duncan228
05-08-2008, 03:41 PM
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/8116406/Spurs-may-have-met-their-match
Spurs may have met their match
by Mike Kahn
Now we'll find out just how great the San Antonio Spurs are ... whether that championship timbre that helped them win three of the last five NBA titles, including 2007, is still alive and burning.
Even last year there were dissenters, claiming they were too old and slow — only to have young point guard Tony Parker prove everyone wrong by winning the Finals MVP, seemingly dancing through every defense as if on roller skates.
But Parker has apparently met his match this time around in the Western Conference semifinals in Chris Paul, the maestro of the New Orleans Hornets. Having grown up in the fundamentals-heavy program at Wake Forest under the late, great Skip Prosser, Paul makes everyone else around him better. In his third NBA season, Paul has opened fire on the rest of the league. That's not to say Parker doesn't make others better, but his inclination is to score, not pass. Paul does both.
Having said that, the Hornets play the game at a pace that makes the Spurs uncomfortable, the way the Phoenix Suns used to. And it raises an interesting point considering the way the Spurs dispatched the Suns in five games in a series that got increasingly embarrassing for the Suns as it moved along.
Let's say the Hornets win this series and, in effect, cause the Spurs to refurbish their roster next season for more youth and speed around Parker, backcourt mate Manu Ginobili and superstar big man Tim Duncan.
Does that further expose Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr as having panicked by dealing Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for aging and slowing center Shaquille O'Neal?
The answer would have to be yes — particularly considering the Suns were so close last season to knocking off the Spurs, and the way Parker exposed them without Marion's defense and general impact all over the floor. Obviously the basis of the deal was for O'Neal to deal with Duncan and help clamp him down. Well, Duncan averaged 24.8 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the series. So much for those rusty old clamps.
It's tough to blame Kerr for wanting to impose his theory of what the Suns needed. It's just tough to justify those things when a team is so close, and it really was an insult to the integrity of what Mike D'Antoni did to that team. D'Antoni, Marion, point guard Steve Nash and big man Amare Stoudemire deserved this playoff season to prove they could beat the Spurs, even if they weren't quite as good as in previous years. Nash, too, is getting older — and considering D'Antoni apparently wants out, we'll see what Kerr is capable of doing.
That's a different story, though, in just another failed attempt to conquer the Spurs. If the Hornets are able to split the two games in San Antonio, they will be well on their way to accomplishing that feat with Paul's motor running at high throttle. And it will prove you don't even need a big center to deal with Duncan. Heck, Hornets center Tyson Chandler is a decent shot-blocker and defensive rebounder, but he is easily moved, and doesn't even have an offensive game other than catching lobs or throwing down offensive rebounds. Evidently, that is enough.
Aging gunner Peja Stojakovic never could run much, and now he's almost solely a clever spot-up shooter. And the beauty of All-Star forward David West's game is his combination of versatility and smarts. In other words, don't try to match up with the Spurs — nobody can do that. The Hornets are proving that doing what they do at a high level will be enough.
Granted, the Spurs did tweak their roster some. They did add an interesting piece in free agent Ime Udoka, who isn't a burner as a small forward. He's more of a latter-day Mario Elie, bringing intangible qualities to both ends of the floor. Then again, he's a 30-year-old international basketball gadfly. And veteran big man Kurt Thomas was a nice steal, but he'll be 36 in the fall and a free agent. Really, they're still the same old story — great defense, Duncan's consistency, and the ability of Parker and Ginobili to break down defenses off the dribble.
This year, it doesn't look to be enough. In fact, it's already obvious that if the Hornets don't get them that the Los Angeles Lakers will. The beauty of the Spurs has always been the consistency created by the team that Gregg Popovich built first around David Robinson and Duncan, and now Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.
Unless something dramatic changes in the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Spurs can do to alter this course for next season. Parker will turn 26 next week, and he's the only young building block. It would be an exaggeration to say Duncan, 32, and Ginobili, 31, are headed downhill, but they are certainly moving in that general direction. Robert Horry is breaking down and headed for his 38th birthday, defensive specialist Bruce Bowen turns 37 next month, Brent Barry will be 37 in December, and Michael Finley is 35.
Will a late first-round pick in the upcoming draft help? Pop and general manager R.C. Buford have pulled plenty of rabbits out of that hat before, so it is possible. They'll also very likely head back across the various ponds in search of other international heroes to storm the NBA.
But unless they dare deal Ginobili, the options will be limited. The Spurs faithful, however spoiled they've been with four championships in nine years, will have no choice but to ride out the transition with this core and appreciate how Popovich willed himself into Hall of Fame material over the past decade.
The Spurs have always been that inexorable monster that just keeps coming regardless of how many shots it takes. Now it appears they just can't keep up with the Hornets. And to think ... the Suns might have been that team.
