Kori Ellis
02-15-2006, 01:17 AM
Change the game for Finley
Web Posted: 02/15/2006 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA021506.1C.BKNspurs.finley.124aa5c6.html
PHILADELPHIA — For Michael Finley, it had been a forgettable night in a string of forgettable nights, with one important exception: The Spurs won.
Although Finley had made only 1 of 6 shots, his aim hadn't kept the Spurs from beating Golden State for their sixth consecutive victory. It also didn't keep coach Gregg Popovich from offering some humorous postgame analysis.
"You," Popovich told Finley, "were on fire tonight."
Finley started to smile, and Popovich countered with a friendly slap and colorful comment.
The message was this: If you make shots, great. If you don't, don't sweat it. Play defense, rebound, run the floor and everything else should take care of itself.
"I can't think of anytime in my basketball career a coach has said that," said Finley, who leads the Spurs against the 76ers tonight to end a five-game road trip. "From that standpoint, it's a drastic change for me."
Drastic change has become the norm for Finley. He's on a new team for the first time in almost nine years. He's moved from starter to sixth man. A high-volume shooter for much of his career, he's had to make do with no more than four shots on occasion.
In 16 minutes Sunday against Indiana, Finley went scoreless for the second time, matching the number of games in which he didn't score in his previous 10 seasons combined. On Monday, he didn't play at all in the third quarter, an unusual position for someone who averaged more than 39 minutes in his career.
To his credit, Finley hasn't complained. He wasn't sure what to make of Monday's loss in Cleveland when Popovich scrapped his usual rotation. But when Finley was called on, he contributed, making two 3-pointers and taking three rebounds in the final nine minutes.
"I'm just trying to stay as positive as I can," said Finley, who is shooting a career-low 38.6 percent, including 34.9 percent behind the 3-point line. "It's a tough role I'm playing right now. But it's the type I knew I was going to have when I signed here."
But while Finley, who turns 33 in three weeks, has looked his age at times, he also has shown the form that once made him one of the game's most consistent scorers. Last week in Toronto, he scored a season-high 23 points, including six in overtime when he rallied the Spurs past the Raptors.
When Manu Ginobili sprained his right foot in December, Finley started and helped win three consecutive games with clutch shooting, including burying a 20-foot jumper with 2.5 seconds left to beat Sacramento. After encouraging Ginobili's return to the starting lineup, Finley came off the bench to score 10 of his 21 points in the final 21/2 minutes of a narrow victory over Milwaukee last month.
His production, however, began to drop after that. Over the next eight games, he averaged 4.5 points while making only 13 of 50 shots, including 3 of 21 3-point attempts. His struggles culminated with the 1-for-6 effort against Golden State.
The Spurs, however, won all but one of the eight games, which provided a lesson of sorts for Finley: Neither the team's success, nor his own, is always predicated on how he shoots.
"If they don't go in, they don't go in," Popovich said. "But if you think about it even for a second, you've just reduced your emotion in other parts of the game. That can't be your focus."
Popovich has admired Finley's competitiveness — "He's lusted after him for years," said one former Spurs player — but he also worries that Finley puts unneeded pressure on himself.
"But that's the way I've always been," Finley said. "I want to go out and play the best I can, make every shot that I get.
"(Popovich) just wants me to relax out there and do the other little parts of the game."
As for those "other little parts of the game," Popovich would like to see Finley rebound more consistently. But Finley's defense, he said, has improved.
Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, Derek Anderson, Steve Smith, Hedo Turkoglu, Brent Barry and Glenn Robinson also had to buy into the defense-first philosophy when they joined the Spurs. Some did a better job than others. All also had to learn to live with fewer shots.
Robert Horry, who missed all but one of his 11 attempts in his three-game return from the inactive list last week, also knows how difficult it can be for a shooter to regain his rhythm when he's not starting. Popovich even said he might have substituted for Horry too early in a couple of games before he had a chance to get in the flow.
"That's one of the disadvantages," Horry said. "But that's the thing with this team. We have a lot of guys who can do different things."
No one in recent years, however, has had to make a more dramatic adjustment than Finley. In his final season in Dallas, he averaged 14.2 shots. Although he's averaged about nine with the Spurs — a reasonable number for a reserve — he's had five or fewer attempts in five of the past nine games.
"I think he gets a little nervous," Popovich said. "He's used to getting a set number of shots, so when he doesn't get one in a while he gets a little bit anxious about it and maybe tries to invent one."
Finley said he's trying to find a balance between being aggressive and letting the game come to him.
"I think it will come in time," Finley said. "Hopefully when it does, I can step up and take advantage of it."
