duncan228
01-15-2009, 11:30 PM
Long, winding road for Spurs (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Long_winding_road_for_Spurs.html)
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — The locker room cleared out quickly in the aftermath of the Spurs' 112-111 victory over the NBA-leading L.A. Lakers on Wednesday night. For the most part, players showered, dressed, fulfilled their obligations to the media throng, and then left the building.
The Spurs, it seems, had more pressing things to do than ruminate on another Roger Mason Jr. hum-drum game-winner. Like decide what to pack.
Little more than 12 hours after exiting the AT&T Center, the Spurs were on a charter flight bound for Philadelphia. Over the next month and a half, the Spurs will play 17 of their next 23 games on the road, visiting cities from New York to L.A. — and almost every place in between with an NBA team.
It's the type of travel schedule that would make Kerouac seem agoraphobic. For the Spurs, however, this another-night, another-town lifestyle has almost become old hat.
“This is not something new for us,” guard Manu Ginobili said, noting the team's annual multi-week road trek made necessary with the arrival of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. “It's always a big part of the season for us. It really shapes us into what we are going to become.”
The whiff of cow manure hasn't yet wafted its way to the AT&T Center parking lot. But, as far as the Spurs are concerned, the rodeo arrives early this year.
Even before the first bronc is busted, the Spurs will play six of their next nine games on the road, including the current three-game trip to Philadelphia, Chicago and Charlotte. Then comes the regularly scheduled eight-game rodeo trip in February. After that, the Spurs get to settle in at home for a whole week before leaving town for three more games.
Between now and March 6, the Spurs will play just six home games, quite a reversal from the first part of the season. The Spurs have charged to a 25-12 record, best in the Southwest Division, with help from one of the most favorable home-road schedules in the league.
They have played fewer road games (15) than any team in the NBA so far, and have hosted as many home games as anybody (22). Until this week, they haven't had to pack a bag for longer than a two-game road trip this season.
This much is certain: If the Spurs aim to keep the pressure on the Lakers at the top of the Western Conference, they are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting away from the comforts of home.
“If you can win on the road, theoretically, you can win at home,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That's really important come playoff time. This will be a good measure of where we are and what has to be done by the time playoffs come.”
NBA teams don't fly coach, and they don't exactly bed down four to a room at the Motel 6, but even in the lap of luxury, extended road trips are rarely fun. They can, however, be beneficial.
The Spurs typically use their rodeo trip as a team-building exercise. Popovich calls this “building a bunker mentality.”
They hope this year's super-sized sojourn can serve the same purpose.
“The guys are together a lot, so they build camaraderie,” Popovich said. “They talk about things they might not have otherwise talked about at other points in the season, because they're just together more on the road.”
That began Thursday, when the Spurs kicked off the kind of “on the road again” trek that would cause even Willie Nelson to want to stay home and watch TV.
If they haven't already, the Spurs must learn to embrace the road again, earlier in the season than usual. There isn't much choice.
“We're going to be gone, like, forever,” point guard Tony Parker said. “I think we're used to it. Every year we have the rodeo trip, and every year we're pretty successful.”
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — The locker room cleared out quickly in the aftermath of the Spurs' 112-111 victory over the NBA-leading L.A. Lakers on Wednesday night. For the most part, players showered, dressed, fulfilled their obligations to the media throng, and then left the building.
The Spurs, it seems, had more pressing things to do than ruminate on another Roger Mason Jr. hum-drum game-winner. Like decide what to pack.
Little more than 12 hours after exiting the AT&T Center, the Spurs were on a charter flight bound for Philadelphia. Over the next month and a half, the Spurs will play 17 of their next 23 games on the road, visiting cities from New York to L.A. — and almost every place in between with an NBA team.
It's the type of travel schedule that would make Kerouac seem agoraphobic. For the Spurs, however, this another-night, another-town lifestyle has almost become old hat.
“This is not something new for us,” guard Manu Ginobili said, noting the team's annual multi-week road trek made necessary with the arrival of the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo. “It's always a big part of the season for us. It really shapes us into what we are going to become.”
The whiff of cow manure hasn't yet wafted its way to the AT&T Center parking lot. But, as far as the Spurs are concerned, the rodeo arrives early this year.
Even before the first bronc is busted, the Spurs will play six of their next nine games on the road, including the current three-game trip to Philadelphia, Chicago and Charlotte. Then comes the regularly scheduled eight-game rodeo trip in February. After that, the Spurs get to settle in at home for a whole week before leaving town for three more games.
Between now and March 6, the Spurs will play just six home games, quite a reversal from the first part of the season. The Spurs have charged to a 25-12 record, best in the Southwest Division, with help from one of the most favorable home-road schedules in the league.
They have played fewer road games (15) than any team in the NBA so far, and have hosted as many home games as anybody (22). Until this week, they haven't had to pack a bag for longer than a two-game road trip this season.
This much is certain: If the Spurs aim to keep the pressure on the Lakers at the top of the Western Conference, they are going to have to do a lot of heavy lifting away from the comforts of home.
“If you can win on the road, theoretically, you can win at home,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “That's really important come playoff time. This will be a good measure of where we are and what has to be done by the time playoffs come.”
NBA teams don't fly coach, and they don't exactly bed down four to a room at the Motel 6, but even in the lap of luxury, extended road trips are rarely fun. They can, however, be beneficial.
The Spurs typically use their rodeo trip as a team-building exercise. Popovich calls this “building a bunker mentality.”
They hope this year's super-sized sojourn can serve the same purpose.
“The guys are together a lot, so they build camaraderie,” Popovich said. “They talk about things they might not have otherwise talked about at other points in the season, because they're just together more on the road.”
That began Thursday, when the Spurs kicked off the kind of “on the road again” trek that would cause even Willie Nelson to want to stay home and watch TV.
If they haven't already, the Spurs must learn to embrace the road again, earlier in the season than usual. There isn't much choice.
“We're going to be gone, like, forever,” point guard Tony Parker said. “I think we're used to it. Every year we have the rodeo trip, and every year we're pretty successful.”