Ocho Triunfos
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 6
Faith - The "experts" were utterly dumbfounded. But why wouldn't they have been? In their minds, what they had witnessed was impossible. After they found out that Kawhi Leonard had been scratched prior to Thursday's matchup, the consensus among their ranks was that the Rockets would certainly force a Game 7. I mean, it was as close to a sure thing as comes around in the business of sports prognostication. Nevermind the fact that Mike D'Antoni was 5-19 against Gregg Popovich head-to-head in the playoffs and had never forced a Game 7 in any of the four previous match-ups (much less beaten him). It takes research to be able to factor things of this such into one's predictions. And what more should an "expert" be expected to do in order to form an opinion other than read the Vegas lines and do a side-by-side comparison of star power? Research? Come on, let's be civilized. After all, research takes time away from preparing to look good in front of the television cameras. Makeup, beard and neck trims, manicures...there is a lot of dressing room time that goes into becoming an "expert." Anyone willing to risk not looking good in front of the television camera because they sacrificed that time to do research wouldn't hack it in this field so we needn't overcomplicate things. Vegas has the Spurs in Game 6 as 8.5 point dogs, the second-largest underdog they've ever been in the 268 playoff games that Gregg Popovich has coached the team, so of course Houston is going to win and there is going to be a Game 7. Duh, it's plain as day. Kawhi Leonard is out, Tony Parker is out for the year, and Tim Duncan is probably somewhere down in South America on a motorcycle enjoying retirement. Clearly the Spurs don't have the star-power to matchup with the presumptive NBA MVP, James Harden - an MVP who, along with Russell Westbrook, is so brilliant on offense it's given the "experts" carte blanche to spend an entire season ignoring what Kawhi (and LeBron James, for that matter) bring to the table on both sides of the basketball. Throw in the fact that Houston is at home against the overmatched Spurs junior varsity team and there is no way this could turn out any other way than a Rockets victory. By the way, since all of the Houston in 6 picks that the "experts" made went out the window after San Antonio's miraculous Game 5 victory there is much face-saving to be gained by the Rockets extending the series. So there's got to at least be a Game 7, right? I mean, the "experts' could still look pretty smart if the Rockets pulled this series out in 7. What's one little game? Kawhi Leonard going down was just the gift the experts needed to avoid embarrassment. Surely now they wouldn't have to eat the crow of The Bearded One and the architect of Seven Seconds or Less crashing and burning in 6. All of the chips are stacked against the Spurs. Pop figuring out a way to win under these circumstances at the Toyota Center would obviously make the "experts" look foolish. He's the best coach in the league but even he's not that good. It's hopeless, impossible, never going to happen. Right? 🤷♂️
On Thursday night in Houston, Gregg Popovich danced all over the arrogant windbag presumptions of basketball pundits everywhere and utterly obliterated conventional wisdom by coaching up his undermanned Spurs team to a 114-75, 39 point beat down of the Rockets to eliminate our in-state rival on their own home court. It was a masterful performance that perplexed the opinion-makers whose job it is to inform the greater basketball-viewing public of what is supposed to happen. I won't lie, I enjoyed watching postgame analysis on multiple outlets that featured "experts" who were literally gawking with their mouths open trying to find an explanation for what they had just witnessed. The obvious thing to point to (so obvious, even the most-pretigious of "experts" could identify it) is the performance of player of the game LaMarcus Aldridge. Playing as the first option, LA had a masterful performance. He pumped in 34 points (16-26 shooting) and 12 rebounds and went a long way towards silencing his rapidly-growing chorus of critics (which unfortunately included many a Spurs fan). As an aside, for those Spurs fans who had planted a flag in the LaMarcus-bashing camp at some point during these playoffs...it's too bad that you don't get too fully bask in the glory of his performance in this victory because, as a diehard fan who has stuck with LA through both his good times and bad ones as a member of the #BlackAndSilver, I can gladly report that it felt amazing to be able to whole-heartedly celebrate with him when he came through in the biggest way during the most critical game of his tenure here in San Antonio. LaMarcus Aldridge was, is, and will always be a bad ass. I mean, seriously. He's the only player in Spurs history whose number was retired prior to him even suiting up for the team.
