1990-91 Odds To Win Finals: Spurs +600, Bulls +700

[Spurtacular]

Interesting that the Spurs had better odds than MJ's Bulls.
Do you agree? Would you say the Spurs failed that season?

https://www.basketball-reference.com/leagues/NBA_1991_preseason_odds.html

https://i.imgur.com/ZAtEYIv.png

[Maddog]

Well the obvious one is Jordan was even better than thought and Pippen developed into a really good player.
The Spurs actually flamed out in the first round. The previous season they pushed the WC Champs Portland to 7 games in a series that could have gone either ways.
That was a team loaded with young talent. However a lot of that talent did not progress and some of it would eventually regress due to bad behavior and injuries.
I think also Larry Brown wasn't a great fit. Always critical and fussing with this and that.

[CGD]

On paper that was an awesome starting five the Spurs had.

Strickland was always polarizing, but after Kyrie Irving still the best handles I’ve seen. Cummings was old when he came to us, but he was a really good PF and former all star. Sean and Dave were pups, but clearly studs. Willie was soft at times, but a smooth athlete.

There were some decent bench pieces on that team if I recall too.

[Maddog]

On paper that was an awesome starting five the Spurs had.

Strickland was always polarizing, but after Kyrie Irving still the best handles I’ve seen. Cummings was old when he came to us, but he was a really good PF and former all star. Sean and Dave were pups, but clearly studs. Willie was soft at times, but a smooth athlete.

There were some decent bench pieces on that team if I recall too.

The Bench was crap
That Summer the Spurs traded Brickowski a decent PF/C for the corpse of Paul Pressey. The bench was basically Pressey and Wingate.
Cummings was only 29 that season far from old. In retrospect the players outside of Dave where flawed and never improved significantly from where they where in 89. Some where head cases (see Rod). Others would succumb to injuries (Willie and Cummings). I would also add Larry Brown didn't help.

[Dirks_Finale]

Generally speaking, as an outsider non spur fan, I believed the entire Robinson era, pre Duncan was a underachievement - especially the Rodman years.

[lefty]

So Lakers did have higher odds than Portland

Th WCF were not an upset after all

[Seventyniner]

Generally speaking, as an outsider non spur fan, I believed the entire Robinson era, pre Duncan was a underachievement - especially the Rodman years.

Those Spurs teams remind me of the KG Wolves.

[TheChillFactor]

The Spurs were coming off of a phenomenal season and rookie David was an incredible player. That Portland series was one of the highlights of the Robinson era. The starting 5 seemed really complete, the additions of Cummings and later Rod Strickland really solidified the team.

I was in the 9th grade. All of san antonio was about to get a few years' worth of lessons on how hard it is to win a title.

The Robinson Spurs werent so much "underachievers", given what we know now, they never had the proper support for David to be successful. Bullshit coaching, cheap ownership, etc.

[spurs1990]

Well the obvious one is Jordan was even better than thought and Pippen developed into a really good player.
The Spurs actually flamed out in the first round. The previous season they pushed the WC Champs Portland to 7 games in a series that could have gone either ways.
That was a team loaded with young talent. However a lot of that talent did not progress and some of it would eventually regress due to bad behavior and injuries.
I think also Larry Brown wasn't a great fit. Always critical and fussing with this and that.

I started following NBA in 1990-1991 but didn't follow San Antonio closely this year.
Sean and DRob talk about the early 90s teams in this clip below from last year - evidently many publications had the Spurs getting to the Finals in 1991 (based on taking Portland to game 7 in 1990, I'd wager).

For those of you who watched in real-time and remember, how exactly did 7th seed Golden State win in 4 games in 1991? Was it a case of Run TMC playing out of their minds, and the Spurs laying an egg? All four games are uploaded on youtube but I'm too lazy to watch 8 hours of basketball. Trying to get a cliff-notes version.

1992 looks like DRob missed the playoffs. 1993 Barkley was at his absolute prime. 1994 I know Utah was reaching their peak and Rodman I'm sure was creating chemistry havoc. 1995 was all Rodman I recall. 1996 Utah again being unstoppable.


https://youtu.be/dHX4h152feQ?t=966

[Dirks_Finale]

Those Spurs teams remind me of the KG Wolves.

I thought the Spurs were more talented than KG's Wolves, tbh. And Drob was a better player than KG, imo.

[Dirks_Finale]

I started following NBA in 1990-1991 but didn't follow San Antonio closely this year.
Sean and DRob talk about the early 90s teams in this clip below from last year - evidently many publications had the Spurs getting to the Finals in 1991 (based on taking Portland to game 7 in 1990, I'd wager).

For those of you who watched in real-time and remember, how exactly did 7th seed Golden State win in 4 games in 1991? Was it a case of Run TMC playing out of their minds, and the Spurs laying an egg? All four games are uploaded on youtube but I'm too lazy to watch 8 hours of basketball. Trying to get a cliff-notes version.

