Mavs seem like a lock for 7th, tbh..whoever plays them wins that series easily, too..
I really hate that the Spurs are probably going to get Houston or LA in the 1st round..all those ing blown OT games and that Knicks game..smh..
I feel like they could give Houston a good series in the 1st round. Carlisle would coach circles around McHale...then again, Dallas has been really mediocre since getting Rondo so maybe not.
And yup, I'd rather play Portland or Memphis for sure. Can't decide who I'd rather play between LAC and Houston. I think the Clippers are the better team, but Houston matches up better against us.
As good of a coach as Carlisle is, there's nothing you can do to form a good gameplan if you have current Rondo on your team IMO..he's the biggest cancer in the NBA outside of the Lakers..
It's exacerbated by Dirk's decline, of course..
I can't see them even challenging Houston..no perimeter defenders to guard Harden(Aminu is good, but he's a no-name player, the refs will have him in foul trouble immediately), Dirk is going to have trouble with the athleticism of Jones and Smith, etc..
They play well vs. the Spurs, but overall, they're a very mediocre team by West standards IMO..Portland is the same, but at least they have Aldridge and maybe Lillard that can go off..I'm not counting Memphis out, but they have looked terrible for a minute..
The Warriors' bracket is beginning to look like a stroll to the WCFs, unfortunately..they're a historically great regular season team, they didn't need any more help, but they're going to get it with that weak-ass bracket..
i say we get win 50 and keep pace for the 6th seed.
Those 2 Houston games are going to be big...we still have an outside shot at getting 2nd or 3rd seed, which would be huge. Any situation where we can play Portland/Dallas/Memphis with HCA would be great.
Memphis has:
home vs. Sacramento- W
3 days rest then home vs. OKC- W
home vs. Washington- W
home vs. NO- W
@ Utah- L
@ LAC- L
@ GS- L
home vs. Indiana- W
I think they go 5-3..
Spurs have:
@ Mia- W
@ Orl- W
home Denver- W
home Warriors- ?
@ OKC- ?
back-to-back home vs. Houston- W?
@ Houston- L
home Phoenix- W
@ NO on the final day- W
I can't see them passing the Grizzlies, tbh, unless they win OKC and win both Rockets games IMO..
Or if Memphis continues to collapse, but that schedule looks easy as ..
If we can catch up Houston, including beating them these last two games, I think we can nail the #3 seed... that would great, as it would likely give us HCA for the first two rounds, IIRC...
We control our own fate.
Not only by our own schedule, but the seeds above us are gonna have games against each other.
We win we gain, move up. Period.
Interesting. How do you see us having HCA in the second round if we're the 3 seed? Obviously, then you believe 2 would lose to 6. Who do you have in those positions in that scenario?
If you catch Houston, you get 2nd seed..IMO.
I doubt the spurs finish ahead of houston though.
They need to to go 8-1 to even have a chance.
9-0 probably wouldn't be enough even.
I think the Spurs stay at 6th unfortunately. They've pissed away every opportunity.
Actually, 2 plays 7. That #2 would be Memphis. But you're right, doubt Dallas could beat them.
#2 seed, a first-round cakewalk against Dallas and HCA against everyone but GS is obviously the absolute best-case scenario.
By SRS, the Spurs are the 3rd-best team in the league behind GS and LAC, so if all we care about is an easy bracket, #9 Memphis and #8 Houston in the first two rounds (the way things stand now) really isn't that bad. Then again SRS puts Dallas ahead of both of them.
Since the top 8 teams in the West are all in the top 10 in SRS (#4 Atlanta, #5 Cleveland), there is no easy path by that metric. It doesn't take injuries into account, though, so it's likely that the Rockets/Clippers/Spurs are better than SRS would indicate, while the Grizzlies/Mavericks/Blazers are somewhat worse.
Of course, matchups are everything. The Spurs wouldn't have any trouble with Dallas or Portland, and should take Memphis in 6. Houston is a wildcard because neither they nor the Spurs have been at full strength in the first two meetings. This upcoming home-and-home with them should be telling. The Spurs match up well with the Clippers on paper, but the Clippers have been very good by predictive metrics like SRS. The Spurs would be clear underdogs against the Warriors, but that would be must-see TV for any NBA fan.
Spurs need to both win and get a lucky die roll, so to speak, for two rounds of HCA (maybe even 3, crossing fingers for upsets/luck once again). They need to string together a set of victories a la 2012 in order to attain it. I have faith it is possible, if not probable.
Houston
Memphis
Portland
LA Clippers
San Antonio
Does it even matter what Portland does? Aren't they guaranteed a top 3 seed as long as they win their division?
Top 4 guaranteed
There's nothing scary about the Clippers, but they're a much worse matchup than Memphis/Portland IMO..
Guaranteed a top 4 seed, but not HCA.
Yeah, just looked it up. Thanks for the info.
I don't like all this sudden confidence against the Grizz. Feels like a trap.
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