Topic: 2019 NBA Pre-Season - page 228. (Read 914528 times)

OKC's performances during the pre-season is really outrageous but we all know there's a big difference when it came to the playoffs, and like what you mentioned, those 3 teams on the lower spot have that capabilities to upset their opponents, not just Lakers and Warriors but also Kings if they manage to beat the Warriors, with their great blends and chemistries they can come out and upset their opponents.


That's interesting, If either NO or Lakers beats the defending champ it might be a an easier next round for them, though we all know how tough the competion will be but no one can accurately predict the possible outcome during the first round.

I never even thought that they'll make it to the playoffs when Lavine was announce out for the season, I'm surprise they are here, but if they will make it to the playoffs, I still think that this team has a future. Next season, they will improve as long as they'll do one important thing, and that is "trading Zach Lavine".

I agree that it would be preferable for both the Lakers and Pelicans to lose the first play-in game of the tournament and then try to face the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. On the other hand, there is no point in stretching out the inevitable. I mean, if the Lakers or Pelicans could somehow beat the Nuggets in the first round of the playoffs, it would be easier for them in the later rounds of the playoffs.

I see my Chicago Bulls are in the play in game versus the Atlanta Hawks come Wednesday (april 17th).  I once again, like year after year, have absolutely nothing but disappointment and shame when it comes to this.  The Bulls are constantly on the line for making the playoffs, with absolutely ZERO chance at making any kind of legitimate run at it.  The Bulls are in purgatory, and nearing hell.

It's better than not playing at all, they could have a hard time against the defending champions, but who knows, they might give the Nuggets a very tough game series and it could extend to game 7. And if that happens, the Nuggets might not have the energy on the second round specially if they are facing a opponent that is fresh from their first round winning. So the Warriors still can do damage here even if the lose the series to the Nuggets. And we all know that the Warriors is still built like when they have their dynasty, Steph, Klay and Draymond is still around + some of their team from their last championship like Looney, Kuminga and Wiggins.

They are set to play today and they should not miss the opportunity to win one time to climb to the number 7 spot which gives them less stress because their opponent is not that strong rather than going to face the number 1 OKC because it will gonna be a hard time for them to cross it because winning against that team is almost impossible at their current rosters. Nuggets on the other hand is much easier for them because they have the right players to stop Jokic and if they cannot do so, then that's their season ending and we cannot blame them because Western Conference's top teams are currently the best.

In a game against the kings where they don't have many people who can lock down step I expect a 40 point type of game.  He is going to get up 30+ shots.  Shoukd be a high scoring game.  Winning the 7th spot is no treat as you have to go to Denver for a tough 7 game series.  I can't see any of the play in teams beating the Nuggets 4 times before the nuts beat them 4.

Without a doubt anyone that will win in this play-in will have a hard time because they will eventually face the top seeded in the conference. But this is the first time that the Thunder will be in this spot, so this might be good for them, but then again it's going to be as series, and even if you are the top seed, the record is 0-0 and if my chance the game can go to a grueling 7 series and so teams that have experience it before could still have the advantage like the Lakers or the Warriors if they are going to face OKC. So we should give Lakers a slim chance to upset the OKC.

I think they will want to salvage their season still regardless of who they are going to face in they move to the playoff. But obviously, it will be the best and 2nd best team in the West. So they should take care of their business first before looking as who will it be.

Same for the Warriors, although they have a good chance as they will be facing the King. Betting odds agree to the majority that they are going to be the favorite. But let's see, Warriors are pump to this kind of games and Steph will be Steph, maybe scoring 30 points or more to carry the team in his back.

My prediction for the Western Conference Play-In Tournament is that either the Lakers or Pelicans won't make it to the playoffs, the Warriors will win against the Kings, and whoever faces the Warriors next will lose to them and won't make playoffs, whether it's the Lakers or Pelicans. In short, I'm confident the Warriors will make it to the playoffs. But if Warriors lose to the Kings, they're both has a chance. But hese two California teams won't make playoffs if they face the Lakers in 8th seed battle, but if AD doesn't play, they might have a chance.

Lakers at 8th, not a bad position to be in, they could beat Pelicans and even finish at 7th as well, going from 9th to there within two games is definitely a big achievement without a doubt. I understand that people may look at it differently, but I do believe that's actually an advantage for Lakers.

Thunder finished first, Nuggets finished second, so anyone who is 7th would be in trouble, I think both Pelicans and Lakers will be aware of that and may not want to win it in the end, if they win it, they are facing Nuggets, if they lose then they will face 9-10th winner too, but at the very least they will face Thunder in that situation. I think it is going to be a very weak spot, Thunder is not that great, they may have finished first, but they lack playoff experience.

Same here, I will be going on the Warriors here against the Sacramento King. They have the rivalry, but not even close as the Warriors have their numbers and obviously, they have the championship DNA.

Although the Kings have improved from last season, it seems that they are inconsistent this year. They started hot, then after the break, it was a different performance from them that's why they lose their position. But still very good play-in, and if we look at the odds, the Warriors as we thought is the slight favorite as per ML.

