Shaky Resolve

I'm a Spurs fan. It's not an obsession, and I don't partake in partisan schadenfreude that so many others do, save for the Lakers, because their fans tend to be boorish. I save my perverse delight in misery for football season.

That said, I like to watch the Spurs dominate. A close game coming down to a buzzer beater is a thrill, certainly, but watching the Spurs use Popovich's defensive schemes to perfection happens to be the reason is the reason I became a fan of the team in the first place. For whatever reason, I like watching another team held to 35% shooting as their stars begin to throw tiny temper tantrums as they flail against the might of a 2-3 zone with flawless man-help.

I got to see that for about 30 minutes last night. I was ecstatic for those 30 minutes. It was a brush of glory with the championship teams of Spurs lore. All around, the Spurs held the Heat to under 80 points on 39% shooting, and most teams would consider that a triumph.

Of course, the Spurs decided to shit the bed with a 24 point lead. 14 turnovers in the second half combined with a 20-2 run brought the Heat within 6 points of a gigantic comeback. Watching the game, it felt all but inevitable. George Hill was making bad decisions with the ball, and Manu was the only player who looked like he gave a shit.

Granted, this could be memory filling in here, but the Spurs got their shit pushed in that second half. They were only outscored by 6 in the second half, but it felt like much, much more. The Heat were hungry, and the Spurs were not. When I talked about blowouts earlier, I mentioned how some teams will bite and claw their way back into contention. The Heat seem entirely capable of that, even if they are essentially fueled by Dwyane Wade's will and the expiring contract of Jermaine O'Neal. The Spurs were missing a point guard and still managed to lock down, but they couldn't manage to rip out the jugular. They managed to get the game back in control after getting D-Wade in foul trouble, but that's what they should've been doing... after the timeout that they should've called before the offensive foul that Richard Jefferson should not have allowed himself to commit.

But there's a reason that the teams play all 48 minutes. The Spurs squeaked out a double-digit win, despite their best efforts to sabotage themselves. This is not what a team bound for the finals looks like.