Moving on, the not so obvious thing to point to for why the Spurs destroyed the Rockets on Thursday night, cuts right to the heart of why the "experts" got this thing so wrong. Yes, to be sure, Pop is a brilliant in-game strategist. The thing, however, that separates him from every other coach in the league is the way he develops players year after year, day after day, minute after minute. The reason the Spurs did something on Thursday night that the "experts" thought was impossible (eliminate a quality opponent on the road by 39 without our two best players) is because while everyone else is deciding what's impossible, Coach Pop is developing the possible. Pop knew that Jonathon Simmons was capable of stepping in for Kawhi Leonard and contributing to winning basketball because he's given him the opportunities over the past nine months to develop into a player that's capable of stepping in for an MVP candidate and contributing to winning basketball. If you'd watched every Spurs game this season (something clearly beneath the "experts") you'd have known it too because Pop has been showing his cards all year. Simmons, Kyle Anderson, Dejounte Murray, Davis Bertans, even Bryn Forbes. They're all ready to step into any situation and contribute to winning basketball because Pop has given them the opportunities to develop. There is no misdirection or sleight of hand involved in what Pop has done here. It's been obvious to any and everyone who's watched the 2016-17 Spurs religiously and why Thursday's 39 point demolition of the Rockets was a pleasant surprise but not a shock to diehard Spurs fans.
Now the "experts" are giving us next to no chance to beat our Western Conference Finals opponent, the Golden State Warriors. The Warriors are an amazingly-talented team and present a monumental challenge for us in the next round. I intend to devote a great deal of time talking about them over the next two weeks, but they are irrelevant to what I want to say today. The Spurs have faced tremendous adversity so far this postseason and we have persevered. Over the past month, every time that Coach Pop and the #BlackAndSilver have been met with a challenge, we have answered the bell. Finding ways to tap into the character-building desire it takes to still be standing when facing this degree of adversity makes us a serious threat to win this year's title no matter who our competition is and no matter what the "experts" think. In the last game, Vegas had us as 8.5 point dogs and the "experts" said it was an impossible game for us to win. We won by 39. For Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals this afternoon at Oracle Arena in Oakland, Vegas has us as 10.5 point underdogs and the "experts" are giving us no chance to win the series. I guess we have the "experts" right where we want them. They'll keep prognosticating against us and we'll keep proving them wrong. In San Antonio...the more things change, the more they stay the same. Bring on the next challenge and the latest tsunami of doubters. We'll just keep pounding the rock, until the end of time.
Video Source: ESPN on YouTube
Featured Image Source: Genius
Siete Triunfos
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 5
City of the Year - That was freaking insane. (No, I'm not talking about President Trump firing F.B.I. Director James Comey on Tuesday. While that was the desperate attempt of an unstable leader to cover up the high crimes and misdemeanors that could prove his illegitimacy and was unquestionably insane, luckily for the former reality show star who currently occupies the White House, this is a basketball blog series so, for our purposes, a reference to 45 most likely refers to Michael Jordan's post-retirment bad luck jersey number.) Of course, the insanity that I'm referring to is the madness that took place at the AT&T Center down in San Antonio on Tuesday evening or what will henceforth always be known simply as Game 5. Where to begin? I guess the obvious. Reaching deep down for my inner-Charles Barkley, "GINBOILI!" 36 hours later, I can't get enough. I've been replaying the block over and over again in my mind. The basketball IQ required to be able to anticipate from behind the play (after getting beat) the exact place where James Harden is going to shoot the ball, jump before he goes into the shot, and meet him in the air at the perfect time to block it clean as a whistle is through the stratosphere. No other basketball player that I've seen it my life could/can tap into the combination of intangibles it takes to make that play. None. What a special, special player. (Hey Brian, I know you were smiling down on your favorite player for that one.) I mean, come on. Not only the anticipation, but the utter fearlessness to even go for it. Keep in mind, with Manu, these types of things don't always work out. More than any other player in the history of the NBA, his game exemplifies the saying, "live by the sword, die by the sword." Remember, Manu cost us a series (and probably a title) when he fouled Dirk Nowitzki going for an irrational block. That foul allowed the Dallas Mavericks to tie Game 7 of the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals and send the game into overtime (where they outlasted us en route to the NBA Finals). Manu's block attempt on Tuesday night carried with it the same inherent risk. If he had come up with arm on that attempt, James Harden would have been at the line shooting three free throws and would have likely sent the game into double overtime. But alas, the combination of Manu's unequaled anticipation and fearlessness paid off on Tuesday and this time, the #BlackAndSilver lived by the sword. We lived by the sword in a big way...
