Sched Ahead Daily Update, Games of 2/22

(Date on the header fixed, sorry about that) 

Dallas wins, Utah loses, little impact on the Blazers' chances but could impact final seedings and first round playoff opponent.

Yesterday's update.

Most recent weekly update, including game category definitions.

Yesterday's Games

1. Indiana @ Dallas.  The Pacers just won in Houston, but couldn't pull off a Texas double, as Dallas pulled away in the third to win their fourth straight.  Haywood had 20 rebounds for Dallas.  Indiana was without Danny Granger (personal reasons).  The Pacers were 3-23 from 3. 
2. Atlanta @ Utah.  The Hawks get their first win in Utah in 17 years, with Joe Johnson going for 28 points.  Utah was without both Williams and Kirilenko.  We may not have beat them, but we injured two of their starters.  Not only do our guys get hurt when we play, our opponents do often enough, too.  Boozer had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and 8 assists, and dropped a rebound out of bounds when the Jazz had a chance to tie the game.  Perhaps next time, he'll drop the ball when playing us and hold onto it when playing someone else.  Such small things make the difference between a win and a loss in the NBA.

In other notes, Travis was 4-6 (2-3 from deep) for 10 points in 16 minutes in his first game back, Blake had 7 assists in only 16 minutes, and the Clippers beat Charlotte, which made the Bobcats a losing team, triggering recategorizations, so everyone's projections will change slightly.

Projections

1. L.A.  60.4 wins (up from 60.0).   
2. Denver.  54.0 wins (up from 53.7 in 3rd).
3. Utah.  53.5 wins (down from 54.5 in 2nd).
4. Dallas.  52.4 wins (up from 51.3).
5. Phoenix.  49.8 wins (down from 50.2).  
6. OKC.  49.3 wins (down from 49.4).
7. Portland.  45.8 wins (up from 45.7).
8. S.A.  44.2 wins (down from 44.4).
9. N.O.  43.1 wins (up from 43.0).
10. Houston.  42.8 wins (down from 42.9).
11. Memphis.  41.5 wins (up from 41.3).

Utah drops with the loss, Dallas moves up and looks to challenge for #2-3 seeding again.  The other changes are small technical adjustments due to the Charlotte recategorization. 

Tonight

1. Portland @ New Jersey.  Cat 3 "Banana Peel" road game.  A loss here won't cost us the playoffs, but it could signal the collapse that would kill us.  You don't want to throw it all away, the improbable wins in Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, etc, by giving a game away to a historically bad team -- but they still have some dangerous players, the kind of player that can beat you.  A win here guarantees nothing, but it sure makes things easier the rest of the trip.
2. New Orleans @ Cleveland.  Cat 4 "Rocky Road" for the Hornets, against a Cavs team that has suddenly struggled since adding Jamison, but this is a brutal test for a team without their superstar PG.  Collison has had a nice run filling in for Paul, but Cleveland's defense is tough, and he won't be surprising anyone.  This is the start of a brutal week for the Hornets.
3. Phoenix @ OKC.  Two teams that have been playing very well recently, with OKC on a 9 game winning streak.  A win for the "Blunder" and they begin to look like a legit top 4-5 seed in the West.  A win for Phoenix, and they send a message to the young upstarts that the playoff push can be tough, even on your home court.
4. L@kers @ Memphis.  A big game for the Grizzlies, who won last time L.A. came to town, but haven't played well since.  This week they have a chance to re-establish their playoff challenge, but it will be a lot easier to do that if they can knock off the L@kers again.  L.A. seems likely to remember the last visit, and come ready to get revenge.  Kobe is listed as "questionable".

Chances are good that two of the teams chasing us lose tonight, so a win should leave us in a stronger position.  It is still possible that Phoenix or OKC could drift back towards us, both have had very good stretches and some poor stretches, and one of them will take a loss tonight.  An interesting evening again in the playoff chase.