Re: Mark Berry's fears (and other notes... Khalid!)

[Francis Hsu <francis@ai.mit.edu>]

On Thu, Jul 19, 2001 at 09:49:19AM -0400, Berry, Mark  S wrote:
> expectations for the Celts. Barring injury, Miami, New York, Philly,
> Milwaukee, Toronto, Charlotte and Orlando are playoff locks. That's seven
> spots. That means the Celts are battling Indiana and improved teams in
> Atlanta, Detroit and New Jersey-plus maybe a Jordan-led Wizards-for one
> playoff spot. It's certainly possible that the Celts get that spot, but fans
> of those teams probably feel just as strongly that their teams are in line
> for it. It's going to be a dogfight.

I have to question your prediction on playoff locks.  If we assume that many
of the "lower echelon" teams, including the Celtics, have improved
significantly, that's going to be at the expense of any upper teams that
have not improved.  I don't think the Hornets have improved, and could
see them losing several or more games than they did last season.  Toronto's
lost Oakley, and is another possible team that could fall.  My locks are
Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Orlando.  Toronto's chances
look good still, but I don't think they're a lock.

Francis