Kori Ellis
10-07-2005, 08:59 PM
Spurs newbies battle for position
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp05/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2183803
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Five early observations from Spurs camp:
1. Point of contention: It's not difficult to imagine Nick Van Exel playing ahead of Tony Parker in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game, especially if you remember Speedy Claxton playing ahead of Parker in the big moments of 2003's title series. The hard part, not yet a week into the season, is getting a read on how that threat will impact Parker.
The Spurs still like Beno Udrih as a future contributor, but they targeted Van Exel to be the Robert Horry of their backcourt rotation after Detroit repeatedly rattled Udrih in the Finals with its full-court pressure. Even Parker says he "knew Pop wanted to get somebody who can play under pressure and give us a solid 10 to 15 minutes," but coach Gregg Popovich actually wanted more than that. In Van Exel, he has another dangerous lefty, who, like Manu Ginobili, fears no big shot and can run an offense efficiently when asked.
The Spurs' preferred scenario, of course, is that Van Exel's presence drives Parker to a new level of consistency.
Twice in the Finals and once in a famed second-round fade from 2-0 up against the hated Lakers, Parker has struggled mightily. Yet he's only 23 and certainly still has room for growth.
If he's playing ahead of a healthy Van Exel in crunch time of the big games next spring, that would represent a real step for the Frenchman.
"When you want to win a championship, you can't say no when Nick Van Exel wants to come play for your team," Parker said. "I think we're going to play the same way as always. I just think Michael [Finley] and Nick are going to bring us big baskets when we play tough games."
Said Ginobili: "I think Tony will not be threatened. He knows he's the owner of that position. They just brought Nick to help him out -- and me, too. I don't think its going to be a problem."
2. The other battle: Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen nearly brawled late in the 2003-04 season. The fight ultimately didn't go farther than forearm shoves, but Finley later called the Spurs' stopper a coward, putting himself up there with Seattle's Ray Allen in the Anti-Bowen League.
Now Finley and Bowen are competing for minutes on the same team, but both sides insist that they've quickly buried the animosity. Bowen, in fact, was the first Spur to invite Finley to lunch after the longtime Maverick chose San Antonio over Phoenix and Miami, and Finley said they "put it all on the table."
"It's something that unfortunately happened, but it was on the court," Bowen said. "It wasn't off the court. It had nothing to do with off the court or what I felt about his game.
"When he got here, I said, 'Hey, man, we're going to receive a lot of flak from what has transpired in the past,'" Bowen continued. "I think, in life, you've got to be able to make situations right or address it to where no one is feeling funny. We've done that."
Finley echoed the sentiment, describing the welcome he has received from his new teammates as warmer than he could have ever imagined.
"I really respect him for that," Finley said of Bowen's lunch invite. "All these guys have been so great to me, it just makes me even happier with my decision."
3. A new coach, too: You've heard it from Popovich many times. He has never liked the idea of hiring a free-throw guru to address the Spurs' notorious weak spot. Until now.
Maybe Popovich was merely waiting for the right guru. Chip Engelland, a shooting coach so highly regarded that Steve Kerr used to seek his counsel, has been hired away from the Denver Nuggets to help the Spurs at the line and on the perimeter.
Management is realistic, though. The Spurs will be thrilled if Engelland has a profound impact on Parker, whose poor shooting mechanics have contributed to those struggles on the big stage. Yet they know that Tim Duncan prefers to deal with his free-throw woes alone and thus won't force instruction on him.
4. What kind of camp is it? Loose.
Serious, but not stifling.
Popovich is certainly coaching like a man who expects the usual long grind all the way to late June, limiting the Spurs to one crisp session on all but one day of their Virgin Islands stay, at a time when two-a-days are standard NBA practice.
Following Friday night's open scrimmage -- which drew interest from some 50,000 local fans for fewer than 2,500 available seats -- Pop also scheduled an off-day for Saturday, thus providing a chance for his players to enjoy their exotic locale before a team dinner in the evening.
"It feels great," Van Exel said of his first Spurs camp. "It feels really light, and that's a good thing."
Van Exel has also referred to it as the smoothest camp he has ever seen, although not without a surprise. Ex-Mavericks coach Don Nelson, still a handsomely paid member of the Dallas front office at $5 million this season, was invited by Popovich to fly with the Spurs to St. Thomas as an observer.
Mavericks coach Avery Johnson asked Nelson not to attend the Mavs' camp, prompting Nelson to ask owner Mark Cuban for permission to see some of San Antonio's and Denver's. You can imagine the double-takes from Van Exel and Finley when they saw Nelson on the Spurs' plane.
"Coming to the Virgin Islands, letting Nellie come in here like that ... I'm getting soft," Popovich joked.
5. What kind of place is it? Persistent rain throughout the week denied the Spurs or anyone else visiting from the NBA much chance for in-depth exploring of the islands that produced one of the game's greatest players.
But you saw enough in the hilly terrain -- with its rundown one-lane roads, stormy weather and (very) meager sports facilities beyond those on the University of Virgin Islands campus where the Spurs convened -- to know that Duncan's journey from St. Croix to three-time NBA Finals MVP is more amazing than you ever thought.
It might not be as long and winding as the path Yao Ming traveled from communist China to No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft . . . but trust us. it's up there.
