duncan228
03-30-2009, 02:46 PM
I just did the West, and the Spurs stuff. Hit the link for the rest.
Projecting the playoff matchups (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/paul_forrester/03/29/matchups.notes/index.html)
Paul Forrester
Less than three weeks remain in the regular season. The playoff participants are largely set, but the matchups are not. Let's take a look at how the conferences will likely finish and what that means when the postseason starts April 18 (all records and schedules are through Sunday).
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers (58-15)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 1 seed
Games Remaining: 5 home; 4 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (65-17); No. 1 seed. With the Western Conference clinched, the Lakers are focused on gaining home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They trail Cleveland by two games.
What Lies Ahead: A date with a Mavericks team that the Lakers have yet to lose to this season and won't in the first round.
San Antonio Spurs (48-25)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 2 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 5 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (55-27); No. 2 seed. With the Thunder on the schedule twice, plus games against the Pacers and Kings, the Spurs should have plenty of cushion to reacclimate Manu Ginobili to game action.
What Lies Ahead: A first-round matchup against the dangerous Jazz. Nursing injuries all season, Utah has been playing its best down the stretch. And with Deron Williams matching up with him at point guard, Tony Parker won't find the lane as clear as he often does.
Denver Nuggets (48-26)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 3 seed
Games Remaining: 5 home; 3 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 3
Projected Finish: 6-2 (54-28); No. 3 seed. The remaining schedule includes the Knicks, Clippers, Timberwolves, Thunder and Kings.
What Lies Ahead: An attempt to get past the first round, which the Nuggets haven't done in each of the last four seasons. Chris Paul and the Hornets won't make the task easy in the first round, but that's why Denver imported Chauncey Billups, isn't it?
Houston Rockets (48-26)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 4 seed
Games Remaining: 3 home; 5 away
Games vs. teams above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 6-2 (54-28); No. 4 seed. A demanding April schedule features the Lakers, Portland, Orlando and New Orleans. Houston also gets road games at Sacramento and Golden State
What Lies Ahead: Houston will have an excellent chance to win its first playoff series since 1996-97.
Portland Trail Blazers (46-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 5 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 5 away
Games vs. teams above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (53-29); No. 5 seed. Portland plays three of its final four at home, with the road game at the Clippers.
What Lies Ahead: A first-round date with the Rockets, who have learned how to win without Tracy McGrady with a steady dose of Yao Ming inside and ferocious perimeter defense thanks to Ron Artest and Shane Battier.
New Orleans Hornets (45-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 7 seed
Games Remaining: 3 home; 7 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 7
Projected Finish: 6-4 (51-31); No. 6 seed. With three out of four away from home to end the season (visits to Dallas, Houston and San Antonio), the Hornets will fail to catch the Blazers and will have to fight hard to stay ahead of the Jazz.
What Lies Ahead: Will Tyson Chandler (ankle) and Peja Stojakovic (back) be ready for the playoffs?
Utah Jazz (45-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 6 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 6 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 5-5 (50-32); No. 7 seed (by virtue of winning season series against Mavs). Circle April 8 on your calendar; that's when the Jazz visit Dallas, which needs a late-season push to avoid facing the Lakers in the first round.
What Lies Ahead: A basketball purist's dream: first-round series against the Spurs. Utah will be hard-pressed to advance without home-court advantage.
Dallas Mavericks (43-30)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 8 seed
Games Remaining: 6 home; 3 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 7-2 (50-32); No. 8 seed. The Mavs have lost only nine all year at home, so having six more games in Dallas should be enough to fend off the ninth-place Suns.
What Lies Ahead: A potential 50-win team deserves a better fate than having to meet Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the first round.
What's Hot
• Tony Parker's shoulders. The Spurs won three of four last week with Parker carrying the load: 27.5 points (on 67.1 percent shooting) and 8.3 assists. Parker is averaging 25.6 points and 7.8 assists this month.
Scout's take
The Spurs have quietly put together one of the league's better offenses, ranking seventh in shooting (46.5 percent) and third in three-point shooting (38.9 percent). An NBA scout assesses San Antonio's success, which extends beyond Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
"They have a great offensive system. Gregg Popovich might have the largest playbook in the NBA. They run something called motion weak and motion strong, that's the foundation of it. The ball changes sides of the floor, they know their spots, so they don't have to call it out. They just automatically flow into it.
"It's not easy to stop because it's not a pattern. When [an offense] is not a pattern, there are reads out of it -- if the ball goes to a particular place, then someone goes to the strong corner -- and that's not so easy to defend. Much of what they do is a read-and-react offense, like the triangle offense. It's freedom within structure.
"Clearly, having some of the same players there year after year helps them know it, but even new guys can adapt quickly. Roger Mason came in this year and learned it right away."
