duncan228
12-02-2008, 12:34 AM
Return of Spurs’ backcourt stars means new roles for Mason, Hill (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Return_of_Spurs_backcourt_stars_means_new_roles_fo r_Mason_Hill.html)
By Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. was an architecture major, not a math major, at the University of Virginia. Yet even he can read the arithmetic on the wall.
There are 48 minutes in a regulation NBA basketball game. Only five players can play at a time.
With the recent addition of erstwhile injured guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to the lineup, Mason is prepared for the inevitable subtraction to come in his minutes. In fact, he is looking forward to it.
“It’s a great thing,” Mason said. “Manu and Tony command so much attention out there. It’s going to help the rest of us get a lot of open looks and make us that much stronger.”
During the injury-plagued first act to their season, the most encouraging storyline for the Spurs has been the rapid emergence of two newcomers: Mason, the sugary sweet shooter signed away from Washington during free agency, and George Hill, point-guard gold the team found with the 26th pick in the June draft.
Mason is averaging 33.8 minutes per game, second on the team to Tim Duncan and more than double his career average. Afforded a larger role due to the Spurs’ backcourt injuries, Mason has made the most of it, scoring 14.8 points per game and fostering a reputation as one of the NBA’s deadliest deep threats.
Through 16 games, Mason has made 43 3-pointers, hitting them at a 52.4-percent clip, to rank second in the league in both categories. Hill, meanwhile, is averaging 11.1 points to become a steady cog in the Spurs’ rotation.
With those two joining the likes of Parker and Ginobili, as well as Michael Finley and Ime Udoka, the Spurs own perhaps the deepest collection of guards during coach Gregg Popovich’s tenure. For Popovich, the trick now will be finding enough minutes for all of them.
“That’s always part of it, figuring out what the rotation is going to be,” Popovich said. “The sooner we can do that, the better.”
That task resumes tonight at the AT&T Center, when the Spurs face a Detroit team in the midst of a backcourt makeover of its own.
On Nov. 3, the Pistons sent Chauncey Billups to Denver to acquire Allen Iverson, a dazzling score-first (and second and third) lead guard whose game may or may not mesh with Richard Hamilton’s.
The Pistons have gone 6-6 since, struggling to recreate the chemistry they enjoyed under Billups.
In a way, Detroit players are still feeling themselves out.
“It’s kind of like training camp right now,” Iverson said.
The Spurs, in some small way, know the feeling. Back-to-back nights late last week alternately showed the inherent potential of the Spurs’ semi-new backcourt, as well as the enormity of the chemistry project that lies ahead.
In a 109-98 victory over Memphis on Friday, the first game the Spurs played this season with both Parker and Ginobili in tow, those two combined with Mason and Hill to total 61 points.
A night later, in a 103-84 loss at Houston, none of the above played particularly well. Mason (eight points) and Hill (three) each endured his second-lowest scoring night of the season.
“I think we kind of forgot about them a little bit,” Ginobili said. “Tony and me have to realize they are both great players, and we have to involve them a bit more.”
A critical question going forward is what becomes of Mason.
Having started at shooting guard and point guard this season, Mason’s versatility has been vital. One way or another, he figures to play an essential role in the Spurs’ immediate future.
“He’s been everything we expected, plus,” Popovich said. “He’s really saved us at times.”
Mason’s goal for his first week of practices with Ginobili: Just don’t get hit in the face with the ball.
“He makes these crazy passes that just somehow find you,” Mason said. “You better be ready.”
For Mason and Hill, there will be more crazy passes to come and, with them, more opportunities ahead. That much is guaranteed, even if minutes might not be.
By Jeff McDonald
Spurs guard Roger Mason Jr. was an architecture major, not a math major, at the University of Virginia. Yet even he can read the arithmetic on the wall.
There are 48 minutes in a regulation NBA basketball game. Only five players can play at a time.
With the recent addition of erstwhile injured guards Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to the lineup, Mason is prepared for the inevitable subtraction to come in his minutes. In fact, he is looking forward to it.
“It’s a great thing,” Mason said. “Manu and Tony command so much attention out there. It’s going to help the rest of us get a lot of open looks and make us that much stronger.”
During the injury-plagued first act to their season, the most encouraging storyline for the Spurs has been the rapid emergence of two newcomers: Mason, the sugary sweet shooter signed away from Washington during free agency, and George Hill, point-guard gold the team found with the 26th pick in the June draft.
Mason is averaging 33.8 minutes per game, second on the team to Tim Duncan and more than double his career average. Afforded a larger role due to the Spurs’ backcourt injuries, Mason has made the most of it, scoring 14.8 points per game and fostering a reputation as one of the NBA’s deadliest deep threats.
Through 16 games, Mason has made 43 3-pointers, hitting them at a 52.4-percent clip, to rank second in the league in both categories. Hill, meanwhile, is averaging 11.1 points to become a steady cog in the Spurs’ rotation.
With those two joining the likes of Parker and Ginobili, as well as Michael Finley and Ime Udoka, the Spurs own perhaps the deepest collection of guards during coach Gregg Popovich’s tenure. For Popovich, the trick now will be finding enough minutes for all of them.
“That’s always part of it, figuring out what the rotation is going to be,” Popovich said. “The sooner we can do that, the better.”
That task resumes tonight at the AT&T Center, when the Spurs face a Detroit team in the midst of a backcourt makeover of its own.
On Nov. 3, the Pistons sent Chauncey Billups to Denver to acquire Allen Iverson, a dazzling score-first (and second and third) lead guard whose game may or may not mesh with Richard Hamilton’s.
The Pistons have gone 6-6 since, struggling to recreate the chemistry they enjoyed under Billups.
In a way, Detroit players are still feeling themselves out.
“It’s kind of like training camp right now,” Iverson said.
The Spurs, in some small way, know the feeling. Back-to-back nights late last week alternately showed the inherent potential of the Spurs’ semi-new backcourt, as well as the enormity of the chemistry project that lies ahead.
In a 109-98 victory over Memphis on Friday, the first game the Spurs played this season with both Parker and Ginobili in tow, those two combined with Mason and Hill to total 61 points.
A night later, in a 103-84 loss at Houston, none of the above played particularly well. Mason (eight points) and Hill (three) each endured his second-lowest scoring night of the season.
“I think we kind of forgot about them a little bit,” Ginobili said. “Tony and me have to realize they are both great players, and we have to involve them a bit more.”
A critical question going forward is what becomes of Mason.
Having started at shooting guard and point guard this season, Mason’s versatility has been vital. One way or another, he figures to play an essential role in the Spurs’ immediate future.
“He’s been everything we expected, plus,” Popovich said. “He’s really saved us at times.”
Mason’s goal for his first week of practices with Ginobili: Just don’t get hit in the face with the ball.
“He makes these crazy passes that just somehow find you,” Mason said. “You better be ready.”
For Mason and Hill, there will be more crazy passes to come and, with them, more opportunities ahead. That much is guaranteed, even if minutes might not be.