Ranking the San Antonio Spurs' Championships - #5 - The 2007 Championship

The San Antonio Spurs have won five championships and it's likely to remain that number for a long time. I also like ranking things on this blog, so let's do this. 

Methodology for the ranking of an NBA Championship 

Well, it's completely subjective.  I won't bother to quantify which Spurs team was statistically best or do any deep dives into the stats, but I'll boil it down to basically three main components: 

Satisfaction Scale (1-5)

This component measures how personally satisfying I found the championship.  Satisfaction includes the regular season, post-season, and the various individual and team narratives involved,. The post-season is favored but the other stuff matters too.  I am quantifying my subjective feelings, so just accept this makes no sense. 

Degree of Difficulty (1-5)

How difficult or impressive was the title run? What teams and challenges did the Spurs face along the way and how?  Did the team overcome injuries or some other team or individual challenge? What obstacles had to be overcome in the regular season and post-season? 

Enjoyment Scale (1-5)

How enjoyable was it to watch (and re-watch)?  What was the style of the play? Were the games along the way blow-outs or were there significant buzzer-beaters and late-game heroics and drama? 

# 5 - 2007 (SS -3.5/DoD - 3/ES - 3.5/ Total = 10

2006-2007 Championship 

The 2006 playoffs ended in disaster. The Spurs had the best record in the NBA but faced the second-best team in the second round, the Dallas Mavericks (this series ended up being the driving force that changed NBA rules to prevent this very case from happening again). The Mavs matched up with the Spurs very well that year and making the series tougher was the officiating was terrible. The Spurs overcame a 3-1 deficit and forced a game seven at home.  The Spurs blew it (well, okay, Manu did) in the closing seconds of game seven.  It still stings to this day, so I am not going to even recount how that game ended. I couldn't have imagined how a loss could top the pain of Derek Fisher's .4 catastrophe from 2004 (see below) but it did. Oh boy, I hated those Mavs (Pain Index of Spurs Losses will get it's own blog post at some point). I am relatively confident we would have beat the Heat in the 2006 Finals for our second straight title and a great chance at a three-peat, given the breaks we got in 2007. 

I know people say it's bad sportsmanship for you to root against the team that beat "your" team but I had no qualms when the Mavs lost largely due to refs, as they sure benefited against the Spurs. Including when Tim Duncan had his feet stepped on by Dirk near the end of Game 3 and got called for a foul. So, karma tasted delicious to me. To make matter worse, the Spurs seemed old and the West was stacked with younger and hungrier teams like the Mavs, Suns, Nuggets and the Jazz. At the time, I thought 2006  may have been our last best hope for one last title. Most title windows last about 3-8 years and 2006 was year seven for Duncan and the Spurs. 

Regular Season

The regular season of 2006-2007 felt like a hang-over. Sure, the Spurs won 58 games but the talk of the league was the 67-win Mavs and the 61-win Suns. The Spurs seemed like an afterthought. There was some talk the Spurs would make a trade to shake things up and improve their chances. I remember rumors included Tony Parker but luckily nothing ever came of it. I didn't keep up with the games as much as I used to, but I was on blogs, watching highlights, etc. after every game. 

Note: The videos in this blog post are not loading on the mobile version, if you want to see the videos, scroll to the end of the page and click on "view web version" or just view the blog on a laptop/PC.  There's a ton of videos, so ya know, just do it. 

2007 Playoffs 

First Round - Denver Nuggets (45-37, 6th seed) - "Much Closer Series than You Might Remember"

The Spurs faced a hot Nuggets team (the short-lived Anthony-Iverson team) in the first round. The Nuggets were one of those teams that clicked late in the season and no one wanted to face in the playoffs. It was unfair that both teams had to meet this early in the playoffs. Although the Spurs would take the series in a "gentlemen's sweep" (4-1), most of the games were competitive.

After a game one loss, the Spurs played pretty darn good and captured the next four games (with two tight games on the road). The Big 3 looked great and Finley had a great shooting series (53% from 3). I remember George Karl (coach of the Nuggets) complaining to no end about Manu "flopping" and he got the crap knocked out of him when he went to the hoop...but he never backed down. 

Check these highlights above. Horry with an under-rated and largely forgotten dagger. Manu's line in game four was just so "Manu", 19 pt, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals. 

An Interlude - Luck and Winning in the Playoffs

Meanwhile, NBA history was happening. The top-seeded Mavericks, the team that matched up so well with the Spurs were defeated by the 8-seeded, loveable, rough and tumble Warriors. It was an incredible series. It was easy to laugh at the Mavs back then (and I did) but this was a nightmare match-up for the Mavs. Ultimately, the Mavs (and Dirk) wet the bed but I think everyone should admit, it was more about an amazing and historic performance by the Warriors. 

The public loves to see players "willing" their team to a championship and subsequently assigns the failure to win a championship as the sole responsibility of the team's best player....but that's just not how it works. Dirk didn't lose that series, the Warriors took it. Jordan would have never won 6 titles without Pippen, he would have been lucky to win one without him! He was lucky to have a great bunch of role players (especially on the second three-peat teams).  Had Jordan not retired the first time, I think they would have lost against one of those Rockets teams (or even fallen beforehand out of sheer exhaustion).

 As a Spurs fan, I learned over the 20 years of contention that playoff success is less about being a "winner" and more about being healthy, match-ups, the play of the role-players, and a good old dash of good luck.  

As soon as the Mavs were defeated, there was only one team left in the Western conference with a good chance to beat the Spurs....

The Infamous Suns Series (with multiple interludes) 

This is one of the most maligned and controversial playoff series in NBA history. 

Before we can get down to the "dirty" details, it's good to set up just why this series (and the Spurs) became so hated (FYI - the Spurs - Suns rivalry has it own wiki page). 

1. The Suns were loved by the basketball intelligentsia and basketball junkies everywhere. 

Going back to watch some of these series (especially the 1999 season) is indeed, a slog. The pace can drag to mind-numbing depths and three-pointers are not utilized efficiently.  It was a different and flawed game; dominated by defense-first teams like the Spurs and Pistons. The seven-seconds-or-less Suns were a breath of fresh air. The Suns were a compelling team to watch and unlike some other offensive juggernauts, they had dashes of defense from Amare Stoudemire, Raja Bell, and Shawn Marion. 

2. The Spurs were boring and "old".

If the Suns represented a new, fresh approach the Spurs represented the old, boring approach. By 2007, the Spurs were old news. They had been contending since 1999, won three championships and were known for their tough defense and Tim Duncan's back-to-the-bsket post-up game. "4 Down" (Tim Duncan posting up) was the go-to Spurs call.

Timmy was considered "old" at 31. We had no idea he was only half-way through his 18-year career. 

