Jazz Playoffs? It's a Laker's thing.

zero24gravity wrote:

LAL @ SA - who the hell knows who will even be playing for the Spurs,
who typically start giving a lot of time off to their top players this
time of year, even if they are in a playoff seeding race. Also, knowing
that getting the #1 seed may land you the Lakers probably isn't either
OKC or SA's favorite idea.

Spurs can also avoid the Lakers by winning this game, can't they? Making it a VERY tough call. If, by winning, they can face the Jazz in the first round AND get home court in an expected WCF matchup with the Thunder, that would seem to be the most desirable outcome, wouldn't it?

I hope it looks that way to Pop...

Trollificus wrote:

If, by winning (against Lakers), they can face the Jazz in the first round AND get home court in an expected WCF matchup with the Thunder, that would seem to be the most desirable outcome, wouldn't it?

I hope it looks that way to Pop...

Yes, I hope Pop sees it that way, but he has said in the past that health going in to the playoffs is his biggest priority. It looks like both Parker and Ginobili could miss that game with injuries, but their absence won't necessarily count the Spurs out for a win.

Crunchtime1 wrote:

Trollificus wrote:

If, by winning (against Lakers), they can face the Jazz in the first round AND get home court in an expected WCF matchup with the Thunder, that would seem to be the most desirable outcome, wouldn't it?

I hope it looks that way to Pop...

Yes, I hope Pop sees it that way, but he has said in the past that health going in to the playoffs is his biggest priority. It looks like both Parker and Ginobili could miss that game with injuries, but their absence won't necessarily count the Spurs out for a win.

Worse than that, tonight against Portland every starter not named Damian Lillard is probably out, and Portland has the worst bench in the NBA. That's a shame, the rose Garden is one of the Lakers great nemeses, don't think they have much of a chance with a team that couldn't win the D-League though.

Jazz are done; injuries to Kanter, Burks couldn't have come at a worst time. Tonight the Lakers will end up one full game ahead and only a cataclism would prevent Kobe to reach postseason.
In the end it seems fair enough. Too many player rentals to live with, too many Al and Paul pairing, too little Favors, too little Carroll, too much Marv, too much Earl, too little Burks... you get the point...
Let's see if Lindsey can trade up to get us a young point guard via draft... but it won't be easy...
Every time I think of that draft we take Koufos instead of Ibaka... ok enough of it...

outerspacefan wrote:

Jazz are done; injuries to Kanter, Burks couldn't have come at a worst time. Tonight the Lakers will end up one full game ahead and only a cataclism would prevent Kobe to reach postseason.
In the end it seems fair enough. Too many player rentals to live with, too many Al and Paul pairing, too little Favors, too little Carroll, too much Marv, too much Earl, too little Burks... you get the point...
Let's see if Lindsey can trade up to get us a young point guard via draft... but it won't be easy...
Every time I think of that draft we take Koufos instead of Ibaka... ok enough of it...

It's funny, but that whole "Jazz are done" refrain has become almost cliche. Jazz fans (including myself) have been saying that after every loss for about a month now, but the Jazz just keep hanging around and the Lakers keep letting them. Even if the Lakers win tonight the Jazz are not done. After tonight the Lakers play the Warriors Spurs and Rockets to finish the season, so really anything is possible.

I gave up on this team after they got swept on their Texas road trip, but they refused to accept the inevitability, who am I to withhold my fan energy and my appreciation for their effort? Nobody, that's who.

The Lakers can lick my sweaty nutzz, Go JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

TheMagnus wrote:

outerspacefan wrote:

Jazz are done; injuries to Kanter, Burks couldn't have come at a worst time. Tonight the Lakers will end up one full game ahead and only a cataclism would prevent Kobe to reach postseason.
In the end it seems fair enough. Too many player rentals to live with, too many Al and Paul pairing, too little Favors, too little Carroll, too much Marv, too much Earl, too little Burks... you get the point...
Let's see if Lindsey can trade up to get us a young point guard via draft... but it won't be easy...
Every time I think of that draft we take Koufos instead of Ibaka... ok enough of it...

