The Spurs em but ultimately fell short against the greater degree of talented Thunder. It's been awhile since I've been this depressed athwart a loss.
In seven years when my son is nine years worn out and asking about Kevin Durant's move rapidly I will tell him how Durant eliminated the Spurs in four close games in the 2012 Western Conference Finals. I'll find out him the Spurs played well plenty to win all but one of their four losses in the concatenation but Durant simply refused to give leave to his team lose. I'll take an account of him about the big shots Durant succeed, his 4th quarter heroics, his weight, his leadership, and most importantly, his fearlessness. I may in like manner remember to tell him Durant was singly 23 at the time. I'll certainly mention him the 2012 Western Conference Finals was then Durant officially arrived. In pressure packed moments that wither stars like LeBron James, Durant came through. He made the jump over from superstar to legend. I resoluteness tell my son all this early enough.
For now, though, as a grieving Spurs cool, I want to dwell on San Antonio's frustrate. After all, something tells me in that place will be plenty of time to spout out over Durant and the Thunder in the to come years.
[I'm putting this piece in parentheses because it's not why the Spurs lost Game 6 or the sequence. Though, it certainly didn't helper their chances. The officiating in the 4th mercy of Game 6 was HORRENDOUS. The Spurs were called as far as concerns five fouls in the opening three minutes of the 4thquarter. Four of them were invading fouls and each was a ticky-tacky convene AT BEST. It's the 4thquarter of a deciding measure and the officials are taking more than on one end and completely ignoring the other team in successi the other. I was embarrassed the sake of the NBA. No other sport is consistently ruined by its officiating like basketball. As a flow, the Spurs were handicapped defensively since every foul sent the Thunder to the extended mark. It's hard enough to whack the Tunder at home. Doing for a like rean with three officials calling a lopsided 4th allot was an impossible task.]
Moving on... Let's start with the first reason the Spurs lost this concatenation; role players. All season long, and instead of the first two rounds of the postseason, San Antonio's role players had performed superbly. When the starters took a place, the bench took over, often extending leads or sparking comebacks. If undivided of the Spurs stars was off with injury or suffering through an off night, a role player stepped up. The Spurs role players were because responsible for San Antonio's y play this year as the pompous three.
Then, all of sudden, San Antonio's role players disappeared completely in the interview finals. A potent rotation of 9 to 10 players withered to 5. Only Stephen Jackson and Gary Neal maxim extended playing time off the bench and solely Jackson contributed anything more than bricked shots and turnovers. The Spurs greatest asset unexpectedly became its greatest weakness.
People have power to talk about Gregg Popovich being outcoached through Scott Brooks, but imagine how solid it'd be for Brooks to bring over a series if Kendrick Perkins and Serge Ibaka bricked spread jumpers, or Daequan Cook threw up bearing balls in his limited action in Game 5, or Derek Fisher didn't exhaust big shots in the 4th specific place. It'd be nearly impossible as antidote to the Thunder to win. I'm not uniform arguing Brooks didn't outcoach Popovich. I'm alone stating Popovich was playing with a petulant deck, a short deck absolutely in degree one could have foreseen.
If you neglect to break down the failure of the Spurs role players in successi an individual level, I'd exist happy to help... For the 2nd year in a tumult, Tiago Splitter fell flat on his face in the biggest games of the interval. He was hesitant, confused, and prosaic out overwhelmed. The Spurs desperately needed Splitter to shelter the rim and score inside. Instead, he panicked at the munificent throw line, lost his confidence, and was since effective defensively as a swinging door. Then there's the trio of Matt Bonner, Gary Neal and Danny Green. Bonner did no quantity. Couldn't rebound. Couldn't expel. Couldn't defend. "Good job. Good straining." Neal's shot was off in the place of most of the series. What's worse, he was accountable for several of San Antonio's defensive breakdowns in the censorious moments of Game 6 and at minutest one other game in the line, if not two (I'm moreover depressed to remember). As for Green, the worthless guy short-circuited after a tardy start to the series. He missile a dismal percentage from beyond the arc (17%) and completely not to be found his identity in the Spurs offense. In Similar the to Neal and Splitter, Green moreover allowed his offensive shortcomings to contact his defense. Green, the same defensive standout that bottled up Chris Paul, was consistently torched by the Thunder's backcourt. While Boris Diaw and DeJuan Blair were equally unimpressive, it was the grim play of Splitter, Neal and Green that candidly cost the Spurs.
Regardless, the biggest disappointment of the last four games was in what state the role players let Tim Duncan (and the rest of the Big Three) into disgrace after declaring for much of the gone by few months how badly they wanted to arrive for Duncan. While Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker weren't unblemished, I thought they played well enough to have a reasonable chance at enchanting the series. They simply didn't acquire any help outside of Stephen Jackson and Kawhi Leonard. As the Thunder and Celtics be favored with proven in this year's meeting for consultation finals, you can't succeed this profound in the postseason without significant contributions and clasp plays from your role players. Right after this, nobody knows this as well as the Spurs.
I especially feel as far as concerns Duncan, who believed this was his most expedient see the various meanings of good and perhaps final chance to breed ring number five. I feel toward Gregg Popovich, who brilliantly molded this team to corrupt into a system that relied ward humility and the concept of TEAM throughout stardom and stats. I feel in opposition to Tony Parker, who carried the Spurs during the term of much of the season even yet he came up short against the greatness and quickness of the Oklahoma City defense. I touch for Stephen Jackson, who fought tooth and talon to bring his friend Tim Duncan another title. I feel for Manu Ginobili, whose single style of play will soon lose color away as his body betrays him.
In circumstance, the last time I felt this dreadful following a sporting event was back the Eagles lost another NFC Championship Game, this time to the Arizona Cardinals in January of 2009. Much like the Spurs, the Eagles came to the end of nowhere, were playing the with most propriety of any team in the postseason and were expected to advance to the Super Bowl but abandoned in devastating fashion.
I've exhausted countless hours watching nearly every single in kind of the Spurs 66 regular acclimatize games and 14 playoff games from hand to hand the past six months. I bought into everything they were; teamwork, freedom from pride, respect, greatness. To see them be bereaved of feels like everything I believed in was sin. But then I look at the Thunder and effect everything I cherished about the Spurs is thus obviously present in the Thunder. So, steady defeat - heart aching and soul crushing balk - I still feel a small pinch of victory. The Spurs drew the picture, the Thunder followed it to perfection.
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