Because you don't play yourself, you actually play less games against your division (4x4 = 16) as you do against other divisions in your conference (3x4 + 2x3 = 18). So this shouldn't be an issue.
Our division will be a bloodbath. But the good news is that we are close to being as deep as we were the last two years but with a more talented roster. Depth will help us compete for the best record. We just need a big to muscle people, a backup PG that can play defense (or one that can shoot), and a veteran wing. All doable.
Disagree.
Biggest chokehob in history.
Most NBA teams are at NBDL level only a handful are worth a . It's the state of the leagye
If we don't get top 3 seed season is a failure
I just don't want to be forced into a position where we hate to win two road series against the dubs and thunder.
If they both stay healthy, both teams will win 60+ games. The Spurs will have to win 60+ also but I don't see why we can't. We won 56 last season despite playing like crap half the season.
Warriors are being criminally underrated at this point. They just won 67 games and had an all-time great point differential, and they're bringing all their rotation guys back. Curry, Thompson, Draymond, and Barnes are all young and could easily improve. They'll have another year of chemistry/familiarity with each other, plus Kerr is no longer a rookie coach and has gotten his feet wet. They caught a bit of a break with us getting Aldridge - a lot of people consider us the favorites now and that means there isn't going to be so much pressure on GS to repeat.
Also, the Cavs went 33-3 last season after the Mozgov trade. They're bringing everyone back and will likely make a few additions to beef up their bench. The team won't have to go through the growing pains they did last season, and like Kerr, Blatt should be more comfortable now that he's been in the league a year.
Hate to rain on the parade, but I don't care who we picked up: GS and Cleveland are most likely going to be just as good as us, maybe even better. OKC could be as well, but KD's health is a major question mark at this point.
Getting the 1st seed would be huge. Ideally, we'd like GS/OKC to play each other in the 2nd round so that we only have to go through one of them to make the Finals. Having to beat both of them AND Cleveland is asking a of a lot.
I agree with this. Win the games you are supposed to. Take care of business at home. The Spurs can't do any worse on the road than they did last year, so just win out.
The biggest choke job in NBA history belongs to the 2004 Lakers with Karl Malone Gary payton and the rest of the lakers. How do you not win with that group. Oh yea, you have Kobe and his ultra massive ego.
Agree with most of that 100%. Southwest is going to be a torture chamber. Cavs playing in the East gives them a huge advantage in piling up regular season wins.
The only thing I don't think is automatic is GS posting 65+ wins. They could, obviously. But they're still playing in the West, and it's a lot harder than most people think to have back-to-back seasons like the last one. We could debate why letdowns happen, but they do happen. One thing I can just about guarantee - they won't win 65+ with Steph Curry shooting like he did in the Finals. Maybe it was the injury, but he wasn't the same in the Finals. I know Iggy stepped up, but Curry's ability to hit no-look buzzer-beaters from the parking lot had a lot to do with that gaudy regular season record. Plus, every Spur fan here should remember that when you're the Champion, every team is gunning for you every night.
That being said, the Spurs are still going to be making some adjustments this season, and winning 60+ is a feat that is mostly reserved for squads that are pretty much intact from the last season. Getting LMA into the lineup will be easy. Finding the right balance to get the most out of him will be more difficult. There are going to be those nights when things just don't click. And you can't stand too many of those and still win 60+. Aldridge and West have never been though a Rodeo Road Trip. If everything comes together on the road this year, the way it usually does, I think you will be able to look back at this thread and say, "I told you so."
I would be happy with the Spurs getting something in the neighborhood of 57-58 wins, and I wouldn't be surprised at 61 out of Golden State, and 64 from Cleveland. Road Warrior Champions has a nice ring to it.
One thing I think should be said: I was a big Danny Green fan from the first pre-season game he played here. And I was a big Danny Green fan when the comments on ST were almost universally against him. But if that sonofa doesn't step up in the playoffs this time, he needs to be put on the Red Rocket Express and run out of town. I know he still hits some pretty big shots. But if he wasn't already 0-for-everything, those big shots wouldn't be necessary. His shooting "slumps" con uously center around the post-season (like someone else we all know and hate on). If he had been anything LIKE consistent, the Spurs would have been riding consecutive les, and would have coasted through the first two rounds last season. He's still my boy... but this is his last chance to stay that way.
If I use the Tony Parker we finished the season with, we won't need to worry about the season or playoffs, we are toast. If I use the Tony Parker that helped us almost get the #2 seed during that huge regular season run, we are in the finals.
Getting Aldridge and West is huge, putting the pieces together will make this regular season very worthwhile. We get to see how the master pokes and prods a distinctly different set of talent. I fully expect meltdowns as we attempt to adjust. Aldridge thrived on the ISO. What happens now? If he scores 24 ppg with the same amount of ball in hand time we are in trouble IMO.
