This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
—Jim Morrison, The Doors
We’re going to miss the Tim Duncan era Spurs.
Yes, likely will get one more win in their first round series, Wednesday night at home. They are fully capable of that. But it will be fools gold — just like this entire season. This was the season the Spurs seemed to reinvent themselves as a savvy, offensively-focused team. A team that relied on two quick players out on the perimeter in Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Tim Duncan could still do enough in the middle to make it work. The role players were better.
It didn’t work. Make no mistake, this series where the Memphis Grizzlies have pushed the Spurs around like a cat with a ball of yarn has signaled the end of the Duncan-era Spurs as a championship team.
Technically the era will linger on for another season or two before it’s broken up and sold for parts. But those seasons will feel a lot like a sadder version of the past couple seasons, where you had the feeling San Antonio was not a contender. On paper you thought they could recapture the magic of the 2007 title run, but when you watched them play you were not so sure.
Now you watch and you’re sure. It’s not happening.
Even the brilliant Spurs blog 48 Minutes of Hell recognizes it. There was one play in this series, where the usual spark of the team Ginobili didn’t even try to close out on a corner three where it hit them this team is no longer that title team.
Those title teams defended like mother wolverines protecting their young. These Spurs — all season long — have played just enough defense to get by.
We bought into the fool’s gold that was the 61 wins and the up-tempo offense that came out of the gate on fire this season. We wanted to believe, because the Duncan era Spurs were not boring — as some uniformed columnists wanted to say — they were pure, efficient basketball. They made the smart plays, the good basketball plays. Consistently. Every time down. They did the right thing and knocked down the look when they got it. If you love basketball you had to love the simple purity of their game.
But these Spurs do not play good defense. And in the payoffs, where they used to be the physical team that could push you around, now they are getting punked inside. Duncan is getting what he can out of his aging body, but DeJuan Blair just doesn’t have the size and Matt Bonner doesn’t bang. Tiaggo Splitter tried in Game 4 but it was too little, too late.
The Grizzlies look more like the title Spurs teams — they are controlling the paint, contesting shots on the wing and getting the offense from whatever matchup they can exploit (usually Zach Randolph against anyone).
Duncan looks his age now. He has all season but it was masked by tempo and wins, and we didn’t want to see it. But all season long when the Spurs ran into the league’s big front lines — like the Lakers — Duncan struggled. Memphis is big up front. Contenders always are.
Duncan has taken years of physical pounding in the post and he’s not the player he once was — still very good, but not dominant. And there is nobody anywhere near David Robinson’s quality around him in the post. He has no help.
The Spurs as contenders are done. The Grizzlies have put the nails in the top of that coffin. San Antonio may again win 50+ regular season games next season. There may be flashes of the old magic. But we know that they cannot sustain it for seven games against a quality opponent.
It’s over for the Spurs.
Someday all basketball fans hopefully will look back at their cool efficiency on the way to four titles and realize just how special those teams were.
But for now, for today, we’re just sad about he end of an era.
