Yesterday,
both the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks lost to Playoff-bound East
teams. Today, the Utah Jazz rallied to win against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Utah won,
while LA and Dallas lost. I, for one, believe this is a foreshadowing of how
things will look when the regular season ends. All three teams will finish
close to each other, but, ultimately, the Jazz will advance, while both the
Lakers and Mavs will fall by the wayside in the race for the final postseason
ticket in the Western Conference.
 |
| Dirk, Kobe, or Al? Who will make it? (composite image by Enzo Flojo/Hoop Nut) |
For a
greater appreciation of this postulate, let us look at the current standings
and remaining schedules of all three clubs.
|
Team
|
Dallas Mavericks
|
LA Lakers
|
Utah Jazz
|
|
Current Standing
|
35-37
|
37-36
|
37-36
|
|
Remaining Games
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
|
Vs Teams with Better Records
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
|
Vs Teams with Worse Records
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
|
Home Games
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
|
Road Games
|
5
|
3
|
3
|
|
“Easy” Games (Home Games vs Teams with
Worse Records)
|
2 – vs PHX and NOH
*should
win both
|
2 – vs DAL and NOH
*should
win both
|
3 – vs POR, NOH, and MIN
*should
win all three
|
|
“Tough” Games (Road Games vs Teams with
Better Records)
|
2 – vs LAL and DEN
*will
probably lose both
|
1 – vs LAC
*will
probably lose this, though in reality LAL will be at “home” anyway since this
will be at Staples Center
|
2 – vs GSW and MEM
*will
probably lose both
|
|
Toss-up Games
|
6
*let’s
say they win half of these
|
6
*let’s
say they win half of these
|
4
*let’s
say they win half of these
|
|
Projected Final Standing
|
40-42
|
42-40
|
42-40
*UTA
owns the tie-breaker edge over LAL
|
|
Playoffs?
|
Nope
|
Nope
|
YES!!!
|
The really
BIG game, of course, is the April 3 (Manila time) match between Dallas and the
Lakers. If things stay true to form, then LA should win that and still have a legit
shot at #8, but if Dallas emerges victorious, then that loss will probably be
the death knell for Kobe & Co.
The Jazz
definitely have the inside track because they have, slightly, the easiest
schedule of the three, and they own the tie-breaker edge against BOTH Dallas
and LA. The games that can potentially sink Utah’s campaign are 1) the home
game against dangerous Portland on April 2 (Manila time) and 2) the road game
against the road game against nothing-to-lose Minnesota on April 16 (Manila
time). The Jazz should win both games if they don’t want any complications
heading into the postseason. Needless to say, losing both, or even one, of
those games might leave the door wide open for either or both the Mavs and the
Lakers.
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