Memphis is a damn good 5 seed my friend. You seem to forget when Memphis beat the Spurs as an 8 seed.

If the Spurs beat the Heat, that will all be forgotten.

They match up very well with the Heat, as long as Bonner and Manu make their shots, they should be very good games.

I see the series going 7 games, if the Spurs can out rebound them and make some shots.


It will be a great series, and certainly one we should start talking about, especially for those of us who believe in jinxes.

Before the playoffs started, I would have seeded the (non-spurs) west:

Thunder
Grizzlies
Lakers
Golden State
Clippers
Utah
Rockets

When Bryant went down (regular season I know, but right before the playoffs), the Lakers dropped, and they dropped further when they pulled everyone else with injuries (some of which they would have played through if they had a chance to win). When Westbrook went down, the Thunder dropped to 3rd. Lee's loss didn't change much how I thought about the Warriors, especially since Bogut started to get healthy about the same time. It was an offense for defense trade as much as anything.

That leaves the re-seeded west:

Grizzlies
Golden State
Thunder
Clippers
Utah
Rockets
Lakers

Clearly injuries have had a huge impact on this playoffs (just like they do every playoffs), but the Grizzlies and Warriors are two legitimate, very good teams nonetheless.

2007:

Spurs (3) v Nuggets (6)
Spurs (3) v Suns (2)
Spurs (3) v Jazz (4)

2005:

Spurs (2) v Nuggets (7)
Spurs (2) v Supersonics (3)
Spurs (2) v Suns (1)

2003:

Spurs (1) v Suns (8)
Spurs (1) v Lakers (5)
Spurs (1) v Mavericks (3)

1999:

Spurs (1) v Timberwolves (8)
Spurs (1) v Lakers (4)
Spurs (1) v Trailblazers (2)

Everyone forgets that the Spurs, not the Heat, had the best record in the league in early March when Parker went down with an injury.

He has to get healthier, but Wade is deteriorating.

I think the Heat are going to win the whole thing, but both the Spurs and Memphis have a chance to beat them. The Heat don't rebound well, and they will have lots of problems with Memphis' frontcourt. Also, Memphis can protect the rim and force Miami to take lots of jumpshots.

As for the Spurs, they have the ability to get on a role and score lots of points. They have no chance against the Heat if they play like they have since Parker went down. But, if they start hitting shots, they could beat Miami.

I do think SA beats Memphis, but it could go either way.

Memphis was close to being the 3 seed. Hell, they were even close to being the 2 seed. The west was competitive this year.

Memphis was only 2 game behind the Spurs at the end of the regular season.

It's also very rare for a 5 seed to win a conference.

But I can't think of any team ever that won a conference without facing a top 4 seed. Seems like the Western conference is more like the NHL the past 6-7 years with the seeding not being as much of a factor as it should be.

[This message has been edited by InternetFan02 (edited 5/17/2013 11:39a).]

We should get a preview of how a Miami/Memphis series might look with an Eastern Conf Finals of Miami/Indiana. Indiana strikes me as the Grizz of the East.

On the flip side, I don't think any team had a tougher slate than 95 Houston who as the 6 seed defeated the 3, 2 and 1 seeds (59 win Suns, 60 win Jazz, 62 win Spurs)

Those 1,3, and 4 seeds were dispatched in 5,6, and 6 games respectively. No question but that the better teams won.

I'm concerned with the spurs rebounding - I think the Grizzlies will dominate the boards. Outside of Kawhai, not real good offensive rebounding at all. I think Pop will work on this before Sunday.

Spurs are always a bad offensive rebounding team because Pop has everyone start back on defense quickly.

memphis would be a 2 seed in the east and so would Golden State

it is the same every year since the 80's
The West is best

Honestly, I'd much rather be playing the Nuggets or Thunder right now. The Grizz and Warriors were the two hottest teams out west at the end of the season. Hell, even the Lakers went on a run to get that 7 seed.

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Memphis was only 2 game behind the Spurs at the end of the regular season.

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Yeah. The difference between the #1 and #5 seeds was 4 games...

The 2 teams the Spurs have beat had better records than the 6-8 seeds in the East. And if they beat the Grizzlies, they will have beaten a team that had a better record than the top 2-8 seeds of the East...

Agree that seeds are misleading. For instance in '03 the Spurs faced a Lakers team that was a 5 seed in the Semis. Problem was that was also the 3 time reigning champs with Kobe and Shack both in their prime.

