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2 min read Sports

In Defense of the Spurs — Again

These damn sports writers. I've just been perusing an article on ESPN.com about Kenyon Martin's need to step up in the finals in order for the Nets to have a chance against the Spurs. I was enjoying it (just a little, though, because his style bothers me.

All those exclamations! And what's with the stupid rhetorical questions?). His first allusion to the Spurs only having one good player slid past me with little notice. However, the following gem stopped my eyes dead in their tracks. And pissed me off: Anyone have the Spurs better than third when the season started? When the playoffs started? C'mon now. OK, quick, who's their second-best player? For a split second, maybe I considered the Spurs' roster as a knee-jerk reaction to defend them; first stop: David Robinson, of course. But, unwilling to even fathom rating David, I moved on. Then, during the second half of the second, I thought more closely about the question. And then about basketball as a whole.Basketball is not an individual sport. Sure there are teams with "superstars": Pistons -- Ben Wallace; Celtics - Paul Pierce; 76ers -- Allen Iverson; Lakers -- Sasquatch and Crybaby; Wizards (I have to go here) -- Michael Jordan. We all know where these teams are. The beauty of the Spurs -- like the Kings and the Mavericks, even -- is their depth. On any given night, any of its players, including the seemingly ageless Kevin Willis, can step on the floor and mesh. They meshed successfully during the season on their way to 60 wins.

So there. I've responded. Basketball is a team sport. Superstars are great. They're fun to watch. They keep the crowd excited. That does, afterall, appear to be the sole responsiblity of players in general: fostering the co-dependency of their fans. What is exciting is Tony Parker zipping through the key to toss in a floater or coming off a pick and roll to drill a three; Manu Ginobli chasing after rebounds, instigating fast breaks, and dropping threes; Malik Rose (see Manu Ginobli); Tim Duncan splitting double and triple teams to bank a two-footer, not splitting double and triple teams to bank 10-footers, dunking, passing, and rebounding; and David Robinson...well, I personally think he's exciting even when he sits on the bench. In the end it's all about the team, and the Spurs certainly shouldn't be criticized for having only one "superstar." 'Specially by this guy.

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