Kleeman's Last Word

THE SUNS SET AND THE DIRTY LABEL EVAPORATES

The San Antonio Spurs cooled the Phoenix Suns with a 114-106 victory Friday night and ended a fast-paced, high-expectation season for the offensive juggernauts.
Combining for 87 points, all of which were tallied in brilliant fashion, the big three of Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan put the Spurs one step closer to their fourth championship.
The Suns, led by an astonishing fourth quarter from future hall of famer Steve Nash, couldn't find the octane to send the series to a game 7. For the third time this series, and the ninth time in the last three years, the Spurs won out playing a Phoenix style game. The red hot Suns topped the century mark but once again fell short of upsetting their greatest nemesis.
The Spurs put on the kind of lights out show in the second half that makes any suggestions an asterisk be placed next to their series win sound irrelevant and ridiculous. It also showed naive sportswriters and casual fans around the country once and for all, that grit, not dirt or maliscious intent anchors this disciplined squad.
Despite a low moment from veteran Robert Horry, this series lived up to the hype. Phoenix made sure these Spurs knew 2005 (when the Spurs bested the series in 5 games) was a mighty thing of the past. A team usually chided for its poor defense and one-dimensional high-flying offense turned this into the best series so far in the playoffs.
They showed grit and determination when it counted and refused to go quietly in a tough closeout game.
For this, I admit I was dead wrong about Phoenix. They had a much better team than in 2005 and Kurt Thomas, Shawn Marion and Raja Bell led the team's inspired defensive efforts in games two and four. Still, it wasn't enough to topple what will most assuredly become the benchmark for decades to come in the NBA. The Spurs may or may not win a fourth title with Duncan at the helm, as Utah and Cleveland or Detroit are formidable opponents, but in game 6, they played like deserving champions.
Not listening to the beligerent criticism balooning them, not questioning their halfcourt, physical defense style, the Spurs did the NBA a favor.
When it counted, these Spurs were the polar opposite of thugs, they just got the job done.
That's good for sportsmanship and ultimately for the NBA.

I want to quote Tim from one of the Spurs message boards on mysanantonio.com. He is a Suns fan who seems to have the class to know what's going on. My hats off to him for looking at matters the right way.

"Congrats Spurs fans....

One hell of a series. Even this game where the Suns got outplayed it was interesting.

Got to say that Tim Duncan is a class act... could probably be the MVP every year.

I just wish the NBA front office hadn't been involved.... let them play, just fine them and move on. These two teams are too good for either to get an advantage. Regardless, the Suns had their chances... lost game one and came up short in game 5.. It is what it is.

Just wishing there had been a game 7.

This was the real FINALS...

Congrats again.

Suns Fan"

...And this folks, is how you should respond after a tough loss. Tim will probably never read my blog or know that I quoted him, but it's fans like these that keep sportsmanship alive.
I only wish I could have been this classy when the Spurs dropped game 7 to the Dallas Mavericks in last season's playoffs.

And yes, Tim, this was the REAL FINALS.

After watching six thoroughly physical games, I offer my overall observations on the series.

1 - Steve Nash proves that white guys don't just sit on the bench in this league. His inspired performances throughout this series shuts up any suggestions that white people can't play professional basketball. Despite stifling defense from Bruce Bowen, Nash still managed to throw up numbers greater than his season averages.
His passes were ridiculous, his transition three pointers and tough layups even moreso.
Nash took some cheap shots in this series, but through it all, he never blamed the officials or the league office when his team lost. He gets it. He realized that champions play through adversity and win with grit, not by the hands of a few unjust whistles or suspensions.
Even the most die-hard of Spurs fans had to watch this point guard and say, "man, what a hell of a player."
My hats off to you Steve for showing leadership, heart and sportsmanship. If I had a vote, you'd be a shoe in to the hall of fame. You're already there in my book.

2 - Tim Duncan really is good, isn't he? The power forward's monster numbers in this series had Steve Kerr calling himself a moron for not handing him an MVP vote. Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki still deserved to win the regular season award more than any other player, but this series proved that Duncan should have been more than a whisper in the conversation.
In the deciding game 6, he totaled 24 points, 13 rebounds and 9 blocked shots. He was one swat away from tying the NBA playoff record for blocks in a game and netting a triple double. If the numerous glass parties he had throughout this series didn't convince you of his greatness, you have no hope.

3 - Foul shots really don't decide games and they never should.
In this series, the team with more free throws won the game, but free passes to the charity stripe DID NOT dictate the series outcome.
The Spurs stole game 1 fair and square and the Suns roared back in game 2 for a 20 point victory.
In game 3, the Spurs were the more aggresive team. The Suns admitted that after the game.
In game 4, despite some poor calls in favor of the Suns, it was poor shooting and a fourth quarter collapse that cost the Spurs a commanding 3-1 series lead. Making only five shots in the fourth quarter on 28 percent shooting, while allowing 32 points will do that to a team. The Suns deserve multitudes of credit for taking advantage of the collapse and sealing the road upset.
The better team won this series. The Spurs may grab a fourth trophy this june. We'll see.

4 - The league screwed up, but the decision is final.
Robert Horry deserved a two game suspension for his unintelligible flagrant foul on Steve Nash at the end of a rough game 4. Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw did not deserve to sit out game five for merely leaving the bench area to stick up for their MVP.
However, David Stern's office made and upheld the decision, not the Spurs. Gripe at them, not Duncan or Gregg Popovich.
The suspensions did not decide the complexion of this series. Just like suspensions of Dallas' Jerry Stackhouse and Jason Terry did not win or lose the series in which they occured for the Mavericks.
The better team, the San Antonio Spurs, won. End of story. Get over it and admit that a proven champion bested you.

5 - The Spurs will never be a dirty team.
You couldn't find a more vanilla mix of personalities if you hit up a Dairy Queen. I agree that Bruce Bowen at times let his physical defense overpower his sense as a professional athlete. His knee to Steve Nash's crotch was uncalled for and if I met Bowen right now, I would reprimand him for it.
I have already written amply as to how I feel about Horry hipchecking a two-time MVP next to the scorer's table at the end of a closely-watched game.
But two, three or four questionable plays in a 7 game series never determines the nature of a team. The Spurs have a been the best defensive team in the league since Duncan showed up in the late 90s. That defense involves physical grit and leaving little room for the opposing team to operate in a comfortable offense.
Phoenix fans unfamiliar with this kind of style, as their team likes to run and run some more with little commercial (or physical) interruptions, aren't giving this great defensive team a fair shake.
Michael Finley, Brent Barry, Jacque Vaughn, Fabricio Oberto, Fransisco Elson, Matt Bonner, Horry, Duncan, Ginobili, Parker are one of the most collectively classy groups ever assembled in professional sports.
How exactly do one foul and two questionable instances of incidental contact elevate this team from being the league's most boring to being on a level with T.O., Ron Artest and Tonya Harding?
The Spurs are three time champions and I'm surprised it took this long for the masses to start loathing their consistent success. Consistent basketball is not thuggish. It's what keeps the integrity of the NBA alive.

I'm proud to wear a Spurs uniform, because this team represents everything I love about basketball. If I thought they were thugs and chronic whiners, I would have clicked off the television and cancelled my mini-season ticket plan long ago.
Dirty? Nah, just one heckuva great team.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 10:31 PM