Sunday, June 11, 2006

Finals watching

You know, the attention I give to the NBA, I gotta admit, waxes and wanes. It's been waning a good bit since the Pacers have increasingly disappointed over the last few years. But back when Reggie was still Reggie and they could even get their own rebounds, I remember watching the 1999 Finals and being impressed by a certain player for the Spurs.

No, not one of the "Twin Towers" (as they were called in our pre-2001 innocence), though they were fun to watch in their skillful tallness. I'm talking about the shortest player out there: Avery Johnson.

And--can you believe it?--in his first season as head coach, he's in the Finals. He didn't even get drafted out of college, folks: he had to work his way in. Amazing tenacity. Not to mention talent.

So: Go Mavs! (I did, after all, grow up a mere 60 miles to the west of Dallas. Hometown spirit and all.)

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You betcha! Did you watch the players' comments about Johnson during an interview last night? Too funny! Like you said, though, his tenacity is something to admire.

chris said...

Avery Johnson is flat-out coaching his butt off. After last night's performance i was embarrassed to admit that i'm rootin for the Heat.

I mean, dang. Come on, Heat!! You're making AJ look like a genius.