KaiRMD1
04-28-2011, 02:06 AM
Good bit of reading material
NBA history should inspire Spurs to write own comeback tale (http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/)
SAN ANTONIO -- Stranger things have happened. That's what the Spurs have to tell themselves.
Some of us have seen them up close. In fact, this is the 30th anniversary of one of the most memorable comebacks in league history.
It was the spring of 1981 and the Boston Celtics had dug themselves a 3-1 hole against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. It seemed that Larry Bird & Co. didn't have a clue.
What they had was attitude. After the Celtics squeezed out a win in Game 5, a young Kevin McHale made a pronouncement before Game 6 to a few writers in Philly.
"They better win this one," McHale said. "It's their chance, because they know they won't have one in Game 7 in Boston."
In fact, the Sixers had more than a few chances in Game 7. The last came when a guard named Lionel Hollins made a steal and set up Maurice Cheeks for a pair of free throws in the final seconds. But with M.L. Carr standing by giving him the choke sign, Cheeks missed one of those shots and the Celtics completed one of the comebacks for the ages in the NBA with a 91-90 win.
In the spring of 1994 after the Houston Rockets had lost the first two home games of a playoff series to the Suns and given themselves a spark of life with a win at Phoenix in Game 3, I found Hakeem Olajuwon in the locker room prior to Game 4 and observed that the pressure was all on his team to get the series tied up that night.
"Here, have a seat," Olajuwon said as he pulled up a folding chair. "Let me explain it to you. The pressure is all on Phoenix. They must win tonight. If they do not and we tie the series, then they know they will lose Game 5 in Houston. Then they will have pressure just to stay alive in Game 6 in Phoenix and they know they don't have a chance in Game 7 on our home court."
More.... (http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/)
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/
NBA history should inspire Spurs to write own comeback tale (http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/)
SAN ANTONIO -- Stranger things have happened. That's what the Spurs have to tell themselves.
Some of us have seen them up close. In fact, this is the 30th anniversary of one of the most memorable comebacks in league history.
It was the spring of 1981 and the Boston Celtics had dug themselves a 3-1 hole against the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals. It seemed that Larry Bird & Co. didn't have a clue.
What they had was attitude. After the Celtics squeezed out a win in Game 5, a young Kevin McHale made a pronouncement before Game 6 to a few writers in Philly.
"They better win this one," McHale said. "It's their chance, because they know they won't have one in Game 7 in Boston."
In fact, the Sixers had more than a few chances in Game 7. The last came when a guard named Lionel Hollins made a steal and set up Maurice Cheeks for a pair of free throws in the final seconds. But with M.L. Carr standing by giving him the choke sign, Cheeks missed one of those shots and the Celtics completed one of the comebacks for the ages in the NBA with a 91-90 win.
In the spring of 1994 after the Houston Rockets had lost the first two home games of a playoff series to the Suns and given themselves a spark of life with a win at Phoenix in Game 3, I found Hakeem Olajuwon in the locker room prior to Game 4 and observed that the pressure was all on his team to get the series tied up that night.
"Here, have a seat," Olajuwon said as he pulled up a folding chair. "Let me explain it to you. The pressure is all on Phoenix. They must win tonight. If they do not and we tie the series, then they know they will lose Game 5 in Houston. Then they will have pressure just to stay alive in Game 6 in Phoenix and they know they don't have a chance in Game 7 on our home court."
More.... (http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/)
http://www.nba.com/2011/news/features/fran_blinebury/04/27/san-antonio-spurs-memphis-grizz-game-5-preview/