Let's get all of this out of my system so I can move on with my life.
Chris Paul. Yes, he's unbelievably talented, and if there was ever a discussion about whether or not Parker was a better PG, this series answered it. Paul can pass and shoot, give him credit for that. But he's a whining, flopping little who probably didn't even have a hamstring injury, he just wanted to have his own Jordan Flu Game in a clutch Game 7 situation against a defending champion. the showboating Clippers who've never won and are just another team that exists for when Laker fans out here have nothing better to do, the current epitome of failing to "act like you've been there before". It took the near death of Blake Griffin just to squeak past the five time champs at home in 7 games in the first round. The Clippers are the Wal-Mart of NBA franchises - never anyone's top choice, but it exists whether you want it to or not and takes itself far more seriously than anyone ever should.
I've just discovered that my new nightmare situation is for the Clippers to take out the defending champion Spurs in a game full of question marks, particularly at the end, then advance to meet the other red headed stepchild of the New NBA Houston Rockets for a chance to play in the West Finals. The fact that ONE OF THOSE TEAMS WILL PLAY THE WARRIORS AND NOT THE SPURS IS THE WORST.
the NBA. I know the playoffs can't be perfect, and the United States for being such a gargantuan landmass that a conference system is the only way American sports can function to the agreed satisfaction of the billionaires who own the franchises. the way teams tank, the way the East is absolute garbage and the fact that this series had to be a first rounder when it should have been for the Western le but couldn't be because of seeding cir stances. the way this Game 7 ended. Bailout foul calls, clock mismanagement, it all.
a bunch of Spurs players at various times in all seven games.
Lastly, to end on a high note: you, Tim Duncan. you for being the god that you are and for still only being mortal. you for putting this god damn team on your back, like you have almost on call for the last 18 years, and for bowing out like the tried and true champion that you are. your body's inability to overcome the slow creep of time and age. you for being the greatest thing that's ever happened to this franchise and for cementing your legacy as perhaps one of the three greatest ball players in history, because NONE OF US DESERVE YOU.
I hate that it ended like this, but I'm also glad the Spurs went into Staples and went out guns ablaze. I wish they'd played better over the course of these seven games, and perhaps we'd be looking at a date with Houston now. But, to be in a do-or-die situation like this, thank you, Spurs, for putting it all on the line and for giving us perhaps the greatest first round playoff series ever played.
Now go have an off-season for the ages and get that '16 chip.