Big Three Still Have Their Spurs

[duncan228]

Big Three still have their spurs
Give another shot to San Antonio's ageing trio
Cedric Golden, The Austin American-Statesman

The San Antonio Spurs were old when the season started and they did not get any younger 87 games later.

In the National Basketball Association, older horses can run for a while with younger horses as long as there are an equal number of horses on both sides.

The Spurs ran into a bigger stable in their first-round playoff series with Dallas. And while the Mavericks are not exactly loaded with thoroughbreds, they had more than enough to send the Spurs out to pasture in the first round for the first time since 2000.

The 106-93 score in Game 5 on Tuesday night is more than an indication that the Spurs no longer strike fear into the hearts of Western Conference rivals, not even in an odd-numbered year.

San Antonio's three-pronged attack of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker was good enough to bring three championships to the Alamo City -- Duncan won another with David Robinson in 1999 before the other two showed up -- but those les came with a supporting cast that helped hold things together when things got a little crazy. There was always a timely three-pointer from Bruce Bowen or a clutch jumper from Michael Finley to push things along.

Bowen and Finley can still do those things, but age has robbed them of the ability to do it consistently.

It is time for Gregg Popovich and general manager R. C. Buford to find some more pieces, and that does not mean busting up the Big Three. The trio should be given one more chance to make a le run.

Minus the injured Ginobili in the post-season, the Spurs were as vulnerable as they have been this decade, and the resulting 4-1 first-round loss to the Mavericks wasn't a shock, given San Antonio's sputtering bench.

Sure the reserves played well Tuesday with 23 points, but Popovich did not get one over-reaching performance from his second-tier players the entire series.

Roger Mason, who hit four game-winning shots his first year in San Antonio, limped to the finish by going scoreless in Game 4. He would have pulled a second goose egg in the finale if not for a free throw with 21 seconds remaining.

Matt Bonner was a pleasant surprise, and while he's about much of a centre as Muggsy Bogues, he had a breakout year with 166 three-pointers.

But on a team with a real bench he would not have played anywhere near 24 minutes per game. New addition Drew Gooden was a non-factor for the most part and did not play on Tuesday as Popovich went with a small lineup in an attempt to keep up with Dallas' faster forwards.

The Spurs are not close to blowing this thing up because they still have three all-stars on their roster. Ginobili is one of seven pla yers with expiring contacts at the end of next season. The others are Kurt Thomas, Bowen, Fabricio Oberto, Mason, Bonner and Finley. Expect them all to be back, except for Oberto, who never really bounced back from a heart ailment discovered in the pre-season.

Buford will have to pony up the cash to keep Ginobili if he decides to test his value on the open market.

Ginobili will garner some interest, despite his age (31) and a body that's betraying him late in his career.

Buford has said he has no intention of busting up this nucleus and who can blame him? A key free agent here or there could put them right back in the mix. Chicago guard Ben Gordon and L. A. Lakers forward Lamar Odom are two juicy names that come to mind.

Buford has probably seen what happened in Detroit after boss Joe Dumars traded franchise cornerstone Chauncey Billups to Denver for Allen Iverson and watched as Billups revitalized the Nuggets while Iverson whined and complained before finishing the season on the inactive list.

That said, the Western Conference is awash in young teams on the upswing and the Spurs have to do something.

Utah and Portland are going to get better while Houston could give the inconsistent Lakers problems if they get past the Blazers.

So the Spurs head home early from the post-season.

Their le window has closed with this current roster.

But Buford and Popovich can make sure it is not glued shut.

[Jose Ole]

Big Three still have their spurs
Give another shot to San Antonio's ageing trio
Cedric Golden, The Austin American-Statesman

That said, the Western Conference is awash in young teams on the upswing and the Spurs have to do something.

Utah and Portland are going to get better while Houston could give the inconsistent Lakers problems if they get past the Blazers.

So the Spurs head home early from the post-season.

Their le window has closed with this current roster.

But Buford and Popovich can make sure it is not glued shut.

As an Austin resident, I've never been a fan of the Statesman sports writers but Golden brings up a lot of great points that the Spurs front office needs to heed in order to avoid a repeat of this season next year. "Change" anyone?