Utah @ San Antonio- 8:30 ET New Orleans @ Dallas- 8:30 ET Los Angeles Lakers @ Portland- 10:00 ET Houston @ Golden State- 10:30 ET So who are Rockets fans rooting for? I believe it is: San Antonio- So Utah can drop to the 8th seed. Utah is terrible on the road, San Antonio has a good chance in this one. Dallas- Again, so Utah can fall to 8th. Home team should win again. Los Angeles- So we can be ahead of Portland. Lakers should take this one. Houston- Obviously. Is this all correct?
that looks about right. tho i dont mind spurs losing either, so we hang on to the 3rd seed. as long as utah stays 7th or 8th, rockets will be fine.
We're on a collision course for the 2nd seed. We want the scenario where Dallas has nothing to play for in the finale. So, we want Dallas to take this game and the next, in NO (Could root for NO to take both) Lakers over Portland - to knock down portland and give lakers incentive to beat down the Jazz in the finale Utah over SA - Utah looks like a favorite for the 6 seed b/c of tiebreakers over NO and Dallas. That's fine, we're angling for the 2 seed. Houston over GS Keep an eye on Cleveland at Philadelphia - if Cleveland loses, it gives LA huge motivation to win out to land HCA throughout.
I agree with you except I'm going against everyone's grain on Utah @ San Antonio. The Spurs only scored 50 points in the final 3 quarters against the Blazers. The game was on national TV for everyone to see. Their chances totally depend on Tim Duncan's ability to play well. If he's hobbled, Pop will pull him out and the Spurs won't be able to score enough. I'm not saying Utah is going to repeat their game in New Orleans, but they should be able to win handily even with their road woes. The Mavs should be able to beat the Hornets easily because they have been playing very well at home. I've underestimated the Blazers a few times but the Lakers will handle them tonight. Let's hope the Rockets don't go to sleep tonight against the Warriors. With a focused effort, they will beat them down. But if the Rockets come out lax, don't be surprised if the Warriors play inspired ball for at least a half or 3 quarters. Key to this game: The Rockets MUST get back on defense.
While I am rooting for the Lakers since it would help the Rockets get HCA, I don't understand the "Lakers should take this" comment. The Lakers are on a back-to-back, and the last time they won in Portland was 5 SEASONS AGO when the Blazers had Adur-Rahim, Zach Randolph, Damon Stoudamire, and Ruben "the babysitter raper" Patterson and won 27 games total. The Blazers should win it tonight, but I hope the Lakers do.
With Bynum back they dominated Denver yesterday. Granted on any given night any team can win in the NBA but the Lakers are too damn good.
That's a legit point. I do think the Lakers in are a much better team and tougher matchup for most other teams with Bynum. And I don't think the Lakers have faced the Blazers in Portland with a healthy Bynum yet.
The Lakers are a scary team right now. If they peak in the playoffs, the NBA may as well hand the trophy to them. I also think they are tired of "getting their ***** kicked every time they go to Portland" (Kobe's words right after the Nuggets game). 7 losses in a row, with the last one being a blowout. Remember: The Blazers were up by 30 when Ariza took out Rudy Fernandez. Phil Jackson will not be making the trip to Portland and Rambis will be coaching. This could help the Blazers, if the game is close.
Agreed. Right now, Enver losing is far more important to us than SA, because as long as WE take care of OUR business, we will finish no lower than 3rd. I can understand why people are wanting SA to win, but I feel like right now, the 2 seed is where we need to keep our focus.
I can't decide who I want to lose. I want Utah to drop to the 8th spot but we also need to gain ground on San Antonio. Ugh
Judging by the rest of the games for Dallas, NO, and Utah, NO could potentially drop to 8th seed and Utah up to 6th playing the Rockets.
Utah has a strong shot at jumping to 6th, that means if we do not get the 2nd seed from Denver we will be facing them. It seems to me the bball gods want another Utah-Houston match-up in the 1st round.
lakers and blazers jazz and spurs these two games look like a toss up to me, my prediction is blazers and jazz will win
I like the Spurs over the Jazz. They got a day of rest and will look better than they did against Portland. And as we all know the Jazz suck on the road. I like the Mavs over the Hornets. The Hornets have been too inconsistent, and the Mavs are pretty good at home. I think this will be a blowout win. I'll take the Blazers over the Lakers. Portland matches up well with the Lakers. The Lakers played last night, and the Blazers will push the tempo. They destroyed the Lakers in Portland a few weeks ago, and I think they'll do so again. Rockets will destroy a short-handed Warriors team.
I am so amped for the rest of the regular season, starting with tonight's games. This is where all the fun begins, and we will really start to see all the different scenarios shake out. It's unbelievable that after 79 games, the only thing to really be decided is the 1 seed. It's also unbelievable how each and every team affects all the other playoff teams in the West. Each and every result completely alters the playoff picture, and causes the odds of each match-up to fluctuate by ridiculous amounts. I LOVE IT!!
Agreed with all except the Blazers/Lakers. I think it'll be a very close game. Lakers still motivated not only for the revenge factor for the last time but also competing with the Cavs for the best record. I think it'll come down to the wire and then you have two clutch players (Kobe and Roy) but I think Lakers will come out with the W. Should be a heck of a game though.
