Second Seed

[GayForManu]

There's a good chance we could edge out Phoenix for the second seed if we keep playing this way. The Spurs have a pretty easy rest of the season with a lot of home games, just a handful of back to backs while Phoenix plays Dallas twice, Houston twice, SA once, etc. and have a pretty tough road ahead of them. I think I would rather SA go in with the 3 seed though, or if they can make a run at Dallas (unlikely) I'll take the 1 seed, but just something to think about.

[ducks]

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=61006

[jaespur21]

well with that number 2 seed comes homecourt adv. over those Suns. so hopefully they get there. but im confident that the spurs can win games in phx

[boutons_]

Make up 5 games on the Suns with 25 games remaining? Not likely.

Phoenix is more consistent, esp hitting their shots in the 4th qtr, than the Spurs.

The Spurs have screwed themselves into not higher than 3rd seed.
With the Jazz only 1 L behind, even 3rd isn't assured.

3rd or 4th, I'm totally indifferent.

[beirmeistr]

If I understand the playoff brackets correctly, there is a big difference between 3 and 4 in the sense that if the Spurs finish no. 3, they would probably advance to meet Phoenix and then dallas in the WCF, but if they finish no. 4, they would have to beat Dallas before getting to the WCF.

[Budkin]

If I understand the playoff brackets correctly, there is a big difference between 3 and 4 in the sense that if the Spurs finish no. 3, they would probably advance to meet Phoenix and then dallas in the WCF, but if they finish no. 4, they would have to beat Dallas before getting to the WCF.

This is true, we do NOT want the 4th seed and Dallas in round 2.

[boutons_]

If the Spurs get out of the first round, they have to play Suns and Mavs, and without HCA.

I really don't care in which order.

[Obstructed_View]

I have to say I'm with boutons_ on this one. Who cares who the Spurs play when? If they are healthy and playing good ball, they can win the title. If not, they'll lose at some point. 1999 was fun because the Spurs beat the good teams playing their best ball. It'll be even better to beat both the Suns and the Mavs without HCA.

[dbreiden83080]

Spurs do not need the HC to beat the Suns they have proven themselves against them over and over i have no doubt they can get a split of the first 2 games on the road in that series.

[mdmavsfan]

I do believe that you could beat the Suns in rd.2 but it would most likely take everything out of you while the mavs cruise to the WCF (minnesota/clippers then houston/jazz)

[FromWayDowntown]

I do believe that you could beat the Suns in rd.2 but it would most likely take everything out of you while the mavs cruise to the WCF (minnesota/clippers then houston/jazz)

I'm not sure that a series against Houston or Utah would be a "cruise" for the Mavericks. I'd expect that the Mavericks would win such a series, but I would also expect that it would take 6 games to get that done.

[exstatic]

I do believe that you could beat the Suns in rd.2 but it would most likely take everything out of you while the mavs cruise to the WCF (minnesota/clippers then houston/jazz)
SA beat the best PHO team of the past decade in 2005, 4 games to 1. Nash is 2 years older, and they lost Q and JJ, two deadly shooters. Don't count on us being beat up again this year.

[Guru of Nothing]

SA beat the best PHO team of the past decade in 2005, 4 games to 1. Nash is 2 years older, and they lost Q and JJ, two deadly shooters. Don't count on us being beat up again this year.

That should torture Sun fans for years to come - Nash, Amare, Marion, Joe Johnson and Richardson (on an amazing 3PT tear!) - and NO TITLE. They remind me of the Sixers from the 80s, who actually won a title, eventually.

BUT WHAT IF, the Suns got Marbury back?

[bdictjames]

That should torture Sun fans for years to come - Nash, Amare, Marion, Joe Johnson and Richardson (on an amazing 3PT tear!) - and NO TITLE. They remind me of the Sixers from the 80s, who actually won a title, eventually.

BUT WHAT IF, the Suns got Marbury back?
Very unlikely, Starbury wants star cash. But that would be sick.

Anyway, anybody notice any loopholes on the Suns offense? It seems unstoppable, considering they've got lots of go-to guys.

