Four Starboard
2019 NBA West First Round, Game 7
Like a Rolling Stone - It was a different world, it was another life. Perhaps, in a cruelly poetic way, this was the bridge from the stability of a world that had sustained for decades to the chaos of a new world that awaited on the horizon just past the point of visibility. The San Antonio Spurs fought nobly to hang on to that past stability, to the order of a world that for Lonnie Walker IV, the Spurs youngest player, was the only world he had ever known. When Patty Mills aggressively advanced an outlet pass to a streaking Bryn Forbes for a dunk that cut the Denver Nuggets' lead to two points (88-86) with 52.2 seconds remaining in Game 7, having clawed our way back from an abysmal 13 point first quarter performance and a deficit that ballooned to 17 points in the third quarter, the continuation of stability and order was well within our reach. Full stop with one stop for a chance to advance to the Western Conference Semifinals for the 17th time in 21 seasons under Gregg Popovich. Could we get just one stop? After a Nuggets timeout, we received our answer...unfortunately it was not the answer we had been hoping for and Jamal Murray, Denver's super-talented point guard, was more than happy to be the bearer of our bad news. With 36.8 seconds remaining, Murray sank a 14-foot floater to extend the Nuggets' lead back up to four (90-86). Of course, as coldblooded and devastating as Murray's dagger was, all hope was not yet lost. In his first season headlining the post-Kawhi-defection-Spurs, DeMar DeRozan had had no issues putting the team on his back in clutch situations. Nothing was about to change during a First Round Game 7. Only eight seconds later, DeMar got to "his spot" deep in the paint and rose up for a shot to cut the lead to two with enough time left (28 seconds) for us to have the opportunity to play defense without fouling. Sadly, that opportunity never ultimately came to fruition as DeMar's shot was blocked by Torrey Craig, one of Denver's better wing-defenders. Nuggets superstar center Nikola Jokic recovered Craig's block shot giving possession back to Denver. While the blocked shot was obviously devastating to the Spurs' chances of advancement, once again...all was not yet lost. Down four, the Spurs still had the opportunity to play the "foul game" and given the Nuggets' collective playoff inexperience coupled with the added pressure of an elimination game, it was reasonable to hope that Denver might miss free throws and help keep San Antonio's door open to make up the four point deficit in the final 25 seconds. What happened next, though, was inexplicable. For some reason, the Spurs elected not to foul and allowed Denver to run the shot clock down under five seconds before Murray ultimately shot and missed. It seemed that Coach Pop was calling for the foul from the sidelines but our players on the court seemed to just have a collective mental meltdown by allowing the Nuggets to run the clock down. Even though Murray missed, it was too late by the time DeMar got the rebound given that we were still down four points. There was only one second left when DeRozan got control of the ball and realizing that it was over, he didn't even attempt a desperation shot before time ran out and San Antonio's season was over. On April 27th, 2019, the Denver Nuggets eliminated the San Antonio Spurs in seven games (4-3), winning the decisive game 90-86 at home at the Pepsi Center in Denver. Rudy Gay was the player of the game with 21 points and 8 rebounds off the bench. Without the veteran swingman's contributions throughout the game, the Spurs wouldn't have had the opportunity to be within striking distance to steal the series down the stretch. Spurs teams past regularly came up with the stops necessary to advance in the playoffs. The 2018-19 Spurs didn't and in falling short, this group, despite their grit, finally allowed the bonds of our past to succumb under the weight of an offseason transaction that changed the trajectory of our future. The new world was no longer just past the point of visibility on the horizon, the new world was here.
