Kori Ellis
11-04-2005, 02:51 PM
Say it ain't so, Ice: Gervin now preaching defense
By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) - Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs have accomplished something more stunning than winning three championships in seven years.
They've convinced George ``Iceman'' Gervin that scoring isn't everything.
That's right, the king of cool, wizard of the finger roll and four-time NBA scoring champion is now a believer that defense is the way to go.
``To try to outgun somebody, you might win a few games, but in the long run the defense plays the major part,'' Gervin said. ``That was my style when I played in San Antonio. We pushed it and tried to take more shots than the next team, but we fell short.''
Gervin already was a scoring sensation when the Spurs took their act from the wide-open ABA to the NBA for the 1976-77 season. They immediately led the league in scoring, and finished in the top three every season through 1984.
The best it ever got them was the conference finals, in 1979 and '83.
San Antonio finally got over the hump in 1999, with a defense-first scheme preached by coach Gregg Popovich. The Spurs won again in 2003 and last season, and are the favorites this time around.
``Popovich's teams, they score points but they also stop people,'' said Gervin, who does community relations work for the club. ``I didn't win a championship and he's won three with that system. He convinced me.''
Gervin saw his old style and San Antonio's new one collide in the Western Conference finals last season, when the Spurs met the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns brought back the ABA tempo in a big way, scoring many of their points on fast breaks, 3-pointers or 3-pointers on a fast break, with hardly any emphasis on defense. They set a record for 3-pointers and won the most games during the regular season.
Gervin and other notable high scorers from recent generations hope Phoenix's success jump-starts a trend that will produce more scores of, say, 110-105 than the 82-78 grudge matches of recent years.
``I would think so,'' said Clyde Drexler, now a broadcaster for the Houston Rockets. ``It's more fun - for the players and the fans.''
The Atlanta Hawks learned that in the 1980s when Dominique Wilkins was the star attraction. He's now a team executive and the club has tried sparking its revival by juicing up its offense, even acquiring one of Phoenix's best scorers last season, guard Joe Johnson.
``I think you'll see more of these athletic teams who want to get the ball out of the net and up the court,'' Wilkins said. ``People are trying to find an edge, what they need to do to get to the next level. If you can keep the defense on their heels and not give them a chance to set, that's an advantage. ... It's not a hard sell.''
---
STERN'S SARTORIAL SPIN: With all the ruckus caused by the NBA's dress code, commissioner David Stern has adopted the attitude that he doesn't care what people are saying as long as they're talking about his league.
Want to call it racist? Think it's a problem between generations?
Bring it on, Stern said
``We're not going to back down from it,'' he said.
For the record, Stern doesn't see race or a generation gap as reasons behind the policy requiring players to wear business-casual attire while doing team business. It's about professionalism, he says, adding that he ``was taken aback by the chord it struck in the country.''
``If I was going to take a lot of heat, maybe I should've done it all the way with jackets and ties,'' he said, smiling. ``It hardly seems worth it for a collar, a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes. But the principle of compliance to certain minimum standards is something that struck home with a lot of parents, businesses and schools.''
Noting all the publicity the policy has generated, Stern is touting the NBA as a great place to stir up debate. He used Magic Johnson's announcement he was HIV positive and uproars over whether to stand for the national anthem as previous national conversation starters.
``It reaffirms our health and relevance,'' he said.
And another thing: ``We've got cable networks to fill and late-night shows to tell jokes about. It's too delicious to resist.''
---
TAKE IT FROM MR. CHAMPIONSHIP: Having won 11 titles in 13 seasons, Bill Russell knows what it takes to win a championships and to defend one.
The San Antonio Spurs have half the formula down, winning it all in 1999, 2003 and '05. Notice that they've yet to do it in consecutive seasons.
``What they'll have to do is everything they did last year - better,'' Russell said. ``The way a lot of teams try to compete is they look at the champion and say let's put together a team that can beat them. So when you win, everyone is aiming at you.''
Russell also wanted to use his multi-championship resume to clarify something about the Spurs' run of three titles in seven years.
``I've heard some words about the `San Antonio dynasty.' They're cute,'' he said, laughing.
