Why the champion Spurs will beat the Heat’s champions
Roar Rookie By rsingi, 31 May 2012 rsingi is a Roar Rookie
- Tagged:
- Basketball, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker
The famous addage goes that a champion team will always beat a team of champions and we are about to see it happen in the NBA playoffs.
The San Antonio Spurs are a champion team with no room for big egos. They have been built by the master coach Greg Popovich, who always puts the team first.
That’s not to say they don’t have some good players. Tony Parker,Manu Ginobli and Tim Duncan are all at the top of the heap, but each is willing to sacrifice their own game for the team good. You wont see scoring titles or MVPs, but you will see a championship.
We then come to the big egos of the Miami Heat: MVP Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. These guys are all about ego, who has the ball at crunch time and who is the main man?
Each has complained at various times about not getting enough shots and each has been seen criticising the coach. In fact it is even questionable whether the players or coach are running the team.
A champion team will always beat a team of champions. And it takes a true champion to put his ego aside and do what’s best for the team.
The Heat may have the fanfare the pay cheques and all the attention, but it is the Spurs who will be hoisting the championship trophy.
- Explore:
- Basketball, LeBron James, Miami Heat, NBA, San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker
May 31st 2012 @ 11:12am
Sam Brown said | May 31st 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
Hi, great first article. Left me wanting a bit more but still a very well written column.
Personally I agree with you. Spurs have some top ranked guys and they just gell better as a complete team. Come crunch time that will be the difference.
June 1st 2012 @ 5:35pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:35pm | Report comment
Thanks for the feedback
Tried to keep it short and sweet first up
May 31st 2012 @ 11:39am
mushi said | May 31st 2012 @ 11:39am | Report comment
Yes spurs are massive favourites because as an organisation they’ve done a better job of building a team over time, have the league’s best coach and Tony Parker has stepped up as an elite scorer this year.
But the Miami criticism, outside of the coaching mismatch is pure dross.
Crunch time/Main man blah blah:
You’re the first person I can remember reading that believes one of the failings of either Lebron James or Chris Bosh is demanding to take the final shot. Bron’s been criticised his whole career for passing to the open man for the final shot. Bosh gets accused of being too passive and letting his team mates take the big moment.
They didn’t join up to become the main man hell both Bron and Bosh got criticised for the opposite.
Scoring titles MVPS etc
Only one side has Scoring titles/ MVPs ? The two guys with a scoring title gave up any shot at doing it again to form the team.
By the way Tim Duncan called and asked if everyone could take a look at his CV.
Cashing cheques
They took sub max deals I know people really struggle with this but they get paid less money to play in Miami than they would have elsewhere. The highest paid player in this series by roughly 5m per year is Tim Duncan.
Were they full of themselves to think it would be easy – hell yes. But I think that realisation kicked in during June last year. You can hate them for that but the reason put forward above are just horrible.
Don’t take this as negative spurs, I think they’ll win and I think media attention has robbed Tim Duncan as his rightful place as the best player of his “generation”.
May 31st 2012 @ 1:08pm
Renegade said | May 31st 2012 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
Tim Duncan is the best player of his generation and part of the reason is because he just does his business and doesn’t carry on like the other clowns. He is the Darren Lockyer of the NBA.
The San Antonio Spurs are one of the most successful sporting organizations/teams in the world and i hope they win another championship this year.
May 31st 2012 @ 3:48pm
Lisa said | May 31st 2012 @ 3:48pm | Report comment
Spurs are a great team–they are efficient and effective. Agreed. I also agree with the comment above about the Heat. Being a Heat fan, I am so tired of everyone criticizing us. I watch all the commentary–it is amazing how forgiving commentators are of teams that have not won. When it comes to the Miami Heat winning, we get about a minute of coverage. We also get shunned about unnecessary fouls called on the other side. Wow–we must have won all these games because of unfair calls. It has nothing to do with that we may be a very good team…Right???…..Remember that Lebron got MVP because he is one of the best players in the world. After every game, if you listen to the post game–there has been no attitude and no ego from the Heart team. They have credited every team they have played which has not been the case with the teams that have lost to us. They have been relatively quiet this season and have stuck to their game plan–getting better as a team. We have hardly gotten any credit for us even coming back after Bosh has been out. I got it about Tim Duncan. What about Lebron winning MVP 3 times? He deserves to win the championship also. Who’s to say who is a better team? Teams come in all sizes and shapes. Is Miami the underdogs in a series with the Spurs? Absolutely. Is there a chance we can win? Absolutely. Anything can happen. Miami Heat would have not come this far if we did not deserve it and have a good team. We have even shown that we can come back when we have a major player missing. Can you say this about that many other teams in the NBA? Give credit to the Spurs but also give credit to the Miami Heat for hanging in there and prevailing in spite of circumstances.
