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The San Antonio Spurs are entering the NBA playoffs with championship hope, choosing to ignore logic and perspective for now.
When the postseason ends, they can reflect on their accelerated progress rationally.
Until then, there is no harm in staying unreasonable about their potential.
There is no harm in believing they will beat the Portland Trail Blazers in five games.
They could then defeat the Denver Nuggets in six games, the belief states.
A seven-game series could prove their regular-season success against Oklahoma City was real.
Planning for a late-June river parade is allowed, despite historical NBA precedent.
Over fifty years of league history suggests such expectations often end in disappointment.
That outcome is acceptable for a city that has missed both extremes.
San Antonio has not experienced a championship or deep postseason heartbreak in a long time.
A cold, impartial observer would urge the Spurs and fans to practice caution.
That observer would warn about the Blazers’ elite three-point defense keeping games close.
A couple of bad breaks could flip a series against Portland.
The observer would remind everyone about Nikola Jokic or Anthony Edwards waiting next.
Both superstars have abundant second-round playoff experience on difficult teams.
Those teams gave the Spurs headaches during the regular season.
The observer would point out the Spurs’ regular-season record against Oklahoma City.
They beat the Thunder in four out of five meetings this year.
They would still be massive underdogs in a potential conference finals matchup.
Oklahoma City is the defending champion with recent playoff experience.
Every title team for five decades endured playoff failure before winning.
The observer would note that low expectations prevent postseason letdowns.
But that pessimistic wisdom should be left in the 1990s, the article suggests.
It is Fiesta season in San Antonio, meaning the playoffs are just starting.
