some_user86
04-20-2008, 11:16 PM
Buck Harvey: Duncan has not made history, yet
Web Posted: 04/20/2008 11:00 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Tim Duncan's 3-pointer ranks among the best ever.
In this series.
It doesn't compare to Sean Elliott's tiptoeing 3-pointer against Portland on Memorial Day in 1999, or to the cluster of threes that Steve Kerr used to eliminate Dallas in 2003.
It certainly doesn't compare to 2005. Phoenix knows Robert Horry for his hip-check; San Antonio knows Horry for what he did in Detroit.
By comparison?
If the Spurs go on to lose this series, Duncan's I-just-threw-it-up-there shot will only suggest they should have lost the series earlier.
If the Spurs go on to win, then someone will make a few bucks off a revised greatest-hits DVD. Saturday will become part of a stirring series of shots, and, for those who remember the way it used to be, this is some change for the Spurs.
There was a time these shots went against the Spurs. Charles Barkley, coincidentally a Suns player then, closed down a series as well as the old HemisFair Arena with a long jumper over David Robinson.
The Spurs have not been immune in this era, either. Derek Fisher comes to mind.
Still, on their way to championships, the Spurs have come up with dramatic, memorable shots as if on cue. Last season's title run was the exception. The dramatic, memorable shot then was the one Horry applied to Steve Nash.
So if the Spurs win another, then Duncan's three will be remembered as the powerful first step, and all details will be recalled. Such as when Manu Ginobili drove, and Shaquille O'Neal followed him into the lane, and Duncan realized how open he would be.
Then Duncan prepared for the pass the way a bowler waits for his ball to return. Replays show Duncan wiping his hands quickly on his shorts.
But all of it can be wiped away just as suddenly. The NBA changes with the speed of its shot clock, and this series will change, too. On another night, perhaps as early as Tuesday, the mood and the refs will switch, and Nash will score 30 to beat the Spurs.
The Spurs know this firsthand, and this goes back to the last time they lost a playoff series. Then, in 2006, Dallas made foolish mistakes in the first game, just as the Suns did Saturday. The Mavericks botched the final play and were unable to score a basket in the final four minutes.
The Spurs felt relief, especially after coming off a tough series against Sacramento just two days before. That Dallas opener was played on a Sunday with the second on a Tuesday, and that gave the Spurs little time to recharge.
The Spurs are luckier now. They have two days to restore their bodies, and Tony Parker will need to restore his mind; the storm that built in his head after taking a blow should dissipate by Tuesday.
The Spurs also will need time to prepare for a few adjustments Phoenix will make. Among them, the Suns will do everything possible — from zones to simply packing the paint — to encourage the Spurs to shoot jumpers instead of layups.
Two years ago the Mavericks adjusted, and this is historic, too. The Mavericks haven't been as successful in the playoffs since.
Before they would wilt in Miami, before they would collapse against Golden State the next year, they believed against the Spurs. They believed Game 1 had been an aberration. They believed the ending then, when both Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse panicked, was a fluke. So they won the next game and extended the series to a seventh game.
Then Ginobili threw in what would have qualified as his own historic 3-pointer — had he not erased it with a foul seconds later. When the Mavericks won Game 7 in San Antonio, everything the Spurs had done well went away.
This series likely will go seven games, too. Nash, by everything he showed Saturday, will extend it by himself. Then, how it ends will determine the significance of how it began.
So the stature of Duncan's three right now?
It was unexpected and entertaining, and it became part of a rivalry, and it helped win a game. Nothing more.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA042108.01D.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.387b846.html
Web Posted: 04/20/2008 11:00 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Tim Duncan's 3-pointer ranks among the best ever.
In this series.
It doesn't compare to Sean Elliott's tiptoeing 3-pointer against Portland on Memorial Day in 1999, or to the cluster of threes that Steve Kerr used to eliminate Dallas in 2003.
It certainly doesn't compare to 2005. Phoenix knows Robert Horry for his hip-check; San Antonio knows Horry for what he did in Detroit.
By comparison?
If the Spurs go on to lose this series, Duncan's I-just-threw-it-up-there shot will only suggest they should have lost the series earlier.
If the Spurs go on to win, then someone will make a few bucks off a revised greatest-hits DVD. Saturday will become part of a stirring series of shots, and, for those who remember the way it used to be, this is some change for the Spurs.
There was a time these shots went against the Spurs. Charles Barkley, coincidentally a Suns player then, closed down a series as well as the old HemisFair Arena with a long jumper over David Robinson.
The Spurs have not been immune in this era, either. Derek Fisher comes to mind.
Still, on their way to championships, the Spurs have come up with dramatic, memorable shots as if on cue. Last season's title run was the exception. The dramatic, memorable shot then was the one Horry applied to Steve Nash.
So if the Spurs win another, then Duncan's three will be remembered as the powerful first step, and all details will be recalled. Such as when Manu Ginobili drove, and Shaquille O'Neal followed him into the lane, and Duncan realized how open he would be.
Then Duncan prepared for the pass the way a bowler waits for his ball to return. Replays show Duncan wiping his hands quickly on his shorts.
But all of it can be wiped away just as suddenly. The NBA changes with the speed of its shot clock, and this series will change, too. On another night, perhaps as early as Tuesday, the mood and the refs will switch, and Nash will score 30 to beat the Spurs.
The Spurs know this firsthand, and this goes back to the last time they lost a playoff series. Then, in 2006, Dallas made foolish mistakes in the first game, just as the Suns did Saturday. The Mavericks botched the final play and were unable to score a basket in the final four minutes.
The Spurs felt relief, especially after coming off a tough series against Sacramento just two days before. That Dallas opener was played on a Sunday with the second on a Tuesday, and that gave the Spurs little time to recharge.
The Spurs are luckier now. They have two days to restore their bodies, and Tony Parker will need to restore his mind; the storm that built in his head after taking a blow should dissipate by Tuesday.
The Spurs also will need time to prepare for a few adjustments Phoenix will make. Among them, the Suns will do everything possible — from zones to simply packing the paint — to encourage the Spurs to shoot jumpers instead of layups.
Two years ago the Mavericks adjusted, and this is historic, too. The Mavericks haven't been as successful in the playoffs since.
Before they would wilt in Miami, before they would collapse against Golden State the next year, they believed against the Spurs. They believed Game 1 had been an aberration. They believed the ending then, when both Dirk Nowitzki and Jerry Stackhouse panicked, was a fluke. So they won the next game and extended the series to a seventh game.
Then Ginobili threw in what would have qualified as his own historic 3-pointer — had he not erased it with a foul seconds later. When the Mavericks won Game 7 in San Antonio, everything the Spurs had done well went away.
This series likely will go seven games, too. Nash, by everything he showed Saturday, will extend it by himself. Then, how it ends will determine the significance of how it began.
So the stature of Duncan's three right now?
It was unexpected and entertaining, and it became part of a rivalry, and it helped win a game. Nothing more.
[email protected]
LINK: http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA042108.01D.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.387b846.html