duncan228
05-10-2010, 02:20 PM
Swept aside in semis, Spurs left searching for answers (http://www.nba.com/2010/news/features/fran_blinebury/05/10/spurs.post/index.html)
Fran Binebury
NBA.com
By the time George Hill caught the pass way out on the left wing, rose to launch a perfect arcing missile toward the hoop, was fouled by Amar'e Stoudemire, wound up down on the floor, then back up and headed to the free-throw line to complete a four-point play, there were just 26.5 seconds left in the season.
In another year, another lifetime, in any other playoff matchup of the past decade, it would have been the moment when the Spurs made the ground open up to swallow the bedeviled Suns. Instead, moments later, Manu Ginobili's desperation 3-pointer came up short and empty -- just like most of the season in San Antonio -- the Suns stretched their lead and completed a Western Conference semifinals sweep of the stunned Spurs.
It was a season that had begun hopef that the four-time former champions could get back their contender's swagger, with the offseason addition of swingman Richard Jefferson. But it turned into a long, difficult slog of unfulfilled potential and ended with the Spurs going down in a whisper. It was the first time San Antonio was swept out of the playoffs since losing to the eventual champion Lakers in 2001 and the first time that Phoenix knocked out the Spurs since 2000.
"This is not what we expected coming into the series as we thought from past experiences we could do some things to control this series and they just outplayed us," said Tim Duncan. "All in all, they outplayed us and they shot the ball incredibly well and they defended pretty well.
"We didn't expect to be swept. Every game we played, we thought we were in it and they found ways to get it done and take it away during the last minutes."
The series was representative of an entire Spurs' season when they kept thinking that everything would eventually get better, yet the pieces never fell completely into place. San Antonio closed the regular season with a rush to get the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and then knocked off No. 2 seed Dallas in the first round.
But the Spurs had too many leaks in their boat. They lost Game 1 when Steve Nash put on a virtuoso performance, lost Game 2 due to the Suns domination of the backboards, lost Game 3 when reserve guard Goran Dragic exploded for 23 fourth-quarter points and lost Game 4 to a solid, patient, well-rounded Suns' effort.
It was a season when San Antonio point guard Tony Parker played only 56 games due to an assortment of injuries that ran from plantar fasciitis to a sprained ankle to a broken hand. It was a season when Ginobili took until after the All-Star break to finally be fully recovered from offseason ankle surgery. It was a season when Duncan showed up for camp about 20 pounds lighter, was able to go the distance, but never quite was his dominant old self.
The inability of Jefferson to find his place in the offense and all of the holes in his defense were a season-long bone of contention.
"I think the season was a tough one in some ways," said coach Gregg Popovich.
How so?
"That's just our own personal business," Popovich said.
The Spurs stumbled out of the starting gate and were only 12-10 six weeks into the regular season. They piled up home losses early and dug themselves a considerable hole and had to rally into the playoffs.
It was Ginobili who played spectacular ball over the final 1 ½ months, almost single-handedly getting San Antonio into the postseason. He was splendid in setting the tone early in the first-round win over Dallas. But he caught an elbow from the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki that broke his nose in Game 3 and was never quite the same after that.
Ginobili was blanketed by Grant Hill's defense against the Suns, but there was also a spark missing. He shot just 2-for-11 in the Game 4 eliminator. Without their spark plug, the Spurs were never able to get their engine running right.
"If you would have asked me 10 days ago, I would have said yes, I'm surprised we were swept," Ginobili said. "But after the first three games, no.
"This season we finished pretty well compared to the way we started. We have to start stronger and put ourselves in a better spot in the first 40 to 50 games. But we lost so many games that we shouldn't have lost. That's why we were in seventh. All of those teams played better, but were only separated by four wins. We should have been able to get in position. We stepped up the last 20 games, played great against Dallas and lost to Phoenix, who was a better team."
As the clock keeps ticking on the Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, the Spurs know that time is running short to add another ring to their collection of championship jewelry.
The Spurs are hoping to lure forward Tiago Splitter, their 2008 Draft pick, to San Antonio after dazzling in Europe for several seasons. They'll need second-year guard George Hill to continue to make strides. They need rookie DeJuan Blair to make progress defensively. But they believe they can still contend.
"I really think so," Ginobili said. "I have been telling people this for five years, when people start to talk about age. I think we are always competitive. We went past the first round into the second round and then we had one of the worst series we've played in my time here with the Spurs. We faced a team that did everything better than us. I would go with these guys again and play just as hard."
