*Playoff opponent watch*..

[HarlemHeat37]

I figure we should have a thread about this, where we can follow the Spurs' potential opponent for the playoffs..tracking the teams involved + the standings..

5. Denver -
6. New Orleans 1/2
7. Portland 1 1/2
8. Memphis 1 1/2
9. Phoenix 2 1/2
10. Utah 3
11. Houston 4 1/2

5-10 are wide open..the Hornets and Jazz are slumping, while Memphis/Phoenix are playing good basketball..the Rockets are very hot, making a late run..

[cutewizard]

nice thread, keep it updated then.............

[ElNono]

Remaining head-to-head matchups for those teams:

Denver:
@ Utah
@ Phoenix
@ New Orleans
@ Utah

New Orleans:
@ Memphis
vs Denver
vs Phoenix
@ Utah
@ Phoenix
vs Portland
vs Memphis
vs Houston
vs Phoenix
@ Memphis
vs Utah

Portland:
@ New Orleans
@ Utah
vs Memphis

Memphis:
vs New Orleans
vs Utah
@ New Orleans
vs New Orleans
@ Portland

Phoenix:
vs Houston
vs Denver
@ Houston
@ New Orleans
vs New Orleans
@ New Orleans

Utah:
vs Denver
@ Houston
@ Memphis
vs New Orleans
vs Portland
@ New Orleans
vs Denver

Houston:
@ Phoenix
vs Phoenix
vs Utah
@ New Orleans

[ElNono]

Spurs games remaining against those teams:

March:
Sat 12 @ Houston
Wed 23 @ Denver
Fri 25 @ Portland
Sun 27 @ Memphis
Mon 28 vs Portland
April:
Fri 01 @ Houston
Sun 03 vs Phoenix
Sat 09 vs Utah
Wed 13 @ Phoenix

[ElNono]

Those are going to be tough games for the Spurs if some of those teams are still fighting to make the playoffs...

[pawe]

Obviously hoping not Memphis.

[Blake]

I'm also wondering about the 2nd round opponent.

[Hoops Czar]

5. Denver -
6. New Orleans 1/2
7. Portland 1 1/2
8. Memphis 1 1/2
9. Phoenix 2 1/2
10. Utah 3
11. Houston 4 1/2



I'm worried about all those teams.

[Blake]

I'm worried about all those teams.

If the Spurs are healthy, I'm worried about none of them.

[realtimmyfan]

If the Spurs are healthy, I'm worried about none of them.

Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.

[MaNu4Tres]

I'm more worried about the health of the Spurs more than anything. tbh

[Blake]

Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.

good english talk.

neither of those two teams will be first round opponents, fwiw

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Nice idea for a thread, Harlem. And nice work on the matchups, El Nono. Thanks. :toast


Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.

"Real timmy fan" my arse! :rolleyes

[td_tp_manu]

results of regular season match-ups mean nothing... that's what I learnt from 2004 Spurs vs Memphis, 2007 Spurs vs Cleveland, 2008 Spurs vs Phoenix, 2010 Spurs vs Phoenix... So I care more about the team's health

[Rummpd]

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

Spurs now predicted 63 wins with 90% chance to hold onto the first seed.

@johnhollinger Playoff Odds now project three-way dead heat for 8th in West between Portland, Phoenix and Houston. Yes, Houston. If it happens, PDX gets in

http://espn.go.com/nba/
http://espn.go.com/nba/

[spurspokesman]

http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds

Spurs now predicted 63 wins with 90% chance to hold onto the first seed.

@johnhollinger Playoff Odds now project three-way dead heat for 8th in West between Portland, Phoenix and Houston. Yes, Houston. If it happens, PDX gets in

http://espn.go.com/nba/
http://espn.go.com/nba/
Good stuff

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

It's so hard to tell right now because 5-11 are so tight and anything could change.

[HarlemHeat37]

I figure we should have a thread about this, where we can follow the Spurs' potential opponent for the playoffs..tracking the teams involved + the standings..

5. Denver -
6. New Orleans 1/2
7. Portland 1 1/2
8. Memphis 1 1/2
9. Phoenix 2 1/2
10. Utah 3
11. Houston 4 1/2

5-10 are wide open..the Hornets and Jazz are slumping, while Memphis/Phoenix are playing good basketball..the Rockets are very hot, making a late run..

Updated standings..

