SportsBoner.com

This is why I love sports.  Partly because unlike an engrossing book, or a superb movie, there is almost always that certain sense of unpredictability in any level of sports.  Whereas in most stories laid out in a novel, or a major motion picture, the audience can assure themselves that the good guy will not die, and/or the leading lady will end up with the protagonist (sometimes the author or director will throw you a curve in terms of desired popular outcomes, but not many) .  To an extended degree, because the outcome of any game is ultimately decided by the major players (or often role players), the unpredictability of sports lends itself unique measures of emotional drama.  The beauty of this all is proverbially in the eye of the beholder.  A great example is the memorable gem that was game 1 of the 2008 NBA Playoffs between the Phoenix Suns and the San Antonio Spurs.  If you were a Spurs fan, you’d wholeheartedly agree that the good guys won, as opposed to the multitude of Suns fans who would beg to differ.  A pure nonbiased fan of basketball would acquiesce that the winners are anyone looking for the combination of excitement, drama, insane showcases of athletic prowess and competition.

Fans from all over, media outlets from ESPN to FSN to SPBN (Sportsboner? No? Doesn’t work? OK.), have readily declared this instant classic the best game of the year.  It had everything from an underlying tension between the players, lingering animosity from the past, the feel of not only a playoff game (which it already was) but almost an atmosphere of a game 7 in the NBA Finals no less, and not one but TWO overtime periods.  Not to mention a ridiculous amount of clutch last second shots that made for an overall spectacular display of professional basketball.  And I didn’t watch the game live. :)

While my fanhood/fandom/fanexuality (I made that last one up) can be questioned, I at least taped the game.  Problem is I only got the regulation and none of the OT periods.  It’s a lesson for those of you out there with TiVos, DVRs, or Windows Media Centers.  Not only should you set your hard disk to record the time slot of the game, but the program/time slot following the game in case it goes into overtime.  However I was able to temporarily rectify the problem with an encore presentation by ESPN at 2am.  If you ever tried going through a day in this age of cell phones, text messaging, and emails downloaded to your Treos/Blackberry without hearing about a score of a game you left taped at home, its nearly freaking impossible.  After successfully ignoring my mini-keyboard that happens to have a phone hooked up to it for most of Saturday afternoon, I received a text from one of my buddies that only said, “Dorkass !#@%ing Duncan, can’t stand your Spurs!”  In a momentary lapse of the mind, I opened up that text and the first thing that popped in my mind was that the Spurs won, but upon closer inspection I forgot that my friend Huff would judiciously bash my favorite bball team (or its players) no matter the situation as true friends should do without prejudice (he’s an Oakland Raiders fan, so one can easily understand).  So I did my best to ignore what he had just potentially revealed and after two different viewings (my regulation recording on ABC and the ESPN encore presentation at 2am hereafter), I came away ecstatic and worried at the same time.

Ultimately this is how all games should be, back and forth, unparalleled showcases of talent, emotional rollercoaster rides with every shot, and a freaking three pointer to tie a game in OT number one from a 6 foot 11 power forward that has only made 24 threes out of 126 attempts (19.6%) in his illustrious career.  It certainly was an unbelievable shot, but upon closer inspection one should realize that in practice before many games, Tim Duncan will stray outside that line and make several attempts (word is he even helped win the Shoot Stars Competition on All-Star weekend with a three point shot and a half court shot on first attempt). Certainly he’s capable but that doesn’t mean its a necessity nor a staple for someone who makes a living on the low block with his vastly more effective post moves and offensive skills close under the basket.

Mostly what many can and should take from this game is that the Spurs fought hard, but had some luck in getting this tough win.  From early turnovers, to mental mistakes on D, to a sputtering offense (if not for Duncan’s steady 40 points throughout the game), they will be in trouble soon going against a team like Phoenix who have so much firepower on the offensive side.  Phoenix was complemented with an effective D early on despite foul trouble for Shaquille O’Neal and Amare Stoudemire, but as the game wore on, their true colors showed as San Antonio kept chipping away and took advantage when the Suns ended up giving away several runs to allow the Spurs to cut into a 16 point lead.

What cannot be discounted is how much a factor coaching can be when games are close.  For one in spite of Duncan’s modest insistence that his 3 point prayer to tie the game at the end of the first overtime was not a drawn play, in my-twelve-hour-late-opinion that play was specifically designed for Duncan as he did not once look to cut to the basket but instead rooted himself beyond the line.  O’Neal successfully took the bait getting sucked into doubling Manu Ginobili along with Steve Nash trailing Ginobili who drove towards the basket and instantly (almost a no-look as if he knew Duncan was supposed to be there) flipped it out towards number 21 who took a flat-footed miracle-even-flatter-no-arc-no-spin-desperation 3 that swooshed through the nylons.  Gregg Popavich’s set play at the end of regulation getting Michael Finley the ball for a 3 that tied the game also merits importance as he saw a smaller Leandro Barbosa (who got sidetracked for a second by screening PF Fabricio Oberto) guarding Finley instead of a more effective Grant Hill who was on the bench.  Such nuances are reasons why well-coached teams will almost always get a win against an opponent who is just as good if not somewhat better than them.  Perhaps most telling of all was the game winning layup by Ginobili.  It started with Nash hoisting up a long range 3 falling to his left and out of bounds to tie the game up, and with 15 seconds left, the Spurs did not bother to call a timeout to allow substitutions or the defense to set up.  Running down the court moderately to milk as much as possible of those 15 seconds, Ginobili (now the de facto PG since Parker fouled out) went coast-to-coast and slashed through the Sun’s interior D to awkwardly (not so much awkward for the crunchtime savvy Ginobili but his body position in mid air flying behind the backboard) score the deciding basket.

