Camping in the Lane

Back on the floor again last night, after a full week's rest thanks to the Memorial Day holiday. And ordinarily it would have been the last night of our "season," but a dozen or so of us have signed on to play for another month, so I've still got a few more runs to look forward to with these guys, although personally I will only be able to play until the 13th. In any event, showed up rested, had a chance to stretch, and was even shooting the ball pretty well during the warm-up which made me feel a lot better about looking for my shot a little more once we started to play. And I got in with a good group of guys as well, and we were pretty much able to keep our core group of four together all night long, losing only once. What made us so effective? Well, we had some good athletes...but not TOO many guys who had to have the ball -- instead, a nice combination of inside/outside and slashing to the basket on offense, quick ball movement, and very effective team defense...good help both on and off the ball, good communication, effective "trap-and-gap" doubleteams, and hands in the passing lanes. It just felt good. Lots of fun too.

I know I did a lot to help set the tone on defense -- got an early steal out on the open floor, and then in the half court was showing out over the tops of screens on our pick and roll defense, letting my teammates slip under the screen and recover rather than automatically switching everything...and then getting down on the helpside baseline to rebound and cut off the easy pass across the lane, but still rotating back out to the shooters when the ball kicked back out. And so as a team we were able to create a lot of turnovers and prevent second shots...which in turn lead to some easy baskets for us on the other end.

Favorite plays of the night. Got switched on to a much bigger and stronger player who wanted to post me up in the lane, but kept good position and then took the ball away from him when he tried to spin on me. Then leading a two-on-one break in the open floor, made a good ball fake, turned the defender completely around, and finished myself with an easy finger roll. Knocked down a wide-open three to start a game, then made an amazing (and truly lucky) left baseline drive under-the-basket reverse no-backboard lay-up (did you get all that?) which had everyone in the gym just shaking their heads and muttering about the power of prayer. Followed that with two easy assists and suddenly my team is up 9-2 after only four possesssions. Got a couple more lay-ups cutting to the front of the rim when my opponent left me to trap, which also helped inspire one of my (ordinarily) perimeter teammates to start doing the same, which lead to some easy baskets for him as well, and some easy victories for our team. Textbook BAFFLE -- we balanced the floor, attacked the basket, filled back to the ball, faked, looked for our open teammates, and executed the extra pass to earn some easy scores.

Unfortunately, I also missed some easy jump shots which really should have been automatic, as well as what would have been a very smooth and easy left-handed lay-up finishing as the trailer on a 3-on-2 break because I simply took my eye off the basket. Took my eye off the ball another time when I saw I had a teammate streaking down the other side of the floor and wanted to make a dramatic assist...and instead fumbled the ball and ended up throwing it at his feet instead. But all in all, a very satisfying night, which left me feeling young again.

One kind of sour note had to do with a lame attempt to enforce the "three-second" rule against a player who likes to camp out under the basket. This is one of those violations (like "over-and-back") which generally gets ignored in most pick-up games, or else enforced by more subtle means. I generally start out by saying something snarky (like "do you have a lease for this neighborhood?"), which I may follow up on by either physically moving my opponent OUT of the lane with a steady push in the back or (if he's too big to move that way) getting a good handful of his shirt...or better yet, the back of his shorts. Nothing rough or hard. Just enough to let him know that I'm not going to let him take advantage of violating the rules without violating a few myself. But counting out seconds ("one-one thousand, two-one thousand") or (God forbid!) actually calling a violation and attempting to take possession of the ball... well, it's just bad form in my book. Even out here in the affluent suburbs of Boston, in a gym full of lawyers.

In the small world department, I also learned last night that long-time Atlantic Monthly Fiction Editor Michael Curtis used to play in this game until about five or six years ago...which was just before I started to play there myself. Mike rejected the first short story I ever attempted to publish (with what was really a very encouraging personal letter, along with an invitation to submit more of my work)...but that was all I needed to decide that I would really be much better off preaching for a living instead of trying to write for magazines...and the rest eventually led to a PhD in history.... Still, it would have been fun to meet him out on the court (where potentially I could have had the chance to reject HIM!) -- so Mike, if you're reading this, we're still looking for a few more players for June. Although (doing the math) I see you must be in your seventies now. Still, you inspire me...I hope I can keep playing this game for as long as you did.

