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Spurs Mailbag: Is it time to bench Parker? Forget Barry? Ludden has the answers
Web Posted: 03/09/2007 01:18 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA03092006.spursmailbag.34f93ffe.html
Did anyone else notice how much better the Spurs moved the ball and got everyone involved in the offense against Houston with Parker out of the lineup?
– Charlie W., San Antonio
I’m surprised. This question didn’t pop into my mailbox until about five hours after the game.
I had 37 seconds in the How Long Before Someone Suggests The Spurs Are Better Without Tony pool.
The ball did move well against the Rockets. And as everyone knows it can sometimes stick when it’s in Tony’s hands.
But I’m going to have to see a lot more evidence before I join the Bench-TP-For-Jacque campaign. The less time Tony’s on the floor, the less of those transition layups the Spurs get. And, at least from where I sit, those sure seem like easy baskets any team would appreciate.
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What are Oberto and Matt Bonner's birthdays?
– Richard O. Torres, San Antonio
Fab was born on March 21, 1975, so he turns 32 this month. Matt’s birthday is April 5, 1980.
In case you plan on sending out gifts, mine is June 3, 1971. Which, I guess, makes me automatically eligible to start at small forward for the Spurs.
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Can you give me two good reasons why Finley should start and get more minutes then Brent? Why does Pop treat Brent like a second-class citizen??
– Christopher, Hermosa Beach, Calif.
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Brent’s making $5.1 million this season and about $20 million over the life of the four-year contract the Spurs gave him. So if that’s second-class treatment, sign me up. I’ll let Pop blow me up in front of 19,000 strangers every day for that kind of paycheck.
That said, I know where you’re coming from. With Beno having not played much until recently, Brent assumed Whipping Boy No. 1 duties.
On a couple of those occasions, I thought Pop has been unnecessarily harsh on Brent, maybe even ridiculously so in Denver. (Disclaimer: I didn’t actually see Pop light up Brent in Denver. Monroe was covering that game and said he didn’t see or hear it because the Nuggets’ new press seating is in Colorado Springs. Of course, Monroe also has an unusual fondness for Rocky, the Nuggets mascot, so he might have just been distracted. But a few of the guys later told me about the blowup and said it rated a 9-plus on the Pop-O-Meter.)
Here’s the thing with coaches (and, again, my own athletic career never extended beyond ninth grade and the occasional pick-up game, so I really have no right to offer an opinion on this or anything else related to sports, but I’ll do so anyway): At some point most of them inevitably to seem to focus more on what a player can’t do than what he can.
In Brent’s case that means Pop’s going to ride him for his inconsistent defense. He’s also blown him up for throwing the occasionally wacky pass, which disappoints me because I like wacky passes. I assume this is because it takes all of Pop’s willpower to refrain from lighting into Manu when he does the same thing. This, in turn, later exposes Brent to the full four-letter blast.
You would think these issues come up for discussion when teams are debating whether to sign players.
R.C. Buford: “You cool with us giving Brent a four-year deal for $20 million?”
Pop: “Sounds good to me.”
R.C.: “You do know he’s not known for his individual defense, right? And he also sometimes throws wacky passes.”
Pop: “That’s fine. Maybe if I yell at him enough he’ll get better.”
I know some people may disagree, but in my opinion, Pop’s unwillingness to compromise when it comes to defense has been the foundation of the Spurs’ success. Well, that and Tim. And Manu. And Tony. But you get the point.
Pop also gets a lot of attention for his sideline demeanor (and trust me it’s worth the $2,500 admission to sit next to the bench), but he usually has a good touch with his players. He doesn’t overwork them and the whole family-atmosphere cliché is pretty true when it comes to the Spurs.
Yes, he can sometimes be too stubborn or heavy-handed, to the point where it’s doing neither the player nor the team any good. (See Udrih, Beno). But, for the most part, I’ve long thought he’s gotten his players’ best effort. (See Jackson, Stephen).
Brent’s in a tough spot now. I thought his minutes were more consistent when he was coming off the bench. Now, if the team comes out flat to start the second half, Pop can’t get Manu to the scorer’s table quick enough. And with Fin starting to shoot better, Brent sometimes gets squeezed.
I still think, however, Brent is going to help win a playoff game or two. Just like he helped win the recent game in Atlanta and Monday’s in Los Angeles against the Clippers. He’s still shooting pretty well and the ball moves with him on the court.
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Can I have a free Tony Parker home jersey?
