I would rather OKC. They would give the Warriors a hard time while the Pelicans would just roll over in the first round. I'm less afraid of OKC than I am of the Warriors for sure.
Durant was just evaluated and is out up to two weeks still. Minimum 1 it sounds like. Pelicans might just have this.
Houston could fall to ninth the way they're playing. Kidding, but dame these western slots are going through a ton of shakups. Blazers could honestly finish 2-6 and I wouldn't be surprised. But one of Dallas, OKC or New Orleans is falling out, and it's starting to sound more likely yo be the thunder. This end-of-season is going to be awesome!
Totally disagree. First of all, Pelicans would not roll over. They are too good. And I am not afraid of Golden State AT ALL. They can't guard Aldridge. We would win in 5 games. You heard it here first.
Huh? They are our toughest matchup. I'd rather save them for WCF. Rather get eliminated then than in first round.
Another scenario: we beat Warriors twice and win season series. That means we must win 6 more games than them in the remaining 18 games. GS might rest players. They might even tank out of fear of Thunder. And all of the sudden WE are the number one seed and we face New Orleans first round. Perfect!
What if Kerr starts resting their players? What if he even pursues the 2 seed? Also, I remember one year, the Knicks had a 5 game lead for the division (1992, I think) with 5 games remaining and they lost the division to Boston. Knicks lost 5 in a row, Boston won 5 in a row. It happens.
I know you have to beat the best to be the best, but playing a healthy, hungry Thunder as a reward for having the best record in the NBA all season would kinda suck for the Dubs.
+> That would be great. Any way to weaken the current leader is AOK with me. The GS home record is their advantage. A subtle but important parameter are the ref crews and who favors the home team. That crew that worked our Houston game ought to be suspended.
I will not assume that the Thunder will be better with everyone healthy. Durant is great of course, but I think it's easy to underestimate the douchebaggedness of Westbrick and the conflict that will ensue when they discover there is only one basketball during crunch time. Westbrick will fuck it up when it matters.
But that just hasn't been the case in the recent past. Not the douchebaggedness-o-Westbrook, but that when both healthy they win at a higher percentage. Or even take Westbrook out of the equation, when Durant is heathy, regardless of Westbrook, they win more games. However, Durant was already supposed to be healed, then the date was pushed back twice. That's just not good news for Durant. His foot and ankle could very well require an offseason to fully heal. And if he tries to play during the pain, he could end up compensating and cause worse damage. If healthy they will be one of the toughest teams in the league to handle, but I don't see them getting healthy this year.
