ploto
01-17-2007, 11:57 AM
Such is life for the Spurs these days. Given a rare opportunity to practice Tuesday, they pushed back their scheduled workout two hours because of the icy conditions, met at their facility in the early afternoon, then realized if they stayed much longer, they'd have to hold a slumber party.
Coach Gregg Popovich canceled practice and sent the players home before most had a chance to break a sweat. He also scrapped this morning's shootaround.
For a club that's been inconsistent in both production and lineup, the on-off-on-off workday fits well with the rest of the season. With any luck, the roads, and possibly even a few of the Spurs' shooters, will thaw out before the team has to report to the AT&T Center for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"It's a tough time right now," said Tim Duncan, and he wasn't referring to the temperatures.
Given that Kobe Bryant and teammates arrived in town safely Tuesday, the Spurs will have to work out their problems on the court. Among their troubles is figuring out who belongs on the court and when.
Popovich said he's still mixing and matching combinations to find a rotation. Injuries to Francisco Elson and Matt Bonner have complicated the issue.
Elson, at least, appears to be on his way back. He was cleared Monday to participate in non-contact workouts, and team officials don't think it will be too much longer until he's upgraded to the active roster.
"We're so up and down right now," Duncan said. "It's a juggling act. We have Francisco go down, and then we start kind of getting a lineup set, and Matty goes down.
"So on top of trying to find lineups with the new players we have, we're starting to lose players. Hopefully we can get healthy, and (Popovich) will have all the options he needs."
With Elson and Bonner out and Jackie Butler struggling to play his way into shape, let alone the rotation, the Spurs went small for stretches of Monday's loss to Chicago, especially after Fabricio Oberto picked up a couple of quick fouls.
"It puts a lot of pressure on Robert (Horry) and Fab, both minutes-wise and production-wise," Popovich said. "We were really torn between going small and trying to squeeze it out of the bigs. So we're kind of in a flux situation because we haven't worked very much with a small lineup.
"We're in a little bit of a different mode right now, trying to retool."
The Lakers have had to do the same after losing two starters. Two days after the Lakers erased an 11-point first-half deficit to beat the Spurs in Los Angeles, forward Lamar Odom sprained his right knee. Center Kwame Brown, who has given Duncan trouble, has been sidelined all month with a left ankle sprain.
Still, the Lakers have stayed in the hunt for one of the Western Conference's top four seeds, improving to 10-7 without Odom after beating Miami on Monday.
"It shows how valuable their system is and how well everybody fits into that system," Popovich said. "Depending on the system to pull you through and not making shortcuts really helps a group."
Los Angeles often plays small and fast and — at least when healthy — has the type of athletic personnel that has often frustrated the Spurs this season. In last month's meeting, the Spurs wilted under the Lakers' pressure defense.
Spurs officials continue to look for a trade to upgrade their athleticism on the perimeter. In the meantime, Popovich seems unsettled on how to divide minutes between Brent Barry and Michael Finley.
Finley played 24 minutes to Barry's 18 in Monday's loss, but most of Barry's time came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Finley made just 1 of 6 3-point attempts — the Spurs were 6 for 23 — and is 2 of 16 in the past six games.
Popovich said he would like to settle on an eight- or nine-man rotation, preferably by the All-Star break. That's not too unlike previous seasons.
What's different, however, is that the Spurs can no longer say they're at the same level as Dallas and Phoenix, who have distanced themselves as the Western Conference's elite.
"At this point, Dallas is the best team in the league, without a doubt," Popovich said. "Phoenix is playing great basketball. Those two teams may never lose again the way they're playing.
"The idea is to try to be as good as those teams are come playoff time. We'll see what happens."
LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA011707.01D.BKNspurs.lakers.2f71817.html)
Coach Gregg Popovich canceled practice and sent the players home before most had a chance to break a sweat. He also scrapped this morning's shootaround.
For a club that's been inconsistent in both production and lineup, the on-off-on-off workday fits well with the rest of the season. With any luck, the roads, and possibly even a few of the Spurs' shooters, will thaw out before the team has to report to the AT&T Center for tonight's game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"It's a tough time right now," said Tim Duncan, and he wasn't referring to the temperatures.
Given that Kobe Bryant and teammates arrived in town safely Tuesday, the Spurs will have to work out their problems on the court. Among their troubles is figuring out who belongs on the court and when.
Popovich said he's still mixing and matching combinations to find a rotation. Injuries to Francisco Elson and Matt Bonner have complicated the issue.
Elson, at least, appears to be on his way back. He was cleared Monday to participate in non-contact workouts, and team officials don't think it will be too much longer until he's upgraded to the active roster.
"We're so up and down right now," Duncan said. "It's a juggling act. We have Francisco go down, and then we start kind of getting a lineup set, and Matty goes down.
"So on top of trying to find lineups with the new players we have, we're starting to lose players. Hopefully we can get healthy, and (Popovich) will have all the options he needs."
With Elson and Bonner out and Jackie Butler struggling to play his way into shape, let alone the rotation, the Spurs went small for stretches of Monday's loss to Chicago, especially after Fabricio Oberto picked up a couple of quick fouls.
"It puts a lot of pressure on Robert (Horry) and Fab, both minutes-wise and production-wise," Popovich said. "We were really torn between going small and trying to squeeze it out of the bigs. So we're kind of in a flux situation because we haven't worked very much with a small lineup.
"We're in a little bit of a different mode right now, trying to retool."
The Lakers have had to do the same after losing two starters. Two days after the Lakers erased an 11-point first-half deficit to beat the Spurs in Los Angeles, forward Lamar Odom sprained his right knee. Center Kwame Brown, who has given Duncan trouble, has been sidelined all month with a left ankle sprain.
Still, the Lakers have stayed in the hunt for one of the Western Conference's top four seeds, improving to 10-7 without Odom after beating Miami on Monday.
"It shows how valuable their system is and how well everybody fits into that system," Popovich said. "Depending on the system to pull you through and not making shortcuts really helps a group."
Los Angeles often plays small and fast and — at least when healthy — has the type of athletic personnel that has often frustrated the Spurs this season. In last month's meeting, the Spurs wilted under the Lakers' pressure defense.
Spurs officials continue to look for a trade to upgrade their athleticism on the perimeter. In the meantime, Popovich seems unsettled on how to divide minutes between Brent Barry and Michael Finley.
Finley played 24 minutes to Barry's 18 in Monday's loss, but most of Barry's time came in the fourth quarter when the game was out of reach. Finley made just 1 of 6 3-point attempts — the Spurs were 6 for 23 — and is 2 of 16 in the past six games.
Popovich said he would like to settle on an eight- or nine-man rotation, preferably by the All-Star break. That's not too unlike previous seasons.
What's different, however, is that the Spurs can no longer say they're at the same level as Dallas and Phoenix, who have distanced themselves as the Western Conference's elite.
"At this point, Dallas is the best team in the league, without a doubt," Popovich said. "Phoenix is playing great basketball. Those two teams may never lose again the way they're playing.
"The idea is to try to be as good as those teams are come playoff time. We'll see what happens."
LINK (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA011707.01D.BKNspurs.lakers.2f71817.html)