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Attention Ghost!And they don't do knuckleheads, fools and clowns. The Patriots don't want Randy Moss. The Spurs don't want Ron Artest.
At least somebody on the East Coast notices!
[Full link at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Feb9.html]
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How can you watch the Spurs and not think of the Patriots? Okay, nobody is going to use the word "dynasty" about the Spurs. Two NBA les in six years don't get you that kind of praise. But the Spurs are cut from the same cloth as the Patriots. Tell me Gregg Popovich, obsessively prepared and a 1970 graduate of the Air Force Academy, doesn't remind you of Bill Belichick, obsessively prepared and whose father coached at the Naval Academy?
Is there anybody in sports who reminds you more of Tom Brady than Tim Duncan, even if they do play different games? Each would rather die than accept credit or do anything to call attention to himself. Both hate the notion of s om even though Brady, as the quarterback, has no choice but to be the face of his team and Duncan, as the most skilled big man in basketball and his squad's unquestioned star, has no choice but to be the face of his team. Calling each of them "reluctant" is a great understatement.
In an age in which style often trumps substance, both teams are so gray people often mistake the lack of color for a lack of talent, when in fact the Pats and Spurs are both loaded with talent. Ginobili, the Argentine swingman, has every skill a player could ask for and is now an all-star. Parker may be an all-star, too, if Kobe Bryant's injury keeps him out awhile longer.
The Spurs have literally everything: size (Duncan, 7-foot Rasho Nesterovic), defense, quickness (Parker, Ginobili), inside scoring, perimeter scoring, great role players (Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Rose), savvy veterans (Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg), and young athletes on the way up (Devin Brown). Popovich and GM R.C. Buford find players nobody else seems overly interested in (such as Beno Udrih of Slovenia) and develop them.
And they don't do knuckleheads, fools and clowns. The Patriots don't want Randy Moss. The Spurs don't want Ron Artest. They don't want drama. They're not entertainers, they're a basketball club. Dopes don't last in the Spurs' locker room. Rarely are they even let in.
Sean Elliott, who played 11 years for the Spurs and now calls the team's games on radio, said before last night's game: "I root for the Patriots because I like real teams. I'm tired of the individual crap in sports. The Patriots are a true team, in the real sense of the word. Do the Patriots remind me of us? I think that's a legit comparison. They don't beat themselves and neither do we. I don't know Tom Brady, but he doesn't seem like a guy looking for the spotlight. Tim isn't wearing medallions. He's not out searching for street cred. He couldn't care less."
Asked before the game about the Patriots, Popovich said, "I think of them the way I used to think, and still think, of the Utah Jazz. They get good people, people with character. They've got class. They've got a good system and they fit people in that system. We use [the Patriots] as an example. We respect everything they do."
Popovich uses the word "we" but his assistant, P.J. Carlesimo says it's "he" as in Popovich who sets the direction of the franchise. "If anything," Carlesimo said, "people don't realize the job he's done for 12 years [as vice president of basketball operations and head coach]. He's made every decision for 12 years, personnel and on the court. Our guys know that it's his way. David [Robinson] empowered him and now Tim empowers him. They let him coach them." And the others follow -- or they are shown the door.
The Spurs actually began their winning ways before the Patriots did. San Antonio won the franchise's first NBA le in 1999, then knocked off the Lakers to win again in 2003. They're the presumptive champs this year. The Spurs aren't presuming that; I am. They're too creative, too tough, too disciplined not to win if they stay healthy, which would give San Antonio three championships in six years, which while not as dominant as the Patriots, is a record just about every team in professional sports would envy.
Attention Ghost!And they don't do knuckleheads, fools and clowns. The Patriots don't want Randy Moss. The Spurs don't want Ron Artest.
Et Voila....no Vinsanity, either (insanity being reserved for a percentage of Spurs fans, however...).
The Spurs-Pats comparisons continue to surface...
"They don't beat themselves and neither do we. "
Hey, Sean, come on, who TF beat the Spurs last night? It certainly wasn't the Wiz.
I really like Sean, but here I object to his bad homerism, especially to TV yelling head like Wilbon. Sean knows damn well that the team that has beaten the Spurs 9 times this season is the Spurs.
Duncan's knee beat the Spurs last night. Snap yourself together croutons.
"Duncan's knee beat the Spurs last night."
I watched the game, the stagnant offense, the cold shooting, the lack of hustle for RBs, the crappy defense, etc, etc. and then looked at the box score which just confirmed what I saw.
Tim's knee had all to with another crap game from the Spurs, and his good knee had all to do with the 7 or 8 crap games the Spurs have given away. Malik put up a great game in Tim's place. To say that Tim putting up, alone, better numbers than Malik for a win in the face of so much else wrong last night is simply ignoring Tim's ineffective contribtion in the other give-away games.
hey, boutons-bashers, the Spurs sucked last night, period. Shoot the Spurs, not the messenger, and stop deluding yourself that Tim's absence was the only aspect that would have prevented a give-away loss.
