Spurs use balance to climb to top

[duncan228]

Lots of quotes.


Spurs use balance to climb to top (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-spurs012611)
By Marc J. Spears

Anyone who knows Gregg Popovich knows there are probably 347 other places he’d rather be than walking the red carpet at the All-Star Game next month in Los Angeles as coach of the Western Conference team. He doesn’t do extravagant parties, and the over-the-top showmanship of the NBA’s annual entertainment weekend likely doesn’t appeal to him. More than anything, he’d rather just not have the attention.

Popovich has always preached a we-over-me mantra with the San Antonio Spurs, and that comes from his days at the Air Force Academy, where he was a walk-on for the basketball team.

“I’m just guessing, but everybody that goes there has a 3.8 or 4.0 [grade-point average] – valedictorians – and did all kinds of stuff,” Popovich said. “And you go there and everybody is the same. They strip you bare. You start over again, and during the four years you learn it’s not about you. It’s about the group. It’s about the people that are around you and how people come together and how teams are put together and how you have each other’s back and that sort of thing.

“You learn that one person really doesn’t get anything done. In any business, in any endeavor, the people around you have to be good people and have to be able to work together. That’s where the real joy is – when you’re sharing success with somebody.”

Over the last 13-plus seasons, no major U.S. professional sports franchise has enjoyed more sustained success than the Spurs. They’ve won 70.1 percent of their games during that time, a mark that ranks ahead of the NFL’s New England Patriots (68.3 percent) and the Spurs’ own rival, the Los Angeles Lakers (65.9). They’ve also won four NBA championships and seven division titles and may have produced their biggest surprise yet this season: At a time when many thought the Spurs would slip from the ranks of the league’s elite, they’ve surged to their greatest start ever with a league-best 38-7 record.

“Everybody is surprised by that record,” Manu Ginobili said. “But now we are here. We earned it and we want to keep the lead as long as possible and finish No. 1.”

The Spurs have benefitted from good health: They’re the only team in the league to use the same starting lineup for each of their games. But they’ve also won because of their remarkable balance. They rank fifth in the league in scoring, averaging 104.1 points per game, but don’t have a single player averaging even 19 points. Ginobili is the team-high with 18.6 while Tim Duncan, content now to steady the Spurs with his rebounding and defense, is averaging just 13.6 points.

In short, these Spurs may be as team-oriented as any roster Popovich has ever had. All of the Spurs’ three stars – Duncan, Ginobili and Tony Parker – are also averaging fewer than 33 minutes. With nearly everyone on the roster contributing in some form this season, the Spurs have continued to win in their usual understated style.

“Even if we’re up by 30 we’re not going to keep screaming and yelling,” veteran forward Antonio McDyess said. “That’s why a lot of people call this team boring. Regardless, we get the job done.”

Keep Reading... (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-spurs012611)

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-spurs012611

[spurs4real]

“Luckily enough I don’t look at the radar so I wouldn’t know what is going on,” Duncan said. “I have better things to do, I guess.”

-Tim Duncan

[Dex]

“There were a few times where he got on me early about screaming after a dunk and showing that kind of emotion,” Jefferson said. “You do what your coach asks for.”

There have been a couple times Blair has screamed after a dunk this season. :wow :depressed

[honestfool84]

this article was full of WIN.

loved the quote from McDyess on the Spurs mantra. and the quote from Pop on screaming after dunks was nothing but win.

[Blackjack]

“We laugh about it and love it,” Popovich said. “The less attention, the more time and focus we have to concentrate on what we’d like to do. Having the success we’ve had with championships, we don’t need anyone to give us credit.”

That last line just rang of pimp. :tu

[tp2021]

That last line just rang of pimp. :tu

I thought the same thing!

[DesignatedT]

this caught my eye :lol


“When I got there, the Pistons were playing music, rapping and cursing,” McDyess said. “They said that’s what worked for them. And half of them said that if they don’t go out [the night] before a game they don’t play well. On this team you don’t get that. Different things work for different teams.”

[JR21]

Thanks for the post very cool read. I like the part about the Pistons. Wondewr what music the Spurs listen to before the games lol.

