Why did the Nets take us to six games in the 03 NBA Finals?

[TE]

IYO. Discuss

[Jdspur20]

2003 Spurs turned the ball over a lot that year, which NJN was a fast break team. Took advantage of several turnovers. Both of there wins were very close by 4-5 points or less I believe.

[Clipper Nation]

http://i.imgur.com/hUazrsM.png

[spurraider21]

the 2003 spurs weren't that great. struggled to get by the mavs even with dirk going down. even the shitty suns took us to 6 (stoudemire banked a 3 to send game 1 to overtime, marbury won it with a buzzer beating prayer... but still, that should have been an easy sweep)

2nd year tony parker and stephen jackson were our 2nd and 3rd leading scorers.

the only really impressive part of that run was duncan's individual brilliance, and the ballsy shots hit by SJax (and kerr against dallas, claxton against NJ)

the nets were actually a pretty good team, but we held them to 37% FG for the series. as said above, a lot of spurs turnovers, a lot of reliance on duncan to do everything

[Seventyniner]

^Yup, the 2003 Spurs weren't all that good compared to the competition. Duncan was amazing but the rest of the roster was name players either before or after their prime.

[look_at_g_shred]

Kittles tbh

[spursistan]

Spurs were a one-man-wrecking crew that year: peak TD was surrounded by washed-up vets + on-the-come-up prospects.It was all on him..

[scanry]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.

[KaiRMD1]

I actually hoped that Spurs would win that year because it was Admiral's last year.

[f#%k you]

Every series the Spurs played in that year went 6. The Spurs of 2003 simply werent capable of overwhelming teams with stellar offense and ball movement like a lot of later iterations of the ball club has done. They grinded out almost every possession, relying on Tim Duncan on both ends of the floor to be the centerpiece.

[jag]

http://i.imgur.com/hUazrsM.png

How shitty must one's life be to make 37,000 posts as a Spurs fan pretending to be a Clippers fan...on a Spurs forum...while also managing another account as a Spurs fan with over 15,000 posts?

The amount of faggotry involved is mind boggling.

[Obi Juan Kenobi]

The 2003 Spurs did have the best championship DVD though...loved those 4th quarter closeouts of every series...

[south side spur]

As spur raider mentioned, give credit to the Nets. That was their consecutive Finals appearance after being throttled by the Lakers the previous year. It was basically the same guys so they had continuity and motivation not to go out like punks again. Not to make excuses but Parker was only 21 and Robinsons back was shot. The Admiral had in the Finals probably the gutsiest performance of his career.

[Thompson]

How shitty must one's life be to make 37,000 posts as a Spurs fan pretending to be a Clippers fan...on a Spurs forum...while also managing another account as a Spurs fan with over 15,000 posts?

The amount of faggotry involved is mind boggling.

Really? Who else does he post as?

[dbreiden83080]

They were a really good squad.. 2 years in a row in the finals..

[dbreiden83080]

And 2003 Spurs were Duncan at his very best carrying a young team and old D-Rob, to the finish line..

[bobmc]

The Kidd vs. Parker matchup. That wasn't the same Parker who became awesome in later years, those first couple years Tony hadn't yet cracked the code and was a bit of a mistake machine. Meanwhile Kidd was at his apex and most awesome in 03. Nearly everywhere else we had the advantage over the Nets except for the point matchup.

[tmtcsc]

The 2003 Spurs did have the best championship DVD though...loved those 4th quarter closeouts of every series...

http://media.giphy.com/media/nFjDu1LjEADh6/giphy.gif

[exstatic]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.

You didn't enjoy Cuban's salty tears when they lost game 6 at home, after being up like 17 going into the 4th?

[cantthinkofanything]

IYO. Discuss

I forgot they even played the Nets in a Finals.

[Sean Cagney]

^Yup, the 2003 Spurs weren't all that good compared to the competition. Duncan was amazing but the rest of the roster was name players either before or after their prime.

Which is amazing in itself, Tim was on a whole different level that year.
You didn't enjoy Cuban's salty tears when they lost game 6 at home, after being up like 17 going into the 4th?
That game was great man, still remember it and where I was and what I was doing during that comeback. That is very memorable.

[Sean Cagney]

The 2003 Spurs did have the best championship DVD though...loved those 4th quarter closeouts of every series...No DVD was close after that one TBH. That is a classic DVD there, the rest sucked compared to it.

[spurraider21]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.
kerr against mavs tbh

also sjax nailing all those consecutive 3's against the nets

[therealtruth]

Kittles tbh

Didn't Byron Scott put Kittles on TP and that changed the series? It seems like there's always been a direct correlation between TP struggling and the team struggling in the playoffs. I remember Speedy Claxton saving the day.

[baseline bum]

the 2003 spurs weren't that great. struggled to get by the mavs even with dirk going down. even the shitty suns took us to 6 (stoudemire banked a 3 to send game 1 to overtime, marbury won it with a buzzer beating prayer... but still, that should have been an easy sweep)

2nd year tony parker and stephen jackson were our 2nd and 3rd leading scorers.

the only really impressive part of that run was duncan's individual brilliance, and the ballsy shots hit by SJax (and kerr against dallas, claxton against NJ)

the nets were actually a pretty good team, but we held them to 37% FG for the series. as said above, a lot of spurs turnovers, a lot of reliance on duncan to do everything

The Suns owned the Spurs that year, Marbury just bullied the shit out of 20 year old Parker. That series was scary as fuck going into Game 2 with David Robinson injured and Kevin Willis suspended for the elbow he laid into Scott Williams in Game 1. Danny Ferry probably played the greatest game of his Spurs career that night to keep them from falling into an 0-2 hole, that game was very much in doubt until the fourth quarter if I remember correctly.

[ElNono]

I thought we had a really difficult path to the Finals, and TD wore out a bit at the end. We were running 4-down like every other play too.

- Phoenix wasn't much, but we started that series down 0-1 (det Marbury shot after TD missed the freebie)
- 3-peat defending champs Lakers. That was a battle, and once we got past them, I thought we had a legitimate shot.
- Nelson's Mavs, which were another hot team with a lot of talent and very good shooters. Thankfully Kerr saved our asses then.

Then the Nets were pretty good. Kenyon Martin wasn't the corpse he is today, he was a good defender with good length, RJ was still prime Jefferson, very athletic, and Kidd was at the top of his game. I mean, that Nets team went back to back to the Finals, so it was definitely a very good team.

[spurraider21]

The Suns owned the Spurs that year, Marbury just bullied the shit out of 20 year old Parker. That series was scary as fuck going into Game 2 with David Robinson injured and Kevin Willis suspended for the elbow he laid into Scott Williams in Game 1. Danny Ferry probably played the greatest game of his Spurs career that night to keep them from falling into an 0-2 hole, that game was very much in doubt until the fourth quarter if I remember correctly.
dont remember specifically, but box score shows ferry going 2-10 from the field in game 2

[Obi Juan Kenobi]

No DVD was close after that one TBH. That is a classic DVD there, the rest sucked compared to it.

Especially the shitstorm one we got last year...

[ElNono]

Don't forget also that David Robinson had back problems pretty much throughout...

[baseline bum]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.

Are you nuts? Game 6 vs Dallas wasn't memorable? Game 6 vs NJ with 21/20/10/8 for Duncan and 13/17 in DRob's last game? Game 3 vs NJ when Manu hit that baseline runner to put the game out of reach? Game 1 vs NJ when Duncan played probably the greatest game of his entire career? Game 2 vs LA when Bruce outscored Kobe Bryant and Speedy Claxton was flexing to the crowd as the Spurs ran right over the Lakers?

And fuck the injury card, Sacramento wasn't nearly as good in 2003 as they were in 2002. No way that team was beating the Spurs with a healthy Webber. And 03 Dirk wasn't anywhere close to 06-12 Dirk, he was Nash bad on defense and Nelson having him guard Duncan was a disaster for them. When he was forced to go to Najera the Mexican actually guarded Duncan pretty well and forced the rest of the team to beat them.

[z0sa]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.

Er... you really dont think SJax saving the day in the 4th quarter of a title winning game qualifies?

