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| Can the Lakers reach the Top 6 and avoid the Play-In Tournament? |
| Yes. |
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33% |
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| No, but finish #7/#8 (top of the bracket). |
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31% |
[ 26 ] |
| No, they'll finish at #9 where they sit today. |
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34% |
[ 29 ] |
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| Total Votes : 83 |
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Denny_Russo
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Joined: 27 Jan 2016
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 Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2024 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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I said in another thread that the Kings and Pels have a chance of dropping. I think the Suns and Mavs hold, because they are figuring it out.
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leking006
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| Posted: Fri Mar 01, 2024 9:48 pm Post subject: |
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| Too bad the kings won vs Wolves. Lakers nees to beat the Kings twice if they want to overtake them |
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lakersfever714
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Joined: 05 Jan 2016
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:37 am Post subject: |
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Like I've said before, would you rather avoid the play-in but face Denver in the first round? 
We're ducking Denver at all costs.
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Inspector Gadget
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 6:41 am Post subject: |
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| lakersfever714 wrote: | Like I've said before, would you rather avoid the play-in but face Denver in the first round?
We're ducking Denver at all costs. |
Really shows this teams mentality at this point of the season if what your saying is true, this team is supposed to be hungry for a championship especially with AD and LeBron being healthy this year for most of the season, it’s not just about playing in a easier bracket, this team isn’t even gonna make the playoffs, there gonna lose in the play in tournament cause we don’t have enough players that understand what it takes |
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JUST-MING
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 7:55 am Post subject: |
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| It’s really weird being at #10 seed in the West and still talking about the playoffs. |
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Bron2AD
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Joined: 01 Jun 2021
Posts: 9445
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 9:10 am Post subject: |
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| JUST-MING wrote: | | It’s really weird being at #10 seed in the West and still talking about the playoffs. |
Not if u use common sense and know there is only gap of 3games in winning column between 5-10 |
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venturalakersfan
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Joined: 14 Apr 2001
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Location: The Gold Coast
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 11:08 am Post subject: |
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| JUST-MING wrote: | | It’s really weird being at #10 seed in the West and still talking about the playoffs. |
$$
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lakersfever714
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Joined: 05 Jan 2016
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| Posted: Sun Mar 03, 2024 1:42 pm Post subject: |
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Imagine if Sacto met Denver in the first round and eliminated Denver for us.
Hello Ladyluck!!
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leking006
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Joined: 12 Oct 2018
Posts: 6457
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2024 9:48 pm Post subject: Re: Can the Lakers reach the Top 6 and avoid the Play-In Tournament? |
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| leking006 wrote: | | leking006 wrote: | | leking006 wrote: | | leking006 wrote: | | ArminNBA wrote: | Can the Lakers reach the Top 6 and avoid the Play-In Tournament?
Let’s take a look at the standings:
— #5 Suns and #6 Pelicans (31-22 / .585) on pace for 48 wins.
— #7 Kings (30-22 / .577) on pace for 47 wins.
— #8 Mavericks (30-23 / .566) on pace for 46 wins.
— #9 Lakers (28-26 / .519) on pace for 43 wins.
Lakers have 28 games left. For the Lakers to match the Suns/Pelicans, they need to finish the season 20-8. If the Lakers want to be in the top of the Play-In Tournament bracket, they need to finish 19-9. This is assuming the teams ahead of them keep their current winning pace (and nobody would be surprised if any of them finished strong, making it nearly impossible for the Lakers to catch them).
Can the Lakers do it?
