As things currently stand, Denver is projected to face OKC in the first round while we are projected to face the Clippers. With the Thunder having just defeated Minnesota, however, they are now tied with the Clippers in the W-L column (down in the tiebreaker) and only half a game (one loss) ahead of the Spurs. The Trailblazers are 1.5 games back of us, including 1 loss. We heard yesterday that Denver has chosen to throw their final game against Portland tonight. The 2-8 are still completely in flux, with the exception of Utah which is locked into the 5 seed. Remaining schedule: DEN: @POR (L), @UTA, vsMIN HOU: @OKC POR: vsDEN (W), @LAL, vsSAC LAC: @GSW, vsUTA OKC: @ HOU, @ MIL SAS: vsDAL Per ESPN's playoff odds, the most likely current scenario is: 2: DEN 55-27: L-W-W 3: HOU 53-29: L 4: POR 52-30: W-W-L or W-L-W 6: LAC: 48-34: L-W or W-L 7: OKC: 47-35: W-L 8: SAS: 47-35: L Looking at those last few games, however, this is how I would guess the outcomes: DEN: L-L-W HOU: W POR: W-W-W LAC: L-L OKC: L-W (with Milwaukee resting everyone) SAS: W Making a final projection of: 2. HOU 54-28 3. DEN 54-28 4. POR 53-29 6. SAS 48-34 7. OKC 47-35 8. LAC 47-35 In this scenario, the Clippers lose the tiebreaker to OKC by the tiniest of margins. They would have an equal head-to-head, 2-2. They would have an equal conference winning pct if it breaks out as this shows. I believe OKC would then win out on winning pct versus playoff teams in the West. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong. Milwaukee and Utah could totally muck all this up by decided to try hard or to rest their players in any of their last games. Do you think we have any incentive to sit out the OKC game? I still want us to gun for that 2 seed. Exciting stuff!
just need to stay away from OKC tbh. Away from SA too, they don't have the talent but Pop's coachig can kill us. I want the clippers.
I used to care about matchups, but with how we’ve looked in March and April I don’t think it matters anymore. We are the ones who knock.
Saw this on SBnation, updated as of 4/8: Western Conference Teams that have clinched spots Golden State Warriors Denver Nuggets Houston Rockets Portland Trail Blazers Utah Jazz LA Clippers Oklahoma City Thunder San Antonio Spurs Playoff spots remaining: 0 Seeds clinched Warriors, No. 1 Seed ranges Nuggets: Nos. 2-3 Rockets: Nos. 2-3 Blazers: Nos. 3-5 Jazz: Nos. 4-6 Thunder: Nos. 5-8 Clippers: Nos. 6-8 Spurs: Nos. 6-8 Seed breakdown Nuggets: 53-27 with two games left. Lost tiebreaker against Houston, and as such, Denver needs two more wins to guarantee the No. 2 seed. Rockets: 53-28 with one game left. Won tiebreaker against Denver. Needs to win one game more than Denver to take No. 2. Needs to win last game to guarantee keeping No. 3 over Portland. Blazers: 51-29 with two games left. Needs help to climb above No. 4. Portland will lose tiebreaker to Jazz, so the Blazers need to stay a game ahead of Utah to guarantee the No. 4 spot and home court in the first round. Portland has tiebreaker with Houston and needs to win out to have a chance at No. 3. Jazz: 49-31 with two games left. Tiebreakers with Portland are messy and unresolved. Utah has the tiebreaker over the Clippers and Spurs and lost the tiebreaker against Oklahoma City. One win guarantees no lower than No. 5. Thunder: 47-33 with two games left. Lost the tiebreaker to San Antonio. Two wins guarantees no worse than the No. 6 seed. Spurs: 47-34 with one game left. A win and at least one OKC loss gets San Antonio the No. 6 seed. Clippers: 47-34 with one game left. Lost tiebreaker to San Antonio, tiebreaker with OKC remains uncomplicated. Most critical games Nuggets at Jazz, Monday Rockets at Thunder, Monday Jazz at Clippers, WednesdayI think we still have a decent shot at taking 2nd place with Denver's loss against Portland. If Denver's resting guys like last night, they've still got to win in Utah and then play the Wolves who aren't playing in the post season, but could be a spoiler. We just need to take care of business in OKC.
The Rox need to beat OKC in this last game and the Bucks will face OKC on a back to back. They lose both games they will be in the 8th seed facing the Warriors. That is exactly what needs to happen and the deck will be stacked against the Warriors.
If I read one more post filled with if's I'm going to lose my mind. Here's the summary: we can end up anywhere between 2nd and 4th. Winning games remains the decisive factor it has always been. We have virtually no control over who our opponents will be.
gunning for the 2nd seed is the best to get home court in the second round. we can't be worried about who we play in the first round. If we can't beat the thunder, we don't deserve to advance anyways. Shumpert should be valuable in that series since he can guard westbrook and george better than green. Thats why he gets PT. He can't just be posted up or blown by easily like green. The last time we lost to the thunder green was getting exposed.
Home court advantage matters more than specific matchups. Two seed is a best case scenario, regardless of who we play.
