lilmads
10-28-2005, 10:43 AM
It’s the Spurs and the rest in the West
On the NBA
By KERRY EGGERS Issue date: Fri, Oct 28, 2005
The Tribune
(http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=32337)
What, you think San Antonio’s 1-7 record in the preseason means absolutely nothing as the Spurs embark on a mission to win back-to-back NBA championships and their fourth title since 1999?
You’re absolutely right.
“You have to look at the Spurs, not only because they won it a year ago, but because of the players they’ve added,” Trail Blazer coach Nate McMillan says. “People are asking, ‘How did they do that?’ ”
Already blessed with a nucleus featuring Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, coach Gregg Popovich has brought in complementary players in Michael Finley, Nick Van Exel and 6-10 Argentine Fabricio Oberto.
The newcomers make the Spurs at least 10-deep and give them the luxury of being able to afford an injury or two without skipping a beat — unless it’s Duncan, of course.
“They’re the class, by far,” Portland General Manager John Nash says. “I like a lot of teams in the West, but nobody is capable of beating them.”
Houston and Denver are the teams in position to make a move — “The Rockets are going to be real good, if only for the growth of Yao Ming,” Sacramento coach Rick Adelman says — but it seems unlikely that either will dethrone the Spurs in the West.
“San Antonio has set a standard, not only for the West but for the league, with the consistency in their play,” Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy says. “They have their game down. They know how they want to play. They do it every night. They rarely beat themselves.
“You have to beat San Antonio to win. I don’t think anyone else deserves to be talked about in the same breath.”
Phoenix was a team poised to threaten San Antonio until Amare Stoudemire went down with a knee injury that will sideline him until at least the All-Star break.
“It’s an obstacle we’ll have to overcome, but we’re pretty deep with talent, and we still have two all-stars (in Steve Nash and Shawn Marion),” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni says. “San Antonio is the best in the West, and they might have been even if we had Amare. They’re the ones everybody has to climb the mountain against. We just have to keep in striking distance until Amare gets back.”
San Antonio assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo says last season was the first time Popovich had made winning a championship a stated goal.
“We have not even talked about it this year,” Carlesimo says. “It’s almost understood. We have as good of a chance as anybody, but I don’t think we’re a prohibitive favorite.
“I do think we have improved from last year. We need to be healthy and lucky — there’s so much luck involved — but we should be in the hunt.”
Remember when the knock on the Blazers was that they had too much talent? Could it be a problem with the Spurs this year?
“It will take a little time for us to figure out rotations,” Carlesimo says. “Fabricio will see significant time. He’s not a good shooter, but he does all the dirty stuff — sets screens, gets offensive rebounds, is at the right place on defense, passes very well, is a very heady player.
“Nick’s come off the bench before, so he’ll have an easy transition. I don’t see Michael having a problem, but it’s his first time (as a reserve). Both of them give us what we lacked last year — firepower off the bench. We’d go dry for extended periods. The depth we’ve added is going to help us.”
George Karl’s Nuggets played as well as any team in the NBA at the end of the 2004-05 regular season.
“If they’d drawn anybody else but San Antonio in the first round, they most likely would have advanced,” Van Gundy says. “We got beat by 40 (116-76 to Dallas) in Game 7 of our first-round series. If you’re picking the West this year, I don’t think we belong with Denver. Can we work our way to that? We’ll see.
“I don’t believe it’s a talent league. Once you establish your best players, it becomes so much less about talent and so much more about intelligence and the willingness to sacrifice to win as a group.”
The real battle could be for the final four playoff spots in the West, and opinions differ on who will emerge. Some think Minnesota will rebound under new coach Dwane Casey. Others figure that if Utah stays healthy, Jerry Sloan will guide the Jazz to the postseason.
Sacramento, with ex-Blazers Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells bolstering the starting lineup, will be a factor.
“It’s going to be important how we mesh and come together, and how Shareef and Bonzi fit in,” Adelman says. “But the most important thing to me is that Mike (Bibby), Peja (Stojakovic) and Brad (Miller) have to play at a really high level. If that happens, we have a chance to be really good.”
“We played Golden State in the preseason, and they looked real good,” says Brian Grant, Phoenix’s veteran forward. “There are a whole bunch of teams that could be fighting for spots in the end. It’s going to be an all-out race. I’d say there are about 13 teams in the West that could make it.”
Hmm. That leaves out … Portland and New Orleans/Oklahoma City. As Chicago Cubs are wont to say, just wait till next year.