Let’s take a look at their schedule:
2/13 vs Pistons - W
2/14 @ Jazz - W
2/22 @ Warriors - L
2/23 vs Spurs
2/25 @ Suns
2/28 @ Clippers
2/29 vs Wizards
3/2 vs Nuggets
3/4 vs Thunder
3/6 vs Kings
3/8 vs Bucks
3/10 vs Wolves
3/13 @ Kings
3/16 vs Warriors
3/18 vs Hawks
3/22 vs Sixers
3/24 vs Pacers
3/26 @ Bucks
3/27 @ Grizzlies
3/29 @ Pacers
3/31 @ Nets
4/2 @ Raptors
4/3 @ Wizards
4/6 vs Cavaliers
4/7 vs Wolves
4/9 vs Warriors
4/12 @ Grizzlies
4/14 @ Pelicans
Additional Info:
— 15 Home / 13 Away
— 6 Back-to-Backs
— A 4-game road trip, 6-game road trip, and 2-game road trip
— Lakers play 12 games against Top 6 seeds and 8 games against Play-In or fringe Play-In teams (ostensibly 20 games against playoff teams).
RECORD TRACKER
Final Stretch: 2-1 | Overall: 30-27 (#9)
-----
Below I have divided the games into three categories: easy, medium, and hard.
EASY (6 total; 3 Home/3 Away): 2/13 vs Pistons - W, 2/23 vs Spurs, 2/29 vs Wizards, 3/27 @ Grizzlies, 4/3 @ Wizards, 4/12 @ Grizzlies
EASY RECORD TRACKER: 1-0
The Lakers have 6 EASY games with 3 Home and 3 Away. They should be able go 6-0 in these games and must approach these games with the mentality that they’re going to sweep.
One interesting thing of note in the EASY set of games: 4 of these 6 games are on the 2nd night of Back-to-Backs. That factor certainly impacts the degree of difficulty in these games, despite the fact that these teams are awful and should be "easy" to dispatch.
MEDIUM (13 total; 6 Home/7 Away): 2/14 @ Jazz - W, 2/22 @ Warriors, 3/6 vs Kings, 3/13 @ Kings, 3/16 vs Warriors, 3/18 vs Hawks, 3/22 vs Sixers, 3/24 vs Pacers, 3/29 @ Pacers, 3/31 @ Nets, 4/2 @ Raptors, 4/9 vs Warriors, 4/14 @ Pelicans
MEDIUM RECORD TRACKER: 1-1
The Lakers have 13 games against average to above-average teams with 6 Home and 7 Away (and only 1 game on the 2nd night of a Back-to-Back - 2/14 @ Jazz). They need to go 5-1 at home and at least 4-3 away (considering their putrid 10-17 road record so far this year, 4-3 would be a big win), so that they ultimately finish 9-4 against this slate of teams. It is especially crucial that they defeat the Pelicans and Kings, since they are #6 and #7 in the standings (those victories ostensibly serve as double wins in the Games Back column).
HARD (9 total; 6 Home/3 Away): 2/25 @ Suns, 2/28 @ Clippers, 3/2 vs Nuggets, 3/4 vs Thunder, 3/8 vs Bucks, 3/10 vs Wolves, 3/26 @ Bucks, 4/6 vs Cavaliers, 4/7 vs Wolves
The Lakers have 9 games against the best teams in the NBA with 6 Home and 3 Away (and only 1 game on the 2nd night of a Back-to-Back - 4/7 vs Wolves). The heavy home schedule against HARD teams is fortunate. The Lakers need to aim for a 5-4 record in this difficult set of games.
RECAP: If the Lakers go 6-0 against EASY, 9-4 against MEDIUM, and 5-4 against HARD (20-8 total), then they would finish the season with a 48-34 record.
As daunting as finishing 20-8 may seem, I think the schedule breaks out quite nicely to give the Lakers the opportunity to make a big run. |
2/25 @ Suns - L
2/28 @ Clippers - L
2/29 vs Wizards - W
3/2 vs Nuggets - L
3/4 vs Thunder - W (Lakers got their numbers and will play in HC)
3/6 vs Kings - W (Can beat them in HC)
3/8 vs Bucks - L
3/10 vs Wolves - W (Will not lose 2 straight at HC)
3/13 @ Kings - L
3/16 vs Warriors - W
3/18 vs Hawks - W
3/22 vs Sixers - W
3/24 vs Pacers - W
3/26 @ Bucks - L
3/27 @ Grizzlies - W
3/29 @ Pacers - W
3/31 @ Nets - W
4/2 @ Raptors - W
4/3 @ Wizards - W
4/6 vs Cavaliers - L
4/7 vs Wolves - W (Will not lose 2 straight at HC)
4/9 vs Warriors - W
4/12 @ Grizzlies - W
4/14 @ Pelicans - W
17-7 in last 24 games
finish 48-34
is this good enough for 6tth spot?
