duncan228
04-26-2009, 11:24 PM
Help wanted as Spurs' season fading (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Help_wanted_as_Spurs_season_fading.html)
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs opened the playoffs a little more than a week ago knowing Manu Ginobili would not be walking through the door. If he did, it would be on a right leg featuring a stress fracture.
As such, the Spurs also knew their chances of winning in the postseason rested with a handful of role players who would be asked to raise their games and pick up the slack in Ginobili's injury-induced absence.
That hasn't happened.
Nothing explains the Spurs' 3-1 deficit in their first-round series against Dallas like the chasm between each team's role players. Case in point came in the Mavericks' 99-90 victory in a pivotal Game 4, in which Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 68 points — and the rest of the roster combined for just six baskets.
“Those guys have to have the ball as much as possible,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, referring to his two All-Stars. “Sure, we hope that other people step up and make shots and make plays. It didn't happen enough.”
It hasn't happened nearly enough in this series.
From a Game 1 in which the Dallas bench outscored the Spurs' 39-14, to a Game 4 in which only three players besides Parker and Duncan made field goals, this series has been defined by those role players who are on a roll — and those who are not.
Outside of the Spurs' All-Star twosome, no Spurs' player is averaging more than eight points this postseason.
Game 4 was the low-water mark: Parker set a career playoff high with 43 points, Duncan tap-danced with a triple-double — and the Spurs still couldn't outscore the Mavs.
Parker was 18 of 29 from the field, Duncan was 7 of 13. The rest of the team was 6 of 28.
“Tony and Tim had a huge night, and a lot of us didn't step up to help out,” swingman Ime Udoka said. “We all felt we let the team down.”
Duncan says there will be no change of plan heading into Game 5 on Tuesday at the AT&T Center. The Spurs can only hope for a change of luck.
“We have some of the best shooters in the league, and we love the shots that they take,” Duncan said. “We're going to continue to be confident in them and continue to get them open looks.”
Roger Mason Jr. and Matt Bonner combined to go 0 for 7 in Game 4. Kurt Thomas and Udoka provided a point apiece. Drew Gooden, the bench player deemed most capable of reproducing Ginobili's 15.5 points per game, contributed a grand total of two free throws.
Contrast that with the Dallas box score. They got 10 points from Erick Dampier, including an implausibly perfect 6-for-6 effort from the foul line. They got a pair of big 3-pointers from Antoine Wright. They got a timely putback dunk from third-year big man Ryan Hollins, which he punctuated by hollering in Duncan's general direction.
There is a reason the Mavericks are in command of this series, despite a string of mostly forgettable performances from stars Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.
“They have a lot more weapons than us,” Parker said.
The only Spurs role players who seemed to step up in Game 4 were Bruce Bowen and George Hill.
Bowen earned his first start since Nov. 28 and supplied the expected dose of irritating defense. He also knocked down a couple of big jumpers.
Hill, after riding the pine for the last month of the regular season, entered Game 4 for good late in the third. He was partly responsible for harassing Terry into a 3-of-17 night, and also buried a couple of crucial 3-pointers to keep the Spurs in the game.
“One thing they've preached to me since the beginning of the year is to always stay ready,” Hill said. “You never know when your time is going to come.”
For Hill and the rest of the Spurs' sidemen, the time is now. The Spurs' chances of extending their season, even for one more game, depend upon them.
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs opened the playoffs a little more than a week ago knowing Manu Ginobili would not be walking through the door. If he did, it would be on a right leg featuring a stress fracture.
As such, the Spurs also knew their chances of winning in the postseason rested with a handful of role players who would be asked to raise their games and pick up the slack in Ginobili's injury-induced absence.
That hasn't happened.
Nothing explains the Spurs' 3-1 deficit in their first-round series against Dallas like the chasm between each team's role players. Case in point came in the Mavericks' 99-90 victory in a pivotal Game 4, in which Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combined for 68 points — and the rest of the roster combined for just six baskets.
“Those guys have to have the ball as much as possible,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, referring to his two All-Stars. “Sure, we hope that other people step up and make shots and make plays. It didn't happen enough.”
It hasn't happened nearly enough in this series.
From a Game 1 in which the Dallas bench outscored the Spurs' 39-14, to a Game 4 in which only three players besides Parker and Duncan made field goals, this series has been defined by those role players who are on a roll — and those who are not.
Outside of the Spurs' All-Star twosome, no Spurs' player is averaging more than eight points this postseason.
Game 4 was the low-water mark: Parker set a career playoff high with 43 points, Duncan tap-danced with a triple-double — and the Spurs still couldn't outscore the Mavs.
Parker was 18 of 29 from the field, Duncan was 7 of 13. The rest of the team was 6 of 28.
“Tony and Tim had a huge night, and a lot of us didn't step up to help out,” swingman Ime Udoka said. “We all felt we let the team down.”
Duncan says there will be no change of plan heading into Game 5 on Tuesday at the AT&T Center. The Spurs can only hope for a change of luck.
“We have some of the best shooters in the league, and we love the shots that they take,” Duncan said. “We're going to continue to be confident in them and continue to get them open looks.”
Roger Mason Jr. and Matt Bonner combined to go 0 for 7 in Game 4. Kurt Thomas and Udoka provided a point apiece. Drew Gooden, the bench player deemed most capable of reproducing Ginobili's 15.5 points per game, contributed a grand total of two free throws.
Contrast that with the Dallas box score. They got 10 points from Erick Dampier, including an implausibly perfect 6-for-6 effort from the foul line. They got a pair of big 3-pointers from Antoine Wright. They got a timely putback dunk from third-year big man Ryan Hollins, which he punctuated by hollering in Duncan's general direction.
There is a reason the Mavericks are in command of this series, despite a string of mostly forgettable performances from stars Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry.
“They have a lot more weapons than us,” Parker said.
The only Spurs role players who seemed to step up in Game 4 were Bruce Bowen and George Hill.
Bowen earned his first start since Nov. 28 and supplied the expected dose of irritating defense. He also knocked down a couple of big jumpers.
Hill, after riding the pine for the last month of the regular season, entered Game 4 for good late in the third. He was partly responsible for harassing Terry into a 3-of-17 night, and also buried a couple of crucial 3-pointers to keep the Spurs in the game.
“One thing they've preached to me since the beginning of the year is to always stay ready,” Hill said. “You never know when your time is going to come.”
For Hill and the rest of the Spurs' sidemen, the time is now. The Spurs' chances of extending their season, even for one more game, depend upon them.