[baseline bum]

I thought we had a really difficult path to the Finals, and TD wore out a bit at the end. We were running 4-down like every other play too.

- Phoenix wasn't much, but we started that series down 0-1 (det Marbury shot after TD missed the freebie)
- 3-peat defending champs Lakers. That was a battle, and once we got past them, I thought we had a legitimate shot.
- Nelson's Mavs, which were another hot team with a lot of talent and very good shooters. Thankfully Kerr saved our asses then.

Then the Nets were pretty good. Kenyon Martin wasn't the corpse he is today, he was a good defender with good length, RJ was still prime Jefferson, very athletic, and Kidd was at the top of his game. I mean, that Nets team went back to back to the Finals, so it was definitely a very good team.

Come on son, Phoenix was a terrible matchup for the Spurs in 03. The Spurs were either 0-4 or 1-3 vs them in the regular season. Marbury lit them up worse than anyone else in the league that year. The Suns were the second toughest matchup the Spurs had in that postseason, with LA obviously #1.

[Darius McCrary]

David Robinson played his best series of that run in the Finals IMO.

You could really tell he was giving it every single usable bit of energy and strength he had left in his body.

[ElNono]

Come on son, Phoenix was a terrible matchup for the Spurs in 03. The Spurs were either 0-4 or 1-3 vs them in the regular season. Marbury lit them up worse than anyone else in the league that year. The Suns were the second toughest matchup the Spurs had in that postseason, with LA obviously #1.

tbh, I don't remember much of them outside TD missing the freebie and that lucky ass one legged 3 pointer... so I'll take your word for it.

[Darius McCrary]

Come on son, Phoenix was a terrible matchup for the Spurs in 03. The Spurs were either 0-4 or 1-3 vs them in the regular season. Marbury lit them up worse than anyone else in the league that year. The Suns were the second toughest matchup the Spurs had in that postseason, with LA obviously #1.

Was a very tough matchup but I think if not for the BS Amare banker in game 1 we could have beaten them in 5 maybe 4.

[baseline bum]

dont remember specifically, but box score shows ferry going 2-10 from the field in game 2

Ferry was a monster on loose balls and got some really big rebounds that game. He was huge that game with no Robinson and no Willis in what was essentially a must win. People will re-write history and say "Ah, it was just Phoenix" but they had the Spurs' number that year and were an extremely difficult matchup.

[baseline bum]

It's hilarious how Nash was such a huge upgrade over Marbury against 28 other teams, but not the Spurs. :lol

[baseline bum]

Was a very tough matchup but I think if not for the BS Amare banker in game 1 we could have beaten them in 5 maybe 4.

That's how I feel about the Finals if Stephen Jackson hadn't missed that wide open three with about 3 seconds left in Game 2.

[SpursFan86]

That '03 run by Duncan is right up there with Hakeem's run in '94 when it comes to one-man shows winning a title. He was absolutely insane that year and the team really wasn't anything special outside of him. As others have said, it was a bunch of guys either before or after their primes.

To give you an idea...of the top 8 players on the Spurs by minutes played, only Duncan and David Robinson had above a 15 (league average) PER in the postseason that year. And Robinson was on his last leg and playing very limited minutes by that point.

Also, the Nets that year were really solid. They had the best defense in the league with prime Kidd running the offense. Not as much of a joke as some people make them out to be.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

I'll never forget Kenyon Martin's game 6 performance. 3/23 shooting :lol

He was the Spurs finals MVP after Duncan

[SpursFan86]

Didn't Duncan also have an absolutely monster game 1 or 2 in the Finals? I know people always like to bring up his near quadruple-double, but I seem to recall him having a batshit crazy game towards the beginning of the series.

It's really amazing what he did that series vs. a great frontline. Mutombo, Martin, and even Jason Collins were all excellent defenders.

[Sean Cagney]

Especially the shitstorm one we got last year...
I watched that one online when someone posted it, never would buy that crap. That was by far the worst one.

[dgspursforlife]

The only awesome thing about the 03 run was watching prime tim go to work carrying a bunch of scrubs and broken down vets through the postseason.

[Mr. Body]

The series against the Lakers was the first time I really remember seeing the Eurostep. Manu was driving right at Shaq in the close out game and did this weird crazy legs thing and laid it up. I wasn't sure what I just saw.

[T Park]

You didn't enjoy Cuban's salty tears when they lost game 6 at home, after being up like 17 going into the 4th?



Game 6 of the finals, and blowing out the Lakers in games 1 and 2 were nice....

[spursparker9]

Seeing Fisher and Kobe cried in the western semi-final :lol

[Kawhitstorm]

The Nets were an excellent defensive team w/ a legit superstar to go along w/ two borderline all-Stars while the Spurs were essentially a one man team surrounded by role players.

The Nets swept a Celtics team w/ two all-stars (Pierce/Walker) along w/ sweeping the same Pistons squad who went on to win it all the following season after acquiring Rasheed. The Spurs won b/c Tim absolutely dominated All-Star K-Mart on BOTH ends of the floor. Jefferson also choked in Gm 3 (entire 2nd half) & Gm 6 (4th quarter, including Manu picking his pocket on a moment changing play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq8y9P5yLNQ)

Besides, the '03 Suns gave the Spurs fits b/c Marbury used to own Tony:

PARKER FEARS MARBURY MORE THAN KIDD (http://nypost.com/2003/06/03/parker-fears-marburymore-than-kidd/)

SAN ANTONIO – Spurs point guard Tony Parker said yesterday he considers Stephon Marbury a tougher matchup for him than Jason Kidd. “He’s a scoring point guard, he attacks every time,” Parker said of Marbury. “You can’t get a rest because he attacks you again. Stephon is my toughest matchup. I have more problems against Marbury than Kidd. Kidd is a tough matchup, too, but I have more problems with Marbury.”

The numbers bear it out. Marbury, who was traded to Phoenix for Kidd in a move that resuscitated the Nets’ dead franchise, has destroyed Parker in his two years in the league. Marbury averaged 32.5 points and 8.8 assists on 54 percent shooting in the regular season against Parker.

http://nypost.com/2003/06/03/parker-fears-marburymore-than-kidd/

[Kawhitstorm]

Was a very tough matchup but I think if not for the BS Amare banker in game 1 we could have beaten them in 5 maybe 4.

That was b/c Pop FINALLY put Bowen on Marbury after he destroyed Tony in the regular season.

[mystargtr34]

2003 was my favourite championship mainly due to knocking off the 3 peat Lakers.. but so much more to it.. Timmy being so damn dominant... D-Rob's last stand ..role players like Malik.. i don't go more than 6 months without sitting through an hour or so of highlights from that run.

[Horry Hipcheck]

Both of there wins were very close by 4-5 points or less I believe.

Nets won their two games that series by a combined three points. Two-point win in Game 2, one-point win in Game 4. The Spurs won their four games by a combined 38 points.


Didn't Duncan also have an absolutely monster game 1 or 2 in the Finals?

It was Game 1. 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 7 blocks.

[TXstbobcat]

I will always remember the admiral leaving the court for the last time going out as an NBA champion.

[will_spurs]

GOAT.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfjRz8yBuQ

[TXstbobcat]

Timmy was a fucking monster that series!!!!!!!!

[Obstructed_View]

The 2003 Spurs were probably the best of all the title teams when they were rolling, but they were very inconsistent. The big comebacks were facilitated by allowing the other team to get big leads. Emotionally, they peaked after beating the Lakers in the second round, which they did in dominant fashion, and then promptly gave away game one to Dallas in the next round. After beating the Lakers, winning the title was a formality. They were certainly the most emotional team of the Spurs' title teams.

[Obstructed_View]

It was Game 1. 32 points, 20 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, 7 blocks.

He had 21, 20, 10 and 8 in game 6.

[baseline bum]

GOAT.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfjRz8yBuQ

What a ridiculous performance, thanks for posting.

[will_spurs]

What a ridiculous performance, thanks for posting.