I also know that one of the reasons that I was playing with so much intensity had to do with NOT wanting to be thinking about my mom, who is also in her seventies and now in the hospital on the West Coast with a recurrence of her breast cancer. We all know this cancer is going to kill her eventually (that is, if something else doesn't kill her first); but whether it's a matter of months, a matter of weeks, or even a year or two remains to be seen. So, it was nice to be able to think about something else for a few hours -- or, more accurately, not to have to think about anything at all except passing and cutting and playing good "D." And to continue that distraction by writing about it all this morning.... Whaddya mean, Three Seconds? What kind of bullshit call is that?

Lottery Winners & Losers

As someone who was born and raised in Seattle, and lived 14 years in Portland Oregon, it's hard for me to feel TOO disappointed about the results of the NBA draft lottery, notwithstanding the fact that here in the Hub of the Universe, the Celtics were completely hosed by the Goddess of Chance. Fortuna you whore! -- and where was Lucky the Leprachan when we needed him?

My own game last night was a little underwhelming. Fourteen of us in all, but at the end of the evening we had to beg guys to stay just to squeeze in one last run. Got to the gym about 45 minutes early, just to warm up thoroughly and stretch for a change; and for a time I had the place all to myself, until my rival "Curly" showed up. He's typically an early-bird, and I think it bothered him a little to find me there ahead of him. Not that it mattered. Seemed like I hardly touched the ball last night. Missed a coupled of fairly easy shots early on, and...well, let's see. Did score on a very impressive driving floater in the lane, and also made a very nice steal coming up along the baseline on the blindside of an opponent who was trying to back-down one of my teammates on the low block -- but for most of the evening it just didn't seem like I was even part of the action. And despite my extra warm-up time, never did really find a good rhythm or become part of flow of the action.

Meanwhile, I'm reflecting back on the four years I've spent playing with these guys, now that I'm down to the last handful of Monday and Wednesday evenings. We won't play on Memorial Day, which means that unless there's significant interest to extend into June, my last run with these guys will be next Wednesday. And then this blog will become mostly about television, at least until I find a new game up in Portland.

I'm also trying to figure out why I dislike Curly so, and why the feeling seems to be mutual. Is it just that I know he doesn't like me? Or maybe vice versa. I know from my perspective, Curly is someone with a lot of attitude and not many skills...a player for whom "the hand is part of the ball" seems to mean that if you touch the ball while it's in his hands, it's a foul; and whose mouth is always moving faster than his feet. Plus he always seems to me just a little too eager to look for his own shot, which means that if you pass him the ball you aren't too likely to see it again...unless you rebound the miss, of course. Still, his game has improved a lot in the time I've known him -- he's always at the gym early, and always among the last to leave, always trying to stay on the floor when the team coming on is short a few players, and certainly not afraid to step up to a defensive challenge (even though he can rarely manage to guard his man), or to take the last shot. He takes a lot of shots, which means he also scores more than his fair share of points...and he's also learned how to pass out of a double-team, which has made him a lot more effective on the offensive end. And last night I actually saw him reverse the ball by making an extra pass!

Still, I wonder what MY game would look like if I had as much attitude as Curly. Probably couldn't hurt for me to accept more challenging defensive assignments, for instance...or to call for the ball a little more assertively. I could also probably stand to look for my own shot a little more often, or at least to try to create a little more off the dribble...although generally there are plenty of guys out there who are willing to do that, and not nearly so many who pass as well (or as often) as I do. And I could certainly benefit from working a little hard (actually, a LOT harder) by getting to the gym early, and working out on the "off" days too. I'm especially missing the strength training to go with the time I spend running (well, limping) up and down the court two nights a week. And I would be a much happier player if I were just 30 lbs lighter...which I suspect is much more "do-able" than becoming six inches taller. Or twenty-five years younger....

I think the hardest adjustment though has been the realization that I CAN'T really keep up with a lot of these younger guys any more...or even guys my own age who actually take care of their bodies. Feels like all too often I'm just a step slow to the loose ball, or can't quite get off the ground high enough or quickly enough to bother an opponent's shot or snatch that long rebound. And so I'm also starting to wonder just how much longer I want to try to keep playing this game...and whether it may well be time to hang up my kicks and grab the golf clubs, or maybe just start swimming, riding my bike, and working out for 45 minutes every day in the weightroom, alternating upper and lower body training. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah. It would be easy enough to do. But not nearly so easy as just talking about it....

