# Playoff race



## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

I'm going to start a thread to keep track of the teams that are in front of us in the hunt for the eighth seed.

The seeding if the playoffs were to start today:

1. Dallas (44-9)
2. Phoenix (40-13)
3. San Antonio (37-18)
4. Utah (35-18)
5. Houston (33-19)
6. Lakers (30-24)
...........

After those teams you have Denver, Portland, Minnesota, Clippers, Golden St. and Sacramento are all within about 3 games of each other for the 7th and 8th spots.

New Orleans beat New Jersey 
Minnesota squandered a lead and lost to Charlotte on Morrison's 26 points.

Nows time to gain some ground.


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

I was thinking about doing this....but if you are going to do it, have the seeds 6,7,8 so we know how tbey are doing. We all know we will not be battling for 1-6


----------



## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

We gained a game on Minnesota.


----------



## It's_GO_Time (Oct 13, 2005)

With all this talk about playoffs, my thought is I don't think Roy can take us there (and that is how the Blazers get there).

My reasoning is that he is taking a pounding out there, teams know about him, he is being double teamed, being played physical, he is playing big minutes every game and he is a rookie. That rookie wall is going to be hard to avoid. 

But Roy has exceeded many expectations and leading the team to the playoffs in a rookie year is a good start to how legends are made. Should be fun to watch and now that we see what he can do, next year he should lead this team to the playoffs.


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

17-9 the rest of the way will get us 41 wins, that should be good enough to make the playoffs..we have 2 tough roud trips the rest of the way and we don't have to play Phoenix at all ...maybe..just maybe..if we can handle the eastern teams at home we'll have a shot.


----------



## Schilly (Dec 30, 2002)

That's it you guys just jinxed us...now we finish with only 4 more wins.


----------



## Anonymous Gambler (May 29, 2006)

7) Denver 26-26
8) New Orleans 26-29 1.5
Minnesota 25-29 2.0
LA Clippers 25-29 2.0
Sacramento 23-29 3.0
Portland 24-32 4.0

So, we are 3 back from the 8 spot or 4 back from the 7 spot with 4 teams to jump to get to the 8.

It's pretty unlikely (unless we add a strong piece), but it's possible.

It's nice to be closer to getting into the playoffs than to being in the cellar!


----------



## wastro (Dec 19, 2004)

Anonymous Gambler said:


> It's nice to be closer to getting into the playoffs than to being in the cellar!


Quoted for truth. 

I'm trying to avoid the playoffs hype, but after these last two games, I'm catching the fever just a little bit ...

I realize we're playing ourselves out of the Oden/Durant lottery, but I'd rather this team make strides than wind up where they were last year. And they're only getting better. How can you not love that?


----------



## Utherhimo (Feb 20, 2005)

and la


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

actually i like to say that we are 2.5 back from the 8 seed. it's closer than 3!


----------



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

Here's a knock on wood comment: we just beat two toughies on back-to-back nights. Not that these upcoming games are gimmes, but they're games that we should be in until the end. And 4 of them are at home. Time to finally take advantage.

Friday, 
23rd: Memphis
26th: @ Seattle
1st: Charlotte
3rd: Sacramento
6th: San Antonio
11th: Golden State


----------



## maxiep (May 7, 2003)

Samuel said:


> Here's a knock on wood comment: we just beat two toughies on back-to-back nights. Not that these upcoming games are gimmes, but they're games that we should be in until the end. And 4 of them are at home. Time to finally take advantage.
> 
> Friday,
> 23rd: Memphis
> ...


Wow, it's not unrealistic to think we could go 5-1, although I think 3-3 or 4-2 is more likely given how young we are and the inconsistency with which we play.


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

MODS PLEASE STICKY THIS:
Sacramento lost today to the Wiz.....gained a half game on them...everyone counts.


