Race to the bottom?

by dogbert on Mar 31, 2011 4:21 PM PDT

At the beginning of the season if someone were to ask you who you'd like to play in the first round of the playoffs among: San Antonio L*kers, Dallas, OKC I think you would get a variety of answers but not many would choose the L*kers.

With 7 games left we are sitting at #7 which is most likely going to get us a matchup with the L*kers.

So this is an interesting problem. Do we scrap and fight to try and get back to #6, stay at #7, or try to drop down to #8.

Of San Antonio, Dallas and the L*kers, I would prefer either Dallas or San Antonio. I'm not sure it makes that much difference which. It might be easier to drop to #8 than get the #6 spot back.

What would a race to the bottom (#8) look like. Memphis is in the driver's seat since they have one more loss. Our second to last game of the season is against Memphis. What would happen if both teams desperately wanted to lose that game?

Each team would try to score as many points as possible on their opponent's basket, and the opponent would try and prevent them from doing so. It would be a weird but competitive game. The offensive team would only have 8 seconds to score on their opponent's basket before moving into their end of the court. At which point they would have 16 seconds to try and get another 24 seconds to stall, if they were behind on the scoreboard.

The Blazers have demonstrated a talent for taking numerous shots at their own basket without scoring so maybe they'd have an advantage.

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The curse of #7

by The Thinker on Mar 31, 2011 5:22 PM PDT reply actions

We should play every game to win.

#6, #7, #8… it doesn’t matter. If were to “lose” games on purpose that would not be okay… The worst thing for the blazers would be for us to get out of rhythm.. Gerald is just starting to warm up and get comfortable with the blazers… we can’t stop playing hard… cause once the chemistry is there I honestly think we can beat any team we want. Think about the Blazers defense when everyone is working together… Dre, Wesley, Wallace, Aldridge, and Camby….. that’s a well built defensive team.

In my opinion we should play to win every game from here on out.

LETS GO BLAZERS!!!!!

by jjkim on Mar 31, 2011 5:24 PM PDT reply actions

i agree

my post was kind of a ridiculous “what if”

I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong.

by dogbert on Apr 1, 2011 10:39 AM PDT up reply actions

Agree

With our luck, if we played for #8, then SA would drop enough games for the Lakers to overtake them.

This is what Nate means when he takes about playing the game. Treat the game with respect.

Besides, on that note, here’s an interesting fact for you… The Los Angeles Lakers have NEVER been in the Finals more than three consecutive years. The ONLY team that has accomplished this feat is the Boston Celtics, who had the ridiculous run during the Russell years, and were in the finals from 84-87, winning two of them.

So, unless this is the Lakers team to do what no other Lakers team has ever down, and no other Phil Jackson team for that matter, AND no team other than the Celtics (twice), then they Lakers will not advance to the NBA finals this year. So, if somebody’s got to beat them, why not Portland?

by Rodney Gustafson on Apr 1, 2011 11:05 AM PDT up reply actions

It's still way too early

I think the only thing that is near certain at this point is that OKC and denver have the 4/5 seeds. The other 6 seeds are still up for grabs.

If Dallas wins tonight they overtake LA for the #2. Who knows, SA might drop out of the 1 spot…not all that unrealistic if they can’t beat boston tonight and LA stays hot for the rest of the year.

While I understand the logic behind throwing games for a more favorable matchup, from a fans point of view, I also can see it coming back to bite us if things change between the top 3

by cdfw on Mar 31, 2011 6:23 PM PDT reply actions

^this

If when we got to about the last 2 or 3 games, and we had the opportunity to choose to lose in order to pick our opponent, that would be the time to do it.

Not like there is an ice cubes chance in Hell of Nate thinking like this!

LaMONSTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by LaMarvelous on Mar 31, 2011 7:08 PM PDT up reply actions

With teh way the Lakers are playing...

I expect to see them pass San Antonio and grab the #1 seed.

I’d much rather play San Antonio or Dallas, so as far as I am concerned, the Blazers should try to win every game they play. Plus, a little momentum going into the playoffs wouldn’t hurt….

by baskickball on Apr 1, 2011 8:26 AM PDT reply actions

I would go one step further

I think the Mavs are pretty stuck in number 3 and actually have an outside chance of slipping to number 4. They aren’t catching the Lakers, and the way the Spurs are playing that #1 seed is certainly a toss up. I do think the Blazers should aim for the Mavs if the Mavs can hold that #3 spot, as they look like they are the most vulnerable to be knocked out of the playoffs. The Spurs still scare me, and the Lakers are obviously scum suckers who play basketball very well.

"This is the most popular sport in America blaming its feet for insolence and cutting them off with a chainsaw to show them who's the boss in this arrangement. When it bleeds out, it will admit no regrets because those who paint themselves into corners forget that a path out ever existed."-Spencer Hall, The NFL Lockout and Taking Sides in The League's Labor Dispute

by einman77 on Apr 5, 2011 5:15 PM PDT reply actions