Oh, by the way...reminiscent of Game 5 of the 2014 NBA Finals, Manu also had a huge dunk in the second quarter of this game to help the San Antonio Spurs hang on in overtime to defeat the Houston Rockets 110-107 in Tuesday's pivotal Game 5 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference Semifinals. While Manu's Game 5 heroics were deservedly headline grabbing, the player of the game was Danny Green. With Kawhi Leonard sidelined with knee and ankle injuries, Danny single-handedly outscored the Rockets in overtime 7-6 hitting the two biggest shots of the series so far, a deep clutch three and a driving layup plus the foul (both times after the Rockets had threes of their own to take the lead). Danny finished the game with 16 points (4-8 behind the arc), five rebounds, three assists, and one legendary playoff performance now added to be counted among the upper-echelon of legendary Spurs playoff performances. I'll be honest, with Kawhi sidelined and LaMarcus Aldridge once again out of sorts, things weren't looking good three minutes into the overtime period. The Spurs were scoreless and seemed dead in the water after Patrick Beverley dropped a three pointer to give the Rockets the lead. Luckily, Jonathan Simmons got himself the free throw line with 1:28 left to close the gap to one point and that was enough "juice" to give the Spurs a spark so that Danny Green cold take over and bring us home. I could spend several hours writing a detailed recap of this game but unfortunately there simply isn't any time. Due to work and travel commitments, I've had precious little time over the past 36 hours to get anything down on paper and have instead been relegated simply to basking in the glory of this historic win by replaying Manu's block and Danny's clutch shots in my mind. As of the completion of this post, it is still unknown whether Coach Pop will allow Kawhi to play tonight. If it's meant to be and Kawhi takes to court at the Toyota Center in Houston, I have full confidence that he will continue accepting the passing of the torch from Tim Duncan that we talked about in Tres Triunfos by channeling TD circa 2003 with another franchise cornerstone performance to close out another hard-fought playoff series on the road in six. If, for some reason, it's not meant to be and Kawhi can't go...well, his teammates proved in overtime on Tuesday that we can still get this thing done as a team. It's easy to say "next man up" but in order to execute it to the degree that the Spurs have so far in this series, losing Tony Parker and now possibly Kawhi, it takes something more than words. It takes something that doesn't come simply from the players, or the coaches, or the franchise. It takes something that comes from the entire city. The type of thing that allows a city to keep believing even when your two best players are sidelined with injury and you've gone three and a half minutes into an overtime period without scoring a single point. You know, a certain little something that earns said community the title, City of the Year. In order to have overcome all of the adversity we've faced during this playoff series and put ourselves in a position to close out our in-state rival tonight, it has taken all of us believing whole-heartedly in what we can accomplish together. Tonight, the city of San Antonio's greatest weapon to accomplish the goal of closing out the Rockets is our faith.
Video Source: NBA on YouTube
Featured Image Source: Okayplayer
Headline Image Source: NBASpurs on Reddit
Cuatro Derrotas
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 4
All We Got - Condolences to Patrick Beverley and his family. The Rockets shooting guard found out about the passing of his grandfather an hour before the tip of Game 4. He proceeded to hit the first shot of the game, a three from the elbow, and set the tone for the entire night. In a game that was eerily similar to Game 1 in San Antonio, the Houston Rockets defeated the Spurs 125-104 in Game 4 at the Toyota Center last night and tied the Western Conference Finals at two games apiece. First, the good. The player of the game was Jonathon Simmons whose performance was the only bright spot in an otherwise abysmal showing. The Juice had 17 points (6-12 shooting), four rebounds, and two steals last night in 23 minutes. He was also the only Spur to play more than 20 minutes and also have a positive plus/minus rating (+2). The Rockets are a good matchup for Simmons and (in the absence of Tony Parker) he should be entrusted with more minutes this week as we try to closeout out this toughly contested series. Now the bad. The Spurs committed 14 turnovers, missed nine free throws (9-18 overall), and gave up 19 three pointers to the Rockets (44.2 percent on 43 attempts). All of these shortcomings are unacceptable for any team interested in winning an NBA playoff game on the road. Of particular concern to Gregg Popovich was our transition defense. In fact, in his postgame press conference, Coach Pop observed, "If you had seen clips of our transition D, you would have traded all the players and fired me by the end of the game. It was that bad." I think Pop has earned a little more job security than that but, at the same time, there's no sugar coating this one: it was a very disappointing performance. Back in the same situation as last year's Semifinal series in Game 4, the Spurs once again failed to find the killer instinct to be greedy, step on the Rockets' collective throats, and put a stranglehold on the series. We must now regroup because, luckily, we still have another game available to us to use as an opportunity to correct the mistakes of last year's series against Oklahoma City. Redemption for last year's collapse can still be ours if we come ready to protect home court on Tuesday night in a now must-win Game 5 (something we failed to do last year). The war for Texas has now become a best-of-three series but, with home court advantage and championship pedigree, I still love our chances to cash in. Tomorrow night, the game is Texas Roulette and as the saying goes, always bet on #BlackAndSilver because when we get knocked down in the city of San Antonio...we're always there to pick each other right back up.
