Best Case Scenario.........

[THE HCP]

Tomorrow night we beat OKC and San Antonio loses at Boston We move past SA and be in a virtual tie with OKC? Our record would be 45-29 and OKC would be 44-28. I'm no good with %'s. Or would we be percentage points behind OKC?

 

[yenniedn]

I'm hoping for the best also but OKC and SAS have been playing out of their minds lately. Portland's been winning too but these two teams immediately above them don't look like they're going to hand over their seeds without a fight. It'll be a tough game - probably the biggest of the year so far. Can't wait!

 

[THE HCP]

I was just saying what I hope happens. I am in no way saying a W here tomorrow night is a sure thing. I hope the Sonics are a little cocky after taking it to the Lakers. It will be tough, that is for sure.

 

[BlazerBeav]

We match up very well with OKC. If we're balling like we did tonight against NO, this one is ours!

 

[EGame]

I think San Antonio will lose to a Boston team who has looked much better as of late. Now, OKC will be tough tomorrow, but we can beat them. Heck, we beat them at OKC already, why the hell can't we do it again?

Oh and to answer your question, even though we may be technically in a virtual tie, I don't consider anything a tie when the other team would be 1 loss better than us assuming we beat them.

 

[julius]

what, in the history of this franchise outside of 1977, makes you think anything will go our way when we expect it to?

 

[MIXUM]

we arent beating okc... no way.

 

[chris_in_pdx]

we arent beating okc... no way.

Yes, because you have been so spot on with your predictions and observations up to now.

 

[Paxil]

We would be behind OKC if our record was 45-29 and theirs was 44-28... but it really doesn't matter how they list unless we have played the same number of games. Just think of it this way... if we were are 44-28 we'd be expected to win 63% of our games to maintain that winning percenter... winning one and lossing one is 50%... below that pace. Some papers just list by fewest losses... some by percentage... but again... it doesn't really matter because we will play some # by the end.

 

[hasoos]

we arent beating okc... no way.

History says different. The Blazers are like 13-3 in the end of back to backs, and have beat OKC on their home floor the last 2. Quit acting like OKC is some unbeatable juggernaut, because they aren't. They have no shot blocking, sketchy defense, and if you control the pace on them they have problems, and Portland is one of the best in the league at making you play their pace.

 

[jwhoops11]

The Spurs have played really well over this tough stretch, but we'll catch them in April. They've got the Lakers, Orlando, Denver, Dallas, and some tough teams in Memphis and Houston.

I wouldn't count out passing OKC also. They have games in April at Boston, at Dallas, at Utah, Home against Denver and Phoenix.

Tough stretches to end the season for both teams with very difficult road tests.

I know Portland has two (most likely) road losses on their schedule in Denver and the Lakers, but we also have the Knicks, the Kings, the Clippers and the Warriors on our schedule.

I think Portland finsihes ahead of the Spurs, and I wouldn't be suprised if they finished tied with OKC.

 

[Public Defender]

It'll be a tough game - probably the biggest of the year so far. Can't wait!

Really big game for both teams.

 

[illmatic99]

If we want to catch or pass OKC, this game is a must win. We have to get the tie breaker.

 

[brooklynballer]

we arent beating okc... no way.

Since we beat OKC today, will you please just STFU. Man, I don't actually post very often but, jeez louise, fucking chill already dude or you're gonna have a heart attack.

P.S. If you like the Thunder so much and think they have a brighter future then we do, then go jump on their bandwagon. Mark my words, the Thunder won't win more than a single game in the playoffs this year. Until they get an inside presence they're gonna be one-and-done. If Oden (or the gimp as you like to call him) develops any semblance of an offensive game, I guarantee we finish ahead of OKC in the standings for the next 10 years.

 

[yenniedn]

we arent beating okc... no way.

Well what the fuck do ya know . . . Rudy Ceeee is wrong again. And tomorrow the sun will rise.

 

[BGrantFan]

we arent beating okc... no way.

Whoops. What a fucking stupid prediction.

 

[MickZagger]

we arent beating okc... no way.

You aren't very good at life are you?

 

[THE HCP]

Well half of the scenario went down the way we wanted. I'll be damn.... San Antonio is pissing me off!

