my thoughts on:finals, aftermath, manu, pop, legacies, perspective, going foward

[mute]

Introduction

I know my words and feelings aren't as credible as timvp's nor do they hold as much weight as his or any of the more respected posters here, but I really need to get this off my chest and get these million thoughts out of my head. It's probably the best way I'll even start to feel better. They say the best way to overcome your problems (if you wanna call it that) is to talk about them... so here it goes.

My love for this team

My co-workers all know how much of a Spurs fan I am and have sent me their condolences after the loss and have told me how sorry they are, but I know inside they are like, "Oh well, he'll get over it in a few days" -- but I won't. I know it sounds cliche, but outsiders just don't understand people like us. I'm as die hard of a Spurs fan as they come (watching every game and interview, reading every post-game summary on ESPN and every player's biography 500 times over). I've been following the Spurs since 2001. I've been through it all, as much as my memory and age would allow me, that is: 0.4, Manu foul, Barry no call, 2012 collapse, and of course our four les and the joys of watching Duncan, Parker, and Manu all grow up before our eyes.

I don't know what else to say really. I LOVE this team. Anytime I was stressed, upset, sad, down or whatever, I knew I could always look forward to the Spurs play. Win or lose, it was just great knowing I could just let go for a few hours and watch our guys run up and down the court and work their magic.

Game 6

Has any team (in any sport) been closer to winning a le without actually winning it? I remember my brother and I were screaming and yelling and jumping up and down when we were up by 5 with 28 seconds left. It was pretty much over we thought. Miami just getting down the court and attempting a three (forget making it) would surely take up half of the time remaining, and they'd foul the rest of the way and we'd be hoisting the Larry O'Brien in a few minutes (or so we thought).

There's not much I want to say about Game 6. You guys all know the outcome. Obviously, the 4th quarter free throw misses were huge, not to mention Manu getting hacked and Bosh body checking Green into the stands. It shouldn't have ever come down to those plays anyways, but how can you just shallow the whistle like that? It's ridiculous, and I never whine about calls. I even thought the Warriors series was poorly officiated (in our favor). What's hard to shallow is the fact that we were up by 5 with 28 seconds left... with a single free throw make or rebound away from the le... The Spurs should have just fouled and not even let Miami make a single three (or at least just heavily overplay and give them cuts to the basket). If I'm not mistaken, Miami was out of time-outs so even if we missed both free throws (after we intentionally fouled) they would have had to travel the length of the court to get up another three.

Game 7

I thought we were going to get blown out. We saw what happened to Indiana and the Thunder in elimination games. How in the world would we be able to get up for a Game 7 after a blowing Game 6? I applaud our team for showing up. They showed a lot of fight, and that's all you can really ask for you. You won't win every single game.

My heart sank when the Chalmers half court heave went in -- maybe some foreshadowing of the 4th quarter? Battier and Lebron made 11 threes. Battier had the game of his life, and Lebron made a few in a row that really kept them in the game when we were making our run. We can second guess all we want (i.e. taking away the three after Lebron had already made three three's), but that was the game plan, and it had gotten us that far. I just wish that we hadn't given him THAT much room. We didn't even get a hand in his face on most of the threes he made (Lebron I'm talking about).

Even with the 3 point shooting barrage, we still had a chance to tie at the end, but Duncan missed a jump hook and the tap afterwards. That's a shot he usually makes. Maybe he should have dunked it? Either way, it's not his fault. You make shots, and you miss shots. He carried us all year defensively and would have never even made it that far without him. I don't care what anyone says about Parker and how this is now "his" team. They let him down, not the other way around.

The Aftermath

We were so close to the le. All we needed was a single made free throw or a defensive rebound, and we'd be champs right now. I'd rather we lose in 5 or 6 games or at least in a Game 7 (without knowing that Game 6 happened because that's the worst part). The officials were wheeling out the trophy, and everyone was getting ready to blast the champagne. I hate to admit it, but I had already begun to write the body of a thread about "Lebrick" and how silly it was that we thought he was remotely in the same league as Jordan, Magic, Bird, and heck... even Duncan.

