Lessons for Spurs from an ESPN documentary

[NYSpur]

I just caught one in the excellent 30 for 30 documentary series about the Orlando Magic NBA team in the 90's. Based on what I saw, there are some lessons to be drawn by us from what happened to that team:

-- A young team with burgeoning superstars celebrates making the finals as if they have won the finals.

-- Is dominating the first game of the playoffs but falls away, losing dramatically. Certain players and team as a whole said to have been "broken" by the loss against an experienced side

-- Has the option of resigning its star player but low balls him and, when they are finally ready to beat the better offer, its too late.

--- The loss of the star destabilizes the team, the coach that got them to the finals gets fired after a player mutiny and the team spirals downward. They watch the star that left win titles elsewhere.

I am not saying that the parallels are exact and that Harry Kane is Shaq or Dele Alli is Penny Hardaway, but I couldn't help being struck with how similar the description was of what happened to the Magic in their playoff loss against the Houston Rockets is to what we just experienced. The talk was of how the wheels came off of this young team and that they didn't have the experience to counter it. Lots of regrets thereafter at the loss of a dynasty as the team broke up. Hopefully, we will go the other way....

BTW, when one talks of choking, what happened to one of the Magic players in the pivotal game is gut wrenching.


http://espn.go.com/30for30/film?page=thismagicmoment

 

[Mr_B]

the only thing basketball has in common with football is you have to get a ball into a net, you can't do pick and rolls, score 100 points or go small court in the playoffs at whl

 

[DubaiSpur]

I think @NYSpur's point was more about the nature of young teams and dynasty building in professional sports, which are phenomena that transcend the divisions between the likes of basketball and football. In that sense, it's a good analogy to make.

 

[NYSpur]

I think @NYSpur's point was more about the nature of young teams and dynasty building in professional sports, which are phenomena that transcend the divisions between the likes of basketball and football. In that sense, it's a good analogy to make.

Exactly.As I said, it was the optimism of a young team potentially having success for years that resonated with me.

 

[DubaiSpur]

Exactly.As I said, it was the optimism of a young team potentially having success for years that resonated with me.

Word. In that sense, though, @Mr_B probably hit on one good point - player turnover in football is probably lower than it is in basketball, and given our situation with a hard-assed chairman, a stadium on the way and such, I think we don't have as much to fear in terms of the squad being dismantled in the aftermath of future disappointments (which will inevitably come).

Honestly, my only fear is that the players grow so loyal to Poch that when *he* leaves (as he inevitably will), the players might want to go with him, as happened at Soton. Other than that, I think this squad has a future together.