Another two teams to look at in the Standings Clippers/Golden State

[arthurracoon]

now:

LAL and GS tied in standings (LAL wins tiebreaker), with LAC one game back

7. LAL
8. GS
9. LAC

 

[TheHopToad]

As long as GSW holds the #8 spot, I don't really care which LA team the Suns play....

 

[az1965]

As long as GSW holds the #8 spot, I don't really care which LA team the Suns play....

I prefer Lakers. It would be fun to see the miserable looks of defeat on Kobe and Phil Jackson. Post game interviews are also more fun with Jackson than Dunleavy .

 

[arwillan]

GS is blowing out the TWolves today and the Clips are losing to Seattle.

wrong. the clippers lost to sacramento, and the lakers are beating seattle

 

[arwillan]

so unless the clippers beat us (which they wont as we may play the starters in order to make sure golden state plays dallas in the first round) the suns will play the lakers in the first round and dallas will get GSW. SA is going to play denver regardless of what happens, as they are both locked in at their seeds.


I think phx can wrap up the 1st round in 5 games, but i really think dallas and san antonio will have to work.with denver clicking like they are, i think even sa's defense will be challenged. Dallas has been beaten by GSW all season, and they are on fire as of late so i think that would be a good matchup as well.

finally things are going our way, sort-of

 

[TheHopToad]

and the lakers are beating seattle

...but not by much. Lakers blew a big first half lead and now its down to 4 in the 4th...AGAINST THE SONICS, a team that is openly tanking.

I'm actually rooting for the Lakers tonight to keep GSW in the #8 spot, and now I know what it must be like to have to be a Laker fan all year long. I would get another job to occupy my time...

 

[Errntknght]

Sonics are down by 1 at the midway point of the 4th Q... they've outscored the Lakers 12-6 in the quarter... starting to look very bad for PJ's boys.

Ooops Evans hit a jumper and Kobe hit from 26 feet... Lakers up six... darn I hate to root for the Lakers but I would like to see GSW vs Mavs series

The Lakers have it wrapped up... 10 point lead w. 52 seconds to play.

 

[Errntknght]

The Lakers are guaranteed a playoff spot now and if they beat Sacramento they are the seventh seed.

 

[arwillan]

The Lakers are guaranteed a playoff spot now and if they beat Sacramento they are the seventh seed.

i wonder if the lakers want to win that game. i assume so, because nobody other than maybe GSW wants to be playing dallas, but then again there arent many teams that want to play phoenix either. kobe could probably use the rest, but i imagine he'll play to win against sac-town.

 

[TheHopToad]

kobe could probably use the rest, but i imagine he'll play to win against sac-town.

Of course he will. It's a chance at another easy 40-50 points.

Kobe racked up another 50 against a crappy team again tonight.

Since the beginning of the year, Kobe has scored 40 or more points 13 times. How many of those came against teams with winning records?

Answer: One. And the Lakers lost that game (to Houston).

Bring 'em on!

 

[az1965]

Lakers want to play Suns so they will try to win out. In case if they lose and GS won agains Dallas, then that is an interesting situation because that may put GS against us! I'd much rather play Lakers and match GS against Mavs.

 

[Griffin]

The only remaining scenarios are these:

7th - Lakers
8th - Warriors

Lakers have clinched a playoff spot and need one more win or GS loss to clinch 7th. Warriors can clinch a playoff spot with one more win and a Clippers loss.

7th - Warriors
8th - Lakers

If Lakers lose their last game, and GS wins their last two games, GS will get 7th and Lakers 8th.

7th - Lakers
8th - Clippers

If Clippers win both of their remaining games and Warriors lose one of theirs, Clippers will get the final playoff spot and GS will be out.

Remaining games:

Clippers @ Suns
Mavs @ Warriors
Hornets @ Clippers
Warriors @ Blazers
Lakers @ Kings

Most likely we will get the Lakers again in the first round. Hopefully this year four wins will be enough to win the series.

 

[azirish]

It's going to be a lot more interesting than most people imagined only a few weeks ago.

As it stands now, the Lakers have only one game remaining = in Sacramento on Wed. If they win, it doesn't matter what anyone else does because they hold the tiebreakers.

The Warriors have two games left - the Mavs on Tue and the Blazers on Wed. If they win both and the Lakers lose, then the Warriors get 7th place.

The Clippers only shot at getting into the playoffs would be for them to beat the Suns on Tue and the Hornets on Wed while the Warriors lose at least one game. The Warriors and Clippers tied their regular season series but the Clippers lead in Division record. If both teams go 1-1 in their last two games, the Clippers are out.

You would think the Mavs would prefer to play the either of the LA teams than the Warriors, but it is not clear if tanking their game on Tuesday helps them do that. Their problem is that they don't get the Lakers unless the Lakers lose on Wed, but they won't know that on Tue.

