Series Page: San Antonio vs Dallas

[Air Jordon]

this is the series where dallas will look like the second rate team it is. not good enough to beat spurs. spurs win 4-1.

[Matt]

Game 2, Mavs up 20 with 2 mins to go in the 2nd. Excellent start.

[Mayerhendrix]

Spurs being the slow, tough "dragged out defensive plays" team they are, a 20 point deficit's devastating. This series is going to be better than the Conference finals.

Oh yeah, in response to how this series is the most anticipated one:

Stern says NBA thinking about changes


PHOENIX (AP) - NBA commissioner David Stern acknowledged one scheduling mistake - and may address another quirk in the playoff format.

The commissioner said Monday night that the NBA will "probably" change the way it seeds the playoffs.

"I think we're just talking about taking the four teams in each conference with the best records and seeding them one through four," he said.

Under the current format, the three division champions earn the top three seeds, followed by the remaining teams in order of their records. That's why San Antonio and Dallas are meeting in the second round, even though they have the two best records in the West.

Stern also said it was wrong to schedule the Spurs to open the Western Conference semifinals with an early game Sunday.

"If we had it to do over again, we wouldn't have acceded to the network's request on that one," he said Monday night.

San Antonio wrapped up its first-round series in Sacramento so late on Friday night that it was after midnight in Texas. The Spurs spent the night in Sacramento and didn't arrive back in San Antonio until about 3 p.m. on Saturday.

They tipped off their series with Dallas at noon, local time, on Sunday because ABC wanted to show the Cleveland-Detroit game in the more attractive later time slot.

"We could lay it off on the network, but that's our responsibility and we have the ability to say no," Stern said. "And we should have."

Despite the short turnaround, San Antonio won the game 87-85.

Stern was in Phoenix to present Steve Nash with the Most Valuable Player trophy before the Suns opened their second-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers.

The long-suffering Clippers had been the butt of jokes in the league for years.

"Over the years I used to say to our broadcasting department that this is the year we should put the Clippers on the TV schedule," Stern said, "and they would say 'David, go back into your office,' and I did. So wishing didn't make it so."

Now that the Clippers have climbed into respectability, Stern said, "I feel great for their fans who have supported them over the years. Once every 30 years I think is good at a minimum for a team to get to the second round."

Stern said that if a team is "well-managed over time, it will make it into the playoffs and management should be held accountable if you don't. The Clippers have had a dry spell, shall we say, yet their fans have supported them in increasing numbers over the year and I am delighted for the fans."

He said that he at one point favored moving the Clippers to Orange County.

"Shows you want I know," Stern said. "They're doing great in Staples Center. I'm hoping to catch a game there sometime this round."

Stern had harsh words for the talk of an NBA "conspiracy" to get the Lakers and Clippers in an all-Los Angeles second-round series. The Suns had to rally from a 3-1 deficit to oust the Lakers.

It was not the first time that the league had been accused of wanting to arrange a specific matchup or favor a certain team.

"I'm embarrassed for the media, actually, when the issue gets raised," Stern said.

[elwudl]

Here you have it...one change from the defensively orientated Griffin to the more offensive minded and quicker Harris...and here we go...Dirk hadn't to do that much on offense:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/recap?gameId=260509024

[debiler]

I say Mavs in seven. But it's gonna be close. Very.

[Andrew]

Impressive win for the Mavs.

As far as that article's concerned, I'm still not hugely in favour of reseeding the teams come the second round. Sure, it's a shame a matchup like Mavs/Spurs isn't the WCF series but why change the format because of one series? It's balanced out East, after all.

If the 1995 Rockets taught us anything, if you have the skill and the drive to win the championship it doesn't matter where you're seeded.

[debiler]

Sure. But don't you think it's unfair for the second-best team in the west to be seeded fourth? You gotta give them some credit for that. The Nuggets are just lucky to play in a crappy division.

[elwudl]

And that's the point. You cannot only rely on where a team is located. If they are a better one than Denver they deserve a higher spot in the playoffs IMHO. What are 44 wins against 60? And look, Denver was the only team in their division with an pct of more than 50...The northwest was simply a quite weak division this year and that's why Denver won it. I do not agree to seed the division winners on 1-3. Take a look at the NHL, I think it works pretty fine there.

