Gasol goes down.

[TJ]

Drats! I was hoping the Lakers would put an end to the Rockets (smoke-and-mirrors) winning streak.

Cant the NBA figure out a way for both teams to lose??

 

[az1965]

Pau is out for the rest of this road trip, at least.

Let's hope it translates to some losses...

 

[az1965]

Sweet Jesus. I'm not envious of that road trip...

Mar 14 - NO
Mar 16 - Hou
Mar 18 - Dal
Mar 20 - Uta

It's the Lakers last real tough road swing though.

Too bad none of these are back to back

 

[az1965]

Drats! I was hoping the Lakers would put an end to the Rockets (smoke-and-mirrors) winning streak.

Why?

We want Lakers to lose as many as possible so we can get the Pacific lead to ensure top 4 seeding.

 

[CaptainInsano]

NOH 1st seed
Suns 2nd seed

That would be nice, I don't see how we could get the 1st seed.

I would normally feel sorry for the lakers fans but, well, we lost amare for an entire year and were never even sure if he would be back.

If the lakers can get healthy before the playoffs it won't make that much of a difference anyway. If they are really the best team then they will still go all the way.

 

[greensborohill]

Crazy! No matter who wins those games it will be beneficial for the suns, of course it would help more if Lakers lost. I think they can beat Dallas, but Houston and Utah (28-3 @home) will be tough.

Dallas 29-4 @ home, is the one loss difference between us and Utah the difference in your determination that they can beat us and not UTH? Did you even watch the game a couple of Sunday's ago?

 

[carey]

I would say that his reasoning is Utah has been playing better than Dallas. Dallas has won 4 in a row over cupcake teams in the East, but prior to that they lost 4 of 5 with losses all coming against western play off teams SA, Utah, L.A., and Houston. Utah on the other hand beat Boston, Phx, Denver, Detroit, and Golden State with their playoff loss coming in N.O.

 

[TheHopToad]

Utah just lost to New Jersey tonight on a good drive and shot by Jefferson with 1.5 left. Vince Carter got away with a foul on Okur (shooting a 3) on the Jazz' last second attempt.

 

[dodie53]

upset day today?

 

[YouJustGotSUNSD]

Great day for the suns:

West coast teams lost.

East coast fringe teams won.

Atlanta gets more competition for landing a playoff spot.

If they make it to the playoffs I will vomit.

 

[Lorenzo]

I would say that his reasoning is Utah has been playing better than Dallas. Dallas has won 4 in a row over cupcake teams in the East, but prior to that they lost 4 of 5 with losses all coming against western play off teams SA, Utah, L.A., and Houston. Utah on the other hand beat Boston, Phx, Denver, Detroit, and Golden State with their playoff loss coming in N.O.

dallas.....like utah......has defeated every elite team at home that they've played. they just lost to houston.....without yao and dirk....but they've won 3 of 4 from the rockets. and they have dominated many of those home games. they destroyed detroit at home.....dominated SA...beat N.O. holding them under 90 pts.....beat LA and phx at home..dominated GS holding them to 80-90 pts....although beating utah at home was much closer. point is the mavs have played like a GREAT team at home, but are inconsistent on the road. utah is no different. In the last game vs. LA Gasol wasn't much of a factor. Dampier actually outdid him. the mavs have to keep kobe from scoring 45-50 points like he has the past two games vs. dallas. If the mavs play well offensively they will beat LA. I know the mavs lost 3 straight on the road vs. SA, LA, and Utah but they had a legit shot to win all of those games right down to the wire. on the road that's all you can ask for in the playoffs. If you play like that eventually you are going win a game here and there.

dallas actually has a better record vs. the WC than they do against the EC if I'm correct. their record vs. the west is second to the lakers last i checked.

 

[Lorenzo]

dallas.....like utah......has defeated every elite team at home that they've played. they just lost to houston.....without yao and dirk....but they've won 3 of 4 from the rockets. and they have dominated many of those home games. they destroyed detroit at home.....dominated SA...beat N.O. holding them under 90 pts.....beat LA and phx at home..dominated GS holding them to 80-90 pts....although beating utah at home was much closer. point is the mavs have played like a GREAT team at home, but are inconsistent on the road. utah is no different. In the last game vs. LA Gasol wasn't much of a factor. Dampier actually outdid him. the mavs have to keep kobe from scoring 45-50 points like he has the past two games vs. dallas. If the mavs play well offensively they will beat LA. I know the mavs lost 3 straight on the road vs. SA, LA, and Utah but they had a legit shot to win all of those games right down to the wire. on the road that's all you can ask for in the playoffs. If you play like that eventually you are going win a game here and there.

