2015 Western Conference Playoffs First Round
San Antonio 109, Los Angeles Clippers 111
Clippers win series 4-3
The main draw of the night was a boxing match, but the best fight of the night happened on a basketball court.
What a game. It’s wrong to think of this as any failing on the Spurs’ part: this was a success for the Clippers. Over 7 games, the Spurs outscored the Clippers by 3 points, the Clippers outlasted the Spurs by about one second (and one game).
To extend the metaphor, Los Angeles took every body blow from San Antonio and never went down, always coming back. The team known for always getting off the mat and outlasting any opponent finally got beat at their own game. All credit to the Clippers: they had every reason to hang their head, give up, and just concede they were getting beaten by a better team. Instead they always fought back, and then won the series. Even in the final quarter of Game 7, there were several moments it seemed the Spurs had command of the game. But the Clippers would just never let the Spurs get out of contact, and they did to the Spurs what the Spurs have done to so many teams: refuse to be knocked out.
This just wasn’t the Spurs’ series. They had every opportunity to seize control and never did. The series should have been theirs after Game 3, and they coughed up Game 4; the series should have been theirs after Game 5, and they coughed up Game 6. The truth is, they just ran out of gas, out of juice. They were uncharacteristically unfocused, a bit sloppy, and lacking in killer instinct. The Clippers were the better team. Sure, it might have been by such a slim margin as to be almost negligible, but it was there, and it finally came to bear. All of the miniature mistakes and slips in aggression finally came back to haunt the Spurs.
The series was really a microcosm of the Spurs’ entire season. One step up, two steps back. (It’s actually probably closer to 1.00 steps up, 1.01 steps back, but the end result remains.) The team could never find their footing early in the season, persevered through the toughest December of Duncan’s career, lost a ton of heartbreaking games, yet kept their head above water, before finally finding a little rhythm late. But it was just a tiny bit too little, a moment too late.
It’s a fun game to play now, but all the Spurs needed was one more win (ONE. MORE. WIN!!) in the regular season, and they would have been the 2-seed, playing a falling-apart-before-our-eyes Dallas in the first round, and this Clippers team would have been our second round opponent, only we would have had home court. The regular season finale against New Orleans. That horrible loss to the Knicks. That crazy loss to Detroit at home. Either of those back-to-back 3OT games. That’s five I can recall without even having to jog my memory.
All season, the Spurs felt so close to becoming THE SPURS, but they never quite got there. We saw the ball moving, but it never felt like last year; we saw all of the cutting and player movement, but it never felt quite as synchronous and balletic as last year; we saw shadows of the machine, but it always felt a little rusty and not as precise. Last year, it was a beautiful dance; this year, we could see the gears grinding in the background.
The series was the same. It never felt like they could get where they needed to be against the Clippers. Ironically, they saved their best for last, even in defeat. Game 7 was a masterpiece of a basketball game, just two teams playing for their season but not letting the moment overwhelm them. Game 7s are usually great for drama and intensity, but often lacking in execution. Not this game. Both teams played wonderfully and played their game. Even though they had won 3 of the previous 6 games, I thought Game 7 was the best the Spurs had looked all series. It was so nice to see Green and Splitter and Parker make strong contributions and be the players we know they are. We got one more game of transcendence from Duncan. The bench did their thing. Pop coached his butt off.
Kawhi had a rough last couple of games. His shooting went cold at the wrong time, but what really hurt was that he never seemed to be able to lock in defensively, and be the game-changer we’re used to seeing on that end of the floor. He had one excellent game, a few good games, and a few OK games. For the Spurs to be great, we need consistence excellence from Kawhi.
But even this is something to grow on. The transfer of power from Parker down the line to Kawhi is coming, and it felt like the end of this season it arrived a bit prematurely. We know what Kawhi is capable of, but he’s not yet there. This is OK. He is a 23-year old 4th year player. The rise from role player to star is one thing; from star to superstar another thing entirely. He now sees what it is like to be the focal point of a team in a playoff series, and he can start building his game around that.
Parker wasn’t up to the task of being the lead player, and Kawhi wasn’t yet ready for it. On the flip side, the Clippers have two superstars who are both more than capable. That difference alone was probably enough to swing the series. The Clippers were in a better position to win an epic series.