Fast forward 25 months and a lot has happened. First (but not foremost), this, the Black & Silver post for the 2019 Western Conference First Round, Game 7, is brazenly pushing out the limits of what constitutes a timely game recap. If you are a regular reader of the blog series, it will probably not shock you to know that I'm unapologetically defiant (borderline gleeful) to be pushing those limits. After all, one of our guiding principles here at theLeftAhead is that time is an illusion. Of course, I wouldn't have had to push the limits out this much had an unfortunate incident of playing an uneven number of games during the pandemic resulted in the unlucky math that eliminated the Spurs from competing in the 2019-20 NBA Playoffs in The Bubble in Orlando, FL last fall and also ended San Antonio's record-breaking streak of 22 consecutive playoff appearances. Like I said, a lot has happened in the 25 months since the Spurs 2019 Game 7 defeat at the hands of the Nuggets. A new world indeed. Zoom forward a little bit more into this season and we find a couple of more examples of our beloved Spurs adjusting to the realities of this new era. The season started off on a very positive trajectory and there was hope that last season was just a blip (and not the new normal). There were positive indications that we were in position to establish our return to being a perennial postseason lock through much of the season with the team reaching a season-high mark of five games over .500 and holding the fifth-seed in the standings on Valentine's Day. Then, unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic reared its ugly head. We were never the same after losing five players to health and safety protocols in late February. To make matter worse, having had six games postponed due to protocols also meant that our schedule post-All-Star break was the most brutal in the league playing 40 games in 68 days without one instance of consecutive days off in the second half of the season. More tribulations came as the Spurs decided to buy out LaMarcus Aldridge (one of the last remaining links to the old world Spurs) on March 25th when we couldn't find a suitable trade partner before the deadline. I was happy to see LA sign with the Nets so he could have a chance to compete again for a title but then really bummed when he was abruptly forced to retire on April 15th due to a reoccurrence of his heart condition. (I enjoyed watching you go to work on the block in SA for six great years, LA. Amazing career. Health is more important than basketball so I wish you a long, healthy retirement.) As if we had not already endured enough adversity, we lost Derrick White to a season-ending ankle sprain at the end of April. All of this adversity resulted in the Spurs going from five games over .500 to six games below .500 and ending the season as the 10th seed entering the newly-created NBA Playoff Play-In Tournament. Tonight, we face a familiar division foe in the Memphis Grizzlies at the FedEx Forum. The Grizzlies hold the 9th seed in the play-in tournament so they get home court advantage for tonight's game. If we win tonight, we will get to play the loser of tonight's game between the 8th seed Golden State Warriors and the 7th seed Defending Champion Los Angeles Lakers on Friday. Win that game and we earn the 8th seed and get to face the Utah Jazz in the First Round of the playoffs. Quite a task in front of us but the good new is that there is no expectation for us two win two games in a row to "make the playoffs" so we might as well play loose and see what happens. In the end, we are officially in this new world of playing the underdog rather than being the perennial powerhouse and it's kind of exciting to be in this new position. There are advantages to our new world. Tonight is going to be a lot of fun. Nothing exemplifies the transition into a new era of Spurs basketball more than an event that took place this past Saturday (May 15th). If you're a reader of this blog and a Spurs plan, the aforementioned event need not be named (but I will share a video from it below). All I need to say is thank you ? thank you ? thank you ? thank you ? thank you ? Tim Duncan. And on that note, time to start preparing for the game tonight. Even as an underdog, we still have the winningest coach in NBA history in our corner (regular season and playoffs combined) so I like our chances to play loose and enjoy the "lack of expectations" and maybe get hot and shake up the 2021 Western Conference Playoff race. If we are successful in sneaking our way into a First Round series with the Utah Jazz, all I can say to the fans of the teams ahead of us who may feel that their squads were more deserving is sorry, not sorry.
