lefty
04-01-2009, 10:28 AM
Spurs Adapting New Talents (http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=12107)
By: William Dunn
As the 2008-09 NBA season winds down, the San Antonio Spurs find themselves preparing for the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, but the formula that brought them there has changed quite a bit.
Long gone are the days of the "Twin Towers" when Tim Duncan and David Robinson dominated the paint and ground opponents to nothing with a slow, conservative game. Successful as that approach was, Robinson proved difficult to replace, and the development of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili has shifted the offensive attack in San Antonio.
Now the Spurs are winning from the arc. Tim Duncan may be a leader on the court and in the locker room, but Tony Parker is the leader on the score boards. Matt Bonner, the team's starting power forward, is one of five Spurs hitting more than 40 percent of his three-point shots for the season. The Spurs' 38.9% three-point shooting is tied with Cleveland for second in the NBA.
"The guys that shoot those shots, usually on a regular basis, knock them down for us," Tim Duncan said.
Before facing the Spurs last Sunday, Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott diagnosed their lineup.
"The thing about San Antonio is that they're going to have one guy in that post, and that's Tim Duncan," Scott said. "Then they're going to have four perimeter guys. (Matt) Bonner's going to be on that perimeter as well."
Back in the late 90's it would have been difficult to imagine calling the Spurs' power forward a "perimeter player" but that's the shift this team has taken. Duncan has been the picture of consistency in his 12-year career, but the team sees the future and right now he plays point guard.
Parker leads the team with more than 21 points per game and has hit 50 percent of his field goals this season. In a recent 102-92 vicotry over the Atlanta Hawks, Parker scored 42 points and dished 10 assists, all with Duncan injured on the sidelines.
"Everybody in the league respects his (Parker's) quickness," Scott said. "So you've got to give him some room. If you don't give him room I don't care how quick you are he's going to beat you. So his biggest thing obviously was his jump shot but he's improved that big time over the last few years so it makes him almost impossible to guard."
But even with Parker taking the reigns, and the offensive philosophy picking up, these are still the Spurs we're talking about. San Antonio still holds on to the same discipline that brought them so much success. The team's 11.8 turnovers per game is the lowest average in the NBA. Defense still rules in the land of the Alamo as well with only Cleveland and Boston giving up fewer points than the 92.9 opponents are lucky enough to scrape out of the Spurs. San Antonio isn't going for a complete makeover. The Spurs still commit the fewest fouls in the NBA with refs whistling them only 18.75 times per game.
"Our philosophy is not to send them to the line," Ginobili said.
While the team plays the same old game, they are slowly integrating new parts. Matt Bonner stepped iin when Robert Horry stepped out. Roger Mason took over at shooting guard for Bruce Bowen this year. Sunday night against the Hornets, Bowen recorded a rare DNP CD; that's "Did Not Play, Coach's Decision." It seems surreal to see a Spurs game without Bowen's notoriously rough defense.
One thing this team has not changed, is its winning ways. At 48-25, San Antonio holds the No. 2 seed in the West. It will be interesting to see how much longer this kind of success lasts, and maybe even more interesting to see how it is maintained.
By: William Dunn
As the 2008-09 NBA season winds down, the San Antonio Spurs find themselves preparing for the playoffs for the 12th consecutive year, but the formula that brought them there has changed quite a bit.
Long gone are the days of the "Twin Towers" when Tim Duncan and David Robinson dominated the paint and ground opponents to nothing with a slow, conservative game. Successful as that approach was, Robinson proved difficult to replace, and the development of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili has shifted the offensive attack in San Antonio.
Now the Spurs are winning from the arc. Tim Duncan may be a leader on the court and in the locker room, but Tony Parker is the leader on the score boards. Matt Bonner, the team's starting power forward, is one of five Spurs hitting more than 40 percent of his three-point shots for the season. The Spurs' 38.9% three-point shooting is tied with Cleveland for second in the NBA.
"The guys that shoot those shots, usually on a regular basis, knock them down for us," Tim Duncan said.
Before facing the Spurs last Sunday, Hornets Head Coach Byron Scott diagnosed their lineup.
"The thing about San Antonio is that they're going to have one guy in that post, and that's Tim Duncan," Scott said. "Then they're going to have four perimeter guys. (Matt) Bonner's going to be on that perimeter as well."
Back in the late 90's it would have been difficult to imagine calling the Spurs' power forward a "perimeter player" but that's the shift this team has taken. Duncan has been the picture of consistency in his 12-year career, but the team sees the future and right now he plays point guard.
Parker leads the team with more than 21 points per game and has hit 50 percent of his field goals this season. In a recent 102-92 vicotry over the Atlanta Hawks, Parker scored 42 points and dished 10 assists, all with Duncan injured on the sidelines.
"Everybody in the league respects his (Parker's) quickness," Scott said. "So you've got to give him some room. If you don't give him room I don't care how quick you are he's going to beat you. So his biggest thing obviously was his jump shot but he's improved that big time over the last few years so it makes him almost impossible to guard."
But even with Parker taking the reigns, and the offensive philosophy picking up, these are still the Spurs we're talking about. San Antonio still holds on to the same discipline that brought them so much success. The team's 11.8 turnovers per game is the lowest average in the NBA. Defense still rules in the land of the Alamo as well with only Cleveland and Boston giving up fewer points than the 92.9 opponents are lucky enough to scrape out of the Spurs. San Antonio isn't going for a complete makeover. The Spurs still commit the fewest fouls in the NBA with refs whistling them only 18.75 times per game.
"Our philosophy is not to send them to the line," Ginobili said.
While the team plays the same old game, they are slowly integrating new parts. Matt Bonner stepped iin when Robert Horry stepped out. Roger Mason took over at shooting guard for Bruce Bowen this year. Sunday night against the Hornets, Bowen recorded a rare DNP CD; that's "Did Not Play, Coach's Decision." It seems surreal to see a Spurs game without Bowen's notoriously rough defense.
One thing this team has not changed, is its winning ways. At 48-25, San Antonio holds the No. 2 seed in the West. It will be interesting to see how much longer this kind of success lasts, and maybe even more interesting to see how it is maintained.