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I was right there with you man. But I feel more confident today than I did leading up to Game 5 at home. Not ready for the season to be over yet. Lets get it back to San Antonio on Friday.
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Believe.
That was a fantastic write-up Timvp! Thanks, I agree and have been thinking about your every point. We do indeed need to sit back and enjoy what is sure to be one of the greatest performance our Spurs have ever given!! You absolutely nailed it!
ONE!
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I was right there with you man. But I feel more confident today than I did leading up to Game 5 at home. Not ready for the season to be over yet. Lets get it back to San Antonio on Friday.
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Believe.
fight, and take it spurs!
Someone needs to read this ish to the Spurs players. Man up!
Wonderfully wonderfully said....
Amazing
Believe...
This post right here deserves a ing pink slip. Do you know who the you're talking to and what he went through? He was making an analogy between that real life or death experience and the Spurs being in a similar place. And you call him a face? you.
You had HCA (your own body) over your disease...the Spurs, not so much. Glad you're ok. Thunder by 23.
Love the critical analysis and positive vibes. This is the LJ that I've come to appreciate over the years of lurking (and especially this year with your many write-ups). I was a little surprised and pissed when I read the 2% chance you were giving us. I was like, I guess that whole BELIEVE thing didn't last too long. Glad to see you've taken a step back from the cliff. The bottom line is we can do this. Take care of the ball and play defense like its the end of an era and we win this game.
We've seen too many great shots and great wins over the years to count this team out. I dusted off my 2003 western conference champions shirt today to give us luck. I'll be watching that same core of guys take the floor tonight. They are champions, they have the heart of champions. Lets take this.
BELIEVE GOD DAMN IT!
(Glad to hear you're in good health and your family is doing well.)
"Life's battles don't always go to the stronger of faster man.
Sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can."
-Vince Lombardi-
Best video ever.
Nice writeup Tim.
Exactly one year ago to the hour, I was dying. Unable to move and increasingly unable to breathe, I had just been taken to the hospital. As I was placed on the hospital bed, I remember telling myself that I couldn't let this be my death bed. That wasn't an option. I had to get up and walk out of this place on my own two feet. I had more life to live.
Within in a few days, I was in intensive care. The low point was when I was told there was nothing else the doctors could do. They told me I was about to die. Nothing could be done. My respiratory system had failed and it would just be a matter of time.
I remember feeling angry. But I also remember feeling an odd sense of calm. If death is all but certain, fighting with every last fiber of my being didn't seem like a daunting task. Either I die like they say I will or I prove the doctors wrong. Everything was so simple. No longer were a million thoughts running through my mind. There were just two: either I'm going to live or I'm going to die. That's it.
Today, I'm fine. The recovery wasn't always easy and I'm not quite 100 percent ... but I have no complaints. And although it's not something that can be explained or is logical in any sense, this great Spurs season has helped me along the way. No matter what side-effect or annoyance I was dealing with, how could I complain about anything when my family is perfect and the Spurs are playing so well? It's felt like a dream. (In fact, a couple times I've seriously had a conversation with myself wondering whether I actually did die in the hospital and I'm just in my personal heaven where I have an amazing wife, astonishingly genius kids and a Spurs team that never loses)
On the one year anniversary, the Spurs are headed to Oklahoma City. Most agree that they won't make it out alive. Not only is this year's team dead, the Tim Duncan Era will die with it. After watching the Spurs lose Game 5 at home, I was ready to sign the death certificate. There's nothing to be done. It's just a matter of time; 48 minutes to be exact. Right?
After rewatching the game, I'm starting to piece together a few glimmers of hope. And while I know sports isn't comparable to life and death, if there was ever a sports version of death, that's what Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are facing right now. This is the last legit opportunity for this squad to win another championship ring. There's no tomorrow. The Big 3 faces a reality where they either win Wednesday night or their championship contending life will be no more.
The Spurs have faced other elimination games in the past but nothing like this. Maybe these unique cir stances will bring out a level of fight and determination that we've never seen before. Instead of pressure, maybe they will feel calm -- realizing there are only two possible outcomes. Maybe now, with all that is on the line, they can look passed the tactics and strategies and see what is really important: heart, single-mindedness, desire and belief.
Maybe, just maybe, even we Spurs fans underestimate what this team is capable of doing when winning one game means more than it ever has.
I thought the Game 5 loss was a harbinger of death. As a Spurs fan, I gave up. It was over, I told myself. I gave them a token 2% chance of escaping Game 6 with a win.
But screw that. I should know that when one is facing a near certain demise, everything other than survival becomes a moot point. And in that state of mind, there is no obstacle that can't be overcome. Not just this team but this era is standing at the precipice. Knowing their character and knowing they understand what is at stake, I expect the most acious fight we Spurs fans have ever witnessed.
Sit back and enjoy.
Believe.
As for the glimmers of hope basketball-wise, here's what I see:
1. Yes, Pop's rotation in Game 5 was horrendous in the first half. But he stumbled into a very workable rotation in the final two quarters. Start Duncan, Diaw, Leonard, Ginobili and Parker. Use Jackson, Splitter and Neal off the bench. Splitter plays when Duncan sits. Neal buys spot minutes for Parker and Ginobili. Jackson fills in all the rest of the time. It's not complicated but it should work well.
