Who claims the 8th playoff spot?

[StrengthAndHonor]

8th seed
Rockets (28-24)


Games left against playoff teams (17)
Games left @ Home 15
Games left @ Road 15

Home Record: 18-8
Away Record: 10-16



9th seed
Blazers (25-25)


Games left against playoff teams (23)
Games left @ Home 16
Games left @ Road 16

Home Record: 17-8
Away Record: 8-17



10th seed
Lakers (24-27)

Games left against playoff teams (18)
Games left @ Home 16
Games left @ Road 15


Home: Record: 15-10
Away: Record: 9-17


Worth Noting:

Portland has the toughest sched starting now till April. 22 of their next 32 games are against playoff teams while 13 of their games are on the road. Actually from March 06 to April 05, they are playing only two non playoff teams (NOH and Pistons).



Houston is second which will play 22 games against playoff teams in 30 games and their home games aren't nothing to scoff at. 5 of those will be against the top 5 teams from both conference (OKC, Spurs, Pacers, Clippers, Memphis)


Lakers will only play two (2) Top 5 team from both East and West in March (OKC and Indiana). 9 of their 14 games in March are teams below 500. But just like Houston and Portland, they also have a tough April schedule, they probably have the toughest with games @ Portland vs Golden State, San Antonio and Houston to close the season out.


Funny thing is in all of this, Dallas is pretty much out of the playoff picture but I can see them being a huge spoiler for each 3 teams where every win is a must. They are playing Houston twice, Portland once and the Lakers twice. I see them winning one game at Houston, vs LA and will more than likely win that game against Portland after suffering some late second blows.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Assuming 45 wins are needed to secure the 8th seed

Houston must go 17-13 along the way

Portland must go 20-12 along the way

Lakers must finish with 21-10 along the way

[StrengthAndHonor]

The way I see it? Houston clinches that 8th seed. Out of all 3 teams, they are playing the best basketball. They are healthier and their remaining record is not as bad Portland. Fwiw, I think Portland will have the worst record of the three. Dallas may even end up with more wins than Portland.

[Baron Davιs]

Lakers will.

[spurraider21]

Wouldn't be surprised if Houston surpasses Utah for #7. Harden and Lin are finally playing well together, and Parsons and Asik have been outstanding at their roles. If Patterson can continue his recent scoring surge I have no doubt they claim #7

[HarlemHeat37]

You forgot Utah, tbh..

Houston and LA will be 7 and 8..

[StrengthAndHonor]

Remaining schedule

LAKERS

@Miami
Phoenix
LA Clippers
Boston
Portland
Dallas (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=42737)
@Denver
vs Minnesota

vs Atlanta
@OKC
@NOH
vs Toronto
vs Chicago
@ Orlando
@ Atlanta
@ Indiana
vs Sacramento
@ Phoenix
vs Washinton
@ GSW
@ Minnesota
@ Milwaukee

@ Sacramento
vs Dallas
vs Memphis
@ LAC
vs NOH
@ Portland
vs GSW
vs San Antonio
vs Houston

Rockets

@ Sacramento
@ GSW
@ LAC
vs OKC
@ Brooklyn
@ Washington
vs Milwaukee
@ Orlando
vs Dallas
@ Dallas
@ GSW
@ Phoenix
vs Phoenix
vs Minnesota
vs GSW
@ Utah
vs Cleveland
vs San Antonio
vs Indiana
@ Memphis
vs LAC
vs Orlando
@ Sacramento
@ Portland
@ Denver
vs Phoenix
vs Memphis
vs Sacramento
@ Phoenix
vs LA Lakers

Portland

@ orlando
@ Miami
@ NOH
vs Phoenix
@ LAL
vs Boston
vs Denver
vs Minnesota
vs Charlotte
@ Memphis
@ San Antonio
@ NOH
vs Memphis
vs New York
vs Detroit
@ Philadelphia
@ Milwaukee
@ Chicago
@ Atlanta
@ OKC
vs Brooklyn
vs Utah
@ Golden State
@ Utah
vs Memphis
vs Houston
vs Dallas
vs LA Lakers
vs OKC
@ Denver
@ LA Clippers
vs GSW


Damn that Portland schedule is brutal :lol

[RobbyH]

Dallas has an easy sked coming up. I think they'll actually get to .500 and will be in the race as well.

