I'm betting Nuggets tank vs Portland tonight to avoid the Lakers. I mean they've done it before... didn't the 2019 Nuggets tank to avoid the Rockets... besides it would be the smart move IMO. No way would I want to face the Lakers in the 1st round. Clippers (smartly) already tanked a game the other night to avoid that scenario.
Nuggets don't control whether they play the lakers or not. The clips could just lose also tonight and have denver remain the 3rd seed. The clips rested everyone fri and could do it again today. They all play at the same time so none of them will know their outcomes in time if all this "ducking" is in play
If the Nuggets lose to the Blazers. Blazers will be 6th seed. Lakers will be 7th seed. Clippers winning or losing only effects whether they or Nuggets are the 3rd or 4th seed.
grizz really don't like winning games to make the playoffs. lost everything last year in the bubble, about to do it again. i didn't see the game but how do you let steph curry take 22 3 pointers and then pretend you were trying to win? the warriors are an elite defense with one elite offensive player and you let him take 22 of his favorite shots in one game. amazing.
Aside from really discipline/good/switchable defensive teams its really difficult to stop Curry from getting decent (for him) looks from threes, despite the warriors lack of shooters/threats. Toronto in 2019 did it vs the durant/klay-less warriors with the box and 1. The Rockets did a great job also with the switch everything defense. Both defenses were great at limiting/combating the off-ball action of the pin-downs, split-action and other myriad of screens the warriors run off-ball as well as the high pnr. Dillon Brooks did a great job of following,trailing, top-blocking Curry off ball and around high pnr, but he fouled out (Curry also missed a couple he usually makes). Curry killed the grizz nearly everytime he was defended by anyone other than Brooks.
Draymond and curry are great players. I'm convinced curry is better than Jordan. I would not be surprised if he doesn't get a couple of more championships. You might not like curry or Draymond, but they are once in a generation players on the same team. They are unbelievable players.
I do not watch or pay attention to the Cavs at all, and I just found out that Colin Sexton is averaging 24.5 ppg on 48/37/81 shooting splits before today, if u had asked me how much I thought Colin Sexton was averaging, I would’ve guessed 16 or 17 ppg that’s the quietest 25 ppg scorer I’ve seen in a minute
The bucks having nightmare flashbacks having to face the heat in the playoffs. That’s the worst possible matchup for them as a higher seed
God damnit Worst case scenario for our Blazers pick is playing out, which is the difference of it being potentially 19th, and now likely 23rd
They really should've done what the Clippers did and what the Nuggets are doing now... tank a game to secure a more favorable match-up. Instead they did the opposite saturday night by beating the Heat. If they had rested everyone and let Miami win, it would've nearly guaranteed the Heat the 4th (unlikely) or 5th (very likely) spot. Hawks had the 3 way tiebreak adv over Heat/Knicks, but Heat had the 3way tiebreak advantage over Knicks. Now they'll have to face a healthy Heat team that's been one of the best teams in the league the past couple months, instead of the game but one dimensional knicks.
Yeah, but the Lakers could also be the 8th seed. I think the Warriors are too small to compete with the Lakers, but anything can happen in one game. I thought the Grizzlies would have a better chance to upset the Lakers because Valanciunas can stand up better to LA's big front court. And, I'd love to see the Lakers eliminated, but I don't see them losing two. And once they get in, regardless of seed, as long as they are healthy they are still the favorite Ito come out of the West and the biggest threat to the Nets.
Rockets have the Bucks pick at #24 and Blazers pick at #23 Rockets will either land a top 4 pick, or #18 via the Heat depending on what happens on lottery night.
The point of the post you are replying to was made in reference to the Nuggets and also the Clippers avoiding the Lakers in the 1st round and what their seeding would be at the end of the regular season. Both teams loss games they had to, in order to guarantee that result. But yes the Lakers could possibly end up as the 8th seed instead of the 7th or they may not even make the playoffs (IF they lose the two playin games).
We don’t know the POR pick yet. It’s a 3-team, coin flip tiebreaker, assuming Lakers don’t get knocked out.