Thirteen Port
2019 NBA West First Round, Game 6
Things Done Changed - Gregg Popovich is 3-3 coaching in Game 7s. He won his first at home on basketball's biggest stage in an 81-74 defensive masterpiece against the Detroit Pistons to closeout the bloodbath that was also known as the 2005 NBA Finals and capture our third NBA title. Manu Ginobili, the most beloved Spur that Pop has ever coached, was magnificent in the championship-clinching victory tallying 23 points (8-13 from the field, 5-5 from the line), five rebounds, four assists, and one steal. Coach Pop lost his second Game 7 the following season again at home, this time battling our Texas arch rival Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 Western Conference Semifinals. In that series, we stormed back from being down three games to one and would've closed out the Mavs with a Manu three in the last minute, except for future Hall-of-Famer Dirk Nowitzki having other ideas. We dropped a heartbreaker that night in overtime 119-111 largely due to Nowitzki's heroic 37 points, 15 rebound, three assist, one block, and one steal performance. Popovich coached his first-ever road Game 7 in his third winner-take-all contest in the 2008 Western Conference Semifinals against the New Orleans Hornets. After being 0-3 playing in New Orleans heading into Game 7, the Spurs closed out the Chris Paul-led scrappy Hornets 91-82. Manu once again led the way with 26 points, five rebounds, and five assists. Back on basketball's biggest stage, Coach Pop came up short in his second road (fourth overall) Game 7 in the 2013 NBA Finals, losing the game and the title 95-88 to the Miami Heat. Considering we'd just experienced the most painful loss in franchise history 48 hours earlier, it was a masterful coaching effort by Pop and a valiant effort by the Spurs but, ultimately, LeBron James' 37 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and two steal were just too much to overcome. In Pop and the Spurs very next playoff series, we served our rivals from Dallas some revenge for 2006, winning Pop's 5th Game 7 at home 119-96 in the 2014 Western Conference First Round against the Mavericks. Tony Parker played a dominant offensive game scoring 32 points en route to series win and ultimately our 5th title. The next season, once again in a Western Conference First Round Game 7 situation, Coach Pop and the Spurs, this time on the road (after dropping from the 3-seed to the 6-seed on the final day of the regular season with a no-show performance ironically in New Orleans) dropped another heartbreaker 111-109 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Chris Paul capped his 27 point, six assists performance with the game winner, a shot that was literally millimeters away from being blocked. So yes, all told, Coach Pop is 3-3 in Game 7s. The more perceptive among you may have noticed a pattern to Pop's 3-3 Game 7 record. For those of you that don't want to take the time to go back and re-read the paragraph in order to figure out the pattern, here it is: winning then losing then winning then losing then winning then losing. I'm no master code cracker, but it seems to me that according to the pattern, Gregg Popovich's next Game 7 should be a win. Of course (full disclosure), there was one constant in all of Coach Pop's previous six Game 7's that will unfortunately be noticeably absent for his seventh: The Greatest Power Forward of All-Time. Let's pause for a moment and pay our respects...
Tim Duncan - Career Game 7 Performances
2005 NBA Finals Game 7 - Detroit Pistons @ San Antonio Spurs
25 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks - 6/23/2005
2006 Western Conference Semifinals Game 7 - Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs
41 points, 15 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal - 5/22/2006
2008 Western Conference Semifinals Game 7 - San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Hornets
16 points, 14 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal - 5/19/2008
2013 NBA Finals Game 7 - San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat
24 points, 12 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 assists, 1 block - 6/18/2013
2014 Western Conference First Round - Dallas Mavericks @ San Antonio Spurs
15 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 assist - 5/4/2014
2015 Western Conference First Round - San Antonio Spurs @ Los Angeles Clippers
27 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist - 5/2/2015
Career Game 7 Averages
24.7 points, 12 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.3 blocks, and 1 steal per game
Happy Birthday, TD! I hope you had an awesome b-day on Thursday. How'd you like the party the San Antonio Spurs threw for you at the AT&T Center Thursday night? I know, right? That party was lit. Anyway, I actually have something else to discuss with you. I know you have the 21 USVI Duncan Relief Fund, your auto shop, kickboxing, and your wonderful family keeping you busy, but just in case all of that isn't adequately filling up your retirement calendar, I know of a nice little pickup basketball game that some of your friends will be playing here in Denver tonight. I'm sure they'd be happy to get the help of a 24.7 point, 12 rebound, 2.7 assist, 1.3 block, 1 steal power forward performance during tonight's Mile High run. So do you wanna come through? What's that? You're not going to be able to get here to Denver on short notice? Okay, gotcha. No worries, I totally understand. I know you're super busy. It was worth a shot, though, right? It's still all good that you can't get up here in time because one of your former teammates told me that as a belated b-day gift, he's going to honor you with his best attempt at an impersonation and put everything he's got into channeling your greatness from the moment the first ball gets checked until we turn out the lights because there's no challengers left to get next. Speaking of which, LA also asked me to tell you, "Happy Birthday, Old Man." Okay, cool. I'll let him know you said, "thanks." Alright, Timmy. It's been good catching up. Sorry to let you go but I've got a blog post to finish writing. Enjoy the rest of your birthday celebration. Let's talk again soon but in case we don't cross paths before it, I'm looking forward to seeing you the September after next in Springfield, MA.