[StrengthAndHonor]

You forgot Utah, tbh..

Houston and LA will be 7 and 8..

Thought about it, checked their schedule earlier and they are only a game back from Houston but I figured they're safe. They have been playing decent ball and when Mo Williams comes back they should be playing back to full strength. But they could trade Millsap before the deadline which may change everything.

[Trainwreck2100]

as i posted earlier, give houston 2 wins cause they are playing phoenix in late April, and the suns will tank those two games to secure a lottery pick

[lil_penny]

I think Houston will get it. La will come close, and Portland has begun to start its inevitable fall.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Utah would probably drop to 8th, Houston to 7th.

[ElNono]

7/8 are likely going to Rockets/Utah... I think the Lakeshow lost the tiebreaker to both of those teams... and they better beat POR in the next two games they have left or they won't have that tiebreaker either...

[Latarian Milton]

lakers will get it for sure. the league will bail them out after the allstar break and escort them to the playoffs imho

[StrengthAndHonor]

No one will bail them out. They're barely hanging with teams like the Bobcats. They will keep this interesting till the second week of March though, after that I'm predicting a 31-36 record. It would be too late for them to play catch up at that point IMO.

@Miami- L
Phoenix- W
LA Clippers-L
Boston-L
Portland-W
Dallas (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=42737)-W
@Denver-L
vs Minnesota-W

vs Atlanta- L
@OKC- L
@NOH- W
vs Toronto-W
vs Chicago- L
@ Orlando- W
@ Atlanta- L
@ Indiana-L

7-9

[DeadlyDynasty]

Lakers will get the 8th seed--and if they can avoid a first-round matchup with OKC then they're pretty much guaranteed a WCF berth.

[StrengthAndHonor]

If Gasol is there, you'd have a point. With Jamison getting most of his minutes, Lakers are done.

[diego]

the lakers wont make it. they are spiraling out of control and it just gets harder now. nash isnt going to get younger, howard isnt going to get healthier nor smarter, and kobe isnt getting younger or smarter either (:lol kobe johnson) . d'antoni doesnt even deserve mention, and thanks to him neither does pau. there just isnt any valid argument for them to make it beyond league intervention, and if they make the playoffs i definitely see that happening, but in the regular season with so many teams involved i dont see it.

and even if the spurs dont ring (1% chance) it will be satisfying if the spurs continue their streak and finish 1st while the lakers, mavs and lesser to extent suns wallow in mediocrity.especially the lakers without even a pick to show for it :lol

[Bynumite]

Portland and Utah with 2 losses in a row, now just keep melting down. Houston moved to 7th.

[ElNono]

Lakers will get the 8th seed--and if they can avoid a first-round matchup with OKC then they're pretty much guaranteed a WCF berth.

:lol

[Leon Black]

Funny thing is in all of this, Dallas is pretty much out of the playoff picture

Yeah..... 4 games back in the loss column of the 7th seed is out of the playoff race.:lol Do us a favor and stop making threads faggot

[HarlemHeat37]

Utah is going downhill, as I've been saying..

They are a mediocre team to start, and they'll probably dump Jefferson or Millsap at the deadline, making their team even worse, tbh..

[Kai]

If there is one certainty in life, it's that the Rockets will always finish 9th in the west.

[bluebellmaniac]

Houston gets 7th, Lakers 8th. Question is how good is Pau when he comes back and does Kobe return to Kobe Johnson mode.

It's a matter of physics when you talk about Kobe becoming an unselfish player... It's not possible. There simply isn't the leadership or selflessness in him to get it done on a long enough basis to win a championship.