This was probably a year of transition for the Spurs. The Playoffs exact a toll, and this season felt like payment for the last 3 years. Including this season, the Spurs have played 65 playoff games in the last 4 years: 2 years to the Finals, the other year to the Western Conference Finals. That is a lot of extra games, a lot of wear and tear and miles on those legs. We saw it most evidently in Parker, but many players on the team just looked tired. It’s an easy concession when your legs are heavy and your lungs are aching to not make that last rotation or lose just the tiniest fraction of focus. All those playoff minutes might have finally caught up.
It’s easy to think of this as an end of an era. Duncan and Manu might be gone. Parker looks old. The team might have no more championship runs in them. To me it’s more transition than termination. Remember, this team was written off after a heartbreaking loss to OKC in 2012, the heartbreaking Finals loss in 2013, and even after last year’s triumph. Despite how bitter today feels, the Spurs were still one of the 4 or 5 best teams in the league. They just had the unfortunate circumstance of meeting another one of those 4 or 5 teams in the First Round.
One side-effect cost of greatness and longevity is disappointment. You can’t sustain 18 years of excellence without tasting defeat. The ’99 Title begat Duncan’s injury in 2000, and an inability to even attempt to defend the title; ’03 begat .04 in ’04; ‘o5 begat Manu’s foul and Game 7 OT in ’06; ’07 begat the broken plane in New Orleans, not allowing the team to get to LA for their Western Conference Final showdown with the Lakers in ’08; and ’14 was in large part made possible by Game 6 in ’13. There is no joy without pain; the joy is made greater because of the pain.
There’s no reason to think this is over. This feels more like 2011 than 2010. In 2010, the Spurs were swept out of the 2nd round by the Suns, and it felt like the end of an era. Duncan looked old, the team was aging, the defense was slipping, and they had no athletes or youth to rejuvenate them. Over the next few seasons, they drafted Kawhi, found Green, brought Splitter over, salvaged Diaw off the scrap heap, Duncan found new life, Parker elevated his game, and the next iteration of the team was born.
In 2011, they had the best record in the Western Conference, but entered the playoffs a bit hobbled (Manu broke his elbow on the last day of the regular season, for crying out loud) and facing a red-hot Memphis team that was supremely confident. That Spurs team was in the infant stages of becoming today’s team, and didn’t feature nearly the same offensive execution and was still getting back to being a top-flight defensive team. The Spurs lost that series, but it was just the beginning.
The Spurs lost this series, but the future is still bright. It will be different, certainly, but it’s not over. Kawhi will come back and be better than ever. Perhaps a summer off can rejuvenate Parker and his legs, as well as a lessened burden and more complementary role in the offense.
There are plenty of questions. Will we be able to re-sign Green? Or will some lesser team overpay for him? Will Duncan retire? Based off these last 7 games, it seems almost laughable, until you remember he is 39. Will Manu retire? This seems more likely, though I still think he can have value if he is willing to move from 6th man to 9th man. He may not be able to give even 25 good minutes a game anymore, but could he still give 15 good minutes a game? That’s for him to decide. If he does retire…. Well, we’ll tackle that when it does finally happen. It will be a sad day in Spurs Nation.
The team is also well positioned to add another marquee player to the roster. There are some good names out there to get. The Spurs have never been able to lure a big in-their-prime free agent to San Antonio, but this season might be different. Again, we’ll discuss this more as we get into the offseason and free agency.
I thought I’d be depressed about the Spurs losing this series. While sad, I’m more filled with pride. They had a great season, but they just didn’t have it this year. Still, they fought hard, they played together, and they played with tremendous class and grace. After last year’s title, it’s really hard to be too upset, especially since we get to root for the same collection of great players and even better people night in and night out. Even better than the title, the Spurs give their fans something else: the easiest team to root for in the NBA. I’m sad they came up 3 points short on Saturday night, but I’m most sad that those are the last moments of Spurs’ basketball for almost 6 months.
In 6 months, though, the Spurs will be back. And the team will be different, but it’ll also still be the same.
The Spurs don’t end, they just grow into the next. That next is now.
