spectator
04-11-2010, 11:22 PM
couple of points to make here:
1. there seems to be a lot of debating going on about getting LAL in 1st round. here's the scoop spurs fans - the reason pop does not want to play LAL in 1st round isn't because he is scared of the lakers. it's because spurs have a higher chance of progressing to future rounds if they play another team - and the more we play in the playoffs, the more money we (aka the spurs) make; it is not 100% bullet-proof reasoning because we may still lose in the 1st round to somebody else; however, we have better chances of selling more tickets and more commercial-space if we avoid the 8th seed.
2. we all know rest before playoffs is important, especially since most teams will be fighting till the very end. with b-roy injury and OKC losing tonight, i am afraid the doomsday scenario probability is even higher: OKC is motivated to avoid the 8th seed and win in POR; POR is still strong enough to win vs. GSW, even without roy; and the spurs lose @mavs.
however, there is one scenario that i have not seen here yet:
mavs do not have to play their starters in the final game of the season if DEN wins out. tough b/c they have to win vs. PHX (i believe), but plausible. therefore, even if we do not get to rest our players, we may benefit from mavs deciding not to play. to be fair, the counter point is that DAL plays all their starters so that they play a depleted POR team instead of the spurs and to avoid giving us a mental edge, just before play-offs.
what are your thoughts?
1. there seems to be a lot of debating going on about getting LAL in 1st round. here's the scoop spurs fans - the reason pop does not want to play LAL in 1st round isn't because he is scared of the lakers. it's because spurs have a higher chance of progressing to future rounds if they play another team - and the more we play in the playoffs, the more money we (aka the spurs) make; it is not 100% bullet-proof reasoning because we may still lose in the 1st round to somebody else; however, we have better chances of selling more tickets and more commercial-space if we avoid the 8th seed.
2. we all know rest before playoffs is important, especially since most teams will be fighting till the very end. with b-roy injury and OKC losing tonight, i am afraid the doomsday scenario probability is even higher: OKC is motivated to avoid the 8th seed and win in POR; POR is still strong enough to win vs. GSW, even without roy; and the spurs lose @mavs.
however, there is one scenario that i have not seen here yet:
mavs do not have to play their starters in the final game of the season if DEN wins out. tough b/c they have to win vs. PHX (i believe), but plausible. therefore, even if we do not get to rest our players, we may benefit from mavs deciding not to play. to be fair, the counter point is that DAL plays all their starters so that they play a depleted POR team instead of the spurs and to avoid giving us a mental edge, just before play-offs.
what are your thoughts?