This game has a special place in my heart as a Spurs fan. Back then was pretty much the pre-broadband, pre-Amazon, pre-YouTube era. It was tough, if not downright impossible, to watch games live on TV as they simply wouldn't be broadcast in Europe. Streams were unheard of. Back in the 90s we had to rely on magazines and extremely short TV programs to see a bit of NBA action, even though MJ was helping a lot in making the NBA international. Sometimes we could find a DVD and would watch it many times over, even though it was games dating 5 or 10 years back... I remember we all had our favorite teams and players back then, and of course a lot of people were riding the MJ/Bulls bandwagon. I knew of D-Rob and Duncan and Pop but didn't have a special preference for them except for the fact that were a small market, underdog franchise and I always like to root for that kind of teams instead of big, surefire franchises like the Lakers.

Everything changed when Parker was drafted as it suddenly put a big spotlight on the NBA in France, especially as he was the most promising of the French players after the Weis and Rigaudeau fisacos. I was trying to catch news of what was going on on the web, and as I was reading more and more about the Spurs and D-Rob/Duncan I started liking this franchise more and more.

Back in June 2003 I visited north America for the first time. I remember watching a couple of playoffs games in New York, and then moved to Toronto to visit some friends. The day after I arrived was Game 6 of the Finals. I was really excited and started negotiating with them to watch the game (they weren't even remotely interested in basketball). I remember my little speech: "Come on, they have a chance to win it all tonight, for the first time in history a French guy could win the NBA, we've GOT to watch this!"

The game was bad. Really bad. My friends were laughing at me "so this is the great team you're rooting for", as the Spurs were piling up turnovers after turnovers (in the video above you can see at one point: "Spurs - 7 field goals, 7 turnovers"). And then the miracle happened, big comeback in the 4th, dagger 3s by SJax, monster performance by Duncan, D-Rob going away in style, Parker and Manu winning their first ring, the Big 3 taking shape. I was jumping up and down and couldn't contain my excitement. It was just magickal and I've been 100% a Spurs fan since then.

[davi78239]

I'll never forget Maliks dunk over Mutumbo either. And that was a young team with Jax, speedy, Parker, Ginobili... Spurs weren't supposed to be that goodt that yr yet. Didn't we have the best rodeo road trip that yr too?? It was the most difficult if I recall. After losing the first in minny, I think pop chewed their asses and they went on to win the rest, including a thriller against Orlando (still had tmac) and that down to the wire game at Sac. 03 has always been one of my favorite yrs cause it was the start of things to come and that championship was completely unexpected .

[dbreiden83080]

GOAT.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWfjRz8yBuQ

That is the title that made TD a legend. 1 is great but to lead the team to a second puts you in another class of legends..

[davi78239]

And the fact that we were gonna have big cap space that summer to sign a Jason Kidd.Jerrmaine oneal....

[Horse]

I imagine they lost a little motivation after ending the lakers run.

[dbreiden83080]

And the fact that we were gonna have big cap space that summer to sign a Jason Kidd.Jerrmaine oneal....

I had heard one of the reasons Kidd, did not come was his wife didn't want to live in SA.. Of course they were divorced like 1 year later.. :lol

[ohmwrecker]

I had heard one of the reasons Kidd, did not come was his wife didn't want to live in SA.. Of course they were divorced like 1 year later.. :lol

French fries.

[daslicer]

And the fact that we were gonna have big cap space that summer to sign a Jason Kidd.Jerrmaine oneal....

I didn't want Kidd but I really wanted Jermaine. It was disappointing at the time that the spurs weren't able to get him. The reason Jermaine didn't sign with the spurs supposedly is that Larry Bird told him straight up that if he signs with the Pacers he would keep Isiah as a coach. The moment Jermaine signed with the pacers Larry fired Isiah. I have heard Jermaine say in a ton of interviews that if he could have done it over again he would have signed with the spurs.

[dbreiden83080]

I didn't want Kidd but I really wanted Jermaine. It was disappointing at the time that the spurs weren't able to get him. The reason Jermaine didn't sign with the spurs supposedly is that Larry Bird told him straight up that if he signs with the Pacers he would keep Isiah as a coach. The moment Jermaine signed with the pacers Larry fired Isiah. I have heard Jermaine say in a ton of interviews that if he could have done it over again he would have signed with the spurs.

It worked out for the best. He would have commanded a huge contract which would have limited our flexibility, and he began getting hurt in 2004..

[TE]

I share some of the same opinions given in this thread. The Nets were alright defensively. They could hold their own imo... The 2003 team was very green...I like to think of the title run as similar to the Warriors this year (obviously the Warriors didn't play the Champs). Many injuries along the way helped make the final run possible.

Man I remember watching Game 1 of the Phoenix series at some restaurant on the river walk. Who knows...maybe some of you mofos were there getting drunk :lol.

[boutons_deux]

all season, the Spurs had high TOs and missed FTs.

It was a defense-first team, Pop thought we had no scorers, so scores were low, games close.

I'll never forget unknown rookie Manu in the close-out play of Game7 stealing from a inattentive Richard Jefferson not far from mid-court and laying it in. Trophy time!

[InRareForm]

that 42-15 run though against dallas tho...

[baseline bum]

I had heard one of the reasons Kidd, did not come was his wife didn't want to live in SA.. Of course they were divorced like 1 year later.. :lol

:lol She made Kidd turn down San Antonio because of her part time reporting job for Extra, that piece of shit celebrity gossip show. :lol

[dbreiden83080]

:lol She made Kidd turn down San Antonio because of her part time reporting job for Extra, that piece of shit celebrity gossip show. :lol

Yeah I had heard they were introducing her to media in SA, when they were recruiting him. It's just hilarious the whole marriage was over soon after. Also this is the same wife he beat up at one point..

[baseline bum]

Yeah I had heard they were introducing her to media in SA, when they were recruiting him. It's just hilarious the whole marriage was over soon after. Also this is the same wife he beat up at one point..

I hope it was at two points after she cost him playing on a dynasty.

[Brazil]

Did clitoris nation was talking shit about parker by showing he had the second best WS of the Spurs ? :lol

[ironman2886]

Such a random thread. :lol

[UNT Eagles 2016]

The Suns owned the Spurs that year, Marbury just bullied the shit out of 20 year old Parker. That series was scary as fuck going into Game 2 with David Robinson injured and Kevin Willis suspended for the elbow he laid into Scott Williams in Game 1. Danny Ferry probably played the greatest game of his Spurs career that night to keep them from falling into an 0-2 hole, that game was very much in doubt until the fourth quarter if I remember correctly.
Great post and point. Game 2 was very much in doubt until like the final minute, actually. The DVD made it seem like the Spurs had any easy time after game 1 (like the Nuggets series in the later championship years), but that wasn't at all true. The game was close the whole game, and then the Suns actually began to pull away early in the 4th quarter. Spurs were down 8 points with about half of the 4th quarter left. I remember where I was at the time -- nervously pacing around the kitchen alone, 9 years old, moping about how sad it was that David's career was about to end in such humiliating fashion.

After a timeout, the Spurs and Suns exchanged empty trips. Then, Danny Ferry (who was inserted because of no Willis and hobbled David, as you said) made a corner three off a fluke broken play, with TD drawing a loose ball foul under the rim. TD converted the free throw for the 4-point play, cutting the lead to 4. We got a few more stops in a row, then TD made another basket and set of free throws to tie the game. Amare and Tim traded baskets for the next couple minutes of game time, and TP (IIRC) split a pair of free throws. We were clinging to a 1 point lead with about a minute and a half to play, with the Suns on the brink of a commanding lead which would have surely given them the greatest series upset ever (at the time). On the ensuing Spurs possession, I think it was TP who drove to the rim and dished it out to the right elbow to the rookie, Manu Ginobili (I still didn't really trust him much at the time) who stepped up with the shot clock about to expire and nailed the extremely clutch 3-pointer which extended the lead to four points -- this, to me, may have been the single most important shot in that championship run (along with Horry's miss) because it finally allowed to Spurs to believe they could beat the dreaded Suns. The Suns still had chances at the end of that game but came up short -- and the Spurs were able to split the series at home.

