The Push For The Playoffs

Post #1 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:08 pm

As of 3/30/15;

8. Brooklyn Nets - 32 - 40.... 10 Games Remaining
9. Boston Celtics - 32 - 41... 9 Games Remaining
10. Indiana Pacers - 32 - 41.. 9 Games Remaining
11. Charlotte Hornets - 31 - 41. 10 Games Remaining

Remaining Schedule;
Nets-----Celtics-----Pacers-----Hornets
v Indy---@ Char---@ BKN-----v C's
@ NYK----v Indy-----@ C's------v Det
v Raps-----v MIL------v Cha-----@ Indy
@ ATL-----@ Tor------v Mia------v Phi
v Port-----@ Det------@ NYK-----@ Mia
v ATL------@ Cle------@ Det------v Tor
v Wiz-------v Cle-------v OKC-----@ ATL
@ Mil-------v Tor-------v Wiz------@ Det
v Bulls-----@ Mil-------@ Mem-----v Hous
v Orl----------------------------------@ Tor

MrDollarBills · Post #2 » by **MrDollarBills** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:11 pm

My god...that 7 game stretch after the Pacers and Knicks is brutal

I'm nervous about our chances.

SV1113 · Post #3 » by **SV1113** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:35 pm

MrDollarBills wrote:My god...that 7 game stretch after the Pacers and Knicks is brutal

I'm nervous about our chances.

its not as bad as it looks: Raptors and wiz are not playing well right now, Hawks are coasting and the 2nd game against us is the 2nd night of a back to back for them so they probably rest guys. but the first Atl game as well as the Bulls and Blazers game are gonna be tough

lkitt0804 · Post #4 » by **lkitt0804** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:39 pm

MrDollarBills wrote:My god...that 7 game stretch after the Pacers and Knicks is brutal

I'm nervous about our chances.

The only good thing is that the other teams have a pretty difficult remaining schedule too assuming nobody rests their players.

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

Post #5 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:41 pm

Ok i'm going to tell it how it is for me... it looks tough to bad.... I think that's fair.... on the last 12 game prediction, I said we needed 8-4 finish.... with a steal vs the better teams... we'll we got a steal vs Cle...

We must hope Toronto and Cleveland buries the Celtics for us(4x)
Indy and Charlotte could hopefully take each other out then Indy losing to Memphis and WSH at the end would be a boost...

But we are in a mess IMO... given our habit of playing poor even vs poor teams, its a tough game to game finish. idk... a lot of playoff teams down the stretch...

Zachbretton · Post #6 » by **Zachbretton** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 2:47 pm

I think we have the chance to do it... All four teams are in difficult situations. I think our guys are really understanding that the playoffs are so close and they're in control of if we get there or not.

I like the energy we have lately. We need these next two wins and see what the spectrum with the other 3 teams are then. We can pull some upsets over Wiz and Raps because they're slumping lately. We hope that ATL (they won't) and Portland rests because we know Bulls won't. This very may well come down to the last game against Orlando

Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

kerry kittles · Post #7 » by **kerry kittles** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:00 pm

I'm not confident at all we make it:

- we've never had more than a 3 game winning streak all season. We need one

- All of our players outside Brook the last month have been inconsistent all year

- If you throw out the last 3 games for each team when playoff teams may be resting players we have the toughest schedule by far

-Atlanta wants us to miss the playoffs so i can see them playing their guys against us both games and resting against Charlotte like they did Saturday.

-Teams are gunning to beat us: Knicks god awful - a game we should win no matter what, but that's the one game they want to win from here on out. That game is going for 2-3 times what their other remaining games are going for on stubhub - they would like nothing more than keep us out the playoffs. Yes, we're the much better team and should be able to take their best shot and win, but still they'll be giving it their all.
Masai said recently he'd say F Brooklyn again. They hate us more than any other team in the league. They would love to help knock us out of the playoffs. They are battling for seeding.
Kidd would love to see us miss the playoff and they may be battling for seeding for 3 games to go with the Heat 2 games back currently.
The Wizards and Blazers are both battling for seeding.

Paradise · Post #8 » by **Paradise** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:22 pm

The only truly tough games we have left is Atlanta twice, Milwaukee, Chicago and Portland.