– Christian, Hobart
Sorry, the post office here at the Mailbag works in just one direction. You can send stuff in, but we ain’t mailing anything out.
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Ok, so we all know about the rumor that Scottie Pippen wants to come back to the NBA. But after that Pop makes the announcement that our roster is set.
However, he made the announcement before rumors started floating around that Reggie Miller was eyeing a return to the NBA court. If he is, I hope the Spurs SERIOUSLY consider signing him.
We could always use another player who can shoot the 3-ball and spread out the defense for Timmy down low. Not to mention he has a lot of experience hitting big shots.
With Reggie in the game with Horry, Ginobili and Duncan, it would create matchup problems for the other team in close games. Who would the Spurs give the ball to in the last seconds of the game? All four of them have big shot credentials.
I could care less about his age. If everyone has already dubbed the Spurs as the oldest team in the league right now, what's it going to hurt to add Miller to a one-year contract? It makes sense to me.
Miller is a perfect fit for the Spurs. What do you think?
– Charles Bryant, La Vernia
I’ll be surprised if Reggie signs with the Spurs or anyone else. The Dallas rumor died almost as quickly as it started.
This is the problem when someone like Scottie Pippen says he wants to make a comeback. Every other retiree gets dug up as an option.
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IS THERE ANY CHANCE DAVID ROBINSON CAN COME BACK FROM RETIREMENT AND REJOIN THE SPURS FOR THE REMAINING GAMES?
– Sonny Cantu, San Antonio
See what I mean?
No, I wouldn’t count on David coming back. I think he likes his seat at the AT&T Center exactly where it is – across from the Spurs’ bench.
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Right now Dallas is playing on another level than most teams, maybe except the Spurs. What will it take for San Antonio to beat Dallas in the post-season?
– Chris Smith, San Antonio
An injury to Dirk Nowitzki would help.
The Mavs are playing out-of-this-world for a reason. They’re talented, well-coached and extremely deep. Pop told me he thinks they’re better than the Detroit team the Spurs faced in the 2005 Finals – and he said that two months ago, which, I think, might be the last time they lost.
BUT, I still think the Spurs can compete with them. I wouldn’t pick them to win the series, not based on what I see now. But I certainly wouldn’t count them out.
This is what the Spurs have going for them: Tim, Manu and Tony are all playing at a high level. If the role players can provide adequate support, that should take them pretty far.
If someone (like Francisco) can at least make Dirk work for his points that would help considerably because it would free up Bruce to guard Josh Howard. I’m still not convinced the Spurs (or anyone else) have that person.
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Why don't the Spurs play like in the ’05 season where they dominated everything? What has changed? Is it age?
– Julian, New Jersey
I can unequivocally confirm the Spurs’ age has changed since 2005.
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If Tony hits Tim on a nice pick and roll and Tim gets fouled -- Tony gets an assist if Tim makes his free throws, right? What if Tim only makes one?
– Charlie, Merrillville, Ind.
First off you’re making a big leap to assume Tony actually passes the ball. But if he indeed does, he still doesn’t get an assist for Tim going to the foul line, no matter how many free throws he makes.
I’ve often thought the assist was a skewed stat. If the object is to score and your pass directly led to your team scoring – regardless of whether the points came at the foul line -- shouldn’t that count as an assist?
Here’s another problem: If Tony drives into the lane kicks the ball out to Brent, who then swings a pass to Fin, who drills an open 3-pointer, Brent gets the assist not Tony. Sometimes the most important pass is not the one that preceded the basket, but the one that led to the pass that preceded the basket. After all, Tony was the one who collapsed the defense with his penetration, which, aside from Fin making the shot, was the most critical play on the possession.
The same thing applies to Tim drawing a double-team in the post. Sometimes he kicks the ball directly out to an open shooter. Other times, he kicks it out to someone on the perimeter, who then passes it to another shooter. In both scenarios Tim was primarily responsible for creating the scoring opportunity, but in only the first is he credited with an assist.
After re-reading my reply, I probably just confused you more. But to answer your question in a single word: No.
(Always good to see the fine folks of Merrillville, Ind., are reading. Pop went to high school in Merrillville and I used to date a girl that worked for one of the local papers up there. She once showed me a photo from their archives of Pop in his high-school uniform. He wore No. 21. How strange is that?)
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The Spurs are a team that have a huge amount of successful experience when it comes to playoffs. Would it be correct to assume that their regular-season numbers (wins-losses) become totally irrelevant when/if they reach the best-of-seven game?
