Final Seeding Thoughts: West #3-5 is set, East 1-3 set, all about W1-2+7-8 and E4-7 n

[ArbitraryWater]

Clippers a game ahead of Nuggets and have a very easy schedule and better team right now.
Mavericks a game ahead of Blazers and Lakers, and have a very easy and much easier than them schedule, probably won‘t drop a game.

Lakers toughest schedule, could actually get to #6 as Blazers have a tough schedule too, but what would be the point of trying to play the Clippers in R1? They‘ll take their chances with the 7th seed.

Suns are a game behind the Jazz, but have a much tougher closing schedule, so theoretically that should be set too.

Since I like the Suns much more than the Jazz though, I hope they can snag up #1.

They don‘t deserve to be beaten R1 by Lakeshow. Let that be the Jazz‘s destiny.

Looks like a R2 Clippers-Lakers match-up.

East:

Don‘t look now, but the Knicks and Celtics play on the final day, and it could come down to who is #6 and who is #7 or at the very least indirectly impact it. It will also decide the tiebreaker.

It will be an interesting choice of trying to be 6 and play the Nets or have to play the play-in.

The Knicks now are 1 game ahead of the Hawks and Heat, but have much tougher schedules than them (B2B games coming up against Clippers and Lakers in LA), and it will come down to them and Boston for #6.

Absolutely huge consecutive Celtics - Heat games coming up. If one team loses both, they‘re pretty much a lock for #7.

If the Heat lose both, should Milwaukee tank to be #3?

But another ironic twist of this: Amid Miami‘s hardcore schedule, they will play the Bucks on the 2nd last game day. If. Milwaukee doesn‘t jeopardize their #2 seed with a loss, they could tank that game to ensure Miami stays at #6.

Nets could actually luck out here and draw New York.

Its possible that all Knicks-Hawks-Heat-Celtics end up 39-33, but even more likely is Hawks being #4 (only end up 39-33 if lose both Wizards games) and Heat being last. Which would mean Bucks-Heat R1.

Some very interesting shuffles ahead here...

[ArbitraryWater]

Here is what would need to happen to get this East line-up:

4) Hawks
5) Celtics
6) Heat
7) Knicks

Hawks: 37-31, go at least 3-1, no direct match-ups here = 40-32
Celtics: 35-32, go 4-1, split Miami games, beat Cavs/Wolves/Knicks = 39-33
Heat: 36-31, go 3-2, split Boston games, lose 1 of the 2 Philadelphia/Milwaukee games, beat Pistons = 39-33
Knicks: 37-30, go 2-3 which would complicate matters as would have 3-way tie or go 1-4: lose Lakers/Clippers games, lose to Spurs and Celtics, beat Hornets (or not) = 38-34

I have no idea if Boston would actually be ahead of Miami with an equal record.

Neither team won their division. Does that mean that criterion vanishes and they go to conference winning % or do they look at who is higher in their division?

Regardless the Celtics might as well be #6 too, they can be tough enough for a round.

The main objective is, Knicks need to lose as much as possible, so they drop to 7 and Nets don’t get to play them.

[ArbitraryWater]

Miami and Boston have an IDENTICAL conference record right now, but as long as they go 1-1, Boston will probably have a better one, as MIA have Sixers and Bucks coming up.

[ArbitraryWater]

The Celtics could also take BOTH games, and then Miami wins out beating Philly and Milly who rest their players, finishing 39-33, while the Knicks go 2-3 or 1-4 or 0-5, as the Heat have the H2H in a tied situation.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Option #1 Lakers as 6th seed - face clippers in 1st round

Option #2 -

Lakers as 7th seed - face clippers in 2nd round unless you lose play in game and then you face Utah in 1st round and the winner of mavs/nuggets in 2nd round.

I would rather Lakers take option #2 with Lakers as 7th seed and lose to warriors and then win to face Utah/Dallas in the first two rounds. You beat Utah and Dallas and you can get a west finals matchup with clippers

[ArbitraryWater]

OR the Heat take both games against Boston putting them at 7, drop both against Philly and Milly, and Knicks remain afloat ahead of Miami by going 3-2.

[ArbitraryWater]

Option #1 Lakers as 6th seed - face clippers in 1st round

Option #2 -

Lakers as 7th seed - face clippers in 2nd round unless you lose play in game and then you face Utah in 1st round and the winner of mavs/nuggets in 2nd round.

I would rather Lakers take option #2 with Lakers as 7th seed and lose to warriors and then win to face Utah/Dallas in the first two rounds. You beat Utah and Dallas and you can get a west finals matchup with clippers

Tbh I like the option of playing Utah R1 (likely 1st seed) and potential Clips WCF more also, that match-up if it should happen, deserves appropriate stage, but a play-in game for the 8th spot is a risky endeavor.

[herschel4heisman]

I think the East will end up 4) Hawks, 5) Heat, 6) Knicks, 7) Celtics

[ArbitraryWater]

I think the newest goal is / should be, Milly tank to drop to 3, by resting against Miami, ensure Miami gets 5 or 4 in doing so, and let Nets play the Celtics in R1.

