They had them. It was over. With under 20 seconds left in the game and a 3 point lead, all it took was one measly free throw to put the game out of reach. San Antonio would return as NBA champions. Lebron James and his Miami Heat brethren would have been defeated on their own court and watched as the Spurs celebrated yet another championship. Surely, the scribes and talking heads would ramble on for days -- weeks -- months -- all the while painting the Miami Heat as over-hyped underachievers.
But the Spurs' player missed the free throw. Oops. Miami headed down the court the other way and, after Lebron threw up a brick, the ball got batted around and found it's way to Ray Allen in the corner. Up went the 3-point shot. Swish. Game tied.
And at that exact point in time, yours truly thought -- uh oh -- the Spurs are in trouble. Not just for this game, but for the series. Sure enough, Miami prevailed in overtime to force a Game 7. The Spurs had the O'Brien trophy, rings, subsequent parade, etc., in their grasp -- and let it get away.
At that, with only a few seconds left in the overtime period and Miami ahead by 3 points, Spurs' player Danny Green, who's already set an all-time record for 3 point baskets made in an NBA Finals hoisted up a desperation shot from the corner himself in an attempt to re-tie it. Miami Heat forward Chris Bosh jumped out on him and blocked the shot. Thing was -- in the follow-through after the shot, Bosh pretty much bulldozed Green out of bounds with his body. Excuse me, but by any basketball standards -- that's an obvious foul. Granted, Green would have had to make all 3 free throws to send the game into yet another overtime, but it was a blatant foul and should have been called. Yet the refs swallowed their whistles. Miami wins. Lo and behold, who was the crew chief of the referees? Yep, good old Joey Crawford. The same guy that once called a technical foul on Tim Duncan, one of the most laid back, low-profile guys to ever play in the NBA, for merely smiling at him, amongst his myriad of other loose cannon antics over the years. When it comes to bizarre behavior, one Crawford can trump the triumvirate of a Busey/Sheen/Lohan, or Howard/Fine/Howard, and perhaps even the last 3 (hmm.... counting the Quaylester -- make that 4) Vice-Presidents the USA has had to endure.
Yes, though I've never been to San Antonio, I freely admit I'm a Spurs fan. Why? Because the entire organization exudes class from top to bottom. Sure, most pro franchise owners not named Jerry Jones normally stay above the fray -- and are perhaps even aloof. Typically billionaires are like that. After all -- how many have YOU hung out with lately?
But look at the rest of the Miami/San Antonio organizations as a comparison. As a high profile kind of guy, Heat president and GM Pat Reilly always shows up on the TV cameras. His counterpart in San Antonio is named R.C. Buford. Bet you don't even know what he looks like. For that matter, nobody even seems to know what the initials R.C. are short for. That's low profile.
Miami head coach Erik Spoelstrah gets a lot of air time and looks like he likes it. Conversely, Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich has to be damn near dragged in front of the cameras for mandatory appearances.
The Big 3 of Miami were already yapping on a widely publicized TV spot before they'd won anything. Not just one title, but two, or 4, or 7, or whatever, they smirked. The Big 3 in San Antonio had already won 3 together, and Tim Duncan yet another one years ago, but you'd never see them blowing their own horns. There's class, and then there's brass. I prefer the former.
For that matter, it certainly appears as if the media, by and large, are rooting for the Heat to repeat as champions. No doubt, they could write all kinds of sexy Lebron stories, replete with infinite interviews, and fantasize about how many more championships will be in store. The talk show hosts would drool over getting a few Heat players on their programs. Shoe companies would put their minor children staffed Chinese factories on overtime to crank out yet another version of sneakers that would cost the average consumer an average house payment per pair.
If San Antonio wins the championship -- probably none of that happens. They just play the ultimate team version of basketball , and would quietly disperse after the parade in Alamoland. No muss, no fuss. And somehow, yours truly finds that extremely respect-worthy. That's why I root for them.
The deciding Game 7 goes off Thursday night in Miami. The last time a visiting team won a Game 7 on the road in the NBA Finals? Try 1978, when the Washington Bullets knocked off the Seattle Supersonics. The Bullets have since changed their name to the Wizards and the Seattle franchise doesn't even exist anymore, having become the Okla City Thunder. In other words, if history is any indication, I fear the Spurs are in deep trouble.
The dude should have made the free throw. If the series plays out like I now suspect it will -- he'll have a long time to think about that.
i think so too.
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