Cutter:
Every great magic trick consists of three parts or acts. The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, normal. But of course... it probably isn't. The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
Michael Caine, 'Cutter', probably didn't know or care to think that his then lines would transcend the big screen. And he certainly never knew they'd find their way into a San Antonio Spurs piece (can't say I'd hold it against the guy).
But if he cared to revisit the famous dialogue from his 2006 film: 'The Prestige', he might just find that the words were equally suited for the hard court; the big screen has never been devoid of metaphors.
Act1: "The Pledge"
The magician shows you something ordinary:
For all the success and accomplishments the San Antonio Spurs have enjoyed over the last handful of years, their lineup, athletically, would seem to be pretty ordinary. They hadn't the high-flyers, nor the overly imposing athletes. They had their Big 3: one land-locked Hall-of-Famer in Tim, and two explosive below-the-rim (for the most part) players in Tony and Manu. The Big 3 were complimented by a group of veterans who had already seen their best days athletically, and, for some, overcame not having the preferred size with smarts, guts and guile; Bowen put the clamps on players one-through-four, while playing the small forward position in a shooting-guard's frame; Horry and Oberto, among others, were made to look old, slow and over-matched on numerous occasions during the year, yet they always seemed to find a way. You were given the impression of something ordinary, as weary as you were to concede it being.
Act2: "The Turn"
The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary:
The Big 3 were certainly not ordinary, but their supporting cast you could certainly make an argument for. Each year the team would add or bring back a low-cost veteran and essentially fill out the roster with role-players; specialists. Their front office was the epitome of efficient, as they churned out 50-plus win seasons left and right; a second-round appearance was all but guaranteed. They would win two Championships, appear in the three Conference Finals and make one Conference Semi-Final between the years 2005-2008; an impressive feat for a team as fiscally responsible and less-than-aggressive when upgrading their roster. They indeed turned what looked to be ordinary, into the extraordinary.
Act3: "The Prestige"
You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled:
The payoff. The Spurs were an extremely successful bunch and, on the surface, would seem to do things above board and in a first-class manner (a viewpoint held by more than most). But they had more than their fair share of detractors. To some, they were old and boring. To others, they were pompous, arrogant (in the front office) and dirty (on the court); it's not surprising such feelings would exist. Their success had to come at someone else's expense, after all. But when it was all said and done, a team that could look so outclassed, physicaly, at points during the season, somehow found a way to get it done. Bruce Bowen with his slight-of-hand; Robert Horry all but vanishing before revealing himself come season's end; Fabricio Oberto's ability to make the referees see something that wasn't there, as he created the illusion of contact. It was all there for you to see at the time, but you couldn't truly appreciate or understand what it meant. It had just become part of the trick; never did it really register that it might be "the trick". But that was the brilliance. Because as the supporting cast's efforts were made not to be seen by casual observers or those wielding the whistle, seemingly making them to disappear, the Spurs were able to bring them back year-after-year.
"Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
Coach Pop and the front office would be served well to call Michael Caine; they need all hands on deck, if they're going to find a way to bring "it" back.
