8th seed watch

[TXSun]

Tonight: BOS @ HOU GSW @ PHX
Tomorrow: IND @ MEM

Memphis8 37 32 0.536 18.0-GB Games to play 13
Utah 36 33 0.522 19.0 -GB 13
Houston 35 34 0.507 20.0-GB 13
Phoenix 33 33 0.500 20.5 -GB 16

we are only 1 game back on the lost column. however Must win game tonight. I repeat, MUST FU**ing win!

[JasonDaPsycho]

Please lose the game so we can go on all out tanking.

[sunskerr]

no game thread for VS Warriors...

dark days, these are.

[blackjays1]

There was a point in time where if I knew the Suns were on tv that night i wouldn't go out knowing i wasn't gonna catch it at a friends or a bar.

Alas the Suns are on tv here in TO tonite n i don't give a damn im goin out to get drunk lol.

[TXSun]

Last night: HOU beat BOS and PHX beat GSW.
Tonight: IND at MEM.

CURRENT STANDINGS:
Memphis8 37 32 0.536 18.5
Utah 36 33 0.522 19.5
Houston 36 34 0.514 20.0
Phoenix 34 33 0.507 20.5

NEXT FIVE GAMES:
Memphis: IND, UTA, @BOS, @CHI, SA
Utah: @HOU, @MEM, @OKC, NO, DAL
Houston: UTA, GSW, @MIA, @NJ, @PHI
Phoenix: @LAC, @LAL, TOR, NO, DAL

Gotta go 4-1 in the next 5 games to stay alive. MEM has a tough next five games, and so do we. Good thing is MEM, UTA, and HOU are gonna beat eachother up this upcoming week. we shall see.

[nevetsov]

Last night: HOU beat BOS and PHX beat GSW.
Tonight: IND at MEM.

CURRENT STANDINGS
Utah 36 33 0.522 19.5
Phoenix 34 33 0.507 20.5

NEXT FIVE GAMES:
Utah: @HOU, @MEM, @OKC, NO, DAL
Phoenix: @LAC, @LAL, TOR, NO, DAL

NO and DAL visit both teams around the same time - do these teams play back to backs? If so, whichever team hosts them on the second night catch a bit of a lucky break..

[BurningHeart]

Isn't there a Playoff Watch thread?

[irish22022]

Last night: HOU beat BOS and PHX beat GSW.
Tonight: IND at MEM.

CURRENT STANDINGS:
Memphis8 37 32 0.536 18.5
Utah 36 33 0.522 19.5
Houston 36 34 0.514 20.0
Phoenix 34 33 0.507 20.5

NEXT FIVE GAMES:
Memphis: IND, UTA, @BOS, @CHI, SA
Utah: @HOU, @MEM, @OKC, NO, DAL
Houston: UTA, GSW, @MIA, @NJ, @PHI
Phoenix: @LAC, @LAL, TOR, NO, DAL

Gotta go 4-1 in the next 5 games to stay alive. MEM has a tough next five games, and so do we. Good thing is MEM, UTA, and HOU are gonna beat eachother up this upcoming week. we shall see.

Memphis goes 2-3 (holds 8th seed)
Utah goes 1-4 (takes 10th seed)
Houston goes 4-1 (ties 8th seed)
Phoenix goes 3-2 (takes 9th seed, 1 game back on 8th)

The week after that will find Houston out of the mix, and a dead heat with Phoenix and Memphis. Every game counts. A win against LA or Dallas could be the difference in making it. A loss to NO means we're out.

Just checked the schedule for the rest of the season. Unless NO gives Memphis big problems, we're done. We have a stretch where we play only elite teams, and we can't afford to lose. Rudy Gay is coming back.

If I were a betting man, I'd say we're lottery bound.

[NashtyNas]

Win tonight! One of Utah/MEM has to lose tomorrow since they play one another, so we'll either be tied in the loss column with MEM, or one ahead of Utah and one behind MEM. Let's see how it plays out.

