spursincharge
04-05-2005, 09:49 PM
The Road to the NBA Gold Goes Through San Antonio
By Allen Schlesinger [I wrote this, so I'm posting it]
Published April 5, 2005
UTSA Newspaper – The Paisano
The entire NBA held its collective breath. The entire city of San Antonio collapsed in a heap of sorrow. Tim Duncan fell to the ground, grabbing his ankle and ripped the hearts out of faithful Spurs fans who had all but penciled in the Riverwalk celebration parade in late June. On Sunday March 20 against the Detroit Pistons, Tim Duncan shifted the balance of powers in the NBA and opened the window for other NBA top tier teams to have hopes for the NBA championship.
Several other teams have hopes to claim the coveted trophy. The Detroit Pistons, the defending champions, are in the mix to make a repeat run to raise the trophy. They claim the best frontcourt in the league, led by defensive juggernaut Ben Wallace. Their entire team is battle tested, and their team defense ranks amongst the best in the league. The Pistons drawback could be their offensive struggles. On occasion, the Pistons have been known to go through droughts without scoring. The Pistons will lose in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Shaquille O’Neal has led the Miami Heat to their best record in team history and has given Miami hopes of claiming the franchise’ first ever NBA title. Dwayne Wade, Shaq’s best ever complimentary player, has emerged as one of the league’s best young rising stars in his first all-star season. The Heat have long since clinched the first place spot in the Eastern conference and will ride homecourt all the way to the finals. The Heat’s main problem is their lack of depth. After the starting five, the Heat are basically a college team. The Heat will lose in the NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks have had many players sidelined due to injuries in this rocky road season and even went through a coaching change, hiring Avery Johnson as their new head man. The Mavericks should prosper under Avery Johnson’s no-defense, no-play policy and have adapted quickly enough to be mentioned in the NBA title picture. The Mavericks are paced by all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki, the only player currently ranked in the top ten in the league in both points and rebounds. The drawback to the Mavericks is that they are a soft team, and their team defense is still suspect. Starting point guard Jason Terry is more of a shooting guard, and their other two point guards (Darrell Armstrong and Devin Harris) are not capable of carrying a team through the playoffs. The Mavericks will lose in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Phoenix Suns, the NBA’s top offensive team, has exploded on to the NBA scene with the biggest win-loss turnaround in NBA history. With the addition of veteran all-star point guard Steve Nash, the Suns have taken the league by storm and currently have the NBA’s best record. Nash sets up his teammates like no other point guard and has probably thrown more alley-oop passes then the rest of the league combined. The Suns go as far as Steve Nash goes, and Nash has a history of getting fatigued towards the end of the playoffs. The Suns will lose in the Western Conference Finals.
One team is left. The San Antonio Spurs. They are led by the best player in the league Tim Duncan, two rising stars in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, UTSA’s finest Devin Brown, and a bench deeper than any other team in the league. The Spurs combine youth, with stars, and veteran leadership needed to make a title run. With Tim Duncan sidelined with an ankle injury, the Spurs have had to rely more on Manu Ginobili and have held on to their division lead. The Spurs go as far as Tim Duncan does, so if he’s healthy then they should be fine. The Spurs will win the NBA Championship.
If for some reason Tim Duncan does not return healthy, a whole new window will open. But why factor that in? We live in San Antonio, and we see silver and black at every street corner. Plus do you know how many free drinks you can get at the Riverwalk the night the Spurs win it all?
By Allen Schlesinger [I wrote this, so I'm posting it]
Published April 5, 2005
UTSA Newspaper – The Paisano
The entire NBA held its collective breath. The entire city of San Antonio collapsed in a heap of sorrow. Tim Duncan fell to the ground, grabbing his ankle and ripped the hearts out of faithful Spurs fans who had all but penciled in the Riverwalk celebration parade in late June. On Sunday March 20 against the Detroit Pistons, Tim Duncan shifted the balance of powers in the NBA and opened the window for other NBA top tier teams to have hopes for the NBA championship.
Several other teams have hopes to claim the coveted trophy. The Detroit Pistons, the defending champions, are in the mix to make a repeat run to raise the trophy. They claim the best frontcourt in the league, led by defensive juggernaut Ben Wallace. Their entire team is battle tested, and their team defense ranks amongst the best in the league. The Pistons drawback could be their offensive struggles. On occasion, the Pistons have been known to go through droughts without scoring. The Pistons will lose in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Shaquille O’Neal has led the Miami Heat to their best record in team history and has given Miami hopes of claiming the franchise’ first ever NBA title. Dwayne Wade, Shaq’s best ever complimentary player, has emerged as one of the league’s best young rising stars in his first all-star season. The Heat have long since clinched the first place spot in the Eastern conference and will ride homecourt all the way to the finals. The Heat’s main problem is their lack of depth. After the starting five, the Heat are basically a college team. The Heat will lose in the NBA Finals.
The Dallas Mavericks have had many players sidelined due to injuries in this rocky road season and even went through a coaching change, hiring Avery Johnson as their new head man. The Mavericks should prosper under Avery Johnson’s no-defense, no-play policy and have adapted quickly enough to be mentioned in the NBA title picture. The Mavericks are paced by all-star forward Dirk Nowitzki, the only player currently ranked in the top ten in the league in both points and rebounds. The drawback to the Mavericks is that they are a soft team, and their team defense is still suspect. Starting point guard Jason Terry is more of a shooting guard, and their other two point guards (Darrell Armstrong and Devin Harris) are not capable of carrying a team through the playoffs. The Mavericks will lose in the Western Conference Semifinals.
The Phoenix Suns, the NBA’s top offensive team, has exploded on to the NBA scene with the biggest win-loss turnaround in NBA history. With the addition of veteran all-star point guard Steve Nash, the Suns have taken the league by storm and currently have the NBA’s best record. Nash sets up his teammates like no other point guard and has probably thrown more alley-oop passes then the rest of the league combined. The Suns go as far as Steve Nash goes, and Nash has a history of getting fatigued towards the end of the playoffs. The Suns will lose in the Western Conference Finals.
One team is left. The San Antonio Spurs. They are led by the best player in the league Tim Duncan, two rising stars in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, UTSA’s finest Devin Brown, and a bench deeper than any other team in the league. The Spurs combine youth, with stars, and veteran leadership needed to make a title run. With Tim Duncan sidelined with an ankle injury, the Spurs have had to rely more on Manu Ginobili and have held on to their division lead. The Spurs go as far as Tim Duncan does, so if he’s healthy then they should be fine. The Spurs will win the NBA Championship.
If for some reason Tim Duncan does not return healthy, a whole new window will open. But why factor that in? We live in San Antonio, and we see silver and black at every street corner. Plus do you know how many free drinks you can get at the Riverwalk the night the Spurs win it all?