The 2024 Playoff Chase Thread

Spike

Spike

Subsidiary Intermediary
Staff member
#361
#361
bball_nomad said:
We play Blazers at home, last game of the season ;) Soooooooooo........ why so serious??????? (movie quote). 1-2 @ OKC and at home against PHX (last 3 games against them resulted for Domas in 3 TDs) and NOP? My mathematical mind can't accept anything less than 3-1 ;)
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As the season has gone, we will likely lose to PDX and beat NOP.
 
B

bball_nomad

G-League
#362
#362
Spike said:
As the season has gone, we will likely lose to PDX and beat NOP.
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We are like re-tuned up piano after Huerter and Monk went down. I'm not a musician though I love music. Just in my personal opinion, Kings are too good now to go 1-2 in next 3 games. Anyway, one game at the time. Like at the shooting range. If a marksman misses first 2 shots, it doesn't mean that he (she) can hit next 3 in a row ;) I spent 8+ years training in biathlon. Sure, quick on skis is a must, but shooting range is a top judge. My coaches always told me: "Never think about the shot I missed. Only think about how to hit the target." Though, to analyze why I missed was a must. Control breathing, relax fingers, watch (feel) the wind... Focus on the task in front of me.
 
C

Caccia

Starter
#364
#364
bball_nomad said:
We are like re-tuned up piano after Huerter and Monk went down. I'm not a musician though I love music. Just in my personal opinion, Kings are too good now to go 1-2 in next 3 games. Anyway, one game at the time. Like at the shooting range. If a marksman misses first 2 shots, it doesn't mean that he (she) can hit next 3 in a row ;) I spent 8+ years training in biathlon. Sure, quick on skis is a must, but shooting range is a top judge. My coaches always told me: "Never think about the shot I missed. Only think about how to hit the target." Though, to analyze why I missed was a must. Control breathing, relax fingers, watch (feel) the wind... Focus on the task in front of me.
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Good comparison, bball! Biathlon seems like a really strenuous event.
 
KingsFanSince85

KingsFanSince85

All-Star
#365
#365
Capt. Factorial said:
Houston chokejob about as bad can be imagined. Dallas is not likely to be caught now.
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If anyone wants to point to an example of a game that looked "orchestrated", look no further than this game.

As the game was playing out, I told my wife -- if this were the KINGS the Rockets were playing against, he'd hit both free throws. But not only did Smith (I believe it was him) miss both free throws, he front rimmed both, badly. Despite having a 3-point lead and not having heavy pressure on him.

Then, if that wasn't bad enough the Rockets don't foul as the Mavs desperately tried to advance the ball -- with no timeouts remaining -- for a decent look at a 3?

I mean, all season long teams have been using the "don't let 'em shoot a 3" tactic with mere seconds remaining the moment any player puts the ball on the floor. But somehow Ime Udoka doesn't have his team foul with the advantage of Dallas needing to go full court without a timeout??

Either it was orchestrated or it was the worst lapse in judgement this season. If the it's the latter, that dude should lose any COTY consideration he had. That was downright AWFUL.
 
B

bball_nomad

G-League
#366
#366
Caccia said:
Good comparison, bball! Biathlon seems like a really strenuous event.
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Actually, biathlon is the most "energy burning sport". It's even worse than triathlon. My coaches used to say: "If you guys don't want to kill us - you are wasting our time". Not that they were breeding serial killers, but they ran us like racing horses. If we black out during the training - just sniff some ammonia ;)
 
B

bball_nomad

G-League
#367
#367
KingsFanSince85 said:
If anyone wants to point to an example of a game that looked "orchestrated", look no further than this game.

As the game was playing out, I told my wife -- if this were the KINGS the Rockets were playing against, he'd hit both free throws. But not only did Smith (I believe it was him) miss both free throws, he front rimmed both, badly. Despite having a 3-point lead and not having heavy pressure on him.

Then, if that wasn't bad enough the Rockets don't foul as the Mavs desperately tried to advance the ball -- with no timeouts remaining -- for a decent look at a 3?

I mean, all season long teams have been using the "don't let 'em shoot a 3" tactic with mere seconds remaining the moment any player puts the ball on the floor. But somehow Ime Udoka doesn't have his team foul with the advantage of Dallas needing to go full court without a timeout??