I couldn't sleep the next few nights after the loss (Game 6, and then Game 7). I dreaded waking up and realizing that we lost. I'm devastated, shattered, in pieces, heartbroken, torn, and any other adjective you could use to describe feeling like someone just gutted you in the stomach and left you there to bleed out. I can't even eat. I'm avoiding ESPN, sports websites and forums, social media, and the radio like the plague, just wishing all of this finals talk would past.

Manu

He played poorly, and he wasn't even injured. We all know that's not the Manu we are accustomed to seeing. He shouldn't be given a pass for the past (no pun intended). That being said, I don't think he played that badly. He delivered us Game 5, to put us in the position to close out the series -- needing just one win to clinch.

The thing is that he's probably our best ball handler. Parker disappeared because he was too small and they were keying on him. Neal and Green don't know how to dribble. How did they even get this far in their careers? Neal is a little better, but I've never seen anyone dribble the ball as awkwardly as Green and picking up his dribble midway. Manu is the only one with the experience, size, penetrating and scoring abilities, and handles to break Miami's trap. In fact, I would argue that Manu's 8 turnovers (in that one game) is probably less than the number of turnovers we would have had if the ball were in anyone elses' hands.

People wanted Pop to bench Manu, but who else on the bench was gonna play realistically? Colo (who was in a suit for the past 5 games)? 5'11" Mills? Cojo (he played well, but I guess lacked the size to guard anyone but Chalmers or Norris)? McGrady? I would have liked to see him, but he probably didn't know the offense well.

I absolutely agree with Pop going with Manu for the entire series. When it comes down to it, I'd rather go down swinging with our best and most experienced players than going with someone who had little playoff experience (and then losing, and wondering if we should have stuck with Manu). I want him back next year (at a great discount, which I'm sure he'll give us). I still believe in him. We just can't rely on him to be the 3rd best player anymore. He's still a very serviceable player.

Pop

We could criticize his benching of Duncan in Game 6 all we want. If we had won the le, he'd be a genius for taking Duncan out, allowing the Spurs have mobility and to switch on every pick... but since we lost and gave up two offensive rebounds, he's gonna be the goat. My opinion on him taking out Duncan is... who gives a crap if there is a mismatch? Duncan is an all-time great player. He's gonna find ways to adjust and make a play defensively. Pop acts if Duncan is as slow as Arvydas Sabonis. He's as mobile a center as they come. You don't just take him. Bottom line, I want my best player out three. I don't give a crap if there's 5 point guards out there.

Pop devised a brilliant game plan and put us in a position to win -- and that's all we can ask. It's not his fault we missed free throws (three I can remember in the 4th). Duncan missed a shot he usually makes. Last time I checked, he wasn't on the floor on the last two Miami possession to grab a rebound. One single rebound away...

If we had won...

Duncan would have went down as a top 5 player of all time. I'm certain they were going to give him final's MVP with his Game 6 performance. It would have capped off a magical, roller-coaster season.

We all know about the storied careers of Duncan, Manu, and Parker. I wanted this le for everyone, but more so for Green and Neal, both of whom have been through so much. Both were told they were too small and couldn't play and had to go overseas. They were underdogs most of their young careers. I think we can all relate to them in one way or another.

Perspective

This lost (specifically Game 6) hurts so bad. It's a type of loss we will be thinking about for the next 40+ years. What's worse is that this was probably one of the greatest NBA finals of all-time. Sportswriters are going to talking about this game until the end of time.

That being said, it's just a game. I feel like a cop out saying that after a lost. My cousin-in-law's uncle is going through cancer, and his outlook is bleak. He's on his deathbed to put bluntly. My cousins (both very, very young) lost their mother due to illness and had their father walk out on them (he's now dead too). There's a lot of hopeless people and beggars where I work. It's sad going to work everyday and having to see them outside begging for food. There's millions of people in Africa and Asia living in poverty. First world problems for sure... it hurts, but we'll live.

