Cuatro Triunfos
2017 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 6
Victory - We've been hot for a long time burning like a candle. Much like Newton's Laws of Motion, one would assume it safe scientific theory to postulate that if two basketball teams were to repeatedly play each other over and over again, it's a statistical inevitability that eventually one of the two teams will win a game on the road. In the 2016-17 NBA season, the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs made an impressive run at turning any such theory on its head. Prior to Game 6 of our Western Conference Quarterfinal matchup, the two teams had faced each other nine times this season and in all nine contests, the home team had come away victorious. Heading into Thursday's game, it was beginning to look like statistical probability (and by extension science itself) was being rejected by these results. This was of grave concern. Not only because our series with Memphis was not playing out as we (as Spurs fans) had expected but also because in Trump's America, the last thing we (as intelligent lifeforms) need is to give the anti-intellectual crowd anything else to hang their science-rebuking hats on. On Thursday night, the San Antonio Spurs finally got around to celebrating Earth Day by doing something that we had fought valiantly but ultimately failed to do last Saturday in Game 4. Six nights after failing in overtime at a stellar defense of science on the actual holiday, we went back into Memphis on Thursday and belatedly participated in the March For Science by finally proving our scientific theory of statistical inevitability by way of winning a basketball game on the road. For the first time in one year and four days, and when it mattered most, the Spurs won a game in the FedExForum and, consequentially, are heading back the Western Conference Semifinals for the second consecutive year. Hurray, science! Our season series with Memphis was like one of those fantastic rallies in a tennis match in which both players want the point so desperately that a once athletic exhibition devolves into the equivalent of a staring contest; merely an exercise in who's will power can hold out the longest. For one nerve-racking, mentally-draining Thursday evening at the Grind House in Memphis, the city of San Antonio held on to our will power long enough to eventually heave at a seemingly out of reach passing shot and get enough racket on it loft it up in the air and back across the court with the minimal necessary velocity to have it ricochet off of the top of the net and favorably drop on the other side. Credit to Memphis. They were not an opponent intent on being broken. It took every single last available neuron of mental energy for the Spurs to somehow outlast a poised, rugged Grizzlies bunch 103-96 in Game 6 and eliminate our division rival from the 2017 NBA playoffs by finally winning on the road. Congratulations are in order to the Memphis Grizzlies and their bombastic rookie coach David Fizdale on an excellent season. With Mike Conley proving once and for all this season that he's one of the best players in the NBA, the future looks bright on Beale Street.
Newton's First Law
Every object persists in its state of rest or uniform motion in a straight line unless it is compelled to change that state by forces impressed upon it. With 6:28 to play in the fourth quarter of Thursday night's Game 6 against the San Antonio Spurs, the Memphis Grizzlies were trucking along in a state of uniform motion. Up seven points at 88-81, they were moving steadily towards forcing a Game 7 back in San Antonio on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Grizzlies and their fans, a force was impressed upon them that compelled them to change that state of motion. What exactly was this force that was impressed upon the city of Memphis? Kawhi Freaking Leonard. In Tres Triunfos, we talked about how (at six years in, roughly the same point as Tim Duncan in 2003) Kawhi, as the new franchise cornerstone, needed to start doing Tim Duncan-like things such as closing out hard-fought tough playoff series on the road. In Game 6 on Thursday night, The Klaw did exactly that. Down seven, 88-81, in the Grind House (about as hostile an environment as exists) with 6:28 to play and the Grizzlies playing for their playoff lives, Whi not take the game over? Leonard impressed his will in Memphis with such blunt force, the aftershocks are still resonating on Beale street four days later. After the Spurs had fallen behind by seven (and with Memphis building momentum in uniform motion), Kawhi countered with eight points, two rebounds, two assists, and a crucial steal down the stretch to lead the charge in closing out the Grizzlies. It was another masterful MVP performance by the Spurs' new franchise cornerstone that seemed eerily similar to the types of performances in closeout games that we routinely saw for years from the old one. Leonard finished his Game 6 chef d'oeuvre with 29 points (8-19 from the field and 12-13 from the line), nine rebounds, four assists, and three steals. The question now, heading into the Western Conference Semifinals, is, "Does a force exist in the NBA that can be impressed upon Kawhi to compel a slowdown of his uniform motion assent to 'best player in the world' status?" Based on the evidence that's been provided so far by the 2017 NBA playoffs, I wouldn't bet on it.
