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Damn you Kobe you had to open your freaking mouth, otherwise we would be going for a repeat.
http://www.nj.com/columns/ledger/dal...430.xml&coll=1
Aging Spurs must react as rivals get stronger
Dave D'Alessandro
Stuff happens. Unforeseen stuff. We thought we'd share that basketball bulletin with you.
An illuminating example of this: It was only a year ago this weekend that Kobe Bryant, in a moment of prima donna dementia, told some chat show host that he wanted out of El Lay, which only proved that he has the patience of a child and the wisdom of a potato. ... to say nothing of those faculties of the fans and media who somehow thought this was a swell idea whose time had come.
So you look at the Lakers today and you see a really good team -- one on the threshold of being great. They have all the requisites for greatness, anyway -- an MVP in his prime, a top-five center, a ish matchup at the four-spot, cerebral system guys at every other station, shooters and athletes all over the place, probably the best coach, and superb chemistry.
All of which makes you nauseous when you think about how they're smoking every opponent with astonishing ease while Andrew Bynum, a future 24-and-12 guy, rehabs his knee.
So it is with some reservations that we'd say the San Antonio Spurs' glory days are history, because ... stuff happens.
The team of the decade has to consider making some significant changes over the next three months, or they could drop their decade-long status as le contender very quickly.
The Lakers are going to get better. Once Bynum returns, you can expect talk of a dynasty regardless of what happens in the upcoming Finals.
New Orleans is everybody's flavor of the month, as the up-and-coming team with the longest shelf life.
Utah is probably better than New Orleans.
Portland, sooner or later, is probably going to jump over all of them -- probably within the next two or three years, if the Blazers can keep their pieces together.
And one of these years, Houston may actually stay healthy for a change.
Compare that with the Spurs. There are three guys with All-Star bonafides, indeed. But there are six other guys -- Robert Horry, Kurt Thomas, Michael Finley, Damon Stoudamire, Bruce Bowen and Brent Barry -- who average 35.5 years of age.
Five of those guys are rotation players.
And this marks the second time in three years that Manu Ginobili's body fell apart in the third round, which made this team look very sluggish off the dribble, and eminently guardable.
"That's got to be in the back of our minds going forward," owner Peter Holt said after his team was eliminated by L.A. Thursday night. "We had a good regular season injury-wise, but we were tired. Is it an age factor? Was it just the timing of everything? I don't know yet."
His coach knows, but he isn't telling. Gregg Popovich conducts most of his business with all the secrecy of the Pentagon, so he merely suggested that the Spurs lost to a better team, didn't say anything about advocating a bust-up, and went quietly into the offseason without another sound.
But this had to bug him -- more than losing to Dallas in '06, when Tim Duncan fought plantar fasciitis and was outplayed in the overtime of Game 7 against the immortal DeSagana Diop. The Spurs are much older now. Their coach doesn't trust his younger guys. He blundered in his last two chances to infuse the bench with youth (Beno Udrih, Luis Scola). Ginobili is going back to the Olympics, which can't be good for a going-on-31. Their style is still compelling, but becoming passé.
If he's contemplating a significant change by going the Joe Dumars route -- filling the bench with kids who can learn on the fly -- Pop'll keep it to himself for a while. No surprise there, because he's a master at biting his lip: The best example was the disastrous climax of Game 4, when Barry was used like a tackling dummy by Derek Fisher and the refs swallowed their whistles.
What could he say? It was karma, the only cosmic force with a morbid sense of humor. Pop couldn't complain -- not after Robert Horry's hip check sent Steve Nash flying the year before, giving the Spurs the edge they needed to advance. He couldn't complain -- not with the most physical team in the hemisphere, one that bumps more cutters and grabs more jerseys and throws more illicit elbows than anyone since the NBA's piefight days of the early '90s. And Pop couldn't complain because his team was outplayed, period.
Even though it was the most obvious foul and egregious officiating oversight we've seen in a long, long time.
Sure, the Spurs were bit by a horrendous no-call, but their coach told them to put a sock in it.
So out they went in five -- dismissed by the MVP and the coach who once called Popovich and his staff "the simulator crew," because none of them had played in the NBA.
Now he's lost to Phil Jackson four times in their five playoff meetings.
Nobody this good, this smart, and this compe ive is going to stand for it.
SIGN OF THE TIMES
More cir stantial proof that small is in: For the first time since the Bulls dynasty concluded in '98, neither Tim Duncan nor Shaquille O'Neal will appear in the NBA Finals.
Damn you Kobe you had to open your freaking mouth, otherwise we would be going for a repeat.
Had Kobe kept his mouth shut that wouldn't have changed anything.
The Spurs will be back next year and I think they'll win the championship.
I'm with you on that one.
You must be counting on a lot of injuries to other teams.
