Dex
01-02-2008, 10:28 AM
Finley discovers shooting tendency
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The best teammate Michael Finley ever had was down on the court, writhing in pain and holding his right knee.
The opponent who had tangled with Tim Duncan in the low post stood over the Spurs' star, and in Finley's mind, he had become a menacing presence.
Without hesitation, Finley poked a forearm in the chest of Portland's James Jones and “guided” him away from the fallen star.
In the Spurs' first game of December, Jones was just about the only thing Finley hit all night.
Eight of his 10 shots against the Blazers failed to fall. Coming on the heels of his 1-for-11 game in Minnesota, a player unaccustomed to hardwood bricklaying could do little but shake his head and fall back on homespun philosophy.
“Sometimes,” Finley said, “you're the Louisville Slugger. Sometimes, you're the ball.”
Lately, Finley has been swinging a big bat for the Spurs. In the 11 games in December that followed that errant night against the Trail Blazers, Finley has made 61 of 142 shots, including 30 of 71 3-pointers. His average of 14.6 points for those 11 games raised his average for the season to 10.4, making him the fourth Spurs player with a double-figure scoring average.
He made 5 of 7 long-range shots in the Spurs' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at the AT&T Center for a season-high 22 points. It was his second-straight game of 20 or more points, the first time he put together back-to-back 20-or-more games since Dec. 12 and 13, 2005, his first season with the Spurs.
Nobody who sees Finley shooting jump shot after jump shot long after most of his teammates have walked off the Spurs' practice court is surprised when his shots fall, least of all Finley.
“I'm a firm believer that hard work pays off,” he said. “I know I put in the work to give myself the opportunities to have good games, so when they come, I'm not surprised.”
Now in his third season with the Spurs, his 14th in the NBA, Finley's teammates understand the importance of finding him when he is hot.
“When he shoots the ball that well, you just make sure you don't miss him when he is open,” said Duncan, who passed out of the post to set up three of Finley's 3-pointers against Memphis.
“It's not even that you look for him more often. He always moves well without the ball and is one of our guys who is great coming off screens, and a lot of our offense is that. So he just ends up being that kind of guy.”
Duncan and Finley have developed a nice feel for playing off one another, but Finley says he continues to learn from all his All-Star teammates.
“This is only my third year with the team,” he said, “and I'm still learning the guys. Playing with All-Stars like Tim, Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili), you learn something every game. And every game, I'm trying to learn to pick and choose my spots so I can be aggressive offensively; pick and choose my spots where to be when they have the ball.
“The more time I play with those guys, the more comfortable it gets.”
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The best teammate Michael Finley ever had was down on the court, writhing in pain and holding his right knee.
The opponent who had tangled with Tim Duncan in the low post stood over the Spurs' star, and in Finley's mind, he had become a menacing presence.
Without hesitation, Finley poked a forearm in the chest of Portland's James Jones and “guided” him away from the fallen star.
In the Spurs' first game of December, Jones was just about the only thing Finley hit all night.
Eight of his 10 shots against the Blazers failed to fall. Coming on the heels of his 1-for-11 game in Minnesota, a player unaccustomed to hardwood bricklaying could do little but shake his head and fall back on homespun philosophy.
“Sometimes,” Finley said, “you're the Louisville Slugger. Sometimes, you're the ball.”
Lately, Finley has been swinging a big bat for the Spurs. In the 11 games in December that followed that errant night against the Trail Blazers, Finley has made 61 of 142 shots, including 30 of 71 3-pointers. His average of 14.6 points for those 11 games raised his average for the season to 10.4, making him the fourth Spurs player with a double-figure scoring average.
He made 5 of 7 long-range shots in the Spurs' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at the AT&T Center for a season-high 22 points. It was his second-straight game of 20 or more points, the first time he put together back-to-back 20-or-more games since Dec. 12 and 13, 2005, his first season with the Spurs.
Nobody who sees Finley shooting jump shot after jump shot long after most of his teammates have walked off the Spurs' practice court is surprised when his shots fall, least of all Finley.
“I'm a firm believer that hard work pays off,” he said. “I know I put in the work to give myself the opportunities to have good games, so when they come, I'm not surprised.”
Now in his third season with the Spurs, his 14th in the NBA, Finley's teammates understand the importance of finding him when he is hot.
“When he shoots the ball that well, you just make sure you don't miss him when he is open,” said Duncan, who passed out of the post to set up three of Finley's 3-pointers against Memphis.
“It's not even that you look for him more often. He always moves well without the ball and is one of our guys who is great coming off screens, and a lot of our offense is that. So he just ends up being that kind of guy.”
Duncan and Finley have developed a nice feel for playing off one another, but Finley says he continues to learn from all his All-Star teammates.
“This is only my third year with the team,” he said, “and I'm still learning the guys. Playing with All-Stars like Tim, Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili), you learn something every game. And every game, I'm trying to learn to pick and choose my spots so I can be aggressive offensively; pick and choose my spots where to be when they have the ball.
“The more time I play with those guys, the more comfortable it gets.”