dallas actually has a better record vs. the WC than they do against the EC if I'm correct. their record vs. the west is second to the lakers last i checked.

dallas is 26-12 vs the west......LA is 26-11. Utah is 26-15. those are the top vs. the west.

dallas in their tough division is 9-5....NO is 9-5....SA and houston are 8-6. So that tells you dallas is ok vs. elite WC teams. like phx.....they have needed some time to gain chemistry with a new player. gain chemistry with a guy who has the ball on just about every offensive play. and yes the past 4 opponents haven't been contenders to say the least. but dallas did what a good team should do. and the closest game was a 19 pt victory.

 

[sunsbo]

Dallas 29-4 @ home, is the one loss difference between us and Utah the difference in your determination that they can beat us and not UTH? Did you even watch the game a couple of Sunday's ago?

My bad, I thought Dallas was more balanced in road and home wins. Dallas and Utah then could be really dangerous if they get home court in more than one series.
While I hope Dallas wins, I know Kobe will go off in one of those games, which he has against Dallas, at least more than I can recall for those other teams. Regardless, it will be a tough game.

 

[Mainstreet]

IMO, home court advantage is not that huge in the playoffs when good teams play each other in the playoff format. Good teams without home court advantage should be able to break through at least once on the road. How a team is playing entering the playoffs and staying healthy is more crucial. It's a tough guess who will emerge from the Western Conference.

 

[TheHopToad]

Dallas has already set the precedent last year that it doesn't matter what impressive winning percentage statistic you have in the regular season. Anyone can get bumped in the first round. It's never been more true than this year in the Western Conference.

The team that is the hottest in late April/May will win it. Nobody will care what any of those teams did before March.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

NOH 1st seed
Suns 2nd seed

That would be nice, I don't see how we could get the 1st seed.

I would normally feel sorry for the lakers fans but, well, we lost amare for an entire year and were never even sure if he would be back.

If the lakers can get healthy before the playoffs it won't make that much of a difference anyway. If they are really the best team then they will still go all the way.

The problem is can they really integrate Bynum and Gasol (and to a lesser extet Ariza) in time to make a run? I'm not sure. And when is Bynum suposed to be back? I havn't heard anything but even if he does come back its going to take time to get back to pre injury form. It is a kneecap problem.

I think the Lakers will be a power for years to come but I'm not sure this is their year.

To Hop toads point - it will be much like the tournament in that the hottest team going in the playoffs could take the whole thing. Houston might be peaking now and there are definitely other contenders out Wesy who may start ramping up. But there seems to be a team in the desert that is starting to heat up.

Perimeter defense is still our achillies heel. Whatever happens it should be exciting.

 

[Lorenzo]

IMO, home court advantage is not that huge in the playoffs when good teams play each other in the playoff format. Good teams without home court advantage should be able to break through at least once on the road. How a team is playing entering the playoffs and staying healthy is more crucial. It's a tough guess who will emerge from the Western Conference.

I agree. you look at last season. the mavs had an incredible road record and home. that didn't translate. In the playoffs all teams come to play on every night. It's just different. you don't see guys giving up on lose balls or not going up for rebounds. you don't see cheap layups....well not as many LOL depending on the team. At first I was concerned about the mavs losing three straight on the road over a week ago. that is unlike them. but when you look at the teams and the fact that the mavs had a legit shot to win each game......it kind of gives me hope for the playoffs. It's going to be tough.

 

[greensborohill]

I would say that his reasoning is Utah has been playing better than Dallas. Dallas has won 4 in a row over cupcake teams in the East, but prior to that they lost 4 of 5 with losses all coming against western play off teams SA, Utah, L.A., and Houston. Utah on the other hand beat Boston, Phx, Denver, Detroit, and Golden State with their playoff loss coming in N.O.

Okay, now if it were PHO you would say this . . . " We lost close games to the Lakers, Spurs, & Jazz all on the road in games played right after the trade while we were still gelling. In each game we were up in the 4th quarter and had a chance to win all three of those games. We got rocked by the Rockets w/ no Nowitzki and then pulled off 5 straight victories over teams we are supposed to beat by an average of 23.5 points, while some of these same teams we beat have been playing close games against the other contenders."

