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Damn. Enough Ex-Spurs on that bench?
New Orleans Hornets (49-32) at San Antonio Spurs (53-28)
(Sports Network) - The San Antonio Spurs and New Orleans Hornets both enter the season finale tonight with a number of playoff possibilities still on the table.
The Spurs can still lock down the Southwest Division le when they host the Hornets, who can finish in either the sixth or seventh seed in the Western Conference.
San Antonio is deadlocked with Houston atop the Southwest but the Rockets own the tiebreaker. The Spurs must beat New Orleans and hope for a Houston loss in Dallas for San Antonio to take the division and the No. 3 seed in the West. That scenario would have the Spurs meeting the Mavs in the first round while the Hornets would take on Denver. A loss by San Antonio tonight and the Spurs will be the fifth seed.
New Orleans, meanwhile, earns the sixth seed with a win tonight or a loss by Dallas. The Hornets will be seventh with a loss and a win by the Mavs.
The Spurs are coming off an important win in Oakland on Monday when Drew Gooden finished with 20 points and 15 rebounds, as San Antonio routed the Golden State Warriors, 101-72.
Tim Duncan, who sat out the team's previous contest with sore knees, returned to post 16 points and 13 boards for San Antonio. Tony Parker added 17 points as the Spurs won their third in a row.
The Hornets, meanwhile, fell in Houston on Monday when Yao Ming returned to the lineup with 22 points and seven rebounds, as the Rockets earned an 86-66 blowout win over New Orleans.
David West tallied 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Hornets, who were held to a season-low in points and fell into a tie with Dallas for the sixth spot in the West with one game remaining.
It was an off night for guard Chris Paul, as he had nine points and seven assists.
Hornets center Tyson Chandler, who has missed the team's last 15 games with a balky left ankle, is expected to play 20-plus minutes tonight.
San Antonio, which is 27-13 in the Alamo City this season, has dropped two of the three meetings between the clubs this year but earned a 106-93 win at the AT&T Center on January 31.
Damn. Enough Ex-Spurs on that bench?
I know CP3 flops every game but have you guys noticed that he always flops a whole lot more then his usual when playing us?
Be ready for the flop fest fellas. CP3 will be testing the refs to see what he can do in the playoffs. Hopefully he wont get much playing time so the game will be bearable to watch.
Referee Assignments
Wed. Apr. 15
New Orleans @ San Antonio: S. Foster, T. Brothers, Z. Zarba
i want someone outside Parker and Tim to step up big tonight. i want at least 20+ from someone else.
I bet we'll see this at least once or twice tonight...before the game I am going to start a thread counting how many barrel rolls this punk does.
Well I'm sure he wont disappoint!
Chandler will play vs. Spurs
By Mike Monroe
The Spurs' quest to get the highest possible playoff seeding will come against a full-strength Hornets roster tonight at AT&T Center.
Tyson Chandler, the 7-foot center who has missed the past few weeks with a sprained ankle, has been cleared to play tonight, and Hornets coach Byron Scott said he is penciled in for 15 to 20 minutes of work.
Scott is hoping to get Chandler back in some sort of rhythm before the playoffs begin this weekend. The recipient of most of point guard Chris Paul's long lob passes when he is healthy, Chandler has battled a sore ankle much of the season and has played in only 44 games. He last played on March 16. Last season he averaged 11.8 points and 11.7 rebounds.
James Posey, who missed the March 29 game against the Spurs because of a shoulder injury, also is available for tonight's game.
Of ing course.
Doubtless they'll all play like All-Stars tonight, as well.
For the love of all things holy, I think I have tickets for tonight's game. God Bless Sons.
Got tickets: Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
New Orleans Hornets battling for sixth seed in Western Conference playoffs
by John Reid, The Times-Picayune
The New Orleans Hornets can gain the sixth seed in the Western Conference playoffs with a victory tonight against the San Antonio Spurs or with a loss by Dallas against Houston tonight.
The Hornets would finish as the seventh seed with a loss tonight and Dallas beats the Rockets.
As the seventh seed, the Hornets would play the Denver Nuggets, who can clinch the second seed tonight with a victory against Portland.
If the Hornets finish sixth, they would play the Houston if the Rockets beat Dallas.
The Rockets would win the Southwest Division with a victory tonight and could move up to the second seed if Denver losses to Portland.
But, Houston would fall to fifth with a loss against Dallas and San Antonio and Portland win.
San Antonio can gain the third seed and win the Southwest Division if it defeats the Hornets and Houston losses at Dallas.
If the Spurs lose to New Orleans, they would be the fifth seed.
The Los Angeles Lakers have clinched the No. 1 seed. With Utah's loss to the Lakers Tuesday night, they will enter as the eighth seed.
Portland currently holds the fourth seed and they can maintain it with a victory against Denver.
Winning the division is not a way to break a 2 way tie.
It is only a way to break a 3 way tie.
Therefore, there must be 2 other teams tied with the Spurs in terms of there record for that to matter. And Houston cannot be one of the two teams tied with the Spurs in terms of record. For, they hold the tiebreaker of better record against Western Conference Playoff teams. So, they would be the division winner.
So, Houston must lose (otherwise they win the tiebreaker with San Antonio).
Obviously, San Antonio must win (otherwise we are behind Houston in either our record [if Houston were to win] or because Houston holds the 2 way tiebreaker of better record against Western Conference playoff teams [if Houston loses].
Now, Portland holds the 2 way tiebreaker of better record in head to head games against San Antonio. Therefore, San Antonio cannot be in a 2 way tiebreaker with Portland and still finish third.
However, if Portland wins, they would finish 54-28 like the Spurs. And a Portland win means that Denver lost. So, Denver would finish 54-28.
Thus, all 3 teams would have the same record. These teams would be competing for the second, third and fourth seeds respectively. The Nuggets would get the tiebreaker against the Spurs. So, the Nuggets would be second. The Spurs would be a division winner which in a 3 way tiebreaker is a first way to break the tie. So, the Spurs would be the third seed. The Blazers would have a better record than the Rockets since the Rockets lost. Thus, the Blazers would be the fourth seed. Since New Orleans lost, they would still be behind the Rockets. So, the Rockets would be the fifth seed. New Orleans would be the sixth seed. Presuming that the Spurs are the third seed, then Dallas must have beaten the Rockets. Thus, Dallas remains the seventh seed. Utah would remain the eighth seed.
Bottom line: For us to get the third seed: Spurs must beat New Orleans, Dallas must beat Houston and the Blazers must beat the Nuggets. All three of these events must take place or the Spurs do not become the third seed.
Please, please, please remember that winning a division is only a 3 way tiebreaker and never a 2 way tiebreaker.
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