June 1st 2012 @ 5:38pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:38pm | Report comment
Sorry to offend any Heat fans but calling it as I see it. Take yesterday James took a 19 foot jumper at the end of regulation then Wade took the big shots in overtime. Bosh is not even there but complained last year about not getting enough shots in the finals. I argue that if they bow out again in the finals the chemistry is not right. We have seen Wade and Spolestra arguing in the Indiana series and James and Spoelstra chesting each other.
That would never happen at the Spurs. I am happy to be proven wrong. For the record I am a Clippers fan so we wont be winning anything in the near future.
June 2nd 2012 @ 8:18am
Mushi said | June 2nd 2012 @ 8:18am | Report comment
You were proven wrong about the money and the awards? but no retraction there?
Lebron yes took the final shot. Some one actually has to and in a tied game with no play call they ran an isolation. I think Parker or ginobilli would have done the same. Well I hope they would as it the lowest risk option to close.
May 31st 2012 @ 11:51am
Alan Nicolea said | May 31st 2012 @ 11:51am | Report comment
Spurs have to get past the Thunder first…. They are 2 nil up but its not over yet. I do hope the Spurs can win the NBA championship. They choked last season but have done well this year.
May 31st 2012 @ 5:11pm
amazonfan said | May 31st 2012 @ 5:11pm | Report comment
How did they choke last season? They simply weren’t good enough.
June 1st 2012 @ 5:39pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:39pm | Report comment
Thunder made a statemnt today
May 31st 2012 @ 3:26pm
james thomas said | May 31st 2012 @ 3:26pm | Report comment
The Spurs are probably going to win but if LeBron mans up and DWade plays like he did in 06 Miami could win
May 31st 2012 @ 6:08pm
Austin said | May 31st 2012 @ 6:08pm | Report comment
How did the Spurs choke last season? They were the one seed and lost to the 8 seed. They definitely were good enough to win that series.
May 31st 2012 @ 7:18pm
amazonfan said | May 31st 2012 @ 7:18pm | Report comment
Yes, but choking implies that the Spurs were in a position to win, but blew it. They lost 4-2, including a home game. That the Spurs were much higher ranked seeds does not automatically mean that the series was theirs to lose. As it was, they lost to a better team, and so I don’t think they choked.
May 31st 2012 @ 7:09pm
Tristan Rayner said | May 31st 2012 @ 7:09pm | Report comment
With the Heat getting away from the Celtics (despite Rondo’s performance – what a game. Unbelievable really…) it looks as though they’ll form one side, and the Spurs are on track as well. Will be a great series. We’ll be live blogging it on The Roar – let me know if you’re interested in covering.
May 31st 2012 @ 7:17pm
JVGO said | May 31st 2012 @ 7:17pm | Report comment
The furor from the Celts fans regarding the reffing in game 2 is making Blues fans reactions from Wednesdays game look mild mannered.
May 31st 2012 @ 7:35pm
Tristan Rayner said | May 31st 2012 @ 7:35pm | Report comment
Ah it’s fun when going for the other team and barely noticing the commotion. Btw – I saw the Knicks vs Heat recently in NYC, the one playoff game the Knicks won actually, after travelling around California etc.
Where were you in Cali? Have been meaning to ask.
