the spurs are good, but are they good enough?

as a suns fan, i have a had time writing these words; the spurs are good, and they have been all year long. are they as good as we thought they would be once the jefferson trade went through? not at all. but they're not as bad as we've been saying, either. its hard to read this team.

manu ginobili is finally healthy. he wasn't last year, and he didn't seem to be healthy at the beginning of this season, either. or maybe his confidence was down from last year's showing. either way, manu ginobili wasn't manu ginobili. he wasn't driving to the hoop with recklass abandon, faking the ball so hard the spalding logo game off. he wasn't hitting giant threes, forcing opposing fans to turn off their tv's or rush for the parking lot. but he is now. and oh boy is he ever doing it.

tim duncan is tim duncan. what else can we say about him? he may have been bored late during this campaign's regular season; just going through the motions to finish out another year. but this is the playoffs, and if anybody knows how to win during the playoffs, its tim duncan. he's a robot, and i mean that in the best way possible.

but really, outside of those two, who can this team turn to? richard jefferson? popovich hoped that would be the case, but for some reason, rj just can't find his rhythm, much to the chagrin of spurs fans everywhere.

tony longoria parker is usually that guy. the man from france has been one of the best scoring point guards in the league for the past few years. he can seemingly get into the paint at will and finishes with the best of them. not this year, though. he's been hurt, and even when he's been in the lineup, you could tell he's not all right.

the bench has been bad, too. besides the occasional appearance from matt bonner (the red rocket!) and dejuan blair, the bench has been largely disappointing.

mcdyess has been ok. he's been doing what he was brought in to do. its just that what he's been brought in to do isn't very much.

especially against the mavs. especially not against these mavs. theres too much talent. look at their starting line-up: kidd, butler, marion, dirk, dampier. those are huge names. sure, players such as kidd and marion may not be playing their best ball, but don't forget that kidd was an all-star this year (probably only because he was within driving distance of cowboy stadium, but whatever), and marion can still play defense with the rest of 'em.

so can the spurs get out of the first round this year? maybe. its hard to say. the spurs are good. real good. but so are the mavs, who have more talent and seem to want it more. ultimately, only time will tell, but as we all know, time isn't on these spurs' side.