Projecting the West: 3/27 "Taking Care of Business" Update

BY REQUEST, I'LL CONTINUE TO UPDATE THIS IN NEW FANPOSTS DAILY (UPDATES FOLLOW BELOW IN ITALICS):

What if EVERYONE in the Western playoff chase "takes care of business," namely, wins all their home games and wins the road games against non-playoff competition?  Where does the race shake out?

Here are the updated results, with a look at remaining games to follow:

KEY GAMES WHERE UNEXPECTED RESULTS COULD HELP THE BLAZERS LISTED BELOW

As I was responding to a post below, I realized that bolding key games where we DON'T WANT THE EXPECTED "TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS" TO HAPPEN might give us more games of interest, so I have bolded games for each team in the hunt where rooting for a "non-traditional" outcome should help the Blazers:

SAN ANTONIO

(current:  47-24)  (projected:  56-26) 

(2 seed)

• Fri, Mar 27 LA Clippers W
• Sun, Mar 29 at New Orleans L (beat them once already)
• Tue, Mar 31 Oklahoma City W
• Fri, Apr 3 at Indiana W
• Sun, Apr 5 at Cleveland L
• Tue, Apr 7 at Oklahoma City W
• Wed, Apr 8 Portland W  (lost TWICE already, 2nd of back-to-back)
• Fri, Apr 10 Utah W
• Sun, Apr 12 at Sacramento W
• Mon, Apr 13 at Golden State W  (2d of back to back)
• Wed, Apr 15 New Orleans W

HOUSTON

(current:  47-26)  (projected:  53-29) 

(wins tiebreakers with both DEN and POR, earning the 3 seed)

• Sat, Mar 28 LA Clippers W
• Wed, Apr 1 at Phoenix L
• Fri, Apr 3 at LA Lakers L
• Sun, Apr 5 Portland W (lost to them already)
• Tue, Apr 7 Orlando W (not sure why)
• Thu, Apr 9 at Sacramento W
• Fri, Apr 10 at Golden State W  (2d of back to back)
• Mon, Apr 13 New Orleans W (lost to them once already)
• Wed, Apr 15 at Dallas L

DENVER

(current:  46-26)  (projected:  53-29)

(loses tiebreaker vs. HOU based on head-to-head games, wins the tiebreaker over Portland to take the division and the 4 seed)

• Fri, Mar 27 at Dallas L
• Sat, Mar 28 Golden State W  (lost to them once already)
• Tue, Mar 31 NY Knicks W
• Thu, Apr 2 Utah W  (lost to them TWICE already)
• Sat, Apr 4 LA Clippers W
• Sun, Apr 5 at Minnesota W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Wed, Apr 8 Oklahoma City W
• Thu, Apr 9 at LA Lakers L
• Mon, Apr 13 Sacramento W
• Wed, Apr 15 at Portland L

PORTLAND

(current:  45-27)  (projected:  53-29)

(loses tiebreakers to DEN and HOU, meaning they notch a 5 seed)

• Sat, Mar 28 Memphis W
• Tue, Mar 31 Utah W
• Fri, Apr 3 at Oklahoma City W
• Sun, Apr 5 at Houston L  (beat them once already)
• Tue, Apr 7 at Memphis W
• Wed, Apr 8 at San Antonio L  (beat them TWICE already, b2b)
• Fri, Apr 10 LA Lakers W
• Sat, Apr 11 at LA Clippers W
• Mon, Apr 13 Oklahoma City W
• Wed, Apr 15 Denver W

NEW ORLEANS

(current:  44-26)  (projected:  52-30)

(wins tiebreaker with DAL, earning a 6 seed)

• Fri, Mar 27 at NY Knicks W  (lost to them once already AT HOME)
• Sun, Mar 29 San Antonio W  (lost to them once already)
• Tue, Mar 31 at Sacramento W
• Wed, Apr 1 at LA Clippers W
• Fri, Apr 3 at Golden State W  (lost to them once already AT HOME)
• Sun, Apr 5 Utah W  (lost to them TWICE already)
• Tue, Apr 7 at Miami L
• Wed, Apr 8 Phoenix W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Fri, Apr 10 at Dallas L  (beat them TWICE already)
• Sun, Apr 12 Dallas W
• Mon, Apr 13 at Houston L
• Wed, Apr 15 at San Antonio L

DALLAS

(current:  43-28)  (projected:  52-30) 

(loses tiebreaker to NO, earning a 7 seed)

