duncan228
04-09-2008, 10:40 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA040908.SpursMailbag.EN.45be18c2.html
Spurs Mailbag: Playing playoff roulette
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
It’s this time of year we feel sorry for the Spurs advance scouts. With the playoffs looming, now would be a good time for them to begin to break down potential first-round playoff opponents.
Except, who will that be?
Heading into Tuesday’s round of action, the Spurs owned the second seed, but they conceivably could fall as far as fifth. At the bottom of the bracket, Dallas, Denver and Golden State are playing musical chairs for the seventh and eighth seeds.
There are all kinds of potential playoff permutations. The Spurs don’t even know what time zone they’ll travel to for a first-round series, much less which opponent will await them there.
For now, it’s left the Spurs to pooh-pooh planning ahead.
“I think you would have to look at (the standings) every day,” Spurs guard Jacque Vaughn said. “I really think it’s going to boil down to the last game of the season. It’s that close. Why wrack your brain?”
Well, we’re going to wrack our brain. We’ve got spare time.
Here is a look at four teams the Spurs could plausibly play in the first round of the playoffs, and why the Spurs should (or shouldn’t) look forward to the matchup:
GOLDEN STATE
Current seed: None.
Bad draw: Anybody catch what these guys did to Dallas last year?
Good draw: Who is guarding Tim Duncan in this hypothetical series? Keep in mind it’s too late to trade for Shaq. Duncan could average 30.
DENVER
Current seed: Eight.
Bad draw: The Nuggets have Carmelo Anthony. And they’ve got Allen Iverson. They might break the scoreboard at the AT&T Center, which we're not sure even goes up to triple digits.
Good draw: The Spurs have faced the Nuggets in the first round twice in the past three seasons. Denver is 2-8 over that span. The Spurs own these guys in April.
DALLAS
Current seed: Seven.
Bad draw: They’ve got Dirk.
Good draw: They’ve got Dirk in the playoffs.
PHOENIX
Current seed: Six
Bad draw: The Shaquille O’Neal deal doesn’t seem so silly now. The Suns are actually beginning to gel. Plus, Robert Horry wouldn’t dare hip-check Shaq.
Good draw: There’s no underestimating the psychological damage the Spurs have wreaked on the Suns during playoff meetings past. Not even Shaq is big enough to cover that wound.
And, now, let’s open up the Mailbag…
Why is the team always trying to sign players to a 10-day contract? I mean, should they use Ian Mahinmi or the other players who saw action during the preseason games instead of paying players like DerMarr Johnson or (Bobby) Jones? These players are trying to learn the system and yet they only have this minimum time to do it unlike the other players that were part of the team before the start of the season.
-- Erick, San Antonio
The Spurs signed Bobby Jones for no other reason than to take a closer look at him. They can throw him under a microscope for 10 days, mostly in practice, and see what he’s got. If he has a good week and a half, maybe he earns a spot on the summer-league team, where they can take a longer look at him. The Spurs did not sign Bobby Jones with any hope that he will help them this season.
Meanwhile, they already have an idea what guys like Darius Washington (who is in Greece) or Marcus Williams (who is with the Clippers) can do. There’s no point in auditioning them again.
Where is Damon Stoudamire? Has he angered Pop or is he not cutting the mustard? He needs more minutes or he won’t develop in the system.
-- Enrico, Los Angeles
Funny thing about basketball. You can only play five players at a time. And a regulation game lasts only 48 minutes.
Down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, when rotations tend to shorten, there isn’t a whole lot of time for a third point guard. Remember how much playing time Beno Udrih got at the tail end of last season? At this point, Stoudamire is basically Beno without the funny accent.
Who holds the record for the most amount of threes made in the Spurs history?
-- Agbabiaka Ayomide, Nigeria
Bruce Bowen holds the franchise record for 3-pointers with 617. That’s 308 from the left corner, 308 from the right corner and a stray one from the top of the key. Incidentally, second place on the Spurs’ all-time list is Manu Ginobili with 603.
Both players passed Sean Elliott’s mark of 563 earlier this season. However, Elliott still holds the club record for most tip-toed 3-pointers from nearly out of bounds to help win a playoff game on Memorial Day 1999 (one).
Usually a coach will leave the team as-is when a player has done extremely well. Why didn't the coach leave Manu in and Parker as a sub, since Manu scored in the 30's-40's and he and Duncan won the games?
-- Carolyn, San Antonio
Here's an answer from next week’s guest Mailbag columnist, Jerry from Trenton, N.J.:
Four championships in how many years? Pop apparently knows what he is doing. Let the man coach.
