# Minnesota Playoff Watch Thread



## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

I'll update this as the season progresses to get a closer look at the playoff situation for Minnesota. Winning in Boston was huge, but Denver has won 6 straight and the Lakers have won 2 straight, so they really haven't gained any ground. 




1.San Antonio 46-13 .780 
2.Phoenix 46-14 .767 ½ 
3.Seattle 41-17 .707 4 ½ 
4.Dallas 38-20 .655 7 ½ 
5.Sacramento 37-24 .607 10 
6.Houston 34-25 .576 12 
7.Memphis 33-25 .569 12 ½ 
8.LA Lakers 30-28 .517 15 ½ 

9.Denver 30-29 .508 16 
*10.Minnesota 30-30 .500 16 ½ * 
11.LA Clippers 26-33 .441 20 




The Clippers and Grizzlies play tonight, which has a minor effect on Minnesota, since Memphis is at #7 right now and the Clips are 3.5 games back of Minny. Denver and Portland also play, so Denver has a chance at taking a full game lead over Minnesota and tie with the Lakers.


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

Nuggets and Grizz both won.  

Tonight versus Bobcats is a MUST win.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

These are the types of games Minnesota should win without a doubt.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

yeah ur right, we should win but we dont win um.....


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Minny wins and Memphis is tied in the last seconds with Sacramento in Sacramento. It doesn't look like Memphis is going to falter their playoff spot away. 





EDIT: Sacramento won at the buzzer against Memphis.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Am i the only one who wants the wolves not to make it to the playoffs? I rewally would love a lottery pick here in minny. I hate to say it but we will be better off next year... I love watching players' potential grow. It still hurts when we lose though...


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Standings as of games played by March 3rd:



1.San Antonio 47 13 .783 
2.Phoenix 46 14 .767 1
3.Seattle 41 18 .695 5 ½ 
4.Dallas 39 20 .661 7 ½ 
5.Sacramento 38 24 .613 10 
6.Houston 35 25 .583 12 
7.Memphis 34 26 .567 13 
8.Denver 31 29 .517 16 

9.LA Lakers 30 29 .508 16 ½ 
10.Minnesota 31 30 .508 16 ½ 
11.LA Clippers 27 34 .443 20 ½ 




Lakers lose, Memphis loses, good night for Minnesota. They are now a half-game away from Denver, and only 3 and-a-half away from Memphis. 



Minnesota plays in Miami on Thursday, and the Lakers play in Dallas on Thursday. It looks like Denver has three days off in a row.


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## ljt (May 24, 2003)

With lakers' brutal schedule,i think you guys will bite for 8th berth with Nuggets!


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> Am i the only one who wants the wolves not to make it to the playoffs? I rewally would love a lottery pick here in minny. I hate to say it but we will be better off next year... I love watching players' potential grow. It still hurts when we lose though...


I want them to make it in, becuase if we are in we will likely have the 16th or 17th pick in the draft. if we don't make the playoffs we will most liley not get a top 3 pick, so we are drafting 13th or 14th. Not much difference in dratf position, and based on our drafting record, whoever we would pick at 13th would probably still be there at 17th anyhow. Now if you guaranteed me a top 3 pick, then I wouldn't care if we missed the playoffs.
If this team can sneak in and get their stuff together, they could certainly win some games in playoffs.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

As of March 11th:


1.San Antonio 47 14 .770 
2.Phoenix 47 14 .770 
3.Seattle 41 18 .695 5 
4.Dallas 39 21 .650 7 ½ 
5.Sacramento 38 24 .613 9 ½ 
6.Houston 35 25 .583 11 ½ 
7.Memphis 34 26 .567 12 ½ 
8.LA Lakers 31 29 .517 15 ½ 

9. Denver 31 29 .517 15 ½ 
*10.Minnesota 31 31 .500 16 ½* 
11.LA Clippers 27 34 .443 20 




The Lakers gained a full game on Minnesota yesterday with an impressive win in Dallas, so they are now back in the 8th spot. 


The Lakers or Nuggets don't play tonight, but I believe they both play on Saturday. Minny can't afford to lose again.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

thats all the diffrence in getting a guy like hakim warrick in the first round and julius hodge is the second...