• Fri, Mar 27 Denver W
• Sun, Mar 29 at Cleveland L
• Tue, Mar 31 at Minnesota W
• Wed, Apr 1 Miami W
• Fri, Apr 3 at Memphis W  (lost to them once already)
• Sun, Apr 5 Phoenix W  (lost to them once already)
• Wed, Apr 8 Utah W  (lost to them TWICE already)
• Fri, Apr 10 New Orleans W  (lost to them TWICE already)
• Sun, Apr 12 at New Orleans L
• Mon, Apr 13 Minnesota W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Wed, Apr 15 Houston W

UTAH

(current:  44-27)  (projected:  49-33) 

(8 seed)

• Sat, Mar 28 Phoenix W  (lost to them TWICE already)
• Mon, Mar 30 NY Knicks W
• Tue, Mar 31 at Portland L
• Thu, Apr 2 at Denver L  (beat them TWICE already)
• Fri, Apr 3 Minnesota W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Sun, Apr 5 at New Orleans L  (beat them TWICE already)
• Wed, Apr 8 at Dallas L  (beat them TWICE already)
• Fri, Apr 10 at San Antonio L
• Sat, Apr 11 Golden State W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Mon, Apr 13 LA Clippers W
• Tue, Apr 14 at LA Lakers L

PHOENIX

(current:  40-32)  (projected:  47-25) 

(OUT)

• Sat, Mar 28 at Utah L  (beat them TWICE already)
• Sun, Mar 29 at Sacramento W
• Wed, Apr 1 Houston W
• Fri, Apr 3 Sacramento W
• Sun, Apr 5 at Dallas L  (beat them once already)
• Wed, Apr 8 at New Orleans L  (2d of back-to-back for NO)
• Fri, Apr 10 at Memphis W
• Sat, Apr 11 at Minnesota W  (2d of back-to-back)
• Mon, Apr 13 Memphis W
• Wed, Apr 15 Golden State W

PORTLAND KEEPS PACE

Great win for Portland last night, though in this thread, it doesn't really help them, as it was "expected" as part of "taking care of business."

TONIGHT'S DENVER GAME IN DALLAS IS CRUCIAL -- GO MAVS!!!

No one's really talking about it, but it's entirely possible that the Division hangs in the balance tonight.  I hate 'em, too, but tonight we all need to be Nowitzki and Terry fans.

The team best positioned to help the Blazers by winning a game they shouldn't is Utah.  Utah has a brutal schedule that will make it tough to catch Portland for the division, so unless they go on a hot streak, Blazer fans become Jazz fans when the teams aren't playing each other.  If Utah can somehow win in Denver, that gets Portland back into the lead in the division, and a TRUE four seed, by virtue of its better record than NO.  If Utah can also pull out a win against NO, then Portland pads its edge against NO, while still having an edge over Utah for the division. 

CHEER FOR PHOENIX ON THE ROAD, TOO!!!

The other team that could potentially help us is Phoenix, especially if they can pull a road win in NO.  That would pad our edge for homecourt if we can somehow beat out Denver, and/or would allow us to stay ahead of NO even after dropping another "should win" game if either Phoenix or the Jazz can find a way to beat NO in NO.

MAYBE CHEER FOR NEW ORLEANS, IF THEY LOSE TO UTAH OR PHOENIX?

Under the scenario where NO loses to either Utah or Phoenix at home, if Portland holds serve on the remainder of its games, we then become NO fans for their game against Houston.  Because in THAT scenario, New Orleans could knock Houston a game behind the Blazers, moving Portland into the 3 or 4 slot (depending on whether we beat out Denver), while Houston would get the 4 or the 5 (again, depending on Denver).

BEAT HOUSTON (or San Antonio)!!!

Of Course, God helps those who help themselves, so the best thing Portland could do for itself would be to steal the game in Houston, and hold serve on the other "should wins," making all the tiebreaker talk moot, as Portland would gain a game on Houston in the standings, and would earn the tiebreaker with Houston based on the head-to head, while moving a game up on Denver also, earning the 3 seed and winning the division if all else goes to plan.  But, failing that, there is one more thing Blazer fans can root for:

ROOT FOR ORLANDO!!!

Orlando could help us if they find a way to win in Houston, which would also knock Houston behind Portland, if all else goes to plan, again giving Portland the 3 or 4 seed, depending on where Denver ends up.  (We now really need Denver to cough up a game somewhere)

BOTTOM LINE:

What we as Blazers fans should be rooting for (and that's really the question here, right?) in any game between playoff contenders in the West is that the home team holds serve, except when Utah plays Denver in Denver, and when Phoenix or Utah play on the road against New Orleans, when we want the Road team to win, and now that NO has dropped behind Portland, we also root for NO to beat Houston on the road.

All clear now?