Sweating the Rust Out

Oh Lord. Away from the gym for almost two weeks (and nearly slept through last night's run as well -- after trying to slip in a quick nap after the drive home from my sucessful eleven-day job interview in Maine); arrived just in time to become the tenth player, which meant minimal warm-up time and no shots at the basket. And I started out TERRIBLY -- made an ugly turnover, and couldn't follow my man through a baseline screen...made all the more annoying because I had to listen to "Curly" carp about it in his inimitable way. But it got a little easier after I loosened up a bit: made several VERY nice assists that resulted in ridiculously easy baskets for my teammates (and had the added benefit of making Curly look stupid, beaten and confused as well), and knocked down a medium range "J" from the foul line area and a little jump hook right in front of the basket as well...both from extra passes when one of my teammates drew a double-team. Never did find my regular shooting touch from beyone the arc though, but since it's been missing in action for months now, I didn't really miss it much either. And mostly it felt great just to get out and run again.

Meanwhile, did check out a couple of gyms Down East -- the Portland YMCA and the South Portland Rec Center (where there is a regular Sunday afternoon over-30 run). And I'm sure I've just scratched the surface of what I hope is a pretty dynamic local pick-up hoop scene. Lots of playgound ball too this time of year, and there seem to be courts everywhere. New job is right behind Portland High School, and just one block from the Boys and Girls Club...so I may even have to think about trying my hand at coaching again. But it's also a lot "younger" community in general than way out here in the 'burbs -- which means that I'm probably going to have my hands full trying to keep up. But what the hell. It's only a game, right?

I will miss my friends here in Massachusetts though. I've been playing with these same guys for almost four years now, and in all that time I've gotten to know them pretty well. And, so far as I can tell, there is nothing in Portland to match the Boston Sports Club in Waltham, which is where I go to work out and shoot around. I'm REALLY going to miss that gym, and expecially the sauna and jacuzzi there. But I still have another month before I go. So I guess I'd better get my money's worth while I can....

Two Champions; Two Also-Rans

So, finally we're down to just four teams -- Detroit and Cleveland in the East, San Antonio and Salt Lake in the West -- and the first team to eight wins the trophy. Both the Pistons and the Spurs have been there before (at least in this century) and won it all, while their respective challengers each have a lot to prove. For Cleveland it's all about LeBron -- whether he truly has that competetive desire and the heart of a champion that can take his team to the next level. Or at least that's how the Shoe Company wants to frame it. For the Jazz, it's all about Jerry Sloan -- who has literally given his entire life to the game, and in many ways is a perenial "also-ran" -- having never won an NBA Championship, despite being second or third on so many all time coaching lists -- most wins, most winning seasons, most winning seasons with the same franchise, etc. etc. etc. Got to the Finals twice a decade ago with Stockton and Malone. Now he's hoping to do it again with Carlos Boozer and Deron Williams. But to tell the truth, I just don't see them getting past the Spurs and Gregg Popovich.

The Spurs already have three championships under their belts, and are to my mind the most solid team in the league right now. Detroit is another solid and proven squad...missing Big Ben Wallace in the middle, but adding Chris Webber to the mix...past his prime, but still a helluva baller. Tthe main thing missing from the Detroit bench is Larry Brown -- a true "apostle" of the game, whose coach and mentor Dean Smith (at North Carolina) was coached by Phog Allen (at Kansas) who in turn was coached by Dr Naismith himself. It's hard to find a better pedigree than that! The Pistons in turn are a proud franchise playing for a dying town -- they go back to the earliest days of the league, and have a hardnosed, working class "bad boy" attitude to match. Meanwhile, the Spurs are the only former ABA franchise to have ever one a championship -- their roster is very international, and they can both beat you up or run you out of the gym. I kinda like the Spurs to win it all. But first they need to get by the Jazz. And whoever comes out of the East....

Requium for the Warriors

Tuned in for the tip-off of the Warriors/Jazz game last night, and was SO pleased to see the energy with which Golden State was playing in the first quarter...but unfortunately, living here on the east coast, I just couldn't keep my eyes open after a long day at the office, and so I dozed off only to wake up halfway through the fourth quarter with the score almost tied, and just in time to watch the Jazz score the last dozen points of the game and win the series running away. So, now let's see what happens tonight between Phoenix and San Antonio. Slept through that little dust-up two nights ago as well, and I had to settle for the replays instead. And I've always seen Robert Horry as such a NICE guy. Thought he liked to let his game do his talking for him, and never dreamed he could be such a ruffian. But at least he'll be well rested for Game Seven if they need him. Or for the start of the series with the Jazz....