It's funny, but that whole "Jazz are done" refrain has become almost cliche. Jazz fans (including myself) have been saying that after every loss for about a month now, but the Jazz just keep hanging around and the Lakers keep letting them. Even if the Lakers win tonight the Jazz are not done. After tonight the Lakers play the Warriors Spurs and Rockets to finish the season, so really anything is possible.

I gave up on this team after they got swept on their Texas road trip, but they refused to accept the inevitability, who am I to withhold my fan energy and my appreciation for their effort? Nobody, that's who.

The Lakers can lick my sweaty nutzz, Go JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree. I'm prone to go all Outerspacefan here, too, especially after the Thunder emasculated our boys last night, but I'm going to withhold judgement to the end. The Lakers are certainly no guarantee here, even if Stern has put out the order that they are to "win" at all costs. Kobe Bryant's body is that of a 78-year old, even if he's currently playing like he's 25, Howard and Gasol are about as consistent as Utah spring weather, and Meta Whatever-the-******-his-name-is has insane people exclaiming to him, "Dude, you're insane!"

Yeah, the Jazz are currently down a couple of the Core Four (I'm holding up all five fingers in acknowledgement of DC...it's like a secret handshake), and I think that that played no small role in the loss to OKC. But the Jazz still have plenty of firepower, and have some winnable games left. If they play balls-to-the-wall defense and leave it all out there on the floor, they have a pretty decent chance to grab the 8th spot. And if there's effort, and they still don't make it, we can be proud that they tried hard. Mo William's injury probably cost them 4-5 games, enough that they would have been in the playoffs comfortably, so they shouldn't hang their heads too low if they don't succeed.

And, if all else fails, this off-season should prove to be the most interesting since the year they signed both Boozer and Okur. Should be fun. Gear up and get excited, you shlubs!

TheMagnus wrote:

outerspacefan wrote:

Jazz are done; injuries to Kanter, Burks couldn't have come at a worst time. Tonight the Lakers will end up one full game ahead and only a cataclism would prevent Kobe to reach postseason.
In the end it seems fair enough. Too many player rentals to live with, too many Al and Paul pairing, too little Favors, too little Carroll, too much Marv, too much Earl, too little Burks... you get the point...
Let's see if Lindsey can trade up to get us a young point guard via draft... but it won't be easy...
Every time I think of that draft we take Koufos instead of Ibaka... ok enough of it...

It's funny, but that whole "Jazz are done" refrain has become almost cliche. Jazz fans (including myself) have been saying that after every loss for about a month now, but the Jazz just keep hanging around and the Lakers keep letting them. Even if the Lakers win tonight the Jazz are not done. After tonight the Lakers play the Warriors Spurs and Rockets to finish the season, so really anything is possible.

I gave up on this team after they got swept on their Texas road trip, but they refused to accept the inevitability, who am I to withhold my fan energy and my appreciation for their effort? Nobody, that's who.

The Lakers can lick my sweaty nutzz, Go JAZZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This.

Ain't withholding fan energy or appreciation... just expressing what I think consider to be true and some very general comment about things I consider to have lead the team to this point.
I'll be watching every second of these guys till the very end of it... next wednesday around 11 PM ET

We can't overlook our home and away series with Minny. They're playing pretty well right now.

Well, it comes down to this.

The Jazz have to win their last two games on the road and the Kobe-less Lakers need to lose to a decent Houston team. This is far from impossible, especially if the Grizzlies are resting players in a meaninglless game (for them) to get ready for the playoffs, and if the Rockets are still fighting to move into the 6th spot.

And if that doesn't happen (or if the Jazz blow it against MN tonight making the Memphis & LAL/Hou games pointless). then we can all take comfort in know that the Jazz would be fighting for 6th place in the Leastern Conference with their current record.

zero24gravity wrote:

Well, it comes down to this.

