George Gervin's Afro
06-12-2007, 09:14 AM
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chi-smith-onnba12jun12,1,4642778.story?coll=chi-sportsnew-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
Spurs' steady play simply spectacular
Solid teamwork makes for impressive playoff run, writes Sam Smith
Published June 12, 2007
SAN ANTONIO -- It just figured since it's the San Antonio Spurs, the guys who'd plan a fireworks display during a lightning storm.
Through two games of the NBA Finals, little Tony Parker is the star, the French kid the Spurs once didn't want who is leading the series in scoring at 28.5 per game as he awaits his celebrity wedding with "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria.
Here's Parker halfway to the Finals MVP with the Spurs up 2-0, and getting the girl too.
There's also the demythologization of LeBron James, going from icon to I-don't-know-if-I-can with a pair of mediocre performances in which he has been unable to exert his will, or skill, on the series, which continues Tuesday night in Cleveland.
There's the relentless metronome-like play of Tim Duncan, the perfect big man, averaging 23.5 points, 11 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 blocks, and shooting 19 of 33 from the floor.
And in Game 2, there was Robert Horry with five blocks and nine rebounds to complement Manu Ginobili's 25 points, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calling Horry "our star" for coming off the bench with that level of enthusiasm.
For the Cavs, their visit to this south Texas party city was, "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor."
"We've got to bring the juice," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
It appeared the Cavs had spent too much time imbibing it the way they stumbled into the first two games and didn't have more than 35 points at halftime of either.
"It will be a huge challenge," Popovich said of Game 3. "The place will be rocking. We don't think about sweeps or anything like that. We always plan for a long, drawn-out, seven-game series."
It's difficult to see that now -- yes, I know we said that with Dallas ahead 2-0 and going to Miami in last year's Finals -- with the Spurs in the midst of one of the more remarkable playoff runs in league history.
Yes, there'll always be questions of "What if" with the controversial suspensions in the series with the Suns in which Horry was truly the Spurs' star for taking out Steve Nash in a meaningless, cheap act and luring Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw into leaving-the-bench suspensions with the Suns going home and the series tied 2-2.
But since then the Spurs have been as good as there is, with six fabulous games en route to the Finals and one which Duncan barely played due to foul trouble.
That was Game 3 in Salt Lake City, and what the Jazz proved in five games was they could beat the Spurs without Duncan.
The Cavs will adopt that tactic and you can be sure they'll be throwing themselves at Duncan on Tuesday like hair restoration salesmen at Donald Trump. :lol
The Spurs had double-digit leads by halftime in three of the five games, all those in San Antonio, against the Jazz, and pulled away to win by a dozen in their Salt Lake City win in the clincher. The Spurs also dusted off the Nuggets in four straight after an opening loss, and the Cavs haven't been close to competitive in the first two games, trailing by 18 and 27 before hopeless fourth-quarter rallies.
"I think [the Spurs] just took their foot off the gas pedal," Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said after Game 2.
"We already discussed it," Duncan said shortly after Sunday's win, referring to the Spurs' 2-0 lead in the 2005 Finals turning into a seven-game series. Since 2002, the Spurs have lost Game 3 six of the eight times they led 2-0 in the playoffs.
Perhaps they will again, though it's the Spurs' bad fortune to be burdened with another miserable opponent in the Finals. In the 1999 Knicks and 2003 Nets, they've had two of the worst. And this Cavs team remains a mystery to even the Eastern teams about how they got here.
The Spurs have smothered James, who has shown little star ability to play himself out of the traps the other great ones routinely do. James has continued to force bad shots and stay on the perimeter, while Parker streaks by the Cavs' defenders so fast they're lucky their uniforms don't blow off.
He's very good, probably the second-best point guard we've played this postseason," James said of Parker. "Jason Kidd is No. 1. I think Parker is No. 2."
Which would put James at about the seventh-best player the Spurs have seen this postseason, behind Deron Williams, Nash, Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Carlos Boozer. All have played better against the Spurs than James. Probably Shawn Marion as well.
"We can play better," James said. "We can play harder. We have to find a way to pick up our intensity."
The problem, though, is how they'll improve the talent.
It seems obvious rookie Daniel Gibson, their second-best player since midway through the Detroit series, should start for the injured Larry Hughes, and perhaps Anderson Varejao for Ilgauskas, the latter also ineffective against the faster Spurs.
Brown's deliberate offense has been awful, with the Cavs only profiting when ignoring any offense and playing fast in the fourth quarters when James isn't hanging onto the ball. So the Cavs could go smaller with more shooters to space the floor for James.
Brown panicked in taking James out too quickly with two fouls in Game 2, and has done little changing up on defenses, which the Spurs have shredded. It was Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas both lost on defense, forcing James to help and drawing those two early fouls.
The Cavs haven't tried zones, though they have taken turns with Hughes, James, Gibson and Eric Snow failing to slow Parker, that second-best point guard.
"Offensively, we really have not been good all year," acknowledged Ilgauskas. "But they are rebounding better than us, getting all the hustle points, playing better defense than us, executing a lot better than us on offense."
Doing everything better but making commercials. Just as Game 2 was ending, the NBA released a list of top player jersey sales for the season. Kobe Bryant was No. 1, Dwyane Wade was No. 2 and James No. 3. No Spur was in the top 10. The Cavs were fifth overall among teams. The Spurs were ninth.