Duncan is not the first superstar to ever lose in the finals. Bird, Magic, Kareem, Kobe, Shaq, and even Russell lost. Although Jordan never lost in the finals, the Pistons beat him three years in a row. In his Wizards years, (as great as he was) he couldn't even get them to the playoffs. He was Duncan's age.

Now the collapse... forget the legacies of Pop, Duncan, Manu, and Parker. The Spurs aren't the first team, nor will they be the last to falter on the biggest stage. Remember the 2001 Yankees? What about the 2004 Yankees? I feel a little bit better... I guess haha... I think I'm still in denial.

Winning a les requires a bit of luck. Remember when Horry's shot rimmed out in 2003? What about Game 5 of 2005? Who woulda thought Horry would channel his inner Jordan? What about the Suns losing Amare and Diaw in 2007? That's like us not having Duncan and Manu for a pivotal game. That's three les we could have not had. Those breaks went our way... and some didn't. This was one of them.

With only being up 5 with 28 seconds to go (with Miami having the ball), the game is hardly over. Give Miami some credit. They are a great team, and they brought out the best in us. They made plays down the stretch. They rebounded well and made shots when they needed to.

Going forward

As they showed in 2012 and 2013, this team is good enough to contend for a le. We don't need to blow anything up. Manu and Parker will have the offseason to health injuries (no Olympics). Hopefully, McGrady comes back and learns the system. I feel like he could play a bigger role next season and be successful because he can just play within the system and not have the team heavily rely on him (like they did during his last few years in Houston).

My only concern is how much better Parker and Duncan can play? They've played as well as they can possibly play these past couple of years (given their age). Leonard and Green will get better for sure. Both made leaps in their respective games from 2012 to 2013.

Gary Neal provided a lot of timely baskets in the playoffs (when our key guys were on the bench). He's our best shooter by far. I believe he was injured/not himself this entire year. I hope he comes back, but only for the right price. I wouldn't go anything higher than 5mill/year for him.

I'm really disappointed in Splitter. I thought he was going to take the next step in his game this season. He was completely a non-factor in the Miami series. I was against trading for Jefferson because we didn't need any more scoring. Splitter was providing enough scoring, but what we really valued was his improved defense. We could have used another reliable scorer like Jefferson to give Duncan a break. I'm open to bringing him back, but I wouldn't overpay a dime for him. We're better off slightly overpaying for Al Jefferson or David West. I don't think Splitter will get much better.

It's going to be interesting to see what's going to happen in the next few months (i.e. who are we going to let walk). By the looks of it, we are sticking with our main guys and will try and make a run at one of the top free agents this summer. Blair is probably gone at this point. I'm confident we'll be in contention for a le next year. Believe.

[deibero]

You make very valid points throughout but specially one that i was thinking the other day:

for every 28 secs, 0.4, dirk and 1 that has happenned to us, theres also the memorial day miracle, the horry explosion you mention in 05 game 5, the jackson and kerr crazy game against dallas in 03, amare and diaw suspensions in 07 etc. that could have very well gone the other way and change history so guess we have to take the good with the bad!

heck even this year we caught some breaks to get to the finals and also had a crazy gs comeback that could posibly saved us the series.

Whats different about game 6 is that all those lead to the finals or opened the doors to compete for the le but game 6 was the le itslef and thats what makes it so painful

anyways, its just a game if players and coaches get over it guess its time for us to do the same!

[Mal]

tl:dr

[spurs10]

I'd love to see West join us. No more Manu playing point is also a priority. Don't know if I've got another 40 years , but I hope I've put this behind me before I die!!! I do feel your pain though, that's for sure. Good luck and feel better man!

[Juggity]

This is a solid writeup, and you make a good point about the fact that basketball is just a game. It is just a game. Sometimes, being a fan, it can be hard to remember just how little winning a le, supporting successful successful teams, etc. really matters. Which is to say, hardly at all. In the end, the difference between winning and losing is just the difference between being pleased for a while, then moving on with your life, or being disappointed for a while, then moving on with your life.

[Darius McCrary]

True, because every le has luck.

