Spurs trying to track down the 2/3/4 seed

[spurraider21]

unfortunately, the clippers have been handling their business and not slipping up against their recent cupcake schedule

[apalisoc_9]

damn..at this point, I would rather Memphis win against LA in their upcoming game.

[RD2191]

Just stay healthy and win as many as you can. We play who we play. If we lose in the 1st we were never gonna win the le anyway.

[RD2191]

Denis Rodman

so 6'9 center is fine but 6'7 power forward isn't.

ok.

So you have him going against Tim or Tiago? Both are 7 footers.

Most of GS losses came against teams with above average bigs. Bulls,Clips, Spurs, Grizz. This Green can guard anyone is nonsense. Maybe scrub bigs but not above average.

Green has had success defending bigger players like Blake. he'd probably check Splitter, who isn't really a post scorer anyway.

at the same time, green could be a problem on the other side

We did lose to the Bulls, Clippers (twice) the Grizzlies (twice), and the Warriors 6 losses to those teams. Thats with Duncan and Splitter

to be fair we've had plenty of injuries and have been "off" the entire season.

regular season accomplishments? having 3 elite defenders isn't really a regular season accomplishment. We are posting here in a thread about playoff seeding which is based off regular season records.

iirc gs defense has been tops the past few seasons and didn't translate to post season success.

Sure but mentioning the Warriors losses isn't an indictment on how good or bad they are. Green is a great defender. His height is pretty irrelevant.

[ace3g]

	W	L	PCT	GB	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	DIFF	STRK	L10
1zGolden State Warriors	63	14	.818	-	35-2	28-12	13-3	38-9	109.7	99.3	+10.4	L1	9-1
2xHouston Rockets	53	24	.688	10	28-10	25-14	7-6	31-17	103.7	100.4	+3.3	W3	8-2
3xMemphis Grizzlies	52	25	.675	11	29-10	23-15	8-7	33-15	98.4	95.4	+3.0	L1	5-5
4yPortland Trail Blazers	50	26	.658	12.5	31-8	19-18	10-3	30-17	102.9	97.9	+4.9	W2	6-4
5xLos Angeles Clippers	51	26	.662	12	27-11	24-15	9-4	32-15	106.8	100.6	+6.2	W2	9-1
6xSan Antonio Spurs	51	26	.662	12	31-8	20-18	6-7	28-19	102.9	96.9	+6.0	W7	9-1
7Dallas Mavericks	46	31	.597	17	25-14	21-17	7-9	25-22	104.6	101.7	+2.9	L2	4-6
8Oklahoma City Thunder	42	35	.545	21	27-11	15-24	8-6	22-26	103.6	101.4	+2.2	L3	5-5
New Orleans Pelicans	41	35	.539	21.5	25-13	16-22	7-6	25-21	99.4	98.5	+1.0	L1	5-5

[RD2191]

Green has had success defending bigger players like Blake. he'd probably check Splitter, who isn't really a post scorer anyway.

at the same time, green could be a problem on the other side

14-15-1st D Rtg, 1st O Rtg

13-14-3rd D Rtg, 12th O Rtg (lost in 7 games without Bogut, their best defender to the Clippers)

12-13-13th D Rtg, 10th O Rtg (went to the semi-Finals, blew game 1, still won 2 games in that series with David Lee playing a handful of minutes)

Their offensive has drastically improved to match their big improvement on defense from the 12-13 season to the 13-14. Its similar to the Spurs big jump on defense from the 12-13 to 13-14 season (where they went from 13th to 3rd and went from losing to OKC in the WCF to making the finals)

teams with top 5 on one and top 10 on the other historically speaking, have deep playoff runs. The Spurs have been 3rd in defense the past two seasons and went to the Finals back to back years.


postseason success for any top team is largely based on health Lee hurt his hip and wasn't a factor when we played them and Bogut missed the entire playoffs last season. When Ginobili broke his arm and then we played the Grizzlies in the first round it was less that we couldn't beat them and more that injuries played a part in the loss. Ginobili missed the 09 playoffs and we lost in 5 to the Mavs.

they arguably play better without lee. so i don't think he would of been much of a factor. nonetheless i don't see them beating the spurs. do you really think they're going from 1st round exit to the finals in 1 season? not impossible but i doubt it. relying on the 3 is also asking for postseason failure imo. sure some teams shoot the 3 well throughout deep runs but it doesn't happen often iirc.

