duncan228
01-14-2009, 01:11 AM
Spurs refuse to dwell on non-call (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_refuse_to_dwell_on_non-call.html)
Mike Monroe
HOUSTON — Deep in their hearts, the Spurs knew their last best hope to qualify for the 2008 NBA Finals was lost in the silence of a referee’s whistle that didn’t blow in the final moments of their final home game of the Western Conference finals.
Tonight, they will be waiting at their AT&T Center court, rested and ready, for their first opportunity since May 27 to gain a tiny measure of atonement against the defending Western Conference champion Lakers.
The Lakers will bring the NBA’s best record and the league’s most dangerous offensive weapon, Kobe Bryant, to the Spurs’ building. Spurs fans, however, will reserve a special dose of odium for Derek Fisher, the Los Angeles point guard.
It was Fisher, the Laker whose buzzer-beating 3-point shot defeated the Spurs in Game 5 of a 2004 conference semifinal series, who got away with fouling Spurs guard Brent Barry on the final play of Game 4 of last season’s conference finals.
Televised replays were so conclusive that the NBA, two days after the fact, issued a statement officially recognizing the error by the officiating crew, headed by Joey Crawford. Barry, with the Spurs trailing 93-91 with seconds left, had pump-faked Fisher off his feet. Fisher crashed down on him just before Barry heaved up an off-balance shot.
The league determined that Barry should have been awarded two free throws.
Officially sanctioned 20-20 hindsight didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now, but Fisher knows what to expect from an anticipated sellout crowd when he is introduced before tonight’s game.
“There have been so many calls in our game that have either been called or not called,” Fisher said of the league’s official mea culpa, “and for them to make an official announcement that it was incorrect just seemed odd.”
Spurs players quickly got past the oddity of the Game 4 finish and its league-sanctioned controversy.
The victim of the Fisher non-call, Barry, now plays for the Houston Rockets, but his final game at the AT&T Center with the Spurs still resonates.
“You think about what Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) always told us about how fragile success in this league is,” Barry said, “and how few those opportunities are that you get when you have an opportunity to win it. It’s such a crap shoot.”
Manu Ginobili understood the Game 4 loss meant the Spurs needed an unlikely miracle to win the series, but he said the final play did not determine the Spurs’ fate.
“You can’t blame a call,” he said. “That’s going to happen here or there. Sometimes, it’s going to go for them; sometimes, it’s going to go for us. We didn’t play our best game (in Game 4). I didn’t play a good game, and we went back to L.A. down 3-1.”
Fisher understands why he is demonized by a segment of Spurs fans but regards it as a back-handed compliment.
“When you really think about it, and consider the consistently high level the Spurs have played at for such a long period of time, if you’re involved in crucial, winning playoff plays in San Antonio, it means you’re doing something right,” he said.
“I just happened to stumble into the right place at the right time. Or maybe it’s the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on whom you ask. I feel fortunate.”
Bryant feels fortunate to have Fisher running the Lakers’ show. With Jordan Farmar out for another three to five weeks after knee surgery on Christmas Eve, Fisher’s work load has increased. At age 34, he is averaging 31.1 minutes per game. He remains one of the league’s most accurate 3-point shooters, making 44 percent of his long-range shots.
“Where would we be without Fish?” Bryant says. “Without a very good point guard. Fish is extremely solid. His experience has done wonders for us, and his toughness. He’s a glue guy; a great leader.”
Fisher laughs at the notion his workman’s share of playing time should be unusual because he is 34.
“It’s crazy that in today’s time, with so many advances in technology, 34 is considered ‘at your age.’ But in our sport, you obviously can ask that sort of question. I don’t feel old.”
Neither does Bryant, who, at age 30 already has played 754 regular-season games and 152 in the playoffs. The reigning MVP trails only fellow Olympians Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in scoring, averaging 27.0 points per game. He remains the league’s best clutch shooter and is the Lakers’ best perimeter defender.
34-plus years, 30-plus minutes
With Lakers backup point guard Jordan Farmar injured, 34-year-old Derek Fisher is logging heavier minutes than usual. Here are players 34 or older, listed from oldest to youngest, who through Monday were playing 30 or more minutes per game.
Player, team — Age (DOB) — MPG
Shaquille O’Neal, Suns — 36 (March 6, 1972) — 30:06
Jason Kidd, Mavericks — 35 (March 23, 1973) — 35:23
Steve Nash, Suns — 34 (Feb. 7, 1974) — 33:42
Marcus Camby, Clippers — 34 (March 22, 1974) — 34:53
Derek Fisher, Lakers — 34 (Aug. 9, 1974) — 31:06
Rasheed Wallace, Pistons — 34 (Sept. 17, 1974) — 32:53
Mike Monroe
HOUSTON — Deep in their hearts, the Spurs knew their last best hope to qualify for the 2008 NBA Finals was lost in the silence of a referee’s whistle that didn’t blow in the final moments of their final home game of the Western Conference finals.