Even after Game 2, the Suns were far from done. After a well-played wire to wire victory in game 3, it seemed like the Spurs were about to cruise to a five-game series win after largely dominating in game 4. In fact, the Spurs led by 17 points early in the 4th quarter of that game, and the Suns' Cinderella goose seemed cooked. We even led by 14 about midway through the 4th. I was in the kitchen, this time watching with my grandmother. A couple timeouts happened, and for some reason the Spurs started missing shot after shot. TD was being doubled every possession and the shooters could not break the lid on the basket. The Suns capitalized seemingly every time down in the last few minutes of the game, alternating free throws (some questionable calls), Starbury/Amare tough shots at the rim, and jump shots from guys like Hardaway and young Joe Johnson. Somehow, the Suns tied the game with about half a minute to play, the Spurs turned it over near the rim but got back on defense, the Suns came back, Hardaway had the ball and penetrated to the rim with just a few seconds left, dished it out to the big stiff Jake Voskuhl (who?) for a mid-range jumper, and he made it (WTF?) -- to put the Suns up by 2 with almost no time left, and TD missed a desperation chance at the other end. I could not believe it! The Suns had tied the series 2-2, and I was once again genuinely worried that the Spurs' season and David's career would end it bitter disappointment as per par.

Fortunately, we played well in game 5 at home (though the Suns cut that lead from 25 to 7 in the 4th, they couldn't complete the rally) and won a hard-fought game 6. Still that was an extremely hard fought series and championship run. Many things had to fall in place for that undertalented lone-wolf led team (TD) to win it all. All season long that team was notorious for blowing enormous leads and this was magnified in the playoffs. Fortunately, we were able to send off the Admiral to the grey havens instead of drowning him.

[soxxx]

Because its called basketball and teams can have really good nights and teams can have very bad nights. But in the NBA its best of 7, so there is a good chance the better team wins, which is what occurred.

[baseline bum]

Great post and point. Game 2 was very much in doubt until like the final minute, actually. The DVD made it seem like the Spurs had any easy time after game 1 (like the Nuggets series in the later championship years), but that wasn't at all true. The game was close the whole game, and then the Suns actually began to pull away early in the 4th quarter. Spurs were down 8 points with about half of the 4th quarter left. I remember where I was at the time -- nervously pacing around the kitchen alone, 9 years old, moping about how sad it was that David's career was about to end in such humiliating fashion.

After a timeout, the Spurs and Suns exchanged empty trips. Then, Danny Ferry (who was inserted because of no Willis and hobbled David, as you said) made a corner three off a fluke broken play, with TD drawing a loose ball foul under the rim. TD converted the free throw for the 4-point play, cutting the lead to 4. We got a few more stops in a row, then TD made another basket and set of free throws to tie the game. Amare and Tim traded baskets for the next couple minutes of game time, and TP (IIRC) split a pair of free throws. We were clinging to a 1 point lead with about a minute and a half to play, with the Suns on the brink of a commanding lead which would have surely given them the greatest series upset ever (at the time). On the ensuing Spurs possession, I think it was TP who drove to the rim and dished it out to the right elbow to the rookie, Manu Ginobili (I still didn't really trust him much at the time) who stepped up with the shot clock about to expire and nailed the extremely clutch 3-pointer which extended the lead to four points -- this, to me, may have been the single most important shot in that championship run (along with Horry's miss) because it finally allowed to Spurs to believe they could beat the dreaded Suns. The Suns still had chances at the end of that game but came up short -- and the Spurs were able to split the series at home.

Even after Game 2, the Suns were far from done. After a well-played wire to wire victory in game 3, it seemed like the Spurs were about to cruise to a five-game series win after largely dominating in game 4. In fact, the Spurs led by 17 points early in the 4th quarter of that game, and the Suns' Cinderella goose seemed cooked. We even led by 14 about midway through the 4th. I was in the kitchen, this time watching with my grandmother. A couple timeouts happened, and for some reason the Spurs started missing shot after shot. TD was being doubled every possession and the shooters could not break the lid on the basket. The Suns capitalized seemingly every time down in the last few minutes of the game, alternating free throws (some questionable calls), Starbury/Amare tough shots at the rim, and jump shots from guys like Hardaway and young Joe Johnson. Somehow, the Suns tied the game with about half a minute to play, the Spurs turned it over near the rim but got back on defense, the Suns came back, Hardaway had the ball and penetrated to the rim with just a few seconds left, dished it out to the big stiff Jake Voskuhl (who?) for a mid-range jumper, and he made it (WTF?) -- to put the Suns up by 2 with almost no time left, and TD missed a desperation chance at the other end. I could not believe it! The Suns had tied the series 2-2, and I was once again genuinely worried that the Spurs' season and David's career would end it bitter disappointment as per par.

Fortunately, we played well in game 5 at home (though the Suns cut that lead from 25 to 7 in the 4th, they couldn't complete the rally) and won a hard-fought game 6. Still that was an extremely hard fought series and championship run. Many things had to fall in place for that undertalented lone-wolf led team (TD) to win it all. All season long that team was notorious for blowing enormous leads and this was magnified in the playoffs. Fortunately, we were able to send off the Admiral to the grey havens instead of drowning him.

Damn I forgot the Spurs were in that much danger of going down 0-2, down 7 in the fourth. God I still remember how pissed I was when Stoudemire banked in that three in Game 1. I was thinking finally, the Spurs got a W against the Suns, and then, fuck. As soon as Duncan missed that FT in OT I just knew Marbury was going to drill a three to steal it.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Damn I forgot the Spurs were in that much danger of going down 0-2, down 7 in the fourth. God I still remember how pissed I was when Stoudemire banked in that three in Game 1. I was thinking finally, the Spurs got a W against the Suns, and then, fuck. As soon as Duncan missed that FT in OT I just knew Marbury was going to drill a three to steal it.
Yep, that was an afternoon game, and after that happened that was the first time I tore down the toggle fly to the light fixture in my grandma's bedroom closet. (The second time was after Fisher's shot the next year.) After Marbury's shot, I threw a huge tantrum & wrote a sign on paper and taped it on the front door of the house that said "April 19, 2003 Is The Worst Day Of My Life". I had my computer games privileges banned for 3 days and was technically banned from watching game 2 because of the temper tantrum. But my mom was out of the house shopping that night so I watched it anyway, lol.

The odd thing about that all was that, in the only game the Spurs actually did beat the Suns that year in the regular season (out of 4 meetings) it was an overtime game in which Marbury banked in a similar 3 pointer but in the halfcourt to get it to OT. Spurs dominated the OT, but it was still a rough game. I watched that one on the VCR with my grandma because we had slept through it when it was on live -- we did that a lot that season.

[EVAY]

http://i.imgur.com/hUazrsM.png


So, in his second year in the league, in his first finals, and at the age of 20, his WS was second only to Duncan's? Good of you to point that out given how much you hate him, tbh.

[SASdynasty!]

What's crazy is that the series could have easily gone 7. We went into the 4th down 10 IIRC and then went on the 17-0 run. That was the only Finals closeout game I've been to. Just remember them playing "We Are the Champions" over and over. The Duncan near quadruple-double was unreal. They had shorted him a block on the scoreboard and as he got closer, we kept wondering if it was going to be shown (I think they added it back in the final statline to give him 8).

[SASdynasty!]

So, in his second year in the league, in his first finals, and at the age of 20, his WS was second only to Duncan's? Good of you to point that out given how much you hate him, tbh.
While leading the team in assists and being the second option on a championship team. He sucked!

[TD 21]

Didn't Duncan also have an absolutely monster game 1 or 2 in the Finals? I know people always like to bring up his near quadruple-double, but I seem to recall him having a batshit crazy game towards the beginning of the series.

It's really amazing what he did that series vs. a great frontline. Mutombo, Martin, and even Jason Collins were all excellent defenders.

Game one. Thirty-two points, on sixty-five percent shooting, twenty rebounds, seven assists, six blocks, three steals, one turnover, in forty-four minutes.

