Ok, I get it. It’s been a rough season. It’s been ugly. Like, really ugly. It’s been incredibly hard to be a Spurs fan this season. This became painfully apparent to me when Jeff Ayres missed a wide open dunk in garbage time in the fourth quarter of that Utah game. I turned the TV off, sat in silence for a minute or two, took a deep breath, and then watched the rest of the game.
I hate being loyal when the Spurs play like this.
Injuries have played a huge role, for sure. But moreso than injuries, there has been an exhausting battle between the ears. The Spurs are trying to do something which is incredibly difficult in any sport: repeat as Champions. I think we take for granted exactly how difficult that really is. Counting 23 playoff games last year, 21 in 2013 and then another 14 in 2012, the Spurs have played, over the last few years, nearly an extra season more than most other teams in the NBA.
That’s not even counting all the basketball that is played internationally by this melting pot of a sports team. Factor in the way the team lost in the playoffs in 2011 (to the 8th seed Grizzlies in the first round), in 2012 (up 2-0 to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals when Ibaka and Durant decided to never miss a shot again) and in 2013 (Ray Allen), then consider the concentration it took to get back to the Finals in 2014. Then contemplate the emotional drain of actually wining it. Now you can appreciate how tired minds must be the order of the day in 2015.
Yikes. Everyone looks bad right now, with the exception of Tim Duncan. He’s been playing fantastic this season. But every night, he seems to be asked to do a little bit more. I worry that every time he creeps up into the 32 minute mark, we lose a little piece of him. He’s had some really bad looking falls lately. Each time, my heart jumps into my throat. I can’t help but think he is playing on borrowed time, and yet, he continues to prove us all wrong, night after night after night.
As a Spurs fan, I hate to see Tim’s great performances squandered. As a realist, I have to wonder, if everyone else were doing what they were supposed to be doing, would we see him having 26 and 30 point outings this month? The answer for me is, no. Duncan is the best power forward of all time. We aren’t debating this. He is my favorite player ever, in the history of this game, but even I know that a soon to be 39-year-old Tim Duncan can’t be the best player on a Championship caliber team. It just can’t happen.
So what the crap is going on? Well, since you asked, I’ll tell you.
• Leonard might have played his worst game of the season against the Clippers last week, at least shooting wise. I’d have to go back and check, but it may have been one of his worst games ever. It was bad.
So of course, he’s going to bounce back against Golden State, right? Ha, nope. Another stinker.
So Utah would for sure be a lock. Well, he was minus 13 in that game.
Here’s the God-honest reality that Spurs fans have to accept: if we are going to expect Kawhi to carry the torch, he can’t get in these types of funks. We have to expect more from him and hold him to the same standard we hold Tim, Tony and Manu. If we are going to yell at Manu, through the TV, we have to yell at Kawhi. Show us that you deserve a max contract, Kawhi. Show us that you can carry a team, mid-season, when everyone else sucks. We can’t have you fumbling passes like Jeff Ayres and missing dunks like Matt Bonner in the lay-up line.
• I don’t get Parker anymore. I can’t explain him. I give up. Please tell us, Tony. Who are you going to be this season?
• Speaking of the French, what about Boris? Seriously, bro? What are you doing out there? Last week’s games were a tale of two halves. First half of the game: no hesitation, pulling the trigger on long shots and backing down folks in the paint. Second half: well, I don’t know. Forty two extra dribbles. Passing on open looks. Silly drives to the basket. Over-passing. He just looks like he is playing in a different game at times.
• I’m also largely disappointed with Patty Mills. Where is that spark? Remember when we wanted Patty to abandon the offense and just jack up 3s all the time? Oh, now you are all basketball geniuses and I’m the emotional train wreck? Well, now, I don’t want him to shoot at all. And I don’t want him taking charges in the open court. And I don’t want him guarding starting point guards, or Jamal Crawford, or anyone. Patty is trying to make something happen instead of just making something happen.
• Danny Green doesn’t surprise me one bit. I don’t know why, but I figured we would get this from him this season. As soon as the number change was announced, I had a bad feeling. Something mental. He just isn’t making the “right” play right now. The shot isn’t falling. He’s chasing blocks on the defensive end. Danny is completely out of his element right now. I really wanted him to develop a consistent dribble and drive. Now I want him to go back to being a spot up jump shooter and a sneaky good defender.
• Lastly, I’ll break my own rule and criticize Coach Pop. But he already made a correction, so it’s mild. Finally, Pop kicked the media out for a bit after the Utah game and they had their much needed “team chat” that all teams need when they play like doo-doo butter mid-season. I was wondering what was taking him so long to do that.
Pop has really changed this season. He has shown a ton of compassion for his players. December was rough, and Pop didn’t hammer them then. He’s been unusually nice to reporters this season, too, and he has committed only six technical fouls. I’d really like to see Pop get tossed or something and get this team fired up. I really hope that everyone isn’t looking toward the finish line here.
The thing is, Tony Parker made a pretty bold prediction this week.
Every game is important. We still have four games on the road before a good home series in March. If we manage these away games, we can expect to be up to 4th place.
Mathematically, it’s possible for the Spurs to move up to the 4th spot, or even higher if things get really crazy. It’s also possible that the Spurs will miss the playoffs.
Regardless, it was comforting to hear that Parker said what he did. It lets me know that he isn’t exactly calling it a day.
I’ll leave you with this…
Back in September, Michael Erler, who used to write for this site back in the day, wrote “Why I’m retiring as a Spurs fan.” You can read it for yourself, but I’ll summarize it for you here.
Michael had been a Spurs fan all his life. He was fiercely loyal and always supported the Spurs. As the story goes, he was crushed, as we all were, when Ray Allen hit that three in 2013. He didn’t know how he would be able to recover as a Spurs fan, but he did and went through the 2014 season just as he had the previous ones. As we all know, retribution was found and the happy ending we all wanted became a reality. The Spurs won.
But what about Michael? Yeah, he lost. He decided that everything he went through as a fan in the 2013 and 2014 seasons was too much to handle. The emotions of being a fan of a team which was seconds away from winning a championship, only to have it ripped away, then fought all the way back a year later and won it… he just couldn’t take it anymore. And he wanted to go out on top. So he is no longer a Spurs fan. While the lot of us are pulling out our hair and screaming at TVs, Michael is just chugging along merrily down the stream. (Editor’s note: this isn’t exactly what Michael wrote. Read his piece for yourself right here.)
If you see Michael, do me a favor and slap him for me.
Don’t ever let hard times bring your loyalty to this team into question. The San Antonio Spurs are an anomaly. They do things differently. And so do their fans. We don’t run and hide when our team isn’t winning. We don’t turn off the final six minutes of a blowout game. And we never jump ship.
The Spurs stink right now, sure, but not as bad as they could possibly stink in a few years. If you bail now, you certainly won’t stick around then. If you’re going to bail now, or in a few years, well then, it’s simple, I guess…
You were never really a Spurs fan, anyway.
