Kleeman's Last Word

Spurs' Fourth Title Would Be Most Meaningful

Should the San Antonio Spurs sweep the Eastern Conference Champion Cleveland Cavaliers tonight and win their fourth NBA championship, this four round playoff run will be remembered as the toughest and graveliest road they've traveled yet.
It will also be their most meaningful - not just for the players who listened to the entire NBA community question their ability to win another title all throughout the regular season - but also for the stoic fans who nearly fell for the hype.
If matters had gone as most predicted, maybe the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns would have slugged it out offensively, trading three pointers in a heated, 7-game Western Conference Finals series.
One that surely would have drawn much better television ratings than the 5-game series the Spurs ended against the Utah Jazz on May 30 with a 26-point domination.
Nene's athleticism would have overwhelmed future Hall-of-Famer Tim Duncan and the Denver Nuggets would have ridden their game one grind out win over the Spurs to a four game sweep, as already Hall of Famer Magic Johnson predicted on national television at the apex of that series.
Then, Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson could have avoided an unwanted summer vacation until losing a second round battle with the Suns.
The NBA would have blessed and dry-humped this scoring fest to death. It would have been a six-game series with the Suns cementing their ability to win on the road and the franchise's first championship would have been all but locked. Steve Nash would have bested his friend and former teammate Dirk Nowitzki to sprint and lob his way to his Finals debut.
The Nash led Suns would have kicked Tony Soprano in the gludius maximus in Sunday's ratings battle and sportswriters would have written about a new golden age for professional basketball.
Amare Stoudemire wouldn't have needed to question which team will pay his hefty meal ticket next season and Bruce Bowen would be sitting pleasently on a beach towel with his newborn son Ozmel battling incoming waves instead of allegations he is the NBA's premier cheap shot artist.
Last season's respective conference champions would most certainly not have been eliminated in the first round. Instead of a dumbfounded and disinterested Detroit Pistons, LeBron James would have dueled with last year's Final's MVP Dwyane Wade for superstar supremacy.

Unfortunately, the NBA fan longing for such a series of outcomes is now disillusioned, eating his/her consolation prize of sour grapes and molded wheat bread. Things don't always unfold as planned, and though most basketball fans from Arizona would probably rather watch weirdos impersonate pretentious celebrities than their greatest enemy hoist the trophy their Suns so thirsted for, that's just fine with these Spurs.
Tim Duncan isn't a guy who likes to make radical predictions, grand entrances or arrogant fist pumps. That's why he'll likely hug a fourth trophy more snugly than the previous three.
I expect every Spur will follow the lead of their franchise player and grasp the this particular Larry O' Brien prize like a rag used to clean the blood and sweat from the eyes of a boxer after winning a grueling fight.
Because even three months ago a title for this old and supposedly decrepit Spurs team seemed as laughable as it was improbable. The Spurs began their usual post-All Star break winning rampage, but the analysts and executives who had hyped change all season long had no reason to believe it would be enough to topple the Western Conference giants: Dallas and Phoenix.
Baron Davis and the Golden State Warriors took care of the Mavericks in a shocking first round ouster. And Steve Nash would probably kick you in the groin in his mind if you asked him what happened to his 61-win Suns in the second round.
With April and May in the books, it seems nothing went as planned, and such misfortune has everybody who drew up a lavish scenario of new direction frowning. Except the Spurs.
With the 2006-2007 NBA season one Spurs win away from closing, the glorious song remains the same.
Defense still wins championships, and teams who can't win or appreciate games that score in the 70s best steer clear of the playoffs and enjoy All-Star weekend while it lasts.
Despite a week of sportswriters jumping on Amare Stoudemire's "Spurs are dirty" bandwagon, you'd still be hardpressed to find more vanilla at a Dairy Queen.
Tim Duncan has not aged to the point of retirement and remains the greatest power forward in the game.
Finding a clean restroom at Fiesta Texas is still much easier than keeping Tony Parker out of the paint.
The Spurs are the antithesis of boring. They played Phoenix's run-and-gun game and won three contests and have topped the century mark eight times this postseason.
So, if my predicition stands, Spurs haters who still have the stomach to watch these "terrorists" compete for a fourth championship, should keep some pain medication and a barf bag handy tonight.

And if the Spurs heard that a Phoenix or Denver fan scarfed up their broccoli salad as they stood on the stage they are so accustomed to standing on - to accept another trophy - they'd smile wryly on the outside, but inside it would affirm that this one is special.
The Cavaliers' and LeBron James dissapointing finals performance thus far was to be expected.
After all, the Spurs clawed and ached their way through a talent-packed Western Conference, one that draws Kuwait comparisons. They stand in position to complete only the ninth sweep in finals history because of their hard work.
They faced three tremendous teams, none of which were eager to accept an end to their postseason runs.

The young Cavaliers merely slipped and slided through the Jungle Gym that can be found at your local McDonald's.
The Washington Wizards lacked star players Caron Butler and Gilbert Arenas, the triple-star driven New Jersey Nets were building on a regular season uglier than a hermaphrodite covered in sewer and swamp gas and the veteran Pistons didn't take the Cavaliers seriously until the pivotal game five. And we all know what "King James" had in store for those apathetic, shot-clangers.

Cleveland should celebrate its title run and treasure reaching this all important stage. They did win their conference fair and square, no matter how overmatched or unbalanced it may be.
As for the gold-plated treasure, the one that adorns the deserving champion each year, the Spurs will gladly take it from David Stern's hands.
And even if 90 percent of Americans are more interested in this summer's dreary television offerings than the confirmation of a dynasty, that's fine with these Spurs, too.
They don't need the blessing of millions of lost sports fans to make this one special. Winning a fourth championship under these conditions, with a team nobody thought had the guts or the athleticism to pull it off, would be more than enough solace.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 8:41 PM