some_user86
10-22-2007, 10:53 PM
NBA: Spurs get busy before regular season
Web Posted: 10/22/2007 10:36 PM CDT
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
MIAMI — For any Spurs player eagerly awaiting the end of the monotonous preseason, there is good news: Only four days to go.
There is also some bad news. Through a quirk in the preseason schedule, the Spurs will pack three games into those four days: today at Miami, Thursday at Orlando and Friday against Houston at the AT&T Center.
If nothing else, it should make for good practice for the start of the season, which the Spurs open with a back-to-back against Portland and at Memphis beginning Oct. 30.
"I was surprised to see we had a back-to-back in the preseason," said point guard Tony Parker, whose exhibition season is actually just getting started. "I don't know how that happened, but we'll be ready. Back-to-backs we're not very good at."
Somewhere in the midst of that rugged sprint to the preseason finish, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hopes to carve some time for his regular starting five to play together — but not at the expense of running his veteran team into the ground.
In four preseason games, the Spurs have trotted out three different starting lineups — none of which is identical to the one they'll use once the games begin to count. Parker only made his preseason debut four days ago in a victory over Detroit.
"I think Pop has done a great job to make sure everyone is rested and we don't go too hard too early," Parker said. "But now we've got three games left, so I think we're going to slowly but surely get back to normal."
Just how slowly the Spurs nudge toward normalcy remains to be seen.
Asked Monday how many minutes fans can expect to see the Spurs' regulars play together tonight, Popovich said, "more so than what you've seen, but probably not in total."
The Spurs' all-star trio of Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili has yet to appear in a preseason game intact. That might bother Spurs fans who paid to see the non-televised games in person, but it doesn't bother Popovich.
"These guys have been together quite a bit," he said. "They've played with each other a lot, so it's not so urgent as it might be with a young team to get them used to each other."
In the delicate balancing act between his team's on-court chemistry and its physical state, Popovich appears poised to err on the side of keeping his veterans' legs fresh.
Robert Horry, the team's oldest player at 37, has missed most of camp while on a personal leave of absence. The Spurs' de facto eldest statesman — the 36-year-old Bowen — has logged 25 minutes this preseason and has skipped the past two games entirely.
Popovich says he is in no hurry to iron out the details of his rotation just yet. As per his typical plan, Popovich probably will tinker well into the winter.
"We're just trying to get things somewhat organized in time for Portland," Popovich said, "knowing things won't be really organized until sometime around the All-Star break."
That process continues tonight, against a Miami team sure to be without Dwyane Wade and likely to be without Shaquille O'Neal.
It will be a battle of the past two NBA champions in name only. Instead, fans on hand at the American Airlines Center are sure to see two teams just trying to get through the preseason.
Tonight's game marks the final game of the Heat's preseason schedule, giving them eight days to prepare for their opener Nov. 1 against Detroit.
For the Spurs, it's just one more exhibition down — and two games in three days to go.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA102307.SpursHeat.EN.33f672b.html
Web Posted: 10/22/2007 10:36 PM CDT
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
MIAMI — For any Spurs player eagerly awaiting the end of the monotonous preseason, there is good news: Only four days to go.
There is also some bad news. Through a quirk in the preseason schedule, the Spurs will pack three games into those four days: today at Miami, Thursday at Orlando and Friday against Houston at the AT&T Center.
If nothing else, it should make for good practice for the start of the season, which the Spurs open with a back-to-back against Portland and at Memphis beginning Oct. 30.
"I was surprised to see we had a back-to-back in the preseason," said point guard Tony Parker, whose exhibition season is actually just getting started. "I don't know how that happened, but we'll be ready. Back-to-backs we're not very good at."
Somewhere in the midst of that rugged sprint to the preseason finish, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich hopes to carve some time for his regular starting five to play together — but not at the expense of running his veteran team into the ground.
In four preseason games, the Spurs have trotted out three different starting lineups — none of which is identical to the one they'll use once the games begin to count. Parker only made his preseason debut four days ago in a victory over Detroit.
"I think Pop has done a great job to make sure everyone is rested and we don't go too hard too early," Parker said. "But now we've got three games left, so I think we're going to slowly but surely get back to normal."
Just how slowly the Spurs nudge toward normalcy remains to be seen.
Asked Monday how many minutes fans can expect to see the Spurs' regulars play together tonight, Popovich said, "more so than what you've seen, but probably not in total."
The Spurs' all-star trio of Parker, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili has yet to appear in a preseason game intact. That might bother Spurs fans who paid to see the non-televised games in person, but it doesn't bother Popovich.
"These guys have been together quite a bit," he said. "They've played with each other a lot, so it's not so urgent as it might be with a young team to get them used to each other."
In the delicate balancing act between his team's on-court chemistry and its physical state, Popovich appears poised to err on the side of keeping his veterans' legs fresh.
Robert Horry, the team's oldest player at 37, has missed most of camp while on a personal leave of absence. The Spurs' de facto eldest statesman — the 36-year-old Bowen — has logged 25 minutes this preseason and has skipped the past two games entirely.
Popovich says he is in no hurry to iron out the details of his rotation just yet. As per his typical plan, Popovich probably will tinker well into the winter.
"We're just trying to get things somewhat organized in time for Portland," Popovich said, "knowing things won't be really organized until sometime around the All-Star break."
That process continues tonight, against a Miami team sure to be without Dwyane Wade and likely to be without Shaquille O'Neal.
It will be a battle of the past two NBA champions in name only. Instead, fans on hand at the American Airlines Center are sure to see two teams just trying to get through the preseason.
Tonight's game marks the final game of the Heat's preseason schedule, giving them eight days to prepare for their opener Nov. 1 against Detroit.
For the Spurs, it's just one more exhibition down — and two games in three days to go.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA102307.SpursHeat.EN.33f672b.html