“We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope!” - Sam Houston
City of the Year
War for Texas tied.
Keep the faith. Where are we from?
City of the year.
Written May 2017 in San Antonio, Texas (at heart) by Ted James
City of the year, city of the year
That's where I'm from
City of the year, city of the year
They don't want none
City of the year, city of the year
H-Town can't come
Go hard or go home
I'm turnt up in the #GoSpursGo zone
City of the year
Featured Image Source: Bola
Seis Triunfos
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3
Guess Who's Back - Face it y'all, y'all Rockets playing basic-ball. We're on the block like we're eight feet tall. [Friday Afternoon] Yeah, I did it. Guilty as charged, Your Honor. There's no denying it. Yes, I used a Scarface song against the city of Houston for the Game 3 theme of my San Antonio Spurs blog series. I'm not even sorry about it. Judge, I refer you back to Exhibit D. This powerful piece of evidence shows Houston Rockets fans' obnoxious, contemptible and clearly premature outpouring of vile overconfidence on social media. While I will certainly apologize directly to Houston's greatest all-time rapper for my actions, I think (after a careful examination of the facts) it's plain to see that Rockets fans did this to themselves. The defense rests to await your Game 3 verdict. [Saturday Afternoon] Last night in the Court of Karma, I was found "Not Guilty by Reason of Self-Defense" for using a local treasure against his own city when the San Antonio Spurs went into the Toyota Center in Houston, TX and defeated the Rockets 103-92 to take a 2-1 lead in the Western Conference Semifinals. Home court advantage...regained. In another Only Coach in the League with the Stones to Do It move, Gregg Popovich started rookie point guard Dejounte Murray to replace the injured Tony Parker in the Spurs starting lineup. It's been nine days shy of fifteen years since the Spurs last started a rookie at point guard in a playoff game. On May 14th, 2002, (you guessed it) Tony Parker made the tenth playoff start of his rookie season in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the two-time defending champion Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers won that game 93-87 to eliminate the Spurs (Tony had 14 points and six assists in the losing effort). Last night, Tony's heir apparent didn't do much on the stat sheet (two points and one steal in 14 minutes) but gained some valuable experience that will be important for him and the team moving forward. Interestingly, despite his lack of production, Dejounte had the highest plus/minus on the team (+11) in his 14 minutes of action last night. This is especially surprising considering he had two lackadaisical turnovers bringing the ball up the court (Patrick Beverly straight ripped the ball from him both times). Fortunately, the Rockets only scored three points off of those two turnovers (and zero directly off of the steals) but mistakes like these often make the difference between winning and losing a close playoff game and for that reason are inexcusable. As long as Dejounte can learn from it and concentrate on protecting the ball moving forward, I trust that he is capable of continuing in the new role of San Antonio Spurs staring point guard for the rest of the 2017 NBA playoffs. After all, Pop clearly trusts him enough to make such a high stakes bold move and I learned a long time ago to live by the phrase, "In Pop We Trust." Tony Parker's NBA record of 221 consecutive playoff games played may have ended last night but one thing is clear; the San Antonio Spurs 2017 title hopes didn't end with it. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Dejounte Murray-era.
One of the keys to last night's victory was our ability to carry over the suffocating Back to Black championship-caliber defense that we played in Game 2. The Spurs held the Rockets to 36.4 percent shooting (32-88) and 30.8 percent behind the three point line (12-39) in Game 3. As a result, for the first time since Mike D'Antoni took over as head coach, the Houston Rockets were held under 100 points in consecutive games. Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green put on a "how to" clinic in perimeter defense by repeatedly disrupting Houston's planned attacked and forcing them into uncharacteristic midrange shots off of the second and third option. One of the noticeable takeaways from Pop's brilliant defensive game plan was the way that Kawhi and Danny intentionally guarded James Harden with their hands already up during the pick-and-roll (before Harden made his move) in order to minimize the risk of The Bearded One tricking the referees into calling garbage fouls on three point attempts. The tactic paid off as Harden took several ill-advised threes and became increasingly frustrated that the officials were requiring him to play basketball rather than continue his Hollywood acting career. Word of advice to the likely 2017 NBA MVP, you can't fool the referees into continuing to greenlight your acting projects now that Coach Pop, Danny, and Kawhi have backed out of helping to produce them. Stop treating these playoffs as your personal casting room to audition for the role of Keyser Söze in a remake of The Usual Suspects and use your abundant talent to play the game instead.
