Don Quixote
02-01-2007, 07:14 PM
There's this prevailing myth out there that all the Spurs (or Team X) has to do is ...
(a) play aggressive
(b) be physical
(c) play hard
(d) keep the mistakes down
(e) play with more heart
, etc. Has anyone else heard these tired cliches? It is expressed all over this board, as well as major media outlets.
The myth goes, if the Spurs were to exhibit all these "intangible" qualities, then they should, by nature, beat the likes of Utah, Phoenix, well anybody.
Such reasoning is based on the flawed premise that the talent for S.A. is superior, or at least equal to, the talent in our opponent. Generally speaking, this is true: we have a far better bunch than about 75% of the league right now.
However, heart and grit alone won't be enough to beat the great teams. Case in point: The Spurs lost to Dallas in 06, L.A. several times recently, and Phoenix in 00. In none of those playoff series do I remember the Spurs mailing it in, or not giving it their all, or not playing hard. The Spurs lost because they didn't play as well as their opponent, ultimately. While we could possibly take into account poor coaches' decisions, shoddy officiating, "bad breaks," and whatnot, in the end, the better team will always prevail.
Similarly, in the playoff series that we have won, I don't recall too many of the "better" teams not giving it their all: Minnesota, Denver, L.A., Dallas, Sacramento last year, were all worthy opponents. They may not have been as talented as our squad (or in some cases, maybe they were MORE talented), but they always played aggressively, physically, etc. They didn't lose because they weren't aggressive enough, didn't "crash the boards," weren't physical enough. They lost because the Spurs beat them.
So, let's not act like the Spurs lose games simply because they don't play hard enough. That totally insults the hard work the players and coaching staff do every day. It also disrespects our opponents, who play equally hard and (usually) deserve the win.
(a) play aggressive
(b) be physical
(c) play hard
(d) keep the mistakes down
(e) play with more heart
, etc. Has anyone else heard these tired cliches? It is expressed all over this board, as well as major media outlets.
The myth goes, if the Spurs were to exhibit all these "intangible" qualities, then they should, by nature, beat the likes of Utah, Phoenix, well anybody.
Such reasoning is based on the flawed premise that the talent for S.A. is superior, or at least equal to, the talent in our opponent. Generally speaking, this is true: we have a far better bunch than about 75% of the league right now.
However, heart and grit alone won't be enough to beat the great teams. Case in point: The Spurs lost to Dallas in 06, L.A. several times recently, and Phoenix in 00. In none of those playoff series do I remember the Spurs mailing it in, or not giving it their all, or not playing hard. The Spurs lost because they didn't play as well as their opponent, ultimately. While we could possibly take into account poor coaches' decisions, shoddy officiating, "bad breaks," and whatnot, in the end, the better team will always prevail.
Similarly, in the playoff series that we have won, I don't recall too many of the "better" teams not giving it their all: Minnesota, Denver, L.A., Dallas, Sacramento last year, were all worthy opponents. They may not have been as talented as our squad (or in some cases, maybe they were MORE talented), but they always played aggressively, physically, etc. They didn't lose because they weren't aggressive enough, didn't "crash the boards," weren't physical enough. They lost because the Spurs beat them.
So, let's not act like the Spurs lose games simply because they don't play hard enough. That totally insults the hard work the players and coaching staff do every day. It also disrespects our opponents, who play equally hard and (usually) deserve the win.