Misery Loves Company?

[This is my first fanpost, so I'd appreciate constructive criticism. Thanks!]

When the Spurs lost about a week ago, I decided to take a break off basketball. Or so I thought. The fan in me kept me updated at recent games with casual trips to Yahoo Sports. At the moment the Spurs lost, most of us probably braced ourselves for the inevitable mockery us Spurs fans would have to endure as a result of "blowing the number 1 seed in the West." I know I did. I shied away from comments sections of other blogs because they scraped into what I want to be an old wound. Fortunately, our rivals and enemies of old are making coping easier by each playoff game.

For some of us, including me, the Spurs didn't really blow it as much as they were merely outplayed by a tough Grizzlies team possessing several key mismatches against the Silver and Black. But as some of the pain of that "upset" may still be fresh among some of us, I will not elaborate on our (quite) unfortunate first round playoff series. Instead, I focus the spotlight on those warriors who triumphed over their first foes and made it to Round Two. 

Now, I don't know about you guys, but this past week has made me feel better about that lost. FIrst among the plenty of reasons is Memphis holding its own (for now) against KD and the Thunder. Why is that? It certifies, to an extent, that Memphis' wins against our Spurs were not merely results of our own meltdowns (although that's probably also true), but also the results of their skills and grit in playing basketball.

Probably another factor for this sense of ease is the current downslide of the Lakers and the Celtics. Granted, the Celtics have yet to face the Heat on their own home floor, but we certainly saw how they were outmuscled by the Heat. But asides from that, we saw how the Lakers made blunder after blunder to fall behind the Mavs 0-3, a Mavs team that everyone wrote off as losers as soon as we knew that they would face the Lakers. Doesn't this sound familiar? This has upset written all over it, just as the Spurs-Grizz series was.

Also, it is in these cases that we see the good in being a small market team - journalists are too busy comforting Kobe's squad about their chances that they don't get enough time to poke fun at how the Spurs stumbled into a first round exit.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not just celebrating at the defeat of our rivals. I'm just glad sort of glad this happened because it shows us that even the best of the best. Hey, let's admit it, LA HAS been great since the Gasol trade, getting to the finals three consecutive times and winning for the past two years. As of now, they are one loos away from the off season, and although Kobe might be saying they still believe they have a chance (even though no team in NBA History has ever made it), we still  see how all teams have Achilles' heels, and how it is EXACTLY what makes the playoffs so unpredictable.

I'm glad in the sense that when I see how similarly our  season and the Lakers' might end up, I still see hope in our boys. Look at our core and compare it to theirs. Look at how we still have a HoF calier coach next year while they might be starting over. Look how we have so many talents that can replace our core, and compare it to how they'll fare with their current bench. In the words of Ron Artest, they're F*&#ED.

As I end this sort of meaningless rant, I'd just like to say that since this year's playoffs have been so crazy already, I don't really mind the thought of the Mavs contending and doing well, because if there's a certain result from this year's playoffs that I want, it's having a team that has never won the title before win it. So yeah, upsets all the way!

Go Spurs Go!

Peace out,
jemokn