That was the all time carry a team to a championship performance and still the greatest all around basketball I've ever seen someone play, slightly eclipsing '12 and '13 James. Low ratings and revisionist history (too many looked at the fact that Robinson, Ginobili and Parker, were on that team and not nearly enough looked at where they were in their respective careers), have led to it being underrated.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

While leading the team in assists and being the second option on a championship team. He sucked!
Those were regular season statistics. He was mediocre in the playoffs, and didn't see the court in the fourth quarter of the closing games against the Mavs or Nets. Turnovers galore, particularly against the Suns and Nets. Had a couple good games in the Dallas series, IIRC.


Game one. Thirty-two points, on sixty-five percent shooting, twenty rebounds, seven assists, six blocks, three steals, one turnover, in forty-four minutes.

That was the all time carry a team to a championship performance and still the greatest all around basketball I've ever seen someone play, slightly eclipsing '12 and '13 James. Low ratings and revisionist history (too many looked at the fact that Robinson, Ginobili and Parker, were on that team and not nearly enough looked at where they were in their respective careers), have led to it being underrated.
True. However, to me his most "batshit crazy" game was game 6 against the Lakers where he completely owned Shaq and everyone else in a Lakers jersey. That was one of the happiest moments of my childhood, finally beating the evil, dreaded, disgusting, loathsome Lakers who had cheated their way to the title in 2002 and kicked our asses for so long.

[SASdynasty!]

Those were regular season statistics. He was mediocre in the playoffs, and didn't see the court in the fourth quarter of the closing games against the Mavs or Nets. Turnovers galore, particularly against the Suns and Nets. Had a couple good games in the Dallas series, IIRC.
He was the second option in the playoffs also (14.7 PPG), not just the regular season.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

He was the second option in the playoffs also (14.7 PPG), not just the regular season.
Second options, even on championship teams, can be great – or they can be inconsistent. Did the Warriors even have a consistent 2nd option in the playoffs this last year?

[spurraider21]

Damn I forgot the Spurs were in that much danger of going down 0-2, down 7 in the fourth. God I still remember how pissed I was when Stoudemire banked in that three in Game 1. I was thinking finally, the Spurs got a W against the Suns, and then, fuck. As soon as Duncan missed that FT in OT I just knew Marbury was going to drill a three to steal it.
duncan missed both iirc. i actually think he got an offensive board off a missed free throw, got hacked, and missed both

[21209]

That Nets team was decent, but, damn, the East was just as weak then as it is now.

[Darius McCrary]

That Nets team was decent, but, damn, the East was just as weak then as it is now.

Weaker now, yo.

[SASdynasty!]

Second options, even on championship teams, can be great – or they can be inconsistent. Did the Warriors even have a consistent 2nd option in the playoffs this last year?
For sure, that's a good analogy.

[Beaverfuzz]

IYO. Discuss

Because the Finals setup was still a 2-3-2.

[baseline bum]

Those were regular season statistics. He was mediocre in the playoffs, and didn't see the court in the fourth quarter of the closing games against the Mavs or Nets. Turnovers galore, particularly against the Suns and Nets. Had a couple good games in the Dallas series, IIRC.


True. However, to me his most "batshit crazy" game was game 6 against the Lakers where he completely owned Shaq and everyone else in a Lakers jersey. That was one of the happiest moments of my childhood, finally beating the evil, dreaded, disgusting, loathsome Lakers who had cheated their way to the title in 2002 and kicked our asses for so long.

You mean the game Parker had 27?

[baseline bum]

Weaker now, yo.

Cleveland is pretty stacked this year.

[Darius McCrary]

Cleveland is pretty stacked this year.

As a whole the conference last year was weakest it's ever been IMO, and this next year looks no different. Could be wrong about that tho

[baseline bum]

As a whole the conference last year was weakest it's ever been IMO, and this next year looks no different. Could be wrong about that tho

I can't call the conference weak though when Cleveland would have won the title if 2 of its top 3 guys didn't go down. Even one of Irving or Love in the Finals and the Cavs are raising a banner opening night. In the Nets era there wasn't a team in the East that would have gotten out of the second round in the West.

[Harry Callahan]

2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.

What about Kerr's game six against the Mavies (4 huge 3s with Parker on the bench due to food poisoning from a Dallas restaurant)? That was as memorable as it can get.....

[Seventyniner]

I can't call the conference weak though when Cleveland would have won the title if 2 of its top 3 guys didn't go down. Even one of Irving or Love in the Finals and the Cavs are raising a banner opening night. In the Nets era there wasn't a team in the East that would have gotten out of the second round in the West.

I guess everyone's definition of "weak" will be different, but if you go by how good the 2nd best team is, the East last year ended up being quite weak. Atlanta ended up being fools gold.

[baseline bum]

I guess everyone's definition of "weak" will be different, but if you go by how good the 2nd best team is, the East last year ended up being quite weak. Atlanta ended up being fools gold.

If you go by the second best team then Western Conference of the entire 1980s was the worst conference in league history.

[FromWayDowntown]

You can blast Parker for 2003 if you want, but he came up absolutely huge for the Spurs on a few occasions during that run. In particular, he was the sidekick Duncan needed in Games 3 and 4 of the Dallas series, which turned an 0-1 series deficit into a 3-1 lead. He was bad in game 6 of the WCF, but that was the creme brûlée game where there was some doubt about whether he'd even play. Speedy Claxton got a lot of TP's early minutes and came up pretty small; ironically (given the retrospective worship of Speedy around here) Steve Kerr got minutes in Game 6 largely because Parker couldn't go and Claxton was pretty ineffective.

Regardless, I think the word to describe Parker in 2003 was inconsistent; he was unquestionably vital and brilliant at times during that run.

[Sean Cagney]

You can blast Parker for 2003 if you want, but he came up absolutely huge for the Spurs on a few occasions during that run. In particular, he was the sidekick Duncan needed in Games 3 and 4 of the Dallas series, which turned an 0-1 series deficit into a 3-1 lead. He was bad in game 6 of the WCF, but that was the creme brûlée game where there was some doubt about whether he'd even play. Speedy Claxton got a lot of TP's early minutes and came up pretty small; ironically (given the retrospective worship of Speedy around here) Steve Kerr got minutes in Game 6 largely because Parker couldn't go and Claxton was pretty ineffective.

Regardless, I think the word to describe Parker in 2003 was inconsistent; he was unquestionably vital and brilliant at times during that run.

TP was huge in game 6 against LA as well on the road, won't forget that.

I agree he was big in that Dallas series as well, those games he hit some big threes in the 3rd Q I remember and it gave them the lead for good (Those were big shots). He was great in that series overall sides game 6.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

I remember sweating out a couple of playoff series that year, but not the Finals. In spite of the fact that the series went 6 I never felt like the Spurs were in any jeopardy of losing that series.

[Sean Cagney]

Great post and point. Game 2 was very much in doubt until like the final minute, actually. The DVD made it seem like the Spurs had any easy time after game 1 (like the Nuggets series in the later championship years), but that wasn't at all true. The game was close the whole game, and then the Suns actually began to pull away early in the 4th quarter. Spurs were down 8 points with about half of the 4th quarter left. I remember where I was at the time -- nervously pacing around the kitchen alone, 9 years old, moping about how sad it was that David's career was about to end in such humiliating fashion.

After a timeout, the Spurs and Suns exchanged empty trips. Then, Danny Ferry (who was inserted because of no Willis and hobbled David, as you said) made a corner three off a fluke broken play, with TD drawing a loose ball foul under the rim. TD converted the free throw for the 4-point play, cutting the lead to 4. We got a few more stops in a row, then TD made another basket and set of free throws to tie the game. Amare and Tim traded baskets for the next couple minutes of game time, and TP (IIRC) split a pair of free throws. We were clinging to a 1 point lead with about a minute and a half to play, with the Suns on the brink of a commanding lead which would have surely given them the greatest series upset ever (at the time). On the ensuing Spurs possession, I think it was TP who drove to the rim and dished it out to the right elbow to the rookie, Manu Ginobili (I still didn't really trust him much at the time) who stepped up with the shot clock about to expire and nailed the extremely clutch 3-pointer which extended the lead to four points -- this, to me, may have been the single most important shot in that championship run (along with Horry's miss) because it finally allowed to Spurs to believe they could beat the dreaded Suns. The Suns still had chances at the end of that game but came up short -- and the Spurs were able to split the series at home.