3. The Spurs usually ended up beating the Suns.

Not only did the old, rusty Spurs beat the Suns in 2005 (with another built in-excuse for the Suns because Joe Johnson was hurt), they beat them in 2007 and again in 2008. Sure, the Suns finally beat them in 2010 but by then, the Spurs were at a low point (and the Spurs were the 7th seed that had upset the 2nd seeded Mavs, so the loss wasn't all that surprising). The fact that the Spurs kept getting in the way of the Sun's title chances was a double-whammy of frustration for casual NBA fans. It seemed like the Spurs didn't know when their time was up. 

The Games 

Game 1 - Spurs 111 - Suns 106 - (Spurs 1-0)

Game one was a playoff classic. The game is most memorable as the game where Nash and Paker collided with a little less than 2 minutes left and Nash's nose bleed like crazy, costing Nash some critical playing time in the waning minutes of a very close playoff game. Timmy was huge in this game with 33/16/3 blk and Tony had 32/8 assists in an amazing duel with Nash. 

Here's the whole game, it's a great watch: 

It's an understatement to say the Suns seemed to have bad luck against the Spurs.

Game 2 - Suns 101 - Spurs 81 - (Series tied 1-1)

 

This game was a must-win for the Suns as they had already lost home-court in the first game, so in typical "our backs are back against the wall" they blew the Spurs out. Not much to say here as a Spurs fan. 

Game 3 - Spurs 108 - Suns 101 (Spurs 2-1)

(wait a sec....something's missing here) 

ahem...

Interlude on the Officiating in the Spurs-Suns 2007 series or "Why Tim Donaghy is Full of It" 

This series will always be defined by what happened at the end of game four, but another factor seen around the web is the idea that the series was somehow tainted by the officiating. Disturbingly, it is claimed this bad officiating was done on purpose. However, the idea has gained some traction in recent years because of the need for Tim Donaghy to sell a book. 

Everyone's favorite ex-ref and ex-felon Tim Donaghy claims that NBA officials disliked the Sun's owner, Robert Sarver and it biased the officials against the Suns. You have to hand it to him; it's a unique argument as usual, people think the NBA would want the fresh, exciting, young Suns. But  David Stern be damned, the refs actually favored the small-market, boring Spurs. 

Here's one of his more recent claims: 

“Obviously, everybody knows I refereed one of those famous games with the San Antonio Spurs where [the Suns] were definitely the better team in that series and San Antonio went on to win that series,” he said.

“Tommy Nunez, who was the group supervisor at that time for that series, didn’t like Sarver, who was the owner of the Suns at that time, and was always pointing out in the tape sessions of things to call against Phoenix and things not to concentrate on against San Antonio,” Donaghy said. “And I think it put San Antonio at an advantage.” 

You can read a little more here.  

Here is another quote from Donaghy, 

“2007 Suns were the best team in the league. And that whole series was officiated poorly, and one of the reasons is that Tommy Nunez was the supervisor of officials in that series. And he had a dislike for the Suns owner Robert Sarver, and he enjoyed the lifestyle in San Antonio and liked to get back in the next round of the playoffs and continue to go to San Antonio. So it was a situation that he was steering the series to San Antonio in tape sessions.”

To summarize Donaghy's claims (to my knowledge these are his only claims about the series): 

1. The Suns were the best team in the league.

2. The whole series was officiated poorly and one of the reasons was because Tommy Nunez was the supervisor of the officials in that series. 

3. Tommy Nunez did not like the Suns owner, Robert Sarver. 

4. Tommy Nunez liked the "lifestyle in San Antonio" and wanted to return to SA in a later series.

5. Therefore, Nunez  was "always pointing out in the tape sessions of things to call against Phoenix and things not to concentrate on against San Antonio.” 

The first claim is the easiest to dismiss. The Dallas Mavericks were by far the best regular-season team with a franchise-record 67 wins; the largest win total that the league had seen since 2000. They were the clear title favorites. The Mavs finished six games up on the Suns for the first seed while the Spurs were three games back from the Suns. While in hindsight it's easy to dismiss the Mavs (see above), it's simply not straightforward to state the Suns were the best team in the league that year. This will be covered in depth below but if they were the best team shouldn't they have sealed the deal down the stretch in game five?  Gutted out game one despite missing Nash for a few plays? The Suns couldn't even push the Spurs to seven games when they were at full strength.

The allegations against Nunez are interesting but...not very credible. 

Tommy Nunez, Sr. retired in 2002, after 30 years in the NBA. Tommy Nunez, Jr. was an NBA referee from 2004-2010. So although his correct name is not used in the allegation, I am going to assume he meant Nunez, Jr. 

"Group Supervisor" is not a position or term I have ever heard about in my 30+ years of NBA fandom. The term "group supervisor" for NBA officials does not turn up anything on Google (I also searched various other terms to no avail). However, it is possible such a role exists and I could see the value in having an off-site official supervise the officiating for a series. It's interesting that a third-year official was a "group supervisor" in a playoff series given the NBA's preference for veteran officials in the playoffs. 

In this case, the group supervisor didn't actually call any of the actual games in the series. Thus, Nunez, Jr. could only encourage the officials to call the games a particular way. I find it hard to believe a referee in his third year could hold much sway over his fellow officials, many of whom had been in the NBA for decades. Would a relative newbie feel comfortable being implicit or explicit in his bias with veteran officials? 

Nunez, Jr. did not officiate any of the Spurs-Suns series, so his impact (if any) would be extremely limited. If his goal was to return as a game official to SA, as Donaghy alleges, the plan failed as he did not officiate any Spurs playoff games in 2007. Would a group supervisor even be on-site at all? For what purpose? 

Finally, his claim that Tommy Nunez, Jr. liked the "lifestyle in San Antonio"  just might be a racist statement, as I am not sure what the "lifestyle" is in SA means or why Nunez would like SA so much, that he was willing to risk his professional reputation with older refs.  Maybe, just maybe, could it be because SA has a large population of Hispanics and Nunez, Jr. was only the second Hispanic NBA official? Is that why Donaghy believed this? 

To summarize, Nunez, Jr. even if he was the supervisor for the series, would have had a very limited role in how the games would be called given his new status and lack of actually, ya know, officiating the games. A close read of Donaghy's comments shows a bit of a hedge anyway, "I think it put San Antonio at an advantage" is not a strong affirmation of fraud, only his interpretation of alleged events. It could be Donaghy didn't agree with Nunez, Jr.'s analysis of the games and projected fraud and bias in his analysis. 

As for Tim Donaghy's role, he only officiated one game of the series. So, even if you were buying that Donaghy had complete control over the officiating in that game, it's still just one game. Details on game three will be discussed below. It should be clear Donaghy said he never bet on the game or even admitted that he did a poor job (maybe his allegations stood in for his poor job in game three). In the aftermath of game three, Bill Simmons said it was a terribly officiated game. However, if Donaghy had never called the game, I don't think anyone would really remember it as a poorly officiated game (any more than any other average playoff game). It just happened because Donaghy called it, and later that summer he was charged with betting on games, it was tainted only by the association with Donaghy. 