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

her are my prediction for the rest of the season:
wolves go 11-6 finish 44-38
nuggets go 12-8 finish 44-38
lakers go 9-10 finish 41-41

so if we lose to denver on 4/8/05 we tie 2-2, but we should have the better conf record and be the 8th seed. Currently we are 20-17, nuggs are 14-21 in the conference.
If we beat denver on 4/8/05 then we get 8th seed due to winning the season series 3-1.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

As of March 16th:



1.San Antonio 48 15 .762  
2.Phoenix 48 15 .762 
3.Seattle 43 19 .694 4 ½ 
4.Dallas 41 22 .651 7 
5.Sacramento 40 25 .615 9 
6.Houston 38 25 .603 10 
7.Memphis 36 27 .571 12 
8.Denver 32 30 .516 15 ½ 

9.LA Lakers 32 31 .508 16 
10.Minnesota 33 32 .508 16 



Games to watch:

March 16:

Charlotte @ *Denver* 
*Memphis* @ New Orleans 



March 17:

*LA Lakers* @ Miami Heat


March 18:

*LA Lakers* @ Indiana
*Minnesota* @ Memphis
LA Clippers @ *Denver*




All three teams play Friday night, and between now and then Minny has one game on the road, Denver has one game at home, and the Lakers have one game on the road. Denver seems to be in the best position with two home games against lesser opponents.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

As of March 25th: 


1. Phoenix 51 16 .761 - 
2. San Antonio 50 18 .735 1½ 
3. Seattle 47 20 .701 4 
4. Dallas 45 23 .662 6½ 
5. Sacramento 43 27 .614 9½ 
6 Houston 41 27 .603 10½ 
7 Memphis 39 28 .582 12 
8 Denver 37 30 .552 14 

*9. Minnesota 35 34 .507 17 * 
10. LA Lakers 32 36 .471 19½ 
11. LA Clippers 31 37 .456 20½ 





Good news: The Lakers are nose-diving losing 7 games in a row. 
Bad news: Denver is on yet again another winning streak, this time 5 games



Upcoming games

Minnesota: 
3/26 - @ New Jersey
3/27 - vs. Clippers
3/31 - @ Lakers
4/1 - @ Phoenix



Analysis: 3 of the next 4 on the road, but 3 out of 4 are winnable games. 

Denver:
3/26 - vs. Sacramento
3/28 - @ Phoenix
3/30 - @ Utah
4/1 - vs. San Antonio
4/2 - @ Portland


Analysis: 3 of the next 5 games on the road, and with the way they are playing, Denver could win 4 out of 5.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

We are still in it. We just cant afford to lose any gimmes anymore. Pretty much, we cant afford to lose anything anymore....


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## Jay_DX (Mar 23, 2005)

How about some optimistic thoughts...

- We'll crush Pheonix like in early December and everything will be fine... :angel:

- Timmy D. will have a miraculous cure next week and will sink the Nuggets incl. their momentum. 

=> Minny goes 4-0, Denver 3-2. We're behind 1 1/2.


on the other hand, i gotta go with sheefo13, if we lose just one game this weekend, it's all over...


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

it doesnt help that the nets are hot right now. But if you go back to last season, when they were on their huge winning streak, who stopped um? we did! And troy hudson had a huge game. I hope he does the same thing today.


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## SilentOneX (Feb 9, 2004)

I don't see any much hope for T'Wolves right now if their opponents are on their good streaks. Hope I'm wrong.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Another game, another win, and still three games behind the streaking Nuggets. Gonna be tough to make the playoffs.


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## Jay_DX (Mar 23, 2005)

Anybody taken a look on the Grizzlies upcoming games? Really tough ones including Denver, Dallas and San Antonio twice. Possible that they'll problably fall at the end? They're one game ahead of the Nuggets, four ahead of the Wolves and they lost pretty bad against New Orleans last night. (85-96)


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

Jay_DX said:


> Anybody taken a look on the Grizzlies upcoming games? Really tough ones including Denver, Dallas and San Antonio twice. Possible that they'll problably fall at the end? They're one game ahead of the Nuggets, four ahead of the Wolves and they lost pretty bad against New Orleans last night. (85-96)


There is another thread that brought up the possibility of Minnesota surpassing Memphis. Just gotta keep winning.

Denver plays in Phoenix for their next game, so Phoenix may be helping out the T-Wolves by beating them. That game should be a good one.

G-Force


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## socco (Jul 14, 2002)

Jay_DX said:


> Anybody taken a look on the Grizzlies upcoming games? Really tough ones including Denver, Dallas and San Antonio twice. Possible that they'll problably fall at the end? They're one game ahead of the Nuggets, four ahead of the Wolves and they lost pretty bad against New Orleans last night. (85-96)


They're 5 games ahead in the loss column (which is all that really matters, as you expect teams to win their games at this time of year), and they hold the tie breaker. So we need to be 6 games better than them for the rest of the year.


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## cpawfan (Jun 20, 2004)

I'm also tracking this in the Nuggets forum

The morning of March 28, 2005. 

