So Utah beats Dallas...

[KingSpeed]

Now it's getting interesting. Yes, it keeps Utah ahead of us but Dallas is on its way down the standings and the 6th seed is ripe for the picking. Houston will probably lose tonight and if we beat them again tomorrow, Utah will go up to 7th and we'll go up to 8th, kicking Houston down to 9th. So let's say that all happens and Utah beats New Orleans... Here's how it looks going to the break:

6. Dallas 29-26
7. Utah 27-25 (or 26-26 if they lose to NO)
8. Portland 27-27
9. Houston 27-28

1.5 games out of 6th!,

 

[PHXBlazer1]

I think Texas teams are on the way down and us and Utah are on the way up

 

[bemac]

Definitely prefer to see Dallas lose that game....They are old. Both Houston and Dallas are the week links in the pack heading down the stretch. Portland and Utah are both improving. Just going to be interesting what the trade deadline brings to each....

 

[ochocinco21]

Not to mention, Memphis is without Gasol for an extended period of time. But I think that might be getting a TAD greedy.

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[MickZagger]

Now we just need the Warriors to implode.

 

[BLAZINGGIANTS]

Now we just need the Warriors to implode.

Naw. Not the entire Warriors team.

Just Curry's knee.

(Just to make it clear, I'd never wish injury on anyone.)

 

[KingSpeed]

Not to mention, Memphis is without Gasol for an extended period of time. But I think that might be getting a TAD greedy.

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I don't think we can get to 5th but 6th best record in West is where we finished last year. Would be a real testament to NO, Stotts, and Dame's ability to move on post-Aldridge.

 

[Haakzilla]

...a healthy Exum makes Utah a scary team next year too!

 

[ochocinco21]

This thread may have jinxed us. Not only did Utah win in OT, but flop city decided to show up for a game. I'd like to see an even more deflated rockets team tomorrow night!

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[Natebishop3]

...a healthy Exum makes Utah a scary team next year too!

He seemed kinda underwhelming last year.

 

[Strenuus]

Wait, this was posted BEFORE the end of the game?

Oh, it was KS that made it. That makes sense, then.

 

[riverman]

Utah is a trap team for us...they did this last season and played better in the second half...I see them as our ping pong rival for the playoffs. Hopefully we can keep pace and respond in kind

 

[BBert]

Now we just need the Warriors to implode.

Not until we meet them in the playoffs.

 

[riverman]

I really want that 7 seed to face the Spurs in a 7 game series....the Warriors aren't losing to anybody in a series but just how sweet would it be to see Lamarcus completely choke against the team he spurned?

 

[ochocinco21]

I really want that 7 seed to face the Spurs in a 7 game series....the Warriors aren't losing to anybody in a series but just how sweet would it be to see Lamarcus completely choke against the team he spurned?

That would be awesome but realistically it would be an "I told you so" moment for LMA. Not sure I want that to come to fruition!

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[Draco]

Denver is praying we beat Memphis out for a spot. They get the Grizzlies pick if it's in the lottery and ours if we're in the playoffs. Plus they keep the higher of their own or the Knicks pick.

Memphis could really fall apart without Gasol. 5-9 seeds wide open.

 

[ochocinco21]

If we are indeed going to make the playoffs, then I would love to shoot for the moon and get to that 5 seed just to avoid 1-3 in the first round. If we are serious about courting a big time FA, getting to the second round (such a long shot, but one can dream) would be huge!

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[Haakzilla]

He seemed kinda underwhelming last year.

...LOL, as underwhelming as most 19 year old rookies

 

[Natebishop3]

...LOL, as underwhelming as most 19 year old rookies

He was the 5th pick and he came in and sucked in a big way.

4.8 points, 2.4 assists, 1.6 rebounds, and he shot 35% from the floor.

I have a lot of patience with big men because I think there's a harsher learning curve when you're 19 and you're going against full grown men in the post, but guards are supposed to be able to contribute right away. If I'm taking a guard 5th, I want him to contribute. Maybe not a star right out of the gate, but at least a solid starter. He played like crap.

