Probably a ridiculous idea, but I'm going to say it anyway.

[maxiep]

We've secured a playoff spot, but with the Warriors loss, have likely coughed up the 6th seed. I think our best chance in the playoffs is to rest our guys (play Patty Mills, Luke Babbitt and Chris and Armon Johnson 35 mpg), lose out and play the Spurs.

Not showing up against NO and GS has fucked us. There will be no Dallas in round one. We're left with a Hobson's Choice: The smart move is to avoid the L*kers in the first round.

Nice going guys. You're not good enough to take anyone for granted and now you've likely given yourselves a 1st round exit.

 

[oldguy]

My vote is to win every game they can and try to take some momentum into the post season. They will have to play over their heads to get out of the first round, no matter which team they draw.

Go Blazers

 

[maxiep]

My vote is to win every game they can and try to take some momentum into the post season. They will have to play over their heads to get out of the first round, no matter which team they draw.

Go Blazers

We stand a chance against SA. We stand no chance against the L*kers. I'm in no mood for my last basketball for two years to be treated like a pinata by the refs against the Piss & Purple.

 

[KingSpeed]

A) The Warriors are up 17 on the Lakers so don't get so hard on our guys. The Warriors are playing like champs lately.

B) How do you know Mills/Babbitt and the Johnsons wouldn't win those games?

C) There are no banners for winning a round. The playoffs are about winning a title. Bring on the Lakers. Gotta be beat the best to be the best.

D) Why do you assume Spurs are an easier draw? Duncan has never lost in the first round.

E) We're still very much in the race for 6th.

F) Lakers could still finish third.

 

[maxiep]

A) The Warriors are up 17 on the Lakers so don't get so hard on our guys. The Warriors are playing like champs lately.

The L*kers are 2nd no matter what. They're coasting and they're on the road. GS at home is a playoff-level team.

B) How do you know Mills/Babbitt and the Johnsons wouldn't win those games?

Because they're terrible and our starters can't beat the L*kers or Warriors.

C) There are no banners for winning a round. The playoffs are about winning a title. Bring on the Lakers. Gotta be beat the best to be the best.

Yeah, but I like my hope stretched out. We're winning at most one game against the L*kers, and only so they can win the 4th game at home. They're the one team we don't want to face.

D) Why do you assume Spurs are an easier draw? Duncan has never lost in the first round.

Because we've at least beaten them. The L*kers own us. Best to let other teams take a shot at them.

E) We're still very much in the race for 6th.

Tell me how. We have to beat NO by one game. Look at the schedules. It's highly unlikely for us to finish one game better than them.

F) Lakers could still finish third.

Not the way Dallas is playing.

 

[KingSpeed]

We stand a chance against SA. We stand no chance against the L*kers. I'm in no mood for my last basketball for two years to be treated like a pinata by the refs against the Piss & Purple.

Why do we stand a better chance against the Spurs? They have the best record in the league, a championship core, and a great coach. Lakers are in a tailspin right now. Personally, I want the Lakers. Why run from a fight? Let's sweep the fuckers.

 

[maxiep]

Why do we stand a better chance against the Spurs? They have the best record in the league, a championship core, and a great coach. Lakers are in a tailspin right now. Personally, I want the Lakers. Why run from a fight? Let's sweep the fuckers.

Speed, there's no reasoning with you. If you can't see why we match up better with the Spurs than the L*kers I can't help you. Vaya con Dios.

 

[KingSpeed]

Maxie, Maxie, maxie, you're old enough to know that the regular season means NOTHING come playoff time. What we did against SA and what the Lakers did us in the regular season means ZERO. Calm down, enjoy the fact that we're a good team and just wait for the games to unfold. Again, why run from a fight like cowards?

 

[RoyToy]

The Blazers are going to finish with the 6th seed.

That said, it's not even a given Dallas ends up with the 3rd seed anymore. OKC is only 1 GB from Dallas and Dallas is starting to rest people.

Just let the last week play out and go from there.

 

[<-=*PdX*=->]

Looks like Maxie has taken over Mixims role nicely.

 

[KingSpeed]

Speed, there's no reasoning with you. If you can't see why we match up better with the Spurs than the L*kers I can't help you. Vaya con Dios.

Ummm the current Blazers roster with Gerald Wallace has only played the Lakers once. It was in LA, we were still developing chemistry, Camby got hurt, and we still had a chance to win. Our first loss against the Lakers were when Roy stopped being able to move and Aldridge was playing passively. The other loss was in overtime the night before the trading deadline when everyone feared they were leaving the team. The results of those games tell us nothing about how the current unit would fare vs the Lakers next weekend when the playoffs begin.

Maxie, the playoffs are a whole different beast. I know you know that.

 

[maxiep]

Maxie, Maxie, maxie, you're old enough to know that the regular season means NOTHING come playoff time. What we did against SA and what the Lakers did us in the regular season means ZERO. Calm down, enjoy the fact that we're a good team and just wait for the games to unfold. Again, why run from a fight like cowards?