Knicks overachieving as an 8th seed in 1999
Dirk's knee in 2003
Horry in 2005
Mavs getting punked in 2007

all luck in some ways

[texmich]

I hear you on all your points, gotta reload now

[TheGreatYacht]

You make very valid points throughout but specially one that i was thinking the other day:
for every 28 secs, 0.4, dirk and 1 that has happenned to us, theres also the memorial day miracle, the horry explosion you mention in 05 game 5, the jackson and kerr crazy game against dallas in 03, amare and diaw suspensions in 07 etc. that could have very well gone the other way and change history so guess we have to take the good with the bad!
heck even this year we caught some breaks to get to the finals and also had a crazy gs comeback that could posibly saved us the series.
Whats different about game 6 is that all those lead to the finals or opened the doors to compete for the le but game 6 was the le itslef and thats what makes it so painful
anyways, its just a game if players and coaches get over it guess its time for us to do the same!

The thing that is very painful about not winning the le this year is all the lucky breaks that we got throughout the playoffs were a good sign that our team has what it takes to win championships which is the ability to grind out games and luck. Our Spurs team had what I like to call "championship luck" or championship pedigree.

We caught a huge break when we ended up facing the Lakers in the first round. The Spurs are known to have a harder time matching up against athletic young teams such as OKC, GSW, and the Heat. Just magine if the Rockets would have gotten the # 7 seed and we ended up facing them instead of the Lakers? Who knows how long that series would have gone.

The series against GSW started off in the worst way possible. We ran into a very hot GSW team. They were making all types of crazy shtos with a hand in their face. Imagine what would of happened if Manu hadn't hit that breakfast shot and the Spurs lose Game 1? Game 2 was another game where it seemed impossible to beat GSW the way they were shooting especially with Klay Thompson swishing everything he shot. We would of been down 0-2 had it not been for Manu's shot in Game 1.

Now for the series against Memphis, we also got a little bit of a break after the first 2 games because there was a three day break before Game 3. I had the gut feeling that the Spurs can win that game becaue of our veteran players being well rested. I even told my brother "dont' be surprised if we pull out this win because old players tend to play better when they are well rested." Sure enough, the Spurs won Game 3. BTW that game was rigged because it was officiated by Bill Kennedy. He once again tried to screw the Spurs by giving Duncan 3 fouls in 30 seconds. Memphis was in the bonus very early in the 3rd quarter. Duncan clutched the game in OT.

Our luck continued in Game 1 against the Heat. The Tony Parker miracle shot that helped us win Game 1 gave me a lot of confidence that the Spurs had a good chance of beating the Heat. Fast forward to Game 6 and we also had another crazy three point shot by Tony Parker. The Spurs were up by 28 points and that is when my younger brother begun to celebrate despite me warning him that the game is not over. You all know the rest of the story.

The Spurs had that championshiop luck throughtout the playoffs until Game 6 happened. One can argue that the Heat had it easy too with all the injuries that teams from the Eastern Conference suffered. I really beleive that the Spurs should have been the 2013 NBA Champions because I felt that the Spurs were the better team for the most part. I guess those cliches that experts say such as "defends and rebounds win you championships" are very true.

[DJR210]

Duncan still goes down as a top 5, he's the best all time at his position.

[james evans]

man i just can never forgive popovich. if i didn't know any better, I would say he did everything in his power during the 4th quarter so that the spurs couldn't win. maybe i'm just upset, but i'll never forget this bs. it hurts me to even log into this site.

[rascal]

man i just can never forgive popovich. if i didn't know any better, I would say he did everything in his power during the 4th quarter so that the spurs couldn't win. maybe i'm just upset, but i'll never forget this bs. it hurts me to even log into this site.

Up by 3, you foul to send them to the line for 2.

[mute]

Thanks for the replies and feed back guys! I apologize for it being kinda long. I wrote it all in about an hour. I can't believe it lol... I feel a little bit better I guess. I watched the Game 7 post-game with Pop and Duncan today and felt a little bit better. We'll be back.

[benefactor]

If only the Spurs had kept Paul George....

[AntiChrist]

If only the Spurs had kept Paul George....

Or Carlos Boozer.