The End is Near...

[AbeVigodaLive]

OKC - 45 - 34
SAS - 45 - 34
NOP - 44 - 34
DEN - 44 - 35
MIN - 44 - 35

Stressful, but fun. Right? So the Wolves are in 9th/8th... tied with Denver as of right now.

TONIGHT'S ACTION:

Wolves @LA Lakers. The Lakers were scuffling... then went out and beat the Spurs last game. No Ball. No Ingram. BUT... they're rested. The Wolves flew in late after a tough loss in a tough place to play. Let's not forget the Lakers are 21 - 16 the 2nd half of the season... the Wolves are 19 - 19. It's not a gimme game.

Pelicans @ Phoenix Suns. Phoenix broke its 15-game losing streak vs. Sacramento last game. They're up 1.5 games on Memphis for the best lottery odds. They aint winning this one. In related news... I just signed a 10-day contract with the Phoenix Suns. Probably will start tonight.

----

So that would put the Pelicans at 45 - 34 with SAS and OKC.
IF the Wolves lose tonight... gasp... they're gonna be down 1.5 with 2 to play. That's not good... and would put a ton of heat on them to win the finale with Denver just to get the #8 spot. By the way... the Clippers were essentially eliminated last night from the race. That makes their game vs. Denver less meaningful tomorrow.

[kekgeek]

There is also a scenario where the nuggets/ pelicans/ wolves all go 2-1 and the thunder go 1-2 wolves get the 8th seed and the thunder keep their pick for missing the playoffs

[AbeVigodaLive]

There is also a scenario where the nuggets/ pelicans/ wolves all go 2-1 and the thunder go 1-2 wolves get the 8th seed and the thunder keep their pick for missing the playoffs

This is true. They play Houston tomorrow and then Miami. Both on the road. We'll take a closer look at each night's game... that day... because motivations change for these teams each and every day in some cases.

For example, OKC plays Miami on Monday. Right now... Miami is in a battle with Milwaukee and Washington at the bottom of the East. The #7 seed gets to play the injury-riddled Celtics... the #6 seed gets to play either the perennial conference favorite, Cleveland Cavaliers, or the 76ers on a 12-game winning streak.

Miami is currently #6. Obviously, the #7 seed is preferred. Will Miami be in a position that soft-tanking that game is advantageous? It's a bloodbath. A mess. But it does bring in a ton of story lines down the stretch.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Yup, pretty exciting finish. It didn't have to be this way if we had taken care of business at home against the Jazz and beat Memphis the other week.

[AbeVigodaLive]

Yup, pretty exciting finish. It didn't have to be this way if we had taken care of business at home against the Jazz and beat Memphis the other week.

Phoenix x2. Memphis x2. Et al.

But yeah about this finish. I hope it's being used to rub it in the faces of those who are suddenly pining for a #1 - #16 playoff format.

Most of this would be lost with that.

[Monster]

I expected this to be more ominous than it was.

Congrats to Abe for the NBA contract and the nice payday. You can't even make that much doing a HIGHLY experimental medical research study in 10 days.

[khans2k5 [enjin:6608728]]

Lips worst nightmare would be to sneak into the 8 spot with OKC falling out and we have no first round pick and a date with the Rockets in the first round.

[longstrangetrip [enjin:6600564]]

Nice analysis, Abe. I agree that the Clips are probably outside looking in now, but I don't think they believe that (they have three winnable home games left, and are hoping to slide into the 8th spot with 45 wins)...so they will play hard against Denver tomorrow and probably win.

Now, here's where I think the Wolves stand right now. I have them winning their last three games and finishing tied with OkC for the 6th with 47 wins...I believe they win that tie-breaker, and therefore play a first round series against Portland. It gets a lot stickier if they beat LA and Memphis, but lose the finale against Denver. In that case, they might finish in a 3-way tie for 7th with the Spurs and Nuggets at 46 wins (and I get to celebrate a victory in the wins prediction thread :)), and I don't know how the tie-breakers would work in that situation...we could be either 7th, 8th or (gasp) 9th.

Obviously they have to win tonight in LA. I'm still annoyed at their style of play and Thibs' antiquated coaching, so I'm continuing my watching boycott. But I'm still looking forward to seeing a playoff game for the first time in 14 years, so I'll be eagerly checking the scores later tonight.

[Q12543 [enjin:6621299]]

Nice analysis, Abe. I agree that the Clips are probably outside looking in now, but I don't think they believe that (they have three winnable home games left, and are hoping to slide into the 8th spot with 45 wins)...so they will play hard against Denver tomorrow and probably win.

Now, here's where I think the Wolves stand right now. I have them winning their last three games and finishing tied with OkC for the 6th with 47 wins...I believe they win that tie-breaker, and therefore play a first round series against Portland. It gets a lot stickier if they beat LA and Memphis, but lose the finale against Denver. In that case, they might finish in a 3-way tie for 7th with the Spurs and Nuggets at 46 wins (and I get to celebrate a victory in the wins prediction thread :)), and I don't know how the tie-breakers would work in that situation...we could be either 7th, 8th or (gasp) 9th.

Obviously they have to win tonight in LA. I'm still annoyed at their style of play and Thibs' antiquated coaching, so I'm continuing my watching boycott. But I'm still looking forward to seeing a playoff game for the first time in 14 years, so I'll be eagerly checking the scores later tonight.

Boy, your optimistic for someone boycotting the games! I've also pretty much stopped watching these guys lately. If they win, I'll watch the replay or some of it. Otherwise, I'm not going to keep losing sleep to watch them stumble their way out of the playoffs!

[AbeVigodaLive]

Nice analysis, Abe. I agree that the Clips are probably outside looking in now, but I don't think they believe that (they have three winnable home games left, and are hoping to slide into the 8th spot with 45 wins)...so they will play hard against Denver tomorrow and probably win.

Now, here's where I think the Wolves stand right now. I have them winning their last three games and finishing tied with OkC for the 6th with 47 wins...I believe they win that tie-breaker, and therefore play a first round series against Portland. It gets a lot stickier if they beat LA and Memphis, but lose the finale against Denver. In that case, they might finish in a 3-way tie for 7th with the Spurs and Nuggets at 46 wins (and I get to celebrate a victory in the wins prediction thread :)), and I don't know how the tie-breakers would work in that situation...we could be either 7th, 8th or (gasp) 9th.

Obviously they have to win tonight in LA. I'm still annoyed at their style of play and Thibs' antiquated coaching, so I'm continuing my watching boycott. But I'm still looking forward to seeing a playoff game for the first time in 14 years, so I'll be eagerly checking the scores later tonight.

Boy, your optimistic for someone boycotting the games! I've also pretty much stopped watching these guys lately. If they win, I'll watch the replay or some of it. Otherwise, I'm not going to keep losing sleep to watch them stumble their way out of the playoffs!

But if that happens... it's part of the rich fabric of this storied franchise.

And yet, you want to miss out?