POR - OKC close in the beginning of 3rd QT

[spectator]

POR scores 8 quick points to tie it.

[ShoogarBear]

I can't believe OKC might choke this away.

[spectator]

let's go POR! this way, we don't have to play our starters in 2 days => more rest.

[DesignatedT]

portland takin the lead!

lets go blazers. get this

[spectator]

westbrook pulling a richardson on the blazers!!!

[ShoogarBear]

I'm confused. Why do you want Portland to win?

[InRareForm]

guarantees us 7th seed at worst if portland wins.

[Brazil]

I'm confused. Why do you want Portland to win?


same here I'm confused

[spectator]

some BS calls by the refs against POR

[DPG21920]

I want the Spurs to play Denver. OKC losing does not help that.

[Dex]

IIRC...If Portland wins, Spurs are guaranteed of finishing no worse than 7th, but probably have no shot at 6th.

If OKC wins, Spurs have a shot at the 6th seed, but could also fall to 8 if they lose to Dallas.

[TampaDude]

So, if Portland wins, it is mathematically impossible for us to be any lower than the 7th seed, no matter what happens against the Mavs, right???

[tothrowed]

IIRC...If OKC wins, Spurs are guaranteed of finishing no worse than 7th, but probably have no shot at 6th.

If Portland wins, Spurs have a shot at the 6th seed, but could also fall to 8 if they lose to Dallas.
you mean if portland wins spurs will get 7th

[Spurminator]

OKC winning gives us a better shot at 6, because we have the tie-breaker against OKC. But either way we really need to win Wednesday.

[DesignatedT]

Ill try and explain.

If portland wins the worst we can finish is 7th... which means we avoid LA no matter what(win or lose against dal) but then our chances for 6 become slim because we need Golden State to beat portland which prob wont happen... making us the 7 seed almost guaranteed.

If OKC wins that means if we beat dallas we land the 6th seed which would be nice BUT if we lose to DAL and port beats golden state and OKC beats memphis then we end up 8..... which is also very possible...

so IMO i would rather just avoid LA because that dallas game is nowhere near a easy win... and i dont think there will be that much of a difference between 6 or 7 seed.

[Dex]

you mean if portland wins spurs will get 7th

Yeah, thats what I meant. This stupid season is crazy.

[InRareForm]

best we can do is just sit back and let the cards be dealt to us. lol

[DesignatedT]

OKC winning gives us a better shot at 6, because we have the tie-breaker against OKC. But either way we really need to win Wednesday.

but then if we lose to dallas we will probably land the 8th seed... are you willing to put that kind of pressure on the dallas game?

[Dex]

I'd rather the Spurs not need to play the Mavericks to avoid the Lakers, because that sounds like some sort of bad dream.

[TampaDude]

Denver is a basket case right now...we'd bounce them in 5 games, max.

[crc21209]

but then if we lose to dallas we will probably land the 8th seed... are you willing to put that kind of pressure on the dallas game?

Exactly...plus if OKC loses this game tonight they are locked into the 8th seed, and I think they would give LA loads of trouble whereas Portland without Roy in the Playoffs may just get swept and not challenge LA too much...

[Spurminator]

but then if we lose to dallas we will probably land the 8th seed... are you willing to put that kind of pressure on the dallas game?

Honestly it doesn't matter much to me whether we play LA or Dallas. Dallas has had our number in recent years, I'm not sure they present any less of a challenge than LA. So 7 and 8 are equally undesirable to me. With the 6th seed at least there's a chance we face Denver.

[mazerrackham]

well, the positive about if portland wins is that I think OKC gives the Lakers a tougher time in the first round than a Roy-less Blazers would

[spectator]

exactly - why play on wednesday anyway man? gino is tired - let him rest. duncan is 34 - let him rest. dyess will prob. be out as well.

if DEN win tomorrow, DAL does not need to win vs. us.

pop will likely play hill and parker to get them some more playing time after being out with injuries. if DEN loses, DAL needs to win, so we can use the game to get them tired before we play them in the PO.

however, all this is void if OKC wins tonight.