Because a frontal attack is suicide. A smart attack is to hit where they're more vulnerable. Did we attack Normandy instead of Calais because we were cowards? Nope.

As for being calm, I am. We're good, but if we face the L*kers we're going to get rolled by a great team where the refs won't let them lose.

 

[maxiep]

The Blazers are going to finish with the 6th seed.

That said, it's not even a given Dallas ends up with the 3rd seed anymore. OKC is only 1 GB from Dallas and Dallas is starting to rest people.

Just let the last week play out and go from there.

Here is NO's schedule:

Fri, Apr 8 vs Phoenix
Sun, Apr 10 @ Memphis
Mon, Apr 11 vs Utah
Wed, Apr 13 @ Dallas

I say at worst NO goes 2-2

Here's ours

Thu, Apr 7 @ Utah
Fri, Apr 8 vs Los Angeles
Tue, Apr 12 vs Memphis
Wed, Apr 13 @ Golden State

We would have to go 3-1 and the best I see us going is 2-2. That means at best the 7th seed.

And if your argument is that DAL may fall to 4th, then it makes even more sense to drop to 8th. I'll take SA and DAL over LAL and OKC.

 

[maxiep]

Looks like Maxie has taken over Mixims role nicely.

Link?

 

[MARIS61]

You play every game like it's the last game you'll ever play.

That's what you get paid for, that's what you get cheered for, that's the only honest thing you can do.

To me it's six of one half dozen...

I think we rattle the Rapers pretty seriously, but I also think Memphis could slay them. In the end if you're good enough you'll win out, regardless of who you meet.

 

[MARIS61]

Because a frontal attack is suicide. A smart attack is to hit where they're more vulnerable. Did we attack Normandy instead of Calais because we were cowards? Nope.

As for being calm, I am. We're good, but if we face the L*kers we're going to get rolled by a great team where the refs won't let them lose.

I see.

You're saying we should buy the refs, make it a sure thing.

 

[maxiep]

I see.

You're saying we should buy the refs, make it a sure thing.

I would pay the refs a lot of money if they would just call it fairly.

 

[Boob-No-More]

You are right. It is a ridiculous idea.

The last thing the Blazers need is to go into the playoffs on a 5 game losing streak. This isn't a battle tested post season juggernaut that can just flip a switch and instantly play their best ball.

If anything, Nate needs to shorten the rotation and only play the guys who will matter in the playoffs. To me that means, other than garbage time, we need to play our top 8 players in the same roles and combinations we will rely on in the playoffs. Gerald Wallace is still new to this team. Brandon Roy is still trying to adjust to his new role. Nicolas Batum is adjusting to coming off the bench. No need to disrupt that.

This team is way to inconsistent. Juggling the line-up to play the end of bench guys to tank to the 8th seed won't help solve that problem, and losing 5 in a row won't help anyone's self-confidence.

I find the following fact amazing (as there are usually some statistical outliers, especially for guys with small sample sizes). If you sort our current roster by PER, this is what you get:

1  LaMarcus Aldridge 	21.6
2  Gerald Wallace       18.8
3  Andre Miller         17.8 	
4  Wesley Matthews  	15.3
5  Marcus Camby         14.9 	
6  Nicolas Batum        14.7
7  Brandon Roy 	        14.1 	
8  Rudy Fernandez 	13.6

That's our current starting five, followed by our top three bench players. And, those are the guys who need to be ready and comfortable in their roles in the playoffs.

I say play those guys comparable minutes to what they will be playing in the playoffs and try to win out the last four games, hope that New Orleans loses at least once and we grab the 6th seed. That would have us matched up against Dallas, a team we've beaten twice recently, and give us some momentum going into the playoffs.

BNM

 

[The Professional Fan]

Once again, 8th seed please.

 

[yenniedn]

Once again, 8th seed please.

Once again, Dallas please

I don't care to run all the scenarios . . . I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope everything falls into place and we get Dallas in the first round and show them another quick exit from the playoffs. SAS may not be playing as well as they did the rest of the year but Dallas is flat out playing like shiet.

 

[PapaG]

I'll take anyone except the Lakers as an opponent for the Blazers in the first round.

Seems like a good idea to me.

 

[Minstrel]

Dallas would have been my preferred match-up, but I like San Antonio as a match-up also. The Blazers have matched up well with them the past couple of seasons and the Spurs are old and have been looking tired. They had a massive lead for the #1 seed and the fact that it was briefly back in question shows that they faded down the stretch.

Sure, they have experience but eventually "experienced" just means "old." These aren't prime vets. Duncan is in his sunset and Ginobili and Parker, while both good players, are also fragile and not exactly iron men. While they may be forced to play big minutes in the playoffs, I don't think they'll be at their best doing so.

