duncan228
11-27-2008, 11:58 PM
Spurs' fortunes turn in three-week span (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_fortunes_turn_in_three-week_span.html)
By Jeff McDonald
Roger Mason Jr. had been a San Antonio resident for a matter of weeks when he experienced his first bout of Alamo City hysteria.
The Spurs were 1-4 for the first time in 12 years, and had just lost a home game to Miami and star point guard Tony Parker to an ankle sprain. It was Nov. 7, and already unhinged Spurs fans were muttering an unfathomable L-word: Lottery.
The line for leapers off the Tower of Americas observation deck formed to the right.
“We started off slow, and that's the facts,” said Mason, the first-year Spurs guard. “At the end of the day, we've still got a lot of confidence in this locker room. We wanted to show people that we could still play.”
Flash forward 21 days. These times, they aren't so troubled after all.
The Spurs have won seven of nine without Parker, just got Manu Ginobili back from an ankle injury of his own and could be mere days away from welcoming Parker back.
They are 8-6 and eyeing a post-Thanksgiving Day home game tonight against a Memphis team they already routed once this week, 94-81 on Monday on the road.
“We deserve some respect,” Ginobili said. “We've earned it. We've got a long way to go, and we're going to get better and better.”
The seeds for the Spurs' rebound were sown in the immediate aftermath of that debacle against Miami, a wire-to-wire disaster culminating in a 99-83 defeat.
The Spurs had two days off until their next game, and used them to regroup. They went back to the drawing board on defense, where they had been allowing 105 points per game. Coach Gregg Popovich tweaked his lineup, deciding that (for the time being) rookie George Hill would start in place of Parker.
“We had to try to figure out a new group, who was going to be starting, who was going to come off the bench, who was going to run the show,” Popovich said. “All those questions had to be answered, so those couple days were important for us.”
All in all, it was 48 hours well spent.
Two nights after watching the Heat run a permanent fast-break drill against them at the AT&T Center, the Spurs shut down New York's high-octane offensive attack in a 92-80 victory.
Including that game, the Spurs have held seven of their past nine opponents to fewer than 90 points, watching their points-against average drop like a stone to 91.2, fifth in the NBA. Players cite a return to defensive dominance — the calling card of the Spurs' championship past — as the primary reason for the team's resurgence.
“We've started to defend again,” Tim Duncan said. “That's the main thing.”
More than any other player on the Spurs roster, Mason has perspective on what happens when bad is allowed to get to worse.
This season, he has watched from afar as his old team, the Washington Wizards, have transformed their own 1-4 start into a 1-10 mark, precipitating the ouster of coach Eddie Jordan.
The difference between the Wizards' injury-plagued start and the Spurs'?
“We've got Tim Duncan,” Mason said. “We can throw him the ball, get out of the way, and go win some games.”
Indeed, Duncan is averaging 21.7 points per game, his most since 2003-04.
Yet, as the Spurs have surged lately, Duncan has enjoyed scoring help.
Mason has emerged as a viable scoring threat, averaging 14.9 points while splitting time between shooting guard and his new starting role at the point. Hill has surfaced as a capable replacement for Parker, averaging 11.3 points.
Meanwhile, Ginobili — the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year — has returned, averaging 13.5 points in 14.5 minutes in the past two games.
Those checking the pulse of this Spurs team now will find a strong beat. Across South Texas, hysteria has turned to hope. Chicken Little has gone into hiding.
Hardly ones for “told you so,” the Spurs are approaching their recent run of success with the same one-day-at-a-time ethos with which they approached their early struggles. There are 82 games in a season, they say, plenty of time for anything to happen.
“We can't be too excited when things go right, and we can't be too depressed when we're 1-4,” Ginobili said.
By Jeff McDonald
Roger Mason Jr. had been a San Antonio resident for a matter of weeks when he experienced his first bout of Alamo City hysteria.
The Spurs were 1-4 for the first time in 12 years, and had just lost a home game to Miami and star point guard Tony Parker to an ankle sprain. It was Nov. 7, and already unhinged Spurs fans were muttering an unfathomable L-word: Lottery.
The line for leapers off the Tower of Americas observation deck formed to the right.
“We started off slow, and that's the facts,” said Mason, the first-year Spurs guard. “At the end of the day, we've still got a lot of confidence in this locker room. We wanted to show people that we could still play.”
Flash forward 21 days. These times, they aren't so troubled after all.
The Spurs have won seven of nine without Parker, just got Manu Ginobili back from an ankle injury of his own and could be mere days away from welcoming Parker back.
They are 8-6 and eyeing a post-Thanksgiving Day home game tonight against a Memphis team they already routed once this week, 94-81 on Monday on the road.
“We deserve some respect,” Ginobili said. “We've earned it. We've got a long way to go, and we're going to get better and better.”
The seeds for the Spurs' rebound were sown in the immediate aftermath of that debacle against Miami, a wire-to-wire disaster culminating in a 99-83 defeat.
The Spurs had two days off until their next game, and used them to regroup. They went back to the drawing board on defense, where they had been allowing 105 points per game. Coach Gregg Popovich tweaked his lineup, deciding that (for the time being) rookie George Hill would start in place of Parker.
“We had to try to figure out a new group, who was going to be starting, who was going to come off the bench, who was going to run the show,” Popovich said. “All those questions had to be answered, so those couple days were important for us.”
All in all, it was 48 hours well spent.
Two nights after watching the Heat run a permanent fast-break drill against them at the AT&T Center, the Spurs shut down New York's high-octane offensive attack in a 92-80 victory.
Including that game, the Spurs have held seven of their past nine opponents to fewer than 90 points, watching their points-against average drop like a stone to 91.2, fifth in the NBA. Players cite a return to defensive dominance — the calling card of the Spurs' championship past — as the primary reason for the team's resurgence.
“We've started to defend again,” Tim Duncan said. “That's the main thing.”
More than any other player on the Spurs roster, Mason has perspective on what happens when bad is allowed to get to worse.
This season, he has watched from afar as his old team, the Washington Wizards, have transformed their own 1-4 start into a 1-10 mark, precipitating the ouster of coach Eddie Jordan.
The difference between the Wizards' injury-plagued start and the Spurs'?
“We've got Tim Duncan,” Mason said. “We can throw him the ball, get out of the way, and go win some games.”
Indeed, Duncan is averaging 21.7 points per game, his most since 2003-04.
Yet, as the Spurs have surged lately, Duncan has enjoyed scoring help.
Mason has emerged as a viable scoring threat, averaging 14.9 points while splitting time between shooting guard and his new starting role at the point. Hill has surfaced as a capable replacement for Parker, averaging 11.3 points.
Meanwhile, Ginobili — the NBA's reigning Sixth Man of the Year — has returned, averaging 13.5 points in 14.5 minutes in the past two games.
Those checking the pulse of this Spurs team now will find a strong beat. Across South Texas, hysteria has turned to hope. Chicken Little has gone into hiding.
Hardly ones for “told you so,” the Spurs are approaching their recent run of success with the same one-day-at-a-time ethos with which they approached their early struggles. There are 82 games in a season, they say, plenty of time for anything to happen.
“We can't be too excited when things go right, and we can't be too depressed when we're 1-4,” Ginobili said.