It seems the only place the Spurs succeed is on the basketball court
Spurs' steady play simply spectacular
Solid teamwork makes for impressive playoff run, writes Sam Smith
Published June 12, 2007
SAN ANTONIO -- It just figured since it's the San Antonio Spurs, the guys who'd plan a fireworks display during a lightning storm.
Through two games of the NBA Finals, little Tony Parker is the star, the French kid the Spurs once didn't want who is leading the series in scoring at 28.5 per game as he awaits his celebrity wedding with "Desperate Housewives" star Eva Longoria.
Here's Parker halfway to the Finals MVP with the Spurs up 2-0, and getting the girl too.
There's also the demythologization of LeBron James, going from icon to I-don't-know-if-I-can with a pair of mediocre performances in which he has been unable to exert his will, or skill, on the series, which continues Tuesday night in Cleveland.
There's the relentless metronome-like play of Tim Duncan, the perfect big man, averaging 23.5 points, 11 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.5 blocks, and shooting 19 of 33 from the floor.
And in Game 2, there was Robert Horry with five blocks and nine rebounds to complement Manu Ginobili's 25 points, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich calling Horry "our star" for coming off the bench with that level of enthusiasm.
For the Cavs, their visit to this south Texas party city was, "One tequila, two tequila, three tequila, floor."
"We've got to bring the juice," Cavs coach Mike Brown said.
It appeared the Cavs had spent too much time imbibing it the way they stumbled into the first two games and didn't have more than 35 points at halftime of either.
"It will be a huge challenge," Popovich said of Game 3. "The place will be rocking. We don't think about sweeps or anything like that. We always plan for a long, drawn-out, seven-game series."
It's difficult to see that now -- yes, I know we said that with Dallas ahead 2-0 and going to Miami in last year's Finals -- with the Spurs in the midst of one of the more remarkable playoff runs in league history.
Yes, there'll always be questions of "What if" with the controversial suspensions in the series with the Suns in which Horry was truly the Spurs' star for taking out Steve Nash in a meaningless, cheap act and luring Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw into leaving-the-bench suspensions with the Suns going home and the series tied 2-2.
But since then the Spurs have been as good as there is, with six fabulous games en route to the Finals and one which Duncan barely played due to foul trouble.
That was Game 3 in Salt Lake City, and what the Jazz proved in five games was they could beat the Spurs without Duncan.
The Cavs will adopt that tactic and you can be sure they'll be throwing themselves at Duncan on Tuesday like hair restoration salesmen at Donald Trump. :lol
The Spurs had double-digit leads by halftime in three of the five games, all those in San Antonio, against the Jazz, and pulled away to win by a dozen in their Salt Lake City win in the clincher. The Spurs also dusted off the Nuggets in four straight after an opening loss, and the Cavs haven't been close to competitive in the first two games, trailing by 18 and 27 before hopeless fourth-quarter rallies.
"I think [the Spurs] just took their foot off the gas pedal," Cavaliers center Zydrunas Ilgauskas said after Game 2.
"We already discussed it," Duncan said shortly after Sunday's win, referring to the Spurs' 2-0 lead in the 2005 Finals turning into a seven-game series. Since 2002, the Spurs have lost Game 3 six of the eight times they led 2-0 in the playoffs.
Perhaps they will again, though it's the Spurs' bad fortune to be burdened with another miserable opponent in the Finals. In the 1999 Knicks and 2003 Nets, they've had two of the worst. And this Cavs team remains a mystery to even the Eastern teams about how they got here.
The Spurs have smothered James, who has shown little star ability to play himself out of the traps the other great ones routinely do. James has continued to force bad shots and stay on the perimeter, while Parker streaks by the Cavs' defenders so fast they're lucky their uniforms don't blow off.
He's very good, probably the second-best point guard we've played this postseason," James said of Parker. "Jason Kidd is No. 1. I think Parker is No. 2."
Which would put James at about the seventh-best player the Spurs have seen this postseason, behind Deron Williams, Nash, Stoudemire, Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson and Carlos Boozer. All have played better against the Spurs than James. Probably Shawn Marion as well.
"We can play better," James said. "We can play harder. We have to find a way to pick up our intensity."
The problem, though, is how they'll improve the talent.
It seems obvious rookie Daniel Gibson, their second-best player since midway through the Detroit series, should start for the injured Larry Hughes, and perhaps Anderson Varejao for Ilgauskas, the latter also ineffective against the faster Spurs.
Brown's deliberate offense has been awful, with the Cavs only profiting when ignoring any offense and playing fast in the fourth quarters when James isn't hanging onto the ball. So the Cavs could go smaller with more shooters to space the floor for James.
Brown panicked in taking James out too quickly with two fouls in Game 2, and has done little changing up on defenses, which the Spurs have shredded. It was Drew Gooden and Ilgauskas both lost on defense, forcing James to help and drawing those two early fouls.
The Cavs haven't tried zones, though they have taken turns with Hughes, James, Gibson and Eric Snow failing to slow Parker, that second-best point guard.
"Offensively, we really have not been good all year," acknowledged Ilgauskas. "But they are rebounding better than us, getting all the hustle points, playing better defense than us, executing a lot better than us on offense."
Doing everything better but making commercials. Just as Game 2 was ending, the NBA released a list of top player jersey sales for the season. Kobe Bryant was No. 1, Dwyane Wade was No. 2 and James No. 3. No Spur was in the top 10. The Cavs were fifth overall among teams. The Spurs were ninth.
It seems the only place the Spurs succeed is on the basketball court