[Brazil]

Ill try and explain.

If portland wins the worst we can finish is 7th... which means we avoid LA no matter what(win or lose against dal) but then our chances for 6 become slim because we need Golden State to beat portland which prob wont happen... making us the 7 seed almost guaranteed.

If OKC wins that means if we beat dallas we land the 6th seed which would be nice BUT if we lose to DAL and port beats golden state and OKC beats memphis then we end up 8..... which is also very possible...

so IMO i would rather just avoid LA because that dallas game is nowhere near a easy win... and i dont think there will be that much of a difference between 6 or 7 seed.

yeah but for me I don't see a big difference in terms of difficulty between mavs and lakers. I'd prefer having a shot for the 6th

[ShoogarBear]

Ill try and explain.

If portland wins the worst we can finish is 7th... which means we avoid LA no matter what(win or lose against dal) but then our chances for 6 become slim because we need Golden State to beat portland which prob wont happen... making us the 7 seed almost guaranteed.

If OKC wins that means if we beat dallas we land the 6th seed which would be nice BUT if we lose to DAL and port beats golden state and OKC beats memphis then we end up 8..... which is also very possible...

so IMO i would rather just avoid LA because that dallas game is nowhere near a easy win... and i dont think there will be that much of a difference between 6 or 7 seed.

Ah, got it. :dizzy

Well, I'm already on record as saying the most important thing now is to keep everyone healthy, so to be consistent with that I probably should switch to rooting for Portland.

On the other hand, I'm also of the opinion that the Lakers in the first round are a lot more likely to lose than if they get to the WCF, at which point they will be unbeatable. So hell, bring them on.

Crazy end to the season.

[crc21209]

well, the positive about if portland wins is that I think OKC gives the Lakers a tougher time in the first round than a Roy-less Blazers would

+1....exactly what I just said...

[DesignatedT]

well the next question is if dallas is a lock for the 2 seed... even if they win tonight.. and we beat them wednesday can they fall to 3 or 4? that would be ideal. and us stay at 7 and play denver.

[DesignatedT]

yeah but for me I don't see a big difference in terms of difficulty between mavs and lakers. I'd prefer having a shot for the 6th

well thats what it boils down to... IMO i would much rather face dallas than LA. but i could be wrong of course.. but thats why im rooting for portland

[DesignatedT]

Ah, got it. :dizzy

Well, I'm already on record as saying the most important thing now is to keep everyone healthy, so to be consistent with that I probably should switch to rooting for Portland.

On the other hand, I'm also of the opinion that the Lakers in the first round are a lot more likely to lose than if they get to the WCF, at which point they will be unbeatable. So hell, bring them on.

Crazy end to the season.

:lol yeah its a pretty crappy situation... all we needed was that NJ win.... then we would be in the drivers seat :bang

[50 cent]

Porland up 73-71 at the end of 3.

I honestly don't know what I want. I'm just going to sit back and not worry about it.

[ShoogarBear]

:lol yeah its a pretty crappy situation... all we needed was that NJ win.... then we would be in the drivers seat :bang

Or the Memphis win.

And an inexperienced OKC team as the #8 seed will be complete Laker fodder.

[crc21209]

73-71 Blazers at the end of the 3rd...

[crc21209]

Or the Memphis win.

And an inexperienced OKC team as the #8 seed will be complete Laker fodder.

Maybe....but then again the Thunder have Durant who can light it up at any minute and does get the benefit of ALOT of whistles....whereas the Blazers wouldnt have a "go to guy."

[DesignatedT]

Or the Memphis win.

And an inexperienced OKC team as the #8 seed will be complete Laker fodder.

portland with no brandon roy would be just as bad.

