The Playoff Matchups Will Be The Following:

[Manu_Ginobili]

Lakers - Dallas
Hornets - Nuggets
Jazz - Spurs
Hou - Suns

after

1. Jazz beat Spurs (Pop will rest Manu Ginobili, Barry, and Horry)
2. Hornets beat Dallas (why not, they are the better team and if they beat them, will ultimately avoid them should Denver wins as well!)
3. Nuggets beat Memphis
4. Suns beat Portland
5. Houston beat LA Clips

This actually is not that bad since the SPURS WILL AVOID the SUNS and DALLAS in the 1st round...Utah plays poorly on the road...The Spurs SHOULD WIN 1 GAME AT UTAH as they did last year...so, I like this matchup better than Dallas and the Suns in the 1st round...

if 2 doesn't happen and Dallas get their "W", then LA lakers will play Denver and the Hornets will host Dallas in the 1st round...1,4, and 5 scores remain the same...so, do the Playoff mathups

SO, SHOULD POP REST MANU, BEAWARE THAT HE WANTS UTAH in the PLAYOFFS!!! OK, Pop we gotta you now!!!

GO SPURS!!! GO MANU!!! GO POP!!!

[xtremesteven33]

pretty good.....but man Salt Lake City in the Playoffs is TOUGH BRO....really tough.....thats a darn good team....plus those mormons get loud....

[Manu_Ginobili]

pretty good.....but man Salt Lake City in the Playoffs is TOUGH BRO....really tough.....thats a darn good team....plus those mormons get loud....

I know, however, Pop doesn't want to play the SUNS or DALLAS in the 1sdt round, so we did EVERYTHING to avoid them...We beat Utah last year 4-1, this year they are NOT ready to eliminate us, just yet, so we can beat them 4-2 or 4-3...

GO SPURS!!!

[Indazone]

Actually between the Jazz and the Suns, I think as demonstrated by the 20 pt blowout win the Rockets had over the Suns, that we might actually match up better with them.

[BonnerDynasty]

I've been thinking about it and I just don't have a good feeling about the Suns in the first round.

Utah without HCA will be BRUTAL but let's do it.

The only thing that sucks is we will miss the Lakers until the WCF (assuming we get that far) and that is just more time that Bynum could get back.

I'm hoping Dallas drops to 8th on purpose to try and knock Lakers out before Bynum gets back.

[bdictjames]

But aren't the Jazz secured in the 4th spot of the West, as they are the northwest division champions?

[Indazone]

No division champions don't matter. Record matters

[Manu_Ginobili]

I'm hoping Dallas drops to 8th on purpose to try and knock Lakers out before Bynum gets back.

I don't believe Dallas will do it on purpose...I think Dallas CANNOT beat the Hornets...Hornets are the better team, and they WILL DO EVERYTHING tonite to AVOID Dallas in the 1st round - just win 1 game against them, and then get the easy Nuggets, who don't play any defense, and be in Round 2...

[G-Nob]

But aren't the Jazz secured in the 4th spot of the West, as they are the northwest division champions?


They can go as high as 3rd.

[bdictjames]

No division champions don't matter. Record matters
So the rule changed this year?

[Corn on the Colb]

But aren't the Jazz secured in the 4th spot of the West, as they are the northwest division champions?

In terms of seeding, yes they are guaranteed a top four seed.

But if the 5th seed has a better record than them, they would get the HCA (as Houston did last year vs. the Jazz).

[bdictjames]

They can go as high as 3rd.
I know but I doubt they can surpass SA's record.

[bdictjames]

Oh wait, I see it, yes this could be interesting. I just hope we can get HCA.

[Corn on the Colb]

I know but I doubt they can surpass SA's record.

They will have the same record if the Jazz win tonight and the Jazz would own the head to head tiebreaker over the Spurs 3-1 (haven't been able to say that in a while :D).

[Manu_Ginobili]

But aren't the Jazz secured in the 4th spot of the West, as they are the northwest division champions?

IF JAZZ WIN WEDNESDAY AND Houston wins, Phoenix wins then the
Records are: Jazz 55-27, Phoenix 55-27, Houston 55-27, San Antonio 55-27.
Tiebreakers: This is the much-discussed four-team tie. According to the NBA office, the tie is broken first by removing the Jazz, who are guaranteed a top four seed as the Northwest Division champions. Then you do a three-way head-to-head tiebreaker with the games the Rockets, Suns and Spurs have played against each other. Phoenix is 5-3, Houston is 4-4 and San Antonio is 3-5. The Suns and Jazz then are part of a tiebreaker to determine the Nos. 3 and 4 seeds. The Jazz own the season series with Phoenix so they are third, the Suns fourth, the Rockets fifth and the Spurs sixth. NBA spokesman Tim Frank confirmed this Monday.

