Spurs vs Rockets in the Western Conference Finals
Spurs vs Celtics for the championship.
as long as i wake up to an SA-ExpressNews with the front cover stating "Spurs NBA Champions 2009!" and the night before i hear nothing but honking then i am fine.
Spurs vs Rockets in the Western Conference Finals
Spurs vs Celtics for the championship.
the Jazz can beat Lakers in 1st or 2nd round. that would prevent a Spurs vs. Lakers WC Finals
I agree.
I say the Question should be changed to "Who are the Spurs going to play in the WCF?"
The Lakers are no lock to be in the WCF.
the Lakers are the favorites to win the West, everybody agrees with that..do the Spurs have a shot? absolutely..if Bynum is out, I'd expect to win the series..but it looks like he'll be back..so if Manu is healthy as well, I'd say it's probably 70-30 chance LA wins the series right now..if the Spurs continue the solid D we've seen since February, and if Gooden becomes a solid contributor, I could see it being 60-40 for LA..
as long as Bynum is playing, they are the significant favorites though..
as for other teams..Utah and New Orleans are significant sleepers..I'd say the Hornets especially..the problem with Utah is that neither one of their big men plays D at all, so they're going to have a tough time matching up with Duncan/Gasol-Bynum..New Orleans has Chandler to throw at the Lakers and at us..
Hornets look a lot better now..West is playing like an all-star again, Chandler is back to last year's level, they added Posey, Butler is much better this year, Antonio Daniels is a good backup PG..if Peja can get back to being consistent, they'll be dangerous..
Two words: Utah Jazz.
Not saying they wil... but they could.
their D is inconsistent, but unlike the Suns, they have 2 7 footers in the middle..that's the key for the Lakers D..like I said before, Bynum is the key to everything for LA, despite the media knocking his impact recently..
The Suns! Wait, wait... they suck.
The Mavs! No... no... they suck, too.
The Rockets? Yeah, right.
Jazz don't match up with LA well at all when both teams are healthy. Deron goes off but no one else can because LA has the big that can chase Okur outside (Odom) as well as still protect the paint.
And they can't slow down Kobe.
New Orleans is the team that's hot right now. They are different in that they now have Posey to match up with someone like Manu or Kobe.
As for saying LA doesn't have D - not the case. They aren't anywhere close to say Phoenix or Dallas was - especially when Bynum is there.
In the last 2 seasons, LA is 8-4 against Utah (6-0 in LA, 2-4 at Utah). In those 12 games, Kobe has averaged 33 per game.
No way LA is worried about Utah. They'll just be another sure victim like the rest of the West.
If I'm the Lakers I am most worried about a first round exit maybe to the Mavs, the ultimate humilation.
Nope they are destined to meet again hopefully Manu,Gooden nd Bynum will al be healthy and things will be determined on the court and hopefully no Brent barry Dfish no-calls either ...
You guys are hoping and praying here ... Look I have been disappointed in the up and down play of th Lakers on defense but in evry big games vs. spurs, Cavs, Celts etc . we have played good defense ..no playoff teams have blown us out ...and even our worst losses (pistons at home nuggs on road we were in the game)
We will be in the WCF ...that is my only prediction ...spurs hornets and Jazz could beat us there ..BUT Spurs the only team that worries me ..the rest I respect but do not fear ...in the east it's the celts we would smash Cavs
I'd say the Jazz, Hornets, and Rockets in that order can all stop the Lakers and Spurs from meeting in the Conference Finals.
Aside from the usual injuries that is...
New Orleans is the team that's hot right now, and not the Jazz? The Jazz haven't lost since before the All Star break. And since 2/11, they have beaten L.A., Memphis, Boston, New Orleans, and Atlanta. And the only close games were the 5-point win against Boston, and the 4-point win against L.A.
In that same span, the Hornets lost to Memphis, Boston, L.A., and Utah. And they barely got past New Jersey, Milwaukee, Detroit, and OKC.
Maybe it's not fair to look at things like W-L record and scores. But Utah is looking pretty damned good to me right now.
That's a .666 record against Utah over 2 years, which is good. But in a 7-game series, all it would take would be a single bad game from Kobe... a single game where Okur goes off. A couple of little "oops" moments here or there, and the Lakers could be down 3-2 playing in Utah. The Jazz are a good team, and if they peak going into the playoffs, they could beat any team in the league.
Still, I hope the Lakers players are looking at the Jazz as a "sure victim" like you say they are.
the Jazz are a regular season team though, that's their problem..they don't have the size to matchup with Duncan, Gasol, and Bynum..Boozer is undersized and doesn't play D, while Okur is a perimeter player..
if they had a legit C instead of Okur, I would believe in their chances..with their team currently as it is, I don't think they can beat us or beat the Lakers unless they have an extremely hot series with their shooting..
New Orleans is the wildcard..
Hornets are playing well again and Jazz is a tough team
You can be a Cowboys fan and state that another team will most likely win it all.
You can be an Astros fan and admit they'd be lucky to make the playoffs.
But I don't get how you can be a Spurs fan and not know that the Spurs always have a chance to win it all and we should believe that they will.
Send Kobe to Colorado, his knee needs a review![]()
Utah can give LA problems. If Utah gets the #3, #6, or #8 seed, LA will see them in the first or 2nd round.
you're kidding right?
i don't think there's a western conference team that can take the spurs in 7. i see them struggling against a re-vamped nuggets or a "desperate to beat the spurs" suns (barring they even make the playoffs) but i don't think anybody will give them trouble enough that the spurs can't beat them four times in a series. the lakers are the hump to get over
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