Dex
02-09-2008, 04:19 AM
Buck Harvey: Smart at the end, Spurs' next step is to try for earlier
Web Posted: 02/09/2008 12:31 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
NEW YORK — They say Gregg Popovich remained calm at halftime.
And after the game, after the Spurs had avoided a loss that would have caused them to pull out their Rodeo Road Trip beards, Manu Ginobili did not.
With the locker room still closed to outsiders, Ginobili was angry with himself. He was angry because of his half-dozen turnovers, and he was angry because his team needed to make a play at the end of regulation.
No wonder, while everyone else marveled about how smart the Spurs were on that last play, Ginobili acted as if the Spurs should have been smarter.
"Was it about experience?" Ginobili said, repeating what a reporter had said. "Or luck?"
The Spurs head to Boston today not caring about the answer. They are relieved. They have lost three times this season to teams with losing records, including a recent one in Seattle, and a fourth wouldn't have played well in the revamped Western Conference.
Losing games to teams such as the Knicks is the difference between being a second seed or a seventh. So when the Spurs came out flat, falling behind by as many as 18 points, how smart were they? Do they need to be reminded of the standings every day?
Someone asked Popovich afterward what he had said to the Spurs at halftime to inspire them, and Popovich offered some sarcasm. "I asked them to play better," he said, and then he rolled his eyes.
Curiously, those in his locker room say that was precisely the tone. Popovich told the Spurs to stick with the plan and to, well, play better.
What followed realigned the order of things, as well as the direction of Robert Horry's shooting stroke. When his 3-pointer swished at the end of the third quarter and he opened with yet another to start the fourth, the game was tied.
Ginobili, essentially playing point guard, made both passes to Horry on his way to nine assists. But when he committed another turnover and Popovich subbed him out, he went to the bench yelling at himself.
It summed up a night of frustration for him. And when Jamal Crawford, the Knicks guard, began throwing in threes, there was more. The Spurs fell behind by nine points with less than five minutes left.
That's when Popovich made the switch of the evening. He played a lineup without either Jacque Vaughn or Damon Stoudamire, choosing to go bigger, and that meant one thing. Bruce Bowen would bead in on Crawford.
From there the Knicks' offense melted. Still, the Spurs trailed by three points in the final seconds, and, after a timeout, Popovich called a familiar play. He sent Ginobili driving to the baseline where he would look for a shooter in the corner, this time Michael Finley.
The Knicks could have fouled Ginobili along the way, and they didn't. They also could have stayed with Finley in the corner, and they didn't.
Renaldo Balkman, an athletic defender, instead left Finley. And when he did, Tim Duncan was there with a backpick and a clever push away from Finley.
"They knew how to win the basketball game," Isiah Thomas said. "I said to the team, the thing I admire about San Antonio is that they play every second, they play every play. They play it all the way to the end. They don't hang their heads."
All of it is true. Their core has been together so long that end-of-game moments don't bother them. When Ginobili drove, and Duncan set the pick, and Finley stepped up — it took intelligence and composure.
Ginobili recognized all of it. "But (Finley) is what, about a 45-percent shooter from 3-point range?" he asked.
This season Finley is closer to 38, but this further makes Ginobili's point. "That means the chances of missing are higher," he said. "And we put ourselves in that position."
Ginobili was calm now, too. But he didn't want to talk about this being a great win, just as he isn't as impressed with a four-game winning streak when the Spurs haven't played well in all four.
Smart?
Smart wouldn't have required the last play of regulation.
Good article from Buck. Any Spurs win seems to be a good win these days, but it's good to see that the players aren't getting complacent with anything less than championship caliber.
With that kind of attitude, Spurs can really take something from this win.
Web Posted: 02/09/2008 12:31 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
NEW YORK — They say Gregg Popovich remained calm at halftime.
And after the game, after the Spurs had avoided a loss that would have caused them to pull out their Rodeo Road Trip beards, Manu Ginobili did not.
With the locker room still closed to outsiders, Ginobili was angry with himself. He was angry because of his half-dozen turnovers, and he was angry because his team needed to make a play at the end of regulation.
No wonder, while everyone else marveled about how smart the Spurs were on that last play, Ginobili acted as if the Spurs should have been smarter.
"Was it about experience?" Ginobili said, repeating what a reporter had said. "Or luck?"
The Spurs head to Boston today not caring about the answer. They are relieved. They have lost three times this season to teams with losing records, including a recent one in Seattle, and a fourth wouldn't have played well in the revamped Western Conference.
Losing games to teams such as the Knicks is the difference between being a second seed or a seventh. So when the Spurs came out flat, falling behind by as many as 18 points, how smart were they? Do they need to be reminded of the standings every day?
Someone asked Popovich afterward what he had said to the Spurs at halftime to inspire them, and Popovich offered some sarcasm. "I asked them to play better," he said, and then he rolled his eyes.
Curiously, those in his locker room say that was precisely the tone. Popovich told the Spurs to stick with the plan and to, well, play better.
What followed realigned the order of things, as well as the direction of Robert Horry's shooting stroke. When his 3-pointer swished at the end of the third quarter and he opened with yet another to start the fourth, the game was tied.
Ginobili, essentially playing point guard, made both passes to Horry on his way to nine assists. But when he committed another turnover and Popovich subbed him out, he went to the bench yelling at himself.
It summed up a night of frustration for him. And when Jamal Crawford, the Knicks guard, began throwing in threes, there was more. The Spurs fell behind by nine points with less than five minutes left.
That's when Popovich made the switch of the evening. He played a lineup without either Jacque Vaughn or Damon Stoudamire, choosing to go bigger, and that meant one thing. Bruce Bowen would bead in on Crawford.
From there the Knicks' offense melted. Still, the Spurs trailed by three points in the final seconds, and, after a timeout, Popovich called a familiar play. He sent Ginobili driving to the baseline where he would look for a shooter in the corner, this time Michael Finley.
The Knicks could have fouled Ginobili along the way, and they didn't. They also could have stayed with Finley in the corner, and they didn't.
Renaldo Balkman, an athletic defender, instead left Finley. And when he did, Tim Duncan was there with a backpick and a clever push away from Finley.
"They knew how to win the basketball game," Isiah Thomas said. "I said to the team, the thing I admire about San Antonio is that they play every second, they play every play. They play it all the way to the end. They don't hang their heads."
All of it is true. Their core has been together so long that end-of-game moments don't bother them. When Ginobili drove, and Duncan set the pick, and Finley stepped up — it took intelligence and composure.
Ginobili recognized all of it. "But (Finley) is what, about a 45-percent shooter from 3-point range?" he asked.
This season Finley is closer to 38, but this further makes Ginobili's point. "That means the chances of missing are higher," he said. "And we put ourselves in that position."
Ginobili was calm now, too. But he didn't want to talk about this being a great win, just as he isn't as impressed with a four-game winning streak when the Spurs haven't played well in all four.
Smart?
Smart wouldn't have required the last play of regulation.
Good article from Buck. Any Spurs win seems to be a good win these days, but it's good to see that the players aren't getting complacent with anything less than championship caliber.
With that kind of attitude, Spurs can really take something from this win.