Although they have the better record, aren't the Nuggets - by virtue of winning their division - the 3-seed (v. the 6-seed?)
209823
The NBA has it so that you can still be higher seed, but not have homecourt advantage. The team with the better record will get homecourt advantage, even if the other team has a higher ranking.
37069
They are probably on the wrong side of the bubble right now, and they haven't played that many good teams. They need to win the MAC Tourney in order to go dancing. So even if they did go, they would probably get beat in the first round, unless they were a #12 seed playing a #5. Then they would have a legit shot at the second round, where they wouldn't go any further.
372421
thats how it is in every sport. the number 1 seed always plays the worst seed in the beginning
153264
I believe there's always a possibility to beat any team on any given night, but in a 7 game series? I don't think they could beat the reigning champion...
554100
If they play hard they could contend for a low seed in the playoffs but they are strictly a first round team. But they have a bright future nonetheless.
318710
Nothing the Nets are a better team. And they were the hottest team at the end of the season,so it was no suprise they beat the Heat in game one. by the way  Pistons win it all. Go Pistons!!!!!
233167
I have to go w/ the Spurs in 7, based on their experience, past championships, and ever-so-slightly depper bench. (These teams are very evenly matched this year!)
195676
oh yeah, best record in the league. Leading to homecourt throughout the playoffs. The east is no competition for the pistons other than the hot nets and the aging heat. The championship series is between Spurs and pistons and Flip Saunders added a better offensive force between the starters of detroit and they still have a devastating D. Not to mention a better bench than the last two years. Spurs get ready to lose in six games.
13180
They certainly have the ability to, but with home-court advantage in sight already, they will probably rest their starters near the end of the season right after securing the #1 seed. I say they end up 68-14.
101193
both are important.  the more points a team has in their conference the better they are in the standings. there are 30 teams in two conferences(East and West) and three divisions in both conferences with five teams in them.  out of the fifteen teams the teams with the eight best records are determined by their points they earn.  the team that has the most points out of the fifteen teams in the conference is seeded 1st in the conference.  then the second seed goes to the best team in the second division.  and the third seed is given to the best record in the third division. seeds four through eight are determined by the amount of points the remaining teams in the three divisions have.  as far as playoffs go, the 1st seed plays the 8th seed, 2nd plays the 7th seed, 3rd seed plays the 6th seed and 4th seed plays the 5th seed. then the winner between the 1st seed and the 8th seed plays the winner of the third seed and sixth seed . the winner of the fourth seed and fifth seed plays the winner of the 2nd seed and 7th seed match.  then the two winners of those matchups face each other in the conference finals and the remaining team in the conference plays against the winner of the other conference.  the winner wins the stanley cup.
328888
It goes like this:  The teams that don't make the playoffs are considered a "lottery" team, which means they will have the best picks in the upcoming draft.  Some "lottery" teams however, have traded there draft picks for other players and are not part of the "lottery" (Knicks traded there 1st round pick to the Bulls for Eddie Curry).  \nAs for the picks themselves, the NBA uses a ping pong ball system.  The team that has the worst record will get the most amount of balls, the second worst gets the second most and so on, think KENO.  The balls are then chosen randomally to determine who picks first, second, etc. etc.  So even though the team with the worst record has more ping pong balls in the bowl, it doesn't necessarily mean they will choose first, they just have the best CHANCE.  This year Toronto got the first pick, but they did not have the worst record.
363252
The 11-1 team would be ranked higher because that team, no matter who they beat or lost to, only has 1 loss.  The voters in the USA Today, the AP, and the Harris Interactive polls first look at the won/loss record before anything else.\n\nso, a team with 2 MORE losses than another team should be ranked lower.  \n\nI could see a case where a 2 loss team be ranked higher than a 1 loss team (depending on who they lost to and what the score was), but the difference between a 3 loss team and a 1 loss team is too great.
552825
The Bulls will win their division and probably advance to the Conference Finals. If their rookies are as good as the Bulls say, I say a trip to the NBA Finals is in order. I dont know about winning the whole thing but they have sent a message to the league that they are not playing around. \n\nHere is the thing. They play 11 of their first 15 games on the road to start the season. If after the first 15 games they win more than 9....its going to be a very special season for the Bulls.
64798
Well the fact that they consistently win should be something considering that their top scorer has been injured with that ankle practically all season.  They have a good coach finally....he's bringing them together as a team.  Individually they aren't that great....but as a team they're prime to be Pac-10 champs.....and maybe more.
227812
Obviously they arent that great of a team. They didn't make the playoffs. they have one great player, Allen Iverson, but their team sucks.
141866
Yes, i'd say they're the biggest wild card in the West.  I bet nobody wants to play them in the 1st round.  If they keep getting solid play from Vesa Toskala and timely goals from Cheechoo, they can make a lot of noise.  Just gotta tighten the defense a bit.
178386
Probably because the number one team in that conference(denver)is like only 4 games above .500