 

I have seen on a few Phoenix sports websites or blogs claim that the series officiating was obviously in favor of the Spurs. I won't bother to link as they don't back up their claims with data or facts. Nor do they go beyond quoting Donaghy as far as finding a motive. Game three is particularly used as an example to "prove" the claims.  I don't find that much merit in that claim but it is a claim so, let's investigate it a bit further.

FTA Comparison: Flawed or Insightful?

The easiest and most frequently used way of deciphering if the game was fairly called is looking at the FTA for each team. This method is extremely flawed, to say the least. 

Simply looking at FTA fails to account for the way the teams play. Is a team being more aggressive by driving the ball inside or is another team being tentative? Does the team adhere to a philosophy of handing out hard fouls for layups or do they intentionally play to avoid fouls? 

FTA alone also ignores the circumstances of the fouls. Critically important is understanding when the fouls were called in the game. If the refs really did have it out for a team, they could easily call many fouls early on and slowly balance them out along the way, as needed. A team trailing at the end of the game can intentionally foul another team several times in the waning minutes and this would create the appearance of a FTA disparity. 

My point being, FTA is extremely flawed. It is only one metric, and that's what I will treat it as. One data-point, among many.

FTA in the 2006-2007 Season for the Spurs and the Suns

Both teams were near the bottom of the league in average FTA per game (SA with 24 FTA and the Suns with 22 FTA).  A consistent feature during Popovich's reign in SA has been the Spurs' ability to typically be one of the best teams at NOT fouling. 

“It’s really one of their core principles,” said Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer, a Spurs assistant for 20 years before joining the Hawks. “They talk about it regularly. They drill it. They show film on it. Everybody knows how important it is to them being so good defensively that they defend without fouling. It’s been that way from the beginning, really.”

The quote comes from this article that points out how important the concept is to the Spurs. 

In 2007, the Spurs were first in the league with the least amount of  FTA for opponents (21 FTA per game average). Meanwhile, the Suns were also excellent at avoiding fouls, ranking 3rd in the league. My anecdotal experience tells us there are usually more FTA in the playoffs and while I am not going out of my way to prove that, that's what we see in this series. 

Here are the FTA attempts and PF for each team in the series: 

Game	Suns FTA	Spurs FTA	FTA Advantage	PF Advantage	Game Outcome
1	27	33	Spurs +6	Suns -1	Spurs 111-Suns 106
2	19	16	Suns + 3	Suns – 4	Suns 101-Spurs 81
3	27	36	Spurs + 9	Spurs -2	Spurs 108- Suns 101
4	29	14	Suns +15	Suns – 9	Suns 104-Spurs 98
5	17	28	Spurs +11	Tied	Spurs 88- Suns 85
6	24	30	Spurs +6	Spurs - 2	Spurs 114-Suns 106

Devoid of context, just scanning the FTA, nothing sticks out too much as a huge advantage for the Spurs, although in games three and five they did have a solid advantage. 

Game Three's Officiating 

As seen above the Spurs did have nine more FTA but the Suns had six more turnovers and got outrebounded by eight (Spurs had 11 offensive boards to the Suns' 5 offensive boards). The Spurs had more offensive sets and this translated into extra possessions, which in turn led to more opportunities to get to the line. It's hard to clearly see this game as "rigged". The stats alone do not show evidence for a strong bias for the Spurs.

The video below frames Donaghy's crimes as having an influence on the series, but when this video was made, little was known about the allegations. Donaghy has not been shy about his role in all this and has never insinuated that he bet on this series, only that it was poorly called. Ironically, it has been the one game he officiated that is pointed out as an example of terrible officiating. 

Here are the plays from the video with my analysis: 

1 - Manu Shooting Foul (on Bell) - the call is made by Donaghy (I think the only one on the video above) and he was really out of position to make the call, it's a bad call and it's unreasonable. 

2 - Tim blocks Amare (no call) -   At best it's a questionable no-call.  It looked like a clear block to me, it's a typical physical NBA drive/block. These are human beings watching it in real-time and Tim Duncan, being one of the all-time greats, might get the benefit of the doubt but it's reasonable to see how it would not be called.

3. Flop by Oberto on Amare (his fourth foul) - it's a bad call but it is a heck of a flop by Oberto. He really does sell it, he was such a smart player.  In real-time, I could see how it could be called, but I will grade it "bad" out of fairness as it sent Amare to the bench. The call is reasonable in real-time but bad. 

4. Blocking foul on Nash as Duncan shoots - like most blocking calls...it's questionable. You have two MVP's competing in a playoff game.  I wouldn't say it's bad, just questionable but in the realm of debate, reasonable.  It's questionable and reasonable. 

5. Foul on Diaw against Duncan in the post - it's a foul. There's nothing questionable about this one to me. Diaw reaches in as Thomas pulls the chair out from Duncan.  Duncan leans into the reach by Diaw, and it's a smart move but even if he didn't move toward Diaw, it would have been a foul. Thomas who moves and it made Duncan's fall made the foul look worse. Good foul call. 

6. Bowen knees Nash in Groin - this was a foul and it was called correctly, I think it was put here to make the viewers hate the Spurs. Did Bruce mean to back Nash off of him? Of course. Did he intentionally knee him in the groin? I honestly don't know. Doesn't matter, it was called in the Suns' favor. Good foul call.

7. Bowen steals on Nash - it's a bad call. Bowen hits him across the arm to get the ball. What makes it worse than just a turnover is that Coach D'Antoni is called for a technical foul, which is really stupid given it's the fourth quarter of a playoff game. You don't see that often in the playoffs. Oh and one of the announcers says, getting a technical is a "good call by the coach". Oh, okay, buddy. Bad call, slightly unreasonable.  

8. Horry steals from Nash - it's a good no-call. The announcers say it's a foul, its not, Horry pokes the ball out. Good call, reasonable no call. 

So, a total of eight plays were picked from the above video, which you could do with a lot of NBA games. By my own biased eyes, I recorded three good calls, two questionable calls and three bad calls, only one of which was unreasonable. I admit I am biased, but I tried to be objective. Even if I remove my Spurs glasses completely, at worst, there are six bad calls. How many bad calls go against the road team in a given NBA game? If these were the absolute worst calls (and given this video was meant to find bad calls) this is pretty tame stuff. My verdict: the Spurs got some calls, but they were at home in an NBA playoff game. It's not egregious, it's not anywhere near the Lakers-Kings debacle in 2002. On a scale of NBA outrage of 10, it's a 3. 

If you really want to see some BS, check out the Spurs-Portland series from 1990. In game one, Portland shot over 30 more FTA than the Spurs (yes, really) and won FTA six of the seven games of the series including a back-breaking break-away foul in game seven which was worse than anything above. And you really want something to cry about? Do you think any human being can actually catch and shoot a basketball in .04 seconds? 

I am not shedding any tears for a few bad calls for a road team, it sucks, but they are part of the game. 

Anyway, as far as I know, the rest of the series was called fine, there are no controversies. The biggest problem people have come from the suspensions for game five more on that below. 