Newton's Second Law
Force is equal to the change in momentum per change in time. For a constant mass, force equals mass times acceleration. Heading into this year's playoffs, many of the "experts" predicted that 34 year old Tony Parker was washed up and that the oldest starting point guard in the Western Conference would be a limiting force on the Spurs' chances of making a deep postseason run. The assumption was that time and a depreciation of momentum during the regular season would prevent the 16 year veteran from being a force in these playoffs. Once again on Thursday night, the timeless Parker showed why opponents and "experts" alike who underestimate a four-time NBA champion simply because of his age, do so at their own peril. TP went off for 27 points (11-14 from the field, 1-2 from deep, 4-4 from the line), four assists, and two of the most cold blooded dagger jumpers you'd ever want to see en route to player of the game honors. Has time changed Tony's momentum? Of course but the reason he's still able to be a force when it matters most is that Coach Pop and the San Antonio Spurs understand the science of aging better than any other team in the NBA. The thing the "experts" couldn't understand when they made their naive predictions that Tony would be a liability for the #BlackAndSilver in these playoffs is that Tony's mental mastery of the game of basketball is a constant and Coach Pop knew exactly how to pace him physically during the regular season so that he could accelerate in these playoffs and return to being the force we're accustomed to him being as a playoff performer. In case the "experts" need reminding, Tony Parker is the active leader in playoff games played and 6th all-time at 219 games and counting. This man, better than anyone else in these playoffs, knows how to be a force on a title contender. Either that or in his free time, TP must moonlight as an airpot express shuttle driver based on the way he showed up at the Grizzlies door step and rushed them off to vacation with this shot...
Newton's Third Law
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So now it's on to battle the Rockets and guess what, Houston...you have a problem. Longtime Spurs fans have not forgotten. And rest assured we're still thirsty for revenge. That's right, we've been waiting patiently for 22 years to get a shot at redemption for the 1995 Western Conference Finals. Don't think for a second that this Spurs lifer has forgotten what it felt like to be a heart-broken 16 year old San Antonio fan after losing that series. To say I'm looking forward to a rematch that's been over two decades in the making would be an understatement. It is actually quite remarkable that the Rockets never played the Spurs in the playoffs once during the 19 year Tim Duncan-era. Of course, the Spurs won 35 playoff series during that span compared to the Rockets only winning three. Really, Houston? Only three measly playoff series won in 19 years? Suffice it to say, the Rockets didn't exactly hold up their end of the bargain in giving us the opportunity for a rematch during Timmy's career. It's a shame, too, because after unleashing Hakeem Olajuwon - the greatest player in Rockets' franchise history - on us in the 1995 series, the polite thing to do would have been to allow us the opportunity to return the favor by giving Tim Duncan - our greatest player in franchise history - at least one crack at them. But, unfortunately, like an overmatched boxer who landed one lucky knockout punch to grab the title from an historic heavy weight, Houston was no where to be found to grant the rematch during the entirety of Timmy's legendary career. For those who can remember, the storyline coming out of the 1995 Western Conference Finals, after Houston defeated San Antonio 4-2, was that Houston's Olajuwon had outplayed that year's league MVP (and Duncan's future teammate) David Robinson. In fact, the most iconic example of Hakeem's Dream Shake and probably the most replayed move of his career came against Robinson in that series. Houston may have been able to successfully duck and hide from Tim Duncan for 19 years but (as we learned earlier in this post) the science of statistical inevitability suggests that eventually the Rockets were going to have to allow the Spurs an opportunity to respond to the humiliating and humbling defeat handed to us by Dream and Clutch City in 1995. That opportunity finally begins tonight. The science that should have Rockets fans most fearful at the moment, however, is Newton's Third Law of Motion. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The stage is set for this series to play out as an equal and opposite reaction to the 1995 series. It is safe to assume that Rockets point guard James Harden is the frontrunner to win the 2017 NBA MVP. However, not only is Kawhi Leonard a better basketball player than Harden...I have no shortage of confidence that Leonard will prove it by outplaying Harden en route to defeating the Rockets in this series. So in essence, Kawhi outplaying and eliminating this year's likely MVP could prove be the Spurs equal and opposite reaction to Hakeem outplaying and eliminating Robinson during the Admiral's MVP season. Being a lifelong defender and practitioner of science, I'm just going where the evidence leads me. Of course, the "experts" have different designs on this series. The trendy "expert" prediction that's been popping up left and right on the internet these past few days is Rockets in 6. Unfortunately, while handsomely paid, these "experts" in the mainstream media never seem to learn their lesson when it comes to predicting a matchup between a Gregg Popovich coached Spurs team and a high octane offense / mediocre defense Mike D'Antoni coached team. Three times this has happened in the past and all three times the "experts" in the mainstream media were backtracking faster than Amar'e Stoudemire and our good friend Boris Diaw after a Robert Horry hip check. Coach Pop is a master at devising a game plan to disrupt the head of the snake in a D'Antoni offense during a playoff series. He did it three times to two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash and I expect nothing but the same for likely first-time MVP James Harden. So go ahead and make your Rockets in 6 predictions, "experts." I'll just continue laughing them off. In the end, science always wins the day even if it means you have to come to grips with the unfortunate reality that a part-time blogger (with an unrelated full-time career) may be able to do your job (on the side) as well or better than you do. My songs bump in Houston like Scarface produced 'em. You ain't gotta like me, you just mad cause I tell it how it is and you tell it how it might be. As for the Houston Rockets, tonight we will finally welcome you to the playoffs in San Antonio for the first time since Gregg Popovich took over as coach. We are no longer the feisty little brother that Hakeem Olajuwon easily brushed aside en route to Houston's second and last championship. In case you haven't noticed, we've raised five banners of our own since then. So, welcome to the playoffs in San Antonio for the first time in the AT&T Center, Houston. In other words, welcome to the playoffs in San Antonio for the first time since the Spurs became the Spurs. Welcome to Titletown, TX. Welcome to the jungle.
Video Source: G4NBAVideosHD on YouTube
Featured Image Source: CViddy TV
One Left
2014 NBA Finals, Game 4
Juicy - It was all a dream... All thirteen players that suited up for the San Antonio Spurs in Game 4 of the 2014 NBA Finals dotted the box score with at least two points. Yes, thirteen players scored for one team in an NBA Finals game. This has never happened before. The NBA expanded the active roster for an NBA game from 12 to 13 players during the lockout-shortened 2011-2012 season. We are currently in the third NBA Finals series played since that happened and in no contest from 2012-2014 had all 13 players scored for one team until Thursday night. The San Antonio Spurs used 40 field goals (25 of them assisted), 18 free throws, and 13 different scorers to defeat the Miami Heat 107-86 in Game 4 and for our second consecutive blowout victory on the road in this series. So many different people scored for the Spurs Thursday night, I'm pretty sure even the Coyote was in the box score with a dunk. We came back to Miami this week seeking not just a split, but rather redemption for our last two NBA Finals appearances in American Airlines Arena. And this was no easy task. The Triple A, now housing the two-time defending champions, had apparently become more intimidating than ever because the Heat were undefeated at home in the 2014 NBA playoffs heading into these Finals. We also returned to the scene of San Antonio's greatest playoff disappointment to face an opponent who had not lost back-to-back playoff games since dropping Games 3, 4, & 5 of the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals to the Boston Celtics. Well, we came back to Miami and, as the Spurs often do, we were able to find a way to be the team that put an end to our opponent's impressive streaks. More importantly, we also got our coveted redemption. It sure doesn't hurt, either, that we got in such emphatic fashion.
