The Convoluted Final 48 Hours - Potential Playoff Scenarios

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After looking at all four possible outcome combinations of the Grizzlies/Blazers and Spurs/Lakers games on Tuesday night, I honestly cannot think of a single scenario that would give the Hornets a reason to play to win on Wednesday night. The one Tuesday night sequence of events that would likely spell doom (and by doom, I mean a Hornets vs. Lakers first round playoff series) for the Hornets would be a Blazers win followed by a Lakers win. If this combination were to occur, Portland would be locked into the 6th seed and Los Angeles would be the heavy favorites to land the 2nd seed. Memphis losing to Portland would unfortunately give the Grizzlies the ability to tank and land the 8th seed if they wanted to avoid the Lakers. The Hornets may as well lose Wednesday night to try to help bump the Mavericks up to the 2nd seed, although they would need the Kings somehow pull out an emotional victory over the Lakers in what may be their last game ever in Sacramento. Should this happen, the 7th seed would play Dallas, not Los Angeles.

If the Blazers win and Lakers lose on Tuesday night, the Hornets should be tanking their game against Dallas without a second thought. A Mavericks victory will guarantee them the #2 seed and the corresponding Hornets loss will lock them into either 7th (if Memphis also loses on Wednesday night) or 8th (if Memphis wins on Wednesday night). If the Grizzlies win and the Lakers win on Tuesday night, the Hornets would likely throw away the Dallas game as well; a victory over Dallas would only prove to be beneficial if both Portland and Memphis were to lose on Wednesday night. I just don't see the Hornets risking a first round match-up with the Lakers for a minimal chance at Dallas when they could simply settle for San Antonio as the 8th seed. The logic is similar for the final possible outcome - a win by the Grizzlies and a loss by the Lakers. Though a Lakers loss would seem like a reason to try to win and move up, the fact that the victory would be at the Mavericks' expense would put the Lakers right back in the driver's seat for the 2nd seed. Therefore, the Hornets would likely again elect to simply play it safe and lock in a first round duel with the Spurs instead of taking a chance on meeting the Lakers.

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