duncan228
01-16-2009, 12:00 AM
Mason's confidence grows with game winners (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Masons_confidence_grows_with_game_winners.html)
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — Twenty seven games into his Spurs career, Roger Mason Jr. still feels like “the new guy.”
When you're surrounded by a core of veterans who have been playing together longer than Mason has been in the league — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen — it can take a while to learn your place.
“I'm the new guy,” Mason said. “These guys have been playing together for so long, I have to adjust to them. I think it's going all right. Some days are better than others.”
Wednesday was one of the good days. Mason had 18 points, including a game-winning three-point play to beat the Lakers 112-111.
If anything, Mason — a fifth-year guard signed away from Washington in the offseason — is beginning to find a home as a clutch-shooter extraordinaire. His play to beat the Lakers was the third game-winner of a Spurs career still in its infancy.
Mason is averaging 12.3 points per game, fourth-most on the team behind the Big Three. Thanks to a 3-for-4 effort against the Lakers, his 3-point percentage has risen to 47.5 percent, tops in the league.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he has been happy with how Mason has adapted to a role that can sometimes shift from game to game. He points to Mason's Christmas Day game-winner in Phoenix as the day the guard finally began to feel like “part of the family.”
“He's come to the point where he really believes that he has the green light to take shots,” Popovich said. “He's a hell of a shooter, so if he's open, I'd rather have to tell him, ‘Roger, that's a bad shot,' than ‘Roger, are you going to shoot the damn ball tonight?'”
3-point shuffle: Mason has surpassed teammate Matt Bonner as the league's most accurate shooter from beyond the arc. The difference, however, is negligible.
Bonner is shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range, making 50 of 106. Mason has been both more precise and more prolific, hitting 85 of 179.
Both players have expressed a desire to participate in the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend. As it stands, Mason seems to be in good shape to secure a spot.
“My thing is to try to make as many shots for the team,” Mason said. “If they decide to put me in, I'll be thrilled to go.”
100 points and/or bust: Wednesday's victory kept alive the Spurs' streak of 27 consecutive victories when topping the 100-point mark, the best in the NBA. The game was a rarity, however, in that it marked only the third time in nine games this season the Spurs won when allowing 100 points in regulation.
“We played pretty well on offense, but defensively we still think we have a long way to go,” Ginobili said. “It's a big challenge, but it makes you feel good that you won a big game, and you're still not doing your best job on defense.”
Jeff McDonald
PHILADELPHIA — Twenty seven games into his Spurs career, Roger Mason Jr. still feels like “the new guy.”
When you're surrounded by a core of veterans who have been playing together longer than Mason has been in the league — Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker and Bruce Bowen — it can take a while to learn your place.
“I'm the new guy,” Mason said. “These guys have been playing together for so long, I have to adjust to them. I think it's going all right. Some days are better than others.”
Wednesday was one of the good days. Mason had 18 points, including a game-winning three-point play to beat the Lakers 112-111.
If anything, Mason — a fifth-year guard signed away from Washington in the offseason — is beginning to find a home as a clutch-shooter extraordinaire. His play to beat the Lakers was the third game-winner of a Spurs career still in its infancy.
Mason is averaging 12.3 points per game, fourth-most on the team behind the Big Three. Thanks to a 3-for-4 effort against the Lakers, his 3-point percentage has risen to 47.5 percent, tops in the league.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he has been happy with how Mason has adapted to a role that can sometimes shift from game to game. He points to Mason's Christmas Day game-winner in Phoenix as the day the guard finally began to feel like “part of the family.”
“He's come to the point where he really believes that he has the green light to take shots,” Popovich said. “He's a hell of a shooter, so if he's open, I'd rather have to tell him, ‘Roger, that's a bad shot,' than ‘Roger, are you going to shoot the damn ball tonight?'”
3-point shuffle: Mason has surpassed teammate Matt Bonner as the league's most accurate shooter from beyond the arc. The difference, however, is negligible.
Bonner is shooting 47.5 percent from 3-point range, making 50 of 106. Mason has been both more precise and more prolific, hitting 85 of 179.
Both players have expressed a desire to participate in the 3-point shootout at All-Star weekend. As it stands, Mason seems to be in good shape to secure a spot.
“My thing is to try to make as many shots for the team,” Mason said. “If they decide to put me in, I'll be thrilled to go.”
100 points and/or bust: Wednesday's victory kept alive the Spurs' streak of 27 consecutive victories when topping the 100-point mark, the best in the NBA. The game was a rarity, however, in that it marked only the third time in nine games this season the Spurs won when allowing 100 points in regulation.
“We played pretty well on offense, but defensively we still think we have a long way to go,” Ginobili said. “It's a big challenge, but it makes you feel good that you won a big game, and you're still not doing your best job on defense.”