Stern Presser on '12 Playoffs

[ace3g]

Maximum Sports ‏ @MaxSportsSA

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NBA Commish David Stern holding playoff conference; makes introductory note about # of small markets in post season; level playing field

Says Metta suspension of 7 games did have to do with player's past

Stern says a teams schedule to end season will have bearing on Saturday/Sunday playoff opener, but so will building availability.

Stern says there will be "back to backs" in the 2nd round because of scheduling quirks.

[DesignatedT]

back2backs? fucking really?

[timvp]

Stern says there will be "back to backs" in the 2nd round because of scheduling quirks.Expected yet still sucks.


Stern says a teams schedule to end season will have bearing on Saturday/Sunday playoff opener, but so will building availability.I'm sure the Spurs will magically get a Saturday start.

[Jimcs50]

Maximum Sports ‏ @MaxSportsSA

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NBA Commish David Stern holding playoff conference; makes introductory note about # of small markets in post season; level playing field

Says Metta suspension of 7 games did have to do with player's past

Stern says a teams schedule to end season will have bearing on Saturday/Sunday playoff opener, but so will building availability.

Stern says there will be "back to backs" in the 2nd round because of scheduling quirks.


So, that means, for practically first time ever, Spurs will actually get to start on a Sunday for a change??

:rolleyes

[FromWayDowntown]

I'm sure the Spurs will magically get a Saturday start.

Saturday at noon.

[DesignatedT]

Lets just hope it's a night game or late afternoon at least for the Spurs. Fuckin noon games we play horrible.

[ace3g]

also this from Jeff McD:

Jeff McDonald ‏ @JMcDonald_SAEN

Spurs staying over in San Francisco on Thurs. Won't return to SA until mid-day Fri. If Game 1 is Sat, there will be no practice beforehand.

--

Max Sports makes a correction:

Maximum Sports ‏ @MaxSportsSA

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Stern says there will be "possible" back to backs in round 2, because of scheduling quirks. Left out the word "possible" in last tweet

[DesignatedT]

Are the big 3 returning to SA tomorrow?

[Mugen]

b2bs in the playoffs are bullshit. Thank god we have the best depth in the league but it really hurts Manu/Timmy.

[BillMc]

back2backs? fucking really?

While I initially thought that sucked (because of the age of Tim and Manu), I wonder actually if this could play to our advantage with our present run away depth.

Less deep teams might be sucking wind on the second game, while we might be able to put fresh bodies in....

[DesignatedT]

Saturday, April 28

2 PM ABC
4:30 TNT
7 PM ESPN
9:30 PM ESPN

Sunday, April 29

12 PM ESPN
2:30 PM ABC
6 PM TNT
8:30 PM TNT

These are the time slots for game 1 if anyone is interested.

These are central times.

[timvp]

Saturday at noon.

No doubt.

Really though, the Spurs need a Sunday start. They will probably be the last team playing on Thursday night. Add in Neal's injury and the other probable fluke injury that will happen in the next two games ... and I'm hoping for something like Sunday, Wednesday.

[honestfool84]

Expected yet still sucks.

I'm sure the Spurs will magically get a Saturday start.


as a Spurs fan, i'm *hoping* for a Saturday start... i'm ready to see them play!


i don't think Pop will play the Big 3 Thursday, anyways.... so they'll be all rested.

but a Sunday game would be fine with me, knowing that extra day of rest will be useful.

[Mugen]

Sat. 5:30 TNT sounds about right.

lol NBA

[smrattler]

Saturday at noon.

Noon EST... 11AM CST. :depressed

[Spurtacus]

B2B is bullshit. Fucking greedy NBA. Bad enough 66 games was squeezed into 4 months. Should have reduced the season to 50 games and have a normal playoffs.

[FromWayDowntown]

No doubt.

Really though, the Spurs need a Sunday start. They will probably be the last team playing on Thursday night. Add in Neal's injury and the other probable fluke injury that will happen in the next two games ... and I'm hoping for something like Sunday, Wednesday.

Literally all but two games on Thursday start at 8 p.m. EDT -- only LAL/SAC and SA/GST start at 10:30 EDT. The Lakers are playing at home this weekend, so the late start is pretty much meaningless to them.

For what it's worth, only one Eastern Conference playoff team is playing a Thursday away game against a Western Conference opponent -- Orlando, which is playing in Memphis.

Reading between the lines a bit, Stern's comment about scheduling could only really apply in a couple of situations:

1. the Clippers play tonight in New York and might play this weekend in LA; it would make some sense that the league might push the Clippers to Sunday to account for the cross-country trip and have the Lakers play Saturday (though that would be highly unusual) -- I don't think that's what he's talking about because the Mavericks play in Atlanta on Thursday and will likely have to play in LA this weekend, so making them travel to play on Saturday at LA might be considered unfair (particularly by someone like Cuban).

2. the Spurs' situation.

