Kleeman's Last Word

For Spurs, simplicity wins in game 7

More than two weeks ago, Hugo the Hornet's timeout trick caused a 20 minute, game-delaying debacle. The game 1 fire extinguisher mess happened two weeks ago and a lot changed for the defending champions in that time.

The Spurs are headed to Hollywood for many reasons, and stellar defense is one of them, but the simplest things won them this ball game. They did not beat themselves and they made sure that the only thing that could was the Hornets. There was never anything in the Gumbo, the baskets were not crooked and the raucous crowds did not make the home team unstoppable.

For one night and one deciding game, the Spurs eliminated the extraneous excuses and just played basketball. Then, after righting a third quarter where the Hornets had slaughtered them on the road and fighting through an offensively rough second half, they eliminated New Orleans.

This season's surprise story will now have many months to think about how to get better and deeper. The Chris Paul and David West foundation is not a bad start.

The Spurs will make a quick flight to L.A. to face an old enemy in hopes of securing a second consecutive NBA Finals bid.

The dissenters said throughout the series that the Spurs were too old to conquer a younger, more athletic team. The Spurs gritty game 7 win made that talk seem even older.

The NBA's team of the decade still needs eight wins to grab trophy number five. One of the teams left standing may still derail their repeat hopes. At least they don't play New Orleans again.

SERIES OBSERVATIONS
Reserve of the series: Ime Udoka - the Spurs' lone playoff rookie brought hustle and dead-eye perimeter shooting in San Antonio's four wins. In a game 5 blowout loss, his last three pointer brought the Spurs within eight points, 85-77. Robert Horry hit five shots the entire series and Michael Finley's shooting was erratic, to be kind. Udoka landed in San Antonio after 11 or 12 other career stops. Coach Gregg Popovich played the small forward cautiously in the series' first few contests. As his production soared in games 4, 5 and 6, Popovich handed Udoka the extra minutes his scoring and defense earned him. The Portland State product spent some admirable minutes on monster shooting forward David West and suffocated Peja Stojakovic when Bruce Bowen was guarding Chris Paul or on the bench. The Spurs front office nabbed Udoka from the Portland Trail Blazers hoping he could spell Bowen and provide some extra mettle. His play keyed the Spurs' first ever series win after a 2-0 deficit.

Under appreciated Spurs reserve: Kurt Thomas - A reporter asked Popovich to sum up Thomas' contribution after the Spurs eliminated the Phoenix Suns in game 5. He responded dryly: "was he the guy clanging shots off the rim all night?" Thomas finished that night 3-11 from the field. In game three against the Hornets, a Spurs fan sitting next to me at the game screamed "you suck" every time Thomas touched the ball. That night, he finished 2-4 and nearly fouled out.

His numbers in the box score may appear suspect but Thomas has shown the Spurs and Popovich every reason they wanted him the last three years. What that screaming fan did not notice was Thomas' 10 rebounds in game three.
He rebounds, hammers the opponents' big men and provides enough spotty shooting to contribute on the offensive end.

The Spurs would not be in the Western Conference Finals without Thomas.

Final thoughts on the Hornets: I hope the New Orleans fans can stay off the football soap box and continue supporting their basketball team. The Hornets are young, on the rise and fun to watch. Drew Brees is a top 10 quarterback in the NFL. Chris Paul is the best quarterback on planet earth. With a few more pieces and a reliable bench (that does not include Bonzi Wells), the Hornets can make the necessary jump to win the franchise's first championship. The fans showed up for the playoffs and roared. Now it's time for them to sell out games in November and December and give this team the home court it deserves. Don't know what you got til' it's gone? Maybe a heartbreaking game 7 elimination by the defending champion showed the New Orleans fans the great team they have. I expect to see the Hornets advance further in the playoffs in the next few years and I hope they are in New Orleans when they do it.

Bring on the Lakers. The Spurs love a good ol' rivalry.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 10:14 PM