Wow. I cannot believe how much I just wrote on that. So, back to game three: 

Here are some Tim Duncan highlights, who put up a "quiet" Duncan-esque 33/19/3 blk: 

The game was back and forth for most of the game but in the last two minutes of the third quarter, Manu scores 10 points and gives the Spurs a 80-72 advantage entering the fourth quarter. In the fourth, the Spurs keep the Suns 9-12 points away and hold on to win the game. Without that 2 minute burst from Manu, we would have had a nail-biter. But with Manu you never knew when lightning would strike. Manu finished with 24/2/ 4 Asst/ 3 Steals and 1 block. The only videos I could find as of very early 2021, on game three are the two videos I shared above. Bummed I can't revisit that Manu outburst. 

Game 4 - Suns 104- Spurs 98 (Series tied 2-2)

This is it, the controversial game four. Of course, the game itself wasn't controversial. It was a typical playoff game. I remember watching it at my good buddy's Eric house. The game was similar to game three, with the Spurs controlling the action for most of the second half. With about 9 minutes left in the game, the Spurs had a ten-point lead. They clung to a 6 point edge for a while but the Suns' offense heated up and the Suns put together an impressive win. The Spurs out-shot the Suns from the field had four more three-pointers but were outrebounded by the Suns and the Suns had a +15 FTA advantage over the Spurs. No conspiracies....yet. 

The Suns were poised to go back to Phoenix with momentum and a 2-2 tied series. And then....

Another Interlude: The Game 4 Robert Horry Hip-Check and Aftermath

With 22 seconds left and the Spurs down by three, the Spurs needed to foul a Suns player to force free-throws and get another possession. Playoff legend, Robert Horry once again made an impact but this time with a hip-check to Nash. Here's a nice highlights package that gives context before the hit: 

Here is Horry remembering the play:

Finally, here's the entire game, it was uploaded last summer:

Commentary on the "Horry Hip-Check Hit" 

It was a dumb foul. Horry should have just given him a good hack and be done with it. Instead, he was frustrated and hit him harder than he should have. He was rightfully ejected (given the other suspensions, I think it was appropriate to suspend him for game five but he was also suspended for game six as well). I wish he had never done it. It's hard to know what would have happened, but I do admit the Suns would have had momentum. 

The issue often overlooked is that Nash "oversold" the foul. Nash flails his arms out to ensure a flagrant would be called. It's a smart move by a smart player. I wouldn't quite call it a flop, as he was actually fouled, but he did sell it. Teammate, Raja Bell stated  tht Nash admitted his dramatic flair to him a few years ago. I am not victim-blaming here just giving context to what came next. 

The problem of overselling the foul is that this drew Amar'e Stoudemire and Boris Diaw off the bench. Following the letter of the law, the  NBA suspended Stoudemire and Diaw for one game (and Horry as well as he instigated the whole thing and was ejected). Here is a very even-handed and excellent video and review of the play. Both teams and coaches are fair to each other while maintaining their pride: 

 

Everyone hated the suspensions, even though at the time, I didn't mind being greedy for another championship.  Here is Nash's perspective on the hip-check many years later with Bill Simmions: 

The NBA had done this before in the playoffs (as discussed in the first video above). The actions did fall within the letter of the law, and the rules did not give the league room to "interpret" the intentions of the players. If you're being harsh, that's directly on the coaches to teach the players the rules. This is coming from a head coach that got a costly tech in the fourth quarter of game three and frequently complained about officiating after games. That's a lack of professionalism and it is evidence of a head coach that may have been inattentive to detail. 

Furthermore, the NBA did not have the authority to change the rules in the middle of the playoffs to allow Stoudemire or Diaw to play in game five. You don't change the rules in the middle of the playoffs, even if it seemed unfair. You could just say I am a biased, mean old Spurs fan...but so what? 

It sucks, but again, go back to earlier in my post. The playoffs are about being healthy, match-ups, role players and luck. Wait...it feels like I wrote that years ago...and it's in the same post. 

I'm not even out of the second round!!! 

Game 5 - Spurs 88 - Suns 85 (Spurs led 3-2)

Game five is usually the most pivotal game of a playoff series. In my unprofessional opinion, that's why teams should work hard for homecourt advantage because the most critical games are at home (1,5 and 7). The Suns were mad and their fans were frothing at the mouth.  It was quite an atmosphere. The Suns were a wounded animal and they came out aggressive while the Spurs spent much of the first half playing tentative (and maybe perhaps guilty). The Suns lead by 9 after one, and 11 at the half. It was the classic "Ewing Theory",  the Suns were motivated and at home. I remember watching the game feeling a deep sense of dread. 

The Suns were without their second and probably fourth-best player but they still had their MVP. This could have been Nash's career-defining moment or game....but it wasn't to be.  

The Spurs made their inevitable second-half run but the game was tight down the stretch. The Spurs played well defensively and gutted out the win. Timmy had 22/11/5 blk, while Manu had 26/10/3 along with 2 steals and one block. The critical play came down to the hated Bruce Bowen making his patented corner threes to ice the game:  

Here are the full-game highlights:

Game 6: Spurs 114 - Suns 106 (Spurs win series 4-2)

If the final game of the series had been the game when the Suns were forced to sit Diaw and Amare, I think it would have tainted the series' win. However, it wasn't and the Suns had another game at full strength. If it was true the Suns were actually the better team, they should have (at minimum) forced a game seven.

I don't want to make too much out of this but the Spurs were missing Horry in this game as well (who in this series averaged 4.8/4.4/.8 steals/1.5 blk with an average of 20 min) and we all know Horry was capable of having some incredible performances. 

Game six was another close game.  You can watch the full game on YT but it's in another language and the audio is about 6 seconds behind the video. Strangely, you get used to it. 

The game was eerily similar to games three and four, with the Spurs once again gaining separation from the Suns in the 3rd quarter. They closed out the 3rd with a 23-8 run to take a 14 point lead into the fourth. The lead peaked at 18 points with about 9 minutes left.  Once again, the Suns made a furious comeback cutting the lead to six at one point but the Spurs made just enough clutch plays and hit their free-throws down the stretch to fend the Suns off. 

Concluding Thoughts on the Spurs-Suns Series

If you can catch a game of this series, you should. With the exception of game two, the rest of the games are competitive and entertaining games to watch. The games have a modern pace and filled with some outstanding performances on both sides. I forgot how weaselly and wiley Nash was. I don't think he was a deserving MVP-level player (given his defensive liabilities and the competition) but he was one of this generation's greatest point guards. As a person, he seems like a great guy. 

I do not think there was a bias for the Spurs in the officiating. 

The Spurs had a more consistent defense, a better strategic defensive and offensive plan, and a more flexible team in performance and in their mentalities. More importantly, they had a third star in Manu that really helped separate them from the Suns. Duncan/Parker/Manu were all pretty amazing in this series (although Manu got off to a cold start in games 1-2).  The Suns had bad luck with the suspensions and missing Nash in some key plays in game one but down the stretch, the Spurs were able to make the critical plays and outside game four, the Suns couldn't. Finally, I think Pop outcoached D'Antoni in every playoff series they faced each other. 

