Debate: "The Memorial Day Miracle" vs. "The Detroit Dagger"

[ShoogarBear]

I still don't buy your assertion that a mentally weak Portland team would ride surviving game 2 to a series win.

Mentally weak? You mean like the Spurs were . . . before the MDM?

They may have felt like they gave game 1 away, but lots of teams have made that excuse against the Spurs for years.

Yeah, lots of teams . . . after the MDM.

The Spurs would have gone on the road and mopped the floor with them the same way they did LA.

Because it was clear after those first two blowout wins how superior the Spurs were?

[LoneStarState'sPride]

It's really unfair to even compare these shots because they're definitely two watershed moments in Spurs' history. Yes, the 99 team was stacked, but as ShoogarBear pointed out, the knock on the Spurs before that first le was that they were weak and soft and would eventually fold ingloriously under pressure. What's to say that Portland, mental issues and all, doesn't feed off the second-guessing the media was sure to engage in had SA lost game 2? Remember, that Portland team had just come off eliminating the defending conference champion Jazz in the semis--they had absolutely no reason to be intimidated by San Antonio.

The '05 Finals was a watershed moment of a different sort. Sure, the Spurs were good, but let's face it--they hadn't faced anyone of the Pistons' caliber in the Finals before, and without that game 5 win, I have a hard time believing they'd be mentally capable of pulling themselves up by their bootstraps in game 6 (remember this was essentially the same squad that laid an egg in the elimination game after the .4 shot the year before).

[baseline bum]

Mentally weak? You mean like the Spurs were . . . before the MDM?

You thought the Spurs were mentally weak at any time after that win in Houston in 1999? With the way they were consistently grinding out wins against Utah and Portland in the season, with the way they chased down Utah for the division even though they were the oldest team in the league and playing back-to-back-to-back games, with the way they outplayed LA in fourth quarters, with the way they kept composed when Minnesota was starting fights with them in game 4?

Yeah, lots of teams . . . after the MDM.

All LA could talk about was throwing away games; especially game 2.

Because it was clear after those first two blowout wins how superior the Spurs were?

Crystal clear. I thought Portland's only chance in that series was for JR Rider to play like he did vs Utah.

[Bob Lanier]

Horry's shot came with what, six seconds left in the game? It wasn't a buzzer-beater, and wouldn't even have won the game if Bruce Bowen and Tony Parker hadn't played fantastic defense on the ensuing possession.

That said, the MDM had little influence on the Spurs' winning the le; they were the best team in the league that year by a fair margin. So in fairness I'd go with Horry's shot (and play in general during the second half of that game).

[Spurologist]

Felt the same way when Fish was asked about 0.4.

[stéphane]

I was able to watch every game of that Detroit Finals live so every time I think about Horry performance in that game, it gives me chills. Jordanesque.
I wasn't too young and already followed the spurs when the MDM happened but I couldn't see it live in France.

[Spursfan092120]

I've been a Spurs fan since we drafted David Robinson..I was 7 years old. Meant even more to me when he started playing in '89. I know how much the MDM meant to this franchise, but we're talking about what was a bigger shot. That '99 team was a team of destiny. Whether or not they win that game, they win that series the next one. Nobody was even close to matching up to them that year. The 2005 series was a different animal. Horry doesn't hit that shot, we lose that series the next game. That's what put it over the top for me.

[FkLA]

MDM is and always will be the greatest shot in Spurs history. Think about how many great teams have come and gone just recently (90s Jazz, 00s Kings, 00s Mavs, etc) that never won a le...getting that first one is always the toughest and most special.

[xellos88330]

MDM for me. I tend to look at the difficulty of the shot more than the meaning. MDM is just completely amazing. Horry's shot (not trying to devalue the shot) was just another wide open 3 pointer.

MDM helped the Spurs get the pressure monkey off of their back and prove that they can compete when the odds are stacked against them.

DD stated that the Spurs will not back down and not give up even if they just finished getting whooped the last two games.

[ChuckD]

MDM is and always will be the greatest shot in Spurs history. Think about how many great teams have come and gone just recently (90s Jazz, 00s Kings, 00s Mavs, etc) that never won a le...getting that first one is always the toughest and most special.