They're Playing Basketball!

Spurs playing just like old times
Iam Thomsen/SI.com

SAN ANTONIO -- Guess who has emerged as the new favorite to win the West? It isn't the No. 2 Mavericks, who lost Game 4 here Sunday 92-89 to fall behind 3-1 in their first-round series.

The Spurs are suddenly the team to beat. With the No. 1 Lakers struggling to keep up with Oklahoma City, and with No. 4 Denver endangered by the heavily-injured No. 5 Jazz, the No. 7 Spurs have suddenly and firmly reclaimed their long-standing role as conference favorites. No team in the West plays with a more dynamic blend of team defense, offensive firepower, versatility and passion. San Antonio won on a night when its Big Three (a combined 9-of-34 for 31 points) were almost outscored by second-year guard George Hill (29 points on 16 shots). Similar was the outcome of Game 3, won by the Spurs even though they missed all seven of their threes. Take away their right hand and they'll club you with the left. "If you told me before the game that we would hold the Big Three to the numbers they had, I would have said we win the game,'' said a despondent Dirk Nowitzki. After he was held to 17 points on 10 attempts, it was easy to see who had lost.

• Is it over?

Of course not. As badly as the Mavs have mangled the last three games, they've had chances to steal any or all of them. The margin is so small, they could win Monday to force a Game 6 here that the Spurs could not afford to lose.

To see how the Spurs have succeeded in throttling the favored Mavs -- using a variety of chokeholds to win each of the last three games in a different way -- is to be reminded of them at their championship best over the last decade. Many opponents over those years would look up at the scoreboard with thoughts of how close they'd come to beating San Antonio. In most of those cases, however, they were deluding themselves.

Between seeing L.A. choke its way to an awful start to the playoffs and watching the Buffalo Bills assemble what might be the most unneeded/untalented corps of draftees in its history I certainly didn't need to the rebirth of the Spurs to be the cherry on top. Not to mention its made all my Mavs buddies just as sour as I. I know how frustrating it is to watch your team lose when they have the edge in talent but I don't know what its like to see them choke every year. That has to be frustrating beyond belief.

What's even more frustrating is watching the cockroach Spurs crawl back into the conversation of Western Conference elite. We set off bug bombs and call extinguishers but after a couple seasons of meager finishes and retiring has beens this team rebalances itself for another assult on the NBA's power structure. Don't get me wrong. I'm no more afriad of the Spurs than I am the Thunder right now but seeing them suceed when my team is floundering is just insult to injury.

P.S. - At least I got to watch Manu get abused.