they could. or they could put their starting lineup to the test with Bynum back. they trail Cleveland by two losses now. there's three games left for the Cavs, including Boston. the season isn't over yet for the Lakers.
i think the logic thing for the lakers to do is to try to win out as well. why everyone is assuming they only have the cavs in mind? if the lakers do indeed advance to the finals, it's not a guarantee they play the cavs. could be the celts or even the magic. so from the lakers' perspective, they'd like to win as many games as possible. mark my words - the jazz will be knocked down all the way to #8 and get swept by the lakers in the 1st round!
<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 63-17 7-3 0-4 None L 42-8 L No*<B> 14</B> (-2) 2 Nuggets 53-27 8-2 3-1 None W 34-16 T Yes*<B> 3</B> (-1) 3 Rockets 52-28 7-3 8-6 34-16 4 Blazers 51-28 8-2 2-1 None W 29-20 W Yes*<B> 2</B> (-1) 5 Spurs 51-28 6-4 2-2 None T 9-6 L 33-16 W No<B> 3</B> (-1) 6 Hornets 48-31 4-6 2-1 1H W 8-5 L 29-20 W Yes<B> Exterminated</B> 7 Mavericks 48-31 7-3 2-1 1A W 6-8 W 27-22 W Yes*<B> Bridled</B> 8 Jazz 47-32 4-6 2-2 None T 32-17 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 10</B>. This was an incredible night of action for the Western Conference. Only the Nuggets were off, and there were 3 Contender matchups on the slate. I was hoping the standings might start to resolve a little bit, but the logjam at 6-8 and 3-5 is as tight as ever. If the Nuggets lose to the Kings on Monday, all hell breaks loose in the upper bracket. Rockets Squeak by Short-Handed Warriors I was feeling very optimistic about our chances tonight when I found out the Warriors would only suit up 7 players, but a few hours later, I had a dreaded feeling of déjà vu when I heard Yao was out with a sore foot. It sounds like it’s not serious and they kept him out as a precaution, but it still gave me quite a scare. Hopefully he’s at full strength on Monday. As for the game itself, the Rockets did a number of things very well, but also put some of their usual flaws on full display and made this win much closer than it should have been. The defense was great, we rebounded well, but the shooting was superb. But turnovers and sloppy play in the closing minutes reared their ugly head again. Ron played well for 3 quarter and then went off the range at the end. I was glad when he fouled out. Still Mutombo played great, Scola put up a career high in points, and we have won 4 in a row. All Magic Numbers drop 1. With our win, we have now clinched the #5 seed. Up next: the Blazers, the #4 seed, and home court in the first round. Friday Night’s Stellar Lineup of Games The Hornets and Mavs played the first game of their double header in Dallas. This game intrigued me. The Mavs have been stellar at home lately, the Hornets have the Mavs’ number, but the Hornets have been playing awfully of late. The Mavs raced out to a great start and had to withstand a furious Hornet rally in the fourth quarter. Alas, even Rasual Butler couldn’t save the Hornets on this night as the Mavs got a much-needed win in their quest to rise above #8. The win puts the Mavs and Hornets tied at #6 with a rematch coming up on Sunday in New Orleans. Chris Paul was sensational, but the Hornets are now just 1-3 on their 7 Games of Peril and will likely be #8 if they lose on Sunday. Josh Howard and Dirk each scored 25, and Jason Kidd added 15 assists for the Mavs. Chris Paul had 42 points, 9 rebounds, and 7 assists, and David West added 20 points and 14 rebounds for the Hornets, who lose an additional Magic Number. That officially exterminates the Hornets. I think I’ve figured the Jazz’s road woes out. The Basketball Gods have a Magic 8 Ball with a 20 sided die in it, and they shake it before every Jazz road game. 1 side says “Tonight you get lucky,” which is what came up for their New Orleans game. The other 19 say “You suck! No win for you!” What would come up when they faced a sputtering Spurs team in San Antonio? The Spurs looked a lot fresher tonight than they did in the Blazers game, and that was enough to lead the Spurs