By Ricardo Aparicio

Conseco Fieldhouse. The Rose Garden. Staples Center. Three very tough buildings to get a road win. Getting a road win in one of those buildings is against the odds. So what is a team that wins in all three - in the same road trip?

A title contending team, of course.

Going into this season, everyone knew the San Antonio Spurs were going to have something to say about who won the 2003 NBA Championship. No one figured that the Spurs were going to actually be that team, particularly when they got off to an ordinary start.

Early on, the Spurs looked as though they just weren’t good enough. A road loss to the Warriors in the second game of the season. Portland and Sacramento humiliating the Spurs in SBC Center. Losing in Denver (the Nuggets are the only team that should do that) and blowing a fourth quarter lead at home to the Sonics.

Surprise surprise: when Tim Duncan played himself into 2002 form, the team began to improve markedly. A rare road win in Sacramento. A rare win of any kind over the then white-hot Mavericks. But the Spurs fell hard at the end of December, losing three of four on an Eastern road trip. Their record at the end of the year was a non-title contending 19-13. Happy New Year, Spurs. They’ve gone 16-3 in 2003.

Duncan is the known quantity in the equation. Tony Parker’s play has been a revelation: only Jason Kidd, Stephon Marbury, Mike Bibby, Steve Nash, Gary Payton, and Steve Francis can be considered superior players. But Parker is still just twenty years old, and his twenty point, eight assist games are almost the norm for him. Stephen Jackson continues to impress, Bruce Bowen would rather die than allow an easy basket, Malik Rose still brings his high energy game, and Manu Ginobili is maybe the most heady player on the team: he tracks down long rebounds, he passes with flair, and he hits big shots. Look out when Manu learns how to play NBA basketball. And I haven’t even mentioned the veterans yet: David Robinson, Kevin Willis, Steve Smith, and Steve Kerr. Robinson has been effective when healthy, Willis outruns guys fifteen years younger than he, Smith has lacked for minutes but still has that sweet stroke, and Kerr has been a very effective backup for Tony Parker.

The Spurs have gotten it done against the best, too. Their record against fifteen teams with winning records (they haven’t played Milwaukee yet) is 17-8.

At the start of the season, I thought it was Sacramento’s turn to win an NBA title. I’m not quite so certain now. The Spurs are playing a solid brand of basketball with a suffocating defense, the MVP of the league, and a high-quality bench...just like in 1999.


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