You wrote this about Tim Duncan: Quietly, he is having his best season since he was voted Most Valuable Player in 2003. Have we been watching the same player? Duncan's points are down. He's been manhandled in the post by no-name defenders like Samuel Dalembert (he shot 5 of 14). He's coughed up the ball more this season than ever. His outside shot is more unreliable. His shooting percentage is down.
Part of the reason the Spurs struggle so offensively sometimes is Duncan's inability to dominate around the basket. Ginobili has carried the team as much as Duncan has. So I ask you, have we been watching the same player? You can't praise his defense and then ignore his drop off offensively. After all, he is the franchise. Of course if the Spurs lose the championship, Duncan won't get the blame, Ginobili will, even though Ginobili has no Finals MVP trophies on his mantle.
-- Bonnie, Boston
To clarify, our colleague Mike Monroe wrote the line that seems to have Bonnie’s Boston baked beans in a bunch. We here at the Mailbag don’t feel comfortable answering for another reporter, except to say this: Sometimes, numbers don't tell the whole story.
It is true that Duncan’s scoring numbers are down, but he’s also getting fewer opportunities precisely because Ginobili has emerged as an MVP-caliber player. Of course his scoring average is going to drop. (Incidentally, Duncan is still shooting 50 percent from the field, which is right about his career average).
Duncan has had more good games than bad games, even carrying the Spurs for an 11-game stretch in February by averaging 21.3 points and 13 rebounds. Something tells me every team in the league would take him in a heartbeat.
And as for that “no-name” defender who “manhandled” Duncan in that March game – Samuel Dalembert happens to be one of the best shot-blockers in the league, statistically better than the likes of Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire or Emeka Okafor.
One more thing we here at the Mailbag will never understand: It seems like whenever we get an e-mail denigrating either Duncan or Tony Parker, it almost always comes from someone identifying themselves as a Ginobili fan. It’s as if being a Ginobili fan legally prohibits one from also liking either Parker or Duncan. It’s a perplexing phenomenon, sort of like “American Idol.”
Is Kelvin Sampson now affiliated with the Spurs? I hope so. He is one of my heroes.
-- Bruce Barton, Pembroke, N.C.
Sampson is hanging out with the Spurs as an unpaid consultant for the time being. At least until Manu comes through with that Time Warner digital phone endorsement deal.
Spurs Mailbag: Playing playoff roulette
Jeff McDonald
San Antonio Express-News
It’s this time of year we feel sorry for the Spurs advance scouts. With the playoffs looming, now would be a good time for them to begin to break down potential first-round playoff opponents.
Except, who will that be?
Heading into Tuesday’s round of action, the Spurs owned the second seed, but they conceivably could fall as far as fifth. At the bottom of the bracket, Dallas, Denver and Golden State are playing musical chairs for the seventh and eighth seeds.
There are all kinds of potential playoff permutations. The Spurs don’t even know what time zone they’ll travel to for a first-round series, much less which opponent will await them there.
For now, it’s left the Spurs to pooh-pooh planning ahead.
“I think you would have to look at (the standings) every day,” Spurs guard Jacque Vaughn said. “I really think it’s going to boil down to the last game of the season. It’s that close. Why wrack your brain?”
Well, we’re going to wrack our brain. We’ve got spare time.
Here is a look at four teams the Spurs could plausibly play in the first round of the playoffs, and why the Spurs should (or shouldn’t) look forward to the matchup:
GOLDEN STATE
Current seed: None.
Bad draw: Anybody catch what these guys did to Dallas last year?
Good draw: Who is guarding Tim Duncan in this hypothetical series? Keep in mind it’s too late to trade for Shaq. Duncan could average 30.
DENVER
Current seed: Eight.
Bad draw: The Nuggets have Carmelo Anthony. And they’ve got Allen Iverson. They might break the scoreboard at the AT&T Center, which we're not sure even goes up to triple digits.
Good draw: The Spurs have faced the Nuggets in the first round twice in the past three seasons. Denver is 2-8 over that span. The Spurs own these guys in April.
DALLAS
Current seed: Seven.
Bad draw: They’ve got Dirk.
Good draw: They’ve got Dirk in the playoffs.
PHOENIX
Current seed: Six
Bad draw: The Shaquille O’Neal deal doesn’t seem so silly now. The Suns are actually beginning to gel. Plus, Robert Horry wouldn’t dare hip-check Shaq.
Good draw: There’s no underestimating the psychological damage the Spurs have wreaked on the Suns during playoff meetings past. Not even Shaq is big enough to cover that wound.
