HoopsHype.com Columns

"We were number one!"
by Daniel Walsh / April 23, 2003

The quest for the #1 seed in the West, and home court advantage in the playoffs, was an intense battle that went down to the last day of the regular season. The Kings and Mavericks faded, while the steady, yet unspectacular play of San Antonio allowed the Spurs to steal the top seed and establish themselves as the team to beat in this year's playoffs. "Beat" being the key word, as that's what the Suns will do to the Spurs in this first round series.

Everyone knows the Lakers are the ultimate sleeping giant and the Suns are preparing for the role as David by taking out the Spurs. And how and why will the Suns win this series? Three words: Steady, yet unspectacular. Those words are a good way to describe the Spurs and their leader, Tim Duncan. Duncan turns in a double-double almost every game and maintains the same demeanor and work ethic throughout the season. However, as was evident in game one against Phoenix, Duncan lacks the ability to take over and single handedly win a game for his team. Steady, yet unspectacular is good for statistics during the regular season, but it’s not good for winning championships.

Duncan had 17 points and 13 rebounds in the opening game loss to Phoenix, while Iverson put up 55, T-Mac 43, Kobe 39 and Shaq 32 in their team's respective opening games, all victories.

In game two, the Spurs trailed by seven points in the fourth quarter and needed a 19-4 run to pick up their first win against the feisty Suns. Duncan stepped up in the fourth quarter of that game, but Stephen Jackson’s play was the key to victory.

Phoenix came into this series with the worst road winning record of all the playoff teams and the Spurs had the second best home winning record of all the playoff teams, so the Spurs had a golden opportunity to take a quick lead in the series. A game one win was also more important this year because the new seven game format of the first round meant that the underdogs were guaranteed two home games.

The Spurs had several leads in the opening game, yet they were unable to pull away or put away the Suns, because, collectively and individually, San Antonio does not have the killer instinct of a champion. Duncan did not take over the game and no one else was there to step up for the Spurs when the Suns made their runs. Duncan and Jackson stepped it up in game two, but now Phoenix has the home court advantage in this series.

The number one seed losing game one at home to an eighth seed is usually a much bigger story than what's been reported. This is probably because the Spurs are not a true number one seed and Phoenix was the only playoff team to have a winning record against San Antonio during the regular season, winning three out of four contests. So game one was not that much of a surprise for the knowledgeable fan.

The energy and athleticism of Phoenix seems to be giving the older, wiser Spurs a lot of problems. Tony Parker has been unable to even come close to stopping Stephon Marbury, Amare Stoudemire pushed David Robinson around like a bully and the Spurs have no one to guard Shawn Marion. All this adds up to a recipe for disaster for the Spurs, who will soon be joining the SuperSonics as the only number one seeds in the West to lose in round one of the playoffs.

At least Spurs fans had a few days to enjoy their title as "best" team in the league. After the playoffs are over, that title will rightfully go to the Lakers, or Kings.

Daniel Walsh writes for the Daily Southtown and is a regular contributor to HoopsHype.com

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