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Jazz's Remaining Schedule is the Easiest in the League

framer said:
I'd bet the Lakers would just tank to 6th in that scenario.
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If Denver thought the Lakers were headed to the 6th seed, the Nuggets would likely tank their way to the 4th seed and keep the Clippers in the 3rd seed. There's an interesting game of Chicken brewing here.

538 currently projects that the Mavs and Lakers will each finish with 42 wins. In that scenario, the Mavs would take the 5th seed with the tie-breaker and the Lakers would fall to 6th. It's becoming increasingly likely that the Lakers end up 6th. Denver and LA Clippers would be the 3rd and 4th seeds in some order.
 
A few interesting things are happening -- Lebron is about to come back for the Lakers. It could be as early as tonight. If he can right their ship, the Lakers will most likely stay in the #5 seed.

Denver will probably then react to this and make a push to avoid the Lakers in the 1st round and beat out the Clippers for the #3 seed. That would put the Clippers and Lakers in a 4 vs. 5, 1st-rd matchup. Denver and the Clippers play each other in Denver tomorrow. Kawhi is still expected to be out.

Jazz could hit cruise control, finish 6-4 in their final 10 games, and still hold the #2 seed. This would move them away from the Lakers' side of the bracket and possibly the Clippers as well. Either LA team would most likely be favored against the Suns in the 2nd round.
 
Ferguson_Mellochill said:
A few interesting things are happening -- Lebron is about to come back for the Lakers. It could be as early as tonight. If he can right their ship, the Lakers will most likely stay in the #5 seed.

Denver will probably then react to this and make a push to avoid the Lakers in the 1st round and beat out the Clippers for the #3 seed. That would put the Clippers and Lakers in a 4 vs. 5, 1st-rd matchup. Denver and the Clippers play each other in Denver tomorrow. Kawhi is still expected to be out.

Jazz could hit cruise control, finish 6-4 in their final 10 games, and still hold the #2 seed. This would move them away from the Lakers' side of the bracket and possibly the Clippers as well. Either LA team would most likely be favored against the Suns in the 2nd round.
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Did you just jinx this outcome, too?
 
Sean said:
I'm now worried the Lakers drop to the 7th spot.
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It's extremely possible.

vs Raptors
vs Nuggets (b2b)
@ Clippers
@ Blazers (b2b)
vs Suns
vs Knicks
vs Rockets (b2b)
@ Pacers
@ Pelicans (b2b)

They have a really difficult schedule, and four b2b's. I think it will all come down to their game at Portland, because that game will also determine which of those two teams gets the tiebreaker over the other. If Lakers win that, they're almost definitely avoiding the play-in. If they lose it, start mentally prepping for Jazz/Lakers 1st round.
 
MT Steve said:
Or it would mean they're still getting their legs back against a hellishly condensed schedule.
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Right. That's how I see it. LeBron has been out for over a month. It's going to take a bit of time to get back to his old self, and, as you showed, their schedule isn't exactly light coming up.
 
As I think about it, if I'm the Lakers, the no-brainer decision would be to rest AD/LeBron against the Clippers to go all out in that Portland game the following night. Beating Portland keeps them out of the play-in. It's the far more important game.
 
Unfortunately, I think we'll be kicking ourselves when the season ends. Either the Lakers drop to that 7th spot and get to the play-in game, hoping that somehow they lose there, or, most likely, the Lakers drop to 6th and the Jazz get the winner of the Lakers/Clippers series, which would be the worst-possible semifinals match-up because, frankly, I think the Jazz would be Vegas dogs in both.

And if this season ends in the semifinals once again, something that we've seen so many goddamn times since the end of the 1998 NBA Finals, I'm going to give up hope that this franchise will ever be anything great again.

This season had so much promise and it feels like it's ending in a dumpster fire.

I guess the good news is that this is exactly how the 2007 season ended for the Jazz and that team lucked out and got the GSW in the semis, which paved the way for a WCF berth.

But we'll see.
 
Sean said:
or, most likely, the Lakers drop to 6th and the Jazz get the winner of the Lakers/Clippers series, which would be the worst-possible semifinals match-up
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If the Lakers drop to 6th, that probably increases the Jazz odds of getting to the WCF.

If we have to play one of the LA teams either way in Round 2, I'd rather get them after they're done with a long, grueling series.
 
MT Steve said:
If the Lakers drop to 6th, that probably increases the Jazz odds of getting to the WCF.

If we have to play one of the LA teams either way in Round 2, I'd rather get them after they're done with a long, grueling series.
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Except I fear the Jazz will be coming off their own long, grueling series lmao
 
I remember all teh lolz about how "the Jazz this week play the Lakers, Rockets, and Timberwolves 2x while the Suns play the Bucks, Sixers, Celtics, Nets and Clippers."

Well, this week the Suns play the Thunder, Cavs, Hawks and Knicks while we play the Raptors, Spurs 2x, and Nuggets.

Yeah.

Dat schedule doe.
 
infection said:
I remember all teh lolz about how "the Jazz this week play the Lakers, Rockets, and Timberwolves 2x while the Suns play the Bucks, Sixers, Celtics, Nets and Clippers."

Well, this week the Suns play the Thunder, Cavs, Hawks and Knicks while we play the Raptors, Spurs 2x, and Nuggets.

Yeah.

Dat schedule doe.
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If Donovan didn't sprain his ankle, the Jazz would have wrapped up the #1 seed a week ago. Plus the Suns played the Sixers without Simmons or Tobias and the Clippers without Kawhi. Otherwise, the Suns would also have another loss or two.

Injuries are dictating the seeding.
 
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