Amuseddaysleeper
08-01-2013, 09:28 AM
It's been a slow summer, but I figured I'd mention this tidbit from the Lowe/Nash interview that mentions the Spurs:
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/69965/qa-steve-nash-on-trying-out-for-inter-milan-the-dwight-howard-pitch-meeting-and-his-favorite-tv-dramas
That’s almost an indirect acknowledgement of the role luck plays, both in determining who wins a game and who wins a title. Sometimes stuff happens — guys miss a free throw, or someone gets on a random hot streak. Everyone wanted to say after Game 6 that the Spurs “choked.” But, really, a lot of crazy stuff happened — LeBron missed a 3 so badly it hit the backboard, and that screwed up the rebound. That kind of thing. You seem to have accepted that randomness impacts things. Is that unusual among players? Was that hard for you?
We’re in an age in North America where it’s championship or bust. I don’t think it was like that when I first came into the league.
Really?
I don’t know. I never felt it was like that. But now, with all these media outlets online, there’s gotta be a “take,” there’s gotta be a story, and there’s gotta be a winner and a loser. It has to be black-and-white. Even if someone doesn’t even necessarily believe it wholeheartedly, they have to pick a side and go with it. I want there to be one winner, and I want that team to be upheld as the most important thing. But there are other things. There are other factors. I don’t end everything right there. And I agree with you on the Spurs. You could say they choked. You could also say a million things happened. Maybe you could say Miami choked by not winning in five games. It’s myopic to go with these narratives.
That’s why measuring a player’s worth in rings drives me crazy. Jerry West’s teams lost a million Finals, and long before he finally won that ring, he was known as “Mr. Clutch.” There was a time where you could not win a title and still have respect as a big-time, big-game player. That seems more elusive now.
That’s what I mean. I don’t know where that came from. When I came into the league, it was different than it is now. I mean, I get it. I’m OK with it. I just don’t subscribe to it. I want to win. I’ve had some opportunities, and we had some bad luck. I don’t even look at it so much as bad luck. Things just happen. You could say it’s bad luck, but you could also say that if I made every shot, we would have won. Nothing is black-and-white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that’s why people gravitate to that so much. I find it much more interesting to look at the details.
Were you rooting for the Spurs, despite all the history there? I mean, they’re older, and you’re one of the league’s elder statesmen, and you’re close with Boris Diaw.
I was rooting for them a little bit. I did find myself wanting Boris to win, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Pop. He’s an amazing coach, and I was even rooting for him a little, which is strange, considering he beat us so many times. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try to tear his head off in an alley if the championship was put on the line.
Do you see some of the D’Antoni Phoenix teams in San Antonio? Pop has acknowledged the influence those teams had on him. Have you ever talked with him about that?
No, I haven’t. But that’s one of the interesting things — here’s a guy people look at as a disciplinarian, almost like a military guy, given his background. But he adapts continuously to his personnel, and to the game. The game is changing. How many post players are there in the league? There’s not that many, and it’s not that effective anymore.
http://www.grantland.com/blog/the-triangle/post/_/id/69965/qa-steve-nash-on-trying-out-for-inter-milan-the-dwight-howard-pitch-meeting-and-his-favorite-tv-dramas
That’s almost an indirect acknowledgement of the role luck plays, both in determining who wins a game and who wins a title. Sometimes stuff happens — guys miss a free throw, or someone gets on a random hot streak. Everyone wanted to say after Game 6 that the Spurs “choked.” But, really, a lot of crazy stuff happened — LeBron missed a 3 so badly it hit the backboard, and that screwed up the rebound. That kind of thing. You seem to have accepted that randomness impacts things. Is that unusual among players? Was that hard for you?
We’re in an age in North America where it’s championship or bust. I don’t think it was like that when I first came into the league.
Really?
I don’t know. I never felt it was like that. But now, with all these media outlets online, there’s gotta be a “take,” there’s gotta be a story, and there’s gotta be a winner and a loser. It has to be black-and-white. Even if someone doesn’t even necessarily believe it wholeheartedly, they have to pick a side and go with it. I want there to be one winner, and I want that team to be upheld as the most important thing. But there are other things. There are other factors. I don’t end everything right there. And I agree with you on the Spurs. You could say they choked. You could also say a million things happened. Maybe you could say Miami choked by not winning in five games. It’s myopic to go with these narratives.
That’s why measuring a player’s worth in rings drives me crazy. Jerry West’s teams lost a million Finals, and long before he finally won that ring, he was known as “Mr. Clutch.” There was a time where you could not win a title and still have respect as a big-time, big-game player. That seems more elusive now.
That’s what I mean. I don’t know where that came from. When I came into the league, it was different than it is now. I mean, I get it. I’m OK with it. I just don’t subscribe to it. I want to win. I’ve had some opportunities, and we had some bad luck. I don’t even look at it so much as bad luck. Things just happen. You could say it’s bad luck, but you could also say that if I made every shot, we would have won. Nothing is black-and-white, except for winning and losing, and maybe that’s why people gravitate to that so much. I find it much more interesting to look at the details.
Were you rooting for the Spurs, despite all the history there? I mean, they’re older, and you’re one of the league’s elder statesmen, and you’re close with Boris Diaw.
I was rooting for them a little bit. I did find myself wanting Boris to win, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for Pop. He’s an amazing coach, and I was even rooting for him a little, which is strange, considering he beat us so many times. It doesn’t mean I wouldn’t try to tear his head off in an alley if the championship was put on the line.
Do you see some of the D’Antoni Phoenix teams in San Antonio? Pop has acknowledged the influence those teams had on him. Have you ever talked with him about that?
No, I haven’t. But that’s one of the interesting things — here’s a guy people look at as a disciplinarian, almost like a military guy, given his background. But he adapts continuously to his personnel, and to the game. The game is changing. How many post players are there in the league? There’s not that many, and it’s not that effective anymore.