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At this point I just want to know what one regular season win is like.
The injuries, bad play and coaching have led to the possiblity LAL can catch the Spurs but right now Spurs have a better conference record - but these 4 losses cut a double blow to the Spurs as all in West Conf.
If they lose to LAL - and both otherwise win out in the conference - LAL may catch the Spurs for better conference record and %
Spurs and LAL with same record and split series
both will probably win respective Division (first tie breaker) - if LAL beats Dallas almost assures
Spurs hold onto conference record 35 and 11
LAL 32 and 11
Per nba.com the Playoff Tie-Break Procedures
Teams 1 to 4 in each conference are the three division winners and the team with the next best regular-season record, with the seeding of these four teams determined by regular-season record. The playoffs seedings of Teams 5 to 8 are based upon regular-season record. Ties are broken pursuant to the rules set forth below.
Ties for playoff positions (including division winners) will be broken utilizing the criteria set forth in subparagraph a. below (in the case of ties involving two teams) and subparagraph b. below (in the case of ties involving more than two teams), and the guidelines set forth in subparagraph c. below.
a. Two Teams Tied b. More Than Two Teams Tied
(1) Better winning percentage in games against each other. (1) Better winning percentage in all games among the tied teams. Spurs up 2:1(2) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if tied teams are in same division). (2) Better winning percentage against teams in own division (only if all tied teams are in the same division). Does not apply
(3) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference. (3) Better winning percentage against teams in own conference. LAL may end up holding although they do still have to play SAS, Thunder, Blazers and Mavs
(4) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position). (4) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in own conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position).
(5) Better winning percentage against teams eligible for playoffs in opposite conference (including teams that finished the regular season tied for a playoff position). (
5) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents ("point differential"). LAL has right now
(6) Better net result of total points scored less total points allowed against all opponents ("point differential"). LAL has this right now
Time will tell - at least tonight the team played very hard sans the big three.
At this point I just want to know what one regular season win is like.
This!
These 4 loses have zero impact on the tiebreaker with Lakers.
If two teams are tied, having the best record against its own conference is the equivalent of having the worst record against the opposite conference.
Lakers are 21-9 with no games left against the east. Spurs are 22-6 with two games left against the east. Spurs will finish with a better record against the east.
If Lakers beat Spurs in their last game, they will have the tie breaker against Spurs. Lakers have secured this conditional tie breaker when Spurs won their 22nd game against an eastern conference team against Charlotte a couple of weeks ago.
This 4 losses hurt Spurs chances to finish with the 1st seed because it makes their record worse but it had no implication tie breaker wise.
This does not seemingly make sense it is the record within your own conference and SAS and LAL have same number of losses with both having tough WC opponents left. Sure Spurs will have better record vs. East but that may not matter.
Tie breakers as used when teams are tied and when two teams have the same record, the team with the worst record against the opposite conference is mathematically the team with the best record against its own conference.
Another way to see it: both Spurs and Lakers have 11 losses against WC teams. Spurs need to lose 3 more games than Lakers to be tied with them but they only have 2 games left against EC teams.
The tie-breaker situation with Lakers is as simple as it can get: the team that win the game SAS@LAL, win the tie-breaker.
Staying healthy is more important.
I think the point is that in the event the teams end up tied record-wise, there's absolutely no way that the Spurs can win the conference record tie-breaker. By having a better record against the East, they necessarily will have a worse record than the Lakers against the West in the event of a tie.
Think of it this way: both SA and LA have 30 games against the East and 52 against the West. SA can finish with no more than 8 losses against the East; LA already has 9 -- in order for them to finish tied in the standings, the Spurs will have to have more losses against the West than LA will have. Otherwise, they couldn't end up tied.
Specifically, suppose each team ends up, say 60-22. In that scenario, the Lakers will be 21-9 against the East, which means they will have 13 losses against the West. If the Spurs drop their games with Boston and Atlanta, they'll be 22-8 against the East and will have to have 14 losses against the West in order for there to be a tie at 60-22. That means they'll necessarily have a worse conference record.
healthy & rested
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