DALLAS BEATS SPURS 106-93

I expected a tighter game. It crossed my mind that the Spurs didn't want this game--an elimination game for them--badly enough. Then when it appeared to me that they were tired in the fourth quarter I figured they were tanked out.

They couldn't get stops and couldn't score when it mattered. It was back and forth with Dallas--a better offensive team--and Tony Parker and Tim Duncan again did most of the scoring with little help except from George Hill. They didn't get enough from the other players, and for some reason Gregg Popovich didn't play the potent scorer Drew Gooden. I think Drew could've easily pitched in 20 points. So, where do they go from here? What will they do and what do they need to do in the off-season?

I think the development of George Hill and Ian Mahinmi should continue and that they should probably bring back at least one of their last off-season pickups--Desmond Farmer (who resembles a muscular Stephen Jackson) and Malik Hairston (who's built like a football defensive back), the sweet-shooting free-throw specialist Blake Ahern or maybe Marcus Williams or Salim Stoudamire.


I think the Spurs should continue to get younger. Age and experience matters, but so does youth. Being able to play is as important as knowing how to play. The mind and body must be in synch for best performance, and often they're not in older athletes. The body must cooperate with the mind. Knowing is not the same as doing.

I'm hoping that the Spurs front office assembles a monster offensive and defensive team, as the Chicago Bulls were during their title years. Of course the Spurs don't have a Michael Jordan or a Scottie Pippen, but they don't need those types of players to achieve this, and besides during their title years the Chicago Bulls' defense wasn't as tight as the Spurs' was in their title years.