Wow. That was a walloping if ever I saw one. Granted, I thought the Spurs would close out the Jazz in San Antonio. And being without a justifiably distracted Derek Fisher for the first half certainly didn't help Utah's chances. Nor did Deron Williams' sprained ankle. All the stars were aligned against the Jazz, and the Spurs pounced.
But I don't feel sorry for Utah. By all rights, they should've lost to Houston in the first round--would've too, if the Rockets had a coach with any clue as how to use Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady. Utah has a talented young team, and odds are they'll only get better in years to come. The Spurs, meanwhile, are long in tooth and getting longer. The window of opportunity for San Antonio is closing rapidly--next year they'll have a chance to repeat as Western Conference champs... maybe. After that, major rebuilding, while Dallas and Phoenix slug it out another couple of years, with Houston, Utah and Portland nipping at their heels.
As for now, I'm basking in the Spurs' glow. I'd love to see them play against Cleveland and the dynamic play LeBron James brings to the game. Detroit is a less-sexy matchup, and the Pistons match up better, so I'm not too keen on playing them. Either way, the Spurs are playing their best basketball of the year, and I don't expect a week's layoff to make them too rusty. Not with the franchise's fourth title in eight years so tantalizingly close.
Go Spurs Go!
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