[Sean Cagney]

Lakers will get the 8th seed--and if they can avoid a first-round matchup with OKC then they're pretty much guaranteed a WCF berth.

LMFAO... Sure.

[rayjayjohnson]

i think the lakers sneak in, and then get unceremoniously raped by either the spurs or the thunder

[rayjayjohnson]

Lakers will get the 8th seed--and if they can avoid a first-round matchup with OKC then they're pretty much guaranteed a WCF berth.

:lmao phaggot

[StrengthAndHonor]

i think the lakers sneak in, and then get unceremoniously raped by either the spurs or the thunder

Raped by the Thunder yes, Spurs? It would be a 7 game series for sure.

[Raven]

i call dallas ahead of lakers.. houston should make it in the PO but dallas could come just short...

[DeadlyDynasty]

:lmao phaggot
:lolYour team will never win in your lifetime

[spursmartyr]

Where's the option for Utah? They've been slumping a bit. Lost to the shitty Sonics last night...

[Bynumite]

Seattle SuperKings putting in the work for the purple and gold. Back 2 back W's against Utah and Houston :toast

[GuerillaBlack]

Stern will want Utah kicked out so the Lakers can get in. I don't think he would mind the Rockets being in the playoffs this year with the beard and lin.

[HarlemHeat37]

:lol Mavs are still in it, considering the shitty teams ahead of them..

[Mugen]

Seattle SuperKings putting in the work for the purple and gold. Back 2 back W's against Utah and Houston :toast

Back in August, did you think you'd have to care so much about a Rockets/Kings game in early February? :lol

[StrengthAndHonor]

Lakers, Portland and Houston dropped all of their games last night. I thought the Rockets would win for sure being up by 10 in the 3rd quarter giving them a 5 1/2 game advantage. All these teams are avoiding the 8th seed like a plague.

[StrengthAndHonor]

Next 10 games. With a projected W-L record


LAKERS (6-4)


Phoenix-W
LA Clippers-L
Boston-W
Portland-W
Dallas (http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/member.php?u=42737)-W
@Denver-L
vs Minnesota-W
vs Atlanta-L
@OKC-L
@NOH-W



Rockets (5-5)

@ GSW- W
@ LAC-L
vs OKC-L
@ Brooklyn-L
@ Washington-W
vs Milwaukee-W
@ Orlando-W
vs Dallas-L
@ Dallas-W
@ GSW-L


Portland (5-5)

@ Miami-L
@ NOH-W
vs Phoenix-W
@ LAL-L
vs Boston-W
vs Denver-L
vs Minnesota-W
vs Charlotte-W
@ Memphis-L
@ San Antonio-L


Assuming both Rockets and Blazers plays 500 within the next 10 games. Lakers must at least go 8-2 to finally reach the 8th seed. That's their best case scenario. If noth Houston and Portland goes hot, say 7-3 or 8-2 and the Lakers goes out 4-6 in this span, its safe to say the Lakers playoff hopes ends right there, which is around 2nd week of March as I predicted.

[Suspect]

I can see the league help setting up a potential lakers/spurs and rockets/thunder first round

[StrengthAndHonor]

I've added the Jazz


Jazz

vs OKC
@ Minnesota
vs GSW
@ LAC
vs Boston
vs Atlanta
vs Charlotte
@ Milwaukee
@ Cleveland
@ Chicago

[SpursIndonesia]

Out of those 4 teams (discounting the Mavs which haven't shown any kind of life & consistency to chase that elusive 8th spot), i think the Jazz and the Lakers have the biggest question marks. The Jazz, whether the management will decide to make the best effort of making the playoff OR tanking with trade to get better in the future. The Lakers, whether the health of their geriatric & injured core will hold up after all star break + the dynamic of team chemistry, considering that this team is the only team that can be considered a humongous underachiever. The other 3 teams can lose the race for the playoff and won't be roasted by their fanbase, management, and media. Not so much about dem Lakers, the pressure will be stratospheric.