By JAIME ARON
AP Sports Writer
DALLAS (AP) - Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs have accomplished something more stunning than winning three championships in seven years.
They've convinced George ``Iceman'' Gervin that scoring isn't everything.
That's right, the king of cool, wizard of the finger roll and four-time NBA scoring champion is now a believer that defense is the way to go.
``To try to outgun somebody, you might win a few games, but in the long run the defense plays the major part,'' Gervin said. ``That was my style when I played in San Antonio. We pushed it and tried to take more shots than the next team, but we fell short.''
Gervin already was a scoring sensation when the Spurs took their act from the wide-open ABA to the NBA for the 1976-77 season. They immediately led the league in scoring, and finished in the top three every season through 1984.
The best it ever got them was the conference finals, in 1979 and '83.
San Antonio finally got over the hump in 1999, with a defense-first scheme preached by coach Gregg Popovich. The Spurs won again in 2003 and last season, and are the favorites this time around.
``Popovich's teams, they score points but they also stop people,'' said Gervin, who does community relations work for the club. ``I didn't win a championship and he's won three with that system. He convinced me.''
Gervin saw his old style and San Antonio's new one collide in the Western Conference finals last season, when the Spurs met the Phoenix Suns.
The Suns brought back the ABA tempo in a big way, scoring many of their points on fast breaks, 3-pointers or 3-pointers on a fast break, with hardly any emphasis on defense. They set a record for 3-pointers and won the most games during the regular season.
Gervin and other notable high scorers from recent generations hope Phoenix's success jump-starts a trend that will produce more scores of, say, 110-105 than the 82-78 grudge matches of recent years.
``I would think so,'' said Clyde Drexler, now a broadcaster for the Houston Rockets. ``It's more fun - for the players and the fans.''
The Atlanta Hawks learned that in the 1980s when Dominique Wilkins was the star attraction. He's now a team executive and the club has tried sparking its revival by juicing up its offense, even acquiring one of Phoenix's best scorers last season, guard Joe Johnson.
``I think you'll see more of these athletic teams who want to get the ball out of the net and up the court,'' Wilkins said. ``People are trying to find an edge, what they need to do to get to the next level. If you can keep the defense on their heels and not give them a chance to set, that's an advantage. ... It's not a hard sell.''
---
STERN'S SARTORIAL SPIN: With all the ruckus caused by the NBA's dress code, commissioner David Stern has adopted the attitude that he doesn't care what people are saying as long as they're talking about his league.
Want to call it racist? Think it's a problem between generations?
Bring it on, Stern said
``We're not going to back down from it,'' he said.
For the record, Stern doesn't see race or a generation gap as reasons behind the policy requiring players to wear business-casual attire while doing team business. It's about professionalism, he says, adding that he ``was taken aback by the chord it struck in the country.''
``If I was going to take a lot of heat, maybe I should've done it all the way with jackets and ties,'' he said, smiling. ``It hardly seems worth it for a collar, a pair of jeans and a pair of shoes. But the principle of compliance to certain minimum standards is something that struck home with a lot of parents, businesses and schools.''
Noting all the publicity the policy has generated, Stern is touting the NBA as a great place to stir up debate. He used Magic Johnson's announcement he was HIV positive and uproars over whether to stand for the national anthem as previous national conversation starters.
``It reaffirms our health and relevance,'' he said.
And another thing: ``We've got cable networks to fill and late-night shows to tell jokes about. It's too delicious to resist.''
---
TAKE IT FROM MR. CHAMPIONSHIP: Having won 11 titles in 13 seasons, Bill Russell knows what it takes to win a championships and to defend one.
The San Antonio Spurs have half the formula down, winning it all in 1999, 2003 and '05. Notice that they've yet to do it in consecutive seasons.
``What they'll have to do is everything they did last year - better,'' Russell said. ``The way a lot of teams try to compete is they look at the champion and say let's put together a team that can beat them. So when you win, everyone is aiming at you.''
Russell also wanted to use his multi-championship resume to clarify something about the Spurs' run of three titles in seven years.
``I've heard some words about the `San Antonio dynasty.' They're cute,'' he said, laughing.