Kori Ellis
04-12-2005, 12:15 AM
Buck Harvey: Spurs' win a minor? The impact
Web Posted: 04/12/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA041205.1D.buck.1cb95844e.html
A year ago, Danny Ferry and Steve Kerr went to the Masters. They camped at Amen Corner on Sunday, walked the back nine and ran to TVs — because the crowd was so large at the 18th green — to watch Phil Mickelson's final putt.
So they know a few things about major championships.
But they also know a few things about the minor ones and how some moments are bigger than they appear in the sports pages. They know that something small can lead to something bigger, and Ferry saw that on the same day Tiger Woods mesmerized America.
Several time zones away from Augusta, locked in a seemingly meaningless event, the Spurs won a minor major.
At first glance, the Spurs compare to Tiger in only one way. Both went overtime.
Otherwise, the Spurs were playing a lottery team with their playoff position likely secured. In the Warriors, the Spurs weren't dunking on Mickelson, nor were they in line for a prize. Instead of a green jacket, they were rewarded with a white towel to dry with.
If anything, the only concern seemed to be whether Gregg Popovich would limit Tim Duncan's minutes. After all, Duncan stood up and cheered in back-to-back double-overtime games. Will he have anything left for the playoffs?
But Ferry sees more, and this begins with a better-than-they-look Warriors team. Playing at home with an eight-game winning streak, the Warriors weren't the usual lottery fare. During this streak, they had already beaten the Suns, Sonics and Rockets.
Listening to them afterward said as much.
"This loss hurts," Baron Davis said. "It hurts bad."
Chris DiMarco, after losing the prize of his life to Tiger, was more upbeat.
The Spurs' double-overtime game the night before in Los Angeles added to the equation, as did losing Rasho Nesterovic to a sprained ankle and Manu Ginobili because he'd sprained everything else. Without three starters — and near exhaustion — did anyone expect the Spurs to come within 20 points of the Warriors?
What followed, then, shocked nearly as much as Tiger's slo-mo chip. Nazr Mohammed played as he did earlier in the season with the Knicks, Brent Barry again made plays that mattered, and Tony Parker took over as Ginobili had the night before.
Minor? Or a minor miracle?
"Every time someone has a good game," Ferry said, "the more confidence you gain. And the more confidence the coaches have in you, the more confidence your teammates have in you. That breeds great chemistry and great things."
Ferry and Kerr built that in San Antonio over years. But Barry has been with the Spurs less than a season and Mohammed less than that. They hadn't proven themselves, at least not with the grit of Sunday, and that meant the confidence circle had been incomplete.
That's why Ferry sees so much potential from Sunday.
"Let's not get carried away," he said, "but, to me, Sunday was really, really encouraging. It will be fresh in their memories, and that can matter when the playoffs start."
It did for Ferry and Kerr in 2003. David Robinson missed a game in the first round, and Ferry started in his place. Parker missed one in the Western Conference finals, and Kerr got minutes then, as well as later in the NBA Finals.
"I had a game," Ferry said. "Steve had a few. Someone on this team will likely have the same chance."
That's especially true since Duncan and Nesterovic have two good ankles between them. The first round also will be a test whether the opponent is Denver or Houston or Sacramento.
So when the Spurs came from behind on back-to-back nights? When they took two games to double overtime, battled on the road and came out with two wins?
"They're champions," Davis said. "They've been there and know how to win."
In truth, players such as Barry and Mohammed haven't been there. They are learning how to win, and Sunday was a step toward that.
Ferry went through the same process in San Antonio. And when it culminated in 2003 — when he helped dig out a tense game against Phoenix — he retired and had the time to walk Augusta National.
As a major champion.
Web Posted: 04/12/2005 12:00 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA041205.1D.buck.1cb95844e.html
A year ago, Danny Ferry and Steve Kerr went to the Masters. They camped at Amen Corner on Sunday, walked the back nine and ran to TVs — because the crowd was so large at the 18th green — to watch Phil Mickelson's final putt.
So they know a few things about major championships.
But they also know a few things about the minor ones and how some moments are bigger than they appear in the sports pages. They know that something small can lead to something bigger, and Ferry saw that on the same day Tiger Woods mesmerized America.
Several time zones away from Augusta, locked in a seemingly meaningless event, the Spurs won a minor major.
At first glance, the Spurs compare to Tiger in only one way. Both went overtime.
Otherwise, the Spurs were playing a lottery team with their playoff position likely secured. In the Warriors, the Spurs weren't dunking on Mickelson, nor were they in line for a prize. Instead of a green jacket, they were rewarded with a white towel to dry with.
If anything, the only concern seemed to be whether Gregg Popovich would limit Tim Duncan's minutes. After all, Duncan stood up and cheered in back-to-back double-overtime games. Will he have anything left for the playoffs?
But Ferry sees more, and this begins with a better-than-they-look Warriors team. Playing at home with an eight-game winning streak, the Warriors weren't the usual lottery fare. During this streak, they had already beaten the Suns, Sonics and Rockets.
Listening to them afterward said as much.
"This loss hurts," Baron Davis said. "It hurts bad."
Chris DiMarco, after losing the prize of his life to Tiger, was more upbeat.
The Spurs' double-overtime game the night before in Los Angeles added to the equation, as did losing Rasho Nesterovic to a sprained ankle and Manu Ginobili because he'd sprained everything else. Without three starters — and near exhaustion — did anyone expect the Spurs to come within 20 points of the Warriors?
What followed, then, shocked nearly as much as Tiger's slo-mo chip. Nazr Mohammed played as he did earlier in the season with the Knicks, Brent Barry again made plays that mattered, and Tony Parker took over as Ginobili had the night before.
Minor? Or a minor miracle?
"Every time someone has a good game," Ferry said, "the more confidence you gain. And the more confidence the coaches have in you, the more confidence your teammates have in you. That breeds great chemistry and great things."
Ferry and Kerr built that in San Antonio over years. But Barry has been with the Spurs less than a season and Mohammed less than that. They hadn't proven themselves, at least not with the grit of Sunday, and that meant the confidence circle had been incomplete.
That's why Ferry sees so much potential from Sunday.
"Let's not get carried away," he said, "but, to me, Sunday was really, really encouraging. It will be fresh in their memories, and that can matter when the playoffs start."
It did for Ferry and Kerr in 2003. David Robinson missed a game in the first round, and Ferry started in his place. Parker missed one in the Western Conference finals, and Kerr got minutes then, as well as later in the NBA Finals.
"I had a game," Ferry said. "Steve had a few. Someone on this team will likely have the same chance."
That's especially true since Duncan and Nesterovic have two good ankles between them. The first round also will be a test whether the opponent is Denver or Houston or Sacramento.
So when the Spurs came from behind on back-to-back nights? When they took two games to double overtime, battled on the road and came out with two wins?
"They're champions," Davis said. "They've been there and know how to win."
In truth, players such as Barry and Mohammed haven't been there. They are learning how to win, and Sunday was a step toward that.
Ferry went through the same process in San Antonio. And when it culminated in 2003 — when he helped dig out a tense game against Phoenix — he retired and had the time to walk Augusta National.
As a major champion.