Kleeman's Last Word

Spurs lose series to the better Lakers but not themselves

The Los Angeles Lakers gave the defending champion Spurs one last deficit they would not overcome. After playing history and defying the odds for a season and most of the playoffs, the Spurs fell hard 100-92.

When they look behind them, they will see the emotional wreckage that is the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, the defensively deficient Utah Jazz, the immature Denver Nuggets, the Yao-less Houston Rockets and the rising New Orleans Hornets. Most sportswriters picked the Suns to end the champs' title defense after the addition of Shaquille O' Neal and then picked the younger Hornets. The Spurs sent both teams home early and know they are good enough to beat any of those other teams in six games.

They will also look at the Detroit Pistons and Boston Celtics and know they could have beaten either team. What may sting them most will be reviewing this series and knowing that with their defense holding the Lakers to 91 points per game-almost 20 below their playoff average-they should have won in five. It will hurt even more when the Lakers lose to the Pistons or Celtics in the NBA Finals. The last two teams that eliminated the Spurs in the playoffs got the bad karma they deserved and there is no reason to believe otherwise for the Lakers this year.

When they see missed layups, uncontested threes and jumpshots, the Spurs will kick themselves and know they let a great opportunity slip away. The Lakers were the better team in this series for many reasons and the no excuses Spurs said nothing but after the game. They will now boast another conference championship and will likely face the Celtics in David Stern's dream Finals matchup.

This loss hurts much less than the 2006 second round ouster to the Dallas Mavericks. The Spurs lost in the conference finals to best player on the planet in Kobe Bryant. There is no reason to believe any other team in the West would have forced a different result.

The Lakers said in private they believed the Spurs were the only team that could beat them. The four-time champions will have an entire summer to think about the one they let get away. They should have beaten the Lakers and reached their first consecutive Finals but many season-long problems caught up with them.

In the end, the veteran Spurs had a shot to win the series but couldn't make any.

SPURS REIGN FAR FROM OVER
In the coming weeks, analysts and sportswriters will tip caps and sing to the demise of the Spurs' dynasty. I feared such drivel all season long but I can stand it because it is far from the truth.

The Spurs lost to a great offensive team that struggled to score but had the best athlete in the world to bail them out. If the Spurs could have beaten any of the 29 other teams in a playoff series, how is their run over? The current roster had a chance to beat these Lakers and could keep the team intact and still have a shot when Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza return.

As far as losers go, the Spurs have a lot going for them. They can look back at the two teams they eliminated and the four others left in the wake and say thanks.

The Houston Rockets have to wonder if Yao Ming will ever stay healthy enough for a full season and playoff run. They also have to question if Tracy McGrady will ever find the mettle or competitiveness to lead a team past the first round. The Enver Nuggets do not play defense and are led by a talented scorer who enjoys drunk driving, speeding and calling out his teammates. After making one of the boldest trades in league history, the Phoenix Suns are stuck with a $20 million former superstar who cannot make a free throw, defend the pick and roll or score with regularity. They also know their hall of fame point guard might be aging beyond his incredible value to the team. No way can the Dallas Mavericks win another playoff series with the same core of players who participated in the two of the greatest playoff meltdowns in NBA history. Not even Rick Carlisle can fix that current bunch of jumpshooting underachievers.

There are ample reasons to believe the Utah Jazz and New Orleans Hornets will be championship caliber teams in the next few years. That should also hurt the Spurs when they think about this series loss.

Will the Spurs return next season as a title contender? There is no question the road to a championship will still run through San Antonio. They might need another year of roster moves to get back to the Finals again but they will get there.

Charles Barkley said it best: these cockroaches don't die.

SCORING DRAUGHTS DOOM SPURS FOR THE FINAL TIME

The Spurs finished one game behind the top seeded Lakers and returned to the Western Conference Finals to face them. They held leads of 20 and 17 points had 12 easy opportunities to take a lead and even the series in game 4, and won game 3 by 19 points. How did they lose this series?

The answer was there the entire season and an early spring game against the Atlanta Hawks was a microcosm of the problem. Then, the Spurs scored 5 points in the first quarter and still managed to win by 20 points. The reason they won? The Hawks scored only 16 points in that period.