[ducks]

Over the last 13-plus seasons, no major U.S. professional sports franchise has enjoyed more sustained success than the Spurs. They’ve won 70.1 percent of their games during that time, a mark that ranks ahead of the NFL’s New England Patriots (68.3 percent) and the Spurs’ own rival, the Los Angeles Lakers (65.9).

OUCH LAKER FANS

[duncan228]

Just quotes, hit the link for the piece.


Spurs’ high-scoring offense a balancing act (http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/01/27/spurs%e2%80%99-high-scoring-offense-a-balancing-act/)
Jeff McDonald

...“Nobody cares about the stats. Nobody cares who is taking the shots,” Parker said. “If we’re taking good shots, that’s all we’re looking for.”


..."They’ve done a good job understanding that to be a really good team, we can’t depend on any one individual,” Popovich said. “We’ve done a good job of moving the basketball, sharing the basketball and just playing simple basketball.”


..."It’s huge for a lot of us, because it doesn’t fall on one person’s shoulders,” said Duncan, who is averaging a career-low 13.6 points. “If you don’t have to ask one guy to do it night in and night out, not only does it keep us healthier, it reflects on our record.”


..."I think we’re playing as well offensively as any team I’ve ever been on,” Duncan said. “There are a lot of games left to play, obviously, but I’m excited about where we are.”

http://blog.mysanantonio.com/spursnation/2011/01/27/spurs%e2%80%99-high-scoring-offense-a-balancing-act/

[TampaDude]

From the article...



In part because of their business-as-usual nature, the Spurs haven’t received much attention for their strong start. They reached the halfway point of their schedule on pace to win 70 games and much of the season’s headlines have been devoted to the exploits of the Lakers and Miami Heat or Carmelo Anthony’s(notes) trade demand. The Spurs could care less.


Actually, it should be "The Spurs COULDN'T care less."

Good article, though. :hat

[Old School 44]

Just another piece supporting the Spurs stay at the top.

Page 2's Bang for the Buck, NBA edition
By Patrick Hruby

1. San Antonio Spurs

Payroll: $68.36 million
Victories: 70
Cost per win: $976,613

Let's start with a caveat: As well as they've played, the Spurs probably won't win 70 games, in part because attempting to do so would sap valuable energy from the club's subsequent playoff push. Nevertheless, it's hardly surprising that San Antonio is the league's most financially efficient team -- after all, the Spurs have been the gold standard of well-run NBA organizations for more than a decade, the league's answer to the New England Patriots. San Antonio's secret? Shop adeptly at Neiman Marcus and Wal-Mart, getting star-level production out of your high-priced veterans (Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker earn a total of $44.19 million) while finding and developing low-cost youngsters (guards Gary Neal and George Hill earn $1.38 million combined). Simple formula. Hard to execute.

Penny-wise: Former second-round draft pick DeJuan Blair has started every game and averages 6.8 rebounds in 20.9 minutes of playing time -- but will earn only $918,000 this season.

Read the full ESPN article to see where others rank. (http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hruby/110125_nba_payrolls&sportCat=nba)

[spursfan09]

Thanks everyone for picking out the good quotes!

[Lebowski Brickowski]

It's ironic that that a new article comes out every single day about how "nobody is paying attention to the Spurs." I've seen 100x the coverage in the natl media over any other year, yet each story says nobody is watching.

People ARE paying attention, but the Spurs are immune disgusting hype machine that is applied to Boston, Miami, LA, etc.

[SenorSpur]

That last line just rang of pimp. :tu

Kind of what I was thinking too.

[LoneStarState'sPride]

Awesome read!

[duncan228]

Several factors triggering spectacular start by Spurs (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/7403501.html)
Improved play, solid bench, lucky breaks boost squad to top of the league
By Mike Monroe

To begin to understand how the San Antonio Spurs have reached tonight's game against the Rockets at AT&T Center with the best 46-game record in the history of a franchise that has won four NBA titles, you must flashback to the team's practice gym in the stifling South Texas heat in late July.

Then, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich worked with small forward Richard Jefferson, freshly re-signed to a contract his friends told him he had been a fool to accept.

Professor Popovich taught Basketball 101, from defensive slides to layups, a course a veteran player once voted to an All-Star starting lineup might have found demeaning.

Instead, Jefferson sopped up Popovich's teaching like a grade schooler with hoop dreams.

