I Know It Sounds Stupid ... But Isn't Game 4 a Must-Win?

[Arcadian]

Yes.

Let's just say "every game is a must win" and call it a day.

[HI-FI]

not been a good month for timvp, first some pessimistic threads then being forced to ban his intelligent but demented brother Koolaid.

[Kidd K]

No. If any game isn't a must-win, it's this one. Spurs can easily lose this and go back to SA to close it out.

I'd like them to win this anyway, but I wouldn't say it'd be any easier than game 5 would be.

"Grizzlies in 7"...

Is that you Bill Simmons?

[TampaDude]

During Pop's tenure as coach, the Spurs have held a 3-0 lead in a playoff series 10 times, not including this series.

7 of those times, the Spurs won Game 4 to complete the sweep.

The other 3 times, the Spurs won Game 5 to win the series.

None of those series ever went past Game 5.

I'm not worried at all. The Spurs will probably win comfortably tonight. The Grizz are done.

[polandprzem]

You've convinced me


1

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

I'm tired of fans who refer to every single game as a "must-win." It robs the term "must-win" of its meaning.

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

A game is not a "must-win" unless it is a game in which, if you lost, you would be eliminated from the playoffs or playoff contention, or, would be extremely likely to be eliminated.

[Seventyniner]

Well done.

[romain.star]

It sounds really dumb but I think it is.

1. The way the schedule works out, this is San Antonio's best chance to win another road game. From here on our, there's no more than a day off between games. No matter how much we wish it weren't true, these Spurs are very prone to fatigue and/or injuries. Game 4 stands out as the golden opportunity to get this series over with.

2. If the Grizzlies win, history will probably be creeping into both teams' minds. The Spurs will think about what happened last year following their 2-0 WCF lead. The Grizzlies will think about their comeback series wins against the Clippers and Thunder in these playoffs.

3. The Grizzlies are most susceptible right now due to the fact they are behind the Spurs in terms of figuring out a gameplan. The Spurs know what they have to do gameplan-wise and need very few adjustments going forward. The Grizzlies, by comparison, are a mess. They will likely try an altered rotation in Game 4 -- which may or may not work as they hope.

4. Common sense says the Grizzlies' style of play will become more effective as the series progresses. They'll be able to "grit and grind" more as San Antonio's energy wanes. By a hypothetical Game 6 or 7, fatigue from dealing with the Grizzlies (in addition to the lack of rest) could be just as much of a concern as what Memphis does on the court.

Gotta get this one.

1.

It does sound stupid regading this Grizz Series but with the Heat looming, extra rest would greatly help these old Spurs legs

[clambake]

spurs are charged like the 2011 mavs.

i think the heat are in trouble again.

[FkLA]

[DPG21920]

El Nono bout to get a "random" audit by the ST-IRS

[capek]

I like you guys

[HI-FI]

spurs are charged like the 2011 mavs.

i think the heat are in trouble again.

I think the desperation is at least as high. dirk played like he knew had to go out guns blazing, it might be the only chance he has left. Spurs know this is definitetly it for the core team.

[YoMamaIsCallin]

It's obviously not a "must win". It is a "would be very good to win". If the Grizz win game 4 the Spurs would probably win game 5 at home, but the Grizz would be thinking "we have hope. Lets steal one on the road and come back here with a good chance to send it to game 7".

The Spurs mentality here is "we really need this game, to send a message to the Heat, to get some down time, and to extinguish the Grizz now and not give them any hope. We have appropriate fear because it is an elimination game for them and they will throw all they've got at us. This is a wounded animal and that's dangerous. We have to be on our A game."

[michaelwcho]

What about "you're never as good or as bad as you think you are"? They could have very easily lost game 3. Then we'd only be up 2-1 and the series would very much be in play. They could have very easily have lost game 1 of the GSW series, and we might already be fishing by this time. They're almost certainly not going to lose the WCF simply because of math, but a couple bounces here and there can make all the difference. Winning a few games does not all of a sudden make this team a juggernaut.

[Kori Ellis]

timvp's negativity in the last month has been awesome. It's been a true test to see how many people still agree with him, even when his "opinions" are ridiculous.

[urunobili]

The Grizz can very much come back in this series I think some people is going a little bit over the top with their confidence...

[DPG21920]

It's strange - on one hand Spurs are up 3-0 in a series that has featured 2 overtime games. On the other hand, MEM has rarely ever led during the course of the game and really has relied on one big quarter essentially in games 2 and 3 to force OT.

[Obstructed_View]

Grizzlies in 9.