The quest for the second seed
By Jeff McDonald
OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Spurs have given up hope at catching the Lakers in the Western Conference. Considering L.A. is approximately a billion games ahead of the field with less than a month to play, this is probably a wise move.
Instead, the Spurs find themselves at the center of the real drama in the West right now: The quest for second place.
After Saturday's victory in Houston, the Spurs are 2 1/2 games up on the Rockets for second-place in the West. Denver, New Orleans, Portland and Utah are all within conceivable striking distance as well.
"We're battling to keep that second place," Tony Parker said after this morning's shootaround at the Ford Center. "I think it's huge for us to have that home-court advantage, at least until the conference finals."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has long said inconvienences like playoff seedings and home-court advantage mean little to him, and he was back on that soap box again last week.
However ...
"One would never turn down a higher seed," Popovich said. "Any coach who tells you that is lying to you."
That Game 7, last year in New Orleans?
"If you'd asked me before the game, I would have rather played that at home," Popovich said.
That Game 7 in the 2005 NBA Finals against Detroit?
"I wouldn't have said, 'Yeah, I'd rather play that in Detroit,' " Popovich said.
The second seed could be important this season. It would guarantee home-court advantage over every team but the Lakers and would ensure that a meeting with Kobe's bunch wouldn't come until the conference finals. In a hypothetical series against teams like Portland and Utah -- who look like the '90s Bulls at home and the '90s Clippers on the road -- home-court advantage could be key.
"You'd take it," Popovich said. "But the best team really does win, in seven games. I can't think of a time when the best team did not win a series. Every time we won a championship, we won one or two games in every series on the road, because we were the better team."
+1the quest for the second seed[/url]"but the best team really does win, in seven games. I can't think of a time when the best team did not win a series. Every time we won a championship, we won one or two games in every series on the road, because we were the better team."
the best team not always wins in 7 games. Lakers in 04 were not better than Spurs
Also, there's no way I believe the 2006 Mavs were better than the the Spurs. The Spurs were cost that WCSF series because of the legendary, and incredibly stupid foul by Manu on Dirk, in the waning minutes of Game 7.
well if hedo played instead of manu, we wudnt have made it to game 7. Also what pop means is, if a series goes to 7 games, the teams are well matched, so both of them deserve to win, so if one team wins or the other, it wasn't just luck.
The statement was the best team wins in every series. Both Mavs and Spurs were so evenly matched in that series, that one stupid play decided the difference. There are exceptions to every axiom.well if hedo played instead of manu, we wudnt have made it to game 7. Also what pop means is, if a series goes to 7 games, the teams are well matched, so both of them deserve to win, so if one team wins or the other, it wasn't just luck.
the spurs may have been a better team in '04 but after that game 5 fisher shot, the Spurs that took the floor in game 6 put up one of the worst spurs performances ive ever seen.
dont think this team needs HCA to win in the playoffs....
we are built to win championships.
Leading at the half and just losing out in the 4th quarter was bad?
God shut up.
I would argue the Warriors team that beat the Mavs was not better either.
Better matchup, but not bettter team.
Sometimes thats how it goes.
Spurs 06
Spurs 91.
Portland and Utah = '90s Bulls at home and the '90s Clippers on the road
I think Pop just says that. I don't think he believes for a minute that the 06 Mavs were a better team than the Spurs. I just wish there was a ref who loved us as much as Joey hates us who actually officiates play-off games. No excuses, but if you were a Spur fan you would hate the out of Queen ing Crawford.
The Spurs couldn't win a single road game in the '04 series against the Lakers.
You don't lose 4 straight games and come out "the better team".
Sorry.
As for the Mavs '06, while Terry getting suspended was his own dumb fault, had he been playing game 6 in Dallas, the series would've ended then.
In game 7, spotting the visiting team a whopping 20 points and getting crushed in the OT period is not "the better team".
Those 2 series hurt tremendously, but let's not get blinded by what actually happened.
The '06 series with the Mavs was one of the finest series of the decade, but I have no problem admitting the Mavs were the better team that year.
I loathe the Lakers, but they beat us 4 straight times, and it wasn't by accident. As Pop said himself "Great teams win on the road". The Spurs couldn't accomplish that on 3 different attempts in that series.
Same problem as last year's playoffs against LA, an inability to seal the deal on the road.
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