Game Five, The Spurs Coronation

A few quick thoughts on the NBA's B Story, behind As The Kobe Turns...

> 30-11 start. Nice of the Spurs to let everyone on the East Coast turn in early.

> Wow, no one saw the Spurs winning tonight by 25. Oh, wait, actually, everyone outside of Salt Lake City did. And frankly, most of them, too.

> Any minute now, Mehmet Okur is going to start playing. And when he does, STEPHEN A. SMITH WILL LET YOU KNOW.

> There is no truth to the rumor that Bob Horry hard fouled Derek Fisher's daughter, causing him to miss the first half. But still, you can see how this kind of rumor gets started.

> Tony Parker's getting married to Eva Longoria? Why hasn't the media told us this before? Dammit, we want details!

> The Jazz have the fifth youngest roster in the NBA. And yet, I still can't help but think this will be their high-water mark. They are a nice story, but they're not the Spurs, they are not the Suns, and they have to have serious doubts about Kirilenko and Okur after this series. (Oh, and also this: they really, really need a 2 with size that can take over a game. They're not going to get one anytime soon.)

> People talk about the Spurs being old, but it's not the parts that really matter -- Duncan, Parker, Ginobili. Their team player bigs (Oberto and Elson) have few miles on the odometer. So long as Duncan is healthy, they have to be the favorite.

> Tonight's game set new records for Most Garbage Time Ever in a playoff game. To give you an idea, Rafael Arajuo played 12 minutes tonight. His entire playoff before that: 13 minutes. (FTT is proud to be the only sports blog in 2007 to mention Rafe. Print this page out for your scrapbook, Big Man!)

> A sincere congratulations to Michael Finley for finally making it to the Finals. So nice that someone on Mark Cuban's payroll will finally get a ring.

> And finally, this final note... Kobe has the most seasons with the same team of any team in the league, with 12. Duncan and KG are second, with 11.

Third? Adonal Foyle, with 10. Seriously. Adonal Foyle. We should all find opportunities so abundant.