Blazers Ideal Playoff Opponent?

[ABM]

http://ripcityproject.com/2010/04/0...ayoff-opponent/?utm_source=bleacherreport.com

I thought this part was particularly amusing.

Utah: I don’t know about you, but I want absolutely, positively, no part of the Utah Jazz in the post-season. Without Oden and Pryzbilla there is not a team we match up worse with than Utah. We have known this since January. They are physical, they have big men who can score, and they have a defense that makes you work for every single thing you can get. Does that sound like a team we can beat in a 7-game series. I’m sorry but a matchup with the Jazz is no bueno. And this is without incorporating my feelings about Portland’s inabilities to win in Salt Lake City. In case you needed a reminder, we’ve lost 16 of 18 regular season games in SLC Women lie, men lie, numbers don’t: Utah is 4-0 against Portland this year and none of the games have been close/pretty. Absolutely not. All you need to know about a Blazer/Jazz matchup was summed up in this tweet by Meagher:

50% of Jazz fans want the Blazers in the 1st round (can’t blame em),http://sbnation.com/e/1164811 1000% of Blazers fans DO NOT want Utah.

It’s true. If you’re a Blazer fan who wants to play Utah you’re either super young (and thus super optimistic so stay that way until your dreams got crushed like mine), super high, super stupid or your wife/girlfriend is a Jazz fan and you know a Blazer bashing will result in plenty of bang bang for you. If you’re the latter, I can’t blame you..............

 

[Draco]

I don't understand the Utah fear, they are the same team that barely made the playoffs last year and got worked in the first round. They've had the same core for what 5 years and made little noise except the one season they lucked into a matchup with Golden State.

They are not a good defensive team, we will be able to score on them. I think people are needlessly worrying about the 0-4 season record just as many grossly overvalue the regular season success we've had against the Lakers. The playoffs are an entirely different beast.


My ideal first round opponent would be Oklahoma City but that's now extremely unlikely.

 

[KingSpeed]

The last game against Utah went into OT.

 

[KingSpeed]

No Western Conference team is playing worse basketball than the Lakers right now. In our one game against the Lakers that we played with Roy, we dominated them start to finish. I want the Lakers.

 

[GoBlazersGo]

In our one game against the Lakers that we played with Roy, we dominated them start to finish.

A.K.A.: "Boat-Raced"

Well, I can't say that they're the team I "want" to match-up with in the first round, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed to seeing more of this if we do:

 

[EPIC FAIL GILDERHUS]

I think the Jazz are kind of like the 08-09 Rockets to us-we just don't match up well with them. That having been said, we've done well historically against Utah at home in the playoffs-we've never lost a home playoff game against them if I remember correctly. Again, the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season, so if we can steal game 1 or 2, who knows what can happen.

 

[tlongII]

My ideal playoff opponent would be Minnesota.

 

[ABM]

I think the Jazz are kind of like the 08-09 Rockets to us-we just don't match up well with them. That having been said, we've done well historically against Utah at home in the playoffs-we've never lost a home playoff game against them if I remember correctly. Again, the playoffs are a completely different animal than the regular season, so if we can steal game 1 or 2, who knows what can happen.

Just remember, though, apart from that Game 1, deer-in-the-headlights thrashing, the Blazers played the Rockets rather close. Now that the Blazers have been to the dance, I expect they'd come out a bit more focused/prepared this year.

 

[Public Defender]

In order of preference:

Dallas - far and away my #1 choice.
Phoenix - would be great, but the chances are very remote it happens.

As for the Lakers/Jazz/Nuggets, I'd actually slightly prefer the Lakers because they seem to be falling apart. But in the postseason, things seem to go LA's way, so I'm reluctant to hope for that matchup. The Jazz and Nuggets are nearly impossible for Portland to beat on the road, and hard to beat in the Rose Garden, so I'd prefer to avoid either of them in Round 1.