[exstatic]

Honestly it doesn't matter much to me whether we play LA or Dallas. Dallas has had our number in recent years, I'm not sure they present any less of a challenge than LA. So 7 and 8 are equally undesirable to me. With the 6th seed at least there's a chance we face Denver.

Irony would be beating Dallas, climbing to 6, and causing them to drop to 3 via tie-breaker. :lol

[Brazil]

well thats what it boils down to... IMO i would much rather face dallas than LA. but i could be wrong of course.. but thats why im rooting for portland

I don't know mavs seem to have a magic potion against the spurs.

well let the fate decides for us :toast

I'm just happy to see the big 3 healthy in the POs

[Kori Ellis]

On the other hand, I'm also of the opinion that the Lakers in the first round are a lot more likely to lose than if they get to the WCF, at which point they will be unbeatable. So hell, bring them on.

That's how I feel about it too. I don't care if they lose in the first round or the WCF - so might as well take your shot at the Lakers early.

[exstatic]

73-71 Blazers at the end of the 3rd...

I'd really love to see a triple OT game that exhausts both teams. :)

[DesignatedT]

I don't know mavs seem to have a magic potion against the spurs.

well let the fate decides for us :toast

I'm just happy to see the big 3 healthy in the POs

I just think if we were to play dallas so many things would be different. mainly that 2 of there starters have very little playoff experience and have never been in a battle like spurs/mavs before (haywood and butler)

plus, this would be the first time that dallas would be the odds on favorite... they have never dealt with that extra pressure. but of course i would rather play denver,phoenix or utah then either i think.

[crc21209]

I'd really love to see a triple OT game that exhausts both teams. :)

I'm down with that....a triple OT game with BOTH teams losing...:lol

[Cloud786]

Question: If Dallas wins today, do they clinch the 2nd seed?

[DPG21920]

No. Because if Utah wins out, they have the 2nd seed.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

So who the hell am I supposed to be rooting for? I keep booing baskets from both teams out of uncertainty!

[024]

i kind of want to roll the die and try to get the 6th seed. mavs play out of their minds against the spurs.

this team still needs to gel. finally everybody is healthy so a first round warmup might be necessary. same goes for the lakers though since they don't have bynum. but the lakers can beat the spurs without bynum anyways so might as well try to get at full strength by not facing the lakers first. facing the lakers at the WCF might be advantageous since kobe will be worn down.

[DesignatedT]

That's how I feel about it too. I don't care if they lose in the first round or the WCF - so might as well take your shot at the Lakers early.

but what about the possibility of another team knocking LA out and us never having to deal with them... At this point that doesn't seem very absurd.

[DesignatedT]

No. Because if Utah wins out, they have the 2nd seed.

even in a 3 team tie... (dallas,denver,utah) ?

[spectator]

No. Because if Utah wins out, they have the 2nd seed.

actually, if DEN wins tomorrow, DAL has the 2nd seed locked. that would be a great b-day gift for me - so DAL does not have to play the last game either. it will be a bench-fest.

[024]

actually, i kind of want to see a thunder vs lakers first round matchup. go blazers?

[exstatic]

Question: If Dallas wins today, do they clinch the 2nd seed?

I have no idea what the tie-breakers are up at the front group. Denver won, too, so they are only 1 back with 1 to go. PHO and UTH both finish with B2Bs, and I believe they play each other. One of them could run the table and tie Dallas if we beat them.

[spectator]

actually, i kind of want to see a thunder vs lakers first round matchup. go blazers?

i agree.

[sa_kid20]

but what about the possibility of another team knocking LA out and us never having to deal with them... At this point that doesn't seem very absurd.

Thats what I've been saying. Everyone is saying how vulnerable the Lakers are right now. Well shit, let someone else have a crack at them first to see just how vulnerable they really are. I don't know why everyone whats the Spurs to be the guinea pig.

[spectator]

btw, proof of what i was saying earlier - http://espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=300412007

if DEN wins tomorrow, they have 3rd seed guaranteed.

