timvp
06-12-2007, 12:38 AM
Mike Finger: Spurs have reason to feel some anger
San Antonio Express-News
Finger The Spurs say it's still too early to celebrate, but it's not too soon for them to get angry.
Angry at Dirk Nowitzki for not showing enough heart to give them a chance for revenge. Upset at David Stern for handing them a break and an asterisk they didn't ask for. And hacked off at LeBron James for not putting up a fight until garbage time.
Knowing these Spurs, they don't care about any such triviality. They'll gladly take their fourth NBA championship trophy, which they should claim in Cleveland within the week, and they'll ignore the chorus calling their achievement either tainted or historically unimpressive.
But years from now, when the topic of the 2007 NBA playoffs comes up, people won't remember Tim Duncan's steadiness or Tony Parker's penetration or Manu Ginobili's wiliness in the clutch. Instead, they'll think about the Mavericks' meltdown, and Amare Stoudemire's suspension, and an overmatched Cavaliers squad that did the unthinkable and made people think less of the Eastern Conference than they already did.
And for these Spurs, whose toughness and talent make them worthy champions, won't that legacy be worth getting upset about?
Right now there undoubtedly are some readers thinking that asking such a question is jumping the gun, that talking about legacies is premature when the Finals haven't even shifted to Ohio yet. After all, the Spurs blew out Detroit in Games 1 and 2 in 2005 before the Pistons stretched the series to seven, and Miami spotted Dallas two games last year before coming back to win the title.
But rest assured, the 2007 Cavaliers are not the 2005 Pistons (who had won a championship the year before and had a starting lineup that didn't depend on Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Larry Hughes for offense). And they most certainly are not playing a team like the 2006 Mavericks (whose star player went into a shell at the first sign of adversity, and whose coach's most infamous strategic move was a change of team hotels).
A better comparison is this year's Utah Jazz, which lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. Like the Cavs, the Jazz surpassed most people's expectations simply by getting to their series against the Spurs, and like the Cavs, the Jazz were embarrassed in each of their first two games at the AT&T Center.
Utah made its token fourth-quarter rallies in both of those losses, just as the Cavs did this week, and they won Game 3 in a rowdy home building. There's a decent chance Cleveland will do the same thing Tuesday, but they'll eventually hit the same wall that smacked the Jazz in the face.
The Spurs are simply too good to allow a team with only one star push them beyond five games. Utah had two in Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, and they still couldn't get to Game 6. There's no reason to think the Cavs can do any better, even if Gregg Popovich won't admit it.
"Coaches are paranoid that way," Popovich said Sunday night. "They worry about everything."
Everything, that is, except about what everyone else thinks of them. Right now, Popovich doesn't care about how great a rematch with Dirk would've been, or how much more love the Spurs would be getting if Stern hadn't suspended Stoudemire, or how many more people would be watching if the Cavs could give viewers a reason not to change the station before halftime.
For now, paranoia will have to do. The celebration, and the anger, will come later.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA061107.03S.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3d5873e.html
San Antonio Express-News
Finger The Spurs say it's still too early to celebrate, but it's not too soon for them to get angry.
Angry at Dirk Nowitzki for not showing enough heart to give them a chance for revenge. Upset at David Stern for handing them a break and an asterisk they didn't ask for. And hacked off at LeBron James for not putting up a fight until garbage time.
Knowing these Spurs, they don't care about any such triviality. They'll gladly take their fourth NBA championship trophy, which they should claim in Cleveland within the week, and they'll ignore the chorus calling their achievement either tainted or historically unimpressive.
But years from now, when the topic of the 2007 NBA playoffs comes up, people won't remember Tim Duncan's steadiness or Tony Parker's penetration or Manu Ginobili's wiliness in the clutch. Instead, they'll think about the Mavericks' meltdown, and Amare Stoudemire's suspension, and an overmatched Cavaliers squad that did the unthinkable and made people think less of the Eastern Conference than they already did.
And for these Spurs, whose toughness and talent make them worthy champions, won't that legacy be worth getting upset about?
Right now there undoubtedly are some readers thinking that asking such a question is jumping the gun, that talking about legacies is premature when the Finals haven't even shifted to Ohio yet. After all, the Spurs blew out Detroit in Games 1 and 2 in 2005 before the Pistons stretched the series to seven, and Miami spotted Dallas two games last year before coming back to win the title.
But rest assured, the 2007 Cavaliers are not the 2005 Pistons (who had won a championship the year before and had a starting lineup that didn't depend on Zydrunas Ilgauskas or Larry Hughes for offense). And they most certainly are not playing a team like the 2006 Mavericks (whose star player went into a shell at the first sign of adversity, and whose coach's most infamous strategic move was a change of team hotels).
A better comparison is this year's Utah Jazz, which lost to the Spurs in the Western Conference finals. Like the Cavs, the Jazz surpassed most people's expectations simply by getting to their series against the Spurs, and like the Cavs, the Jazz were embarrassed in each of their first two games at the AT&T Center.
Utah made its token fourth-quarter rallies in both of those losses, just as the Cavs did this week, and they won Game 3 in a rowdy home building. There's a decent chance Cleveland will do the same thing Tuesday, but they'll eventually hit the same wall that smacked the Jazz in the face.
The Spurs are simply too good to allow a team with only one star push them beyond five games. Utah had two in Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, and they still couldn't get to Game 6. There's no reason to think the Cavs can do any better, even if Gregg Popovich won't admit it.
"Coaches are paranoid that way," Popovich said Sunday night. "They worry about everything."
Everything, that is, except about what everyone else thinks of them. Right now, Popovich doesn't care about how great a rematch with Dirk would've been, or how much more love the Spurs would be getting if Stern hadn't suspended Stoudemire, or how many more people would be watching if the Cavs could give viewers a reason not to change the station before halftime.
For now, paranoia will have to do. The celebration, and the anger, will come later.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA061107.03S.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.3d5873e.html