Nah, I don't think the Lakers will risk playing a do-or-die game between either the Kings or the Warriors. Comparing them to the Pelicans, the Pelicans are a much easier team to beat, so it is better to win their first play-in rather than facing either the Kings, which AD hasn't won against Sabonis (he is 0-8 against Sabonis, btw), or the Warriors, who still have their power in them and might wake up anytime soon. If the reward for beating the Pelicans is facing Denver in the first round, then so be it; they're going to face them sooner in the playoffs, so it is much better to face them early when they still have fresh legs. I think that is one of the reasons why the Lakers got swept last season; all of them are tired from playing too many games, especially Lebron, and you can clearly see it in the last game of the WCF. Lakers also got new guards that can guard Murray, Vincent, and Dinwiddie, who can take the defensive assignment and DLo and reaves on the offense. If the Lakers manage to beat Denver in the first round, then it will be much easier to get that chip.

Their roster is better than last year although it wasn't close to what it was when they won the title in the Bubble.
You know what's lacking on the team aside from their ability to shoot outside? Leadership. LeBron you might say? I agree with that, but having a coach that the team doesn't like has an effect on the whole team. I guess we will all agree that the Lakers wanted to fire Darvin Ham already. I just don't know the reason why they didn't do it TBH, but I will not be surprised if he will get fired and will have a new coach next season.

The Lakers will get maybe 1 win against the Nuggets or worse, they might get swept "AGAIN".
Before the start of the playoffs, I already predicted that the Nuggets will win the Western Conference again, and will be going to the NBA Finals and from there, they will be facing the Celtics because I don't see any team in the East that can defeat the Celtics in 7 games as well. Heat maybe?

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Well, it seems like the Bucks dodged a bullet because they went down to the 3rd spot because of how awful they played ever since Giannis is out but for me, they did it on purpose because they don't want to face either the Sixers or the Heat in the first round because they know they can't defeat them especially the Sixers with Embiid. For them, the Pacers are a much better opponent since they don't the playoff experience yet. Even though the Bucks lost to the Pacers in their regular season match-up 4-1, I think the Bucks have a better winning percentage against the Pacers who doesn't have any experience at all compare to both the Heat and the Sixers.

Zion needs to work with his capabilities and put things on his shoulders, if he continue playing like this then they might lose their chance to move forward, though maybe they are trying to avoid playing against Denver, but they will risk their chance if they again lose against the Lakers this coming Play-in, as both Kings and Warriors are also a strong competitors for the last playoff position,

let see if how they will play this upcoming Play-in and see if they will find the best way to beat the Lakers or they will give that spot and let Lakers to play against the Nuggets.

Lakers won by 16 points on the home court of the Pelicans, it's not even close. I know Pelicans are good but honestly, I don't expect much from them especially against the Lakers who are already in playoff mode. When Lebron and AD are leading the team in scoring, the Lakers will be hard to beat.

Lebron 28 points, 11 rebounds, and 17 assists, (that's insane),.. AD 30 points and 11 rebounds. These two are just eating the Pelicans alive.

I'm betting on the Warriors, I don't want to explain a lot as I just felt that it's just the right bet, They are experienced and that will be the disadvantage of the Sacramento Kings. Warriors can defeat them, they just have to minimize the output of Fox.

But Brandon Ingram is back. He played last night although they lost against the Lakers. I bet he is just warming up but he will definitely explode once the play-in tournament starts. Pelicans was a team that was hard to beat when he was around and only the injury stopped that. Still, Zion managed to be a star when he was needed the most and gave the Pelicans this position. I doubt they will lose easily to the Lakers. It will be a tough game, almost like a playoff vibe.

Who are you going to bet for guys? Kings or Warriors?
We have seen last year how Steph Curry night-night the Kings and say they ain't ready yet. Will we see the same thing happening or this time the Kings will be the one saying night-night to Steph? I am excited to watch how that rivalry will end up this season.

I see it differently, I think they are a better team this season compared to last season..

We can see the roster here. https://www.espn.ph/nba/team/roster/_/name/lal/los-angeles-lakers.. they are not lacking height, so I'm sure they have prepared this for this playoffs. I think what lacking on them is their ability to shoot outside, they are not a good 3 point shooting team, unlike the Nuggets who have the size but at the same time are also good in outside shooting.

Now this is the real problem I'm talking about, the Nuggets are healthy this season, so I doubt they'll beat them in a series if they'll meet in the first round. I think it's too early, they should have choose the number 8 and face the inexperience OKC Thunder team.

Miami main power is their impressive coaching staff during playoffs since Erik is a very good coach to analyze and provide counter measure against opponents despite they a huge disadvantage on players head to head stats. Playoffs is different because the team needs to beat 3 times the opponents which means there’s a lot strategy to counter or lock down opponent. This is the reason why a strong Celtics always choke on playoffs or finals.


Lakers current lime-up is not that strong compared last year when they have a solid bench. I think they will try their best to beat Pelicans and avoid Warriors on the play-in tournament if they want to advance on the Playoffs. Nuggets is just their next problem once they manage to win the spot.

The Lakers just avoided their 2nd  kryptonite team in the play-in which swept them this season as well, the Sacramento Kings. The Pelicans are an easier opponent for the Lakers than either the Kings and Warriors, so I think that's way better even if it means they're going to face the Denver Nuggets in the first round if they get past the Pelicans in the 1st round of the play ins. I hope they will get this chance for a shot of redemption. Theres nothing better of a revenge to a team who swept them by both playoffs and season games than to eliminate them in the first round.