The Jazz have to win their last two games on the road and the Kobe-less Lakers need to lose to a decent Houston team. This is far from impossible, especially if the Grizzlies are resting players in a meaninglless game (for them) to get ready for the playoffs, and if the Rockets are still fighting to move into the 6th spot.

And if that doesn't happen (or if the Jazz blow it against MN tonight making the Memphis & LAL/Hou games pointless). then we can all take comfort in know that the Jazz would be fighting for 6th place in the Leastern Conference with their current record.

Actually, can't Memphis overtake Denver for 3rd if they win their last two games?

Mutangclan wrote:

zero24gravity wrote:

Well, it comes down to this.

The Jazz have to win their last two games on the road and the Kobe-less Lakers need to lose to a decent Houston team. This is far from impossible, especially if the Grizzlies are resting players in a meaninglless game (for them) to get ready for the playoffs, and if the Rockets are still fighting to move into the 6th spot.

And if that doesn't happen (or if the Jazz blow it against MN tonight making the Memphis & LAL/Hou games pointless). then we can all take comfort in know that the Jazz would be fighting for 6th place in the Leastern Conference with their current record.

Actually, can't Memphis overtake Denver for 3rd if they win their last two games?

Yes (thanks for pointing out that my dream may be dead), they have both LAC & Denver within reach. However, the Nuggest have MIL & PHO left on the schedule, so it is very likely they win out. The Clippers have Port & Sac, plus the tie-breaker vs Memphis. Catching either team would mean home court, so the Grizz may not be resting anyone, but if Denver & LAC win out (as expected), then Memphis will be stuck.

The Lakers losing to Houston is very possible, so it very well could come down to beating Memphis on the road.

zero24gravity wrote:

Mutangclan wrote:

zero24gravity wrote:

Well, it comes down to this.

The Jazz have to win their last two games on the road and the Kobe-less Lakers need to lose to a decent Houston team. This is far from impossible, especially if the Grizzlies are resting players in a meaninglless game (for them) to get ready for the playoffs, and if the Rockets are still fighting to move into the 6th spot.

And if that doesn't happen (or if the Jazz blow it against MN tonight making the Memphis & LAL/Hou games pointless). then we can all take comfort in know that the Jazz would be fighting for 6th place in the Leastern Conference with their current record.

Actually, can't Memphis overtake Denver for 3rd if they win their last two games?

Yes (thanks for pointing out that my dream may be dead), they have both LAC & Denver within reach. However, the Nuggest have MIL & PHO left on the schedule, so it is very likely they win out. The Clippers have Port & Sac, plus the tie-breaker vs Memphis. Catching either team would mean home court, so the Grizz may not be resting anyone, but if Denver & LAC win out (as expected), then Memphis will be stuck.

The Lakers losing to Houston is very possible, so it very well could come down to beating Memphis on the road.

They can't overtake the Clippers, can they? By virtue of winning their division, the Clips secure home court advantage, no?

The Voice of Reason wrote:

zero24gravity wrote:

Mutangclan wrote:

zero24gravity wrote:

Well, it comes down to this.

The Jazz have to win their last two games on the road and the Kobe-less Lakers need to lose to a decent Houston team. This is far from impossible, especially if the Grizzlies are resting players in a meaninglless game (for them) to get ready for the playoffs, and if the Rockets are still fighting to move into the 6th spot.

And if that doesn't happen (or if the Jazz blow it against MN tonight making the Memphis & LAL/Hou games pointless). then we can all take comfort in know that the Jazz would be fighting for 6th place in the Leastern Conference with their current record.

Actually, can't Memphis overtake Denver for 3rd if they win their last two games?

Yes (thanks for pointing out that my dream may be dead), they have both LAC & Denver within reach. However, the Nuggest have MIL & PHO left on the schedule, so it is very likely they win out. The Clippers have Port & Sac, plus the tie-breaker vs Memphis. Catching either team would mean home court, so the Grizz may not be resting anyone, but if Denver & LAC win out (as expected), then Memphis will be stuck.