[DubMcDub]

No. Because if Utah wins out, they have the 2nd seed.

Wrong. If Dallas wins out, they have the second seed no matter what. Or if Denver wins tomorrow, Dallas has the 2nd seed. Or if Utah loses once, Dallas has the second seed.

[spectator]

panzy refs switch fouls from durant to ibaka - r u kidding me???

[Ice009]

If the Blazers win can we still get 6th?

[DesignatedT]

Wrong. If Dallas wins out, they have the second seed no matter what. Or if Denver wins tomorrow, Dallas has the 2nd seed. Or if Utah loses once, Dallas has the second seed.

so dallas has the tie breaker between all the teams....

even 3 team tie breakers?

what if its tied with (dallas,denver,utah) at the end or (dallas.denver,phoenix)?

[DesignatedT]

If the Blazers win can we still get 6th?

yes if we beat dallas and blazers lose to golden state.....

maybe nelly can do us another favor :lol

[Boss]

I'm not sure who I want to win but I know I don't want to see the Spurs play the Lakers or Dallas in the 1st round. So 1st thought would be hope for the 6th seed, but things can get really complicated quickly.

If we beat the mavs on wed the mavs will finish at 54-28 owning the tiebreaker over Den but Utah has the tie breaker over Dal. I see Denver losing in phx there final game of the season and Utah winning out.

So If that happens Utah will be the 2, and Dallas the 3.
I wouldn't be thrilled if the Spurs work there way up to 6th slot and have to play Dallas.

Long post but these scenarios interest me

[Ice009]

yes if we beat dallas and blazers lose to golden state.....

maybe nelly can do us another favor :lol

So we can't get 6th if we win out and the Blazers win out correct?

[DesignatedT]

So we can't get 6th if we win out and the Blazers win out correct?

you got it.

[crc21209]

So we can't get 6th if we win out and the Blazers win out correct?

Correct...the Blazers would need to lose 1 of their last 2 games...

[Fabbs]

OKCs turnovers are killer.
Been doing it in crunch times of all their recent skid.

[phxspurfan]

:lol The Portland announcers all over Camby's n*ts

[Ice009]

WOW are the Blazers AWESOME.

They play HARD ALL THE TIME.

[CFH]

Thunder falling apart at the end and just jacking up 3s.

[DesignatedT]

so the real question is... would you rather be the 7 and play dallas or have the chance to get the 6 and play denver/utah/phoenix but if we lose to dallas we play LA..... pretty crappy situation.

[crc21209]

97-88 Portland leads with 2:57 left...

[sa_kid20]

Looks like OKC is gonna be 8th.

[spectator]

the POR announcers: batuuuuuuuuuuummm shaka-laka!!!

i love how passionate they get.

[Fabbs]

Thunder falling apart at the end and just jacking up 3s.
done this in other close 4th qtrs too.
Coaching?

[TampaDude]

Let the chips fall where they may...we're ready for anyone! GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[DesignatedT]

odds favor us playing dallas first round now...

[Otaku]

Refs are BS. That was a F2 any day

[phxspurfan]

Lol...Aldrige got Ray Lewis'd

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

lol OKC showing what they really made of

[Trimble87]

The POR announcers on league pass are hillarious.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. THROW HIM OUT! FLAGRANT 2 !!!!!!!!!

[phxspurfan]

OKC in 8th (or out of the playoffs completely) is where they belong. They are not a playoff team.

[DesignatedT]

lol these portland announcers are terrible.

[spectator]

so dallas has the tie breaker between all the teams....

even 3 team tie breakers?

what if its tied with (dallas,denver,utah) at the end or (dallas.denver,phoenix)?

if DEN wins tomorrow, they win the division. DAL has already won the division. in a 3-way tie with UTA, the division winners have priority, and DAL has the season series vs. DEN 2-1. thus, in this 3 way tie, it's:
2. DAL
3. DEN
4. UTA

[DubMcDub]

so dallas has the tie breaker between all the teams....

even 3 team tie breakers?

what if its tied with (dallas,denver,utah) at the end or (dallas.denver,phoenix)?

