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We won with Duncan, and we go down with Duncan.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slu...dynasty_042611Spurs’ fall arriving sooner than expected
By Adrian Wojnarowski
Everyone’s eyes can see the truth unfolding on the floor, and yes, the crumbling of the San Antonio Spurs’ dynasty is a jarring spectacle. Fading fast now, a proud, old champion has struggled to stay with the talented bodies, young legs and hungry hearts out of Memphis. The Grizzlies tanked the final games of the season for a chance to obliterate the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, and Tim Duncan sounded so offended. There would be a price for Memphis to pay for such blatant disregard.
Only Duncan’s no longer able to exact revenge on the Spurs’ honor. San Antonio is down 3-1 to the eighth-seeded Memphis Grizzlies, and this feels far less like an upset and far more like an inevitability. The Spurs reconstructed themselves to play faster, freer and far less dependent on Duncan. They had no choice, but San Antonio suddenly seems far more constructed for the long run of the regular season than the grind of the playoffs.
Spurs owner Peter Holt always insisted: He was going down with Duncan. It was admirable, fitting and just. Only now, the time has come.
The Spurs are going down with Tim Duncan.
One year ago this week, Holt watched the Spurs sputter through most of the regular season, cling to the seventh seed and still beat an old rival, the Dallas Mavericks, in the first round of the playoffs. It was a magnificent victory, validating for the Gregg Popovich and RC Buford regime because it convinced them they were justified in staying with the program.
“We looked at the history of all this, and asked, ‘Should we try this or not?’ ” Holt told me. “And we realized – it’s worth it. Let’s keep doing it – transitioning without crashing. That’s what we’re trying to do, but also our goal is to win a championship this year so we said, ‘Let’s go after it again.’ ”
The thirty-something Spurs had won again. Only, they would get swept in the conference semifinals by the Phoenix Suns. Almost a year later, the Spurs have won 61 regular-season games, and it feels so much like a mirage.
This isn’t to say this series is over, because the Spurs have too much pride, too much invested. It isn’t your eyes that don’t want to count out the Spurs, but a sense. It isn’t logical, but much, much more based upon emotion.
Keep reading...
We won with Duncan, and we go down with Duncan.
I assume this is just the first of many, the media should all have something similar to say tomorrow. I was hoping we'd get Ludden.
BS.Popovich is out of wisecracks about the NBA needing to convene a committee to stop such trades as the Pau Gasol(notes) deal. Now, it makes sense: Marc Gasol(notes), Pau’s brother, was a keeper.
The rest of it...
And should the Spurs come back and win this series, I will be contacting each one of those media scrubs with a capital F-You Big Market Bias.
If not, then I'll just tell my team..."Thanks for the ride, but next time, can you bring in a 6'10" F-C with athletic young legs?"
Can't wait to read the obituary on ESPN tomorrow...
Can't wait to read the obituary on ESPN tomorrow...
This big 3 has won more championships than any other in the NBA. Couldn't have asked for a better team to cheer for.
I'll be there when we tank to get our next HOFer and beyond.
You guys missed CWebb singing Boys II Men, lol
Spurs losing=2hr do entary on ESPNCan't wait to read the obituary on ESPN tomorrow...
Spurs winning=2-minute drill/rundown on ESPN
BS. Duncan ain't the great player he once was, but the Spurs decline does not rest on his shoulders. Although it's clear he can't make surrounding players better as he did in the past.Spurs owner Peter Holt always insisted: He was going down with Duncan. It was admirable, fitting and just. Only now, the time has come.
The Spurs are going down with Tim Duncan.
This is not going to be pretty. I would rather TD take whatever remains from our suprising regular season and and ride off into the sunset.
Spurs success in 05 and 07 was based on a big 4 with a dominant Duncan surrounded by solid role players. Spurs aren't in that situation anymore: Bruce is retired, Duncan is old and half the player he was, Manu isn't 100% healthy, Parker sucks for whatever reason and role players are mental midgets.
You could do nothing against time that pass or bad luck (injuries or slumps) but Spurs staff has made mistakes. Front office has been bad last off-season by sticking with losers in Bonner and Jefferson and rewarding them with a combined $50M contract. Pop has been bad this year by not caring about the defense and by putting Tiago in the doghouse.
Spurs future looks bad. They have a load of money to give to aging players (Ginobili, Parker, Jefferson and Bonner). Add to the fact that they don't have some kind of great or even very good young players and it will take a miracle for Spurs to rebound quickly. The Duncan era was amazing but it's now the end of it. The next five years are going to be painful ones. Be ready for years of mediocrity and lottery. Hopefully, Spurs will be relevant again after that.
