Who you got?

Boston vs. Cleveland for the #1 seed:
The schedule favors the Celtics. The Wednesday matchup between the two has Boston with two days of rest and Cleveland at the tail end of a back-to-back and playing their fourth game in five nights. If the C's win, it's a wrap. If the Cavs win, the C's could sneak in but I think it could come down to the final game: C's at home vs. Milwaukee, Cavs at home vs. Toronto.

I'll go: Boston #1, Cleveland #2.

Washington vs. Toronto for #3 seed:
Toronto is hotter and has done better against their final opponents than the Wiz have gone against theirs. If Cleveland concedes the 1st seed and rests their guys in the last game, it's over.

I'll go: Toronto #3, Washington #4.

The Battle Royale: Bucks, Hawks, Heat, Pacers, Detroit, Charlotte, and Bulls

The Bucks are in but they don't have the easiest path. 4 of the last 5 on the road: OKC, Indiana, Philly, and Boston with Hornets at home. Still, they're three games up and it would take a colossal choke to not make it. I think they'll win three of the last five.

The biggest threat to the Bucks is the rejuvenated Bulls. They're playing well and have a cakewalk to the playoffs: @NYK, @PHI, @BK, and then ORL and BK at home. There is really no excuse to lose any of those games. I think Milwaukee has the tie-breaker so #5 would require a complete collapse by the Bucks but the Bulls should be no worse than #6.

The current 6th seed might be my pick to miss out. The Hawks are two games up but have Boston, @CLE, CLE, CHA, @IND to close out the season. Given the way they are playing lately, they could easily lose 'em all.

Working in Atlanta's favor is that the Heat don't have an easy schedule from here on out. A road trip to CHA, TOR, WAS before coming home to CLE and WAS. I think the Heat have the tie-breaker over the Hawks but they have little room for error. They need to win at least two and hope ATL wins none to have a chance.

The current odd men out, Indiana, has a mixed bag. They get TOR, MIL at home but then get ORL and PHI on the road before closing the season at home vs. ATL in a possible play-in game. Winner of that game would have the tie-breaker. And I'm going to bet that Indy can win two games to set up that tie-break matchup.

Detroit has too tough of a schedule to make up ground IMO. Ditto for Charlotte who is playing well but has @WAS, MIA, BOS, @MIL, @ATL to close the season. These two teams could definitely play spoiler for one of the teams ranked above them but I doubt they'll be able to pull off the comeback to actually make the playoffs.

In the end, I'll go with a collapse by the Hawks and MIL, CHI, IND, MIA for the final four spots.

So:
Boston vs. Miami
Cleveland vs. Indiana
Toronto vs. Chicago
Washington vs. Milwaukee

this was THE most disappointing pro season for any of my teams. no one expects the Lions to ever do anything, and the Red Wings always saved their collapses for the postseason. i guess the 2007 tigers came somewhat close but this was the worst.

Reggie never got right, and while Ish Smith "led" them to an 11-10 record guys forgot who they were. Everyone wanted their shots up, and when Reggie predictably wasnt the same guy everyone shitted on him in a team meeting that the media got wind of. Sides were chosen, and looking back​ the season was pretty much over right there. Drummond sulked because Reggie is his boy and the team had turned on him; Stanley had nothing to offer because he wasnt in pro level shape; Leuer mistook a starting role for a starring role with too many FGA; and Marcus Morris was the instigator and prime villain of the aforementioned meeting because Ish got him more shots.

Only KCP and Tobias Harris brought effort and teamwork every night. Harris particularly handled a move to the 2nd unit with class, and kept right on doing his thing.

SVG lost the locker room, plain and simple. If he cant put it together, this is going to get even worse.

Waking up at the right time. Big wins over Boston and Cleveland. So much for my predicted ofer.

The C's got beat up by Cleveland and then didn't show up against Atlanta. The #1 seed is looking like a long shot although I'm stunned that Cleveland lost today with a chance to really put the C's behind the 8 ball.

Miami is now the odd man out and staring at @WAS, CLE, WAS. Tough road, especially with Indy facing @ORL, @PHI in their next two.

Could Milwaukee implode? The last two losses are somewhat understandable vs. Indy and OKC. If they somehow lose to Philly this tomorrow, then things get interesting.

Right now, good looking matchups top to bottom. Cavs will probably roll in round 1 but potential PG13 vs. LeBron or Wade and Butler vs. LeBron matchups will at least make it an interesting series to watch.

In the West, Houston vs. OKC is the marquee first round matchup. Jazz could use the Clippers series as a way to get on the casual fan map.

Doesn't matter. Our problems are bigger than this season.

Pacers won in Orlando and the Heat got a win in Washington. The Bulls two remaining games, they host the Magic and Nets. The Heat host Cleveland and Washington.

nah, but Nets will be a tough out for most teams right now at this point of the season cause theyre still playing hard. Especially if teams are underestimating them, they can get blitzed.

