That’s 21 out of 27 teams operating in the margins – or nearly 78 percent – landing right where their record said they would land. That, folks, is a trend.
You can argue that these teams had good or bad preseason records because they were, in fact, good or bad teams. And that certainly cannot be dismissed.
But then what is to be made of the 2006-07 Golden State Warriors, who went 5-1 in the preseason and nosed into the playoffs for the first time in 13 years? Or the 2007-08 Atlanta Hawks, who went 7-1 in the preseason and ended an eight-year postseason drought? Or the aforementioned 2010-11 Grizzlies, who won all eight preseason games and made the playoffs for the first time in four years?
Perhaps those teams decided to use the preseason to try and set a tone for the regular season. Perhaps the bad teams did, too.
“The games only tell you where you are. They are like tests,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You’re starting to get ready for the beginning of the season and you want to be a 48-minute team. Every preseason game tells you what you need to work on. I think it’s important to understand why you win or why you lose a preseason game and then you have to be ready to adjust quickly.”
Thibodeau should know. His Bulls went a perfect 8-0 in the preseason and look every bit ready to go when the wins and losses start to count on Tuesday, in case you were wondering.
Who else should we keep an eye on? In the upper margin are the New Orleans Pelicans (7-1), whom many believe are ready to make the jump to the playoffs, and the Houston Rockets (6-1), whom most have penciled in for the postseason.
But there is also the Raptors (5-1), who haven’t made the playoffs since 2008. Perhaps they see a chance to get a jump on one of the three open playoff spots in the East. A strong preseason didn’t help last season, mainly because of a brutal early schedule. Perhaps this season will be different.
And maybe they will grab that playoff spot from either the Bucks (1-5) or the Atlanta Hawks (1-6), who have been sleepwalking in the preseason, unknowingly setting themselves up for a huge disappointment.
The other team in the lower margin is the Utah Jazz (1-7), whom no one expected to be any good. But given the preseason trend, it is reassuring to know they already are playing down to their potential and following the trend of the last 10 years.
If one of those seven teams is your favorite, you can temper your excitement or dread by repeatedly reminding yourself that the preseason doesn’t mean anything.
And you would be wrong.
Chris Bernucca is a regular columnist and the managing editor of SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter.
I couldn’t resist commenting. Well written!
Here is my blog post: sleekサイト
I constantly spent my half an hour to read this webpage’s
posts all the time along with a mug of coffee.
my web site – Dr.Martens(ドクターマーチン)
The margins are probably a bit more trend-worthy than the middle of the pack results. Toronto could be an outlier or could be a surprise packet- we’ll have to remember this afterwards. The other teams are not surprising (I know Bill Simmons likes the Bucks this year but Simmons is crazy).
It doesn’t surprise me either that Chicago is going hard already even in pre-season. That’s Thibodeau for you, trying to burn out his players even before the games count.
I agree pre-season has significance. And if you add in some common sense by actually watching the games and who is playing, you can make some better predictions for the upcoming 2013-2014 season.
You have to factor in teams like Spurs and Nets not playing their better players much, as opposed to teams like the Bulls, whose coach is looking to wear at his players for the post-season again.
If it was possible, everyone should be analyzing the pre-season and fine tuning their projected standings. Pacers may be a little overrated, as with Knicks. Pelicans, Rockets and Nets a little underrated (Nets clobbered Heat 2x and rested most players throughout pre-season).