Houston lost at San Antonio 70-83
Clippers lost at Minnesota 85-89
Philadelphia won at Lakers 96-89

*5th - Sacramento* 43-28 11 games remaining
*6th - Houston* 42-28 12 games remaining
*7th - Memphis* 39-29 14 games remaining
*8th - Nuggets* 38-30 14 games remaining
Timberwolves 37-34 11 games remaining
Lakers 32-37 13 games remaining

*Upcoming Games*
<u>3/28</u>
Memphis at Chicago
Denver at Phoenix
Houston at Utah
Philadelphia at Sacramento

<u>3/29</u>
Seattle at Memphis
New York at Lakers

<u>3/30</u>
Sacramento at Detroit
Denver at Utah
Houston at Portland

<u>3/31</u>
Minnesota at Lakers


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

Memphis losses to chicago! Now they will play 2 more games till thursday. Then we play the lakers. If they lose to seatle which they should then lose to golden state.. could happen, then we beat la.... We can pretty much be in the playoffs then...


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

OMFG, Denver finally lost a game. So did Memphis. Only 2 back from denver and 3 from Memphis. 
Memphis and Denver play each other 2 times yet, so theres 1 or 2 games we can make up on one of those teams. Denver plays PHX once more, and play us once more also.
Plus Memphis schedule looks brutal at the end. Their last 6 games are:
@ Dallas,
@Houston
@Denver
@San Antonio
San Antonio
Dallas
Plus, they play the Heat too.
We just need to keep taking care of business and maybe we can sneak in. Last year I think we won our last 9 games to secure the #1 seed. Sam is looking a little better too.


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

Another loss by Memphis to seattle last night. 
:cheers:


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## Flanders (Jul 24, 2004)

Memphis, now on a 3-game skid...and Denver, finally losing...and the Wolves playing good basketball. The Wolves' playoff hopes are looking a lot brighter. The 7 & 8 spots will be looking to face off against the Spurs or Suns. Gonna be a tough first round. 

I'm just thinking about going to the lottery now...we are no match for the Spurs, but Suns...perhaps in a 7-game series we may stand a chance.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I think if we can get into that 7 spot, play the spurs, i think we can defanetly make it past the 1st round. As long as td is still injured. If he can stay that way, then its all good for us. I can see us beating the suns too just because they have a lot less experience, but the spurs without td, that is like playing the lakers now without shaq.... no offense though koko lol..


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

sheefo13 said:


> I think if we can get into that 7 spot, play the spurs, i think we can defanetly make it past the 1st round. As long as td is still injured. If he can stay that way, then its all good for us. I can see us beating the suns too just because they have a lot less experience, but the spurs without td, that is like playing the lakers now without shaq.... no offense though koko lol..




Nothing's official yet, but Spurs management is expecting Duncan to be back before the playoffs start. He's started doing work on a treadmill recently.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

bad news for the wolves, but great news for the league. You hate to see a great player go down with an injury.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

1.Phoenix 54-17 .761% - 
2.San Antonio 53-18 .746% 1GB 
3.Seattle 49-22 .690% 5GB 
4.Dallas 48-23 .676% 6GB 
5.Houston 44-28 .611% 10½GB 
6.Sacramento 44-29 .603% 11GB 
7.Denver 39-31 .557% 14½GB 
8.Memphis 39-31 .557% 14½GB 

9.Minnesota 38-34 .521% 16½GB 




The Lakers are done, even if it's not mathematically so. 





Breakdown of Denver, Memphis, and Minny's schedules:




Denver (39-31):

- 12 games remaining
- 6 at home, 6 on the road
- 6 of the remaining games are against current playoff teams
*- 5 back-to-backs*




Memphis (39-31):


- 12 games remaining
- 6 at home, 6 on the road
* - 8 of the remaining games are against current playoff teams*
- 2 back-to-backs



Minnesota (38-34)

* - 10 games remaining*
- 5 at home, 5 on the road
- 5 games remaining against current playoff teams
- 3 back-to-backs (Including game against Lakers)







I bolded the parts I thought were crucial. Denver has 5 back-to-backs left on the season, so that should really makes things tougher for them. Memphis has 8 games remaining against former playoff teams, twice against Dallas, twice against San Antonio. As for Minnesota, only 10 games remaining is a dark point, because being behind these other teams who have played less games means that Minny's fate really isn't in there own hands. Of course, if Minny wins 8 or 9 out of 10 games remaining, that really boosts their chances, but they're going to have to count on Denver or Memphis faltering down the stretch. Looking at Memphis' schedule, that's entirely possible.


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## G-Force (Jan 4, 2005)

I'd say that LA is down for the count for good. I've been saying it for a while now, just keep winning and see if Denver and/or Memphis falters.

G-Force


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Very tough loss for Minnesota tonight. San Antonio sure isn't going to beat Denver tonight, because they've been losing by 15+ points the whole damn game.


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

I was hoping for us to pull through against the suns but they are a high scoring team and we are nothing near that. yeah and the nuggetts destroyed the spurs... I wasnt expecting them to lose though, there wasnt tim duncan so they were supposed to lose. It is looking like nuggets are going to be in the playoffs, we just got to keep hoping that memphis will stumble...


