The Diary of Mark Pope - Entry Five
38-3. That was the San Antonio Spurs home court record during the regular season. It is very impressive. Especially considering that there were only three teams in the NBA with less than 10 home losses. Shaquille O’Neal and the Miami Heat had the second best home court record in the NBA, and they had TWICE as many losses as the Spurs did.

Why are the Spurs so good at home?

First of all they have great talent. Tim Duncan is a perennial NBA MVP candidate. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker can be a devastating back court. Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry are great role players.

Second, the Spurs know how to win. They have more championship rings between them than any other team in the League, and they have two giant recently-earned NBA championship banners hanging up in their arena.

Third, the Spurs have great fans.

Knowing all of this we came fully prepared for a war of wills on Sunday night. We were not disappointed. During the pre-game introductions there was a playoff intensity that you can only understand if you are in the building. It is something that you can see in the faces of the players—hard-set jaws and determined eyes. And it is definitely something that you can hear in the volume of the fans. During the introductions our newly acquired rookie, Luis Flores, turned to me with a childlike grin on his face and yelled in my ear, “This is awesome!” Luis has been through 82 NBA games already but this was his first taste of the playoffs.

The game did not disappoint. It wasn’t pretty; playoff games rarely are because guys are playing so hard. But there were unbelievable dunks (DJ’s reverse), half-court-bank-shot-buzzer-beaters (Andre) and bodies all over the floor. Greg Buckner epitomized the intense play. Early in the game, with Manu Ginobli giving us fits, Greg delivered a flagrant foul. A few plays later Buck took a vicious elbow to the face and collapsed on the court dizzy with pain. Wobbly, he made his way to the bench. After a few minutes with Buck still rubbing his head, Bryon Russell asked him if he was OK. Buck winced and shook his head NO. Then he got up and checked back into the game to get some more.

In the end, that attitude was the difference in the game. We were just able to out battle them. Earl hit a huge shot down the stretch to put us over the hump, and we followed it up with several great defensive stops. The Spurs talked a lot about the shots that they missed late in the game. Solid defense, fatigue, and the pressure of a close game all contributed to those missed shots. It was everything that we could hope for in Game 1.

So what about Game 2? Game 2 is HUGE. Let me just make that clear in case any of the Nugget Nation think that it is not important. Let’s remember that two years ago the Spurs lost their first game of the first round—and then went on to win the series and eventually the NBA Championship! If we can win Game 2, it puts us in a good position.

Because after Game 2, we are coming HOME. Yes, we know about the Spurs home court and their banners and their fans. But it is time for America to learn about the NUGGET NATION. We want the world to learn what numbers like 5280, 19,099, 7:00, and 19-1 mean. No, no, no let me rephrase that. We want America, and especially the San Antonio Spurs, to HEAR what they mean. We still have business to take care of here in San Antonio…but we can’t wait to get back there and hear y’all!

PS. I’ll personally give the first person to correctly guess what the four numbers mean a Nuggets cap signed by some of the guys. Just email your answers to nuggetsmail@pepsicenter.com.

Until next time,