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Great post as usuallet's hope for the best.
Should Spurs fans be nervous?
Um, yes. If the Spurs lose, that Game 6 heartbreak will live on for eternity. Die hard Spurs fans would never really be able to shake what happened in that game. I'm sure 30 years from now, I'll still cringe at how close the Spurs were to winning a championship in 2013. And I expect my 2043 self to vividly remember each of those agonizing 28 seconds.
On the other hand, if the Spurs win ........... wow. It would go down as one of the most mentally tough accomplishments in the history of sport. And, let's not forget, it'd turn Game 6 from a tragedy into a memorable bump in the road.
So, yeah, it's a huge damn game when you compare what the difference between a win and loss will mean tomorrow and for decades to come.
Do the Spurs have a legitimate chance to win?
Yes, I believe they do. The most difficult aspect of the night will be fatigue. All season, this team has been injury-prone and fatigue-prone. It's taken expert management and luck to reach this point of the season in relatively good shape. Coming off a grueling overtime loss that was challenging physically (and even moreso mentally) will test that proneness to the nth degree. But if the Spurs can overcome that fatigue, everything else is lining up rather well.
-The more emotional, desperate team has won every game this series. Tonight, the Spurs are undoubtedly the more emotional, desperate team. They know what's at stake. They understand that not only a championship is at stake but also the ability to wipe away those nightmarish 28 seconds is at stake.
-Defensively, the Spurs know what they need to do. They've seen everything the Heat can throw at them. The Heat, on the other hand, are still shifting and adjusting how they want to defend the Spurs.
-Offensively, the Spurs can't help but get better games out of everyone on the roster not named Timothy or Kawhi. And those individuals who were born in the Northern Hemisphere seem to have adjusted their games to account for Miami's relentless pressure.
-The three-point percentages should even out compared to Game 6.
If the Spurs can survive physically and the Heat superstars don't go completely crazy (like they did in Game 4), San Antonio has a real chance.
How confident should I be that the Spurs will win?
Well, Vegas is giving the Spurs about a 28% chance to win. That sounds bad but it's a slight improvement over the chances they gave the Spurs for Game 6.
Personally, I think a fairer percentage is somewhere between 30% and 35%. No NBA team has won a Finals Game 7 on the road in 35 years -- and then you add in the fatigue factor and the mental collapse possibility .... but I think the Spurs have the necessary willpower to pull this off. Maybe it's a homer pick but I really do think Vegas is shortchanging San Antonio's chances.
Is this the biggest game in Spurs history?
It's difficult to sit here five hours before game time and answer No ... but it's not. I mean, emotionally it might be the biggest for Spurs fans because the chasm between victory and defeat is so gigantic.
Clinching the championship in 1999 meant an arena was going to be built -- and that kept the team in the city. It also was the main reason Duncan didn't leave in free agency. Winning it all in 2003 to send David Robinson out on top is something many of us wouldn't trade for anything (plus, that win convinced TD to stay in San Antonio for his basketball life.). In 2005, after Duncan struggled for a large portion of the Finals, there was media backlash and his legacy was in jeopardy heading into that Game 7 (Tiny Tim, etc.). Then the 2007 ring basically proved there was nothing fluke about the previous championships.
2013 would be huge for Spurs fans but it's not really a legacy changer. The team isn't in jeopardy of moving. Players aren't in jeopardy of leaving. It'd be the ultimate cherry on top of all the previous success dating back to the drafting of Robinson -- and it'd be the sweetest of all the championships -- but the "biggest"? Nah.
Is it okay be to be devastated if the Spurs lose? It's just a basketball game, after all.
I'll be pretty damn devastated so I can't blame anyone else for being depressed if the Spurs don't win. If you're reading this, you have probably invested a lot of emotion into this team. Being devastated is an honest and true reaction.
IMO, celebrating your azz off if they win and pulling the "it's just basketball" card if the Spurs lose is a cop out. I don't blame anyone for celebrating and I wouldn't blame anyone for crying in their soup and avoiding anything sports related for the next six months.
