duncan228
12-28-2009, 11:37 PM
Headline changed.
Spurs notebook: Surging team has work to do (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_notebook_Surging_team_has_work_to_do.html)
Back-to-back victories don’t satisfy Popovich (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Back-to-back_victories_dont_satisfy_Popovich.html)
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs returned from their post-Christmas road trip early Monday morning feeling much better about themselves than when they left.
Back-to-back victories over Milwaukee and New York helped them forget a dispiriting loss to a severely shorthanded Portland team at the AT&T Center on Dec. 23. The two-game sweep moved the Spurs to their best record of the season, 17-11, just in time for tonight’s visit from Minnesota, the worst team in the Western Conference.
What the Spurs did not do on their way back from the Big Apple was waste too much time patting themselves on the back. They are still 2-10 against teams with winning records, a fact they won’t be able to rectify against the 7-24 Timberwolves.
“I’m glad the playoffs don’t start next week,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We wouldn’t fare very well.”
Specifically, Popovich has been harping on team defense — the Spurs rank 11th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 96.6 points, and 13th in field-goal percentage defense (45.2 percent).
Traditionally, the Spurs have been a second-half team, built to peak after the All-Star break. Popovich is aware of that history but said his team can’t bank its fortunes on repeating that this season.
“At this point, I don’t see as much recognition of the system as I’d like, and we’ve had some slow starts from some returning players,” Popovich said. “We’ve got a few things that need to come together.
“It’s a week-to-week, month-to-month sort of thing. We have a long way to go, and we’re working at it.”
Mac the sub: A move to the bench seems to have done Antonio McDyess good. After struggling for most of his first 23 games with the Spurs, McDyess has played well in four games since rookie DeJuan Blair replaced him at center in the starting lineup.
McDyess, the key free-agent signee last summer, is averaging 8.5 points in that span, shooting 17 of 22. A starter for 16 games, McDyess moved back to the bench after Matt Bonner fractured his hand Dec. 19 against Indiana.
“That’s my comfort zone, coming off the bench,” said McDyess, who started 30 games for Detroit last season. “With Matty going out, Coach needed someone coming off the bench who could shoot the ball. I think playing that role, anything I can do to help the team, is good.”
Spurs notebook: Surging team has work to do (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_notebook_Surging_team_has_work_to_do.html)
Back-to-back victories don’t satisfy Popovich (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/Back-to-back_victories_dont_satisfy_Popovich.html)
Jeff McDonald
The Spurs returned from their post-Christmas road trip early Monday morning feeling much better about themselves than when they left.
Back-to-back victories over Milwaukee and New York helped them forget a dispiriting loss to a severely shorthanded Portland team at the AT&T Center on Dec. 23. The two-game sweep moved the Spurs to their best record of the season, 17-11, just in time for tonight’s visit from Minnesota, the worst team in the Western Conference.
What the Spurs did not do on their way back from the Big Apple was waste too much time patting themselves on the back. They are still 2-10 against teams with winning records, a fact they won’t be able to rectify against the 7-24 Timberwolves.
“I’m glad the playoffs don’t start next week,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We wouldn’t fare very well.”
Specifically, Popovich has been harping on team defense — the Spurs rank 11th in the league in scoring defense, giving up an average of 96.6 points, and 13th in field-goal percentage defense (45.2 percent).
Traditionally, the Spurs have been a second-half team, built to peak after the All-Star break. Popovich is aware of that history but said his team can’t bank its fortunes on repeating that this season.
“At this point, I don’t see as much recognition of the system as I’d like, and we’ve had some slow starts from some returning players,” Popovich said. “We’ve got a few things that need to come together.
“It’s a week-to-week, month-to-month sort of thing. We have a long way to go, and we’re working at it.”
Mac the sub: A move to the bench seems to have done Antonio McDyess good. After struggling for most of his first 23 games with the Spurs, McDyess has played well in four games since rookie DeJuan Blair replaced him at center in the starting lineup.
McDyess, the key free-agent signee last summer, is averaging 8.5 points in that span, shooting 17 of 22. A starter for 16 games, McDyess moved back to the bench after Matt Bonner fractured his hand Dec. 19 against Indiana.
“That’s my comfort zone, coming off the bench,” said McDyess, who started 30 games for Detroit last season. “With Matty going out, Coach needed someone coming off the bench who could shoot the ball. I think playing that role, anything I can do to help the team, is good.”