Stern admits mistake in Spurs' schedule

[Jimcs50]

Stern admits mistake in Spurs' schedule
5/9/2006, 2:18 a.m. ET
By BOB BAUM
The Associated Press

PHOENIX (AP) — NBA commissioner David Stern acknowledged one scheduling mistake — and may address another quirk in the playoff format.

The commissioner said Monday night that the NBA will "probably" change the way it seeds the playoffs.

"I think we're just talking about taking the four teams in each conference with the best records and seeding them one through four," he said.

Under the current format, the three division champions earn the top three seeds, followed by the remaining teams in order of their records. That's why San Antonio and Dallas are meeting in the second round, even though they have the two best records in the West.

Stern also said it was wrong to schedule the Spurs to open the Western Conference semifinals with an early game Sunday.

"If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't have acceded to the network's request on that one," he said Monday night.

San Antonio wrapped up its first-round series in Sacramento so late on Friday night that it was after midnight in Texas. The Spurs spent the night in Sacramento and didn't arrive back in San Antonio until about 3 p.m. on Saturday.

They tipped off their series with Dallas at noon, local time, on Sunday because ABC wanted to show the Cleveland-Detroit game in the more attractive later time slot.

"We could lay it off on the network, but that's our responsibility and we have the ability to say no," Stern said. "And we should have."

Despite the short turnaround, San Antonio won the game 87-85.

Stern was in Phoenix to present Steve Nash with the Most Valuable Player trophy before the Suns opened their second-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The long-suffering Clippers had been the butt of jokes in the league for years.

"Over the years I used to say to our broadcasting department that this is the year we should put the Clippers on the TV schedule," Stern said, "and they would say `David, go back into your office,' and I did. So wishing didn't make it so."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------


Props to Stern to admit a mistake. :tu

[Jimcs50]

oops, my bad....did not see this.

:oops


Here are some other articles:

[Jimcs50]

There's no telling what Mavs will do
Coach reveals little about his Mavericks' Game 2 repair work



08:23 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 9, 2006
By EDDIE SEFKO / The Dallas Morning News


SAN ANTONIO – It's a sure sign that Avery Johnson has reached full-blown playoff mode when he starts with the cloak-and-dagger stuff.

There was plenty of clever deception going on Monday. Mind games were front and center.

Johnson kiddingly said the potential game-winning play in Game 1 was doomed to be a game-loser because it was the first time his team had ever run it.

At least, it seemed he was kidding.

And he certainly didn't want his team double-teaming Tim Duncan, who had 31 points in the opener.

Sure. Whatever you say, Coach.

And Bruce Bowen's defense was completely legal, too, right?

Oh, wait. He said that, too.

While the world must decide what to believe, the only sure thing is that the locker room was not a disaster area after Game 1, a two-point loss to the Spurs. No need to call FEMA, which probably wouldn't make it to the scene until Game 6 anyway.

Instead, Johnson and his troops are entrenched, engaged and ready to see this thing through.

"More psychological wreckage would be if we'd have lost by 22," Johnson said. "We made a ton of mistakes. Don't get me wrong. But [if Game 1 had been a blowout] then you would feel probably this mountain is really, really hard to climb.

"But I think with the way we played – and didn't execute in a lot of situations – on the road in one of the most hostile environments in all of the NBA, I think we feel that we can get something done."

That was about the only certainty that came from the Mavericks between Games 1 and 2. As for the rest, it was hard to tell whether Johnson was being serious about anything or merely skirting the truth, yanking a few chains and giving no clues about what San Antonio can expect tonight.

But rest assured, adjustments of some sort are certainly forthcoming, such as guarding Duncan differently.

"I told our team: Never double-team Tim," Johnson joked. "We didn't want to ever double-team Tim Duncan. So again, I'll have to try to change some of my coaching mistakes."

Clearly, Johnson was taking a hit for his players. There were specific times when they were supposed to double-team Duncan. It just rarely got executed the right way.

And about that last-ditch play? Johnson swore it was a play – or at least a wrinkle – that his team had not run all season.

"That's a rookie coach," he said, again blurring the line between fact and fiction. "It wasn't the players' fault. I messed that one up. Pin that one on me. That's the first time we ran that play all year. So that was my fault. I'm not facetious. We have a way we want to attack. We'll just keep spelling it out."