By Marc Stein
ESPN.com
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/trainingcamp05/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=2183803
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands -- Five early observations from Spurs camp:
1. Point of contention: It's not difficult to imagine Nick Van Exel playing ahead of Tony Parker in the fourth quarter of an NBA Finals game, especially if you remember Speedy Claxton playing ahead of Parker in the big moments of 2003's title series. The hard part, not yet a week into the season, is getting a read on how that threat will impact Parker.
The Spurs still like Beno Udrih as a future contributor, but they targeted Van Exel to be the Robert Horry of their backcourt rotation after Detroit repeatedly rattled Udrih in the Finals with its full-court pressure. Even Parker says he "knew Pop wanted to get somebody who can play under pressure and give us a solid 10 to 15 minutes," but coach Gregg Popovich actually wanted more than that. In Van Exel, he has another dangerous lefty, who, like Manu Ginobili, fears no big shot and can run an offense efficiently when asked.
The Spurs' preferred scenario, of course, is that Van Exel's presence drives Parker to a new level of consistency.
Twice in the Finals and once in a famed second-round fade from 2-0 up against the hated Lakers, Parker has struggled mightily. Yet he's only 23 and certainly still has room for growth.
If he's playing ahead of a healthy Van Exel in crunch time of the big games next spring, that would represent a real step for the Frenchman.
"When you want to win a championship, you can't say no when Nick Van Exel wants to come play for your team," Parker said. "I think we're going to play the same way as always. I just think Michael [Finley] and Nick are going to bring us big baskets when we play tough games."
Said Ginobili: "I think Tony will not be threatened. He knows he's the owner of that position. They just brought Nick to help him out -- and me, too. I don't think its going to be a problem."
2. The other battle: Michael Finley and Bruce Bowen nearly brawled late in the 2003-04 season. The fight ultimately didn't go farther than forearm shoves, but Finley later called the Spurs' stopper a coward, putting himself up there with Seattle's Ray Allen in the Anti-Bowen League.
Now Finley and Bowen are competing for minutes on the same team, but both sides insist that they've quickly buried the animosity. Bowen, in fact, was the first Spur to invite Finley to lunch after the longtime Maverick chose San Antonio over Phoenix and Miami, and Finley said they "put it all on the table."
"It's something that unfortunately happened, but it was on the court," Bowen said. "It wasn't off the court. It had nothing to do with off the court or what I felt about his game.
"When he got here, I said, 'Hey, man, we're going to receive a lot of flak from what has transpired in the past,'" Bowen continued. "I think, in life, you've got to be able to make situations right or address it to where no one is feeling funny. We've done that."
Finley echoed the sentiment, describing the welcome he has received from his new teammates as warmer than he could have ever imagined.
"I really respect him for that," Finley said of Bowen's lunch invite. "All these guys have been so great to me, it just makes me even happier with my decision."
3. A new coach, too: You've heard it from Popovich many times. He has never liked the idea of hiring a free-throw guru to address the Spurs' notorious weak spot. Until now.
Maybe Popovich was merely waiting for the right guru. Chip Engelland, a shooting coach so highly regarded that Steve Kerr used to seek his counsel, has been hired away from the Denver Nuggets to help the Spurs at the line and on the perimeter.
Management is realistic, though. The Spurs will be thrilled if Engelland has a profound impact on Parker, whose poor shooting mechanics have contributed to those struggles on the big stage. Yet they know that Tim Duncan prefers to deal with his free-throw woes alone and thus won't force instruction on him.
4. What kind of camp is it? Loose.
Serious, but not stifling.
Popovich is certainly coaching like a man who expects the usual long grind all the way to late June, limiting the Spurs to one crisp session on all but one day of their Virgin Islands stay, at a time when two-a-days are standard NBA practice.
Following Friday night's open scrimmage -- which drew interest from some 50,000 local fans for fewer than 2,500 available seats -- Pop also scheduled an off-day for Saturday, thus providing a chance for his players to enjoy their exotic locale before a team dinner in the evening.
"It feels great," Van Exel said of his first Spurs camp. "It feels really light, and that's a good thing."
Van Exel has also referred to it as the smoothest camp he has ever seen, although not without a surprise. Ex-Mavericks coach Don Nelson, still a handsomely paid member of the Dallas front office at $5 million this season, was invited by Popovich to fly with the Spurs to St. Thomas as an observer.
Mavericks coach Avery Johnson asked Nelson not to attend the Mavs' camp, prompting Nelson to ask owner Mark Cuban for permission to see some of San Antonio's and Denver's. You can imagine the double-takes from Van Exel and Finley when they saw Nelson on the Spurs' plane.
"Coming to the Virgin Islands, letting Nellie come in here like that ... I'm getting soft," Popovich joked.
5. What kind of place is it? Persistent rain throughout the week denied the Spurs or anyone else visiting from the NBA much chance for in-depth exploring of the islands that produced one of the game's greatest players.
But you saw enough in the hilly terrain -- with its rundown one-lane roads, stormy weather and (very) meager sports facilities beyond those on the University of Virgin Islands campus where the Spurs convened -- to know that Duncan's journey from St. Croix to three-time NBA Finals MVP is more amazing than you ever thought.
It might not be as long and winding as the path Yao Ming traveled from communist China to No. 1 overall pick in the NBA draft . . . but trust us. it's up there.