if the pistons win it all

[td4mvp3]

does it lessen last year's championship? one of the more annoying things all year has been listening to pundits say the pistons were minutes away from winning another championship last year and basically lost it as opposed to the spurs winning it. so if they go all the way, such talk only escalates. does it take something away from how you'd feel about last year?

[DarrinS]

does it lessen last year's championship? one of the more annoying things all year has been listening to pundits say the pistons were minutes away from winning another championship last year and basically lost it as opposed to the spurs winning it. so if they go all the way, such talk only escalates. does it take something away from how you'd feel about last year?


No.

[Ariel]

I read it the complete opposite way. If the Pistons cement their status as a great team by reaching the finals for the third straight time, and winning it twice in three years, it can do nothing but highlight the stature of last years' Spurs team. The better the opponent, the sweater the victory.

[Slinkyman]

I agree with Ariel, if the pistons win it all that means in the last 3 years only the spurs were able to beat the pistons and that would say alot about how good the spurs are.

[MadDog73]

I will be more unhappy if the Suns beat the Mavs. That will piss me off, because I honestly believe the Spurs > Suns.

[WayDowntownBang]

I don't believe that one year affects the other. The Spurs were the best team last year, and NO ONE can take that away. If the Pistons win, we'll be the best team THIS year. Too many factors change year to year to consider something less.

[strangeweather]

I don't believe that one year affects the other. The Spurs were the best team last year, and NO ONE can take that away. If the Pistons win, we'll be the best team THIS year. Too many factors change year to year to consider something less.
I agree. It also adds to the stakes if we can play our way back into a rematch next year.

Heck, Stern might even be able to get people to watch. :lol

[MadDog73]

I agree. It also adds to the stakes if we can play our way back into a rematch next year.

Heck, Stern might even be able to get people to watch. :lol


If Mark Cuban can increase ratings, then is all his lunacy worth it?

[waldo_woo]

Thank you WDB...a voice of reason from Piston fan! We Spurs fans sometimes need to rid ourselves of our recurring inferiority complex. We have won three out of the past soon-to-be-eight championships, and have been in contention nearly every year during that period. One could make an argument that the Spurs, not the Lakers and their 3-peat have been the dominant organization in pro basketball since the '99 strike/lockout (whatever it was). Think about what the Spurs in the Tim Duncan era have brought to the NBA - a focus on team (not just individual) defense, the development of international scouting, a proliferation of coaches and front office personnel all over the league, proof that success in a small market/modest payroll setting IS possible, and consistency over a long period that most organizations would kill to attain. WDB is also correct that despite the media's love affair with dynasty talk, each NBA year must be judged on its own. Too many changes occur every year on just about every team in this day and age. Our championship last year did not diminish Detroit's '04 championship and our '05 championship will not be diminished at all by whatever team wins the championship in '06.

In short, we don't need to worry or wonder about our Spurs' status as a franchise or the status of any of our championships. Remember when so many of us said back in '98-'99, "Please, just let us win one ring during my lifetime..."? Now look at us baby!

Go Spurs Go!

[JamStone]

No, particularly because the Spurs had won the title in 2003 as well.

The Pistons are trying to validate their team as more than just a "fluke" team in a couple of seasons in a relatively weak conference.

Whether or not Spurs fans or Pistons fans agree, the NBA in its current form is not that great. But, one thing that can change that perception in time is if Detroit and San Antonio EACH win a couple more championships. If both the Spurs and Pistons each win a couple more, basketball rhapsodists will laud how the two teams were able to win multiple championships in a tough and competitive league, like the 1980s Celtics and Lakers, during a time where there was at least ONE other worthy championship team.

Right now, the Spurs are a great team, with one of the best players in the history of the game, but they are viewed somewhat as a flawed team because they could not win back-to-back titles and could not even make it to back-to-back Finals. And, the Pistons are viewed as a fluke championship team that were handed a title because of a Shaq-Kobe self-inflicted implosion, and they went back to the Finals because Shaq and Wade were hurt.

Now, fans of each team will disagree with those notions. But, a few more championships for each team will go a long way in proving those perceptions wrong.

[Spurologist]

does it lessen last year's championship? one of the more annoying things all year has been listening to pundits say the pistons were minutes away from winning another championship last year and basically lost it as opposed to the spurs winning it. so if they go all the way, such talk only escalates. does it take something away from how you'd feel about last year?

According to me, no. Never. There will always be media types out there who will bring out the what if card. What if the pistons played better down the stretch in game 7 and all that hot air. The same thing happens with the spurs and 0.4 shot. We could 4 championships right now. It's a normal thinking process to always think of what if. A championship is a championship. It might take some luck to get there, but the winner is ultimately deserved of the crown.

