Dear Lord, let Dallas fall to #4...

[Splits]

Both NO and DAL tanking....nice to see memphis to split one of their remaining games and OKC to win out...

Boston tanked tonight, sitting their big 4. NO played their starters until the game was out of reach late in the 4th. Dallas is playing to win, as all their starters are playing their normal rotations, and I see that big ugly German on my screen in a tie game in the 4th quarter.

[DesignatedT]

Both NO and DAL tanking....nice to see memphis to split one of their remaining games and OKC to win out...

Dallas has definitely been trying tonight. NO might be tanking, hopefully Memphis doesn't do the same.

[Mugen]

Boston tanked tonight, sitting their big 4. NO played their starters until the game was out of reach late in the 4th. Dallas is playing to win, as all their starters are playing their normal rotations, and I see that big ugly German on my screen in a tie game in the 4th quarter.

If Dallas was actually playing to win tonight, then they are even more ed than I thought they already were.

Down by 1 to a Scola/Lowry - less Rox team who've played pretty ty.

[ShoogarBear]

That's the excuse I always hear, but the truth is, this is how this fan base has always been. I remember people acting this way back in '06, '07. Constantly questioning/doubting them, being scared to death of any half decent team. I understand having reservations about them, but this goes beyond that.

It's funny, though. When the Mavs and Suns were offensive juggernauts a few years back, they were feared and the media built them up. The instant the Spurs became an offensive juggernaut (they're 1st in efficiency), they're constantly questioned. When they were a defensive juggernaut, they were constantly questioned. It doesn't matter what this team does, or how they're built, they're always looked at as vulnerable.

This is a good example of "remembering what you want to remember".

I can't recall anyone who's opinion I respected on this board really fearing the Suns. We knew they were a good team, but also a paper tiger and when it got down to Real Time, they were simply not playing a style that was going to win a le. If there were ever serious doubts, they would have been during the last few seconds of the Game 4 Giveaway in the 2007 WCSF, but even by the end of that game, it had been established that the Suns didn't have what it took.

The Mavs were a different story in that it was always a matchup problem, but we always knew that the ace in the hole for the Spurs was defense. Much of the tearing of hair in 2006 was because for the first time Pop appeared to be moving away from that tenet (F Smallball).

In 2007, the Spurs were 1-3 against the Mavs and though the games were close, the Mavs clearly had the Spurs number. The fears about the Mavs were well-founded, and if you polled the serious members around here for their honest beliefs, very few would have said that the Spurs would have beaten the Mavs that year.

In contrast, even though the Spurs were 0-2 against the Cavs in 2007, nobody had serious concerns about them.

[NickiRasgo]

Rockets by 1, please please.

[CubanMustGo]

Clutch FT shooting by Jet, they're going to OT after he misses the second.

[boutons_deux]

Terry misses FT to force OT

[ajballer4]

It looked like Terry was celebrating. WTF?

[Admidave50]

Terry choked at the FT line, do OKC have the tiebreaker vs Dallas?

[Splits]

Best possible outcome. Now Dallas has to play their starters another 5 minutes. Maybe we can see a double or triple OT?

Let's go Rockets!

[Admidave50]

It looked like Terry was celebrating. WTF?

yeah, had the same feeling. supposed he wasn't but he's such a moron anyway

[Sean Cagney]

It seems the lord wants us to meet Dallas every single F IN YEAR! Terry misses that FT and they could lose now, seems like it's a plan to face Dallas every single year as it would be 3 in a row if they pass the first round.

[Admidave50]

LOL @ Marion laughing after a stupid turnover...

[NickiRasgo]

Rockets is now losing. Tsk.

[justinandimcool]

So much for that. Looks like OKC/Denver it is in the 2nd round. Now to root for Memphis to win and get 7th.

[Sean Cagney]

Rockets is now losing. Tsk.

Okay Dallas atleast beat NO the last game to send them TO US in round one, that would be cool! Knowing them though they would lose that one to hurt us . IF OKC loses tonight though that last game will not mean a thing to Dallas if LA wins tomorrow, so they could tank that last game to spite us and send us MEMPHIS! the scenarios are making my head spin now lol. I just want this regular season to end.

So much for that. Looks like OKC/Denver it is in the 2nd round. Now to root for Memphis to win and get 7th.

Why the is everyone so scared of OKC if this is a so called le team? WHY? Dallas will play us tough too if we meet, they are not cakewalk material for us by any means from the rivalry. If anything that series would drain us as well and get more heated from the rivalry.