Tonight, they will be waiting at their AT&T Center court, rested and ready, for their first opportunity since May 27 to gain a tiny measure of atonement against the defending Western Conference champion Lakers.
The Lakers will bring the NBA’s best record and the league’s most dangerous offensive weapon, Kobe Bryant, to the Spurs’ building. Spurs fans, however, will reserve a special dose of odium for Derek Fisher, the Los Angeles point guard.
It was Fisher, the Laker whose buzzer-beating 3-point shot defeated the Spurs in Game 5 of a 2004 conference semifinal series, who got away with fouling Spurs guard Brent Barry on the final play of Game 4 of last season’s conference finals.
Televised replays were so conclusive that the NBA, two days after the fact, issued a statement officially recognizing the error by the officiating crew, headed by Joey Crawford. Barry, with the Spurs trailing 93-91 with seconds left, had pump-faked Fisher off his feet. Fisher crashed down on him just before Barry heaved up an off-balance shot.
The league determined that Barry should have been awarded two free throws.
Officially sanctioned 20-20 hindsight didn’t matter then, and it doesn’t matter now, but Fisher knows what to expect from an anticipated sellout crowd when he is introduced before tonight’s game.
“There have been so many calls in our game that have either been called or not called,” Fisher said of the league’s official mea culpa, “and for them to make an official announcement that it was incorrect just seemed odd.”
Spurs players quickly got past the oddity of the Game 4 finish and its league-sanctioned controversy.
The victim of the Fisher non-call, Barry, now plays for the Houston Rockets, but his final game at the AT&T Center with the Spurs still resonates.
“You think about what Pop (coach Gregg Popovich) always told us about how fragile success in this league is,” Barry said, “and how few those opportunities are that you get when you have an opportunity to win it. It’s such a crap shoot.”
Manu Ginobili understood the Game 4 loss meant the Spurs needed an unlikely miracle to win the series, but he said the final play did not determine the Spurs’ fate.
“You can’t blame a call,” he said. “That’s going to happen here or there. Sometimes, it’s going to go for them; sometimes, it’s going to go for us. We didn’t play our best game (in Game 4). I didn’t play a good game, and we went back to L.A. down 3-1.”
Fisher understands why he is demonized by a segment of Spurs fans but regards it as a back-handed compliment.
“When you really think about it, and consider the consistently high level the Spurs have played at for such a long period of time, if you’re involved in crucial, winning playoff plays in San Antonio, it means you’re doing something right,” he said.
“I just happened to stumble into the right place at the right time. Or maybe it’s the wrong place at the wrong time, depending on whom you ask. I feel fortunate.”
Bryant feels fortunate to have Fisher running the Lakers’ show. With Jordan Farmar out for another three to five weeks after knee surgery on Christmas Eve, Fisher’s work load has increased. At age 34, he is averaging 31.1 minutes per game. He remains one of the league’s most accurate 3-point shooters, making 44 percent of his long-range shots.
“Where would we be without Fish?” Bryant says. “Without a very good point guard. Fish is extremely solid. His experience has done wonders for us, and his toughness. He’s a glue guy; a great leader.”
Fisher laughs at the notion his workman’s share of playing time should be unusual because he is 34.
“It’s crazy that in today’s time, with so many advances in technology, 34 is considered ‘at your age.’ But in our sport, you obviously can ask that sort of question. I don’t feel old.”
Neither does Bryant, who, at age 30 already has played 754 regular-season games and 152 in the playoffs. The reigning MVP trails only fellow Olympians Dwyane Wade and LeBron James in scoring, averaging 27.0 points per game. He remains the league’s best clutch shooter and is the Lakers’ best perimeter defender.
34-plus years, 30-plus minutes
With Lakers backup point guard Jordan Farmar injured, 34-year-old Derek Fisher is logging heavier minutes than usual. Here are players 34 or older, listed from oldest to youngest, who through Monday were playing 30 or more minutes per game.
Player, team — Age (DOB) — MPG
Shaquille O’Neal, Suns — 36 (March 6, 1972) — 30:06
Jason Kidd, Mavericks — 35 (March 23, 1973) — 35:23
Steve Nash, Suns — 34 (Feb. 7, 1974) — 33:42
Marcus Camby, Clippers — 34 (March 22, 1974) — 34:53
Derek Fisher, Lakers — 34 (Aug. 9, 1974) — 31:06
Rasheed Wallace, Pistons — 34 (Sept. 17, 1974) — 32:53