Are the Clips & OKC avoiding the #1 seed in the West?

[stuffedmushroomz]

Just a thought... Now I know Paul is hurt
but they have enough talent to win against
the (in the words of Sean Elliot) Cream Puffs
of the league.
OKC on the other hand is really hard to
point to any reason as to why they have
lost 4of6 or 8.
Could it be that they feel Lakers will be
getting to the 8th spot and neither want
to face them? They are only 3.5 gms
behind #8 seed Houston.
Maybe they are pullin a Grizzly!
Are the Spurs the only top team willing
to take on the Lakers?

[Spurd_On]

I can't imagine any playoff-worthy team that wouldn't salivate at the opportunity to kick some Laker butt in the first round plus get the added bonus of high viewer ratings.

[alh1020]

LAC and OKC tanking the season to gain lower seeding for the playoffs? Who ever heard of such a thing? Commish Stern has set high standards and ethics that the league teams must abide by. Nobody goes against the Commish. Didn’t his Majesty Stern jump all over Pop and the Spurs and levy heavy fines for sending TD, TP, Manu and Danny home to get them some rest after a rough road trip and possibly lessen undo injuries? If LAC or OKC are losing, the league office would probably give them a pass saying it’s because they’ve hit some bad luck or a tough part of their schedule. If anybody were to remotely think about tanking a few games, his Highness David Stern and his court would be on that quicker than a herd of turtles. Yeah, right!!

[Uwe Blab]

Nah, the Lakers haven't shown any thing that would put fear in anyone. Plus, there's no guarantee that the would be the 8th spot at this point. They could fall out, or get hot and even squeak past the 8th spot.

[KAD]

I cannot imagine any team that wants to win a championship playing this game of avoiding anyone!!

[Jose_TheGenius]

Originally Posted by stuffedmushroomz

Just a thought... Now I know Paul is hurt
but they have enough talent to win against
the (in the words of Sean Elliot) Cream Puffs
of the league.
OKC on the other hand is really hard to
point to any reason as to why they have
lost 4of6 or 8.
Could it be that they feel Lakers will be
getting to the 8th spot and neither want
to face them? They are only 3.5 gms
behind #8 seed Houston.
Maybe they are pullin a Grizzly!
Are the Spurs the only top team willing
to take on the Lakers?

why would the West be avoiding a team with no depth and no defense? they're aging and they still have to spend energy to get back into the playoff hunt. the Lakers are the prime contender you want. you know you'll have to run them out of the building because they're slow and you won't get beaten up on the defensive end with their scheme. you'd take the Lakers over Memphis, Utah, and Denver in the first round.

[clovisnmspurfan]

Another thing I have noticed is that Kobe has to play harder on the defensive end than in past seasons. Usually he just coasts on defense so he has a lot of energy left for offense. Bring them on, better than getting beat up by the Grizzleys!

[stuffedmushroomz]

Just sayin, Grizzlez saw their best chances of getting past the first round vs Spurs and they were right. Those teams may be playin it safe, just in case LaLa puts a team together, by then.

[bills0]

That's just stuffed mushrooms.

[Jose_TheGenius]

they probably lost Gasol for a while after tonight too

Originally Posted by clovisnmspurfan

Another thing I have noticed is that Kobe has to play harder on the defensive end than in past seasons. Usually he just coasts on defense so he has a lot of energy left for offense. Bring them on, better than getting beat up by the Grizzleys!

he has to. D'Antoni has publicly given him the Raja Bell duties while trying to do the Steve Nash duties. no idea how he expects Kobe to last, but they're desperate.

[JuanCaca]

so sad...

lets trade manu jackson and bonner for kobe...

[katyspursfan]

It's a little early to be maneuvering for playoffs spots with 30+ games left in the season.

In other words, the season is just going as it does. Ebbs, tides and such.

[WhiteChocolateJr]

Originally Posted by katyspursfan

It's a little early to be maneuvering for playoffs spots with 30+ games left in the season.

In other words, the season is just going as it does. Ebbs, tides and such.

This.

No team should be or is even thinking about playoff seeding right now. The season is still entirely up in the air for most of the teams in the league. When we get to the final week-plus of the season, sure, teams start creatively managing their benches in order to nudge the matchup odds....but there's too many wild-cards, what-ifs and injury scenarios that ultimately come into play in every season for that to be a factor now. Through the first 70-75 games, it's all about winning as many games as possible.

None of the above applies to Washington, Charlotte, or Cleveland. Their respective mantra is: LOSE EARLY; LOSE OFTEN.

[Mr.MULLETINO]

I don't know why anybody would be scared of the Lakers. It's not the same team. They don't have the heart

[Jose_TheGenius]

Originally Posted by Mr.MULLETINO

I don't know why anybody would be scared of the Lakers. It's not the same team. They don't have the heart

D'Antoni is coaching them, so add "don't have the mind" next to it