The Fall of a Dynasty

I apologize for the lengthy drought of posts, but I was just waiting for the Spurs to lose.

In 1998-99 San Antonio defeated the New York Knicks to become the NBA champions. This victory marked the beginning of the Spurs dynasty, and a dynasty is exactly what it should be called. They won 4 championships in 9 years and were lead by the 2 same people each time: Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan.

The dominance of the Spurs in the playoffs solidified them as the most well-operated franchise in the league. They were consistently one of the best teams in the tough western conference and it seemed as though they won it all every other year. Experience, superb coaching, and excellent late draft selections(see Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, Dejuan Blair, Gary Neal, etc.) kept this team on the top. However they have seemed to falter the last 3 years, failing to make it back to the promised land.

The reason behind the perception of failure could just be our heavy expectations of them, since they were cleaning house in the playoffs for a decade. Although a very feasible theory, a more proper one is most likely the decline of Tim Duncan. TD is a first ballot hall-of-famer no question, but he is 35, and as expected his production is decreasing. The surprise to me was that the playoff experience of the rest of the team was not enough for them to stay a powerhouse.

I thought it was already decided that the Spurs were not the same playoff dominant team they used to be and the dynasty was over. But just when I start jumping the gun, San Antonio wins 61 games this season. A change in philosophy orchestrated by Popovich had them winning so much at the beginning of the season that there was talk they would break 70. If it weren't for the Bulls they would have finished atop the league, but instead had to settle for best in the west(which is much more difficult than being the best in the east).

Yet they somehow stumble into the playoffs, showing a lack of confidence in the clutch and in big games. With all of that behind them however, they still are the number one seed, so they get the easiest road to the finals right? Wrong. Instead, they met their match in the Rudy Gay-less Memphis Grizzlies. This is the fourth time in NBA history that a number 8 seed has overcome a number 1. To be honest, this series wasn't even tight. The Grizzlies appeared to have control the whole time and in fact I am surprised they didn't finish them off in 5.

Just when I start to think the Spurs are back, they get upset in the playoffs in Dallas Maverick fashion, except worse. Mark yesterday on your history calendar folks. The Fall of the Spurs is officially done.