Fran Binebury
NBA.com
By the time George Hill caught the pass way out on the left wing, rose to launch a perfect arcing missile toward the hoop, was fouled by Amar'e Stoudemire, wound up down on the floor, then back up and headed to the free-throw line to complete a four-point play, there were just 26.5 seconds left in the season.
In another year, another lifetime, in any other playoff matchup of the past decade, it would have been the moment when the Spurs made the ground open up to swallow the bedeviled Suns. Instead, moments later, Manu Ginobili's desperation 3-pointer came up short and empty -- just like most of the season in San Antonio -- the Suns stretched their lead and completed a Western Conference semifinals sweep of the stunned Spurs.
It was a season that had begun hopef that the four-time former champions could get back their contender's swagger, with the offseason addition of swingman Richard Jefferson. But it turned into a long, difficult slog of unfulfilled potential and ended with the Spurs going down in a whisper. It was the first time San Antonio was swept out of the playoffs since losing to the eventual champion Lakers in 2001 and the first time that Phoenix knocked out the Spurs since 2000.
"This is not what we expected coming into the series as we thought from past experiences we could do some things to control this series and they just outplayed us," said Tim Duncan. "All in all, they outplayed us and they shot the ball incredibly well and they defended pretty well.
"We didn't expect to be swept. Every game we played, we thought we were in it and they found ways to get it done and take it away during the last minutes."
The series was representative of an entire Spurs' season when they kept thinking that everything would eventually get better, yet the pieces never fell completely into place. San Antonio closed the regular season with a rush to get the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference and then knocked off No. 2 seed Dallas in the first round.
But the Spurs had too many leaks in their boat. They lost Game 1 when Steve Nash put on a virtuoso performance, lost Game 2 due to the Suns domination of the backboards, lost Game 3 when reserve guard Goran Dragic exploded for 23 fourth-quarter points and lost Game 4 to a solid, patient, well-rounded Suns' effort.
It was a season when San Antonio point guard Tony Parker played only 56 games due to an assortment of injuries that ran from plantar fasciitis to a sprained ankle to a broken hand. It was a season when Ginobili took until after the All-Star break to finally be fully recovered from offseason ankle surgery. It was a season when Duncan showed up for camp about 20 pounds lighter, was able to go the distance, but never quite was his dominant old self.
The inability of Jefferson to find his place in the offense and all of the holes in his defense were a season-long bone of contention.
"I think the season was a tough one in some ways," said coach Gregg Popovich.
How so?
"That's just our own personal business," Popovich said.
The Spurs stumbled out of the starting gate and were only 12-10 six weeks into the regular season. They piled up home losses early and dug themselves a considerable hole and had to rally into the playoffs.
It was Ginobili who played spectacular ball over the final 1 ½ months, almost single-handedly getting San Antonio into the postseason. He was splendid in setting the tone early in the first-round win over Dallas. But he caught an elbow from the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki that broke his nose in Game 3 and was never quite the same after that.
Ginobili was blanketed by Grant Hill's defense against the Suns, but there was also a spark missing. He shot just 2-for-11 in the Game 4 eliminator. Without their spark plug, the Spurs were never able to get their engine running right.
"If you would have asked me 10 days ago, I would have said yes, I'm surprised we were swept," Ginobili said. "But after the first three games, no.
"This season we finished pretty well compared to the way we started. We have to start stronger and put ourselves in a better spot in the first 40 to 50 games. But we lost so many games that we shouldn't have lost. That's why we were in seventh. All of those teams played better, but were only separated by four wins. We should have been able to get in position. We stepped up the last 20 games, played great against Dallas and lost to Phoenix, who was a better team."
As the clock keeps ticking on the Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker, the Spurs know that time is running short to add another ring to their collection of championship jewelry.
The Spurs are hoping to lure forward Tiago Splitter, their 2008 Draft pick, to San Antonio after dazzling in Europe for several seasons. They'll need second-year guard George Hill to continue to make strides. They need rookie DeJuan Blair to make progress defensively. But they believe they can still contend.
"I really think so," Ginobili said. "I have been telling people this for five years, when people start to talk about age. I think we are always competitive. We went past the first round into the second round and then we had one of the worst series we've played in my time here with the Spurs. We faced a team that did everything better than us. I would go with these guys again and play just as hard."