Moving on, the tandem of LaMarcus Aldridge and Pau Gasol were equally impressive to their wing counterparts on the defensive side of the ball. The pair combined for 16 rebounds and six blocked shots (while also disrupting Houston into missing many more of their attempts in the paint). In fact, because their stellar interior defense was backed up on the other end of the court with brilliant post play, Pau and LaMarcus are my two leading candidates for player of the game. Pau takes the runner up spot with 12 points (on 4-8 shooting) and four assists (on some sick interior passing to L.A. and David Lee) to go along with his nine rebounds and two blocks. Had his second-half offensive production kept pace with what he gave us in the first half, Pau might have grabbed his first ever player of the game honor as a member of the Spurs but that will have to wait for now because LaMarcus Aldridge was brilliant for his entire 38 minutes of work last night. As an unwavering defender of the value that this five-time all-star brings to our team (through good times and bad), it brings me great pleasure to declare in no uncertain terms, guess who's back. LaMarcus Aldridge had his best game of the 2017 playoffs, racking up 26 points (12-20 from the field) and two assists to go with his seven rebounds and four blocked shots. Guess who's back, indeed. Having just absorbed the devastating blow of losing Tony Parker, it could have not come at a better time. LaMarcus said after the game, "I know without TP, I have to be even better so I was trying to make things happen tonight." Job well done, LaMarcus. If you can continue to be a dominant second-option for the remainder of these playoffs, not only will the Spurs title hopes not have ended with Tony's injury, they may vary well begin growing exponentially. Of course, that remains a very big "if" after only the first game of seeing Aldridge return to all-star form. Consistency is the key. If LaMarcus can back it up with another dominant performance tomorrow night, we will have an excellent chance at doing what Houston failed to do in San Antonio: ward off complacency and greedily steal both road games. A 3-1 lead heading home has got to be our mindset for tomorrow night because this series is far from over. The Houston Rockets remain an extremely dangerous opponent. If we allow complacency to set in and fail to bring the same defensive intensity we had in Games 2 & 3, Houston will even this rivalry series and throw the pressure squarely back on us for Game 5. In last year's Western Conference Semifinals against the Oklahoma City Thunder we were in the exact same situation after three games. With a chance to go up 3-1 and snuff out the Durant-Westbrook tandem once and for all, we failed to bring the necessary focus and instead lost a tough road game in Game 4. It didn't seem like the end of the world at the time because we still had home court advantage in the series but after losing another brutally close game back at the AT&T Center in Game 5, our season (and Tim Duncan's career) were over in a Game 6 catastrophe in Oklahoma City before you could blink. We have to learn from last year's experience and play Game 4 tomorrow night in Houston like it's an elimination game. Tomorrow night, the #BlackAndSilver have to march right back into the Toyota Center with the mindset of breaking the Rockets' collective spirit. The San Antonio Spurs have never defeated the Houston Rockets in a playoff series (0-3 all-time). Considering that they are our in-state rival and we pride ourselves on being the NBA's best franchise, I think it's high time we start correcting that small blemish on our impressive resume. Indeed, we have history that needs rewriting and that can start by going on the road again tomorrow, playing Spurs basketball and giving the Rockets all we got.
Featured Image Source: AintNoJigga on Twitter
Headline Image Source: Bleacher Report
Cinco Triunfos
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 2
Rocket Man - And I think it's going to be a long, long time till touchdown brings me around again to find I'm not the man they think I am at home. I mean, come on. This is insanity. Kahwi Leonard just obliterated James Harden and in so doing...the way the "experts" framed this year's NBA MVP race. You need to take your "best two-way player in the game but..." ball and go home. Kawhi is the best player in the game, no qualifiers needed. Not only is he the current best player in basketball, he's playing at an historic level. How often have you seen a player guard the best offensive weapon in basketball for an entire playoff game, hold said best offensive weapon in basketball to 13 points (3-17 shooting from the field and 0-5 from the field with two turnovers while checking him as the primary defender) while getting seven rebounds, three steals and a block, and then on the other end of the floor score 34 points (13-16 from the field, 3-4 from range, 5-5 from the line) and dish out eight assists? The answer is not very often at all. I can only think of four other wing players in the history of the game that were/are capable of having a playoff game that ridiculous. Larry Bird, Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and LeBron James. That's the list. For what it's worth, the last time a player had at least 30 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds while shooting at least 80 percent from the the field in a playoff game was Michael Jordan in Game 2 of the 1991 NBA Finals. Considering that MJ is the GOAT, this tidbit isn't surprising but gives historical context to make Kawhi's game last night all the more impressive. To be clear, I'm not really sure that Larry, Kobe, or LeBron have ever had a playoff game as dominant on both sides of the ball as Leonard did last night, that's just the list of players who had/have the ability to potentially be that dominant on both ends of the court. All of this is to say that Kawhi Leonard has elevated himself into rarified air. Because we have the best player in basketball and because we got back to playing loose, unselfish, joyful team basketball, the San Antonio Spurs returned the favor and blew out the Houston Rockets 121-96 last night at the AT&T Center to knot our Western Conference Semifinal series at 1-1. Kawhi was prodigious, marvelous, superhuman but all things considered, the player of the game is Tony Parker. Tony had 18 points (8-13 from the field, 2-2 from range) and four assists. Unfortunately, it's no secret why I chose Tony for player of the game on a night that Kawhi Leonard put together one of the greatest two-way performances in NBA history. The longest-tenured Spur and the four-time NBA champion deserves the honor because his 2016-17 season is suddenly over.
