Manu20
05-21-2006, 12:05 PM
Finley contributes for Spurs while burning Mavs
Web Posted: 05/21/2006 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052106.14C.BKNspurs.finley.7b0203b.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
When, some eight months ago, Gregg Popovich introduced Michael Finley as the newest member of the Spurs, he joked that he had promised him a starting role and guaranteed him big minutes.
"I lied my butt off," Popovich said. "I told him he was going to play 36.8 minutes a game, and he fell for it."
Turns out it wasn't such a fabrication, after all.
In fact, the deception turned out to be that Popovich underestimated how heavily he intended to lean on Finley in key playoff games. In the past three games of the Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks, the former Mavericks' All-Star has played 47, 44 and 48 minutes.
Finley's 16 points and his solid defensive work on Dallas' 7-foot perimeter forward Dirk Nowitzki were instrumental in the Spurs' 91-86 victory in Friday's Game 6. It was Finley who was up on Nowitzki when he attempted a 3-point shot with seven seconds left that could have tied the game. Nowitzki acknowledged the tight defense and his own mistake in attempting the shot against such tight coverage.
"I recall I had nothing," Nowitzki said. "Fin was all over me. I probably should have drove it, got a quick foul."
Popovich, who has probed all series for a way to contain Nowitzki, praised the job Finley did Friday.
"He did as good a job as anybody could do against Dirk," Popovich said. "Dirk is such a great player that nobody is going to be able to stop him. But we couldn't ask any more from Michael."
It was a performance that earned Finley a platform, on the NBA's postgame interview podium, to do some tasteful venting after the ugly reception he got from fans for whom he had given the eight best years of his career.
Getting booed each time he touched the ball in Friday's game was disheartening, he said.
"The boos are unfortunate, especially in a place I felt I gave my all for eight years, blood and guts on the court," Finley said. "I tried to be a model citizen in the community. To come back and hear the boos, it's kind of disheartening. I haven't even been able to have my family come to the games because of the things they're saying."
Finley won't have to hear them for a while. The Spurs won't return to Dallas' American Airlines Center until next season.
Finley recalled watching on TV as the Spurs took care of business at the AT&T Center last June, beating the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was one of the reasons he opted to sign with the Spurs instead of Miami or Phoenix.
"They had a lot of things established here already, as far as coaches, players and such, and I knew I was coming to something I wouldn't mess up," Finley said. "That I would just basically fit in. And the situations these last couple games have been really intense, but there are 10, 11 guys on this team already before me who have been in even tougher situations: The NBA Finals, getting blown out by Detroit by 20-plus points a couple times and having to go back to Game 7 in San Antonio to win a title.
"All the experiences they've been through, they're just carrying me along."
Fitting in among such a veteran team, among players who already had experienced the ultimate NBA prize, seemed easy for Finley.
"Those guys have been in these situations a lot more than me, and in more intense situations," Finley said. "But I pick and choose my chances to speak in huddles, to tap guys on the back when they need it, to give them encouragement when they need it."
Web Posted: 05/21/2006 12:00 AM CDT
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA052106.14C.BKNspurs.finley.7b0203b.html
Mike Monroe
Express-News Staff Writer
When, some eight months ago, Gregg Popovich introduced Michael Finley as the newest member of the Spurs, he joked that he had promised him a starting role and guaranteed him big minutes.
"I lied my butt off," Popovich said. "I told him he was going to play 36.8 minutes a game, and he fell for it."
Turns out it wasn't such a fabrication, after all.
In fact, the deception turned out to be that Popovich underestimated how heavily he intended to lean on Finley in key playoff games. In the past three games of the Western Conference semifinal series against the Dallas Mavericks, the former Mavericks' All-Star has played 47, 44 and 48 minutes.
Finley's 16 points and his solid defensive work on Dallas' 7-foot perimeter forward Dirk Nowitzki were instrumental in the Spurs' 91-86 victory in Friday's Game 6. It was Finley who was up on Nowitzki when he attempted a 3-point shot with seven seconds left that could have tied the game. Nowitzki acknowledged the tight defense and his own mistake in attempting the shot against such tight coverage.
"I recall I had nothing," Nowitzki said. "Fin was all over me. I probably should have drove it, got a quick foul."
Popovich, who has probed all series for a way to contain Nowitzki, praised the job Finley did Friday.
"He did as good a job as anybody could do against Dirk," Popovich said. "Dirk is such a great player that nobody is going to be able to stop him. But we couldn't ask any more from Michael."
It was a performance that earned Finley a platform, on the NBA's postgame interview podium, to do some tasteful venting after the ugly reception he got from fans for whom he had given the eight best years of his career.
Getting booed each time he touched the ball in Friday's game was disheartening, he said.
"The boos are unfortunate, especially in a place I felt I gave my all for eight years, blood and guts on the court," Finley said. "I tried to be a model citizen in the community. To come back and hear the boos, it's kind of disheartening. I haven't even been able to have my family come to the games because of the things they're saying."
Finley won't have to hear them for a while. The Spurs won't return to Dallas' American Airlines Center until next season.
Finley recalled watching on TV as the Spurs took care of business at the AT&T Center last June, beating the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. It was one of the reasons he opted to sign with the Spurs instead of Miami or Phoenix.
"They had a lot of things established here already, as far as coaches, players and such, and I knew I was coming to something I wouldn't mess up," Finley said. "That I would just basically fit in. And the situations these last couple games have been really intense, but there are 10, 11 guys on this team already before me who have been in even tougher situations: The NBA Finals, getting blown out by Detroit by 20-plus points a couple times and having to go back to Game 7 in San Antonio to win a title.
"All the experiences they've been through, they're just carrying me along."
Fitting in among such a veteran team, among players who already had experienced the ultimate NBA prize, seemed easy for Finley.
"Those guys have been in these situations a lot more than me, and in more intense situations," Finley said. "But I pick and choose my chances to speak in huddles, to tap guys on the back when they need it, to give them encouragement when they need it."