Standings, outside of the box.

[xellos88330]

I just had a thought last night about the Spurs' recent losses to the Lakers and Heat. When you look at it from a different angle, it would seem that the Spurs are toying with the standings and forcing the other contending teams to keep playing as hard as they can for their playoff position.

Losing to the Lakers forced Dallas to have to play harder to keep a hold of the second seed. It also gives the Lakers incentive to work for the 2 seed.

Losing to the Heat forced the Celtics/Bulls to have to play harder longer to hold their position.

Spurs beating the Mavericks (pretty much wrapping up the division) also gave the Lakers the 2 seed. Now the Lakers will have to keep working to hold it and can't just give up for the rest of the season.

I know this is a dumb thread, but it does make some sense. Discuss... :toast

[rmt]

You don't mess with losses until HCA throughout is wrapped up. Anything (like injuries) can happen.

Spurs came out with vengeance last night and won because they lost big to the last 3 elite contenders they've played (Bulls, Lakers, Heat) and they had 3 days rest.

[stnick2261]

the losses the Spurs have had, had nothing to do with toying with the standings.... it has everything to do with missing wide open shots....

[Waps1980]

I like your way of thinking, and sometimes I wonder what things pop has running through his head.
Like when playing the top run playoff teams, he doesn't want to fully unload the gun and expose everything we have against them cos we are currently holding no. 1 seed so there is no need to.
Letting them think they have the upper hand over us, those losses we weren't passionate enough, but come playoffs it will be different.
We have proven we can beat all the teams with the exception of the Celtics which we could have won on the buzzer, interesting to see what happens when we play them in 2 weeks.

[Cane]

Pop's known as CIA Pop but yea the OP's theory is still out there.

Although it will be interesting to see how the Spurs handle their second to the last game of the season (vs Lakers) especially if it impacts the standings that late in the season.

[20beastie45]

the losses the Spurs have had, had nothing to do with toying with the standings.... it has everything to do with missing wide open shots....

and not rebounding

[Andrew Cunanan]

5hfYJsQAhl0

[Reck]

Nope.

[Rummpd]

Spurs have a record of 3 and 1 vs. Dallas even not counting Dirk's abscence = 1 and 1
Boston 0 and 1
LAL 2 and 1
Heat 1 and 1
Thunder 3 and 0
Magic 1 and 1
Chicago 1 and 1

So even taking away Dirk's abscence in two games Spurs are 9 and 6 against those teams and their point differential overall is on the positive side I am sure.

Spurs are fine as other top teams all have had their up and downs and all have potential issues going on. From my view, I would much rather have had Spurs pulled out of a funk with 14 games left in the season than having had a false sense of security on things they need to ramp up for the stretch and the playoffs. Last night's win was very impressive and Spurs are right where they need to be in the standings right now with a relatively tough stretch left.

[xellos88330]

5hfYJsQAhl0

:lmao

Love that part in that movie!

[stnick2261]

and not rebounding

I'd say rebounding would be a definitely #2 cause, but we've won other games where we've been out-rebounded....

..... why didn't we get as many rebounds? Because we kept making baskets on the first attempt :toast

[ChuckD]

I just had a thought last night about the Spurs' recent losses to the Lakers and Heat. When you look at it from a different angle, it would seem that the Spurs are toying with the standings and forcing the other contending teams to keep playing as hard as they can for their playoff position.

Losing to the Lakers forced Dallas to have to play harder to keep a hold of the second seed. It also gives the Lakers incentive to work for the 2 seed.

Losing to the Heat forced the Celtics/Bulls to have to play harder longer to hold their position.

Spurs beating the Mavericks (pretty much wrapping up the division) also gave the Lakers the 2 seed. Now the Lakers will have to keep working to hold it and can't just give up for the rest of the season.

I know this is a dumb thread, but it does make some sense. Discuss... :toast

You don't understand Pop or the Spurs at all.

