DieMrBond
11-21-2008, 12:08 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_keep_tinkering_with_lineup.html
For Spurs forward Matt Bonner, the typical workday begins nearly 10 hours before tipoff. His game-day ritual is prescribed down to the kind of fine detail that would make Felix Unger look like Oscar Madison.
He must be on the practice court exactly one hour before the morning walkthrough, to work out and limber up. He must shoot 75 free throws before breaking for lunch. As game time nears, he must return to the court precisely 55 minutes before scheduled start time for one last warm-up.
“I try to approach every game the same,” Bonner said. “I try to be ready in case my name is called.”
Once the ball goes up, Bonner's game-day routine becomes anything but.
He might play 25 minutes. He might not play at all. He is a Minuteman, ready for action at a moment's notice, except sometimes the British aren't coming.
Such is the uncertain life of a Spurs bench player.
With prime point-producers Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out with injury, and with offense at a premium, coach Gregg Popovich has had to become a bit of a mad scientist. He's been piecing together all sorts of patchwork lineups, with the goal to generate a bit more scoring without sacrificing the defensive prowess that wins games.
The end result: Unless your name happens to be Tim Duncan, your minutes are always TBD.
“It's still a work in progress,” said guard Roger Mason Jr., who has started seven games and come off the bench in four. “There are going to be good days and bad days. Right now, we want to stay afloat and hang around until Manu and Tony get back.”
Popovich's lineup button-pushing is likely to continue tonight when the Spurs host a Utah Jazz team battling a lingering injury issue of its own. All-Star point guard Deron Williams has played only two games so far while dealing with an ankle sprain suffered in the preseason, and is listed as day-to-day.
In 11 games this season, the Spurs have trotted out five different lineups for the opening tap. In an odd bit of trivia, three players — Bonner, Ime Udoka and Kurt Thomas — have logged at least one start and at least one DNP.
At this point, Popovich admits his rotation to be more trial-and-error than set in stone.
“I see some combinations out there, and I wonder, ‘Why did I do that?' ” Popovich said with a chuckle. “We're getting a lot of looks at a lot of different combos, that's for sure.”
Contrary to popular belief, the Spurs do not divvy up minutes by drawing names out of a hat.
There are countless factors that determine how much or how little a player might play on a given night. Some of it has to do with matchups, some of it with merit. Sometimes, the best-laid plans are scrapped by unforeseen game conditions.
In a different locker room, and with a different coach, the lineup tilt-a-whirl might not work. Many an NBA team has been soured by a veteran unhappy with playing time.
That hasn't happened with the Spurs.
They seem to have followed the lead of Bruce Bowen, who started the first four games of the season — and the first 555 of his Spurs' career — before being transformed into a reserve.
He comes off the bench now, without complaint.
“It's a matter of priorities,” Bowen said. “So what if you're only playing eight minutes? There are a lot of people out there who would love to play in the NBA, for just those eight minutes.”
For Bonner, any amount of NBA minutes is a blessing. In the span of three games earlier this month, he played a grand total of 42 seconds.
In the past four, he's gotten an early call from Popovich, and made the most of it, averaging a shade more than nine points and making 7 of 14 3-pointers.
Bonner says he might never get used to the here-one-day, gone-the-next nature of his playing time. But he can always do his best to be prepared for it.
“The coaches are constantly reminding you to stay ready,” Bonner said. “That gets me in the mind-frame that I might play, whether I do or I don't.”
For Spurs forward Matt Bonner, the typical workday begins nearly 10 hours before tipoff. His game-day ritual is prescribed down to the kind of fine detail that would make Felix Unger look like Oscar Madison.
He must be on the practice court exactly one hour before the morning walkthrough, to work out and limber up. He must shoot 75 free throws before breaking for lunch. As game time nears, he must return to the court precisely 55 minutes before scheduled start time for one last warm-up.
“I try to approach every game the same,” Bonner said. “I try to be ready in case my name is called.”
Once the ball goes up, Bonner's game-day routine becomes anything but.
He might play 25 minutes. He might not play at all. He is a Minuteman, ready for action at a moment's notice, except sometimes the British aren't coming.
Such is the uncertain life of a Spurs bench player.
With prime point-producers Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili out with injury, and with offense at a premium, coach Gregg Popovich has had to become a bit of a mad scientist. He's been piecing together all sorts of patchwork lineups, with the goal to generate a bit more scoring without sacrificing the defensive prowess that wins games.
The end result: Unless your name happens to be Tim Duncan, your minutes are always TBD.
“It's still a work in progress,” said guard Roger Mason Jr., who has started seven games and come off the bench in four. “There are going to be good days and bad days. Right now, we want to stay afloat and hang around until Manu and Tony get back.”
Popovich's lineup button-pushing is likely to continue tonight when the Spurs host a Utah Jazz team battling a lingering injury issue of its own. All-Star point guard Deron Williams has played only two games so far while dealing with an ankle sprain suffered in the preseason, and is listed as day-to-day.
In 11 games this season, the Spurs have trotted out five different lineups for the opening tap. In an odd bit of trivia, three players — Bonner, Ime Udoka and Kurt Thomas — have logged at least one start and at least one DNP.
At this point, Popovich admits his rotation to be more trial-and-error than set in stone.
“I see some combinations out there, and I wonder, ‘Why did I do that?' ” Popovich said with a chuckle. “We're getting a lot of looks at a lot of different combos, that's for sure.”
Contrary to popular belief, the Spurs do not divvy up minutes by drawing names out of a hat.
There are countless factors that determine how much or how little a player might play on a given night. Some of it has to do with matchups, some of it with merit. Sometimes, the best-laid plans are scrapped by unforeseen game conditions.
In a different locker room, and with a different coach, the lineup tilt-a-whirl might not work. Many an NBA team has been soured by a veteran unhappy with playing time.
That hasn't happened with the Spurs.
They seem to have followed the lead of Bruce Bowen, who started the first four games of the season — and the first 555 of his Spurs' career — before being transformed into a reserve.
He comes off the bench now, without complaint.
“It's a matter of priorities,” Bowen said. “So what if you're only playing eight minutes? There are a lot of people out there who would love to play in the NBA, for just those eight minutes.”
For Bonner, any amount of NBA minutes is a blessing. In the span of three games earlier this month, he played a grand total of 42 seconds.
In the past four, he's gotten an early call from Popovich, and made the most of it, averaging a shade more than nine points and making 7 of 14 3-pointers.
Bonner says he might never get used to the here-one-day, gone-the-next nature of his playing time. But he can always do his best to be prepared for it.
“The coaches are constantly reminding you to stay ready,” Bonner said. “That gets me in the mind-frame that I might play, whether I do or I don't.”