What happened to Lilliard?
Did CP get his usual ref pampering? Or did he actually play well?
I don't know why you guys are so scared of being the 6th seed and worried about not having HCA all throughout the playoffs. You guys are acting like it cannot be done, but the 95 Rockets team did it before. The probability of ringing as a 6th seed might be small, but the Spurs are the defending champs and they're actually clicking right in time for the playoffs. The thing about HCA is you only need to win one game on the road and you lose it already.
every little advantage counts, IMO.
Actually the first tie-breaker against the Clippers would be division winner. They can't win theirs, but we can still win ours (however long of a shot it is).
Right now the Clippers, Spurs and Rockets all won, so nothing has changed compared to yesterday: the Spurs can still clinch #2, they are tied with the Clippers and Blazers in the loss column. But they really need the Grizz to start losing (2 games including one against NO, or 3 games if they win against NO).
What I can really see developing is that Portland is going to screw the rankings badly. The whole idea of #5 gets HCA over #4 if they have a better record, despite #4 being a division leader, works fine if there's only one team ranked 5th and below with a better record than #4. Right now it's totally imaginable, if not likely, that the Spurs and Clippers are both going to finish with a better record than the Blazers, and the Spurs will be ranked 6th. In this case I'd rather have Houston play well and Memphis lose.
In this case the Spurs could actually have a nice road to the WCF with Memphis then Rockets/Mavs (hopefully Mavs). In any case it's always a bonus to play in the 2nd round a team that has faced the Mavs in the 1st round, as we know Carlisle isn't rolling over against anybody. A Mavs series is destined to go 6 or 7 games regardless of opponent.
I like your enthusiasm, but HCA is huge in the playoffs. The fact that only one team has ever on the ship without says enough. And with the West tougher than it's ever been, combined with the fact that the Spurs are no spry chickens, it's put us at a pretty big disadvantage, tbh. Would've been tough either way, but if we finish 5th or 6th the odds will be stacked heavily against us.
Part of it is due to HCA, but I feel an even larger part of it is due to the fact that #1 or #2 seeds in a conference tend to have managed to stay healthy throughout the season. I'd be interested to know how many championships have actually been won because of injuries (or lack thereof).
This year we are in an uncommon situation: teams usually end the season more banged up than at the start. For the Spurs it's the reverse. Furthermore all the Western teams ranked #2 to #6 are so close in the standings, I'm not sure HCA is as important as it could be, nor does it feel like it's more representative of the gap between teams. Essentially teams with HCA tend to have HCA because they are certifiably better than others, not the other way around.
In other words, because of the way things are, we could very well end up with 4 teams (MEM, HOU, LAC and SAS) tied at the end of the season or within 1-2 games of each other and still be ranked from #2 to #6. That wouldn't suddenly make #2 MEM vastly superior to #6 SAS.
Last year #2 OKC had 8 more wins than #6 GSW. The year before #2 SAS had 11 (!) more wins than #6 GSW. The years before: 9, 9, 5, 4. You'd have to go back to the 2007-08 season to find such a level playing field (#1 team had 57 wins and #6 team had 55...)
I get your point, bro. However, HCA only counts so much for teams that don't have much experience in the playoffs. The Spurs are not your typical number 6 team, and they're the most playoff-tested team since the Heat broke up last June. The Spurs will be a handful for any team in the West and the last time this team lost 4 times in a series, it took a miracle three-pointer from the greatest shooter of all time to do it. I'm not saying that the Spurs will not lose, but it will take every inch of talent, experience, and coaching to do it. GSW is rolling right now, but we also have to remember that Steve Kerr is a rookie coach and the core of that team hasn't played a single game in the WCF. It's going to be really tough to take out this Spurs team in a seven-game series with or without HCA.
It was also the second of back to back championships. A champion team that suffered some early season setbacks but put it together at the end of the season and for the playoffs. I like the comparison.
Good point!
So if somehow Spurs get it done, it would be epic.
It would seriously be a poetic ending for the Big Three as well as an great beginning for KL. Would love to see Pop quote Rudy T when holding the trophy. Damn...I got a chill thinking about it.
Role players Like green play better at home
Faintly we can all hear Rudy T with his famous, "never underestimate the heart of a champion" take.
cantthink we had the same thought at the same time, Spurs zeitgeist.
Surely Pop would say that wouldn't he? Would be fitting on so many levels. Especially if the Spurs have to go through Houston on the way. 20 year anniversary of the Rockets win and having to go through the Spurs. And it's a great quote even without all the tie-ins.
A sportswriter's dream.
As "stacked" as the western conference is, how many of those teams can really beat the Spurs in a series? Memphis no. Portland no. Clippers no. Dallas no. Thunder no. Warriors and Rockets maybe. So there's really only two teams we need to worry about at all, regardless of who has HCA.
I agree, except I think the Clippers "could" beat us too, and are maybe even more able to do so than the Rockets.
That said, only Warriors would be favored, I think.
Go mavs go!!
rooting from dem Mavs tonight...
If Houston loses and spurs win..spurs 1 game behind.
This!!!
Is Monte a go for tonight?
That HCA worries me most with Los Dubs. They haven't lost many games at home. Harden isn't going to live on the foul line in the playoffs. We will take them out.
Last nights Slippers over the Blazers was still a net gain for us.
We gained on the Blazers and we need to overtake their record (nevermind the stupid assed #4 seeding) for HCA vs Portland.
HCA would be nice even if it's just the 1st round.
The problem I see is that the Spurs will have to beat those teams 3x on the road just to get to the finals, where we also do not hold the home court. That makes winning 4 series without home court. That's really very difficult. Assuming our guys are fully healthy and playing exceptional ball, you will have to deal with officiating on the road. Road games have to be won convincingly or else, the balance will tip to the home team. Unfortunately, we haven't really been a great road team this year. Can Spurs do it? Definitely - nothing is impossible. It will take great effort and heart - only real champions would have it.
You do realize that the Spurs have to pass SOMEBODY in order to play Portland right?
Oh yes we do. Cleveland will be the finalists, and they have 27 losses right now.
Even if Atlanta somehow makes it to the finals, do you really think they can beat the Spurs even with HCA?
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