The Secret to San Antonio's Success

By Bill Ingram
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Nov 21, 2006, 10:09


Things usually start pretty well.

Your shots are falling, you’re able to get some stops . . .you’re not quite sure what the big deal is.

Fast break here, three-pointer there, before long you’ve got a nice little lead developing and you start to feel a little momentum building, even.

By half time you’ve probably found a comfort zone, leading by something like ten points, the prognosis is definitely positive!

Still - there's something in the other team's eyes. It's like they know something you don't know. They don't appear to be too concerned about the score . . .

Then the third quarter starts. You’ve told the team they only need to keep doing what they’ve been doing. Everything was going great in the first half, so just keep plugging.

But something’s different.

Your shots aren’t falling quite as easily. You can’t quite find a way to stop that guy in the middle. Balls that were bouncing your way in the first half are now bouncing the other way.

You see frustration growing on the faces of your players. A bad bounce here, a missed dunk there and now they’re starting to feel tense. They even have some bad exchanges with a ref or two as they struggle to get back on track.

Meanwhile, the other team just looks on. They’re taking care of business – so much so that you’re not even sure they’re aware of your team being there.

They have a job to do. They do it with little emotion . . .little sign of exhaustion or weakness. Every time you miss a shot they cut your lead. Every time you turn the ball over they make you pay. By the end of the third quarter your comfort zone is gone.

Now your team is starting to lose its cool. The pressure’s on, and they start to get even more frustrated that the lead they built so easily has evaporated. The harder they try to regain control, the faster they lose their grip on the game.

By the middle of the fourth quarter the game is completely lost.

On your side there are red faces, angry voices, bruised egos.

On their side there are the faces of members at a boardroom conference table. They’re already talking about tomorrow, never even bothering to celebrate or even enjoy (or notice?) today’s victory.

“Our next meeting will be with the (insert team name),” says their head coach/CEO. “Please be punctual and systematic and let’s register another win as we make our way towards June.”

Congratulations. You’ve just been beaten by the San Antonio Spurs.

Better luck next time.

That is a cool article, and very true.