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Originally Posted by alexamenos
Very well stated.
It's funny, but I don't recall anyone harping about how bad the Grizz are until after the Mavs dominated the Grizz. And I certainly don't recall anyone carrying on about the Greatness of the Kings at halftime of Game 1 in that series.
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The Grizz don't match up real well with Dallas. I expected that series to be short. And FWIW,
I brought up the subject of Sacramento's deceiving 8th seeded position long before the playoffs started..
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Originally Posted by TVI
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Quote:Originally Posted by DirkGoesNuclear
Actually I'm thinking that the team that got screwed are the Spurs (by Phoenix). To get to the NBA finals, the best record team will have to face the 2nd and 3rd best record team. Phoenix (3rd best) will have to face (5th/6th) and then (1st/2nd). For Mavs, it's a push or better for us. Since we have to face 3rd and 1st either way, I'd rather take Spurs early after the Memphis series, instead of being run ragged by Suns with Spurs rested and lying in wait. IMO.
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Not to mention that they get to face the Kings in the first round -- a team that is 25-14 since the Artest trade. How many #8 seeds are playing .640 ball? These guys wew 18-24 before the trade. If they were in the Northwest, they'd be competing with the Nuggets for the division title.
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And this idea floating about....the Spurs are going to gain some valuable experience and learn that it's a long-hard road to the NBA finals????? Experience? Gimmee a break -- they've won two out of the last three. They're not gaining experience, they're showing age and complacency.
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There's something to be said about getting your playoff game going by facing a tougher opponent in the first round. However, I'm not sure I'd take that over rest, and time to prepare. I'd opt for the Mavs position right now (except for HCA in the second round).
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Here's a crazy possibility...
The Grizz looked like dog meat because the Mavs dominated them...
Bonzi Wells is having a hell of series because the Spurs are old, slow, and uninspired....
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And here's another possibility: Bonzi is playing up to his potential (pick your reason: playoff excitement, new team, contract season, et. al.). He has always been a player with loads of talent. I put him into the same category as Rasheed Wallace -- a headcase who can suck, or be amazingly brilliant. Right now, he's playing inspired basketball, and the Kings are riding him for all he's worth.
I don't buy this talk about the Spurs being old and slow. As far as slow goes, Duncan's foot problems have been well documented this season, and that's not going to get better until he rests it for the summer. Parker and Ginobili are very quick. As far as old goes, their core three are 30 and under. Their only "old" players are all bench/role players who don't have to log major minutes, and the coach does a good job of spreading the minutes around.
The Spurs' weakness this year has been rebounding - particularly keeping opponents off the offensive boards, and Sacramento has done a good job exploiting that. Duncan's not going to be up to par, one of their centers is a slow BWS, and the other is inconsistent with hands of stone. Those guys are not effective against the Kings quicker line-ups, and Pop has been forced to adjust with his own version of "smallball" at times. Nonetheless, the Spurs are one silly turnover away from having closed this series out 4-1.