Too Much Boozer

And my real regret after watching last night's game is this: Why isn't Derek Fisher still a Warrior? Yes, I know you have to give up talent in order to get talent, and yes I understand that the Warriors are already quite deep at the guard position, and that a franchise needs a good balance between experience and youth. But still -- I watch him play, and I feel like he's wearing the wrong uniform.

As sad as I am to say it, I think the Warriors are just about finished in this series. They will go down fighting; they may even be able to extend it to Game Seven. Hell, they may still even pull off a miracle and advance -- that's how the Red Sox did it, remember? But I also feel like the Warriors are starting to crack a little here under the pressure. The unnecessary hard fouls (Baron's transition elbow to Derek, which put him on the floor and will probably result in a fine...although to Baron's credit it already has lead to a personal apology, right there on the floor) was especially painful to watch. And last night in the fourth quarter, for whatever reason, they just couldn't get it done. That should have been THEIR time, in THEIR house. And instead the Jazz scored 40 points, and left the Warriors looking angry, demoralized, and....well, beaten.

The Warriors are still a player or two away from being legitimate contenders. Jackson, Richardson and Davis are all exciting to watch, and they play with a playground intensity too, which for good or ill is what gives the Warriors their heart. Andris Biedrins is a joy to watch, and I'm sure his free throw shooting will improve with coaching. Al Harrington and Matt Barnes, along with Mickael Pietrus are all fine players -- but they're also all a little undersized to match up with someone like Carlos Boozer, and this series has really shown it. And Monta Ellis? Well, he's fine for a rookie (although I guess technically this is actually his second year), but let's face it. At playoff time, wouldn't you much rather see Derek Fisher in that uniform?

Points 120 & 121

Just watched Baron Davis throw down with authority on AK 47 -- a SportsCenter dunk and well worth the subsequent "T" A facial AND a spanking, and now an ovation as well as Game Three heads into garbage time. God I love to watch these Warriors! Can't wait to watch Game Four....

Game Two's overtime finish was another one for the ages. Derek Fisher's dramatic third quarter arrival, and his key defensive play, three missed free throws by the Warriors which let the game slip into OT, and then Harper's dagger from the corner...reportedly the first time he'd shot a basketball in four days. A nice touch of pathos and camaradrie between former teammates as well, as the Warriors greeted Fisher after the game, apparently to express their concern about his daughter. Dee Brown's dramatic injury, which forced him to leave the game after one of his own teammates fell on him, was almost overshadowed by Fisher's heroics. But the Jazz sure missed their rookie guard tonight, as once again the Warrior's backcourt basically overwhelmed the Utah ballhandlers.

The Warriors also seem to have a better handle on the boards as well, although the Jazz still outrebounded them over all. But Carlos Boozer was held to half of what he's been pulling down of late, while my Latvian import Andris Biedrins grabbed 13...basically all those boards Boozer DIDN'T get on the offensive end! Let's hope he can keep that up for Game Four as well, and then take it with him on the road back to Salt Lake.

Shoot-out on the shores of the Great Salt Lake

Stayed up well past my bedtime last night to watch the first game of the Warriors/Jazz series, and even though I didn't see the outcome I was hoping for, I sure don't have any disappointments about the game itself. It's fun to watch these guys run the floor so hard, and I'm especially impressed by the way that Utah came out of the blocks early to demonstrate to the Warriors that they could run right with them. And thrilled to watch the Warriors run it right back at them and eventually grab the lead, only to have the home team rally in the final quarter, and hold on to victory by a handful of free throws. This time.

The Jazz basically won this game on the boards. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer are not exactly Stockton and Malone (not that we saw that much of Utah's half-court offense anyway), but the Warriors don't really have anyone who can match up effectively underneath with the Alaskan Blue Devil, and Boozer took advantage of that by ripping down 20 rebounds (half of them on the offensive end) to go with his 17 points. And Deron Williams matched up with Baron Davis practically bucket for bucket and foul for foul: 41 minutes, 31 points, 8 assists, 6 turnovers, but also 5 rebounds and 2 steals, as compared to Baron's line of 24 points and 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 3 turnovers, a steal and 2 blocked shots in 38 minutes.

But the match-up I really enjoyed watching most was Kirilenko against Biedrins (or as I like to think of it, Andrei verses Andris). It's a 21-year-old Latvian (Biedrins) matched up against a 26-year-old Russian (Kirilenko) and there sure doesn't seem to be any love lost between them! Kirilenko is probably the better player (or at least he was last night: 13 points, 7 rebounds and 7 blocked shots), but the Warriors count on Biedrins to run the floor alongside all their other thoroughbreds, and at 6' 11" he's about as big as Golden State gets.

