Want to make a bet on that? (the Lakers sweeping the Spurs) I'll bet virtually anything that that won't come anywhere close to happening... PS: According to the odds I've seen (made by professional oddsmakers who have no real bias one way or another) the Lakers have as great, or in some places, better odds of being upset in the first round than the Spurs do.
Those "odd makers" reflect the way fans vote, many are closer to fools than experts. I wonder how the Spurs odds for the championship compare with Sacs or LA, I would think not good. Probably them NJ, and the Mavs make upt he next tier.
OK Mr Spur, your right. Ferry or Bowen (take your pick but remember this isn't football where one each series can sit out), Smith, D-Rob and Jesus are as good as Kobe, Fox, Horry and Fisher or Peja, Christie, Vlade and Bibby. Your right, silly me, the Spurs supporting cast is comparable to what Oneal and Webber have (Portland doesn't have a TD, Oneal, or Webber, let alone a Kobe or KG, if I have to spell it out to you this is why they are not in the mix--not the fact they have losts of good roll players). Also, I can't believe I didn't see that Bowen was hiding his Peja like skills and Ferry was hiding his Kobe-like skills all this time. What could I have been thinking
Scar -- according to you, the Spurs supporting cast is crap, yet the only way Duncan could've won the MVP was if the Spurs beat out the Mavs......hmmmmm. If the Spurs supporting cast is so bad (like you say), shouldn't Duncan be the MVP hands down (like you don't say), since he carried the team to 58 wins? I mean, you specifically said that the only way that Shaq is NOT the MVP was if the Spurs finished ahead of the Lakers and Mavs....that would seem to mean to me that you thought all the supporting casts were on equal footing. Where am I going wrong?
I think it's somewhat telling that if you look at guys like Steve Smith, Derek Anderson, and Bruce Bowen, their 3pt% goes way up when they come to the Spurs. Perhaps the Spurs supporting cast was crap, but newsflash: So was the Rockets championship's supporting cast for Hakeem. The point was, they got pieces that fit in the puzzle. With Duncan and Robinson, you just need guys to balance out the defense with the 3's.
I'm guessing that the odds makers could care less about the fans and are more concerned with making money.
Yep, teams that have won 9 in a row and 21 of their last 24 games often lose to mediocre teams in the first round.
I think a playoff minded GP will eat Jesus Parker's lunch and take his milk money I the Spurs can be upset by Seattle.
Sorry, but I seriously have to disagree with you people that think the Spurs are going to be upset by Seattle. I live with a Spurs fan, so I've got to see them in action quite a bit recently and they are for real(as long as they don't play Shaq). The Sonics have no post players that could come close to keeping Duncan in check and don't underestimate Parker. He is a rookie and will make some rookie mistakes, but he also has the same fire guys like Payton have. I'm not saying Parker is going to shut down GP or even play him straight up point for point, but he isn't going to just go hide in the corner either.
I think that Seattle had a better chance of upsetting Sacramento then they will the Spurs. Anything is possible, and Seattle is talented, but the Spurs are far more experienced, to big and to balanced for the Sonics. Seattle tend to be erratic, that comes with youth. And it'll get them slaughtered against San Antonio. If the Spurs take them lightly then this could go 5, but my guess is the Spurs in 4. Other then Tony Parker the Spurs are an experienced club from top to bottom. And the people who are saying that Gary Payton will kill Parker and Parker is inexperienced, what they're forgetting is that the Spurs also have Terry Porter (who will be activated), and he has been to several Finals, and Antonio Daniels who has a championship ring. They don't have to out-play or even neutralize Payton, all they have to do is hit the outside shot and run the right plays and the Spurs will roll.
If I had a vote Duncan would have been the MVP in 1999 (that was total BS it went to Malone, it should have been a landslide for TD) and would be my MVP this year. I don't deny he is a great player and probably deserves the MVP this year--but how the team does does impact this. If the Spurs were the 4th seed in the West it is awefully hard to give the MVP to any player from that team no matter what they do. Hakeem had many better years than Duncan and didn't get the MVP because his team couldn't even finish 1st in the West. That is just the way it works. Also, those saying Duncan is like Hakeem don't remember Hakeem's dominance on both sides of the ball too well. Spurman, "hate", get real. I am simply supremely confident the Lakers and Kings are better teams--I have been saying this since this all the offseason moves last year and I see no evidence to view it otherwise. Spurs might very well be the next best team, but the gap between the top 2 from the rest is great as we will see in the playoffs.
I don't see that big a gap between the Top 2 and other teams. I think that the Spurs can beat Sacramento and have a good shot at the Lakers. And the Mavs aren't that far off either. There's only like a 4 game difference between the Top 4 team! If the Lakers are so much better then the Spurs and Mavs why did they have to close out the #3 seed on the last night of the season!?
Sac had the West wrapped with what a week left to play? The Lakers would have been right with the Kings if not for injuries. Besdies the playoffs are different anyway. If you took the Mavs offense and the Spurs defense they would be right with the Kings and Lakers, but that is not how it works. There are only 2 teams who can be outstanding on both ends of the court when they really need to be, I have been saying who these 2 teams are all year long. The real season is about to begin.
Yep, that is exactly what I said Cat. If the Sonics are so mediocre, how did they manage to tie the season series with San Antonio?
The Sonics only played the Spurs once toward the end of the season, and I think that was in Seattle on the second night of a back to back. As someone who favors the Lakers come the postseason, you should realize that it's all about how you're playing now, not how you played in the middle of the season. Lots of teams could've beat the Spurs in the middle of the season. But now, with the Spurs having won 9 in a row and 21 of their last 24, they're a completely different team.
It wasn't on the 2nd night of a back to back... I just don't think the Spurs are as "clutch" as the Lakers of last year. I believe Payton will dominate Parker much more than Duncan dominating Baker. The Sonics also have a few big men that should be used to hack on Duncan so that by the end of the game, he won't be able to feel his arms... Payton > Parker Barry = Smith Mason/Lewis > Bowen Baker < Duncan James/Booth < Robinson I don't think Robinson will be much of a factor, so it really just comes down to who will dominate more...Duncan or Payton. I think Payton will...