GAME PLAN FOR THE MAVERICKS
Staff Writer Eddie Sefko on what the Mavericks need to do to level the series with the Spurs:


1. Stick to Bruce Bowen. All he can do on offense is shoot 3-pointers. Don't let him do it. :rolleyes

2. Share the ball. Eight assists in Game 1? Some teams get that in one quarter. Spread it around.

3. Dog Tim Duncan. Double-team him only when he dribbles. It worked in the second half of Game 1, until Bowen got loose.

4. Did we mention sticking to Bruce Bowen? And Robert Horry, too, while you're at it.

[Jimcs50]

Can Dirk's doctor give him a shot?
Shot doctor visits Dirk, but what ails him is aggressiveness



01:19 AM CDT on Tuesday, May 9, 2006


SAN ANTONIO – Not until the Mavericks broke their huddle at midcourt, signaling the end to their high noon practice Monday at the site of Sunday's setback, did a gray-haired fellow slumped alone in one of the bleacher seats begin to stir.

He clambered down an aisle to the end of the floor where Dirk Nowitzki had started firing away, removed his dark jacket, rolled up his sleeves and began to pass the ball to the Mavericks' superstar, one after another after another.

He was Holger Geschwindner, Dirk's lifelong shooting consultant from home. He'd gone back to Germany after the Memphis series, in which Dirk averaged 31 points, and was just getting back – a day late, it would appear.

For of all the reasons the Mavericks are down one win to none headed into tonight's second installment of the Western Conference semifinals against the Spurs, it is because Dirk couldn't find his shot, and didn't take the last one, as Avery Johnson's plan designed.

Sunday underscored why Dirk was once again an MVP candidate. His production, or lack of it, is that critical to his team. Just like Steve Nash's production is to the Suns, for whom he just won the MVP for a second season in a row. Like LeBron James' is to Cleveland, where he should've won the award this season.

As Dirk goes, so do the Mavs. There's no way around it, especially when the opponent is as stout as the defending champs.

Indeed, the bottom line to what success these Mavericks found against the defending champions this season came when Dirk paved the way. In the two wins the Mavericks managed over the Spurs during the regular season, Dirk scored 30 and 34 points. In the two games the Mavericks lost, he scored 23 and 14.

"We need him to score when there are opportunities to score," Avery Johnson explained simply Monday, "and we need to get his teammates open when his opportunities aren't there."

In this series' opener Sunday, Dirk missed eight of his 11 shots in the second half and finished with 20 points. And some of those shots that went astray were not contested. They were clean looks from the baseline or the elbow, that corner at the foul line, where Dirk has been known to be as accurate as an atomic clock.

That won't get his team to the promised land. Hence, the visit from the shot doctor and the extra target practice Monday afternoon.

Dirk said he just never found his rhythm Sunday. He said he allowed the Spurs, principally defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, to force him out of his comfort zone.

That shouldn't happen.

As Johnson said: "It's not like we've awakened on planet Mars and now we got this new defensive philosophy that we had no idea about. We've seen it before."

Bowen is roughly half a foot shorter than 7-foot Dirk. But Dirk rarely appeared to impose his size on Bowen, or anyone else for that matter. As a result, he was rewarded with but six free throws, missing two.

"Some nights, Dirk has torched us," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Monday. "Other nights, it's a little bit tougher for him. That can go either way. It just matters that you make him work for what he gets."

You wouldn't think after the regular season Dirk just completed, a career best by most measurements, that he'd hit such a bump in the road to the NBA Finals, that he'd have to remind himself to be on the attack and to concede nothing.

You'd think he would've been aware of that after the dud of a postseason – an anomaly – he had last spring against Houston and Phoenix. But that's where he is again.

"I gotta be aggressive and make things happen," Dirk said Monday.

"I don't think I'm gonna score 30, 35 points a game in this series. But I still gotta be efficient for the team."

For Dirk and these Mavericks, that means being assertive, too. After all, he averaged a career high in points this season on a team that scored fewer points on average than it has since he's been in Dallas. That makes his offense even more critical now.

That means that when the last shot is set up for you with a lifetime of 13 ticks on the clock and a much smaller man on you, you take the shot – like LeBron did last week – or you set up a capable teammate like Jordan did Steve Kerr and John Paxson way back when.

Dirk knows as much. The Mavericks, as always, just need him to do it.

[pache100]

"If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't have acceded to the network's request on that one," he said Monday night.

What a cop-out...that little worm.

[LEONARD]

F Stern...having the Mavs / Spurs play at noon was rediculous...