We've been loosing to the lakers since one of the best centers of all time retired,we just need a new atletic center possibly ian mahinmi.
unless we get someone who is amost allstar caliber, this team doesnt stand a chance against those other teams mentioned...lets not forget duncans 3 against the suns...he misses it and we imo were done....blow out after blow out, blown lead after blown lead...we dont get someone with almost allstar caliber....and the rest of the league will be making fun of pop and his old big 3....lets hope not...go spurs go
What? Would Mitch Kupchak have said 'no' to Memphis' franchise player in exchange for his scrubs if Kobe hadn't acted like a little ?Damn you Kobe you had to open your freaking mouth, otherwise we would be going for a repeat.
Lets see who they have on the team first before making these claims.
There will be no le if they don't have someone to take Manu's role when he's on the bench resting. Now he's going to the Olympics (at 31)?
DA writes: "And this marks the second time in three years that Manu Ginobili's body fell apart in the third round, which made this team look very sluggish off the dribble, and eminently guardable."
So the odds are not good Manu will be 100% come playoff time. I said a year ago that his body will start breaking down at 32. We need someone in their early to mid 20's that will be around Duncan and TP for the next 5-6 yrs. Manu will be a role player in two yrs.
You put to much thought on an stupid article, if you do not think it is an stupid article consider this quotes
"while Andrew Bynum, a future 24-and-12 guy, rehabs his knee.'
Pure speculation, and a bold one at that. 24-12 sure, why not add 5 bpg too, predictions are easy.
"Utah is probably better than New Orleans. "
Uh? What? Just unfounded opinion.
"And this marks the second time in three years that Manu Ginobili's body fell apart in the third round"
What? That was laughable at best, I think you are the only one who believed this crap.
"most physical team in the hemisphere, one that bumps more cutters and grabs more jerseys and throws more illicit elbows than anyone since"
Rubbish. Ask Tony and Manu.
This isn't about the Spurs aging, it's about the Tim Duncan clock running out. Pretty soon, Popavich will be engineering another season-long tank-job to up chances of landing the #1 pick. Only this time, he won't have to wrongly fire a decent coach like Bob Hill to get it done. Good luck with that, Spurs fan, cuz the NBA simply doesn't have enough citizenship award winners that want to come play in a dead-beat "city" like San Antonio.
thats y the announcers r the lakers es cus they all like los angeles better cus of its bigger market
Man, you've got this team all figured out. Guess we won't be able to fool at least 1 fan this time around.
Yeh and that's why the referees put Kobe Bryant on the line the entire series too, right?
Everybody knows it's hard to beat the Lakers when Kobe Bryant goes to the line 2.1 times per game throughout a series. That's just too much love from the refs.
Kobe couldnt get 2 the line cus we werent fouling him. Kobe always gets wut he wants. Hes a littleYeh and that's why the referees put Kobe Bryant on the line the entire series too, right?
Everybody knows it's hard to beat the Lakers when Kobe Bryant goes to the line 2.1 times per game throughout a series. That's just too much love from the refs.
And you guys couldn't get to the finals because we were whooping your ass. Should be used to it by now, coming from the purple and gold. This is nothing new, my man. We've all danced a jig to this in beat before.
and so have we. watch out next year
Well, we're not getting an All Star talent, so you might aswell jump off the bandwagon now.
Bynum would have completed the season at 24-12 or so if he completed the season and didn't regress. Who knows about the injury but I'd bet money he's going to be a 20 and 10 guy next year at the least...he was practically unstoppable with #1 FG% (I think he was 66%) and probably the best 20 year old offensive force at Center since Shaq. On other aspects he was in the Top 10 in Blocks and Rebounds.
Adding Bynum would allow Pau to move back to his natural Power Forward position shooting jumpers while Bynum works the paint and adds 10x better defense. Odom back to Small Forward. The Lakers are in the Finals with 2 guys playing out of position.
Utah's a better team than the Hornets... The Hornets are a 5 man team, that ain't gonna get it done in the Playoffs. The Jazz on the other hand have a good bench in Millsap, CJ, Korver. You can mark my words, the Hornets will never get past the 2nd round without a better bench, especially a backup center.
The Spurs in my opinion cannot compete with the Elite next year with Duncan, Manu, TP, Bowen + has been role players.
We're hearing alot of Manu rumors, I don't think he's going to be a Spur next year. Instead, you'll have 2 young athletic guys (1 excellent starter and a solid bench guy) in his place and the Spurs will continue to contend.
Last edited by Allanon; 06-02-2008 at 10:47 PM.
There are no rumors. Pop said it clearly: TD, TP and Manu are coming back next year. I mean, for not being able to compete with the West Elite, as you say, we made it to the WCF without a bench.
We'll retool our bench a bit, and we'll be right back in the thick of things.
And we'll talk about how great Bynum is going to be once he completes a full season averaging 20 and 10. Lots of players had good stretches and showed promise only to find out later it was just a fluke.
well aging is normal and fair in all sports, spurs is getting older and sliding slowly while other young teams getting better and up rising, it's always like that. Is the window closing for spurs to win champs? Yes, but it's not closed yet.
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