Either it was orchestrated or it was the worst lapse in judgement this season. If the it's the latter, that dude should lose any COTY consideration he had. That was downright AWFUL.
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Yeahhhh, there is a bit of game orchestra going on in NBA. I remember one game in particular from the Bulls 1996 season. As we all know, Bulls finished it 72-10. On one occasion, I think Bulls played Heat on the road, MJ took initiative and began firing non-stop. It looked funny. Super athlete, running and jumping, driving and what's not, but when he was releasing the ball - ball never went in. Yep, Bulls lost that game. I hope it was against the Heat - way too many years passed, I might be wrong about the team, but my eyes saw that day something not natural.
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#370
#370
Caccia said:
Not so fast. If the Lakers actually lose to Golden State tonight, Sacramento will be in sole possession of 8th place. As far as I am concerned, the most important job now is to hold on to the 7 or 8 seed.
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7th or 8th for a team like this might be the best thing ever. All things will be known by the end of the day.
 
QWERTYLICIOUS

QWERTYLICIOUS

Starter
#371
#371
Caccia said:
Not so fast. If the Lakers actually lose to Golden State tonight, Sacramento will be in sole possession of 8th place. As far as I am concerned, the most important job now is to hold on to the 7 or 8 seed.
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SacTownKid said:
7th or 8th for a team like this might be the best thing ever. All things will be known by the end of the day.
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7th is gonna be tough. Doable, but tough. Either Phoenix or New Orleans will have to basically decide to pack it in the rest of the way and rest their key players for the first round.
I'll be content with the 8th seed if it comes down to that. 9th wouldn't be too terribly bad, as I do think the home court advantage in the first game will be of great benefit. The key will then be, should we get past that 9/10 matchup, our ability to go on the road and grab that 8th seed. Again, doable, but tough.
 
SacTownKid

SacTownKid

Hall of Famer
#372
#372
QWERTYLICIOUS said:
7th is gonna be tough. Doable, but tough. Either Phoenix or New Orleans will have to basically decide to pack it in the rest of the way and rest their key players for the first round.
I'll be content with the 8th seed if it comes down to that. 9th wouldn't be too terribly bad, as I do think the home court advantage in the first game will be of great benefit. The key will then be, should we get past that 9/10 matchup, our ability to go on the road and grab that 8th seed. Again, doable, but tough.
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As long as the Kings don't have to win 2 to get in, that's good.
 
megapoxy

megapoxy

Bench
#375
#375
QWERTYLICIOUS said:
7th is gonna be tough. Doable, but tough. Either Phoenix or New Orleans will have to basically decide to pack it in the rest of the way and rest their key players for the first round.
I'll be content with the 8th seed if it comes down to that. 9th wouldn't be too terribly bad, as I do think the home court advantage in the first game will be of great benefit. The key will then be, should we get past that 9/10 matchup, our ability to go on the road and grab that 8th seed. Again, doable, but tough.
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It's up to Kings to get the 7th place, they will if they win all remaining 3 matches of the season.
 
iowamcnabb

iowamcnabb

All-Star
#376
#376
Honestly, the team that probably deserves the 6th spot is the Pels. They have been pretty consistent (by west 5-10 standards).

I’ll be happy with 7 or 8. 2 chances to get in and if you can’t do that, you really don’t belong in the playoffs. Win 2 more or 1 more with a loss by the Lakers and Warriors and we can wrap up a spot.

The loss tonight hurt but I don’t think it cost us a 6th spot but it would have meant needing just one win out of three to lock up at least the 8th. Get one of the wins out of the way in our next game, please!
 
QWERTYLICIOUS

QWERTYLICIOUS

Starter
#378
#378
iowamcnabb said:
Honestly, the team that probably deserves the 6th spot is the Pels. They have been pretty consistent (by west 5-10 standards).

I’ll be happy with 7 or 8. 2 chances to get in and if you can’t do that, you really don’t belong in the playoffs. Win 2 more or 1 more with a loss by the Lakers and Warriors and we can wrap up a spot.

The loss tonight hurt but I don’t think it cost us a 6th spot but it would have meant needing just one win out of three to lock up at least the 8th. Get one of the wins out of the way in our next game, please!
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The loss did not necessarily cost us the 6th spot. But our inconsistencies throughout the season have. I'd almost consider the Kings playing the #3 seed in the first round to be our little version of the "Miracle on Ice"...:p:p:p
 
QWERTYLICIOUS

QWERTYLICIOUS

Starter
#379
#379
iowamcnabb said:
Honestly, the team that probably deserves the 6th spot is the Pels. They have been pretty consistent (by west 5-10 standards).

I’ll be happy with 7 or 8. 2 chances to get in and if you can’t do that, you really don’t belong in the playoffs. Win 2 more or 1 more with a loss by the Lakers and Warriors and we can wrap up a spot.

