Only way I tank now is against Phoenix last game of the season, depending on whether a win would secure them the 8th seed if the Spurs get the 1st.
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Only way I tank now is against Phoenix last game of the season, depending on whether a win would secure them the 8th seed if the Spurs get the 1st.
why? we are going to meet Lakers or Thunder sooner or later
Yes,but people here think our chances vs OKC are bigger.. it's about matchups
We would have the 1st seed winning 3 of the last 4. And easily the bench can win 2 of them.Quote:
Yeah throw the damn game when you have a shot at the #1 seed and HC, that makes f in sense..........
But with Kobe playing this Friday let's try to win.If the Clippers win today surely we'll face the Lakers in the 2nd round anyway.
It will be a good test...if the Lakers aren't playing for Kobe to win the scoring title.
Durant is closing the gap so if Kobe plays he has to score more than 20 .He was shooting 42%...He has to be out of rythm.....
It will be a good test for us if Kobe is not in chuck mode
Say whatever you want, I really hope Manu sits out of this one. He played so physical on Tuesday against them, this could be that game he goes down with Bynum and Blake being the b*tches that they are.
Call pop a pussy or whatever but i think it would be a smart move.
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Originally Posted by Dr Cox
I will say whatever I want, thank you very much... and I actually agree with you right here. Preserving Manu through this one would probably be the best call. :toast
I think playing Manu and Duncan is too risky against a team that has now shown that they are willing to take cheap shots at our players.
After the Clippers loss at Phoenix, it doesn't really matter if Spurs win or lose their next game against Lakers.
The game that matters is Sunday game against Lakers and Thunder and whatever happened Friday, Spurs should root for a Laker win:
- If Spurs beat Lakers, Lakers beating Thunder will allow them to keep the 3rd seed.
- If Lakers beat Spurs, a Thunder loss against Lakers will give Spurs some breathing room for the 1st spot.
Bruno, unfortunately Spurs rooting for a LAL win will achieve nothing, at least a lot less than what the Lakers actually want.
LAL @ SAS and LAL @ OKC are actually mirror games. Whichever teams wins or loses, both teams are still moving in the direction of meeting in the 2nd round.
LAL-SAS pushes Spurs to 1 and Lakers to 4 (or conversely Spurs to 2 and Lakers to 3).
LAL-OKC pushes OKC to 1 and Lakers to 4 (or conversely Lakers to 3 and OKC to 2).
Spurs have an advantage insofar as they can tank against Lakers (helping Lakers clinch 3rd) and still be sure to have HCA in the West (and pretty much overall) by winning their last 4 games (ensuring they won't meet OKC or LAL before the WCF).
The Lakers half want the 3rd because it's an easier 1st round matchup; and half don't want it because it pushes them into OKC's arms in the 2nd round (where they'd prefer the Spurs).
OKC doesn't care about 1st or 2nd round matchups, although finishing 1st would open the possibility of an easier 2nd round matchup (I assume they'd rather face LAC or MEM than LAL). What they care the most about is getting 1st to have HCA against Spurs and possibly Miami.
All in all it looks to me that OKC will be a lot more motivated to win against the LAL at home, than the Lakers are in locking 3rd seed.
Resting the big 3 when we have a day off before and after that game would make us look like big pussies and probly mess with our confidence. We're crazy hot right now, I say ride the wave!
There's no doubt Manu sits tonight, imo.
I would think Tony sits also.
The only question to me is will Tim play? My guess would be no.
This is a good playoff warmup. Even if we lose we learn stuff we can work on.
This game against the Lakers? Never we need to try and send a message or at least see where we stack up against them, should we meet up again in the playoffs, now should we tank a game against Golden State at the end of the year, if Lakers are at #4 and losing the game will put the Thunder, Lakers and Grizzlies on one side of the bracket. Now should the Spurs win the West and it costs up home court against the Heat, where I might enjoy HCA but you have to get to the finals first and the Heat are the ONLY team against which I think HCA would be important. They can easily steal one against the Bulls or Thunder on the road.
They should play the whole team and see where they stand against a full Lakers team. In this case, having the information earlier gives the coaching staff more options to adjust. The Spurs have a deep team and better staff-- hence they can offer more wrinkles and make more adjustments than the Lakers. Find out now, instead of a possible game 1 loss at home that can swing a series.
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