[ajballer4]

If we win tomorrow, Dallas will play hard against NO on Wed because then they could get the #2 seed

[Sean Cagney]

If we win tomorrow, Dallas will play hard against NO on Wed because then they could get the #2 seed

LOL we are not winning tomorow nor will they go all out to try and win! Forget who we face and where and when, just win and play hard and if they are that good they will win the le.

[crc21209]

Actually, even if LA beats us tomorrow, both them and Dallas will have something to play for on Wednesday, because they will have the same record going into Wednesday and if LA loses their game against Sacramento and Dallas beats NO, Dallas grabs the 2 seed dropping LA to the 3rd seed.

[beirmeistr]

If we beat LA, won't LA and OKC have identical records? then what?

[Mugen]

If we beat LA, won't LA and OKC have identical records? then what?

LA has the tie-breaker with both OKC and DAL

[beirmeistr]

It seems to me that, to be on the safe side , Spurs should rest their starters against LA, thus losing, and then beat Phoenix last game, thus tying Chicago assuming Chicago wins out. That way, LA winds up with either 57-25 or 56-26 if they should lose their last game. If 57-25, they could tie Dallas and win second place because of the tie-breaker. If they finish 56-26, they could tie OKC but they would get third place because they have the tie-breaker with OKC.
Thus, Spurs remain in bracket away from the Lakers until the conference finals if all goes well (no injuries). And they would have identical records with Chicago.
Do I have that right?

[crc21209]

LA has the tie-breaker with both OKC and DAL

Right. LA has the tie-breaker over both. And OKC has the tie-breaker over Dallas...

[Ginobili2Duncan]

It seems to me that, to be on the safe side , Spurs should rest their starters against LA, thus losing, and then beat Phoenix last game, thus tying Chicago assuming Chicago wins out. That way, LA winds up with either 57-25 or 56-26 if they should lose their last game. If 57-25, they could tie Dallas and win second place because of the tie-breaker. If they finish 56-26, they could tie OKC but they would get third place because they have the tie-breaker with OKC.
Thus, Spurs remain in bracket away from the Lakers until the conference finals if all goes well (no injuries). And they would have identical records with Chicago.
Do I have that right?

The Spurs need to kick the Lakers while they are down tomorrow night so that they have a chance to drop to the 4 seed. I had reservations about this at first, but now with Dallas winning at Houston, OKC doesn't have a chance for that number 3 seed unless LA loses out.

There is no use in hiding from the Lakers and it will be better to face them sooner rather than later. Facing the Lakers in the second round after a potential cakewalk series with NO is more of an ideal situation than facing them after a slugfest with OKC.

[TD 21]

This is a good example of "remembering what you want to remember".

I can't recall anyone who's opinion I respected on this board really fearing the Suns. We knew they were a good team, but also a paper tiger and when it got down to Real Time, they were simply not playing a style that was going to win a le. If there were ever serious doubts, they would have been during the last few seconds of the Game 4 Giveaway in the 2007 WCSF, but even by the end of that game, it had been established that the Suns didn't have what it took.

The Mavs were a different story in that it was always a matchup problem, but we always knew that the ace in the hole for the Spurs was defense. Much of the tearing of hair in 2006 was because for the first time Pop appeared to be moving away from that tenet (F Smallball).

In 2007, the Spurs were 1-3 against the Mavs and though the games were close, the Mavs clearly had the Spurs number. The fears about the Mavs were well-founded, and if you polled the serious members around here for their honest beliefs, very few would have said that the Spurs would have beaten the Mavs that year.

In contrast, even though the Spurs were 0-2 against the Cavs in 2007, nobody had serious concerns about them.

No, it's a good example of poor reading comprehension. I never said "people on SpursTalk feared the Suns", which is what you're inferring I said. I just said "they (Suns) were feared". Myriad Spurs fans and media members alike acted as if the Spurs were the underdogs going into the '07 and '08 series.

I'm confident the Spurs would have beaten the Mavs in '07. The '07 Spurs were underrated and the '07 Mavs were overrated. Not only were the two teams closer than their records indicated, but the Spurs were actually the superior team. The Mavs were/are a joke team, that would have caved under the pressure of being the favorites (which they would have been in '07), just like we saw in '10. It took atrocious officiating and the Spurs handing the series away for the Mavs to survive them in '06.

G2D, you're spot on.