Tim Duncan Spurs On My Insomnia
Posted by Justin Jacobs on May 21, 2008
By: Justin Jacobs
I didn’t sleep a wink last night.
Why you ask?
Well, to out it bluntly, Tim Duncan scares the shit out of me.
Like death and taxes, and cliches about death and taxes, Tim Duncan is a constant thorn in the side of all fans of the NBA. Given, there are only about ten real fans of the NBA, but bear with me on this one. A lot of NBA analyst ask why everyone hates Tim Duncan and the Spurs so much? Tim Duncan is all that is right about the NBA. He is the model of consistency and is dominant in the absence of dominance, much like the team he plays on. If you just look at the numbers, Tim Duncan should be considered the greatest power forward in NBA history, much the same way the Spurs should be considered one of the greatest teams in NBA history. Duncan’s has been, by all accounts, a model citizen and a great teammate, something you could probably say about the rest of the Spurs players (Damon Stoudemire aside).
So what’s the deal?
What is my problem with Tim Duncan, and to a greater extent, the Spurs recent mini-dynasty?
The answer: I really don’t know.
Sure I could tell you that the Spurs are one of the cheapest teams in NBA history. They have turned flopping into an art form that would make Vlade Divac proud. They have also managed to turn Big Shot Rob, one of my favorite players in the league into Cheap Shot Rob, who has taken swipes at Steve Nash and David West in the last two years in order to give the Spurs a competitive advantage. The Spurs have also used the Hack-a-Shaq strategy more than any other team in NBA history. Their roster is full of players who bitch more about calls than any other team in the history of the NBA, but they’ve won four championships and I’m suppose to respect that damn it!
Well I can’t do it, I just can’t.
Chad and I have talked about this subject a lot, and I’ve come to the conclusion that the Spurs, much like Tim Duncan, are only dominant when in the presence of mediocrity. That has a lot to do with how consistent they are, and the fact that they do a great job of saving themselves for the playoffs, but it also speaks to why people don’t enjoy watching Spurs basketball. Think back to the classic Lakers/Spurs series of the past ten years, and if you are having problems thinking back that far then here’s an aid. The bottom line is that the Spurs were only able to get past the Lakers once from 2000-2004, and that came in the 03′ season where Kobe and Shaq almost came to blows with each other on a number of occasions. When the Lakers were at their best with Shaq being dominant and Kobe playing the role fo the assassin, the Spurs just weren’t able to beat them, period.
In order for the Spurs to be considrered one of the greatest teams of all time I think they have to win the championship this year. This is probably the best Spurs team of all the their title runs, and you could also argue that this is the toughest competition that they’ve had to face on their run to a title. Even as a Spurs “hater” I have to give props to the way they handled themselves in Monday’s game seven against the Hornets. Now they have their eyes set on getting past the Lakers and taking care of whoever comes out of the Eastern Conference. What makes things scary for the Lakers this series is that I think Tim Duncan, and the rest of the Spurs, knows what winning a fifth championship means for their legacy. They want to get that, can’t win consecutive championships, monkey off of their back. To win a championship this year would be the most impressive mark on their already impressive resume, and would catipult their run of titles ahead of the 2000-2002 Lakers. Something that would not settle well with me at all.
That’s what is keeping me up at night. This series is going to be an all out war featuring two of the greatest players in NBA history and two of the greatest coaches in NBA history. I think both rosters are littered with great play makers (Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Manu Ginobli, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan) and great role-players (Sasha Vujicic, Vladimir Radmanovic, Bruce Bowen, Michael Finley). This series is going to come down to individual match-ups: Bowen vs Kobe, Gasol vs Duncan, Fisher vs Parker. There are so many layers to analyzing this series that no-one really has a clue what is going to happen. I think that’s shown in all the previews of this series so far, but I don’t think enough people are talking about what this series means to the Spurs. It’s simply their last/best shot at all-time greatness….
And that could be the deciding factor.
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As an aside I’d just like to mention that things would look a whole lot different if Andrew Bynum would have been healthy for this series, but long-term I think that getting him into surgery to clean-up that bum knee as early as possible will probably be the right move.
Oh yeah, and congratulations are in order for the Chicago Bulls… you are one #1 pick closer to NBA relevance!
(Looks like Chicago’s own, Derrick Rose, is heading home)
Enjoy the game tonight people!