 

[KingSpeed]

This thread may have jinxed us. Not only did Utah win in OT, but flop city decided to show up for a game. I'd like to see an even more deflated rockets team tomorrow night!

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Huh? I posted this after Utah won the game. See the thread title? Utah BEATS Dallas. What did I jinx? And Houston lost as expected. As far as our game tonight, I said IF.

 

[BlazerDuckSeahawkFan94]

That would be awesome but realistically it would be an "I told you so" moment for LMA. Not sure I want that to come to fruition!

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I disagree, it would be more of a statement by us. Him quitting on a team that got to the playoffs without him and three other of his starters? That has to hit home a little... Kinda puts your worth into question.

 

[Driew]

We need to take a deep breath here. Portland has *the* hardest remaining schedule in the entire league with an average winning percentage of 0.512.

If we take it one game at a time we could do very well. But we are young and could very easily see another slide where we lose an entire road trip like earlier in the season.

I don't want us to get our hopes up then see Armageddon haha

 

[Draco]

I really want that 7 seed to face the Spurs in a 7 game series....the Warriors aren't losing to anybody in a series but just how sweet would it be to see Lamarcus completely choke against the team he spurned?

Yeah I really want to play the Spurs. Of course I can drive to the games; but also because I think if anything Dame will play better with that pressure and LaMarcus will play worse. We still likely get handily beat but if LaMarcus has more 7 point performances like the games I saw in person here it'll be a nice F U. Basically we have everything to gain nothing to lose and the Spurs, LaMarcus are the opposite. The Spurs have also lost a number of series over the years as a dominant favorites; the 1vs8 seed against Memphis comes to mind.

 

[Natebishop3]

We need to take a deep breath here. Portland has *the* hardest remaining schedule in the entire league with an average winning percentage of 0.512.

If we take it one game at a time we could do very well. But we are young and could very easily see another slide where we lose an entire road trip like earlier in the season.

I don't want us to get our hopes up then see Armageddon haha

Look at it this way, if we make it through and we're still in the playoff picture, we'll know we're not fools gold.

 

[Draco]

We need to take a deep breath here. Portland has *the* hardest remaining schedule in the entire league with an average winning percentage of 0.512.

If we take it one game at a time we could do very well. But we are young and could very easily see another slide where we lose an entire road trip like earlier in the season.

I don't want us to get our hopes up then see Armageddon haha

Well yeah you might be right but we could win a bunch and get a seed even higher than 8th. That unknown is exciting. I know we won't win a title. I know we'll be a 90%+ underdog against any playoff opponent. But having that excitement and unknown is a lot of fun so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.

I might even get a bit ahead of myself more than normal because as you state its very plausible it'll all fall apart. Enjoy the race while we're in it.

 

[HolyBackboard]

With Gasol out indefinitely, that opens up the 5th seed. We're the same distance away from 5th as we are from 10th. I know the schedule tightens up, but if we can limit losing streaks and steal games here and there that were unexpected (Monday in Memphis), then we might be alright.

 

[illmatic99]

I think it will end up being:

5. UTA
6. HOU
7. DAL

And we battle it out with MEM for #8. They're 5 games ahead of us in the loss column-- hard to make up even with 30 games left.

 

[Natebishop3]

I think it will end up being:

5. UTA
6. HOU
7. DAL

And we battle it out with MEM for #8. They're 5 games ahead of us in the loss column-- hard to make up even with 30 games left.

Especially with our schedule.

 

[Driew]

Look at it this way, if we make it through and we're still in the playoff picture, we'll know we're not fools gold.

Very true. It's a win win really for us. If we win enough of these games to make the playoffs then we know we don't necessarily need that lotto pick to beat good teams. If we lose enough and keep our lotto pick then it should only help us next year.

 

[ochocinco21]

Huh? I posted this after Utah won the game. See the thread title? Utah BEATS Dallas. What did I jinx? And Houston lost as expected. As far as our game tonight, I said IF.

I was switching between threads and I was reading on another thread the scenario of IF we beat utah and the rockets lose... I apologize man! Same team here!

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