Chris joined Matt Bonner and the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs on the road in New York City. The first segment deals with the game at the Barclays Center with the Brooklyn Nets. Unfortunately, the Spurs were edged 95-93 in an overtime loss to an energetic Nets team that seemed to be up for a game with the champions. Coach Gregg Popovich and Tim Duncan assessed the reasons for the loss. The coach blamed the loss on poor play by San Antonio’s first unit. Tim Duncan said that he was willing to take the blame for the loss. This is a prime example of why this future Hall of Fame player is so respected around the sport. The Spurs are winners because their super star does not have an ego that could damage team chemistry. Duncan’s willingness to accept blame stands out especially because Popovich benched starting point guard, Tony Parker for the entire second half. The comeback was mainly mounted by the Spurs second unit. Matt credited increased defensive intensity to the turn around which unfortunately came up a bit short.
The next segment of the show took place in a unique part of New York city called Gramercy Park. This beautiful, private park is in an historic part of lower Manhattan which has been the backdrop for many movies. Chris and Matt discussed the current state of the San Antonio Spurs, and the “Red Mamba” also reflected on where he is at this point in his career. At this point in the season, the reigning NBA champions were doing very well. They had won eight games in a row. The game in Brooklyn was the fifth game in seven days. In order to get through the grueling NBA regular season, the Spurs manage the minutes of the older players like Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili. In certain games where they are not needed, Popovich utilizes the younger players on the team to fill in the gaps when the veteran players are sitting out. In this way, the Spurs are rested and ready for the grueling rounds of the NBA Playoffs. The Spurs are a very successful team because the players and coaches hold themselves up to very high standards. Then, they are motivated to improve and change any time fail like in their loss the final with Miami in game seven in 2013. The Spurs have won four championships, but they have never repeated. That is a current goal of the organization. Matt Bonner is 34 years old and is playing in his eleventh season. He began his NBA career after playing in Italy after college. At age 34, Matt has reached his initial goal of staying ten years in the NBA. Bonner’s first NBA team was the Toronto Raptors. On that team, he was playing lots of minutes, and the team practiced hard every day. He was so tired and worn down that he wasn’t sure how long his body would hold up. Then he was traded to the San Antonio Spurs where the philosophy is to keep their players fresh and healthy. He speculates that he might be able to play until he is 40. This year he is playing well and has been efficiently productive. As an example of the Spurs’ save yourself approach, coach Popovich has told him to not go after offensive rebounds and to just get back on defense.
In the third segment, Chris and Matt talked about how the team stays in some amazing first class hotels. On this trip, they stayed at the Gramercy Park Hotel. This landmark, luxurious hotel has had many famous guests, such as, Babe Ruth, Jimmy Cagney, and Humphrey Bogart. As you might expect, our hometown hero feels out of place with accommodations like these. Then they talked about how Matt is assigned some tough defensive match ups–such as Zach Randolph of the Memphis Grizzlies. Chris finally asked a question that his wife, Hilary, has been after him to ask Matt,”Why do you always inbound the ball?” The reason is that Coach Popovich doesn’t want Tim Duncan taking out the ball. He wants Duncan down the court getting good post up position and Matt would be the trailing big man in their offense. Bonner believes that he has cut down on his turnovers because he has totally accepted the Popovich mantra “Make the simple play.” The Spurs have a trusting, family atmosphere, but how long can their success continue. Other teams like the Celtics have dealt with a team with aging stars in a much different way.
Next, Chris talked with the official Brooklyn Historian, Ron Schweiger, about the how the Barclays Center was built on the site where the Brooklyn Dodgers would have built a stadium to replace Ebbet’s Field. He described the power struggle which occurred back in the late fifties between the owner of the Dodgers, Walter O’Malley, and Robert Moses, the powerful director of highways in New York. Moses wanted to build bridges and highways to accommodate the booming suburban growth at that time. Los Angeles made the Dodgers an offer that they couldn’t resist. Currently, Brooklyn is having an economic and cultural resurgence. With a population of 2.6 million, Brooklyn would be the third largest city in the United States. Real estate values in this borough of New York City are booming. Next year, Brooklyn and the Barclays Center will also be home to the NHL’s New York Islanders. Ron Schweiger then discussed the how the Dodgers were so much a part of the Brooklyn community.
Next, Chris talked with Sean Elliot, a former Spurs star who is currently an announcer for the team. He feels that one of the reasons for the organization’s success is the culture of the team and the city of San Antonio. It’s a beautiful city which loves their team. The team takes good care of their former players and creates a warm environment.
No history of Brooklyn is complete without discussing the Brooklyn Bridge. The last segment was another interview with Brooklyn Borough Historian, Ron Schweiger who talked about how this huge bridge was completed in 1883 without modern technology and equipment. It is considered the eighth wonder of the world. Finally, they talked about Jackie Robinson. As a youth, Schweiger would wait in a parking lot outside Ebbet’s Field. Jackie was usually the last player to leave the lot because he would take the time to shake hands with and talk to all of the kids who had waited to see the players. As Robinson’s wife, Rachel told Schweiger, “Jackie never wanted to disappoint the kids.”
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