Duncan and the Spurs One Away... [J. Mark English]

...but does anybody care? First lets get a quick recap from game three of the NBA Finals.

From the San Antonio Express News -

Bruce Bowen was grateful for the three hours of "bonding time" he had Monday with his newborn son. Just not the time Ozmel chose to bond: 4-7 a.m. doesn't fit the schedule of most NBA players.

So when Bowen arrived at the Spurs' hotel in downtown Cleveland later that evening, he did what any dad would do: He slept. And slept. And slept.

"It was incredible," Bowen said. "Wonderful. I have to thank my lovely wife for that."

The rest of the Spurs are also eternally grateful to Mrs. Yardley Bowen. Energized by a full night's rest, her husband took the floor Tuesday evening and pushed them within one victory of their fourth NBA championship.

Bowen buried four 3-pointers over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He grabbed a career playoff-best nine rebounds. And after he hounded — or fouled, depending on one's perspective — LeBron James into one last miss, the Spurs skipped off the floor at Quicken Loans Arena with a 75-72 victory that gave them a commanding 3-0 lead in the NBA Finals.

The Spurs will try to complete the sweep Thursday. No NBA team has successfully come back from a 3-0 deficit to win a best-of-7 series.

Comment -

Its been the Snooze Fest Finals so far. I've yet to check the ratings but I'm pretty confident that they have been in the tank. The San Antonio Spurs must be the worst dynasty the NBA has ever had on its hands.

But lets at least give them some credit. They're on the precipice of winning their fourth title since 1999. That is a pretty solid achievement. Thats one more championship then Larry Bird's Celtics won in the 80's. Its on par with the four that Magic & the Lakers won in the 80's. Its one more then the amount Shaq & Kobe won together in L.A.

Tim Duncan will more then likely be crowned the MVP of the Finals for the fourth time. Only one other player has achieved that feat more often: Michael Jordon. He won six of them.

Eventually NBA aficionados will have to figure out the Spurs place in NBA history. Can a team with as much excitement as grass growing be considered one of the greatest teams in NBA history? Are they an overlooked powerhouse that only symbolizes a post Michael Jordan NBA?

Phil Jackson made the statement that the 1999 Spurs deserved an asterisk next to their championship since they won in a strike year. But four years later the Spurs ousted the three time champs (the Lakers) from the Western Conference playoffs. Did that team also deserve an asterisk?

So what if the Spurs aren't bringing in the viewers. Maybe its the NBA's fault for not properly building up the popularity of its best player, Tim Duncan. Recently they released information as to what are the highest selling jersey's in the NBA. Kobe Bryant comes out on top, and LeBron James is third. Tim Duncan is nowhere near the top.

The NBA has been so desperate to find the next Jordan, they overlooked their current heavyweight super star, Tim Duncan. Tim Duncan will go down as one of the greatest players of all time. Its time he starts to gain the respect, and be given the same photo op time that other NBA greats had in their heyday.