Note: If they will beat the Suns and Flippers the next 2 games, that will be a huge headstart for this schedule. Besides they've already beaten them this season, so it's not impossible. A split would be nice too. |
0-1
The irony is Lakers can easily beat the Pelicans and Thunder and yet they are in the top 5 and Lakers barely hanging at play-in spot. |
1-1 bonus win against the flippers
6 home games next |
2-1 Expecting an L vs the Nuggets |
3-2 on track, very important game against the kings nexr
Last edited by leking006 on Tue Mar 05, 2024 12:47 am; edited 1 time in total |
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ArminNBA
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Joined: 20 Sep 2008
Posts: 2200
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2024 9:50 pm Post subject: |
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| Huge win against the Thunder. Lakers 3-3 so far against medium/hard teams. They need to get above .500 against those teams and complete the sweep against the easy teams (3-0 so far) if they want to move up to the 7/8 position. |
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ArminNBA
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Joined: 20 Sep 2008
Posts: 2200
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| Posted: Mon Mar 04, 2024 10:20 pm Post subject: |
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| Outside of the 5-12 stretch from mid-December to mid-January, the Lakers have a 29-17 record (63%; on pace for 52 wins). They started 14-9 and have gone 15-8 since that horrific 5-12 stretch. Maybe those 17 games were an outlier? |
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leking006
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Joined: 12 Oct 2018
Posts: 6457
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 12:45 am Post subject: |
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| Bulls beat the Kings, Lakers is catching up to that 7th and 8th spot. |
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leking006
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 12:46 am Post subject: |
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| ArminNBA wrote: | | Huge win against the Thunder. Lakers 3-3 so far against medium/hard teams. They need to get above .500 against those teams and complete the sweep against the easy teams (3-0 so far) if they want to move up to the 7/8 position. |
They got Thunder and Pelicans numbers, I am expecring a win |
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lakersfever714
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Joined: 05 Jan 2016
Posts: 12055
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 5:14 am Post subject: |
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I swear, dude. I don't care where we end up. As long as we don't get the Thuggets in the first round, then I'm good. Prefer not to face them at all but if we had to, then I'd prefer a WCF rematch.
THIS IS OUR MOMENT!! WE MUST SEIZE THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY AND CONVERT IT INTO A CHAMPIONSHIP!! FVCK DENVER.
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governator
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Posts: 25214
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 5:32 am Post subject: |
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| lakersfever714 wrote: | I swear, dude. I don't care where we end up. As long as we don't get the Thuggets in the first round, then I'm good. Prefer not to face them at all but if we had to, then I'd prefer a WCF rematch.
THIS IS OUR MOMENT!! WE MUST SEIZE THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY AND CONVERT IT INTO A CHAMPIONSHIP!! FVCK DENVER. |
And of course
BUCK FOSTON
nail clippers shipped out, EVICTED!!!
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lakersfever714
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Joined: 05 Jan 2016
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:53 am Post subject: |
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| governator wrote: | | lakersfever714 wrote: | I swear, dude. I don't care where we end up. As long as we don't get the Thuggets in the first round, then I'm good. Prefer not to face them at all but if we had to, then I'd prefer a WCF rematch.
THIS IS OUR MOMENT!! WE MUST SEIZE THIS RARE OPPORTUNITY AND CONVERT IT INTO A CHAMPIONSHIP!! FVCK DENVER. |
And of course
BUCK FOSTON
nail clippers shipped out, EVICTED!!! |
Oh, we definitely could spank Foston or Clippers in the playoffs if we've ever faced them. I'm only worried about Denver though. Duck Fenver!!
