Requiem For Revenge

This week an army of Islamic extremists too crazy for al-Qaeda conquered large swaths of Iraq, executing hundreds of people in the process.  In neighboring Syria, a civil war which has taken the lives of hundreds of thousands of people rages on.  In Africa, the UN just released a report showing that 4 million people in South Sudan face famine.  Several days ago in Ukraine, a military plane was shot down, killing 49 people.   In our own amazing, chaotic nation, the rate of youth unemployment is over 13% (which doesn't include those who are in school, nor those who have given up searching), costing the country $25 billion annually and leading to an entire generation of lost souls with massive student debts that they cannot escape nor hope to pay back.  Yet last night, after watching the Spurs beat the brains out of the Miami Heat, I was ebullient.  Why?

Sports do not matter.  Sports are there for us to ignore the pain, monotony, failure, and heartbreak of our fleeting existence.  Through watching millionaire athletes playing a child's game, we leave our problems behind for several hours and escape to a suspended reality in which all that matters is whether or not an orange ball goes into a hole 10 feet off the ground.  It is silly to think that seeing Manu Ginobili dunk on Chris Bosh's very soul would be enough to placate me, yet last night, that is exactly what happened.

The San Antonio Spurs represent the best that sports has to offer, if we choose to view sports as a life metaphor.  A team and an organization that utilizes a style based on unselfishness, commitment, individual development, synergy, and teamwork, last night beat a team whose system was to buy the best players on the market and put them together.  It would be an insulting oversimplification to both teams to suggest that teamwork overcame talent last night; rather, a deep and talented team playing as one organic unit, overcame (and thoroughly humiliated) a group of talented individuals who did not have the same continuity or depth of talent.  This depth and continuity disparity was due to the way in which the teams were constructed; the Spurs were built through drafting and international scouting, with players nurtured in an environment which left them either improving or sent out of town.  Meanwhile the Heat were "built" via signing 3 max-level players to slightly less than the max simultaneously, in a way to ensure that LeBron could never whine about having to win a championship by himself.

MJ 6-6 in Finals.  LBJ 2-5 in Finals.

The Heat's strategy was an unquestionable success; they won two titles in four seasons and made it to the NBA Finals all four times (granted, they play in the Eastern Conference).  That being said, the staying power of the Heat remains a question; there is no reason to suspect Miami players will be loyal the way the Spurs organization has been able to keep great players in the Alamo, despite the small market nature of the town.  David Robinson, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker are all Hall of Famers who spent/are spending their entire careers in a quiet city near the border with Mexico.  That is not by chance; the organization has figured out a way to cultivate, augment, and keep its talent, despite the lure of brighter lights in other, bigger cities.

More than merely an example of teamwork and coherence, the Spurs' victory last night was a testament to our love of revenge, the most primal of instincts.  San Antonio displayed a singleminded focus all season, and that focus was clear: destroy the Heat.  That they did.  The spirit and courage required to suffer the most devastating of losses, and then rise up and regain the championship, says so much more about the Spurs character than their success alone.

Last season for the first time in his career, Manu Ginobili seemed to go from a playmaker extraordinaire to a washed-up, beaten-up, turnover machine.  He seriously considered retirement after his (generally) poor playoff performance.  Instead, he took the summer off from basketball for the first time in years, staying in the weight room instead of on the hardwood, allowing his hamstrings to heal from multiple pulls last season.  This year he returned in far better form, and elevated his level of play in the playoffs.

GAOAT (Greatest Australian of All-Time)

Patty Mills similarly elevated his game this season, going from Popovich's doghouse for being chronically out of shape, to a defensive whir and a devastating three-point shooter.  His foot speed, tenacity, and ball pressure gave Miami fits, as the Aussie drew multiple offensive fouls on the Heat.  On the other end, Mills proved to be a force of nature, hitting 5 3-pointers and continually keeping Miami far away from striking range.  He was, undoubtedly, the best player on the court in the third period last night.  The first half however belonged to the Argentine.

Last night Popovich brought Ginobili in earlier than usual, and Manu rewarded his coach by singlehandledly saving the game from getting out of hand. The Spurs were down 22-6 when Ginobili came in; he quickly converted a three-point play, hit a three-pointer, drew an offensive foul, threw a perfect entry pass to Tim Duncan to draw a foul, and stymied the Heat's momentum.  From then on, it seemed as though victory became inevitable for San Antonio.  After Ginobili's dunk on Bosh to cap a remarkable 14-0 run, the Argentine followed up with an absurd step-back three-pointer, further deflating Miami.  The Spurs turned what had been a 16 point deficit into a 7 point lead at the half.  In the third quarter, behind an array of 3 pointers (especially from the incredible Patty Mills who had 14 in the period), the Spurs firmly closed the door on any thoughts the Heat had about trying to win the game.  All the while Tony Parker and Danny Green (like Dwayne Wade) were entirely MIA, pun intended.

The period of greatness anchored by David Robinson and Tim Duncan started in 1989.  Amazing. 

Therein lies the aforementioned difference between the two teams: depth.  Parker starting 0-10 from the field had no impact on the game; Wade playing terribly, by contrast, did have an effect.  It was hilarious to watch Ginobili "guard" Wade; he basically stood 10 feet away from the future Hall of Famer from Marquette and the Spurs played 5 on 4 defense, daring Wade to shoot.  LeBron was the best player on the floor in the first quarter; Ginobili was the best player in the second quarter, Mills was in the third quarter, and Parker was in the fourth quarter.  None of those three Spurs were likely even among the top 3 Spurs in Finals MVP voting, that honor going to Kawhi Leonard (and presumably followed by Duncan and Boris "French Magic Johnson" Diaw).

The future is hard to predict in sports, as in real life.  Who knows if we will ever see these two teams square off in the Finals again; it is possible that LeBron could opt out and bolt Miami to another city.  Duncan and Ginobili could retire or get injured.  Free agents Patty Mills and Boris Diaw could leave San Antonio for financially greener pastures.  Yet for right now, in this moment in time, those questions can wait.  At this time we celebrate courage, hope, grit and redemption. Perhaps that is a good enough reason to watch sports.