The loss tonight hurt but I don’t think it cost us a 6th spot but it would have meant needing just one win out of three to lock up at least the 8th. Get one of the wins out of the way in our next game, please!
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QWERTYLICIOUS said:
The loss did not necessarily cost us the 6th spot. But our inconsistencies throughout the season have. I'd almost consider the Kings playing the #3 seed in the first round to be our little version of the "Miracle on Ice"...:p:p:p
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Also, if that were to happen, can we at least fly Al Michaels in to call the game??? :p:p:p

Or, if not the entire game, at least the final 10 seconds...??? :p:p:p
 
B

BenchMob

Bench
#380
#380
Yeah Pels getting 6th and a matchup with the Suns in the 7/8 (home or away) is really the best matchup you can ask for at this point. Rather have them stay west if they have to travel (attempting my best positive spin impression)
 
R

Rain man

Starter
#381
#381
The Kings Path, after tonight

6th Seed- Kings clinch 6th seed if they finish 3-0 AND the Pellies go 0-3 (games @Sac, @GSW, vs. LAL).

Kings would finish with 48 wins, Pellies 47. The Suns would lose to the Kings on Friday in this scenario and have (at most) 48 wins with the Kings holding the tiebreaker. Warriors and Lakers cannot win more than 47.

7th Seed - Kings would need to beat the Suns AND beat the Blazers AND get at least ONE of the following results:

1) Kings win vs. NO
2) Suns loss @ LAC
3) Suns loss @ Minnesota).

Kings would have either 47 or 48 wins, and win every possible tiebreaker: 2-team vs. LAL (4-0), 2-team vs. PHX (3-2), 2 team vs. GSW (2-2, better division record), 3-team vs. LAL and PHX (Sac 7-2, PHX 4-6, LAL 3-6), 3-team vs. LAL and GSW (Sac 6-2, GSW 5-3, LAL 1-7), 3-team vs. PHX and GSW (Sac 5-4, PHX 5-4, GSW 3-5, but Kings with better division and conference record than PHX), 4-team with LAL, PHX, and GSW (Sac 9-4, PHX 7-7, GSW 6-6, LAL 4-9). Note that this scenario could also happen by beating the Pellies and losing to the Blazers.

8th Seed- Kings need to win two games. OR Kings could also get the 8 seed with 1 win AND 1 Warriors loss AND 1 Lakers loss.

Any other scenario would result in finishing 9th or 10th.
 
K

KF8

Starter
#382
#382
I think my fear is if the pelicans clinch the 6th seed they will be resting their guys vs the lakers and warriors and both lakers and warriors already have a pretty easy schedule.
 
megapoxy

megapoxy

Bench
#383
#383
The Suns are favorites to win at Clippers tonight, since the Clippers could play again without Kawhi, Harden and they need just one win in the remaining 3 matches to clinch the 4th place since they are 2 wins ahead of Dallas having a better h2h against them. All of those 3 matches are at home vs Suns, Jazz (that has been resting several starters lately) and Houston (that has zero motive as well).
In case the Suns will win, the Pelicans will be even more motivated for the match vs the Kings since the Suns have a better h2h against them.

Also Lakers and Warriors have both easy next matches and they are waiting to get closer to us (@MEM/@POR), so in case Kings lose vs Pels and having the huge back2back vs Suns after with low morale...well won't be good for sure!
 
I

ick300

Starter
#384
#384
KF8 said:
I think my fear is if the pelicans clinch the 6th seed they will be resting their guys vs the lakers and warriors and both lakers and warriors already have a pretty easy schedule.
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This is easy affordable by just beating the Pells … finally this season if possible ….
 
megapoxy

megapoxy

Bench
#387
#387
megapoxy said:
The Suns are favorites to win at Clippers tonight, since the Clippers could play again without Kawhi, Harden and they need just one win in the remaining 3 matches to clinch the 4th place since they are 2 wins ahead of Dallas having a better h2h against them. All of those 3 matches are at home vs Suns, Jazz (that has been resting several starters lately) and Houston (that has zero motive as well).
In case the Suns will win, the Pelicans will be even more motivated for the match vs the Kings since the Suns have a better h2h against them.

Also Lakers and Warriors have both easy next matches and they are waiting to get closer to us (@MEM/@POR), so in case Kings lose vs Pels and having the huge back2back vs Suns after with low morale...well won't be good for sure!
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No Kawhi, Harden and Paul George for the Clippers tonight while Westbrook and Zubac are questionable, the Suns should win it easily if they are not down by 30 early in the 1st quarter again.
 
Tetsujin

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#389
#389
megapoxy said:
No Kawhi, Harden and Paul George for the Clippers tonight while Westbrook and Zubac are questionable, the Suns should win it easily if they are not down by 30 early in the 1st quarter again.
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TBF White Doc Rivers is perfectly capable of figuring out a way to lose against a Clippers squad sitting its entire rotation
 
C

Caccia

Starter
#390
#390
Another big game tonight with the Suns vs. Clippers. The same two teams played last night, too, with the Clippers demolishing Phoenix.
 
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