ambchang
05-23-2005, 11:46 AM
Six reasons why I really enjoyed the Spurs-Sonics series:
1. The Bowen-Allen feud
Strangely riveting for some reason. They were like Esai Morales and Sean Penn in "Bad Boys," like the whole thing was leading to them fighting to the death in an empty stadium after the series ended. With the notable and fantastic exception of Robert Parish and Bill Laimbeer in the 1987 Playoffs -- which led to Parish finally coldcocking Laimbeer from behind in Game 5 -- have you ever seen a player regard another player with such contempt? Part of me was rooting for the Spurs to blow out Seattle in Game 6, just so Allen would finally haul off and punch Bowen in the face.
(Of course, ESPN blew it after Game 6, when they should have had a camera following Allen around to see how the final handshake played out. I love this stuff though. That's basketball! Sometimes, you're just going to end up playing against an annoying, touchy-feely, borderline cheapshot guy who makes you want to punch him in the face. It's happened to all of us.)
2. The emergence of Ginobili as an über-villain
I'm not sure how this happened or when it happened, but he's the winner of the "Guy You Love to Hate" award in the 2005 playoffs, isn't he? It starts with that cheesy haircut, which looks like he borrowed it from Andy Garcia right after the "Ocean's Twelve" press junket, capped off by the barely perceptible bald spot on the top of his head which you can see everytime the Spurs bring the ball over midcourt. Then there's the flopping, which I can't even remember him doing that much until this Seattle series -- now he's like a World Cup soccer player. (Shouldn't there be fines for this stuff?) And then there's that whiny, martyr-like look on his face after somebody knocks him to the ground, vaguely reminiscent of the look on Daniel LaRusso's face after every cheap shot during the 1985 All-Valley Karate Championships. I can't stand him. I really can't. Which is a good thing, I think.
(Note: Part of the problem with this league since the early-90's was that there weren't enough talented players who made you not want to like them. Between Bowen and Ginobili, I was vehemently rooting for Seattle last night even though I didn't have any financial interest in the game. When's the last time that happened?)
3. Great crowds bring out the best in great teams
I know, I know ... sounds like something Theismann would say. But Seattle's crowd has to be the best in the league. In Games 3 and 4, I honestly feel like they won the game for the Sonics. In Game 6, the Spurs had to take it up a notch, then get the winning basket coming out of the 100-decibel timeout in the last 15 seconds -- a botched assigment by Duncan that ended up leading to a perfect drive-and-kick by Ginobili for a Duncan layup. Only four teams could have scored a hoop in that setting: Miami (with Wade), Detroit (Hamilton coming off a pick), Phoenix (the Nash-Stoudemire pick and roll) and the Spurs. Coincidentally, there's a 99.9-percent chance that's our Final Four.
4. Great coaching
I just don't think there's a smarter, better-prepared team than the Spurs -- they have an answer for every situation, like a perfect play coming out of a timeout for Horry's dagger 3 at 80-79 last night. Even in Game 3, they got a perfect shot coming out of that timeout with 3 seconds left (Duncan's little jumphook over Potapenko that he missed). And if something isn't working (like the fact that Ginobili should have been starting in this series), they always make the adjustment in time. I also think Nate McMillan was the most underrated coach this season -- his guys were always in the right spots, they could survive any injury, and you never saw his players (many of whom were limited) trying to do something they couldn't do. For lack of a better word, both teams always looked prepared. And that's all I'm asking for as a fan.
5. Danny Fortson
Remember Bull in "Fast Break"? (I know, way too many movie references already today.) The big white dude that Gabe Kaplan started with Swish, Hustler, Preacher and DC Dacey for Cadwallader State? If they re-made "Fast Break" now -- and why the hell not, frankly? -- wouldn't Danny Fortson make a perfect Bull? You can't take your eyes off him when he's on the court. Uh-oh, Danny knocked someone down again. Uh-oh, Danny's rolling to the basket on a pick-and-roll, somebody's getting flattened. Uh-oh, Danny's going over somebody's back for this rebound. No wonder the refs keep whistling him for fouls; why would you watch anyone else on the court? I'm going to miss ole' Danny.
6. Tim Duncan
Nobody ever writes about him, partly because it's all been said, partly because he has just enough Sampras in him that people don't find him interesting enough. Personally, I think he's one of the most compelling athletes in sports -- a fierce competitor who also seems like the most thoughful player in the league. Out of anyone, he's the one star player who I could see coaching 15 years from now.
For instance, there was a Grizzlies-Spurs game near the end of the season when Mike Miller made a game-winning 3, only Memphis's scorekeeper started the clock too early. So Fratello and Popovich were talking at midcourt while the refs figured it out, and then Duncan came over, and you could see Fratello explaining what happened to Duncan, and then they were debating it back and forth, with Duncan's hand on Fratello's shoulder ... it was just a goofy moment. Usually when these things happen, they show one of the benches and all the players have a "C'mom man, hurry this up, I'm supposed to be at the nightclub in 35 minutes" glow about them. But Duncan always seems interested in the little things, one of the qualities that makes him so special. Last night was the definitive Duncan game -- he starts out 1-for-14, keeps plugging away, and ends up carrying them down the stretch and making the winning basket.
