What teams can Portland beat in the playoffs out West.

JordansBulls · Post #1 » by **JordansBulls** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:41 am

Of all the Playoffs type teams in the Western Conference, what teams could Portland beat in a playoffs series?

San Antonio
Dallas
Phoenix
LA Lakers
Golden State
New Orleans
Houston
Utah
Denver

exkonvict · Post #2 » by **exkonvict** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:44 am

JordansBulls wrote:Of all the Playoffs type teams in the Western Conference, what teams could Portland beat in a playoffs series?

San Antonio
Dallas
Phoenix
LA Lakers
Golden State
New Orleans
Houston
Utah
Denver

until they can put together a good season, none.

Post #3 » by **dockingsched** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:46 am

i think they could beat denver.

Taiwan Killa · Post #4 » by **Taiwan Killa** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:46 am

None of them. They'd have the best chance against Houston though.

RoxFan08 · Post #5 » by **RoxFan08** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:49 am

They've played Denver well. In reality, I don't think they could beat a single one of those teams in a 7 game series, especially in June when every team has had a chance to figure out their system and play themselves into playoff shape.

AIfan3 · Post #6 » by **AIfan3** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:53 am

If I had to say one, probably the Lakers or Hornets.. But they need post season experience

EGame · Post #7 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:54 am

Denver, Utah, Houston, and possibly the Hornets (hey we have beaten them twice this year) and Lakers. They would most likely lose to the top teams (Spurs, Suns, Mavs).

The reason we can beat Utah and Denver is easy, look at the result of the last two games against Denver and we have beaten Utah twice, once in there building. I think we would have a shot at beating Houston. Lakers and Blazers always seem to split the season series (unless they only play 3 times in the season in that case whoever has the two home games usually wins the series).

Post #8 » by **corona** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:58 am

none.

AIfan3 · Post #9 » by **AIfan3** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 4:58 am

EGame wrote:Denver, Utah, Houston, and possibly the Hornets (hey we have beaten them twice this year) and Lakers. They would most likely lose to the top teams (Spurs, Suns, Mavs).

The reason we can beat Utah and Denver is easy, look at the result of the last two games against Denver and we have beaten Utah twice, once in there building. I think we would have a shot at beating Houston. Lakers and Blazers always seem to split the season series (unless they only play 3 times in the season in that case whoever has the two home games usually wins the series).

Playoff games are a whole different monster than season games, and they don't have the experience or star power to compete in a 7 game series with the rest of the West's playoff teams.. Maybe when they get Oden back next year..

EGame · Post #10 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:02 am

AIfan3 wrote:-= original quote snipped =-

Playoff games are a whole different monster than season games, and they don't have the experience or star power to compete in a 7 game series with the rest of the West's playoff teams.. Maybe when they get Oden back next year..

You are probably right, I was just trying to answer the question to who I think Portland COULD beat. Chances are they would not be able to beat any of them, but those teams are Portland's best chances to advance. Oh and once Oden comes back (assuming he stays healthy) I say they could beat the teams I just mentioned or make it a really, really competitive series.

Edit: Another reason they could beat the Hornets is for the same reason you gave for the Blazers probably not being able to beat anyone, they have no playoff experience either, so both teams are in the same boat.

Post #11 » by **corona** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:03 am

The reason we can beat Utah and Denver is easy, look at the result of the last two games against Denver and we have beaten Utah twice, once in there building.

-utah - beat without a perimeter threat. korver makes a difference because it takes mcmillan out of his zone that he used for 40 minutes in the previous games. that showed when utah snapped portland's winning streak.

-denver - destroyed portland in november. 1st loss portland hit everything they threw at the rim...solid win for them. 2nd loss was 2nd of b2b for denver, after a double overtime game, on the road, without hunter, martin, nene or camby. denver started a d-league center they picked up from the d-league that morning (second tallest player was melo at 6'8")....only lost by 3, and had a chance to tie at the buzzer.

.

i don't think beating denver by 3 when they're short 3 big men....or beating utah without okur/korver (aka: nobody except williams capable of hitting a shot outside 18 feet)....means you can beat them in a 7 game series. :dontknow:

farzi · Post #12 » by **farzi** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:05 am

LA, Denver, Utah, NO, Houston, Golden State.

Any of those teams would be a 6-7 game series either way. They don't beat any of the elite teams however, and lose in 4-5 games

farzi · Post #13 » by **farzi** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:08 am

corona wrote:-utah - beat without a perimeter threat. korver makes a difference because it takes mcmillan out of his zone that he used for 40 minutes in the previous games. that showed when utah snapped portland's winning streak.

To be fair, when they beat Portland, the Blazers were on the 2nd of a back to back, Roy was in foul trouble early, and McMillan wasn't with the team at all.

