Kori Ellis
04-09-2005, 07:14 PM
Road losses sinking Spurs supporters
Julian Dickinson
http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=45271&tid=25&t=2
Remember the Alamo?
The way the San Antonio Spurs have been getting slaughtered recently, it’s bringing that old history lesson back to life again for basketball fans in South Texas.
The NBA’s mercenaries have been trying to take advantage of the wounded Spurs recently, but to their credit, they have done a decent job of defending their own Alamo, the SBC Center, going 3-1-1 against the spread in their last five at home.
But the wagons fall apart when they hit road.
Spurs fans might start saying, “remember the American Airlines Center,” after the historic massacre that took place at the Dallas Maverick’s home court. The 104-68 beating was the worst the Spurs had endured in four years – and it put an exclamation mark on San Antonio’s ongoing story of road woes.
Without its 6-foot-11 security blanket, San Antonio has been vulnerable every time it leaves home. The Spurs lost their last five road games and haven’t covered away from home since they were 9-point dogs in Phoenix on March 9.
"We realize we're having a lot of trouble on the road," Manu Ginobili said. "At home, you always find something else to help — the crowd, the arena. But on the road, we don't have that. The crowd is on their side, they get all excited, and we go down."
All-Star center Tim Duncan has played a total of less than two minutes in their last eight road games and it’s no coincidence the Spurs have covered in only two of those outings. Duncan is out with a sprained ankle, which should keep him off the court until the start of the playoffs.
That’s a serious kick in the pants considering the majority of their remaining games will be on their opponents’ turf, starting with games in California Saturday and Sunday. Head Coach Gregg Popovich tried to ease the tension and break the routine by setting his players loose on a Los Angeles area park for an impromptu soccer match.
Not a bad idea. It’s a heck of a lot better than letting his players sit in their hotel rooms, dwelling on the embarrassing loss. Right now, Spurs players are just trying to move on and somehow pull out a win on the road this weekend.
"I think there are a lot of built-in excuse mechanisms for how we've performed on the road recently," Barry said. "You could point to lineup changes. You could point to the opponents we've played and the positions they're in — some of them being in desperate situations and some of them fighting for their playoff lives.
"But this team has to be far beyond that. We need to put all that aside and maintain a focus and not get ourselves out of sync to the point where we can't recover."
Oddsmakers have the Spurs as 2 ½-point favorites against the Clippers tonight. Odds are not yet available for Sunday night’s game in Oakland against Golden State.
Julian Dickinson
http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=45271&tid=25&t=2
Remember the Alamo?
The way the San Antonio Spurs have been getting slaughtered recently, it’s bringing that old history lesson back to life again for basketball fans in South Texas.
The NBA’s mercenaries have been trying to take advantage of the wounded Spurs recently, but to their credit, they have done a decent job of defending their own Alamo, the SBC Center, going 3-1-1 against the spread in their last five at home.
But the wagons fall apart when they hit road.
Spurs fans might start saying, “remember the American Airlines Center,” after the historic massacre that took place at the Dallas Maverick’s home court. The 104-68 beating was the worst the Spurs had endured in four years – and it put an exclamation mark on San Antonio’s ongoing story of road woes.
Without its 6-foot-11 security blanket, San Antonio has been vulnerable every time it leaves home. The Spurs lost their last five road games and haven’t covered away from home since they were 9-point dogs in Phoenix on March 9.
"We realize we're having a lot of trouble on the road," Manu Ginobili said. "At home, you always find something else to help — the crowd, the arena. But on the road, we don't have that. The crowd is on their side, they get all excited, and we go down."
All-Star center Tim Duncan has played a total of less than two minutes in their last eight road games and it’s no coincidence the Spurs have covered in only two of those outings. Duncan is out with a sprained ankle, which should keep him off the court until the start of the playoffs.
That’s a serious kick in the pants considering the majority of their remaining games will be on their opponents’ turf, starting with games in California Saturday and Sunday. Head Coach Gregg Popovich tried to ease the tension and break the routine by setting his players loose on a Los Angeles area park for an impromptu soccer match.
Not a bad idea. It’s a heck of a lot better than letting his players sit in their hotel rooms, dwelling on the embarrassing loss. Right now, Spurs players are just trying to move on and somehow pull out a win on the road this weekend.
"I think there are a lot of built-in excuse mechanisms for how we've performed on the road recently," Barry said. "You could point to lineup changes. You could point to the opponents we've played and the positions they're in — some of them being in desperate situations and some of them fighting for their playoff lives.
"But this team has to be far beyond that. We need to put all that aside and maintain a focus and not get ourselves out of sync to the point where we can't recover."
Oddsmakers have the Spurs as 2 ½-point favorites against the Clippers tonight. Odds are not yet available for Sunday night’s game in Oakland against Golden State.