If the Spurs win, they will automatically lock the number 3 seat, and should HOU and the Suns win, there will be a 2-way tie, the Jazz will end up 4th* (but, actually *being 5th by losing home court to either Houston or the Suns), and the Spurs WILL HOST THE SUNS at Home...I don't see ANY other scenarios since I am predicting HOU and the SUNS to win their games...
THAT'S IT!!!

[Manu_Ginobili]

Oh wait, I see it, yes this could be interesting. I just hope we can get HCA.

YOU DON'T NEED HCA now!!!! if you get HCA, we will play the SUNS, WHY would you wanna do that in the 1st round??? WHY??? We shall play Utah and win one there...PERIOD...

[Manu_Ginobili]

They can go as high as 3rd.

CORRECT, HERE IT IS:

Mike Monroe
San Antonio Express-News

You don't need a degree in Boolean logic to unravel the secrets of the NBA's formula for breaking a potential four-way tie for third place in the Western Conference, but keep a bottle of aspirin handy as you follow along.

You might get a headache.

If the Spurs, Jazz, Suns and Rockets all finish the regular season with records of 55-27:

•Utah would be eliminated from the logjam before the tiebreaker rules are applied and given the No. 3 seed because it won the Northwest Division.

•The tie among the remaining three teams would be broken based on winning percentages in regular-season games among the three.

Phoenix, with a 5-3 record against the Spurs and Rockets, would get the No. 4 seed. The Rockets, 4-4, would get the No. 5 seed. The Spurs, 3-5, would be No. 6.

•Phoenix and Houston would match up in the first round of the playoffs. However, the No. 5 seed Rockets would have home-court advantage over the No. 4 seed Suns. That is because the two tied in their regular season series, 2-2, which is the first tiebreaker in a head-to-head matchup. The Rockets had a better record within the Western Conference, which is the second tiebreaker in a head-to-head matchup when the tied teams aren't in the same division.

•The Spurs and Jazz would match up in the first round, with Utah having home-court advantage based on its 3-1 regular-season record against the Spurs.

Remember: This four-way tie only can happen if Utah defeats the Spurs in the regular-season finale at the AT&T Center tonight, which would give Utah its season edge.

assuming also Suns defeat Portland, and Houston beats LA Clips...

[Jimcs50]

If Pop is smart, he will play tonight like it was a playoff game. This is not like previous years where the Spurs were playing their best ball by years end. The Spurs have been rather mediocre (to put it kindly) the last month, and they have no business just cruising into their first playoff series like years past without a worry about momentum. The Spurs need to pull out all the stops to prove to themselves, and to the rest of the league, that they are still a force to be reckoned with.

Tonight is the first of 17 wins needed to win the title, a play in game if you will....I will say this, if SA loses tonight, they will not get out of first round...that is a given and I would bet money on that.

[Manu_Ginobili]

Tonight is the first of 17 wins needed to win the title, a play in game if you will....I will say this, if SA loses tonight, they will not get out of first round...that is a given and I would bet money on that.

TOTALLY DISAGREE, AND IT IS A STUPID STATEMENT...If Pop is resting Manu, the Spurs don't have much chance to win today, so he already made his mind to play Utah Jazz in the 1st round, PERIOD...Also, last year the SPURS LOST the LAST REGULAR SEASON GAME against Denver, THEN WE PLAYED DENVER AT HOME AGAIN, and we LOST the opener (!!!), then, we SWEPT them as usual 4 games in a row to finish 4:1 and win the title...DON'T MAKE FOOLISH STATEMENTS LIKE THIS...PLEASE!

GO SPURS!!! GO MANU!!! GO POP!!!

[Jimcs50]

TOTALLY DISAGREE, AND IT IS A STUPID STATEMENT...If Pop is resting Manu, the Spurs don't have much chance to win today, so he already made his mind to play Utah Jazz in the 1st round, PERIOD...Also, last year the SPURS LOST the LAST REGULAR SEASON GAME against Denver, THEN WE PLAYED DENVER AT HOME AGAIN, and we LOST the opener (!!!), then, we SWEPT them as usual 4 games in a row to finish 4:1 and win the title...DON'T MAKE FOOLISH STATEMENTS LIKE THIS...PLEASE!

