Sports Commentary
After squandering its 2-0 lead against the Spurs, New Orleans now faces what can fairly be termed a must-win game at home in tonight's Game 5. The Hornets were brutally stepped on by the defending champs in the last two games in San Antonio, dropping Games 3 and 4 by a combined 31 points, so Chris Paul and company obviously want to avoid returning to Texas for Game 6 down 3-2 and facing elimination.
Unless Tim Duncan comes down with another fever, that is. Then the Hornets might have the advantage, regardless of any other circumstances.
At least partially buried in the crush of "Chris Paul and the Hornets are the real deal" stories that surfaced after CP3 and the Big Easy Ballers sprinted out to their 2-0 lead was the fact that Duncan was reportedly playing with a high fever (at times reaching 103 degrees) in the first two games of the Spurs' second-round series. Which might help explain why TD21 managed just 23 points total on 7-of-20 shooting in losses 1 and 2.
But this isn't to make excuses for Duncan and the Spurs. And this is not to say that the Hornets didn't earn the first two series wins.
No and no.
Yet ...
It certainly is not unreasonable to think that - knowing that the Spurs might not have been at full strength in the series' first two games ... and knowing that the Spurs have looked so gosh-darn dominant in Games 3 and 4 - the Hornets just might be suffering from a little fever of their own right now; a common, fear-inducing strain of "influentia" that every Spurs-hater on the planet comes down with each spring.
The name of the bug? Well, to the best of my knowledge it has no scientific name, but is commonly referred to by NBA obsessives as the "Uh-oh, here the Spurs go again" epidemic.
And what are the symptoms? Well, to (very weakly) paraphrase my brilliant FanHouse colleague, and resident Spurs critic,
Matt Moore, this is how it usually goes down: "It's what the Spurs do every year. Everyone starts stepping up, everyone starts hitting big shots, everyone starts flopping, and suddenly San Antonio is unbeatable. Every (frickin') year!"
Moore then sometimes jokes that a deal with the devil might have been struck by the guys in silver and black - a collection of players whom some deem choir boys away from the court and ruthless gangster-thugs on it - but the whole issue of sold souls is for a higher power than yours truly to determine.
Although ... Actually, I can determine the cause of the Spurs' annual success. At least partially. And while I can't say for sure that a chronically average talent like Jacque Vaughn hasn't dabbled in the dark arts to conjure up a 10-year NBA career, I can safely say that San Antonio's core of Gregg Popovich, Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are as smart and talented of a quartet as you'll find in the NBA, and they certainly don't need the help of the dark prince to succeed on the hardwood.
(Especially Ginobili. I'm positive that if the Argentine had struck a deal with the devil, he would've thrown in a rider clause that would've addressed that bigger-by-the-minute bald spot eating up real estate on the top of his dome.)
Need proof that the Spurs' successes are the matters of man, and not Satan? Look at Popovich's bold decision to start Manu over Michael Finley in Games 3 and 4. Not all teams can handle that kind of roster switch mid-series without having their confidence shaken, but because of the Spurs' experience and team-first mindset, it becomes a seamless switch that throws the other team off balance, boosts S.A.'s offensive output, and ultimately gives the Spurs the advantage.
And witness Bruce Bowen's defense on Peja Stojakovic. This has been another key Spurs adjustment. After torching the Spurs for 47 points total in New Orleans' first two wins, Stojakovic has managed just 14 points on 5-of-14 shooting in the two games since. That was by planning, not by coincidence (or by witchcraft).
No, there's nothing ungodly or sinister about what the Spurs are up to. They're simply adjusting to the flow of a seven-game series, as they've done time and time again. Now it falls on the Hornets to figure out how they can wrest back control of the series. Can coach of the year Byron Scott concoct a winning strategy for his side? For instance, maybe he starts Jannero Pargo? Or maybe he gives erstwhile Spurs-killer Bonzi Wells more minutes?
Or maybe Lord Byron places a call to the dude downstairs to see if it's possible to hook Timmy up with a whopping case of mono before tonight's tip-off.
Hey, whatever it takes, right?
Randy Kim is the Senior NBA Editor for AOL Sports. Before joining AOL, he covered the league for seven years at NBA.com and FOXSports.com. Kim considers his career highlight to be a standing/sit-down interview with Bullets legend Gheorghe Muresan. Send him comments and questions at RandallKim07@aol.com.
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