I mean, sure they're a threat and they got better but Spurs are damn near unbeatable when they play at the top of their game.

The Warriors are actually perfectly built to play either big or small. Barnes played the backup 4 (when Lee was out with an injury) and Green has played the 3 and is the starting 4. Iggy is the tallest wing and can play 4 as well but plays the 2 and 3 primarily.

Length, versatility and agility is extremely important in today's NBA. The Heat , after losing to the Mavs in the Finals, rebuilt their defense. The began playing Lebron at the 4 and Bosh at Center with Battier & Wade.

during that stretch of 3 years:

4th,
7th,
11th

in D Rtg

The Warriors have:

Livingston-6'7-PG
Thompson-6'7-SG
Green-6'7-SF/PF
Barnes-6'8-SF/PF
Igguadala-6'9-SG/SF
Speights-6'10-PF/C
Lee-6'10-PF
Bogut-7'0 (7'7 Wingspan)-C

they have 5 rotation wings that are at least 6'7 (The Spurs have 3, Green-6'6, Ginobili 6'6 & Leonard-6'7 ) Memphis has (Allen 6'6, Carter 6'7, & Green 6'9) The Clippers have 2 (Barnes-6'7 and Crawford 6'6)

they don't have traditional height this isn't the '90s its not nearly as big of an issue.

Memphis really only have 3 bigs and one of which is 6'9 (2 inches taller than Draymond Green)

neither do the Spurs, after Duncan and Splitter

If Randolph can't cover the Parker/Bonner or Manu/Diaw pick and pop how is he going to cover it with Curry/Green. Memphis matches up poorly with both Golden State and San Antonio.

Different team. Much better offensively and defensively Green is a better fit on both sides of the ball and that team didn't have Iggy and Livingston. Not to mention Thompson was in his seconds season and not averaging 22 ppg.

Westbrook would either have to cover Curry or Thompson (who is 5 inches taller and can post him up) Ibaka is a jump shooter at this point, Green should be able cover him. Boguts length and size will probably limit Kantor. Waiters has been trash, Morrow is an awful defender. Roberson is Tony Allen level-bad shooting the ball (he's actually air balled open 3's before). The Warriors can switch screen on Westbrook to keep him in front of them.

Durant would be checked by Iggy or Green (both great defenders as I've mentioned)

Its probably GSW in 5 with the current Thunder team. Maybe 6 for GSW if OKC was healthy.

I don't think you realize the impact a healthy Bogut has on that team.

Unless Tiago starts doing work in the post, Green has more of a chance to exploit Splitter than the other way around. Green has similar skills to Diaw (Green is more aggressive from 3) but a much better defender. Just having two big men doesn't mean much. Diaw is a better match-up. He's more mobile and can spot up in the corner for extra spacing. The Spurs could get some offense from his post-ups on Barnes or maybe Green. It has less to do with size and more to do with Diaws craftiness in the post. He can back players down and finish with the hook shot or turn around and hit a fade away when teams bring a double team.

[Beaverfuzz]

Just win out and play who's on the opposite end. Memphis and Portland don't want to play the Spurs.

[Malik Hairston]

Clippers are a virtual lock for 2, tbh..

Spurs either need to beat the Rockets twice for the 3 seed, and/or hope Memphis keeps slipping and get that 5 seed(my preference)..

[Obstructed_View]

There's going to be a lot of ink about how good the Spurs are. They haven't done great this year when they start admiring their own headlines. Hope they're on letdown watch.

[Spurs 4 The Win]

There's going to be a lot of ink about how good the Spurs are. They haven't done great this year when they start admiring their own headlines. Hope they're on letdown watch.