When the Lakers mounted a furious run in game 5, the Spurs had no answer. Against a weak Eastern Conference team like the eighth-seeded Hawks, the stretches of five-10 minutes without a field goal did not mean a death sentence. Against the Lakers, it did.

The Spurs somehow survived a 7 and a half minute scoring drought to beat the Hornets in game 7 91-82. This disturbing trend says two things about the defending champs: 1) they are still a damn good defensive team 2) they could not put the ball in the basket.

General Manager R.C. Buford and Popovich will determine ways this summer to tweak the roster and find younger, better scorers to aid the Big Three. You trust these men that they will get it done.

NO MANU = NO CHAMPIONSHIP
Manu Ginobili refuses to use his injury as an excuse for his putrid play, so I will. Ginobili managed four great games in the playoffs, but in the rest, he looked like an ankle-injured D-League player who could not get around the guy selling beer and popcorn to score a basket.

The Spurs know this Manu gives them no chance to win a championship. He will play for Argentina in this summer's Olympic games and his apparent arthritic injury will worsen. That puts more pressure on the front office to find scorers to relieve some of the pressure on Ginobili.

No Manu = no championship.

SPURS SHOULD KEEP VETERAN CORE AND MAKE MINOR CHANGES

Much to the chagrin of sportswriters tired of the same, the Spurs will not overhaul their roster and will not get significantly younger. Old will still win out over young and inexperienced. So the young Lakers just beat them? Their best player, also the best in the league, is almost 30 and already has three championship rings. The soul of the team, Derek Fisher, is 31 and also has three championship rings. That's experience.

It made sense to do a player-by-player report card of the Rockets, since they have not won a playoff series in more than 10 years and do not have a proven nucleus. It does not make sense to do so for the Spurs who can still win three or four more championships with the current Big Three.

I'll make this short and sweet. The bulk of the Spurs roster should return next season and can still play.

Here are the players Popovich, Buford and owner Peter Holt need to keep around next season.

Tim Duncan
Tony Parker
Manu Ginobili
Bruce Bowen
Kurt Thomas
Brent Barry
Ime Udoka
Fabricio Oberto

Comments: The reasons to keep the Big Three plus Bowen and Oberto are obvious. The Spurs traded for Thomas and finally got him after three seasons worth of attempts. He showed Popovich every reason the coach wanted him with his gritty production. The Spurs wanted him for so long and should not let him get away now that they have him. Udoka allowed Bowen some valuable rest, became a reliable scorer in many games and defended his ass off. He may be "over the hill," but he can still play. At 35, Barry can still do one hell of a Mark Price in a three point shooting competition impersonation. Unlike Finley, he can score reliably and also has the versatility and speed to run the motion offense and facilitate fast break opportunities. They traded him once to get Thomas and managed to get him back. They should not trade him again.

These players should retire. Their poor playoff production explains why.

Robert Horry
Michael Finley

Comments: What a sad way for Horry to bow out. In perhaps the final game of his career, next to his name in the boxscore is a DNP. I did not see such a lucky, clutch player going down this way, but then again, seven rings ain't bad. Finley has been reduced to a spot-up shooter and he cannot shoot. He should leave gracefully and cherish his championship ring. I do not see his spotty play helping the Spurs or any other team in the hunt for a championship.

That leaves these guys as questionable assets. They will not fetch much in the trade market and do not figure to impact future Spurs' playoff runs.

Matt Bonner
Jacque Vaughn

Comments: Vaughn is Popovich's kind of back up point guard and that's why the Spurs shipped out the more talented Beno Udrih. His hustle and ball handling can win the Spurs some key regular season games. He did not play much in the postseason and in many games was sent in merely to hack a poor foul shooter. Matt Bonner is another under 30 player with some regular season value. He can shoot from long-distance, plays solid defense and rebounds. He was not a factor in the Spurs' botched title run.

These young big men should join the fold next season and become rotation players.

Tiago Splitter
Ian Mahinmi

Comments: Popovich may not like developing two raw talents in one season but these two big men are worth the work. Mahinmi was a monster in the D-League averaging a double-double and could easily fill Horry's role next year. Splitter is a great post player who brings toughness and rebounding. He may turn out better than his Tau Ceramica teammate Luis Scola as an NBA player.

posted by Robert Kleeman @ 11:06 PM