Now that we’ve had a summer to gloat and boast about our team’s accomplishments in last year’s NBA finals, it’s time to pour some water on the fire and fuhgeddaboudit.
Opening week has come and gone and, if you’re at all like me, the summer of pride was not long enough, especially after this dud of an opening week.
Dud, not in the aspect of gaming, but just in the action. I couldn’t wait for game 1. I didn’t sleep a wink the night before. I re-watched game 1 of the NBA Finals last year and even the Championship Parade from last summer. I wore Spurs socks to work, carried my Spurs coffee mug around all day, and triple-checked my DVR to make sure the ring ceremony was being recorded.
Eric Gay/Associated Press
I watched the rings be handed out from the break room of my office and stayed a few minutes late at work to finish watching the first half of the game. The 22-minute drive home from work turned into 38, because some idiot on the 215 lost a mattress from the bed of his truck, just as Manu apparently started going bonkers in the second half.
Fortunately, after a final check of the DVR from my smartphone, I felt certain that I could watch the game later that evening. So I did. Twice. Back to back. And I felt good about it, too.
Then all the action seemed to fade.
For an opening week, it was pretty boring. Quite. A dud. With only two games amounting to an equal number of wins and losses, I found myself YouTubing old highlights and Spurs’ practices, looking for some sense of action.
But it wasn’t to be found.
If anything, the “action” we received was a lack thereof, referring of course to the stalemate between the front office and last year’s finals MVP. I think the boredom of all Spurs fans in general really sent that situation into an unnecessary frenzy.
Our Spurs had a great opening night, where they didn’t really play that well, but because our team has the chemistry it has, they were able to win against a Maverick team that has three new starters, one of the most dangerous shot blockers in the league, and Devon Harris… who apparently was built to destroy the Spurs.
By the way, heads up everyone: Dallas is pretty terrifying.
After such a night, when the Sprs were without Swaggy Mills, without Tiago Splitter and without the future of the franchise, Kawhi Leonard, the action seemed to die. Until it died so low, it created reaction.
Why didn’t the Spurs re-sign Kawhi?
(Getty Images/Chris Covatta)
As we are all asking ourselves this question, the Spurs went out and played like doo-doo butter and lost to Phoenix. Isaiah Thomas looks like he’s going to be a pretty good basketball player and that Suns team is freakishly athletic, freakishly young and freakishly freakish. They are probably a playoff team this year and they kind of embarrassed the defending champs a bit.
I know. I know. It’s early. But it’s also early saying we are better than this new Dallas team after beating them on opening day. So, same thing, right?
Anyways, back to the action, or lack thereof again. Jeff summarized the Kawhi situation quite impressively after Friday’s recap of the Suns game.
The thing to remember, without sounding like a know-it-all, is that there is a significant difference between Cap Space and Cap Holds. By not resigning Kawhi, the Spurs absorb a lot of risk that he could walk.
Here is a glance at projections for next summer and who has cap space. For instance, a savvy and quietly rising team like the Portland Trailblazers (who are one of two teams that will have more cap room at the end of this season based purely on total cap), could swoop in and snag him. But also remember, the Spurs are number three on that list. And because they drafted him, the Spurs can offer that fifth year that other teams can’t, which is important considering that we could (and we should) start having CBA discussions again in 2017. Derek Fisher and Billy Hunter didn’t do Kawhi any favors back in 2011. It’s no surprise that he would consider other options.
Regardless, it’s a long shot that Kawhi walks. What I am more concerned about is what this does to his mental state. But we can’t baby him. He is the finals MVP and he has to play like it now. He has to play with a contract talk over his head.
The other thing this can do that will help the Spurs is that it kind of allows Kawhi to set the market for himself. If he plays like doo-doo butter, then the market probably won’t call for such a high price. If he plays like an All-Star, then the Spurs will sign him to a max contract anyways. It’s genuinely a win-win, if Kawhi plays like he should.
The ultimate takeaway from this week is a whole lot of build up, but not much else. The Spurs had two raw games and didn’t extend their future guy. But everyone can relax and remember how we all held our breath when Tim Duncan took a trip to Orlando a couple decades… years… ago.
Let’s all back away from the ledge, switch to decaf, and remind ourselves that this is an 82-game season. As of now, l have a bold prediction for you of the 8 teams making the playoffs in the Western Conference, in order.
- Los Angeles Clippers
- San Antonio Spurs
- Portland Trailblazers
- Dallas Mavericks
- Phoenix Suns
- New Orleans Pelicans
- Houston Rockets
- Oklahoma City Thunder
Let’s focus on the Thunder potentially being the most dangerous 8th seed in NBA history, the Warriors missing the playoffs, and the arrival of Tony Parker’s 3 ball and stay positive.
Go Spurs Go.
