Grantland: The Spurs and Mortality

A pretty somber tone from one of my favorite writers over at Grantland (yes, I like Carles not for his hipster bro-ness. but because his writing is really easy to read and so effortless).

I won't say he's completely wrong, but I do hope the Spurs have that one last great run in them.

3 months ago silverandblack_davis 30 comments 0 recs |

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The Spurs are somehow sadder than the Charlotte Bobcats because you can’t just forget about them altogether. Whether it is the Spurs’ recent playoff purgatory, Dwight Howard holding the Magic hostage, or the New Orleans Hornets establishing themselves as the league’s premier free agent non-destination, all doomed small-market scenarios make fans wonder if they will ever feel any semblance of glory, pride, or even just marketable hope ever again.

What a ridiculous post. His ability to enter the psyche of a Spurs fan is non-existent. Yet another obituary for someone that hopes to see the Spurs humbled, but is too smart to admit that to himself.

by LatinD on Feb 21, 2012 7:03 PM CST reply actions

I sort of agreed with that

its more a shot at the Bobcats and their perpetual irrelevance, they shouldn’t even exist. Bad market, stupid team name,ugly uniforms, no players of substance. I think the point he was making was that the Spurs decline cannot be ignored given that theyre were the mos successful franchise in sports over the past 10-12 years, so their decline is harder to watch.

I enjoyed the article on the whole, its gonna be tough to replicate the past 12 years, much of which was predicated on winning the Duncan lottery; not knowing what happens when he retires, if Pop leaves, how much Tony and Manu have left etc, coupled with the fact that San Antonio has never been a marquee FA destination, we could potentially be heading into dark times.

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Feb 21, 2012 7:07 PM CST up reply actions

they were the most

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Feb 21, 2012 7:11 PM CST up reply actions

Yeah that Bobcats comparison is some kind of a reach.

I would like to get a little more inside, myself -- Pau Gasol

by silverandblack_davis on Feb 21, 2012 7:12 PM CST up reply actions

The whole thing is a reach, or an insult. Since when Spurs fans have nothing to feel pride about? Or hope?

by LatinD on Feb 21, 2012 7:18 PM CST up reply actions

I feel ya, broham. Even if I like Carles, basketball talk is not his cup of tea, much less the Spurs.

I would like to get a little more inside, myself -- Pau Gasol

by silverandblack_davis on Feb 21, 2012 7:22 PM CST up reply actions

I thought it was awful. He attempts to validate his thoughts at the beginning when he says, “But when you watch the Spurs night in and night out, each game feels like a struggle with mortality.” He has clearly not been watching the Spurs night in and night out. His thoughts seem logical if you caught one or two games early in the season, but this team is full of young potential and our big three are not in the state that he would have you believe.

He is not a Spurs fan and I do not think he’s even a fan of the NBA. It really bothered me that he claimed to watch the Spurs. If he had come at this from a different angle, (investigating the mortality of all small market teams in general), it may have worked. But validating your thoughts with something you clearly are not following is transparent and a lazy way to write.

"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles

by Fred Silva on Feb 22, 2012 12:07 AM CST up reply actions

Does anyone really think the Spurs will win a playoff series? They were the no. 1 seed in last year’s playoffs. They could be the no. 1 seed this year. This, in itself, is impressive, but when your benchmark is winning championships, what could be worse than a team that plays well in the regular season and then inevitably flames out in the playoffs to a much younger and cooler team?

This also killed me. It’s simply ignorant. Last year’s team earned the number 1 seed thanks to outstanding play by Manu. Last year’s team was not as deep as our current squad. When Manu went down, we were no longer at the 1 seed level. We all know why we lost to the Grizzlies last year because we watch the Spurs. This dude has no idea what he’s talking about. You can’t use last year’s results as evidence of our soon to be had demise.

I thought about writing a rebuttal to this ignorant article, if you couldn’t tell.

"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles

by Fred Silva on Feb 22, 2012 12:22 AM CST up reply actions

Had this article been posted at the beginning of the season, a lot of Spurs fans would have agreed. Know? It makes little sense.
I’m guessing that someone thought it was edgy to write about the Spurs imminent demise when they were on a 11-game winning streak.

"Manu Ginobili is the ultimate human cheat code, the password to the rim."
-Alex Dewey

by Edg5 on Feb 22, 2012 10:30 AM CST up reply actions

Hq! I’m sure he thinks a 40-pt loss validates this so-called article;)

When Tim Duncan isn’t on the court, the Spurs lose a bit of their intellect. When Ginobili goes missing, the Spurs lose their heart. - Tim V. 48MoH

by p2cat on Feb 23, 2012 11:40 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

Thinks?

He’s certain of it!

The 2012 season: the Spurs have a chance, but only if Manu can be Manu in the playoffs. - CapHill
Pounding the Rock

by J.R. Wilco on Feb 23, 2012 1:13 PM CST up reply actions

I’m writing one.

by LatinD on Feb 22, 2012 10:01 PM CST up reply actions

Finally took one to draw you out of the woodwork! But seriously, looking forward to it.

I would like to get a little more inside, myself -- Pau Gasol

by silverandblack_davis on Feb 22, 2012 10:17 PM CST up reply actions

Here or 48moh? I’d love to see it.

