Predict the season finish (final 10 games)
Posted: Wed Mar 26, 2008 6:34 am
As most already probably know, the remaining schedule is like an exercise in contrast through the comparison of extremes. We have four bunnies in a row coming up:
vs. LAC
@ Min
vs. Was
vs. Min
Followed by as tough a six game gauntlet as you will ever see:
vs. SA
@ NO
@ Dal
vs. Hou
vs. Den
@ SA
Luckily for us, the San Antonio game might be a rest-your-starters game....or it could be the difference between having or not having home court in round 1. Since it's our personal house of horrors, I hope its the first of the two.
So here's my take, I see us taking care of business with the bunnies, and winning all 4 (though the washington game might be tough now that they have Butler back). I just can't see us losing to Minny TWICE in one season. It can't happen......can it?
So that is 4 wins. We should obviously blow out Denver, like we always do out our house. That's 5. Houston has been exposed as a team without enough scoring to sustain it through the tough stretches in games, and since its in our gym, I'm going to throw that in as a guaranteed W, too.
That's 6. That leaves SA, @NO, @Dal and @SA as the big question marks. I think we lose a minimum of one of the 4, without a doubt. But past that, I can see us winning as many as 3 of them. We've had success against SA at our house both this year and last, so that has a great shot at being a W.
Dallas is without Dirk now, and likely will be by then as well. Throw in the fact that they have lost more games at home since they got JKidd than they did ALL SEASON before acquiring him, and you have to think that's a pretty good shot there, too.
The NO game.....is kinda tough. On one hand you have them playing as an elite level team. Their chemistry has been very good, they have almost every element that you need for your team to be successful, and they have a player who can take over any game at any time who is playing out of his mind this year. On the other, the Jazz have kind of owned them each of the last two years. Really, of the 3 games that we have played this year, the Jazz have outplayed them handily except for the 1st quarter of the game in NO. Speaking of which, you have to think that the Jazz will want to make a statement about that, and respond to the embarrasment they recieved on national TV from that 23-0 run. Should be a very good game, and I'm thinking its a 50-50 shot that we take it.
As for the game IN San Antonio.....wow. When you have been owned that thoroughly by someone for so long, all you can do is assume that it is going to continue until someone has the balls to stand up and put an end to it. Maybe this will be the time, but I'm not going to predict it. Like I said before, our best hope is that its a throw away game for them, but one that we still need for placement purposes. Even then it could get ugly.
Overall, I'm saying we win either @ Dal or @NO, but not both. I do think we'll beat SA at our place, but I'm not taking us at theirs until further notice. So I say: 8-2.....and a 55-27 final record.
I would be more than happy with that.
vs. LAC
@ Min
vs. Was
vs. Min
Followed by as tough a six game gauntlet as you will ever see:
vs. SA
@ NO
@ Dal
vs. Hou
vs. Den
@ SA
Luckily for us, the San Antonio game might be a rest-your-starters game....or it could be the difference between having or not having home court in round 1. Since it's our personal house of horrors, I hope its the first of the two.
So here's my take, I see us taking care of business with the bunnies, and winning all 4 (though the washington game might be tough now that they have Butler back). I just can't see us losing to Minny TWICE in one season. It can't happen......can it?
So that is 4 wins. We should obviously blow out Denver, like we always do out our house. That's 5. Houston has been exposed as a team without enough scoring to sustain it through the tough stretches in games, and since its in our gym, I'm going to throw that in as a guaranteed W, too.
That's 6. That leaves SA, @NO, @Dal and @SA as the big question marks. I think we lose a minimum of one of the 4, without a doubt. But past that, I can see us winning as many as 3 of them. We've had success against SA at our house both this year and last, so that has a great shot at being a W.
Dallas is without Dirk now, and likely will be by then as well. Throw in the fact that they have lost more games at home since they got JKidd than they did ALL SEASON before acquiring him, and you have to think that's a pretty good shot there, too.
The NO game.....is kinda tough. On one hand you have them playing as an elite level team. Their chemistry has been very good, they have almost every element that you need for your team to be successful, and they have a player who can take over any game at any time who is playing out of his mind this year. On the other, the Jazz have kind of owned them each of the last two years. Really, of the 3 games that we have played this year, the Jazz have outplayed them handily except for the 1st quarter of the game in NO. Speaking of which, you have to think that the Jazz will want to make a statement about that, and respond to the embarrasment they recieved on national TV from that 23-0 run. Should be a very good game, and I'm thinking its a 50-50 shot that we take it.
As for the game IN San Antonio.....wow. When you have been owned that thoroughly by someone for so long, all you can do is assume that it is going to continue until someone has the balls to stand up and put an end to it. Maybe this will be the time, but I'm not going to predict it. Like I said before, our best hope is that its a throw away game for them, but one that we still need for placement purposes. Even then it could get ugly.
Overall, I'm saying we win either @ Dal or @NO, but not both. I do think we'll beat SA at our place, but I'm not taking us at theirs until further notice. So I say: 8-2.....and a 55-27 final record.
I would be more than happy with that.
L