duncan228
03-07-2009, 11:08 PM
Seed least of Spurs' concerns (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Seed_least_of_Spurs_concerns.html)
Mike Monroe
The Spurs never worry much about playoff seeding.
That is because Gregg Popovich understands, better than most, that when, and even where, you meet a particular opponent in the postseason is not as important as how you are playing when the matchup arrives. And nothing matters nearly as much as the health of your players.
“I know, for a fact, the years we won the championships, we were 100 percent healthy,” Popovich said this week.
If you wonder why the Spurs always err on the side of injury caution, there's your answer.
The most amazing aspect of the Spurs' run to the 2008 Western Conference finals?
They got there with Manu Ginobili able to play no more than two-thirds of his frenetic game on an ankle that later required surgery.
Popovich reported Friday that Ginobili needs every bit of the two-to-three week projected recovery time for a stress reaction in his right ankle — and probably a few days longer. That's consistent with Popovich's core belief: The regular season is little more than a process-enabling pursuit of perfecting defensive principles that make the Spurs a potential champion.
“We're a team that understands we've got to be one of the two or three best defensive teams in the league to win a championship, or it won't happen,” Popovich said. “Whether Manu is there, or not, doesn't change that basic understanding and belief.”
Popovich seems moderately amazed that the Spurs go into today's game against the Suns with the second-best record in the West in a season in which Ginobili already has missed 23 games.
“He is a player who definitely wins X number of games a year in some way, shape or form that no one can anticipate,” Popovich said. “We don't have that athleticism he gives us, and that wild card. That's where he affects the team, but not the basic philosophy.”
Drew Gooden declared himself fit, and ready to play, within hours of arriving in San Antonio on Thursday to sign on with his new team. Then the power forward met with Popovich and discovered that Spurs players aren't rushed into action when injuries might be aggravated.
He will spend most of this week getting treatment on his strained groin and learning the basics of the Spurs' offense.
Gooden should be ready for his Spurs debut about the same time Ginobili comes off the inactive list. Then the Spurs will try to readjust to playing with Ginobili at the same time they learn to play with a new teammate, and this is what is fundamentally different about this season.
Popovich knows it.
“That's actually something we've thought about,” he said, referring to Ginobili's reintroduction. “Matt Bonner and George Hill and Roger Mason (Jr.) don't have a good feel for the way (Ginobili) plays. When he comes back in, I think that's going to be somewhat of an adjustment for us.”
Popovich typically has his playoff rotation set before mid-March, but last week he slid Mason back into a part-time role as his backup point guard, and this is different, too.
When Gooden is ready to play, Popovich will have to fiddle with the rotation among his big men.
None of it will matter much if everyone is healthy for the first playoff game, not even where the Spurs are seeded in the Western Conference.
Mike Monroe
The Spurs never worry much about playoff seeding.
That is because Gregg Popovich understands, better than most, that when, and even where, you meet a particular opponent in the postseason is not as important as how you are playing when the matchup arrives. And nothing matters nearly as much as the health of your players.
“I know, for a fact, the years we won the championships, we were 100 percent healthy,” Popovich said this week.
If you wonder why the Spurs always err on the side of injury caution, there's your answer.
The most amazing aspect of the Spurs' run to the 2008 Western Conference finals?
They got there with Manu Ginobili able to play no more than two-thirds of his frenetic game on an ankle that later required surgery.
Popovich reported Friday that Ginobili needs every bit of the two-to-three week projected recovery time for a stress reaction in his right ankle — and probably a few days longer. That's consistent with Popovich's core belief: The regular season is little more than a process-enabling pursuit of perfecting defensive principles that make the Spurs a potential champion.
“We're a team that understands we've got to be one of the two or three best defensive teams in the league to win a championship, or it won't happen,” Popovich said. “Whether Manu is there, or not, doesn't change that basic understanding and belief.”
Popovich seems moderately amazed that the Spurs go into today's game against the Suns with the second-best record in the West in a season in which Ginobili already has missed 23 games.
“He is a player who definitely wins X number of games a year in some way, shape or form that no one can anticipate,” Popovich said. “We don't have that athleticism he gives us, and that wild card. That's where he affects the team, but not the basic philosophy.”
Drew Gooden declared himself fit, and ready to play, within hours of arriving in San Antonio on Thursday to sign on with his new team. Then the power forward met with Popovich and discovered that Spurs players aren't rushed into action when injuries might be aggravated.
He will spend most of this week getting treatment on his strained groin and learning the basics of the Spurs' offense.
Gooden should be ready for his Spurs debut about the same time Ginobili comes off the inactive list. Then the Spurs will try to readjust to playing with Ginobili at the same time they learn to play with a new teammate, and this is what is fundamentally different about this season.
Popovich knows it.
“That's actually something we've thought about,” he said, referring to Ginobili's reintroduction. “Matt Bonner and George Hill and Roger Mason (Jr.) don't have a good feel for the way (Ginobili) plays. When he comes back in, I think that's going to be somewhat of an adjustment for us.”
Popovich typically has his playoff rotation set before mid-March, but last week he slid Mason back into a part-time role as his backup point guard, and this is different, too.
When Gooden is ready to play, Popovich will have to fiddle with the rotation among his big men.
None of it will matter much if everyone is healthy for the first playoff game, not even where the Spurs are seeded in the Western Conference.