The Lakers losing to Houston is very possible, so it very well could come down to beating Memphis on the road.

They can't overtake the Clippers, can they? By virtue of winning their division, the Clips secure home court advantage, no?

The division winner can drop to 4th, but no lower. So I suppose the only way the Griz can pass the Clips is if Denver also falls behind the Griz, making the Nuggies 5th. Basically flipping the current positions of the Griz & the Nuggets.

zero24gravity wrote:

The division winner can drop to 4th, but no lower. So I suppose the only way the Griz can pass the Clips is if Denver also falls behind the Griz, making the Nuggies 5th. Basically flipping the current positions of the Griz & the Nuggets.

Winning the division guarantees the Clips no worse than the fourth seed, but it doesn't guarantee the Clips homecourt advantage. Memphis can finish as the fifth seed and still have homecourt advantage over a fourth seeded Clips' team if Memphis has a better win/loss record than the Clips.

Lets not neglect to point out the travesty of the NBA conference alignmnets. The Eastern conference has one (maybe two) 50 win team and one 60 win team, the West has five teams with 55 or more wins. The top five teams in the west would all be the second best team in the east. The Jazz current record is good enough for 7th in the east, and only 1 game out of 5th place, and so help me if I don't truly believe the Jazz would have a legit chance at winning a 7 game series against any eastern conference team not named The Heat. The Bambi's have lost five in a row and are now a full six games worse than the Jazz, but they are going to the playoffs.

Anyways, the western conference playoff picture has fallen out going into the very last day of the season, when all 30 NBA teams will be playing on the same night, and it hasn't fallen entirely in the Jazz favor, so let me give it to you straight...

The top 3 seeds are set, OKC, SA, and Denver have locked up their respective spots and have nothing left to play for.

The Clips and Grizz are locked into 4th and 5th respectively by virtue of the Clips winning their division, however home court in the series is still on the line. The Clips own the tiebreaker and therefore control their destiny, if they win tonight against Portland and tomorrow against the Kings, they get home court. But if they lose one of those and the Grizz beat the Jazz tomorrow then the Grizz get home court. So bottom line for Jazz fans is that the Grizz will have something to play for tomorrow.

Golden State holds a 1 game lead on Houston, but Houston holds the tiebreaker, so if Houston wins in LA and Golden State loses in Portland then Houston gets the 6th spot and a date with the Nuggets rather than the Spurs. EVEN MORE IMPORTANT THAN THAT, is that if Houston loses to the Lakers tomorrow they will fall to 8th place and the Lakers will jump to 7th. Houston will be playing very hard to win that game.


So what does that mean for the Lakers and Jazz? Well, of the 4 possible outcomes: Both teams win, Jazz win Lakers lose, Lakers win Jazz lose, Both lose, only one outcome puts the Jazz in the playoffs, and it is the outcome that is the least likely. The Lakers should beat Houston in LA, and the Grizzlies should beat the Jazz in Memphis. The computers put the odds that the Lakers lose and the Jazz win at about 12%, and the fact that all 4 teams involved in those two games should care about winning means the computer probably isn't far off.

Still...

TheMagnus wrote:

Lets not neglect to point out the travesty of the NBA conference alignmnets. The Eastern conference has one (maybe two) 50 win team and one 60 win team, the West has five teams with 55 or more wins. The top five teams in the west would all be the second best team in the east. The Jazz current record is good enough for 7th in the east, and only 1 game out of 5th place, and so help me if I don't truly believe the Jazz would have a legit chance at winning a 7 game series against any eastern conference team not named The Heat. The Bambi's have lost five in a row and are now a full six games worse than the Jazz, but they are going to the playoffs.

Anyways, the western conference playoff picture has fallen out going into the very last day of the season, when all 30 NBA teams will be playing on the same night, and it hasn't fallen entirely in the Jazz favor, so let me give it to you straight...

The top 3 seeds are set, OKC, SA, and Denver have locked up their respective spots and have nothing left to play for.

