Man, Don't be underestimate the Blazers
Basically, the blazers have a bigger chance than the spurs to take this series
Playoff Musings
For a brief time last night the Spurs were back in place as the 3rd seed in the Western Conference. The win over the Jazz put them into a tie with the Rockets and the Spurs own the tiebreaker at this time. Later on last night the Rockets beat the team from Golden State (I refuse to call them by their name) so the whole 3rd seed thing went *POOF*. But I'm gonna tell you why that might not be a bad thing.
Right now the Spurs are the 5th seed in the West. If there are no other changes in seeding the playoffs would look like this:
1 Lakers vs. 8 Jazz
Everyone thinks this matchup would be tougher on the Lakers than other matchups. I call bull . The Jazz are terrible on the road and the Spurs didn't seem to have trouble with them (basically the same team) in Utah back in 2007. I'd say Lakers in 4 or 5.
2 Nuggies vs. 7 Mavericks
This is actually pretty interesting. The Nuggets are legendary playoff no-shows. But so is _allas. Carlisle is a good coach but his PG can't score reliably and his C belongs in the WNBA. I'd say this series goes 6 games with the Nuggies coming out on top.
3 Rockettes vs. 6 Hornets
I really like this matchup. The Hornets have been fairly ty compared to last year. The Rockettes are playing well but their coach hasn't done anything significant in 20 years. If Chandler is healthy and Peja gets his new bio-engineered back installed, I could actually see the Hornets winning this series. I still think it goes 6 or 7 games.
4 Greg Odens vs. 5 Your San Antonio Spurs
The Blazers have had their way with the Spurs recently. That's no reason to think the Blazers young lineup can handle the pressure of the playoffs. I think the Spurs will have trouble but in the end I don't think the HCA will have that great of an effect on the series. I optimistically say the Spurs would take the series in 6.
That would leave us with these Semi (boner joke!) matchups:
1 Lakers vs. 5 Your San Antonio Spurs
2 Nuggies vs. 3 Rockettes/6 Hornets
But but but, how can the Spurs playing the Lakers in the Semis be any better than playing them in such a huge WCF? If you settle down and take your out of your ass I can explain it.
Remember last year when the Spurs had to go through a 7 game series with Chris Paul and his nut punching posse? Right, we all remember. The blowouts, the close games, and Chris Paul doing a great job selling fouls. I think you can see where I'm going with this. By the time the Spurs got to LA to play the Fake Show, they were exhausted and injured. It can happen any year. Your team has a tough first round (if you live in Dallas) or second round and then crap out in the Semis or Finals (if you live in Dallas). That's why I think the only shot the Spurs have at beating the Lakers is if they meet them in the second round as opposed to the WCF. Duncan won't be icing down his knees after every game in the second round (hopefully) and all of our geriatric players will still be somewhat fresh. That's why NOT getting the 3 seed would actually be beneficial to this group. Obviously the 4 seed would be better than the 5*, but I don't think the Odens can pull of a playoff victory yet.
* - Both Portland and SA have 3 games left with 2 being against ty teams each. Portland plays Denver last and SA plays NOLA last. Those last 2 games could decide the 4/5 seeding.
POSTED BY ANKLE BONES AT 11:01 AM
LABELS: PLAYOFFS? YOU TALKING BOUT PLAYOFFS? PLAYOFFS?
http://spursunderground.blogspot.com...layoff-musings.
Man, Don't be underestimate the Blazers
Basically, the blazers have a bigger chance than the spurs to take this series
No Manu, a half-healthy Tim, an upset chemistry, a bunch of streaky role players = very tough matchup, be it Portland or anyone else
Spurs can't beat the Lakers in the first, second, or Western Conference Finals without Manu Ginoboli unless a key player (Kobe or Gasol) gets injured. Other than that, we're screwed.
Avoiding the hornets would be a win
blazers might be the lakers' toughest match up. i don't want the spurs to eliminate a team that can challenge the lakers like last year when the spurs did them a favor and eliminated the hornets.
Agreed, Portland would be the favorite to win that first round series.
for the 2nd year in a row the Spurs will likely get to play a young, up and coming team with nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Either way, the Spurs are in match-up . If they go up to 3rd they will face an N.O. team they have trouble with aswell.
I would add without a "healthy" Manu or Timmy for that matter.
That made me appreciate Jeff McDonald.
Spurs best chance still lies with the #3 seed in my opinion.
1. #3 gets either Dallas, Hornets, Jazz. Dallas & Hornets aren't dominating at home or on the road. Jazz are usually good at home but lost to the Warriors & Wolves at home this month.
2. 2nd round vs Nuggets isn't very daunting
3. Leaves the Rockets/Blazers to the Lakers. Both of whom have the best chance (considering the teams) of knocking out/tiring out the Lakers in the 2nd round.
4. Won't play the Lakers until the WCF if both teams make it.
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