Dallas 50

[Reality]

I know the national media has been running Dallas winning % vs all time and its right there with the top 3.
However Dallas lost their 1st 4 games!

Meaning they since went on a 45-5 run.
Does that match or even excell the best all time 50 game stretch, including 70 win season Bulls?
After beating Denver tonight they are now 46-5.

Last year after the Spurs got Michael BrickDog and Det started 40-8 (or whatever) it was assumed they would battle for the title.  Neither one made it.  While I'm not exactly liking the Mavs streak for the Spurs, it don't mean jack re a title.  Also Dork could still twist an ankle.  Stitch should have learned from his coaching mistakes after losing the virtual 3-0 lead to the Heat.  So granted, it's looking very good for the Mavs Family. 

[rickortreat]

Teams that put up those types of numbers tend to be the best teams and usually win the Championship.

The Bulls won the title the year they won 70.  The Sixers won a championship the year they won 68 with Wilt.

Understand that once a team starts getting a record like that, every other team is gunning for them.  To still win, when everyone is doing their best just to give the other team a regular season loss, gives them great resiliancy- because teams will try anything to gain an edge.

Teams that are in the hunt, like SA and Phoenix keep looking at the standings and see that not only are the Mavs ahead of them, but that their lead is increasing.  It drives them nuts and they start wondering if there's even a point, knowing that they aren't as good as the Mavericks.

Maybe that's why you posted this Reality.  It's bothering you that the Mavericks are pulling away from the Spurs.  It should.  The Mavericks are the better team,  even if Dirk makes for an ugly woman!

[Reality]

No I am not in denial about the Mavs.  It's looking very good for them.
I think top 5 win% teams all won titles.
But the trend the past several years is top record does not = title.

However, as JoeV, X3, 101 and many a Spur "get", when Popavich plays TallBall as in 2005 the Spurs are much better.
Frankie Elson is back from injury, and the Spurs look completely different with a big in on the other side of Duncan.  For that matter when CementaVich gives Elson 20+ minutes the Spurs are 20-2.  They also recently signed Ely, and he should be a vast improvement over Fabs in providing muscle.  Instead of being able to jump over a piece of paper, Ely skys over a thimble.

[westkoast]

Top record could be winning 70-80% of your games.  When your team can win 90% of it's games over the course of a whole year I think they go up to another level.  That kind of excellence rarely comes around the league.  46-5 is just insane.  I did not think about their record since they first started because they don't really lose all that often.

I don't think this automatically means they get past everyone in the West but if I had to put money on a team to win it all right now it would have to be Dallas.   They have a better coach and play better defense then the Suns do IMO.  I also feel that they have a more talented and quicker squad then the Spurs do.

[Reality]

12 of the last 22 Champs did not have the leagues best reg season record.
1985 onward 3-2-3 derangement.

Altho i think the top 5 record teams titled.

[Reality]

Since 1985 Top Win Percentage teams are only 5-8 in Finals. * still being edited at presstime.

Wins Year Team result
72 '96 Bulls over Sonics (64-18) 4-2
69 '97 Bulls over Jazz 4-2
67 '92 Bulls over Portland 4-2
67 '86 Celts over Hakeem/Ralph Rockets 4-2
65 '83 Sixers Fo straight over Lakers
64 '96 Sonics lost to Bulls
64 '06 Pistons lost to Heat in R3
64 '98 Jazz lost to Bulls
63 '89 Pistons skunked Lakers 4-0
63 '90 Lakers lost Phx R2
63 '91 Portland lost 4-2 to Dick Bavetta in R3
62 '98 Jazz lost to Bulls 4-2
62 '95 Spurs lost Hou 4-2 R3
62 '93 Suns lost Finals 4-2 Bulls

Prehistoric are 3-1
69-13 '73 Lakers won 4-1 NYK finals
68-13 '67 76ers over San Fran Warriors 4-2
68-14 '73 Celtics lost in R3 4-3
66-16 '71 Milwaukee over Bullets 4-0

Combined the top 9 All Time are 8-1 in Finals, 6-0 modern era.  That bodes well for Dallas  
Chicago 1996  72-10
Chicago 1997  69-13
Lakers   1972  69-13
Sixers    1967  68-13
Celts     1973  68-14
Celts     1986  67-15
Chicago 1993  67-15
Lakers   2000  67-15
Sixers    1983  65-17

[rickortreat]

To me it was that last stat that matters.  It's not a better winning percentage than everyone else- it's winning 65 or more games that makes these teams great.

