{"id":2266,"date":"2016-05-19T21:25:15","date_gmt":"2016-05-19T21:25:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/?p=2266"},"modified":"2016-05-19T21:25:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T21:25:15","slug":"the-warriors-wake-up-and-the-spurs-especially-duncan-show-their-age","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sportspaper.org\/?p=2266","title":{"rendered":"The Warriors wake up and the Spurs, especially Duncan, show their age"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Terry<\/a><\/p>\n

TERRY MOSHER<\/p>\n

\"Tim<\/a><\/p>\n

TIM DUNCAN<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Watching the NBA playoffs is, to me, an exercise in psychology. Last night as the Golden State Warriors evened their series with the Oklahoma City Thunder in a smashing performance that I could see coming from the start as the Warriors were ready \u2013 really ready \u2013 for this challenge. They were sharp mentally and physically were getting in the face of the Thunder defensively.<\/p>\n

So I wasn\u2019t surprised what happened (a 118-91 Warriors victory). I didn\u2019t know it would be such a rout. But that\u2019s the way us humans react. We sometimes need a swift kick in the butt to wake us up \u2013 the don\u2019t wake up the sleeping bear syndrome \u2013 to get us on the right track.<\/p>\n

My thinking now is that if the Warriors get one of the two next games in Oklahoma City (Sunday and Tuesday) they will win this series and face most likely LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers, who have yet to lose a playoff game and look to be much the better against Toronto, for the NBA championship.<\/p>\n

You know, for the last few years people have been talking about how the San Antonio Spurs are getting old and they may not be able to keep playing at such a high level. Well, that finally came true for the Spurs, especially in the last two games against the Thunder. They began to show their age. They couldn\u2019t hit the shots they usually make and once the Thunder figured out they could run the Spurs into exhaustion, that\u2019s what they did in those last two games.<\/p>\n

The average age of the nine-man rotation coach Gregg Popovich used was 33, with Tim Duncan topping out at 40. Duncan really looked old and did not get a lot of playing time, although in Game 6 he played much more than usual and had a good game, as well as one could expect from a 40-year-old man who has been on a basketball court for much of those 40 years.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s sad to me to see such a good guy and a future Hall of Fame player like Duncan lose much of the incredible talent he once had. I have sympathy for that because up to about five years ago I could hit with some regularity three-pointers at the YMCA.<\/p>\n

Of course, it was just me on the basketball court. I wasn\u2019t being defended, but I did have excellent range and felt quite proud of myself that at my advanced age I could still hold my own in games of H-O-R-S-E.<\/p>\n

But the last few years has not been kind to my body. Recently I was out at Larry Tuke\u2019s place on the Canal and he has a basketball court there. I could not even make a layup. I eventually, with some dogged determination and five minutes, hit a five-footer.<\/p>\n

I promptly quit on that good note. But my pride and ego have been completely demolished by the deterioration of my body. My feet, my legs and my back are completely gone and as you know that\u2019s what it takes to shoot a basketball with some proficiency much less be able to walk with an easy gait.<\/p>\n

So Larry, God bless him, went into his recreational room and pulled out a comfortable chair for me to sit in while Jerry Vettleson (Drew\u2019s dad), Larry and my 20-year-old son Michael shot baskets and played H-O-R-S-E.<\/p>\n

Larry, of course, made me feel even worse by nailing some of his trick shots (shooting off the wrong leg, for example). For somebody of his age he\u2019s quite remarkable. Of course, he\u2019s extremely competitive, which helps.<\/p>\n

But it didn\u2019t help my mental state to watch Vettleson do his usually \u2013 swish 25-footers \u2013 and sit while Tuke put on a show, because, after all, I\u2019m extremely competitive and all I could do was sit and feel all my pride and ego slowly drain away.<\/p>\n

So I understand to some degree how a guy like Duncan must feel that he can\u2019t play at the same high level he once did. He does have, though, millions of dollars for the years he could, which is something I don\u2019t have. Not even close.<\/p>\n

I really was disappointed when the Spurs were beaten by the Thunder. There are two good reasons for that. One is that I enjoy the way the Spurs play. Popovich is a great coach who has been able to take great players and turn them into great team players. Can you imagine how difficult that is to temper and control such big egos? It\u2019s amazing he can do that and turn the Spurs into the ultimate team that many coaches talk about but few obtain.<\/p>\n

