ducks
09-04-2005, 10:01 AM
Mike Monroe: Spurs fans have good reason to be giddy after additions
San Antonio Express-News
Somewhere in America a husband or wife with skewed values already is planning an addition to his or her family named Finley Oberto Van Exel Jones.
Spurs fans are giddy. The reigning NBA champions have added precisely the pieces they needed — a fearless backup point guard and another swing man capable of scoring 20 points in any game — to a team that already was returning its entire core of players from a title run.
How a program predicated on defense determines ways to hide the defensive deficiencies of the players who now fill most of the bench roles will be the key sub-plot of the regular season. But at least Gregg Popovich won't have to shorten his playoff rotation to seven reliable players next spring.
The Spurs didn't get any younger, either, adding players who are 32 (Michael Finley), 33 (Nick Van Exel) and 30 (Fabricio Oberto).
But even straining to find fault with the Spurs' summer moves can't avoid this conclusion: They helped themselves as much, or more, than any team.
Finley's decision to spurn the Suns, Heat and Timberwolves will have immediate domino effect, too. The Cavaliers, whose early free agency momentum has taken a nasty, negative turn, probably won't get Damon Jones, who figured to be available to them had Finley signed with Miami.
So put the Spurs at the top of the list of teams that improved significantly thus far this summer.
What to make of the rest of the summer's player movement:
The key "free agent" of the summer wasn't a player. Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers makes the Spurs' one-time Western Conference rival a threat to return to the playoffs, though still a long shot. They will be better, and Jackson's ability to coach finally will get a true test.
The Rockets clearly have supplanted the Mavericks as the Spurs' primary division, and in-state, rival. Derek Anderson is a great fit for Jeff Van Gundy, and Stromile Swift is a major upgrade at power forward. And by all accounts, Yao Ming has gained significant strength this summer, not to mention the serenity a long-term contract worth more than $80 million provides.
You have to love Suns coach Mike D'Antoni's competitiveness, but chiding Finley for his recent decision by saying "I hate it for him that he's going to miss a championship," smacks a lot of sour grapes. D'Antoni also insists the Suns got better this summer, but losing Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson and adding plodders Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant means the Suns won't be quite as fast, or potent, as last season. Nevertheless, those who believe they don't pose the biggest threat to the Spurs in the West haven't paid close enough attention.
The Mavericks have dropped out of elite level in the West. They lost a key contributor in Finley one year after losing Steve Nash and got nothing in return for either. And Avery Johnson's declaration that "adding Doug Christie to our team is giving us the best chance to win a championship" has to be the first time that "Christie" and "championship" ever have been equated.
As long as they can keep Antoine Walker from believing he should shoot more often than Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, the Heat moved ahead of the Pistons in the Eastern Conference.
Provided their team doctors know something the Nets' team doctors don't, the Kings should supplant Seattle as the second-best team in the Pacific. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells ought to thrive in Sac's system.
Would someone please nudge Kiki Vandeweghe? The Nuggets' GM has slumbered through the summer, leaving a team that looked like a clear top-four team in the West to wonder if the playoffs are still a lock.
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...rs.302d930.html
San Antonio Express-News
Somewhere in America a husband or wife with skewed values already is planning an addition to his or her family named Finley Oberto Van Exel Jones.
Spurs fans are giddy. The reigning NBA champions have added precisely the pieces they needed — a fearless backup point guard and another swing man capable of scoring 20 points in any game — to a team that already was returning its entire core of players from a title run.
How a program predicated on defense determines ways to hide the defensive deficiencies of the players who now fill most of the bench roles will be the key sub-plot of the regular season. But at least Gregg Popovich won't have to shorten his playoff rotation to seven reliable players next spring.
The Spurs didn't get any younger, either, adding players who are 32 (Michael Finley), 33 (Nick Van Exel) and 30 (Fabricio Oberto).
But even straining to find fault with the Spurs' summer moves can't avoid this conclusion: They helped themselves as much, or more, than any team.
Finley's decision to spurn the Suns, Heat and Timberwolves will have immediate domino effect, too. The Cavaliers, whose early free agency momentum has taken a nasty, negative turn, probably won't get Damon Jones, who figured to be available to them had Finley signed with Miami.
So put the Spurs at the top of the list of teams that improved significantly thus far this summer.
What to make of the rest of the summer's player movement:
The key "free agent" of the summer wasn't a player. Phil Jackson's return to the Lakers makes the Spurs' one-time Western Conference rival a threat to return to the playoffs, though still a long shot. They will be better, and Jackson's ability to coach finally will get a true test.
The Rockets clearly have supplanted the Mavericks as the Spurs' primary division, and in-state, rival. Derek Anderson is a great fit for Jeff Van Gundy, and Stromile Swift is a major upgrade at power forward. And by all accounts, Yao Ming has gained significant strength this summer, not to mention the serenity a long-term contract worth more than $80 million provides.
You have to love Suns coach Mike D'Antoni's competitiveness, but chiding Finley for his recent decision by saying "I hate it for him that he's going to miss a championship," smacks a lot of sour grapes. D'Antoni also insists the Suns got better this summer, but losing Joe Johnson and Quentin Richardson and adding plodders Kurt Thomas and Brian Grant means the Suns won't be quite as fast, or potent, as last season. Nevertheless, those who believe they don't pose the biggest threat to the Spurs in the West haven't paid close enough attention.
The Mavericks have dropped out of elite level in the West. They lost a key contributor in Finley one year after losing Steve Nash and got nothing in return for either. And Avery Johnson's declaration that "adding Doug Christie to our team is giving us the best chance to win a championship" has to be the first time that "Christie" and "championship" ever have been equated.
As long as they can keep Antoine Walker from believing he should shoot more often than Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal, the Heat moved ahead of the Pistons in the Eastern Conference.
Provided their team doctors know something the Nets' team doctors don't, the Kings should supplant Seattle as the second-best team in the Pacific. Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells ought to thrive in Sac's system.
Would someone please nudge Kiki Vandeweghe? The Nuggets' GM has slumbered through the summer, leaving a team that looked like a clear top-four team in the West to wonder if the playoffs are still a lock.
[email protected]
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/...rs.302d930.html