GO SPURS!!! GO MANU!!! GO POP!!!

Can you read??? What did I say???? This is not like previous years where the Spurs were clearly playing their best bball the last month. Last year, they won 12 of last 13 games before their seeding was established going into their last 3 games, which they clearly did not need to win to change their position. They did not suffer three 20 pt blowout losses to playoff teams(Utah, Phoenix and Lakers) the last week of the season like this year. They lost to Denver last year when TD, Parker and Manu did not even play in the game.

CAN YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE HERE OR ARE YOU TOO DENSE?????

[JoeChalupa]

It will not be an easy road to the finals this year for any team. I see some great series ahead.

[Allanon]

2. Hornets beat Dallas (why not, they are the better team and if they beat them, will ultimately avoid them should Denver wins as well!)

The Hornets have been looking shaky the last few games, I don't know what's up with them...I think they have the Playoff jitters or something.

I'll say the Dallas Mavericks will blowout the Hornets tonight. The Mavs would rather play the Hornets rather then Lakers.

[Jimcs50]

TOTALLY DISAGREE, AND IT IS A STUPID STATEMENT...If Pop is resting Manu, the Spurs don't have much chance to win today, so he already made his mind to play Utah Jazz in the 1st round, PERIOD...Also, last year the SPURS LOST the LAST REGULAR SEASON GAME against Denver, THEN WE PLAYED DENVER AT HOME AGAIN, and we LOST the opener (!!!), then, we SWEPT them as usual 4 games in a row to finish 4:1 and win the title...DON'T MAKE FOOLISH STATEMENTS LIKE THIS...PLEASE!

GO SPURS!!! GO MANU!!! GO POP!!!

I guess you are wrong, eh?



Jeff McDonald: Ginobili expected to play

A sign that tonight's season finale against Utah remains significant for the Spurs: Manu Ginobili is expected to play.

Ginobili has missed the past three games with a strained groin, and coach Gregg Popovich vowed to play it safe with his leading scorer. The last thing he wanted was an injured Ginobili heading into the postseason.

After shootaround this morning, Popovich sent word through team spokesman Tom James that Ginobili is likely to give it a go.

We'd guess it didn't take too much convincing from Ginobili.

It's an important game for the Spurs. A victory would make the difference between opening the playoffs at home, or going on the road -- most likely against the Jazz or Suns.

[Findog]

The last I heard is that Scott isn't planning on playing his starters much. If they are indeed better than us, why should they go balls out on the road on the 2nd of a b2b to avoid us? There's less travel time to Dallas than Denver and they'll have HCA either way. Before December, they hadnt beaten us in 8 years. That could backfire psychologically for him to amp up his team to avoid a 7 seed and then lose anyway.

[Findog]

LAL #1, NOLA #2 for sure, Hou #5 most likely, as they play the Clippers at home.

So with that in mind...

If Utah and Phoenix win, the Jazz will be #3, Phx #4 w/o HCA against Hou, SAS #6.

If San Antonio wins, SAS #3, Utah #4, Hou #5 with HCA, PHX #6.

If Dallas wins, Dal #7, Den #8

If NOLA and Denver win, Den #7, Dal #8.

[Findog]

This assumes Houston beats the Clippers at home tonight, but here are your playoff possibilities. The two biggest games are NOLA at Dallas and Utah at San Antonio:

So cheatsheet:

LAL - #1 and HCA against either Denver or Dallas

NOLA - #2 and HCA against either Denver or Dallas

Utah - either #3 and HCA against San Antonio or #4 and w/o HCA against Hou

San Antonio - either #3 and HCA against Phoenix or #6 against Utah

Houston - either #5 and HCA against Utah or Phoenix

Phoenix - either #4 and w/o HCA against Houston or #6 against San Antonio

Dallas - either #7 against NOLA or #8 against LAL

Denver - either #7 against NOLA or #8 against LAL

[DazedAndConfused]

Like I said before ALL Houston has to do is beat the Clippers tonight and all is set. I have never rooted for the Rockets in my life, this will be the 1st time I do.

To have SAS or PHX out in the 1st round would make the Lakers road to the Finals a hell of a lot easier. If they both got knocked out.......well let's just say we got ourselves another LAL-BOS matchup.

[Findog]

If you're the Jazz, do you want the Rockets even if it means w/o HCA, or do you take HCA against the champs that knocked you out pretty easily last year? I'm pretty sure they want the higher seed, but would it surprise anyone if the Jazz tank tonight to get the Rockets?