Spurs le Defense

[1Parker1]

Make that 175-70 .714

I think you just go ahead and pencil in another 3 losses to that column.

[ShoogarBear]

Phil is an asshole, but don't ever unestimate him. He's the true reason the Lakers beat the Spurs in 04. I wouldn't put it past him to find a way to gum up the Suns' gimmick.

[Vingianx]

Now, that point I would like to clarify. The Pistons could have easily had 66-67 wins had they not already clinched HCA with four games left in the regular season. The Pistons tanked 3 of their last 4 games by playing the third string guys and the inactive rookies for most of those last four games. And, two of those three losses were against teams playing for something (Milwaukee and Washington). Had the Pistons not locked HCA against the entire league, the Pistons would have likely finished 67-15 compared to the Spurs 63-19. Meanwhile, the Spurs had to lock up HCA in the Western Conference and their last couple garbage games were against teams that were not in the playoffs, were not fighting for anything, and resting most of their starters (Minnesota, Utah, and Houston).

Spurs had a tremendous year, all things considered. But, the Pistons league leading record was never really threatened that much. The Pistons had the best record in the NBA throughout the ENTIRE regular season.

just remember which Conference the Pistons play for....no comparison the WEST

[Vingianx]

My issue with that is that there have been plenty of Spurs fans that claim that the Spurs would have had the better regular season record had they been healthy.

TIM DUNCAN

[Vingianx]

the bench for both sides will decide in the end

[JamStone]

just remember which Conference the Pistons play for....no comparison the WEST

True. The Pistons had a better winning percentage against the Western Conference with a 25-5 record.

[DisgruntledLionFan#54,927]

Not to mention the Pistons went 13-3 against West playoff teams while the Spurs went 10-6 against East playoff teams...

[Chris]

, you swap the Spurs and Pistons, put them in their respective divisions, and see how many wins the Pistons get. Still the same weak-ass east conference. Spurs in 4.

[cs100]

Phil is easily #1 just because it took him 15-16 wins to win a championship while the most it ever took Auerbach was 12.

1. Phil Jackson 175-69 .717
2. Pat Riley 155-100 .608
3. Larry Brown 100-89 .529
4. Red Auerbach 99-69 .589
5. K.C. Jones 81-57 .587
6. Lenny Wilkens 80-98 .449
7. Jerry Sloan 78-80 .494
8. Chuck Daly 75-51 .595
9. Don Nelson 70-85 .452
10. Gregg Popovich 69-41 .627
11. Rick Adelman 68-64 .515
12. Billy Cunningham 66-39 .629
T13. George Karl 60-71 .458
T13. John Kundla 60-35 .632

If the Spurs win the championship, Pop will move up to #5 on this list, right below Red Auerbach. Now that's even more impressive.

[JamStone]

, you swap the Spurs and Pistons, put them in their respective divisions, and see how many wins the Pistons get. Still the same weak-ass east conference. Spurs in 4.

Detroit Pistons against the Southwest Division: 9-1

Dallas 1-1
Houston 2-0
Memphis 2-0
New Orleans 2-0
San Antonio 2-0


Against the entire Western Conference: 25-5

Unless the Pistons had to play the Utah Jazz 10 times, the Pistons would be fine in the Western Conference.

[abmccray]

, you swap the Spurs and Pistons, put them in their respective divisions, and see how many wins the Pistons get. Still the same weak-ass east conference. Spurs in 4.

The Pistons match up better against the West than the East (except Utah for some reason) - I wish they had SA's playoff schedule, personally.