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04-18-2006, 08:11 AM
Remember the champsBy Will Perdue
ESPN Insider
So the San Antonio Spurs clinched home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs with Monday's 115-82 win over the Kirilenko-less Utah Jazz. And the Spurs (62-19) have a very good chance to finish with the franchise's most wins in a season if they continue their winning ways and polish off the Yao-less Rockets in Wednesday's regular season finale.
Pretty impressive. Especially for a team that for much of the season has been the subject of discussion for what it lacks rather than what it has.
The Spurs coach himself, Gregg Popovich, will often cite what his team hasn't exhibited adequately -- the defensive intensity that is needed for the playoffs. And when I talked to the players recently about a season that could be headed for a franchise record in wins, to a man they all said they hadn't played that well.
That's fine. But I will tell you what they do have, and not what they lack: the Spurs are in a good position to gain their first back-to-back titles. They have three titles in hand, but, like a mirror of Chicago's back-to-back wins over Utah for titles in 1996 and 1997, I see a similar scenario playing out with Detroit. More on that later.
Of course, the reason for concern was well founded, when the health of two of their Big Three, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, was at issue. But when I was in San Antonio last week on the radio call for the Orlando Magic, Duncan's plantar faciatis looked like a non-issue. He scored 31 and said his foot was in good shape.
Then there's one of the league's most exciting players in Ginobili, whom his teammate Brent Barry nicknamed "El Contucion" for his bruised left calf and shin that caused him to miss three games recently. Ginobili has played in the last two games, netting 18 points in 24 minutes in the win over Utah.
Popovich has wisely not taxed his team in the run to the West's home-court advantage, getting everyone plenty of rest in back-to-back wins over the Timberwolves and the Jazz. He has been slowly weaning his guys off heavy minutes with an eye toward being healthy, but still playing them enough to be sharp for the playoffs.
As it stands now, the Spurs' likely playoff run is looking like Sacramento first, and I think the Kings could win two games. Next up would be Dallas, and that shapes up as a dogfight. Despite the Mavs' new emphasis on defense, it's still easier for a championship team like San Antonio to embrace D than it is for an offensive-minded club like Dallas.
I'd see that series going six, with many games going down to the wire. Like the MasterCard commercial "priceless" kicker line -- experience is just that. The Spurs have it. Then it's the conference finals against probably the Suns, whom the Spurs showed in last year's playoffs they could beat playing Phoenix's uptempo style.
Then, the likely return date with Detroit, which has the home-court advantage, and the 2-0 edge in the regular-season series against the Spurs. And a key difference is last year's Game 7 was in San Antonio. But not this time, if a date with Detroit comes to pass.
One thing is notably different. Tony Parker is better than he was last year. And the Spurs have several veterans to complement their Big Three, just in the way John Paxson's shooting helped the Grant-Pippen-Jordan Bulls, or Avery Johnson gave the Spurs' first championship Big Three of Sean Elliott, David Robinson and Duncan the floor leader they needed.
So here's these Spurs, who have the always difficult challenge of repeating before them. People want to talk about what they don't have, and the injuries. How they don't play well on the second game of back-to-backs. How their offense struggles at times. How they took three recent home losses.
But now that the playoffs are near, we need to talk less about what the Spurs aren't and instead think about what they are -- the defending champions.
Will Perdue was a member of the first Spurs championship team in 1999.
ESPN Insider
So the San Antonio Spurs clinched home court throughout the Western Conference playoffs with Monday's 115-82 win over the Kirilenko-less Utah Jazz. And the Spurs (62-19) have a very good chance to finish with the franchise's most wins in a season if they continue their winning ways and polish off the Yao-less Rockets in Wednesday's regular season finale.
Pretty impressive. Especially for a team that for much of the season has been the subject of discussion for what it lacks rather than what it has.
The Spurs coach himself, Gregg Popovich, will often cite what his team hasn't exhibited adequately -- the defensive intensity that is needed for the playoffs. And when I talked to the players recently about a season that could be headed for a franchise record in wins, to a man they all said they hadn't played that well.
That's fine. But I will tell you what they do have, and not what they lack: the Spurs are in a good position to gain their first back-to-back titles. They have three titles in hand, but, like a mirror of Chicago's back-to-back wins over Utah for titles in 1996 and 1997, I see a similar scenario playing out with Detroit. More on that later.
Of course, the reason for concern was well founded, when the health of two of their Big Three, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, was at issue. But when I was in San Antonio last week on the radio call for the Orlando Magic, Duncan's plantar faciatis looked like a non-issue. He scored 31 and said his foot was in good shape.
Then there's one of the league's most exciting players in Ginobili, whom his teammate Brent Barry nicknamed "El Contucion" for his bruised left calf and shin that caused him to miss three games recently. Ginobili has played in the last two games, netting 18 points in 24 minutes in the win over Utah.
Popovich has wisely not taxed his team in the run to the West's home-court advantage, getting everyone plenty of rest in back-to-back wins over the Timberwolves and the Jazz. He has been slowly weaning his guys off heavy minutes with an eye toward being healthy, but still playing them enough to be sharp for the playoffs.
As it stands now, the Spurs' likely playoff run is looking like Sacramento first, and I think the Kings could win two games. Next up would be Dallas, and that shapes up as a dogfight. Despite the Mavs' new emphasis on defense, it's still easier for a championship team like San Antonio to embrace D than it is for an offensive-minded club like Dallas.
I'd see that series going six, with many games going down to the wire. Like the MasterCard commercial "priceless" kicker line -- experience is just that. The Spurs have it. Then it's the conference finals against probably the Suns, whom the Spurs showed in last year's playoffs they could beat playing Phoenix's uptempo style.
Then, the likely return date with Detroit, which has the home-court advantage, and the 2-0 edge in the regular-season series against the Spurs. And a key difference is last year's Game 7 was in San Antonio. But not this time, if a date with Detroit comes to pass.
One thing is notably different. Tony Parker is better than he was last year. And the Spurs have several veterans to complement their Big Three, just in the way John Paxson's shooting helped the Grant-Pippen-Jordan Bulls, or Avery Johnson gave the Spurs' first championship Big Three of Sean Elliott, David Robinson and Duncan the floor leader they needed.
So here's these Spurs, who have the always difficult challenge of repeating before them. People want to talk about what they don't have, and the injuries. How they don't play well on the second game of back-to-backs. How their offense struggles at times. How they took three recent home losses.
But now that the playoffs are near, we need to talk less about what the Spurs aren't and instead think about what they are -- the defending champions.
Will Perdue was a member of the first Spurs championship team in 1999.