Scorecard for spurs first round opponent

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Scorecard for spurs first round opponent

Assuming the Spurs finish as second seed in the West potential playoff candidates in the first round are Houston, Denver or Sacramento. There is a remote possibility Seattle could slip to be a Spurs opponent if they lose all remaining games and Denver wins all remaining games

Two-Team Tie-breaker
1. Better record in head-to-head games
2. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
3. Higher winning percentage in conference games
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed


Current Standings
Seattle – 50 - 28
Sacramento – 48 -30
Houston – 48 – 31
Denver – 47 –31

Remaining Schedules
Seattle
NO
@ Minn
@ Dallas
@ Houston

Denver
Memphis
@ Houston
@ Phoenix
Portland

Houston
Denver
LAC
Seattle

Sacramento
@LAL
@Phoenix
Phoenix
Utah

head to head to date
Seattle – Houston – 1-2
Seattle – Sacramento – 2 - 1
Houston – Denver - 1-1
Sacramento – Denver – 2 – 1
Sacramento – Houston - 2 – 2

Higher winning percentage in conference games
Houston – 30 - 19
Seattle – 29 – 19
Sacramento – 26 - 22
Denver – 26 – 22

[Obstructed_View]

I'm hoping for Denver. They'll be a good tune-up.

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Games of note April 15

NO @ Seattle - If Seattle wins they clinch the Northwest title and three spot. It's their best chance to get it done tonight. Remaining games are on the road agaiinst teams still in the hunt for playoff position unless Minn is knocked out tonight. If they fail ultimately they could be anywhere from five to seven.

Memphis @ Denver - Memphis needs a win to knock Minn out of the eight spot. Denver needs a win to move up to the six or five spot, the six spot being the potential sweet spot if Seattle can sew up the three.

Minn @ Utah - Minn has to keep winning and Memphis losing for the Pups to get the eight spot.

Sac @ LA - A Sac win improves their chances of holding the five spot and meeting Dallas but all things considered they'd much rather undoubtedly ultimately slip to six with Denver or Houston sliding up to five and meeting Dallas.

Go Denver. Get that five spot.

[boutons]

"Memphis needs a win to knock Minn out of the eight spot. "

TWolves are not IN the 8th seed. Do you mean "to retain/clinch 8th seed"?

Fri: Grizz@Nuggets
Sat: Grizz@Spurs

.... tres, tres cool!! After 3 B2B in 8 days, it's about time the Spurs get some schedule payback.

Then:

Mon: Spurs@Grizz
Wed: Mavs@Grizz

It's easy to see that the Grizz could drop the last 4 games of the season and OUT OF THE PLAYOFFS if the TWolves can rally themselves for one last face-saving effort.

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Completed schedule through April 15

...................... Record...Conf... Div
Phoenix.............60-19....36-13...11-3
San Antonio.......58-21....35-14....9-5
Seattle..…......…..51 28....30-19...10-5
Dallas........……...55-24....32-17...10-5
Sacramento.......49-30....27-22....9-5
Houston............48-31....30-19..10-6
Denver.............48-31....27-22.....8-7
Memphis...........44-35....26-23.....6-7
Minnesota.........42-37....28-21...10-5

italics - locked in place in playoffs

Two-Team Tie-breaker
1. Better record in head-to-head games
2. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
3. Higher winning percentage in conference games
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed


Remaining Schedules

SA
Memphis
@Memphis
Minn

Phoenix
Sacramnto
Denver
@ Sacramento

Denver
@ Houston
@ Phoenix
Portland

Houston
Denver
LAC
Seattle

Sacramento
@Phoenix
Phoenix
Utah

Seattle
@Minn
@Dallas
@Houston

Head to head to date
SA - Phoenix - 2-1
Houston – Denver - 1-1
Sacramento – Denver – 2 – 1
Sacramento – Houston - 2 – 2
Memphis - Minn - 3-1

Games of import tonight
Sacramento @ Phoenix
Memphis @ SA
Denver @ Houston – Huge game since this game determines the winner of the head to head matchup for Denver and Houston it essentially counts as two wins and two losses. Short of a Sacramento or Phoenix collapse this game could well determine the Spurs first round opponent.

[Jimcs50]

Memphis has tie breaker over Minn, so Memphis will have to lose out and Minn win out for Minn to make playoffs

[Jimcs50]

I am in a quandary over the Sacto-Phoenix games coming up. On the one hand, I want Sacto to drop to 7 so we can play them in rd 1 rather than Denver, but there is a chance that Phoenix can drop 2 games and SA win out, so we get the free falling Griz in rd 1.

what to do what to do....


this is fun stuff...all the possibilities.

