Kori Ellis
06-23-2005, 12:23 AM
Buck Harvey: Spurs' stunner? Flip of a bubbly emotion
Web Posted: 06/23/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA062305.1S.COL.BKNharvey.36e79fbf.html
San Antonio Express-News
More pressing than the Eva issue (if she is to the Spurs what Yoko was to the Beatles, then why is Tony playing like Ringo?) is champagne.
Is it true the Spurs had some delivered to the SBC Center for Game 6, as Antonio McDyess claims?
This just in: Sports teams like to have champagne on hand should they win a championship.
It is also true the city of San Antonio announced possible parade timetables, though that's common ground, too. The city of Chicago once braced for an out-of-control celebration in the '90s. When the Bulls didn't win on that certain night against the Suns, Charles Barkley told Chicago it was safe to take plywood off the store windows.
So the Spurs did the usual, just as San Antonio did, just as everyone does. But that didn't stop the Pistons. Nobody uses nobody-respects-us the way the Pistons do, and the Spurs can't begin to compete.
Printing your own spelling-bee T-shirts doesn't create the same edge.
But now comes the latest flip of the switch, with the Spurs facing the wrong side of history, with most thinking the Pistons have too much Game 7 experience. This is an emotional power, and it's strong enough to clear Tim Duncan's head.
Ready for a stunner?
Spurs 93, Pistons, oh, 90.
That Detroit point total would follow the trend of this series, which doesn't favor the Spurs. Gregg Popovich's defense had never allowed as many as 90 points in any Finals game before this month, and now the Pistons can't stop from scoring that many.
The Pistons have been the better team these past four games, too. The Spurs needed Robert Horry to put together a collage of career highlights just to win one.
But even Horry's night followed the pattern of this series. Every game has gone contrary to what a majority of the public thought, starting with the first. Couldn't the Pistons steal Game 1?
Most figured the Pistons would show more in Game 2, when they showed less, and the general attitude then was that the Spurs were on the cusp of greatness. What followed was the cusp the Clippers are usually on.
Then came the Horry game, with the Spurs coming off a 31-point loss. Vegas favored the Pistons by about the same point total that Vegas favored the Spurs by on Tuesday. Going by that, the Spurs should have been chortling in Detroit that it's us-against-the-world.
But that's Deeee-troit basketball, and the Pistons were at it again Wednesday having evened the best Finals since Michael Jordan played in them. "It's always good to prove people wrong," Rasheed Wallace said.
At least they come by their paranoia honestly. Six of the seven players in Detroit's rotation were rejected at some time in their careers. The Spurs' Big Three hasn't felt the same sting.
Now comes yet another proving-people-wrong moment. Vegas goes with the Spurs again, as gamblers often do with home teams. But isn't the consensus that the Spurs need Kenyon Martin to play for the Pistons as he played for the Nets two years ago?
The Spurs missed free throws Tuesday, couldn't get the ball to Duncan, were out of control at the end and allowed Chauncey Billups to go where he wanted to go. The Pistons ended again with just a handful of turnovers, played sturdy defense and threw in as many 3-pointers in Game 6 as they had the previous five games in the Finals.
But given all that, Tuesday was still a one-point game with two minutes left. How much do the Spurs need to change to win their third championship?
For one, they need to get the ball to Duncan, and Popovich all but vowed Wednesday this will happen. The rest of the changes will be emotional.
The Pistons played their Game 7 Tuesday. Now it's the Spurs' turn. They've never had much of a killer instinct in this era, and they often make it hard on themselves. But this is their own slight to face, and it can turn into the same half step of inspiration the Pistons had Tuesday.
And if the usual insults aren't enough? There's always the motivation that drives professional athletes in elimination games.
Chances are, the Pistons have ordered champagne for tonight.
Web Posted: 06/23/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA062305.1S.COL.BKNharvey.36e79fbf.html
San Antonio Express-News
More pressing than the Eva issue (if she is to the Spurs what Yoko was to the Beatles, then why is Tony playing like Ringo?) is champagne.
Is it true the Spurs had some delivered to the SBC Center for Game 6, as Antonio McDyess claims?
This just in: Sports teams like to have champagne on hand should they win a championship.
It is also true the city of San Antonio announced possible parade timetables, though that's common ground, too. The city of Chicago once braced for an out-of-control celebration in the '90s. When the Bulls didn't win on that certain night against the Suns, Charles Barkley told Chicago it was safe to take plywood off the store windows.
So the Spurs did the usual, just as San Antonio did, just as everyone does. But that didn't stop the Pistons. Nobody uses nobody-respects-us the way the Pistons do, and the Spurs can't begin to compete.
Printing your own spelling-bee T-shirts doesn't create the same edge.
But now comes the latest flip of the switch, with the Spurs facing the wrong side of history, with most thinking the Pistons have too much Game 7 experience. This is an emotional power, and it's strong enough to clear Tim Duncan's head.
Ready for a stunner?
Spurs 93, Pistons, oh, 90.
That Detroit point total would follow the trend of this series, which doesn't favor the Spurs. Gregg Popovich's defense had never allowed as many as 90 points in any Finals game before this month, and now the Pistons can't stop from scoring that many.
The Pistons have been the better team these past four games, too. The Spurs needed Robert Horry to put together a collage of career highlights just to win one.
But even Horry's night followed the pattern of this series. Every game has gone contrary to what a majority of the public thought, starting with the first. Couldn't the Pistons steal Game 1?
Most figured the Pistons would show more in Game 2, when they showed less, and the general attitude then was that the Spurs were on the cusp of greatness. What followed was the cusp the Clippers are usually on.
Then came the Horry game, with the Spurs coming off a 31-point loss. Vegas favored the Pistons by about the same point total that Vegas favored the Spurs by on Tuesday. Going by that, the Spurs should have been chortling in Detroit that it's us-against-the-world.
But that's Deeee-troit basketball, and the Pistons were at it again Wednesday having evened the best Finals since Michael Jordan played in them. "It's always good to prove people wrong," Rasheed Wallace said.
At least they come by their paranoia honestly. Six of the seven players in Detroit's rotation were rejected at some time in their careers. The Spurs' Big Three hasn't felt the same sting.
Now comes yet another proving-people-wrong moment. Vegas goes with the Spurs again, as gamblers often do with home teams. But isn't the consensus that the Spurs need Kenyon Martin to play for the Pistons as he played for the Nets two years ago?
The Spurs missed free throws Tuesday, couldn't get the ball to Duncan, were out of control at the end and allowed Chauncey Billups to go where he wanted to go. The Pistons ended again with just a handful of turnovers, played sturdy defense and threw in as many 3-pointers in Game 6 as they had the previous five games in the Finals.
But given all that, Tuesday was still a one-point game with two minutes left. How much do the Spurs need to change to win their third championship?
For one, they need to get the ball to Duncan, and Popovich all but vowed Wednesday this will happen. The rest of the changes will be emotional.
The Pistons played their Game 7 Tuesday. Now it's the Spurs' turn. They've never had much of a killer instinct in this era, and they often make it hard on themselves. But this is their own slight to face, and it can turn into the same half step of inspiration the Pistons had Tuesday.
And if the usual insults aren't enough? There's always the motivation that drives professional athletes in elimination games.
Chances are, the Pistons have ordered champagne for tonight.