to victory. Sorry, Jazz. You suck! No win for you! Tony Parker had 31 points and 7 assists, and Tim Duncan managed a respectable 14 points and 9 rebounds for the Spurs. Deron Williams racked up 25 points and 10 assists, and Mehmet Okur chipped in with 22 points and 10 boards for the Jazz, who have lost 5 of their last 6. It also drops them an additional Magic Number and officially silences the Jazz. Utah finished the night at #8. The Lakers and Blazers put on a hell of a game in Portland. This was a close game, and it was a question of which clutch player could have the best 4th quarter. Brandon Roy got the best of Darth Mamba and led the Blazers to a very impressive win. The Lakers haven’t won in the Rose Garden in 4 years, and they can’t be relishing a second round series with a Blazers team that can throw some very athletic lineups at them. Portland prevents the Nuggets from clinching the Northwest and stay even with the Spurs and Rockets. Brandon Roy finished with 24 points and 8 assists, and Lamarcus Aldridge added 16 points and 8 rebounds for the Blazers. Kobe scored 32 but shot just 9-24, and Lamar Odom added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Lakers, who fall 2 games behind Cleveland for the best record in the NBA. The Cavs have a Magic Number of 2 to close the Lakers out, who probably will have nothing to play for when they host the Jazz on Tuesday. Magic Numbers #2 - #5 2 Nuggets: Kings, @Blazers Magic Number over Rockets: 2 Magic Number over Blazers: 1 Magic Number over Spurs: 1 4 Blazers: @Clippers, Thieves, Nuggets Magic Number over Rockets: 4 (-1) Magic Number over Spurs: 3 (-1) Magic Number over Nuggets: 5 (-1) 5 Spurs: @Kings, @Warriors, Hornets Magic Number over Rockets: 4 (-1) Magic Number over Blazers: 4 (-1) Magic Number over Nuggets: 5 (-1) Magic Numbers #6 - #8 6 Hornets: Mavs, @Rockets, @Spurs Magic Number over Jazz: 3 (-1) Magic Number over Mavs: 3 7 Mavs: @Hornets, Wolves, Rockets Magic Number over Jazz: 3 (-2) Magic Number over Hornets: 4 (-2) 8 Jazz: Warriors, Clippers, @Lakers Magic Number over Mavs: 4 Magic Number over Hornets: 4 (-1) On tap for Saturday: Warriors at Jazz, Blazers at Clippers
I stand by what I wrote in my State of the Race. I was right about all 4 of tonight's games. 1) Lakers 2) Rockets 3) Nuggets 4) Blazers 5) Spurs 6) Jazz 7) Hornets 8) Mavs We'll see though. The whole situation is so fluid.
i'd agree with that. (yeah, like things won't change by the hours again...) and then, lakers-blazers and rockets-jazz in the 2nd round blazers-rockets in the wcf rockets-celts in the finals and then, rockets in a parade. reasonable?
Reasonable, yes, except for the fact that rockets-jazz is a huge tossup, lakers-blazers would end up in HC for Lakers, and Boston is Houston's big brother
The Lakers have already locked up HCA against everybody except for the Cavs. If the Jazz are going to finish 8th, the Rockets are going to have to lose to either the Mavs or the Hornets. Let's assume Utah will beat the Warriors and Clippers at home. The Jazz are still a good home team and the Warriors and Clippers suck. For arguements sake, let's also say that they to the Lakers. That'll give them a 49-33 record. The Mavs and Hornets must both finish at 50-32 (or better) to finish ahead of Utah. So lets say the Mavs beat the Hornets in their upcoming game. Great, the Mavs can beat the TWolves and get to 50 wins. But the Hornets must win their last 2 at Houston and at San Antonio to get to 50. What if New Orleans beats Dallas? Well, then they still have to beat either Houston or San Antonio to get to 50 wins. But Dallas would have to beat both Minnesota and Houston to get to 50. Either way, the Rockets would have to lose at least one game for both the Mavs and Hornets to finish above the Jazz. Sidenote: if the Jazz will all 3 remaining games, they can do no worse than 7th.
good stuff. i didn't realize the lakers had already locked up hca against everyone but the cavs (and will likely be unable to catch up imo). i was just kidding though about the kazz being the #8. i think they most likely will end up being the #6.