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On Thursday night, the heirs to Tim Duncan's San Antonio playoff fortress gave the former king of Texas postseason basketball a spectacular 43rd birthday present, defeating the visiting Denver Nuggets 120-103 at home in Timmy's house (aka the AT&T Center) to keep the season alive and force the first Game 7 of the post-Duncan era. With our backs against the wall and when we needed it the most, we finally got solid performances up and down the roster. As has often been the case in this series, our two stars led the charge. LaMarcus Aldridge came out of the gate in beast mode, scoring 13 points in the first quarter while setting the tone for the game with his intensity. LA finished his night with 26 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Not to be outdone, DeMar DeRozan (mostly a facilitator in the first half) aggressively attacked the heart of Denver's defense with an array of spectacular drives and pull up mid-range jumpers to score 12 points in the third quarter. DeMar finished with 25 points, seven rebounds, and seven assists. The player of the game, however, was Rudy Gay. Coming off the bench, Rudy had his best performance of the series contributing 19 points, four rebounds, and two assists in 28 tough-nosed minutes. Rudy's production was so critical, he got the POTG nod but I really want to emphasize that this was special all-around team elimination game performance. All five starters shot better than 50 percent from the field (DeRozan [12-16], Aldridge [10-18], Forbes [5-8], Poeltl [4-6], and White [4-7]) and for the first time since Game 1 of this series, our bench outscored the Nuggets' bench (36-13). Also for the first time since Game 1 of this series, the Spurs outshot Denver from deep going 10-24 (41.7 percent) compared to the Nuggets 6-24 (25 percent). While our shooters (with the exception of Patty [0-7]) made a marked improvement on three-point production (Rudy Gay [3-3], Derrick White [2-3], Bryn Forbes [2-4], Marco Belinelli [2-4]), I wouldn't exactly call it the break-out three-point shooting performance that we're overdue for in this series. That is good news heading into tonight. If things keep regressing to the mean (as they should) in Game 7, we can feel good that our shooters will make a huge impact from behind the arc in tonight's winner-take-all contest. Now more overdue for a breakout performance than any other Spurs marksman, I fully expect Patty Mills to be leading that charge.
There is nothing else in basketball quite like a Game 7. The pressure and the intensity are impossible to replicate so until a player has actually been through one, it's impossible for that player to truly know what to expect and fully appreciate the stakes. So how do the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets stack up as far as prior Game 7 experience? I was curious to have the answer to this question so yesterday I did a little bit of research. First for the Spurs, DeMar DeRozan has the most Game 7 experience of any player in the series. For the 2014 Toronto Raptors, DeMar had 18 points (5-12 shooting) in 45 minutes in a First Round Game 7 loss to the Brooklyn Nets. In 2016, DeMar led the Raptors to a First Round Game 7 victory over the Indiana Pacers scoring 30 points (10-32 shooting) in 40 minutes. In the very next round, DeMar scored 28 points (12-29 shooting) in 35 minutes for the Raptors in a Eastern Conference Semifinals win over the Miami Heat. For the 2012 Memphis Grizzlies, Rudy Gay scored 19 points (7-15 shooting) in 40 minutes in a First Round Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. In the same game, Quincy Pondexter came off the Grizzlies' bench scoring three points (1-2 shooting) in 13 minutes and Dante Cunningham also came off the Grizzlies' bench scoring two points (1-2) shooting in three minutes. Quincy was also on the roster for the 2014 Memphis Grizzlies First Round Game 7 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder, but was not active (out-for-the-season with a right foot injury). For the 2013 Chicago Bulls, Marco Belinelli had 24 points (8-14 shooting) in 41 minutes in a First Round Game 7 win over the Brooklyn Nets. In our infamous 2015 First Round Game 7 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Marco had two points (0-2 shooting) in 18 minutes off of the bench. Patty Mills had six points (2-6 shooting) in 16 minutes off of the bench in the same game. Patty was also on our roster during the 2013 NBA Finals but was not active for Game 7. Donatas Motiejunas was on the 2015 Houston Rockets roster when they won a Western Conference Semifinals Game 7 over the Los Angeles Clippers but he did not play (out-for-the-season with a back injury). Funnily enough, in his 13-year NBA career, LaMarcus Aldridge has never played in a Game 7. Tonight will be his first.
