Is it possible that the clippers rest their stars against us, to help us getting the 8 seed so we can play their rivals Lakers in the 1st round?
It's possible but I don't know how likely it is. I think it would actually be unlikely because I think they would want to face Dallas in the first round a lot more than Houston, OKC or Utah but I could be wrong. In any case that first round match up would likely be on their minds more than the Lakers' first round opponent.
If Phoenix wins out they will finish above SAS, NOP, SAC. In that case they also need Memphis to lose 3 of 4 games to pass them. Date 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 MEM>> --- OKC --- TOR --- BOS --- MIL PDX>> DEN --- LAC PHI --- DAL --- BKN PHX>> IND --- MIA --- OKC PHI --- DAL SAS>> --- UTH --- NOP --- HOU --- UTH NOP>> --- WSH --- SAS --- SAC --- ORL SAC>> --- BKN --- HOU --- NOP --- LAL Current W L MEM 32 37 PDX 31 38 PHX 29 39 SAS 29 38 NOP 29 39 SAC 29 39 Best W L % MEM 36 37 0.493 PDX 36 38 0.486 PHX 34 39 0.466 SAS 33 38 0.465 NOP 33 39 0.458 SAC 33 39 0.458 Worst W L % MEM 32 41 0.438 PDX 31 43 0.419 PHX 29 44 0.397 SAS 29 42 0.408 NOP 29 43 0.403 SAC 29 43 0.403
They are playing the first of a back to back against us followed by Brooklyn. Maybe they rest guys against us and focus on only trying to win the easier Brooklyn game.
Ok I calculated win percentage if teams have 0, 1, 2 additional losses. If we have two losses we need Memphis to lose 3, Phoenix to lose 1, and Spurs to lose 1. New Orleans can't catch us even if we lose two more games! If we have 3 losses there might even be a chance we could make it as 9th, Phoenix and Spurs each lose two, plus New Orleans and Sacramento lose 1. Additional losses below 0 1 2 3 4 MEM 0.493 0.479 0.466 0.452 0.438 PDX 0.486 0.473 0.459 0.446 PHX 0.466 0.452 0.438 SAS 0.465 0.451 0.437 NOP 0.458 0.444 0.431 SAC 0.458 0.444 0.431 Ideally lets just win the next two or three games and clinch that 8th seed early! Would be great to give Lillard a rest, only have to win one playin game, and get ready to give the Lakers a tough series.
I’m so impressed with Phoenix and am happy for their fans. Dead last in West restart and just said let’s go for this. That’s how you compete. You just refuse to lose. Go Pacers though.
I really don't know about us because this is such a different team than we had before the stoppage but all of the rest of these teams should win less games going forward than they lose. They were all below .500, none of them changed significantly (I thought Zion might have changed NOLA but that's not been the case) and they are all playing against better competition. So I think it is very likely that all of the other teams will lose at least two more games and more likely three... I still think Memphis will lose all of the rest of their games. So yeah, I think we'll be in the 8th spot and only have to win one game to get into the playoffs, which we'll do. I'd love to see us lock up the eighth spot early too but I'll just be happy as long as we get into the post-season and make some noise.
Yeah, they're actually a little scary. If they win out and are the 9th place team and we're in 8th, they're the last team I'd want to play. I think we would win one out of two but Booker and Ayton are a scary combo... I mean they aren't close to as scary as Dame and Nurk but still, if they win out, they will be red hot going into the play-in.
Yeah I agree, they are 4-0 so far! They just won now. I think even with 3 more losses we may stay above SAS/NOP/SAC.... but I don't think PHX is going to lose two of their next 4, especaily when a team like Dallas probably rests guys the final game. So Blazers likely need at least 3 wins and may even need to win 4.
Maybe it's possible we end up rooting for a Memphis win at some point... so they get the 9th seed instead of Phoenix. If they are both tied Memphis has the head to head tiebreaker, so if Phoenix wins out they still need 3 Memphis losses. Obviously more important we get 8th seed locked up first.
Yeah, they beat the Pacers by 15 and had the game in control the last half of the 4th quarter and the Pacers are good. I don't think we have to worry about them passing us because I think we will win against everyone but the Clippers but who knows. We might lose a few games but Phoenix may also cool off, young teams can be very streaky. One thing is for sure, when the Suns are playing their best, they're pretty damn good.
They should’ve waited to vote on awards until after restart. Monty Williams and Devon Booker might’ve gotten some votes for Coach of the Year and All-NBA.
Us at 8 and Memphis at 9 is the ideal situation. I still think Memphis will lose out but I hope they don't and we get the easiest path possible.
I keep getting a feeling that the race for 8/9th is between us, phx, and the spurs. this group all plays a bunch of of teams that are locked into the playoffs so those teams might not care and rest players. We kinda at an advantage, but so do the others. Just win!