* * *
Man. This really, really, really sucks. I can't remember ever feeling like this the day after a Spurs playoff win. Sure, there was the time - prior to the 2000 playoffs - the Spurs announced that Tim Duncan was unavailable for the first round with a torn lateral meniscus in his left knee. That sucked. It robbed us of a legitimate chance to defend our first title and allowed a talented Shaq-Kobe Lakers team an easier path to reach the NBA Finals and learn how to become champions themselves (without Duncan, the Spurs lost 3-1 to the fifth-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round as the four-seed). There was also the time - prior to the 2009 playoffs - the team announced that Manu Ginobili was out for the playoffs with a fracture in his right distal fibula. This also sucked and, once again, an easier path was cleared for a Kobe Bryant-led Lakers team to get back to the NBA Finals and win another title (without Manu, the Spurs lost 4-1 to the sixth-seeded Dallas Mavericks in the first round as a four-seed). But, as unfortunate and costly as both of those injuries were, at least they happened prior to the playoffs where we had time to process them and reassess our expectations. I don't ever remember the Spurs losing a superstar player to injury in the middle of a deep playoff run much less on the night of an exhilarating rivalry win. I don't remember, because it hasn't happened (at least not since I started watching religiously in 1989-90, David Robinson's rookie season). Perhaps because for three decades straight we'd been blessed with the good fortune to not lose a superstar player mid-playoffs, I started off this process in denial. Last night, after the game, even though it looked bad...I was still hoping for the best. I kept telling myself, Kevin Durant's injury this season was originally feared to be worse than it ended up being. Also, just the other day - in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals series between the Boston and Washington - Wizards forward Markieff Morris went down with what was thought to be a devastating ankle sprain only to return in Game 2 and have his best game of these playoffs. Or did he? I won't lie, I went to bed mildly optimistic that we might be able to get our future Hall of Fame point guard back at some point in this series or at least at some point in this playoff run. Sadly, this morning around 10:00 am (MDT), I was reminded that The Nile is a river in Egypt. In other words, my worst fears were confirmed when the Spurs released the following statement...
I never even consider that this could happen to Tony. In his exemplary 16-year NBA career, TP has never missed a playoff game. Lamentably, tomorrow night will be the first one ever. The last time the San Antonio Spurs played a playoff game without Tony Parker was on May 2nd, 2000 (more than 17 years ago) in the aforementioned series against Phoenix that Tim Duncan missed due to injury. Since then, Tony Parker has played in 221 playoff games (most among active players, fifth-most all-time). He is ninth all-time in playoff points and fifth all-time in playoff assists. He joins long-time playoff rival LeBron James as the only two players in NBA history with more than 4,000 playoff points and 1,000 playoff assists. TP also holds the NBA record for most playoff games won by teammates with two of his. (I'm sure you can guess which two.) Tony Parker and Tim Duncan had the NBA record for most playoff wins by teammates with 131 wins. That is until, in some sort of ironic Big Three stroke of poetic symmetry, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili tied that record with last night's win. Man. This really, really, really sucks. I feel awful. I'm not sure if I felt worse on Tuesday after getting blown out at home by 27 points or today after returning the favor and blowing out the Rockets by 25. I think I feel worse today. I don't know what else to say about it except get well soon, Tony. May the fourth be with you.
