bigbendbruisebrother
05-09-2005, 09:31 AM
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=sk-playoffs050805&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Adding injury to insult
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
San Antonio 103, Seattle 81
Uh oh. The San Antonio Spurs are back. And that's bad news for the rest of the NBA.
Just a few weeks ago, I sat down with Gregg Popovich and listened to him do his best Chicken Little impersonation. Tim Duncan was injured, Manu Ginobili was hurting, the team had no momentum and the sky was falling. If you believed the Spurs head coach, his team didn't have a chance in the playoffs. Those concerns must seem like a year ago.
In a stunning first-half performance, his team ran all over the overwhelmed Seattle SuperSonics, burying them with dominating play at both ends of the floor. And despite a second-half letdown that made the score respectable, San Antonio was in control from start to finish.
Tony Parker began the game by driving to the rim at will to set the tone as the Spurs got anything they wanted offensively. Popovich again started Brent Barry over Ginobili in order to have more firepower off the bench, and the move worked. Barry played well early and then Ginobili came in and poured it on, slashing his way to the hoop time and again.
Popovich likes to make sure he has at least two of his three best players – Duncan, Parker and Ginobili – on the floor at the same time. His new starting lineup makes that easier to manage. Duncan looks like he has returned to form after pouring in 22 points and snaring nine rebounds.
For the Sonics, this game couldn't have gone much worse. Not only did they get pounded, but they also lost both Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic to ankle injuries in the first half. Without those two, Seattle couldn't beat the Hornets, much less the Spurs.
If the Sonics are going to be competitive in this series, they will have to get healthy in a hurry and ride Rashard Lewis. Lewis has a size advantage over Barry, who can't guard him in the post, but Seattle was out of this game so early that the matchup couldn't be exploited. The Sonics have to find a way to do what made them successful during the regular season – spread the floor, make three-pointers, expose mismatches and pound the offensive glass. But it's difficult to do that against one of the league's best defenses.
Popovich will surely harp on the lack of focus his Spurs showed in a lethargic second half. He'll have to convince his team that Seattle is a threat in Game 2. But considering the fact that a month ago Popovich thought the sky was falling, overconfidence will be a welcome problem.
Adding injury to insult
By Steve Kerr, Yahoo! Sports
San Antonio 103, Seattle 81
Uh oh. The San Antonio Spurs are back. And that's bad news for the rest of the NBA.
Just a few weeks ago, I sat down with Gregg Popovich and listened to him do his best Chicken Little impersonation. Tim Duncan was injured, Manu Ginobili was hurting, the team had no momentum and the sky was falling. If you believed the Spurs head coach, his team didn't have a chance in the playoffs. Those concerns must seem like a year ago.
In a stunning first-half performance, his team ran all over the overwhelmed Seattle SuperSonics, burying them with dominating play at both ends of the floor. And despite a second-half letdown that made the score respectable, San Antonio was in control from start to finish.
Tony Parker began the game by driving to the rim at will to set the tone as the Spurs got anything they wanted offensively. Popovich again started Brent Barry over Ginobili in order to have more firepower off the bench, and the move worked. Barry played well early and then Ginobili came in and poured it on, slashing his way to the hoop time and again.
Popovich likes to make sure he has at least two of his three best players – Duncan, Parker and Ginobili – on the floor at the same time. His new starting lineup makes that easier to manage. Duncan looks like he has returned to form after pouring in 22 points and snaring nine rebounds.
For the Sonics, this game couldn't have gone much worse. Not only did they get pounded, but they also lost both Ray Allen and Vladimir Radmanovic to ankle injuries in the first half. Without those two, Seattle couldn't beat the Hornets, much less the Spurs.
If the Sonics are going to be competitive in this series, they will have to get healthy in a hurry and ride Rashard Lewis. Lewis has a size advantage over Barry, who can't guard him in the post, but Seattle was out of this game so early that the matchup couldn't be exploited. The Sonics have to find a way to do what made them successful during the regular season – spread the floor, make three-pointers, expose mismatches and pound the offensive glass. But it's difficult to do that against one of the league's best defenses.
Popovich will surely harp on the lack of focus his Spurs showed in a lethargic second half. He'll have to convince his team that Seattle is a threat in Game 2. But considering the fact that a month ago Popovich thought the sky was falling, overconfidence will be a welcome problem.