Western Conference Spurs (1) vs. Mavericks (8) Houston (4) vs. Portland (5) Oklahoma City (2) vs. Grizzles (7) Clippers (3) vs. Golden State (6) From this standpoint if we can maintain the standings as is, I think we have our best chance of reaching the WCF with our favorable match ups in the playoffs. Do yall think its possible to keep the fourth seed without shifting up or down?
It's been done before. Assuming we're healthy, the Clippers are the only ones that give me pause now.
Possible. I think the top 4 are pretty much close to set. It's the bottom 4 that's a mess. A lot of it depends on Portland and the Grizzlies. GSW and the Mavs are who they are. I don't expect any spectacular moves up or down due to their play. The Grizzlies are on a tear. They could easily move up to 6th. Portland has been on a down slide and with LMA sidelined, it's going to be tough for them to stay in the 5th seed as long as he's out. I'm still hoping for Portland, but I wouldn't be stunned if we ended up against GSW in the first round.
This is the best scenario for the Rockets. With luck maybe Golden State and/or Memphis can knock out the Thunder/Clippers
I feel like Pheonix has a better chance at beating the Spurs/Thunder than Dallas does. Pheonix plays ATL tonight & Dallas plays OKC tomorrow, so its looking good for Pheonix for right now.
I actually hope OKC plays Memphis cause they don't have the right big players to stop Randolph and Gasol.
Golden State has the easier schedule with the Blazers having to play Miami, Dallas, Memphis, and Golden State. Also, with Lamarcus out right now I can only hope the Trail Blazers hold there seed. Lamarcus FTW!!!
Rooting for the Blazers to maintain their position. If they do falter, I'd still want Golden State as opposed to Memphis. Memphis is built for the post season.
That's a weird game to state, since you're comparing the two schedules. Also Golden State has San Antonio, Dallas, Memphis so I don't know if their schedule is easier.
You guys know that San Antonio has the best record in the league, has won 13 games in a row and is playing their best basketball of the season right now? Playing them in the playoffs would be extremely difficult. If this is the way that the standings shape up, let's not overlook them and say we are going to make it to the WCF that easily.
I'm not so much overlooking the Spurs, as much as I would not want to see Memphis, OKC, or the Clippers.
True. I don't think we catch them, I think we finish the season 1 game behind them in the standings, for #2 in the West. OKC will be #3, Clips will be #4. Question then is, who do we end up playing? It could literally be ANY of the bottom 4, and every one of them will be a challenge. But we will have home court, so my desire would be to have the Mavs in Rd1. That leaves bad matchups for the other 3 top seeds, and you know, anything can happen. All it takes is one blown-out tire for the Spurs to get beat in the first round, leaving everyone else having to come to Houston..
They're playing their best basketball of the season.....right now. But that doesn't mean squat come playoff time if they get a bad matchup. Remember that in 2011, San Antonio finished with the best record in the West at 61-21(and that was after dropping their final 2 games), but the 46-36 Memphis Grizzlies knocked them off easily in Round 1. Hell, it took a miracle finish by the Spurs just to survive Game 5 at home. The hesitation I have with the Spurs is that when the postseason rolls around, you need your stars to lead the team. It ain't gonna be Patty Mills, Tiago Splitter, or Danny Green who win them a title. It's gonna be Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili(and maybe Leonard). Do those three have enough left in the tank at this stage of their careers to get it done? Maybe. We'll see.
Memphis is the one team that I think *nobody* wants to play against. They play so physically that even if you win, you lose. I can't imagine *any* team coming out of a 6 or 7 game Memphis series in good shape physically. Banging down low for 6 games against ZBo and Gasol isn't good for anyone's front court players. Not a good launching point going into what's shaping up to be a very competitive play off gauntlet.
Screw them all. I want to take on every MF team in the West. I don't care if it's the Clippers, Thunder, Spurs, whatever. We have to beat all the best to make it to the championship- I say, bring them all on! Ain't no consolation prize for 2nd round. Championship or bust! We're good enough to beat any team out there, including the Clippers.
While I understand the Rockets have played the Spurs better than the Clippers and Thunder, I agree with you. The Spurs have regularly rested their players and still may win 64-65 games. You couple that with the best living coach in NBA history, and the experience the Spurs have, it will take an unbelievable amount of dominance to beat the Spurs. The Clippers are not as experienced, and I still believe the Rockets can match their scoring ability, with JJ Riddick out. The Thunder are hard for the Rockets, but they can play them hard and a fluke injury to Durant or Ibaka and the Rockets win the series. In the Western Conference, you will have a tough match up no matter what in round 2, but to act like the Spurs are clearly easier is short sighted in my opinion.
I hope we can move up to third. I'd rather play Portland than Golden State, rather play Oklahoma City than San Antonio, and if we meet the Clippers, I'd sure like to have home court.
