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You Will Call Them Champs!
MSNBC: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7005052/
You won't be calling Spurs boring in June
Team has offense, defense, and work ethic to win le again
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
Updated: 10:05 a.m. ET Feb. 22, 2005
They’re not sexy. They’re not flashy. Their names rarely grace the police blotter, and if they do, it’s usually for something like parking too close to a hydrant.
FEB 16, 2005
They don’t sell a lot of shoes to kids. They don’t woof or pose, and they rarely posterize. There might be a tattoo or two in their midst, but if so, there’s a better than average chance the word “Mom” is involved.
These are the San Antonio Spurs. And when they win the NBA championship in June, they won’t shimmy, shake, sashay, mug, punk out or otherwise indulge in a barrage of obnoxious gestures more appropriate for a Grammys afterparty.
They’ll celebrate with class, then begin preparing for next season.
The Spurs will win not because they’re boring, but because they’re the best.
Besides, boring is in the eyes of the beholder, and if any beholders out there view the Spurs as boring, it’s because they probably drank the “SportsCenter” Kool Aid and believe good basketball consists of retributive dunks, one-on-four fast breaks and the dropping of “fitty” on a foe.
These Spurs are prac ioners of teamwork, an archaic term unearthed by noted hoopologist Gregg Popovich. While many of his colleagues in the hardwood community have been victimized by intrafranchise turf wars (see Kobe and Shaq), welfare for the elderly and infirm (see Latrell Sprewell and Sam Cassell) and good old-fashioned dysfunction (see Denver, Houston and Detroit, at least through the early part of the first half), Popovich’s charges have been marching quietly and confidently toward their destiny.
Defense wins championships. That’s an oath the coaching fraternity has sworn to uphold, and there is no better example than the Spurs. Year in and year out, they are among the NBA leaders in stinginess. Thus far this season, they have allowed opponents an average of 86 points per game, ranking No. 1 in that category.
Defense is a mindset that must be cultivated. Throughout the year, some clubs play permissive defense, figuring they’ll crack down in the postseason when they absolutely have to. But if a team doesn’t work on communication and rotation during the regular season, it will probably be rusty come playoff time and therefore unable to flick the switch.
The Spurs have no such problem. Defense is as much a part of their fabric as the black on their uniforms. Popovich demands it throughout the year, much as Larry Brown does in Detroit, although that merry wanderer has had less to beam about this year in that department. When the playoffs begin, the Spurs are in full denial mode — deny the ball into the post, deny the perimeter jumper, deny the opponent an opportunity to win.
You Will Call Them Champs!
That's a cool article. A great reason to be a Spurs fan.
I wondered where I had read that before.
Oh yeah -- here:http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=11002
Sarcasm runs rampant in this place.........
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