Sched Ahead Daily Update, Games of 3/19

We split the season series with Washington.  That is better than being swept. 

Yesterday's Update

Last Weekly Update

An interesting site that jnewhouse posted in a comment.

YESTERDAY'S GAMES

1. Washington @ Portland.  Washington loses.  
2. OKC @ Toronto.  Easy blowout win for OKC.  K Durant 31 pts (17-18 FT), J Green 25 pts, R Westbrook 11 pts 10 asts.  C Bosh 22 pts 10 rbs, A Bargnani 15 pts. 
3. Boston @ Houston.  Boston wins, Houston needed to.  P Pierce 26 pts, R Allen 19 pts, K Garnett 15 pts 8 rbs.  L Scola 17 pts 10 rbs, K Martin 17 pts 
4. G.S. @ S.A.  Easy blowout win for S.A.  M Ginobili 23 pts 11 asts, R Jefferson 21 pts, T Duncan 17 pts (8-8 FG) 6 rbs 5 asts in 14 minutes, 8 men with 10 pts or more.  M Ellis 39 pts, C Maggette 30 pts.  G.S. shot 48% and lost by 31 pts.  S.A. shot 65%, making more shots than we missed against Washington.  They had 121 pts at the end of the third quarter.
5. Utah @ Phoenix.  Phoenix wins.  A Stoudemire 44 pts (14-16 FG 16-18 FT), R Lopez 19 pts 10 rbs, S Nash 15 pts 10 asts 7 rbs.  C Boozer 23 pts 16 rbs, C Miles 17 pts, D Williams 13 pts, P Millsap 12 pts 11 rbs.  A Kirilenko DNP, M Okur (stomach) left game early.
6. Minnesota @ L.A.  L@kers win, Bynum injured.  K Bryant 22 pts 13 asts, L Odom 18 pts, P Gasol 17 pts 14 rbs.  J Flynn 20 pts, K Love 19 pts 11 rbs, D Milicic 16 pts 12 rbs, A Jefferson 14 pts 9 rbs.  FTs:  L.A. 29-35 Minnesota 8-11.

Chasing Pack Game by Game Table -- Remaining Games

Sorted by difficulty, with road games against elite teams (top four in each conference) grouped together, then road games against playoff contenders, then home games against elites, home games against contenders, and road and home games against bottom feeders.  Second of back to back games in italics, opponents on the second of a back to back in bold, both teams on a back to back in both bold and italics.  The more games in the top part of the table, the tougher the schedule, the more white space up high the easier the schedule.

Teams Just Ahead Game by Game Table -- Remaining Games 

Projections

1. L.A.  60.0 wins (down from 60.2).   
2. Dallas.  55.5 wins (down from 55.8). 
3. Denver.  55.4 wins (up from 55.2).
4. Utah.  53.1 wins.
5. Phoenix.  50.8 wins (up from 50.3).  
6. OKC.  50.7 wins (up from 50.2).
7. Portland.  49.1 wins (up from 49.0).
8. S.A.  48.2 wins.
9. Houston.  42.9 wins (down from 43.6).
10. Memphis.  42.4 wins (down from 42.6).
11. N.O.  39.1 wins (up from 39.0).

Mostly small changes because of the Toronto loss/recategorization.  Good wins help OKC and Phoenix, Houston further behind.

Tonight

1. G.S. @ Memphis.  Cat 1 "Cream Puff" for Memphis, back to back for G.S.  M Gasol may not play. 
2. Boston @ Dallas.  Cat 2 "Jawbreaker" for Dallas, back to back for Boston.
3. Milwaukee @ Denver.  Cat 2 "Jawbreaker" for Denver.
4. N.O. @ Utah.  Back to back Cat 1 "Cream Puff" for Utah, Cat 4 "Rocky Road" for N.O.  Rumours that C Paul may play.  A Kirilenko and M Okur may not play.  D Williams is not full strength.

Two interesting games in Dallas and Denver, and one that might be harder than people think for Utah.