May 31st 2012 @ 7:53pm
JVGO said | May 31st 2012 @ 7:53pm | Report comment
We were in the East Bay,close to St Mary’s college and Berkeley, very nice place. I’m looking forward to Bogut’s career with Golden State. Also saw the Knicks take down OKC once at the Garden, great friendly crowd and atmosphere. Lebron in the flesh though is unbelievable, I have a bit of a soft spot for him really, I would take any chance I got to see him play. I hate Wade much more these days. Poor Rondo. So much prefer him to someone like Wade.
May 31st 2012 @ 8:07pm
Tristan Rayner said | May 31st 2012 @ 8:07pm | Report comment
Ah very nice indeed. That’s pretty cool. LeBron is indeed a freakish magician, Carmello was on fire that night though. Tickets weren’t cheap, but worth it. I’m a lover, not a fighter, about the only guy I can’t stand is Noah. Yeesh.
June 1st 2012 @ 5:49pm
Ian Whitchurch said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:49pm | Report comment
The Heat winning despite Rondo’s amazing game is the kind of result that breaks a team’s heart.
It will take a lot for them to come back …
June 1st 2012 @ 5:40pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:40pm | Report comment
Would love to cover it. If Boston win tommmorrow we have 2 live series that could go the distance. Shoudl be great viewing.
May 31st 2012 @ 8:45pm
Allsports said | May 31st 2012 @ 8:45pm | Report comment
The Spurs are a class organisation and I hope they can win again. What will be better is that another Aussie might get a ring. It doesn’t matter how much or little Patty Mills plays in the Playoffs, he’s a member of the team and will deserve a championship. I will like the fact that if the Spurs happen to win, the last 2 Aussies to have won a championship would have played on the same team, all be it around 12 years apart.
June 1st 2012 @ 8:58am
mushi said | June 1st 2012 @ 8:58am | Report comment
Which will make Patty Mills better than John Stockton cause rings are all that matter!
June 1st 2012 @ 5:41pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:41pm | Report comment
Mills deserves more time but may have to wait until teh Olympics to shine
June 1st 2012 @ 7:05pm
Allsports said | June 1st 2012 @ 7:05pm | Report comment
I don’t think I compared Mills to Stockton. Stockton was a great player, he’s a hall of famer so you can’t dispute that. All I’m saying is Patty Mills is playing a role in a championship calibre team no matter how smal.
June 2nd 2012 @ 7:52am
amazonfan said | June 2nd 2012 @ 7:52am | Report comment
You don’t seriously believe that do you?
June 2nd 2012 @ 10:20am
Allsports said | June 2nd 2012 @ 10:20am | Report comment
Im not saying that Patty would have contributed much on the court. All I’m saying is that he would be playing some part whether at training or wherever. He made his own luck by being on this team.
June 1st 2012 @ 9:21am
BG said | June 1st 2012 @ 9:21am | Report comment
I agree with you 100% – every now and then sport gives us a team like the Spurs who are about the game and not about the cheque book. Look at Chelsea Football Club – for years they bought and bought big with no real reward – this year with potentially their least “glamorous” team in 10 years, they won 2 major peices of silverware against all odds – all because of raw desire to be a champion team and put ego’s aside
Thanks for the great article.
June 1st 2012 @ 1:25pm
Kain said | June 1st 2012 @ 1:25pm | Report comment
Good first up effort.
What about the Hawks in the VFL in the 1980′s?? Champion team full of champions – and no, I’m not a Hawks fan.
Sometimes champions step up in the big moments because they are a bit on the egotistical side and hence they Believe, and therefore achieve.
Despite that some devil’s advocacy there, I think your premise of champion teams prevailing over a team of champions is accurate.
Cheers
June 1st 2012 @ 1:59pm
Malini said | June 1st 2012 @ 1:59pm | Report comment
Great article Raj!
Spurs are certainly a class act and well-deserving of another Championship ring. However…the young OKC team (led by the league’s leading scorer Mr Durant) are going to give them a run for their money! I’d love to hear your thoughts on these rising stars.
June 1st 2012 @ 5:43pm
rsingi said | June 1st 2012 @ 5:43pm | Report comment
Thanks Malini
The Thunder made a big statement today and will not go away quietly. I think they are 1 year away from big things but the addition of an experienced winner like Fisher will help them no end.
Westbrook Durant and Harden are going to give rival defences a headache for many years to come.