And, now, let’s open up the Mailbag…
Why is the team always trying to sign players to a 10-day contract? I mean, should they use Ian Mahinmi or the other players who saw action during the preseason games instead of paying players like DerMarr Johnson or (Bobby) Jones? These players are trying to learn the system and yet they only have this minimum time to do it unlike the other players that were part of the team before the start of the season.
-- Erick, San Antonio
The Spurs signed Bobby Jones for no other reason than to take a closer look at him. They can throw him under a microscope for 10 days, mostly in practice, and see what he’s got. If he has a good week and a half, maybe he earns a spot on the summer-league team, where they can take a longer look at him. The Spurs did not sign Bobby Jones with any hope that he will help them this season.
Meanwhile, they already have an idea what guys like Darius Washington (who is in Greece) or Marcus Williams (who is with the Clippers) can do. There’s no point in auditioning them again.
Where is Damon Stoudamire? Has he angered Pop or is he not cutting the mustard? He needs more minutes or he won’t develop in the system.
-- Enrico, Los Angeles
Funny thing about basketball. You can only play five players at a time. And a regulation game lasts only 48 minutes.
Down the stretch of the regular season and into the playoffs, when rotations tend to shorten, there isn’t a whole lot of time for a third point guard. Remember how much playing time Beno Udrih got at the tail end of last season? At this point, Stoudamire is basically Beno without the funny accent.
Who holds the record for the most amount of threes made in the Spurs history?
-- Agbabiaka Ayomide, Nigeria
Bruce Bowen holds the franchise record for 3-pointers with 617. That’s 308 from the left corner, 308 from the right corner and a stray one from the top of the key. Incidentally, second place on the Spurs’ all-time list is Manu Ginobili with 603.
Both players passed Sean Elliott’s mark of 563 earlier this season. However, Elliott still holds the club record for most tip-toed 3-pointers from nearly out of bounds to help win a playoff game on Memorial Day 1999 (one).
Usually a coach will leave the team as-is when a player has done extremely well. Why didn't the coach leave Manu in and Parker as a sub, since Manu scored in the 30's-40's and he and Duncan won the games?
-- Carolyn, San Antonio
Here's an answer from next week’s guest Mailbag columnist, Jerry from Trenton, N.J.:
Four championships in how many years? Pop apparently knows what he is doing. Let the man coach.
You wrote this about Tim Duncan: Quietly, he is having his best season since he was voted Most Valuable Player in 2003. Have we been watching the same player? Duncan's points are down. He's been manhandled in the post by no-name defenders like Samuel Dalembert (he shot 5 of 14). He's coughed up the ball more this season than ever. His outside shot is more unreliable. His shooting percentage is down.
Part of the reason the Spurs struggle so offensively sometimes is Duncan's inability to dominate around the basket. Ginobili has carried the team as much as Duncan has. So I ask you, have we been watching the same player? You can't praise his defense and then ignore his drop off offensively. After all, he is the franchise. Of course if the Spurs lose the championship, Duncan won't get the blame, Ginobili will, even though Ginobili has no Finals MVP trophies on his mantle.
-- Bonnie, Boston
To clarify, our colleague Mike Monroe wrote the line that seems to have Bonnie’s Boston baked beans in a bunch. We here at the Mailbag don’t feel comfortable answering for another reporter, except to say this: Sometimes, numbers don't tell the whole story.
It is true that Duncan’s scoring numbers are down, but he’s also getting fewer opportunities precisely because Ginobili has emerged as an MVP-caliber player. Of course his scoring average is going to drop. (Incidentally, Duncan is still shooting 50 percent from the field, which is right about his career average).
Duncan has had more good games than bad games, even carrying the Spurs for an 11-game stretch in February by averaging 21.3 points and 13 rebounds. Something tells me every team in the league would take him in a heartbeat.
And as for that “no-name” defender who “manhandled” Duncan in that March game – Samuel Dalembert happens to be one of the best shot-blockers in the league, statistically better than the likes of Dwight Howard, Amare Stoudemire or Emeka Okafor.
One more thing we here at the Mailbag will never understand: It seems like whenever we get an e-mail denigrating either Duncan or Tony Parker, it almost always comes from someone identifying themselves as a Ginobili fan. It’s as if being a Ginobili fan legally prohibits one from also liking either Parker or Duncan. It’s a perplexing phenomenon, sort of like “American Idol.”
Is Kelvin Sampson now affiliated with the Spurs? I hope so. He is one of my heroes.
-- Bruce Barton, Pembroke, N.C.
Sampson is hanging out with the Spurs as an unpaid consultant for the time being. At least until Manu comes through with that Time Warner digital phone endorsement deal.