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Wise words by Manu.
Despite the frustration, it was a good year
SAN ANTONIO.- The night after the game was the most difficult. It's the return trip home that you don't want to make, with all of your teammates with their heads down, without saying a word. Afterwards, you can't sleep, a thousand things flow through your head. Your body relaxes because the stress is over and everything hurts. That said, at 7:30 at home the biological clock of the kids wake you up and that heals everything.
We don't have any regrets. It gets to a point where you're playing a team that plays better than yours and beats you, full stop. It might sound simple, but that's all there is in professional sports. Oklahoma City has more talent than we do and they beat us fair and square.
I don't think the series was determined by X and O's, like they like to call here to tactical matters. They have an above average talent and they used it when it mattered the most. Things for them were easy, natural, they could always find a good shot. For us it was a lot harder to find those shots.
As far as talent, it really stood out in the 4th game, when we were playing really well. We had the game close and Kevin Durant took full control. He's super long, 6'11, but he looks 7 feet tall. He gets confident and you can't stop him. We didn't know what to do! There's just no stopping him. If you double team he still scores or finds an open teammate that can shoot the ball. He's the kind of player that makes things like this happen. He was the guy that tilted the balance in the decisive moments.
We also have had somebody like that when we won championships, with some shot from Robert Horry in 2005, or with some shot from Tony in 2007. There's always plays like that which end up deciding who wins such an even series. This time, Durant made them.
Regardless of that, it's logical that it hurts because we were up 2-0 and just seeing yourself so close to the objective, after a great season, starts growing hopes.
The balance in general was amazing. Nobody really predicted we would get that far. Even more so, some people thought we wouldn't even make the playoffs, and, as usual, we found a way to stand out and finish 1st in the Western Conference during the regular season, which is the most even and difficult conference. And we finished first with a great number of wins, playing well and working through injuries.
Pop did a terrific job giving extra playing time to the young players, some of which were completely unknown, like Danny Green; Gary Neal, who played with us last season but was undrafted; Kawhi Leonard, a starting quality 20 year old rookie, and Tiago, who had a great season, all of which were great additions to the usual core.
Clearly we exceeded the expectations. I don't finish the season happy, because I'm on one of the best teams in the NBA, and the objective is always finish as a champion. But if I take a step back from the frustration, I quickly realize it was a good year.
About the future, I can say it will be the same. Everybody says the window is closing, that we have no chance, that we're too old, but we keep on being up there. We again finished atop the West. I don't know if we can trot the same team next season, I'm not sure what's the situation with guys whose contracts ended, but I'm sure Tim will re-sign and continue to be with us. And I blindly trust that the front office and Pop will put together again a team with chances to fight for a championship, which is what I always felt in the 10 seasons I've played in the NBA. We're going to have a solid team next season, and we're going to fight again at the top.
What I have now are some short vacations and in two weeks I'll be in a Buenos Aires with the national team. Somehow it's good not to be sitting down for long, because after so many years, it's always harder to start from zero and killing the rhythm for long makes training camp more difficult. So, a quick rest and then to put my head in London.
Manu
Last edited by ElNono; 06-09-2012 at 11:45 AM.
Wise words by Manu.
Can't wait to see how Argentina does in London... I hope Manu doesn't over exert himself but considering how this is (probably) his last reasonable chance to play for his country, I wouldn't expect anything less than his all tbh.
Argentina and France are in the same group with USA right? I am not familiar with the rule, so only 2 teams from each group are able to reach the quarter-final right?
Good article and class act...but I'm sure he also thinks the same of Tim...(meaning OKC has gotten all the possible calls).
Wise words by Manu.
Manu has such un unusual psychology that he might even believe in what he writes.
pretty amazing to me.
4.
Lithuania/Russia/Greece might join.
In the other group the only decent team is Spain and the one which will qualify. By pure chance, that's the group where the home team is in.
I always said we can trade all guys except for Duncan, but after reading the article Manu is count into the club with Timmy.
ElNONO I know you are MANU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That opening paragraph was heartbreaking and yet he puts everything in their proper perspective. In the end, it's just a game.
yes, unusual in that's he's a (rare) mature adult.
Awsome read. Got to love Manu!
Props to Manu for putting things into perspective. Like others have said around here after the loss, it was a frustrating and disappointing end to a potential championship season, but in retrospect it really was a great season for the team.
Either way, I'll be rooting for Manu in the Olympics as always this year.
Class article and very wise.