There's no question this is a devastating blow to our title hopes but if there is any team that is equipped to carry the "next man up" mantra all the way into June it's a Gregg Popovich coached team. I still feel very confident that we can win this series with our in-state rival and even re-steal our home court advantage back tomorrow night. The Olajuwon-esque dismantling of the likely NBA MVP that Kawhi Leonard put together against James Harden last night cannot be understated. It was the type of undressing that can get in the receiver's head and ruin him psychologically for the rest of a series. I'm not predicting this will trigger a psychological meltdown from The Bearded One, but it's not outside the realm of possibility. Playoff series are about imposing will more than anything else. Last night, Kawhi reached a level of dominance that very few players reach. The type of dominance to conduct the game like classical music, orchestrating the movements of a superstar opponent in order to reduce that opponent into an operatic prop. Being that dominant is psychological warfare. Once it's in the opponent's head that you have that type of control over the game, their talent becomes meaningless. Of course, barring The Klaw already having a firm grip on James Harden's soul, we still have every reason to fear Houston that we did two days ago (plus the added one of losing a former NBA Finals MVP for the rest of the series). The Rockets are extremely dangerous and I have no doubt that they have the ability to bounce right back tomorrow night. That being said, with Kawhi looking more and more like Michael Jordan with every single passing game, I still like our chances to take care of the Rockets and I still believe we have a puncher's chance to win the title. By the way, Tony's injury may hurt my heart but it doesn't hurt my memory. Don't get it twisted. I can still remember two nights ago when Rockets fans were convinced they had already left the #BlackAndSilver for dead on the side of the road. You remember, right, H-Town? You were riding that bandwagon hard in order to try to keep pace with the hype because you thought your team was barreling down the highway in the Ferrari that is Mike D'Antoni's offensive system in search of the outer limits of seven seconds or less basketball nirvana. Two days ago, you were thinking...next stop, Western Conference Finals. I know you remember. Well, as painful of a night as last night was for the city of San Antonio, it was also a reminder to the city of Houston to stay in your lane.We have Kawhi Leonard and you don't. Guess who's back.
Featured Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Headline Image Source: Pounding the Rock
Tres Derrotas
2017 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 1
Welcome to the Jungle - One of the great equalizers in military conflict is the element of surprise. Guerrilla tactics can often catch a superior army off guard to win a battle, especially in terrain as hostile as the jungle. Once the inferior army has successfully stunned the opponent through its initial guerrilla attack, it can use jungle terrain to its advantage to stay two steps ahead until the battle is won. Last night, the San Antonio Spurs foolishly attempted to provide a neighboring rival with a gentlemanly welcome to the jungle (playoff basketball at the AT&T Center) only to find out a few minutes too late that Houston was already in the building lurking in the shadows readying to welcome us to jungle warfare. Indeed, the Rockets made their three hour commute over to San Antonio on Interstate 10 and proceeded to punch us in the mouth in Game 1, destroying the Spurs 126-99 to instantly snatch home court advantage away from us in this suddenly desperate Western Conference Semifinals series. No sour grapes here. Give them credit. Considering that they slapped us with our largest halftime deficit in playoff history (30 points), the Rockets earned their first playoff victory in San Antonio during the Popovich-era. From the opening tip, we simply weren't ready for the speed of Houston after having just played the plodding Memphis Grizzlies for six straight games. By the time we adjusted to their speed, it was too late. The good news is that we've seen it now and there is no excuse for our defense not to be ready for it the rest of the series. While quite effective as a sneak attack, Houston's guerrilla tactics alone won't win the war. There will be a counter attack and eventually this, like every playoff series, will settle into being a test of each team's defensive armament. As for the use of guerrilla tactics in Game 1, the Rockets went 22-50 from the three point line. That's not a typo. These fools shot 50 threes. Amazing. I hope they shoot 50 more in Game 2. If Daryl Morey and Mike D'Antoni think they're going to knock the San Antonio Spurs out of the playoffs by shooting 50 threes a game, God bless them. I'm happy to take our chances with that. Please keep it up, Houston.
Having lived through dozens of best-of-seven series in these past 20 years, nobody knows better than Spurs fans that a playoff series is a marathon. Sure, you can overpower your opponent with hot three point shooting for one night. It is highly unlikely, however, that you will successfully overpower your opponent by expecting to rely on hot three point shooting for two weeks. By the beginning of the fourth quarter last night and with the outcome already determined, I was rooting for the Rockets to make threes. I'm a firm believer that each team only has a finite amount of "made threes" in its stockpile for a series. That being the case, I believe it’s not only bad form but also an injudicious squandering of resources to continue draining them during a game that's already in hand in an effort to pile on. Last night, the Houston Rockets went 7-13 from deep in the fourth quarter while leading by somewhere in the neighborhood of thirty points for most of the frame. We've seen this type of shortsightedness from this very same coach's teams in past playoff battles. Mike D'Antonio just can't seem to help himself. Two weeks is a long period of time and karma has a funny way of catching up. So thanks for wasting a bunch of "made threes" from your series stockpile in a meaningless quarter, Houston. Chances are that there will be a close game later in this series where Houston's shooters will tighten up and the Rockets are going to wish they had a few of the seven "made threes" (that they wasted in the fourth quarter of Game 1) back when they're watching a potential series-altering crucial one rim out at the most critical of moments.