The second reason is I hate anything to do with the Thunder organization, and that starts with the Oklahoma Cowboy in the black hat (Clay Bennett) stealing the Sonics away to Oklahoma City eight years ago with the help of the then NBA commissioner David Stern.<\/p>\n

A political shadow hangs over the effort by Chris Hansen to bring an NBA team back to Seattle. The Seattle City Council just turned down an effort to vacate part of Occidental Avenue in the So-Do area to allow construction of a new arena. That almost certainly blocks any effort to build in that area for anytime soon. So the Oklahoma Cowboy continues to win.<\/p>\n

Speaking of the Warriors \u2013 we were, weren\u2019t we?\u2011 Steph Curry is getting some negative feedback for his habit of standing still with his arm in a follow-through position for several seconds after he drains a long three. I didn\u2019t think much of it when I first saw him do it, but now he seems to relish doing it to thunderous applause from a loyal audience.<\/p>\n

While I don\u2019t really know why he does it, other than being a showboat, I would hope he stops it. It\u2019s not becoming one of the greatest shooters in NBA history. Just do your thing and let it go. We know you are great; you don\u2019t have to pose for us.<\/p>\n

If Curry was a baseball player and did that after hitting a long home run, he or one of his teammates would soon get a fastball under the chin or in the body somewhere other than the head. It\u2019s an unwritten rule in baseball that you don\u2019t show up the other team by grandstanding, and flipping your bat. Standing in the batter\u2019s box for a couple seconds to admire what you have just done qualifies for grandstanding and that by the unofficial rule of the game is cause for somebody on your team to get a bean ball, sooner or later.<\/p>\n

In the old days, once your teammate got hit by a pitch in retaliation for the grandstanding, the game moved on. But now, in the modern era, players rush the mound and benches empty and a brawl ensues.<\/p>\n

Some people are now saying that flipping your bat and admiring the home run you just hit adds necessary spice to a game that often is criticized for being too boring. I don\u2019t think the people who say that are taking into account the pride and ego of the pitcher who just got blasted and who may be justified in thinking this guy needs to be taught a lesson in civility.<\/p>\n

And knowing that you, as the next batter up, may now be the recipient of a fastball in the ribs, thanks to your home-run hitting teammate, adds enough juice to a game of pride and ego. I mean, I would be shaking in my spikes while walking to the plate knowing I\u2019m about to get hit, and that\u2019s enough juice in the game for me.<\/p>\n

One more thought about the NBA: I still don\u2019t like LeBron James. I agree with many who say he\u2019s one of the greatest players in the history of the league. But there is something about him \u2013 and I have a hard time defining it in my mind \u2013 that I don\u2019t like.<\/p>\n

The best I can figure out is I believe he\u2019s a front-runner. As long as things are going great he\u2019s really, really good about celebrating and rubbing it in. He\u2019s at his best when the other team\u2019s will has been demolished and he can run amuck.<\/p>\n

But I also have seen him sag psychologically when his team gets behind. He then seems indifferent. And I don\u2019t believe he plays as hard all the time as the great ones do. He tends, also, in tight situations to pass the ball away rather than use his vast God-given talents to take the game over.<\/p>\n

I do believe that the Cavaliers have the right mix of players now and could wind up as NBA champs. With Kyrie Irvin and Kevin Love, the Cavs have, along with James, three stars to guide them.<\/p>\n

Which brings me to something I forgot. I have fallen in love with 7-footer Steven Adams of the Thunder. That guy is tough, and I like tough. I watched during the San Antonio series as he gave no respect to Duncan, elbowing him, bumping him, pushing him. And he provided some good inside scoring for the Thunder.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s another thing I forgot. The Thunder\u2019s length makes it tough for the Warriors to effectively get inside, although they did a good job last night in Game Two, especially after Curry exploded for 15 straight points in less than two minutes of the third quarter to put the game into a rout.
\nAnyway, it will be something to watch for in Sunday\u2019s Game Three.\u00a0 And with that, I\u2019m outta here. I\u2019m supposed to have an interview for another story. Stay busy and keep cool and I\u2019ll be back later.<\/p>\n

Be well pal.<\/p>\n

Be careful out there.<\/p>\n

Have a great day.<\/p>\n

You are loved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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