Monday, May 3rd, 2010 at 12:22 pm  |  11 responses

Spur of the Moment

Weren’t they supposed to be here?

by Jonathan Santiago / @ITSjonsantiago

The San Antonio Spurs are in the Western Conference Semifinals for the ninth time in 10 seasons.

TPIs it surprising? Eh, somewhat. One could easily argue based on the way the season played out, with the injuries and lack of cohesion between new and old parts that this Spurs team was in line for a consecutive first round boot.

But on the other hand, weren’t the Spurs pegged in this position during the pre-season hype? After the acquisitions of Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and the second-round steal of DeJuan Blair, weren’t they the consensus favorite behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference?

With the way things are shaping up in the Playoffs, the Spurs might be second best in the West again. It’s just taken them longer than usual to realize it.

Instead of getting into the groove on their usual rodeo road trip (they recorded a subpar 4-4 record this season), the Spurs picked up their play in the final month and a half of the regular season, finishing 17-8.

Their effort leading up to the Playoffs could be credited to the steadiness provided by their head coach. Gregg Popovich, never one to waiver in light of tough decisions, faced a difficult situation as the season came to a close. Either place Tony Parker, who returned from missing a month due to a broken right hand, back in the Spurs starting lineup or go with what had been working — a Manu Ginobili and George Hill backcourt.

He opted for the latter and it wasn’t a decision questioned by Parker, even when he made his initial return.

“Whatever Pop wants,” Parker said regarding his role, in his first game back from the injury. “Whatever. He’s the boss.”

On any other team, a quote like that could be construed as despondent or sarcastic. But there was no such tone in Parker’s voice. Like the rest of the Spurs, Parker has had no problem following the law of the land in San Antonio, especially since he’s witnessed championship results. Now filling the sixth man role once held by Ginobili, Parker thrived in the first round off the bench, leading the team in distributing with 5.7 apg.Ginobili

Parker’s injury in April paved the way for the Spurs current backcourt to find their rhythm, especially the veteran Ginobili. The Argentinean had his best month of the season in Parker’s absence, averaging 22.1 points and 5.8 assists per game in just 31 minutes of action. But for Ginobili, Parker’s injury was not the only factor that led to his improved play.

“After the (All-Star) break, I started attacking the rim better,” Ginobili said two weeks prior to the start of the Playoffs. “And when they started guarding my penetrations, I started making my shots.”

Now the Spurs are set to take on the Phoenix Suns in a Playoff series…again. Will the results be the same as the previous three second-season meetings between these two?

The Spurs hope so.

Jonathan Santiago also co-hosts the weekly Davis Sports Deli Podcast, which can be found here.

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  • Bruno Posted: May.3 at 1:10 pm
    damn Spurs you were supposed to be already dead … now I hope Amare finish y’all

  • Cheryl Posted: May.3 at 1:15 pm
    Can’t wait for this one to start.

  • Babygab Posted: May.3 at 4:13 pm
    I actually believe that San Antonio is the only team that could have a real chance against L.A. Jazz would have been a good match up against L.A if they their entire roster, unfortunately… And Phoenix ? They ain’t playing no defense so I won’t even mention them.

  • Rachel Posted: May.3 at 4:54 pm
    I’m a Spurs fan and I admit I lost faith when they didn’t get their usual winning record on the rodeo road trip. I should’ve stayed on the bandwagon another month– as it was I had to chase it down and leap back on board.

  • Tarzan Cooper Posted: May.3 at 5:06 pm
    Spurs have played great. Champ defense and all. Im a bit concerned about lack of height, but we will see how that plays out

  • Dacre Posted: May.3 at 7:23 pm
    With the off season acquisition of Richard Jefferson it was considered at that time to be the kind of big time move that would help the Spurs get back into the upper echeleon of the West. To some degree he has been a part of the successes, but considering the storm of age an injury, that the Spurs have had to weather, and the leadership of Tim Duncan and Pops it’s nice to see them put together another competitive year.
    ___
    A QUESTION:Will they go the way of the Pistons at some point? Restructuring and redevelopment (and losing..). Tim Duncan is nearing his golden years of retirement and I’m wondering if Pops will hang his coaching hat up at the same time?

  • Jonathan Santiago Posted: May.3 at 7:42 pm
    @Dacre – I think they will have to do what the Pistons did pretty soon. If they do, I don’t see them overpaying for guys the way Detroit did though. The last time they had a ton of money to spend (after they won the chip in 2003), they didn’t overspend and put themselves in salary cap hell. Their current dynasty is really just based on a bad injury to David Robinson that led to ping pong balls bouncing their way in 1997. I’ll be amazed if that happens again when the rebuild commences.

  • Dacre Posted: May.4 at 4:09 am
    @Jonathan – Indeed! To think they could effectively have one losing season and then retool for the next decade?! Greg Popovich should write a book and then give it to the Clippers/Knicks and Indiana… O_o I think, they’ve done well to get to a put here, whereby the last couple of years they’ve tried to surround Duncan with worthwhile pieces, alas I think it’s coming to an end…. After this season, I think we are looking at mediocrity in San Antonio for a while.

  • Dacre Posted: May.4 at 4:12 am
    Here’s an idea…. Dirk goes from one Texan team, to an other, Timmy gets Dirk some jewellery and then retires as the greatest PF of the modern era.

  • Patrick Posted: May.4 at 4:28 pm
    “Weren’t the Spurs pegged in this position during the pre-season hype? After the acquisitions of Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess and the second-round steal of DeJuan Blair, weren’t they the consensus favorite behind the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference?” Good point. A lot of people – myself included – had them pegged as the No. 2 seed. Now that they’re playing like one, we’re all surprised. It’s funny how much of a “what have you done lately?” league the NBA is.

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