Dave Cokin Editorials
- NBA PLAYOFFS: OF HOT AND COLD FINISHES
Does it matter if a team is hot going into the playoffs? This week gives us a good snapshot of what teams are thinking, especially in the West with a logjam battle for first place. The Spurs and Lakers had a showdown Sunday in a battle for the No. 1 seed, a game the Lakers won easily, 106-85.
"You don't want to have a game like this going into the playoffs," Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said. "If we lose playing our way, we deal with it. But when you don't bring it and you're not competitive, it hurts." The loss knocked the Spurs from contention for the top spot in the Western Conference, turning the race into a three-way battle between the Lakers, Hornets and Rockets.
History tells us it's more important to be healthy heading into the postseason than in any kind of slump. Some good news for the Spurs is that Manu Ginobili should be back soon from a strained groin. "He'll definitely play the first game of the playoffs," coach Gregg Popovich said.
Ginobili leads
them in scoring at 19.6 points per game.
Looking back a year ago, the Spurs lost
their final three games of the regular
season, including a blowout loss at Denver.
One of those
wins was important, as San Antonio had
to settle for the third seed in the West.
Yet, it didn't matter in the end as San
Antonio went on to win the NBA title
again. Let's not forget that the team
that took the No. 1 seed in the West,
Dallas, won 15 of its last 19 regular
season games, then went belly-up in the
first round of the playoffs, a stunning
6-game series loss to No. 8 seeded Golden
State. Forgotten is the fact that Dallas
rested players late last season and appeared
rusty against Golden State.
Of greater concern to the Spurs, however,
is that the defeat to the Lakers sent
the Spurs to their third blowout defeat
against a playoff-bound team in nine
days. Sunday's massacre joins losses
by 26 points to Utah and 17 points to
Phoenix on the Spurs' lowlight list,
an unsettling trend as they approach
the postseason. Still, the playoffs are
a whole different breed of games.
The Lakers have already clinched the
Pacific Division title, but they would
earn the conference's top playoff seeding
if they win Tuesday at home against Sacramento.
The Lakers are hot, on a 11-4 SU, 7-8
ATS run.
A year ago the Pistons were red-hot
down the stretch, on a 10-4 run heading
into the playoffs. They then swept Orlando,
knocked off Chicago in 6, then went up
2-0 on Cleveland. That was their last
win of the season, though, as the upstart
young Cavaliers won 4 in a row to win
the East. You might say there was little
indication the Cavaliers were going to
be champions of the East, as they ended
the regular season on a 9-7 run.
One of
the hottest teams now is the new-look
Phoenix Suns, on a 13-5 SU, 12-5-1
ATS run. A sixth-seeded fate appears
most likely for Phoenix, though they
could overtake the Spurs. Phoenix owns
the tiebreaker with San Antonio, which
plays at Sacramento Monday and faces
Utah at home Wednesday. The Suns could
weigh the value of facing Utah as a fifth
seed, possibly with a home-court edge,
against being the sixth seed and possibly
facing Houston, a team most contenders
would prefer playing. "I don't think
it really matters," Suns guard Steve
Nash said. Suns coach Mike D'Antoni summed
it up best with, "The new season
starts in the playoffs."
And what about Houston, the team that
won 22 in a row but is now the squad
everyone wants to play? Houston is still
playing well, on a 5-1 SU/ATS run, even
beating Phoenix as a home dog. Everyone
wants to play them because Yao Ming is
out, but be careful what you wish for.
After all, everyone wanted to play No.
8 seed Golden State a year ago and the
Mavs got saddled with the biggest surprise
in playoff history. Playing your best
basketball of the season the last few
weeks isn't as important as it will be....starting
Saturday!
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