GAME 72: Clippers (47-24) @ Thunder (21-50)— Sunday 8PM PDT

[ducler]

Read on Twitter

[Roscoe Sheed]

so, everybody is playing apparently?

[RingColluder]

so, everybody is playing apparently?

we have a week off, they all should absolutely play.

[Roscoe Sheed]

so, everybody is playing apparently?

we have a week off, they all should absolutely play.

I agree- it seems to indicate that they want to win that game and likely play Portland rather than Dallas

[MartinToVaught]

so, everybody is playing apparently?

we have a week off, they all should absolutely play.

Plus we'd never be able to out-tank OKC even if we wanted to.

[RingColluder]

so, everybody is playing apparently?

we have a week off, they all should absolutely play.

I agree- it seems to indicate that they want to win that game and likely play Portland rather than Dallas

yeah the easier matchup is Portland, though both are very tough outs.


Had a certain someone not had a meltdown in that important 3-4 game stretch like 2 weeks ago we could have been the 1 seed and been playing Memphis or Golden State.

Oh well.

[MartinToVaught]

I'm not complaining about not having to face Golden State. Curry alone could turn that series into a slog.

[RingColluder]

I'm not complaining about not having to face Golden State. Curry alone could turn that series into a slog.

And Dame Lillard can't? I don't care what his RS stats are, when they add Nurkic back and have the added motivation of everything that's gone down wit him and Playoff P that's not a matchup I feel good about.

Like our team, if they just gave Carmelo Anthony less dumb low IQ shots that team is in way better position to succeed if McCollum can have an above average night.

We have yet to play the team with Nurkic, who is as critical to the team as anyone.

The embarrassment of losing to the Trail Blazers is way more than the Lakers in round 1 imo.

[RingColluder]

depending on the odds I'd definitely consider taking the warriors over the lakers in the play in

[esqtvd]

The SKINNY:

The Nuggets have tiebreaker over the Clippers and are currently tied with them. If the Nuggets win, they are in third. If they lose and the Clippers win, the Clippers are third. If they both lose, the Nuggets are third.

The trick is that the Nuggets play the Trail Blazers, who are tied with the Lakers. If the Nuggets win, they move to No. 3 seed … and, again, assuming the Lakers win, move the Lakers into the sixth spot to face Denver. So essentially, assuming the Lakers win, the Nuggets have to lose unless they want to play the Lakers first round.

There is a widespread sense that the Nuggets will not choose that path, if for no other reason than there’s no advantage to be gained by playing starters. Nikola Jokic will likely start so that he will have started all 72 games this season, but I would not expect him to play his regular minutes.

A tougher question is whether the Clippers will try and win. They rested players and lost to the Rockets on Friday. League sources are split in terms of speculation on whether the Clippers will try and win. The motivation differential is thought to be that if Denver loses to the Trail Blazers, a Clippers win gets them the Blazers — thought to be an easier matchup for LA — in the first round. On the other hand, others are expecting the Clippers to lose since it would ensure them being on the other side of the playoff bracket in the West from the Lakers, no matter the outcomes of the other games.

The larger question is honestly whether the Clippers could even successfully tank vs. OKC, which has won one game since April 1 and has incentive to lose. Out-tanking OKC would require blatant efforts that could carry penalties.

https://www.actionnetwork.com/nba/nba-playoff-scenario-picture-season-finale-game-72-postseason-seeding-2021

The Houston tank was enough garbage for one season. Play it straight, dammit.

[esqtvd]

omg

Read on Twitter

Zubac makes a cameo so he plays in every game this year

ADD: Zu has a consecutive games streak going

[esqtvd]

tankalicious

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[MartinToVaught]

Doesn't matter who's playing. I don't see any lineup we could put together that could ever be capable of out-tanking OKC.

[esqtvd]

Read on Twitter

[esqtvd]

MORE SKINNY. Basically, the Nuggets have every reason to lose to the Blazers tonight:

4. Los Angeles Clippers
There is no scenario in which the Clippers can face the Lakers in the first round. They made sure of that by losing to Houston on Friday. The Clippers are tied with the No. 3 Nuggets, who own the tiebreaker. If the Clippers beat the Thunder on Sunday and the Nuggets beat the Blazers, the Clippers stay at No. 4 and play the No. 5 Dallas Mavericks. If the Clippers win and the Nuggets lose to Portland, L.A. goes to No. 3 and plays either the Blazers or Mavericks at No. 6, depending on whether the Mavericks beat the Timberwolves.


7. Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers beat the Pacers on Saturday to pull even with the No. 6 Blazers, who own the tiebreaker. The Lakers cannot get any higher than the No. 6 seed. For that to happen, they need to beat New Orleans and have the Blazers lose to Denver. SportsLine projections have the Lakers beating New Orleans and Portland losing to Denver, which would move the Lakers up to No. 6.


But ... that would pit the Lakers against the No. 3 Nuggets, and does Denver really want that? If Denver holds out its main players in an effort to lose the game to Portland, drop to No. 4 and avoid the Lakers, the sims go out the window.

If the Blazers, Mavericks and Lakers end up in a three-way tie, the first tiebreaker goes to Dallas as the only division winner. From there, the Blazers own the head-to-head over the Lakers to secure the No. 6 seed, leaving L.A. in the play-in tourney at No. 7.

[madmaxmedia]

Doesn't matter who's playing. I don't see any lineup we could put together that could ever be capable of out-tanking OKC.

So may as well rest everybody anyway then.

Maybe tonight will be the JScrubb game to remember...

[TheNewEra]

All about giving the young guys a chance

[TheNewEra]

Why is Jokic in a game down 20?

[MartinToVaught]

For the first time ever in his career, Austin Rivers is helping the Clippers:

Read on Twitter

[TheNewEra]

Jay Scrubb makes it look easy