Web Posted: 02/15/2006 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA021506.1C.BKNspurs.finley.124aa5c6.html
PHILADELPHIA — For Michael Finley, it had been a forgettable night in a string of forgettable nights, with one important exception: The Spurs won.
Although Finley had made only 1 of 6 shots, his aim hadn't kept the Spurs from beating Golden State for their sixth consecutive victory. It also didn't keep coach Gregg Popovich from offering some humorous postgame analysis.
"You," Popovich told Finley, "were on fire tonight."
Finley started to smile, and Popovich countered with a friendly slap and colorful comment.
The message was this: If you make shots, great. If you don't, don't sweat it. Play defense, rebound, run the floor and everything else should take care of itself.
"I can't think of anytime in my basketball career a coach has said that," said Finley, who leads the Spurs against the 76ers tonight to end a five-game road trip. "From that standpoint, it's a drastic change for me."
Drastic change has become the norm for Finley. He's on a new team for the first time in almost nine years. He's moved from starter to sixth man. A high-volume shooter for much of his career, he's had to make do with no more than four shots on occasion.
In 16 minutes Sunday against Indiana, Finley went scoreless for the second time, matching the number of games in which he didn't score in his previous 10 seasons combined. On Monday, he didn't play at all in the third quarter, an unusual position for someone who averaged more than 39 minutes in his career.
To his credit, Finley hasn't complained. He wasn't sure what to make of Monday's loss in Cleveland when Popovich scrapped his usual rotation. But when Finley was called on, he contributed, making two 3-pointers and taking three rebounds in the final nine minutes.
"I'm just trying to stay as positive as I can," said Finley, who is shooting a career-low 38.6 percent, including 34.9 percent behind the 3-point line. "It's a tough role I'm playing right now. But it's the type I knew I was going to have when I signed here."
But while Finley, who turns 33 in three weeks, has looked his age at times, he also has shown the form that once made him one of the game's most consistent scorers. Last week in Toronto, he scored a season-high 23 points, including six in overtime when he rallied the Spurs past the Raptors.
When Manu Ginobili sprained his right foot in December, Finley started and helped win three consecutive games with clutch shooting, including burying a 20-foot jumper with 2.5 seconds left to beat Sacramento. After encouraging Ginobili's return to the starting lineup, Finley came off the bench to score 10 of his 21 points in the final 21/2 minutes of a narrow victory over Milwaukee last month.
His production, however, began to drop after that. Over the next eight games, he averaged 4.5 points while making only 13 of 50 shots, including 3 of 21 3-point attempts. His struggles culminated with the 1-for-6 effort against Golden State.
The Spurs, however, won all but one of the eight games, which provided a lesson of sorts for Finley: Neither the team's success, nor his own, is always predicated on how he shoots.
"If they don't go in, they don't go in," Popovich said. "But if you think about it even for a second, you've just reduced your emotion in other parts of the game. That can't be your focus."
Popovich has admired Finley's competitiveness — "He's lusted after him for years," said one former Spurs player — but he also worries that Finley puts unneeded pressure on himself.
"But that's the way I've always been," Finley said. "I want to go out and play the best I can, make every shot that I get.
"(Popovich) just wants me to relax out there and do the other little parts of the game."
As for those "other little parts of the game," Popovich would like to see Finley rebound more consistently. But Finley's defense, he said, has improved.
Steve Kerr, Danny Ferry, Derek Anderson, Steve Smith, Hedo Turkoglu, Brent Barry and Glenn Robinson also had to buy into the defense-first philosophy when they joined the Spurs. Some did a better job than others. All also had to learn to live with fewer shots.
Robert Horry, who missed all but one of his 11 attempts in his three-game return from the inactive list last week, also knows how difficult it can be for a shooter to regain his rhythm when he's not starting. Popovich even said he might have substituted for Horry too early in a couple of games before he had a chance to get in the flow.
"That's one of the disadvantages," Horry said. "But that's the thing with this team. We have a lot of guys who can do different things."
No one in recent years, however, has had to make a more dramatic adjustment than Finley. In his final season in Dallas, he averaged 14.2 shots. Although he's averaged about nine with the Spurs — a reasonable number for a reserve — he's had five or fewer attempts in five of the past nine games.
"I think he gets a little nervous," Popovich said. "He's used to getting a set number of shots, so when he doesn't get one in a while he gets a little bit anxious about it and maybe tries to invent one."
Finley said he's trying to find a balance between being aggressive and letting the game come to him.
"I think it will come in time," Finley said. "Hopefully when it does, I can step up and take advantage of it."