Look at the headlines right now at ESPN (NBA section): Superhuman Feats It was the Lakers' version of leaping tall buildings with a single bound. Beat the Spurs when both Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant miss time due to injury? San Antonio will need David Robinson, and probably Lex Luthor and the Penguin, to overcome such heroics and foil the champs' master plan in the NBA playoffs, writes ESPN.com's Frank Hughes. Now for some facts: Bryant played 38 minutes, right at his regular-season average. O'Neal played 35 minutes, one under his regular-season average of 36. David Robinson did not play. Superhuman feats? Heroics? Nice exaggeration.
A little off topic, but why exactly did the series open in LA? Did the Spurs have the choice of- A. Opening at home (2 games), away for 3 games, then back home for the final two? or B. Opening on the road for 2, back home for 3, then 1 away and 1 at home if neccesary? I'm just wondering since they were the only team with homecourt advantage that opened on the road.
Freak, they are just writers embellishing to get their names around--nothing special. However, I can assure you Kobe and Shaq will not be out of another playoff game for those amount of minutes unless they are injured, in foul trouble, or in a blow out. In short it was a golden oppertunity for the Spurs and now their backs are against the wall. They are all but dead if they don't win tonight IMO. TPL, LA has home court over the Spurs because they were ahead of them in the WC standings (their records are tied but LA beat them 3-1 in the regular season giving them the tiebreaker). The Spurs had the second seed in the West playoffs because the 1-2 seeds automatically goes to the division winner regardless of the standings of the non-division winners.
Why the hell even have SEEDS?? Seeds are seeded for a reason. ANd the higher seed should play at home, regardless. It's playoff time, not the regular season.
You are probably correct, the Lakers should have drawn the Sonics while the Spurs should have had to play the Blazers. It is not like the Spurs played a harder schedule for being in the midwest division than the Lakers or even that the midwest division is guaranteed a playoff spot by any rule--seeds and home court should be mutally determined by standings alone.
well this rule got us homecourt over seattle in 97 and we won in 7 thanks to that. it doesn't necessarily make sense to give a division winner the automatic 2 but it does make sense for the better record to have homecourt regardless of seed.
Every win is exaggerated in the playoffs. Look at the "staggering Mavs" stories that were written after the Kings won Game 1 of their series.
following in the same article is interesting. Hope Duncan puts a rest to these doubts afte tonights game. From Espn http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2002/columns/hughes_frank/2002/0507/1379151.html " Remember in 1995, when Robinson won the MVP and Houston's Hakeem Olajuwon obliterated Robinson in the playoffs because Olajuwon felt he should have won it for a second straight year? Robinson says he put that trophy in his closet because it evokes so many bad memories. I have a feeling Duncan will put his MVP trophy in his closet, as well. Right up on the shelf next to his old comic books, the ones with Superman and Batman and Spider-man and Aquaman and the Green Lantern and Captain America. "