Spurs may have met their match
by Mike Kahn
Now we'll find out just how great the San Antonio Spurs are ... whether that championship timbre that helped them win three of the last five NBA titles, including 2007, is still alive and burning.
Even last year there were dissenters, claiming they were too old and slow — only to have young point guard Tony Parker prove everyone wrong by winning the Finals MVP, seemingly dancing through every defense as if on roller skates.
But Parker has apparently met his match this time around in the Western Conference semifinals in Chris Paul, the maestro of the New Orleans Hornets. Having grown up in the fundamentals-heavy program at Wake Forest under the late, great Skip Prosser, Paul makes everyone else around him better. In his third NBA season, Paul has opened fire on the rest of the league. That's not to say Parker doesn't make others better, but his inclination is to score, not pass. Paul does both.
Having said that, the Hornets play the game at a pace that makes the Spurs uncomfortable, the way the Phoenix Suns used to. And it raises an interesting point considering the way the Spurs dispatched the Suns in five games in a series that got increasingly embarrassing for the Suns as it moved along.
Let's say the Hornets win this series and, in effect, cause the Spurs to refurbish their roster next season for more youth and speed around Parker, backcourt mate Manu Ginobili and superstar big man Tim Duncan.
Does that further expose Suns owner Robert Sarver and general manager Steve Kerr as having panicked by dealing Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks for aging and slowing center Shaquille O'Neal?
The answer would have to be yes — particularly considering the Suns were so close last season to knocking off the Spurs, and the way Parker exposed them without Marion's defense and general impact all over the floor. Obviously the basis of the deal was for O'Neal to deal with Duncan and help clamp him down. Well, Duncan averaged 24.8 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2.4 blocks in the series. So much for those rusty old clamps.
It's tough to blame Kerr for wanting to impose his theory of what the Suns needed. It's just tough to justify those things when a team is so close, and it really was an insult to the integrity of what Mike D'Antoni did to that team. D'Antoni, Marion, point guard Steve Nash and big man Amare Stoudemire deserved this playoff season to prove they could beat the Spurs, even if they weren't quite as good as in previous years. Nash, too, is getting older — and considering D'Antoni apparently wants out, we'll see what Kerr is capable of doing.
That's a different story, though, in just another failed attempt to conquer the Spurs. If the Hornets are able to split the two games in San Antonio, they will be well on their way to accomplishing that feat with Paul's motor running at high throttle. And it will prove you don't even need a big center to deal with Duncan. Heck, Hornets center Tyson Chandler is a decent shot-blocker and defensive rebounder, but he is easily moved, and doesn't even have an offensive game other than catching lobs or throwing down offensive rebounds. Evidently, that is enough.
Aging gunner Peja Stojakovic never could run much, and now he's almost solely a clever spot-up shooter. And the beauty of All-Star forward David West's game is his combination of versatility and smarts. In other words, don't try to match up with the Spurs — nobody can do that. The Hornets are proving that doing what they do at a high level will be enough.
Granted, the Spurs did tweak their roster some. They did add an interesting piece in free agent Ime Udoka, who isn't a burner as a small forward. He's more of a latter-day Mario Elie, bringing intangible qualities to both ends of the floor. Then again, he's a 30-year-old international basketball gadfly. And veteran big man Kurt Thomas was a nice steal, but he'll be 36 in the fall and a free agent. Really, they're still the same old story — great defense, Duncan's consistency, and the ability of Parker and Ginobili to break down defenses off the dribble.
This year, it doesn't look to be enough. In fact, it's already obvious that if the Hornets don't get them that the Los Angeles Lakers will. The beauty of the Spurs has always been the consistency created by the team that Gregg Popovich built first around David Robinson and Duncan, and now Duncan, Parker and Ginobili.
Unless something dramatic changes in the next few weeks, it will be interesting to see what, if anything, the Spurs can do to alter this course for next season. Parker will turn 26 next week, and he's the only young building block. It would be an exaggeration to say Duncan, 32, and Ginobili, 31, are headed downhill, but they are certainly moving in that general direction. Robert Horry is breaking down and headed for his 38th birthday, defensive specialist Bruce Bowen turns 37 next month, Brent Barry will be 37 in December, and Michael Finley is 35.
Will a late first-round pick in the upcoming draft help? Pop and general manager R.C. Buford have pulled plenty of rabbits out of that hat before, so it is possible. They'll also very likely head back across the various ponds in search of other international heroes to storm the NBA.
But unless they dare deal Ginobili, the options will be limited. The Spurs faithful, however spoiled they've been with four championships in nine years, will have no choice but to ride out the transition with this core and appreciate how Popovich willed himself into Hall of Fame material over the past decade.
The Spurs have always been that inexorable monster that just keeps coming regardless of how many shots it takes. Now it appears they just can't keep up with the Hornets. And to think ... the Suns might have been that team.