duncan228
05-24-2008, 10:31 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052508.1C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.36e0586.html
Buck Harvey: Best chance for another Spurs' title is right now
The Spurs will have to get lucky now.
Scratch that. They will have to get luckier.
Hidden by Manu Ginobili's bruises, forgotten as the silver Spurs missed shots in Los Angeles, is the Spurs' blessed season. They've been as healthy as the oldest traveling band this side of the Rolling Stones can hope for, and they've avoided the traumatic injuries suffered in Houston, Portland and, yes, Los Angeles.
That's why the Spurs' situation right now isn't bleak.
Given that they are in the Western Conference finals, given what the Lakers could be next season, this might be the Spurs' best chance at another title for a while.
The Spurs will be competitive next season, too.
No matter how they restock their roster, the Spurs will lean on their three stars again.
They will again tonight with the usual urgency that comes with arriving home down 0-2. They will win as Tony Parker resumes highway speed.
They will still struggle without enough rest, but their physical condition isn't bad luck. This is who they are, a smart, experienced group that needs naps. This is why Gregg Popovich opted to ration minutes during the regular season, opting for health instead of the best available playoff seed.
The Spurs survived the Hornets by tapping into the very energy Popovich stored. Now the Spurs look spent, or, as a Southern California columnist wrote: “Sen. John McCain demanded that the Spurs release their health records late Friday night.”
The health records wouldn't show much except for the chronic bruise inside Ginobili's left ankle. And that's the contrast between the Spurs and other franchises.
Parker and Ginobili went through some injuries during the season, and Tim Duncan went down in December in a frightening fall. He grabbed a knee and then grabbed an ankle. But he missed only four games then, and those were the only ones he missed all season.
Others around the league went down, too, and they grabbed remotes and headed for a seat on the nearest couch. Yao Ming and Elton Brand sat out large portions of the season, and Greg Oden didn't see a minute.
More pertinent now is the absent Lakers' power, Andrew Bynum. He's the reason the Spurs can't complain about anything.
Bynum was having a breakout season, averaging a double-double. Just 20 years old, the 7-footer seemed to be picking up something new with every game.
Then, in mid-January, he suffered a bone bruise in a knee and a brief dislocation of the kneecap. The Lakers won that game — by just one point over Memphis.
The Spurs lost to Memphis on a Rudy Gay bomb at the buzzer. Turn around those two Grizz games and turn around the standings.
Memphis became a bigger factor later, giving Pau Gasol to the Lakers. The gift was remarkable in what the Lakers didn't have to give up in return, and it was remarkable this way, too: Because of Gasol, the Lakers have enough to win a title now without Bynum.
Bynum isn't forgotten, but the games last week obscured his news. On the same day as Game 1, Bynum underwent his second knee operation of the year.
As it has been with Yao: Maybe this is a trend that continues.
But if Bynum heals, then the Lakers who are in San Antonio today will be remembered as a nice, little team. Gasol is better suited to power forward; put Bynum next to him, with Lamar Odom at small forward, and this becomes a rare frontline.
Charles Barkley has said the Lakers with Bynum are “going to be scary good for the next five years,” and some in Los Angeles have gone further. They think the Bynum-Gasol-Odom frontline will be the best since Bird-Parrish-McHale.
They forget about Duncan-Robinson-Elliott.
But whatever their ranking, they will be next to Kobe Bryant. He will have even more to work with, with a 7-footer on the floor at all times, and Bynum will be part of a young core still growing up.
So what kind of chance do the Spurs have now?
Maybe their best.
Buck Harvey: Best chance for another Spurs' title is right now
The Spurs will have to get lucky now.
Scratch that. They will have to get luckier.
Hidden by Manu Ginobili's bruises, forgotten as the silver Spurs missed shots in Los Angeles, is the Spurs' blessed season. They've been as healthy as the oldest traveling band this side of the Rolling Stones can hope for, and they've avoided the traumatic injuries suffered in Houston, Portland and, yes, Los Angeles.
That's why the Spurs' situation right now isn't bleak.
Given that they are in the Western Conference finals, given what the Lakers could be next season, this might be the Spurs' best chance at another title for a while.
The Spurs will be competitive next season, too.
No matter how they restock their roster, the Spurs will lean on their three stars again.
They will again tonight with the usual urgency that comes with arriving home down 0-2. They will win as Tony Parker resumes highway speed.
They will still struggle without enough rest, but their physical condition isn't bad luck. This is who they are, a smart, experienced group that needs naps. This is why Gregg Popovich opted to ration minutes during the regular season, opting for health instead of the best available playoff seed.
The Spurs survived the Hornets by tapping into the very energy Popovich stored. Now the Spurs look spent, or, as a Southern California columnist wrote: “Sen. John McCain demanded that the Spurs release their health records late Friday night.”
The health records wouldn't show much except for the chronic bruise inside Ginobili's left ankle. And that's the contrast between the Spurs and other franchises.
Parker and Ginobili went through some injuries during the season, and Tim Duncan went down in December in a frightening fall. He grabbed a knee and then grabbed an ankle. But he missed only four games then, and those were the only ones he missed all season.
Others around the league went down, too, and they grabbed remotes and headed for a seat on the nearest couch. Yao Ming and Elton Brand sat out large portions of the season, and Greg Oden didn't see a minute.
More pertinent now is the absent Lakers' power, Andrew Bynum. He's the reason the Spurs can't complain about anything.
Bynum was having a breakout season, averaging a double-double. Just 20 years old, the 7-footer seemed to be picking up something new with every game.
Then, in mid-January, he suffered a bone bruise in a knee and a brief dislocation of the kneecap. The Lakers won that game — by just one point over Memphis.
The Spurs lost to Memphis on a Rudy Gay bomb at the buzzer. Turn around those two Grizz games and turn around the standings.
Memphis became a bigger factor later, giving Pau Gasol to the Lakers. The gift was remarkable in what the Lakers didn't have to give up in return, and it was remarkable this way, too: Because of Gasol, the Lakers have enough to win a title now without Bynum.
Bynum isn't forgotten, but the games last week obscured his news. On the same day as Game 1, Bynum underwent his second knee operation of the year.
As it has been with Yao: Maybe this is a trend that continues.
But if Bynum heals, then the Lakers who are in San Antonio today will be remembered as a nice, little team. Gasol is better suited to power forward; put Bynum next to him, with Lamar Odom at small forward, and this becomes a rare frontline.
Charles Barkley has said the Lakers with Bynum are “going to be scary good for the next five years,” and some in Los Angeles have gone further. They think the Bynum-Gasol-Odom frontline will be the best since Bird-Parrish-McHale.
They forget about Duncan-Robinson-Elliott.
But whatever their ranking, they will be next to Kobe Bryant. He will have even more to work with, with a 7-footer on the floor at all times, and Bynum will be part of a young core still growing up.
So what kind of chance do the Spurs have now?
Maybe their best.