I don't consider Raps, Wizards to be any better than the bottom teams right now. We have a chance to win those two.

I hope we get in but we will need to win out these next three games to hold steady.

Post #9 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:23 pm

Lets keep this thread and update the results of the other race for 8 teams... this way its all a point of reference for us

Post #10 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:26 pm

Paradise wrote:The only truly tough games we have left is Atlanta twice, Milwaukee, Chicago and Portland.

I don't consider Raps, Wizards to be any better than the bottom teams right now. We have a chance to win those two.

I hope we get in but we will need to win out these next three games to hold steady.

Still have to go in and win....

If I saw better and confident play from Dwill and JJ(Dwill has been playing better but that's not saying much IMO, JJ is JJ) along with continued support and attack from the bench, i'd fee a lot better about winning these games....

Antti22 · Post #11 » by **Antti22** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:36 pm

I already stated my opinion on this matter in the GB, Ill copy it here just for discussion aswell

I think Boston has the worst situation of the teams in chase, with a difficult schedule coming up and lots of injuries. Charlotte I am not worried about that much either, we got the tie-break against them. Miami is a collapse waiting to happen, but that collapse might happen after the regular season, when Wade breaks down for good, I am kind of counting them as a lock 7 seed out of just pure will of D-Wade.
It is either Nets or Pacers for the 8th seed in my view, with Pacers getting the impressive win last night against Mavs ( damn you Mavs, want to be a contender and then cant even beat an east team not in the playoffs, curse you!). So basicly I have circled the game tomorrow as the make-or-break game of the season for Nets. I think it will come down to who wins that one, will make the playoffs with the other one falling out. Nets are historically bad in that kind of games, even during their good stretch now ( see losses to Celtics and Hornets earlier this month, coming of off impressive wins against better teams), they just cant take the pressure and collapse in those kinds of games at the moment.
So I would give Pacers 75% chance of playoffs and Nets 20% chance ( 5% going to Charlotte and Boston combined), all depending on the outcome of the game on Tuesday.
A good hope for the Nets ( ironically) is that PG comes back for the game on Tuesday, being rusty and shooting the Pacers out of the game and disrupting the flow ( You cant expect a guy to come off an injury like that and instantly make a positive impact on a team which has had quite a few changes since he last played). Also PG-s return would make the game so much more emotional for Pacers and often times that emotion is not a good factor to winning games.

Post #12 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:47 pm

Celtics playing Mil/Cle/Tor 6x out of 9.... wow, that's some luck in scheduling.... maybe that's our(Nets) saving grace from Boston's push. (unless they go out and beat theses guys)

Indy almost looks coastal til their last two, hopefully WSH gives them a fight and Memphis plays to win...

BKN, idk, it looks so much harder than it needs to be with these guys

SIC · Post #13 » by **SIC** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:52 pm

SV1113 wrote:
MrDollarBills wrote:My god...that 7 game stretch after the Pacers and Knicks is brutal

I'm nervous about our chances.

its not as bad as it looks: Raptors and wiz are not playing well right now, Hawks are coasting and the 2nd game against us is the 2nd night of a back to back for them so they probably rest guys. but the first Atl game as well as the Bulls and Blazers game are gonna be tough

Yeah I am with you. @ATL, Bulls and Blazer games are most likely losses.

MGrand15 · Post #14 » by **MGrand15** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 3:56 pm

I'm just glad we control our own fate. Some tough games for sure. That Raps-ATL-Por-ATL-Wiz stretch could be brutal if we fall into a lull. If we fall into a lull this late in the season, we don't deserve the playoffs anyway. No excuse to not compete in all of those games. If we bring it against Indy tomorrow, we may even be rolling when we go into the stretch. I'm pretty happy with where the team is now in terms of identity, rotation, health, and the level our top guys are playing at. Hopefully it carries over.

MaxZaslofskyJr · Post #15 » by **MaxZaslofskyJr** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 4:20 pm

One thing to keep in mind. Normally, in a race like this it's going to be the Loss Column that you study and worry about. But with this being a Bizarro-planet race made up teams with losing records, it might be more worthwhile to track the Win Column. Overall, Wins occur against the odds for sub-500 teams.