Does anyone really think we can beat the Spurs in a first round match up upset, though? They got their core still and added excellent pieces, have preserved everyone's minutes and went a different playing style so everyone will be fresh come play off time. Us on the other hand, well I don't need to tell you guys.

[JasonDaPsycho]

No. The Spurs are bigger and deeper than we are. Their team is super balanced offensively whereas we rely on a 37 yo PG.

[JohnVancouver]

The Spurs are a textbook example of keeping your core intact and consistently finding excellent role-players to fill out the team while never having much in the way of draft picks. I can't think of any franchise that's done it as well, except the old Celtics.

Over they years I've come to admire them much more than I ever hated them - easier now that Horry and Bowen are gone

[BurningHeart]

The Spurs are a textbook example of keeping your core intact and consistently finding excellent role-players to fill out the team while never having much in the way of draft picks. I can't think of any franchise that's done it as well, except the old Celtics.

Over they years I've come to admire them much more than I ever hated them - easier now that Horry and Bowen are gone

I still hate them with a ridiculous passion, but I can admire them. They're like the Patriots.

[TXSun]

Yesterday: PHX beat LAC and HOU beat UTA.
Today: UTA @ MEM

Memphis 38 32 18.5
Houston 37 34 20.0
Phoenix 35 33 20.5
Utah 36 34 20.5

if UTA can somehow beat MEM tonight, that would be huge.

[DRK]

Does anyone really think we can beat the Spurs in a first round match up upset, though? They got their core still and added excellent pieces, have preserved everyone's minutes and went a different playing style so everyone will be fresh come play off time. Us on the other hand, well I don't need to tell you guys.

Yep! Over here!

I think we will be able to beat the Spurs. We've had alot of oppotunities in playing against them, and we pretty much know them inside out. Gortat can legitimatly stop Tim Duncan, Pietrus is capable of shutting down Ginobilli, and Hill can shut down Parker. That is one more reason I love the Orlando trade; we got an elite perimeter defender in Pietrus, and an elite perimeter defender in Gortat.

No, but in all seriousness, why can't we beat the Spurs? It's not like they are a completely different team from laast year, they have basically the same roster they had from when we swept them in the Semi's.

The way I see it, there is no point in being pessimistic. Might as well be optimistic about our chances right? Anything can happen in a playoff series.

[JasonDaPsycho]

The Spurs are a textbook example of keeping your core intact and consistently finding excellent role-players to fill out the team while never having much in the way of draft picks. I can't think of any franchise that's done it as well, except the old Celtics.

Over they years I've come to admire them much more than I ever hated them - easier now that Horry and Bowen are gone

The Celtics are good in that aspect, but not even close to the Spurs. Celtics sign role players who fit with the system at a low price whereas the Spurs straight up drafted 3 of their franchise players. Of course putting Tim Duncan in the conversation is flat out unfair but the other two? A late first round pick and a LATE 2ND ROUND pick.

Hell most of their key rotation players are drafted by themselves. Blair, Splitter, Hill, Neal, Anderson are all drafted by the Spurs. Then throw in the big three.
8 rotation players drafted by themselves. Leave Anderson out of the picture and you still have 7.

Who says you can't be good by drafting?

[JohnVancouver]

The Spurs are a textbook example of keeping your core intact and consistently finding excellent role-players to fill out the team while never having much in the way of draft picks. I can't think of any franchise that's done it as well, except the old Celtics.

Over they years I've come to admire them much more than I ever hated them - easier now that Horry and Bowen are gone

The Celtics are good in that aspect, but not even close to the Spurs. Celtics sign role players who fit with the system at a low price whereas the Spurs straight up drafted 3 of their franchise players. Of course putting Tim Duncan in the conversation is flat out unfair but the other two? A late first round pick and a LATE 2ND ROUND pick.

Hell most of their key rotation players are drafted by themselves. Blair, Splitter, Hill, Neal, Anderson are all drafted by the Spurs. Then throw in the big three.
8 rotation players drafted by themselves. Leave Anderson out of the picture and you still have 7.

Who says you can't be good by drafting?

I agree but I was talking about the old celts, when they consistently won titles or had very late draft picks - they always seemed to find guys