In Which the Spurs got their Killer Instinct
The Spurs may yet lose to the Hornets -- based on the three previous games in NO where they've been blown out I'd say the chances are excellent the World Will Get What They Want (no Spurs/Pistons) -- but I wanted to post this anyway. It's been on my mind since the Suns series. If you aren't a Spurs fan, you might not know when and how the Spurs got over the hump. And you might find it interesting who was a major architect. Suns fans, you can stop reading here.
Okay, so the Spurs won a championship in 1999. That was the asteriks year. The shortened season. The Lockout Year. Well, someone had to win it. Might as well be the Spurs. But, there was still a palpable feeling that the Spurs hadn't won one. Phil Jackson and Shaq made sure to drive home this point, BTW. And, during the stretch from 2000-2003 the Laker's owned the Spurs (and everyone, actually). So, there came a time (Spring 2003, to be specific) when the Spurs had to man up and take it from "pretty good, good enough to almost win-it-all every year" to winning. But they had this psychological thing. You know how Duncan is money in big games? Wasn't always like that. David Robinson was still pretty good, but he's also the guy who was destroyed in the playoffs just a few years before by Hakeem right after Robinson won his MVP. And in 2003, Tony Parker was just the guy that Pops abused. Probably made him cry. He was 18 and French. I was introduced to Manu that year, too, via an amazing pass he made against... I'm not sure. He got the rebound, in garbage time, and spun to dribble down court when he saw a teammate streaking, already leading the nearest defender. Manu had at least a couple of opponents between him and his teammate, but he skipped this low line-drive through them all, almost all the way down-court. I mean low, like knee-level. But he put a ton of English on it, and when it nicked the ground, at about the free-throw line, it kicked up about waist high and right into the fast-moving hands of a soon-to-be-dunker. Brought down the house. I was watching it on TV. Whoever was carrying the game foresaketh the rest of garbage time to show that replay repeatedly. I'd never seen such a pass. Manu had a lot of hair back then, kind of like Oberto now.
2003 was Year One of the core Spurs -- Bowen, Duncan, Ginobili & Parker in alphabetical order -- but also David Robinson, Stephen Jackson and others. Only Bowen and Duncan were playing at their current levels then. Parker & Ginobili weren't yet reliable. At the time, it seemed like they were the Suns, and always just a bad-turn away from folding. What they needed was that one guy who could just come in and give them that boost. Double his money if he can boost in a closeout game. So in this year, 2003, they made it into the Western Conference Finals. But in the first closeout game (game 5) they were outscored (by the Mavericks) 29-10 in the 4th quarter. Folded. It was hard to watch, and all it did was make you ready for the next time it was going to happen.
And, it began to happen again, right there in game 6. I didn't know it at the time, but apparently Tony Parker had room-service food poisoning (how many times does this have to happen before people will start bringing their own food on road games?). All I remember is Steve Kerr -- yes Suns fans, Steve Kerr is responsible for this Monster -- came in and in about two minutes just dropped in bomb after bomb. Apparently Stephen Jackson also had a big game, but I just remember Kerr because after that -- from then until right now -- the Spurs have never been the same. They've always had the confidence, the killer instinct and three more championships.
Read about it [watch it: Kung Fu Theater version]-- read the quote from Speedy -- that tells you everything about the Spurs mindset pre-Kerr. The Spurs were fumbling around in the dark and Kerr came in and just calmed everyone down. People were dribbling around the perimeter, passes were being broken up, people were dribbling off their feet or fumbling the rare good pass off their thigh. Kerr ripped off his warmups, tied the string on his shorts, cleaned the soles of his shoes on that little cleaner thingy by the scorer's table and proceeded to cut out the heart of the Mavericks (and... uh, Steve Nash) and hold it up like that creepy dude in Indiana Jones & the Temple of Doom.
Technically, the Lakers, finally dispatched in the 2nd round that year, were the Spurs foil, like Boston was for the Bad Boys, and the Bad Boys were for Michael Jordan, and how the Spurs are now for the Suns, but it was a game against the Mavericks authored by a kingmaker associated with the Bulls and now Suns that did it. The Monster was born.
Maybe in a weird way that should make it easier for the Suns. It might not be a star player; maybe it's a rarely used vet like Kerr. Maybe it's not even so much a person -- maybe it's just a 5 minute stretch in a big game. Maybe that's all it takes for the cement to set. Worked for the Spurs.