The San Antonio Spurs were able to navigate the past several weeks to arrive back in the city of blinding lights and achieve our redemption in American Airlines Arena by just continuing to play outstanding team basketball during these NBA playoffs. In fact, since May 4 when the Spurs blew out the Mavericks 119-96 in Game 7 of our first round series we have (on most nights) played some of the best basketball that the league has ever seen. During this impressive stretch, the Spurs have gone a solid 12-4 (.750 winning percentage) but have won our twelve victories by an average of 20.08 points per game (the only close contest was the Spurs' five point overtime victory to closeout the Thunder in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals). Granted, the four contest that we have lost during this stretch (by an average of 8.75 points per game) and the prior three contests that we surrendered to the Mavs (by an average of 4.67 points per game) will prevent these Spurs from having a shot at being remembered as one of the most dominant teams in NBA playoff history, but in our wins we have played impeccable team basketball. Rarely, during this stretch, has there been a victory that has been the byproduct of a signature performance by one of our star players. In last years run to the 2013 NBA Finals, the Spurs rode Tony Parker's brilliant play to many a playoff victory. While Tony, Tim Duncan, and Manu Ginobili have all played stellar basketball throughout this year's run, we have not needed to rely on any of our big three to put up huge numbers in order to win. We have just shared the basketball night in and night out and overwhelmed our opponents with our depth. And the Spurs are not just deep, we are Indian Ocean deep. Better yet, we are Jack Handey deep. Case in point, the aforementioned ability of this team to get thirteen players into the scoring column in an NBA Finals game is proof enough that this is an historically deep basketball club. Here is one of the Spurs player's lines from Thursday night: 20 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks. Looking at it in a vacuum, one would assume that this line probably belonged to Tim Duncan but that would be an incorrect assumption because this was the line of Kawhi Leonard: NBA superstar. Here's another line from Thursday: 14 points (on 5-8 shooting), 2 assists. Again in a vacuum, one would assume that this could be Tony's line on an efficient shooting night in a game where the defense was predicated on getting the ball out of his hands early. Again, this would be an incorrect assumption because this was Patty Mill's line which he impressively put together in 16 minutes and from his role as back-up point guard. Here's one more: 8 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal. That's Manu Ginobili's line, right? Obviously, Manu is the only Spur who is versatile enough to put together a near triple-double without having a huge scoring night. Guess again, Boris Diaw is also that versatile. By the way, on Thursday night the big three (while not needed to dominate) still contributed to the team win. Tim Duncan had 10 points, 11 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 1 blocked shot. Tony Parker had 19 points and 2 assists. Manu Ginobili had 7 points, 1 rebound, and 2 assists.
In the flow of San Antonio's team efforts, Bloriff Diaw has indeed had an astronomical impact on this series, especially since he was inserted into the starting lineup alongside Tim Duncan for Games 3 & 4 in what Coach Pop refers to as Medium Ball. In last year's Finals, Miami was able to punish the Spurs for playing our traditional lineup of Tiago Splitter and Tim Duncan because we were unable to close out regularly enough on all of Miami's shooters when they went small. When we adjusted by trying to match them with our own small lineup featuring Manu Ginobili in the starting lineup, the Heat proved to be slightly better than us at Small Ball, winning two of the final three games. Boris Diaw playing at the level he is playing at this year, with all of his versatility, changes everything. On defense, Boris has had the quickness to defend the three point line while also protecting the rim. On offense, he has had the size and low post skills to punish Miami for going small as well as the passing skills of a point guard which has allowed us to run much of our offense through him down on the block and from the point forward position. Boris Diaw's impact on this series is a testament to the Spurs depth in the respect that we have so many weapons that we can eventually devise a strategy and find one to strategically utilize in order to completely change the trajectory of a Finals series. Even though Kawhi had another monster game on Thursday night, I am giving Boris the nod as player of the game because he has been that trajectory-altering weapon for the Spurs in the past two games played in Miami.Fortunately for Spurs fans, when Heat coach Erik Spoelstra looks beyond his four future hall-of-famers and down his bench to find players who can make a momentum-changing impact on the series, to this point, he has been unable to find the weapons to match ours. Boris' ability to impact this series in drastically more ways than the fifth or sixth player on the Heat's depth chart is also a testament to the brilliance of Gregg Popovich as a basketball tactician. Employing Medium Ball has allowed the Spurs to take Miami completely out of their game. Coach Pop is generally regarded as the best basketball coach currently coaching in the NBA despite the fact that he has had some really heart-breaking playoff defeats over the years at the hands of some good but probably inferior coaches. One of the reasons why Pop garners so much respect is that he has been proven time and time again that, if you are an NBA head coach that has figured out a way to beat the San Antonio Spurs in a playoff series, you do not want to give Coach Pop a year or more to game plan how to approach a playoff rematch. He really has had the ability to look under the hood and figure out the necessary personnel moves, player development, and eventually a game plan to overcome whatever match up problems your team and your game plan had presented him with in the series that you beat him in. In the past two seasons alone, Coach Pop has already gotten revenge on Lionel Hollins and the Memphis Grizzlies for our 2011 defeat and Scott Brooks and the Oklahoma City Thunder for our 2012 defeat. This series is far from over, but it seems at this point that Miami's best hope for clawing their way back into the 2014 NBA Finals will come via a herculean effort by LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Ray Allen. It seems much less likely that Erik Spoelstra has the personnel nor the strategic savvy to dig his team out of this hole by making a tactical adjustment that utilizes another one of the Heat's weapons.