Don't even know why my Bulls r trying to make the playoffs....

They need to fall back and try to hit that lottery pick....

>
>Don't even know why my Bulls r trying to make the
>playoffs....
>
>They need to fall back and try to hit that lottery pick....


yep.

he gone be dip, dip divin and fallin all over the place...tryin to secure that 8th seed.

the difference in pick is negligible unless you really lucked out and just won the lottery

History has shown that unless the pick is #1, this front office is horrible at drafting players.

>History has shown that unless the pick is #1, this front
>office is horrible at drafting players.

Yeah...u got me there....

.

down the stretch

reprimand that sorry D..
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<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

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.

that's the much bigger issue regardless of the refs fuckery..
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<---- 5....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dlgiritpmfo

=======================================

.

.

.

hes a LOT better than he was

miles, even

Great shot by Russ

Lebron doing riles a favor?

Lets see if Boston can close it out tonight vs BK.

have been playing a huge number of minutes the last two to three weeks if I'm not mistaken. Oddly enough, I think don't think they sat out ever since the big three all sat out for that Saturday night ABC game against the Clippers.

Not saying I expect the Cavs to lose that first round match-up, but it'll be interesting to see if the Cavs flip the switch and play running on all cylinders.

I doubt home court is a huge issue for them.

I'd love the bottom of the East to stay how it is so we get PG-13 and Lance against LeBron. Although then we'd have Celtics vs. Bulls and we'll keep hearing about how Boston should have traded for Jimmy Butler (especially if things don't go well for Boston.) Also, Rondo revenge series. The Bucks might make the Raptors series interesting.

Sitting people is annoying but a lot of these teams are playing well. Lakers reeling off a win streak.

Sixers forcing the Pacers to earn their playoff spot tonight.

For Philly, Holmes is looking good; backup or minutes-eater behind Embiid for the future. TLC is playing well. Poythress earned a spot in next year's training camp.

The Nets have one of the best records in the East this past month (granted, they're not really tanking) and fought back to make this a game with the C's. I doubt Brook doesn't opt out which would set them back... which is good for the Celtics yet again.

Of course, then there's Orlando. I'm not sure if Aaron Gordon's numbers since moving to PF is good or bad for Rob Henigan's future. Clearly, he needs to play at the 4. Huge miscue to play him out of position after dealing for Ibaka. Orlando needs to move on from Henigan (and find a legit starting PG.)

http://tinyurl.com/mevzaxg

http://tinyurl.com/luloyth

He's under contract another season.

The question is whether he drove his value up post all star break and what a team will pay for the draft.

Given team chemistry + culture and how he's played with Lin down the stretchI don't think they deal him unless they get a top 15 type pick, not just any first rounder.

That one got lodged in my brain and I can't get it out. Same with calling Charlotte the Bobcats.

The NBA playoffs begin in a few days. The races are tightening, the seeds are being sorted out, the picture is slowly becoming clear. With that, here’s a look at the current playoff picture, and what to know about each team that’s in, or in the running for a spot.

Golden State locked the No. 1 seed and home court throughout the playoffs. Most of the West is locked.

The following series are locked in the Western Conference: (2) Spurs vs. (7) Grizzlies, (3) Rockets vs. (6) Thunder, (4/5) Jazz vs. (5/4) Clippers (home court TBD), (1) Golden State vs. (8) Portland.

The Clippers and Jazz won Monday, so home court will go down to Wednesday night. A Clippers win or Jazz loss secures home court for L.A.

The Raptors and Wizards are locked as the Nos. 3 and 4 in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers, in profoundly silly style, lost twice to Atlanta over the weekend and after resting players vs. Miami, now are one game back of the No. 1 seed.

Boston controls its destiny for the top seed. Win, and the Celtics have home court throughout the East. They also get the first seed with a Cavs loss.

The Eastern Conference ... is where things go nuts.
Eastern Conference scenarios
No. 1 vs. No. 2 seed
If the Cavs win and Boston loses: The Cavs are the first seed.
If the Cavs win and Boston wins: The Celtics are the first seed.
If the Cavs lose: The Celtics are the first seed.

No. 3 seed goes to the Raptors (locked)
No. 4 seed goes to the Wizards (locked).

Nos. 5, 6 and 7
So Atlanta can’t fall further than seventh. The Hawks have the tiebreaker over the Bucks, and play the Pacers in the final game Wednesday, series tied 2-2. Here are their scenarios. Their magic number for the fifth seed is one.

If Atlanta goes 2-0: Atlanta is the fifth seed.
If Atlanta goes 1-1: Atlanta is the fifth seed.
If Atlanta goes 0-2 and the Bucks lose: Atlanta is the fifth seed.
If Atlanta goes 0-2 Bucks win: Bucks are the fifth seed, Atlanta is the seventh seed.

