[Samuel]

<FONT class=f1><center><font size=5><font color=red>Memphis Grizzlies vs. Minnesota Timberwolves</font></center></FONT class=f1><f/ont size=5></font color=red>

<center>4-16-03</center>
<center>TV: WPXX</center>
<center>5:00 pm PST</center>

<center> VS. </center>

<center><i><b>Main Matchup</b></i><center>
<a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/rasho_nesterovic/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/rasho_nesterovic.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a> <b>VS</b> <a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/pau_gasol/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/pau_gasol.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br />
<a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/kevin_garnett/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/kevin_garnett.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a> <b>VS</b> <a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/shane_battier/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/shane_battier.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br />
<a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/wally_szczerbiak/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/wally_szczerbiak.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a> <b>VS</b> <a href="http://www.nba.com/playerfile/wesley_person/index.html?nav=page" target="_blank"><img src="http://media.nba.com/media/playerfile/wesley_person.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br />

[Speed]

You gotta believe this is going to be a great game. Memphis has been about improving throughout the year. Memphis has talked about being a spoiler for teams late in the year. Memphis is 20-20 at home and would LOVE to give their fans something to cheer about- a winning record at home. It's also their very last game. They can let it all hang out and play full out. Meanwhile, the Timberwolves are playing for a lot too. They can clinch HCA in the playoffs for the first time ever in the playoffs. But I think you have to favor the Grizzlies in this one for the reasons I stated above, not to mention that the Wolves have been a pretty crappy team on the road this year.

Pau Gasol vs Kevin Garnett.

Great game. Can't wait.

Go Blazers

[Samuel]

now the question remains (assuming Portland wins out their schedule);

would you rather play LA as a 4 seed or Minnesota as a 5 seed?

[Speed]

I'd rather be the 4th seed and play the Lakers.

[HOWIE]

Minnesota would be the logical pick, but it would be very sweet to send Los Angeles home for the Summer too! Both teams present problems, with Minnesota being the lesser of two evils.

[Samuel]

Originally posted by <b>HOWIE</b>!
Minnesota would be the logical pick, but it would be very sweet to send Los Angeles home for the Summer too! Both teams present problems, with Minnesota being the lesser of two evils.

HOWIE, does Minnesota own the tiebreaker against LA?

[MAS RipCity]

Do we honestly want home court advantage?

[Samuel]

Originally posted by <b>DmoneyH3_GoBlazers</b>!
Do we honestly want home court advantage?

YES!

The Rose Garden becomes an advantage in the playoffs because it sells out and it gets a lot louder.

[loyalty4life]

An off-topic game thread? This is great!

I like your thinking, tblazrdude. I also like the way you format your game threads. It looks familar!

[MAS RipCity]

Maybe so,but all it takes is one win in game 1 or 2 at minny and we would have the HC advantage and games 3-4 in PDX.

[RipCityJB]

I'll take Minnesota on the road any day...in fact it might help us to start on the road without any distractions. Let's see.....3 time defending champs....2 best players in the world.....or a team that has never won a play-off series. No contest. Bring on the Timberpuppies.

[HOWIE]

Originally posted by tblazrdude!


The Rose Garden becomes an advantage in the playoffs because it sells out and it gets a lot louder.

Oh God no! If we play the Lakers it is going to be a huge WAR in the stands too! I couldn't believe how many Laker fans I saw last Sunday, they seem to come out of the woodwork,

[Samuel]

Think about this scenerio: the Grizzlies beat the T-Wolves in the 5 o clock game, and now we gotta watch the LA game in nervous tension, praying for a GS victory.

Something in me says that if the Wolves wrap this one up, i'll feel a lot more comfortable.

[Samuel]

And we're underway: 5-2 wolves.

[ABM]

33-31 Minny 6 Minutes left in the 2nd