ambchang
06-09-2005, 01:00 PM
Spurs make it all look easy
They do almost everything better than everyone else — including win
It's not difficult to see why San Antonio is such a small market success
DAVE FESCHUK
BASKETBALL COLUMNIST
Since Tim Duncan showed up in San Antonio in 1997, the Spurs have a regular-season record of 438-186, a .702 winning percentage, better than any team in the four major pro sports leagues over the same period.
They've been better than the New York Yankees, who'll spend about five times as much on player salaries this season. They've been better than the New England Patriots, who have won three of the past four Super Bowls with a similarly team-first philosophy. And they've been better, too, than the Toronto Maple Leafs, even after the Leafs bolstered their reputation with an undefeated 2004-05.
So how did a small-market team from a south-Texas tourist town turn itself into a perennial powerhouse? The Spurs success is sometimes sloughed off as the obvious by-product of Duncan's mere presence. His arrival did coincide with the most dramatic single-season turnaround in NBA history, from 20 wins to 56. He's been the foundation of championship teams in 1999 and 2003. He's a two-time league MVP.
But it's interesting to note that another small-market franchise has employed a player whose skill set is often lauded as the league's most enviable. Yet despite Kevin Garnett's presence, the Minnesota Timberwolves missed the playoffs this year. And last year, when they went to the Western Conference finals, it was their first trip out of the first round of the playoffs in Garnett's career.
If the Spurs beat the Pistons in the best-of-seven championship series that begins tonight at San Antonio's SBC Center, conversely, Duncan's three rings will bring him up to speed with the other dominant big man of his era, Shaquille O'Neal. But neither Duncan nor O'Neal has won championships single-handedly.
It's not that simple. But the Spurs, in doing almost everything better than everyone else, make it look simple. You could pass off as blind luck their drafting of Tony Parker with the 28th pick of the 2001 draft; surely no one knew that Parker would elevate himself from French-league teenager to elite NBA point guard. You could call it a good break that they took Manu Ginobili with the 57th pick of the 1999 draft; surely the Spurs couldn't have known the Argentine would turn out to be a 2004-05 all-star.
But is it luck that the Spurs are getting state-of-the-art results for 20th Century prices? Is it luck that the Spurs' payroll of $46.9 million (all figures U.S.) ranked 24th in the 30-team league this year, more than $15 million less than, say, the 12th-ranked Raptors?
R.C. Buford, the Spurs general manager, has an undeniable knack for inking bargain-basement deals for a club whose modest market size (a population of 1.5 million that puts them among the five smallest cities in the league) doesn't allow him to push the boundaries of the salary cap. Parker, to wit, made a measly $1.5 million this season (although he'll command far more as a free agent this summer). Bruce Bowen, the all-defensive-team specialist, made $3 million, and he's under contract for three more seasons at modest increases. Even Duncan, at $14.3 million, is a relative steal. He's No.20 on the list of highest-paid NBA players despite being among the most highly esteemed. And considering the Spurs have both Duncan and Ginobili (who makes low-end all-star coin) locked up until 2010, the excellence seems unlikely to end soon.
They're a purist's delight, not unlike the defending-champion Pistons. They pass. They dive for loose balls. They play historically dominant defence. In other words, this series is going to be a TV ratings bomb.
"We're a vanilla team," Bowen once philosophized. "Those who appreciated ice cream back in the day, appreciated vanilla."
Oh, the Spurs have a flashy side. Parker is said to be dating Eva Longoria, one of the stars of TV's Desperate Housewives. Ginobili is a trick-shot contortionist. Duncan once pumped a fist. But no one's a jerk, no one's me-first.
"It's just about (having) good guys who have their priorities set and who aren't full of themselves," Popovich has said of his team's success. "They're not interested in or much impressed by the hoopla that goes around the NBA."
No, the Spurs leave it for someone else to be impressed. And who isn't?
They do almost everything better than everyone else — including win
It's not difficult to see why San Antonio is such a small market success
DAVE FESCHUK
BASKETBALL COLUMNIST
Since Tim Duncan showed up in San Antonio in 1997, the Spurs have a regular-season record of 438-186, a .702 winning percentage, better than any team in the four major pro sports leagues over the same period.
They've been better than the New York Yankees, who'll spend about five times as much on player salaries this season. They've been better than the New England Patriots, who have won three of the past four Super Bowls with a similarly team-first philosophy. And they've been better, too, than the Toronto Maple Leafs, even after the Leafs bolstered their reputation with an undefeated 2004-05.
So how did a small-market team from a south-Texas tourist town turn itself into a perennial powerhouse? The Spurs success is sometimes sloughed off as the obvious by-product of Duncan's mere presence. His arrival did coincide with the most dramatic single-season turnaround in NBA history, from 20 wins to 56. He's been the foundation of championship teams in 1999 and 2003. He's a two-time league MVP.
But it's interesting to note that another small-market franchise has employed a player whose skill set is often lauded as the league's most enviable. Yet despite Kevin Garnett's presence, the Minnesota Timberwolves missed the playoffs this year. And last year, when they went to the Western Conference finals, it was their first trip out of the first round of the playoffs in Garnett's career.
If the Spurs beat the Pistons in the best-of-seven championship series that begins tonight at San Antonio's SBC Center, conversely, Duncan's three rings will bring him up to speed with the other dominant big man of his era, Shaquille O'Neal. But neither Duncan nor O'Neal has won championships single-handedly.
It's not that simple. But the Spurs, in doing almost everything better than everyone else, make it look simple. You could pass off as blind luck their drafting of Tony Parker with the 28th pick of the 2001 draft; surely no one knew that Parker would elevate himself from French-league teenager to elite NBA point guard. You could call it a good break that they took Manu Ginobili with the 57th pick of the 1999 draft; surely the Spurs couldn't have known the Argentine would turn out to be a 2004-05 all-star.
But is it luck that the Spurs are getting state-of-the-art results for 20th Century prices? Is it luck that the Spurs' payroll of $46.9 million (all figures U.S.) ranked 24th in the 30-team league this year, more than $15 million less than, say, the 12th-ranked Raptors?
R.C. Buford, the Spurs general manager, has an undeniable knack for inking bargain-basement deals for a club whose modest market size (a population of 1.5 million that puts them among the five smallest cities in the league) doesn't allow him to push the boundaries of the salary cap. Parker, to wit, made a measly $1.5 million this season (although he'll command far more as a free agent this summer). Bruce Bowen, the all-defensive-team specialist, made $3 million, and he's under contract for three more seasons at modest increases. Even Duncan, at $14.3 million, is a relative steal. He's No.20 on the list of highest-paid NBA players despite being among the most highly esteemed. And considering the Spurs have both Duncan and Ginobili (who makes low-end all-star coin) locked up until 2010, the excellence seems unlikely to end soon.
They're a purist's delight, not unlike the defending-champion Pistons. They pass. They dive for loose balls. They play historically dominant defence. In other words, this series is going to be a TV ratings bomb.
"We're a vanilla team," Bowen once philosophized. "Those who appreciated ice cream back in the day, appreciated vanilla."
Oh, the Spurs have a flashy side. Parker is said to be dating Eva Longoria, one of the stars of TV's Desperate Housewives. Ginobili is a trick-shot contortionist. Duncan once pumped a fist. But no one's a jerk, no one's me-first.
"It's just about (having) good guys who have their priorities set and who aren't full of themselves," Popovich has said of his team's success. "They're not interested in or much impressed by the hoopla that goes around the NBA."
No, the Spurs leave it for someone else to be impressed. And who isn't?