For ease of reference, here's where the playoff teams close -- all games on Thursday unless otherwise noted:

EAST
Chicago v. Cleveland
Miami at Washington
Indiana v. Chicago (Wednesday)
Boston v. Milwaukee
Atlanta v. Dallas
Orlando at Memphis
New York at Charlotte
Philadelphia at Detroit

WEST
San Antonio at Golden State
Oklahoma City v. Denver (Wednesday)
LA Lakers at Sacramento
LA Clippers at New York (Wednesday)
Memphis v. Orlando
Denver at Minnesota
Dallas at Atlanta
Utah v. Portland

[Jimcs50]

Guess it does not matter since Utah plays on Thursday too. I guess Sat at 5:30 will be our game.

[eric365]

Really though, the Spurs need a Sunday start.

I hope a Saturday start or at least a Memphis / Clippers saturday starts

The big 3 will likely not play Thursday and the sooner both series starts, the more chance we have to avoid back to back in 2nd round

[honestfool84]

I hope a Saturday start or at least a Memphis / Clippers saturday starts

The big 3 will likely not play Thursday and the sooner both series starts, the more chance we have to avoid back to back in 2nd round

this makes sense.

[rjv]

Expected yet still sucks.

I'm sure the Spurs will magically get a Saturday start.


and a back to back should they get to the 2nd round

[tmtcsc]

Spurs earned Saturday off with # 1 seed and killer schedule to close the season. I'd be surprised if they play on Saturday.

[Keepin' it real]

Spurs Sunday at 6.

[shyne]

Spurs played on Sunday at noon last year, it will prob be same this year.

[Seventyniner]

I doubt the NBA will ever let the top playoff seeds pick their opponents, but why not let them pick the schedule? I know building conflicts could exist, but each team could submit a ranked list of preferred dates/times, with better records getting priority. This would give the Spurs a reason to try and pass the Bulls, for example.

[FromWayDowntown]

Saturday, April 28

2 PM ABC
4:30 TNT
7 PM ESPN
9:30 PM ESPN

Sunday, April 29

12 PM ESPN
2:30 PM ABC
6 PM TNT
8:30 PM TNT

I'm going to assume the Lakers get their usual 2:30 Sunday slot. I'm also going to assume that whoever gets the Knicks in Round 1 will get the 2 pm Saturday slot.

Spurs/Jazz smells a whole lot like a TNT, Sunday evening series, along with Indiana/Orlando.

[coyotes_geek]

Pretty sure we can pen in the lakers for the Sunday/2:30/ABC spot. ABC probably also wants the Heat for their Saturday/2:00 spot, especially since the Heat will be playing New York or Philly.

Lakers on Sunday afternoon from Staples probably means the Clippers at home from Staples have to be in the Saturday/9:30 spot.

The Sunday/12:00 spot needs to go to a game on the east coast, i.e. the Celtics.

Bulls and Thunder get the Saturday/7:00 & Sunday/6:00 spots in whatever order.

Pacers and Spurs split the remaining spots, Saturday/4:30 & Sunday/8:30. Pacers saturday afternoon, Spurs Sunday night seems to make more sense given the Pacers eastern time zone opponent Orlando and the Spurs mountain time opponent Utah.

[DesignatedT]

The later the better IMO.

[dbreiden83080]

One back to back for a series or multiple back to backs?

[FromWayDowntown]

One back to back for a series or multiple back to backs?

Only one per series, I would think.

In 1999, there were back-to-backs in 3 of the 4 conference semifinals. The Lakers and Spurs played Games 3 and 4 on Saturday, 5/22 and Sunday, 5/23. The Jazz and Blazers did the same thing. And the Hawks and Knicks played Games 3 and 4 of their series on Sunday, 5/23 and Monday, 5/24. Indiana and Philadelphia managed to avoid that problem, but there doesn't seem to be any particular reason why that happened (other than that there wasn't a need to get that series on TV on Sunday).

There were also two Conference Semifinals in 2003 that had back-to-backs -- Dallas v. Sacramento and Detroit v. Philadelphia; those seem to have been necessary because Dallas and Detroit each needed 7 games in Round 1 to eliminate their opponent.

At this point, the 2nd round is scheduled to start on May 14-15. The schedule allows for a move-up to May 12 or 13. I tend to think that if a series starts on 5/12 or 5/13, there likely won't be a back-to-back in that series; if a series starts on 5/14 or 5/15, I think there's a strong chance that there will be a back-to-back in that series. I also tend to think that the league will allow a set Second Round series to start even if the First Round isn't completely over. That happened as recently as 2010.

[diego]

all the more reason to go for the sweep in the first round.

but the obvious solution to me was to go back to best of five series for the 1st round, its not like they've been best of seven forever

[capek]

Do we know when the schedule for game one will actually be announced? I need to know so I can make my plans for driving in for game 1! :ihit

[Cant_Be_Faded]

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am

[timvp]

At this point, the 2nd round is scheduled to start on May 14-15. The schedule allows for a move-up to May 12 or 13.

