GIF credit to SBNation and NBA on ESPN
One week and one day ago, Kawhi Leonard missed a free throw that would have effectively won the Spurs the 2013 NBA Title over the best Heat team out of the three. Of course, there were a bunch of other disasters and mistakes that happened late in that game for the Spurs (not to mention the Heat missing their first desperation three each time only to get an offensive rebound both times). If Manu Ginobili hits a free throw a few seconds before, or if someone just fouls Chris Bosh hard when he gets the offensive rebound down three, or if they just closeout better, the Spurs also win, so it is hard to pin this on Kawhi Leonard. It is even harder to pin it on Leonard when he had the Spurs' only two buckets in the Overtime, and then played great in Game 7, a game where Manu Giniboli was the worst version of Manu Ginobili and Danny Green basically decided to revert to the Cavaliers version of himself. But I will always remember Kawhi Leonard's missed free throw. It is a shame that even the Heat get a break every now and then.
Still, after Game 7 was over, and the Heat were crowned champs once again, I saw Dwyane Wade, a pretty unlikable figure these days, immediately go over to Tim Duncan and embrace him. I saw LeBron do the same thing. I saw the both of them go over to Popovich and have a long conversation with Popovich. All three of these things really took place before they even celebrated themselves. And while this made me feel a bit less upset at LeBron (and Wade) getting another ring, it made me feel better as a quasi-Spurs fan. Despite the Heat having lost once in this current iteration (I'm still not sure how Dallas did it), and been pushed to 7 games two other times (the Eastern Conference Final each of the last two years), this seemed like the hardest the Heat had had to work for a win. The Spurs made them earn it, and the Heat loved and respected them for it, and I do as well, even more than before.
What I'll remember about the Spurs in these playoffs and finals, after I get past the image of Kawhi Leonard, or Tim Duncan slapping the floor after missing the hook shot that would have tied Game 7, is Tim Duncan going 10-12 in the first half of Game 6, of all but Bill Simmons picking the Grizzlies to beat them and then the Spurs laying waste and getting swept. That's what these playoffs did for the Spurs. It is rare to lose the Finals, especially in that fashion (what transpired in the last minute of Game 6 was basically a collapse equal to the Bruins collapse in their Game 6) and actually have your legacy raised, but I think that is what happened with Duncan and Popovich, if not Parker as well.
In a way, the Devils had the same thing happen to them last year with their loss in the Stanley Cup Finals. They weren't supposed to be there. Their years of winning titles in the Brodeur era were long gone (for the Devils it was 2003, as opposed to 2007 for the Spurs), but Marty turned back the clock, Parise and Kovalchuk played at level with their talent, and they made one last run. The Spurs have enough good young players, and potentially enough cap space that this doesn't have to be one last run, but it felt like one anyway.
Even last year, they had the type of team that could beat the Heat, with great three-point shooting, a defensive plan that limited threes and a deep bench that could destroy an opponents bench. They just ran into the Thunder playing at their peak (and after losing Harden, that four game stretch against the Spurs may be as good as that Thunder crew ever plays). I'm sure the Heat breathed a sigh of relief last year when they drew the Thunder, a team they match up brilliantly with, instead of the Spurs, but no such luck for them this year. The Spurs played at their best in their dominant Game 3, but it was Game 5 that will be their lasting memory, the game that let everyone remember just how good that 'Big 3' was. Ginobili had one last shining moment, Tim Duncan went for 17 and 12, and some random role player hit a bunch of threes, with Danny Green playing the role once played by Brent Barry and Stephen Jackson. It was everything the Spurs were known for that led to four titles.
It was a cruel twist of the knife that the first time the Spurs would ever trail a finals series was when they lost the Finals four games to three. However, it was crueler that they did what they did in Game 7, doing something everyone hoped for but not too many thought was going to happen. They kept game 7 close. They made Game 7 extremely watchable and dramatic. They did the opposite of what a game Indiana team did a round earlier in making that particular Game 7 one of the most anti-climactic Game 7's that I can remember. It really all went downhill after Mario Chalmers' 3rd-quarter half-court buzzer beater to give the Heat a 72-71 lead. The Spurs never retook the lead, but kept the Game close throughout. At the end, they aren't as good as Miami. They don't have LeBron James right now, because this isn't 2003 Tim Duncan (no matter how amazing he was in the 1st half in Game 6). Miami had their aging star play three good games while the Spurs had theirs play just one. That's life in the NBA. You can't beat Father Time, but you can fight it.
The Spurs may never reach the finals again in the Duncan-Popovich era. Duncan may never get that 5th ring to make him level with Kobe, removing the 'Ringz' argument from the Duncan vs. Kobe debate. But the embrace of Duncan and Popovich with Wade and LeBron, you almost feel like the Spurs are co-winners. They didn't shy away from the team that won 27 straight games this season. They didn't wilt under the pressure of playing a Game 7 in Miami after blowing Game 6. The Spurs did what they have done for 15 years, played to the level of their abilities, and see how far it can take them. Maybe a year from now Kawhi Leonard has the confidence and stability to nail that second free throw, but maybe a year from now Duncan isn't quite good enough to drop 25 in one last vintage half. But it all came together this year, against that team, and made for one great series and one last moment for the NBA's model franchise.
