How does the NBA's Western Conference Rankings work?
469561
It is like this\n1. Division winner with the best record\n2. Division winner with the 2nd best record\n3. Division winner with the worst record\nThen it goes by record till the last seed.
933619
you play the #6 seed if they win\n#4 seed if they win and #3 seed wins\n#5 seed if they win and #3 seed wins
1091283
Undoubtedly,  The west, at this point, is probably the strongest any conference has ever been.  First let me say that Dallas is playing as good as any team can be expected.  Not only have they stolen the NBA championship from the best team in basketball, (The San Antonio Spurs)  they even stole their coach from the Spurs.  Just joking !!!!  I am a Spurs fan but since they lost to Dallas, In what is probably the best series of the entire finals including the championship series, I have to pull for the Mavs all the way.  Keep it in TEXAS.  Maimi is 2nd rate to say the least.  Shack has seen his better days and should get out before he makes a bum out of himself.  As for Wade, he has all of the tools to become a real super star but not with the talent in Miami.  If anyone doubts the superiority of the western conference, just watch it next year.  #1 - Phoenix will have Stoudemar back.  #2 - The Clippers will only be better.  #3 - San Antonio is just one center away from being virtually unbeatable.  #4 Dallas will be the reigning NBA champs.  The Eastern Conference #1 - Ben Wallace will leave Detroit.  #2 Shaq will continue to deteriorate.  #3 - LaBron James can't do it all by himself.  #4 - Is there anyone else in the East worth mentioning?  Parity will be a long time coming.
579303
I don't know about draft picks but I've believed that many NBA games are fixed for quite some time now and this year's playoffs are a good example.  The Lakers had no business taking the Suns to 7 just as the Cavs shouldn't have taken the Pistons to 7 (Don't get me wrong, I love the Cavs, but no talent outside of the King).  Who is on those teams?  Arguably the most engaging personality off the court (Kobe) and the most exciting player to watch on the court (LeBron).  those two guys = ratings = higher revenues for the NBA
398513
You've obviously got a lot of answers.  But a lot of people think that home court is based on seeding, but it is based on record.  This is relevant especially this year when Dallas will likely get the 4 seed, but would have home court advantage if they play the 2 or 3 seed in the conference championship.  But no, the 8 seed would not inherit home court advantage.
944224
OSU is ranked #1 in the ESPN/USA today poll, that's why they are #1 on ESPN. UCLA is ranked #1 in the AP poll.\n\nWith the media bias, it is definitely true. West coast teams typically don't get media attention because many of the college b-ball powerhousese are on the East coast. The Pac-10 only has few number of powerhouse teams (Arizona, UCLA, and Washington). Including Gonzaga in the mix, those are the only high-caliber teams from the west coast. The Pac-10 won't get respect until they start competiting against other power conferences like the ACC. This also affects draft prospectives because recruiters won't see these players on TV as oppose to the other prospects from the east.\n\nBeing a UCLA alum and hardcore UCLA sports fan, I know how good our team is and we definitely have a chance to go all the way this season. Howland is the right guy for the job and I expect him to stay there for a VERY LONG time. With a good recruiting class for next year (especially getting two of the best high school seniors in Kevin Love and Chance Stanback) and the years after, UCLA has a chance of winning multiple championships.\n\nEven though they don't get respect, everyone will see how good this team will be in the near future.\n\nGO BRUINS!!!!!
98067
Ratings Percentage Index is a rating system where NCAA basketball teams are ranked. This system has been in use since 1981 to aid in selecting and seeding of the teams appearing in the 65-team men's playoffs (see also, March Madness). It has also been used to aid in the selection and seeding process for the 64-team women's tournament since its inception in 1982. The weights are 25% winning percentage, 50% Strength of Schedule, and 25% opponent Strength of Schedule. The heavy emphasis upon strength of schedule is seen, by many, to give an unfair advantage to major conferences, which are allowed to fill several slots where smaller conferences may only get one slot. For the first time in 2006, the NCAA decided to release their RPI calculations weekly starting in February, and independent sources, such as ESPN or CNN/SI, also publish their own calculations which are often updated more frequently.\n\nThe RPI was updated in 2004 to account for differences in home and away games. A home win now counts as 0.6 wins, while a road win counts as 1.4 wins, while a home loss counts as 1.4 losses, while a road loss counts as 0.6 losses.