So to avoid the back-to-back, the Spurs not only need to make quick work of the Jazz, they need the Clippers/Grizzlies to make quick work of the Grizzlies/Clippers.

Unfortunately, that looks like a 6 or 7 game series on paper.

[DAF86]

Do we want to avoid the back-to-back?

[FromWayDowntown]

all the more reason to go for the sweep in the first round.

but the obvious solution to me was to go back to best of five series for the 1st round, its not like they've been best of seven forever

Fewer games = less money; that was never even a remote possibility.

Nor should it have been. Until 2000, playoff back-to-backs were fairly commonplace. Between 1985 and 1999, there was only one season (1991) in which there were no playoff back-to-backs.

The league has at least abandoned the scheduling system it once used to use in which some teams played back-to-backs in the conference semifinals and then turned around to play back-to-backs in the conference finals, too. In 1988, the Celtics and Hawks played a back-to-back on 5/15 and 5/16 while the Pistons and Bulls played a back-to-back on 5/14 and 5/15; when the Celtics and Pistons met in the Eastern Conference Finals, that series started with a back-to-back on 5/25 and 5/26. Doubt we see that again -- a back-to-back in the conference finals hasn't happened since then (there were also back-to-backs in the ECF in 1985, 1986 and 1987).

[FromWayDowntown]

So to avoid the back-to-back, the Spurs not only need to make quick work of the Jazz, they need the Clippers/Grizzlies to make quick work of the Grizzlies/Clippers.

Unfortunately, that looks like a 6 or 7 game series on paper.

Yeah, it definitely takes two to tango in avoiding the back-to-back. Miami and Indiana, for example, would seem to be a good candidate to avoid it.

[coyotes_geek]

If the Spurs have to play a back to back in the second round because they finished off utah early and the clips/grizz series went long, I'm actually okay with that.

[Man In Black]

What events are going on in each arena for each team? That way we can call bullshit on Stern when he gives the Spurs a Saturday Start.

Don't you guys recall a time when Stern said that he needs to look after his league membership and tell the media partners that sometimes their requests aren't the #1 choice.

I think this happened when Pop's team was forced to play a game Saturday Day Time after playing a late game Friday night.

Maybe it was the San Antonio-New Orleans Game 7 where the Spurs won, had to sleep on a plane and then be in LA for game 1 of the next series.

[dylankerouac]

I hope Spurs get more than a day of rest before the second game. I think their seeding should give them that automatically though.

[FromWayDowntown]

I think this happened when Pop's team was forced to play a game Saturday Day Time after playing a late game Friday night.

The one that always occurs to me is 2006, when the Spurs played Game 6 of the first round at Sacramento on a Friday night and then had to play Game 1 of the WCSF against Dallas in SA on Sunday afternoon.

[timvp]

If the Spurs have to play a back-to-back, I'd prefer it be at home (in other words, Game 1 and Game 2 of the WCSF). But I believe it's much more likely that the back-to-back will be on the road in Game 3 and Game 4. Worst case scenario would be a back-to-back with travel, but I doubt that happens because the NBA likes to make sure the media has enough time to get between cities in the playoffs.

[Mugen]

Didn't the Spurs have to play a b2b in 2008? Game 7 @ NO and Game 1 @ the Lakers?

[FromWayDowntown]

If the Spurs have to play a back-to-back, I'd prefer it be at home (in other words, Game 1 and Game 2 of the WCSF). But I believe it's much more likely that the back-to-back will be on the road in Game 3 and Game 4. Worst case scenario would be a back-to-back with travel, but I doubt that happens because the NBA likes to make sure the media has enough time to get between cities in the playoffs.

I suspect that the anticipated back-to-backs would be 5/19 and 5/20 -- perhaps 5/20 and 5/21, though I doubt it -- which (assuming a Round 2 start on May 14 or 15) would be Games 3 and 4.


Didn't the Spurs have to play a b2b in 2008? Game 7 @ NO and Game 1 @ the Lakers?

No. In 2008, the Spurs played a Monday night game in New Orleans, slept on the tarmac, and then played a Wednesday night game in Los Angeles. The circumstances were unusual and disfavorable, but not a back-to-back.

[SpursIndonesia]

Saturday schedule would be nice for me, so it has a chance to be aired live in my country. :D

[Seventyniner]

The Spurs have done so well on back-to-backs recently that I'm not worried about it at all. It will be a back-to-back for the other team as well.

[BlairForceDejuan]

b2b in playoffs

stern go fuk yourself

[lurker23]

I don't have any stats to back this up, but I've heard the general opinion that if teams play each other in both games of a back-to-back, they tend to split the pair.

If you choose to accept this as truth, you would actually want the B2B on the road. It gives you the opportunity to split the pair on the road, while still retaining the possibility of sweeping your two games at home.

[lurker23]

Fake Stern quote: "The fact that Pop sat his best players the last two games of the season made it much easier for us to schedule the Spurs on Saturday."