Dallas does not have a two-way tiebreaker with Utah, but they have every other tiebreaker, including all 3-way tiebreakers. But Utah is a game behind Dallas, so as long as Dallas wins Wednesday, they are #2 no matter what happens.

[Trimble87]

Marcus Camby is the only reason the blazers are ahead. The chances of him having another game of this calibre again has to be <2%. I wouldn't take too much away from this for the blazers.

The Thunder are playing terrible. Durant has been a ghost in the second half. They need to get it together.

[ShoogarBear]

Thats what I've been saying. Everyone is saying how vulnerable the Lakers are right now. Well shit, let someone else have a crack at them first to see just how vulnerable they really are. I don't know why everyone whats the Spurs to be the guinea pig.

The logic goes something like this:

The Lakers in the first round have a 10-25% (depending on the opponent) chance of losing. (For the sake of argument we won't quibble over the exact numbers.)

The Lakers in the WCF have a 1-5% chance of losing, presumably because if they've gotten that far they're out of whatever funk they're in.

If the Spurs are the team with the 25% chance of winning in the first round, wouldn't they rather maximize the chance and play them in the first round than a) hope somebody else beats them or b) face them in the WCF with a much smaller hope?

This is actually somewhat analogous to 2007: if Dallas had played anyone else in the first round, they would have easily made the Finals.

[sportan73]

7 seed it is!

[DesignatedT]

Dallas does not have a two-way tiebreaker with Utah, but they have every other tiebreaker, including all 3-way tiebreakers. But Utah is a game behind Dallas, so as long as Dallas wins Wednesday, they are #2 no matter what happens.

word. :toast

[KenziE]

so with portland winning tonight ... i again ask if we win against dallas are we gonna get them in the 1st round?

[spectator]

DAL does not need the tie-breaker with UTA if DEN beats PHO tomorrow.

also, in a 3-way tie with DAL, DEN, PHO - it's the same ranking as the UTA example (put PHO instead of UTA) because PHO is not a division winner.

[Beaverfuzz]

lol these portland announcers are terrible.

You can't dis Mike Rice, Steve Javie kicked him out of a game back in the 90's.

[phxspurfan]

LOL Portland announcers...he's out! easy call!

[Beaverfuzz]

so with portland winning tonight ... i again ask if we win against dallas are we gonna get them in the 1st round?

Pretty much assured it's Dallas in the 1st round regardless.

[Trimble87]

oh wtf. That is a BS out of bounds call on Westbrook.

[DesignatedT]

so if utah wins out (GSW and PHX) and we beat DAL then its Spurs vs Jazz first round.. otherwise we play dallas first round... UNLESS

We beat dallas and GSW beat Portland... then we get the 6th and most likely play denver

[Trimble87]

The Portland announcers are terrible. Funny, but terrible... I thought Sean and Land were homers :rolleyes

[ShoogarBear]

It's moot now, as OKC is showing deer-in-the-headlights playoff form early.

[Ice009]

What a choke. Durant threw it to the referee.

[oh crap]

OKC in 8th (or out of the playoffs completely) is where they belong. They are not a playoff team.

lol @ spurfan getting cocky now
lol @ barely being a game ahead in the win column
lol @ don't belong in the playoffs with almost identical records

[Trimble87]

god, Durant just passed to the ref. So much for my "they might beat the lakers" theory.

[Otaku]

Marcus Camby is the only reason the blazers are ahead. The chances of him having another game of this calibre again has to be <2%. I wouldn't take too much away from this for the blazers.

Remember, no Roy tonight.

[Trimble87]

Marcus Camby chants... what has the world come to?

[DesignatedT]

LA will sweep OKC.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

So just like 2007, I gotta root for GSW on Wednesday.