Of course this is risky, because Nets then have it in their hands to fck around on the final game day and drop back out to 3 again.

Or of course, Boston could bypass Knicks in the last game in the direct atch-up.


So many variabilities and possible situations.

[Manny98]

As it stands we'll be seeing Loston in the first round, Nice!

[ArbitraryWater]

Heat win, will beat Celtics next game also.

Celtics will be #7.

Bucks win through and draw Boston, or tank one and let Brooklyn play Boston.

However, depends on who the 6th is.

If Knicks beat Clips here, they should beat Lakers too. Miami stays 6th, Bucks can make Brooklyn play Miami.

If Knicks lose, they could lose to LAL also, and Bucks would be best advised dropping to 3 with a tank and playing Knicks.

[ArbitraryWater]

So the Knicks beat the Clips, and it looks like both them and the Hawks could stay afloat infront of Miami...

which means, Bucks should not rest, do their best against Miami and let Brooklyn play them R1.

[hold this L]

Curious who would bother the Nets the most, Heat or Celtics for the first round?

[KOBEtherealKing]

If they wasn’t a play-in, lakers would definitely tank to the 8th

[ArbitraryWater]

Curious who would bother the Nets the most, Heat or Celtics for the first round?

I think Heat.

They seem in solid form, Boston not so much.

And Butler and Bam are great right now. More reliable while having better depth.

Celtics in the end would just trade blows but lose at it, me thinks.

[Axe]

I think Heat.

They seem in solid form, Boston not so much.

And Butler and Bam are great right now. More reliable while having better depth.

Celtics in the end would just trade blows but lose at it, me thinks.
Manny boy seems to be scrambling about this rn

I've been also wondering if the hawks will get their division title this year.

[ArbitraryWater]

Now that Brown is done, Bucks definitely need to defend their #2 seed.

The difference between 6 and 7 will be significant, especially if Miami stays at 6.

[ArbitraryWater]

The Bucks just ****ed themselves and their progress and both h2h wins on Nets...

Now they need to hope Nets drop one again.

Best chance for that may be tonights away game at Chicago.

[Axe]

Raptors are eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in 8 years.

[ArbitraryWater]

Now this is the objective:

Either Heat beat Celtics again and finalize them at #7 while Knicks and Hawks stay infront, Bucks hope Nets drop 1 today or on one of the 2 B2B's.

OR:

Celtics win today, only 1 loss behind Heat, have easy schedule to close, while Miami drops at least 1 to Philly and/or Milly, pushing them to 7th! (Boston has tiebreaker).

That would mean on the final day Nets could tank to drop to 3, but so could Milly to level up...

[ArbitraryWater]

If Miami wins again tonight however, Celtics are locked at 7, and Bucks need to hope Brooklyn drops one.

No other alternatives / scenarios then anymore.

[ArbitraryWater]

HOWEVER, if Celtics win tonight, and then Nets lose, theoretically screwing Bucks again as then Boston could be aligned to make 6th seed and play 3rd Nets,


Bucks again have reigns in their hands, as they can tank to Miami, to ensure them the 6th seed or at least a step to it.

[Axe]

Wow at boston, b2b losses vs. the miami heat.

[Hamtaro CP3KDKG]

Wow at boston, b2b losses vs. the miami heat.

Jaylen is out for the season. Babybois might not make the playoffs and get eliminated in the playins.

[AirBonner]

Jaylen is out for the season. Babybois might not make the playoffs and get eliminated in the playins.

I honestly hope they do. Playing 3-dleaguers shouldn’t be a playoff team

[HBK_Kliq_2]

Raptors are eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in 8 years.

Don't worry they can still make a documentary of the 2019 playoffs with kawhi smoking cigars and narrating all of it "Kawhi's dance"


https://youtu.be/2QF7mlnv5OY

[AirBonner]

Danny Ainge thought he could get away with trotting out 3-4 dleaguers every night

[Axe]

Don't worry they can still make a documentary of the 2019 playoffs with kawhi smoking cigars and narrating all of it "Kawhi's dance"


https://youtu.be/2QF7mlnv5OY
I like the 2019 champions. They ultimately stopped the dubs from three-peating and they're the last ones to win a title before the covid era happened. No doubt kawhi led them but you should seriously stop trashing his past eastern team. There's no reason to do so.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

They asked curry about the potential play in game vs Lakers and he was literally speechless and didn't even say a word. Now he's playing terrible and intentionally trying to drop the 8th seed for Memphis to avoid the play in game vs Lakers.

Meanwhile, LeBron was going to return tonight but he saw Lakers win vs suns and wants to keep tanking to avoid kawhi in the 1st round.

Gutless cowards.

[HBK_Kliq_2]

I like the 2019 champions. They ultimately stopped the dubs from three-peating and they're the last ones to win a title before the covid era happened. No doubt kawhi led them but you should seriously stop trashing his past eastern team. There's no reason to do so.

That team sucks without kawhi. They were just smart enough to give him the ball and be role players and play good enough defense.

