Dex
04-18-2005, 09:12 AM
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Had New York not traded him to the Spurs almost two months ago, Nazr Mohammed knows how he'd be spending these final few days of the season.
"I'd be making flight arrangements to go home," he said.
Mohammed has at least a couple more weeks before he has to worry about packing for his native Chicago. In the meantime, he and the rest of the Spurs could learn the first leg of their playoff itinerary as soon as tonight.
If Phoenix wins at home against Denver to claim the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, the Spurs will face the Nuggets in the first-round, best-of-seven series.
The only way the Spurs can take the top seed — and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs — is to win on the road against Memphis tonight and Minnesota on Wednesday and have the Suns lose both their remaining games. Phoenix ends the regular season Wednesday at Sacramento.
The Nuggets will stay slotted at No. 7 unless they beat the Suns tonight and Portland on Tuesday, and either Sacramento or Houston loses both of its remaining games. The Grizzlies locked down the eighth seed Sunday when Seattle beat the Timberwolves.
All of which means the Spurs are still not completely sure whether they will play Denver, Sacramento, Houston or Memphis.
"So far this year, we have problems with all of them," Manu Ginobili said. "Whoever we play is going to be tough."
Regardless of their opponent, the Spurs will feel better about their chances of advancing if Tim Duncan continues to improve. After being sidelined for more than three weeks with a sprained right ankle, he has totaled 28 points and 15 rebounds in 43 minutes during the past two games.
Duncan has played tentative at the start of each game, but become more active in the second half. He has two more games and at least two practices to get loose before the playoffs begin Saturday or Sunday.
"I'll be pretty good," Duncan said. "I think that will be enough time to feel comfortable out there, to get some sort of rhythm going, not only with myself, but also the guys in the rotation."
Coach Gregg Popovich has pretty much abandoned hope of developing a consistent rotation before the playoffs after injuries to Devin Brown and Rasho Nesterovic and the recent signing of Glenn Robinson shook up the roster.
"Whoever we're going to have on the court is going to be part of a group that hasn't been on the court all damn year," Popovich said. "So we just have to go with who's playing well."
Popovich, as he did in Saturday's victory over Memphis, will continue to alternate defenses and call a variety of plays in the final two games to test the team's knowledge and focus — particularly that of its newcomers, Mohammed and Robinson.
"It's a quick-study, training-camp deal," Popovich said. "So when the playoff game comes and we call something, we don't have one of those guys on the court not knowing what's going on."
Robinson also hopes to use the last two games to improve his conditioning. More than half of the Western Conference's playoff teams like to push the tempo, making transition defense all the more important.
"I know I'm going to make shots, I know the offense is going to come," Robinson said. "But I want to be the first one back on defense, hustle when we get a rebound, just get up and down the court. If I can do that, I know my legs are coming."
While the Spurs wait on Robinson's legs, they're also anxious to learn the arrival date and name of their first-round opponent.
"You're excited and, sadly, thinking more about that than today," Ginobili said. "But that's natural. That's our goal. That's what we practice for our whole season, so we can't wait for (the playoffs) to happen."
Express-News Staff Writer
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Had New York not traded him to the Spurs almost two months ago, Nazr Mohammed knows how he'd be spending these final few days of the season.
"I'd be making flight arrangements to go home," he said.
Mohammed has at least a couple more weeks before he has to worry about packing for his native Chicago. In the meantime, he and the rest of the Spurs could learn the first leg of their playoff itinerary as soon as tonight.
If Phoenix wins at home against Denver to claim the Western Conference's No. 1 seed, the Spurs will face the Nuggets in the first-round, best-of-seven series.
The only way the Spurs can take the top seed — and homecourt advantage throughout the playoffs — is to win on the road against Memphis tonight and Minnesota on Wednesday and have the Suns lose both their remaining games. Phoenix ends the regular season Wednesday at Sacramento.
The Nuggets will stay slotted at No. 7 unless they beat the Suns tonight and Portland on Tuesday, and either Sacramento or Houston loses both of its remaining games. The Grizzlies locked down the eighth seed Sunday when Seattle beat the Timberwolves.
All of which means the Spurs are still not completely sure whether they will play Denver, Sacramento, Houston or Memphis.
"So far this year, we have problems with all of them," Manu Ginobili said. "Whoever we play is going to be tough."
Regardless of their opponent, the Spurs will feel better about their chances of advancing if Tim Duncan continues to improve. After being sidelined for more than three weeks with a sprained right ankle, he has totaled 28 points and 15 rebounds in 43 minutes during the past two games.
Duncan has played tentative at the start of each game, but become more active in the second half. He has two more games and at least two practices to get loose before the playoffs begin Saturday or Sunday.
"I'll be pretty good," Duncan said. "I think that will be enough time to feel comfortable out there, to get some sort of rhythm going, not only with myself, but also the guys in the rotation."
Coach Gregg Popovich has pretty much abandoned hope of developing a consistent rotation before the playoffs after injuries to Devin Brown and Rasho Nesterovic and the recent signing of Glenn Robinson shook up the roster.
"Whoever we're going to have on the court is going to be part of a group that hasn't been on the court all damn year," Popovich said. "So we just have to go with who's playing well."
Popovich, as he did in Saturday's victory over Memphis, will continue to alternate defenses and call a variety of plays in the final two games to test the team's knowledge and focus — particularly that of its newcomers, Mohammed and Robinson.
"It's a quick-study, training-camp deal," Popovich said. "So when the playoff game comes and we call something, we don't have one of those guys on the court not knowing what's going on."
Robinson also hopes to use the last two games to improve his conditioning. More than half of the Western Conference's playoff teams like to push the tempo, making transition defense all the more important.
"I know I'm going to make shots, I know the offense is going to come," Robinson said. "But I want to be the first one back on defense, hustle when we get a rebound, just get up and down the court. If I can do that, I know my legs are coming."
While the Spurs wait on Robinson's legs, they're also anxious to learn the arrival date and name of their first-round opponent.
"You're excited and, sadly, thinking more about that than today," Ginobili said. "But that's natural. That's our goal. That's what we practice for our whole season, so we can't wait for (the playoffs) to happen."