It's going to be interesting to see what kind of adjustments these two fine coaches make for Game Two. If the Jazz prove that they can run with the Warriors, and continue to dominate them on the boards, they are going to be able to take care of business in relatively short order. But if the Warriors can find a way to keep Boozer and Company off the glass, and keep taking the ball hard to the hole instead of just living or dying beyond the arc, they should give Utah all they can handle. And then there is Utah's trademark half-court offense. Will the Jazz go back to that in Game Two, and try to force the Warriors to play at their tempo? We're just one game in, and the home team has won on their own floor. This series is just getting started!

***

One of the nice things about these late, West Coast starts is that they give me plenty of opportunity to get home in time for tip-off after first playing a couple of hours in my own regular Monday night pick-up game. Only scored one basket last night, but it was a beauty -- off the dribble, beating my oponent by going left from the left wing in transition, before the rest of the defense was really back. Blew by him just like I was Baron Davis, and got right to the rim almost as if I still had that lighting quick first step of old...or should I say, of younger days.... Once a year. Just to prove to myself (and anybody else who happens to be watching) that I've still got what it takes to elevate and go hard to the hole.

Mostly though it was trying to defend and banging on the boards with the big guys. It's hard to believe that I'm down now to just a handful of more games with these guys that I've been playing with now for four years. I'm going to miss them. Big Time.

Blowing the Whistle on Black or White

Just heard an NPR interview with a rather indignant David Stern, regarding an article by a Wharton School economics professor and a Cornell graduate student which claims that white referees are tougher on black players than they are on players of their own race, and that this same bias exhibits itself as well when the roles are reversed. The article has yet to be presented or peer reviewed, and from where I sit the statistical significance seems marginal at best, while there are all sorts of problems with the methodology. Meanwhile, Stern's argument that NBA officials are the most closely reviewed and highly-rated officials anywhere in organized sport is very compelling, but he misses the main point that this study isn't really about basketball at all, but about racism in general. My own suspicion is that if the researchers had looked at many other aspects of American society, they would have found an even more profound race-related statistical bias.

But let me back up and try to unpack this whole issue from the ground up. And let's begin with the clear understanding that "race" itself is simply a fiction: a socially-constructed perception based on archaic Victorian notions of biological essentialism which have long ago been refuted by better science. Human beings are only half-a-chromosome removed from chimpanzees; the idea that there are distinct "races" (other than "human") rooted in some sort of innate biological difference is simply absurd.

But Racism -- the ideology that these so-called racial differences actually do exist, and that they matter -- is very real, and influences our society and our individual lives in ways that are sometimes difficult to see and understand, and at other times painfully obvious and hard to bear. Furthermore, skin color has in many ways become a perceived marker of social class in contemporary America, which in turn has helped create a self-fulfilling reality, as our nation struggles to untangle and heal from the legacy of centuries worth of slavery and subsequent economic exploitation, political oppression, and systematic violent repression. We've made a lot of progress just in my lifetime. But we still have a long way to go.

I also suspect that there may well be some sort of innate nepotism and xenophobia hard-wired into our brains. It seems logical to me that any creature might instinctively tend to favor other creatures which resemble its own offspring, and be suspicious of those which seem different or unfamiliar. But this "bird-brain" prejudice can be "unlearned" through experience, and the recognition (if you will allow me a religious metaphor) that we are ALL children of God, and brothers and sisters to one another.

it likewise seems obvious to me that organized sport -- and especially a sport like basketball -- is one of the few places in our society where the fiction of race is exposed for what it is, and where human beings from every imaginable ethnic and cultural background can come together to cooperate and compete in an arena where the only variables that ultimately matter are physical talent, athletic skill, and the intensity of one's own work ethic. You can toss around all the stereotypes you like, but for every "obvious" truth you are going to discover countless clear exceptions. And that's what makes the game itself so fantastic.

Meanwhile, nobody likes a zebra. Referees are without a doubt the most reviled creatures in sports, and yet they rarely deserve the abuse they receive. And I agree with David Stern -- NBA referees are unquestionably the best and most reliable officials to be found anywhere, and work in what is also probably the most difficult and fast-moving game to officiate. As someone who plays in a pick-up league where we call our own fouls (and is now sporting a huge bruise on his sternum where he received an elbow to the chest on Wednesday night -- no call, of course), I appreciate the work that officials do, even if I don't particularly like it when the calls don't go my way.