[Axe]

That team sucks without kawhi. They were just smart enough to give him the ball and be role players and play good enough defense.
Lmao you're really retarded. They won at least 50 games before and after he went to the team. You should try to grow the fukk up and stop hating on them.

[ArbitraryWater]

The Nets won and the Heat won, which further removes the two from each other.

Now the last hope for them to be a R1 match-up is: Knicks and Hawks continue to remain ahead, and Nets drop 1 on one of the next 2 B2B's.

Problem is, they're playing lottery teams with nothing to play for.

Even sitting KD, they have far more talent level.

[ArbitraryWater]

Bucks with a tough question now.

Play the Heat serious and beat them and risk playing them in R1 or hope the Nets lose one and thus that match-up happens,

or give up on the #2 seed and Nets playing them, and tank to Miami so Miami can stay ahead of the Knicks for the 5th spot, and at least dodge them.

[ArbitraryWater]

As far as the Lakers go, not sure why they're going hard for the 6th seed when that means a Clippers R1.


That would be such a bonerkill of a series.


That series MUST happen at its appropriate stage.


If they play R1 it'd be the most lame shit ever.

[ArbitraryWater]

I guess the Lakers could make a late, final push for #5...

They're 1 game behind the Blazers and Mavericks and don't have the H2H over either.

That means over the final 3 games, they'd have to go 3-0 while both the Mavericks and Blazers drop 2.

Here are their schedules:

Lakers:

vs. Rockets: W
@ Pacers: W
@ Pelicans: W

Mavericks:

vs. Pelicans:
vs Raptors:
@ Timberwolves:

A stretch from the start. Yeah, they could lose to Pels and Tims, but its seriously unlikely.

Blazers:

@ Utah:
@ Phoenix:
vs Denver:

Blazers very realistically could lose 2, in fact its likely. If not all 3.

[ArbitraryWater]

But that leaves the Lakers at 6, so unless the Nuggets bypass the Clippers (game behind), thats not exactly good.

Lets compare the Nuggets and Clippers. Nuggets have the H2H.

Nuggets:
@ Minnesota: W
@ Detroit: W
@ Portland: W

Clippers:
@ Charlotte:
@ Houston:
@ OKC:

Realistically their schedules are poor and both should cruise, if anything the Nuggets have the most threatening match-up.


The intrigue about the final day game is, a Nuggets win could mean that they set themselves up for a Lakers match-up if the Clippers drop one until then, which makes it very easy for the Nuggets to tank that one, basically deciding they move back to 4 and then also flipping the Blazers' and Lakers' standings again.

[ArbitraryWater]

Will be curious to see if the Lakers do skip Blazers which can likely hapen, if Clippers tank their final game.

They might.

It'd be better for them.

They're gonna duck the Lakeshow.

[GoalooUS01]

Atlanta Hawks vs Washington Wizards:

The Wizards will have to do a good job of containing their backcourt in order to stop the Atlanta Hawks. It could prove to be another close game, but since the Hawks have an elite home record of 22-11 this season, expect them a slight advantage.


Atlanta Hawks -5.5

[GoalooUS01]

Dallas Mavericks vs New Orleans Pelicans:

The New Orleans Pelicans have the advantage of being rested against the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday. Though scrappy, the New Orleans Pelicans are likely going to fall to the Dallas Mavericks, who have won 10 of their last 13 games.

Dallas Mavericks -8

[GoalooUS01]

Utah Jazz vs Portland Trail Blazers

The Jazz are without leading scorer Donovan Mitchell and were defeated by Golden State last time out. However, the Trail Blazers are on an impressive run and have multiple shooting threats capable of dominating the Utah Jazz’s defense. So, expect the Portland Trail Blazers will win in this game.

Portland Trail Blazers +4.5

[NYK1933]

Hey everyone,

I'd have created a separate thread for this, but I'm new to the board and don't have authorization to create a thread yet, so I figured I'd post here instead. Does anyone have any idea what the playoff schedule is going to be yet? It looks like game 1 of each of the first round series will be on either Saturday, May 22, or Sunday, May 23, but we don't know yet which games will happen on each day. I'm asking because I'm trying to plan a get together to watch game 1 of the Knicks series, but I don't know which day the 4-5 and 3-6 teams will be in the East (hoping we don't have to worry about the play-in). Thanks, all.

[bladefd]

Hey everyone,

I'd have created a separate thread for this, but I'm new to the board and don't have authorization to create a thread yet, so I figured I'd post here instead. Does anyone have any idea what the playoff schedule is going to be yet? It looks like game 1 of each of the first round series will be on either Saturday, May 22, or Sunday, May 23, but we don't know yet which games will happen on each day. I'm asking because I'm trying to plan a get together to watch game 1 of the Knicks series, but I don't know which day the 4-5 and 3-6 teams will be in the East (hoping we don't have to worry about the play-in). Thanks, all.

We won't know the playoff schedule until regular season ends next week.

[ArbitraryWater]

OKAY WHAT IF:

Wizards make 8th seed, beat 7th for 7...

Nets have legit opponent.