no need to get finals homecourt

[DespЏrado]

Just a reminder, getting home court for the finals shouldn't be a priority with the schedule being split 2-3-2, having the middle games at home seems more important than the first and last two. The spurs are good enough to split the first two on anyones court.

[Venti Quattro]

That's stupid, considering that it's so hard to win the three middle games.

[DespЏrado]

Lmao spurs rarely win the finals at home because they have HC. I'd take the spurs chances to win the first two on the road against Miami or chicago, if it comes to it.

The rest/ health going into the playoffs is more important than going all out to get a garuntee at hc for the finals. Besides chicago is doubtful to even beat the Heat anyways.

[Obstructed_View]

I'd rather have HCA. I think the Pistons were the only team to win all three at home.

[Jimcs50]

Lmao spurs rarely win the finals at home because they have HC. I'd take the spurs chances to win the first two on the road against Miami or chicago, if it comes to it.

The rest/ health going into the playoffs is more important than going all out to get a garuntee at hc for the finals. Besides chicago is doubtful to even beat the Heat anyways.

winning 3 straight at home is impossible. This format favors home court team much more than the 22111 format.

It is best that SA tries to procure HCA throughout.

[slick'81]

other than the fact spurs have had hca in every finals theyve played lol

[Mugen]

Agree.

None of the Big 3 should play in the final 2 games. The Spurs are good enough to beat a tanking GS and a PHX team with possibly nothing to play for.

HC would be nice but, as OP pointed out, it should not be a priority.

[dunkman]

They should play as always, perhaps less minutes.
The HCA is important too.

[DespЏrado]

winning 3 straight at home is impossible. This format favors home court team much more than the 22111 format.

It is best that SA tries to procure HCA throughout.

Spurs are good enough to take the first two away games against anyone in the finals. Tgey don't need to risk injury or health going for the hc, and it would be nice to win the chip at home for once.

[Venti Quattro]

I'd rather have HCA. I think the Pistons were the only team to win all three at home.

Miami in 2006.

Detroit (1990), Chicago (1991) and LA (2001) won the middle three, but on the road.

[Obstructed_View]

Miami in 2006.

Chicago (1991) and LA (2001) won the middle three, but on the road.

I stand corrected.

I could say that Detroit is the first team to win all three at home that wasn't playing a team that was already planning the championship parade after game 2, but that's a bit wordy.

[100%duncan]

Nope. It's hard to win 3 straight HOME games,tbh.

[SA210]

Retarded not to go for HCA throughout. What the hell else are we playing for, to go all the way or not? If we intend to try to go all the way then obviously HCA is important. No question.

[DespЏrado]

Retarded not to go for HCA throughout. What the hell else are we playing for, to go all the way or not? If we intend to try to go all the way then obviously HCA is important. No question.

Retarded to risk injuries or needless wear and tear to go for something that might not even be necessary.

[100%duncan]

Retarded to risk injuries or needless wear and tear to go for something that might not even be necessary.

You won't even need the big 3 to win the rest of the games, tbh. I don't see where you're coming from.

[ffadicted]

Pretty stupid thoughts lol you know how hard it is to win 3 games in a row in the finals if you're not gonna just dominate anyway?

If you take care of business at home, you just have to take 1 of the next 3 game and you'll have 2 chances to close it at home. The advantage is even bigger in the finals

[Solid D]

winning 3 straight at home is impossible. This format favors home court team much more than the 22111 format.

It is best that SA tries to procure HCA throughout.

Not really impossible. Larry Brown led the Pistons to an NBA championship that way vs the Lakers.

[DAF86]

The Heat is the one getting to the finals so we can afford to lose one more.

[justinandimcool]

shouldn't be a priority, but i'd rather have it than not.

but if we see Chicago it isn't as big of a deal as it would be Miami, tbh.

[DespЏrado]

This is only chicago we are talking about that we could potentially lose hc against and quite frankly they aren't the concern going into the playoffs, you can only focus on the games ahead of you, and right now making it through the first two playoff rounds is more important than worrying about a single team that isn't even favored to make it out of their conference.

[Arcadian]

Just a reminder, getting home court for the finals shouldn't be a priority with the schedule being split 2-3-2, having the middle games at home seems more important than the first and last two. The spurs are good enough to split the first two on anyones court.

Tell that to the 05 Spurs, when HCA proved to be critically important.