– Mike Spence, Wellington, New Zealand
It would be correct to assume regular-season win-loss records are irrelevant for every team when the playoffs begin. The Spurs have long said they’re built for the playoffs, and there’s truth to that. But they’ll definitely feel better about their chances if they continue to play the way they have the past few weeks and not how they did in January.
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Regarding Melvin Ely, I've read, here in this space, that perhaps the Spurs signed him strictly to save some cash. With his contract being up at the end of this season, how are they ever going to properly evaluate this kid if they don't get him onto the court?
Also, how do the Spurs plan on addressing the glaring need for a defensive-minded small forward to back up Bowen? I know Gerald Wallace has been mentioned here (love that idea). It puzzles me why the Spurs have waiting so long to address this issue.
Assuming they finally seek to upgrade this position, is it safe to assume the either Finley or Barry (or both) won't be back next year? I hope so.
– Lon, Dallas
Fin and Brent both thank you for the support.
Fin can decline the third-year option in his contract and become a free agent this summer. Unless the Spurs completely bottom out and his minutes drop substantially, I don’t see him doing that. And if he keeps shooting the way he has the past few weeks I don’t see the Spurs bottoming out or his minutes dropping.
Brent will be in the last year of his contract, so his trade value will go up. But it’s a little early to start talking about dealing guys until we see how the team does in the playoffs.
I never wrote the Spurs signed Melvin strictly to save money. I said they brought him in as an insurance policy for their other big men. The fact he slightly reduces their luxury tax penalty aided in that decision.
I also wouldn’t call him a kid. He’s been in the league for five seasons and he also attended college for four or five years.
The Spurs are trying to improve their playoff seeding, so until they’re locked into a specific position it doesn’t make much sense to evaluate bench players if the guys in front of them are better equipped to helping the team win now.
As for finding an athletic small forward, that will continue to be a priority. Yes, the Spurs blew the Josh Howard/Barbosa draft, but they have tried to address that need. They just haven’t been too successful.
When they passed on Howard that summer, I think they thought they’d be able to re-sign Stephen Jackson. The following year, they tried to move up in the draft to get Dorell Wright. In the 2005 draft, they tried to get another first-round pick to get Joey Graham or another swingman. Last summer, Ronnie Brewer was among the players they liked, but they couldn’t land a first-round pick.
They also have brought in a few players like Linton Johnson III and Melvin Sanders, who didn’t pan out.
When Nazr Mohammed signed with Detroit last summer, finding a center became Priority No. 1. DeShawn Stevenson later became available after he regrettably turned down Orlando’s offer. But by then he needed to find a team that could give him as many minutes as possible so he could increase his stock and re-enter the free-agent market again this summer. (I also think the Spurs would benefit by finding someone longer than the 6-5 Stevenson.)
Of course, trying and doing are two very different things. But either through the draft or free agency – both of which are expected to have deeper talent pools than last year – I fully expect them to address that need this summer. Finally.
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I am a Lebanese citizen, fan of the Spurs since 1994. For the first time since six years, I feel the Spurs won’t be able to make it past the Mavs or the Suns.
Could it be possible that they sign up a veteran -- Steve Kerr-caliber, to strengthen the rotation? The bench of Dallas is way better than the spurs. Thank you for informing me if there are any trade rumors in the air.
– Michael, Lebanon
Well, there aren’t any trade rumors because the trade deadline has passed.
Pop said the roster is “set,” but I learned a long time ago to never say never. I certainly didn’t expect the Spurs to sign Glenn Robinson a couple of seasons ago.
So, yes, there’s always a chance the Spurs could sign someone.
But they’d also have to waive a player to make room on their roster.
And you can pretty much cross Steve Kerr off the list. He’s got too good a life going to come out of retirement.
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If (and when) we meet Dallas in the playoffs, how important is a healthy Francisco Elson to the Spurs’ chances? The way that I see it Elson seems to be our best option when it comes to defending Dirk Nowitzki and this then leaves Bruce Bowen free to guard Josh Howard.
It was promising how Elson played Dirk during the Spurs November encounter and I'm sure that Pop noticed the same thing.
– Gene, San Antonio
I think a healthy, productive Elson will be very important just as I mentioned above and for the same reasons you just wrote. But I’m not yet ready to classify him as a Dirk Stopper given his performance in the season opener.
For one thing, that was when the Mavs were off to their 0-4 start. They’ve obviously improved since then. And while I’m sure Pop noticed the same things from that game we all did, he was so impressed he played Francisco only eight or nine minutes in the teams’ next meeting.
