Trimble87
10-29-2009, 11:12 PM
First Thread :hat
I picked up Bill Simmons new book "The book of Basketball" today and have managed to get about halfway through the second chapter already despite work and the game. First I would highly recommend it, already, to anyone that loves Basketball (not just the spurs.) Simmons is a great writer and so far its an incredibly fun read.
Anyhow, the second chapter is titled "the Secret" and is about the secret of basketball as BS sees it. He quotes from Cameron Strauth's book "The Franchise" where Chris quotes Isiah Thomas (during the 89 season when they eventually won the title) as he discusses Pat Rileys Disease of More theory :
A team wins it one year and the next year every player wants more minutes, more money, more shots. And it kills them. Our team has been up at a championship level 4 years now. We could have easily self destructed. So I read what Riley was saying, and I learned... But its hard not to be selfish. The art of winning is complicated by statistics, which for us becomes money. Well, you gotta fight that, find a way around it...
A few pages later in Cameron's book Isiah rants about Detroit's perceived lack of respect from the outside world (media, fans other teams etc.)
... Lots of times, you cant tell who the best player in the game was. 'Cause everybody did something good. Thats what makes us so good. The other team has to worry about stopping eight or nine people instead of two or three. Its the only way to win. The only way to win. Thats the way the game was invented. But theres more to it then that. You also got to create an environment that wont accept losing. Isiah tells Simmons much later in 2007 that the secret he was talking about all those years ago was simple. "The secret of basketball is that its not about basketball. "
I'll paraphrase the rest. Isiah goes on to talk about the midseason trade of Dantley for Aguirre. Basically saying that even though Dantley was the better and more talented player that he was causing problems with the chemistry of the team. They needed Dantley to sacrifice minutes, and therefore stats, to make room for Dennis Rodman to play a bigger role on the team. Dantley refused to accommodate the team and was causing a ton of problems for the coaching staff.
Thats what Isiah said he learned that year, as well as watching the great Lakers and Celtics teams win time and time again. "Those teams were all loaded with talented players, but thats not why they won. They won because they liked each other, knew their roles, ignored statistics and valued winning over everything else... They won so long as everyone remained on the same page. "
Reading this chapter reminded me of the championship teams we have had over the last decade. And of course summarized how I feel about this years team. Barring injuries if we just stay focused we have the depth talent and character to beat any team in the league. Every person on our team from hall of famer Tim Duncan to the dwindling Michael Finley to the newest additions like Blair would gladly sacrifice minutes, money, statistics and fame to win the title. Hope you guys enjoyed the excerpt. I know we're all bummed about the tough loss tonight, but we are at the beginning of a very promising season. Go Spurs Go :toast
I picked up Bill Simmons new book "The book of Basketball" today and have managed to get about halfway through the second chapter already despite work and the game. First I would highly recommend it, already, to anyone that loves Basketball (not just the spurs.) Simmons is a great writer and so far its an incredibly fun read.
Anyhow, the second chapter is titled "the Secret" and is about the secret of basketball as BS sees it. He quotes from Cameron Strauth's book "The Franchise" where Chris quotes Isiah Thomas (during the 89 season when they eventually won the title) as he discusses Pat Rileys Disease of More theory :
A team wins it one year and the next year every player wants more minutes, more money, more shots. And it kills them. Our team has been up at a championship level 4 years now. We could have easily self destructed. So I read what Riley was saying, and I learned... But its hard not to be selfish. The art of winning is complicated by statistics, which for us becomes money. Well, you gotta fight that, find a way around it...
A few pages later in Cameron's book Isiah rants about Detroit's perceived lack of respect from the outside world (media, fans other teams etc.)
... Lots of times, you cant tell who the best player in the game was. 'Cause everybody did something good. Thats what makes us so good. The other team has to worry about stopping eight or nine people instead of two or three. Its the only way to win. The only way to win. Thats the way the game was invented. But theres more to it then that. You also got to create an environment that wont accept losing. Isiah tells Simmons much later in 2007 that the secret he was talking about all those years ago was simple. "The secret of basketball is that its not about basketball. "
I'll paraphrase the rest. Isiah goes on to talk about the midseason trade of Dantley for Aguirre. Basically saying that even though Dantley was the better and more talented player that he was causing problems with the chemistry of the team. They needed Dantley to sacrifice minutes, and therefore stats, to make room for Dennis Rodman to play a bigger role on the team. Dantley refused to accommodate the team and was causing a ton of problems for the coaching staff.
Thats what Isiah said he learned that year, as well as watching the great Lakers and Celtics teams win time and time again. "Those teams were all loaded with talented players, but thats not why they won. They won because they liked each other, knew their roles, ignored statistics and valued winning over everything else... They won so long as everyone remained on the same page. "
Reading this chapter reminded me of the championship teams we have had over the last decade. And of course summarized how I feel about this years team. Barring injuries if we just stay focused we have the depth talent and character to beat any team in the league. Every person on our team from hall of famer Tim Duncan to the dwindling Michael Finley to the newest additions like Blair would gladly sacrifice minutes, money, statistics and fame to win the title. Hope you guys enjoyed the excerpt. I know we're all bummed about the tough loss tonight, but we are at the beginning of a very promising season. Go Spurs Go :toast