Last edited by Bruno; 04-26-2011 at 06:32 AM.
Oh god Duncan228....this is just too, too depressing. I don't know if I can read all these media articles. It's one thing hearing Spurs fans rant about the demise of our beloved Spurs...but I just feel like the media is using this as an excuse to kick us Spurs fans when we are down my saying, hey "we told ya so...."
Yeah.. thats how the cynic in me also concluded.
But somewhere deep down I also feel that the Spurs can pull off some kind of a coup ..maybe package Bonner/ Jefferson with the Mcdyess contract sweetener and get a decent player in return enough not to push the agony for too far.
Pop kept pounding the rock with weak hammers this time around. And the hammers broke. Hopefully there is some guile left in the FO to turn it around sooner rather than too much later.
We made the headline at last! lol FKN STPD media!
I've got a problem with the writer ripping on Popovich for his comments about the Memphis givaway of 2008.
To say Memphis came off well in that trade is stupid. Marc Gasol is an OK player, but the LAL have gone to the last three NBA championships and Pau Gasol was a BIG reason for that.
Pop made those comments in 2008. Was he incorrect in his evaluation at the time? No.
That's kind of like saying the Spurs trade of Dennis Rodman to the Bulls was a good deal because Will Perdue was a solid contributor to the Spurs 1999 championship team (I know, Marc Gasol is better that Perdue). The point is, Rodman (a total team cancer in SA) was considered the third wheel of Chicago's great teams as Jordan went off in the sunset.
The point is I don't think the Grizzlies deserve an ounce of credit for making a good trade in 2008. If they were so smart, how come they blew the second pick in the draft two years ago?
Memphis is a nice little team, but I think the cobwebs in the upper bowl of their arena were removed just last week.
It's funny how Pop gets ripped for an accurate statement.
Duncan got old and Gino got hurt again. That's the bottom line.
The Spurs could still beat Memphis. The Grizzlies like to dance around before it's over too much for me. SA did not play smart basketball last night and did not pound the ball inside after the officials started the third quarter with one eye blind. After a couple of SA guys did not get a whistle going to the hoop, they stopped going to the basket and that was that.
The total lack of defense is just maddening to watch. Duncan can't cover up for all the mistakes being made out there right now. Running under screens and allowing more uncontested jump shots in one game that they used to allow in five games. Memphis is completely comfortable in what they do offensively. Pops up tempo plan worked great on the 82 game RS, but a mediocre defensive team goes nowhere in the playoffs.
Last year they could not stop Phoenix from shooting 50% from 3 point land and this year Memphis just ran away from them.
Father time waits for no one. It's been a great run. Maybe they can extend this thing on Wednesday. They were embarrassed and I hope they don't pack it in.
Last edited by Harry Callahan; 04-26-2011 at 07:25 AM.
Bruno...once again...with the goods.
Wojo...bringing big 'ole spoonfuls of truth for the "60 wins" crowd. I hate that it had to happen this way, but it was going to happen in painful fashion...whether it was getting embarrassed now or swept by OKC.
I don't even want to think about the future right now. One can only hope that the Spurs manage to either get some sucker to take RJ's deal or fall into a young player that develops into a solid NBA talent(Butler? Richards?).
I like this piece, although there's no "insider" info there usually is from yahoo journalist I like it. This will easily top anything ESPN will vomit out about the Spurs.
Let's have one more run next year then blow it up after that
Well if we win this series then I'll have a big plate of " you" to say to all the reporters and news media.
I don't think there is anything in Wojnarowski's article that should have people pissed off at him (except maybe the Gasol trade line). Sure, let's hope he's wrong, but even he's stating this is not necessarily over.
I typically like anything the yahoo guys write - Wojnarowski right up there. His book about Bob Hurley and St. Anthony's in NJ is a fantastic read for anyone on here.
I will wait for one more loss before I give up on the season. If and when the Spurs go down, I think it is obvious that it is time to rebuild. Hopefully they can unload a contract or two. It would be nice to see them get rid of Jefferson and Bonner's contract but I think there is no real market for either of them b/c they are both so overpaid.
I think the Spurs will trade Tony at season's end. He is the only player that brings value and they could probably get a least one first rounder. Maybe a team like the Bobcats or Minnesota will be looking for a pg. I don't want to see Tony in another team's uniform but with Manu retiring in two years and Tony playing up to 5-6 more, I think this is what will have to happen.
I hope it too but it will be damn hard to do. RJ's contract is really bad. Bonner has a better contract but teams won't give a lot for an average player like him.
Another sweetner would be the contracts of Blair and or Hill...
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