Second Verse, same as the First.

Oy.

My wife has to go to work early so she turned in before Game 2 was over, so this morning she asked me “How did the Spurs do last night?”

Well, honey….they didn’t lose by 18!

For the second game in a row, the Spurs had the lead for most of the first half and into the third quarter and for the second game in a row, they gave up the lead and never caught up. This time it took all of 30 seconds to lose the lead.

Some things we talked about last time that needed to change, did. Tim Duncan finall y arrived in the series Monday night. He had 18 points and 8 boards and looked like the Tim we know and love. He played good defense on David West, as did Kurt Thomas and West was held to 2-11 shooting and 10 points. Problem is CP3 went for 30 and Peja Stick-a-jump-shot-avich added 25. Timmy’s two compadres? No esta aqui. Manu and Tony shot more like Many and Eva. A combined 9-24 they were. Dude, when Morris Peterson outscores you TP, it does not forebode well.

Ok, so for the 11th time in their history, and first time since the Western finals against the Lake Show in 2001, the Spurs are down 0-2…that series ended ugly in a sweep. In fact, here is your Mikey P stat o’the blog:

11 times, the Spurs have been down in a series 0-2, 5 times they won Game 3 and 6 times they lost Game 3. Of those 5 wins, 4 of those times the Spurs also won Game 4. Of those 6 losses….all those series ended in sweeps.

The San Antonio Spurs have never won a series when starting down 0-2.

4 of those sweeps were of the “top seed vs. bottom seed” variety…the Spurs played the role of the bottom seed so those were to be expected. In the Duncan Era, they have been swept once and that was in 2001 when SA was the #1 seed and lost to the #2 Lakers. This team is the best Spurs team ever to be down 0-2. Ok…that was random but still true!

Can this be done? Is it time to panic? Is it time to submit “Gone Fishin’!” pictures to Kenny Smith?

Yes, no and Hell no!

The popular sentiment for Game 3 is to put Bruce Bowen on Peja, keep Duncan and Thomas taking turns at West and have Parker go one on one with CP3. I like that and I would take it a step further. Employ the Amare strategy. No, no, not come off the bench and do push-ups. In the past, the Spurs have been content with letting Amare get his and clamp down on everyone else. Take the aforementioned steps and still have Parker play D on Paul but don’t wear himself out. Let Paul get what he gets but don’t let anyone else beat you as well. This would also not wear down TP too badly and let him have energy on the offensive end. That would allow him to drive and penetrate more and also make CP3 play more defense on him and maybe wear him down a bit.

Oh and Manu? Step the hell up. Right now. In the past, you have shined brightest when the brightest lights are shined upon you. Well, bust out the sunscreen hermano, because it doesn’t get any brighter than this. Defending champs, down 0-2 and at home? Yeah, the spotlight is as bright as it gets. Brent Barry played well and I would not mind seeing him start over Finley. Finley has 17 points in 2 games while Barry had 14 in Game 2 alone. At this point, I don’t think a change would be bad. Also, why not throw in Matt Bonner? Dude is tall and can hit the 3…again, at this point you have to try all you can. Throw him at David West for a bit.

Finally….the crowd. SA you HAVE to get fired up. I have to give it to Hornets Fan. Their booing on every Spurs possession and pulling out the Rick Flair “WOOO!” every other play is damned annoying but hey, it worked. They were pumped up from the opening tip of Game 1 to the end of Game 2. They, like their team, were the ones that acted like the experienced vets and seemed to rattle the Spurs like they were the team back in the playoffs for the first time since 2004.

Folks, we as fans as well as the Spurs players cannot go into this game with the attitude of “we need 4 out of 5″ This needs to be approached with the “one at a time” philosophy. It sounds corny and cliche but it is true. You take care of business in Game 3, then worry about Game 4.

I know what you are thinking…”but you already said the Spurs have never come back from a 0-2 deficit.” Very true, and if the Spurs play the next two games like they did the last two, this will be over quick. However, I leave you with this thought….just because San Antonio has not come back from 0-2 doesn’t mean they can’t come back from 0-2. If any team can, this one can. Besides stranger things have happened, how else do you explain the Platypus? Or Britney Spears?

Have faith, brothers and sisters….remember its not a series until someone wins on the road. Hopefully, this won’t be a series until Game 5.

Go Spurs Go.