OFFICIAL 2010-2011 NBA PLAYOFFS THREAD : VOL. MOST. ANTICIPATED. PLAYOFFS. EVER?

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

OKC plays New Orleans with a New Orleans win.
OKC plays Memphis with a New Orleans loss, and Memphis win.
ummm how?

the highest we can go is 3.. so it's either denver or portland for us (prob denver, since our coach has already come out and said out starters would start but wouldn't get usual mins.. also i expect dallas to win)

  
 
Spoiler [+]
To tank or not to tank, that is the question.

To shamelessly give away a winnable game in hopes of having healthier players and earning a more favorable playoff opponent, or to do the honorable thing and aim to finish as high as possible.

Memphis opted for the former strategy, controversially, although you can hardly blame the Grizzlies after they were victimized in 2006 by the most blatant tanking example in league annals -- when the Clippers intentionally lost a game in ridiculous fashion (starting a near-comatose Vin Baker, most famously) to take advantage of a then-existing seeding loophole that allowed them to play a team with an inferior record.

The examples this year won't be nearly as egregious, but the Grizzlies and the Hornets are the teams to watch Wednesday in the battle for the seventh and eighth positions in the West. Memphis could guarantee itself the eighth spot and a first-round match with the Spurs by losing to the Clippers; given what transpired Tuesday night in Portland, it would be really, really weird if they turned around and tried to win Wednesday.

Memphis coach Lionel Hollins already dropped a pretty strong hint that Zach Randolph won't play, and presumably Tony Allen (who sat out Tuesday) and fellow starters Marc Gasol and Mike Conley will get a breather this evening.

[h4]Western Conference[/h4][table][tr][th=""]Current Seeds[/th][th=""]Status[/th][/tr][tr][td]1. Spurs[/td][td]Locked in as the No. 1 seed[/td][/tr][tr][td]2. Lakers[/td][td]Clinch #2 seed with win OR DAL loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #3 seed with loss AND DAL win[/td][/tr][tr][td]3. Mavericks[/td][td]Clinch #2 seed with win AND LAL loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #3 seed with win AND LAL win[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #3 seed with loss AND OKC loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #4 seed with loss AND OKC win [/td][/tr][tr][td]4. Thunder[/td][td]Clinch #3 seed with win AND DAL loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #4 seed with loss OR DAL win[/td][/tr][tr][td]5. Nuggets[/td][td]Locked in as the No. 5 seed[/td][/tr][tr][td]6. Blazers[/td][td]Locked in as the No. 6 seed[/td][/tr][tr][td]7. Hornets[/td][td]Clinch #7 seed with win OR MEM loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #8 seed with loss AND MEM win[/td][/tr][tr][td]8. Grizzlies[/td][td]Clinch #7 seed with win AND NO loss[/td][/tr][tr][td][/td][td]Clinch #8 seed with loss OR NO win[/td][/tr][/table]

On the other hand, news of Andrew Bynum's knee injury could shift incentives. The presumption that nobody wants to face the Lakers will face considerable questioning should the MRI reveal a serious problem; that, in turn, could re-motivate the Grizzlies to push for the seventh position.

It also could motivate the Hornets to do the same. New Orleans would lock itself into a second-round series with the Lakers if it beats Dallas, but losing could open the door to facing the Spurs or Mavericks. Twenty-four hours ago, that decision was a no-brainer for the Hornets -- sit Chris Paul, let Aaron Gray work on his 3-point shot and hope things bounce their way in the other games. Now? One wonders if a certain date against a weakened Lakers team is preferable to the other potential outcomes.

Tanking possibilities also exist in the race for the second, third and fourth seeds, but these are tempered by the reality that having home-court advantage in the second round is much more important than having a better matchup in the first. The one team that might consider punting is Oklahoma City, which could guarantee itself a first-round date with the Nuggets and a spot on the opposite side of the bracket from the Lakers with a loss to Milwaukee.

For the Lakers and Mavericks, they would potentially surrender home-court advantage in the second round with a defeat tonight, and that's likely too great a cost to consider punting the game.

As a result, unless the Lakers announce devastating news with Bynum, our likely outcome is that the Grizzlies "succeed" against the Clippers by losing, becoming the No. 8 seed, and that the Hornets do similarly in Dallas and take the seventh seed.

Finally, we must consider the time line. The Grizzlies have a "sudden health" scenario because the Hornets play before they do. If New Orleans loses and the reports on Bynum come back pessimistic, Memphis has a strong incentive to play Allen, Randolph and the others to get a matchup against either Dallas (if the Lakers lose to Sacramento in a game that will be played simultaneously) or a wounded Lakers team (if L.A. beats the Kings).

The only question, then, is what happens with the Lakers in Sacramento -- where they'll face a Kings team that has played well of late, and before a raucous crowd in what is perhaps the final game at the Placebo Center. If L.A. loses and Dallas wins, they Lakers are the No. 3 seed and face the Trail Blazers. Otherwise, they're the No. 2 and draw New Orleans.

As with Memphis above, the Lakers have a timeline advantage -- they'll know the result of the Dallas game before theirs tips off, and thus have a "sudden scratch" scenario. If the Mavs lose, L.A. can rest its stars knowing that the No. 2 seed is secure.

Overall, there are 16 permutations for tonight's outcomes. The biggest wild card is Dallas, which could play any of four teams. San Antonio pays Memphis and Oklahoma City plays Denver in 12 of the 16 scenarios; the Lakers play the Hornets in 10 of them; and the Mavs play the Blazers in eight of them.

