I was looking at Jan 9 rather than Jan 19. Blazers were 5 behind then right before a 5 game losing streak
Golden State can move up to the 7th seed with a win in Orlando and a loss by the Timberwolves in Los Angeles to the Lakers. Golden State could also drop to the 9th seed with a loss in Orlando and a victory by Dallas over the Pelicans. The Lakers would move to the 4th seed with a win over Minnesota at home.
True. The Suns have to be the biggest disappointment in the league this season. The real question is whether the Blazers have any real shot at catching the Kings for the last play-in spot. They have 5 more losses than the Kings. Both teams are 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Blazers have 23 games left and the Kings 22. Seems pretty unlikely to overcome that 5 loss deficit in the remaining games, but stranger things have happened.
of all the play-in teams above the Blazers, the Kings are about the only one Portland has an outside shot at catching, mainly because they are about the only team in the 7-10 seed that doesn't own the tie-breaker against Portland. (technically Warriors don't yet but they only have to win one of the two remaining games with Blazers) so practically speaking, the Warrior have a 7 game lead while Minny and Dallas have 6.5 game leads. so that March 27 game at Sacramento becomes a game actually worth 2 games in the race. Using assumptions about that game as the baseline, Kings have either a 3.5 game lead, or a 5.5 game lead the Kings have the 2nd most difficult remaining SOS but the Blazers don't have it much easier:
Remind me again why we are rooting to SQUEAK into a 4-0 ass thrashing by the Thunder or Nuggets? How is that a good thing?
Lakers moved up to the 4th seed, and Golden State moved up to the 7th seed. The Clippers, currently the 6th seed, play the Lakers twice in a row, Today, and Sunday March 2nd, so Golden State could soon be in the 6th seed. (Their next two games are @Philadelphia and @Charlotte.)
Right now we are 10th in the lottery. No matter what, the 5 worst teams are too far ahead to think we can lose enough to catch them, (We have about 8 more wins) Philly and Brooklyn are the next worst and also our next 2 opponents. So if we get swept then maybe they could pass us in wins if we go on a huge losing streak. (and the upcoming schedule after them makes it possible) So my question is are the players in the mock draft that are projected to go around 7-10 that much better than the ones projected around 13-14? If not then I might as well root for them to win at this point. (assuming they lose in the play-in games)
Lakers move up to the 3rd seed, and the Kings move up to the 8th seed. Memphis loses at home without Ja Morant and Desmond Bane, to the Spurs. De'Aaron Fox hit the game-winning mid-range shot after Jaren Jackson Jr. tied it up with a banking 3-pointer. Golden State loses on the road without Jimmy Butler, to the 76ers. Quentin Grimes scored a career-high 44 points for Philadelphia. Fred Van Vleet returned for the Rockets after being out since February 1st, but shot 1-8 for 3 points in 35 minutes of play, and Houston lost at home to the Kings.
Kings moving up to 8th is bad news for the Blazers. Both Dallas and Minny own the tiebreakers over Portland, so even though the Blazers are technically 4.5 games out of 10th, they are really 5.5 games behind if it's either Dallas or Minny in 10th
I'd say certainly if not for how hard the remaining schedule is - but it's definitely more realistic than it was yesterday.
