The beauty of the NBA's best-of-seven playoff format is the best teams almost always advance from the first round.
As Spurs coach Gregg Popovich underscored in his post-series news conference, intimate observers of the Western Conference realize the eighth-ranked (not "seeded" . . . the most misused word in print and on TV next to Charles Barkley's portrayal as an analyst) Grizzlies' victory over league-leading San Antonio is not an upset.
As things turned out, once the exceptional success rate of the Spurs, Lakers and Mavericks leveled off for whatever reasons — ailments, aging, apathy, inability of reinforcements to assume bigger roles — and their five closest competitors upgraded, stabilized and/or gained confidence the West's pack became practically inseparable.