[Arcadian]

This is only chicago we are talking about that we could potentially lose hc against and quite frankly they aren't the concern going into the playoffs, you can only focus on the games ahead of you, and right now making it through the first two playoff rounds is more important than worrying about a single team that isn't even favored to make it out of their conference.

You're right, but nonetheless we also need to plan for every possibility. Chicago in the Finals is a very real possibility.

[spurs1990]

Still a good chance Chicago will come out of the East. Then what.

We'll be damning them for not trying to gain it by beating Phx. GS I think is a win regardless since they're in ultra tank mode. Just have to beat Phx.

[DespЏrado]

Health is priority 1. With our track record and age it is the only thing that matters right now. without health you don't even get out of round 1, much less have to worry about playoff seeding, I'm not saying shut it down entirely, just treat these games as scrimmages for a deep title run, stay healthy and fresh.

[SA210]

Tell that to the 05 Spurs, when HCA proved to be critically important.

Exactly

[DespЏrado]

Tell that to the 05 Spurs, when HCA proved to be critically important.

Tell that to the 1st seeded 2011 spurs who didn't make it out of round 1 last year, because they didn't start healthy for the playoffs.

[SA210]

Tell that to the 1st seeded 2011 spurs who didn't make it out of round 1 last year, because they didn't start healthy for the playoffs.

That doesn't mean to go tank games like pussies. You play to win

[T Park]

That doesn't mean to go tank games like pussies. You play to win


Yeah run manu out there and wear him out and hurt him.

Great strategy.

[DespЏrado]

That doesn't mean to go tank games like pussies. You play to win

Where did you get the idea i said tank? There is a huge difference between attempting to lose and playing with a full rotation with rest games for the big three.

[Venti Quattro]

If you have a clear chance at HCA, you go for it.

[Spurtacus]

HCA is a priority. It would be difficult to win a 7 games series against Chicago or Miami if they play the final two games at home.

[DespЏrado]

While the 2-3-2 format hasn't statistically been any different from the 2-2-1-1-1 format there is one major difference according to this article (http://www.realclearsports.com/articles/2010/06/07/nbas_2-3-2_much_ado_about_nothing_96980.html):


No team trailing 1-2 and facing the next two games on the road has come back to win the series, while those with the same deficit who returned home for Game 5 won three of eight series.

the spurs only need to go 2/3 of the first 3 games in either building and they would have a good chance of winning, having 3 middle road games is just enough of a factor that I like the Spurs chances either with HCA or without it.

[MmP]

Are we already thinking about Finals' HCA? The playoffs start next week damn it.

[DespЏrado]

Are we already thinking about Finals' HCA? The playoffs start next week damn it.

Honestly I am talking about health going into the playoffs, and that playing for homecourt in the finals is less important than the strength/ health of the roster going into the next week.

[Arcadian]

I think tim and manu should sit out 1 or 2 of the remaining games. But overall, the team should be motivated to win out and get HCA throughout the playoffs. It's a big deal.

[SA210]

Yeah run manu out there and wear him out and hurt him.

Great strategy.

Leave it to this moron to exaggerate what I'm saying.

[roycrikside]

Yeah run manu out there and wear him out and hurt him.

Great strategy.

Wear him out? Dude has played 32 freaking games this year, at 23.5 minutes a pop. Not only has Manu himself said he needs to play more to get into shape and build up his stamina in order to be able to handle playing 30-34 minutes in the playoffs, but EVEN POP has conceded that's the case.

Manu can't ever play the number of minutes he wants to in any of these games because we're so damn good now we keep blowing people out and resting everybody in the fourth quarter.

Playing 15-20 minutes is not going to wear anybody out.

As for the possibility of injury, I wish people would understand last year's elbow fracture had nothing to do with fatigue. It was just a freak injury that could've happened literally at any minute of any game, from the 1st to the 82nd. Just the wrong guy at the wrong time.

I for one am glad the Spurs still have HCA to play for, because it gives the Big Three a reason to push Pop into letting them play. Not only do they get to stay in shape and not get rusty, but this has a chance to really help the team down in the road in Rds. 3 and 4.

[roycrikside]

Another reason we should play to win these games: Keep momentum going.

People act like last year if Manu didn't break his arm we were title favorites. Please. Pop was still gonna run the Blair-Bonner combo out there regardless, as well as soft-ass RJ, a broken down McDyess and George Hill who's never done anything in the playoffs. Also, lest you forget, Duncan was running on fumes by the end. His leg was clearly bothering him.

