Interesting, Utah is tanking tomorrow to avoid the Rockets in the Playoffs, which also means Spurs gonna win that game.
Glancing at Utah’s available roster, we’re all going to become Jordan Clarkson fans tomorrow. Spurs are a bad basketball team. They could still lose. Not sure why Utah wants to lose. It’s impossible to control what your opponent will be at this point. Whatever they’re trying could backfire.
Spurs aren't a bad basketball team right now. Their small lineup is playing well, and Rudy Gay is playing his best basketball in a long time. Jordan Clarkson has played well, and will have to go nuclear for the Jazz to have a chance. Joe Dingles will have to go off as well. Blazers control their own destiny now. I like that.
Even if those Jazz players were playing, a win wasn't a guarantee vs. SA. Missing Bogdanovic really kills their chances in the upcoming playoffs more than anything else.
Following Thursday's action, the squads still in the hunt for a first matchup against LeBron and Anthony Davis were broken down by FiveThirtyEight's projection system as follows: Portland Trail Blazers (68 percent) Memphis Grizzlies (14 percent) New Orleans Pelicans (13 percent) Phoenix Suns (4 percent) Sacramento Kings (1 percent) San Antonio Spurs (less than 1 percent)
Bleacher Report also rates Portland as having the best chance to beat the Lakers of the six teams fighting for the 8th spot: The Lakers would obviously be the betting favorite, but Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers pulling off the exceptionally rare 8-over-1 upset wouldn't be stunning. Lillard has an ability to seize command of entire games in a manner rivaled only by a healthy Stephen Curry. If you give him even a hint of space coming off a ball screen, whether right at the three-point line or five feet behind it, he's likely to make you pay. On Thursday, he torched the Denver Nuggets for 45 points on 13-of-21 shooting. He also dished out 12 assists and was an outrageous 11-of-18 from deep. According to StatMuse, he became just the second player in league history to have a game with at least 10 threes and 10 assists (James Harden is the other). Dame looks determined to get his team to the postseason. Once there, he has the ability to push the Lakers in a way no other individual player identified here can. He's not alone, though. After a season in which the Blazers were decimated by injuries, the hiatus helped a couple of contributors get back to full health. Zach Collins has stretches in which he looks like a legitimate 3-and-D pest who is willing to do a lot of the dirty work a guard-heavy team needs. Jusuf Nurkic is the more important return, though. Last season, Portland was plus-10.1 points per 100 possessions when he shared the floor with Lillard and CJ McCollum. His steady positional defense, low-post game and point-center abilities made him one of the most impactful players in the league in 2018-19. After missing most of this season recovering from a broken leg, Nurkic hasn't missed a beat since returning. In four bubble games, he's averaging 22.0 points (second to Lillard's 31.3), 11.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.0 blocks. Gary Trent Jr. has been a revelation as well. For much of the last two years, Anfernee Simons was seen as the more promising young Blazer. Trent, a gritty, multipositional defender and deadeye shooter, has definitely usurped him. After hitting seven threes against the Nuggets, he's averaging 20.3 points and 5.5 threes in Orlando. Then, of course, there's McCollum. On the rare nights Lillard doesn't have it going, the Blazers still have a chance to steal games thanks to McCollum's elite mid-range game. Altogether, the Trail Blazers are looking more and more like the team that made it to the Western Conference Finals last season. Again, they probably wouldn't beat the Lakers in a seven-game series. Few duos in NBA history had as much raw talent as LeBron and AD. But the Blazers can introduce some chaos with Lillard's captivating hot streaks and a rejuvenated supporting cast. https://bleacherreport.com/articles...gest-first-round-threats-in-2020-nba-playoffs
I find a mental image of THE HCP sitting in his man cave wearing his faded Kobe jersey, tears streaming down his face like a crying-MJ meme, as the Blazers celebrate another series-ending Dame walk-off 3 over LBJ to be pretty darned fun.
The Grizzlies play the Bucks/Raptors/Celtics all with their seeds essentially locked up. That is going to quite a break for them. Gotta lose to OKC tonight.
Blazers can get the #9 spot locked up with going 2-2 on the remaining games & having the Spurs/Suns loose 1 game a piece. Pels/Kings would need to win ALL their games and hope the Blazers go 1-3 or worse to have a shot at #9. Of course, that also doesn't account for the Griz. If they just win 1 of their remaining games, there's a high probability that they still make the #8/#9 playoff games.
I cannot believe Dillon Brooks got a 3/35 contract. He is the WRONG type of chucker you want on your team.