Conference Finals - Spurs vs. Jazz 

The first two rounds of the 2007 playoffs offered more than their share of drama and controversy. The conference finals....not so much. The Jazz were an up-and-coming but, not quite ready for prime time team. They faced the above-mentioned eighth-seeded Golden State in the second round. The Warriors' magic seemed to run out and the Jazz beat them 4-1. This was the peak of the Deron Williams-Carlos Boozer Jazz teams. 

I could sum it up by noting the 2007 championship DVD deposes of this gentlemen's sweep in 2 freaking minutes. 2 minutes for the conference finals. Here it is: 

I was thrilled to face the Jazz instead of the Mavs but it wasn't very exciting and they weren't a proper rival. Games 1 & 2 were pretty much lazy blow-outs by the Spurs. In each game the Spurs built a lead only to see the Jazz come within striking distance in the fourth and make them somewhat competitive. 

In game three in Utah, the Jazz kicked the crap out of the Spurs. Even in their glory, the Spurs were always capable of getting blown out on the road. The most interesting game came in game four, with a chance for the Jazz to tie the series. It was a competitive game and the crowd was wild. The Spurs maintained a 6-9 point lead for most of the fourth, but the Jazz just wouldn't go away. It was a physical game but the Spurs maintained their composure and won 91 - 79. 

Here are some highlights from game four: 

Finally, the Spurs came back home and ended the series (4-1) in a blow-out. This is the point of the blog I just want to give some love to the starting center, Fabricio Oberto. He only played four seasons with the Spurs but he was a high-IQ, all-hustle work-horse. He was always just barely tipping the ball to himself or a teammate because he could barely jump. He was the kind of self-less center this team needed. I always thought if you could combine the athleticism of Elson (the back-up center) and combine it with Oberto's IQ, you'd have an amazing center. In game five, Oberto had a classic Oberto line: 7/10/2/1. Here is the full game on YT:

The 2007 Finals: Spurs vs. Cavs 

It's hard to believe this was Lebron's first finals. It feels like centuries ago and yet he just won his fourth title last year. Pretty amazing. The fact he got this squad to the finals is one of his most under-rated accomplishments. Let's get this straight: this team sucks. Besides the 1999 Knicks and 2002 Nets, this is one of the worst Finals teams in history. If you placed the Cavs in the Western conference in 2007, I am not sure they make the playoffs.  

This is a hard series to watch. The Cavs suck and the Spurs (largely) play down to their level. Games 1 and 2 are similar to the Jazz series. The Spurs take a big lead and the Cavs claw their way back in to make it kinda-sorta interesting. The games in Cleveland are close and well, a little dramatic at the end. 

That said, both games are hard to watch. I wouldn't even call them all that entertaining. If you aren't a hardcore Spurs or Lebron fan, don't bother. If had to pick one to watch, I would recommend game four. Duncan plays one of his worst playoff games ever shooting 4 of 15 and 4 of 10 at the free thrown line and if he played half as good as he usually did, the game wouldn't have been close. Manu had a tough series too although game four is his best game with 27. Tony was the deserving MVP of the series, he was consistently slicing and dicing the Cavs' defense with ease. 

Here's the championship DVD of the entire season: 

Concluding Thoughts on 2007 Championship Season

One solid first-round series and an epic second-round series can't cover up for two more boring and unfulfilling rounds. If the Pistons had taken care of business and beaten the Cavs, I think the series would have been more interesting and probably more fulfilling to watch as a fan. 

Satisfaction Scale  - 3.5/5

It felt good to come back from the crushing Mavs loss of 2006 and to beat the Suns again but the last two rounds just weren't that impressive. I don't think the Spurs played well in the Finals at all. 

Degree of Difficulty - 3/5

It doesn't bear repeating but the Jazz and Cavs weren't all that great. 

Enjoyment Scale - 3.5/5 

The Nugget and Suns games were outstanding. Near A+ in terms of enjoyment, especially the Suns series. However, the Jazz and Cavs games are a slog to re-watch (with the exception of game 4 in Utah), which cannot be found online as of early 2021.  A few years ago I watched all the Spurs Finals and 2007 is by FAR is the worst on the entertainment scale. There are moments here and there (of course) but overall it's not fun. 

Well, I really went down the rabbit hole on this one, not sure what will happen with the rest of the series. Up next is #4 on the list, which came as a surprise but I hope my reasoning will explain: 1999.

The Wonder Years: Sophomore Year 1992-1993

This is the second of four posts on my high school year. I have dubbed it "The Wonder Years" series. Here is the first post.

Most people get a chance to grow up and get into high school, for some it's a great time for others it's horrible. Personally, my sophomore year was my high school year of purgatory.  Here are the fragments to prove it.

The Nightmare of Lunch 

If I could sum up my sophomore year of high school in one word it would be: lunch. Yeah, lunch. As I detailed in the first "Wonder Years" post, I had ONE friend to eat lunch with my freshman year. Of course, going into my sophomore year, I was hoping and praying my sophomore year would be different.

It turned it it was different. My sophomore year I had ZERO friends in my lunch.  Now, it wasn't like my social life was teeming with friends, but this was a bad case of bad luck. All possible 7-8 people I could have had lunch with had the other three lunch periods.

My first day, I scanned around the cafeteria, my head on a swivel. I didn't see anyone I knew. Not even a pal. Not even a good acquaintance. I spun around and headed back outside (our campus was open and the buildings connected by covered walkways). I milled around, trying to look busy. God forbid that it looked like I DIDN'T HAVE ANY FRIENDS.

Not really but my sophomore year really could be summed yup pretty well with Awkward Penguin.  

That was my whole school year, lunch by myself. I was ashamed to even tell my friends or family about it. Eventually, I had a whole routine for the Loser Lunch Half Hour.

When the bell rung, I would walk as fast as I could to the cafeteria without looking crazy.  Once in cafeteria, if the line wasn't too long, I would head for the "fast food/snack line". I would usually grab a chicken sandwich or hamburger (sandwiches were conveniently wrapped).  If the traffic on the way to the cafeteria had been crazy and the line was too long, I would go the the snack machines and buy a pack of Lance Cracker Sandwiches (which I am still a fan of).  I would then walk straight outside and covertly hide my food in my backpack. Then I would head into one of the academic buildings.

At this point, I would walk around in circles in the biggest academic building. I walked in a random pattern because, duh, I didn't want anyone to know I was a loser.  I would stop in the men's room just to waste time and stop circling. If someone came in, I would have to pretend I was washing my hands and head out to my next stop. At some point, the most humiliating part would come because I was so hungry. I would find an empty and somewhat clean bathroom (usually near the science wing) and eat my food in a stall. If it stunk like poo, I couldn't do it.

This isn't my high school but it captures the feeling.  Just picture it more dingy, dark and depressing - as my high school was older and less well-lit. Just seeing this takes me back, to those icky, awkward days.  