[Interrohater]

The fact of the matter is that we live by the three and die by the three. Sometimes, we just can't hit a shot to save our lives. The good news is that, illustrated by the Spurs' record, we've been on target more often than not. So you have to figure that in most seven game series, the Spurs will be off a couple of nights, but be on the other five. Obviously, none of that is scientific. More like optimistic.

[tp2021]

You don't understand Pop or the Spurs at all.

Lighten up D, he conceded that he knows its not what they are thinking when he said it was a dumb thread. Its just a look at the effects after the fact.

[silverblackfan]

I admit that I have had similar season strategy thoughts, like losing to a talented team in the East, like the Knicks or Heat to allow them to get on a roll. Beating the Spurs usually gets a team going, it seems. Then those teams do some damage to the true competitors.

Also, given that the Spurs had won 2 games already to the Lakers, the 3rd game was not really important. Sure it could be used as a measuring stick, but don't get anyone hurt or throw to much into the game. Save it for the play offs. Besides, if the Lakers win the game, like they did, we are still 2-1 against them this year. If the last game of the season is necessary for fixing a tie breaker, then try to win it. Otherwise, last game will probably be a lot of bench play.
One thing all Spurs fans know, is that Pop treats the regular season like extended training camp with only an eye on Playoff performance and match ups.

[Dex]

Spurs may not be doing it by design, but its still working like a charm.

[Budkin]

Spurs may not be doing it by design, but its still working like a charm.

Bingo.

[100%duncan]

maybe, but not much room for relaxation at all. we still need to have HCA for the whole PO

[Drachen]

maybe, but not much room for relaxation at all. we still need to have HCA for the whole PO

Not sure how you can say "not much room for relaxation". We only have to go 7-6 over the last 13 games in order to reach 63 wins.... Our nearest competitor (Boston/Chicago) would have to win out (14 wins in a row) to reach 63 wins...

Boston currently has the season series lead, so tying wouldn't do it, but we are pretty darn comfortable.

[will_spurs]

Like when playing the top run playoff teams, he doesn't want to fully unload the gun and expose everything we have against them cos we are currently holding no. 1 seed so there is no need to.

I have noticed that in previous years - my take is that if Pop thinks that the Spurs are going to meet a specific team again in the postseason, then there's no point in fighting for a late regular season win that could give the opposing coach some hints re: what Pop plans to do to beat them in the playoffs.

However this doesn't relate to the 2 losses which were just plain bad.

[Obstructed_View]

The Spurs got shit on by two good teams during a time they weren't playing very well. The Lakers and Mavs are competing for second place, and that hasn't changed.

[coyotes_geek]

I just had a thought last night about the Spurs' recent losses to the Lakers and Heat. When you look at it from a different angle, it would seem that the Spurs are toying with the standings and forcing the other contending teams to keep playing as hard as they can for their playoff position.

Losing to the Lakers forced Dallas to have to play harder to keep a hold of the second seed. It also gives the Lakers incentive to work for the 2 seed.

Losing to the Heat forced the Celtics/Bulls to have to play harder longer to hold their position.

Spurs beating the Mavericks (pretty much wrapping up the division) also gave the Lakers the 2 seed. Now the Lakers will have to keep working to hold it and can't just give up for the rest of the season.

I know this is a dumb thread, but it does make some sense. Discuss... :toast

This really doesn't need to be any more complicated than the Spurs coming out flat, deciding that it just wasn't going to be their night and rolling over.

[Interrohater]

This really doesn't need to be any more complicated than the Spurs coming out flat, deciding that it just wasn't going to be their night and rolling over.
I agree with this wholeheartedly. It does seem at times that sometimes the team as a whole just puts off the vibe of "Well, nothing is going in for us, the refs seem to be against us, whatever, there's always tomorrow." It also seems to come from Tim Duncan, to be quite honest. I love the guy, but his laid back attitude is a double edged sword at times. Since the team follows his lead emotionally, which means we have a very stoic and mechanical team, it would follow reason that when he just doesn't feel it that it would spread along the bench to his teammates. Then again, I don't know shit.