Legitimate Contenders in the NBA: Part IV

Most teams in the NBA now have 7 or 8 games remaining in their regular season schedule.

Q1. Who are the top contenders to win the championship?

NBA 2007-2008 Quality Rating & Quality Index Rankings    (as of Wed, Apr 2, 2008)
TEAM	W-L	Win%	PDR	PAR	RDR	QR	QIR	EC	WC
Boston	60-15	.800	1	1	T-4	6	1	1
Detroit	53-21	.716	2	2	T-6	10	2	2
Houston	49-25	.662	10	4	1	15	3		6
San Antonio	52-23	.693	T-5	3	T-9	17	4		2
New Orleans	52-22	.703	T-5	5	8	18	5		1
Dallas	47-28	.627	9	6	T-4	19	6		7
Utah	50-26	.658	3	15	T-6	24	T-7		4
Philadelphia	38-37	.507	14	7	3	24	T-7	5
Cleveland	42-33	.560	15	9	2	26	9	4
LA Lakers	51-24	.680	4	21	T-11	36	T-10		3
Orlando	47-28	.627	8	13	T-15	36	T-10	3
Atlanta	35-40	.467	18	12	T-9	39	12	8
Washington	38-37	.507	16	11	17	44	13	7
Portland	38-37	.507	17	8	20	45
Toronto	38-37	.507	12	10	23	45	14	6
Chicago	29-45	.392	21	14	T-13	48
New Jersey	31-44	.413	23	17	T-11	51
Phoenix	50-25	.667	7	25	T-26	58	15		5
Denver	46-29	.613	11	27	21	59	16		8
Milwaukee	26-48	.351	26	22	T-13	61
Minnesota	19-55	.257	27	20	T-18	65
Sacramento	34-40	.459	20	24	22	66
Charlotte	28-47	.373	22	19	T-26	67
Indiana	31-44	.413	19	25	24	68
LA Clippers	23-52	.307	25	16	28	69
New York	20-55	.267	28	23	T-18	69
Golden State	45-30	.600	13	30	29	72	17 *		9 *
Seattle	17-58	.227	29	T-28	T-15	72
Memphis	20-55	.267	24	T-28	25	77
Miami	13-62	.173	30	17	30	77
Legend: W-L – Won Loss Record; Win% – Winning Percentage; PDR – Points Differential Rank; PAR – Points Allowed Rank; RDR – Rebound Differential Rank; QR – Quality Rating; QIR – Quality Index Ranking; EC – Eastern Conference Playoff Position; WC – Western Conference Playoff Position  Note: 1. Since 2000-2001 each NBA Champion and Finalist has had a QR <= 34. 2. Since 2000-2001 each NBA Champion has had a QIR <= #9. 3. Since 2000-2001 6 of the 7 NBA Champions have had a QIR <= #4.

What it takes to win the NBA Championship

A1. (1) Boston … the #1 team in the Eastern Conference with the best blend of Offense, Defense and Rebounding proficiency, in the NBA; (2) Detroit … with the type of experienced, quality depth required to challenge the Celtics; (3) San Antonio … the #2 team in the Western Conference, the reigning champs, who are playing their best basketball of the season right now; and, (4) the LA Lakers … who, if they get back Andrew Bynum (C) for the playoffs, will be able to field the type of well-balanced line-up consistent with a Top 4 in QIR.

[Note: At this point, Houston, due to Yao Ming’s season ending injury, should not be considered as the #1 team in the Western Conference.]

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Tags: NBA Analytics