Sometimes, out of sheer boredom, I would walk around in our other buildings. Occasionally a teacher would ask for a pass and I would have to confess I didn't have one and head back outside. Most of the time, they didn't even ask because I was a nerdy looking white kid, OF COURSE HE HAS A PASS. This did teach me an important life lesson though: if you look like you belong or know what you're doing, people will let you get away with a lot. White privilege plays a big role in that as well.

When I got home, I would eat way too much snack food to make up for the fact that I wasn't eating much at school. Sometimes, I would pack something from the house and eat it before lunch or in my class after lunch, as that class was out of control and the teacher didn't care.

It was basically terrible, but after awhile, I got used to it. Every so often we would have testing or something else would mess with the typical schedule and I would have lunch with my friends. What a heavenly joy that was!

Academically, my sophomore year mirrored my freshman year.  I was beyond underwhelming and it was likely my low point in my sub standard academic life. I would make a mix of B's, C's and D's with an occasional A or F from time to time per grading period.

Back Row Blues 

My first period English class was the most eventful and memorable of classes. Our teacher was a first or second year teacher and she was hot. She was a blonde beauty that had been a UT cheerleader. It didn't get any better than that (still didn't make up for lunch though).  She was a pretty okay teacher and while I loved reading, I just couldn't get into most of the class.

I sat on the back row with a old buddy from middle school band, Marcus (saxophone), a stoner named Mike (I think that was his name), and a gang member, Fernando. We were a motley crew but we shared a love of slacking off, joking around, otherwise, being stupid. I am sure if I had sat elsewhere in the classroom, I would have done much better. I have no idea why she never moved us. I remember really hating poetry and Haiku in particular.  I think I wrote a really stupid Haiku just to make a point.

At the end of one grading period, our teacher was calling us up to her desk to show us our grade for the term. I was excited because I might get to look down her blouse (and I did). I figured I had a D. This was no big deal to me - it was still passing! However, I was more shocked to find I had a 58. "There's gotta be a mistake!" I said. "You honestly should have been even lower than this - you have six zeros!" the teacher said softly so that the class couldn't hear.   "Oh...." I said and stumbled back to my desk. My parents were furious about the 58, I had failed before, but never this bad. The last grading term, however, I would have a turnaround and have one of my few high school victories (more on this later).

The Hopeless Romantic, Hopeless 

My love life pretty much mirrored everything you've seen above. It was non-existent. I had crushes on 10 different girls but didn't talk to many of them and most of them probably didn't know who I was or if I liked them.  There were no leads in my classes, just losers and students who didn't much care.

My biggest crush of the year was ironically, Stacey's friend, Marissa. This is ironic because all of my freshman romantic interest had been centered on Stacey. However, she was taken and I became quite taken with her friend (clever, eh?). She was very cute but the most I did was make awkward small talk with her.  I'm pretty sure she didn't have a clue I was interested in her. What made the crush less likely to go anywhere is that she went to a different school, so if I was going to see her, it had to be at a youth event for church. It didn't stop me from putting her on a pedestal and dreaming about her constantly.

Although our church probably had over 500 members, the youth group was pretty small. There were four older girls that I wasn't much interested in and a few more our age that were also not interesting or exceptionally pretty. Then there was Stacey, who, again, was off the market at this point.  My friend Doug and I were so bummed. We dreamed about a new girl showing up some random Sunday. When we would go to city wide events, we would stare at the pretty girls but were much too shy to actually talk with any of these girls.

The Fight

Meanwhile, back at school in PE, we played basketball almost every day. Six different hoops surrounded the court and we would divide into 12 teams of 3 on 3 or 4 on 4. There was no instruction in class and no supervision. The coaches would just call roll, open up the bins with the balls and the coaches would head back to their office. Needless to say, the coaches were stereotypical douche bags. However, I loved basketball so this set up was fine with me.

We settled into some familiar teams. Of course this would lead to serious, epic basketball games. One guy in particular I remember banging with in the post nearly every day. He was bigger than me and a little taller, but I somehow I was one of the taller guys that could play in the post. Holy cow, those were some battles. Think Celtics-Pistons 86-90 or Bulls-Pistons of 87-91.

In high school, I wanted to play like Charles Barkley. In reality, I was more like Bill Laimbeer without the height or shooting touch. Although when I got hot, my good buddy Eric
would call me "Larry Legend" (but that's just because I am really white). 

One day it got real heated and as everyone else was headed back to the showers. We squared off as we insulted each other. I didn't want to fight him as he was bigger than me. I knew would likely lose but what was I to do? He came towards me and I kicked him as hard as I could in the groin. It was a direct hit. I remember one of our teammates say something like, "Woah!". Most of the class and even the coaches hadn't seen anything.   I waited for him to respond but the guy was hunched over in serious pain. My battle was over. I jogged back into the locker room, got dressed quickly and within seconds the bell rang. While I am not an advocate for violence, he never challenged me again to an actual fight. We even teamed up a few times, and usually, when we played together, we would win.

The Trouble with Notebooks

Just like in English, I sat in the back row in history class (with another crappy teacher), I really hammed it up with this Puerto Rican kid. He was tough and kinda gangsta cool so, I kinda admired him. One day I found a way to impress him. Some poor sap had left his notebook in my desk from earlier in the day. He was in ROTC and I hated ROTC guys, because well, I was just wired that way. I took his notebook and wrote all sorts of obscene things on it. I mean, really, really bad, weird stuff. Things that didn't make any sense just to laugh it up with this cool kid that sat next to me. My plan was to leave this folder in another desk or somewhere else, but I was stupid and forgot all about it. I ended up leaving it right in my desk.

The next day, our teacher began class and she said, "N, does this look familiar?" "Huh?" "Did you do this?" My cool friend laughed out loud. I couldn't deny it and I was sent straight to the office. One of the VP's took me in and looked at the notebook. "Do you know him?" "No." "Why did you do it?" "I don't know." "Well, you're going to call your mother and tell her what you did right now. Then you are going to replace this notebook and bring me a new one tomorrow." I called my Mom at work to tell her and she was upset. Like the quiet shocked upset. The kind that makes you feel really bad because you let your mom down. Ouch.

I was pretty mad at myself. I thought about what my Mom and Dad would do when they would see this crazy, curse word-filled notebook.. I mean, the F word was scrawled all over it. THE F WORD. I don't think I had ever cursed in front of them at that point in my life. This was going to kill them. What's a boy to do?

Then, waiting for the bus after school, it struck me like lighting. I started drawing over the worst of it. I remember making weird ugly faces out of the words and drawing sharks and crazy monsters that covered over the curse words. Of course, I kept some of it, but I had saved myself serious trouble. No one ever found out about that one. Until NOW.  (Lost "Boom" sound effect).

