San Antonio Spurs, Boring No More

Let me take a moment's break from political blogging and write about another issue near and dear my heart...NBA basketball...

The San Antonio Spurs have long suffered the rap of being a “boring” team, a bunch of tough but colorless grinders that provided about as much spectacle as a regional spelling bee. As a longtime Spurs fan, this perception always irritated me. But I kept quiet because, well, it was pretty much true. “I love to watch great defensive basketball” was a common phrase around ole’ San Antone.

But no more. As Marc Stein rightly points out in his ESPN column, these Spurs got game. Against the high flying, fast-break Phoenix Suns, the Spurs have flown higher and moved faster. Have you seen Spurs point guard Tony Parker run the court? Like lightening going downhill.

And what can you say about guard Manu Ginobili? Spinning, jumping, cutting, smashing, the man looks like he’s gonna get himself killed every time he touches the ball. Yet, more often than any other player out there, he’ll turn what seems to be pure anarchy into a brilliant, acrobatic shot that leaves your jaw bumping the floor. And that’s not even mentioning superstar Tim Duncan and his mesmerizing skills in the low post.

The days of the boring Spurs are over. This is a group that’ll keep your eyes glued to the screen and your rear out of the chair. If the NBA is smart, they’ll stop thinking of these guys as backwater yawners and start marketing them like the all-out phenomenally exciting team that they are.

Overstatement? Sure. I profess no impartiality here. But f you’re still buying into the anti-Spurs hype, stop. Check these guys out. They’re a hell of a lot of fun.