Projecting the playoff matchups (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/paul_forrester/03/29/matchups.notes/index.html)
Paul Forrester
Less than three weeks remain in the regular season. The playoff participants are largely set, but the matchups are not. Let's take a look at how the conferences will likely finish and what that means when the postseason starts April 18 (all records and schedules are through Sunday).
Western Conference
Los Angeles Lakers (58-15)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 1 seed
Games Remaining: 5 home; 4 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (65-17); No. 1 seed. With the Western Conference clinched, the Lakers are focused on gaining home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. They trail Cleveland by two games.
What Lies Ahead: A date with a Mavericks team that the Lakers have yet to lose to this season and won't in the first round.
San Antonio Spurs (48-25)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 2 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 5 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (55-27); No. 2 seed. With the Thunder on the schedule twice, plus games against the Pacers and Kings, the Spurs should have plenty of cushion to reacclimate Manu Ginobili to game action.
What Lies Ahead: A first-round matchup against the dangerous Jazz. Nursing injuries all season, Utah has been playing its best down the stretch. And with Deron Williams matching up with him at point guard, Tony Parker won't find the lane as clear as he often does.
Denver Nuggets (48-26)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 3 seed
Games Remaining: 5 home; 3 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 3
Projected Finish: 6-2 (54-28); No. 3 seed. The remaining schedule includes the Knicks, Clippers, Timberwolves, Thunder and Kings.
What Lies Ahead: An attempt to get past the first round, which the Nuggets haven't done in each of the last four seasons. Chris Paul and the Hornets won't make the task easy in the first round, but that's why Denver imported Chauncey Billups, isn't it?
Houston Rockets (48-26)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 4 seed
Games Remaining: 3 home; 5 away
Games vs. teams above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 6-2 (54-28); No. 4 seed. A demanding April schedule features the Lakers, Portland, Orlando and New Orleans. Houston also gets road games at Sacramento and Golden State
What Lies Ahead: Houston will have an excellent chance to win its first playoff series since 1996-97.
Portland Trail Blazers (46-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 5 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 5 away
Games vs. teams above .500: 4
Projected Finish: 7-2 (53-29); No. 5 seed. Portland plays three of its final four at home, with the road game at the Clippers.
What Lies Ahead: A first-round date with the Rockets, who have learned how to win without Tracy McGrady with a steady dose of Yao Ming inside and ferocious perimeter defense thanks to Ron Artest and Shane Battier.
New Orleans Hornets (45-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 7 seed
Games Remaining: 3 home; 7 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 7
Projected Finish: 6-4 (51-31); No. 6 seed. With three out of four away from home to end the season (visits to Dallas, Houston and San Antonio), the Hornets will fail to catch the Blazers and will have to fight hard to stay ahead of the Jazz.
What Lies Ahead: Will Tyson Chandler (ankle) and Peja Stojakovic (back) be ready for the playoffs?
Utah Jazz (45-27)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 6 seed
Games Remaining: 4 home; 6 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 5-5 (50-32); No. 7 seed (by virtue of winning season series against Mavs). Circle April 8 on your calendar; that's when the Jazz visit Dallas, which needs a late-season push to avoid facing the Lakers in the first round.
What Lies Ahead: A basketball purist's dream: first-round series against the Spurs. Utah will be hard-pressed to advance without home-court advantage.
Dallas Mavericks (43-30)
If The Playoffs Started Today: No. 8 seed
Games Remaining: 6 home; 3 away
Games vs. Teams Above .500: 6
Projected Finish: 7-2 (50-32); No. 8 seed. The Mavs have lost only nine all year at home, so having six more games in Dallas should be enough to fend off the ninth-place Suns.
What Lies Ahead: A potential 50-win team deserves a better fate than having to meet Kobe Bryant and the Lakers in the first round.
What's Hot
• Tony Parker's shoulders. The Spurs won three of four last week with Parker carrying the load: 27.5 points (on 67.1 percent shooting) and 8.3 assists. Parker is averaging 25.6 points and 7.8 assists this month.
Scout's take
The Spurs have quietly put together one of the league's better offenses, ranking seventh in shooting (46.5 percent) and third in three-point shooting (38.9 percent). An NBA scout assesses San Antonio's success, which extends beyond Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili.
"They have a great offensive system. Gregg Popovich might have the largest playbook in the NBA. They run something called motion weak and motion strong, that's the foundation of it. The ball changes sides of the floor, they know their spots, so they don't have to call it out. They just automatically flow into it.
"It's not easy to stop because it's not a pattern. When [an offense] is not a pattern, there are reads out of it -- if the ball goes to a particular place, then someone goes to the strong corner -- and that's not so easy to defend. Much of what they do is a read-and-react offense, like the triangle offense. It's freedom within structure.
"Clearly, having some of the same players there year after year helps them know it, but even new guys can adapt quickly. Roger Mason came in this year and learned it right away."