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leking006
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Posts: 6457
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 3:08 pm Post subject: |
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| with how close the teams from 5 to 10 spot, the In-Game Tournament next should award the winner a tiebreaker card. They should add to the tiebreaker rule that the in-game tourney champ will be the top tiebreaker. |
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venturalakersfan
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Location: The Gold Coast
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 4:09 pm Post subject: |
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| leking006 wrote: | | with how close the teams from 5 to 10 spot, the In-Game Tournament next should award the winner a tiebreaker card. They should add to the tiebreaker rule that the in-game tourney champ will be the top tiebreaker. |
No, they already have tie breakers.
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leking006
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Posts: 6457
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:41 pm Post subject: |
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| Mavs is going down the srandings fast. Lakers need to take advantage of this, but they cant do it without winning consistently |
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Lakersfan1211
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 7:56 pm Post subject: |
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| .5 a game behind 8th seed! baby steps. lol |
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leking006
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Posts: 6457
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 9:21 pm Post subject: |
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| Lakersfan1211 wrote: | | .5 a game behind 8th seed! baby steps. lol |
Tomorrow game is crucial. Need to beat the Kings twice. |
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E_Wulf420
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 10:05 pm Post subject: |
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Best scenario is Denver finishes first and Lakets land the 6/7 spot to set up a WCF rematch. Worst case scenario is Denver in the 1st rd
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Runway8
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:10 pm Post subject: |
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| venturalakersfan wrote: | | leking006 wrote: | | with how close the teams from 5 to 10 spot, the In-Game Tournament next should award the winner a tiebreaker card. They should add to the tiebreaker rule that the in-game tourney champ will be the top tiebreaker. |
No, they already have tie breakers. |
So... it's for everyone else. If the Tourney winner is in a such a situation that needs some tie breaking, the tourney win can take precedent. It would be easy to incorporate this. I don't care if it's this tiebreaker idea, I just want them to award something so it's not just about money. How about HCA if you're in the play-ins? If you finish 8, you get to play 7 at home. If you finish 10, you get to play 9 at home. |
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1995Lakers
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Posts: 4519
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| Posted: Tue Mar 05, 2024 11:38 pm Post subject: |
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| lakersfever714 wrote: | Imagine if Sacto met Denver in the first round and eliminated Denver for us.
Hello Ladyluck!! |
This exact scenario happened in 1994. The one bad matchup for eventual two-time champions Houston was #1 seed 63-win Seattle whose high defensive pressure and fastbreak style of play was all wrong for Houston in controlling the tempo of the game. We talk about how Olajuwon was a bad matchup for Jordan's Bulls. Well Houston's worst matchup was always Seattle who had taken out Houston in 1993 and whose best iteration of themselves in 1996 would make mockery of Houston in a terrible beating culminating in a sweep.
No one thought Denver would even win a game vs Seattle and unlike 2007 GSW vs Dallas, there were 0 signs that Denver could pull off the upset. Not to mention the vast talent and experience gap between the two teams. Whats crazy is that its not like everything went perfectly for Denver either: their leading scorer Abdul-Rauf was completely shackled by Gary Payton as was expected and they still found a way to win. At this point, there was a very narrow path to victory and they found it with Mount Mutombo's otherworldly defense and shutting down Shawn Kemp, Reggie Williams and Robert Pack playing above their heads to make up for the deficient Abdul-Rauf and the inside presence of Fonz Ellis and Brian Williams to take advantage of the one weakness of Seattle which was the lack of bulk/size in the middle. |
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pjiddy
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Posts: 29169
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| Posted: Wed Mar 06, 2024 12:21 am Post subject: |
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| pjiddy wrote: | | Honestly they're better off trying to draw Minny or OKC and staying out of Denver's bracket. |
taps the sign |
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