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## oblivion (Aug 6, 2003)

Big Denver memphis game tonight, thank god someone has to lose.

I was looking at the 3-way tiebreaker in case we tie with den and mem.
And the tie breaker is head-to-head %age versus all teams in the tie.
If we suppose that Denver and Memphis split the 2 games that they play, and that we beat Denver (which we pretty much have to in order to stay in playoff hunt), then it looks like we would win this tiebreaker.
Min 4-3 (3-1 vs den, 1-2 vs mem)
Den 4-4 (1-3 vs min, 3-1 vs mem)
Mem 3-4 (2-1 vs min, 1-3 vs Den)


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## sheefo13 (Jul 13, 2002)

The thruth is that we have no chance of passing the nuggets.... Memphis is in a little slump so hopefuly the nuggets can win this one!


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## The lone wolf (Jul 23, 2003)

Memphis chokes in the fourth.
Nuggets win at memphis.. they meet once more.. hopefully nuggets win that one too and we should go very close to unbeaten the rest of the way..

chances are around 40-60 on wolves making playoffs - i would say

we got

Utah, - 6
Denver, - 8
@Atlanta - 9
Golden state - 13
@Utah - 15
Seattle - 17
@New Orleans - 18
San Antonio - 20

We have 2 back-back but luckily we play atlanta and new orleans on the second games of the back-backs.. so that should not be a problem. Must win twice against utah and against Golden state though GS has been heating up of late.
Between San antonio, Seattle and Denver we must win 2 as all three are at home. We should end up at 46-36 to make the playoffs


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## rice613 (Mar 14, 2005)

Utah, - 6 (W) 
Denver, - 8 (L)
@Atlanta - 9 (W)
Golden state - 13 (L)
@Utah - 15 (W)
Seattle - 17 (W)
@New Orleans - 18(W)
San Antonio - 20 (L)
5-3
final rec: 44-38

@ Toronto (W)
Fri 8 Miami (L)
Sun 10 Charlotte (W)
Mon 11 @ Dallas (W)
Wed 13 @ Houston (L)
Fri 15 @ Denver (L)
Sat 16 @ San Antonio (L)
Mon 18 San Antonio (W)
Wed 20 Dallas (L)
4-5
final rec: 45-37

sorry grizzlies barely make 8th seed. that's my prediction. of course im a biased nuggets fan, so if nuggets lose then everything could be radically different.


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## Jay_DX (Mar 23, 2005)

I agree that Memphis will lose at least against Houston, Denver, Miami, once against Dallas and once against SA, which means a 4-5 and the fact the we can affort just one losing game the rest of the season (remember we're 1-2 against Memphis).

Perhaps the Raptors will have a little help for some friends tonight... :angel:


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## Turkish Delight (Mar 17, 2004)

I want Minny in the playoffs, so hopefully my Raptors can pull through tonight.
Then again I want a higher spot in the lottery so I don't really know what I want.


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

1. Phoenix 57 17 .770 - 
2. San Antonio 55 19 .743 2GB 
3. Seattle 50 24 .676 7GB 
4. Dallas 50 24 .676 7GB 
5. Sacramento 46 30 .605 12GB 
6. Houston 44 31 .587 13½GB 
7. Denver 43 31 .581 14GB 
8. Memphis 42 32 .568 15GB 

9. Minnesota 40 35 .533 17½GB



Minnesota:


- 7 games left
- 4 at home, 3 on the road
- 3 games remaining against playoff teams




Denver:

- 8 games left
- 4 at home, 4 on the road
- 4 games remaining against playoff teams


Memphis:

- 8 games left
- 4 at home, 4 on the road
- 7 games remaining against playoff teams





Memphis has a really tough schedule coming up, with Charlotte being the only non-playoff team they are facing. However, on Friday, Shaq isn't traveling to Memphis on Friday, so that makes things a little easier for Memphis. Plsu, they play two games against San Antonio at the end of the season, and there's no telling if Duncan will be ready for those games. 


If Memphis finishes the season at 2-6, which is probably the worst they would do, that would put them at 44-38, meaning Minnesota would have to finish 5-2 to pass them. 5-2 is very achieveable for Minnesota, but I'm not sure Memphis will drop 6 of 8 games. If they do, the door is wide open for Minnesota. Denver is pretty much a lock, so I'm not even going to mention them.


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## Jay_DX (Mar 23, 2005)

Why not end the season like the last one? How about a 9-0? :clap: 

But serious, tonight's the night. About time for Denvers third loss since All-Star Weekend. :yes:


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## KokoTheMonkey (Aug 4, 2003)

Memphis lost again fellas. Their remaining games are against San Antonio (Monday) and Dallas (Wednesday), and don't forget that the last game of the season Minny plays San Antonio.



Coincedentally, San Antonio is either going wreck your playoff hopes or seriously help them out.


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