Kori Ellis
03-23-2005, 01:08 AM
Brown adds name to list of hurt Spurs
Web Posted: 03/23/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA032305.1C.BKNspurs.pacers.adv.164bdc8e3.html
INDIANAPOLIS — The Spurs touched down Tuesday afternoon with more baggage than players, eager to end a three-game trip that so far has produced only a pair of losses and a hefty MRI bill.
Having lost Brent Barry's iPod in Madison Square Garden, the team left behind Devin Brown as well. The Spurs had begun to lean more heavily on Brown the past two weeks but could no longer depend on his back, so they sent him home for treatment.
Brown, who has had occasional back trouble the past three seasons, will undergo an MRI this morning. He first felt pain Sunday in Detroit while warming up.
Brown played 31 minutes and scored 18 points in the loss to the Pistons, but he was in enough discomfort Monday in New York to begin the game lying on his stomach in front of the team's bench. He briefly received treatment in the locker room during the fourth quarter before finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds. Afterward, he struggled to sit upright in front of his locker.
So, for the second time in three days, the Spurs are left to wait on test results from San Antonio. Tim Duncan, still on crutches Tuesday morning, is expected to miss the next two to four weeks after re-spraining his right ankle Sunday.
"We are who we are," coach Gregg Popovich said. "We'll win a game or we'll lose a game."
The Spurs haven't won much without Duncan. In the five games he's missed this season, they're 1-4.
Phoenix also has moved ahead in the race for the Western Conference's top playoff seed — a goal that carries far less importance for the Spurs given their other concerns.
"I don't think Miami is going to go far without Shaq," Popovich said. "We're not going to go too far without Timmy. I don't think Phoenix is going to go far without (Steve) Nash.
"When you lose those kind of guys, it's a big hit as far as what your final goal is. But it doesn't mean you can't still win games."
Popovich tried to deliver that message when the team met Monday in New York: "If we're not whole," he told the players, "let's play wholeheartedly."
For 21/2 quarters against the Knicks, the Spurs did that. Then they failed to make a basket for 11 minutes, 23 seconds. After only four turnovers in the first half, they had 13 in the second.
"We have to do what we do but do it better," Barry said. "Take care of the ball better, defend better, rebound better, execute better. And, in some of our cases, shoot the ball better."
Barry and Bruce Bowen have combined to miss all 11 3-point attempts in the past three games. Tony Parker made six consecutive shots in the first 51/2 minutes Monday then didn't attempt another until the half's final possession. He ended the evening missing nine in a row.
With Brown unavailable, the team will have to depend more on Barry and Manu Ginobili. After returning from a five-game absence, Ginobili totaled 37 minutes in his first back-to-back games in six weeks.
"We're going to have to grind it out the next couple of weeks," Barry said.
Tonight's opponent won't have much sympathy. The Indiana Pacers lost their best player, Jermaine O'Neal, to a season-ending shoulder injury this month. NBA commissioner David Stern also recently turned down their request to shorten Ron Artest's suspension.
With point guard Jamaal Tinsley also in and out of the lineup, Indiana has had a full roster of 12 players available for only 16 of its 66 games.
The Spurs, who already have qualified for the playoffs, also think they still can hold off Dallas in the race for the Southwest Division title even if Duncan returns later rather than sooner.
"We know we can win without him," Ginobili said. "But we have to realize it's not going to be easy. We're going to have to work our ends off and play as a team and be more solid than ever.
"We have to be all like one, helping each other, trying to make the guy next to you better. So we can all feel confident."
Web Posted: 03/23/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA032305.1C.BKNspurs.pacers.adv.164bdc8e3.html
INDIANAPOLIS — The Spurs touched down Tuesday afternoon with more baggage than players, eager to end a three-game trip that so far has produced only a pair of losses and a hefty MRI bill.
Having lost Brent Barry's iPod in Madison Square Garden, the team left behind Devin Brown as well. The Spurs had begun to lean more heavily on Brown the past two weeks but could no longer depend on his back, so they sent him home for treatment.
Brown, who has had occasional back trouble the past three seasons, will undergo an MRI this morning. He first felt pain Sunday in Detroit while warming up.
Brown played 31 minutes and scored 18 points in the loss to the Pistons, but he was in enough discomfort Monday in New York to begin the game lying on his stomach in front of the team's bench. He briefly received treatment in the locker room during the fourth quarter before finishing with 22 points and eight rebounds. Afterward, he struggled to sit upright in front of his locker.
So, for the second time in three days, the Spurs are left to wait on test results from San Antonio. Tim Duncan, still on crutches Tuesday morning, is expected to miss the next two to four weeks after re-spraining his right ankle Sunday.
"We are who we are," coach Gregg Popovich said. "We'll win a game or we'll lose a game."
The Spurs haven't won much without Duncan. In the five games he's missed this season, they're 1-4.
Phoenix also has moved ahead in the race for the Western Conference's top playoff seed — a goal that carries far less importance for the Spurs given their other concerns.
"I don't think Miami is going to go far without Shaq," Popovich said. "We're not going to go too far without Timmy. I don't think Phoenix is going to go far without (Steve) Nash.
"When you lose those kind of guys, it's a big hit as far as what your final goal is. But it doesn't mean you can't still win games."
Popovich tried to deliver that message when the team met Monday in New York: "If we're not whole," he told the players, "let's play wholeheartedly."
For 21/2 quarters against the Knicks, the Spurs did that. Then they failed to make a basket for 11 minutes, 23 seconds. After only four turnovers in the first half, they had 13 in the second.
"We have to do what we do but do it better," Barry said. "Take care of the ball better, defend better, rebound better, execute better. And, in some of our cases, shoot the ball better."
Barry and Bruce Bowen have combined to miss all 11 3-point attempts in the past three games. Tony Parker made six consecutive shots in the first 51/2 minutes Monday then didn't attempt another until the half's final possession. He ended the evening missing nine in a row.
With Brown unavailable, the team will have to depend more on Barry and Manu Ginobili. After returning from a five-game absence, Ginobili totaled 37 minutes in his first back-to-back games in six weeks.
"We're going to have to grind it out the next couple of weeks," Barry said.
Tonight's opponent won't have much sympathy. The Indiana Pacers lost their best player, Jermaine O'Neal, to a season-ending shoulder injury this month. NBA commissioner David Stern also recently turned down their request to shorten Ron Artest's suspension.
With point guard Jamaal Tinsley also in and out of the lineup, Indiana has had a full roster of 12 players available for only 16 of its 66 games.
The Spurs, who already have qualified for the playoffs, also think they still can hold off Dallas in the race for the Southwest Division title even if Duncan returns later rather than sooner.
"We know we can win without him," Ginobili said. "But we have to realize it's not going to be easy. We're going to have to work our ends off and play as a team and be more solid than ever.
"We have to be all like one, helping each other, trying to make the guy next to you better. So we can all feel confident."