Which 3 teams (if any) do you see us finishing ahead of to get the 8 seed?

[MIXUM]

Way i see it we are in a mix of about 6-7 teams for four spots.

Lakers
Nuggets
Jazz
Mavs

They are all in above.

Phoenix
Spurs
Blazers
OKC
Rockets
Grizz
Hornets (i think its over for them)

Which 3 are out? Obvioulsy the Hornets are likely dead without paul so thats one. I feel the grizz will falter as well. Which means can we finish better then the Thunder, Rockets or Suns? Also as crazy as it sounds dont give the spurs a spot yet. They have a BRUTA schedule left with lots of road games and back to backs.

 

[Nikolokolus]

A lot depends on what Phoenix does with Amare' (whether they do a pure salary dump or get actual talent in return), but the way I see it I think the Grizz, Spurs, and OKC get in. The Hornets are likely out with Paul down for so long and that leaves the Rockets and us likely battling it out for the 8th and final spot. If Daryl Morey gets aggressive and lands Andre Iguodala without giving up too much and if KP makes no significant move to get an actual center then I think we're going to be on the outside looking in when the playoffs start.

I guess what it boils down to, is what happens between now and trade deadline for those teams that we are lumped together with

 

[donkiez]

At this point there are way to many variables in play to say anything for sure. 3 though 10 are all realistic possibilities. Im definatly a lot more optomistic this saturday morning than I was last saturday morning though.

 

[MIXUM]

hornets are done. we have 2 beat 2 teams in the current race to get in.

okc and grizz could fizzle out in the stretch run. lose some close games cause they are young.

your right though.. suns trading amare is key. if they keep him.. they are in.

i think our scoreboard watching should be grizz, okc, and rockets from here on out

 

[OddEnormous]

haven't you heard?

Brandon Roy's not playing tonight. There's no way we're making the playoffs now.

 

[RoyToy]

Really not worried about the Blazers playoff chances. I'm actually pretty confident they get in.

 

[Nikolokolus]

hornets are done. we have 2 beat 2 teams in the current race to get in.

okc and grizz could fizzle out in the stretch run. lose some close games cause they are young.

your right though.. suns trading amare is key. if they keep him.. they are in.

i think our scoreboard watching should be grizz, okc, and rockets from here on out

Actually the latest rumor is Andre Iguodala for Amare' and Barbosa ... to me that makes the Suns quite a bit more dangerous. Amare' puts up numbers but he's a terrible defender and rebounder so he's kind of net minus for that sqaud. Iggy gives them a true playmaking swingman who is going to feast on Phoenix's uptempo style.

As for the Grizz and the Thunder they may be young, but they do have a couple of positives in their favor. The Grizz have an almost overwhelming starting 5 and say what you like about Zach's time in Portland, NY and LA, he's actually leading that team (defending, being their go to guy, and even passing!). The Thunder also are unlikely to falter since so much of what they do well starts with defense; if they'd been living off of their offense in the first half of the season I'd agree that the potential for a fall-off would be high, but I don't see them backsliding, in fact I wouldn't be shocked if they ended up in the 5th or 4th seed when it's all said and done.

 

[MIXUM]

no way in hell thunder get a top 4 seed bro.. no way.

at best 5... but thats highly unlikely.

also dont forget injuries... the grizz get one to a starter and they are dead

 

[Kaydow]

A lot depends on what Phoenix does with Amare' (whether they do a pure salary dump or get actual talent in return), but the way I see it I think the Grizz, Spurs, and OKC get in. The Hornets are likely out with Paul down for so long and that leaves the Rockets and us likely battling it out for the 8th and final spot. If Daryl Morey gets aggressive and lands Andre Iguodala without giving up too much and if KP makes no significant move to get an actual center then I think we're going to be on the outside looking in when the playoffs start.

I guess what it boils down to, is what happens between now and trade deadline for those teams that we are lumped together with

Trade deadline could have an impact. Who stays healthy WILL have an impact. A few of the teams we are battling don't have that much depth and have stayed really healthy SO FAR.