[boutons_]

"It seems unstoppable"

The Suns can certainly score, but very few teams play tough defense.

A characteristic Suns win is trailing, sometimes by a lot, or swapping the lead for 3.5 qtrs, then the other team misses on a couple possessions in crunch time, Suns hit nearly all of their shots in crunch time to win. Sorta like how they exploded on the Spurs in crunch time in the previous game.

The Spurs, OTOH, have a bad habit of horrible, sub-20-pt 4th qtrs this year.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

"It seems unstoppable"

The Suns can certainly score, but very few teams play tough defense.

A characteristic Suns win is trailing, sometimes by a lot, or swapping the lead for 3.5 qtrs, then the other team misses on a couple possessions in crunch time, Suns hit nearly all of their shots in crunch time to win. Sorta like how they exploded on the Spurs in crunch time in the previous game.

The Spurs, OTOH, have a bad habit of horrible, sub-20-pt 4th qtrs this year.


and very much like how they beat indy the other night


if you put a hand on the suns face they will miss shots.

I mean Amare averaged 37 points for god's sake against us in 2005 wcf and yet we still beat them in five.


I think we could beat them in 6 this year but Dallas is a whole other beast.

[z0sa]

I think the most key matchup will be our defense on Jason terry. Dirk is gonna have big games in a 7 game series - we just have to do what we can against him. Its when Terry is shooting well that Dallas cant be stopped.

[Jimcs50]

we will be lucky to hold off Utah for the 3rd seed

[miss paxton]

we will be lucky to hold off Utah for the 3rd seed

This statement got me curious enough to look up Utah's schedule. Their schedule seems pretty similar to the Spurs, assuming I counted up everything right:

Utah has 26 games left, 13 of which are on the road, including their only game left against the Spurs. They have two games against Houston (home and away), one against Dallas (road) and one against Phoenix (home). Thus they have three tough road games against Western Conference competition. They don't play the Lakers again.

Utah has 5 back to backs left, with one being 4 games in 5 nights. However, it's on an East Coast trip, with Cleveland being the last and possibly the toughest of the road trip.

The Spurs have 25 games left, with 14 of them at home. They have one game each against Houston, Utah, Phoenix and Dallas, with the Houston and Dallas games being road trips (Houston also the second night of a back to back with Orlando). The Dallas game will probably be meaningless vis a vis Dallas, since catching the Mavs is probably only barely mathematically possible at this point, but it still might have meaning for the Spurs to stay ahead of the Jazz. The Spurs have 4 back to backs, with one four game in five nights stretch. They have only one back to back in April, which the Jazz have two (the second being the road game against Dallas, then Phoenix at home the next night).

I've been encouraged by the improved play of late. It could all go downhill as early as this weekend, for all I know, but I don't see any reason to think the Spurs can't finish ahead of Utah.

[Jimcs50]

This statement got me curious enough to look up Utah's schedule. Their schedule seems pretty similar to the Spurs, assuming I counted up everything right:

Utah has 26 games left, 13 of which are on the road, including their only game left against the Spurs. They have two games against Houston (home and away), one against Dallas (road) and one against Phoenix (home). Thus they have three tough road games against Western Conference competition. They don't play the Lakers again.

Utah has 5 back to backs left, with one being 4 games in 5 nights. However, it's on an East Coast trip, with Cleveland being the last and possibly the toughest of the road trip.

The Spurs have 25 games left, with 14 of them at home. They have one game each against Houston, Utah, Phoenix and Dallas, with the Houston and Dallas games being road trips (Houston also the second night of a back to back with Orlando). The Dallas game will probably be meaningless vis a vis Dallas, since catching the Mavs is probably only barely mathematically possible at this point, but it still might have meaning for the Spurs to stay ahead of the Jazz. The Spurs have 4 back to backs, with one four game in five nights stretch. They have only one back to back in April, which the Jazz have two (the second being the road game against Dallas, then Phoenix at home the next night).

I've been encouraged by the improved play of late. It could all go downhill as early as this weekend, for all I know, but I don't see any reason to think the Spurs can't finish ahead of Utah.

Nice research...I feel a little better now.

