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You’re right. For some reason I spaced and was thinking the Thunder were in our division which is obviously not the case.
It does go to conference record, which is still up in the air.
I thought division record only mattered when breaking ties between teams in the same division. Isn't conference record the 2nd tiebreaker between the Spurs and Thunder?
You’re right. For some reason I spaced and was thinking the Thunder were in our division which is obviously not the case.
It does go to conference record, which is still up in the air.
(Edited) The Spurs are 18-12 against the East and the Thunder are 19-10 with one more game against Miami. Since the Thunder are guaranteed to have a better record against the East then in a tie with the Spurs they are guaranteed to have a worse record against the West. So I think the Spurs have clinched the tiebreaker with OC.
The same is true for the Pelicans. They finished their East schedule tonight at 21-9. Of course the Spurs would have to beat them in New Orleans in the season finale but that game basically decides the tiebreaker between those teams.
The Nuggets are 16-12 against the East with their next two games being against MIL and IND. If they win either one they will lose the tiebreaker with the Spurs. But if they lose one or both they are less likely to actually get that tie given that they are 3 games behind the Spurs with 6 left. The next tiebreaker is record against West playoff teams but I don't feel like adding all that up. If it ends up mattering it will likely be a 7th/8th or 8th/9th place tie anyway.
Since the Spurs have the tiebreaker with OC then I believe their magic number against the Thunder is 5. With tonight's loss the Thunder have 33 and the Spurs have 32, so the Spurs can drop one game and still finish in a tie. Then again we could have a multiway tie so it's probably safer to leave it at 6 for now.
Last edited by Seventyniner; 03-30-2018 at 09:57 PM.
You're correct about how the tie-break works, if you needed any confirmation. All in all, it's been a pretty good day for the Spurs. Got OKC and NO to drop games. Didn't get the Wolves to lose, but that was the least important anyway. Hoping that Memphis and LAC can help the team out.
Good stuff, Seventyniner.
For all intents and purposes, the magic number against the Thunder is probably 5...but I'm going with 6 as well, since nothing is guaranteed until we know that there won't be a multiway tie.
Last night was an interesting one. Pelicans finally lost a close game. Denver beat OKC in overtime (although I would've preferred a Nuggets loss just to push them that much closer to the brink.) Surprisingly, Dallas almost gave the Wolves a run for their money. And with their loss to Portland, Clippers are pretty much scraping for playoff life at this point (and they also just lost Teodosic again).
Clippers also play the Nuggets in a week...so one of those guys are guaranteed another game in the loss column
Updated numbers:
Magic Numbers against teams on the bubble with 6 games left:
Trailblazers (tiebreaker TBD, tied 1-1) - 10
Thunder (tiebreaker TBD, tied 2-2) - 6
Pelicans (tiebreaker TBD - NOP leads 2-1) - 6
Jazz (Utah owns tiebreaker) - 6
Timberwolves (Spurs own tiebreaker) - 5
Nuggets (tiebreaker TBD, tied 2-2) - 4
Clippers (Spurs own tiebreaker) - 3
No games of consequence tonight. Hope everybody has a good Saturday and Happy Easter!
at this point 4 seed is the goal
Thunder (tiebreaker TBD, tied 2-2) - 5
Jazz (Utah owns tiebreaker) - 5
Pelicans (tiebreaker TBD - NOP leads 2-1) - 4
Timberwolves (Spurs own tiebreaker) - 3
Nuggets (tiebreaker TBD, tied 2-2) - 3
Clippers (Spurs own tiebreaker) - 1
Glorious Easter the spurs rose from the 10th seed to nearly get back to 3...Sadly with five games left Portland isn't going to lose every game. The clippers are deadish. Nuggets still playing tonight, NO lost to thunder. Timberlake lost to jazz.
Tuesday thunder gsw, nuggs and pacers, blazers mavs, Lakers jazz, and. Clips spurs
Milwaukee up big on Nuggets now. Looks like they will be down to 2 by the end of the night.