----------



## dudleysghost (Mar 24, 2006)

New Orleans and Denver will hold onto those 7th and 8th spots. They are both ahead of us despite having important players missing tons of games, and should finish the season better as they get more healthy and consistent rotations. Finishing 17-9 would be a minor miracle, and I don't even think 41 wins would be enough to get us the 8th seed. Not that I'm trying to be a buzzkill...


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

good thread


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

I think we can/will catch NO....they are still without Peja.


----------



## dudleysghost (Mar 24, 2006)

MAS RipCity said:


> I think we can/will catch NO....they are still without Peja.


Yeah, but they have gone 26-29 with Chris Paul missing 17 games and David West missing 30 games, and now they are both back healthy. Why wouldn't they be better now than they were in the first half? They are still without Peja, but for the first half they were without him most of the time anyway. He only played 13 games for them.


----------



## azsun18 (Aug 12, 2004)

dudleysghost said:


> Yeah, but they have gone 26-29 with Chris Paul missing 17 games and David West missing 30 games, and now they are both back healthy. Why wouldn't they be better now than they were in the first half? They are still without Peja, but for the first half they were without him most of the time anyway. He only played 13 games for them.


These are good points about NO, and I am not saying we r going to catch them. But you could also say that from Portlands side we did not have ROY for 20 games. LA was hurt at the start of the year, so we r just starting to see what he can do. Sergio was just getting it going before he got hurt, he is back very soon. I think Ime is just starting to figure out where he fits in to this team. I also think Zach is feeling much more comfortable with the system as he gains more confidence in his teammates. What will keep us from making the playoffs will be playing 500 ball the rest of the way won't get us in, and we are too young to play better then that with the good west teams fighting for position. I also think NO will look back and wonder what they were thinking wasting $60 million on one of the best but most often injured pure shooter in the game. 

I for one am going to sit back and purely enjoy the rest of the year. It is a win-win for me, if we make the playoffs that is great, and if we don't we just get a better pick to build on.

Welcome back RIP CITY!!


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

really when you look at our record we SHOULD be a playoff team right now - we have the 7th best record against western conference teams, as well as the 8th best road record in the western conference. our inability to take care of weak east teams at home is the only reason we don't have the 7th or 8th seed right now.


----------



## HOWIE (Dec 30, 2002)

Schilly said:


> That's it you guys just jinxed us...now we finish with only 4 more wins.


Stop it, you're killing me!!!! :lol:


----------



## Anonymous Gambler (May 29, 2006)

Warriors 26 29 .473 --
Hornets 26 29 .473 --
Timberwolves 25 29 .463 0.5
Clippers 25 29 .463 0.5
Kings 23 30 .434 1.5
Trail Blazers 24 32 .429 2.5 
SuperSonics 21 32 .396 4.0

Time to catch the Kings!!!


----------



## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

Tonights games of meaning to us.

Kings play New Jersey 
Hornets play Seattle 
Timberwolves play Suns
Denver plays Utah

Looking at those games, if we win I think we can make up a little ground, especially on Minnesota and Dallas who are likely to lose.


----------



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

2/23: Sacramento down 8 after 1. Nice.


----------



## Spoolie Gee (Feb 3, 2005)

Man it is SO nice to see a thread about the playoffs that's semi-realistic! It's been too long...

I don't think we'll make it but there is a couple reasons for hope.

Our team should be the hungriest of all of those in the bunch. For our players, making the playoffs would really mean something. For most the other teams, it's a disappointing season if all they do is squeak in.

Also, our young players haven't really played enough to hit the rookie wall. Roy was out for awhile and LMA, Sergio haven't played enough minutes to be worn down. This team might gel and develop a little more chemistry then everyone else since we have so many new faces that are still learning how to play with each other.

It's really too bad we lost so many games at home to weak eastern teams. There's 7 games we lost at home against the east I think we should've won. Give us just 4 of those(Atl, Bos, Phil, NY) and were in 7th breathing down the Lakers neck.


