and healthy state. So often in the past, the team has gone into the post season physically spent and injured.

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Comments

The Jazz have an inside track to the tiebreaker...

But they don’t have it yet. We still play them 2 times and if we were to win both the next tie breaker would be record against the Western Conference I believe. Which right now, the Suns are 25-15 and the Jazz are 25-16. But overall, I think I agree with you.

by NVSunsFan on Mar 11, 2010 2:23 PM MST reply actions

That's

pretty much an inside track. The Suns are very unlikely to beat the Jazz twice in the last few weeks of the Season. This is particularly true in light of how well the Jazz are playing.

by da suns on Mar 14, 2010 1:09 AM MST up reply actions

I heard Deron Williams last night hurt his ankle than came back later in the game and hurt his shoulder. Nothing seems to be too serious though. Still waiting on an MRI, but all we can take from this is that Deron’s whole left side of his body is pretty banged up. His left wrist is hurting as well and so is his back I believe. I don’t know how this will affect him in the long wrong. It sounds like he’s more banged up than Nash.

by Beavis 25 on Mar 18, 2010 11:31 AM MDT up reply actions

yep, I see us right there at #5 at the end of the season

Twitter: @dahking
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by Alex Laugan on Mar 11, 2010 4:55 PM MST reply actions

I hope

that the team can hold the 5 spot without getting too beat up.

by da suns on Mar 14, 2010 1:10 AM MST up reply actions

if we don't play well against the lakers on friday i hope we drop to 6th...

i think the lakers are the only team that the suns would have a really difficult time with in a 7-game series

by Superelkman on Mar 11, 2010 5:29 PM MST reply actions

i beg to differ

yes the lakers are really tough for us but i also feel we really need to avoid the blazers. For some reason we have a hard time playing against them. Also lets steer clear of the mavs too bc they have become very good and i dont really like our chances against them.

by dshyne101 on Mar 12, 2010 6:26 PM MST up reply actions

you are correct in that

the Mavs are the hottest team in the league. The Suns matchup with the Mavs about as poorly as they do vs the Lakers. B Heywood has added some mobility to their center position.

by da suns on Mar 14, 2010 1:06 AM MST up reply actions

I think that we all have

noticed that the Blazers give the Suns a difficult game. Can you give us any idea as to why this is so?

by da suns on Mar 14, 2010 1:12 AM MST up reply actions

Those games were just gimmes. We lost them because we lost focus. All we have to do is focus and we will crush them. Besides, they don’t have Steve Blake anymore because they traded him for Marcus Camby who got hurt.

by Beavis 25 on Mar 18, 2010 11:33 AM MDT up reply actions