Kori Ellis
10-04-2005, 12:09 AM
Buck Harvey: If Van Exel is another Horry: Deep in daring
Web Posted: 10/04/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100405.01D.buck_harvey.d600abc.html
San Antonio Express-News
Robert Horry knows Nick Van Exel, and not just because they were once Lakers teammates.
Horry knows Van Exel because Horry is Van Exel. Horry says he, too, could have reacted badly to losing situations as Van Exel did at times. "Because I once did," Horry said Monday.
But the comparison goes beyond that. This is about how athletes react to tension, and how some don't mind, and how Horry threw in the shot that changed last season.
Van Exel, Horry says, can do the same.
Van Exel and Horry were just two of the bodies who drifted through a San Antonio hotel Monday on their way to the Virgin Islands. Some of the others were taller, most were younger — and as a group they were as impressive as any the Spurs have ever had.
Three centers, three point guards, two Argentines, two ex-Mavericks and one Tim Duncan. The Spurs are loaded, with more depth than they've ever had, and the power is so undeniable that Gregg Popovich admits to all of it.
But, in October, it's just promise. As Duncan said when asked how the Spurs looked on paper, "Paper doesn't mean anything."
Popovich naturally agrees. "The same, important stuff will determine if we win," he said. "If the big boys step up, if you are healthy, if everyone accepts their roles, if our defense is solid, if we get a few breaks."
The Spurs got some breaks last year. Every playoff series came down to a sequence or two, whether in overtime against Denver or a Duncan shot that eliminated Seattle.
"And we really kicked Detroit's rear end, didn't we?" Popovich said sarcastically.
Still, this depth is different than anything Popovich has ever had. He says he's daydreamed this summer about the possibilities, and one idea is this: Instead of shaving minutes here or there, he might sit players for an entire game in back-to-back situations.
Why not give Manu Ginobili a night off, for example, if he's wearing down? Popovich will have that luxury, since his second team (Horry, Van Exel, Michael Finley, Rasho Nesterovic and Brent Barry) would make for a serviceable first.
But Popovich won't be merely inserting talented pieces. He will be finding big moments for guys who have had them.
Horry says last year's group will feel even more confident this year because, he says, "What we did carries over." Horry lived that when he repeated once with the Rockets and twice with the Lakers.
But not even those Lakers added players such as Van Exel and Finley, and this is what excites Horry. "They will fit perfectly," he said.
Finley already impresses. In workouts the past week, he's made shots and an impression.
Van Exel arrived later and with a less solid resume. He could push a ref, yell at a coach, act like a quitter. As one West Coast columnist said recently, Van Exel can be a con man, too.
But Horry sees it like this: Van Exel often played for losing teams, and losing brought out the worst. Horry suspects he might have been the same, but he was lucky to end up on three franchises that won titles.
The one time Horry didn't? Then, in Phoenix, Horry threw a towel at his coach during a game, and he was soon traded. "Sometimes guys react like that," he said, "because of their competitive fires."
He sees Van Exel as the same, albeit with one difference. "Nick," said Horry, "has even bigger turnips than I do."
Horry didn't actually use the word "turnips," but that term plays better in a newspaper.
When told what Horry said, Van Exel didn't raise an eyebrow. "Robert has hit bigger shots," Van Exel said, "but he's been in bigger games."
Bigger games. That's what Van Exel and Finley came to San Antonio for. And Van Exel says he can't wait. "Me and Fin," he said, "we're going to fill a void."
If Van Exel is healthy, he will make a Clippers game in February easier. Then he will shoot 9 for 11, turning a close game into a rout, and Popovich's job will be to limit the 3 for 11s.
And in May or June? When Ginobili turns the corner, and the defense collapses on Duncan, and the clock ticks down?
Then Horry says there will be two of him on the court.
And that's depth.
Web Posted: 10/04/2005 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA100405.01D.buck_harvey.d600abc.html
San Antonio Express-News
Robert Horry knows Nick Van Exel, and not just because they were once Lakers teammates.
Horry knows Van Exel because Horry is Van Exel. Horry says he, too, could have reacted badly to losing situations as Van Exel did at times. "Because I once did," Horry said Monday.
But the comparison goes beyond that. This is about how athletes react to tension, and how some don't mind, and how Horry threw in the shot that changed last season.
Van Exel, Horry says, can do the same.
Van Exel and Horry were just two of the bodies who drifted through a San Antonio hotel Monday on their way to the Virgin Islands. Some of the others were taller, most were younger — and as a group they were as impressive as any the Spurs have ever had.
Three centers, three point guards, two Argentines, two ex-Mavericks and one Tim Duncan. The Spurs are loaded, with more depth than they've ever had, and the power is so undeniable that Gregg Popovich admits to all of it.
But, in October, it's just promise. As Duncan said when asked how the Spurs looked on paper, "Paper doesn't mean anything."
Popovich naturally agrees. "The same, important stuff will determine if we win," he said. "If the big boys step up, if you are healthy, if everyone accepts their roles, if our defense is solid, if we get a few breaks."
The Spurs got some breaks last year. Every playoff series came down to a sequence or two, whether in overtime against Denver or a Duncan shot that eliminated Seattle.
"And we really kicked Detroit's rear end, didn't we?" Popovich said sarcastically.
Still, this depth is different than anything Popovich has ever had. He says he's daydreamed this summer about the possibilities, and one idea is this: Instead of shaving minutes here or there, he might sit players for an entire game in back-to-back situations.
Why not give Manu Ginobili a night off, for example, if he's wearing down? Popovich will have that luxury, since his second team (Horry, Van Exel, Michael Finley, Rasho Nesterovic and Brent Barry) would make for a serviceable first.
But Popovich won't be merely inserting talented pieces. He will be finding big moments for guys who have had them.
Horry says last year's group will feel even more confident this year because, he says, "What we did carries over." Horry lived that when he repeated once with the Rockets and twice with the Lakers.
But not even those Lakers added players such as Van Exel and Finley, and this is what excites Horry. "They will fit perfectly," he said.
Finley already impresses. In workouts the past week, he's made shots and an impression.
Van Exel arrived later and with a less solid resume. He could push a ref, yell at a coach, act like a quitter. As one West Coast columnist said recently, Van Exel can be a con man, too.
But Horry sees it like this: Van Exel often played for losing teams, and losing brought out the worst. Horry suspects he might have been the same, but he was lucky to end up on three franchises that won titles.
The one time Horry didn't? Then, in Phoenix, Horry threw a towel at his coach during a game, and he was soon traded. "Sometimes guys react like that," he said, "because of their competitive fires."
He sees Van Exel as the same, albeit with one difference. "Nick," said Horry, "has even bigger turnips than I do."
Horry didn't actually use the word "turnips," but that term plays better in a newspaper.
When told what Horry said, Van Exel didn't raise an eyebrow. "Robert has hit bigger shots," Van Exel said, "but he's been in bigger games."
Bigger games. That's what Van Exel and Finley came to San Antonio for. And Van Exel says he can't wait. "Me and Fin," he said, "we're going to fill a void."
If Van Exel is healthy, he will make a Clippers game in February easier. Then he will shoot 9 for 11, turning a close game into a rout, and Popovich's job will be to limit the 3 for 11s.
And in May or June? When Ginobili turns the corner, and the defense collapses on Duncan, and the clock ticks down?
Then Horry says there will be two of him on the court.
And that's depth.