duncan228
02-23-2010, 01:27 AM
Road trip doesn’t solve Spurs’ woes (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Road_trip_doesnt_solve_Spurs_woes.html)
Jeff McDonald
After crisscrossing the country for much of the month, the Spurs’ charter plane touched down at San Antonio International Airport early Monday morning.
On Wednesday, players will venture into the AT&T Center for the first time since January, braced for whatever might greet them.
The red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, yes, but also the unpleasant aroma left behind by the annual invasion of bovine and equine called the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
“There’s usually a moist, earthy fragrance in the air for a week or two when we get back,” coach Gregg Popovich said.
If only Popovich could do something about the stench that appears to have followed his team home.
Traditionally, the Spurs use their annual rodeo trip to answer remaining questions about themselves. They return from this year’s rendition having gone a fitting 4-4, the same inconsistent ball of problems that left for Sacramento on Feb. 2.
At 31-23, the Spurs are seventh in the Western Conference, a game ahead of Portland, two ahead of ninth-place New Orleans and facing an upcoming schedule not exactly conducive to making an upward push.
For the first time in the Tim Duncan era, the Spurs are being forced to contemplate the postseason in terms of “if” and not “when.”
“It’s really hard to imagine us not being in the playoffs,” Manu Ginobili said. “But we can’t take anything for granted. We’ve got to take care of business when we have the opportunity.”
Snapshots from this year’s rodeo trip tell the story of opportunity lost.
The Spurs were 4-2 on the trek as they left Indiana on Wednesday, with games against two lottery-bound teams — Philadelphia and Detroit — remaining.
A 106-94 loss against the 76ers gave way to a 109-101 overtime loss to the Pistons, squashing any visions the Spurs had of returning home with momentum.
Elsewhere on the trip, the Spurs won three games against teams under .500 and earned a quality victory by 29 points at Denver, but blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead at Portland and lost to the Lakers without Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum.
Little changed for the Spurs on the road. They still experienced frequent lulls at both ends of the floor. Popovich’s rotation still remains a work in progress. Star offseason acquisition Richard Jefferson still seems rudderless.
“We’re in the middle of the pack right now,” Duncan said. “We could very easily be on top of the pack or out of the thing. We’re going to go home and try to get a run going.”
History offers one piece of hope. The last time the Spurs went 4-4 on the rodeo trip was 2007, the year of their last NBA title.
This time, the Spurs will receive little help from the schedule-makers. After Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, the Spurs hit the road again for Houston.
The rest of the season, the Spurs can look forward to exactly one homestand longer than one game. Those two visitors, on March 24 and 26, are only the NBA’s two best teams — Cleveland and the Lakers.
In the meantime, frustration mounts.
“I think we’re all frustrated,” Popovich said, “because we feel we made really good (offseason) moves with good people, and so far it hasn’t all come together.”
If there is any positive takeaway from the rodeo trip, it’s that the Spurs haven’t yet surrendered hope.
Down 11 in the final five minutes against the lowly Pistons, the Spurs rallied behind Ginobili to at least force overtime.
“I thought guys busted their butts,” Popovich said. “They did everything they could to try and win a basketball game.”
At this point, the wins have become as important as the trying for the Spurs. They still have a chance to enjoy their traditional post-rodeo push, to freshen their spirits as easily as they freshen the AT&T Center air.
Now that the rodeo trip is over, however, time is running short.
Jeff McDonald
After crisscrossing the country for much of the month, the Spurs’ charter plane touched down at San Antonio International Airport early Monday morning.
On Wednesday, players will venture into the AT&T Center for the first time since January, braced for whatever might greet them.
The red-hot Oklahoma City Thunder, yes, but also the unpleasant aroma left behind by the annual invasion of bovine and equine called the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
“There’s usually a moist, earthy fragrance in the air for a week or two when we get back,” coach Gregg Popovich said.
If only Popovich could do something about the stench that appears to have followed his team home.
Traditionally, the Spurs use their annual rodeo trip to answer remaining questions about themselves. They return from this year’s rendition having gone a fitting 4-4, the same inconsistent ball of problems that left for Sacramento on Feb. 2.
At 31-23, the Spurs are seventh in the Western Conference, a game ahead of Portland, two ahead of ninth-place New Orleans and facing an upcoming schedule not exactly conducive to making an upward push.
For the first time in the Tim Duncan era, the Spurs are being forced to contemplate the postseason in terms of “if” and not “when.”
“It’s really hard to imagine us not being in the playoffs,” Manu Ginobili said. “But we can’t take anything for granted. We’ve got to take care of business when we have the opportunity.”
Snapshots from this year’s rodeo trip tell the story of opportunity lost.
The Spurs were 4-2 on the trek as they left Indiana on Wednesday, with games against two lottery-bound teams — Philadelphia and Detroit — remaining.
A 106-94 loss against the 76ers gave way to a 109-101 overtime loss to the Pistons, squashing any visions the Spurs had of returning home with momentum.
Elsewhere on the trip, the Spurs won three games against teams under .500 and earned a quality victory by 29 points at Denver, but blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead at Portland and lost to the Lakers without Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum.
Little changed for the Spurs on the road. They still experienced frequent lulls at both ends of the floor. Popovich’s rotation still remains a work in progress. Star offseason acquisition Richard Jefferson still seems rudderless.
“We’re in the middle of the pack right now,” Duncan said. “We could very easily be on top of the pack or out of the thing. We’re going to go home and try to get a run going.”
History offers one piece of hope. The last time the Spurs went 4-4 on the rodeo trip was 2007, the year of their last NBA title.
This time, the Spurs will receive little help from the schedule-makers. After Wednesday’s game against the Thunder, the Spurs hit the road again for Houston.
The rest of the season, the Spurs can look forward to exactly one homestand longer than one game. Those two visitors, on March 24 and 26, are only the NBA’s two best teams — Cleveland and the Lakers.
In the meantime, frustration mounts.
“I think we’re all frustrated,” Popovich said, “because we feel we made really good (offseason) moves with good people, and so far it hasn’t all come together.”
If there is any positive takeaway from the rodeo trip, it’s that the Spurs haven’t yet surrendered hope.
Down 11 in the final five minutes against the lowly Pistons, the Spurs rallied behind Ginobili to at least force overtime.
“I thought guys busted their butts,” Popovich said. “They did everything they could to try and win a basketball game.”
At this point, the wins have become as important as the trying for the Spurs. They still have a chance to enjoy their traditional post-rodeo push, to freshen their spirits as easily as they freshen the AT&T Center air.
Now that the rodeo trip is over, however, time is running short.