Agree with your ladder tofty, too 4 teams are set imo just depends how they configure.

I'm a tad more pessimistic with Adelaide expecting 13-15 finish when all is said and done.

Whomever Melbourne faces it will be a huge semi! I think Cairns May struggle with lack of finals experience.

I agree with the top 4.
Still a battle for first ( Sydney and Perth) and a battle for third ( Cairns and Melbourne).

Putting aside the eventual W/L records which are right out of whack the final standings are about how I see things ending up too. Once again I think Adelaide will just fall short as United just have too much talent to drop out of the Top 4.

One of the rounds must have got lost in my spreadsheet. I did think that everyone played 28 games.

United are the ones most at risk of dropping out of the 4 if they let things get out of control.

I think Perth and Sydney for #1 will fall to %. Cairns have a lot of road games, but they are playing well on the road.

Brisbane, aka "The Lamar Patterson" Bullets just seem to get the job done, but not get it done winning ones they should lose and losing ones they should win. Any gameplan that gets drawn up need to revolve around restricting his shots on goal and should aim to drag hom around the court to tire him out

Sydney and Perth battling for top spot, Perth with the nicer fixture.

United and Cairns battling for 3rd. Both teams have superior percentage to all remaining teams, so both should remain top 4. Potentially the game between them on Feb 13 will ultimately decide 3rd.

Lots of IFs here, but if United defeat Perth and then lose to Sydney in their remaining 2 games against those teams, and then Perth snatches top spot off Sydney, I might be barracking for SEM against United in the last game of the season.

Perth with the nicer fixture.

I ran into the fortune teller. She said: " Beware !
Grand Trente ssers la magnifique. "

1. Sydney: 21 & 7 - I think they have a big enough break and can do enough from here to hold out Perth. They can lose 2 more games, and still pip us on %.
2. Perth: 18 & 10 - may rue some of the unfortunate losses, but can do enough to hold on to 2nd place.
3. MU: 16 & 12 - I still think 3~5 are up for grabs, and MU's destiny is in their own hands. My TIP is that they will just pip cairns on %, BUT if they're cagey, may tank to face Sydney rather than Perth.
4. Cairns: 16 & 12 - could finish higher, and I think would be happy with 3rd and facing Perth against whom the won twice.
5. Adelaide: 15 & 13 - They are still a chance at making the play-offs, but they are so up & down, they probably won't string the wins together.
6. Brisbane: 14 & 14 - Sums up their season really.
7. SEM: 11

Melbourne are no longer cagey.

oh WTF

7. NZ: 11 & 17 - Could do a lot better, but I think are now out of contention and have a tough run home.
8. SEM: 9 & 19 - I find it hard to predict ANY SEM wins from here on. They may well win a couple, but its hard to tip which ones that might be. Not going to save them from an ignominious end after such a promising start.
Question is whether they splash out on another import and give it a red-hot crack, or keep their powder dry for next season.
9. Hawks: 6 & 22 - Sad. IIRC they were my wildcard to make the top 4. ROFL.

I would like to attempt a guess but honestly I don't think I can.

Any team not bringing their A Game will lose regardless of where they are on the ladder.

This season is filled with surprises though.

I keep expecting Cairns to flounder, they aren't.
I keep expecting United to realise their potential, they aren't.
The Sixers love to torture their fans by offering a wide selection of performances ranging from excrement (Hawks) to contender (@ Perth).

[may tank to face Sydney rather than Perth.]

Why would United do that when they're -30 against Sydney and +10 against Perth this season (really about +20 but lowered to +10 in junk time).


[Some might say even a luxurious one!]

Indeed Perth have a luxurious fixture, but at 14-8 and percentage behind Sydney at 15-6, Sydney is still looking very likely to get 1st. Perth could go 5-1, with Sydney only needing 4-3 to remain on top.

"[may tank to face Sydney rather than Perth.]
Why would United do that"

I can think of 4 reasons to prefer Sydney as an opponent over Perth.
1) Travel. When you have to travel Away, then Home, then Away again, Sydney is a much better destination than Perth.
2) Finals Experience. Perth are reigning champs, with a large number of rings between them, and its a given they will go to another level in the finals.
3) Coaches. Gleeson is the toughest guy to coach against, especially come finals. Weaver is still unproven, and Vickerman (himself a 2x champion coach) would back himself there.
4) Plumlee. In one game he's already established himself as a game-changer for the Cats.

Cairns have a good run home but this weeks game with Adelaide will make or break both of their seasons. Adelaide need it more than cairns but if cairns lose this game it could spiral them a bit, Adelaide on the back of the Melbourne will be looking to keep this form rolling on.

Melbourne need to sort their locker room issues out soon before they fall to bits, but the real question is will this SEM import cause problems for teams fighting for 3rd and forth spot?

So... Paul Smith's twitter feed this evening
Yikes

Paul Smith is suggesting Sydney have not used their third import slot.

Can someone more in the know please elaborate on which of the following 3 players are deemed local then?

- Casper Ware.
- JaeSean Tate.
- Deshon Taylor.

"Can someone more in the know please elaborate on which of the following 3 players are deemed local then?"

Casper said that he'd "lived in worse places than Sydney"

And that was enough for the NBL.

Spelling matters to some. It's just a forum.
Most with half a brain realise he/she meant Goorjian.

Opposition supporters might think that Paul Smith is an embarrassment

Pineau is definitely in the box seat for the MIP, gone from backing up Bogut to starting and putting up solid numbers. Bruce and Naar are still playing back up roles. Bruce will always be a back up, whilst I think Naar in the right situation could start and if he does he will definitely win an MIP in his time, very good at running the offence, just needs to improve on the defensive end. Dech may even be ahead of these 2 in the race for MIP. Back to Dane, I do think he is going to get smashed this weekend by Plumlee and Bogut which might bring him closer to the pack in the MIP race if others can step up.

Dech is my pick for MIP.
Yes he is on a dud team but has capitalised on his opportunities.

Look, if you're going to have an award of "Most Improved Player", then subject to a few restrictions, it has to be just that "Most Improved."
Some of the results are truly shocking, and you can speculate that maybe it was a coaching issue, or whatever, doesn't matter.

Maybe it was Gaze, maybe it was Bogut, maybe he just hated Sydney and was homesick? Doesn't matter. In terms of improvement, it's Pineau then daylight. He's an absolute lock for that award. If you can find a bookie to take the bet, put your money on it.

Rookie of the year is a bit more interesting. Is Ball eligible?
Otherwise my pick would be Noi.

Paul Smith's conduct is very unbecoming of an owner / front office management.

You are supposed to be above such things, even if you see someone disregarding your player. There is no need to :
- Accuse others of Melbourne bias,
- Accusing Miles Plumlee of coming here for a holidays. Then asking if any other players would like to come to Sydney for a holiday.
- Stating you haven't used your 3rd import spot
- Lifting up the Kings as the most consistent team in NBL history (consistently what??? Not winning.)

If he is so easy to troll I hope the NBL community go at him when he talks more crap.

Some because one executive does it, we should turn the other cheek from now on?