Hype vs. Reality
Posted: Wed Feb 23, 2005 6:49 pm
Rack this guy. He pretty much epitomizes the contradiction that is the NBA these days. If a team plays great defense and runs a fundamentally sound offense, with a group of good dudes, they're "boring." On the other hand, dramatic feuds among superstars in large markets, combined with individual flash and ability to sell shoes and jerseys is what is still marketed on ESPN and in advertising.
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 title again
COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
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.
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 practitioners 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.
Along with defense comes a wealth of offensive firepower, led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Duncan remains one of the best big men in the game, and if not for sudden impact makers like Steve Nash, LeBron James and maybe Shaq, would be in the MVP race with 21 points, 12 boards and almost three blocks per game.
As Duncan goes, so go the Spurs. Because he already has two NBA championship rings, and still feels the sting of being smothered by the Lakers in last year's Western Conference semifinals, he'll go after the title like the FCC goes after an exposed breast.
Competition? Of course there will be competition. And as opposed to previous years, where the West was a minefield and the Finals against an East representative was an all-you-can-eat buffet by comparison, the picture is fuzzier this season.
The Spurs had figured to be challenged in the West by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it is unlikely that their core problem - desultory efforts by Sprewell and Cassell, who have chosen cash over jewelry - will disappear over the remainder of the season.
It appears the Spurs' most serious challenges will come from the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics, with lesser nods to the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets. The Spurs have it over the Suns and Sonics when it comes to playoff experience, and they are more balanced than those clubs.
The Kings have been under the heat lamp of the postseason before, but they are not formidable enough overall and may have missed their window of opportunity. The Rockets? Who knows? They entered the break having won eight in a row, but while they have a nice inside-outside combination in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, they don't have the supporting cast to take the Spurs to a Game 7, or even 6.
In the East, it appears to be a duel between the Pistons and Heat. Detroit looked lethargic early on, but probably will remember around mid-April or so that they're the defending NBA champions, pride will kick in, and they'll embrace the goal of repeating in earnest. Miami just added Alonzo Mourning, who will help spell Shaq, which means Shaq can take off even more nights than he does now. But it also means that he'll be fresh and determined when the playoffs start, not good news for the rest of the East.
Anything can happen, of course. A key Spur could go down. The Suns and Sonics, determined to prove they're for real, just might prove it after all. Shaq might be so motivated toward vengeance against Kobe and the Lakers that he'll do for this edition of the Heat what Moses Malone did for the '82-'83 Sixers. The T-Wolves could promise Sprewell and Cassell that every time they made a basket, they could collect $1,000 from interim coach Kevin McHale, which would lead to the shattering of every scoring record on the books.
Right now, the Spurs have the unmistakable look of champions, by using sweat instead of glitter.
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 title again
COMMENTARY
By Michael Ventre
NBCSports.com contributor
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.
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 practitioners 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.
Along with defense comes a wealth of offensive firepower, led by Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. Duncan remains one of the best big men in the game, and if not for sudden impact makers like Steve Nash, LeBron James and maybe Shaq, would be in the MVP race with 21 points, 12 boards and almost three blocks per game.
As Duncan goes, so go the Spurs. Because he already has two NBA championship rings, and still feels the sting of being smothered by the Lakers in last year's Western Conference semifinals, he'll go after the title like the FCC goes after an exposed breast.
Competition? Of course there will be competition. And as opposed to previous years, where the West was a minefield and the Finals against an East representative was an all-you-can-eat buffet by comparison, the picture is fuzzier this season.
The Spurs had figured to be challenged in the West by the Minnesota Timberwolves, but it is unlikely that their core problem - desultory efforts by Sprewell and Cassell, who have chosen cash over jewelry - will disappear over the remainder of the season.
It appears the Spurs' most serious challenges will come from the Phoenix Suns and Seattle SuperSonics, with lesser nods to the Sacramento Kings and Houston Rockets. The Spurs have it over the Suns and Sonics when it comes to playoff experience, and they are more balanced than those clubs.
The Kings have been under the heat lamp of the postseason before, but they are not formidable enough overall and may have missed their window of opportunity. The Rockets? Who knows? They entered the break having won eight in a row, but while they have a nice inside-outside combination in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady, they don't have the supporting cast to take the Spurs to a Game 7, or even 6.
In the East, it appears to be a duel between the Pistons and Heat. Detroit looked lethargic early on, but probably will remember around mid-April or so that they're the defending NBA champions, pride will kick in, and they'll embrace the goal of repeating in earnest. Miami just added Alonzo Mourning, who will help spell Shaq, which means Shaq can take off even more nights than he does now. But it also means that he'll be fresh and determined when the playoffs start, not good news for the rest of the East.
Anything can happen, of course. A key Spur could go down. The Suns and Sonics, determined to prove they're for real, just might prove it after all. Shaq might be so motivated toward vengeance against Kobe and the Lakers that he'll do for this edition of the Heat what Moses Malone did for the '82-'83 Sixers. The T-Wolves could promise Sprewell and Cassell that every time they made a basket, they could collect $1,000 from interim coach Kevin McHale, which would lead to the shattering of every scoring record on the books.
Right now, the Spurs have the unmistakable look of champions, by using sweat instead of glitter.