It's a matter of perspective. You spin it how you want, but I've watched the games and I know where my team is headed.

That being said, i may sing a different tune after tonight, but as of right now I feel like a big winning week is ahead and you can thank us after we beat the Lakers tonight.

 

[greensborohill]

BTW,

Don't know if it matters much to any of you, but over on the Dallas site, we actually know what you've been up to and are impressed. . . .

http://www.dallasbasketball.com/fullColumn.php?id=334

 

[Lorenzo]

Okay, now if it were PHO you would say this . . . " We lost close games to the Lakers, Spurs, & Jazz all on the road in games played right after the trade while we were still gelling. In each game we were up in the 4th quarter and had a chance to win all three of those games. We got rocked by the Rockets w/ no Nowitzki and then pulled off 5 straight victories over teams we are supposed to beat by an average of 23.5 points, while some of these same teams we beat have been playing close games against the other contenders."

It's a matter of perspective. You spin it how you want, but I've watched the games and I know where my team is headed.

That being said, i may sing a different tune after tonight, but as of right now I feel like a big winning week is ahead and you can thank us after we beat the Lakers tonight.

that's just how it goes......it's called being a homer. and we all are at times. I am impressed with dallas in how quick they have been able to adapt to kidd. In that spurs game it was tough and kidd wasn't much of a factor....which is why avery bench him at the end. which i don't agree with and you've seen avery has never done that since. the lakers game dirk basically took over in the 4th and I have no problem with that. kidd missed a potential game tieing FT in OT, but oh well. the utah game the mavs just went cold and for some reason didn't get the same foul calls down the stretch that they got all game.....that utah got at the other end. but all in all they deserved to lose all 3 games because you have to play better at both ends down the stretch. I was happy they didn't get blown away by any of those teams, but they should of won at least one of those games. tonight has to be a must win game at home. we'll see.

 

[nowagimp]

Sweet Jesus. I'm not envious of that road trip...

Mar 14 - NO
Mar 16 - Hou
Mar 18 - Dal
Mar 20 - Uta

It's the Lakers last real tough road swing though.

Damn the houston rockets jinx everyone they play. The list of injuries/DNP's to opposing players during their win streak is scary, its a jinx. They played the lakers without gasol, then this week they get to play the celtics w/out ray allen(plus, its on the 2nd of back to backs after the last second spurs win) and the hornets without CP+west, then the suns(w/out who?). I am feeling a little creeped out as a suns fan.

In the past few weeks thay have played the mavs w/out Dirk(suspension), hornets w/out west etc. The stars(and some good defense) appear to be aligning for the rockets to take the top seed.

 

[Lorenzo]

Damn the houston rockets jinx everyone they play. The list of injuries/DNP's to opposing players during their win streak is scary, its a jinx. They played the lakers without gasol, then this week they get to play the celtics w/out ray allen(plus, its on the 2nd of back to backs after the last second spurs win) and the hornets without CP+west, then the suns(w/out who?). I am feeling a little creeped out as a suns fan.

In the past few weeks thay have played the mavs w/out Dirk(suspension), hornets w/out west etc. The stars(and some good defense) appear to be aligning for the rockets to take the top seed.

I understand what you are saying. and if all of those guys were missing....especially paul that helps a lot. I'd love to play the hornets without the WC mvp. but aside from that they can only do what they can and you have to remember they are without their best big man who is the best Center in the west. are the stars aligning for them? i'd say no not when you look at yao getting hurt again and the fact that they still have yet to get beyond the first round with T-mac. another thing is that almost all of these teams will have their top players back to finish the season.....while yao won't be. and the celtics have played well all year long despite having a key guy injured. so maybe the stars are aligning(somewhat) to help them finish first, but that's not going to be the difference for them or any other team.

 

[greensborohill]

This is me eating my crow, I respect this board enough to come back and do such. Great game, maybe next time we won't get down by 25 to start the game. The team has heart but you gotta show it from the start

 

[Ode to Ocho]

Dallas 29-4 @ home, is the one loss difference between us and Utah the difference in your determination that they can beat us and not UTH? Did you even watch the game a couple of Sunday's ago?

Thanks for the jinx.

 

[Darth Llama]

This is me eating my crow, I respect this board enough to come back and do such. Great game, maybe next time we won't get down by 25 to start the game. The team has heart but you gotta show it from the start

Classy. Most people just don't come back. You rock dude!