Hunger will decide NBA wars

THE WEEKEND was marked by the exit of the San Antonio Spurs, a team we had predicted would be a serious contender for another NBA title. And why not? The Spurs were playing fluid hoops, rolling to 61 wins in the regular season.

While all the attention was on other teams, the Spurs were playing no-nonsense basketball fueled by Tony Parker’s backcourt savvy, Manu Ginobili’s gutsy drives and treys and the cool demeanor and skills of Tim Duncan.

But moving on to the finals was not going to happen. The Spurs were knocked out in the first round by the eighth-placed Memphis Grizzlies, who finished the season at 46-36. The youthful Grizzlies, led by Zach Randolph, displayed a fierceness that bucked the reputation, experience and season record of the Spurs.

In the postgame interview featured in the NBA website, Spurs coach Greg Popovich said that “the Grizzlies were the better team” and that they couldn’t handle their opponents “athleticism, strength and size.” (Don’t you just love sports websites that extend the fan experience long before and after the game?)

It seems so easy to signal the start of the end of the Duncan era in San Antonio but, quite simply, the Spurs were trounced by a team that, as we often say in sports, “wanted it more.”

In each of the six games of the series, the Grizzlies played aggressively, anchored on Randolph, Tony Allen, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley and Shane Battier. They displayed the same hunger that the 2007 Golden State Warriors had when they beat the Dallas Mavericks, 4-2, in the first round after Dirk Nowitzki and company had a 67-win season.

You can’t really allow your energy to subside in the playoffs. The minute you show signs of ebbing, you’re in trouble.

To make a comparison with the current PBA Commissioner’s Cup Finals, this is what happened to Talk ‘N Text against Ginebra in the second quarter of Game 2. After a 15-point lead at the end of the first, the Texters lost their edge and the Gin Kings slowly crept back into the game and even grabbed the lead at the half.

The series was tied at one win apiece going into yesterday’s third game in Palawan.

So as the NBA semifinals begin, take a close look at the effort of the players. Find out if they are fighting for rebounds or working hard on the defensive end. Check if they dive for loose balls and challenge shots.

These are the effort moves caused by a hunger to defy the predictions, bust the reputations of opponents or counter the odds.

During the playoffs, when teams play against just one opponent for at least four games, the coaches will make the adjustments that can tilt the fortunes of a game. But they have to do a bigger, more difficult job of motivating the players.

We saw this in Memphis. The Grizzlies couldn’t care less about the Spurs’ record nor what I had to say about San Antonio.

Hungry bears coming out of hibernation are the worst opponents anyone could face.