The Cavs / Pistons are primetime again tonight...and AGAIN on Saturday...

F'in idiots...

[Jimcs50]

What a cop-out...that little worm.


No, he then admitted that he could have told the network that they can not have it their way:


"We could lay it off on the network, but that's our responsibility and we have the ability to say no," Stern said. "And we should have."

Stern admitted his mistake.

[Jimcs50]

F Stern...having the Mavs / Spurs play at noon was rediculous...

The Cavs / Pistons are primetime again tonight...and AGAIN on Saturday...

F'in idiots...


6pm is not primetime for SA.

8:30 is much better.

[pache100]

No, he then admitted that he could have told the network that they can not have it their way:



Stern admitted his mistake.

Give me a break, Jim. Stern is a worm seven ways to Sunday. This is a cop-out, he plainly said he let the network have what they wanted. If he was any kind of a man, in the first place, he'd have said hell, no, not the Champs.

[Jimcs50]

Give me a break, Jim. Stern is a worm seven ways to Sunday. This is a cop-out, he plainly said he let the network have what they wanted. If he was any kind of a man, in the first place, he'd have said hell, no, not the Champs.


Well, Stern is by far the best commish in sports, so you have to give him some slack. Besides, it worked out fantastic, yes?

[leemajors]

F Stern...having the Mavs / Spurs play at noon was rediculous...

The Cavs / Pistons are primetime again tonight...and AGAIN on Saturday...

F'in idiots...

lebron brings the viewers.

[pache100]

Well, Stern is by far the best commish in sports, so you have to give him some slack. Besides, it worked out fantastic, yes?

No, I most certainly do NOT think he's " by far the best commish in sports". He's a jackass and I will not cut him any slack. When he gets over his hard-on for the Lakers and the Heat, get back with me and we'll talk again.

[Jimcs50]

lebron brings the viewers.


This league is more dependant on the "stars" than any sport, that is just a fact.Therefore all teams and players benefit with the increase in publicity and popularity.

All boats in the harbor rise with the tide, not just the yachts.*

*That is pretty profound, even if I do say so myself.

:)

[Jimcs50]

No, I most certainly do NOT think he's " by far the best commish in sports". He's a jackass and I will not cut him any slack. When he gets over his hard-on for the Lakers and the Heat, get back with me and we'll talk again.


Stern is the best. You are too young to remember all that he has done to make the NBA what it is today.

[pache100]

Stern is the best. You are too young to remember all that he has done to make the NBA what it is today.

Jim, I'm 53 years old. I may be too old to remember, but I'm not too young to remember much. That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I happen to disagree with you. That does not mean I'm automatically wrong.

[SpursWoman]

Stern is the best. You are too young to remember all that he has done to make the NBA what it is today.


:lol

[Jimcs50]

Jim, I'm 53 years old. I may be too old to remember, but I'm not too young to remember much. That is your opinion and you are entitled to it. I happen to disagree with you. That does not mean I'm automatically wrong.


Sorry, my bad, I am just used to being old compared to all these youngsters in here....but you are ancient compared to me.


:)

[ShoogarBear]

GAME PLAN FOR THE MAVERICKS
Staff Writer Eddie Sefko on what the Mavericks need to do to level the series with the Spurs:


1. Stick to Bruce Bowen. All he can do on offense is shoot 3-pointers. Don't let him do it.

2. Share the ball. Eight assists in Game 1? Some teams get that in one quarter. Spread it around.

3. Dog Tim Duncan. Double-team him only when he dribbles. It worked in the second half of Game 1, until Bowen got loose.

4. Did we mention sticking to Bruce Bowen? And Robert Horry, too, while you're at it.

Nice. Sticking to Bruce Bowen makes double teaming Tim that much harder. You gonna double off Manu? Tony? Horry? Barry? Finley?

[Jimcs50]

:lol


What is so freaking funny, young lady???

Sorry I am not privy to everyone's ages in here , like you people who get to go to all the GTGs.

:depressed

[Jimcs50]

Nice. Sticking to Bruce Bowen makes double teaming Tim that much harder. You gonna double off Manu? Tony? Horry? Barry? Finley?


Speaking of old farts......



:lol

[George Gervin's Afro]

I wonder if our winning had a factor in Stern's decision to make this announcement. Smmething tells me he would not have made this public had the Spurs lost.