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

Kings getting BLOWN OUT right now at Jersey, PHX up 11 over the Wolves in late 2nd, and Sonics down 3 at half to NO.


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

lost a game on the eigth seed, NO won


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

7.) Denver (26-27) -
8.) New Orleans (27-29) .5

9.) Golden State (26-29) 1
10.)LA Clippers (25-29) 1.5
11.)Minnesota (25-30) 2
12.)Sacramento (23-31) 3.5
13.)PORTLAND  (24-33) 4 GB Behind the 7th


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

GAMES TO WATCH TODAY!

WARRIORS @ CLIPPERS 12:30PM
NUGGETS @ Mavericks 6:00PM


----------



## sportsnut1975 (Jul 6, 2006)

After losing to Memphis last night we might as well drop this thread.


----------



## Nightfly (Sep 24, 2002)

After that game last night I'm tempted to unstick this thread.


----------



## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

It's just _one game_. Now, I'm not sure the thread should've been "stuck" in the first place but now that it has been, I'd say let it ride for six or eight games before making another call about it.


----------



## Public Defender (May 5, 2003)

This is totally an appropriate thread, regardless of the weak showing last night against Memphis. This is the same team that beat Utah and LA back-to-back. If Sergio can come back and show some consistency, I could see the Blazers finishing strong. But, let's face it, the young team is going to need some help to get there. 

I'd say the odds-on favorites for the 7th and 8th seeds are Denver, New Orleans, and Minnesota. Without making a trade, I think the Kings are poised for a slide. The Warriors and Clippers just seem to be missing something. The Blazers, I think, are the team to slip in if two of the three teams I mentioned stub their toe down the stretch. GO BLAZERS!!!


----------



## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

Nightfly said:


> After that game last night I'm tempted to unstick this thread.


Given that everybody else in the race lost, why would you do that?


----------



## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

Tonights games of meaning...

Clippers beat the Warriors 103-90. 
Sonics are playing San Antonio, I will use my incredible forsight to label that a loss. 
Nuggetts are playing the Mavericks. With the way the Nuggetts are playing latley I think this is a win for the Mavs. 

So...

New Orleans Hornets 27-29
Los Angeles Clippers 27-29
Denver Nuggetts 26-28
Minnesota Timberwolves 25-30
Golden State Warriors 26-31
Portland Trailblazers 24-33

I do not think the Kings or Sonics are in the playoff race. I do not see Golden State having a great post-All Star stretch, as they have only won 6 road games all year. Denver has been struggling latley, and I can see them possible dropping out also.


----------



## PorterIn2004 (Jan 1, 2003)

Here's another way to think about it. How differently would we be viewing everything if they'd lost to the Jazz by one point, beaten the Lakers, and won this last game? During the pregame conversations, Antonio talked about how Roy and Udoka are steady, bringing the same energy night after night, win or lose, and that much of the rest of the team is on a rollercoaster. Myself, I'm aiming for the Roy-like steadiness.


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

kings just won


----------



## MARIS61 (Apr 28, 2003)

We beat the Teddy Bears in just about every facet of the game other than the oh-so-important "favoritism from the officials" stat.

No wind taken out of MY sails.


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

timberwolves won too


----------



## Nightfly (Sep 24, 2002)

zagsfan20 said:


> Given that everybody else in the race lost, why would you do that?


Because the rest of those teams didn't lose to those ****ing Grizzlies at home.

That game was embarrassing.


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

7.) New Orleans 27-29 -
8.) Denver 26.28 -

9.) LA Clippers 26-29 .5
10.) Minnesota 26-30 1
11.) Golden State 26-31 1.5
12.) Sacramento 24-31 2.5
13.) Portland 24-33 3.5

GAMES TO WATCH TONIGHT!
SACRAMENTO @ Philadelphia
DENVER @ Memphis
PORTLAND @ Seattle
Charlotte @ LA CLIPPERS


----------



## MARIS61 (Apr 28, 2003)

Nightfly said:


> Because the rest of those teams didn't lose to those ****ing Grizzlies at home.
> 
> That game was embarrassing.