The Clips and Grizz are locked into 4th and 5th respectively by virtue of the Clips winning their division, however home court in the series is still on the line. The Clips own the tiebreaker and therefore control their destiny, if they win tonight against Portland and tomorrow against the Kings, they get home court. But if they lose one of those and the Grizz beat the Jazz tomorrow then the Grizz get home court. So bottom line for Jazz fans is that the Grizz will have something to play for tomorrow.

Golden State holds a 1 game lead on Houston, but Houston holds the tiebreaker, so if Houston wins in LA and Golden State loses in Portland then Houston gets the 6th spot and a date with the Nuggets rather than the Spurs. The two games are at the exact same time, so both I'm sure both teams will be playing hard.

So what does that mean for the Lakers and Jazz? Well, of the 4 possible outcomes: Both teams win, Jazz win Lakers lose, Lakers win Jazz lose, Both lose, only one outcome puts the Jazz in the playoffs, and it is the outcome that is the least likely. The Lakers should beat Houston in LA, and the Grizzlies should beat the Jazz in Memphis. The computers put the odds that the Lakers lose and the Jazz win at about 12%.

The other thing you have to take into account is, if the Jazz had a season full of eastern conference opponents, they would likely have a much better record and probably be fighting for the 2nd-3rd seed in the east. I don't see a team in the east, besides the heat that I feel are better than the Jazz, given their record vs their strength of schedule.

I don't know what the deal is. The west is much better than the east and has been for over a decade. In the NFL you have the AFC and the NFC kinda going back and forth on which is the stronger conference. There is never any contest in the NBA, it's always the west.

That's another reason for the Heats record. I'm not going to set here and say they aren't a great team, but they aren't going to run through whoever gets out of the west. They wouldn't have won last year without major help from the refs, I would bet on OKC winning it all this year.

At this point, I may care more about the off season, then I do the rest of this season. If we make it to the playoffs, then we get OKC. If it was the Spurs, I'd be excited about that matchup. For it to be OKC, uhhhhhhggggggggg, that there is a vicious group. I think one victory would be most optimistic.

BUT, for the last night of the league, he is what I think will actually happen. I think the Jazz are in. I know, it's nuts. But Harden just had a terrible game, and the rest of the Rockets did too. I think we can expect the Rockets to come out HARD. Asik is as good a post defender as anyone, so Dwight isn't getting anything easy. There's no one that can guard Harden but especially on the Lakers. I think he goes for 40.

The Jazz matchup phenomenally with the Grizz with all their bigs. Too bad we only have 3 of them. But Utah has confidence. And Gasol has been waaaaay off. I actually think that Utah comes out playing much harder, and actually wins. It'll be close, but I actually think it's going to happen.

So Jazz v OKC.......um, experience?

Romoholic wrote:

That's another reason for the Heats record. I'm not going to set here and say they aren't a great team, but they aren't going to run through whoever gets out of the west. They wouldn't have won last year without major help from the refs, I would bet on OKC winning it all this year.

Last years finals were such an embarassment to basketball that the NBA had to initiate the flopping rule. I don't blame the refs, the flopping was so completely out of hand on both sides that the game looked more like pro wrestling than pro basketball. I honestly couldn't watch it, made me sick. I think the overall play has gotten much better this year with the flopping rule, it was noticeably better during the season and hopefully continues to be better in the playoffs.

I know most of the stats folks say the Thunder have been the better team, in spite of the W-L record. The Thunder have had a bigger margin of victory over a much tougher schedule, the two teams have identical offensive ratings (tied for #1 in the NBA) but the Thunder are better defensively by more than a point (OKC tied for 3rd best in the NBA, Miami 7th). Holinger's playoff Odds gives them a 32% chance of winning it all vs. only 27% for Miami.

You just never know come playoff time though. Lebron is at the apex of his dominance and having guys like Wade, Battier, and Allen who have so much experience to go with their various skills could be a huge andvantage over teh much younger and less exprienced Thunder.