Also...I like our chances but I'd like them better if there weren't so many teams vying for the same spot. That, unfortunately, increases the odds that a hot team steals the whole show under our noses.

We shall see. Just glad there is something to root for.

Paradise · Post #16 » by **Paradise** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:37 pm

I look at it this way...

Make the playoffs: Gives Markel, Bogs, CJ, Lopez more experience, continuing our playoffs streak and not gift wrapping a high pick to Atlanta.

Miss the playoffs: We won't be sacrificial lambs and it drives home the point of getting rid of Joe, Deron and Jack in the offseason.

kerry kittles · Post #17 » by **kerry kittles** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 5:50 pm

Paradise wrote:I look at it this way...

Make the playoffs: Gives Markel, Bogs, CJ, Lopez more experience, continuing our playoffs streak and not gift wrapping a high pick to Atlanta.

Miss the playoffs: We won't be sacrificial lambs and it drives home the point of getting rid of Joe, Deron and Jack in the offseason.

Theres no way we get rid of them without cutting into 2016-17 space. Just suck it up 1 more season and then waive/stretch Deron and let the other 2 walk. What's one season in the grand scheme of things instead of prolonging this mess?

Post #18 » by **CalamityX12** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:01 pm

Paradise wrote:I look at it this way...

Make the playoffs: Gives Markel, Bogs, CJ, Lopez more experience, continuing our playoffs streak and not gift wrapping a high pick to Atlanta.

Miss the playoffs: We won't be sacrificial lambs and it drives home the point of getting rid of Joe, Deron and Jack in the offseason.

Billy King exile??????

MrDollarBills · Post #19 » by **MrDollarBills** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:08 pm

kerry kittles wrote:
Paradise wrote:I look at it this way...

Make the playoffs: Gives Markel, Bogs, CJ, Lopez more experience, continuing our playoffs streak and not gift wrapping a high pick to Atlanta.

Miss the playoffs: We won't be sacrificial lambs and it drives home the point of getting rid of Joe, Deron and Jack in the offseason.

Theres no way we get rid of them without cutting into 2016-17 space. Just suck it up 1 more season and then waive/stretch Deron and let the other 2 walk. What's one season in the grand scheme of things instead of prolonging this mess?

One more season of those three sacks of **** is one season too many. I'll stop watching, i swear!!! :banghead:

kerry kittles · Post #20 » by **kerry kittles** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:22 pm

MrDollarBills wrote:
kerry kittles wrote:
Paradise wrote:I look at it this way...

Make the playoffs: Gives Markel, Bogs, CJ, Lopez more experience, continuing our playoffs streak and not gift wrapping a high pick to Atlanta.

Miss the playoffs: We won't be sacrificial lambs and it drives home the point of getting rid of Joe, Deron and Jack in the offseason.

Theres no way we get rid of them without cutting into 2016-17 space. Just suck it up 1 more season and then waive/stretch Deron and let the other 2 walk. What's one season in the grand scheme of things instead of prolonging this mess?

One more season of those three sacks of **** is one season too many. I'll stop watching, i swear!!!

King has no blue print, no direction. Look at what Ferry's done in Atlanta or what R.C Buford continues to do in San Antonio. Yes, both coaches deserve a ton of praise, but so do the GM's for carefully assembling the team, getting players that fit a larger puzzle.

We continue to see with King he has no direction, not a forward thinking individual. The best opportunity to improve this team is in the summer of 2016 and it represents a clean slate, a fresh start, a new beginning. Dumping these guys for the sake of dumping them and taking back any contracts in return - what is reasonable to expect with King at the helm would be a disaster.

I'd rather have 1 terrible season that 3 mediocre seasons. I want an end to this era. I don't want to trade for next Reggie Jackson.

Edit: And I'm kinda now on my board with just handing the keys over to Calipari in the summer of 2016 (if he'd be interested, I'm sure the Lakers and others may be interested). Give him the SVG, Doc Rivers type coach/president of basketball operation role. I think he's improved as a coach since his last stint in the NBA and has great relationships with players in the league. At this point anything, but King. If we can give him close to a clean slate in the summer of 2016 it would be great.