Spurs could clinch playoffs as soon as Wednesday...if they can actually pull their head out of their butts while playing on the road.
And counting . . .Take that for data! Five seasons in a row without making playoffs...
Jeannie Buss may have to rehire her brother -- she's running out of scapegoats.
Well I jinxed the out of that one. Nuggets just made three free throws with 2 ticks left on the clock to tie the game. Erased a 16 point deficit with 5 and a half minutes left.
Epic choke job by the Bucks. Looks like the Nuggets will be staying at 3.
Clippers, Pelicans, Wolves lose.
Spurs, Thunder, Jazz, Nuggets (somehow), Blazers win.
Not a bad day.
Lavar ball?
If the Spurs beat the Clippers and Denver loses against Indiana on Tuesday, the Spurs are guaranteed a playoff spot, IIRC...
As mentioned earlier, I think the Nuggets' win over the Bucks means that the Spurs will have the tiebreaker over the Nuggets in a head-to-head tie. Though I really hope it doesn't come to that, as it would require the Spurs losing at least 3 of their last 5.
The Lakers are like a bad GOT version where brothers kill each other...Can't wait to see their next bad move.
I don't see the Lakers making the playoffs any time soon. I guess they can sign Paul George and they'd have a shot, but the roster has so much crap on it.
Our roster has so much trash too. The difference is mature coaching and an all Star pf. I could see the Lakers beat the clippers and nuggets to get the eighth spot. Especially with a veteran. Lonzo could mature into a real floor general that elevates their talent.
They don't have anyone close to in the same league as Aldridge. Paul George would be close, but not enough. Ball and Ingraham have been better than I expected, but there isn't a lot of winning culture there. They need to pull some more talent and somehow get it all to stick together.
I see both the Lakers and the Clippers making a strong run at Kwahi. Why not? They have a great history, California Dreaming, and tons of money, plus his homesickness for the area.
Denver currently holds the second tie-break over Utah, but they have not secured it yet. If this holds, then Utah cannot be a viable three-team ally to the Nuggets.
The Spurs will own the second tie-break against New Orleans if they can neutralize the first; if they don't win the second tie-break, it will mean they've lost the first. That currently means that the final game against the Pelicans is by far the most important of the remainder of the season. If the Spurs lose, then the Pelicans are a great ally for Denver.
If the Spurs win tonight, they will shut the door on LAC overtaking them. After that, both NO and Utah hold favorable positions over SA. While it would take a while to clinch a spot over these teams, their usefulness to Denver should run out much sooner.
Magic numbers:
West:
LAC - 1 (win tonight worth two points)
DEN - 3
MIN - 3
NOP - 4 (final game of season worth 3 points)
OKC - 4
UTH - 5
POR - 8 (4/7 game worth three points)
East:
MIA - 1
MKE - 2
WSH - 2
IND - 7
CLE - 7
PHL - 8
Everyone else is either uncatchable or already passed. Utah is by far the team's biggest compe ion for the fourth seed. They have an easy schedule, and are within one game of the Spurs. The saving grace is that their ty division record is likely to keep them from winning any three-team tie-breaks. Only the Pelicans can help them there.
Ingraham is a big question to me. Is he some type of Wiggins guy? In a sense that Wiggins isn't exactly metting expectations this season...I know, Ingraham is too young but I have some doubts.
Good question. I think Wiggins absolutely sucks. I had no hopes for Ingraham but I've changed my mind a bit.
I wonder if Blazers would put their best lineups to face the Spurs this week. I doubt they lose next two games so they would secure #3 before playing the Spurs.
That's why I can't see a scenario where Spurs lose #4 seed. After this mini-West Coast tour, they have two home games while OKC has to play Warriors and Rockets this week.
The good thing is he's too young with many physical tools to work.
So what’s the magic number now after loss to LAC?
Lots of basketball left with 4 games. None of them will be easy.
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