Spurs, the humble champions

Spurs, the humble champions

By MIKE PHILLIPS
Miami Herald

http://www.bradenton.com/mld/bradent...s/11848864.htm

SAN ANTONIO - They are a mist, a vapor, an all but unseen and unnoticed force that somehow thrives in the high glitz realm of the N-Me-BA, where sports' most spoiled and pampered group of athletes beat their chests and scream me-me-me in an Armani world that is driven by star power and shoe endorsements, a soap opera of in-your-face superstars.

But here they are, once again in the Finals, these orphans of the NBA, these bland-leading-the-bland San Antonio Spurs, these unassuming and unselfish Spurs, who know as much about humility as running the pick and roll.

``We know who we are,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, the son of a Gary, Ind., steelworker who still can't believe he's an NBA coach. Popovich faces Detroit and his close friend and mentor Larry Brown on Thursday night in the opening game of the NBA Finals.

He was asked this week if he ever felt guilty when he had won two NBA titles and Brown, who won last year, had not won a title yet. After all, Brown gave Popovich his start in the NBA.

``I feel guilty all the time, for just being here,'' Popovich said. ``What the hell am I doing here? I didn't a need a championship to feel like that.''

That's the sincere modesty that runs this team, a team that has won more than anyone during the past seven years, and a team that will be looking for its third title since 1999. Whenever he is asked, Popovich, who has the highest winning percentage of any active coach and sixth highest in NBA history, always gives the same pat answer for San Antonio's success: ``We had David Robinson and then we had Tim Duncan. That's it,'' Popovich said.

And if Popovich is modest, then Duncan is downright embarrassing. There is no star in any sport who wears his success like Duncan, the anti-me-me-me player who has quietly won a couple of MVP awards while helping shape a dynasty. It all starts with Popovich, whose fingerprints are all over this team, but it's Duncan's huge hands that help mold it on the court.

EFFECTIVE PAIRING

``It's a perfect marriage,'' Spurs assistant P.J. Carlesimo said. ``I don't have the analogy, but it's one of those that has made the other so much better. I say that realizing that Duncan is maybe the best player in this league, and regardless of where he played he would still be one of the best players in the league. But I think Pop has gotten so much more out of him, and their relationship is so central to Timmy's success, and I say the same thing about Pop. He would be one of the best coaches in the league if he had other guys, but him and Timmy have made each other so much better. It's unbelievable.''

There is one idea in San Antonio, where Popovich preaches defense first and no tolerance for NBA-size egos or show-stealing acts on the court. Earlier in the year Malik Rose, who was later traded to New York, put on one of those fuming tirades after he thought he had been fouled. Popovich benched him. In San Antonio, they remember the Alamo, but if you're going to play for the Spurs, you better remember to play defense.

``He is very demanding, especially defensively,'' Spurs assistant coach Mike Budenholzer said.

``He gets after them. There are plenty of tongue-lashings going around, but he's also very caring and concerned about them as people. He has that latitude to be kind of hard on them, because they know he cares about them.''

So does Duncan, who can be seen taking a player to the side to give him help. There's no finger pointing, just advice from the team's superstar. There's the story of how a young player once made a mistake on the court, and Duncan came to the timeout and asked Popovich: ``You got him, or do I got him,'' before putting his arm around the player and talking to him.

Both shy from the spotlight, but that might have to do with their humble beginnings. Popovich, who is an expert on wines and likes to talk about the works of Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky as much as defense in the fourth quarter.

He has a degree in Soviet studies from the Air Force Academy and worked in military intelligence in the Air Force before beginning a long road in coaching that led him from tiny Pomona-Pitzer, a Division III school known for academics not basketball, to the NBA, where he became Brown's assistant in San Antonio in 1988.

He came back as the general manager in 1994, and after firing Bob Hill 19 games into the '96-97 season, Popovich - with no NBA experience - began coaching the Spurs. He has become the prefect fit in a league that is full of coaching turmoil.

ONE VISION

``There has been one vision in this franchise for 12 years,'' Carlesimo said. ``He Popovich can be humble all he wants, but he has basically made every big decision in this franchise in personnel and on the floor for 12 years. Now, David and Tim have empowered him to do that, but this franchise has been like this pointing his hands in front of him.

``It's been headed in one direction for so long. That's almost unique in this league. You can say it about Utah, and there may have been others that have stayed together for six, seven years, but no place has been like this. It's amazing.''