This also is a good example of how having proven yourself as a winner, experience, maturity, and having more important things in your life than basketball (kids) has naturally taken away from a hunger that our players used to have and other, younger teams do have.
It shows growth and maturity as a person. Guys who kept that full intensity, like Jordan, are insane and cannot survive life post-basketball. You simply accept losing easier because it just isn't that big of a deal anymore--you've proven yourself and your primary concern isn't basketball.
But it puts you at a disadvantage mentally and emotionally because you simply don't want it, or need it, AS MUCH as younger players. If Durant ended up losing this series when he played poorly in the elimination game, what do you think he would be doing? You wouldn't hear a word from him He'd be infuriated and immediately going right back to the gym and working on his game and thinking about nothing else.
Manu and Tim can stick around, for sure. But we need more hungry players that can be emotional leaders. We need some youth where winning and losing is everything to them--like it was to Manu before.
I actually feel better after reading this.
Manu is awesome.
Sounds like Tony a year ago, 'our window is closed.' That's not very encouraging, but it may be the truth. I don't feel like they would have lost the last game if the officiating wasn't so one sided. Perhaps it wasn't a fix, but it sure looked like it. Yes Durant in game 4 was the strongest performance by any one player, but TP in game 2, Manu in game 5, and Jack in game 6 were pretty great. I guess he's saying, the often spoken belief, that you can't win without a superstar. Again.....not very encouraging, but I respect his candor. Next year with most of our payroll going to the Tim, Manu, and TP, we certainly don't stand a chance.... I reckon.
It was a very entertaining year until the wheels came off....
This is a very, very good point.
It is also something I have tried to get across here regarding Pop but you did a much better job than I have.
A double-edged sword regarding Pop;
What makes him such a good rounded and evolved person makes him a great coach, a great sportsman, a great personnel director, etc.
also
Makes him someone who knows that life is more important than winning at all costs, makes him accept defeat a little easier than a young hungry bas who still wants to win at all costs. He also can give up/wave the white flag easier.
Unfortunately when it comes to winning les...it is rare to keep winning les and to keep a great perspective on life.
Reminds me of when Jimmy Johnson won superbowls for the cowboys--he was the hungriest, hardest working bas and ball-breaker in all of sports and he simply would not ALLOW the cowboys to lose.
He arrived @ Miami a champion with a belly full of les and he wasn't the same guy that would sleep on the couch in the coach's office-and he sucked as a coach.
Fat and satisfied will not win you les.
This is a very, very good point.
It is also something I have tried to get across here regarding Pop but you did a much better job than I have.
A double-edged sword regarding Pop;
What makes him such a good rounded and evolved person makes him a great coach, a great sportsman, a great personnel director, etc.
also
Makes him someone who knows that life is more important than winning at all costs, makes him accept defeat a little easier than a young hungry bas who still wants to win at all costs. He also can give up/wave the white flag easier.
Unfortunately when it comes to winning les...it is rare to keep winning les and to keep a great perspective on life.
Reminds me of when Jimmy Johnson won superbowls for the cowboys--he was the hungriest, hardest working bas and ball-breaker in all of sports and he simply would not ALLOW the cowboys to lose.
He arrived @ Miami a champion with a belly full of les and he wasn't the same guy that would sleep on the couch in the coach's office-and he sucked as a coach.
Fat and satisfied will not win you les.
Good comparison.
I've said we remind me of Roger Federer: He used to cry every time he lost a major, come back, and destroy people in revenge. He HATED losing.
Now, he has a kid and the record, and he smiles when he loses and is accepting. It is no coincidence that he can't win a le since he became that way.
I get a little tired of the whole window closed bit when the Celtics are still fighting. They had their supposed Big Three: KG is as old as Duncan and he has more NBA years on his body, Pierce is the same age as Manu and also obviously has more NBA years, Allen is obviously older than Parker. The difference is that Boston was smart enough to develop a young guy in Rondo. Now there are games where he is the best player on the floor and he has youth. The Spurs have themselves to blame for being unwilling to deal with the growing pains of a couple of young guys until this year.
This is why I don't like anyone who has ever said that Ginobili should be traded. Ginobili and Duncan need to retire in San Antonio and nowhere else.
The Celtics never panic, they can beat their opponents on the road. It's true what Manu says, since game 3, OKC got easier shots and were able to force the Spurs take bad shots. Too bad Pop didn't make the adjustments in time.
That took a little bit of the sting away.
Some very well-thought out words from Manu.
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