The '95 Rockets were also a team that had big injury issues all year and got healthy just in time for the playoffs. Thus they were a 6 seed but likely would have been the 1 or 2 seed otherwise.

I also think HC advantage in the NBA is not that big of a deal, esp for a veteran team. If you steal one of those first 2 games it puts immense pressure on the HC advantage team. For a young team though it's a different story.

WTF are the east coast teams getting such a big break? Game 1 not til Wed? Did I see that right?

Team - Finished Series

Heat - May 15
Pacers - May 18
Grizz - May 15
Spurs - May 16

WCF Start - May 19
ECF Start - May 22

Delay from last team
WCF - 3 days
ECF - 4 days

Not that much of a stretch for the ECF to start Wednesday. Also, I'd assume they didn't start Tuesday (3 days in) due to the Spurs/Grizz game.

The interesting thing is the CF schedules.

WCF
5/19
5/21
5/25 (4 days after the last one)
5/27
5/29
5/31
6/2

ECF
5/22
5/24
5/26
5/28
5/30
6/1
6/3

ECF is a game every 2 days with no break like the WCF. I assume they did this so each series ends roughly the same time if it goes to 7 games (6/2 and 6/3) with the finals starting 6/7 iirc.

Of course, if the Spurs make the Finals, it'll be on when I'm in Paris and all the games will be on in the middle of the night (unless there's a day game and I get to watch it late). That's gonna suck.

That entire country is absolutely crazy about Parker. Even artsy bohemian girls who don't give two sheets about sports like the spurs.

If the spurs make the finals there will probably be watch parties even though the games are starting at 2&3 am. Could be a lot of fun.

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Of course, if the Spurs make the Finals, it'll be on when I'm in Paris and all the games will be on in the middle of the night (unless there's a day game and I get to watch it late). That's gonna suck.

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You stay here and I'll go for you. Kthxbai

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That entire country is absolutely crazy about Parker. Even artsy bohemian girls who don't give two sheets about sports like the spurs.

If the spurs make the finals there will probably be watch parties even though the games are starting at 2&3 am. Could be a lot of fun.

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Don't forget croissant munching Diaw is French too.

As is Nando de Colo.

I know that those 3 are French...I'm getting some new Spurs stuff for the trip, too. But I'm still looking at the best way to watch the games because I still have to be working at 8 or so in the morning...

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Of course, if the Spurs make the Finals, it'll be on when I'm in Paris and all the games will be on in the middle of the night (unless there's a day game and I get to watch it late). That's gonna suck.

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You stay here and I'll go for you. Kthxbai

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Sorry. I'll post pics for you though. Because I care.

Gdmfdpsobihdp!!!!!

[This message has been edited by Ag with kids (edited 5/20/2013 11:44p).]

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He has to get healthier, but Wade is deteriorating.

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Wade has battled injuries his whole career, but I'm not sure where this "he's deteriorating" comment is coming from. His season averages were right at, or just below his career averages in ppg, rpg, apg, and his FG% was above his career average. In the playoffs, due to his knee injury he's playing thru, his ppg have suffered, but his apg, rpg, and FG% is right at his career playoff averages.

I think Wade isn't deteriorating as much as Lebron is taking the team over, which Wade is glad to have happen.

Seed does not necessarily represent a tougher foe. Tougher teams are playing best at end of season. I'd be interested in W/L stats in last quarter of season for comparison.

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Finally got around to digging up the stats of my own OP. Since it's looking pretty damn likely the Spurs will represent the West in the Finals.

It has been over 20 years since a team representing the East or West in the NBA Finals has NOT had to face a 1, 2, 3 or 4 seed on their path to the Finals. That surprises me.

So statistically speaking, the Spurs have had a relatively easy path to the Finals. Much easier than their past 4 rings per Ganondorf's post.

Not since the 1989 NBA Champion Detroit Pistons has this happened. That year the Pistons faced the following teams/seeds on the way to sweep the LA Lakers in the Finals:

1st Round: DET (1) beats BOS (8) 3-0
2nd Round: DET (1) beats MIL (5) 4-0
ECF: DET (1) beats CHI (6) 4-2

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good research. Were there any Westbrook type injuries or other circumstances that helped the 6 seed Bulls get to the ECF?

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Memphis was only 2 game behind the Spurs at the end of the regular season.

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All of the teams in the west are pretty well bunched together. I don't know how much difference 5 games over the course of the season makes. But that's the difference in the top 5 teams in the league. Golden State finished better than Chicago.