duncan228
05-14-2008, 11:32 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA.051508.01A.spurs.ffd9c0a2.html
Spurs fans now are scratching their heads
By Richard Oliver
Terminix service technician Mike Schmedding knows a thing or two about getting rid of unwanted pests.
But as he made his scheduled rounds Wednesday, the veteran bug exterminator found himself repeatedly confronted with the same question from tortured customers.
How does San Antonio get rid of a dozen troublesome Hornets?
“I’m not sure,” Schmedding, a Universal City resident, said with a laugh. “But I’ve got some wasp spray.”
Tonight at the AT&T Center, the Spurs may need that and more. The defending NBA champions, riding an 11-game home winning streak in the postseason, will try to stave off elimination against a brash, talented New Orleans team that has proven tougher to handle than a hive full of angry stingers.
A stunning 101-79 loss at New Orleans Arena late Tuesday put the Spurs in a 3-2 hole in the best-of-7 series. It was the third-straight lopsided win for the Hornets on their own court, all of them fueled by a dominant third quarter that buried San Antonio’s chances.
The impact of it was felt in more than playoff brackets and headlines. Stung Spurs fans were left with an unfamiliar angst, balancing stubborn faith with lingering doubt.
At Fatso’s Sports Garden on Henderson Pass, server Luan Farino didn’t have time to watch the game unfold on any of the facility’s numerous television screens late Tuesday. But she knew exactly what was happening.
“You could sense the somber mood the last few minutes,” Farino said. “It kind of got really quiet. When it came down to the Spurs trying to catch up, hope was gone. People just started to leave.”
The hangover from the loss carried into Tuesday as fans shambled into offices, restaurants and stores with more questions than confidence.
“It’s got to be the gumbo in Louisiana or the officiating with Joey Crawford,” longtime Baseline Bum section leader Cheryl Haynes said, referring to the notorious referee who worked Tuesday’s game.
Crawford, suspended last season for a questionable ruling against Spurs star Tim Duncan, slapped head coach Gregg Popovich with a technical Tuesday after another disputed decision.
Popovich admitted Wednesday to befuddlement over the disparity in foul calls in Game 5, including during the Hornets’ 28-11 run in the third quarter. Duncan took a playoff-high 18 shots in the game, for example, but had only one free-throw attempt.
“But that game had to do with New Orleans’ defense in the third quarter,” Popovich said. “I know everybody wants to try and make it something different, or pick at this or pick at that. But they deserve credit for that.”
Haynes, a night lab supervisor at Wilford Hall Medical Center, agreed.
“That clamp-down defense the Spurs are known for doing?” she said. “They were getting clamped down on.”
As a result, added local businessman Jim Seals: “They melted down. The Spurs started making silly, silly mistakes and it was very frustrating.”
If San Antonio wins tonight at the AT&T Center, where it has averaged more than 104 points in five postseason contests, the series’ pivotal Game 7 will return to New Orleans on Monday night.
The Spurs haven’t faced a Game 7 since the 2006 playoffs, when they lost a 119-111 overtime decision to the Dallas Mavericks. San Antonio toppled Detroit, 81-74, in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals.
FSN Southwest television analyst Sean Elliott, known for his own playoff heroics as a former Spur, said he was approached Tuesday “at least 20 times, in 20 different ways” about the team’s chances.
The basic theme: “They can’t figure out what’s up with this team,” said Elliott, who will work tonight’s telecast for FSN. “And you know what? I’m saying the same thing. I’m looking at the TV saying, ‘What pass was that? Why throw it over there?’.”
But, he added, “There’s no question we have the ability to come back. I’m not that nervous about it.”
Neither is Spurs star Manu Ginobili, who stresses that fans shouldn’t throw away optimism.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said Tuesday, “but we’ve got a shot. And as long as we have a chance, we’re going to try to get it.”
Spurs fans now are scratching their heads
By Richard Oliver
Terminix service technician Mike Schmedding knows a thing or two about getting rid of unwanted pests.
But as he made his scheduled rounds Wednesday, the veteran bug exterminator found himself repeatedly confronted with the same question from tortured customers.
How does San Antonio get rid of a dozen troublesome Hornets?
“I’m not sure,” Schmedding, a Universal City resident, said with a laugh. “But I’ve got some wasp spray.”
Tonight at the AT&T Center, the Spurs may need that and more. The defending NBA champions, riding an 11-game home winning streak in the postseason, will try to stave off elimination against a brash, talented New Orleans team that has proven tougher to handle than a hive full of angry stingers.
A stunning 101-79 loss at New Orleans Arena late Tuesday put the Spurs in a 3-2 hole in the best-of-7 series. It was the third-straight lopsided win for the Hornets on their own court, all of them fueled by a dominant third quarter that buried San Antonio’s chances.
The impact of it was felt in more than playoff brackets and headlines. Stung Spurs fans were left with an unfamiliar angst, balancing stubborn faith with lingering doubt.
At Fatso’s Sports Garden on Henderson Pass, server Luan Farino didn’t have time to watch the game unfold on any of the facility’s numerous television screens late Tuesday. But she knew exactly what was happening.
“You could sense the somber mood the last few minutes,” Farino said. “It kind of got really quiet. When it came down to the Spurs trying to catch up, hope was gone. People just started to leave.”
The hangover from the loss carried into Tuesday as fans shambled into offices, restaurants and stores with more questions than confidence.
“It’s got to be the gumbo in Louisiana or the officiating with Joey Crawford,” longtime Baseline Bum section leader Cheryl Haynes said, referring to the notorious referee who worked Tuesday’s game.
Crawford, suspended last season for a questionable ruling against Spurs star Tim Duncan, slapped head coach Gregg Popovich with a technical Tuesday after another disputed decision.
Popovich admitted Wednesday to befuddlement over the disparity in foul calls in Game 5, including during the Hornets’ 28-11 run in the third quarter. Duncan took a playoff-high 18 shots in the game, for example, but had only one free-throw attempt.
“But that game had to do with New Orleans’ defense in the third quarter,” Popovich said. “I know everybody wants to try and make it something different, or pick at this or pick at that. But they deserve credit for that.”
Haynes, a night lab supervisor at Wilford Hall Medical Center, agreed.
“That clamp-down defense the Spurs are known for doing?” she said. “They were getting clamped down on.”
As a result, added local businessman Jim Seals: “They melted down. The Spurs started making silly, silly mistakes and it was very frustrating.”
If San Antonio wins tonight at the AT&T Center, where it has averaged more than 104 points in five postseason contests, the series’ pivotal Game 7 will return to New Orleans on Monday night.
The Spurs haven’t faced a Game 7 since the 2006 playoffs, when they lost a 119-111 overtime decision to the Dallas Mavericks. San Antonio toppled Detroit, 81-74, in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals.
FSN Southwest television analyst Sean Elliott, known for his own playoff heroics as a former Spur, said he was approached Tuesday “at least 20 times, in 20 different ways” about the team’s chances.
The basic theme: “They can’t figure out what’s up with this team,” said Elliott, who will work tonight’s telecast for FSN. “And you know what? I’m saying the same thing. I’m looking at the TV saying, ‘What pass was that? Why throw it over there?’.”
But, he added, “There’s no question we have the ability to come back. I’m not that nervous about it.”
Neither is Spurs star Manu Ginobili, who stresses that fans shouldn’t throw away optimism.
“It’s going to be tough,” he said Tuesday, “but we’ve got a shot. And as long as we have a chance, we’re going to try to get it.”