The Race for the 4th Seed (1 Viewer)

[Dago]

Right now we are 2.5 games behind the Clippers and have 3 more losses than they do.

We have a nice rest and will be hosting Cleveland on Wednesday and then the Clippers on Friday.

LAC hosts Minnesota tomorrow then plays at Chicago on Thursday before coming to New Orleans on Friday. Honestly I don't have a lot of hope that the TWolves win without KAT and hopefully Chicago can keep it close enough so that the Clips can't rest starters.

If we beat the Clippers on Friday we will win the season series 3-1 and have the tiebreaker with them. If we lose, the tiebreaker would be conference record and right now we have two more conference losses than they do. Currently we have 10 more conference games with 7 of them being against teams with winning records. The Clippers have 11 more conference games with 6 of them being against teams with winning records. If we don't win on Friday, the odds of us getting the #4 seed are pretty low

The other variable is that with KAT's injury, the TWolves could turn into a .500 level team and drop. 8 of their last 17 games are against West opponents that have winning records. They are currently 1-2 since he went out

 

[LAhotsauce]

This is a helter skelter bipolar New Orleans pro team. The volatility in play is just too high. I have ZERO confidence the Pelicans will win the games they need to move up. The good thing is they seem to play better on the road than at home, so not having home court advantage in the 1st round might be a blessing in disguise. I'd honestly prefer Denver, Minnesota, or OKC in the 1st round instead of the clippers.

The only real disappointment for me will be if they fall back into the play-in.

 

[Dago]

This is a helter skelter bipolar New Orleans pro team. The volatility in play is just too high. I have ZERO confidence the Pelicans will win the games they need to move up. The good thing is they seem to play better on the road than at home, so not having home court advantage in the 1st round might be a blessing in disguise. I'd honestly prefer Denver, Minnesota, or OKC in the 1st round instead of the clippers.

The only real disappointment for me will be if they fall back into the play-in.

That is just not true. The Pels have obviously gotten better as the season has progressed.

Furthermore, on November 12th our record was 4-6. Since that time we are 35-19. By way of comparison, during that same period the Twolves are 37-19 and the Nuggets are 36-18

We have kept pace with the top teams in the West (except OKC) and we have done that despite missing our best bench player for most of the season (TM3 between his injury and slump) and having the hardest schedule through the All Star Break. Plus, since the ASB, we are the #1 defense in the NBA and were a Top 10 offense even before TM3 started looking like himself again. And we have the 2nd best road record in the entire league.

It all hinges on our health

 

[Infoman]

@Dago - We all want to feel your optimism... we really do... but we who have watched this team knows that they are just as likely to blow a huge lead to the Clips and lose as we are to blow them out head-to-head. This team has had no "clutch-ness" all year.... and we have all seen it. Sure we are 2.5 out of 4th... But we are also 2.5 out of 8th... and this team is capable of going either way until they can close games against top notch teams from both conferences... which they have yet to show they cam do consistently. When they do.... I'll join the sunshine parade right along side of you bruh.

 

[NewOrleansFan]

Just checked our schedule. If we can go 6-1 until the OKC game and split that 4 games stretch, we have a chance.

 

[the-commish]

And neither Evan Mobley nor Donovan Mitchell played tonight against Phoenix, and the odds of one or both not playing against the Pels Wednesday night are pretty good. So the Cavs being short-handed gives the Pels a good chance against Cleveland.

 

[the-commish]

Dont forget the Pels play 83 regular season games this season, with the extra game being the in-season tournament semifinals. The Lakers play 84. I point that out because that extra game in the standings is a LOSS. The Lakers extra 2 games are wins.

 

[The Nomad]

Dont forget the Pels play 83 regular season games this season, with the extra game being the in-season tournament semifinals. The Lakers play 84. I point that out because that extra game in the standings is a LOSS. The Lakers extra 2 games are wins.

Small correction, the in-season championship game does not count in the standings.

 

[the-commish]

Small correction, the in-season championship game does not count in the standings.

I stand corrected.

 

[wnelson]

guys.... we will be 4 or 5

 

[Dago]

@Dago - We all want to feel your optimism... we really do... but we who have watched this team knows that they are just as likely to blow a huge lead to the Clips and lose as we are to blow them out head-to-head. This team has had no "clutch-ness" all year.... and we have all seen it. Sure we are 2.5 out of 4th... But we are also 2.5 out of 8th... and this team is capable of going either way until they can close games against top notch teams from both conferences... which they have yet to show they cam do consistently. When they do.... I'll join the sunshine parade right along side of you bruh.

 

[the-commish]

guys.... we will be 4 or 5

That looks to be the case, but I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch.

 

[Dago]

guys.... we will be 4 or 5

Here is the thing....if we overtake the Clippers we will also very likely overtake Minnesota. The Timberwolves already had the lowest scoring offense of the West's Top 10 before losing KAT plus he was a big part of their #1 in the NBA scoring defense. The Clippers are 2 games behind them right now and they play tonight. If the Clippers win, that lead will only be 1 game and Minnesota will likely lose more games than the Clippers here on out. My prediction is that IF the Clippers win tonight AND we manage to get ahead of the Clippers we will end up with the #3 spot.

 

[wnelson]

I like if then logic

 

[The Nomad]

Here is the thing....if we overtake the Clippers we will also very likely overtake Minnesota. The Timberwolves already had the lowest scoring offense of the West's Top 10 before losing KAT plus he was a big part of their #1 in the NBA scoring defense. The Clippers are 2 games behind them right now and they play tonight. If the Clippers win, that lead will only be 1 game and Minnesota will likely lose more games than the Clippers here on out. My prediction is that IF the Clippers win tonight AND we manage to get ahead of the Clippers we will end up with the #3 spot.

3,4,5, I don't care. It's the matchups. We want to avoid Denver and IMO, Phoenix. Right now the 3 seed gets Phoenix.