You are right about this: Right now he seems to be the Spurs’ best option to throw at Dirk.
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I know everyone has given Fabricio the nickname Fab. But since the first time I watched him play in a Spurs uniform the name that kept coming out of my mouth when i was cheering him on was Fabreez!!! Ha, what’s the possibility that this name will catch on?
– Mo Shideed, Cairo, Egypt
Would you be offended if I said, “There is absolutely no chance Fabreez will catch on”?
But feel free to keep using it.
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Why are you so good at basketball?
– Davy, San Antonio
My vertical leap is off the charts.
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Can you name all the spurs coaches and their specific jobs?
– David Reyes, San Antonio
We’re going to go ahead and eliminate Pop because I’m assuming you know about him.
Mike Budenholzer – He’s probably Pop’s most trusted assistant and has been with him the duration of his tenure. You’ll also see Mike working with some of the guards after practice.
Don Newman – He worked under George Karl before joining the Spurs. Great guy, well-liked by the players. He works a lot with the big men.
Brett Brown – He’s the team’s director of player development, so he assists a lot with the younger players. I also call him Bruce Bowen’s personal coach.
Chip Engelland – He’s the shooting coach. Spends a lot of time with Tony and Fab.
P.J. Carlesimo – Aside from yelling “First bus!” at the end of road practices and shootarounds, I have no idea what this guy does.
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I have become a huge fan of Mr. Butler. I really believe that he has the potential to become the next Moses Malone.
This will bode well for the SPURS in the future with Tim getting a bit older. Keep this guy, he's going to pay huge benefits, possibly as soon as next year.
– Dick Boyle, Sarnia, Ontario, Canada
Now these are the emails that amaze me. How has anyone seen enough of Jackie to become a huge fan of his? He didn’t even play THAT much in New York.
I actually feel bad for Jackie. He’s a perfect candidate for the D League, but he’s not eligible to be sent down because he’s in his third season. He also could get some playing time on a young roster, but on a team trying to win now, he’s probably going to sit.
As much as I’ve panned this signing, it was hardly a cap-crippling deal. He’s due to make a little more than $2 million next season and then the Spurs don’t have to pick up his third-year option. That’s not a huge price to pay for a young big man with good hands.
Plus, there’s always the chance he could develop into something more if he improves his work ethic. I’m not betting on that happening with the Spurs, but you never know.
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Pop, I'm a big Spurs fan but I have concerns about winning the close games against good teams, there is something missing. Where is that shutdown defense?
– Al Liechty, Mission Viejo, Ca
Um, the Spurs entered Tuesday’s game against Portland having held four of their previous seven opponents to a season-low point total. And a fifth, Houston, made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds to avoid its low.
So if you’re still searching for that “shutdown defense,” I recommend directing your eyes to the court.
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Why does Pop wear a tie at some games and not for other games? I thought the NBA had a "dress code.”
– Elvin, San Antonio
The NBA does have a dress code, but I’ve never heard of ties being part of it, only sports jackets.
Pop wears ties at home games, not on the road. My theory is this saves him some hassle when he’s packing.
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Why is Hillary Clinton shown prominently and partisanly on the Spurs? Go Spurs Go. Begone Clinton Begone.
– Thea Mooney
I normally avoid mixing politics with my sports copy, but this is too bizarre to pass up. Does anybody know what this means?
By the tone of this question, you’d think the Spurs were wearing a picture of Hillary on the back of their jerseys. I will say this: The majority of the team would probably prefer that over the mug of the current office holder.
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Did the Spurs try to make a trade for anyone before the deadline? Why didn't they try to get Corey Maggette?
– Michael Andrade, Del Rio
Remember it takes two to tango when it comes to trades. The Spurs obviously had interest in Maggette, but our intrepid NBA reporter, Mike Monroe, says his West Coast spies told him Clippers owner Donald Sterling nixed any Barry-Beno deal even before it was officially on the table.
There were a handful of other teams interested in Maggette with better packages to offer than the Spurs, and he still didn’t get dealt. So that should tell you something.
(By the way if I ever see Monroe use the phrase “My spies tell me” again in his copy, I’m hitting him on the head with his laptop. Is there a more over-used, self-serving sentence in today’s blogosphere NBA? You’d think the league was being run by the KGB from some of the stuff being written. Is the word “sources” not sexy enough anymore?)
E-mail Johnny Ludden at
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