http://www.sbnation.comhttp://www.sbnation.com/users/ZooooomByU Posts made by ZooooomByU on SB Nation http://www.blazersedge.com/2009/3/14/797305/how-much-do-back-to-back-g ZooooomByU Sat, 14 Mar 2009 18:57:24 -0000 <p>Like plenty of other fans I've decided to dissect the last month of action for the NW.&nbsp; I noticed that we're playing a lot of teams who are on their second night of back-to-backs.&nbsp; It got me thinking about how much this actually affects the outcome of a game, and how it could impact&nbsp;who wins the division.&nbsp; Here are some comparisons between the NW teams.</p> <p><strong>Portland:</strong>&nbsp; We play 7 teams who are on the second night of a back-to-back starting with our game against Philly on 3/23.&nbsp; In fact, the four teams we play during that home stand are&nbsp;all on the second night of consecutive play.&nbsp; Conversely, we only play 1 set of back-to-back&nbsp;games after our upcoming road trip, but 3 total when you include the upcoming road games.&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Utah:</strong> The Jazz only play 1 team who is on a second night of back-to-back games, 4/11 when they host the Warriors.&nbsp; On the flip side, Utah plays 6 sets of back-to-back games for the rest of the schedule.</p> <p><strong>Denver:</strong>&nbsp; The Nuggets split the difference.&nbsp; They&nbsp;go against&nbsp;4 teams who had played the night before.&nbsp; Meanwhile Denver will only play 2 more back-to-back sets through the close of the season.&nbsp;</p> <p>Additionally, the opponents for the Jazz and Nuggets on these second nighters aren't exactly the cream of the crop.&nbsp; Their opponents will be GS, and NJ, NY, OKC respectively.&nbsp; These should be games that the Jazz and Nuggets win anyway.&nbsp; Whereas the Blazers will play Phoenix, Utah, SA, and LAL on their second straight nights of play.&nbsp; This may give Portland an edge against some tough competition during the stretch.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <fieldset class="poll-box"> <legend>Poll</legend> <h5 class="poll-title">How do you think back-to-back games will impact the Blazers for the rest of the season?</h5> <div id="poll_container_37468_1008222551" class="poll_container"> <div class="poll_option clearfix"> <div class="poll_option_percentage" style="display:none">52%</div> <div class="poll_option_result"> <h5>Gives Portland the edge to win the NW</h5> <div class="poll_option_bar"><span class="vote_count">25</span> votes</div> </div> </div> <div class="poll_option clearfix"> <div class="poll_option_percentage" style="display:none">16%</div> <div class="poll_option_result"> <h5>Helps for a couple extra wins, but won't impact the division race</h5> <div class="poll_option_bar"><span class="vote_count">8</span> votes</div> </div> </div> <div class="poll_option clearfix"> <div class="poll_option_percentage" style="display:none">31%</div> <div class="poll_option_result"> <h5>Doesn't matter because good teams find ways to win</h5> <div class="poll_option_bar"><span class="vote_count">15</span> votes</div> </div> </div> <p class="poll-total-votes"><strong>48</strong> votes | <span class="poll-has-closed">Poll has closed</span> </p> </div> <script> FastInit.addOnLoad(function(){ new SBN.Poll('poll_container_37468_1008222551').animateResults({renderImmediately:true}); }); </script> </fieldset>