2. Parker needs to relentlessly pressure Westbrook. In Game 3 and Game 4, Parker mostly defended Sefolosha. Going into Game 5, he was back on Westbrook due to Ginobili being inserted into the starting lineup. I think it took awhile for Parker to remember how great he's been at pressuring the basketball during these playoffs. When he got back to it in the second half -- undoubtedly thanks to a stern reminder from Pop at intermission -- Parker once again was able to give Westbrook fits. San Antonio's defense has been poor this series but it's looked the best when Parker is harassing Westbrook. In Game 6, I expect Parker to force Westbrook to battle for every inch, which in itself could make a big difference.
3. In retrospect, Duncan's foul trouble played a huge role in Game 5. The Spurs were outscored by 22 points in the 15 minutes he was on the bench. If he wouldn't have been in foul trouble, Pop probably would have played him for about 40 minutes. Those seven additional minutes could have been enough to turn the loss into a win. On Wednesday night, we should see Duncan play 38 to 40 minutes. Considering the Spurs are +23 with Duncan on the court this series and -42 with him on the bench, that will be a huge help.
4. There's no reason to believe Ginobili's Game 5 offensive show was necessarily a fluke. When he's been bottled up this series, it's usually been when he's played with the impotent bench unit. Now that he's in the starting lineup, playing with Duncan and Parker makes life a lot easier. The Thunder can't switch pick-and-rolls involving Duncan and they have to gear their defense toward stopping Parker. That leaves Ginobili to wreak havoc -- and we all know how much havoc Ginobili can wreak.
5. Has there ever been a 20-year-old rookie starting in the playoffs that seems less like a rookie than Kawhi Leonard? He knows his job. He does his job. He did fine work against Durant in Game 5. Perhaps just as encouraging was the fact that he also defended Harden well plus was able to help control the defensive backboard. I don't worry about him at all.
6. Jackson returned to San Antonio with impossibly high hopes yet he's been able to fulfill those hopes this series. He's shooting the lights out. He's making plays. He's playing smart. He's defending his heart out. More than anything, you can see how much he wants to win and how he tries to do everything in his power to help the Spurs win. I expect more of the same out of Jackson in Game 6.
7. Diaw, Splitter and Neal all know what they have to do. Diaw understands that the Thunder will leave him open. He has seen it now for the better part of three games. In Game 6, I think he'll be ready to try to make OKC pay. Splitter has received his wakeup call and there were signs in Game 5 that he's ready to step up to this challenge. As for Neal, he can't shoot any worse than his 0-for-6 on Monday night. He's going to be looking for redemption. And considering that he shot much better on the road this season (and during his rookie campaign, for that matter), I would not be surprised if he makes the Thunder Neal with it.
8. At some point, don't the Thunder have to cool off? I know the Spurs aren't exactly a defensive force but OKC has been hitting long jumpers at a ridiculous rate these last three games. From 15-to-23 feet, the Thunder have hit 35-of-61 shots beginning in Game 3 for an astronomical 57.4%. On the season, the Thunder hit 42.6% from that range. In the playoffs versus the Lakers and Mavs, OKC had only two games better than 41% from that range. Regression to the mean will start Wednesday night and without those long jumpers finding net repeatedly, the Thunder will experience some hiccups in their offensive flow. And that, combined with the previous seven glimmers of hope, will give the Spurs the break they need to get this win.
One win.
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a
Great post, but I still say we are right back in the same position next year with basically the same story.
This is the third year in a row that our eulogy has been read in May/June. No reason to think a Duncan retirement is more immenent than any of those years, aside from simply saying he's a year older. He actually looks much better than he did last year.
As far as this being our "best chance": The Clippers will remain a dunderheaded band of athletes as long as VDN is at the helm. The Lakers will be in disarray next year. The Nuggets will always be the Nuggets. The Mavs: Posied to make a big move but no one knows for sure what will happen. The Thunder will improve but , an injury to the Big 3 is always possible.
But again, awesome heartfelt post.
The road to survival seems daunting, but someone wise once said that championships aren't supposed to be easy. I won't believe they're dead until they're dead, no matter how grim things might seem.
Believe.
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Hopefully the Cancun avatar can be retired longterm. I think the Thunder are that good though.
Awesome post, timvp!
Life and sports prove 2 things: sometimes we know what will happen next and sometimes we don't. That is sometimes humbling. Sometimes glorious.
If we don't believe, though, what does it matter? Let's believe. It just might make a difference.
Thanks for the reminder, bro!!!
It's not over yet.......
Strictly talking Xs and Os, I'm starting to feel confident. A whole game with Parker molesting Westbrook could make a huge difference in itself. And the Thunder are beyond due to start missing those long jumpers. When those hit iron, that young team could begin to crack.
Westbrook frazzled + Long jumpers missing = Uh oh, OKC
Offensively, the Spurs have been damn good in four of the five games. If the Spurs can cutdown on turnovers, which they did the last time they were in OKC, and push the pace, like they did in Game 5, the offense could explode.
The Spurs are going to have to weather the energy their fans will bring but if they can make this an actual game of basketball, it's entirely winnable.
You bumpin their chance to 5% bruh?
I'll have what he's having
Lets do this!!! just got real!
fighting death?? seriously?
calm down.
OKC are flying back to SA tomorrow
I want to see Parker harass Westbrook from the tip the way he did the last 5 minutes of Game 5.
Westbrook has sucked and looked frazzled all series...
Great post, timvp. Game 5 was pretty rough, but I'm glad you've recovered.
Believe.
Glad you're still around timvp, your posts are awesome and you seem like a good guy
Spurs got this tonight, I believe in em
Yes!!! ONE!!!
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