Five Down
2013 NBA Western Conference Semifinals, Game 1
Warrior (Warriors, come out to play [e-ay]) - Well, they sure did. Stephen Curry lived up to the hype, torching the Spurs for 44 points and 11 assists last night. Curry broke a close game wide open in the third quarter by going absolutely bonkers. He had 22 points in the period, compiling that insane total by hitting ridiculous shot after ridiculous shot. It didn't matter who we threw at him or how close our contests were on his jumpers, everything was working for the NBA's newest sensation. When we started trapping him on the perimeter he made the proper reads to get the ball to an open teammate. The Spurs trailed by 12 points after three quarters and the crowd at the AT&T Center seemed shell-shocked by what was occurring.
Things weren't looking much better for much of the fourth quarter. With four minutes remaining in the game, San Antonio still trailed by 16 points. I talked to several Spurs fans today that said that they had checked out of the game and went to bed or changed the channel by this point. Luckily for me, I'm the type of fan that hangs in until the bitter end (especially in the playoffs) and embraces the misery of getting beat. Miraculously, last night was one of those special moments where everything fell into place to allow the #BlackAndSilver to comeback in a game that they had no business coming back in. Kawhi Leonard started making plays on offense and defense. Tony Parker came alive and started attacking the rim. And Danny Green hit a super-clutch game tying three with less 30 seconds left in the game, capping an 18-2 run that forced overtime.
With the Spurs stealing all of the momentum to force the game into overtime, I thought that Golden State might come out blurry eyed and lose their ability to compete after having to deal with the dejection of blowing another seemingly insurmountable lead. To their credit, this was not the case as they battled the Spurs rally for rally and shot for shot throughout the extra period. Despite the fact that the Spurs had been, for all intensive purposes, playing without Tim Duncan since the end of the third quarter (Timmy was still battling a stomach bug) including the amazing rally to close the fourth, you could tell they were starting to figure out Golden State by overtime. Kawhi was figuring out how to defend Curry on one end and Tony was figuring out how to break down the Warrior's defense on the other. Somehow, Golden State was able to hang tough and tie the game with just a few seconds left. This set up Manu Ginobili to be the hero, as the Spurs ran isolation for him at the end of overtime. Manu got a good look, but couldn't put it in. Double overtime.
Things started looking dicey as the Spurs fell down by 5 points early in the second overtime. But once again, the Spurs fought their way back with Boris Diaw hitting a big three to keep the game within reach. The Warriors were becoming visibly tired as the period wore on and the Spurs, playing the aggressors, were able to retake control of the game with around one minute left. San Antonio had built their lead to as many as 6 and were still up 3 with about 40 seconds left in the game when Manu Ginobili happened. Inexplicably, with 11 seconds left on the shot clock, Manu pulled up from 4 feet outside the three point line and attempted to seal the game with one shot. The results were catastrophic as Golden State immediately turned the ricochet off the rim into a quick fast break finger roll by Curry. Still up by one, the Spurs came back down and Tony Parker missed a layup because of heavy contact (the referees could have easily called a foul) and the Warriors sprinted back down to get the ball on the break to Kent Bazemore, of all people, to score his first playoff basket on a lay up to take the lead. Timeout, Spurs down one...3.4 seconds left. Everyone, at this point probably knows the rest. Manu Ginobili happened again. San Antonio Spurs 129, Golden State Warriors 127 in double overtime.
After the game, Spurs Coach Greg Popovich was quoted as saying, "I went from trading him on the spot to wanting to cook him breakfast tomorrow." It goes without saying that Manu Ginobili was the player of the game. Manu did what only Manu can do. After almost wasting a historic comeback by needlessly trying to seal a game with one shot that the Spurs were at an advantage to win already, Manu came back and sealed the game with one shot. This was one of the most incredible NBA playoff games that I've ever seen and I'm glad that I watched every single second of it. Having Manu seal it with one of the more memorable of his plethora of memorable clutch playoff shots was nothing but classic.
Four Down
2013 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 4
Guerrilla Radio - It was two minutes into the third quarter when Dwight Howard, well, went all Dwight Howard and got himself ejected from Game 4 of the Los Angeles Lakers first round series with the San Antonio Spurs last night, effectively ending one of the worst experiments of throwing team chemistry out the window to chase the allure of superstar talent melding in NBA history. After Howard's ejection, Kobe Bryant made an appearance on the bench to give the Lakers fans one last thrill, but by the end of the third quarter - the Spurs were up 20 points and LA super fan Jack Nicholson was leaving the building. The final score was 103 to 82 and this rapid playoff exit was the first time the 16 time Champion Lakers have been swept out of the first round since 1967. Last night's player of the game for me was Dejuan Blair who played some huge minutes off the bench for the Spur's depleted front court. Dejuan had 13 points and 5 rebounds in 19 minutes and seemed to constantly be making plays the entire time he was on the court. Having dispatched the Lakers quickly, the #BlackAndSilver will now have roughly a week off to get healthy (with Tiago Splitter and Boris Diaw nursing injuries) and prepare for a second round match up with either the Golden State Warriors or the Denver Nuggets.