Other teams the Teddy Bears have beaten on the road:

Denver, Boston, Utah, Minnesota


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

sac loses to philly

wOoT


----------



## crandc (Sep 15, 2004)

Last night the Warriors officially threw in the towel. Don Nelson said playoffs are not in the picture. Of course his hiring had the team guaranteeing playoffs, like they have done every year for 13 years. The usually friendly media said the team was beginning its annual slide into irrelevancy. They have one of the worst road records in the NBA; I believe fewer road wins than even the Celtics. And with a string of road games coming up they were not going to gain ground. They are also 0-13 in the 2nd game of back-to-backs.

The Warriors lost their last 3 games and last 4 road games by an average of 20+ points. Even that does not tell the story; in their last 2 they had 30 point deficits but the home team basically let the Warriors score the last 3 minutes or so with the game virtually over. 

Before last night's game, Jason Richardson said on the radio that they can score but they need to play defense; that was after losing 122-100 to Milwaukee. The result was that last night the Bucks hit 100 points with about 9 minutes to go in the 4th.


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

7.) Denver 28-28 -
8.) LA Clippers 28-30 1

9.) New Orleans 28-30 1
10.) Minnesota 26-31 2.5
11.) Golden State 26-33 3.5
12.) Sacramento 25-32 3.5
13.) PORTLAND 25-34 4.5 (3.5 out of the 8 seed.)


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

gain a game on sactown saturday


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

GAMES TO WATCH TODAY! (FRIDAY)

GOLDEN STATE @ New York
Utah @ MINNESOTA
NEW ORLEANS @ Chicago
Houston @ DENVER
SACRAMENTO @ Los Angeles Lakers


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

I like the chances of all the teams we need to lose tomorrow, to lose tomorrow


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

ptownblazer1 said:


> GAMES TO WATCH TODAY! (FRIDAY)
> 
> GOLDEN STATE @ New York
> Utah @ MINNESOTA
> ...


GOLDEN STATE @ New York(knicks should win in a close one)
Utah @ MINNESOTA(utah easily)
NEW ORLEANS @ Chicago (chicago easily)
Houston @ DENVER (houston should win)
SACRAMENTO @ Los Angeles Lakers (sactown has a little shot, they back to back against us:clap: )


----------



## zagsfan20 (Dec 24, 2004)

MAS RipCity said:


> I like the chances of all the teams we need to lose tomorrow, to lose tomorrow


Me too!


----------



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

Portland has been in this situation before: Right there at the door of the playoffs, but then they go on a losing tear and knocked themselves back.

Well after spending the last half hour looking at the schedules of the teams in the playoff race, Portland has a significant advantage. 

This next week, they only play 3 games... but all three of them are at home. If they could somehow, someway win these three games, we can sit back and watch the rest of the playoff competitors catch up to Portland in the 'games-played' column. But the games that they're all playing are pretty difficult.

New Orleans, for example, plays @ Chicago tomorrow, vs Utah on Sunday, then @ Denver on Tuesday, then @ Phoenix and @ Utah on back-to-back nights.

Now, I think New Orleans is a pretty good team, but they're not _great_. They're mortal, and they could potentially end up with a losing streak after this week (knock on wood).

The Clippers have the Pacers at home, then San Antonio, then Golden State... basically the same schedule as us. But then right after that, they play 7 of their next 8 games _on the road_, where they're 8-20. W/ the Livingston injury, a slide could be in the offing there as well.

Minnesota has Utah at home, a gimme @ Boston, then the Lakers @ Staples. So potentially a 1-2 week right there. But then similar to the Clips, they play 7 of their next 8 games on the road. 

