Why do Raptors fans think we are better than Wizards and Hornets?

[stooley]

They have 16 against all divisional rivals. All games are close in distance meaning no travel. Washington, Charlotte, Heat and Atlanta will be fighting for 16 games within the division. Getting the division means not facing the top seeds first round. Expect all Southeast games to be a dog fight. Most Atlantic teams will start tanking after the first month. The only game NYK even showed up for was when they had a slim chance at the playoffs.

It doesn't matter!

We'll play 16 games against atlantic division teams.

Every other team in the east will play 14-15 games against atlantic division teams.

Does that seem like a huge advantage to you?

[raptors999]

It doesn't matter!

We'll play 16 games against atlantic division teams.

Every other team in the east will play 14-15 games against atlantic division teams.

Does that seem like a huge advantage to you?

We play all 16 weak teams but other teams play Toronto. None of the Atlantic teams other than Toronto will even be in the playoffs.

[stooley]

We play all 16 weak teams but other teams play Toronto. None of the Atlantic teams other than Toronto will even be in the playoffs.

Dude, how is this so hard for you to understand!?

Washington doesn't have to play Washington, but other teams do.

It doesn't matter which division a team plays in beyond winning it and getting the fourth seed. Just accept that. If you can't understand why, just take my word for it.

[chico]

Dude, how is this so hard for you to understand!?

Washington doesn't have to play Washington, but other teams do.

It doesn't matter which division a team plays in beyond winning it and getting the fourth seed. Just accept that. If you can't understand why, just take my word for it.

Seriously. Is he trolling, or should we feel sorry for him?

[raptors999]

Toronto is almost guaranteed a fourth seed by division and likely top three. Chicago will likely win the central and the Heat the south east. Four teams can not have winning records within the division and the best team doesn't play itself.

1- 4 Chicago ,Toronto, Miami, Cleveland - all above 50 wins

5-7 Southeast - Wiz, Hornets, Atlanta - 42-49 wins

8 - Indy, NYK, BKN sub .500

Miami will be tough on division rivals and all of them will beat up on Orlando. One of the three remaining will be better than the other two and face the 4th seed and the other two will be close to .500. Any team in the Southeast that pulls away will do so at the expense of teams in the division.

[stooley]

Toronto is almost guaranteed a fourth seed by division and likely top three. Chicago will likely win the central and the Heat the south east. Four teams can not have winning records within the division and the best team doesn't play itself.

1- 4 Chicago ,Toronto, Miami, Cleveland - all above 50 wins

5-7 Southeast - Wiz, Hornets, Atlanta - 42-49 wins

8 - Indy, NYK, BKN sub .500

Miami will be tough on division rivals and all of them will beat up on Orlando. One of the three remaining will be better than the other two and face the 4th seed and the other two will be close to .500. Any team in the Southeast that pulls away will do so at the expense of teams in the division.

Ok... whatever.

You're wrong though man, I'm sorry.

You can reason it as much as you want but it doesn't change the fact that other teams play against the Atlantic the SAME AMOUNT as us....

[raptors999]

Ok... whatever.

You're wrong though man, I'm sorry.

You can reason it as much as you want but it doesn't change the fact that other teams play against the Atlantic the SAME AMOUNT as us....

They play the entire Atlantic division we only play the crappy teams.

This only effect the Southeast Division were one team wins the division. While the other teams battle each other and Toronto for seeding. It doesn't really effect the division winner but the other three will lose out.

[stooley]

They play the entire Atlantic division we only play the crappy teams.

This only effect the Southeast Division were one team wins the division. While the other teams battle each other and Toronto for seeding. It doesn't really effect the division winner but the other three will lose out.

Just stop man, you're so, so wrong.

[stooley]

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings

look at this from last year if that helps you. All the teams from the East had strength of schedules between .487 and about .484. That's a tiny difference.

[raptors999]

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/powerrankings

look at this from last year if that helps you. All the teams from the East had strength of schedules between .487 and about .484. That's a tiny difference.

Four evenly matched playoff teams playing in the same division will cause a difference in W-L records by playing each other. The Atlantic will be neutral for all four.

Toronto has no divisional rival. They could sweep the division and no one in the division would care.

[DanH]

Four evenly matched playoff teams playing in the same division will cause a difference in W-L records by playing each other. The Atlantic will be neutral for all four.

Toronto has no divisional rival. They could sweep the division and no one in the division would care.

This is an extremely valid reasoning in the NHL, where teams play their division a lot more than other divisions.

The reality in the NBA is that your scenario is really like this:

SE: MIA, WAS, ATL, CHA, ORL
ATL: TOR, BKN, NYK, BOS, PHI

WAS, for example, will play ATL, MIA, CHA and ORL 4 times each.
TOR will play WAS, ORL, and ATL 4 times, and MIA and CHA 3 times each. (As an example)

TOR will play BKN, NYK, BOS and PHI 4 times each.
WAS will play TOR, BKN and PHI 4 times each, and NYK and BOS 3 times each (as an example).

So, the only difference in their schedules in that example is TOR plays NYK and BOS one extra time each, and WAS plays MIA and CHA an extra time each.

That's 2 wins at most in terms of schedule swing.

I know others have covered this, but I thought laying out a specific example would make it clearer.

[raptors999]

This is an extremely valid reasoning in the NHL, where teams play their division a lot more than other divisions.

The reality in the NBA is that your scenario is really like this:

SE: MIA, WAS, ATL, CHA, ORL
ATL: TOR, BKN, NYK, BOS, PHI

WAS, for example, will play ATL, MIA, CHA and ORL 4 times each.
TOR will play WAS, ORL, and ATL 4 times, and MIA and CHA 3 times each. (As an example)

TOR will play BKN, NYK, BOS and PHI 4 times each.
WAS will play TOR, BKN and PHI 4 times each, and NYK and BOS 3 times each (as an example).

So, the only difference in their schedules in that example is TOR plays NYK and BOS one extra time each, and WAS plays MIA and CHA an extra time each.

That's 2 wins at most in terms of schedule swing.

I know others have covered this, but I thought laying out a specific example would make it clearer.

In this example Was has a 2 game disadvantage but one or two teams in the SE will lose more. For seeding if everything is equal the weak Atlantic means Toronto is the 3rd seed and the SE division winner is 4th at least.

[S.R.]

This is hilarious.

[DanH]

In this example Was has a 2 game disadvantage but one or two teams in the SE will lose more. For seeding if everything is equal the weak Atlantic means Toronto is the 3rd seed and the SE division winner is 4th at least.

No, every team in the SE will have a similar breakdown. As such, no matter what you do, TOR has at best a 2 win advantage over any one team in the SE, probably more like a 1 win swing over all of them.

Yes, if TOR wins the Atlantic, they get the 4th seed (not the 3rd). And technically it is pretty much the 5th seed, since the 4th seed no longer guarantees home court if it is gained in spite of a worse record than the 5th seed team. And the entire discussion is about whether those two teams will be better - ie have better records than the Raptors. No one is going to argue that the Raptors are better than the Wizards if the Wiz win 50 games but get dropped below the 44 win Raptors just because the Raps win their division.

[raptors999]

This is hilarious.

Most see Toronto winning 3rd and it has a lot to do with our Division. If every team in the SE sweeps Orlando and goes .500 against each other they are 10-6. Toronto was 11-5 in division last season. With identical records outside the division Toronto is +1 in wins. If they go 3-1 against Orlando Toronto is +2.