The only rotations players on the Nuggets roster with Game 7 experience are Paul Millsaps and Mason Plumlee. As a rookie for the 2007 Utah Jazz, Millsaps scored two points in seven minutes off the bench in a First Round Game 7 win against the Houston Rockets. For the 2014 Atlanta Hawks, Millsaps scored 15 points (6-21 shooting) in 44 minutes in a First Round Game 7 loss to the Indiana Pacers. As a rookie, Plumlee logged scored two points and logged 5 minutes for the 2014 Brooklyn Nets in their Western Conference First Round Game 7 victory over DeMar's Raptors. Outside of the Nuggets' rotation, a pre-injury Isaiah Thomas scored 29 points (9-21 shooting) in 40 minutes for the 2017 Boston Celtics in an Eastern Conference Semifinal Game 7 win against the Washington Wizards. Trey Lyles was on the roster of the 2017 Utah Jazz who won a First Round Game 7 against the Los Angeles Clippers but Trey did not enter that game. And that's it. For most of Denver's core of young players who are playing in their very first playoff series, obviously tonight is going to be their first Game 7 experience. All told, the Spurs have 15 Game 7s under our belt (counting Pop's six) to the Nuggets four. Our players have logged 251 Game 7 minutes and scored 114 Game 7 points (led by DeMar's 120 minutes and 76 points). Denver's players have logged 96 Game 7 minutes and scored 48 Game 7 points (29 of those by Isaiah Thomas who is unlikely to see action tonight). When it comes to Game 7's, the San Antonio Spurs have a distinct experience advantage over the Denver Nuggets.
Unfortunately for us, the Nuggets have their own advantage tonight; this Game 7 is being played in Denver. Coming off of his monster 43 point, 12 rebound, and nine assist performance in a Game 6 losing effort, I'm sure Nicola Jokic is expecting to pick up right where he left off, this time with the luxury of a rowdy Pepsi Center crowd cheering him on. Much like Game 6, it may be part of Coach Pop's game plan to continue to allow the Joker to get his points but try to take away his cutters and shooters in order to throw Denver out of its offensive rhythm. Then again, the Michael Malone-tagged Bobby Fischer of basketball may attack the Nugget's king with a completely different strategy. Either way, the key to neutralizing Denver's homeport advantage is for us to slow down the pace, protect the ball, and (no matter how well Jokic plays carrying his team) limit the Nugget's fast break opportunities. I sat among the Denver fans last Tuesday during Game 5. There was a lot of nervous silence in the stands at the beginning of the game when we got out to a 9-4 lead. As soon as the Nuggets converted their first fast break and subsequently parlayed it into one of their lethal offensive blitzes the building erupted in noise and confidence. We can't allow that to happen again tonight. Instead, if we can limit fast break opportunities, the pressure and stakes of needing to rely on superior half court execution to prevail should weigh on Denver's young players and provide for a nervous rather than raucous Pepsi Center crowd. We need to set a tone that establishes the game will played at our pace from the opening tip tonight. Because we decisively control the experience advantage, the Nuggets may very well (in their lack of Game 7 experience) allow us to establish our pace. If they don't, we need to use our experience-advantage to force them into it because their home-court advantage becomes infinitely more powerful when they're allowed to get out and run. The crowd feeds off of pace and in return Denver plays better when they're able to feed off of the crowd. If we allow Denver to turn this into a track meet, we're probably in for a very long night. It's going to be interesting to see what ultimately wins out between our experience advantage and their home court advantage but because this is the first Game 7 for seven of the Nugget's nine rotation players compared to only four of our eight, I really like our chances to be the 29th team in league history to win Game 7 on the road.
