...all behind the Blazers in the standings. West Team----------Record-----Percentage Lakers--------(35 -9)------- .795 San Antonio--(30-14)-------.682 New Orleans-(28-14)-------.667 Denver-------(30-16)-------.652 Blazers-------(28-17)-------.622 Houston-----(28-19)--------..596 Phoenix------(25-18)-------..581 Dallas--------(26-19)--------.578 Utah---------(25-21)--------.543 The Blazers are still not quite breaking away from the rest the playoff cusp teams, but they are getting better. If the Blazers can keep this streak up for a while, we might just be concerned at the end of the season regarding what seed we get and not whether we make the playoffs.
I'm hoping we get homecourt advantage in the playoffs. Our best chances of that happening is to overtake Denver as the NW Divsion leader.
Them and the Lakers. It wouldn't surprise me to see both teams maintain their winning %'s though. The Blazers need to not worry about how other teams do, and just worry about winning every game they can. And kicking the snot out of the teams in the process. Like, Jerryd Bayless style.
A win against the Jazz on Saturday would be very, very nice. We've got them at home on the back end of their back-to-back game AND they've been struggling. It'll be nice to widen that gap between us and them.
Winning the division doesn't guarantee home court advantage so it really doesn't matter. The only way to do that is to get one of the top 4 records.
It doesn't guarantee HCA, if the team you play has a better record. So if Portland wins the Division (or Denver or Utah) and the team that they play, a lower seed, has a better record, the team with the better record has HCA.
People always forget this for some reason. Despite it happening to Utah I believe twice against Houston. Not that it helped Houston much at all, obviously.
If we don't win our division and end up playing Denver in the first round, that would definitely be our best-case scenario. I would definitely want them in the first round over New Orleans, San Antonio and LA. Saturday's game is going to be BIG to create more separation.
I just heard he is having the surgery Friday BUT is expected to start against us on Saturday! Some crazy new procedure!! Wow!
The Blazers are also getting better, instead of getting worse like the Mavs and Utah seem to be. I know it sucks to keep hearing the youth argument, but believe it or not, players actually do improve with expirience. The Suns suck right now too. I think the Blazers have the best shot to make the playoffs out of any of Dallas/Phoenix/Utah.
How do you have surgery the night before when they cut open your foot and remove bone fragments, and be able to play the next day?? I don't believe it...
