Clutch20
02-13-2006, 05:40 PM
I came across this article from cleveland.com site.
(what a mindset bball fans have, they sleepwalk through most of the regular season only to finally wake up and see the SASpurs walk away with the trophy and parade it down the Riverwalk)
Cavs are spurred by the champs
Monday, February 13, 2006
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Detroit Pistons' amazing run and Kobe Bryant's 81 points in a game have been the highlights of the first half of the season. The San Antonio Spurs, the defending NBA champions, have been a mere footnote.
The Spurs, who play the Cavaliers tonight at The Q, have been one of the best organizations in sports. The Spurs have titles, one of the best players in the league in Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich is one of the elite coaches. But despite their success, the Spurs remain an afterthought.
Golden State guard Derek Fisher battled with the Spurs when he played for the Lakers and said one reason the Spurs don't receive much recognition is because of their location.
"They also don't possess what our society feels are the best players in the league," Fisher said. "They don't have LeBron [James], they don't have Kobe and they don't have Dwyane Wade. Those are the personalities that NBA fans like to follow.
"The Spurs are not really talked about at the dinner table or the sports bars. It's like they're forgotten and they don't really come up until they're carrying their championship trophy off the floor."
That has been the bottom line for the Spurs. Collecting championships and sticking with their philosophy is the primary focus. Becoming the focus of popular culture is secondary.
"There's nothing really exciting about them except that they win championships," Cavs guard Eric Snow said. "They don't have players on the highlights. They just get it done from top to bottom, from the coach to the 15th player on the team. They win games and they do it efficiently. The [fans may not notice them] but the guys in the league are aware of them."
The lack of media attention has not stopped executives from modeling their organizations after the Spurs. San Antonio seeks multi-talented players who understand their roles. Defense also remains a priority.
"They defend, they score and they block shots," Snow said. "And you hear nothing but good things about the organization off the floor."
It's no secret Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry, who played and worked within the Spurs organization, has incorporated some of the philosophies. Coach Mike Brown, once an assistant under Popovich, also uses the Spurs as a model.
"I definitely see some of the same things here," said Cavs guard Mike Wilks, a Spur last season. "I wasn't with coach Brown when he was in San Antonio, but I see some of the same characteristics in Brown that 'Pop' has."
Wilks said one of the characteristics is Brown's approach. Duncan and Popovich share the same philosophy and so do Brown and James.
"The teams that win big are the teams where the star player and coach are on the same page," Wilks said. "That builds the type of unity needed for organizations to win as opposed to a star player and the coach not on the same page. If that is the case, that would mean the players wouldn't respect the coach or buy into the system."
The Spurs buy into the organization's philosophy and never waver.
"They consistently build around Tim Duncan and his ability and Popovich's strengths as a coach," Fisher said. "We had that period where it was all Lakers, and they still kept that formula of success. One of the best ways to become successful in this league is consistency and having a coach who can get a team to buy into how things need to be done in order to win and star players have to be the motivational speakers for that system and everyone else has to fall in line. They do that year after year."
(what a mindset bball fans have, they sleepwalk through most of the regular season only to finally wake up and see the SASpurs walk away with the trophy and parade it down the Riverwalk)
Cavs are spurred by the champs
Monday, February 13, 2006
Branson Wright
Plain Dealer Reporter
The Detroit Pistons' amazing run and Kobe Bryant's 81 points in a game have been the highlights of the first half of the season. The San Antonio Spurs, the defending NBA champions, have been a mere footnote.
The Spurs, who play the Cavaliers tonight at The Q, have been one of the best organizations in sports. The Spurs have titles, one of the best players in the league in Tim Duncan and Gregg Popovich is one of the elite coaches. But despite their success, the Spurs remain an afterthought.
Golden State guard Derek Fisher battled with the Spurs when he played for the Lakers and said one reason the Spurs don't receive much recognition is because of their location.
"They also don't possess what our society feels are the best players in the league," Fisher said. "They don't have LeBron [James], they don't have Kobe and they don't have Dwyane Wade. Those are the personalities that NBA fans like to follow.
"The Spurs are not really talked about at the dinner table or the sports bars. It's like they're forgotten and they don't really come up until they're carrying their championship trophy off the floor."
That has been the bottom line for the Spurs. Collecting championships and sticking with their philosophy is the primary focus. Becoming the focus of popular culture is secondary.
"There's nothing really exciting about them except that they win championships," Cavs guard Eric Snow said. "They don't have players on the highlights. They just get it done from top to bottom, from the coach to the 15th player on the team. They win games and they do it efficiently. The [fans may not notice them] but the guys in the league are aware of them."
The lack of media attention has not stopped executives from modeling their organizations after the Spurs. San Antonio seeks multi-talented players who understand their roles. Defense also remains a priority.
"They defend, they score and they block shots," Snow said. "And you hear nothing but good things about the organization off the floor."
It's no secret Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry, who played and worked within the Spurs organization, has incorporated some of the philosophies. Coach Mike Brown, once an assistant under Popovich, also uses the Spurs as a model.
"I definitely see some of the same things here," said Cavs guard Mike Wilks, a Spur last season. "I wasn't with coach Brown when he was in San Antonio, but I see some of the same characteristics in Brown that 'Pop' has."
Wilks said one of the characteristics is Brown's approach. Duncan and Popovich share the same philosophy and so do Brown and James.
"The teams that win big are the teams where the star player and coach are on the same page," Wilks said. "That builds the type of unity needed for organizations to win as opposed to a star player and the coach not on the same page. If that is the case, that would mean the players wouldn't respect the coach or buy into the system."
The Spurs buy into the organization's philosophy and never waver.
"They consistently build around Tim Duncan and his ability and Popovich's strengths as a coach," Fisher said. "We had that period where it was all Lakers, and they still kept that formula of success. One of the best ways to become successful in this league is consistency and having a coach who can get a team to buy into how things need to be done in order to win and star players have to be the motivational speakers for that system and everyone else has to fall in line. They do that year after year."