[strangeweather]

If Mark Cuban can increase ratings, then is all his lunacy worth it?
No, and that wasn't really what I meant. I wanted to play the Pistons this year even if it meant that no one in America tuned in to watch.

I just thought it was kind of funny that the "unwatchable" Pistons-Spurs matchup might finally take on some national interest if it was a battle between the teams with the last 4 titles.

[Spurologist]

If Mark Cuban can increase ratings, then is all his lunacy worth it?

I hope he gets gang raped by gorillas. His absence on the court would exponentially increase the ratings. I sent the proposal to mavs management but I have yet to get a call back.

[Dunc]

I hope he gets gang raped by gorillas. His absence on the court would exponentially increase the ratings. I sent the proposal to mavs management but I have yet to get a call back.


Hell of a promotion idea though. Maybe on fan appreciation night, instead of free airline tickets, they could have a big gorilla gang-rape special at halftime or something. I bet even Mav fan would get a kick out of that one :lol

[Spurologist]

Hell of a promotion idea though. Maybe on fan appreciation night, instead of free airline tickets, they could have a big gorilla gang-rape special at halftime or something. I bet even Mav fan would get a kick out of that one :lol

great minds think alike

[Mark in Austin]

No, particularly because the Spurs had won the title in 2003 as well.

The Pistons are trying to validate their team as more than just a "fluke" team in a couple of seasons in a relatively weak conference.

Whether or not Spurs fans or Pistons fans agree, the NBA in its current form is not that great. But, one thing that can change that perception in time is if Detroit and San Antonio EACH win a couple more championships. If both the Spurs and Pistons each win a couple more, basketball rhapsodists will laud how the two teams were able to win multiple championships in a tough and competitive league, like the 1980s Celtics and Lakers, during a time where there was at least ONE other worthy championship team.

Right now, the Spurs are a great team, with one of the best players in the history of the game, but they are viewed somewhat as a flawed team because they could not win back-to-back titles and could not even make it to back-to-back Finals. And, the Pistons are viewed as a fluke championship team that were handed a title because of a Shaq-Kobe self-inflicted implosion, and they went back to the Finals because Shaq and Wade were hurt.

Now, fans of each team will disagree with those notions. But, a few more championships for each team will go a long way in proving those perceptions wrong.


Great post, JamStone. I completely agree. :tu

[bdubya]

does it lessen last year's championship? one of the more annoying things all year has been listening to pundits say the pistons were minutes away from winning another championship last year and basically lost it as opposed to the spurs winning it.

What pundits are those? Nobody I've read. The Pistons WERE within minutes of winning it all, but they got beat. Cleanly. No controversial calls or non-calls, no major injuries, nothing to point to except that the Spurs outplayed the Pistons when it mattered the most. IMHO, if the same cast of Pistons win it all this year, that only reflects that much more credit on the '05 Spurs.

[Vinnie_Johnson]

I read it the complete opposite way. If the Pistons cement their status as a great team by reaching the finals for the third straight time, and winning it twice in three years, it can do nothing but highlight the stature of last years' Spurs team. The better the opponent, the sweater the victory.

Ditto

[toosmallshoes]

No. It doesn't lessen last year's championship. The Spurs franchise is one of the great franchises in all of sports. History remembers achievements more than opinions. All of this talk would be remedied if Tim Duncan would just grow a mohawk.

[Nbadan]

The Spurs franchise is one of the great franchises in all of sports

I think it's still to early for the D-word, but a couple more Championships could start a trend.

[Nbadan]

If Mark Cuban can increase ratings, then is all his lunacy worth it?

Only if your a Mav's fan. You can't buy dignity.

[mike detroit]

Only if your a Mav's fan. You can't buy dignity.


even if you could, cuban would just keep losing his and eventually run out of money.

[SenorSpur]

The Pistons are now having their struggles. They certainly are not looking like the "world beaters" that they did throughout the regular season.

If the Pistons win it all, it will only make me wonder even more what an NBA Finals rematch between them and the Spurs would have been like. Another epic series, I'm sure.

[MANU GINOBALKI]

No. The Spurs beat us fair and square last year. We could have played better in the last five minutes and won the Championship,but we didn't. The Spurs played better in those closing minutes and won the game.

If we win the Championship this year it doesn't take away from the Spurs it adds to their run of Championships. Because it proves that the Pistons are a great team too,and proves that the Spurs had great competition.

If we win the Championship it also proves that the Pistons are no fluke like alot of people have said. That the Pistons can beat a team/teams that are heathy which is another thing I have heard people say as a excuse for our first Championship and Playoff run last year.

These two teams are the class of the NBA in my opinion and I don't see why they won't be again next year. Hopefully we can get that rematch. Because that was GREAT basketball.