[OhCanada-Participant]

The last seed for the West is starting to tighten up. Denver has held on to the 8th seed with average play. Lilliard is starting to heat up and Portland has won 7 of thier last 10. Dallas is also playing well led by Nowitzki and Barnes veteran play. 

I gotta give credit here to the Pelicans. They have won 5 of 6 and are looking good tonight against Houston. The Jordan Crawford signing has added another gaurd that can create offense and play off of the bigs. The team looks good and like a playoff team when they get a full 82 schedule. I still dont think they make the playoffs this year but they have a small window but they are still 4 games back and would have to go 11 and 1 to end the season 500 which will be around where they need to be to advance. 

New Orleans plays Denver three times. They also have games against Portland, and Dallas. Denver has those three games against New Orleans and one each against Portland and Dallas. Portland plays each team once. Dallas only plays Denver and Dallas once. 

Who do you see advancing? Can any of these teams compete with Golden State or at least steal a few games? 

I think Portland gets in. With strong play they should finish with 40 or 41 wins. They have 3 games against Minnesota, 1 against the Lakers and 1 against the Suns. I feel Pelicans will beat Denver at least twice in those games whoch will hurt Denvers chances of reaching 40-41 wins and Dallas is just a bit to far out like the Pelicans. 

 

 

[SmooveKRYPTParticipant]

Denver definitely has it tougher. They play better teams down the stretch and the majority of their games are on the road. However, they’re not going to lay down and concede the spot to Portland. They just got everyone back healthy today and they’re pretty deep and versatile when they have their full array of options. Tuesday’s game in Portland is going to be huge…if they win, they get a split of the season series…if they lose, Portland holds the tie breaker.

For the Blazers, Dame is playing lights out! Nurkic has been a hand in glove fit since they got him. They also only have 3 road games left. They SHOULD take the final spot, but there’s no guarantee with how inconsistent of a year they’ve had. -Side note- I’m going to get to see them live against Minnesota and Utah in a couple weeks…I’m heading up to Portland for the Hoop Summit and subsequent weekend.

 

 

[HitsterParticipant]

 I think it’s definitely between Denver and Portland, I cannot see Dallos or NOP coming from 4 and 5 wins back. They would need to win about 9 of their remaining games unless Denver and Portland both implode completely.

Denver and Portland are both 7-3 in their last 10 games so have run into form at the right time. Denver are a couple of wins ahead but only have two home games left and have to visit Portland next week. The matches against NOP could also be key as if NOP swept them they could possibly be back in the mix. They have Thunder to play twice so a lot could depend on how much Westbrook plays. They also visit Dallas in what could possibly be Dirk’s last home game so that could be a charged atmosphere.

Portland have a 4 game home run and also Phoenix to play at home as well as having a game in hand on Denver so next week’s visit by Denver will be huge. I think that whoever wins that probably makes play offs as it will be a two game swing in effect. If Portland wins they will have great momentum and have winnable games to come. If Denver wins they have a cushion for a difficult run in and can get to 39/40 wins which might give them 8th seeding.

 

 

[Author]

Posts