While our good, dear friends over in the Rockets' fanbase were all over social media last night celebrating like Houston just won their third NBA championship, I'm not ready to panic yet. I still expect this to be a long series favoring the Spurs. My unflappable confidence aside, I'm sure the Rockets in 6 crowd is feeling quite emboldened today. Somewhere on ESPN television right now there's an "expert" writing the Spurs' obituary, then waxing poetic about the brilliance of James Harden and the Rockets' offense, and finally wrapping up the segment by prognosticating about Houston's chances to upset the Warriors. And the city of Houston is lapping it up by a spoon. It doesn't matter to Rockets fans that, at a company as loyal as ESPN, this very same "expert" has about as much job security as Sean Spicer and will likely be laid off before Game 2, I guarantee that they are eating up as much "Rockets have broken the Spurs" analyses as they can find, soaking it in as if it's being preached directly out of the Holy Bible. Everything must feel like unicorns and lollipops in H-Town today. Having often been on their side of Game 1 blowouts in series that we've eventually lost, I can't help but think about how much more it's going to hurt in the end, having experienced this type of exhilarating victory (and the false sense of security that comes along with it), if the Spurs comeback and eventually win the series (which I still fully expect). Sorry, Rockets fans. After the obnoxious display you put forward on social media last night, you won't get any pity from me if and when the #BlackAndSilver close you out.
Now, a little housekeeping. The player of the game was Kawhi Leonard. Honestly, I would have given it to anyone else, especially a role player, if anyone had done anything even remotely noteworthy. Sadly, Kawhi got absolutely no help in last night's contest and therefore his 21 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists in 32 minutes gets the recognition by default. This cannot continue. Kawhi needs help. Particularly from LaMarcus Aldridge. While I still believe that the Spurs are the better team and should still be favored to win the series, let me be crystal clear. The Rockets are dangerous and capable of going straight through us en route to the Western Conference Finals. If, for some reason, LaMarcus Aldridge's confidence is shot and he continues to play like he did last night (a shell of himself) for this entire series...Houston will win it easily. Let's hope that's not the case. Hopefully for LA, Tony, Manu, Danny, Pau, (and on down the line)...our supporting players just needed a wake up call that the competition just got a great deal stiffer. Houston was desperate for our attention and last night they got it. If, somehow, we didn't receive the message...we're going to be toast by the end of the week. That being said, tomorrow night presents an interesting test for the Spurs. We used to be a player in our locker room that provided a calming presence to help us regroup after a tough playoff loss. You know, a certain someone to lean on through adversity. That player is now retired and ladies and gentlemen...Matt Bonner is not walking through that door again. (Fooled you, of course I meant Tim Duncan.)
All kidding aside, last night's demoralizing defeat presents a great opportunity for Kawhi to start learning how to fill the void left by Timmy in the locker room the same way he's filling the void on the court. Also, speaking of Matt Bonner, we could use a little Red Rocket mojo from our supporting cast tomorrow in Game 2. While Kawhi Leonard's game is still ascending (into the stratosphere) as he continues his "best player in the world" journey, if last night has told us anything...it's that he can't beat Houston alone. For the first time since Hakeem Olajuwon, Houston has an MVP-caliber player surrounded by a supporting cast built to win. James Harden may very well be the most talented offensive weapon left in these playoffs. Sure, we know he can be more than offset by Kawhi Leonard's two-way brilliance but our new franchise cornerstone is probably thinking, "I got this but only with a little help from my friends." Superior contributions from Players Two through Thirteen is what the Spurs are going to have to get in order to take control back in this series. Houston has vastly improved their talent-base and I respect the hell out of the beatdown they laid on us last night but the fact remains that we are the deeper and better team. Tomorrow night, we just have to focus on going out and playing loose, unselfish, joyful team basketball; you know...the Spurs way. If we do that, I have every confidence that we'll start to get back on track. Houston used guerrilla tactics to catch us off guard and win the first battle. They have our attention and we're here now. Through playing for each other and as a team, we can still win the war...with the added bonus of getting to witness The Klaw outshine a Rocket Man.