The Try- Out

Another big event happened early in the fall when I tried out for the basketball team. My freshmen year, they only allowed the kids that signed up for the special Basketball class try out (my 8th grade coach was an asshole (I don't use that word lightly either) and refused to sign me into that class, because I wasn't in "athletics" period of 8th grade). Anyway, it was me and maybe 6-10 other guys.We were invited in to a JV practice one Saturday morning. I knew my chances were slim, even though there were clearly guys on the JV team that were only on the team because they played football or because they were big. There were even a few short players and I knew I could take some of them one on one. Even still, I knew my only shot was to play up a particular role.

So, I went balls to the wall playing the hustle/crazy-defense-white-guy-that-will-likely-never-play-in-the-games-unless-they-are-blowouts. I had to guard a very good player and I made his life a living hell, I was draped all over him and I am sure I probably fouled him quite a bit. I think I got the ball twice, and the one time I got it, of COURSE I shot it, and missed.  I got a few boards, played good D (my man scored once on a tough shot in 20 minutes) and you can guess what happened.

 (I didn't make it, in case you couldn't figure it out).

The Shame

Some time during the year, probably when I was in some dark place I started listening to country music. I still look back in shame. You have to understand that country music in San Antonio in 1992 was HUGE. To my credit, I did like some credible stuff like Dwight Yoakam.  Look, don't hold it against me, I was young and stupid. I grew out of it by the summer before my senior year.

 

Actually, this is a pretty solid song. I would listen to this one on my Walkman, over and over and over. 

Still with all my defeats, my life wasn't all bad. I was reasonably happy. I had friends. We had fun. I have a ton of memories of spending the night at friend's houses and renting a NES, Genesis or SNES game and staying up really late. We played a lot of street basketball after school and my YMCA  basketball season was fun. I was involved in our church youth group and we had a lot of good times. My family life was mainly good (except when my report card would come in).

The Victory of '93

Even though I didn't act like it, I really did like English class. I loved Animal Farm, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge and Julius Caesar, but I just wasn't consistent in my efforts. I was stupid (Exhibit A: the fact I was a fan of country music). A few years ago, I spotted my sophomore report card at my parent's house. My grades for each term in English were something like this: 82, 73, 91, 71, 58, 84.  I am sure I was a perplexing student for my teacher.

Anyway, at the end of the year I finally found a project I could get into. The assignment was to present a novel to the class as one of it's characters. We would basically summarize the plot, characters, etc. and have the class ask questions about our story. I had just read Micheal Crichton's Eaters of the Dead (which, I recently re-read this past May and discovered that over 20 years later - it just isn't that good). So, I went with the lead of the book. I also borrowed a costume from my dad that he had made for a church VBS production (he was David in his prime). Because the main character is from the Middle East, I began practicing my Arabic accent, although looking back it probably sounded more Indian. I spent hours getting my facts down straight about the novel and practicing my accent.  I figured everyone was going to do that sort of thing.

Boy, was I wrong. Most everyone held their note cards in their hand and just read off their report in first-person. It was boring. I think one other student dressed up, but I was the only one to give it in an accent as an actual character.  Looking back I am proud I wasn't afraid to perform. I guess I knew I did a hell of a job and wanted to show off. The students in class looked shocked when I came into the room to present (I had stepped out to change in the restroom). They were even more shocked when I started talking. After all, I was pretty quiet in class and didn't answer too many questions. No doubt about it, I did great and it felt good.  I ended up getting 110 for dressing up and a nice note from my teacher on my score sheet. I kept that sheet for a long time. It was a small victory but small victories in purgatory sure do mean a lot.

1990's Spurs Memories: Fragments: Part I

I have been a life-long Spurs fan. Here are the fragments from 1989-1994.

My 1980's Spurs memories are here.

Okay, technically I am starting with David Robinson's first year, 1989-90.  I hope you'll forgive my indulgence but it wouldn't feel right to group the 1989-90 season with the 1980's.

The 1989-90 season was one of those magical turn-around seasons. You know the type. It's when a team that has been terrible for eternity  break out with a star rookie and take their respective league by storm (for a 12 year old, 4 seasons is almost eternity).

San Antonio had David Robinson fever so bad they actually telecast preseason games. Yes, I still remember watching a preseason game against the brand-new Minnesota Timberwolves.

My dad manged to get us tickets to the regular season opener against the Lakers. I was thrilled to say the least and just like the 1988, the Spurs pulled off the upset.  David was impressive with 23 points, 17 boards and 3 blocks.  I don't have specific memories of the game, other than where our seats were and being really excited. For some reason, I remember my Aunt Nancy was in town, so when we got home, we told her all about the game.

Back in college I was getting rid of my old sports cards and came across this ticket. I had assumed it had just be lost in the sands of time. Although it's pretty banged up, I am happy to say I still have it. 

The 89-90 season was wonderful. The Spurs ended up with the NBA record for best single season turn-around (which would be broken by the 1997-1998 Spurs team and later (I think) the Celtics in 2008.  I watched or listened to probably every game that was possible. Back in the day, only about half the games were on tv (maybe even less),  so that meant a lot of time sitting over a radio like it was the 1920's. I remember eagerly waiting for the sports on the 10 o'clock news so I could watch the highlights. Back then, if you saw a good play - you'd maybe see it twice in highlights in the next 24 hours and then (unless it was a buzzer beater or something really memorable) never again.

Just look at this. David was an athletic freak. It's weird to think the first few seasons of Robinson's career he wasn't perceived as soft. Until the playoff losses starting mounting....

Either in the 1989-90 season or the next season I called into a local sports talk show - I was very nervous but I had something to say (exactly what I have no idea). I remember Jay Howard (voice of the Spurs until 2000) being very nice and patient with a 12 or 13 year-old kid calling into the show.

The Spurs ended up winning the Midwest Division title that year, one game over the (already) hated Utah Jazz and it felt like a big deal. I remember the players celebrating in the locker room like they won a championship. At the time it felt so normal but now it seems pathetic.  Now besides the obvious title championship, teams can only celebrate conference championships and even that should be a muted affair or you will turned into a gif and made fun of on Deadspin.

The 2nd seeded Spurs breezed past the Nuggets in the first round and then faced another up-and-coming team, the Portland Trailblazers. It was a classic series. Both teams dominated their home games in the first four games. Each of the four games were basically blowouts and the series tied up 2-2.



Here are some highlights from game 3. David was incredible:  28 points, 8 boards and 8 blocks. Also, watching this clip I forgot how much I loved that baby blue court. Check out a young - 40ish Coach Pop at the very end as well. 


Anyway, there was the classic double overtime game 5 that the Spurs lost, followed by a Spurs blowout at home and then the first  "Worst Moment in Modern Spurs History" happened. Of course this moment would be be up-ended 3 times in the future, but this was the first of four in my lifetime thus far. Each one getting progressively more painful and dramatic.

Anyway, back to this particular "Worst Moment", the Spurs were up by 7 with a 2:32 left in the game. The Blazers started to trim the lead bit by bit and then......

Ya know, first world problems suck, I tried embedding this from 26:44 but it didn't work, so you can find the beginning of the disaster at around the 26:44 mark.  

This might actually be the first time I am seeing "the pass" in almost 25 years. It was that painful that I practically avoided it until now. I remember seeing a picture of it in the paper the next day and that image was burned into my brain (whether or not that actually happened, I'm not sure).

As we were watching the game, my family was packing up to go to visit family out of town, so the whole 4th quarter my parents were packing up (and if we were packing up for trip, they were probably fighting). Anyway, my Dad was pissed and was like, "Let's go!" after the pass and of course, I was like "No, Dad, maybe something will happen, we gotta stay!!" Well, there were no miracles and a long depressing trip to Corpus followed.

2015 reflections on "The Pass": 
The pass isn't as bad as I thought it would be or remembered it.
Sean probably should have cut to the basket.
This is something Manu would do.
The "breakaway" foul called on Strickland on the other end was HORRID and utter BS.

All this is to say, it was still a very stupid thing to do.

After thinking about that breakaway call, I started to remember that I felt like Portland got all the calls in the game and basically got what they wanted in Portland the whole series....hmmm...(goes to basketball reference.com)....

Free Throws Attempted for the series:

Game 1 - Portland - 45  SA - 15  NOT A TYPO - +30
Game 2 - Portland - 43  SA - 23 (a little better but STILL)
Game 3 - Portland - 38  SA - 33
Game 4 - Portland - 34 - SA - 22
Game 5 - Portland - 45 - SA - 42 (one of the only two close games)
Game 6 - Portland - 27 - SA - 34 (the only time SA had more attempts)
Game 7 - Portland - 40 - SA - 31

Portland + 72 for the series on FTA, Adjusting for the first two games, it's still +22 which isn't that bad at all. Look, that Blazers team was great and we were a very young team. Portland had home court and were even missing Duckworth most of the series. They deserved to win. Finally, I would actually need to watch these games again to get a real sense of what was happening. As with all free throws, it's important to note when they happen rather than raw quantity. Lots of BS can be hidden by just looking at the stats.

At the time, I thought, this was only the beginning of many great things to come but it's strange to think this was the second closest David would get to the Finals until Timmy arrived (of course the Spurs made conference finals in 1995).

When you think about it....outside the 2 minute meltdown in game seven,  they could have been in good shape to have a shot at the title.  The Suns were next up in the conference finals, and while they were a good team, very beatable (Spurs won the season series 3-1). I don't think they would have beat the Pistons but stranger things have happened and the Hemisphere would have been crazy for games 3-4 (and possibly 5). At least it would have been fun and maybe changed Strickland and Larry Brown's future in SA (two keys as to why the Spurs got worse after both left town).

The following season was the regression to what would be "the norm" - perennial disappointment. Every season ended in defeat in the early rounds. Usually, we didn't even make it close.

This is the pocket schedule for 90-91. They STILL give them out at gas stations and restaurants in town. This is the oldest one I own. I am such a pack rat. 

The next season the Spurs lost in the first round to the 7th seeded Warriors. In 1992 Robinson was injured then they were swept by the Suns (I had totally forgotten about this one). In 1993 they ended up beating the Blazers (it felt good but it was a different team than 90). Finally, in 93 they lost in the second round in six to the Suns with the famous buzzer-beater by Barkley that shut down the old Hemisphere Arena.  When you think about it, the only inexcusable loss was to the Warriors and that was back when it was a 5 game series. I wonder if things would have been different if it was seven games....

At the time, it felt like the gods of basketball were just not smiling on San Antonio. However, upon reflection it was simple why the Spurs couldn't win. They had no consistency with the roster, especially with point guard or with the head coach. Besides Larry Brown,  the coaches the Spurs did hire were a joke (Bob Bass filled in for a bit in 92) Jerry Tarkanian, Jerry Lucas and Bob Hill.

Although Robinson's peak would come in 1994 (not his 9' MVP season - more on this later), he was still an absolute marvel in terms of raw athleticism.


In the video above Robinson puts up 34 points, 14 boards, 7 assists and 8 blocks. Just watch it. A few other notes of interest in the video is that it takes place in the old Phoenix arena, which I loved the white ceiling, like a school classroom. Also, it's Greg Simmons on color - that's just a sin. 

As an adolescent, I had quite a temper (sometimes it still comes out) so when the Spurs lost, sometimes, things got broken. Including one time I threw my radio, breaking off the antenna. 

I remember late nights, watching the West coast games with my Dad. Especially as I got older, he was the first to give up and go to bed first; especially if the Spurs were losing (he’s still this way).  

One Sunday night in 1990 or 1991, my sister was at the local bowling alley (Bandera Bowl for those scoring at home).  She called the house and told us David Robinson was there bowling and that people were going up to him, asking for his autograph.  I knew what I had to do.  I begged my Dad to take me down there, and to my surprise, he said yes.  We got down there as soon as we could and David was bowling with (I think) his mother and a few other folks. I slowly made my way down the stairs to get to Robinson, who was sitting at the scoring table.  

I remember thinking his knees came up to my chest and realizing just how tall he was.  I was pretty nervous, but this guy was my hero, so there was no backing down.  Of course he was gracious and I remember telling him “Good luck against the Wolves” as that was the next team they were playing. He was surprised and said thanks.

For a many years, this was my most prized possession.

We would go to 2-5 games a year, depending on how many free tickets we fell into.  On Shaquille O’ Neal’s first visit to SA, our church youth group went along with hundreds of other youth groups from around town.  We were near the “obstructed” view in Hemisphere and it was like a cave back there.  After the game, we were led down to the lower level and Robinson, David Wood and maybe even Antonie Carr spoke.  I say maybe because I have his autograph on the back of the half time stats sheet that I had found on the floor but I don't have any memory of his specifically speaking.  I also got David Wood's autograph! Holy cow, David Wood has a highlight reel on Youtube. The internet is so full of win.  I got a few more autographs along the way in the 90's. 

During training camp of 1990, I saw TonyMassenburg and Steve Bardo at the Rivercenter Mall Footlocker. Massenburg had been  the Spurs 2^nd round pick in 1990 and he was shocked I recognized him. But as a 13 year-old, when I wasn't dreaming of girls, I was thinking about the Spurs, recognizing Tony was no biggie.  I didn't recognize Steve Bardo (as he was an invited camp player) but he gave me his autograph anyway. Massenburg would tie the NBA record for most teams played on (12) and would later be part of the 2005 championship team. 

I have Dwayne Schintzius' autograph but have no memory of how I got it. I think it might have been an HEB promotional event.

RIP Dwayne and that amazing mullet. He died a few years ago at age 43.

Sometime in the late 90’s I also went to an event at a mall and got Avery Johnson’s autograph on a basketball card. So, I imagine my autograph collection might be worth a whole nickel. 

I loved the Spurs, I had a Spurs poster and for awhile, two David Robinson posters in my room. One of my posters is up in my garage!

In the summer of 1994, the Spurs made a big splash, and traded fan favorite, Sean Elliott to the Pistons for Dennis Rodman, the Spurs would never be the same.

Coming Soon:  Part II: 1994-1999