The rise in parity of playoff teams has occurred but the gap between the best and worst teams is more pronounced
no, the SA-MEM wasn't shocking, and the GSW_DAL is very shocking, they are not even close, if you go back to see how the GSW and DAL played in the regular season and how they finished the regular season, you would bet all your money on DAL to win, book my word.....
This is more of a reason for Rockets to plan on getting a roster that can compete for Championship in next 3 or 4 years. At that point, the top teams will be significantly different (Boston, Lakers, Dallas, San Antonio will not be there)
A lot of people were saying before the Mavs/Warriors series started that GS was a horrible matchup for Dallas. They beat them all three times the teams played in the regular season (although I think Dallas rested its starters in the last game). That was not a shocking upset.
No... GS were the only team that gave the Mavs trouble during the regular season. In fact, GS swept the Mavs during their season series. It WAS a bad matchup for the Mavs. The Mavs could easily have won it all that season if they put their ego aside and realized they will face more trouble against GS than they think.
GS winning that series was not surprising at all, it was considered a potential upset from the beginning, a lot of people though they would win that series
Go look through the Clutchfans archive, or ESPN archives, or wherever. There is literally NO ONE I can find who predicted a Warriors victory before the series started. There's some "Oh hey, GS went 3-0, maybe it'll take the Mavs 6 games, but more likely 5". That's it. By contrast, there were people who predicted a Grizzlies win from the beginning. Dwyer for example. So no, Golden State was a much bigger shocker.
memphis lost something like 1 more game than the spurs in the last half of the season. they are closer than people realize.
It's not the fall of the elite It's merely a changing of the guards. The previous elite are either disjointed (Orlando), too old (SA), or aging (LA). Don't be fooled into thinking that the transition is parity. Just new teams replacing the previous elite.
Hey guys the Lakers are playing down to their competition, they'll "flip the switch soon" don't worry. And yes Memphis was not an upset because everyone and their mom thought it would happen. Not saying it wasnt amazing to watch (it's the only series I watched all the games, definitely the most intriguing) but it wasn't surprising.
Now LA is down 0-2, and the heat are up 2-0. Both the Bulls and OKC lost one game in their building. It may not be parity, but there are changes happening. The old generation of superstars is done, lebron and wade are in their primes, and Rose, Durant and the young guns are making their mark on the league. I can't see one dominant team in the playoffs save for a clicking on all cylinders Miami. Maybe LA but Kobe is not the same. All these teams can beat one another save Atlanta perhaps, and even then it would probably be a good series. Great year for the playoffs!
This. The reason why a lot of people don't see the Memphis victory as a huge upset is because the spurs were a weak top seed, and people knew it. They went something like 15-11 after the all-star break, which isn't bad, but definitely isn't top seed caliber. The grizz caught them well after they peaked in the first part of the season.
I'm not sure this issue is black and white. I don't necessarily think the elite are fading, but I don't think we're in for crazy parody either. I think the biggest factor is that the NBA has more talent in the league now than I've seen in a long, long time. Depending on how far you want to stretch the word "star," every team in these playoffs has a star that can carry the team. In the playoffs, many times it comes down to who has the best single player on the floor. We saw this many times in the first round alone. In the LA/NO series, the Lakers were a far better team, but in games 1 and 4, Chris Paul was the best player on the floor. In the SA/Memphis series, San Antonio had the much better regular season and had a metric ton worth of playoff experience. That didn't matter, though, when Zach Randolph was far and away the best player in the series. In short, more teams than ever have a marquee player that can carry the load. Things like depth help a team pile up regular season wins, but in the playoffs, a lot of times it's more simple than that.