I guess I am one of the few around here that don't think much of the Warriors. You can throw in the Rockets and Thunder too.
The Warriors had a terrific regular season and an easy path to the finals. Once there, they were challenged by an injury riddled Cavs team. I give them credit for doing what they had to do but lets not get this twisted, they weren't anything special or dominant. And the Thunder? Are we still talking about them? You think a manic Westbrook, gimpy Durant and role players like Ibaka and Kanter are going to make some noise? They will be fortunate to land a top 4 seed.
Not worried.
Is this a serious thread??
Except they absolutely were special/dominant lol. In the history of the NBA, only 5 teams have won more games than the Warriors did last season. Only 7 teams have finished with a better margin of victory than the Warriors. The Warriors average margin of victory last year was +10.10 - for comparison, the '14 Spurs were +7.72.
I mean what makes more sense: looking at the entire scope of the season + playoffs (a 90+ game sample size), or focusing on one series (a 6 game sample size)?
Almost every team (even the all-time great ones) has a playoff series where they don't look invincible. The Spurs got pushed to the brink by a mediocre Mavs team in 2014. The '08 Celtics won 66 games and had one of the best defenses we've ever seen, but it took them 7 games to get past the Hawks who couldn't even win 40 games.
Maybe they're just being cautiously pessimistic but I agree with your post.
To GSH:
This is why we need a competent point for Green. He must have handlers around him to create. His offense needs to be a threat so we can keep him on the floor for his defense.
Whats not serious is ESPN projecting 66 wins. Not the number, just that they would even try to predict something like this. But I should know better.
It's strictly based off a statistical model (which uses RPM)...it's not like they have guys over there seriously trying to predict things right now. Pelton just has a model and is running numbers through it.
I understand this. I could write that program. I would just be embarrassed to put it in headlines. Like I said, I should know better. It generates discussion. It could be that the West is so strong that a 60 win season is really a great effort for the #1 seed.
That is honestly the most loaded division in sports history.
The Pelicans are going to be the worst team of that bunch by a WIDE margin, and they could easily win 45-50 games this year. , they'd probably be a 3-4 seed out East.
What a monster conference and division. Every single team in the SW will make the playoffs if things continue as they are. Portland should fall out and OKC will take their place.
with declines in portland and LAC, pelicans may even get 7 seed in the west. probably not likely, though. I think one of clippers or portland finds a way.
Barring injury, the Spurs are gonna roll tbh. IDGAF about the division.....Nut up ElNono.....
Spurs losing to anyone but the Cavs, Warriors, OKC at home would be a bad loss.
Spurs losing to anyone but the Cavs, Warriors, Grizz, Mavs, Rockets on the road would be a bad loss
that's about 8 losses. Pencil in 10 more losses for resting, injury and trying out stuff. That's 18 losses. A record of 64 wins should be doable with the amount of crappy teams in the NBA these days.
So no. We SHOULD get #1 (or #2) seed (in the West). anything less and we had a bad season. Doesn't mean that we still could get going in the playoffs.
But I agree, avoid season ending injuries and I'll be happy with 1-4 seed.
Last edited by in2deep; 07-07-2015 at 11:18 AM.
I don't see Portland winning 40 games this year. Even if they have the talent, their starting lineup is going to lose a lot of games before it finds its iden y. Going to be rough in a talent packed conference.
The divisional difference is not insignificant, but where it becomes potentially problematic is in who gets 4 games vs. which teams.
Last year, the Spurs' schedule gave them only 3 games against OKC and GST (along with LAL and UTH).
This year, the Spurs will get 4 a piece with both OKC and GST (my guess would be that they have 3 games with Phoenix and the Clippers from the Pacific and 3 games with Denver and Portland from the Northwest). GST and OKC will each get a 2-game pass against the Southwest. If they each get that pass and, say, GST gets 4 games with Denver, Portland, and Minnesota while OKC gets 4 games with Sacramento, Phoenix, and the Clippers, each of them would have at least a small scheduling advantage over the Spurs.
The problem with being in the Southwest is that if you have even one bad 10-day stretch, you could be buried pretty quickly.
By the end of last season, the Pelicans were looking pretty solid. I honestly don't keep up with the league like I used to, so I don't know who's gotten better or worse. But the NO team we saw at the end of the season would easily be a 4 seed in the East. The Cavs weren't that good of a team until the trade deadline last year. If the Pelicans could manage to make a couple of trades, add a couple of the right pieces? They could surprise a lot of people. Davis is a franchise level player.
I agree with you. This division is looking more stacked than the old Cowboy, Redskin, Giant divisions in the NFL. The winner of the Southwest will either be a battle-tested juggernaut, or beaten half to death. That's another reason I don't think the Spurs win 65 games, like people are saying. Pop is going to rest guys, to make sure they have something in the tank at the end. The bench is going to lose some of those games.
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