If the Mavs beat the Warriors, then the Lakers are set at 7th but it would give the Clippers hope of catching the Warriors. If the Mavs let the Warriors win but the Suns beat the Clippers, then the Mavs get the Warriors unless the Lakers lose.

IMHO, the Mavs will not tank the Warriors game. Beyond any matchup math, the AJ is not going to do anything that will let the Warriors think the Mavs are afraid to face them in the playoffs. The Mavs NEED to make a statement and cannot afford that kind of message.

 

[Russ Smith]

I'm trying so hard not to get my hopes up but god I hope the Warriors win out and make the playoffs.

I don't care if they lose the opening series, hell I don't care if they get swept, just make the playoffs will be progress!

 

[hafey]

Living in bay area, I hope the same. The warriors have really good, loyal fans. Plus I'd be interested to see them play the Mavs in the first round.

 

[arwillan]

Lets all cross our fingers that dallas and phx wins tomorrow. That would keep the warriors at the 8th spot and the lakers at 7th. more importantly, we all need to hope that the lakers win their game against sacramento, so we solidify the chances of meeting them in the 1st round.

If we face GSW in the first round, id be very worried. they can outplay us at our own game, and im not sure we have the D to keep them in check

 

[TheHopToad]

If we face GSW in the first round, id be very worried. they can outplay us at our own game, and im not sure we have the D to keep them in check

Let's not get too carried away with the Warrior paranoia. The Suns did take 3 of 4 from them this year and if they had another 2-3 minutes, they may have won the last game. Remember the Nuggets blew the crap out of us in Denver and we came back to blow them out the next game.

The best team almost always wins a 7 game playoff series, and the Suns are by far the better team.

 

[Lorenzo]

who cares. I could care less who the mavs play. I would like to see them play the warriors, but i could care less if they draw an LA team. Either way i think the mavs should think about mailing it in now.

 

[F-Dog]

My problem with Golden State is that they will go hard after Steve Nash, every single minute Nash is out there. The Suns could win that series in 5 and still wind up cursing their luck down the road.

I'd much rather see the Lakers and Smush Parker. Not only are the Lakers playing like garbage, and even at full strength, I don't think they can seriously challenge the Suns this year.

 

[jbeecham]

I'd much rather see the Lakers and Smush Parker. Not only are the Lakers playing like garbage, and even at full strength, I don't think they can seriously challenge the Suns this year.

Don't say full strength because they're missing Kwame Brown and you don't want to start the Laker fan backlash again This thread will be hijacked.

 

[F-Dog]

Of course, you can't ever forget about Kwame Brown--especially if it's your birthday...

 

[Griffin]

Oops, thought that conference record was the second tie-breaker, but I guess it's division record. So no matter what happens with the GS game tonight, the Clippers will still have a shot so long as they win. They will be playing like a desperate team.

 

[TheHopToad]

So while the Suns are playing the starters to win against the Clippers, the Mavericks are playing the JV squad against GSW.

Warriors 38, Mavs 17--2nd Qtr

 

[Bufalay]

short arms barea leading the mabs in scoring

 

[Wally]

Well George, Dallas did TANK. I would guess that they would rather have us play GS. I don't think much of AJ for doing this, but I must admit it was "smart". GS is playing the best out of the three and would have to be considered the toughest match-up for either Dallas or the Suns.

I don't understand why every one has the last two spots narrowed down to LAL & GS. What happens if LAL & GS both loose tonight & LAC win? Wouldn't that mean they all end up 41-41? Based on the tie breakers, it seems like LAL would be 7 & LAC would be 8 & GS would be fishing. What am I missing?

It's going to be a lot more interesting than most people imagined only a few weeks ago.

As it stands now, the Lakers have only one game remaining = in Sacramento on Wed. If they win, it doesn't matter what anyone else does because they hold the tiebreakers.

The Warriors have two games left - the Mavs on Tue and the Blazers on Wed. If they win both and the Lakers lose, then the Warriors get 7th place.

The Clippers only shot at getting into the playoffs would be for them to beat the Suns on Tue and the Hornets on Wed while the Warriors lose at least one game. The Warriors and Clippers tied their regular season series but the Clippers lead in Division record. If both teams go 1-1 in their last two games, the Clippers are out.

You would think the Mavs would prefer to play the either of the LA teams than the Warriors, but it is not clear if tanking their game on Tuesday helps them do that. Their problem is that they don't get the Lakers unless the Lakers lose on Wed, but they won't know that on Tue.

If the Mavs beat the Warriors, then the Lakers are set at 7th but it would give the Clippers hope of catching the Warriors. If the Mavs let the Warriors win but the Suns beat the Clippers, then the Mavs get the Warriors unless the Lakers lose.

IMHO, the Mavs will not tank the Warriors game. Beyond any matchup math, the AJ is not going to do anything that will let the Warriors think the Mavs are afraid to face them in the playoffs. The Mavs NEED to make a statement and cannot afford that kind of message.