After a really bad loss to Phoenix and a 3 game losing streak at 34-24, we have gone: @GSW vs LAL - W LAL vs SAC - W LAL VS NOP - W @DEN vs LAL - L LAL vs IND - W LAL vs NYK - W LAL vs MIN - W LAL vs CHI - W LAL vs DEN - W @HOU vs LAL - W @HOU vs LAL - W @MIA vs LAL - W @ORL vs LAL - W We've won 12 of 13 and are undoubtedly look the best we've looked all season. We're sitting at 46-25 and we have the following 11 games left of the season: @DET vs LAL @IND vs LAL LAL VS BKN LAL VS WAS LAL vs CLE (B2B) @OKC vs LAL @DAL vs LAL LAL vs OKC @GSW vs LAL LAL vs PHX (B2B) LAL vs UTA What do we go? The Detroit game is kind of a coin flip with Luka and Cade both missing out. Let's call that a scheduled loss. 0/1 I'm thinking we should then pick up wins against Indiana, Brooklyn, Washington as they're all tanking hard. Cleveland should be a loss on a back to back. 3/5 I think we then lose to OKC away, beat Dallas away (they're tanking) and then beat OKC at home in a confidence booster. 5/8 I think we'll go hard for the win against GSW and at that point if we've already locked in the 3rd seed, we probably rest our guys against Phoenix and Utah in the last 2 games. So maybe 6 or 7/11 depending on if our second stringers beat Utah? Let's call it 7 wins and 4 losses to finish the season 53 - 29 as the 3rd seed.
Bizarro season - it now would look like a flameout not to get the 3rd. They own all the tiebreakers Ind/BKN/Was/DAl/UTA are all tanking so that should be 5 of the easiest wins of the year
that loss to phx was rock bottom, i guess. definitely felt like it--felt like we were going to finish 7th behind phx, tbh. trying to enjoy the current version of the team without being continually annoyed by the version that preceded it, lol. i agree that i expect 6 or 7 wins. i think we'll get the 7th if it means holding the 3 seed, but if we lock it up before that, we'll be resting people.
Feel like people are penciling in the Rockets as the 6 seed matchup for us, but Basketball Reference still has the Wolves with a 54.8% chance at being the 6 seed, with the Rockets at 38.3%. I'd really, really like it to be the Rockets instead of the Wolves.
This is going to be interesting down the stretch. Glad we took care of biz in the last 3 games. Got a challenge tonight in a back to back vs the Cavs followed by OKC on Thursday. Might lose ground against Denver for the 3 spot.
Lakers are magic number is 5 for third place.Any Denver loss or Lakers win Nuggets have 3 games vs Spurs and Oklahoma at the end of regular season. So I don't actually worry about it
Yeah but if the #1 and #2 seeds are locked up by then and those games don’t matter, OKC and SA will be resting their stars, Silver be damned.
Why does it matter if we fall to 4th? I still don’t get it. To me it’s not a given that OKC is better than the Spurs anyway. And from our end, whether we get Minny or Houston, at least we don’t get Denver as the first round match. So we just keep doing what we’re doing and try to get into the playoffs healthy. Since we turned the corner: @GSW vs LAL - W LAL vs SAC - W LAL VS NOP - W @DEN vs LAL - L LAL vs IND - W LAL vs NYK - W LAL vs MIN - W LAL vs CHI - W LAL vs DEN - W @HOU vs LAL - W @HOU vs LAL - W @MIA vs LAL - W @ORL vs LAL - W @DET vs LAL - L @IND vs LAL - W LAL VS BKN - W LAL VS WAS - W LAL vs CLE (B2B) - W We have the following left: @OKC vs LAL @DAL vs LAL LAL vs OKC @GSW vs LAL LAL vs PHX (B2B) LAL vs UTA I think we split the OKC games, win Dallas and split GSW and Phoenix. Utah we probably win since they’ll be on tank even if we rest everyone. Conservatively I’ll say we go 3-3 and finish the season 53-29.
I just want as a high a seed as we can get. After their series last year, it’s not inconceivable to me that the Nuggets pull it together and beat OKC in the second round. It’s a remote possibility, but I could see us vs Denver in the WCF. I’d like to have home court in that scenario.
I think there's a lot to gain in having OKC facing Denver before they meet us. At the very least is a long series so we would get them more tired then on round 2. That's for me the benefit of finishing 3rd instead of 4th I think we just try to win every game and play a playoff rotation until the last 2 games where we get the Suns on a b2b and then Utah in the last night. Then we see where we are and decide. I'm pretty sure we punt that Suns game unless we're tied with Denver Denver vs Spurs Saturday is a key game for the West top4 seeding. It's also a early game so it will be fun to watch
OKC is the defending champ while the Spurs have no playoffs experience . JJ has extra motivation to get his revenge on Finch since the "podcaster will get you the Lakers coaching job" comment too .
aren't finch and jj on pretty good terms in general? but yeah, a good chunk of the team was present for that whipping, so i'm sure they remember and would like a shot at those guys.
I don't know , I remember seeing a filmed interview with Zach Lowe and Finch said something like " getting into podcast will get you the Lakers job" , maybe it was a joke .. Wolves Talk sur X : "Demon finch https://t.co/JpIY1nnYBa" / X