That Spurs team peaked way too early. They finished the reg season 4-6. Even with a healthy Manu they might have barely gotten by the Grizz, but I doubt they would've made it past OKC, Dallas and Miami too. They were just too worn out, too thin in the front court and we were all fooling ourselves into thinking we were any kind of contender. Maybe the Spurs were the best team in January, but not by April.

April 2012 Spurs sweep April 2011 Spurs, even with a healthy Manu. It's really no contest.

[Bruno]

Whatever Spurs do in their last couple of games, the outcome will likely be the same: they will get HCA over Heat but not against Bulls. Spurs will have no incentives in winning their last two games provided they beat Blazers today. In that case, the best to do is to give some rest to the key players.

[NASpurs]

This team has come out horribly flat when they're giving rest for an extended period of time. I say alternate the players in the Big 3 when resting and play them really limited minutes when on the floor.

Rotoworld: Parker was asked whether Gregg Popovich might leave Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan behind on the team's two-game road trip. "No, that’s too much time away," he said. "We’ll all play one of the two. I just don’t know which one." He also mentioned that Pop can get "super creative" in the final two games, so throw your expectations out the window.

[Dex]

Whatever Spurs do in their last couple of games, the outcome will likely be the same: they will get HCA over Heat but not against Bulls. Spurs will have no incentives in winning their last two games provided they beat Blazers today. In that case, the best to do is to give some rest to the key players.

While I agree that keeping players rested (and healthy) in the last two games is important, it's hard to say that they have NO incentive for those last two games.

Chicago is tied with the Spurs in the loss column and has two games left (Indiana and Cleveland), so it's entirely likely they win out. If that happens, best the Spurs can do against them is lose the tiebreaker, so that may be a lost cause unless Chicago helps us out. For that, Spurs would need to win out just to keep the press on them.

Miami also has two games left, Boston and Washington. The Celtics game will be tough for them, but if they manage to win both of their remaining games, that will force the Spurs to win 2 of their last 3 to maintain home court advantage, since Miami also owns the tie-breaker.

I know it's looking way far ahead at this point, but I agree with the majority on this one...if we are able to make it to the Finals, home court advantage is paramount. 2005 taught us that lesson.

Best case scenario: Spurs win tonight to clinch the West, then GSW will still be tanking so hard by the final game that we can play without the Big Three and still get the W. Or Spurs win tonight, and Miami loses to Boston.

[Bruno]

Best case scenario: Spurs win tonight to clinch the West, then GSW will still be tanking so hard by the final game that we can play without the Big Three and still get the W. Or Spurs win tonight, and Miami loses to Boston.

I don't see Miami winning @ Boston. Celtics are fighting to get HCA in the first round and Miami has some injuries trouble. Chicago losing @Indiana is less unlikely but Pacers are playing for absolutely nothing.

Spurs game @PHX will be hard to win. If Suns win the game the day before @Utah, they will clinched a playoff spot with a win while they will likely be out if they loss. If Utah beat them, they are out of the playoffs but they should be motivated because it could Nash last game as a Sun and they could see Spurs tanked games against Utah a reason why they miss the playoffs.

Anyway, Spurs need first to win tonight. Blazers have a lot of questionable players (Batum, Crawford, Przybilla, Felton) for this game and could be dangerous if these players are available and/or if Spurs takes them lightly.

[therealtruth]

This team has come out horribly flat when they're giving rest for an extended period of time. I say alternate the players in the Big 3 when resting and play them really limited minutes when on the floor.

Rotoworld: Parker was asked whether Gregg Popovich might leave Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan behind on the team's two-game road trip. "No, that’s too much time away," he said. "We’ll all play one of the two. I just don’t know which one." He also mentioned that Pop can get "super creative" in the final two games, so throw your expectations out the window.

I think it would be a perfect opportunity to test out Tiago and Manu as starters.

[Anonymous Cowherd]

If you have a clear chance at HCA, you go for it.

I agree. That means we should make sure to finish against Miami, who we need 2 wins out of 3 to guarantee finishing above them.

Having full HCA isn't in our hands - the Bulls own the tie-breaker against us so only if they lose one of their two remaining do we have any chance.

We should see how things stand after we've played Portland, Phoenix have played Utah, and Miami have played Boston.