I want no part of either SA or LAL in the first round. To compare SA in the regular season and the playoffs is apples and oranges. And there's no way Stern lets LAL lose to a non-glamour squad, especially that early. I'd be interested to see how Wallace would defend Durant. Crash was injured when the Bobs played the Tweekers earlier this season, so there's no current data. I wouldn't mind playing OKC in the first round. I think the best slot we can hope for is as a #5 seed. Those two close losses to the Thunder early in the season really hurt.
The Spurs got swept by Dallas in last year's playoffs. I'm not too worried about them. We will probably lose to the Lakers, but I want to play them anyway. Entertainment!
When OKC beat Portland, wasn't that about the time when Brandon Roy was really sucking the life out of the team? Or am I remembering wrong?
Both times. Brandon was trying to be his old self, but his body was betraying him. And the team was defering to him, hoping for that old magic. Brandon Roy the man and the player deserved better knees than the good Lord gave him.
13 of our last 18 games are against teams > .500. 6 of those games are on the road. I wouldn't count on being able to reach OKC. And that schedule in the last week of March/first week of April is just brutal: (vs. SA, @OKC, @SA (b2b), @NO, vs. OKC, vs. DAL). If we can get out of that stretch without losing more than 3 games (and winning both vs. OKC), we might have a chance, but it's going to be really tough.
We can beat all those guys. I don't think strength of schedule matters. If you're good, you're good, you'll win games. We just beat Orlando and Miami back to back on the road. And we blew out Orlando back when Dwight Howard played us at RG. We're a great team and we're deep as fuck if we stay healthy. You WANT to be playing the tough teams down the stretch. Makes it easier to pass them in the standings.
yet in over half of the Blazer Thunder matchups the last two years, it's been Miller punching Westbrook in the nose and taking his lunch money http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201002090POR.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201003280OKC.html http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/201004120POR.html repeating myself from several threads over the past few months, I like a healthy Blazer roster's chances vs anyone but Stern's Lakers. If the officials weren't in their pocket, I think even that matchup would be pretty 50-50. The PDX Bigs matchup very well with theirs and they've more weapons on their wings. Miller or Fisher doesn't seem a hard choice at all. Between Crash Batum and Wesley, I don't think any team has a better collection of wing defenders to potentially throw at Kobe. But barring an injury to someone in their core, they're going to get whatever little advantage they need to beat a worthy foe and advance to the final$ STOMP
Sometimes, the giants fall to the better team. Remember when Payton/Kobe/George/Malone/Shaq starting 5 lost to Pistons in 5 games?
they got to the finals which means that the officials got Dave's money team as far along as needed. In the finals themselves I'm recalling injuries playing a part STOMP
Philly and OKC are in a good one. Sixers are so deep, and their perimeter D is stellar. 96-94 PHL with 3:30 left.