Memphis: Starters have only missed 4 games. They lose a guy or two for an extended period and it could be nosedive city.

Oklahoma City: Starters have missed 2 games. If one of their Big 3 go down, they are in trouble.

Houston: Obviously they've played w/o Yao and T-Mac all year. But from their starting five they started the season with - only one missed game (Ariza) They have a little more depth than Memphis or Okl. City, but they can't afford to lose anyone of their front line.

New Orleans: Looks like they are circling the drain. W/O CP3, that is a very mediocre team.


It could all come down to who can avoid the injury bug.

 

[Nikolokolus]

no way in hell thunder get a top 4 seed bro.. no way.

at best 5... but thats highly unlikely.

also dont forget injuries... the grizz get one to a starter and they are dead

Dallas is faltering, the Spurs are looking old ... the way I see the west shaking out is Lakers, Utah, Denver, OKC, Mavs, Spurs, Phoenix, (?)

 

[RoyToy]

Memphis isn't even in the picture for me. They're a much better team this year, but I just don't see them lasting. They've lost 4 of their last 5 and were blown out by Houston last night at home. As the playoffs near and teams ramp it up, I don't see them keeping up.

I have more faith in OKC however. They have one star in Durant, and another guy in Westbrook who imo is just as important to the Thunders success as Durant. 8th in the league in assists and is their playmaker for the whole team. I liken Westbrook/Durant to Billups/Carmelo. How good were the Nuggets before Billups?

Houston is a good team as well but I actually like OKC and Portland over them because they're more of a collection of good talent with no great players, meaning they need to make a impact trade if they want to see the playoffs this year.

 

[MIXUM]

we really need to get 1 of these next 3 badly. i just hope we dont go 0-3 before the break. that would hurt our playoff chances badly!!!!

 

[Nikolokolus]

we really need to get 1 of these next 3 badly. i just hope we dont go 0-3 before the break. that would hurt our playoff chances badly!!!!

True ... but wouldn't going 0-3 at any point from here on out equally hurt our playoff chances?

 

[MickZagger]

Dallas does not belong in any kind of first tier. They are playing horrible ball of late, I think they've lost 5 of their last 8. Utah will struggle down the stretch.

 

[BlazerBenner]

Phoenix
Spurs
OKC
Rockets
Grizz
Hornets

We'll finish ahead of all of those.

 

[Nate Dogg]

hmm..

 

[MIXUM]

i hope you are being sarcastic. the absolute best we could get is the 8 seed...best

 

[hasoos]

I personally gave up on the playoffs a while back. Maybe we will get lucky and vault in the lotto.

 

[MIXUM]

so did the blazers after last nights performance. so did kpee since no move has been made.

 

[hasoos]

so did the blazers after last nights performance. so did kpee since no move has been made.

Last nights performance was just a piece of the whole story. This has been over for a while now IMO, you could tell from the energy from last nights crowd that they knew it too before the game even started. They just don't want to admit it.

 

[MIXUM]

Well hassoss then that tells me three things...

1. this teams talent is overated.

2. playoffs "next year" are by far a lock.

3. you must be a huge kpee fan. excepting failure

 

[hasoos]

Well hassoss then that tells me three things...

1. this teams talent is overated.

2. playoffs "next year" are by far a lock.

3. you must be a huge kpee fan. excepting failure

For all the talking about how deep this team is, 4 and 6 int he last 10 while Roy has been out pretty much states the opposite.

 

[The Sebastian Express]

When you're missing four of your best seven Blazers then depth takes a hit - depth is supposed to pick up the slack of one big time missing player, or a couple. Not four of the top seven - especially when two of those are your two best post defenders and enforcers in the Western conference.

Also the word is expecting (or accepting depending on what you were trying to say, Mixum) which I find ironic when the next word is failure.

 

[Nikolokolus]

Well hassoss then that tells me three things...

1. this teams talent is overated.

2. playoffs "next year" are by far a lock.

3. you must be a huge kpee fan. excepting failure

You're funny MIXUM, you make me laugh at least twice a day. Thanks!!