Kori Ellis
03-13-2005, 01:57 AM
Nuggets' shift on 'D' stifles Parker
Web Posted: 03/13/2005 12:00 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA031305.10C.BKNspurs.parker.131a7fd38.html
With All-Stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the bench at the SBC Center on Saturday night nursing injuries, Nuggets coach George Karl focused his team's defensive attention on stopping Spurs guard Tony Parker.
He wanted to attack Parker's pick-and-roll plays two or three different ways with his point guards, Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, having primary defensive responsibility.
After a first half in which Parker made 7 of 12 shots and had 19 points and three assists, Karl scrapped Plan A and went to Plan B, as in Buckner. Greg Buckner started the second half on Parker and limited him to six points and one assist in the final 24 minutes of Denver's 90-87 victory.
"Buckner's defensive job on Parker in the second half saved us," Karl said. "They were running pick and rolls, and we decided to go big on him, and 'Buck' gave us a great effort."
Buckner, a 6-foot-4 defensive specialist who serves as Denver's version of the Spurs' Bruce Bowen, deflected the credit. Parker, he said, simply stopped attacking aggressively in the second half.
"We had a game plan to slow Tony Parker down in the first half, and none of us really followed it," Buckner said. "We felt like if we slowed him down, that was the way to slow the Spurs down, because he was making other guys better by getting them open shots, and he was finishing.
"We had to slow him down in the second half, and for some reason, he wasn't as aggressive. And it helped us out."
Karl believes his team's resurgence since he became coach Jan. 25 is a direct result of its commitment to the kind of defense that stopped Parker, especially in the fourth quarter of close games. His team's defensive effort in the fourth quarter against the Spurs, who missed 12 of 19 shots and got to the foul line only twice in the period, was the latest example.
"This is a team that is growing up fast," he said of the Nuggets (32-29). "Experienced teams that win have trust and belief in each other. You're taking a team that six weeks ago didn't have much belief, trust or confidence, and that's what we're trying to rebuild. We're doing a good job, but we've got a long way to go to be successful."
The Nuggets added another tough defender to their mix on trade deadline day when they sent two little-used players to the Golden State Warriors for Eduardo Najera, the gritty small forward who played at San Antonio's Cornerstone High School before heading to the University of Oklahoma.
Najera helped defend on Parker's fourth-quarter pick and rolls, but his primary contribution was grabbing two offensive rebounds in a scramble that started under the Denver basket with about 35 seconds left with the score tied 87-87. He was fouled after the second grab and made one of two free throws to give the Nuggets a lead they never relinquished.
"It was a lot of grabbing, pushing and scratching," Najera said of his big rebound. "That's just the way it is down the stretch."
Web Posted: 03/13/2005 12:00 AM CST
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA031305.10C.BKNspurs.parker.131a7fd38.html
With All-Stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili on the bench at the SBC Center on Saturday night nursing injuries, Nuggets coach George Karl focused his team's defensive attention on stopping Spurs guard Tony Parker.
He wanted to attack Parker's pick-and-roll plays two or three different ways with his point guards, Andre Miller and Earl Boykins, having primary defensive responsibility.
After a first half in which Parker made 7 of 12 shots and had 19 points and three assists, Karl scrapped Plan A and went to Plan B, as in Buckner. Greg Buckner started the second half on Parker and limited him to six points and one assist in the final 24 minutes of Denver's 90-87 victory.
"Buckner's defensive job on Parker in the second half saved us," Karl said. "They were running pick and rolls, and we decided to go big on him, and 'Buck' gave us a great effort."
Buckner, a 6-foot-4 defensive specialist who serves as Denver's version of the Spurs' Bruce Bowen, deflected the credit. Parker, he said, simply stopped attacking aggressively in the second half.
"We had a game plan to slow Tony Parker down in the first half, and none of us really followed it," Buckner said. "We felt like if we slowed him down, that was the way to slow the Spurs down, because he was making other guys better by getting them open shots, and he was finishing.
"We had to slow him down in the second half, and for some reason, he wasn't as aggressive. And it helped us out."
Karl believes his team's resurgence since he became coach Jan. 25 is a direct result of its commitment to the kind of defense that stopped Parker, especially in the fourth quarter of close games. His team's defensive effort in the fourth quarter against the Spurs, who missed 12 of 19 shots and got to the foul line only twice in the period, was the latest example.
"This is a team that is growing up fast," he said of the Nuggets (32-29). "Experienced teams that win have trust and belief in each other. You're taking a team that six weeks ago didn't have much belief, trust or confidence, and that's what we're trying to rebuild. We're doing a good job, but we've got a long way to go to be successful."
The Nuggets added another tough defender to their mix on trade deadline day when they sent two little-used players to the Golden State Warriors for Eduardo Najera, the gritty small forward who played at San Antonio's Cornerstone High School before heading to the University of Oklahoma.
Najera helped defend on Parker's fourth-quarter pick and rolls, but his primary contribution was grabbing two offensive rebounds in a scramble that started under the Denver basket with about 35 seconds left with the score tied 87-87. He was fouled after the second grab and made one of two free throws to give the Nuggets a lead they never relinquished.
"It was a lot of grabbing, pushing and scratching," Najera said of his big rebound. "That's just the way it is down the stretch."