No one is more unselfish than Duncan, who at 12 was a world-class 400-meter swimmer who grew up in St. Croix and dreamed of being an Olympic swimmer until Hurricane Hugo destroyed the pool and just about everything else on the island.

``I think the key with Timmy is he is so unselfish. He doesn't care who takes the shot,'' Spurs guard Tony Parker said. ``He doesn't care who takes it to the basket to win the game. Either he is going to do it, or someone else. He is just very unselfish.''

And the Spurs have become the anti-NBA team that everyone envies. Earlier this week, Cleveland coach and former Spurs assistant Mike Brown told The San Antonio Express that ``instead of saying, I want to be like Mike, teams are saying, I want to be like the Spurs.''

That's what San Antonio brings to the finals.

i wanna ask a question

say if the celtics got the first pick and drafted duncan would they have been the "it" team in the east and would duncan be creating the same path he is right now to HOF? or just put up good numbers on an ugly bad team?

Danny Ainge would have traded him for Raef LaFrentz and a bag of chips.

damn that ainge

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Originally Posted by inagra

i wanna ask a question

say if the celtics got the first pick and drafted duncan would they have been the "it" team in the east and would duncan be creating the same path he is right now to HOF? or just put up good numbers on an ugly bad team?

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It's hard to say.

What if?

Too many what ifs...

If only their fans were so humble... :rolleyes

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Originally Posted by Ball Don't Lie

If only their fans were so humble... :rolleyes

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Your a troll..


And you're saying this?

If Boston had drafted Duncan, he'd be a teammate of Grant Hill's in Orlando today.

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Originally Posted by Sense

Your a troll..


And you're saying this?

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How am I a troll? If "troll" means "Pistons fan who is annoyed because people in SA talk about the defending champs as if they are a mediocre high school team," then I guess I am a troll.

Ignore Sense. This guy gives alot of crap more than anyone else on this board.

Would have been a lot more pressure on duncan IF he were taken by the celts. He wouldn't have had David to play alongside, and would have had a much younger supporting cast.

It would have been great for the league if Boston could have drafted Tim

A rebirth of the Lakers v Celtics rivalry

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If only their fans were so humble...

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I am guessing you meant some of their fans...to blanket a whole fan base is inaccurate and ignorant and your posts have been better than that.

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Originally Posted by Ball Don't Lie

If only their fans were so humble... :rolleyes

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Considering after the Spurs win a championship there is a just some :elephant and :drunk, and a little smack :blah on some message boards but no riots, burned cars, looted stores, Spurs fans aren't so bad.

Pistons are also a very unselfish team. Blue collar team. The guys play together, hang out together on and off the court. Mentally tough. The writers have been asking if the Spurs are as mentally tough. We will see.

You got that right, Hulk. This series will be a battle of wills, not flash. Both teams have what it takes, but I think the Spurs just bring more to the table than Detroit can right now.

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Originally Posted by Ball Don't Lie

How am I a troll? If "troll" means "Pistons fan who is annoyed because people in SA talk about the defending champs as if they are a mediocre high school team," then I guess I am a troll.

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SOME people but not most. I happen to respect the Detroit Pistons and I even LIKE them. I think it will be a great series. As a Spurs fan I happen to think my team IS all that and a bag of chips as you do the same for your team. Remember, you are on a SPURS message board....you should expect some people to berate and dislike the opponent. Some of them are quite childish ofcourse but I'm sure you have the same type fans on the Piston's boards. If I were to go to any of the opponent's boards I would not expect a happy welcome from everyone. You have all kinds of fans, just deal with it when you are on their territory.

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Originally Posted by mavsfan1000

Ignore Sense. This guy gives alot of crap more than anyone else on this board.

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Stop talking about things you have no idea about and you will probably gain my respect..

posts like this however will not.

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Danny Ainge would have traded him for Raef LaFrentz and a bag of chips.

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Ain't that the truth! Scary how some front office's just don't have a clue.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by inagra

i wanna ask a question

say if the celtics got the first pick and drafted duncan would they have been the "it" team in the east and would duncan be creating the same path he is right now to HOF? or just put up good numbers on an ugly bad team?

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If the Celtics had drafted TD, Paul Pierce would be an All Star every year. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league if he didn't have to carry the offense every night and had TD to play with him.

But whether they would have won championships by now - not sure. Celtics missed out on Tony Parker, when they could have grabbed him, and Duncan might not have won in 1999 and 2003 going against a healthy Shaq without Robinson to back him up.