The formula for completing the upset tonight and extending our season has three main ingredients. First, LaMarcus Aldridge needs to control the paint on both ends of the court the way Tim Duncan did in his first-ever Game 7. (You know, that one against the Pistons to win the 2005 title that we talked about earlier.) A trip to visit his former employer out in the Pacific Northwest is within reach and since I know that a trip down memory lane would be a lot of fun for LA, I'm confident he's going to rise to the challenge. The second ingredient is DeMar DeRozan using his series-high three Game 7s of experience to impose his will on the Denver Nuggets by attacking down hill, drawing fouls, and knocking down his patented turnaround jumpers. Despite being on a two-game Game 7 winning streak (and being the best player in both of those games), there is an existing narrative that DeMar DeRozan is a playoff choker. Most of that criticism comes from DeMar's Raptors repeatedly falling short against LeBron James, the game's greatest active player. So while, in my opinion, the narrative is unfair, but it exists nevertheless. Tonight, free of the pressure that comes with putting an entire nation on your back, DeMar can silence the choker narrative and cunningly pass it along to Denver's young superstars to see how they handle the annoyances that come with failing to meet expectations. After a season of getting to experience the competitiveness of Double D, I know he's preparing to do exactly that. Finally, there's Coach Pop. Nothing would be more Popiavellian (yes, with all respect due to Niccolò Machiavelli, I'm stealing this) than to devise a gameplay for tonight that steadily applies atmospheric pressure to Denver's playoff oxygen until it eventually evaporates into the Mile High air. The old ball coach has seen and prevailed in every imaginable situation (including this one) and has had an entire season now to teach his first Duncan-Parker-Ginobili-less group of players since the 1996-97 season that the key to playoff success is to continue pounding the rock until it breaks. Tonight, with the greatest coach of all-time manning the sideline, the #BlackAndSilver will have the formula for breaking the formidable Denver Nugget rock into a thousand tiny pebbles. And if we follow that formula with attention to detail, competitiveness and execution, we will get to savor in the experience of watching every single last pebble drop from the highest-elevated Rocky Mountain peak back down to earth like a rolling stone.
Featured Image Source: Beats from Beijing
Fourteen Port
2019 NBA West First Round, Game 3
Ticket to Ride - When Number Two sat down in an undisclosed private dining room this past summer with Popo, the best weapon in the organization told his general that he wanted out. He confessed, "This isn't the life I want anymore. I've got my family to think about." Popo tried to talk him out of it but there was no changing Number Two's mind. The silent assassin looked his teacher squarely in the right shoulder and timidly mumbled, I'm grateful for all of the time you invested in developing my talent, but in the end, man, I just want to go home. I'm paraphrasing, of course. Number Two has never said that many words in one day, much less in one conversation. With a poker face that would make Doyle Brunson blush, Popo stared directly into Number Two's eyes and pierced them so deep, it was as if he had launched into a flawless cliff dive into Number Two's soul. After pausing long enough to have taken a bath in his soldiers's deepest insecurities, Popo chuckled softly to lighten the mood and then chased his silence-breaker with a warm smile. He asked his pupil, "Do you like the wine?" Number Two answered, "Honestly, Popo, I couldn't care less about the wine. I just want to go home. Will you please just send me home to California?" Popo, still smiling warmly, looked down at his wine glass as if it had just asked him a more urgent question than the man sitting across the table from him. He picked up the glass, sniffed it longingly and then swirled the blood red liquid with the precision of a sommelier. With his smile still intact, Popo glanced back up at Number Two and then abruptly returned his attention to his glass, taking it to his lips and slowly drinking it dry. After returning his glass to the table, the aging general leaped up out of his seat with the exuberance of a man half his age. Popo walked across the table, patted his soldier reassuringly on the shoulder, leaned down to his ear and answered, "I'll see what I can do. Let me get back to you in a few weeks." With that, he was walking for the exit. Before reaching out to open the door to leave, Popo paused, turned, looked at Number Two, and gave the now disgruntled student whom he'd once loved like a son one final order. "Pay the check."
Outside the restaurant, Popo's second-in-command Robert Canterbury was waiting in an unmarked black sedan. Popo jumped in the passenger seat and said, "Hey, Robby. Let's go." Unable to hide his anticipation, Robert Canterbury nervously asked, "Well, what happened?" Popo replied, "He wants us to send him to California." His face sinking, Robert Canterbury nervously said, "So it's as bad as we had feared. This is a major setback. It's going to take years to develop another solider to replace what we're losing from Number Two. So do you want me to contact the organizations in Los Angeles?" Ignoring the question, Popo instead instructed his subordinate, "I want you to get Number Five on the phone. I want to start working on training him as Number Two's replacement tomorrow." Robert Canterbury replied, "Done. I'll let him know as soon as we get to the airport." Popo continued, "It's not going to take years to replace Number Two. I'll have Number Five ready by next April. And to answer your earlier question, we're not sending Number Two to Los Angeles. He wants to go home? Not on my watch. We're sending him as far away as possible. Make a call to the organization in Canada. We're sending him to Toronto."
