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01-08-2010, 01:00 AM
Once-boring Spurs scoring (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Once-boring_Spurs_scoring.html)
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News
There was a time, not long ago, when a game involving the Spurs was likely to bring a scowl to the face of opposing coaches and TV executives alike.
The Spurs were a ratings-killing, opponent-suffocating, basket-denying, championship-winning machine. They were boring and brutal, taking a gleeful pleasure in strangling the concept of offensive basketball back to the Stone Age — or at least to the days of Dr. Naismith's peach basket.
But that was all so last decade.
Heading into tonight's showdown with Southwest Division-leading Dallas, the suddenly fun-and-gun Spurs are averaging 102 points per game, up nearly five from last season. Given that the team is still coached by Gregg Popovich, and not Doug Moe or Mike D'Antoni, that number might as well be 202.
“They've been scoring all year,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “They've added some weapons.”
In 13-plus seasons under Popovich, the Spurs routinely won titles while averaging in the mid-90s. The 2007 championship team averaged 98.5, tops for a Popovich squad.
In 1999, when the Spurs won their first championship, they did so while averaging 92.8 points — nearly 10 points less than this season so far.
Popovich wryly notes the Spurs still won't be easily confused with the Phoenix Suns. Yet with each triple-digit outing — there were eight in a row during December — his team is inflicting more and more damage to its reputation as the league bore.
“They got guys who can put the ball in the basket,” Dallas' Jason Kidd said. “Pop knows how to make adjustments with the pieces of the puzzle he has, and he has guys who can score.”
The Mavericks, in a way, are partially to blame for the Spurs' against-type turn as a scoring juggernaut. It was the Spurs' lack of “firepower,” to use Popovich's word, in last year's first-round series that begat their offseason offensive upgrade.
The arrival of Richard Jefferson — and, to a lesser extent, Antonio McDyess — as well as the return of a healthy Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan has helped the Spurs restock their offensive arsenal.
Part of the Spurs' scoring surge can be attributed to personnel. Part of it is pacing.
Popovich has experimented with smaller lineups, which tends to put more scorers on the floor at one time, and has encouraged his guards to push the tempo in search of fast-break chances.
“Pop is always on us about moving the ball, hitting the first open man,” said Jefferson, who scored a season-high 29 in a victory over Dallas in November. “We have so many different scorers, there's no need to really keep searching for your shot.”
The Spurs have seven players averaging at least 7.8 points and four averaging in double figures — a list topped by Duncan's 19.8. They are third in the league in both field-goal percentage (48.7) and 3-point percentage (39.4).
That said, there are times Popovich wishes his team were a bit less Must-See TV and bit more, well, boring.
He began the season with the express goal of again turning the Spurs into the defensive menace they once were. Though they've improved considerably in nearly every defensive category since November, the Spurs aren't quite there yet.
“I just think about defense, because we're boring,” Popovich said. “Whatever happens on the other end is fine.”
There will be nights when simply scoring points won't be enough. Tonight is likely to be one of them.
Led by Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA's eighth-leading scorer, Dallas, too, averages in triple digits (100.7 points per game) and has twice managed to hold the Spurs under the century mark.
“They're an offensive-minded team, so if you're not getting stops, you're in trouble,” Spurs guard Keith Bogans said. “You can't run up and down with them. You've got to stop them on defense.”
Of course, this decade, teams might say the same about Bogans' team.
SCORING AVERAGES
The Spurs enter tonight’s game against Dallas averaging 102 points per game, by far their most in the defense-dominated Gregg Popovich era. Here are the team’s scoring averages in 13 seasons under Popovich:
Season Avg. Record
1996-97 90.5 20-62*
1997-98 92.5 56-26
1998-99 92.8 37-13
1999-00 96.2 53-29
2000-01 96.2 58-24
2001-02 96.7 58-24
2002-03 95.8 60-22
2003-04 91.5 57-25
2004-05 96.2 59-23
2005-06 95.6 63-19
2006-07 98.5 58-24
2007-08 95.4 56-26
2008-09 97.0 54-28
2009-10 102.1 21-12
* — Popovich took over for Bob Hill 18 games into the season.