What are you talking about dude

[Obstructed_View]

What are you talking about dude

They have had some bad losses when it seemed like they were rolling. The Raps, the Knicks, the Mavs.

ink - a term for stories written, because there used to be newspapers that were printed on paper
letdown - a bad loss when a team loses focus, usually after a big win

[Spurs 4 The Win]

They have had some bad losses when it seemed like they were rolling. The Raps, the Knicks, the Mavs.

ink - a term for stories written, because there used to be newspapers that were printed on paper
letdown - a bad loss when a team loses focus, usually after a big win

Uhh, thats because we were playing inferior opponents, (the Mavs loss was a product of their voodoo they have at home versus us, that place is a nightmare factory). But we have huge games for the remainder of the year, I dont expect the focus to diminish, they know whats on the line with every game.

[Obstructed_View]

Uhh, thats because we were playing inferior opponents, (the Mavs loss was a product of their voodoo they have at home versus us, that place is a nightmare factory). But we have huge games for the remainder of the year, I dont expect the focus to diminish, they know whats on the line with every game.

Uhh, that's why it's called a letdown. You don't expect it.

We can agree to disagree, but they knew what was on the line before the Knicks game too. It's not like the standings have changed dramatically.

[tholdren]

Uhh, that's why it's called a letdown. You don't expect it.

We can agree to disagree, but they knew what was on the line before the Knicks game too. It's not like the standings have changed dramatically.

I dont think it's a letdown as much as it is Spurs lacking killer instinct. SA has, for an extended period of time, played with their opponents at the opponents level. Until lately, I have not seen SA so aggressive and keyed in. Get on the court and handle your business then go home. Easy. No one can beat SA the way they are playing now. keep the intensity and confidence up

[crc21209]

I think (really hope) the Spurs are done ing around this time. No more slip ups because of being "bored" or complacent. The Knicks and Mavs game shouldve been enough wake up calls this late in the year...

[100%duncan]

Those knicks LA jazz cavs losses smh

[apalisoc_9]

Damn that NY game...



I just don't see LA losing any games going forward. SAS best best is to steal the division from Houston and get 2nd seed..But they will only be a 2nd seed because they hold the division..LA is going to finish third at worst.

[Malik Hairston]

Damn that NY game...



I just don't see LA losing any games going forward. SAS best best is to steal the division from Houston and get 2nd seed..But they will only be a 2nd seed because they hold the division..LA is going to finish third at worst.

Clippers only have 1 potential loss remaining on the schedule, tbh, and that potential L is probably unlikely against a slumping Grizzlies team..they're a virtual lock for 2nd..

[RD2191]

Clippers only have 1 potential loss remaining on the schedule, tbh, and that potential L is probably unlikely against a slumping Grizzlies team..they're a virtual lock for 2nd..

Do the Spurs have the tiebreaker against the grizz?

[Malik Hairston]

Realistically, the Spurs aren't finishing 3rd unless they win both Rockets games, tbh..

Best-case from a realistic standpoint is that the Spurs win 2 of the 3 games vs. OKC and Houston + the Pelicans and Suns games, combined with Memphis losing 3 of their games vs. NO/Utah/Clippers/Warriors..

I'm pretty certain Memphis will lose 3 of those 4 games(3 of them are on the road) IMO..Spurs just need to win @ OKC, split the Rockets games and take care of NO/Phoenix, and they should have the 5 seed and HCA in the 1st round..it's a great scenario IMO, get Golden State in round 2 before Duncan/Parker/Manu have too much mileage on them..

[Malik Hairston]

Do the Spurs have the tiebreaker against the grizz?

Depends on the remaining games for the division and conference records, as both teams still play a few games vs. division and conference opponents..

[timtonymanu]

OKC looks done so the Spurs can definitely win that game. Only the Rockets b2b games will be a challenge.

[Malik Hairston]

I think it'll end up:

1- GS
2- LAC
3- Houston
4- Portland
5- SA(with HCA)
6- Memphis
7- Dallas
8- OKC or NO, doesn't matter

[apalisoc_9]

I don't even know who to root for in that Grizz vs LA game...I guess we will find out come game time. If both teams have equal amount of L..I'd probably root for Grizz because the Grizz still play the warriors.

[Malik Hairston]

I don't even know who to root for in that Grizz vs LA game...I guess we will find out come game time. If both teams have equal amount of L..I'd probably root for Grizz because the Grizz still play the warriors.

Cheer for the Clipps IMO..