But in the more modern N.B.A., which by most measures began in 1980 with Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, Thomas and the Detroit Pistons remain the barometer for heartbreak, for crushing defeat in consecutive seasons along the way to the top of the mountain. finals, nobody suffered more than Jerry West, a loser in eight of nine championship series in 14 years with the Los Angeles Lakers.

“I know what that’s like, when you come so close, when they’ve got the trophy and Champagne in your locker room one minute, and then they’re wheeling it out.” “He said it so casually, but it told you that every day, for the whole season, that’s all he was thinking about,” Thomas said. “We’ll do it this time,” he said on the eve of the Spurs’ five-game wipeout of the Heat, punctuated Sunday night with a 104-87 clincher in San Antonio.ĭuncan’s promise told Isiah Thomas everything he needed to know. We plainly saw the broken heart of a four-time champion, how badly he wanted a career-bookend fifth title, how much it hurt to have been seconds away in Game 6.īefore this season’s rematch with the Heat, he even went out on an unfamiliar limb, transforming himself into Tim Duncan Messier. He was no longer the poker-face giant, sharing only inside his circle. And I think that's really important for us,' Belinelli said of Filloy, a 30-year-old Argentinean-born point guard who has averaged 11.3 points in Tel Aviv in his senior national team debut.Never was Duncan more exposed to the N.B.A.-watching world than when misery clouded his face in the moments of his most wrenching failure and his eyes misted after Game 7. 'I need to say that Pietro, Ariel and a lot of other guys really help us to win games. But I think they have played great.'īelinelli even mentioned Filloy specifically at the post-game press conference following Italy's win over Ukraine. 'Maybe nobody thinks about those guys but for them this is the first EuroBasket, so it's not easy. 'I didn't really know about these players, maybe a little bit about Filloy,' Belinelli said. Īriel Filloy has been one of the revelations for Italy at FIBA EuroBasket 2017

Heck, even Belinelli, who last played in Italy in 2007, admitted to not knowing all of the players on hand. Coach Ettore Messina and his powerhouses! #EuroBasket2017īut unless you follow the Italian Serie A, you might not know names such as Ariel Filoy, Paul Biligha and Christian Burns.

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