I have the weirdest Bonner right now.

by Tim C. on Feb 23, 2012 12:25 PM CST up reply actions

Uh, here, I guess? If those FanPosts are fixed.

by LatinD on Feb 23, 2012 8:21 PM CST up reply actions

My first thought was “FINALLY! Grantland wrote an article about the Spurs!” But the more I read (at least until the somewhat respectful last paragraph) the angrier I became. He has no idea what it’s like to be a Spurs fan, and just makes himself look like an idiot for trying.

"Sometimes I think I lost something really important to me, and it turns out I already ate it."

by DrumsInTheDeep on Feb 21, 2012 7:24 PM CST reply actions

Upon seeing the title, I thought, “wow this must be epic.” Well… it was far from it, but I read it just the same.

I would like to get a little more inside, myself -- Pau Gasol

by silverandblack_davis on Feb 21, 2012 7:26 PM CST up reply actions

Im as big a Spurs fan as anyone

But I think you guys are missing the point; the sadness he feels towards the Spurs is in light of the current economic situation in the NBA; we’ve been extraordinarily lucky to win and keep Duncan, Parker and Manu. Once those guys are gone, the slate is completely clean, Pop most likely gone and the cupboards relatively bare. So we either have to get lucky again, get extremely loyal players or have San Antonio suddenly become the top destination for free agents.

I guess I read the article a bit different than everyone else. I thought he made some salient points, the fall will be harder to watch b/c the Spurs HAVE been important, unlike the Bobcats, whose ineptitude goes unnoticed b/c theyre utterly irrelevant.

Okay, just so I understand it... in your wildest fantasy, you are in hell. And you are co-running a bed and breakfast with the devil.

by bren on Feb 21, 2012 8:53 PM CST up reply actions

I did try to take my homer hat off, and I appreciate the article for what it was trying to get to. I do think that it will rub a lot of Spurs fans the wrong way.

I would like to get a little more inside, myself -- Pau Gasol

by silverandblack_davis on Feb 21, 2012 9:09 PM CST up reply actions

We are witnessing the end of dynasty, sure. But the article is a bit simplistic. I think we all know and accept that the Spurs will suck one day or another (and thus being irrelevant for a couple of years), you can’t compete forever without a Top 3 or 5 pick. That’s called rebuilding and rebuilding mostly depends on the organization. Some teams keep getting top picks after top picks and see no improvement because their FO are dysfunctional. If you put your players in a position to succeed (and that doesn’t necessarily mean throwing money at everyone (see Magic, Cavs as far as small markets go)), I think they most likely will stay.
In that regard, for example the bobcats hiring of Cho is the best move they have done in years (the first step to relevance, but an important one).

by CafeCalva on Feb 22, 2012 6:46 AM CST up reply actions

The Spurs manage to excel in the regular season because they always seem to find a handful of overachievers to supplement their Big Three.

Doesnt know what hes talking about. This is the first season in about 5 years where the Spurs big three havent had to play a ton of minutes and actually have alot of help from the bench. Looks like Grantland needed an article.

A man gets the eye of a Tiger, but a Tiger gets the eye of a Manu.

by alamobro on Feb 21, 2012 11:59 PM CST reply actions

And then he refers to Lin, the ultimate “o erachiever” IMHO.

When Tim Duncan isn’t on the court, the Spurs lose a bit of their intellect. When Ginobili goes missing, the Spurs lose their heart. - Tim V. 48MoH

by p2cat on Feb 23, 2012 11:43 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

"overachiever"*

When Tim Duncan isn’t on the court, the Spurs lose a bit of their intellect. When Ginobili goes missing, the Spurs lose their heart. - Tim V. 48MoH

by p2cat on Feb 23, 2012 11:44 AM CST via mobile up reply actions

Lin’s the real deal.

And by that, I mean he’s as real as a guy who has come to the public eye on a D’Antoni-coached team can be.

He may not be able to thrive on a non-SSOL team, but as long as he’s with Mike, he’ll continue to play the way he has. The question is whether he’ll be able to cut out the turnovers.

The 2012 season: the Spurs have a chance, but only if Manu can be Manu in the playoffs. - CapHill
Pounding the Rock

by J.R. Wilco on Feb 23, 2012 1:16 PM CST up reply actions

Lin was 1-11 tonight against the Heat.

"Rip it and grip it!" -Kevin Costner

by The Augustus on Feb 23, 2012 11:42 PM CST up reply actions

Alot of national non-watchers feel this way.

by indiancharlie on Feb 22, 2012 8:11 AM CST reply actions

This guy is a shmoe. If you look at his other articles on Grantland, they’re all pop culture filler pieces. His one sports article (on a sports-culture website, go fig) is this piece of garbage.

by thedrizzl on Feb 22, 2012 11:44 AM CST reply actions

I understand what point he was trying to make, but he made it very poorly.
He tried to be “nostalgic” before this Spurs are gone and also whine about small market teams in general. He tried to force emotions into it, but because he doesn’t seem to have a clue it was just very artificial

by ironm8 on Feb 22, 2012 11:59 AM CST reply actions

Read the entire thing, and felt like I was being lectured by my buddy the ~~Pistons~~ ~~Kobe~~ ~~Bull~~ fan. Wait, what is he again? A poor attempt at an article about the hottest team in the league, from an ESPN affiliated website.

Just tell the truth.

by Ed (dfjmed) on Feb 22, 2012 10:42 PM CST reply actions