By Jeff McDonald - Express-News
There was a time, not long ago, when a game involving the Spurs was likely to bring a scowl to the face of opposing coaches and TV executives alike.
The Spurs were a ratings-killing, opponent-suffocating, basket-denying, championship-winning machine. They were boring and brutal, taking a gleeful pleasure in strangling the concept of offensive basketball back to the Stone Age — or at least to the days of Dr. Naismith's peach basket.
But that was all so last decade.
Heading into tonight's showdown with Southwest Division-leading Dallas, the suddenly fun-and-gun Spurs are averaging 102 points per game, up nearly five from last season. Given that the team is still coached by Gregg Popovich, and not Doug Moe or Mike D'Antoni, that number might as well be 202.
“They've been scoring all year,” Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. “They've added some weapons.”
In 13-plus seasons under Popovich, the Spurs routinely won titles while averaging in the mid-90s. The 2007 championship team averaged 98.5, tops for a Popovich squad.
In 1999, when the Spurs won their first championship, they did so while averaging 92.8 points — nearly 10 points less than this season so far.
Popovich wryly notes the Spurs still won't be easily confused with the Phoenix Suns. Yet with each triple-digit outing — there were eight in a row during December — his team is inflicting more and more damage to its reputation as the league bore.
“They got guys who can put the ball in the basket,” Dallas' Jason Kidd said. “Pop knows how to make adjustments with the pieces of the puzzle he has, and he has guys who can score.”
The Mavericks, in a way, are partially to blame for the Spurs' against-type turn as a scoring juggernaut. It was the Spurs' lack of “firepower,” to use Popovich's word, in last year's first-round series that begat their offseason offensive upgrade.
The arrival of Richard Jefferson — and, to a lesser extent, Antonio McDyess — as well as the return of a healthy Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan has helped the Spurs restock their offensive arsenal.
Part of the Spurs' scoring surge can be attributed to personnel. Part of it is pacing.
Popovich has experimented with smaller lineups, which tends to put more scorers on the floor at one time, and has encouraged his guards to push the tempo in search of fast-break chances.
“Pop is always on us about moving the ball, hitting the first open man,” said Jefferson, who scored a season-high 29 in a victory over Dallas in November. “We have so many different scorers, there's no need to really keep searching for your shot.”
The Spurs have seven players averaging at least 7.8 points and four averaging in double figures — a list topped by Duncan's 19.8. They are third in the league in both field-goal percentage (48.7) and 3-point percentage (39.4).
That said, there are times Popovich wishes his team were a bit less Must-See TV and bit more, well, boring.
He began the season with the express goal of again turning the Spurs into the defensive menace they once were. Though they've improved considerably in nearly every defensive category since November, the Spurs aren't quite there yet.
“I just think about defense, because we're boring,” Popovich said. “Whatever happens on the other end is fine.”
There will be nights when simply scoring points won't be enough. Tonight is likely to be one of them.
Led by Dirk Nowitzki, the NBA's eighth-leading scorer, Dallas, too, averages in triple digits (100.7 points per game) and has twice managed to hold the Spurs under the century mark.
“They're an offensive-minded team, so if you're not getting stops, you're in trouble,” Spurs guard Keith Bogans said. “You can't run up and down with them. You've got to stop them on defense.”
Of course, this decade, teams might say the same about Bogans' team.
SCORING AVERAGES
The Spurs enter tonight’s game against Dallas averaging 102 points per game, by far their most in the defense-dominated Gregg Popovich era. Here are the team’s scoring averages in 13 seasons under Popovich:
Season Avg. Record
1996-97 90.5 20-62*
1997-98 92.5 56-26
1998-99 92.8 37-13
1999-00 96.2 53-29
2000-01 96.2 58-24
2001-02 96.7 58-24
2002-03 95.8 60-22
2003-04 91.5 57-25
2004-05 96.2 59-23
2005-06 95.6 63-19
2006-07 98.5 58-24
2007-08 95.4 56-26
2008-09 97.0 54-28
2009-10 102.1 21-12
* — Popovich took over for Bob Hill 18 games into the season.