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I still think the people who really truly believe the Spurs are boring and call them that time after time are just jealous that a small market has actually made the big time. Especially since is been more than once. Thank You Tim Duncan.
NY Times this morning. Catch Buford's line!
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/06/01/sp...in&oref=slogin
Overshadowed Spurs Are Rarely Overmatched
By HOWARD BECK
Published: June 1, 2007
SAN ANTONIO, May 31 — In a mildly crowded, modestly happy locker room Wednesday night, R. C. Buford traded smiles and handshakes, soaking in the San Antonio Spurs’ fourth Western Conference le in nine years. Then Buford, the low-profile general manager of the N.B.A.’s low-key dynasty, spotted a reporter for a certain 24-hour sports network.
“Hey, did we even make ‘SportsCenter?’ ” Buford asked with a chuckle.
It was a fair question. Kobe Bryant had commandeered every channel on the ESPN spectrum with his request to be traded from the Los Angeles Lakers. It was all Kobe, all the time, all day. Even at the AT&T Center, where the Spurs closed out the Utah Jazz, the biggest buzz was about the Lakers’ melodrama.
The Spurs are plodding, methodically as ever, toward a fourth championship — an achievement that would place them among the greatest franchises in league history. Only the Boston Celtics (16 les), the Lakers (14) and the Chicago Bulls (6) own more banners.
Yet it seems that only San Antonians, and the geekiest of basketball geeks, truly appreciate the Spurs’ greatness. They draw dismal ratings in the N.B.A. finals. Their stars are plain-spoken and plain-looking. They rarely preen, glower or pose.
In truth, they are not nearly as boring as their reputation. But their understated elegance — all crisp passes, high-percentage shots and rugged defense — is decidedly analog next to the high-def, high-flying Phoenix Suns or the sheer giddiness of the Golden State Warriors.
“We’re like the bass players in the band,” the veteran sharpshooter Brent Barry said. “Nobody knows the bass player. You know the lead singer, you know the guy that’s playing the lead guitar, and we’re back there in the back, strumming the bass and not hitting any chords.”
The Suns again captivated the nation until the Spurs vanquished them in a controversial, suspension-marred second-round series. The Dallas Mavericks dominated the regular season, winning 67 games, only to wither before the Warriors in the first round.
Most of the guys who sell jerseys and put es in the Nielsen charts are on vacation. Allen Iverson and Carmelo Anthony of the Denver Nuggets fell to the Spurs in the first round. Bryant’s Lakers were taken out by the Suns. The Miami Heat’s defense of its le died in the first round, ending the season for Shaquille O’Neal and Dwyane Wade.
The Spurs spent another regular season under the radar. They were 33-18 on Feb. 11 — solid, but still in the background. They closed the season by winning 25 of 31 games and then dismissed the Western Conference with a 12-4 run through the playoffs.
“That’s just the personality of this team; there’s been nothing spectacular this year,” said David Robinson, the former Spurs star. “They just kept plodding through. Their motto was always, We’re going to beat on the rock until it cracks.”
The Spurs as quarry workers seems fitting enough. With an offense built around Tim Duncan, its virtuoso power forward, San Antonio grinds down opponents. Duncan is averaging 23.2 points, 11.4 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 3.3 blocked shots in the playoffs.
Even with Duncan coping with plantar fasciitis last season, the Spurs battled Dallas to a seventh game in the conference semifinals.
The Spurs are healthier now, with Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginóbili playing at an elite level. They are perhaps deeper than they were in 2004, when they defeated Detroit for their third le. Michael Finley, the steady, sweet-shooting Mavericks castoff, now helps anchor the backcourt. Fabricio Oberto, a co-star of the Argentinian national team, has been a perfect fit in the frontcourt rotation with his timely offensive rebounding and opportunistic scoring.
“I think we’re more poised, we’re smarter and we know what to do,” Robert Horry said.
Horry, the ultimate role player, who won two championships with the Houston Rockets, three with the Lakers and one with the Spurs, is going for his seventh ring — a prospect even he calls stunning.
“It’s a wonderful feeling,” he said. “It’s hard to explain.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Finley, a two-time All-Star who was once among the best scoring guards in the league. At 34, he is making his first trip to the finals. He joined the Spurs for this opportunity two years ago, then had his first chance ended by the Mavericks, the team that waived him in a cost-saving move.