I mostly wanted Dallas or San Antonio in the first round and San Antonio is still likely. I don't particularly want LA in the first round, though I don't think I want Portland to lose out to try to avoid LA. Ultimately, though, I think they stand the best shot of an upset by facing the Spurs.

 

[Rhal]

I agree with the general consciousnesses which doesn't want to play the Lakers in the first round, but I also don't want to see us tank games just to get a better match up. Play out the season with heart and go into the first round with confidence and make it a dog fight whoever we play. I'd much rather see us lose a competitive series to the Lakers then see us purposely tank multiple games for a different seed. For those that don't' think its going to be a competitive series, we almost always come out and play some of the most intense basketball of the season vs the Lakers, Its why its so much fun to watch a Lakers game. I don't think we will roll over to them, instead I think we'll play intense and inspired ball to try and beat them.
I'm fine with whoever we get. Getting the Lakers is pretty much handing us a series loss but SA/Dallas could be fools gold like Phoenix was last year.

 

[jlprk]

This team plays to how high the opponent is in the standings. So it will do best against the Spurs, so that's who we want. Let's just hope we don't meet Golden State or Charlotte in the playoffs.

If anything, Nate needs to shorten the rotation and only play the guys who will matter in the playoffs. To me that means, other than garbage time, we need to play our top 8 players in the same roles and combinations we will rely on in the playoffs.

I like your plan to plan ahead, but I look further into the future. Since the next time these players assemble will be in 18 months, we should start Babbitt, Armon & Chris Johnson, and why not play Elliott what's his name? Same for Oden. If they get hurt, they have 18 months to recover. Oden's play might convince us to re-sign him so he can start paying his mother rent and watch Blazer games on TV.

The perfect game to experiment would be Golden State, since we know the team won't come to play.

 

[KingSpeed]

I hope our players don't think SA and Dallas would be easy street merely because we won a few tight games against them (when they weren't at full strength) in the REGULAR season. That shit means nothing. Nothing, I tell you. Teams turn it UP in the playoffs. None of these teams are cakewalks for us. Let's just do what Kobe said last week: "we're trying to win every game." THAT is what champions do. Let's just take it one day at a time and win the game in front of us. Don't get caught up in trying to manipulate matchups. It never works. Play for the best record possible. After all, you never know...we could end up playing the Grizzlies in later rounds and it's probably best to have HCA if it comes to that.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

if we win the next 4 games we will get 5th/6th possibly, so im gonna root for that instead, whats wrong with you guys

 

[PtldPlatypus]

Here is NO's schedule:

Fri, Apr 8 vs Phoenix
Sun, Apr 10 @ Memphis
Mon, Apr 11 vs Utah
Wed, Apr 13 @ Dallas

I say at worst NO goes 2-2

Here's ours

Thu, Apr 7 @ Utah
Fri, Apr 8 vs Los Angeles
Tue, Apr 12 vs Memphis
Wed, Apr 13 @ Golden State

We would have to go 3-1 and the best I see us going is 2-2. That means at best the 7th seed.

Since we're looking at schedules, shouldn't we look at Memphis' as well?


Fri, Apr 8 vs Sacramento
Sun, Apr 10 vs New Orleans
Tue, Apr 12 @ Portland
Wed, Apr 13 @ Los Angeles (Clippers)

I see them winning both home games, putting them 1 game behind us (at most) going into our April 12 meeting--which will be our third of the season, having split the first two. If we lose that game, we're probably going to get the 8 seed; if we also happen to lose to LA tomorrow, then we'll be assured of it.

We may be stuck with the 8 seed whether we like it or not. Unless, of course, Memphis is also trying to avoid the Lakers.

 

[BrianFromWA]

remember when some wanted to tank to get more lotto balls, but we beat the Sonics (may they R.I.P.) on "Black Saturday" to beat them by one game, and everyone was going nuts? And then we got the #1 pick.

I'm with Maris here. Play your ass off the next couple of games (though if you're winning by 20 in the 4th it's ok to pull starters..I know that's not normally done around here) and match up with who we end up matching up with. Screw taking teams lightly and getting run on our own floor. Let the Grizzlies and L*kers rest their starters so we can beat them by 50.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

remember when some wanted to tank to get more lotto balls, but we beat the Sonics (may they R.I.P.) on "Black Saturday" to beat them by one game, and everyone was going nuts? And then we got the #1 pick.

I'm with Maris here. Play your ass off the next couple of games (though if you're winning by 20 in the 4th it's ok to pull starters..I know that's not normally done around here) and match up with who we end up matching up with. Screw taking teams lightly and getting run on our own floor. Let the Grizzlies and L*kers rest their starters so we can beat them by 50.

actually that made us get oden instead of durant lol

 

[PapaG]

actually that made us get oden instead of durant lol

Yep.

Brian's post seemed to be a decent argument in favor of tanking.