Those are the teams I'm especially worried about. The Warriors and the Kings are playing pretty poorly right now, and I think the way Portland has been playing, they could end up in front of them at the end of the season. 

With 7 of their next 9 at home, they need to start cleaning up. Come on Blazers!


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

All I can say is anything is possible at this point...


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

ptownblazer1 said:


> GAMES TO WATCH TODAY! (FRIDAY)
> 
> GOLDEN STATE @ New York
> Utah @ MINNESOTA
> ...


GOLDEN STATE 97 New York 106 LOSS
Utah 109 MINNESOTA 83 LOSS
NEW ORLEANS 93 CHICAGO 104 LOSS

so far...so good. :clap2:


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

Sacramento 67 9:52 

LA Lakers 56 3rd


Houston 72 6:05 

Denver 63 3rd


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

sac won and denver lost..not bad. Sac will lose tomorrow night to us. If we win these next 3..sac,sas, gsw..I will take the playoffs seriously..I was taking them that way until the memphis game..but we need to prove we can beat inferior and great teams on the home floor!


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

san antonio will be tough


----------



## Samuel (Jan 1, 2003)

4/5

GSW Loses
DEN Loses
NOK Loses
MIN Loses
SAC Wins

I'll take it!

7. Nugz, 29 losses
8. Clips, 30 losses

---

9. Hornets, 31 losses
10. Kings, 32 losses
11. Wolves, 32 losses
12. Warriors, 34 losses
13. Blazers, 34 losses

We're right there. And we have a much easier schedule than the others. If Portland isn't at least within breathing distance of the 8 spot in a couple weeks, it won't be because they never had a shot at it. 

Also...

The Kings have played 15 back-to-backs. They've only won the second game 3 times this season.

They've only won 1 time where the second half of the b2b was on the road.


----------



## gambitnut (Jan 4, 2003)

Only one game of interest other than ours tomorrow. Go Pacers!


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

Holy crackers..I'm so geeked for the game tomorrow. I love being this pumped by meaningful Blazers games.


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

All this thread does is give me false hope and I get too sad when they lose. If we can't beat mem or sac at home, please close this thread....:sigh


----------



## ehizzy3 (Jun 12, 2006)

nah its not over really still 3.5 if im not mistaken.......


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

clipz have 30 losses,we have 35.....I jsut don't see it. I hate saying we have no chance,because I like to always beleive, but the inconsistency is driving me bonkers. Watch we go out and beat the spurs, then lose to the warriors..you know some crap like that is bound to happen.


----------



## mediocre man (Feb 24, 2004)

Portland just simply isn't ready for the playoffs yet. We are talented enough to hang with some teams, but several of our wins came against teams missing their star player. We are too young and inexperienced to realistically think we can get into the playoffs. We also are playing a style that doesn't really fir the team as a whole.


----------



## crowTrobot (Jun 24, 2005)

mediocre man said:


> Portland just simply isn't ready for the playoffs yet.



the refs certainly don't seem to think so


----------



## ptownblazer1 (Oct 12, 2005)

this is true, there were a lot of questionable calls again tonight!!! can we please close this thread, it makes me sick to think we are so close but just not there yet. If we make it, great...AWESOME. But we still have a lot of growing up to do.


----------



## MARIS61 (Apr 28, 2003)

Sac lost, Seattle lost, Clips lost.

We're only 3 out!


----------



## sportsnut1975 (Jul 6, 2006)

Lets not get to excited. Has anyone looked at our April schedule. Ouch!


----------



## MAS RipCity (Feb 22, 2003)

seems like teh way everyone else is palying, they are TRYING to put us in that 8 seed, lets see if we take it or not. My hopes are still ery low.


----------



## MARIS61 (Apr 28, 2003)

Piece Of Cake.


----------



## ThatBlazerGuy (May 1, 2003)

I dont want to tank, but I would rather get a decent pick than be completley bent over and swept in 4 games by the Mavs.


----------