5. Denver -
6. Portland 1/2
7. New Orleans 1 1/2
8. Memphis 3
9. Utah 4 1/2
10. Houston 5
11. Phoenix 5

This would be a bad scenario for the Spurs IMO..the Lakers would probably sweep the Hornets, so let's hope that New Orleans doesn't stay in the 7th slot..they have a difficult schedule left IIRC, so hopefully they fall..

[DesignatedT]

I don't know about that being a bad scenario for us, it could be worse (portland or denver falling) but New Orleans,Utah,Houston or Phx would all be easier matchups then Memphis coming from a physicality standpoint.

[Warlord23]

New Orleans and Memphis need to switch places. As HH said, LA will sweep the Hornets with an average of +25 points per game, and Memphis' size is dangerous.

OTOH, playing the Grizzlies would be a good way for Pop to work out exactly what he wants to do rotation-wise and playcalling-wise vs a team with 2 legit bigs - could be an opportunity to prepare for the WCF with LA.

[Spursnlego]

I don't know about any of those teams...
Don't count NOLA out because they match up pretty well with us and Memphis is a very physical and athletic team. Houston always seems to be up to playing against us along with Phoenix, and Portland for the obvious reasons...

So out of all the teams, I would take either Denver or Utah:tu

[HarlemHeat37]

Utah would be perfect, but realistically, they aren't going to make the playoffs..

New Orleans wouldn't be an easy match up for the Spurs, since they seem to have a lot of confidence against them, but I'd rather play them, as opposed to Portland/Denver/Memphis..like I said, the easiest team the Lakers could get is New Orleans..Portland and Memphis could give LA some trouble, Denver could win a game and be competitive in others, but the Hornets would get swept and wouldn't be close..

[DesignatedT]

With Houstons win tonight they pull within 1 1/2 games for the 8th. I would be fine playing them.

[TD 21]

Utah would be perfect, but realistically, they aren't going to make the playoffs..

New Orleans wouldn't be an easy match up for the Spurs, since they seem to have a lot of confidence against them, but I'd rather play them, as opposed to Portland/Denver/Memphis..like I said, the easiest team the Lakers could get is New Orleans..Portland and Memphis could give LA some trouble, Denver could win a game and be competitive in others, but the Hornets would get swept and wouldn't be close..

The Hornets may not be easy per se, but out of realistic opponents (I guess the Jazz chances are still realistic, but I, like you, have ruled them out), they'd be the easiest.

Everyone has confidence against the Spurs, because they're not physically imposing and they don't have a superstar at the top of his game, so they appear more beatable than they are.

I don't know about the Trail Blazers giving the Lakers some trouble. Camby is a smaller, thinner, older, more injury prone version of Chandler. In other words, he's too much of a lightweight to bang with Bynum. Unfortunately for them, outside of Aldridge and Camby, they don't have another healthy, surefire NBA big. Playing Wallace at four can be potentially gotten away with in stretches when Odom's in, but Jackson will probably realize that and lean heavily on Bynum, so that they're forced to either play Collins/Johnson for stretches or play severely undersized.

[Spursmania]

Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.

Really?

[Thompson]

Spurs games remaining against those teams:

March:
Sat 12 @ Houston
Wed 23 @ Denver
Fri 25 @ Portland
Sun 27 @ Memphis
Mon 28 vs Portland
April:
Fri 01 @ Houston
Sun 03 vs Phoenix
Sat 09 vs Utah
Wed 13 @ Phoenix

Depending on how things are shaping up (presumably we'll be locked into #1 overall by then), I could see us 'losing' to the suddenly surging Suns.

[pawe]

Phx inching closer to the 8th spot with a win over the Clippers.
I hope the Spurs get them in the first round...no more Dragic.

[Thompson]

Phx inching closer to the 8th spot with a win over the Clippers.
I hope the Spurs get them in the first round...no more Dragic.

Or that Stoudamire guy.

[cherylsteele]

Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.
Didn't the Spurs just beat the Mavs IN DALLAS and both teams were healthy?

I am assuming this is what you meant with that horrible sentence.

[alchemist]

blazers choked.

[Sean Cagney]

blazers choked.

Yep they did, damn them man they blew that.

[TE]

Oh well, it's like the Spurs are destined to play the Grizzlies.