 

[THE HCP]

WESTERN W L PCT GB HOME ROAD DIV CONF PF PA DIFF STRK L10
1 x - LA Lakers 54 19 .740 - 32-5 22-14 12-2 32-12 102.5 96.7 +5.8 Won 1 8-2
2 x - Dallas 48 25 .658 6 25-11 23-14 7-6 26-18 101.6 99.7 +2.0 Won 1 6-4
3 x - Denver 48 26 .649 6 ½ 30-6 18-20 10-4 29-15 107.1 102.5 +4.6 Lost 1 5-5
4 x - Utah 48 26 .649 6 ½ 29-8 19-18 7-8 27-18 103.9 98.0 +5.9 Won 1 6-4
5 Phoenix 47 26 .644 7 29-9 18-17 12-4 31-16 110.5 106.0 +4.5 Won 7 8-2
6 San Antonio 44 28 .611 9 ½ 26-11 18-17 8-5 26-18 101.1 96.2 +4.9 Won 2 7-3
7 Oklahoma City 44 28 .611 9 ½ 24-13 20-15 8-4 24-20 100.1 96.6 +3.5 Lost 1 6-4
8 Portland 45 29 .608 9 ½ 24-13 21-16 7-7 29-16 98.1 94.8 +3.3 Won 3 8-2

Memphis 38 35 .521 16 22-15 16-20 3-8 20-25 102.8 103.3 -0.5 Lost 2 6-4
Houston 36 36 .500 17 ½ 20-17 16-19 8-5 25-21 101.6 101.8 -0.2 Lost 4 5-5
New Orleans 34 40 .459 20 ½ 22-14 12-26 6-8 23-24 99.9 102.5 -2.6 Lost 2 2-8
LA Clippers 27 46 .370 27 19-17 8-29 3-10 13-33 95.7 101.6 -5.9 Lost 1 2-8
Sacramento 24 50 .324 30 ½ 17-19 7-31 4-10 15-30 100.0 104.2 -4.2 Lost 4 3-7
Golden State 21 52 .288 33 16-22 5-30 5-10 12-34 108.6 112.3 -3.7 Won 1 4-6
Minnesota 14 60 .189 40 ½ 9-27 5-33 3-12 7-39 98.1 107.6 -9.5 Lost 16 0-10

 

[THE HCP]

SA next 4 games- @ NJ/HOU/ORL/@LAL

OKC next 7 games- @ Philly/@Boston/@Dallas/Min/@Utah/Den/Phx

 

[MickZagger]

SA next 4 games- @ NJ/HOU/ORL/@LAL

OKC next 7 games- @ Philly/@Boston/@Dallas/Min/@Utah/Den/Phx

We got to take care of Denver. Its going to be a tough game, if we play like we did against Dallas and OKC we can do it.

 

[EGame]

We got to take care of Denver. Its going to be a tough game, if we play like we did against Dallas and OKC we can do it.

The way I look at it, we have to take care of the teams we should beat, especially the scrubby ones such as the Knicks and Clippers who have beat us once already. Of course, you want to win against teams like Denver which would be excellent, but the games we need to take care of in order to try and think about moving up is beating the horrible teams. Beating teams like Denver or Dallas again will be very helpful to going up.

 

[MickZagger]

The way I look at it, we have to take care of the teams we should beat, especially the scrubby ones such as the Knicks and Clippers who have beat us once already. Of course, you want to win against teams like Denver which would be excellent, but the games we need to take care of in order to try and think about moving up is beating the horrible teams. Beating teams like Denver or Dallas again will be very helpful to going up.

We've won what 14 in a row against teams under .500? I'm not really worried how we play against shitty opponents anymore.

 

[EGame]

We've won what 14 in a row against teams under .500? I'm not really worried how we play against shitty opponents anymore.

I agree, Camby has made a difference and our team seems to be meshing. But not to long ago we did almost lose to the Wizards at home...

 

[THE HCP]

Denver is such a tough place for us to play. Hope we handle the NYC and some of our key guys can get some rest. Back to backs in Denver are hard cause the team doesn't get to the hotel til like 2:30 AM!

 

[MickZagger]

Isn't it crazy how as of now, 16 games over .500 in the West gets you an 8 seed?

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Isn't it crazy how as of now, 16 games over .500 in the West gets you an 8 seed?

This isn't the first time. Remember 2 years ago?

 

[Rastapopoulos]

Do we want to just get as high up the rankings as possible, or do we want to make sure we match up with Dallas? Dallas looks like they're going to be #2, so don't we want to stay in 7th?

It would make sense to shoot for moving up further if there was a realistic chance of getting home court. But is there?

Lakers vs. OKC as a first round matchup: that I'd watch.

 

[BlazerCaravan]

I want to go as high up as possible; Denver's been playing badly lately too, and even though they owned us this regular season, I think we could beat them as well. Plus, I'm not entirely sure Dallas will fold as easily as they do during the regular season. Just push and push, and win as many games as you can.

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Do we want to just get as high up the rankings as possible, or do we want to make sure we match up with Dallas? Dallas looks like they're going to be #2, so don't we want to stay in 7th?

It would make sense to shoot for moving up further if there was a realistic chance of getting home court. But is there?

Lakers vs. OKC as a first round matchup: that I'd watch.

Either Dallas or Denver, I'm OK with; in their weakened state, I think we can take the Nuggs in a series. In fact, I think I'd prefer to have Denver in the 3-6 match-up in the first round--which I think we'd win--giving us either Dallas (whom we would beat) or home-court advantage over the 7 seed (whether OKC or SA).