The Blazers will have the tiebreaker for the 2nd seed over all opponents except the Grizzlies. The Blazers will likely have the tiebreaker against any opponent as the 3rd seed; the sole exception being if the Clippers have the 2nd seed then the Blazers would not have the tiebreaker against the Grizzlies. If another team such as the Rockets or Spurs are the 2nd seed the Blazers would have the tiebreaker over the Grizzlies. The Blazers will have the tiebreaker against any opponent as the 4th seed. To be the 2-4th seed the Blazers will win the division. Winning the division gives the Blazers the the division tiebreaker which trumps what we normally think of as a tiebreaker; head to head record. The Blazers do own the head to head tie breaker against Houston and San Antonio but not against Memphis; again only in play if both teams are division winners. Oregonlive has an article up that got me thinking about this. http://www.oregonlive.com/nba/index.ssf/2015/03/western_conference_playoff_pic_1.html
One odd scenario would be if there is a 3 way tie for the 2nd seed with us and Memphis and either Houston or San Antonio. In that scenario I hope Memphis loses the division tiebreaker against the other team as then we'd get the 2nd seed. Both Mem-Hou and Mem-SA season series are 2-2 so those will depend on division record and then if tied conference record. That is one of the only ways we can win the tiebreaker with Memphis for the 2nd seed.
If Memphis drops and Houston ties us for 2nd seed, we get the tie breaker. I want Memphis to drop to 4th seed. I want them to face GS in the second round so they can beat them up.
Yeah I expect Houston to end up as the 6th seed. All the reason to try and get the 2nd or 3rd seed as along with OKC and Dallas they are the weakest teams in the west.
I agree with the need to move up. But I am not sold that Houston is one of the bottom 3. I think we will know for sure after their 3 game road trip @Dallas, @ OKC, @ SA. If they win 2-3 then they will not fall and I will not want to play them. If they lose all three then they will fall and I might want to play them. Personally the way Harden is playing and with Howard coming back (and not wanting to disrupt their offense flow by commanding the ball) I think they will be a problem. Ariza, Terry, Josh Smith, and Corey Brewer all give them a veteran presence they did not have last year.
It's not all that far fetched, at this point, that there will be a 5-way tie for 2nd in the West. That would include a 3-way tie atop the SW Division. Tie breakers get complicated at that point. First, you'd need to figure out the tie breaker between MEM, HOU, SAS to determine who wins the SW Division. The Blazers, as winners of the NW Division, and winner of the SW Division, would be guaranteed top 4 seeds (but not necessarily HCA). Next tie breaker is combined won:loss records against the other 4 teams. After tonight, we don't play any of the other teams we could end up tied with. SAS and HOU still play each other twice and LAC plays MEM, but other than that, we're going to need some other teams (like OKC and GSW) to step up and beat the Spurs, Rockets and Grizzlies. BNM
I think Houston will be the 4th seed, with SAS being the 5th. I actually see Memphis keeping the 2nd seed and we grab the third. That means Clippers will probably be 6th, Dallas 7th and OKC 8th.
Okay so if we don't lose a game from now till the end of the season, we are guaranteed HCA in the first round, regardless who we face.
That is great but a tall task. Not saying we can't do it (because we can!) just that we probably won't. Here is to me being wrong though!
Well, since the season's pattern of wins and losses are eerily similar, we can very well finish the season without a loss. We won 9 in a row to end last season. #HaveFaithInYourBoys
Because Kingspeed found the nuclear reaction that generates the 1.21 gigawatts of electricity that sent him into the future in a Delorean time machine. And that's how he always knows whats going to happen.