[picnroll]

Thanks Jim. Added to chart since potentially Spurs could get 1 seed.

[MadDog73]

Hey, the Sonics still don't have the Northwest?

I thought they just had to win one to clinch it (they won last night).

Can the Nuggets still get the 3rd seed?

[boutons]

"there is a chance that Phoenix can drop 2 games"

Infinitesimally small, not worth my thinking about it. The fatique of brutal 8-day schedule and Mehmet locked the Spurs into 2 seed.

I expect Nuggets to beat out Rockets for 6th, so Spurs will open vs Rockets.

[picnroll]

MadDog you may be right. Seattle and Denver are 2-2 head to head. If Denver wins out and Seattle loses out if will go to:

4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed

I don't have the energy to figure that one out, particularly since playoff teams aren't entirely determined between Minn and Memphis.

I'll remove the italics on Seattle.

[picnroll]

"there is a chance that Phoenix can drop 2 games"

Infinitesimally small, not worth my thinking about it. The fatique of brutal 8-day schedule and Mehmet locked the Spurs into 2 seed.

I expect Nuggets to beat out Rockets for 6th, so Spurs will open vs Rockets.
The threads not about probables but possibles.

[Jimcs50]

Seattle clinched last night.

Denver will be 7, 6 or 5

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Jim I checked and excluding Memphis and Minny Seattle has a 10 - 11 record against WC playoff teams and Denver has a 9 - 12 record. Both are 3 - 0 against Memphis while Seatlle is 2 - 1 against Minn and Denver is 2 - 2. Unless my numbers are wrong this would mean it's still up for grabs. Are you sure it's clinched?

[boutons]

ESPN says NWD not clinched:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings?season=2005&group=conference&column=gamesBehind&order=null&seasontype=2

Sonics still marked with an X, not a Y.

But NBA says Sonics have won NWD:

http://www.nba.com/sonics/

[picnroll]

Okay now I'm confused

2. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
Seattle is 10 -5 and worst they can end is 10 - 6.
Denver is 8 - 7 and best they can finish is 9 - 7.

[Jimcs50]

ESPN says NWD not clinched:

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/standings?season=2005&group=conference&column=gamesBehind&order=null&seasontype=2


Not according to this:

SEATTLE (AP) -- Two weeks of frustration and anticipation finally ended for the Seattle SuperSonics with All-Stars Rashard Lewis and Ray Allen autographing their shoes and throwing them into the frenzied sellout crowd while coach Nate McMillan got doused with Gatorade.

Expected to be among the worst teams in the NBA at the beginning of the season, the Sonics are headed to the playoffs as Northwest Division champs after a 97-72 win over the lowly New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.
Allen scored 32 points as Seattle (51-28) snapped a six-game losing streak. Immediately after the game ended, the Sonics unveiled the Northwest Division banner in the rafters of KeyArena. It's the first division title for Seattle since winning the Pacific Division in 1998.

"A lot of people doubted the team this year and that was OK. We went out and played the game the right way all season long," McMillan said. "And they finished this last home game the right way."

Allen shot 12-of-19 in what may have been his final regular season home game with the Sonics. Allen will be a free agent in the offseason.

"Being an All-Star doesn't mean anything, it's so individual and you really can't celebrate," Allen said. "But when you win the division, the conference or a championship, words can't describe it."

Seattle had not won since April 1 against Portland. During their losing streak, the SuperSonics averaged just 93 points, allowed more than 107 and were hampered by injuries for the first time this season. Lewis, Antonio Daniels and Danny Fortson all missed time during the losing skid, Lewis missing eight games with a bone bruise in his right foot.

Friday was the second game back for all three, and the SuperSonics regained some rhythm.

"It's great to get the win here and not have to worry about somebody beating Denver," said Daniels, who added 13 points. "Guys were very focused and everybody in here realized how big of a game this was."

Ahead 25-23 after one quarter, the SuperSonics started the second on an 11-0 run to build a 36-23 lead, highlighted by Daniels' driving three-point play and a dunk from Nick Collison. The Hornets (18-61) never got within 10 points.

Seattle outscored New Orleans 28-16 in the second quarter as the Hornets missed their first six shots of the quarter and settled for 3-pointers and long jump shots.

The Sonics led 53-39 at halftime and led by as many as 30 in the fourth quarter.

"I knew they were going to come out like mad dogs and go right after us," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "When we made subs, they just took advantage of it. They just ate us up then."

Seattle was considered an afterthought before the season, playing in a division with last year's conference runner-up Minnesota, and teams in Denver and Utah that many felt had improved in the offseason.

But the Sonics went 22-6 in the first two months of the season, and built a double-digit lead in the division that held up despite the recent skid and Denver winning 24 of its last 26.