Really wanted DEN in rd 1

[phxspurfan]

To think Camby didn't even want to go to Portland. He wanted to stay with the Clippers lol

[ElNono]

Remember, no Roy tonight.

And pretty much for the season...

[spectator]

i can imagine POR being a 3-4 seed if they had a healthy roy, oden and prizbilla for the entire 82 games.

[DesignatedT]

why didnt we give them mason for camby :bang

[Trimble87]

Remember, no Roy tonight.

Good win for you guys. No question. But Camby played out of his mind and the Thunder played terrible. When Roy gets back you guys certainly have a chance to make noise in the playoffs, but I wouldn't put any stock in this game.

[Trimble87]

why didnt we give them mason for camby :bang

because Mason makes 2mil and Camby makes 10mil?

[oh crap]

lol @ all of the over reactions to this loss. disappointing for OKC fans for sure, but this is the same blazer team hot off a win over the lakers who hold the one seed. way to over exaggerate

[crc21209]

Well it's official....OKC is the 8th seed and will face L.A in the 1st round...:tu

[DesignatedT]

because Mason makes 2mil and Camby makes 10mil?

well actually mason makes like 3.7mil and camby is close to 7 mil.... mason+ratliff might have worked...

[Ice009]

So just like 2007, I gotta root for GSW on Wednesday.

Really wanted DEN in rd 1

The Warriors, they can do it again. They can morph into the Ultimate Warriors and do it. GO WARRIORS.

I'd like 6th, but I don't think it matters as we wouldn't get homecourt against anyone unless the Blazers or OKC upset someone in their series, which is not likely.

[DesignatedT]

im just glad we avoid LA round 1.. that would have been disastrous.. they will sweep OKC.

dallas we can beat IMO

[Ice009]

im just glad we avoid LA round 1.. that would have been disastrous.. they will sweep OKC.

dallas we can beat IMO

Yeah I don't think it matters. Would OKC or Portland have been able to beat Dallas?

I doubt it, so if we have to play them, then it doesn't matter as we wouldn't have home court in any round against them.

[crc21209]

im just glad we avoid LA round 1.. that would have been disastrous.. they will sweep OKC.

dallas we can beat IMO

I'm not so sure LA will sweep OKC....OKC has Durant and that guy makes scoring 30 look like nothing every game...plus he gets the benefit of the whistle alot of the time, and remember LA is not playing the best ball right now either...

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Dallas is a really really crappy matchup for the Spurs. Oddly enough, I like that we have a chance at stealing game 1 on the road to gain momentum immediately.

[InRareForm]

okc will give lakers a run for their money, i still see lakers wining in 5 or 6, but i like it.

[crc21209]

okc will give lakers a run for their money, i still see lakers wining in 5 or 6, but i like it.

I liked OKC's chances over Portland without Roy against LA anyway....

[oh crap]

lakers don't sweep. they will prevail because of OKCs youth, but they don't get the sweep. book it.

[DesignatedT]

im not sold on butler or haywood... these guys have never been through any "playoff battles" ... they dont know what this rivalry is all about.

[DesignatedT]

Dallas is a really really crappy matchup for the Spurs. Oddly enough, I like that we have a chance at stealing game 1 on the road to gain momentum immediately.

I dont think its that bad... I think we matchup better with dirk this year than last... no more fab or kt... dice is a little quicker and more mobile and RJ played dirk pretty good throughout the season.

[DubMcDub]

I dont think its that bad... I think we matchup better with dirk this year than last... no more fab or kt... dice is a little quicker and more mobile and RJ played dirk pretty good throughout the season.

Bro, you don't match up better this year with Dirk than last. Bowen was the only guy who could come remotely close to guarding him on the Spurs roster.

[DesignatedT]

Bro, you don't match up better this year with Dirk than last. Bowen was the only guy who could come remotely close to guarding him on the Spurs roster.

Well see son.