Five months later, it seemed like everything was progressing perfectly in Number Five's development. He had worked night and day all summer on the covert operation to replace Number Two as Popo's greatest combination of offensive and defensive weapon. The skill set he was unleashing during his rigorous training exercises had everyone in the organization buzzing and the other asset Popo had deported out of the country in August was quickly becoming a distant memory. Then, out of nowhere, disaster struck. On October 7th, during a simulation drill, Number Five was severely injured. The following day, it was determined that the weapon Popo had invested the entire summer in (to replace what had been lost when Number Two absconded his position) would be unable to participate in the entire upcoming campaign while rehabbing a torn ACL. Everyone inside and outside the organization assumed all was lost. The organization would need a year to regroup and the immediate campaign it was preparing for was a lost cause that would surely end in brutal defeat.
Everyone, except Popo. The day of Number Five's injury, the old pedagogue spent the morning in his office alone, reflecting on it in silence; not to bemoan the problem but rather to construct its solution. After a few hours alone with his thoughts, Popo abruptly stood up, left his office, and started walking over to the organization's training facility. As he expected, the person he was going to speak to was in the weight room, diligently preparing for the upcoming campaign. When the soldier stood up from the weight bench after noticing that his general had entered the room, Popo walked up and greeted him with a fatherly embrace, putting his arm over his pupil's shoulder. Popo asked, "How are you?" He was answered with a nod that revealed the soldier's concern for his wounded brother. Popo continued, "Look, the news is as bad as we'd feared. Number Five is out indefinitely." Popo removed his arm from his pupil's shoulder as the younger man raised his hands to cover his face in disbelief. Trying to quickly move past his pupil's display of emotion, Popo said, "There's no time for that. What's happened is in the past and we still have a mission to complete. I want you to take his place. We are going to put you through Number Five's training regimen, only, you're going to have to go through it while also leading our platoon out in the field every other night because summer is over and the campaign begins in two weeks. Learning on the job while simultaneously performing Number Five's training regimen is going to be brutal. It's going to damn near break you. But if you're willing to accept the challenge and unequivocally commit to everything I'm going to ask you to do, I give you my word that I will have you ready to do everything we were planning to ask of Number Five by next April." Skeptical, the soldier protested, "That's impossible, Popo. Number Five has been working towards this assignment for two years already. I mean, it took Number Two four years of training before he was ready to take on that responsibility." Popo shot him a determined glare and countered, "Well we don't have four years, son, we have six months. Look, I know I'm asking you for a huge commitment but the reason I'm asking is because I know you're capable of rising to the challenge. I see something in you. Same as Number Five. More than Number Two. Why don't you sleep on it and if you're willing to accept the challenge, meet me here tomorrow morning at 4:00 am and we'll begin your preparation. And soldier, don't show up tomorrow unless you believe in yourself as much as I believe in you and unless you're ready to work." With that, Popo turned and walked out of the training facility in search of a nice afternoon glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. The next morning, Popo arrived at the organization's training facility at 3:30 am expecting to have a half an hour to prepare for the arduous road ahead. To his amusement but not to his surprise, his pupil was already in the weight room working out. The soldier turned to greet his general and said, "Hey, Popo. I do believe in myself and I will do every last thing you ask of me every single day for the next six months to be ready for April or I will break my back trying." Nodding in approval, Popo pulled his whistle out of his pocket and responded, "Okay. Let's get started, Number Four."
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Last night, the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Denver Nuggets 118-108 in front of a raucous, Fiesta-immersed crowd at the AT&T Center to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven first round matchup. Do I even need to announce who was the player of the game? If you're reading this post and you don't already know, that would mean you know nothing about the Spurs or the results of last night's contest and are just reading this because you enjoy the brilliance of my writing. On second thought, my writing is kinda brilliant so there's a decent chance you are reading this despite not having any knowledge of Game 3. As I was saying, the player of the game was Derrick White. Number Four was flat-out sensational. So much so that last night, he was the best player on the court. Our second-year point guard lit up the Alamo City with a career-high 36 points on 15-21 shooting. Most of those shot attempts were at the rim as Derrick got wherever he wanted on the court facilitating a masterpiece offensive performance that also included five assists and only one turnover. Derrick was equally dominant on the defensive end, grabbing five rebounds, collecting three steals and adding a block for good measure. The most impressive indication of his defensive impact was his performance as the primary defender on Denver's second leading scorer and Game 2 hero, Jamal Murray. Murray finished with an underwhelming six points on 2-6 shooting.
