2020 End of Season / Playoffs

[golden]

Daily reminder tanking isn't a real plan.

[inthepaint]

Do teams like Dallas, Milwaukee and Utah have any obligation to play their top guys given that their opponents today all are fighting to get into the playoffs? I have no strong views on this but curious what you guys think.

I thought of that too. It's a tricky situation. In a perfect world, you'd have some unwritten convention where teams with their berths locked would either all rest their main guys, or all play them as normal. In reality though, every team with the seed already determined will have different priorities for different guys when it comes to giving them reps, rest, rhythm or injury prevention. So that's not practical.

At the end of the day, if you're fighting for the 8th said, it's a little bit of a "beggars can't be choosers" type of situation. A bit like a penalty for being in the 8 through 10th seed vs 7th or 6th (which don't have to depend on who's playing who)

[GLF]

And it's a final. Kings won 136-122. So #2 overall is in our hands now. Just have to beat Bol Bol and the Nuggets to get it.

Stanley's got us.

Right now both the Lakers and us have the same record and we beat them both times we played them. How come we aren't already the second best team?

[planetmars]

Right now both the Lakers and us have the same record and we beat them both times we played them. How come we aren't already the second best team?

We have one more game to play. If we lose it, the Lakers will have a better winning percentage and thus take the #2 overall. NBA is using winning percentage since some teams will have played more games then others to determine seeding.

[GLF]

We have one more game to play. If we lose it, the Lakers will have a better winning percentage and thus take the #2 overall. NBA is using winning percentage since some teams will have played more games then others to determine seeding.

Oh yea silly me. Makes complete sense. Thanks for clarifying!

[TrueTorontoFan]

I think the Celtics should be heavily favoured, but there's also a chance Philly makes it interesting. Embiid can be hard to stop and Boston doesn't have the size to deal with him. Boston's sheer total talent advantage should let them run away with it, but if Embiid gets some star calls and Philly hits some shots, with how important having the best player in a series can be, I wouldn't be shocked if Philly managed to at least give them a scare or even surprise them.

yeah like if we take care of business I think it would be interesting because I really do think that the Celtics may drop a game or two against embiid and philly.

[The Great One]

The Suns game and the Spurs game are really meaningless if the Grizz hold on and beat the Bucks.

So it's going to be Blazers vs Grizzlies for that 8th seed. The reward? the Lakers. Lol.

[007]

JV with a triple-double against the Bucks!

[DogeLover1234]

I think the Celtics should be heavily favoured, but there's also a chance Philly makes it interesting. Embiid can be hard to stop and Boston doesn't have the size to deal with him. Boston's sheer total talent advantage should let them run away with it, but if Embiid gets some star calls and Philly hits some shots, with how important having the best player in a series can be, I wouldn't be shocked if Philly managed to at least give them a scare or even surprise them.

Philly is dead in the water, last time I watched these two play Richardson had two turnovers in a row on entry passes to Embiid. As I watched more Philly this year I couldnt help but think the only thing that fit worse than the core duo was the supporting cast. That team has a lot of problems man

[planetmars]

The Suns game and the Spurs game are really meaningless if the Grizz hold on and beat the Bucks.

So it's going to be Blazers vs Grizzlies for that 8th seed. The reward? the Lakers. Lol.

Spurs are out. Portland can lose to Brooklyn. If they do, then Suns get the play in with the Grizzlies.

[The Great One]

Spurs are out. Portland can lose to Brooklyn. If they do, then Suns get the play in with the Grizzlies.

The Blazers are not losing to the Nets.

[planetmars]

The Blazers are not losing to the Nets.

Probably.. Nets are 5-2 in the bubble and have nobody to really rest (everyone on the team is young). Blazers come in over confident and Nets can take it.. Sillier stuff has happened in the NBA.

Plus CJ has a fracture in his back, and Dame is averaging around 40mpg in the bubble.

Either would should be a fun game. I think Blazers win it 135-132 or something high like that (neither team plays defense).

[DogeLover1234]

Probably.. Nets are 5-2 in the bubble and have nobody to really rest (everyone on the team is young). Blazers come in over confident and Nets can take it.. Sillier stuff has happened in the NBA.

Plus CJ has a fracture in his back, and Dame is averaging around 40mpg in the bubble.

Either would should be a fun game. I think Blazers win it 135-132 or something high like that (neither team plays defense).

I feel like if the Blazers played at more reasonable times theyd be a fan favorite. Living on the west coast its just seemed like by far the most entertaining games over the last 5 years have come from GS and Portland. Those guards can just put up points in a hurry. Conversely Portland is very good at giving up points in a hurry too.

Saw today a tweet that New Orleans might look to trade Lonzo, anyone think there is truth to that? Maybe it just comes back to whether you believe hes improved his shot or not, but it seems like he just went cold and actually showed a bit more generating his shot off the dribble which I though was his next step. Hes got his problems, but boy there is still a lot to work with. Friend and I kind of likened him to Jameis Winston - idk if thats good or bad.

[slaw]

Grizz are in. Good for Memphis. Nice for JV with the monster triple-double.

[S.R.]

Philly is dead in the water, last time I watched these two play Richardson had two turnovers in a row on entry passes to Embiid. As I watched more Philly this year I couldnt help but think the only thing that fit worse than the core duo was the supporting cast. That team has a lot of problems man

Their fans are convinced they just need to replace BB and everything else is fine.