If the Lakers try to lose tonight to the Jazz, why can't the Rockets do the same tomorrow night (to give it to the Mavs)? Let me say: Feed the Jazz floppers to the lions. Even if the Jazz pull a miracle first round win, we can still have chance to even the score with them at the second round.
With Utah locked 8th seed, we would most probably be 2nd seed and meet Dallas in the first round. First of all, There is no way NO could beat Spurs in SA, Spurs get too much at stake (Division Champion and Home Court) to let this one slip away. Secondly, with Denver already locked in NW division Champ and 2nd/3rd seed, while Portland fight for Home Court at home, I would expect a Portland win. Lastly, Dallas has NO incentive to win against Rockets. Would Dallas fight their butt off to beat the Rockets so they could face the Spurs in the first round?
Let's just win against the Mavs...If we win we draw either Dallas or NO in the first round with HCA and we WILL WIN.
I expect Dallas to play hard tomorrow. They are probably not in the habit of just giving rival division teams the division championship. I am going to predict the Hornets to beat SA tomorrow. Just a hunch. Duncan is not well and I think the Hornets will run past them in the 4th. What is interesting is that if SA loses and we win there is nothing left for Portland to play for by beating the Nuggets. They already own the tie break with the Spurs and couldn't catch us. So, I predict Hornets, Rockets, and Nuggets tomorrow, which means all road teams win. That would match us up at the #3 with the Hornets. Hopefully, though, I am wrong...SA wins, and Portland plays hard and gives us the #2 seed.
Rox need to win tomorrow: If Rox win and Denver loses then Rox are # 2 and will play Dall # 7 If Rox win and Denver wins Rox are # 3 and will play NOH # 6 If Rox lose, they could be seeded 3, 4 or 5 depending on the results of SAS/NOH and Denver/Port A win guarantees HCA for the Rox in the first round (and maybe second also) and they would not face LAL until the conference finals. If the Rox lose they likely face LAL in the second round and could even lose HCA for the first round. The question is, how important is it to Dallas where they are seeded (#6 or #7) If Dallas loses, they will face Houston or Denver in the first round. If Dallas wins, they will face San Antonio or Denver in the first round. There is no possibility that Dallas will face Portland in the first round since Portland will be either the 4 or 5 seed. If Dallas would wants to play Houston rather than San Antonio, then they tank the game.
The loss of Manu and a semi-healthy Duncan could make things easier for the Mavs. They won't give us any room tomorrow,we will have to fight from start to finish and play smart if we are to win.
<B> Games H2H Div Con Overall Magic </B> <B> Team W/L L10 H2H Left TB Div TB Conf TB TieBreak Number Diff</B> 1 Lakers 65-17 7-3 0-4 None L 44-8 L No*<B> 13</B> 2 Nuggets 54-27 9-1 3-1 None W 35-16 T Yes*<B> 2</B> 3 Rockets 53-28 7-3 9-6 35-16 4 Blazers 53-28 9-1 2-1 None W 31-20 W Yes*<B> 1</B> 5 Spurs 53-28 6-4 2-2 None T 9-6 T 35-16 T Yes<B> 2</B> 6 Hornets 49-32 5-5 3-1 None W 9-6 T 30-21 W Yes*<B> Exterminated</B> 7 Mavericks 49-32 6-4 2-1 1A W 6-9 W 28-23 W Yes*<B> Bridled</B> 8 Jazz 48-34 3-7 2-2 None T 33-19 W Yes*<B> Silenced</B> * Indicates the Tie Break is final <B>Clinched the #5 seed</B> Here is the latest batch of Magic Numbers after all games were played on <B>April 14</B>. Sorry for the lateness of this post. I had to take a long shower after rooting for the Lakers tonight. Finally, we can put an end to all of the tanking discussion. We have a very clear path in front of us with no worries about facing Utah in the first round. I’ve got a babysitter for my daughter on Wednesday night and am ready to watch basketball all evening. I’ll have the laptop at my side and will be posting updates in this thread as the evening goes on. Jazz are #8, Will Face Lakers in First Round It felt very strange to cheer Kobe and crew on tonight, but that is what I did this evening. I give Phil a lot of credit because he clearly wanted to win that game and send a message to the Jazz. The refs put the Jazz at the free throw line a ton in the first half, but still the Lakers managed a small halftime lead. Then the blew it open in the second half and destroyed the Jazz. These two teams will meet up this weekend in a first round matchup. Andrew Bynum had another strong game with 22 points, and Pau Gasol added 20 points, 9 rebounds, and 6 assists. Deron Williams had 25 points and 13 assists, and Carlos Boozer had 16 points and 9 rebounds. We are down to only a few scenarios for all teams. 2 Nuggets: With a win @Blazers Nuggets are #2 With a loss @Blazers Nuggets are #2 with a Rocket loss Nuggets are #3 with a Rocket win 4 Blazers: With a win against Nuggets Blazers are #3 with a Rocket loss AND a Spur loss Blazers are #4 with a Rocket win Blazers are #4 with a Spur win With a loss against Nuggets Blazers are #4 with a Spur loss Blazers are #5 with a Spur win 5 Spurs: With a win against Hornets Spurs are #3 and Southwest champ with a Rocket loss Spurs are #4 with a Rocket win AND a Blazer loss Spurs are #5 with a Rocket win AND a Blazer win With a loss against Hornets Spurs are #5 6 Hornets: With a win @Spurs Hornets are #6 With a loss @Spurs Hornets are #6 with a Mav loss Hornets are #7 with a Mav win 7 Mavs: With a win against Rockets Mavs are #6 with a Hornet loss Mavs are #7 with a Hornet win With a loss against Rockets Mavs are #7 8 Jazz: The Jazz are #8. Rockets Travel to Dallas for Enormous Showdown I’m glad to be done with all of this tanking discussion. The Rockets travel to Dallas for a huge showdown with the Mavs. If we get the W, we win the Southwest and are at least the #3 seed. If we lose, we could fall to #5 and would need help to even have homecourt. The stakes are tremendously high, and the Rockets should be treating this like a Game 7. I think we will bring our best effort and take them down. This is the biggest regular season game I can remember for the Rockets, and I am certainly looking forward to the action. I don’t know how I’ll pass the time tomorrow before the game tips off. With a win @Mavs AND a Nugget loss - Rockets are #2, Southwest champ, and face #7 Mavs AND a Nugget win - Rockets are #3, Southwest champ, and face #6 Hornets With a loss @Mavs AND a Spur loss AND a Blazer loss - Rockets are #3, Southwest champ, and face #6 Hornets AND a Spur loss AND a Blazer win – Rockets are #4, Southwest champ, and face #5 Spurs AND a Spur win AND a Blazer loss - Rockets are #4 and face #5 Blazers AND a Spur win AND a Blazer win - Rockets are #5 and face #4 Blazers Also on tap for Wednesday: Hornets at Spurs, Nuggets at Blazers
can this year be our lucky year? if we indeed are #2 seed heading into the playoffs, we possibly have a relatively easy path to the west finals.