[pache100]

Sorry, my bad, I am just used to being old compared to all these youngsters in here....but you are ancient compared to me.


:)

:nope :lmao


Sorry I am not privy to everyone's ages in here , like you people who get to go to all the GTGs. :depressed

Jim, I have never had the good fortune to attend a GTG. I have, however, mentioned my "ancientness" here several times. :lol

[Jimcs50]

Sorry, my ADHD just kicks in every now and again.



:)

[ShoogarBear]

Speaking of old farts......



:lol

How's it going, 90-Meter Man?

[Jimcs50]

How's it going, 90-Meter Man?



Pretty well, 4" Man.


:)

[Crookshanks]

The Cavs / Pistons are primetime again tonight...and AGAIN on Saturday...

And I hope the network gets torched in the ratings with another blowout - by Saturday will anybody be watching the Pistons/Cavs?

[FromWayDowntown]

I guess Stern has just joined the chorus of pro-Spurs whiners that Mike Fisher was attempting to lambaste in his pre-Game 1 column.

[pache100]

I guess Stern has just joined the chorus of pro-Spurs whiners that Mike Fisher was attempting to lambaste in his pre-Game 1 column.

Stern says whatever is convenient for him to say at the moment. Always has.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm not sure what he thinks he's gaining with this whole, "admitting mistakes" shit. All it does is diminish confidence in the competence of the league and brings the vultures out to take shots at him.

[LEONARD]

lebron brings the viewers.

Not when he sits the bench the entire 4th quarter...

[LEONARD]

6pm is not primetime for SA.

8:30 is much better.

and it'll probably start about 8:45...

6-8:30

or

8:45-11:15

I think the earlier game will have more national viewers...

[ShoogarBear]

Pretty well, 4" Man.


:)
Don't believe everything your sister says.

[SpursWoman]

Don't believe everything your sister says.

Dayum. :lol

[Jimcs50]

Don't believe everything your sister says.

I took it with a huge grain of salt, because she usually embellishes.

[SenorSpur]

Red-letter day, After all, Stern is the Big NBA Pimp. Pimps rarely admit to a mistake.

[boutons_]

Nah, Stern's a lawyer. His calculation could have been:

"OK, I'll take the money for this Spurs-on-ABC-Sunday game after a Spurs' Friday game, then I will later admit that it was a mistake, and I'll get credit for looking humble and contrite and wont-do-it-again as well as pocketing the $$$. I can't lose. You got a deal, ABC"

[picnroll]

To rectify this injustice of scheduling, and prevent another injustice, Stern should promise that Jack Nies won't be assigned to any Spurs playoff games.

[LilMissSPURfect]

the NBA coulda, shoulda changed it MID season or anytime thereafter...since it was the SPURS' they took the wait and see attitude....if it was the LAKERS in the top spot they woulda done something about it......CHARACTER and the ability to OVERCOME is what makes these SPURS special and what will carry them to another CHAMPIONSHIP.......

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag:

[san antonio spurs]

lol,
now instead of 36hours it would have been 38hours.
u gotta be kiddin' me to be whinning about 2 extra hours.
If he was admitting that the day was wrong, then ok. But not an extra 2h please
________
VAPORIZER (http://johan-luis.tumblr.com/)

[pache100]

lol,
now instead of 36hours it would have been 38hours.
u gotta be kiddin' me to be whinning about 2 extra hours.
If he was admitting that the day was wrong, then ok. But not an extra 2h please

It's not the amount of time between games in question...it's the time slot that some see as in insult.

[ObiwanGinobili]

They tipped off their series with Dallas at noon, local time, on Sunday because ABC wanted to show the Cleveland-Detroit game in the more attractive later time slot.

:jack :jack :jack

[tlongII]

I took it with a huge grain of salt, because she usually embellishes.

I wonder what your niece says about me?

[Jimcs50]

I wonder what your niece says about me?


That she wants you....but she fears the sheep.





:)

[san antonio spurs]

It's not the amount of time between games in question...it's the time slot that some see as in insult.
stern was admitting the time-rest issue, not the time slot insult of putting 2 teams with 60+ wins on the 1st of a double header in the fuckin' morning
________
Zoloft Lawsuit (http://classactionsettlements.org/)

[Obstructed_View]

stern was admitting the time-rest issue, not the time slot insult of putting 2 teams with 60+ wins on the 1st of a double header in the fuckin' morning
I wonder if they would have gone split screen if the game had gone to overtime.

