The Spurs greatest playoff plays: Elite 8

The Sweet 16 of the quest to find the Spurs greatest playoff play is complete, so today is the Elite 8, where you will be picking a winner of each bracket to send on to the Final Four on Thursday! In a slight change of format, below is a review of each bracket’s Sweet 16, followed by the poll to vote for the winners. Be sure to vote for a winner of each match-up, and remember everyone can only vote once, so make yours count.

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Bracket 1

(1) Memorial Day Miracle: 82%

(4) Tony Parker 3, steal, layup: 18%

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(2) Manu Ginobili clutch 3: 40%

(3) Tim Duncan 1st OT 3: 60%

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In a bit of an upset, Tim Duncan’s OT three from Game 1 of a first round series beat out a clutch Manu Ginobili three from 6 Game the 2014 Western Conference. It was intriguing reading why different people voted the way they did: some went with the importance of the moment, others went with the impressiveness of the shot, or simply who shot it. Regardless, the lower seed won (and an all-Manu Final Four is now impossible), so it’s going up against the top seed of this bracket:

(1) Memorial Day Miracle — Game 2 vs. Trail Blazers, 1999 WCF

(3) Tim Duncan 1st OT 3 — Game 1 vs. Suns, 2008 1st round

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Bracket 2

(1) Stephen Jackson threes: 43%

(5) Manu Ginobili 2OT layup: 57%

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(2) Kawhi Leonard blocks Russell Westbrook: 36%

(3) Manu Ginobili game-winning 3: 64%

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A double-upset for Bracket 2, which means another Manu-a-Manu match-up as he somehow beat two big (series of) plays that directly contributed to championships. Is it because it’s just Manu, or did it have to do with who he was up against? No telling, but the fans have spoken:

(3) Manu Ginobili game-winning 3 — Game 1 vs. Warriors, 2013 2nd round

(5) Manu Ginobili 2OT layup — Game 1 vs. Suns, 2008 1st round

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Bracket 3

(1) Robert Horry OT 3: 74%

(4) Steve Kerr threes: 26%

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(2) Manu Ginobili blocks James Harden: 90%

(6) Spurs 24-0 run: 10%

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So the bracket that was the tightest in Round 1 and included the biggest upset of the tournament still ultimately saw the top two seeds advance, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t a fun ride getting here:

(1) Robert Horry OT 3 — Game 5 vs. Pistons, 2005 Finals

(2) Manu Ginobili blocks James Harden — Game 5 vs. Rockets, 2017 2nd round

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Bracket 4

(1) Manu Ginobili dunk on Chris Bosh: 76%

(4) Tim Duncan turnaround jumper: 24%

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(2) Avery Johnson championship-winner: 59%

(3) Tony Parker game-winner: 41%

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On the other hand, the final bracket went exactly as it was seeded with no upsets in any round. Sometimes that happens as well, but it still ends with an intriguing match-up of Game 5 shots in championship-winning games, but that’s where the comparisons end. They are two entirely different shots from entirely different players at entirely different moments:

(1) Manu Ginobili dunk on Chris Bosh — Game 5 vs. Heat, 2014 Finals

(2) Avery Johnson championship-winner — Game 5 vs. Knicks, 1999 Finals

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That’s the Elite 8! Remember all polls for this round will close on Wednesday Sept. 4 at 8:00 PM CT (not Sunday), and the Final Four will be on Thursday.