Even after Game 2, the Suns were far from done. After a well-played wire to wire victory in game 3, it seemed like the Spurs were about to cruise to a five-game series win after largely dominating in game 4. In fact, the Spurs led by 17 points early in the 4th quarter of that game, and the Suns' Cinderella goose seemed cooked. We even led by 14 about midway through the 4th. I was in the kitchen, this time watching with my grandmother. A couple timeouts happened, and for some reason the Spurs started missing shot after shot. TD was being doubled every possession and the shooters could not break the lid on the basket. The Suns capitalized seemingly every time down in the last few minutes of the game, alternating free throws (some questionable calls), Starbury/Amare tough shots at the rim, and jump shots from guys like Hardaway and young Joe Johnson. Somehow, the Suns tied the game with about half a minute to play, the Spurs turned it over near the rim but got back on defense, the Suns came back, Hardaway had the ball and penetrated to the rim with just a few seconds left, dished it out to the big stiff Jake Voskuhl (who?) for a mid-range jumper, and he made it (WTF?) -- to put the Suns up by 2 with almost no time left, and TD missed a desperation chance at the other end. I could not believe it! The Suns had tied the series 2-2, and I was once again genuinely worried that the Spurs' season and David's career would end it bitter disappointment as per par.

Fortunately, we played well in game 5 at home (though the Suns cut that lead from 25 to 7 in the 4th, they couldn't complete the rally) and won a hard-fought game 6. Still that was an extremely hard fought series and championship run. Many things had to fall in place for that undertalented lone-wolf led team (TD) to win it all. All season long that team was notorious for blowing enormous leads and this was magnified in the playoffs. Fortunately, we were able to send off the Admiral to the grey havens instead of drowning him.

Great memories of the series and I remember all of what you are talking about like it was yesterday man! Those games were nail biters (A few). Game 2 had me scared to death, thought the series was over in the 4th and the Suns would win the series. That Manu three was HUGE! Even as a rookie he had that clutch gene.

Don't you love the old 2003 offense stalling droughts they would go on and blow a game they had? I remember game one against Dallas 14 pt game one lead at home, blew it. Game 5 with no business at all at home up big in the third and without Dirk, BLEW IT and lost. Game 5 against LA a huge lead and Horry's miss is the only thing that saved our season there, another huge blown lead from a drought in which the Spurs would just go on at any time. When on they were dominant and blowing you out, then the drought would come out of nowhere.
2003 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Spurs. Spurs got hot at the end and others suffered injuries (Kings, Mavs). Every series the Spurs played was ugly. The only memorable game during that run was the closeout game against the Lakers.
Disagree on the only memorable game being that as there were a few in those playoffs and one being the Mavs most mentioned. The Kings the Spurs matched up well with all year long and healthy or not I think SA beats them (After they beat LA nothing was going to stop them IMO). Mavs even with Dirk stole game one after a huge Spurs blown lead as they were prone to that year and the Spurs won the next 2 with him in there (One in Dallas) and had a good lead in the 3rd when he went down in game 4 at Dallas, so with him or not they were not better than the Spurs who only lost games in that series because they would be stupid and let teams back in games that year for some reason? I think they were the best team that year, regardless.

[100%duncan]

It's at the very backend of my mind really since I was just a little kid, but I remember TD having to do everything except shooting the 3. And JKidd prime was a beast.

[Sean Cagney]

I remember sweating out a couple of playoff series that year, but not the Finals. In spite of the fact that the series went 6 I never felt like the Spurs were in any jeopardy of losing that series.

Game 6 got scary man, they were down 10 at the beginning of the 4th. That series was not easy. There was some close games as well in that series, particularly games 2, 3 and game 5 where the Spurs pulled away at the very end. The Nets hung in every game except game one.

[PublicOption]

STERN

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Game 6 got scary man, they were down 10 at the beginning of the 4th. That series was not easy. There was some close games as well in that series, particularly games 2, 3 and game 5 where the Spurs pulled away at the very end. The Nets hung in every game except game one.

Maybe it was just the opponent. When the Spurs made the Finals I was certain they had the championship won. When I went back and re-watched the series years later I realized it was much more competitive than I had remembered.

Definitely not the Spurs strongest roster. TD in his prime, and just enough help to get them over the top.

[lefty]

http://i.imgur.com/hUazrsM.png

[Sean Cagney]

Maybe it was just the opponent. When the Spurs made the Finals I was certain they had the championship won. When I went back and re-watched the series years later I realized it was much more competitive than I had remembered.

Definitely not the Spurs strongest roster. TD in his prime, and just enough help to get them over the top.

Honestly Charles said after the Wcf that this would be our toughest opponent they faced and I laughed but in reality it was close. That Nets team was pretty good man in all reality. They swept Detroit in 03 ECF and they were on a mission too.

[therealtruth]

Regardless, I think the word to describe Parker in 2003 was inconsistent; he was unquestionably vital and brilliant at times during that run.

I think that word still describes TP. The constant in almost all of our playoff failures is TP not playing well. The only exception I can think of is '09 when he played out of his mind but just didn't have enough help.

[Yuixafun]

I remember this year for being 6... Before the other 6.

Man y'all have some great long term memories, having my brain going into overgrown wilderness and rediscovering dazzling ruins.

That Horry shot, I swear it was going in because he made everything back then for the Lakers in crunch time. And then... Holy shit he missed! Which led us to acquiring him later. I always thought La treated him rather tritely after what he did for them. They thought he was used up and were cutting dead weight. We were happy to see and rewarded, if he had some magic left.

I think I was at the Folklife festival when Sjax started burying those threes. It was evening and I was passing one of the booths with hay straw like table cloth and they had a t.v. set up.

I concur on the Marbury just overmatching Parker. Relentless force.

That three from Manu, thanks for uncovering that gem again.

Of course I remember being happy for the Admiral going out as a champ.

After this year I became more than just a casual fan. In 2005 I was recording games and doing write up, lol... I wonder if I have any of those notebooks around.

[Gervin44Silas13]

It should have been a 5 game series

they struggled in Game 2 Jaxs almost pulled a rabbit out of the hat that game

turnovers was big also closing out teams they'd be up by 20 points and almost choke away games
Game 5 of the WCFS was a example of that if Horry hits that three we could have been as good as fucked...

but we got the 2nd 'Chip

[manufan10]

I've seen people talking about the '03 championship DVD and how it was the best. I re-watched it last night, and I have to say '05 is by far my favorite championship DVD.

[hater]

Coasted after beating the Lakers imo

[Spurs Brazil]

You can blast Parker for 2003 if you want, but he came up absolutely huge for the Spurs on a few occasions during that run. In particular, he was the sidekick Duncan needed in Games 3 and 4 of the Dallas series, which turned an 0-1 series deficit into a 3-1 lead. He was bad in game 6 of the WCF, but that was the creme brûlée game where there was some doubt about whether he'd even play. Speedy Claxton got a lot of TP's early minutes and came up pretty small; ironically (given the retrospective worship of Speedy around here) Steve Kerr got minutes in Game 6 largely because Parker couldn't go and Claxton was pretty ineffective.

Regardless, I think the word to describe Parker in 2003 was inconsistent; he was unquestionably vital and brilliant at times during that run.

TP was also great in game 3 at Phoenix and in the first 3 games of the Finals

[FromWayDowntown]

TP was also great in game 3 at Phoenix and in the first 3 games of the Finals

Yeah, I didn't mean for my list to be exhaustive. He had a lot of terrific moments in both 2002 and 2003. The narrative that he was helpless and just along for the ride (because of the way that Kerr played in Game 6 in Dallas and the way that Claxton played in Game 6 against New Jersey) is just simply rewriting history. In some ways, the biggest games of that playoff run were Game 3 at Phoenix, Games 3 & 4 in Dallas, and Game 3 in New Jersey -- all road games the Spurs had to have to get themselves back on top of those series after giving up HCA in the first two games -- and Parker showed up in all of them and the Spurs won all of them:

Game 3 at PNX -- 37 mins, 12-21 FG, 29 points
Game 3 at DAL -- 37 mins, 13-23 FG, 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers
Game 4 at DAL -- 44 mins, 9-22 FG, 25 points, 5 assists, 2 turnovers
Game 3 at NJ -- 43 mins, 9-21 FG (4-6 3PT), 26 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover

He played well in Games 5 & 6 of the Lakers series that year, too.