While I'm ecstatic that the Spurs have eliminated their long time rival in dominant fashion, a much more important story broke today in the world of sports. NBA center Jason Collins, who finished last season for the Washington Wizards became the first American professional athlete playing in one of the four major American professional sports leagues (NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL) to announce he is gay. This was a courageous announcement and a major advancement for gay rights within the American sports landscape which is tragically behind the curb when it comes to the acceptance of homosexuality. While there have been professional athletes who have come out of the closet after retirement, it is dumbfounding that in 2013 not a single one had done so as an active player; until today. Hopefully, Jason Collins' courage will usher in a sea change in progressive openness within professional locker rooms and he can serve as a role model for any athlete at any level thinking about coming out of the closet. He will likely serve as inspiration for countless young athletes to see that there should be nothing to fear in being openly gay. The best part of following this story today was seeing the groundswell of support from the NBA community towards Jason Collins. As a life-long NBA basketball fan, I am thrilled to see that community rally around Collins and I'm happy that it was a basketball player who was the first to break down this barrier.
Featured Image Source: SBNation
Headline Image Source: Famous Fix
Three Down
2013 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 3
Sleep Now In the Fire - Last night, the LA Lakers waved the white flag of surrender rather than making a stand against the San Antonio Spurs in their home city. The #BlackAndSilver manhandled them 120 to 89, dealing the historic franchise their worst home defeat in playoff history. While the writing has been on the wall for some time regarding this disastrous season for the Lakers, keep in mind that this is still the same team that many pundits predicted could win 70 games last summer when Dwight Howard and Steve Nash were brought in to team up with Kobe Bryant.
There isn't a whole lot to say about the Spurs performance, other than they are rounding into the same type of overpowering machine as last year. This type of systematic dismantling of opposing defenses propelled them to win their first ten playoff games in 2012 without a defeat. Of course, we don't want to replicate last year's results. I would much prefer that the Spurs face some adversity earlier in this year's playoffs. Speaking of adversity, it was really disappointing to hear that Russell Westbrook is out indefinitely. If a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals is in the cards, it would be much more gratifying to take on Oklahoma City at full strength. Hopefully Westbrook can get sooner rather than later.
Back to last night's carnage, my player of the game was Cory Joseph. He has been playing tough and has been active around the basketball throughout the series and is noticeably contributing to the cause. I know that Coach Pop gets plenty of credit for being a genius and what not, but pulling Cory Joseph out of the D-League to become the Spurs starting point guard earlier in the season when Tony was injured was a brilliant move. Pop could have easily filled that hole with a combination of Patty Mills and Gary Neal and just bode the time until Tony returned. Instead, he gave Cory the confidence boost he needed to take his game to the next level and become an effective player. That foresight is paying off in spades right now. Hopefully, Cory can continue to have that Speedy Claxton type high energy presence off the bench behind Tony. If so, we might be looking at lights out, guerrilla radio at the Staples Center tomorrow.
Two Down
2013 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 2
Red Nation - Last night, the #BlackAndSilver held strong on their home court defeating the LA Lakers again 102 to 91. Even though the Lakers injury problems just seem to keep getting worse, we shouldn't feel sorry for them (they have had more than their fair share of good luck over the years) nor should be write them off; they're still dangerous. Game 2 was a much more focused, dominant performance with several players deciding to join Timmy and Manu by rounding into playoff form. Tony looked dominant for the first time since coming back from injury, and Kawhi showed glimpses of being the second-coming of James Worthy in transition. If Kawhi keeps progressing with his ability to run the one man fast break, he will add a dynamic to our attack that could serve invaluable as the playoffs progress. However, the player of the game for me was the Red Rocket himself, Matt Bonner. Matty B. played his ass off on defense and was able to get Dwight Howard a little flustered. Whether is was because of Bonner's peskiness or not, it was clearly evident that Howard checked out of the game mentally half way through the fourth quarter. Bonner also hit clutch threes which is crucial for us to have a shot at making a run this year. Bonner's jumper has seemed to stop falling under the pressure of the playoff lights in passed years and with Boris Diaw injured and Steven Jackson exiled, it is critical that Matty can stretch the floor by draining threes. Keep it up, Bonner!
Featured Image Source: Bleacher Report
Headline Image Source: NBC Sports
One Down
2013 NBA Western Conference First Round, Game 1
On Top of the World - In a thrilling addition to an already amazing first weekend of Fiesta, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Los Angeles Lakers this afternoon 91 to 79 at the AT&T Center. There is no place quite like San Antonio for this time of year. Can't nobody check the city right now.
¡Viva la fiesta!
...from the top of the world.