Mutangclan wrote:

At this point, I may care more about the off season, then I do the rest of this season. If we make it to the playoffs, then we get OKC. If it was the Spurs, I'd be excited about that matchup. For it to be OKC, uhhhhhhggggggggg, that there is a vicious group. I think one victory would be most optimistic.

BUT, for the last night of the league, he is what I think will actually happen. I think the Jazz are in. I know, it's nuts. But Harden just had a terrible game, and the rest of the Rockets did too. I think we can expect the Rockets to come out HARD. Asik is as good a post defender as anyone, so Dwight isn't getting anything easy. There's no one that can guard Harden but especially on the Lakers. I think he goes for 40.

The Jazz matchup phenomenally with the Grizz with all their bigs. Too bad we only have 3 of them. But Utah has confidence. And Gasol has been waaaaay off. I actually think that Utah comes out playing much harder, and actually wins. It'll be close, but I actually think it's going to happen.

So Jazz v OKC.......um, experience?

It's kind of funny, but when I look at the options of making it or not I also feel my logical mind pulling me towards not. If they make it in they get the 17th or 18th pick in the draft, if they miss out they get the 14th pick, that is a substantial difference in terms of pick value, especialy if they are looking to trade up. If they make it in they will get a beating at the hands of the Thunder, I don't think there is a question about that.

And honestly, I think missing the playoffs after fighting super hard to get in right to the last day will help teach these young players that games in December and games in March matter. That taking nights off in January could mean the difference between making the playoffs or not, or having home court or not. I feel like that lesson could be at least as valuable as being reminded how elite teams come to play in the playoffs and how far they have to go to be at that level.

Regardless of whaever else happens though, I want the Jazz to win tonight, I want them to end this season on a high note.

TheMagnus wrote:

And honestly, I think missing the playoffs after fighting super hard to get in right to the last day will help teach Ty Corbin that games in December and games in March matter. That taking nights off in January could mean the difference between making the playoffs or not, or having home court or not. I feel like that lesson could be at least as valuable as being reminded how elite teams come to play in the playoffs and how far they have to go to be at that level.

Regardless of whaever else happens though, I want the Jazz to win tonight, I want them to end this season on a high note.

Not that your post was inaccuarte, but I edited it a little to ring even more true.

zero24gravity wrote:

TheMagnus wrote:

And honestly, I think missing the playoffs after fighting super hard to get in right to the last day will help teach Ty Corbin that games in December and games in March matter. That taking nights off in January could mean the difference between making the playoffs or not, or having home court or not. I feel like that lesson could be at least as valuable as being reminded how elite teams come to play in the playoffs and how far they have to go to be at that level.

Regardless of whaever else happens though, I want the Jazz to win tonight, I want them to end this season on a high note.

Not that your post was inaccuarte, but I edited it a little to ring even more true.

Ohhhhhhhh

Judging from that article by the Portland fan about the free throw disparity between Utah and the Fakers, I think it's logical for us to go ahead and start talking off-season right now, because there's no way the NBA powers that be are going to allow the Jazz to slip into the playoffs. And they'll feel justified, too, because, after all, if the Jazz got in, they would only be tied record-wise with the Fakers. Stern is just going to go ahead and activate his "tiebreaker" by making sure the Fakers win.

thejazzkickazz wrote:

Judging from that article by the Portland fan about the free throw disparity between Utah and the Fakers, I think it's logical for us to go ahead and start talking off-season right now, because there's no way the NBA powers that be are going to allow the Jazz to slip into the playoffs. And they'll feel justified, too, because, after all, if the Jazz got in, they would only be tied record-wise with the Fakers. Stern is just going to go ahead and activate his "tiebreaker" by making sure the Fakers win.

I'm about 99% sure the Jazz won't make the playoffs. When I saw the Fakers beat the Spurs without Kobe, I knew there is no way the NBA is going to allow us in over LA.

If the Jazz somehow win, watch the Lakers game on after and really pay attention to the officiating.

Lakers will make postseason, and it won't be the result of refs gifts. It will be Jazz own fault.