Didn't your mother tell you not to take candies from a stranger? I guess some sugars are simply irresistible.
As the NBA season approaches the halfway mark, naïve basketball enthusiasts have developed a real sweet tooth for wanna-be contenders. The Phoenix Suns have impressed, the Seattle Supersonics have transcended, and the Dallas Mavericks are hot, but don't let the sugarcoated challengers distract you from the real sweetmeat.
The San Antonio Spurs have surreptitiously eased into the background — just the way they like it. It's simple to understand really. They don't average 100 or more points per game or offer a fun-and-gun brand of basketball, they don't have a player recovering from improbable ankle injuries, and they didn't make any MVP-like free agent signings or acquisitions in the offseason.
They are just a model group who follows fundamentals, and grinds out their 9-to-5.
Even at 28-7, the Spurs are still a second story to LeBron' James’ Cavs or Kobe Bryant's Lakers, but come playoff time, the headlines will change.
The Spurs are the most complete team in the NBA. With coach Gregg Popovich as pilot, the Spurs are a no-nonsense disciplined team — something few other squads can echo. But since the Spurs don't razzle, dazzle, and rock the rim as many of the Dallas Maverick look-alikes do, their highlights move to the back of the line and therefore, move into the back of interested minds. They are the finest defensive team in the league, allowing less than 86 points per game, but that is not the most saccharine of stats. Bobby Basketball wants to see crams and jams, not 24-second shot-clock violations.
While the Phoenix Suns have garnered most of the pundit praise — rightfully so, since they've only lost four contests — they are not built for the playoffs. When games are slowed down to a crawl, the depth chart is tested, and half-court mettle is magnified, the Suns will fail. Jason Kidd's New Jersey Nets and Dirk Nowitzki's Dallas Mavericks have lost time and time again to more balanced teams — Phoenix will Rolo-over, as well.
The Supersonics will also give fans cavities and tummy aches as they are just as likely to flop in the postseason. While they are the only team to have defeated San Antonio twice this season (once at the SBC Center), it's hard to envision the Sonics triumphing in a seven-game series relying so heavily on the jump shot. Their field-goal percentage has already begun to slip and given that their second worst rebounding rank in the Association, if/when they meet the Spurs in the playoffs, it will be payday.
The Minnesota Timberwolves were penciled in as San Antonio's stiffest competition, but their locker room is about to pop like a bubble of chewing gum. Sacramento's bench is thinner than ribbon candy, Houston is still a mystery of Caramilk proportions, and Dallas' defense is comparable to melted chocolate.
So who's left to impede San Antonio's path to the NBA Finals?
If you said the Lakers — gimme a break.
See you in the finals.
Confection and competition mix like Mondays and me.
"Feeding is a very important ritual for me. I don't trust people who don't like to eat." — Gina Gershon
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