"We gave ourselves a big enough cushion," McMillan said. "We took advantage of players when they were playing well early in the season and it paid off for us at the end.

While Seattle has wrapped up the division, home court in the first round is still to be decided. The Sonics need one more win or a Houston loss to clinch home court advantage against the Rockets. Seattle would own home court should it face Denver.

The Hornets dressed just nine players as Chris Andersen, George Lynch and Jamaal Magloire all were sidelined with injuries. Former Gonzaga star Dan Dickau had missed Wednesday game at Denver with a strained left shoulder, but returned to score 8 points for the Hornets.

"Seattle is a much better team than they have been playing the last couple of weeks," Dickau said. "They came out and hit jumper after jumper and it was too hard to get back in the game."

Lee Nailon led New Orleans with 15 points and Bostjan Nachbar added 11. It was the sixth straight loss for the Hornets.

"This is why we play the game right here, to celebrate at the end of the season," Allen said.

Game notes
Magloire (back spasms) and Andersen (right ankle sprain) each missed their fifth straight game, and Lynch (sore right knee) sat out his third. ... Seattle forward Vladimir Radmanovic is now out of a walking boot he was wearing on his injured right leg, but coach Nate McMillan is unsure of Radmanovic's availability for the start of the playoffs. Radmanovic has been on the injured list since March 18 with a stress fracture in his lower right leg. ... Dickau, a native of Vancouver, Wash., said that he had to get about 30 tickets for the game. ... Collison played without a face mask for the first time since breaking his nose March 6 against Phoenix.




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Completed schedule through April 16

...................... Record...Conf... Div
Phoenix.............61-19....37-13...11-3
San Antonio.......59-21....36-14...10-5
Seattle..…......…..51 28....30-19...10-5
Dallas........……...55-24....32-17...10-5
Sacramento.......49-31....27-22....9-5
Houston............49-31....31-19..10-6
Denver.............48-32....27-23.....8-7
Memphis...........44-36....26-24.....6-8
Minnesota.........42-37....28-21...10-5

italics - locked in place in playoffs

Two-Team Tie-breaker
1. Better record in head-to-head games
2. Higher winning percentage within division (if teams are in the same division)
3. Higher winning percentage in conference games
4. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in own conference
5. Higher winning percentage against playoff teams in opposite conference
6. Higher point differential between points scored and points allowed


Remaining Schedules

SA
@Memphis
Minn

Phoenix
Denver
@ Sacramento

Denver
@ Phoenix
Portland

Houston
LAC
Seattle

Sacramento
Phoenix
Utah

Seattle
@Minn
@Dallas
@Houston

Head to head to date
SA - Phoenix - 2-1
Houston – Denver - 2-1
Sacramento – Denver – 2 – 1
Sacramento – Houston - 2 – 2
Memphis - Minn - 3-1

Games of import April 16
Seattle @Minn

[picnroll]

Looks like Houston will have the tie breaker versus Sacramento in case they end up with the same record as they have the better conference record. Sacramento has the tiebreaker over Denver. So if Spurs end up in the two spot. Sacramento will have to lose two and Denver win out for the Spurs to get Sacramento in round one.

[whottt]

So does Houston hold the tiebreaker over Sacremento? I think the Rockets have a better conference record...

Technically Denver could pass Sac as well...we could wind up facing the Kings in the first round...

And I think the chances are very slim we will wind up with the #1 seed....and that's not too bad...let's let Phoenix enjoy drawing the Rockets and Mavs...

I don't think the Suns can beat the Rockets.

[Experiment2100]

Looks like Sac has to drop their last 2 and nugs must win out for Sac to get seven.

[whottt]

I also think we locked up, at the minimum, HCA and the 2 seed throughout the playoffs against any other team except the Suns...This means Mia will have to go through SA.

[whottt]

Looks like Sac has to drop their last 2 and nugs must win out for Sac to get seven.


Yeah and I think I read somewhere that Peja is out.

The Suns probably will try and win their game against the Nuggets since they need it to lock up the #1 seed.

[T Park]

Spurs would sweep the Kings so fuckin easy its not even funny.


Perfect series, so that they could rest some guys up, then move on to either Seattle or Denver.

[picnroll]

Denver, Sacramento and Houston all trying to get that sweet spot at six and Seattle. Too high and they get five and Dallas. Too low and they get seven and likely SA.

[picnroll]

No Peja until the playoffs they announced on NBA TV.

[picnroll]

Housebreaking the Puppies

The Spurs could have the pleasure, if Minny can beat Seattle and NO, Spurs beat Memphis again and then Memphis loses to Dallas, of breaking the Puppies' and KG's hearts by beating them on their homecourt.