2535
The number of days since we last won in San Antonio (as of Dec. 28th, 2007).
Current number of days since we last won in San Antonio: 0
Poker players are taught not to compound mistakes. Apparently Tony Parker is NOT a poker player. Peppy Le Peu and Duncan combined for 12 turnovers (Raps had 7 as a team) and were the pins that punctured any chance of San Antonio winning this game.
(DiNote: In discussing Parker’s wife Eva Longoria, Jack Armstrong actually referred to her show Desperate Housewives as “garbage” on national TV. Bold move, Jack.)
Over the last three losses Bosh has been playing out of his mind, shifting from “game ready” to full out, Will-Smith-in-I-Am-Legend level intensity. He did NOT want to have to face .500 again. So obviously stealing a home win against the Spurs, who are, as the intro said, ‘the standard to which all other franchises compare”, required some extra grit in our grits.
And yes, the Spurs were as crappy as I’ve ever seen them, shooting disgraceful percentages and turning the ball over 12 times. They played like the Spurned, sorely missing Manu and Brent Barry… but to our credit, we held off a late game surge by perhaps the best team in the league. We kicked the hornet’s nest but didn’t get stung. Why?
Intensity. Discipline. Energy.
I mentioned these three keywords in yesterday’s game day post, and they ended up being the primary factor in the victory (That sound you hear is my horn being tooted). Ahh, it’s nice to be right from time to time.
Bargnani strapped on a breathing strip and played aggressive yet controlled, two words he’s never been able to distinguish between. Humphries did another great job slugging it out on the glass, though the toughest part of his night was the post-game interview. Jamario, Delfino, and Parker played great defence on the depleted Spurs wings. Kapono could have been shooting watermelons and they would have still pierced the twine. It was a true ‘team’ victory, the most important and most telling type.
It was an emotional game for all involved. We got under their skin, showing a tenacity and toughness that’s been sorely lacking this season. Even the league’s first android coach, Gregg Popovich, lost his cool. I totally expected his head to pop off his head and dangle atop a spring when he was yelling at Delaney. I’ve never seen the Spurs act like that. The Pop rant was good, but my highlight was reading Bob Delaney’s lips to Duncan: “Do your job. I’ll do mine.”
(On a related note, the Spurs crowd threw together a wicked ‘Refs you suck’ chant that was so deafening and uniform it could have been yelled by one really, really loud guy. Very cool.)
As Chuck Swirsky pointed out, we brought the defensive onions tonight. Our help defence was great. We chased down loose balls. We went after rebounds IN THE AIR – imagine that! Not waiting until the ball bounces twice to get a board! Any evidence you need can be found in Jamario Moon’s second quarter Offensive Rebounding Insanity Spectacular.
We were rested and ready last night, and we patiently let the Spurs unravel while not falling prey to their psychological guiles. And seems Sam’s figured out how to keep his offense in sync with TJ out. I like what he’s doing when he rests Jose, letting Delfino play the point and shifting Juan to the two spot. It’s unpredictable, throws opposing defences off strategy, plus it’s just great fun watching Dixon clap for the ball incessantly as Delfino’s running the offense.
It’s good to be back, huh? I missed these guys. Looking forward to Houston tonight, hoping for another inspired performance on the road against a team struggling with injuries and identity issues. Plus, I just hate losing to Mike James and Rafer Alston. So let’s not have that happen, cool?
And if you want to know the truth, the REAL reason Bosh sat the whole fourth quarter is because he was rehearsing for the second installment of this (thanks to Smith and the realGM nerds for that).