It appears that many among the national media covering the NBA are utterly shocked at the level of team basketball that the Spurs have been playing during these NBA Finals. It continues to be mind-boggling to me that very few of the people who get paid to report on the NBA all season didn't already know how good the Spurs are and couldn't see this coming. Before this series began, I compared these Spurs to the 1988-89 Detroit Pistons who overcame a heart-breaking seven game defeat to the Los Angeles Lakers the year before to come back and sweep the two-time defending champion Lakers out of the 1989 NBA Finals. These Spurs came within a few missed free throws in Game 2 of sweeping the two-time defending champion Miami Heat out of this years Finals. It has been quite apparent to me after watching both of these teams all season that the scenario we find ourselves in was not only a possibility but more likely a probability. Somehow (heading into this match up), the so-called experts continued to not know about the potential that these Spurs have for all-time historic greatness. ...and if you don't know, now you know.
Nonetheless, as much as I would love to definitively say that the Spurs have broken the will of the team that eliminated us from the postseason last year, I've been watching NBA basketball long enough to know that is very unlikely and that this series is, indeed, far from over. Even though it has never happened in the Finals, eight NBA teams have overcome 1-3 holes to win a playoff series. Heading into tonight's contest, it would be ludicrous to think that the two-time defending champion Miami Heat are incapable of becoming the ninth. The main reason that Spurs fans must refrain from celebrating prematurely is because LeBron James is just too good to go down without a fight. While our team play has been hitting on all cylinders these past two games, LeBron had already proven once in this series that his individual greatness can rattle our unit enough that we can still be forced into abandoning the team defense and ball movement which we must rely on in order to win games. We can also still be pushed into playing a desperate brand of basketball in which our defense takes unnecessary risks in reaction to a player of LeBron's caliber and consequently (after a player like that gets into a rhythm where he is dictating the action by creating his own offense and also setting up his teammates), Tony and Manu sometimes respond by reverting back to playing one-on-one basketball on offense in an attempt to neutralize the momentum of the other team's star player. Tonight, the greatest basketball player in the world is going to be highly motivated to impose his will in order to try to force us into playing that desperate style of basketball again. San Antonio cannot fall for the trap. If we continue to stick to our defensive principles and share the ball on offense, it will not matter what LeBron does individually to create his own offense. Even if LeBron is able to play the best scoring game of his career, as long as we do not allow him to use his offensive gifts to break down our defense to the point where he is dictating both his own offense and also getting his teammates going, the Heat will have a hard time winning (even if LeBron goes for 60). This is provided that we also don't turn the ball over repeatedly and continue to execute our ball movement on the other end. In other words, LeBron James is capable of winning tonight's ball game. He is not capable of winning it if he is not allowed to take us out of our game by reeking havoc on defense and also both scoring and getting Wade, Bosh, and Allen going as well on offense. If the #BlackAndSilver take the court tonight at the AT&T Center and proceed to use one of the deepest rosters in NBA history to play together in pursuit of Revolution 1, we will put ourselves in position to win another playoff basketball game against a great player whose team just happened to get the better of us last year. It is that simple. Sometimes the best team is simply the best team and is able to prove it more times than not against individual greatness. If we consistently play our game tonight, chances are it will be demonstrably apparent to every viewer (including those who happen to also be members of the national media) that we are indeed the better team. The Spurs did not start this transformation to becoming the best team last Tuesday or in April or even last October. Gregg Popovich has been preparing the 2013-2014 San Antonio Spurs to be the best team by equipping us to be better than the 2012-2013 Miami Heat since June 21st, 2013. Now that the transformation has taken hold, hopefully tonight is another night that we are able to prove it.