“It was difficult,” Finley said of last year’s loss to the Mavericks.
Parker recalled that Finley was among those who took that defeat the hardest and said that getting him to the finals served as added motivation.
Finley said, “I’m blessed to be part of a great group of guys, guys who truly know the meaning of being a team.”
Contrary to perception, the Spurs are a team with ample personality, if not necessarily showmanship. They do not expect the world to agree, or even to tune in. They may bristle at the word “boring,” but they do not altogether seem to mind their low-bandwidth existence.
“I like watching Phoenix and Dallas more than I like watching us, too,” Barry said, deadpan.
A scout who watched the Spurs crush the Jazz on Wednesday said that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons were playing for second place. A fourth Spurs championship seems inevitable, and maybe that will finally cement them in the public consciousness.
“Maybe,” Barry said. “I doubt it. But maybe.”
I still think the people who really truly believe the Spurs are boring and call them that time after time are just jealous that a small market has actually made the big time. Especially since is been more than once. Thank You Tim Duncan.
A scout who watched the Spurs crush the Jazz on Wednesday said that the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Detroit Pistons were playing for second place.
“We’re like the bass players in the band,” the veteran sharpshooter Brent Barry said. “Nobody knows the bass player. You know the lead singer, you know the guy that’s playing the lead guitar, and we’re back there in the back, strumming the bass and not hitting any chords.”
That is insanely funny!!
Brent's on a roll....
"They are perhaps deeper than they were in 2004, when they defeated Detroit for their third le."
and we won it in 2005, too.
is horry tryin to win 10 rings so he can make a knuckle buster for both hands?
For the millionth time, there ARE Spurs fans OUTSIDE Texas. I'm one of them god damnit. People always act like only SA cares about the team
To be honest, there is some legitimacy to the stereotype. I've lived West Coast, East Coast and Chicago over the years, and the majority of Spurs fans that I came across were either transplanted South Texans or in the military who caught the Spurs bug while stationed in SA.
I've lived in California (Northern and Southern), Seattle, New York, and Rhode Island.
Never anywhere near San Antonio.
And I'm a Spurs fan.
If you don't appreciate or at least respect the San Antonio Spurs, then you don't like basketball, it's as simple as that.
I've lived in a lot of places, and never anywhere near San Antonio, and I've been a Spurs fan since 2002.
Whoa Whoa Whoa- you guys are saying there are fans outside of Texas?! I didn't think there were fans of the Spurs outside of San Antonio, let alone 1604!
I'm in Phoenix, but I was a military brat and lived in SA for 4 years...
From France.... and i was a Spurs fan before tony was drafted....I've first start with Olivier Saint Jean ....sorry Tarik Abdul Wahad at Sacramento in 97/98 i guess....
The Spurs philosophie is not so far from the european basketball ........
Same here. Portland, Oregon my entire life. Never been to Texas.
And I've been a Spurs fan for nearly 20 years.
My friend is from New York and loves the Spurs, because he is an Argentine.
I don't think I could cheer for the Knicks either.
I feel bad for fans outside San Antonio.
You guys miss a lot of the interviews and in depth coverage. Staying up after Jazz Game 5 to watch all the coverage was more entertaining than the actual game!
It's hard only getting national coverage, although it's better now than it used to be. With NBA TV, League Pass and obviously the net I feel closer than I did years ago.
It's also hard not being able to get the promotions that are only local. I'm still trying to find a Duncan player plaque that the Express News and HEB did in April. No mail orders and nothing on ebay. I'm not a collector really, but there's some Duncan stuff I'd like to get and I just can't unless it comes up on ebay.
TELL ME, that I live in Argentina
Sorry. I know I've got it better than some!TELL ME, that I live in Argentina
Do you get great Manu coverage at least?
I get it all now,or most of it.Since we have 2 ESPN channels+Internet+Argentinian coverage,We get to see most of the NBA season,but years back (late 80´s early 90´s)it was very rear to catch an NBA game on TV.
Thank God for the internet!
Thanx God for Bill Gates , dammit!Thank God for the internet!
Why thank him, Al Gore invented the internet!Thanx God for Bill Gates , dammit!
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