1992 looks like DRob missed the playoffs. 1993 Barkley was at his absolute prime. 1994 I know Utah was reaching their peak and Rodman I'm sure was creating chemistry havoc. 1995 was all Rodman I recall. 1996 Utah again being unstoppable.


https://youtu.be/dHX4h152feQ?t=966


Robinson and Rodman was Yin and Yang that should have worked out very well. I thought the Spurs management should have been more Phil Jackson-esque and not tried to micro manage him knowing how much of a head case he is.

Regardless, damn that team was fun to watch those two years. Never missed a nationally televised game with that team.

[lefty]

I started following NBA in 1990-1991 but didn't follow San Antonio closely this year.
Sean and DRob talk about the early 90s teams in this clip below from last year - evidently many publications had the Spurs getting to the Finals in 1991 (based on taking Portland to game 7 in 1990, I'd wager).

For those of you who watched in real-time and remember, how exactly did 7th seed Golden State win in 4 games in 1991? Was it a case of Run TMC playing out of their minds, and the Spurs laying an egg? All four games are uploaded on youtube but I'm too lazy to watch 8 hours of basketball. Trying to get a cliff-notes version.

1992 looks like DRob missed the playoffs. 1993 Barkley was at his absolute prime. 1994 I know Utah was reaching their peak and Rodman I'm sure was creating chemistry havoc. 1995 was all Rodman I recall. 1996 Utah again being unstoppable.


https://youtu.be/dHX4h152feQ?t=966
IDK what happened vs GSW but apparently Larry Brown wasn't happy with Robinson and Sean's defensive efforts

Or it could have been a bad matchup vs Run TMC

But as already mentioned in this thread, Brown was a perfectionist in an imperfect game and could be overly critical of his players; in this case I feel he just singled out his 2 stars to dodge the blame or send a message or some shit

[Seventyniner]

I thought the Spurs were more talented than KG's Wolves, tbh. And Drob was a better player than KG, imo.

Agree on both counts. I was just drawing the parallel with both of them being MVP-level players whose teams didn't have commensurate playoff success.

DRob's 7 (healthy) Spurs seasons pre-Duncan had 3 first round exits, 3 second round exits, and that shitshow WCF in 1995.

KG's 8 playoff seasons with the Wolves had 7 first round exits and the WCF appearance in 2004.

[daslicer]

Robinson and Rodman was Yin and Yang that should have worked out very well. I thought the Spurs management should have been more Phil Jackson-esque and not tried to micro manage him knowing how much of a head case he is.

Regardless, damn that team was fun to watch those two years. Never missed a nationally televised game with that team.

Those teams were what got me to be a spurs fan way back early in '94 as a kid.

[Spurtacular]

So Lakers did have higher odds than Portland

Th WCF were not an upset after all

I think the betting odds were higher for the Lakers because of all the LA gamblers.
I don't think they were considered better than the Blazers or Spurs though.

[Spurtacular]

Well the obvious one is Jordan was even better than thought and Pippen developed into a really good player.


Bulls were coming off of back-to-back conference finals appearances. They weren't off the radar.

[lefty]

I think the betting odds were higher for the Lakers because of all the LA gamblers.
I don't think they were considered better than the Blazers or Spurs though.
Good point

[SPURt]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE2U2ttJzxw

[lefty]

Fucking Rod Strickland :lol

Also : Peyton Manning at 20:54

[Spurtacular]

To a degree, Terry Cummings was the forerunner to Corey Maggette.

[KobesAchilles]

Nobody bothered to play defense that series besides Robinson. It was a shitshow. Just up and down and giving up open look after open look. Even after game 1 which we won, it was all bc of offense and not bc we played defense.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

You know it's the offseason when a discussion is posted about betting odds from a non-championship season from 30 years ago. :lol

[Spurtacular]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KSqM-jw5Fw&ab_channel=MikeWerstlein

[Allan Rowe vs Wade]

Fucking Rod Strickland :lol

Also : Peyton Manning at 20:54

:lmao

[Spurtacular]

I thought the Blazers were the best team in 91.
They were Stern's nightmare.

[lefty]

I thought the Blazers were the best team in 91.
They were Stern's nightmare.
They were prone to choking tbh, they had a lot of emotional players; I don't think Stern helped L.A in 91, he had milked that 80s Lakers cash cow dry, his new obsession was DeMar DeJordan.

Interesting fact ; the Blazers would have had the HCA in the Finals that year

[spurs1990]

Blazers definitely were a juggernaut in 1991, from what I recall.
A very raw Payton and Kemp duo took them to five games in the first round which earned heavy national media coverage for Seattle.

Portland went to the Finals in 1990 and again in 1992, so they lived up to their billing from a WC force.
Starters were Porter, Drexler, Buck Williams, Kersey, and Duckworth, with Ainge and Uncle Cliff off the bench. A really potent 7 man unit in their primes.

If you recall, Jerome Kersey and Terry Porter ended their careers in San Antonio, with a mixture of success (1999) and utter humiliation (2001).

[Spurtacular]

They were prone to choking tbh, they had a lot of emotional players; I don't think Stern helped L.A in 91, he had milked that 80s Lakers cash cow dry, his new obsession was DeMar DeJordan.

Interesting fact ; the Blazers would have had the HCA in the Finals that year

I do. Lakers were garbage.

Stern wanted Magic vs. Jordan b/c he had done nothing to market Drexler.