re: Sprint for the 8th Seed

Memphis will be an underdog in every remaining game. They likely luck into one win.

Same thing with the Spurs. I see one or maybe two wins left for them.

Sacramento will be favored over only the Nets. They also likely have one or two wins left in that schedule.

Portland, though, could go 3-3 with their remaining games. They will beat the Nets, the Sixers are in the middle of an identity crisis, and they have a shot against the Nuggets and Mavs. I think that 2-4 is a real possibility, though.

And then you look at our schedule, and you see that we should be favored in every game. What's odd is that, coming into this tournament, I thought the Magic would be an easy win -- and now I think that could be the toughest game we have left.

If my guesses about the other teams are correct, then we likely need to go 5-1 in our remaining games to feel comfortable in getting the #9 slot (with a real chance at #8).