NY Times this morning. Catch Buford's line!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/sp...in&oref=slogin
Overshadowed Spurs Are Rarely Overmatched
By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 1, 2007
SAN ANTONIO, May 31 — In a mildly crowded, modestly happy locker room Wednesday night, R. C. Buford traded smiles and handshakes, soaking in the San Antonio Spurs’ fourth Western Conference title in nine years. Then Buford, the low-profile general manager of the N.B.A.’s low-key dynasty, spotted a reporter for a certain 24-hour sports network.
“Hey, did we even make ‘SportsCenter?’ ” Buford asked with a chuckle.
It was a fair question. Kobe Bryant had commandeered every channel on the ESPN spectrum with his request to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. It was all Kobe, all the time, all day. Even at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs closed out the Utah Jazz, the biggest buzz was about the Lakers’ melodrama.
The Spurs are plodding, methodically as ever, toward a fourth championship — an achievement that would place them among the greatest franchises in league history. Only the Boston Celtics (16 titles), the Lakers (14) and the Chicago Bulls (6) own more banners.
Yet it seems that only San Antonians, and the geekiest of basketball geeks, truly appreciate the Spurs’ greatness. They draw dismal ratings in the N.B.A. finals. Their stars are plain-spoken and plain-looking. They rarely preen, glower or pose.
In truth, they are not nearly as boring as their reputation. But their understated elegance — all crisp passes, high-percentage shots and rugged defense — is decidedly analog next to the high-def, high-flying Phoenix Suns or the sheer giddiness of the Golden State Warriors.
“We’re like the bass players in the band,” the veteran sharpshooter Brent Barry said. “Nobody knows the bass player. You know the lead singer, you know the guy that’s playing the lead guitar, and we’re back there in the back, strumming the bass and not hitting any chords.”
The Suns again captivated the nation until the Spurs vanquished them in a controversial, suspension-marred second-round series. The Dallas Mavericks dominated the regular season, winning 67 games, only to wither before the Warriors in the first round.
Most of the guys who sell jerseys and put spikes in the Nielsen charts are on vacation. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets fell to the Spurs in the first round. Bryant’s Lakers were taken out by the Suns. The Miami Heat’s defense of its title died in the first round, ending the season for Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.
The Spurs spent another regular season under the radar. They were 33-18 on Feb. 11 — solid, but still in the background. They closed the season by winning 25 of 31 games and then dismissed the Western Conference with a 12-4 run through the playoffs.
“That’s just the personality of this team; there’s been nothing spectacular this year,” said David Robinson, the former Spurs star. “They just kept plodding through. Their motto was always, We’re going to beat on the rock until it cracks.”
The Spurs as quarry workers seems fitting enough. With an offense built around Tim Duncan, its virtuoso power forward, San Antonio grinds down opponents. Duncan is averaging 23.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.3 blocked shots in the playoffs.
Even with Duncan coping with plantar fasciitis last season, the Spurs battled Dallas to a seventh game in the conference semifinals.
The Spurs are healthier now, with Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili playing at an elite level. They are perhaps deeper than they were in 2004, when they defeated Detroit for their third title. Michael Finley, the steady, sweet-shooting Mavericks castoff, now helps anchor the backcourt. Fabricio Oberto, a co-star of the Argentinian national team, has been a perfect fit in the frontcourt rotation with his timely offensive rebounding and opportunistic scoring.
“I think we’re more poised, we’re smarter and we know what to do,” Robert Horry said.
Horry, the ultimate role player, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets, three with the Lakers and one with the Spurs, is going for his seventh ring — a prospect even he calls stunning.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said. “It’s hard to explain.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Finley, a two-time All-Star who was once among the best scoring guards in the league. At 34, he is making his first trip to the finals. He joined the Spurs for this opportunity two years ago, then had his first chance ended by the Mavericks, the team that waived him in a cost-saving move.
“It was difficult,” Finley said of last year’s loss to the Mavericks.
Parker recalled that Finley was among those who took that defeat the hardest and said that getting him to the finals served as added motivation.
Finley said, “I’m blessed to be part of a great group of guys, guys who truly know the meaning of being a team.”
Contrary to perception, the Spurs are a team with ample personality, if not necessarily showmanship. They do not expect the world to agree, or even to tune in. They may bristle at the word “boring,” but they do not altogether seem to mind their low-bandwidth existence.
“I like watching Phoenix and Dallas more than I like watching us, too,” Barry said, deadpan.
A scout who watched the Spurs crush the Jazz on Wednesday said that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons were playing for second place. A fourth Spurs championship seems inevitable, and maybe that will finally cement them in the public consciousness.
“Maybe,” Barry said. “I doubt it. But maybe.”
