But I completely understand this sentiment especially in the case of Malone. Malone is considered by some the greatest all-time power forward yet he needed to join a champion to get his ring. I gaurantee Rockets' fans would have felt the same way about Barkley had he joined another team in his twilight instead of Houston. There would be something hollow in a guy who is considered an all-time great getting a ring on the back of another champion. I don't blame Malone, but if he got his ring I definitely would want it to be noted how he got it. I don't think the same is felt for Payton or for a Finley. Malone and Barkley, rightly or wrongly, are victims of their own success. The more successful you are as a franchise player, the more people expect you to put your team on your back to get a ring.
Agreed. This just re-iterates the fact that its the Spurs and everyone else...it just makes the Rockets potentially at the top of that everyone else list, whereas Finley in Phoenix would likely have made it Spurs/Suns and everyone else.
Finley may have only averaged 13pts but he grabbed 5 boards a game and shot 45% and 41% from three point range. His overall scoring has gone down but he had a pretty good series against the Rockets. Plus he was money in crunch time.
Everyone needs to calm down.... All that talent can be a problem also... Just Remember these 3 things 1) Chemistry 2) Playing Time 3) Only 1 basketball to play with Remember the Fakers
This does suck, but all is not lost. This is true. Plus if TD or Manu goes down they won't have enough. As you saw with both Wade and Shaq, or Malone the year before, or Webber/Dirk, the year before, injuries can change a lot. I am not saying we wish injuries on them, but Manu and TD are no spring chickens, take beatings, and it is part of the game. Remember that Shaq-Kobe-Malone-Payton got their assess handed to them when it was all said and done. Got to play. Whoever wants to trade for Brent Barry is crazy. We have the more clutch more effective brother at less than half the cost in a short contract.
Thank you very much! Have a little confidence folks. Its not fools talk to say we can kick SA's arse to the curb!
This is GREAT news....too many cooks spoil the broth.....San Antonio has too many players....and not enough minutes.....their reign is over. DD
P.S. Stern should fine Cuban $100K for trying to use that installment-plan garbage to manipulate player movement.
Yes because this Spurs team are just like those Lakers. They have a leader (Duncan), they have a defensive stopper (Bowen), they have a pretty good perimeter player (Manu), they have the most clutch player in the game today (Horry), AND they have role players (Nazr, Parker, Barry, Rasho, Udrich, etc). And THEN you add on the fact that their lockerroom ain't like the Jailblazers and the fact that no one cares about PT and will defer to one another like crazy, you got yourself the recipe for success. I'm not going to give them the Larry O'Brien just yet. Right now, like how they were BEFORE they got Finley, the Spurs are the clear favorites. This just makes knocking them down a bit harder and, in turn, a bit more satisfying.
They were the best team in the league before they got Finley and they are still the best team in the league. They might have a dynasty down there for as long as Finley plays for them, they are incredibly deep and talented now and essentially got the 3rd max contract guy that the cap isn't supposed to allow.
Man, people got to get off this notion that the Spurs are the foregone champs. This move gives them a bit more depth but doesn't really change them down the stretch. Is Finley going to bump any of their main guys out of their crunch time minutes. He's not going to bump Ginobli obviously. And he probably won't bump Bowen either, since they'll want Bowen's defense down the stretch. Finley could be subbed in for Parker, but I doubt it. Parker's got his inconsistancies but he's still a tough matchup at PG with his quickness. And they wouldn't have any decent ball-handlers to bring the ball up. So what are we left with? Finley comes in a plays some minutes, maybe even major minutes, but down the stretch it's still the same lineup: Parker Ginobli Bowen Horry Duncan And that's the lineup that we'd have to outplay anyway if we want to pull out a win. And we can do it. They've still got no answers for Mcgrady. Finley definitely doesn't change that. If Yao can hold his own against Duncan, and Tracy does his thing then it's over. Otherwise, we wouldn't have won anyway.
Agreed. Not ONE person on their team can even contain TMac (including Bowen). We actually matched up with them well last year so I'd think the additions that we've made this offseason helps us a lot more than the ones they made.
I'll be watching the San Antonio vs. Dallas games very closely this season. Maybe Finley can do this season what Nash did last season in the playoffs against Dallas. That would be sweet justice, the sequel. Man, I love this game.
I agree with the notion that it really isn't a big deal. Finley could have been a big deal to a team with a legitimate hole that he could fill, like Denver, Houston, Phoenix, Twolves. But Spurs? He's just good name for the depth charts there. oh and good post m_cable, totally agree.
