Spurs Brazil
05-04-2008, 09:19 AM
Buck Harvey: Duncan's salvation - Spurs have endured fire and rain
Web Posted: 05/04/2008 01:27 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
NEW ORLEANS — Tim Duncan began the Phoenix series by doing something he hadn't done all year.
He began this one the same way.
He began this one with the fewest combination of points and rebounds he's had all year when he hasn't been helped off the floor with an injury. He began this one watching David West do to the Spurs what he did to the Suns, and he began this one playing as if he still hadn't physically or mentally recovered from the last one.
With that there's reason to wonder if the Spurs have met an emerging force no one saw coming a year ago. But there's one thing on Duncan's side, and it's about what he's done in the past.
The Spurs would have preferred a different outcome. The Spurs would have preferred, for example, to see Super Hugo leap through the Ring of Fire and come out the other end as if in a Will Ferrell movie.
Hugo would have been unhurt after bursting into flames in this scenario; no one wants to see a smoldering mascot, after all. But if the fire extinguishers were to blast away anything, it should have been Hugo.
Instead, Hugo simply walked away, leaving the Hornets and Spurs with a dust-covered court. At its worst, with brooms doing little but spreading fire extinguisher residue, Duncan began skating near the bench.
It was funny, and at the time he had reason to be playful. The Spurs came out throwing in 3-pointers for an early lead and, just to prove a little Ring of Fire distraction wouldn't get in their way, they started the second quarter the same way.
Hugo and the Hornets will hear about this, but the Spurs can't act too superior. After all, they once had their own fire-induced humiliation.
Then, on Nov. 3, 1994, a series of pyrotechnics were set off inside the Alamodome as part of the Spurs' opening-night ceremonies.
The fireworks triggered a fire-control water cannon mounted on the front of an upper deck, which soaked hundreds of fans with a high-pressure spray and about 12,000 gallons of water.
There that night: Members of the Republican National Convention site-selection committee.
The rain delayed the start of that game, just as fire did the second quarter Saturday. And Gregg Popovich smiled on that 1994 night and gave his excuse. He thought Dennis Rodman might have been involved.
The moment was another kind of baptism. That opening night was Popovich's first as the general manager of the Spurs, and from that day he would begin to build the kind of toughness he wanted. He would go through players, and he would become the coach, and he would need his personnel guys to find talent around the world.
He would need to win a lottery, too. And with that, Popovich would get the player who would incorporate a resilient culture.
Duncan hasn't always been perfect, and he certainly wasn't Saturday night.
Then he made 1 of 9 shots, and he grabbed three rebounds. He did worse just once this season in December against Portland; that night he played only 10 minutes after being injured.
But Popovich reacted as he has in this era. He didn't blame a letdown after the Suns series, and he didn't blame the refs, and he certainly didn't blame Hugo.
“They both outplayed us and outhustled us,” Popovich said. “They played harder, on the boards and on the floor. They deserved to win.”
And then he used a favorite phrase. “They kicked our butts.”
Anything special they did on Duncan?
“They did a good job,” Popovich said.
Duncan will say the same today. He will praise West, and he will say that 3-pointer he threw in against Phoenix is old news. He also will say he will have to do better.
He will be right, naturally. If Duncan plays like this, the Spurs will be swept.
But this is also the theme of the franchise. The Spurs have developed a toughness over the years. They have been through losses and setbacks, they've seen fire and rain, and they will lean on Duncan again for that now.
He's just begun this one, after all.
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA050408.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.41fa351.html
Web Posted: 05/04/2008 01:27 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
NEW ORLEANS — Tim Duncan began the Phoenix series by doing something he hadn't done all year.
He began this one the same way.
He began this one with the fewest combination of points and rebounds he's had all year when he hasn't been helped off the floor with an injury. He began this one watching David West do to the Spurs what he did to the Suns, and he began this one playing as if he still hadn't physically or mentally recovered from the last one.
With that there's reason to wonder if the Spurs have met an emerging force no one saw coming a year ago. But there's one thing on Duncan's side, and it's about what he's done in the past.
The Spurs would have preferred a different outcome. The Spurs would have preferred, for example, to see Super Hugo leap through the Ring of Fire and come out the other end as if in a Will Ferrell movie.
Hugo would have been unhurt after bursting into flames in this scenario; no one wants to see a smoldering mascot, after all. But if the fire extinguishers were to blast away anything, it should have been Hugo.
Instead, Hugo simply walked away, leaving the Hornets and Spurs with a dust-covered court. At its worst, with brooms doing little but spreading fire extinguisher residue, Duncan began skating near the bench.
It was funny, and at the time he had reason to be playful. The Spurs came out throwing in 3-pointers for an early lead and, just to prove a little Ring of Fire distraction wouldn't get in their way, they started the second quarter the same way.
Hugo and the Hornets will hear about this, but the Spurs can't act too superior. After all, they once had their own fire-induced humiliation.
Then, on Nov. 3, 1994, a series of pyrotechnics were set off inside the Alamodome as part of the Spurs' opening-night ceremonies.
The fireworks triggered a fire-control water cannon mounted on the front of an upper deck, which soaked hundreds of fans with a high-pressure spray and about 12,000 gallons of water.
There that night: Members of the Republican National Convention site-selection committee.
The rain delayed the start of that game, just as fire did the second quarter Saturday. And Gregg Popovich smiled on that 1994 night and gave his excuse. He thought Dennis Rodman might have been involved.
The moment was another kind of baptism. That opening night was Popovich's first as the general manager of the Spurs, and from that day he would begin to build the kind of toughness he wanted. He would go through players, and he would become the coach, and he would need his personnel guys to find talent around the world.
He would need to win a lottery, too. And with that, Popovich would get the player who would incorporate a resilient culture.
Duncan hasn't always been perfect, and he certainly wasn't Saturday night.
Then he made 1 of 9 shots, and he grabbed three rebounds. He did worse just once this season in December against Portland; that night he played only 10 minutes after being injured.
But Popovich reacted as he has in this era. He didn't blame a letdown after the Suns series, and he didn't blame the refs, and he certainly didn't blame Hugo.
“They both outplayed us and outhustled us,” Popovich said. “They played harder, on the boards and on the floor. They deserved to win.”
And then he used a favorite phrase. “They kicked our butts.”
Anything special they did on Duncan?
“They did a good job,” Popovich said.
Duncan will say the same today. He will praise West, and he will say that 3-pointer he threw in against Phoenix is old news. He also will say he will have to do better.
He will be right, naturally. If Duncan plays like this, the Spurs will be swept.
But this is also the theme of the franchise. The Spurs have developed a toughness over the years. They have been through losses and setbacks, they've seen fire and rain, and they will lean on Duncan again for that now.
He's just begun this one, after all.
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/bharvey/stories/MYSA050408.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.41fa351.html