Chuck Daly used to project the team's wins and losses each month. There were games that he thought his team should win, but he also conceded some losses. Back-to-back games, home versus away, and specific player match ups were all part of the rationale. I really liked getting this insight though, and having a record to compare the team to relative to some level of expectation.

In this vein of thought, I've prepared a projection for the rest of the month. Intuition, hope, and probably some prejudice are used to make this projection, but I thought I'd put it out there and let others consider it:

December Schedule and Expectations

Dec 1 at Dallas, expected a loss, lost 92-77, Record 5-13

Dec 2 vs Cleveland, expected win, won 89-79, Record 6-13

Dec 5 vs Golden State, expect win, Record 7-13 – at home; gaining momentum at home; defense rules

Dec 7 vs Chicago, expect win, Record 8-13 – Bulls overall superior team, but we are at home...

Dec 8 at Cleveland, expect win, Record 9-13 – tougher to win but our back court rules!

Dec 10 at Phoenix, expect win, Record 10-13 – expect Suns to want revenge, but Pistons meet the challenge

Dec 11 vs Denver, expect loss, Record 10-14 – close, but I sense weariness and give the edge to Nuggets for now

Dec 14 at Brooklyn, expect win, Record 11-14 – Surprise! Nets didn't expect us to show up and play this hard

Dec 15 vs Indianapolis, expect loss, Record 11-15 – close but Pacers SF goes crazy on us

Dec 17 vs LA Clippers, expect loss, Record 11-16 – another close one, but Billups wins it

Dec 19 at Toronto, expect win, Record 12-16 – time to get back on track, AD starts and has big game!

Dec 21 vs Washington, expect win, Record 13-16 – Piston are better team, being at home helps too

Dec 22 at Washington, expect win, Record 14-16 – Pistons edge them in a really close one, Stuckey wins it

Dec 26 at Atlanta, expect loss, Record 14-17 – away games still tough to win

Dec 28 vs Miami, expect loss, Record 14-18 – we’re not to this level yet, but Heat also come prepared to play

Dec 30 vs Milwaukee, expect loss Record 14-19 – close one we could pull out, but Bucks hang on

9-7 for the month. Too optimistic? Not optimistic enough? What do you think?