Blackjack
01-05-2010, 12:09 PM
Spurs Notebook: Despite struggles, Spurs looking OK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_Notebook_Despite_struggles_Spurs_looking_OK. html)
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
Adjusting all season to a lineup with six new players, the Spurs have had their share s of stumbles. That includes Sunday's loss in Toronto , their first to a sub-.500 team since the second game of the season, when they fell to a Bulls team that began this week with a 14-17 record.
Still, their recent surge has them positioned better than they might have expected after a halting start.
“We're really fortunate,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “because in the West, nobody has really run away with anything. More than anything, we've wasted a good opportunity to be ahead of everybody.”
The Spurs' recent surge — they have won 11 of 14 games over a stretch of 25 days — has them beginning the week in fourth place in the Western Conference, part of a group of six teams that are separated by just two games, between spots No. 2 and No. 7.
Even their loss to the Raptors came at minimal pain in the standings. Second-place Dallas lost to the Lakers, and the Nuggets fell at home to Philadelphia .
What Popovich sees is a team that continues to lag behind the typical Spurs learning curve, for obvious reasons.
“We're a little behind at the defensive end,” he said. “We've been pretty inconsistent playing defense for 48 minutes. It seems like every game, there is a 32-point quarter. Lately, we've avoided that, but we haven't played the Celtics four or five times in a row.
“The offensive end is just a lot of new people trying to fit in with old people and old people trying to fit with new, so it's taken more time than usual.”
Tim Duncan is eager to see how the Spurs react the next time they face an elite team on the road.
“We're a work in progress,” he said. “We're heading the right direction, but we're not where we want to be, obviously.”
McDyess' adjustment: While veteran Spurs said Popovich's decision to sit Duncan for the first 14 minutes of Sunday's game did not shock them, it caught Antonio McDyess, who replaced Duncan in the starting lineup, a bit off-guard. He scored only two points on 1-for-6 shooting.
“I was very surprised, but you can't be on this team,” McDyess said. “You know how Pop does things. You never know where his mind is at, so you just have to be ready. Evidently, I wasn't.”
By Mike Monroe - Express-News
Adjusting all season to a lineup with six new players, the Spurs have had their share s of stumbles. That includes Sunday's loss in Toronto , their first to a sub-.500 team since the second game of the season, when they fell to a Bulls team that began this week with a 14-17 record.
Still, their recent surge has them positioned better than they might have expected after a halting start.
“We're really fortunate,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said, “because in the West, nobody has really run away with anything. More than anything, we've wasted a good opportunity to be ahead of everybody.”
The Spurs' recent surge — they have won 11 of 14 games over a stretch of 25 days — has them beginning the week in fourth place in the Western Conference, part of a group of six teams that are separated by just two games, between spots No. 2 and No. 7.
Even their loss to the Raptors came at minimal pain in the standings. Second-place Dallas lost to the Lakers, and the Nuggets fell at home to Philadelphia .
What Popovich sees is a team that continues to lag behind the typical Spurs learning curve, for obvious reasons.
“We're a little behind at the defensive end,” he said. “We've been pretty inconsistent playing defense for 48 minutes. It seems like every game, there is a 32-point quarter. Lately, we've avoided that, but we haven't played the Celtics four or five times in a row.
“The offensive end is just a lot of new people trying to fit in with old people and old people trying to fit with new, so it's taken more time than usual.”
Tim Duncan is eager to see how the Spurs react the next time they face an elite team on the road.
“We're a work in progress,” he said. “We're heading the right direction, but we're not where we want to be, obviously.”
McDyess' adjustment: While veteran Spurs said Popovich's decision to sit Duncan for the first 14 minutes of Sunday's game did not shock them, it caught Antonio McDyess, who replaced Duncan in the starting lineup, a bit off-guard. He scored only two points on 1-for-6 shooting.
“I was very surprised, but you can't be on this team,” McDyess said. “You know how Pop does things. You never know where his mind is at, so you just have to be ready. Evidently, I wasn't.”