[Andrew]

Sure. But don't you think it's unfair for the second-best team in the west to be seeded fourth? You gotta give them some credit for that. The Nuggets are just lucky to play in a crappy division.

A little, but it's not always going to be this way. Just because it's worked out that way this season is no reason to rush off and change a format that's been in place and worked for decades. If you're good enough to win the championship, it really shouldn't matter where you're seeded. I know having homecourt advantage is a factor but either way the Spurs were going to have that over the Mavericks, whether they were seeded 1st and 3rd as they would've been with four divisions or 1st and 4th as they are now.

And that's the point. You cannot only rely on where a team is located. If they are a better one than Denver they deserve a higher spot in the playoffs IMHO. What are 44 wins against 60? And look, Denver was the only team in their division with an pct of more than 50...The northwest was simply a quite weak division this year and that's why Denver won it. I do not agree to seed the division winners on 1-3. Take a look at the NHL, I think it works pretty fine there.

What works in the NHL isn't necessarily going to be fine for the NBA. In the NFL they sign players before the Draft and that seems to work fine for them but I don't think it's a good idea for the NBA. This year, the Northwest was weak, Denver's record wasn't that impressive and the fact Dallas is seeded fourth looks a lot worse. But that doesn't matter, the Nuggets are out, Dallas moved on and it's likely they would've had to face San Antonio at some point to move on to the NBA Finals.

One year of unbalance in one conference should not call for immediate changes to the format, least of all due to potential television ratings which would seem to be a factor in the decision as well.

Again, if you're destined to win the championship, if you're good enough to win it all, it doesn't matter if you're not the top seed. Sweeping changes aren't necessary because one season happens to produce an odd result due to a technicality.

[dan_suth]

Excuse my ignorance, but if they changed the playoff seedings, what would happen if, say, Denver had a worse record than Sacramento (the 8 seed) but still won their division? Would they still be in the playoffs, and what seed?

[Amphatoast]

3rd seed still

[Donatello]

Do away with Divisions. Blech.

[3th]

spurs in 6

[Its_asdf]

Woot, go Dallas. I really believe that they can pull this off, especially now that they've won one game at the Spurs' home court.

Devin Harris really impressed me, and so did Josh Howard. It's amazing that Dallas has such a solid mixture of young players that are coachable and a group of veteran players that can carry the team.

[Mayerhendrix]

Woot, go Dallas. I really believe that they can pull this off, especially now that they've won one game at the Spurs' home court.

Devin Harris really impressed me, and so did Josh Howard. It's amazing that Dallas has such a solid mixture of young players that are coachable and a group of veteran players that can carry the team.

I think when you become a good team it doesn't matter home or away it becomes a contest everywhere.

[BOSS]

Ye man !
Go Dallas !
Sick of seeing the Spurs. Haha.

[air gordon]

I root for Dallas, so Mavs in 6.

same here. to me this is the Conf. finals

[Mayerhendrix]

This winner's going to the NBA finals, no doubt there.

Mavs totally deserve it more, hope they win.

[NNpF]

This winner's going to the NBA finals, no doubt there.

Mavs totally deserve it more, hope they win.

I don't see how you can be so sure.

If Phoenix beats the Clippers, then it's going to be a very tough series for either Dallas or San Antonio. Not to try and bring down the Clippers, they have shocked everybody this year, but I would think that teams like Dallas or San Antonio would have an easy time beating them in a 7 game series.

[Mayerhendrix]

Well, the Phoenix Suns lost last year to San Antonio in a near sweep last year, and they were a lot better then.

[SFSports]

This winner's going to the NBA finals, no doubt there.

Mavs totally deserve it more, hope they win.

I don't see how you can be so sure.

If Phoenix beats the Clippers, then it's going to be a very tough series for either Dallas or San Antonio. Not to try and bring down the Clippers, they have shocked everybody this year, but I would think that teams like Dallas or San Antonio would have an easy time beating them in a 7 game series.

Phoenix can't play D. Whoever wins this series crushes the Suns.

[Matt]

Phoenix aint going to the NBA finals.....they'll get pasted by Mavs or Spurs....hell htey haven't beaten the Clipps yet.

[Scotty]

Phoenix aint going to the NBA finals.....they'll get pasted by Mavs or Spurs....hell htey haven't beaten the Clipps yet.

and hopefully the dont..
anyway Spurs as always in 6