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Jun 7, 2005, 03:57
Spurs Will Choose Their Own Destiny
By Rasheeb Shrestha
FullSportPress.com
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The San Antonio Spurs will be favored over the Detroit Pistons in the 2005 NBA Finals and rightfully so. San Antonio will have the rest, the home-court advantage and the best player on the floor. And, after witnessing the Eastern Conference Finals, don’t you think the Pistons should have beaten the banged-up Miami Heat more decisively?
But the Spurs will be playing for more than just this year’s Larry O’Brien Trophy (and Rasheed Wallace’s Championship Belt, for that matter). For better or for worse, the Spurs’ legacy is in the process of being written and this chapter will prove to be their most critical yet.
Lose and they run the risk of being somewhat overlooked in the annals of NBA history. Their two titles have already matched the likes of the Houston Rockets of the 1990’s, the Pistons of the 1980’s and the New York Knicks of the early 1970’s. That’s some good company, but not quite in the class of the team the Spurs would join if they win their third title in seven years.
I am not talking about the three-peat Los Angeles Lakers led by Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. The Spurs would trump them because they would have won titles before, during and after the Lakers’ run of four Finals appearances in five years.
It’s the Larry Bird led Celtics of the 1980’s with whom Tim Duncan’s Spurs would most resemble. Bird’s Celtics won three titles from 1980-1986. Duncan’s Spurs are shooting for three trophies from 1998-2005. Both teams could claim the Lakers as their biggest rival and in that 1980-86 time span, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Magic Johnson had won three titles – the same number Shaq and Kobe had claimed from 1998-05.
But even more striking are the similarities in the careers of Bird and Duncan. Both exploded onto the NBA scene as rookies, each leading their respective teams to the record for the single greatest turnaround in NBA history. They both won Rookie of the Year honors and both went on to be named First Team All-NBA in each of their first eight seasons.
If you consider the fact that Duncan did not play in the 2000 playoffs due to a knee injury, and if the Spurs win it all this year, both Bird and Duncan would have won titles in their second, fifth and seventh postseasons.
But that’s where the similarities between the two teams end -- at least the Spurs hope so. Unfortunately for Bird and his Celtics, things started to go South right after their third title, beginning with Len Bias’ death that summer. Injuries to Kevin McHale’s foot and Bird’s back officially ended their run sooner than expected. Their misfortune led to Kareem and Magic bringing home two more trophies to Los Angeles.
The Spurs certainly don’t foresee their run as title contenders ending anytime soon. In fact, you can make the argument they may be even better in the next few seasons with Duncan and Manu Ginobili finally relieved of their summer work schedule. And, of course, they don’t have to deal with Shaq and Kobe anymore –- at least not together.
But first thing’s first –- the Detroit Pistons and the 2005 NBA Finals await. If the Spurs lose, they’ll be just a footnote to Detroit’s repeat and it may be the Pistons who can start talking about their own legacy.
But if San Antonio prevails, then Bird’s Celtics will have some company. If the Spurs can add some more jewelry in the coming years? Then they’ll join George Mikan’s Lakers, Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls, the Showtime Lakers and Bill Russell’s Celtics as the only teams in NBA history who have the privilege of using one, simple word: dynasty.
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