Here's my point: There's no question at all -- absolutely none -- that we're watching the greatest power forward of all-time. And you never hear anyone mention this.It starts with that cheesy haircut
1. The Bowen-Allen feud
Strangely riveting for some reason. They were like Esai Morales and Sean Penn in "Bad Boys," like the whole thing was leading to them fighting to the death in an empty stadium after the series ended. With the notable and fantastic exception of Robert Parish and Bill Laimbeer in the 1987 Playoffs -- which led to Parish finally coldcocking Laimbeer from behind in Game 5 -- have you ever seen a player regard another player with such contempt? Part of me was rooting for the Spurs to blow out Seattle in Game 6, just so Allen would finally haul off and punch Bowen in the face.
(Of course, ESPN blew it after Game 6, when they should have had a camera following Allen around to see how the final handshake played out. I love this stuff though. That's basketball! Sometimes, you're just going to end up playing against an annoying, touchy-feely, borderline cheapshot guy who makes you want to punch him in the face. It's happened to all of us.)
2. The emergence of Ginobili as an über-villain
I'm not sure how this happened or when it happened, but he's the winner of the "Guy You Love to Hate" award in the 2005 playoffs, isn't he? It starts with that cheesy haircut, which looks like he borrowed it from Andy Garcia right after the "Ocean's Twelve" press junket, capped off by the barely perceptible bald spot on the top of his head which you can see everytime the Spurs bring the ball over midcourt. Then there's the flopping, which I can't even remember him doing that much until this Seattle series -- now he's like a World Cup soccer player. (Shouldn't there be fines for this stuff?) And then there's that whiny, martyr-like look on his face after somebody knocks him to the ground, vaguely reminiscent of the look on Daniel LaRusso's face after every cheap shot during the 1985 All-Valley Karate Championships. I can't stand him. I really can't. Which is a good thing, I think.
(Note: Part of the problem with this league since the early-90's was that there weren't enough talented players who made you not want to like them. Between Bowen and Ginobili, I was vehemently rooting for Seattle last night even though I didn't have any financial interest in the game. When's the last time that happened?)
3. Great crowds bring out the best in great teams
I know, I know ... sounds like something Theismann would say. But Seattle's crowd has to be the best in the league. In Games 3 and 4, I honestly feel like they won the game for the Sonics. In Game 6, the Spurs had to take it up a notch, then get the winning basket coming out of the 100-decibel timeout in the last 15 seconds -- a botched assigment by Duncan that ended up leading to a perfect drive-and-kick by Ginobili for a Duncan layup. Only four teams could have scored a hoop in that setting: Miami (with Wade), Detroit (Hamilton coming off a pick), Phoenix (the Nash-Stoudemire pick and roll) and the Spurs. Coincidentally, there's a 99.9-percent chance that's our Final Four.
4. Great coaching
I just don't think there's a smarter, better-prepared team than the Spurs -- they have an answer for every situation, like a perfect play coming out of a timeout for Horry's dagger 3 at 80-79 last night. Even in Game 3, they got a perfect shot coming out of that timeout with 3 seconds left (Duncan's little jumphook over Potapenko that he missed). And if something isn't working (like the fact that Ginobili should have been starting in this series), they always make the adjustment in time. I also think Nate McMillan was the most underrated coach this season -- his guys were always in the right spots, they could survive any injury, and you never saw his players (many of whom were limited) trying to do something they couldn't do. For lack of a better word, both teams always looked prepared. And that's all I'm asking for as a fan.
5. Danny Fortson
Remember Bull in "Fast Break"? (I know, way too many movie references already today.) The big white dude that Gabe Kaplan started with Swish, Hustler, Preacher and DC Dacey for Cadwallader State? If they re-made "Fast Break" now -- and why the hell not, frankly? -- wouldn't Danny Fortson make a perfect Bull? You can't take your eyes off him when he's on the court. Uh-oh, Danny knocked someone down again. Uh-oh, Danny's rolling to the basket on a pick-and-roll, somebody's getting flattened. Uh-oh, Danny's going over somebody's back for this rebound. No wonder the refs keep whistling him for fouls; why would you watch anyone else on the court? I'm going to miss ole' Danny.
6. Tim Duncan
Nobody ever writes about him, partly because it's all been said, partly because he has just enough Sampras in him that people don't find him interesting enough. Personally, I think he's one of the most compelling athletes in sports -- a fierce competitor who also seems like the most thoughful player in the league. Out of anyone, he's the one star player who I could see coaching 15 years from now.
For instance, there was a Grizzlies-Spurs game near the end of the season when Mike Miller made a game-winning 3, only Memphis's scorekeeper started the clock too early. So Fratello and Popovich were talking at midcourt while the refs figured it out, and then Duncan came over, and you could see Fratello explaining what happened to Duncan, and then they were debating it back and forth, with Duncan's hand on Fratello's shoulder ... it was just a goofy moment. Usually when these things happen, they show one of the benches and all the players have a "C'mom man, hurry this up, I'm supposed to be at the nightclub in 35 minutes" glow about them. But Duncan always seems interested in the little things, one of the qualities that makes him so special. Last night was the definitive Duncan game -- he starts out 1-for-14, keeps plugging away, and ends up carrying them down the stretch and making the winning basket.
Here's my point: There's no question at all -- absolutely none -- that we're watching the greatest power forward of all-time. And you never hear anyone mention this.It starts with that cheesy haircut