Apr
01
Playoff Picture: April 1st
By sarahhecht Posted in: playoffs
It’s another big game for the Trail Blazers.
New Orleans, Portland and Memphis are all within one game of each other. All three teams play tonight and the matchup between the Hornets and the Grizzles makes the movement scenarios a tangled mess, so here goes.
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Portland wins, Hornets win- standings remain the same, Portland in 7th
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Portland wins, Memphis wins- Portland moves to 6th (Memphis and NOLA tie and NOLA wins the tiebreaker for 7th)
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Portland loses, Hornets win- standings remain the same, Portland in 7th
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Portland loses, Memphis wins- all three teams are tied with identical records and winning percentages
- tiebreaker applied is the “better winning percentage in all games among the tied teams”
(via the NBA Operations Manual 2010-2011)
- Portland is (2-4) vs NOLA and Memphis
- NOLA is (5-2) vs Memphis and Portland
- Memphis is (2-3) vs Portland and NOLA
- final standings with this outcome: New Orleans in 6th, Memphis in 7th, Portland in 8th
Wow, like I said, a mess.
To put it simply, we NEED a win.
Last night's scores and effects:
The
Boston Celtics beat the 
San Antonio Spurs 107-97 in San Antonio. With the defeat last night the Spurs are on a five-game losing streak. Even with the loss San Antonio still holds the first seed in the Western Conference, but the LA Lakers are closing on them fast. The Spurs lead has been cut to only two and a half games.
The
Dallas Mavericks lost to the 
LA Lakers 82-110 in Los Angeles. Ejection city. In a game that was much closer than the score shows there were five ejections! Jason Terry of the Mavs got a little ticked with Laker Steve Blake which resulted in a scuffle. The big win for the Lakers kept them in 2nd in the West and closed the gap to 1st to only two and a half games. The Mavs still hold 3rd in the Western Conference.
Tonight’s games with Western Conference potential playoff teams:
Memphis Grizzlies (42-33) vs. 
New Orleans Hornets (43-32) With the 6th-8th seeds only separated by one full game both the Hornets in 6th and the Grizz in 8th need a win tonight. A win for New Orleans would give them a full two game lead over the Grizzlies and they would stay ahead of the Trail Blazers. A win for the Grizz coupled with a Portland loss would move them into 7th. (See above for the crazy details of this scenario.)
San Antonio Spurs (57-18) vs. 
Houston Rockets (39-36) A Rockets loss will help the Trail Blazers on the road to clinching a playoff berth. The Spurs are on a five-game losing streak so a win for them is imperative. With the Lakers nipping at their heels and only two and a half games behind them San Antonio desperately needs to get back on track.
LA Clippers (29-46) vs. 
Phoenix Suns (36-38) Technically Phoenix is still in the playoff race, but they’re falling fast. The Suns sit five and a half games out of the 8th seed. If Portland wins or Phoenix loses the Suns will be eliminated from playoff contention.
Oklahoma City Thunder (50-24) vs. 
Portland Trail Blazers (43-32) A win tonight could result in a change in the standings for the Trail Blazers, as could a loss. Portland currently sits in 7th in the Western Conference. (See above for all of the movement scenarios.) A Portland win tonight would also eliminate both the Phoenix Suns and the Utah Jazz.
Denver Nuggets (45-29) vs. 
Sacramento Kings (21-53) Denver will remain in 5th in the Western Conference with a win or a loss. The Sacramento Kings have been eliminated from playoff contention.
LA Lakers (54-20) vs. 
Utah Jazz (36-39) The Lakers are pushing for 1st place in the Western Conference. They currently sit in 2nd at two and a half games behind San Antonio. A win for LA tonight paired with a loss for San Antonio would close the gap to only one and a half games. Utah currently sits in 11th at six full games out of the 8th seed. A Portland win or a Utah loss will eliminated the Jazz from playoff contention.
Here are the playoff match-ups as of today:
(Tables courtesy of NBA.com)