WOJ: 5 years after TD beat LBJ in the Finals, only one has found his superteam

[flipcritic]

SAN ANTONIO – As Tim Duncan left the interview podium inside Quicken Loans Arena five years ago and started his walk down a corridor, LeBron James emerged on his way to deliver an NBA Finals concession speech. Duncan hugged James, and told him the NBA would soon belong to him. Duncan was grateful to have secured a fourth championship before the Cleveland Cavaliers star gobbled them for himself.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--as-heat--other-super-teams-show-cracks--spurs-still-rolling.html

[Manufan909]

Great read, and great find. Props, flipcritic.:toast

[Slomo]

Nice :tu


Perhaps Oklahoma City will win the Western Conference finals, but make no mistake: These Spurs would absolutely take apart the Heat in the NBA Finals – with Bosh or without him.

:wow We all know it, but it's surprising to see it in the national press.

[100%duncan]

We will beat OKC, Woj. Oh yes, we will.

[benefactor]

Good read. This season is still like living in a dream.

[spursparker9]

When Duncan misses three free throws late to lose a playoff game, you won’t hear him blaming it on how “taxing” it was to play out of position.

:lol

[shyne]

Is ludden still writing for yahoo?

[scanry]

Is ludden still writing for yahoo?

I'm pretty sure Ludden is ghost writing these articles under Woj.

[MmP]

Is ludden still writing for yahoo?
yes, he wrote an article about okc lakers series yesterday

[AussieFanKurt]

When Duncan misses three free throws late to lose a playoff game, you won’t hear him blaming it on how “taxing” it was to play out of position.

:lol

^

Never LeChoke's fault

[bigfan]

Like the "toughest guy in the gym" about Jackson, its true. SJ hasnt been his best so far in this series but opposing teams still are afraid of him and hes going to have good games soon. Great article.

[desflood]

This one's my favorite:


Five years later, Duncan is 36 years old, and the truth is unmistakable: He’s closer to his fifth championship than James is to his first.

But


Ginobili shrugs, comes off the bench and still kills everyone.

is a close second :lol

[Crookshanks]

That was a great article. So many great lines - made me chuckle, but also made me so proud to be a fan of this great Team!

[ALVAREZ6]

We will beat OKC, Woj. Oh yes, we will.

I'm not 100% convinced and I wouldn't be so sure. They're long, very athletic, young, and playing very good basketball.


That series will go 6 or 7 games.

[SpurinDallas]

Good read. This season is still like living in a dream.

No kidding. I still have to convince myself that we have a GREAT chance of winning it all. Forgot what that felt like. Never would have guessed this when the season kicked off and especially when Manu got hurt.

[G-Nob]

Good read. This season is still like living in a dream.

[LongtimeSpursFan]

When Duncan misses three free throws late to lose a playoff game, you won’t hear him blaming it on how “taxing” it was to play out of position.

:lol


I guessed it miss it but did Lebron really say this?

[HarlemHeat37]

In all honesty, Miami easily wins a title with Pop at coach..

With that being said, Duncan is the greatest player of his generation, and if the Spurs win, he's a top 5 player of all-time, so comparing him to Lebron is stupid, and just that geek Wojo pushing his agenda..

[Bruno]

What Spurs have done so far in these playoffs is just plain amazing. You can always nitpick about the relatively low quality of the opponents but Spurs have been coasting and have won relatively easily every single game so far. That's unreal.

The most surprising about all these wins is how Spurs have raised their defensive level. Spurs are still an offensive juggernaut and are the best offensive team in these playoffs, but they have been too a damn great defensive team too. They are right now allowing 95.4 points per 100 possessions while the second best defense in the west is OKC with 100.9 points allowed by 100 possessions. You can't put these good numbers on Spurs facing bad offensive teams. jazz were the 6th best offense in the regular season and Clippers were 4th. Spurs' playoffs defense deserves a ton of props.

[HomerFan092120]

Great to see the media finally show some respect for once.

This team could probably beat the 90's Bulls in 6 max, but ESPN would shut down their program before ever acknowledging that.

[TampaDude]

When Duncan misses three free throws late to lose a playoff game, you won’t hear him blaming it on how “taxing” it was to play out of position.

:lol

Pretty hard to lose a game at the stripe when you're blowing out every opponent, though. :hat

[Axe Murderer]

I feel like a better human being after reading this article

[Spurtacus]

Great article. Woj just telling what us most Spurs fans know but its good to see a well written article in the national spotlight.

[z0sa]

Amazing stuff. This season has been so great and yet it just keeps getting better and better. It's funny how many fans, including Spurs fans, wrote off the team yet again and said they had no chance. Ye of such little faith, whatever fanbase you belong to, Spurs once again proving you are a bunch of morons.

Like Wojnarowski, I have no doubt the Spurs would stomp a mudhole in the Bosh-less Heat. They simply lack the size to stop the Big 3 from wrecking house in the paint. Additionally, this is now a Heat team on the verge of implosion. I suspect Pat Riley makes his triumphant return next season following Spoelstra's expulsion.

[therealtruth]

What Spurs have done so far in these playoffs is just plain amazing. You can always nitpick about the relatively low quality of the opponents but Spurs have been coasting and have won relatively easily every single game so far. That's unreal.

The most surprising about all these wins is how Spurs have raised their defensive level. Spurs are still an offensive juggernaut and are the best offensive team in these playoffs, but they have been too a damn great defensive team too. They are right now allowing 95.4 points per 100 possessions while the second best defense in the west is OKC with 100.9 points allowed by 100 possessions. You can't put these good numbers on Spurs facing bad offensive teams. jazz were the 6th best offense in the regular season and Clippers were 4th. Spurs' playoffs defense deserves a ton of props.

That's what is not talked about is how much the defense has improved. All the defensive weak links with the exception of Neal, Bonner (he's now the 4th big) are out of the rotation.

[ducks]

What Spurs have done so far in these playoffs is just plain amazing. You can always nitpick about the relatively low quality of the opponents but Spurs have been coasting and have won relatively easily every single game so far. That's unreal.

The most surprising about all these wins is how Spurs have raised their defensive level. Spurs are still an offensive juggernaut and are the best offensive team in these playoffs, but they have been too a damn great defensive team too. They are right now allowing 95.4 points per 100 possessions while the second best defense in the west is OKC with 100.9 points allowed by 100 possessions. You can't put these good numbers on Spurs facing bad offensive teams. jazz were the 6th best offense in the regular season and Clippers were 4th. Spurs' playoffs defense deserves a ton of props.

:wow:wow:wow

[Thomas3]

5 years ago the media told the Spurs were too old to win another championship, Now 5 years later they still have a great opportunity to win their 5th with still the same trio.
This team has always been underrated, I like that.
I really hope they win it this year, they deserve it!