Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald noted that this year’s team has ‘a little San Antonio Spurs’ in them with the way they grind out wins.
The Arizona Cardinals are like the Little Engine That Could, except that engine just keeps growing and growing and even when you think the story is about to come to an end, they just keep chugging along toward a playoff berth in the NFC. Pro Bowl receiver Larry Fitzgerald thinks that tenacity is what defines this team and it’s something they have in common with a champion well-known to any avid sports fan.
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“We’re a grinder team,” Fitzgerald said, per ESPN. “I said earlier in the season we got a little San Antonio Spurs in us — obviously without the championship rings. Those guys have done it for a long time.”
Since the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan first overall in 1997, they’ve been one of the best overall teams in the NBA year in and year out. They may not win the title every year, but they’ve done it five times, tied with the Los Angeles Lakers for most in that span, and they’ve been in contention for the Finals nearly every year during Duncan’s career.
Of course, it’s not the success Fitzgerald is trying to compare. It’s the way in which both teams get the job done.
“[The Spurs] just kinda just methodically get it done,” Fitzgerald said. “It’s never really pretty. Pick-and-roll. Tim Duncan shooting off the backboard. It’s not sexy. It’s not Russell Westbrook dunking in the lane and Blake Griffin catching alley-oops from Chris Paul but it’s effective.”
That approach has defined the Arizona Cardinals in this NFL season. Even when Carson Palmer was behind center, the team’s wins weren’t pretty. Now with Drew Stanton playing in Palmer’s stead, things have taken an even uglier turn.
No matter, in Fitz’s mind. The Cardinals are still getting the job done, as they sit at 10-3 atop the NFC West.
“We get in close games down the stretch so we’re able to finish,” Fitzgerald added. “And that’s what it’s coming down to. And we have to able to show that resolve.”
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