Atlanta trying to blow it or at least make it interesting. Detroit without Josh Smith in Atlanta should've been a Hawks win. If Atlanta loses to Brooklyn, Miami, and one of Boston/Charlotte/Milwaukee, who knows?
I know what you mean by magic number, but "games back in the loss column" is still an irrelevant stat. Total games back is far more accurate, which is why the standings rank them that way. The Hawks are a sub .500 team, so relying on them to lose is not actually relying on anything. Statistically it's more likely. Against a sub .500 team, the win column is more important. Either way we have to win more games than they do. We knew Atlanta wasn't winning out. The situation above isn't anywhere close to the Knicks and Hawks, because at the time, the Knicks were 1 up in the win column AND 1 down in the loss column. It is impossible to finish a season like that and it only means the Hawks had 2 more games left than us, which does not favor them because they are a sub .500 team. The whole loss column crap is just Don Lagrecka's whining. Winning more games is exactly the same as losing less games.
Yes the more you win, the less you lose. Congratulations, you and I never were disagreeing about that. And a general sweeping statement saying loss column is irrelevant is misguided. For example, Miami is 1/2 game back of Indiana. That means they are either 1 win behind IND with the same amount of losses or 1 loss behind IND with the same amount of wins. But we don't know, let us take a look at the loss column. Oh look they are tied in the loss column, now we know the whole story. See you think by me saying we needed to rely on Atlanta to lose is equivalent to the Knicks needing to win. Kind of. You know "control their own destiny" phrase? The Knicks didn't "control their own destiny" as long as they were behind in the loss column, hence the importance of the loss column. Atlanta "controlled their own destiny". That's the unbalanced schedule at work. The Knicks were tied on April 3rd with Atlanta in the games back column but didn't control their own destiny (ignore tiebreakers since it puts the Knicks at another deficit). That's why loss column mattered, until somehow Atlanta/NYK tied in the loss column, the Knicks had the drama of waiting and hoping Atlanta would lose more games than them. That's also why it was key for NYK to try and narrow the loss column gap or tie/lead ATL coming down the stretch, because the Knicks had all playoff teams and Atlanta gets Detroit, Boston, and Milwaukee and some playoff teams. So even though the Knicks were "tied" with Atlanta, the loss column showed the Knicks still didn't "Control their own destiny" which creates the drama of hoping Atlanta loses more games than the Knicks. Atlanta on the other hand "controlled their own destiny" even on the day Knicks were the 8 seed by % points. I hope I explained why I find it relevant in an unbalanced schedule because I don't think you get where I'm coming from. Also sports sites continually use the phrase because it's relevant with unbalanced schedules. http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/4/...off-standings-phoenix-suns-western-conference http://www.sbnation.com/nba/2014/4/...e-lebron-james-block-nets-heat-nba-newsletter http://www.sportingnews.com/nba/sto...erence-heat-pacers-warriors-bulls-knicks-nets http://www.cbssports.com/nba/eye-on...spends-mavs-pa-announcer-for-criticizing-refs http://probasketballtalk.nbcsports....or-most-three-point-attempts-in-loss-to-heat/ http://nesn.com/2014/04/indiana-pacers-nba-title-odds-are-in-a-free-fall-during-recent-slump/
I'm sorry, but being up 1 in the win column is exactly the same as being 1 down in the loss column. Both columns are equally important. Games behind is the only exact way to describe it and it pans out every time, nomatter what. This is especially relevant in the NBA where they play 82 games and very often do not keep the same pace with the amount of games played. That's why they list it as games and half games ahead. If you are 1 game ahead, you can indeed control your own destiny. Talking about the loss column only or the win column only is over-complicating a very simple concept.
that's sick. do you have the original gif of that jewfish grabbing his snapper? sketchy......post it in the fishing thread. . oh, about the Knicks, I haven't had faith in them doing shit this year..... or any year since Van Gundy left unfortunately. It would be nice to be surprised
I'm not saying Paul Pierce threw the game so the Hawks would win, but I wouldn't put it past him Amare and Shump really played well. That was fun to watch. The Knicks gave up sooooooooo many open shots, but hey we are used to that by now. Fun game, although the final minute took a long time with the reviews and silly fouls. NBA has to find a way to make reviews go quicker, a central command center like MLB and NHL have could work instead of watching on a 20 inch TV monitor.
Hawks up 11 on the Heat with 6:09. A win mathematically knocks the Knicks out of the playoff race. Also it would mean the Hawks just beat the Pacers, Nets, and Heat all in one week while also losing to the Pistons in that same week. Impressive.
The New York Knicks are officially eliminated from NBA playoff contention. They brought this on themselves. The Phil Jackson era will be starting soon.