Sure, it's just a game played by strangers but if you're emotionally invested, it's too late to turn back now, IMO.
Two years ago to the day, I was being released from the hospital after almost dying. (Coincidentally, the two year anniversary of being admitted to the hospital was June 6th -- the day this series started.) That experience gave me a good amount of perspective on life. But still, even though there are things more important during your existence on Earth than the result of a basketball game, I see nothing wrong with being passionate about your favorite team.
Enjoy tonight as much as you can and don't be afraid to feel, or at least that's the way I'm approaching this thing.
Who should we blame if the Spurs lose?
To me, it doesn't make sense to blame anyone. This team -- more than perhaps any team in NBA History -- is a team. They're a unit that relies on chemistry, cohesion and mental toughness to win basketball games. It's unfair, IMO, to make a scapegoat out of any single individual.
If the Spurs don't get it done, they don't get it done.
On the same token, if the Spurs win, I'd be fine with the NBA not even issuing a Finals MVP award. No individual on this team has stood out enough to really deserve it because, again, this is a collective unit. Hand over the Larry O'Brien and toss that Finals MVP in the trash for all I care.
Okay, shut up. What are the keys to winning this game?
-Limit turnovers.
-Be strong on the glass.
-Hit open shots.
-Weather storms.
-Stick to the defensive gameplan.
-Summon the energy to be able to compete for the entire 48 minutes.
-Truly believe this job can be accomplished.
Let us pray, hope and/or wish that the Spurs are ready, willing and able to give it all they got. Keep it close. Finish the job.
1.
Believe.
Great post as usual
One. Believe.
Well said.
People forget the Heat are just as old "numbers wise" as the Spurs are. Also probably more tired and just as exhausted. Even match up tonight.
Enjoy it Spurs fans, win or lose this may be the last time you see the Big 3 play together.
Believe from Berlin
The Spurs have won all their championships in odd numbered years. They have won every odd numbered game in this series thus far. Numerology es.
Great post!
Packing the paint will be key. If we can force Miami to be a jump shooting team then I think we get this!
I haven't been feeling too good about this at all, and being a big Rangers fan I know what it's like to live with being so close you can taste it only to blow it.
It would be utmost cruelty to hit us fans of both teams like this within two years. Come on playoff basketball finals gods... serve us well tonight.
Believe.
Great post.
At the end of the day, it's just basketball but it's okay to feel like if they lose.
I'm with you timvp.
Regardless of the outcome, tonight is going to be apart of me for the rest of my existence on this earth. Either it will solidify the eternal heartbreak from Game 6 or be one of absolute best moments in my life.
Bring it on!
I feel like you called me out personally because I told some dude in this forum that it's just a basketball game.
*edit* And not saying people can't feel what they want to feel. It's their lives and if you feel devastated after this loss, good for you.
Thread of the year tbh... I'm so ing hyped right now I can barley type!!!!
It wasn't aimed at anyone, tbh. I'm just saying if it's more than just a basketball game if they win, then it's okay for it to be more than just a basketball game if they lose.
No one should ever apologize for the highs and lows we experience as sports fans. Only other sports fans understand and many who are not sports fans look as us like freaks but I can't tell you how many awesome moments I've had due to sports. , I've shared many Spurs related memories with many of you through our shared Spurs fandom.
Yes, the keys are excellent. Simple. Just execute. It will be an exhausting, slow and scrappy game. Yes, G7's for the away team are statistically low. But I'm also banking on the fact that the Spurs have won G3 and G5 and those teams usually go to win it all.
Win or lose, I'll wake up tomorrow not looking like mouse and I'll be fine tbh.
Gotcha
1.
I'm going to feel like major tbh
FAQ the Heat, tbh
TD, Parker, and Manu need to remeber the '04 .04 game and their response in game 6.
They have the opportunity to vindicate that year with a win tonight. I think they will respond favorably.
Spurs in 7
GSG GSG GSG
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