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Originally Posted by Supergirl

If the Celtics had drafted TD, Paul Pierce would be an All Star every year. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league if he didn't have to carry the offense every night and had TD to play with him.

But whether they would have won championships by now - not sure. Celtics missed out on Tony Parker, when they could have grabbed him, and Duncan might not have won in 1999 and 2003 going against a healthy Shaq without Robinson to back him up.

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Damn, so the Celtics could have had Pierce, Parker, and Duncan in the weak East???

They would have at least made the WCF and or Finals every year :spin

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Originally Posted by HULKAROCK

Pistons are also a very unselfish team. Blue collar team. The guys play together, hang out together on and off the court. Mentally tough.

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Funny, that's precisely what we've seen out of these Spurs. Somehow, the Pistons are poster boys for chemistry and unity, but the Spurs are built and act the same way.

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The writers have been asking if the Spurs are as mentally tough. We will see.

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That's the big question. I personally admire the mental toughness that the Pistons show. I think this Spurs team is as mentally tough a group as we've had since 1999 -- and that team was flat out nails in the mental aspect. This team has had plenty of opportunties to go under, but somehow, they've hung in there and relied on each other to reach this point.

They could have cratered when they lost Tim, but didn't. They could have cratered when they lost Game 1 at home to a red-hot Denver team, but they went on the road and won two tough games in a very hostile environment against a team that tried to out-physical them. They could have been shook after Game 4 in Seattle, but they responded with 5 straight wins, including 3 on the road (one of which featured Duncan spraining his ankle again, but playing through the pain to carry his team to a close-out victory) and 2 at Phoenix.

While I think some are right to question mental toughness, I think the evidence is pretty strong to support the idea that these Spurs are a gritty bunch.

Pistons portray an "it's us against the world, we never get any respect" chip on the shoulder attitude while the Spurs portray a "who cares what others say, it's not important" attitude.

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Originally Posted by picnroll

Pistons portray an "it's us against the world, we never get any respect" chip on the shoulder attitude while the Spurs portray a "who cares what others say, it's not important" attitude.

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Exactly. Very well put. Now we'll see which attitude prevails.

Pitino would still be coaching the Celtics if Duncan would of been a Celtic.

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Originally Posted by FromWayDowntown

I think this Spurs team is as mentally tough a group as we've had since 1999 -- and that team was flat out nails in the mental aspect. This team has had plenty of opportunties to go under, but somehow, they've hung in there and relied on each other to reach this point.

They could have cratered when they lost Tim, but didn't. They could have cratered when they lost Game 1 at home to a red-hot Denver team, but they went on the road and won two tough games in a very hostile environment against a team that tried to out-physical them. They could have been shook after Game 4 in Seattle, but they responded with 5 straight wins, including 3 on the road (one of which featured Duncan spraining his ankle again, but playing through the pain to carry his team to a close-out victory) and 2 at Phoenix.

While I think some are right to question mental toughness, I think the evidence is pretty strong to support the idea that these Spurs are a gritty bunch.

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There have been a number of threads this year comparing this team to the 1999 and 2003 champions. Of course, this team has yet to win the championship and the ball can bounce in funny ways.

But I think you are right on that they are displaying a lot of the courage and heart of the 1999 bunch which gave you the feeling they'd win, even if they were down in the 4th quarter. It takes a special team to come back that way and this team is showing me they have what it takes.

OK, MIke Phellps at the Miami Herald = crappy sports writer.

is it just me or is this peice basically jsut cut and pasted from 6 other articles I've read this week?

As a foreign fan of Spurs, I think there are many people like me anxiously waiting for the NBA Finals. I expect the Spurs to win in 6 games (I may not bet on the vBookie again as I'm never accurate in predicting the exact results of each series, though I predicted correctly that the Spurs won each time.) Both teams are good, but the Spurs stand out in that the have a better bench (Detroit has Darko Milic who is as sparsely used as Paul Shirley in the Suns!)

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Originally Posted by Supergirl

If the Celtics had drafted TD, Paul Pierce would be an All Star every year. He'd be one of the top 3 players in the league if he didn't have to carry the offense every night and had TD to play with him.

But whether they would have won championships by now - not sure. Celtics missed out on Tony Parker, when they could have grabbed him, and Duncan might not have won in 1999 and 2003 going against a healthy Shaq without Robinson to back him up.

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What if...again.

Had Boston drafted TD in 1997 would they have had the #10 pick in 1998? Would they have been better and as a result had drafted lower in the first round?

TOO MANY WHAT IFS!!