YODA
03-05-2011, 01:28 AM
“Sometimes we like to keep a secret,” said someone on staff, which is wrong.
The Spurs, given the chance, would always like to keep a secret.
It’s that they rarely have an opportunity like the one they had Friday, with a suddenly healed Tony Parker. So they worked him out the day before, when no one was around, then hid him from view the next day.
But that wasn’t the only secret. They’ve kept another one so underground they wouldn’t even admit to it today, and it goes like this:
Deep down, they’ve become tired of an NBA culture so caught up in celebrity and TV markets that it consistently ignores the team with the best record in the league.
What followed was a game that reflected all of that.
For the Heat, this was the other side of hype; every month is June for this team.
The circus had come to town, with LeBron James taking his talents to South Texas, but Miami was coming off Armageddon.
Any Miami loss is news. Blowing a 24-point lead at home requires national debate. And feeling pressure since the first month of the season, with Pat Riley always mentioned as the easy alternative, Erik Spoelstra has handled this the best he could.
Unlike Gregg Popovich, he doesn’t have the power in his locker room. Spoelstra suggests more than he coaches, and words on the Heat’s chalkboard before the game said as much:
Such as: “Where do we stand?”
And: “Resolve when it’s not good.”
Popovich has rarely gotten his message across with notes. “There are some situations where, as coaches, we ask but probably don’t even need to,” Popovich said. “They’re grown men, and they know what happened last night. They will automatically come out with more resolve.”
That was likely true Friday for him, too, when he didn’t have to say a thing to get his players ready. The season had done that for him.
For the record, the Spurs have continued to insist they prefer flying below the radar. Popovich said it again Friday.
“It’s always been like that, year in and year out, whether we’ve ended up being the last team standing or not,” he said. “We’re kind of used to it. I think we like it.”
They usually like it. But there was something extra this time, given a record that has been the league’s best since the first month of the season.
In their place have been the Heat, the anti-Spurs, a franchise of stars, a trio that — unlike the three of San Antonio — have never won together. What followed should only surprise those who think the Spurs don’t pay attention to what is said about them.
“We had one of those nights,” Popovich said.
Wonder why?
The Spurs played a first quarter of basketball perfection, as if every smart pass and every hedge on defense came with a statement.
They eventually slowed, but this is what happens when most teams take a lead. The Spurs responded as the Heat did not the night before in Miami; halfway through the third quarter, with Parker and his calf muscle speeding around, the Spurs’ lead was back to 20 and the game was over.
The Lakers will be here next, with their own celebrity. But the Spurs are accustomed to that, as well as measuring themselves to the defending champs.
This was different. The Spurs’ spiritual opposites had come to town, with ESPN naturally along for the show, and the Spurs unveiled a point guard that wasn’t supposed to play and an attitude that rarely shows itself in the regular season.
As if they wanted to show everyone what they’ve been missing.
[email protected]
The Spurs, given the chance, would always like to keep a secret.
It’s that they rarely have an opportunity like the one they had Friday, with a suddenly healed Tony Parker. So they worked him out the day before, when no one was around, then hid him from view the next day.
But that wasn’t the only secret. They’ve kept another one so underground they wouldn’t even admit to it today, and it goes like this:
Deep down, they’ve become tired of an NBA culture so caught up in celebrity and TV markets that it consistently ignores the team with the best record in the league.
What followed was a game that reflected all of that.
For the Heat, this was the other side of hype; every month is June for this team.
The circus had come to town, with LeBron James taking his talents to South Texas, but Miami was coming off Armageddon.
Any Miami loss is news. Blowing a 24-point lead at home requires national debate. And feeling pressure since the first month of the season, with Pat Riley always mentioned as the easy alternative, Erik Spoelstra has handled this the best he could.
Unlike Gregg Popovich, he doesn’t have the power in his locker room. Spoelstra suggests more than he coaches, and words on the Heat’s chalkboard before the game said as much:
Such as: “Where do we stand?”
And: “Resolve when it’s not good.”
Popovich has rarely gotten his message across with notes. “There are some situations where, as coaches, we ask but probably don’t even need to,” Popovich said. “They’re grown men, and they know what happened last night. They will automatically come out with more resolve.”
That was likely true Friday for him, too, when he didn’t have to say a thing to get his players ready. The season had done that for him.
For the record, the Spurs have continued to insist they prefer flying below the radar. Popovich said it again Friday.
“It’s always been like that, year in and year out, whether we’ve ended up being the last team standing or not,” he said. “We’re kind of used to it. I think we like it.”
They usually like it. But there was something extra this time, given a record that has been the league’s best since the first month of the season.
In their place have been the Heat, the anti-Spurs, a franchise of stars, a trio that — unlike the three of San Antonio — have never won together. What followed should only surprise those who think the Spurs don’t pay attention to what is said about them.
“We had one of those nights,” Popovich said.
Wonder why?
The Spurs played a first quarter of basketball perfection, as if every smart pass and every hedge on defense came with a statement.
They eventually slowed, but this is what happens when most teams take a lead. The Spurs responded as the Heat did not the night before in Miami; halfway through the third quarter, with Parker and his calf muscle speeding around, the Spurs’ lead was back to 20 and the game was over.
The Lakers will be here next, with their own celebrity. But the Spurs are accustomed to that, as well as measuring themselves to the defending champs.
This was different. The Spurs’ spiritual opposites had come to town, with ESPN naturally along for the show, and the Spurs unveiled a point guard that wasn’t supposed to play and an attitude that rarely shows itself in the regular season.
As if they wanted to show everyone what they’ve been missing.
[email protected]