A win tonight puts us in a tie for third place and we want third place. A loss puts us in fifth place. I don't need to tell you how important this game is.
Even if we lose, staying in 4 still has HCA in first round. And the way OKC and SA are playing SA might end up being 5th with OKC in 6th. IT is all too tight right now. I like 3rd better since you avoid GS in the 2nd round.
The interesting thing is that a few fouls or a small injury can make a huge difference from day to day. The way the Spurs are playing now i would not see the Blazers pulling off this win on a B2B. But all things are possible and they have been playing well on the second game this season. I'm sure they are ready for this game. Glad they worked past that game last night. Had Trap written all over it.
Looking at the east, are they better? They hold the best record. Blazers with 42 wins would be tied for fifth back east as well. Has the east finally evened things out? At least the top half?
Blazers have a really good record in the East and if we was in the East our record would be better then it us now due we be playing those teams 4 times and the West only 2 times.
Exactly. What's obvious to most is hard for some to see. The east has some good teams but overall still the weaker league.
Not sure what you guys are looking at. Records speak for themselves and the easts top 10 is right in line with the west. 28 wins vs 31 i think for 10th spot? You guys are right... big difference there...
Easts tenth spot team has 31 wins. West has 32. Not sure how anyone thinks the east is still much worse. Bottom feeder teams? Okay we have phoenix... Maybe because the west still has most of the big name stars, but that doesnt equate to wins, as evdidenced by the conference standings. I politely disagree that we would be much better if in the east. The standings back my opinion up.
Standings don’t prove anything. Eastern teams play other Eastern teams 4, or sometimes 3, times. They only play Western teams twice. The converse is true for the West. That difference in inter-conference play skews the records. Western teams beat up on each other, reducing their win counts, and Eastern teams avoid getting beaten by better Western teams more often.
Actually it doesn't. Comparing overall records is a poor way to look at it as the schedules are completely different. Look at each teams record by conference. If you need examples and further evidence let me know as i would be happy to help educate you on the matter.
I believe their point is that the records for the top teams in the east match up with those in the west because of the relative ease of the rest of the east. Portland has a .791 winning percentage against the east. .511 against the west. But, we only get to play 30 games against the east, and 52 against the west. So, the argument is, swap that, and give us a similar winning % over 52 instead of 30, and vice versa, our record would theoretically improve. We currently have a .618 win %. On pace for 51 wins. If it was flipped, it would be more along the lines of a 56 win pace. And all of that ignores how much easier the travel would be, being able to quickly jet from NY, Brooklyn, Philly, Boston, Cleveland, Indiana, Chicago, D.C., etc., so close together.
Nope great points. I get it now. What i dont know is are we one of the only teams with a great record against the east? If so then i think my opinion holds true. If most west teams have great records against the east, then Im clearly wrong in my opinion. Ive only really heard we have the great record. Not the west has a great record. But i have not heard the opposite wither. So not sure how the rest of the west is doing.
Boston is close to us in the standings. Boston has gone 14-14 against the west, and 28-13 against the east. So Boston is currently on pace for the same 51 wins, roughly, as we are. Now, if we were Portland, Maine, and they were Boston, OR, with similar win %s, again, we'd be on pace for 56, and they'd be right around 47. 47 is about where the 8th seed in the west is currently on pace for.
Houston is 19-8 versus the East. GS is 18-8, OKC 17-7, Denver is 15-8, Clippers are 15-9, Utah is 14-9. SA at 13-10 is the only west playoff team with a lower win% versus the east than overall. Every other team is higher.