324235
Spurs are the deepest team in NBA right now.  Especially in playoff, it's a very important factor.\n\nI think they will win the west conference.  For the championship, Detroit still have a slight favor.
803944
it's where you finish in your division\nexample:\nif you're first in your division, you play the other first place teams of the two divisions in the conference where you're not  required to play every team.\n \nSeattle  1st in nfc west will play\ntampa bay  1st nfc south\nn.y. giants 1st nfc east
400703
Western Conference:\n\nDetroit vs. Edmonton - Edm (Det is overrated)\nDallas vs. Colorado - Dal\nCalgary vs. Anaheim - Calg\nNashville vs. San Jose - SJ\n\nEastern Conference:\n\nOttawa vs. Tampa Bay - Ott (in 4 or 5)\nCarolina vs. Montreal - Car (perhaps in 4)\nNew Jersey vs. New York - NYR (in 6 or 7)\nBuffalo vs. Philly - Phl
27792
that is a hard question to answer so telling you now wouldn't really be worth it. Heats, Spurs, Pistons one of the Three will carry home the glory. But i want Heats to win and they can if they get their team in prefect sync. cause thats an all star team you looking at
767169
Yes. Ever since Jordan retired in '98, the East has been considered second-fiddle to the West. Sure, the AllStar games might belong to the East sometimes, but in team depth and records the West prevails. Anyway, East = impressive guards, West = dominant big men.\n\nJust look at the playoff records. I saw in some years(probably 02 and 03) that an Eastern team could get to the playoffs even if he has 38 wins. In the West, its always tough to get even to the playoffs with a 40-win record. You have to boost your record to at least 45 to grab the eighth seed. \n\nLet's look at the elite teams. The East today has Miami, Cleveland, New Jersey, and you could make a case for Chicago. The West has the Jazz(although Im sure theyll lose some way), Spurs, Suns, Mavericks, Lakers, Rockets, Hornets, and Clippers.
273672
Teams are seeded based on their conference records. Then they compete to see who is the best of all the teams in a tournament. The winner is automatically chosen for the NCAA tournament.  In other words if a team is not having a great season, they can still win their conference tourney and make the Big Dance! Arkansas did that a few years ago. They had a terrible year, but they won four straight games and made it. WOW!! :)
333350
The Clippers had a better overall record than the Nuggets during the regular season, so they were given home court advantage. \n\nThe only reason the Nuggets are seeded higher is because they won their division. This is a stupid system that will result in the two best teams in the West playing each other in the 2nd round, and an untimely exit for the Mavs :(
177095
West:\n \n1.spurs\n2.mavericks\n3.suns\n4.grizzlies\n5.nuggets\n6.rockets\n7.kings\n8.clippers or lakers\n\nEast:\n1.pistons\n2.heat\n3.nets\n4.cavs\n5.wizards\n6.pacers\n7.celtics\n8.76ers
100818
Yahoo in a way gives a preseason ranking.Look at available players in your league.Notice there are two rankings.O-Rank is off season rank,and is where they think the player will finish this year.Rank is where they finished last year.
909391
This is a really good question.  It took some research, but here is the answer: \n\nThe starting lineups for each team are listed first in the following order by position: forward, forward, center, guard, and guard.\n\nPLAYER    POS\nANDERSON   F\nMASSENBURG F\nTABAK      C\nROBERTSON  G\nSTOUDAMIRE G\n\nSubstitute players are listed in the order in which they enter the game. Players who do not play in the game are not listed. (Some box scores list a DNP to the right of a player's name to indicate that he did not play.) \n\nCheck out the attached link from nba.com =)