As for racism itself, I look forward to the day when Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben will seem just as innocuous as Betty Crocker and Colonel Sanders. But I also realize that this day may never come. The truth of the matter is, the more I learn about these issues, the better I understand how complicated they are, and how much I just don't get. But at least on the basketball court, NO ONE is created equal. And we all have to learn to do our best with whatever we have taught ourselves to do with the gifts that God has given us....


Q: Why did the chicken cross to the other side of the street?
A: He wanted to get away from Colonel Sanders.

Q: Why did the chicken cross the basketball court?
A: Because he heard that the referee was blowing fowls....

Baron, Si! Cuban NO!!

The Warriors scored 112 points in Dallas the other night, but it wasn't enough to close out the Mavs, who went on a late 4th quarter run and won at home going away. Last night the Warriors needed one less point to blow the Mavs out of the arena 111-86 back in Oakland, and eliminate them from the playoffs in front of an enthusiastic home crowd garbed in gold and screaming "We Believe!"

Baron Davis tweeked his hammie (what a strange phrase THAT must be for a non-native speaker of English) late in the first quarter, which briefly sent him to the locker room for treatment -- but combative teammate Stephen Jackson stepped up to the challenge and drained some ungodly number of consecutive treys (I'll look it up in the box score later...and so can you) and it was off to the races in what for awhile looked an awful lot like an up-and-down three-point shooting contest in the spirit of Paul Westhead.

But the Mavs cooled off in the 3rd quarter, while it seemed like the Warriors just couldn't miss. Witness Baron's goofy-footed, off-balance three from the West Wing, and another waved-off bucket from half-court (by Jason Richardson?) which failed to beat the buzzer but still put a thrill in the hearts of the Warriors faithful.

I know this is the first time in NBA history that an eight-seed has eliminated a one-seed in a seven-game series, and the first time in fifty years that BOTH teams who played for the Championship the previous season have been sent home at the end of the first round. But both the Warriors and the Bulls are playing excellent, high-energy basketball right now, having both made dramatic rooster moves this past season which are finally starting to pay off at just the right time.

I think the Bulls/Pistons series is going to be a brawl, and that the Warriors will give either the Jazz or the Rockets all they can handle. Still like the Spurs to win it all, and am really looking forward to watching their upcoming match-up with the Suns...which could easily prove to be the second-most entertaining series of the entire playoffs. And again, who really cares what's happening in the East with the Nets, the Raptors, or even the Cavs...

But at this point, Golden State is Cinderella. And Mark Cuban is the jealous ugly step-sister. And the slipper...the slipper looks fly! And I just LOVED the AP tag-line: Whoa Nellie! Coach Don Nelson has done a helluva job with his Wild Warriors. They play their hearts out, and they're fun to watch. Let's hope they can keep it going a little longer.

And the difference is...

Big Shot Bob. Or maybe it's just Jacque Vaughn. And I'm that sure coaching and experience might have a little something to do with it. Horry used to drive me nuts when he'd drain those dagger threes against teams I was rooting for, but now they've just become a familiar fourth quarter ritual. Yet Vaughn's quiet six points and a nifty assist in a mere eight minutes of PT might also be thought of as the margin of victory...and in many ways represent a much better measure of the real difference between the Spurs and the Nuggets.

Alan Iverson, Carmelo Anthony, and Marcus Camby are three guys around which any coach would be delighted to build a squad. And George Karl has guys who can play around them too: Nene Hilario, Eduardo Najera, J.R. Smith and even little Steve Blake all have game...and I suppose even Linas Kleiza has enough talent to get him a green card. But that's it. The Nuggets rotation goes eight deep...and the shallow end of the bench is hardly deep enough to moisten the heel of a cowboy boot.

The Spurs, on the other hand, have ten solid players who can all contribute on both ends of the floor. It's not just Tim Duncan and Tony Parker; guys like Horry, Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili are all superb ballers in their own right, while Brent Barry and Michael Finley are both first round picks who would be starting on a lot of teams, and even the Green Card contingent (Francisco Elson and Fabricio Oberto) play with a lot of spirit and intensity to match their size. I would love to watch a half court pick-up game between Nene, Najera, and Kleiza vs Elson, Oberto, and Ginobili. Although I'm not sure anyone on the planet can really guard Manu one-on-one.

Anyway, great game last night and I FINALLY had a chance to watch from the opening tip to the final buzzer. And in the end, it wasn't so much Bob Horry's final trey as it was better execution and defense by the Spurs when it counted. And yes, the Nuggets will be back. What doesn't kill them only makes them stronger.