I think we have a VERY legitimate shot at the 5th seed. DAL is in a bit of a free fall and only 0.5 games ahead of us. We have two more games against them in late March. Win those two and it gives us the tie breaker.
MEM just announced Marc Gasol is out for the season. They have been playing well without him, but I don't think that is sustainable for two more months. He is such a vital part of their team on both ends of the court. With him, they are a big slow, grind it out team. Without him, they are old, slow and a bit one dimensional.
Rising to the 5th seed would likely give us a 1st round match up against the Clippers. That's an interesting one. CP3 always plays well against us, but Lillard REALLY seems to like a challenge and would use that as motivation. For those that think Meyers Leonard is useless, he would be a very big factor against LAC. He has shown he's willing to body up on big, strong centers and get under their skin. That and his six fouls will prove valuable against Deandre Jordan. The real wild card is how Blake Griffin will re-integrate with the team when he comes back. Love him or hate him, the guy has talent and gives them another go-to scorer and a second NBA anointed superstar that will benefit from the post season officiating and Doc's constant whining. This would be the one area we would truly miss LaMarcus Aldridge. He's big enough to go head-to-head with Griffin on defense and long enough to shoot over him on offense. Basically, in the past Aldridge neutralized Griffin on both ends of the court. Without him, our guards and wings will have to really outplay their Clipper counterparts - and that will be a tough challenge.
But, that's getting ahead of things. A lot of games still to be played. I think we'll get at least the 6th seed, possibly the 5th. And, to me, with this young team rolling into the playoffs on an upswing, full of confidence and believing they can beat anyone, is more important than who we actually play. We've recently seen what this team can do when they play with confidence and aggressively attack their opponents. That's the team I want to see in the playoffs regardless of our seeding and opponent. That's a fun team to watch and a team that is capable of beating anyone.
BNM
