Are the spurs under pressure to win le?

[TDfan2007]

I think we were like the first team in history to lose 4 straight after winning the first 2 games of a series...

change the only to one of the very few and you've got it

[PM5K]

There's actually some merit to this thread.

I have to totally disagree with you on that one. If you took LakerGods thread le and put your post in place of his then this thread would have merit.

I actually thought this would be a good post, every NBA analyst has had either San Antonio or Detroit as their choice as NBA Champions all season, San Antonio is finally starting to get the praise we've probably deserved for some time so there is pressure to win, but LakerGod didn't say any of those things, he posted a good thread le and then filled his thread with utter crap.....

[SPURS-SPURS-SPURS]

They haven't even been able to win one game on the road without him.

The Bobcats win on the road does'nt count

[waly.mg]

Yes, the same presion of All the teams

[Extra Stout]

If Duncan were healthy in the playoffs, there would be great pressure on the Spurs to win the le. With a full healthy Duncan in the first 48 games, the Spurs were playing like one of the best teams in NBA history.

However, Duncan will not be fully healthy for the playoffs. Even though I think he's going to play in whatever condition he is in, barring reinjury, I figure he'll be 80% tops.

So it's hard to claim that the Spurs are some overwhelming favorite at this point, or that there is great pressure on them to win. Given how they played before Tim first got hurt @LA, there might be a strong sentiment of "what might have been" a la the 1977-78 Blazers, but it would hard to call them a choke or whatever.

Now if we're talking about a disappointment, the fall of the Lakers from contention into a lottery team with an uncertain future, a star they they've chosen to build around who most players in the league hate, and no real plan for rebuilding, now that's a major development in the history of the NBA. This is the worst shape that franchise has been in since they moved to LA. At least in the Sedale Threatt years they had Jerry West with a plan.

[mookie2001]

yes

[wildbill2u]

There's actually some merit to this thread. If Duncan is healthy, the Spurs are definitely under some pressure to win the le this season. They were the frontrunner for winning the championship all season. They had the best odds in Vegas of winning a le in quite some time. They used their cap space over the past few summers to re-sign their core in Duncan, Ginobili, Parker and Bowen, while adding key roles players around them. They will be capped out now for quite some time.

They are of course under pressure to win a le this season... Everyone expects the Spurs (with a healthy Duncan) to win the Championship.

Pressure usually implies that something will happen at the direction of management if they don't win--like a shakeup of the team, front office or coaching staff. I don't see that happening with this team, even if Duncan were healthy because the management is so stable and won't panic. The core team and coaches will be back next year.

Besides, with the injuries we've had, we aren't the same team that we were a month or so ago when everyone said we were the best. Duncan may not be able to come back at full speed and could be reinjured at any time. Ankles are like that.

To put it simply, we no longer are the odds on favorite. If Duncan can't play to his maximum, we're no better than 8-1 shots. Those who say we can win it without him are crazy homers. We'd better be prepared to have this season go down as another one of our biggest disappointments--but that takes off the pressure-- except for pressure put on themselves by the players who'll want to give their best.

[Kori Ellis]

Just as a sidenote, Vegas odds for the Spurs to win the le are 1:1 right now. Before Duncan's injury, they were 5:6.

[Rick Von Braun]

Just as a sidenote, Vegas odds for the Spurs to win the le are 1:1 right now. Before Duncan's injury, they were 5:6.

They were below 1!!!

Holy cow!

Jimcs et al., is this the first time that happened in the history of the NBA? I wonder what were the odds for the 72-wins Bulls?

[td4mvp21]

I'm glad we are not the favorites anymore. Being the underdog might actually give the Spurs some extra motivation to prove everyone wrong. Well just have to wait and see.

[Rick Von Braun]

I'm glad we are not the favorites anymore. Being the underdog might actually give the Spurs some extra motivation to prove everyone wrong. Well just have to wait and see.

Well, Vegas still has the Spurs as favorites for a wide margin

[sa_butta]

I think not making the playoffs at all is an even bigger emabarrassment
to the Lakers and their fans.