The Lakers already have 63 wins. Orlando is 5 games back of LA in the win column with 3 games to play. The Celtics can get to 63 wins but LA took both games from them and would win the tiebreaker. As far as playoff positioning goes, the Lakers have nothing to play for except for HCA over Cleveland. If the Celtics can beat the Cavs in Cleveland and hand them only their 2nd home loss of the season, then the Lakers would still have a chance at the leagues best record when they play the Jazz. The Cavs would have 65 wins at that point and provided LA beats Memphis, the Lakers would be going for win #65 vs. the Jazz. Of course, the Cavs probably beat Philly the next night in their last game and secure home court, but the Lakers would still play hard vs. Utah on the off chance that Cleveland drops that game.
I dunno. One of the Mavs or Hornets have to win, so the Jazz will still be in 7th going to the final few days. We'll probably need Utah to lose another game and get 7th for sure, but I think there are a few scenarios where they'll be 7th if they win out. -The Hornets or Mavs win out (meaning they beat us), and they'll be 6th. Although with this scenario we probably don't get the third seed anyway. -We win out, and Denver loses a game. Meaning we're 2nd and the Jazz (assuming they win out) would be 6th because we beat the Hornets and Mavs. Best case scenario IMO.
I think most likely Jazz will finish at #7, since they could not beat lakers on the road for sure! Mavs and NOs are either #6 or #8. Hou be better stay at #3, we dont wanna run into Utah again, do we? So hope Denver and NO could stay strong, knock out Portland and Dallas then we could face NO in the first round woth HCA.!!
I think Denver loses at the Blazers, so for us the best thing is to WIN OUT! That would give us the number 2 seed and home court for 2 rounds. We have been great at home this year and the crowds have been much better down the stretch. I like our chances at home against any of the teams we would have to face in the first two rounds. People, please stop being so afraid of the Jazz. They have had our number, but we have to get over that anyway to be a contender. I think the Jazz lose at least one more game, so we could still face them unless they lose two. The best part about us getting the second seed is that with a first round win, we probably face Denver in the second round with Home court advantage. I like our odds to make it to the WCF if that is the case. That would also mean that the Lakers would probably face Portland in the second round. That won't be easy for them and could either be an upset, or wear them down by going to a 7 game series and make it easier for us if we face them in the WCF. The odds would still be against us, but wow.....how exciting it would be to face the Lakers in the WCF!
This is the ideal situation for us and why we should win out. I just can't sleep with threads and posts talking about us tanking games. WTF? I would hate to go to war with people that think like that.
Scribo, Another stellar year for you. Thanks so much for all the time you put into these "reports". I just wish I were as optimistic as you. NO and Dallas will be humongous challenges for the Rockets. As has been said so many times, you are what your record says you are. If the Rockets finish #2 in the West, it would be one of the greatest Rockets accomplishments since the championship years up there with winning the first 15 games and finishing with the second best record in the league in 1994 and winning 9 playoff road games in 1995. It would eclipse the 22 in a row of last year. (The championships are in a class by themselves.)
Man, this would be a dream seeding for the Rockets. Plus, the Mavs and the Blazers are the two teams I can see upsetting the Lakers.
Two things are very clear to me. 1. We're very likely getting the 2 or 5 seed. 1. Portland is going to be highly motivated to kill Denver in the finale and will win it. If Houston and SA win out, Portland will be motivated to Win. That will result in Houston at 2, denver at 3, Portland at 4 and SA at 5. Portland just spanked SA in SA, and will have HCA. Houston is in the other bracket. If Houston loses, that likely drops us to the 5 seed if SA wins and Portland wins. Under that scenario, Denver gets the 2 seed, Portland the 3 seed, and SA gets the SW division and HCA against us. Assuming that we beat NO, and SA doesn't lose their 2 west coast games -- the only way we land the 3 seed is both Hou and SA lose their finales (resulting in a tie in division record and us winning the last tie break), AND Denver beats Portland. That yields a seeding of Denver/Hou/SA/Portland. I need to double and triple check this logic and math bc i think Utah is a mortal lock for the 6 seed by winning out. i think they're beatable and we'd take them, i just want to watch something else. I'm a lawyer and we don't do math. Someone smart please double check this to be right.
this is a good prediction but the way NO is playing right now I think theywill slip to 8 and the mavs would rise to 6 or 7 here is my prediction: 1. Lakers 2. Nuggets 3. Rockets 4. Blazers 5. Spurs 6. Mavs 7. Jazz 8. Hornets but 2 and 3 could switch and 4 and 5 could switch and 6 7 8 could switch April 18th can't get here fast enough. At worse i think the rockets would be a 3 seed.