The Spurs had great opportunity to show some road toughness against a playoff team (which is what they need to show in the playoffs, esp if they give away enough games from now on to give PHX the HCA):
Down 6 to start the 4th qtr, all the Spurs had to do was keep pounding away on offense against the crappiest defensive team in the NBA, but above all turn up the defense to give themselves a chance. The Spurs offense, esp Tony, started paying off in the 4th quarter which, at 27 points, was the Spurs' best offensive qtr, a great finish to win the game The Spurs Way. The defense holds the line when the offense is sputtering, keep the game close, and then play like madmen for the last qtr, for crunch time.
BUT BUT BUT
.. the Spurs defense disappeared and allowed 32 Wiz pts in the 4th. The Spurs didn't have the hustle and desire last night to hustle the boards, and hustle on defense, even in only the one quarter where defense mattered most. Spurs gave it away, they didn't get beat by a superior effort.
Before I forget even East Coast media can figure this out...
The Spurs have literally everything: size (Duncan, 7-foot Rasho Nesterovic), defense, quickness (Parker, Ginobili), inside scoring, perimeter scoring, great role players (Bruce Bowen, Brent Barry, Rose), savvy veterans (Robert Horry and Tony Massenburg), and young athletes on the way up (Devin Brown). Popovich and GM R.C. Buford find players nobody else seems overly interested in (such as Beno Udrih of Slovenia) and develop them.
Boutons:
The Spurs lose sometimes.
I don't care that you think Duncan doesn't make a difference. He does. And it's not just about points.
On top of that, the Spurs are pretty banged up. And sometimes shots don't go down.
There's no need to contort yourself with venom and hate after every loss. It's NBA basketball, no one goes undefeated.
And that's why I LOVE THIS BOARD! We're so spoiled with wins and a terrific team, every loss is magnified x1000. I swear, even if we win the le this year in say 6 games, people will still complain that we should've show more dominance and swept.
The teams on the floor decide it. The team that the Wiz put on the floor beat the team that SA put on the floor. As for turnovers, the Spurs had 13, below their average for the year. Rebounds were about right on at 42. Their long distance shooting wasn't there, but then you'd expect more of contesting of those shots with no Duncan in the post, and it being game 2 of a B2B.Hey, Sean, come on, who TF beat the Spurs last night? It certainly wasn't the Wiz.
Bank on it
I didn't get to watch the game. Normally, the 2nd games of back-to-backs by the Spurs carry a built-in warning of 2nd Half, particularly 4th quarter sluggish play. The legs go, the jump shots fail them, they don't attack. Did that happen last night?
I'd say there was a little of that. Unfortunately Devin was unable to finish at the rim 2 or 3 times on breaks, though part of that was the angle he had when he elevated.
Best take I've seen yet!!!!!
I personally think that the Spurs are a lot more exciting than the Patriots - a lot more speed, an international flavor with Manu's verve, beginnning to make tabloids (all I wil say) and at least a coach that occasionally can be witty and emotional - Bill is like an ice cube in public at least.
By the way Wilbon's math flawed = Spurs win this year is 3/7 years when actually awarded not 3/6 (won 98-99, lost 3, Won again 2002-2003, lost another to Lakers on their way to Pistons in 2003-2004 = 6 already) but not unexpected that the friggin Washington Post would have someone check his work????
However, if the Spurs win the next 2 les and get 3/4 (and 4 of 8) I am all for the comparisons!!
Last edited by Rummpd; 02-10-2005 at 01:56 PM.
What radio does Sean do?
Damn...I missed that one...
Cool statement by coach Carlisimo.Popovich uses the word "we" but his assistant, P.J. Carlesimo says it's "he" as in Popovich who sets the direction of the franchise. "If anything," Carlesimo said, "people don't realize the job he's done for 12 years [as vice president of basketball operations and head coach]. He's made every decision for 12 years, personnel and on the court. Our guys know that it's his way. David [Robinson] empowered him and now Tim empowers him. They let him coach them." And the others follow -- or they are shown the door.
PJ wants to make clear whose neck is on the line if something goes wrong.
Last edited by ShoogarBear; 02-10-2005 at 04:50 PM. Reason: who's whose error
Yeah. Pop sounds like every bit the control freak.
Won 2 rings doin it, wtf.
Billicheck is a control freak and you dont hear people in New England complaining.
You weren't complaing two years ago when Pop was controlling everything.
In any business, when it's your ass who's responsible for the end result, you damn well better be a control freak or you're diggin your own grave.
Exactly right.
Wilbon is a funny guy. He knows what he's on about.
PTI is an incredibly funny show.
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