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Agree, and I'll add to that: lack of experince.
Right NOW, it has to be PHX.
NOH haven't been on the "map" long enough to be considered our primary rival even if they are a good team. That could change this year so we'll see.
Dallas has all but fallen off the map the past two years now.
We haven't played the Lakers enough in the past few years for them to still be considered our rival either. Again, that could change here in these playoffs.
Right now it feels like we're in a transition between rivals with the hornets and lakers both on the up and up and dallas and phx seemingly on their way down. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Agree, and I'll add to that: lack of experince.
are you kidding me?
EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR POSTS sounds exactly like a troll would sound like.
seriously.
I'd say the Pistons?
to have a rivalry it has to be a back and forth
unless the spurs meet the celtics in the finals and knock them off that high horse the media have placed them on, they are the spurs biggest rival in terms of perception.
your life is an empty void that you try to fill with negativity and shameless pleasure from other's failures. You need help.
I still go with the Mavs or Lakeshow.
Since Phoenix has never won a playoff series against us, how can it even be considered a "rivalry"? Throw regular season out the window. Everyone tells you RS games don't mean nothing anyway.
So, since Mavs have most recently been the one to keep us out of the Finals, I think it has to be them.
I think it's a bad idea to look past the Suns. One battle at a time. Pop and his team certainly don't underestimate them. If the Suns eke out two wins in Phoenix, we're back to square one. A two out of three series. At that point, all bets are off.
That said, the Lakers, Jazz and Hornets are all looking mighty good right now. But it'd be foolish for Laker fans to think about the Spurs right now because they'd have to go through the Jazz first, a far more cohesive, disciplined team than the Nuggets. They're in for a war even before getting to the WC finals, and I'd put their chances at 50/50 at best.
Hornets? Big "remains-to-be-seen." Phenomenal players, but still unproven in playoff basketball.
In the East, obviously the Celtics and Pistons are looming. But who can think that far when there's still the big, bad West to get through?
If any one team in the WC hates us more than the others it would have to be the Suns. They are sort of like the old Spurs when they were always the loser to the hated Lakers.
As for the Spurs, they don't have any particular passion against any team any more. The Lakers and Mavs rivalry pretty much lapsed with our championships. The Mavs have imploded and the Lakers haven't quite proven they've recovered their power. The Rocket victories in the 94-95 campaigns are forgotten.
I suppose the fans dislike Phoenix more because of their at ude toward the Spurs. They seem to think we're always just lucky when we play them and the coach says they are a better team.
When you always own a team in the playoffs that's not a rivarly...that's just domination. It has to be dallas, especially after that epic 7 game series in 2006. Plus, theyre in the same division as the Spurs so there's even more compe ive.
I forgot one thing in my previous post. The recent comments by Rajah Bell about their big men beating TP up in the lane and putting him on the ground ("If he gets back up, God bless him") may preview a strategy to cause an injury that would put TP out of the series or limit his effectiveness. They obviously think they have some payback coming for the Horry/Nash incident last year.
If that happens, the Suns automatically become Enemy No. 1
Lakers by far...
Spurs defeat Lakers 1999
Lakers defeat Spurs 2001,2002
Spurs defear Lakers 2003
Lakers defeat Spurs 2004
i get a feeling though its gonna be the Celtics really soon....
Why would you think that?
The chances of us meeting the Celtics in the playoffs enough times to make it a rivalry is very low. Not to mention that both team's superstars are getting up there in age.
The Lakers are our biggest rivals, with the Jazz behind them, then the Suns, and then the Mavs. As far as history is concerned atleast.
Yep. The series between the Lakers between 1999-2004 was definitely the modern day rivalry. I miss it actually.
I don't consider the Suns a rival yet until they beat us in the playoffs.
We haven't played the Pistons nor New Orleans enough to be rivals with them.
It was developing with the Mavs, but I think they've dropped off a bit. We still owe them for 2006.
If I had to pick one I would say the Lakers, but then again to me anyone not in the black and silver is a rival to me.
well a "basketball rivalry" by many is considered a exchange of defeats in the playoffs, but to me thats not what i would consider the sole elements of a great rivalry. To me a rivalry could also begin when you have two teams who are so evenly matched meeting in the NBA Finals to prove something to the World. One 7 game series with Road wins for both teams could initiate a Rivalry real quick. Even some intense regular season games that are epic could ADD to the rivalry. So a "rivalry" doesnt necesarilly have to be an exchange of playoff defeats. in my opinion....
yeah and the Rockets and Spurs are built from each other's players. Lets see
Horry
Elie
Willis
Scola
Barry
Who did I leave off this list. It's almost like our two managments are in collusion with each other. Who to root for...??? Hmm
Utah used to beat the Spurs over and over in the 90s and now we're returning the favor. Maybe that's a rivalry that's been ongoing for more than a decade.
But a more recent one would have to be the Lakers, no doubt.
We'll see how they play them in Dallas. If that does happen.....Nope, i think the Hornets will win, maybe even sweep them.
Dalllas?
Phoenix?
LOL
Those guys are rapidly fading into the past and will be hard pressed to make the playoffs next year...Sarver rolled the dice this year with Shaq and Dallas is out of options no matter how much money Cuban would like to throw at winning...it will be blow up and reorganize time for both teams...the window just slammed shut. Phoenix might have one more years run but thats it...
Lakers and Utah are the front runners for rival and Seattle and Portland will be much improved next year...NO isn't going away either...
I said before the season started that the team we have to get by in the West is the Jazz. I didn't forsee the Lakers ability to bring in Pau Gasol, but I still say that the Jazz are built for the playoffs, in similar fashion to the Spurs. And even though I hate... seriously hate Jerry Sloan, you have to respect the discipline of the teams he coaches. I have never seen any other team get as much mileage out of the last 30 seconds of a game as Sloan's Jazz.
That being said, in the next round the Jazz are our best friends. Because even if they eventually lose to the Lakers, they should be able to stretch them into an extended series.
Before that matters, we have to get past the Hornets. (I just don't think the Suns can win 4 of 5 against the Spurs.) The Hornets are a legit team, but I think they still have to pay their playoff experience dues against the experience of the Spurs.
I'm sticking with my pre-season prediction. Spurs vs. Jazz in the WCF again. If it happens, it will go a long way towards defining a rivalry.
Lakers. You actually have to have beaten each other recently for it to be a rivalry.
When did the Nones ever beat us? Back in 2000. We do not have a rivalry with Phoenix.
Dallas has beaten us recently, so it's a little rivalry. Not that it matters since they'll be gone in a few days.
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