Mostly, he played like a talented 20-year-old second year player; a lot of really good and some really bad.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Great memories of the series and I remember all of what you are talking about like it was yesterday man! Those games were nail biters (A few). Game 2 had me scared to death, thought the series was over in the 4th and the Suns would win the series. That Manu three was HUGE! Even as a rookie he had that clutch gene.

Don't you love the old 2003 offense stalling droughts they would go on and blow a game they had? I remember game one against Dallas 14 pt game one lead at home, blew it. Game 5 with no business at all at home up big in the third and without Dirk, BLEW IT and lost. Game 5 against LA a huge lead and Horry's miss is the only thing that saved our season there, another huge blown lead from a drought in which the Spurs would just go on at any time. When on they were dominant and blowing you out, then the drought would come out of nowhere.
Disagree on the only memorable game being that as there were a few in those playoffs and one being the Mavs most mentioned. The Kings the Spurs matched up well with all year long and healthy or not I think SA beats them (After they beat LA nothing was going to stop them IMO). Mavs even with Dirk stole game one after a huge Spurs blown lead as they were prone to that year and the Spurs won the next 2 with him in there (One in Dallas) and had a good lead in the 3rd when he went down in game 4 at Dallas, so with him or not they were not better than the Spurs who only lost games in that series because they would be stupid and let teams back in games that year for some reason? I think they were the best team that year, regardless.
Great response; one correction, Dirk went down late in the third quarter in game 3 (where the Spurs had already just turned a 17 point Dallas lead into a 1 point Spurs lead) -- the Spurs would coast the rest of the way. The Mavs did not have Dirk for games 4, 5 or 6 and he was in grave foul trouble all game 2 (three in the first quarter, drew his 4th foul before halftime)

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Yeah, I didn't mean for my list to be exhaustive. He had a lot of terrific moments in both 2002 and 2003. The narrative that he was helpless and just along for the ride (because of the way that Kerr played in Game 6 in Dallas and the way that Claxton played in Game 6 against New Jersey) is just simply rewriting history. In some ways, the biggest games of that playoff run were Game 3 at Phoenix, Games 3 & 4 in Dallas, and Game 3 in New Jersey -- all road games the Spurs had to have to get themselves back on top of those series after giving up HCA in the first two games -- and Parker showed up in all of them and the Spurs won all of them:

Game 3 at PNX -- 37 mins, 12-21 FG, 29 points
Game 3 at DAL -- 37 mins, 13-23 FG, 29 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 turnovers
Game 4 at DAL -- 44 mins, 9-22 FG, 25 points, 5 assists, 2 turnovers
Game 3 at NJ -- 43 mins, 9-21 FG (4-6 3PT), 26 points, 6 assists, 1 turnover

He played well in Games 5 & 6 of the Lakers series that year, too.

Mostly, he played like a talented 20-year-old second year player; a lot of really good and some really bad.
People also forget we were down 11 late in the 3rd quarter of that game, too. Parker almost singlehandedly carried us back with two threes, a floater and an assist (remember when he could shoot threes?!) which wiped away that deficit in almost no time. Manu made the biggest shot at the end of that game, though.

[Chomper]

Very good question. I have no idea. I remember celebrating before the 03 Finals began because the Lakers had just swept the Nets in the Finals in 2002, and I thought the Nets sucked. And the Lakers had smashed the East rep for the last 3 years, and we had crushed NY in 99, and I thought we would just roll over them.

I guess Jason Kidd and RJ were really good back then? Still, even when you look back, we almost lost game 6! That's crazy. Which makes me think we must have just been lucky to be there and maybe what everyone says is true: "The Lakers were just bored in 03 after winning 3 straight and that's why we beat them."

[boutons_deux]

Tony was so hot often in the 03 championship series, there were mentions of him being Finals MVP.

[Sean Cagney]

Great response; one correction, Dirk went down late in the third quarter in game 3 (where the Spurs had already just turned a 17 point Dallas lead into a 1 point Spurs lead) -- the Spurs would coast the rest of the way. The Mavs did not have Dirk for games 4, 5 or 6 and he was in grave foul trouble all game 2 (three in the first quarter, drew his 4th foul before halftime)

Yep it was game three, but he had played 40 mins by then so it was not the third Q? Check the stats. I believe they were up by more than 1 at the time when he went down and it was the 4th Q not the third.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200305230DAL.html

Either way you are right it was game three, the Spurs were in control by then IMO and took over the series. There is no way they lose to the Mavs that year IMO, blew game one after that big lead at home and should have been up 3-0 in reality, the Mavs never even belonged in that series but the Spurs kept letting them back in. Their frontline and D was so soft and the Spurs matched up well with that. Mavs never would have been in the WCF if Webber did not get hurt. I used to laugh at Mavs fans saying well Dirk got hurt when in reality they benefitted more off an injury but conveniently forget that with their arguments (Just like 06 when the Spurs got robbed by the refs but Dallas bitches about the finals calls).
Tony was so hot often in the 03 championship series, there were mentions of him being Finals MVP.
No there wasn't, Tims game one basically put him in the front and he never even got close to losing that. Game 2 Tony was hot though no doubt, he lead that fierce come back late in the game they almost won. Tim though was just on another level, MVP never in doubt. Tony actually had a bad series overall sides game 2 with Speedy and Kerr closing games.

He shot 38% and 60% from the Line and averaged 14.7 PPG, Tims numbers dwarf that and then some for that series, the MVP was never questioned or in doubt. Are you thinking of another series?

http://www.basketball-reference.com/playoffs/2003-nba-finals-nets-vs-spurs.html

[ducks]

LOL AT SPEEDY BEING -17 THAT GAME TP +30

[baseline bum]

I've seen people talking about the '03 championship DVD and how it was the best. I re-watched it last night, and I have to say '05 is by far my favorite championship DVD.

I thought 99 was far and away the best, 14 far and away the worst.

[UNT Eagles 2016]

Yep it was game three, but he had played 40 mins by then so it was not the third Q? Check the stats. I believe they were up by more than 1 at the time when he went down and it was the 4th Q not the third.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200305230DAL.html


Early fourth then. I do remember him playing nearly the entire game and it was pretty darn close when he went down.

<edit> You were right, we were up 12 when Dirk missed the shot, a Spur landed on him and he went down. Midway through the 4th. Idk why I remembered it to be that close. I think I remember though that Dirk was already limping by the time we had finally caught up and taken the lead, though.

[SASdynasty!]

I think that word still describes TP. The constant in almost all of our playoff failures is TP not playing well. The only exception I can think of is '09 when he played out of his mind but just didn't have enough help.
Translation: This team goes as far as MVParker takes them.

[Sean Cagney]

Early fourth then. I do remember him playing nearly the entire game and it was pretty darn close when he went down.

<edit> You were right, we were up 12 when Dirk missed the shot, a Spur landed on him and he went down. Midway through the 4th. Idk why I remembered it to be that close. I think I remember though that Dirk was already limping by the time we had finally caught up and taken the lead, though.
Spurs were always in control of that series and no way they lose to the Mavs after beating the Lakers. That was their hurdle.

[therealtruth]

Translation: This team goes as far as MVParker takes them.

I just think TP would be more highly regarded if he didn't have that history of not playing well in playoff losses. It hurts to lose but it hurts even more when you know you didn't play as well as your capable of.

[Kawhitstorm]

Very good question. I have no idea. I remember celebrating before the 03 Finals began because the Lakers had just swept the Nets in the Finals in 2002, and I thought the Nets sucked. And the Lakers had smashed the East rep for the last 3 years, and we had crushed NY in 99, and I thought we would just roll over them.

