Lakers and Mavs are just 3 games away from Playoff spot.

[Colbinii]

Honestly all it takes is one of those teams to go on one 9-10 game winning streak to be right in it.
But easier said than done. Quite frankly if they can't then they don't deserve to make post season anyways.

This makes sense

Hey man, all it takes for your suns to make the playo...

[HotrodBeaubois]

Man the Lakers got 2 BIG games coming up against the Mavs & Nuggets and the month of March isn't going to be so much of a cake walk either...

Every game they should be favored in except at OKC.

Honestly, if they don't go 14-1 or 13-2 in that stretch, their season is done.

10 of those are on the road where they are 9-18 .333% 4-8 .333% since January 8th

[jazzfan1971]

Jazz seem to be playing better ball as the season wears on by my eye. I think they'll be tough to pass.

[Young_Star11]

Jazz seem to be playing better ball as the season wears on by my eye. I think they'll be tough to pass.

Utah should be fine for 7th or 8th and first-round fodder.

[Young_Star11]

Man the Lakers got 2 BIG games coming up against the Mavs & Nuggets and the month of March isn't going to be so much of a cake walk either...

Every game they should be favored in except at OKC.

Honestly, if they don't go 14-1 or 13-2 in that stretch, their season is done.

Road back-to-backs for them will be tough.

Could see them losing 5 of those games.

Just been a vulnerability about the Lakers all season.

[Ronito]

Definitely not. I'm hoping Rockets get the 7 seed and go against OKC. That'll be fun.

[Young_Star11]

Definitely not. I'm hoping Rockets get the 7 seed and go against OKC. That'll be fun.

Can't see us beating OKC, SA or the Clippers (prior to our comeback W over OKC we were 0-for against all three).

Shutting the Lakers out of our spot in the playoffs should be the initial goal for this team - Houston slumped badly
last season late in the season when they had a great chance to sneak into 8th.

[Ronito]

Definitely not. I'm hoping Rockets get the 7 seed and go against OKC. That'll be fun.

Can't see us beating OKC, SA or the Clippers (prior to our comeback W over OKC we were 0-for against all three).

Shutting the Lakers out of our spot in the playoffs should be the initial goal for this team - Houston slumped badly
last season late in the season when they had a great chance to sneak into 8th.

They may not win, but Harden going off against OKC in the playoffs would be fitting.

[Sasaki]

The Mavs are 12-6 since January 10th .667 % 4 of the losses are by 4 pts or less . The other 2 losses came against SA and OKC


Since January 10th

107.9 Pts For
101.7 Pts Against



107.9 Pts is good for 1st in PPG


+ 6.2 Differential is tied for 4th


.468 FG% is good for 6th in the league
.397 3P% is good for 1st in the league



Now add in Morrows 3Pt shooting off the Bench . Morrow may even see some time at end of games since Mayo has turned it over alot in crunchtime . And the Dallas Offense gets even better ,


Dirk
17.3 PPG since January 10th
19.4 PPG .479 FG% 8-11 3P .727% over the last 5

Carter
15.9 PPG 39-77 3P .506% since January 10th
17.0 PPG 19-30 3P .633% over the last 5

Oh hey there Beaubois! You think the Mavericks will catch up to the Rockets before the two games like you proclaimed a month ago? And do you also think the Mavericks are actually a .667 team?

[HotrodBeaubois]

The Mavs are 12-6 since January 10th .667 % 4 of the losses are by 4 pts or less . The other 2 losses came against SA and OKC


Since January 10th

107.9 Pts For
101.7 Pts Against



107.9 Pts is good for 1st in PPG


+ 6.2 Differential is tied for 4th


.468 FG% is good for 6th in the league
.397 3P% is good for 1st in the league



Now add in Morrows 3Pt shooting off the Bench . Morrow may even see some time at end of games since Mayo has turned it over alot in crunchtime . And the Dallas Offense gets even better ,


Dirk
17.3 PPG since January 10th
19.4 PPG .479 FG% 8-11 3P .727% over the last 5

Carter
15.9 PPG 39-77 3P .506% since January 10th
17.0 PPG 19-30 3P .633% over the last 5

Oh hey there Beaubois! You think the Mavericks will catch up to the Rockets before the two games like you proclaimed a month ago? And do you also think the Mavericks are actually a .667 team?

I think after the 2 games against Houston its possible that Houston has a 2 game lead or less and at that point its anyones game .

As for is Dallas a .667 Team ?
Well over their last 18 games since January 10th Dirks 4th game as a starter they are a .667 Team thats including three games where calls were missed that led to the Mavs losing which would of had us 15-3 .833%

The 3 Games

Vs OKC 3 Pt Loss in OT - Durant awarded a clear path foul that was said to be the wrong call the next day by the NBA which resuted in 4 pts by OKC that should not have happend in a game that went to overtime.

@ Portland - With Dallas up 3 Pts Aldridge travels while making a 3 Pt to tie the game then with 1 second left Mayo called for a charge that the NBA said the next day was the wrong call it should have been a blocking foul with Mayo shooting 2 free throws with 1 second left instead Aldridge hits the game winner. Portland wins by 2

@ Golden State - 6 seconds left and the Mavs down by 1 Bogut fouls Wright taking a shot instead its called a Block and Dallas forced to foul then lose by 3


Would Dallas be a .667 Team if Dirk didnt miss 27 games ? Im not sure but they are a .667 team over their last 18 games including 3 questionable losses by a total of 8 points .

I know one thing they would not be a .463 team if Dirk would have been healthy all year . Will they continue their current streak of .667 ? Probably not but they will be much better the second half of the season . Will it be enough to get the 8th spot ? Who knows but for people to think its all over is just foolish .

1-Dallas is playing Well over the last 18 games - Sure you can say its a small sample size but the only reason its relevant is because it coincides with Dirk getting Healthy and playing with a completely new team .

2-Sure Houston is playing well lately but they also have 2 games against Dallas in 2 weeks who they have lost twice to already . And you also have to consider the fact that their 4 of the 5 starters have only missed a total of 3 games . Does Houston win if Asik / Lin / Harden / Parsons miss any time ? In the 3 games where Harden or Parsons missed the Rockets lost all 3 . So not only does Houston need to continue to play as well as they have they also have to stay Completely healthy .


With all that i beleive the Mavs have a chance to catch Houston for the 8th spot . But nothings guaranteed and Dallas has a tough hill to climb and cant have many setbacks


I will give you this . If the Rockets can win both of the games against Dallas then that probably kills their playoff hopes.

[DTHAI17]

they both need to play almost .700 ball while 6-7-8 spots need to be around .450-500 from here on out. I can actually see the lakers coming back though

[Efernand]

The Lakers have been 3-3 1/2 games back for more than a month and haven't picked up any ground. I doubt that's gonna change.

[Fobbie]

After watching last night game, I'm not impress or sold on the Lakers making the playoff.

[peja_the_legend]

Yesterday's officiating vs Blazers leaves no doubt.Stern simply wont let Lakers out of play offs.

[markjay]

Lakers are 10 and 4 in the last 14 games. That's a .714 clip. If they keep playing at that rate, they will end up with 45 or 46 wins. That may not be enough. They may need to really go on a tear.

If they get to 48 wins, that should cinch it, but that would require them winning .807 of their remaining games (21 out of 26). Not impossible, but quite challenging with Pau out and with Dwight's shoulder hurting.