EGame · Post #14 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:10 am

corona wrote:
The reason we can beat Utah and Denver is easy, look at the result of the last two games against Denver and we have beaten Utah twice, once in there building.

-utah - beat without a perimeter threat. korver makes a difference because it takes mcmillan out of his zone that he used for 40 minutes in the previous games. that showed when utah snapped portland's winning streak.

-denver - destroyed portland in november. 1st loss portland hit everything they threw at the rim...solid win for them. 2nd loss was 2nd of b2b for denver, after a double overtime game, on the road, without martin, nene or camby. denver started a d-league center they picked up from the d-league that morning....only lost by 3, and had a shot chance to tie at the buzzer.

Is this trying to downplay Portland with all of these comments? It sure sounds like it to me. Sure Korver helps, but I am going out on a limb here and saying that Portland's wins over Utah were legit.

Denver would probably beat us in a playoff series, but with our recent success against Denver I put them there. The second meeting between the two teams was a great win for Portland and a well deserved one. I am not sure if you were without Camby or Martin in that game, but it was an impressive win for us nonetheless. Yes the injuries were unfortunate and probably could have been the reason we won, but there is not much you, myself, or any team can do about that.

farzi · Post #15 » by **farzi** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:12 am

They didn't have Martin in the 3rd game. Camby played and started, but was hurt the game before.

EGame · Post #16 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:15 am

farzi wrote:They didn't have Martin in the 3rd game. Camby played and started, but was hurt the game before.

Yeah. Oh well, Portland still has a lot to prove as a team for the rest of the season. If we can make it to the playoffs, that alone is an accomplishment in itself and one I would be very joyful about. Plus if we get the experience this year, it will only be good for us next year when we get you know who back.

Oh and Fernandez will be here with us too.

Post #17 » by **corona** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:24 am

Is this trying to downplay Portland with all of these comments? It sure sounds like it to me.

merely doing a little preliminary damage control, downplaying the hype that's sure to start in this thread....with people saying portland can beat this, that and another team, even though virtually nobody on the blazer's has seen the playoffs before and there's circumstances to winning streaks and specific regular season wins that people love to ignore.

Sure Korver helps, but I am going out on a limb here and saying that Portland's wins over Utah were legit.

i think korver makes an impact for utah, specifically because portland's wins over utah had a lot to do with their zone defense and ability to close the paint down. kk gives them the ability to space the floor, get the blazers out of the zone or at least make them pay for laying back in it. having that one shooter to spread the court (or two with memo) really changes the dynamic of games.

but with our recent success against Denver I put them there. The second meeting between the two teams was a great win for Portland and a well deserved one.

one good win is recent success?
i suppose the Brand-less Clippers & Knicks could take Denver in a series because they have solid wins against the nuggets?

I am not sure if you were without Camby or Martin in that game, but it was an impressive win for us nonetheless.

Nene/Atkins :dontknow:

that was also the second of a back to back after playing at san antonio the night before...

...just to put a little more perspective in things.

EGame · Post #18 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:31 am

corona wrote: Nene/Atkins
that was also the second of a back to back after playing at san antonio the night before...

...just to put a little more perspective in things.

You made some great points and for that I am not going to argue about them, instead the part I left kind of annoys me. Every team has back to back games, that cannot and should not be a reason in which Portland beat Denver, it is too pathetic of a reason. I will give you Nene missing the game (although we did beat you by like 11 points or something like that, so it was still a pretty decent victory), however, I doubt Atkins would have done a whole lot. He is a hit and miss with his 3 pointers.

Post #19 » by **corona** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:43 am

You made some great points and for that I am not going to argue about them, instead the part I left kind of annoys me. Every team has back to back games, that cannot and should not be a reason in which Portland beat Denver, it is too pathetic of a reason. I will give you Nene missing the game (although we did beat you by like 11 points or something like that, so it was still a pretty decent victory), however, I doubt Atkins would have done a whole lot. He is a hit and miss with his 3 pointers.

considering good teams are typically average on the second of b2bs (see: san antonio struggling against new york tonight), and that most teams get healthy for the playoffs....i'd say both factor in heavily when determining how much stake to put in early-season head-to-head matchups.

EGame · Post #20 » by **EGame** » Sat Jan 5, 2008 5:49 am

considering good teams are typically average on the second of b2bs (see: san antonio struggling against new york tonight), and that most teams get healthy for the playoffs....i'd say both factor in heavily when determining how much stake to put in early-season head-to-head matchups.

So can I give that as an excuse to why we lost to the Jazz to end our streak? That is what I am getting from your post.

Also, the second matchup between Denver and Portland, it is not like Portland was injury free in that game. Aldridge and Oden were not in that game.

Anyway, my point is, while I doubt we can beat any team in a playoff series, I was trying to predict teams I think we would have the best shot, but would still likely fall short.