tinysands
2007-05-12, 06:15 PM
Buck Harvey: Next round, next decibel? Mob rules
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051207.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.34a5c7a.html
Web Posted: 05/11/2007 10:29 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
I tell Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) that the AT&T Center crowd is the Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of NBA crowds.
He tilts his head, smiles and asks, "How's that?"
I tell him. I tell him Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans, too, have seen a few things. I tell him they know to pace themselves, and I tell him they don't get overly excited about ordinary games anymore.
The Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of basketball players smiles again.
And I tell him: But at least you showed up for the first round.
He laughs and isn't as harsh. He says the atmosphere in the AT&T Center against Denver in the first round was fine, and he went on to say how much he appreciates the San Antonio fan base.
His Rockets were booed in Houston after losses, he says, and his Lakers were booed in Los Angeles. Here, he says, "they tell you to get 'em next time."
But variations of that are heard in every sport. Athletes annually announce they have the best fans in the world, and that means one thing. Someone is lying.
I've often wondered if it matters at all. Horry repeated Friday afternoon what Gregg Popovich always says. Playing at home means far less than playing well.
Still, Horry insists there's a power that comes from a crowd. "I can feel it rattle in my bones," he said, "and it gives you an extra push."
He says it affects players differently, and Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) must be one of those. His free-throw percentage, for example, was over 70 percent on the road this season. Then all he had to deal with were people yelling at him.
At home he hears something worse when he stands at the line. Silence. Then, if he misses, the entire building seems to gasp, projecting their apprehension upon him. Perhaps that explains why his percentage dropped below 58 at home this season.
The silence and gasping is just part of San Antonio's ambience, especially in contrast to what is going on elsewhere. Horry admits the Golden State fans are so dynamic they seem to jump through his television, and they remind him of the Sacramento cowbell days.
Then Phil Jackson's whistle would get drowned.
Horry remembers the Detroit crowd of 2005. "They were rowdy in a good way," Horry said.
And his memory of playing the Finals in Philadelphia — rowdy in a bad.
Now the gold T-shirts in Oakland have given way to powder-blue in Utah. The crowds in Denver were loud, too, while Phoenix was respectable though not Warrior-like.
Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans? At least their reputation is intact. This week, after Amare Stoudemire made his they-are-dirty comments, an Arizona columnist wrote, "his saucy outburst will further charge an already rabid fan base."
If Stoudemire indeed awakened a sleeping giant, then the giant has a beer, is 15 minutes late for the tip and, indeed, has been sleeping.
Various Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have said that. They have privately wondered about the lack of electricity, and one has used the term "lame."
Those who run basketball operations have been concerned, too. They've rethought everything from the start times to the choice of arena music.
"Y'all ready for this" is soooo '90s.
But it's also to be expected. Golden State is celebrating a generational breakthrough, while San Antonio has been treated to one of the best shows in sports.
Consider how the last four seasons have ended at home for Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans: A championship celebration in 2003, Derek Fisher's .4 moment the next year, a Game 7 and another championship celebration after that and the Game 7 overtime loss to Dallas last season.
By any standard, that's entertainment.
Horry lived through the same with the Lakers when he won three consecutive titles. And he says, as the years went on, Lakers fans learned the routine. "After every round," he said, "the decibel level went up."
So now comes the next round at home, against a team with the league's second-best record, with the path to a title clear to both franchises.
Golden State for a night?
The Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of crowds would become that.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA051207.01C.COL.BKNharvey.spurs.34a5c7a.html
Web Posted: 05/11/2007 10:29 PM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
I tell Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) that the AT&T Center crowd is the Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of NBA crowds.
He tilts his head, smiles and asks, "How's that?"
I tell him. I tell him Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans, too, have seen a few things. I tell him they know to pace themselves, and I tell him they don't get overly excited about ordinary games anymore.
The Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of basketball players smiles again.
And I tell him: But at least you showed up for the first round.
He laughs and isn't as harsh. He says the atmosphere in the AT&T Center against Denver in the first round was fine, and he went on to say how much he appreciates the San Antonio fan base.
His Rockets were booed in Houston after losses, he says, and his Lakers were booed in Los Angeles. Here, he says, "they tell you to get 'em next time."
But variations of that are heard in every sport. Athletes annually announce they have the best fans in the world, and that means one thing. Someone is lying.
I've often wondered if it matters at all. Horry repeated Friday afternoon what Gregg Popovich always says. Playing at home means far less than playing well.
Still, Horry insists there's a power that comes from a crowd. "I can feel it rattle in my bones," he said, "and it gives you an extra push."
He says it affects players differently, and Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) must be one of those. His free-throw percentage, for example, was over 70 percent on the road this season. Then all he had to deal with were people yelling at him.
At home he hears something worse when he stands at the line. Silence. Then, if he misses, the entire building seems to gasp, projecting their apprehension upon him. Perhaps that explains why his percentage dropped below 58 at home this season.
The silence and gasping is just part of San Antonio's ambience, especially in contrast to what is going on elsewhere. Horry admits the Golden State fans are so dynamic they seem to jump through his television, and they remind him of the Sacramento cowbell days.
Then Phil Jackson's whistle would get drowned.
Horry remembers the Detroit crowd of 2005. "They were rowdy in a good way," Horry said.
And his memory of playing the Finals in Philadelphia — rowdy in a bad.
Now the gold T-shirts in Oakland have given way to powder-blue in Utah. The crowds in Denver were loud, too, while Phoenix was respectable though not Warrior-like.
Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans? At least their reputation is intact. This week, after Amare Stoudemire made his they-are-dirty comments, an Arizona columnist wrote, "his saucy outburst will further charge an already rabid fan base."
If Stoudemire indeed awakened a sleeping giant, then the giant has a beer, is 15 minutes late for the tip and, indeed, has been sleeping.
Various Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have said that. They have privately wondered about the lack of electricity, and one has used the term "lame."
Those who run basketball operations have been concerned, too. They've rethought everything from the start times to the choice of arena music.
"Y'all ready for this" is soooo '90s.
But it's also to be expected. Golden State is celebrating a generational breakthrough, while San Antonio has been treated to one of the best shows in sports.
Consider how the last four seasons have ended at home for Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) fans: A championship celebration in 2003, Derek Fisher's .4 moment the next year, a Game 7 and another championship celebration after that and the Game 7 overtime loss to Dallas last season.
By any standard, that's entertainment.
Horry lived through the same with the Lakers when he won three consecutive titles. And he says, as the years went on, Lakers fans learned the routine. "After every round," he said, "the decibel level went up."
So now comes the next round at home, against a team with the league's second-best record, with the path to a title clear to both franchises.
Golden State for a night?
The Robert Horry (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/robert_horry) of crowds would become that.