I guess it depends on what your definition of a "must win" is. It isn't a must win as far as getting into the playoffs, but if we want any chance at home court in the first round I think we have to win tonight. Phoenix has won 6 straight so this won't be easy. Hopefully the refs will let Greg play long enough against Shaq to make a difference. GO BLAZERS!
That is a strange quote ABM... talks about Phoenix no making playoffs but knocking Portland out of playoffs... but if that happened Phoenix would be in. TLong... I just checked the box score... Oden has TWO fouls already. Seriously though... Phoenix is still a good team and good teams know they just have to run into him and they will call a foul just about every time. If he tries to get out of the way... just as bad... they will call him for moving. Good thing is... unless Joel is in foul trouble too... we have no worries. 4 games up with 11 to go... they could catch us... especially if they win tonight. It will be very hard though. Say we lose tonight and then lose 4 more... Phoenix can only lose like 1 game (2 if they have tie breaker... which I bet they do) But... if we *WIN* tonight... break out the dancing bananas... because I think it will be safe to say we will be playoff bound. Wear red. Will the Blazers to a victory... this is a big game for sure. I can't wait. GOOOOO BLAZERS!!!
That was my quote from my "biggest games" thread. I'm not following how you thought it was strange? Made perfect sense to me. Hmmmm, perhaps, you thought the quote was made by a Suns fan, or such?
I usually shy away from making any single regular season game out to be a 'must win' but tonight's game is as close to being one as I can think of. Losing doesn't kill our chances of getting in, but it certainly would be a blow to the team's confidence, and a Phoenix win gives them seven in a row ... hmmm ... yeah, I guess if you cornered me I'd call it a must win. ps. having said that, I've got a bad feeling about this matchup, not only from a style mismatch perspective, but also because the Suns are playing so damn well lately. Hopefully the queasy feeling in my stomach is just related to that mondo burrito I ate at Taco Del Mar last night and isn't any kind of premonition.
I was under the impression that Shaq wasn't gonna play on the 2nd night of b2b's? Now that the Suns are fighting for a playoff spot, though, I suppose anything is possible from this point on.
My bad ABM... when I first read it I thought it was a quote from a Phoenix news article or something... and I viewed it as Phoenix saying they were going to knock US out of the playoffs... not the other way around. =)
That was a Terry Porter thing ... and even if TP was still there Shaq would certainly play; they rested him just so he'd be fresher for the stretch run and the playoffs.
we have all used the MUST WIN at times during the season. If im being honest... i thought philly was a MUST WIN but tonight is the mother of MUST WINS because a loss gives a 3 game lead and we lose the the tie breaker as well. Tonight's game isn't huge but enormous. i really think that if the blazers lose... its over for us.
I think this is probably the biggest game to date for the Blazers (this year). We will have some bigger games, probably the last game of the year vs. Denver, but so far, I consider this as close to a must win as we have had this year.
Ben from Blazersedge.com mentioned this after the Philly loss and it struck a chord with me. As bad as it felt to lose to them on our home court, it was still a meaningful loss which trumps a meaningless win. Win or lose, this is exciting basketball; it's so nice to actually be playing meaningful games in March and April instead of just riding on the 'we've got potential' or 'it sure would be nice to get to .500' wagon. None of this may play out the way we want, but let's revel in the stuff regardless of the outcome.
Yep, it's a must win. The Suns are rolling and we're reeling from a loss to the 76ers. I have a feeling the Blazers are not gonna come out flat this time around.
It's a must win for sure. We haven't seen our magic number decrease for a few days, and a 5-game lead would definitely ease any doubts. If we lose and are only up 3 games, I think this team would really start feeling a little heat and pressure over the final 10 games. The Suns are a veteran team with players who have a lot of pride, and they know it's now or never. We need this game big time.
It is a pretty big game so I think the Blazers will come out with intensity. I just hope they can maintain it for 4 quarters! I sure would hate to see this board if we lose!
This is a must win for sure!! We have a chance to get our magic number down to 6 and get a season split with the Suns. I am sure this will have some intensity to the game.
IMO in order for Phoenix to have any chance for the playoffs, they had to win last night against Utah (which they did) and tonight. They have a lot of veteran players who understand what they need to do in order to get to the playoffs. Tonights game is very important for Portland to send a message, and that message is "You are out of the playoff hunt."