* * *
Wish you were here.
Featured Image Source: Widescreen Wallpapers
Headline Image Source: The New York Times
Six Down
2013 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 3
Going Back to Cail - The San Antonio Spurs are often referred to as the Silver and Black. When I decided to start a Spurs blog as a subsidiary of theLeftAhead, one of the reasons for landing on the name Black & Silver was that throughout their dynastic era, the Spurs have proven time in and time out that they can go into the most hostile of situations and win tough games on the road. This ability to win these pressure games has been a key to every championship run. The Spurs wear black on the road, so in my opinion the black is more important to expressing who the Spurs are than the silver. While I love seeing the Spurs get ready to jump center at the beginning of a game in the home white or even the new home silver, I get an extra rush form the "Us Against the World" swagger the squad walks out with in the road black. Hence, #BlackAndSilver. I know that the Oakland Raiders are also known as the Black and Silver, but as far as I'm concerned they can take a backseat. San Antonio has won 4 NBA Championships. Oakland has won 3 Super Bowls in the NFL. Scoreboard, Raiders fans.
Friday night played out as a prototypical Spurs playoff win on the road. San Antonio defeated Golden State 102 to 92 in Oracle Arena, a venue that has been receiving a great deal of hype as the best home court advantage in the NBA. It was a tough, gritty performance by the Spurs. Every time that the Warriors would go on a run, it was apparent on television that the crowd was going bonkers. The sound meter that was constantly put on the screen to show the loudness in the arena, however, was a cheap broadcasting ploy to sensationalize the story line. We get it, it is loud in Oracle. But this is the NBA playoffs. It was loud in the AT&T Center too when Manu drained the game-winning three in double overtime of Game 1. Nonetheless, it was clear that the Spurs were performing in an extremely hostile environment which meant they needed a great deal of focus to persevere. The defensive intensity was finally at the appropriate level for the second round of the NBA playoffs and the Spurs calmly and methodically knocked down shots on offense. From the first quarter on, however, seemingly every time that the Spurs got some separation the Warriors fought right back to bring the game close to even. Luckily, the second half of the fourth quarter belonged to the Spurs as they pulled away for good. Unfortunately, Stephen Curry twisted his ankle with a few minutes left in the game which could have a major impact on the trajectory of this series. Hopefully, Curry is able to play in Game 4. Again, as I stated with the Russell Westbrook injury, I prefer to see the Spurs face their Western Conference rivals at full strength. Tony Parker also suffered a leg injury but all indications are that he will be ready to play this afternoon.
We are going to need Tony at full strength to put together another classic road win this afternoon. Tony was spectacular in Game 3, torching the Warriors for 32 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds. It was clear early on that Tony would earn player of the game honors as he set the tone by lighting up Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry for 25 points in the first half. Asked in the post game press conference if the abundance of adulation being showered on the Golden State backcourt provided extra motivation for Tony, he responded, "I play for my teammates, Coach Pop, and the city of San Antonio." This statement exemplifies Tony's class and professionalism and gives me a great deal of confidence that if he continues to play with the same focus and determination, not only do the Spurs have a great chance of leaving Cali up 3 games to 1 today, but also that the national media might be afforded an opportunity to acknowledge the sobering reality that Tony is still the best guard in this series.
Featured Image Source: PPcorn
Headline Image Source: The Black Past