As for seeding, to review:
[*]New Orleans is the No. 7 seed with a win or a Memphis loss, either of which would make Memphis No. 8. If New Orleans loses and the Grizzlies win, Memphis is No. 7 and the Hornets No. 8. [*]Denver and Portland are locked into the No. 5 and No. 6 seeds, respectively, but still await their opponents. [*]The Lakers are No. 2 with a win or a Dallas loss; and No. 3 with a loss and a Dallas win. [*]The Mavs are No. 2 with a win and a Laker loss; and No. 4 with a loss and a Thunder win. Any other combo makes them No. 3. [*]The Thunder are No. 3 with a win and a Dallas loss; otherwise they're No. 4. [*]The Spurs and Bulls are still battling for home-court advantage in the Finals should they meet. If both teams win or both teams lose, it will be decided by random drawing later this week. If only one team wins, that team will have the home-court advantage. [*]The Lakers clinched home-court advantage for a Lakers-Celtics Finals with last night's win over San Antonio. Oklahoma City would clinch the same tonight with a win or a Boston loss. [*]Dallas can secure home-court advantage in a Mavs-Heat Finals with a win and a Miami loss. [*]And finally, if you're reeeeeeally a geek about this stuff, home-court advantage in a Nuggets-Magic Finals is still unresolved. The Nuggets would get the edge with a win and an Orlando loss tonight; otherwise it goes to the Magic.
Finally, a few of you are undoubtedly wondering what I think will actually happen tonight. My best guess is that all the teams that are actually trying to win do so -- the Lakers, Mavs and Thunder. If so, that leaves us with Spurs-Grizzlies, Lakers-Hornets, Mavs-Blazers and Thunder-Nuggets in the first round. But we could still have another surprise in store, like the one Memphis provided last night, from a team that ponders the question at the top and decides it's not worth it to fight to the finish.
 
Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

Originally Posted by JapanAir21

OKC plays New Orleans with a New Orleans win.
OKC plays Memphis with a New Orleans loss, and Memphis win.
ummm how?

the highest we can go is 3.. so it's either denver or portland for us (prob denver, since our coach has already come out and said out starters would start but wouldn't get usual mins.. also i expect dallas to win)
I was wrong.
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Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Mavs play Denver with a Mavs loss and OKC win.
Mavs play Portland with a Mavs win and Lakers win.
Mavs play Memphis with a Mavs win, Lakers loss, and Memphis win.
Mavs play New Orleans with a Mavs win, Lakers Loss, and Memphis loss.

Lakers play Portland with a Lakers loss, and Mavs win.
Lakers play New Orleans with a Lakers win, New Orleans win.
Lakers play Memphis with a Lakers win, New Orleans loss, and Memphis win.

OKC plays Denver if they win or if Dallas wins.
OKC plays Portland if they win and Dallas loses.

I think that's how it's set-up right now. Pretty sure.
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Revised.
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I had messed up the OKC part.
 
Originally Posted by JapanAir21

Originally Posted by PMatic

Originally Posted by Proshares



Eh, I'll put it more on Pop sticking to Blair more and preferring Blair/Duncan.  In a series w/the Lakers though, believe that we'll see a lot more of Splitter.

And this is essentially his rookie year and dudes already jumping the gun saying he sucks
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.
Manu Ginobili wasn't good either his rookie year and he has hype behind him too. So I would be more patient before I write him off.
Right now, dude sucks. I'm not saying he doesn't have the potential to grow and be something good, but dudes was hyping him up like he'd be great this year, myself included.

Right now, he stinks. He's really poor at taking contact and finishing around the basket, something bigs should be able to handle.


Then you're definitely just judging him off of last night's game only.  When he gets minutes he is usually a pretty good finisher at the rim and rebounds very well.  When he came into the league, those were two questions.  Check out games when he has actually managed to make it over 10 or 15 minutes played.  Good numbers for a guy who has been underused so much and has had some of the most inconsistent playing time in the league.

And he's very tough and physical from most of the games I've watched him play.  Like I said, Blair and Duncan work better than Splitter and Duncan right now, so his minutes fluctuate.
 
I still think he shies away from contact a bit too much and from what I'VE seen, he isn't a great finisher inside yet. Seems rather one-dimensional.

Now, I don't sit around watching Spurs games all day, I have better things to do than know the ins and outs of their 3rd/4th guy off the bench.

EDIT: Shies away from may be inaccurate, but he seems not take it well for someone of his size/stature.
 
The Thunder are going to hang up a Northwest Division banner tonight. Not sure what to think of that.
 
So, in an interesting note, no summer league this summer.
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I always enjoyed summer league. I was out of school, the games were kind of fun to watch as it was guys we normally don't get to see, and rooks.

Training camp (if there is a league next year) won't be outside of the US, nor any exhibition games.
 
Originally Posted by PMatic

The Thunder are going to hang up a Northwest Division banner tonight. Not sure what to think of that.

yea.. they need to revise the divisions..


this is a bigger problem in the NFL though.. seriously, go look at the divisions and explain how some teams play in the division they do
  
 
Originally Posted by itsaboutthattime

Originally Posted by PMatic

The Thunder are going to hang up a Northwest Division banner tonight. Not sure what to think of that.

yea.. they need to revise the divisions..


this is a bigger problem in the NFL though.. seriously, go look at the divisions and explain how some teams play in the division they do
  

Like Dallas playing in the NFC East?
  
 
Originally Posted by SIRIUS LEE HANDSOME

$100,000? are you #!#!%$$ kidding me? this is absolutely dumbfounding

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 100k, because the producer shoved a camera up his *%!. Stay classy, NBA.
 
Steep fine but if you want to set an example then this will do it. 100k isn't much to Kobe, but still... I don't have a problem with it.
 
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