West Says Spurs Will Make Final in the West

The San Antonio Spurs’ mascot at home games is one of the more pitiful creations in the National Basketball Association -- an ugly coyote that accomplishes the impossible in the Sesame Street-Muppets-Disney era. It actually makes you hate stuffed animals.

Anyway, Larry Brown felt a sort of kinship with the repulsive coyote last season. It was not only that the Spurs had an ugly record, but they often were like Wiley E. Coyote, the Road Runner cartoon character that continually is blown up, flattened and has boulders dropped on its head.

The Spurs presented Brown with the first losing record of his 17-year college and professional coaching career, and they did it convincingly. The Spurs were 21-61, and it is fair to say Brown was not enamored with their talents or personalities. Only three Spurs returned from last season.

During the preseason, Brown watched as his new team overcame a large deficit to defeat the Dallas Mavericks. After the game, he went out with longtime friend George Irvine, the Indiana Pacers’ vice president, and asked what Irvine thought of the Spurs.

“George,” Brown said. “Do you think we can win 41 or 42 games?”

Irvine nodded. “But you know what?” Irvine said. “If you had not won but 21 last year, you would probably be saying you were going to win 65.”

The Spurs look that good. David Robinson is for real -- a franchise center who already ranks behind only Akeem Olajuwon and Patrick Ewing in the pecking order of NBA centers. The supporting cast is excellent -- veterans Terry Cummings and Maurice Cheeks, rookie Sean Elliott, second-year guard Willie Anderson and role players Caldwell Jones, Frank Brickowski and Vernon Maxwell.

In their opening game Saturday, Robinson had 23 points and 17 rebounds as the Spurs defeated the Lakers, 106-98. Even before that game, Lakers General Manager Jerry West predicted the Lakers and Spurs would meet in the Western Conference finals.

“I’m flattered and I think that’s nice for the players,” Brown said. “But we’ve got nine new faces and eight young kids. It depends on how quickly we gel. I remember last year. I had high expectations. We beat the Lakers in the first game, and then we lost 61. That humbles you a little bit.”

Humility, however, has not lessened Brown’s excitement. Nor is he fazed by the expectations. It has become popular to compare the Spurs with the Phoenix Suns, who last season won 27 more games than the previous season, and Brown has not discouraged the comparison.

“I don’t mind,” Brown said. “I would be disappointed if we didn’t make a hell of a lot of improvement. And I’d be disappointed as hell if we didn’t make the playoffs.”

But there is a fascinating difference between the Spurs and the Suns. No one expected the Suns to improve last season. Even after they started winning consistently, their success still was surprising.

The Spurs, however, are expected to be great. They have been picked by some to win the Midwest Division. West expects to see them in the conference finals. Even doubling their victory total, which would give them a 42-40 record, would not be enough -- not when some people figure the team is good enough to win 65.

But Brown does not fear failure. Nor does he complain about what could be considered unrealistic demands. He feels good. He feels positive. And besides, nothing could be as bad as last season when he won 21 games and had to look at that ugly coyote at 41 home games.