Reversing A Reversed Trend
Early in the season, we couldn't beat the good teams but beat up on the bad teams.
Lately, we've been whipping the good teams and losing to the bad teams.
Thankfully, tonight we didn't allow a bad team to get the jump on us. After a slightly shaky start to the game, we seized control in the second quarter and really opened up the game. It's pretty telling when most of your leading scorers are scrubs because there was so much garbage time.
The best thing to take from this game--besides reaching 50 wins for the 11th straight season--was just how good the team looked. Parker seems to be getting his zip back, and his passing actually looks better than ever. If he gets fully reintegrated to the team, we may look back at the injury as something of a blessing, as it allowed his other nagging injuries to heal, and also helped Hill and Ginobili really emerge. Speaking of which, Hill came back tonight and looked great. Hopefully there will be no ill effect from the injury. Ginobili was great as always. Bonner looked really good. Bogans literally (almost) couldn't miss from 3. All the bench players played great, as well.
But Duncan. Oooh, boy did Duncan look good. His moves were fluid and refined. His movement was smooth. He had lift, he had energy. He's definitely in playoff mode. Get here already, playoffs!
Looking Forward:
With Portland beating OKC tonight, The Thunder have locked up the number 8 seed, and we're assured 6 or 7. If Portland wins Wednesday against the Warriors, they lock up the 6 seed. If we lose on Wednesday, Portland is the 6th seed. The only way we can get the 6th seed is with a win and a Blazers loss.
Honestly, I don't know which seed is better to have. It's all about the match-up. Do we want to play Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, or Denver? My choice, in order, would be Denver, Phoenix (those two might be tied in my mind, hard to choose), Dallas, Utah.
Interestingly, if Dallas beats us on Wednesday, it ensures that we meet them in the playoffs, as they would clinch the 2 seed and we would clinch the 7 seed. If we beat them, they could fall all they way to 4, and we could rise to 6, though we could still meet them as the 3-6 match-up. Do you think they want to avoid us in the first round? If so, maybe they'll throw the game. Of course, the last time they did that, the Warriors snuck into the playoffs, pulled off the greatest upset in first round history, and 6 weeks later we were hoisting our fourth Larry O'Brien trophy. Karma's a bitch.
The other question is: do we have anything to play for? Do we want to face Dallas? If we rest starters and concede the game, we get Dallas in the first round. Personally, I'd prefer to play to win and let the chips fall where they may.
Some people have been hoping that we might actually face the Lakers in the first round. While I agree that they have been playing very poor of late and are quite vulnerable, I'd still rather avoid the champs and Kobe as long as possible. Despite their troubles, they still have Kobe, they still have Pau, they still have Jackson, and they're still a great team. They've been there, and they know what to do. (Hey, kind of like us.) Give me the Mavs or the Nuggets or the Suns in the first round, please.
Everything will be decided by the end of the day on Wednesday. This is the best time of the NBA year.
Lately, we've been whipping the good teams and losing to the bad teams.
Thankfully, tonight we didn't allow a bad team to get the jump on us. After a slightly shaky start to the game, we seized control in the second quarter and really opened up the game. It's pretty telling when most of your leading scorers are scrubs because there was so much garbage time.
The best thing to take from this game--besides reaching 50 wins for the 11th straight season--was just how good the team looked. Parker seems to be getting his zip back, and his passing actually looks better than ever. If he gets fully reintegrated to the team, we may look back at the injury as something of a blessing, as it allowed his other nagging injuries to heal, and also helped Hill and Ginobili really emerge. Speaking of which, Hill came back tonight and looked great. Hopefully there will be no ill effect from the injury. Ginobili was great as always. Bonner looked really good. Bogans literally (almost) couldn't miss from 3. All the bench players played great, as well.
But Duncan. Oooh, boy did Duncan look good. His moves were fluid and refined. His movement was smooth. He had lift, he had energy. He's definitely in playoff mode. Get here already, playoffs!
Looking Forward:
With Portland beating OKC tonight, The Thunder have locked up the number 8 seed, and we're assured 6 or 7. If Portland wins Wednesday against the Warriors, they lock up the 6 seed. If we lose on Wednesday, Portland is the 6th seed. The only way we can get the 6th seed is with a win and a Blazers loss.
Honestly, I don't know which seed is better to have. It's all about the match-up. Do we want to play Dallas, Phoenix, Utah, or Denver? My choice, in order, would be Denver, Phoenix (those two might be tied in my mind, hard to choose), Dallas, Utah.
Interestingly, if Dallas beats us on Wednesday, it ensures that we meet them in the playoffs, as they would clinch the 2 seed and we would clinch the 7 seed. If we beat them, they could fall all they way to 4, and we could rise to 6, though we could still meet them as the 3-6 match-up. Do you think they want to avoid us in the first round? If so, maybe they'll throw the game. Of course, the last time they did that, the Warriors snuck into the playoffs, pulled off the greatest upset in first round history, and 6 weeks later we were hoisting our fourth Larry O'Brien trophy. Karma's a bitch.
The other question is: do we have anything to play for? Do we want to face Dallas? If we rest starters and concede the game, we get Dallas in the first round. Personally, I'd prefer to play to win and let the chips fall where they may.
Some people have been hoping that we might actually face the Lakers in the first round. While I agree that they have been playing very poor of late and are quite vulnerable, I'd still rather avoid the champs and Kobe as long as possible. Despite their troubles, they still have Kobe, they still have Pau, they still have Jackson, and they're still a great team. They've been there, and they know what to do. (Hey, kind of like us.) Give me the Mavs or the Nuggets or the Suns in the first round, please.
Everything will be decided by the end of the day on Wednesday. This is the best time of the NBA year.
posted by secretchord53 at 10:17 PM
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