I guess Jason Kidd and RJ were really good back then? Still, even when you look back, we almost lost game 6! That's crazy. Which makes me think we must have just been lucky to be there and maybe what everyone says is true: "The Lakers were just bored in 03 after winning 3 straight and that's why we beat them."

The 2003 Nets were much better than the 2002 Nets especially b/c of the improved play of K-Mart/Jefferson along w/ the addition of Mutombo to improve their interior defense/rebounding. The 2002 Nets almost lost to the Pacers in the 1st rd meanwhile the 2003 Nets swept their way to the Finals (including sweeping Pistons w/ Rip/Billups/Ben Wallace/Prince/Big Nasty & Carlisle at the helms).

LoL @ the Lakers smashing 3 straight opponents in the Finals when 2000 was a 6 game series along w/ Gm 4 being decided in overtime & the Lakers having to comeback in the 4th quarter of the closeout game. Once Kobe sprained his ankle in Gm 2 the series was a tossup, it was Shaq's dominance that made it seem like an annihilation.

Also, in the 2000 Finals the Sixers were on the verge of a comeback victory in Gm 3 for a 2-1 series lead after Shaq fouled out in the 4th quarter before Horry ripped their heart out w/ a dagger 3 to put the Lakers up 4 w/ less than a minutes remaining. The Sixers looked defeated after going down 1-2 & got smashed in the final 2 games of the series by a Lakers team that was destroying teams when they smelled blood.
vvuKAmLZgkg

[Darius McCrary]

The 2003 Nets were much better than the 2002 Nets. The 2002 Nets almost lost to the Pacers in the 1st rd meanwhile the 2003 Nets swept their way to the Finals (including sweeping Pistons).

LoL @ the Lakers smashing 3 straight opponents in the Finals when 2000 was a 6 game series along w/ Gm 4 being decided in overtime & the Lakers having to comeback in the 4th quarter of the closeout game. Once Kobe sprained his ankle in Gm 2 the series was a tossup, it was Shaq's dominance that made it seem like an annihilation.

Also, in the 2000 Finals the Sixers were on the verge of a comeback victory in Gm 3 for a 2-1 series lead after Shaq fouled out in the 4th quarter before Horry ripped their heart out w/ a dagger 3 to put the Lakers up 4 w/ less than a minutes remaining. The Sixers looked defeated after going down 1-2 & got smashed in the final 2 games of the series by a Lakers team that was destroying teams when they smelled blood.
vvuKAmLZgkg

-Good memory. Totally forgot about that game 3.

-Robert Horry has to be one of the most interesting players in NBA history. I mean what a complete bad ass. Just unbelievable the way he's ripped out the hearts opposing team's fans over his entire career.

-LOLOL at Kobe Bean on the other side of the reporter, just begging for attention.

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Because the Nets were a great defensive team. Kenyon Martin actually did play like an allstar player at the time. Had a top 5 defensive PG in league history let alone top 5 playmaker in league history.

The had probably the best shot blocker in NBA history on the team. They had RJ when he still athletic and could jump through the roof like Lavine. They had a pretty good SG in Harris who was playing at a high level at that point in his career. They had a great defensive backup PG in Johnson. There is a reason Parker sucked in that series as Kidd and Johnson owed him defensively in that series, which is no knock on Parker, its just that those two at the time probably were the best defensive 1-2 defensive PG tandem in the league until Billsup/Hunter replace them.

Nets were a great defensive team. They weren't no push over of a team.

[313]

http://i.imgur.com/hUazrsM.png

Second highest win shares behind prime Tim Duncan :lmao

[Yuixafun]

Kittles and Marshall too... I played the shit out of Nbak 2003

[florige]

Game 6 got scary man, they were down 10 at the beginning of the 4th. That series was not easy. There was some close games as well in that series, particularly games 2, 3 and game 5 where the Spurs pulled away at the very end. The Nets hung in every game except game one.



I am with EHJ line of thinking. Even though we were down 10 I never at all felt threatened against them despite that being their second finals appearance. I just didn't have confidence at all that they would be able to hold up that kind of shooting for the remainder of the game. Even after Rodney Rogers drained that corner 3 to put them up ten late in the 3rd I still felt confident that we would make some kind of run. They peaked way to early in that game.

[Sean Cagney]

I am with EHJ line of thinking. Even though we were down 10 I never at all felt threatened against them despite that being their second finals appearance. I just didn't have confidence at all that they would be able to hold up that kind of shooting for the remainder of the game. Even after Rodney Rogers drained that corner 3 to put them up ten late in the 3rd I still felt confident that we would make some kind of run. They peaked way to early in that game.
Man the Spurs kept coming back and that Rogers three was a dagger IMO at the time, thought they would take the game when that happened so I am glad I was wrong. That series scared me for some odd reason, they played the Spurs extremely well and nothing in that game was going in sides Tim Duncans shots until the 4th when Jax and Speedy came on. D Rob had a hell of a game as well. That series was a underrated series IMO, very good.

Now you can't tell me a few years later when Detroit was up 9 or so in the third Q in game 7 you were not worried, hell I am sure ALL OF US were scared to death at that time TBH in a do or die game 7. :lol

[florige]

Man the Spurs kept coming back and that Rogers three was a dagger IMO at the time, thought they would take the game when that happened so I am glad I was wrong. That series scared me for some odd reason, they played the Spurs extremely well and nothing in that game was going in sides Tim Duncans shots until the 4th when Jax and Speedy came on. D Rob had a hell of a game as well. That series was a underrated series IMO, very good.

Now you can't tell me a few years later when Detroit was up 9 or so in the third Q in game 7 you were not worried, hell I am sure ALL OF US were scared to death at that time TBH in a do or die game 7. :lol



I remember that shot like it was yesterday and after he drained it the camera's immediately showed Kidd's wife going nuts. I just wasn't confident that the Nets were better than us at all. I just had a feeling that we had one more run in us and that once we would get the lead the game would be over. Now I am with you on Detroit. They had just destroyed a stacked Laker team the year before. Yes I was flat out scared playing against them. That was the first finals that I actually went in not really confident of our chances. And my biggest X-Factor for them was Larry Brown. I thought he would flat out coach circles around Pop.

[Sean Cagney]

I remember that shot like it was yesterday and after he drained it the camera's immediately showed Kidd's wife going nuts. I just wasn't confident that the Nets were better than us at all. I just had a feeling that we had one more run in us and that once we would get the lead the game would be over. Now I am with you on Detroit. They had just destroyed a stacked Laker team the year before. Yes I was flat out scared playing against them. That was the first finals that I actually went in not really confident of our chances. And my biggest X-Factor for them was Larry Brown. I thought he would flat out coach circles around Pop.
Agreed on Detroit there, the thing is Pop made the key adjustment later in the series that won it IMO when he put Bowen on Billups and that really threw his game off (Pop was on his game those finals). I thought the Spurs going in would beat Detroit but I didn't think it would be sound and it could go 6 or 7 and I was right on that end of things, they were a very tough bunch to defeat.

I remember the 2003 finals game 6 when before hand Robinson said I am not playing another game and it came out to be true, I liked when I heard that from him and he just knew it would be over with that night. For some reason that part still sticks out to me.

[Thomas82]

What about Kerr's game six against the Mavies (4 huge 3s with Parker on the bench due to food poisoning from a Dallas restaurant)? That was as memorable as it can get.....

If I remember right, in Game 1 of that Mavs series Tim Duncan had 19 points in the 1st quarter.

[Bonner4MVP]

The Spurs were definitely the best team in the NBA that season but for some reason I keep remembering they would blow huge leads maybe due to boredom. Pretty much all of the elite teams we played that season we blew a huge lead either to win in a nail biter or lose it all out.

[Obstructed_View]

The Spurs were definitely the best team in the NBA that season but for some reason I keep remembering they would blow huge leads maybe due to boredom. Pretty much all of the elite teams we played that season we blew a huge lead either to win in a nail biter or lose it all out.

They did that all the time, but they never really learned their lesson because they could always come back. They just seemed able to turn it on whenever they wanted.