Witnessing Spurs' perspiration is an inspiration

Through two games, the Spurs made beating down Seattle look awfully easy.

Looks can be deceiving, as nothing could be further from the truth. Fact is, San Antonio works hard to hammer the SuperSonics, a good team that finds itself completely overwhelmed.

Bruce Bowen's physical defense has frustrated Ray Allen. (Getty Images)

The second round of these playoffs have been all about separation, which is why there have been so many blowouts. The pretty good and really good are running into the truly great.

What makes the difference? San Antonio never takes a play off.

Tuesday night's 108-91 rout of Seattle provided a blueprint for how championship basketball should be played. Like anything that looks like it comes off so naturally, it takes a remarkable amount of work.

Offensively, the Spurs are always cutting, always looking up, looking to run. Ball movement relies on quickness -- both physical and mental. One player is always trying to do something to free up another.

Defensively, everyone is in unison, guarding opponents with their feet, a basketball staple that has been perfected in San Antonio.

The Spurs are always active, constantly gyrating in front of opponents and making themselves the most nagging nuisances imaginable -- in-laws, telemarketers and clueless drivers included. Bruce Bowen might get the most attention for his in-your-face, never-let-you-breathe relentlessness, but it's clear his teammates have become quick studies.

"We have a defensive camaraderie. If someone beats one of our teammates, we go help them," said center Nazr Mohammed, thrilled to be a championship contender after spending the early part of his career with the Hawks and Knicks. "Every possession counts. You have to make people work for what they do."

The amazing consistency frustrates opponents into losing their own identity. Seattle has gone from averaging 106 points against Sacramento to mustering 20 points less in San Antonio.

"This team is not Sacramento," Sonics center Jerome James bluntly pointed out. "This team is much more defensive-minded."

That's like saying Emeril Legasse or the Iron Chefs are much better cooks than you or me.

San Antonio's dish of choice is a defense that has held Seattle to 6-for-25 shooting from 3-point range by simply closing out and contesting shots. The Spurs have so frustrated the Sonics that the team has resorted to begging for foul calls as ways to put points on the board, rather than just rearing back and utilizing what got them here.