Any team that can do that is at a level well above the other teams- it's not impossible to beat them, but it is so difficult that most teams can't do it at all, let alone more than once in a series.

The other two teams out West know that Dallas is out there, and they have to question whether or not they can beat them.  It appears highly unlikely that they will get home court advantage- and will have to win in Dallas on their home floor.

The Suns can score with anybody, but so can Dallas- the Suns can't run away, and have less of a chance of stopping Dallas than the other way around.

The Spurs are more experienced and a better defensive team, but don't have the speed to keep up with either Dallas or Phoenix.  IMO, the Spurs need another inside player to counteract what the other teams do, and they didn't get one. 

[Reality]

To me it was that last stat that matters.  It's not a better winning percentage than everyone else- it's winning 65 or more games that makes these teams great.

The Spurs are more experienced and a better defensive team, but don't have the speed to keep up with either Dallas or Phoenix.  IMO, the Spurs need another inside player to counteract what the other teams do, and they didn't get one. 

65 and above so far has been the magic number.   
Dallas has 26 games left
18 wins to get 65 (18-8.) 
15 road games and one of those is against that Kobe guy.

The Spurs failure to sign an athletic 3 has been a most glaring hole.
Summer 2005 relying instead on signing Fabs and Finley to three year contracts and Cementavich trying to get away with playing both large minutes has been thouroughly exposed.  Popavitch has recently been giving Frankie Elson more minutes after his return from injury.  Two bigs is the only chance the Spurs will have vs Dallas.  Elson can run the floor.  The Jackie Butler signing so far has been a joke, we shall see if Ely gets a chance.

I'd like to run the stats to see what 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th best reg season records have done regarding titles.

[Reality]

2/27/06
Pistons 47-9

2/27/07
Mavs 48-9

[Rolando Blackman]

Hey Reality!
   
While I cannot say that this applies to all of the examples you listed, I know for a fact that the '89 Finals were not representative of whether or not the team with the best record in the regular season should have won the Finals.  In '89, both Magic Johnson and Byron Scott were hurt for the LAL in the Finals...this was not the same team that racked up the great regular season record that year.  As with any news story, the associated underlying facts must be dis/uncovered, researched, and analyzed before arriving at any conclusions.
   
-RB
Shaq #1

[Reality]

RoBLe!,

Absolutely agreed and that is the point of my thread.  What has really been established is that the very high percentage winners, ie 65 wins or more, have indeed won the title at an 8 of 9 clip.

The rest of the "best season record" teams (64 wins and under) have only won 5 of 13* since 1985.
Including last seasons Pistons 64 and Spurs 63 not even making the Finals.  Suns won 63 in 2005.

RB also stroll down memory lane to the 1970s best record teams.  Lots of years the best record was only in the 40 win catagorie, or low 50s.  Remember any of those years? 
1977 Lakers won 53 games, best in NBA
1979 Balti Bullets 54 games, best. 
Vs The first in the East Central Spurs were only 48-34 in a 7 game East Conf Finals barn burner 107-105.


Also, while it was an East Conf thing, can you help me and rt remember what happened to the 83-84 Sixers?  Year before they won 65 and smoked in the Finals.  Basically same team stumbled big time only a year later.

[Reality]

^^^^^^
Rolando,
Oh you mean some of the teams with the best reg season record who lost in the Finals may have had a major injury be a contributing factor, and not so much that their reg season record was fluff.  True.