While I don't quite "hate" the Spurs, I have to say that they bug me about as much as any team ever has. Don't get me wrong, they're obviously a great team, and have invested in veteran players and committed to keeping their core together as I feel more teams need to, and for that they should be admired.
Have to say though, watching Duncan roll his eyes and whine every single time he gets a whistle, has become very old. He has actually delayed games quite often with his need to complain and take his case to the officials. If you ask Timmy himself, I'm sure he'd say that he never actually fouled anyone in his life, and that it's a conspiracy left over from the Joey Crawford incident to just plain give him as hard a time as possible. (Frankly, as much as I don't care for Joey, I'm surprised he didn't walk over to the bench and slap Duncan silly, for mocking him and laughing at him with that smug "I-never-do-anything-wrong" look on his face, I for one wouldn't have blamed him, and that at least would have been worth the suspension he suffered anyway). Duncan's a truly great player ... and I can't stand him.
Moving on: Ginobili is a flopper, (and Duncan, and Bowen, and Parker, etc.), and let's face it, the Spurs have taught the Master Class in that subject for years. Of course, everybody does it to some extent, but the Spurs rely on it, and have turned it into an artform. Their never-ending complaints to the refs have seen to it, as the officials just plain get sick of hearing it, and would rather blow their whistles than hear any more whining from the Spurs. Who can blame them, really? Ginobili is the flag carrier here, however, and I swear he would rather spend time laying on the floor of an arena, smelling the odor of floor polish up-close and personal, than he would actually playing the game.
Bowen: Well we all know this subject matter all too well, and the mere fact that this human-being is still allowed to play in a professional sports venue, is an affrontery to the game of basketball, (the only worse such example is Mike Tyson, and that's not saying much). This guy should be in prison ... seriously. If some of the things he's done were done by Joe Schmoe on the street to another, there would be at the very least, an arrest for assault and battery. But, because he's a high-paid professional athlete, he has somehow avoided these punishments by paying a "fine", which amounts to a "drop-in-the-bucket" of his multi-million dollar contract.
Give me a break! This guy has broken ankles, (AI), kicked multiple players in the face, kneed uncountable groins, (who'd want to count them anyway?), kicked and punched other players in the head, back, legs, shoulders, etc., and on and on. The guy's a criminal in a basketball jersey, and the fact that any team would allow him to stay there is a sad statement of their priorities. This guy's been given more latitude than the equator, and is making big bucks for wreaking havoc on his fellow players every time he gets frustrated. Why wouldn't he? He's off the hook for the most part, (other than suspensions and fines), because he's a basketball "star"! Ah ... commissioner ... please? Nuff sed.
I agree that the Spurs are a great team, who can argue that with their recent record? They are well-coordinated, well-coached, powerful, many-faceted, and really one of the standards when considering how the game is played successfully. There's a ton to be learned, both positive and negative, by watching San Antonio, and there are ways that I wish the Celts were more like them. They're one of the best teams in the NBA, and probably will be for the next five years or so, at least. That said, they still bug me ... big-time, and each player is focused mainly on their own agenda. There's much more to a team than just how they play ... character, team-spirit, unity, dedication, integrity, and more, and in any of those "other" categories, the Spurs would be far down on the list of good examples. I'd personally take a hard-working, hustling, heart-filled, dedicated young team over them any day of the week. A team like say ... oh, I don't know .... the Celtics?
P.S. - Boston has started winning like "them" ... ten games more, in fact, in the regular season. Maybe it would be more accurate to say the Spurs would be happy if they could start winning more like the Celtics do.