The Bucks can’t fall further than sixth, thanks to a tiebreaker over Indiana. Their scenarios:
If Atlanta goes 2-0: Milwaukee is the sixth seed.
If Atlanta goes 1-1: Milwaukee is the sixth seed.
If Atlanta goes 0-2 and the Bucks lose: The Bucks are the sixth seed.
If Atlanta goes 0-2 and the Bucks win: The Bucks are the fifth seed.

The Pacers can finish as high as sixth and as low as eighth. If they want to finish sixth, they need a Hawks loss to Charlotte on Tuesday. Their scenarios if they beat Atlanta:

If the Hawks win one game and the Pacers win: The Pacers are the seventh seed.
If the Hawks lose both games, the Bucks win, and the Pacers win: The Pacers are the sixth seed.
If the Hawks lose both games, and the Bucks lose: The Pacers are the seventh seed by virtue of a 3-way tie.
Nos. 7 and 8

Now, if the Pacers lose, things go bonkers. The Heat and Bulls both have tiebreakers, and both win three-way ties. Here are the scenarios:
If Pacers win, Bulls win, Heat win, Pacers 6/7, Bulls 8, Heat out.
If Pacers win, Bulls win, Heat lose, Pacers 6/7, Bulls 8, Heat out.
If Pacers win, Bulls lose, Heat lose, Pacers 6/7, Bulls 8, Heat out
If Pacers win, Bulls lose, Heat win, Pacers 6/7, Heat 8, Bulls out.
If Pacers lose, Bulls win, Heat win, Bulls 7, Heat 8, Pacers out.
If Pacers lose, Bulls lose, Heat win, Heat 7, Pacers 8, Bulls out.
if Pacers lose, Bulls lose, Heat lose, it’s Pacers 7, Bulls 8, Heat out.
If Pacers lose, Bulls win, Heat lose, It’s Bulls 7, Pacers 8, Heat out.

There’s only one scenario where Indiana is out, but it’s a plausible one. Does Indiana want to go for the sixth seed? If so it needs Charlotte to win Tuesday so the Pacers move into sixth with a win. But if Atlanta wins Tuesday, the Hawks have nothing to play for Wednesday, giving the Pacers a better chance at clinching a spot.

If you’re the Heat, you want the Pacers to lose no matter what. After that you want the Bulls to lose too. And of course, you have to beat Washington.
Simple, right?

Before the Pacers got Lance and had this mini resurgence I was all for them falling out and the Bulls and heat making it.

Now I probabluy want the Bulls the least, though with their exp they can still wreak havoc.

Pacers and Bulls are a meh to me.

ever since they became the darlings of nba twitterverse / blogosphere a few months back.

and i actually really like their coach and a lot of their players.

but whenever the hoopdweebs zig, i tend to zag.

They could actually win a game in a series against the Cavs.
Forget what the Bulls did to the Cavs this regular season, they'd get swept.

Shaq looked at him like:
http://assets.sbnation.com/assets/2178151/lolbosh2.gif

all jokes aside, Hoiberg is a 2nd year coach from college playing in his first playoff match.
Don't trust dude to have a game plan or make the needed adjustments to unseat...damn, anybody.

that's why I was happy with last night's results.

I've seen Jerian Grant and Rondo attempt to defend penetrating PGs.
But if Jimmy is on Thomas...well, maybe (but probably not).

Man, I'm so bitter about this season, I really don't care...ha.

If ATL wins, they clinch their spot and might rest their guys vs. Indiana, which would help the Pacers lock down their spot.

Kemba is shut down for the season, which makes things harder for Charlotte.

I was completely clueless to the fact they were so close to the eighth spot, much less to not even making it at all. I assumed they'd have the sixth seed on lock.

The offseason bounds to be an interesting one for that team for certain.

they were my favorite to drop out

But hes changed things for them overnight.

We'll see if this is sustainable or more a shot of adrenaline

It really sure what the fuck they're resting for

"Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Tim Hardaway Jr. and Dennis Schroder will all be rested for Wednesday's regular-season finale against the Pacers."

>"Paul Millsap, Dwight Howard, Kent Bazemore, Tim Hardaway Jr.
>and Dennis Schroder will all be rested for Wednesday's
>regular-season finale against the Pacers."



Wiz resting Wall, Beal, and then minutes limits

The first half matters. If you lose too much in the first half of the season, you could to be putting your fate in the hands of teams with nothing to play for.

Kudos to the Heat for their second half but if you go 11 - 30 in the first half of the season, you're putting yourself behind the 8 ball.

>Tim Hardaway Jr.

He's been great in the second half of the season. 17ppg. 47% and 37% from 3.

i don't feel bad for them in the slightest.

if you wait until the due date to pay an online bill, you don't get to complain about the website crashing. you had all month.

and Jeff Teague just fucked off his ankle.

That game will be the sole reason Silver cracks down on it next season.