After Derrick obliterated the Nuggets for 26 points in the first half, Denver made the adjustment of putting Gary Harris (their best perimeter defender) on him in the third quarter. The focus on slowing down White allowed DeMar DeRozan to go nuts in the period, enjoying the freedom to unleash his offensive arsenal against single-coverage from lesser Denver defenders than Harris. DeMar had 19 of his 25 points during the third frame and finished the game shooting an efficient 9-18 from the field and 7-8 from the line. Back to Derrick, I'm still in awe of what he did last night after having nearly 24 hours to process it. His development this season has been astonishing and last night he put everyone in league and casual basketball fans around the globe on notice: another two-way star has arrived in San Antonio.
Given everything that has transpired in the last twelve months, from Kawhi Leonard's abandonment of his teammates and inexplicable trade demand, to also losing our next best perimeter defender Danny Green in the trade with Toronto, to losing our next best perimeter defender and best prospect to replace Leonard's two-way abilities on the court Dejounte Murray to a season-ending injury in October, I'm equally in awe of Coach Pop. Everyone in the basketball-viewing world believed the Kawhi Leonard trade was utterly devastating for the Spurs. Everyone, except Gregg Popovich. That's the magic of being the greatest coach in the history of the game of basketball. It's not devastating to lose a disgruntled superstar when you're the one who turned that raw, athletic wing-defending prospect without a jump shot into Kawhi Leonard. While everyone else was bemoaning the loss of a player of Leonard's caliber, Coach Pop was focused on developing another one in Dejounte Murray. While everyone else was bemoaning the bad luck of Dejounte's preseason injury and the loss of a player of Murray's caliber for a year, Coach Pop simply started over again in with Derrick White. Through three games, Derrick White has been the best player in the series and maybe the best two-way player in the 2019 NBA Playoffs thus far. He plays with a poise beyond his years and is doing things Leonard could have only dreamed about during his second season with the Spurs. Derrick White is becoming an NBA superstar before our very eyes and it only took Coach Pop six months to orchestrate a solution for the giant two-way hole in our lineup that was created when he was forced to ship a disgruntled superstar (one who would likely not be an NBA superstar at all but rather playing in China right now had the Spurs not decided to give him the golden ticket of seven years of Pop's coaching when we traded beloved Spur George Hill for his draft rights). And guess what Spurs fans? The silver lining in Dejounte's injury is that with Derrick's development, next season we will have two budding two-way superstars in our backcourt in Murray and White. The silver lining in Leonard's trade is DeMar DeRozan will be lining up alongside them. The future is bright and as long as Coach Pop is roaming the sidelines, a bright future is eternal.
For now, however, we can't look ahead. The Denver Nuggets are coming back tomorrow afternoon for another crack at pooping the Fiesta-Coming-Out party Derrick White started yesterday at the AT&T Center. The Nuggets will be angry and desperate tomorrow. If we let up, even a smidge, they are going to be ready to capitalize on the opportunity to even this series up before returning home to Denver. Jamal Murray in particular has accepted the challenge to answer Derrick's answer to his Game 2 fourth quarter heroics and will be poised to repeat them in our building if given the opportunity. Something tells me Derrick is going to be ready for Murray's answer to his answer. If the #BlackAndSilver come out prepared to protect the home court advantage we worked so hard to secure in Game 1 and follow the lead of our starting point guard and our newest budding NBA superstar, we will make tomorrow Derrick White's curtain call for the Fiesta-Coming-Out party he threw yesterday. Derrick said in his first-ever trip to the postgame press conference last night, "I'm just trying to stay in the moment." I have full confidence he can and if he does, I like our chances to continue the job of defending our home court as if it were the Alamo. After all, the moment Derrick is trying to stay in is ascending to NBA superstardom and the best way to stay in it is for him to take the court tomorrow night and ask himself one simple question: "Who Gon Stop Me?"
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