:)

[boutons_]

"don't see any reason to think the Spurs can't finish ahead of Utah."

... a double -negative "accomplishment" indicating mediocre the Spurs' season has been. :lol

[miss paxton]

"don't see any reason to think the Spurs can't finish ahead of Utah."

... a double -negative "accomplishment" indicating mediocre the Spurs' season has been. :lol

Well, so what? Utah isn't exactly a cellar-dweller this year. Considering they're up 2-1 on the Spurs this year, I don't think they should be dismissed as not being up to the Spurs' standards. I'm old enough to remember the years that it seemed like the Spurs could never beat the Jazz--just because that hasn't been the case recently doesn't mean it was always true.

Let's take a look at who Utah's already beaten: they're 3-0 against Phoenix. They're 2-0 against Chicago and Detroit both. They're 1-1 (the win was in December, not in Dallas's 1st 4-game losing streak, which many seem to think doesn't count somehow) against Dallas and 1-1 against Houston. As I mentioned, they're 2-1 against the Spurs. So there's no reason to think placing ahead of Utah is somehow a non-accomplishment.

I don't expect the Spurs to go 82-0 every year. I don't get suicidal when they lose, even when they lose games they should win, even when they should have a better record than they do. I also hope I can recognize when other teams are as good as or better than the Spurs. There's nothing wrong in admitting that. I think they have as good a chance as anyone in the playoffs, but if they don't win a championship this year, I'm already mentally well-prepared for that possibility and it isn't going to destroy me.

[boutons_]

"not being up to the Spurs' standards"

so what?

It's not that the Jazz are "up" to the Spurs standards,

it's that the Spurs are "down" to the Jazz standards.

that's 'so what'.

[miss paxton]

"not being up to the Spurs' standards"

so what?

It's not that the Jazz are "up" to the Spurs standards,

it's that the Spurs are "down" to the Jazz standards.

that's 'so what'.

And my point is really twofold: 1) you're taking a very short-range view of the quality of the Jazz and 2) I don't understand why you're discrediting them this year. There's no question that the Jazz are a good team this year. It's not like they're at .500 or something. And they've beaten all the good teams at least once.

Why don't you define what the standard should be for the Spurs, and why it's so much loftier than for the rest of the league? Should they go 82-0? Should they be tied with the Mavs? Have fewer than 9 losses? Why? I don't post-stalk you or anything, so I don't know what your position is about the Spurs' weaknesses this year, but don't you agree they have some (poor rebounding and giving up leads, to name two obvious ones)? Regardless of whose fault that is--the players, the coach or management--the fact remains that the Spurs do not appear to the be the best team in the league. Since you obviously think they are or at least have the potential to be, why do you think that?

I just don't see how the Spurs, as presently constituted, should be considered head and shoulders above any of the other elite teams, even on paper.

[boutons_]

"Why don't you define what the standard should be for the Spurs, "

I always have, long before your 62 posts.

The Pop/Tim Spurs are to be compared only to other 3 or 4 top teams that are Title contenders. The other 25 teams are totally irrelevant.

[miss paxton]

"Why don't you define what the standard should be for the Spurs, "

I always have, long before your 62 posts.

The Pop/Tim Spurs are to be compared only to other 3 or 4 top teams that are Title contenders. The other 25 teams are totally irrelevant.

Oh, ok. Sorry for only having 62 posts.

[AZLouis]

What does it matter who plays who when. The Western playoffs is going to be a joy to watch regardless. Obviously we'll all be rooting for our favorite teams but the 2nd round matchups and the WCF are going to make for great games.

At this point there is no clear favorite and 3 maybe 4 teams in the West could take the whole darn thing.

But the Pistons are going to be very tough thanks to the addition of CWebb.

[theroc5]

surprise loss tonight by the suns..so that means only 5 games to make up

[boutons_]

"surprise loss tonight by the suns.."

When I heard the commentators say the Suns were playing to be the first team ever to sweep the other conference, I was pulling for the Suns. Tough loss for the Suns, meaningless win for the Suxers.

[lovespurs forever]

I prefered to the 3rd seed.