Thats where the needless homeristic platitudes from yours truly ends (after about 6 paragraphs worth of a Spurs lovefest right? ;) ).  The gritty veteran elder Spurs may have the experience and the mental fortitude to withstand many obstacles to their quest for a championship, but it is clear from the outset that Phoenix can and will run them off the court in the games to come (belying a fact that the Spur’s D can be had) if the Spurs do not find other sources of scoring other than Duncan.  For most of the game their leading scorer, Ginobili and last year’s Finals MVP Tony Parker, were asleep at the wheel until both woke up in the 2nd half and both OTs to push San Antonio over Phoenix.  For the Spurs to win, Ginobili will have to find his offense early and not just in clutch situations (although thankfully this Argentinian fool is crazy clutch), and Parker will have to continue to slice into the lane like he always does in hopes of easy baskets as well as easy fouls on the Sun’s big men.

Phoenix in turn needs to ignore everything that’s happened thus far, even if they aren’t accustomed to O’Neal’s patented rough honesty to the media concerning the other team or the refs, and stay focused for the WHOLE game not just only 42 minutes out of 48.  Their offensive array starts with Nash and spreads contagiously through Stoudemire, Raja Bell, Boris Diaw, O’Neal, Barbosa and even Hill.  So while scoring won’t be a problem, the age old stereotype that defense wins championships cannot be overstated enough.  The Suns seem fully capable of playing solid D (with that kind of relentless scoring, you only need solid defense), and since this is only game 1, it remains to be seen how successful Phoenix will be in exorcising it’s playoff demons especially against their roughshod rivals in San Antonio.

Truth be told other than my man-love for the Spurs, few will argue with me when I say this series (not just this game) was on everyone’s radar in terms of premiere matchups even this early in the postseason.  So it comes to no surprise that if I couldn’t watch it live and had to tape it, then I did not watch any of the other games on Saturday.  I did however notice the ridiculous box score/highlights of Chris Paul dismantling the Dallas Mavericks in his playoff debut, and in a lesser limelight, Deron William’s terrific job in leading the Utah Jazz over the Houston Rockets.  Both teams certainly will be primed to go deep in the playoffs if their PGs play as well as they did on Saturday.

Sunday was more of the same only I was able to catch a few games, as some higher seeded favorites took advantage and won game one.  The Orlando  Magic weathered a few comeback storms but ultimately won behind Dwight Howard’s huge game posting 25 points and 22 boards!  The Los Angeles Lakers abused the Denver Nugget’s lack of any defense running layup drills through the Nuggets with Pau Gasol’s 36 points most coming on easy dunks, and lay-ins steadied by Kobe Bryant’s 32.  Denver led early on in the game, but eventually gave way to the Lakers.  It’s a common theme observed thus far early in the postseason, with various teams giving up double digit leagues only to eventually lose the game.  From Phoenix, to Denver to even shockingly the huge chalk Detroit Pistons.  Once again tearing through the regular season, the Pistons head into the playoffs with well-deserved high expectations especially against a bottom-tier-happy-to-be-here Philadelphia 76ers who field a bevy of young inexperienced players.  On the road however, the Sixers withstood the methodical half-court plodding of the Pistons early on and made their move in coming back from 15 midway through the 3rd quarter.  Detroit is too much of a veteran team to fold now after only one game, but facing a more energetic team with nothing to lose, the Pistons will caution to not take the 7th seeded Sixers lightly now that they are already down 1 game.  On the other side of the pond, it was business as usual for the Boston Celtics staking their position in their anticipated journey to the Finals.  In control the whole game vs. the wayward Atlanta Hawks, the Celtics demonstrated why they had the best regular season record and with strength on both sides of the ball, their only focus now is…  their focus.  The question was and will be here on out if that extra focus to play hard-nosed defense, to get the extra rebounds, and to make any hustle plays necessary will be there throughout the tourney.

Sure it’s only been one game, and with only one significant upset, things played out the way most envisioned before the first tip-off this past weekend.  However the beauty of basketball details that because it is a seven game series there is much to be decided yet.  The players who walked off the court winners holding their heads up high may yet be drooping them in disappointment in two weeks.  Thats the great thing about unscripted stories played out before us (in high definition even).  You just never know, the bad guy may dispatch the hero in the end, steal the girl and drive off in the sunset slapping grown men’s butts along the way.