[fyatuk]

I wonder if they would have gone split screen if the game had gone to overtime.

Meh, they probably would have just dropped the Spurs game :(

[Obstructed_View]

ABC will now be switching to the Cleveland Cavs and whoever game, so that it can be shown in its entirety to the Nike customers. The conclusion of this game can be seen on ABC family in the two home markets, and will be rebroadcast on SOAPnet at 2:37 AM EST immediately following the infomercial for the little thing that counts the number of times you've used your razor.

[Darrin]

F Stern...having the Mavs / Spurs play at noon was rediculous...

The Cavs / Pistons are primetime again tonight...and AGAIN on Saturday...

F'in idiots...

Correction: tonight is normal. The Pistons and Cavs will tip things off a 7:00 PM on a Tuesday night (4PM on west coast). Saturday is the "primetime" game, since the Pistons and Cavs get 3 days of rest to wait until the weekend.

And it's not the Pistons-Cavs that are in primetime, it's Lebron James. The Pistons were on NBA TV for three games, no games on ABC in the first round, one game on ESPN. The Pistons last game of the series was pushed to 6PM so that game 5 of the Cavs-Wizards could be in primetime. If they want to showcase Lebron James, they aren't going to do it when the West Coast is asleep (because Saturday was a late night) or they are at church.

The Spurs got sucked into this from both sides of the straw. The strongest sports nights are Friday and Saturday because across age groups, people stay up longer. Sports bars are just going to turn on ESPN without even looking at their programming. Because it's not a school night, attendance in areas is higher which means more crowd noise, which means a reinforced positive public image of the league as thriving.

The Kings-Spurs was a compelling matchup with two of the most nortorious players in the NBA going head-to-head - Ron Artest and Tim Duncan. The establishment versus the anti-establishment. People who are casual sports fans are obsessed by Ron Artest. The series was also close and full of big plays like Brent Barry's three, the last second lay-in by the Kings, etc. So they were given a great spot to showcase them, and then Lebron James became more compelling.

From a travel standpoint and how hard it would be on the Spurs, they would've been better off losing game six. Game one of the Pistons-Lebron probably would've ended up at 12PM because it still would've drawn better ratings than a Monday evening showcase. And the Kings and Ron Artest potentially knocking off Tim Duncan and the NBA Champions would've been better. Game sevens trump game ones, no matter who it is.

[LilMissSPURfect]

ABC will now be switching to the Cleveland Cavs and whoever game, so that it can be shown in its entirety to the Nike customers. The conclusion of this game can be seen on ABC family in the two home markets, and will be rebroadcast on SOAPnet at 2:37 AM EST immediately following the infomercial for the little thing that counts the number of times you've used your razor.
:depressed
sadbuttrue

[Darrin]

Meh, they probably would have just dropped the Spurs game :(

No, they probably would've backed up the Pistons and Cavs by 20 minutes or so. They couldn't just stop game two because it would've ended up creating stories about how much TV has control over the NBA schedule. If it went to double-overtime, they probably would've started showing Lebron v. Pistons on ESPN.

[Mrs.Tlong]

That she wants you....but she fears the sheep.





:)


I'll fuck that bitch up! :nutkick:

[pache100]

stern was admitting the time-rest issue, not the time slot insult of putting 2 teams with 60+ wins on the 1st of a double header in the fuckin' morning

Stern was admitting that, yes. But I was talking about the reason for the scheduling. And he agreed to that.


They tipped off their series with Dallas at noon, local time, on Sunday because ABC wanted to show the Cleveland-Detroit game in the more attractive later time slot.

"We could lay it off on the network, but that's our responsibility and we have the ability to say no," Stern said. "And we should have."

[FoxMulder]

Stern could said the same if the Spurs has lost past game?

is a Mistery...

[clubalien]

I for one think stern made the right decsion I don't have rich peoples TV this the only way I was going to see the game and not have to listen to WOAI was if it was on ABC

Now I thought it shoudl have been the later game because it woudl have given more rest so tim didn;t have to be up at am

but still national games are for money and ratings and obviously the best game was the spurs game them getting the prime spot on national tV was a good thing

hell if they weren;t in the prime spot peopel woul be saying how the media disses the spurs and aren;t giving them any respect

there is a reason the dallas cows have lots of MNF games when it was on national tv it is because people want to see them and when they do advertisers want to buy ads

plan and simple money rules the NBA and spurs bring in money