On the NBA
By KERRY EGGERS Issue date: Fri, Oct 28, 2005
The Tribune
(http://www.portlandtribune.com/archview.cgi?id=32337)
What, you think San Antonio’s 1-7 record in the preseason means absolutely nothing as the Spurs embark on a mission to win back-to-back NBA championships and their fourth title since 1999?
You’re absolutely right.
“You have to look at the Spurs, not only because they won it a year ago, but because of the players they’ve added,” Trail Blazer coach Nate McMillan says. “People are asking, ‘How did they do that?’ ”
Already blessed with a nucleus featuring Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker, coach Gregg Popovich has brought in complementary players in Michael Finley, Nick Van Exel and 6-10 Argentine Fabricio Oberto.
The newcomers make the Spurs at least 10-deep and give them the luxury of being able to afford an injury or two without skipping a beat — unless it’s Duncan, of course.
“They’re the class, by far,” Portland General Manager John Nash says. “I like a lot of teams in the West, but nobody is capable of beating them.”
Houston and Denver are the teams in position to make a move — “The Rockets are going to be real good, if only for the growth of Yao Ming,” Sacramento coach Rick Adelman says — but it seems unlikely that either will dethrone the Spurs in the West.
“San Antonio has set a standard, not only for the West but for the league, with the consistency in their play,” Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy says. “They have their game down. They know how they want to play. They do it every night. They rarely beat themselves.
“You have to beat San Antonio to win. I don’t think anyone else deserves to be talked about in the same breath.”
Phoenix was a team poised to threaten San Antonio until Amare Stoudemire went down with a knee injury that will sideline him until at least the All-Star break.
“It’s an obstacle we’ll have to overcome, but we’re pretty deep with talent, and we still have two all-stars (in Steve Nash and Shawn Marion),” Phoenix coach Mike D’Antoni says. “San Antonio is the best in the West, and they might have been even if we had Amare. They’re the ones everybody has to climb the mountain against. We just have to keep in striking distance until Amare gets back.”
San Antonio assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo says last season was the first time Popovich had made winning a championship a stated goal.
“We have not even talked about it this year,” Carlesimo says. “It’s almost understood. We have as good of a chance as anybody, but I don’t think we’re a prohibitive favorite.
“I do think we have improved from last year. We need to be healthy and lucky — there’s so much luck involved — but we should be in the hunt.”
Remember when the knock on the Blazers was that they had too much talent? Could it be a problem with the Spurs this year?
“It will take a little time for us to figure out rotations,” Carlesimo says. “Fabricio will see significant time. He’s not a good shooter, but he does all the dirty stuff — sets screens, gets offensive rebounds, is at the right place on defense, passes very well, is a very heady player.
“Nick’s come off the bench before, so he’ll have an easy transition. I don’t see Michael having a problem, but it’s his first time (as a reserve). Both of them give us what we lacked last year — firepower off the bench. We’d go dry for extended periods. The depth we’ve added is going to help us.”
George Karl’s Nuggets played as well as any team in the NBA at the end of the 2004-05 regular season.
“If they’d drawn anybody else but San Antonio in the first round, they most likely would have advanced,” Van Gundy says. “We got beat by 40 (116-76 to Dallas) in Game 7 of our first-round series. If you’re picking the West this year, I don’t think we belong with Denver. Can we work our way to that? We’ll see.
“I don’t believe it’s a talent league. Once you establish your best players, it becomes so much less about talent and so much more about intelligence and the willingness to sacrifice to win as a group.”
The real battle could be for the final four playoff spots in the West, and opinions differ on who will emerge. Some think Minnesota will rebound under new coach Dwane Casey. Others figure that if Utah stays healthy, Jerry Sloan will guide the Jazz to the postseason.
Sacramento, with ex-Blazers Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells bolstering the starting lineup, will be a factor.
“It’s going to be important how we mesh and come together, and how Shareef and Bonzi fit in,” Adelman says. “But the most important thing to me is that Mike (Bibby), Peja (Stojakovic) and Brad (Miller) have to play at a really high level. If that happens, we have a chance to be really good.”
“We played Golden State in the preseason, and they looked real good,” says Brian Grant, Phoenix’s veteran forward. “There are a whole bunch of teams that could be fighting for spots in the end. It’s going to be an all-out race. I’d say there are about 13 teams in the West that could make it.”
Hmm. That leaves out … Portland and New Orleans/Oklahoma City. As Chicago Cubs are wont to say, just wait till next year.