I didn't have to think about a Spurs loss for two months. Now I've had to deal with three in a week. It's had a pronounced effect on my psyche. To watch the collapse of this Spurs team has been heartbreaking. Offensively, we got exactly what we wanted all year. We walked all over mediocre teams in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Starting in Game 3, the Thunder, who have been a mediocre defensive team all year, dialed up the pressure to a new level. And the Spurs have failed to respond not once, but twice.
I blame Tony Parker and I blame the role players. Tony Parker was handed the keys to the Spurs offense this season. Everything has went through him, and the offense hummed along like an efficient machine. Now, the Thunder have successfully taken him out of this series. Thabo Sefolosha is a great defender, but do you think Derrick Rose would let Thabo Sefolosha shut him down for 3 games? Do you think Chris Paul or even Deron Williams would let Thabo Sefolosha take them out of 3 consecutive games? Tony has gotten the MVP recognition all season. Now he has to play like it. You need a superstar to win in this league. It's more apparent than ever. Durant is showing it. Over in the East, LeBron and Rondo are showing it. The Spurs so-called superstar has shown us nothing since the outcome of this series was thrown in doubt. At this stage of his career, Duncan is what he is. He can no longer dominate a series. But he is a warrior, and he played like one in Game 5. The Thunder had their monstrous runs when he was off the floor. Manu Ginobili responded in Game 5 as well. He put on the Superman cape. But Manu can't do it alone.
That brings me to the role players. Those vaunted Spurs role players. The guys who got all the pub all season for sliding into the Spurs system and playing mistake-free basketball. In reality, they've been feeding off the teat off Tony Parker all year. The screen and roll is no longer an effective tool in this series. And as the effectiveness of Parker has diminished, so has that of Gary Neal and Danny Green. I would throw Kawhi Leonard into that mix as well, but he has done a fine job on Durant defensively, and hit some pretty big shots in this series. Stephen Jackson, predictably, is the only Spurs role player playing with cajones, or a sense of pride. Gary Neal and Danny Green have to find a way to be effective.
This is it. If we lose, we fail to capture another championship in what is likely to be our last, best chance in the Duncan era. We can afford no no-shows. Every member of the big three must show up. Not two out of the three, which is what we've had all series. Neal, Green, and Leonard have to show up. Some combination of Tiago Splitter, Matt Bonner, and DeJuan Blair has to show up. We must be firing on every single cylinder in order to beat this Thunder offense. We played a hell of a game, and the Thunder showed why having the three best and youngest players in the series is an advantage. Not just Durant, but Harden, and even Westbrook, who has otherwise struggled in this series, hit daggers. In order to combat that kind of offensive firepower, everybody has to be contributing. Once again, no no-shows. And Timmy: Next time, take the damn 3!
Go Spurs Go!
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