[crc21209]

Here's a look at the remaining schedules for the Nuggets, Blazers, Hornets, Grizzlies, Rockets, Suns, and Jazz: (I bolded the tougher games each team has remaining)

Nuggets (41-29):

Mon, Mar 21 vs Toronto
Wed, Mar 23 vs San Antonio
Fri, Mar 25 vs Washington
Wed, Mar 30 vs Sacramento
Fri, Apr 1 @Sacramento
Sun, Apr 3 @Los Angeles Lakers
Tue, Apr 5 vs Oklahoma City
Wed, Apr 6 @Dallas
Fri, Apr 8 @Oklahoma City
Sat, Apr 9 vs Minnesota
Mon, Apr 11 vs Golden State
Wed, Apr 13 @Utah

Blazers (40-30):

Tue, Mar 22 vs Washington
Fri, Mar 25 vs San Antonio
Sun, Mar 27 @Oklahoma City
Mon, Mar 28 @San Antonio
Wed, Mar 30 @New Orleans
Fri, Apr 1 vs Oklahoma City
Sun, Apr 3 vs Dallas
Tue, Apr 5 vs Golden State
Thu, Apr 7 @ Utah
Fri, Apr 8 vs Los Angeles Lakers
Tue, Apr 12 vs Memphis
Wed, Apr 13 @Golden State

Hornets (40-31):

Thu, Mar 24 @Utah
Fri, Mar 25 @Phoenix
Sun, Mar 27 @Los Angeles Lakers
Wed, Mar 30 vs Portland
Fri, Apr 1 vs Memphis
Sun, Apr 3 vs Indiana
Wed, Apr 6 vs Houston
Fri, Apr 8 vs Phoenix
Sun, Apr 10 @Memphis
Mon, Apr 11 vs Utah
Wed, Apr 13 @Dallas

Grizzlies (38-32):

Mon, Mar 21 vs Utah
Wed, Mar 23 @Boston
Fri, Mar 25 @Chicago
Sun, Mar 27 vs San Antonio
Wed, Mar 30 vs Golden State
Fri, Apr 1 @New Orleans
Sat, Apr 2 vs Minnesota
Tue, Apr 5 vs Los Angeles Clippers
Fri, Apr 8 vs Sacramento
Sun, Apr 10 vs New Orleans
Tue, Apr 12 @Portland
Wed, Apr 13 @Los Angeles Clippers

Rockets (37-34):

Wed, Mar 23 vs Golden State
Sun, Mar 27 @Miami
Tue, Mar 29 @New Jersey
Wed, Mar 30 @Philadelphia
Fri, Apr 1 vs San Antonio
Sun, Apr 3 vs Atlanta
Tue, Apr 5 vs Sacramento
Wed, Apr 6 @New Orleans
Sat, Apr 9 vs Los Angeles Clippers
Mon, Apr 11 vs Dallas
Wed, Apr 13 @Minnesota

Suns (35-33):

Tue, Mar 22 @Los Angeles Lakers
Wed, Mar 23 vs Toronto
Fri, Mar 25 vs New Orleans
Sun, Mar 27 vs Dallas
Tue, Mar 29 @Sacramento
Wed, Mar 30 vs Oklahoma City
Fri, Apr 1 vs Los Angeles Clippers
Sun, Apr 3 @San Antonio
Tue, Apr 5 @Chicago
Wed, Apr 6 @Minnesota
Fri, Apr 8 @New Orleans
Sun, Apr 10 @Dallas
Mon, Apr 11 vs Minnesota
Wed, Apr 13 vs San Antonio

Jazz (36-34):

Mon, Mar 21 @Memphis
Wed, Mar 23 @Oklahoma City
Thu, Mar 24 vs New Orleans
Sat, Mar 26 vs Dallas
Mon, Mar 28 vs Washington
Fri, Apr 1 vs Los Angeles Lakers
Sun, Apr 3 @Sacramento
Tue, Apr 5 @Los Angeles Lakers
Thu, Apr 7 vs Portland
Sat, Apr 9 @San Antonio
Mon, Apr 11 @New Orleans
Wed, Apr 13 vs Denver

[100%duncan]

Health Spurs CANT beat healthy lakers nor mavs.

really? FIFY

[100%duncan]

being the 1st seed in the west is still hard. I mean al the teams from 5-11 are decent match ups. I'm praying to God that we face utah in the first round

[Harlem Preach]

Didn't the Spurs just beat the Mavs IN DALLAS and both teams were healthy?

I am assuming this is what you meant with that horrible sentence.

*cough* Caron Butler *cough*

[crc21209]

*cough* Caron Butler *cough*

:lol Poor ass excuse. The Mavs have been without him for months now (not a couple games). So they know they have to get it done without him...

[urunobili]

I don't want the Griz... bring anybody else.... perfect case would be Denver or Phoenix and drop game 1 :stirpot: