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.

Santa's Bad Night (a poem)

I wrote this for my nephews a few years ago. I intend on publishing it someday, so it's copyrighted already. If you want to illustrate it, let me know. It's a bit juvenile so, deal with it. Oh yeah, have a Merry Christmas. 

Santa’s Bad Night  

One snowy Christmas Eve,  many years in the past,

Santa had a major problem, known as large-scale gas!

It started in Europe in Sweden, I think.

It smelled like rotting eggs, oh such a stink!

Over the Middle East, Santa couldn’t stop the toots!

They continued, unabated, even over Beirut!

The reindeer complained as they flew over China

He even had stop somewhere to use the restroom in a filthy old diner.

The toys were delivered, Santa wouldn’t let up

But neither did the bubblers, even after the dump!

Then, it happened again in the city of Kalamazoo.

Santa couldn’t help it, once again, he had to go poo!

It hit him all at once in the house of the Cardoo’s,

Santa quickly and quietly snuck past the kid’s bedrooms….

Then suddenly he let out a surprise salute!

It was so loud it woke up the Cardoos!

The children saw Santa and started to give him a hug

but then they smelled Santa and they began to run!

Santa was discovered this one and only time…

And he made Mrs. Claus promise to never again make Christmas bean pie!

 

How 2020 Didn't Suck (a personal and incomplete list)

2020 has been a terrible and tragic year. My condolences to anyone reading this that has lost a loved one due to COVID. My wife's grandmother was a victim this past summer. 

That said, 2020 could have been worse. One of my constant strivings is to have more gratitude in my life. So here are the ways 2020 didn't suck for me (somewhat in chronological order). 

We moved into our new home the first week of January. Hard to believe it's been almost one year. We had a ton of help from wonderful people. So glad we were here during the pandemic. We needed the room when all the kids were here for school. 

We went to an amazing Ben Folds concert in February. He played a great set, basically, what I thought a Ben Fold concert would be...he was funny and we had a blast.  It was a bit of an indulgence but he is one of the last performers I want to see before I die (still have Sloan to get to one of these days). 

We were able to take a family trip to New Orleans right before (or as) the pandemic was starting. In retrospect, if we knew then what we know now, we would have never gone. However, the world was different and it all felt so far away. Our trip included a visit to the Whitney Plantation. I whole-heartily recommended it to all Americans.  It is the only plantation in the US that focuses exclusively on the lives of slaves, it is ugly and sad but also beautiful. Check it out if you ever find ourself in NO, it's just a little ways out of town.  We also got to eat really good food and had fun exploring the city including getting caught in a rain storm one evening.  We had a lot of fun taking the trolley from our hotel to the city park and had a lovely time there (including riding a two-person bike that carried our whole family).  We were soooo lucky we were able to have a family trip before the pandemic. It was a family trip that we'll remember forever. 

It feels like a different world doesn't it? 

The pandemic hit and the first few weeks, we made the most of it. We had our own art show in the house, had a Chip Dinner, with pretzels, chips, nachos, etc. (this will become an annual event at our home) and had a fun game night with prizes. 

I also let my oldest daughter shave my legs for five bucks. Yeah, I charged her for that.  

We were outside a lot more. The natural world was my wife's refuge and she and my son bonded over fishing in a park about 40 minutes away. They went there nearly once every two weeks at some point. Closer to home, we explored our nearest park and discovered a back trail with a ton of wild blackberries (dubbing the path "Blackberry Way").  

I admit I do not know the name of this variety but they were delicious. We made several trips over late March-early April. Stuff just tastes better when you are finding it yourself! 

I watched some good television. My favorites included The Plot Against America and The Watchmen (which was outstanding). I started The Good Place and it's fine but I kinda got bored sometime in Season 2.  I'll finish it up soon (maybe). The Mandorlarion season 2 was just okay, too much fan service at the end though. 

Another photo from a Mother's Day outing. 

This photo comes from a nature walk June. This was a serene, lonely walk I was able to take as I snuck away from the fam for a few minutes. I could hear the echoes of people far away as I sat down to enjoy the view of the water. It was wonderful. 

I was able to write about Carl freaking Barks for a graduate course and I will be presenting that paper on a panel this summer at a conference (crossing fingers we can still go). I might post about this when it happens. 

I was also able to write about Confucius for my second class, which was great. It felt good to dive into something I know well and I learned a ton as well. I wrote about the relationship between Yan Hui and Confucius for those scoring at home. 

Overall, my wife planned many outings and I have to say she was definitely one of the better things of 2020. 

We went to the beach in June and later in July to celebrate my wife's birthday. Both times, I must admit, I had a great time. Usually, I am not a huge fan of the beach but these trips were special. We splurged a bit on the second trip at a stay at a very nice Airbnb (although we spilt the cost with my inlaws). 

At sunrise, me and the boy (age 8).

I did a lot more of the cooking the last 10 months, in part because I wanted to and in part, because my wife has more voice lessons in the late afternoon/early evening. I think the best thing I made was Chicken Parmesan. I did some other stuff that was good but just not as outstanding as this dish...shoulda taken some pics! 

Oh yeah, Trump lost. Think of it, the guy has lost the popular vote in two elections by a combined total of over 10 million votes. What a big, diarrhea-faced baby. I don't usually wish bad things to happen to people, its kinda of a personal value of mine, but I'm not rooting for this guy's health. Trump is a dangerous cancer to our society and I'm hoping the patient undergoes chemo and radiation soon. 

I played a bunch of retro games since the pandemic and I added some Genesis classics to my SNES classic. I finally beat  Rocket Knight Adventures. I had that game as a kid and it beat the crap out of me back then. Why were games so hard back then???  Of course, I beat it with save states, do you think I am insane and I have the time to dedicate my life to the game? 

I broke down and got the little Game&Watch: SMB this fall.  What can I say? I own the portable Oregon Trail and a mini-key chain Galaga. It's right up my alley. It was too expensive for what it is, but I had a blast with it and my kids and I are still fighting through SMB 2.  

I think the family has gotten closer in many ways (sometimes too close) but it's been a blessing to spend more time with the kids. I have a freshman in HS for goodness sake, she won't be here forever. I am a little sad she didn't get the full experience (she's in marching band which just wasn't the same) but also, it's cool to eat lunch with her or check in on her day randomly at 2:30. 

I have been starting to feel hope for next year and started planning (at least in my head and a few peeks on Google Maps) to the Grand Canyon, Colorado, etc. We'll see. 

It's been a tough year and I didn't list all the sad stuff or challenges we have faced. I hope you can also find gratitude for the good in your life this year, stranger. In the meantime, call your Mom this week and don't forget to do that thing you keep putting off. 

Catching up on Falling Behind Fragments

 It's almost December and I felt obligated to write a little ol' blog (I do it for the fans, of course).

A nice cold front finally hit us and it finally feels like the fall. The holiday season can be tough on my wife, and that's a toughie because I enjoy the holiday season.   I like the novelty of it all, it just feels different than the rest of the year. I think I have blogged something like that every year. 

I am in the middle of my last grad class for a good while, I am burnt out but I finished up a project at work and my last few weeks of this class will be when I am done with my teaching load, so that will be great! It's like burning the candle at both ends. I'm excited about the various projects I have in mind for the winter and spring. I will have free time again! 

Dreams do come true. Rivers Cuomo released his vault of demos. Thousands of demos were released a few weeks back. I am still processing this insanity. Sure, the vast majority are notes, scraps, chords, etc. but there are hundreds of songs and multiple versions of some songs. A treasure trove. I will have thoughts on this but I am still taking it all in. I will say the man has quite a work ethic, pushing up the stone up the hill, indeed. Some have seen this as the end of hard-core fandom, as we all love to speculate about demos....and yet, there's plenty left to wonder about and look forward to including....all the co-write demos (that were not shared), especially the early Pat co-writes,  band demos and rehearsals, a deluxe Green Album (unlikely but not any more unlikely than Rivers releasing his demos), any band archival released (special editions, concerts, etc.) and of course, new demos from the last five years and in the future. If you could have told me this would happen in 1998, I would have screamed like a little girl. 

Oh yeah, the last time I wrote the US presidential election hung in the balance. As expected, Trump will wreck or democracy and institutions like a big baby on his way out the door. He is like a baby, in that he can only think of his own benefit and only in ht short term. Even his own judges can see through this nonsense. Utter incompetence and stupidity that is defended by most of the GOP. Now we have over 70% of the GOP that believes corruption helped Biden win (with no evidence)! Surely he has laid a template for a more skilled fascist in a few years. It is terrifying we elected this cruel, narcissistic fool and it is even more terrifying that we have a cult of personality surrounding this walking trashcan. 

I started writing a blog series that ranks the Spurs five championships and.....of course, I fell down the rabbit hole of information, stats, videos, etc. It was hard to boil down an entire season into two paragraphs. I have a whole mathematical formula that helped me understand why I ordered the championships the way I did. I just couldn't stop writing, so it turns out each championship will get its own blog post. I must admit, this raises the possibility of me never finishing the series....but I just couldn't do each year justice with only a paragraph. # 5 on the list is 2007 and I am about halfway done with that. My goal is to have that one done by 2021 and the series done by May of 2021. #optimistic 

Is there really light at the end of the tunnel with vaccines being developed? It feels like normalcy is on the horizon and yet, with the holidays there are dark days ahead. What a time to be alive, make sure you stay that way and stay safe folks! 

Take a deep breath, hold on to your dreams and put a few extra masks in your car so you don't forget to take one with you on your travels! 

K-Mart Radio Network Mix CD

A few years ago, I discovered a tracklist of a mixtape I had made back in the '90s. It inspired me to wax nostalgic on the value of mix-tapes but it also inspired me to go back and find more tracklists in scattered notebooks or on the tapes or CDs themselves (here and another CD here).

This summer I realized I had forgotten about an important mix CD I had made in the late '90s My K-Mart Radio Network Mix CD!

This image just screams 90's to me. You have to admire the effort here, go on, admire it with me. By the way, although a second volume was planned I never got around to it.

This CD demands a little more explanation. My first job was at the neighborhood K-Mart because my friend Philip worked there.  I worked there from December 1994 through January 1995. I had to briefly quit as I was planning on being in the school musical and wanted to enjoy the last of my senior year. One of the mangers was nice enough to hire me back in June 1995, I kept the job until June 1997.  It was a long two years. 

The pay and management were horrible but my friends made it worthwhile (as Philip got most of our friend's there a job at some point).  At any given point while working there, there was a good chance I had a friend clocked in when I was there. Soon enough, I got to know more people and it was its own little community. Although we had much to complain about at the time, it really was a perfect "first job". I have many great memories of those days.  I can still smell the place in my head. I'm surprised I have never written "K-Mart Fragments" but it's due to happen one of these days....

I started as a checker and ended up working at almost every department, at least a few times. I spent some time at Service Desk (which was stressful and overall awful) but mainly I spent my time in Lay-A-Way. That was the sweetest gig at K-Mart because it was in the back of the store, surrounded by hardware and auto accessories. Basically, you could hide back there. We might get busy on Saturdays or for an hour or so, but otherwise, there was plenty of time to relax. I could grab a video game magazine and read it in the back or study for an exam and no one would be the wiser. 

No matter where you worked though you could not escape the "K-Mart Radio Network" that played while the store was open (I always found the store to be eerily quiet once we closed). 

In between store promos and announcements, the "network" played classic '60s tunes including rock and Mo-Town. There was also a heavy dash of '70s R-n-B and pop-folk with good dose of '70s and '80's adult contemporary songs.

In the beginning, my friends and I complained about the "lame" music....but after being forced to hear these songs over and over AND over again, our attitude began to change.  I don't want to dramatize this but the K-Mart Radio network forced me to re-evaluate my snotty 19-year-old attitude towards music that wasn't '90's alt-rock. It got me to admit that maybe I didn't know it all, it challenged me to have more of an open mind to music than I did before. 

This was in the infancy of the internet, it wasn't that easy to figure out the artists or song titles. Googling song lyrics didn't even occur to us because Google didn't exist yet. Over the next two years, my old buddy Philip and I would track down the songs and purchase entire CD's often to get to just one song. 

Honestly, I think Philip picked up the vast majority of them, he would usually surprise me by playing a new CD in his car when we were out cruising around town. Once we had compiled numerous CD's it was just a matter of time before this puppy came along. 

Here was my mix CD of the K-Mart Radio Network, Vol. I. 

1. Doobie Brothers - "Without Love"
2. BJ Thomas - "Hooked on a Feeling"

3. The Buckinghams - "Kind of a Drag"

4. Paul McCartney - "Uncle Albert/Admiral Halsey"

 5. The Spinners - "I'll be around"
6. Eric Clapton - "Layla"
7. The Chi-Lites - "Have You Seen Her?"
8. Madonna - "Borderline"
9. Beatles -"Lonely People"
10. Peaches & Herb - "Reunited" 
11. Neil Diamond - "Sweet Caroline"
12. Chicago - "Saturday in the Park"
13. Stylistics - "Betcha By Golly Wow" 

14. Chi-Lites - "I'm gonna make you love me"
15. Simon & Garfunkel - "El Condor Pasa" 
16. Roy Orbison - "Pretty Woman"
17. Prince - "Raspberry Beret"
18. Peter Frampton - "Baby I Love Your Way"
19. Buffalo Springfield - "For What It's Worth"

I would be happy to make a playlist for you but I know the odds of someone listening to it is between slim and none. So, get YT or Spotify and look up some of these oldies. They won't let ya down. 

It's true you can never really go back home again.  The old K-Mart shut down in the '00s and I've lost contact with most everyone that was at the store. I found one of our friends back in the early days of FB but I don't think he posts much and besides, I deactivated my account awhile back too. 

To be honest,  I haven't really talked with Phil in over four years (Phil, are you there, man? I miss ya).  I'll never see that K-Mart community together again and that makes me a bit sad. I know annoying Chris passed away in a car accident in the early '00s and I am sure some of those older folks have passed away too (old Marvin in gardening and the ancient German lady who smoked like a chimney, Heidi). I would pay good money to go back to re-live a few hours working at K-Mart. Time is like that, your brain can take you back in a flash. Geez, I'm getting old.  

At least I still have the music to help me reminisce and remember...and now you do too. 

Stuff O' Fragments

 It's October, so let's celebrate by writing a blog. 

Or ya know, have a beer, whatever floats your boat.

Life Update/Fragments

I went camping with my son this past weekend for Cub Scouts, it went great. Although the worst part of camping continues to be sleeping (or rather staying asleep), just an awful night of sleep. I used to think the Cub Scouts/Boy Scouts was a fascist organization meant to brainwash our children. In my honest opinion, it kinda is. But our pack is laid back, and honestly, as one friend put it, it would be fascist to refuse my son to join. He just adores outdoor stuff, knives, camping, playing outside, etc. Also, I am my son's father. I can nip some of the worst brainwashing elements out and embrace the fun stuff. 

I got some good news. I will be presenting a paper at a national conference in June after all.  Barring the pandemic getting even worse, both the wife and I will be going and making a vacation out if. Yay. One day I might have an official site for some of my projects (which will not be connected to this blog in any way, shape, or form). Until then, I am a man of mystery, readers. 

Privacy Aside

Okay, look, I know it is extremely unlikely for anyone to connect the dots back to my real identity (in fact, if one was so inclined an observant reader could figure out who I am if they really wanted to or were bored out of their mind)...but I would rather not push my luck to include rando's in real-life tracking me down or former students reading some of my private thoughts.

Okay, look, I am aware that it's a little weird that I don't mind if random people on the internet know some of my deepest private beliefs but don't want people that actually know me to find out about the blog? That feels like a major contradiction. It's not like I am hiding some deep dark secret in plain sight, but I must admit I would feel like if someone's reading this, I have to be okay with them essentially reading my thoughts. That's not something I am willing just to let go of easily. 

Basketball Fragments 

It was weird rooting for the Lakers, but I did. I actually did. I like and respect Lebron, especially his stance on social issues. Obviously, his game is incredible and speaks for itself.  I also really like Danny Green & Caruso (I am an Aggie after all). I liked their whole rag-tag bench of has-beens and loveable losers. 

Okay, look, except Dwight Howard. He's still annoying and unlikeable. 

Looking forward to the draft for the Spurs. The first lottery in 20 odd years for the Spurs....this draft is supposed to be weak but ya never know. It will at least be interesting. The Spurs have an interesting array of young talent but really no superstar potential. White may be a fringe all-star at best. The jury is out for Keldon Johnson, but as stacked as the West is, I think the Spurs will be in the lottery for the next three years (bare minimum). 

Election Anxiety Fragments

I am not as anxious as I was a month ago as I am holding out hope Biden can blow Trump on election night, so badly, he just has to concede the next day. That is the best outcome for our nation. Otherwise, riots, looting, people dying, and the the further erosion of democracy and social norms. It really is that dramatic. If the GOP sows the fascist field and keeps embracing the alternative facts of Trump world, we will be in a scary state of affairs. 

So, ya know, I'm holding out hope for a Biden blowout. 

Okay, look, I am not saying it's in the bag because we've never had an election during a pandemic, there could be delays with the early mail vote, and of course, Trump himself will claim it's rigged against him, so who knows what will happen? But I'll be waiting with bated breath and hoping with prayer all goes well. 

Okay, look, that's the end of the blog. I hope you noticed a pattern. 

Go enjoy a nice cup of coffee, sit on the back porch, and think about all you're grateful for. 

I'll be back to post my election recap (probably but maybe not).