Now, his team so successful that he is guaranteed a spot as coach for the Western All-Stars in the Feb. 20 All-Star Game in Los Angeles, Popovich cites Jefferson's improved play as one of several factors in a Spurs run to the top of the standings that ranks as the greatest surprise of the NBA season.

"Who knows totally why things happen," Popovich says, "but Richard is a factor. He did a great job this summer re-tooling his game.

"He's become a lot more efficient. He's not the sloppy player he was last year. He pays more attention to defense. He rebounds better. He gets rid of the ball quicker and makes decisions quicker."

Jefferson has made a career-best 40 percent of his 3-point shots. He averages 12.2 points, one of five Spurs in double figures for a team averaging 104.3 points per game, fifth in scoring in the NBA.

Contributing factors

Keep Reading... (http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/7403501.html)

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/7403501.html

[duncan228]

Couple of quotes.


Luhm on the NBA: These Spurs not banned on the run (http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/51148283-77/spurs-game-antonio-san.html.csp)
Steve Luhm
The Salt Lake Tribune

Watching today’s San Antonio Spurs is like seeing grandpa walk out the door on a date.

It’s like hearing Republicans and Democrats promise to tone down the rhetoric and cooperate for the common good.

It’s like an infant on the airplane deciding it’s lunch time, and mom, who is sitting across the aisle from you, opening the diner.

There’s nothing wrong with any of those things, of course.

It’s just a little different — a little awkward to witness, actually — because you aren’t sure how to react.

Take the Spurs.

For years, they were grind-it-out specialists who played to their strengths, David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

They beat you with defense.

They beat you with execution.

They won championships because they could look you in the eye and not blink.

Other teams offered far more flash, but few won as consistently as San Antonio. When the Spurs captured their first championship in 1999, the average score in the series with the Knicks was 85-80.

They clinched the title in Game 5 with a 79-78 victory.

New York, suffocated and frustrated by San Antonio’s sticky defense and clock-chewing offense, scored more than 77 points only twice in the series.

A few years later, nothing had changed. The Spurs swept a four-game season series from Utah, winning by an average score of 87-76.

During a 10-year stretch, in fact, the Jazz failed to score 100 points against San Antonio in 38 straight games.

But times change. San Antonio is still winning, but with a style as different as Fox News and MSNBC.

The Spurs run.

They gun.

Want a shootout? Step right up.

“We’re not the Phoenix Suns and we’re not the New York Knicks by any stretch,” coach Greg Popovich said. “But we do play a little faster than we used to.”

After shredding the Jazz’s defense during Wedesday night’s 112-105 win at EnergySolutions Arena, the Spurs bumped their league-leading record to 39-7.

They have done it with a top-five offense that, with apologies to Popovich, looks a lot like the Suns and Knicks.

San Antonio averages more than 104 points a game.

At 39 percent, the Spurs rank third in the league in 3-point shooting.

They used to play like Toby Keith.

Now they play like Lil Wayne.

“I think the rules have helped transform teams as much as anything,” said Popovich, who has coached the Spurs since 1996-97.

Referring to Utah’s Jerry Sloan, Popovich added, “I think if he and I had our way, we’d still be playing rock ’em-sock ’em type of basketball."

“But the rules help the scoring, obviously, and you have to roll with it. Guys are, perhaps, a little more athletic these days. Maybe they’re more ready for that kind of game — the fast pace in some situations.”

Almost always stone-faced, Duncan smiles slightly when asked about the Spurs’ transformation from grinder to gunner.

“We’ve definitely changed our pace,” Duncan said. “We’re moving the ball a lot more. We score a lot more points.”

He continued: “In the long run, we still want to be a defensive ball club. But being someone who keeps [opponents] in the 80s and 90s and has the ability to score in the 100s, it’s the best of both worlds"

Is this team as good as San Antonio’s other championship teams?

“I don’t think there is any comparison yet,” Duncan said. “We’ve had a great start and we’re excited about that."

“But as a team, we’re not worried about winning 70 games. We’re about winning game-to-game and keeping our focus game-to-game."

“After that, whatever happens happens.”

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/sports/51148283-77/spurs-game-antonio-san.html.csp

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I've been talking about the balance, flexibility and chemistry of this squad all season. Those are three attributes absolutely essential to any contender. We've got them in spades this year. :D