duncan228
04-29-2008, 02:10 PM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA042808.06D.BKNspurs.notebook.a8248896.html
Notebook: Spurs disappointed with Game 4 performance
By Mike Monroe
[email protected]
PHOENIX — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it wasn’t necessary to warn the Spurs that the Suns were an excellent team that would give an all-out effort to avoid elimination in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
“They’re grown men,” he said an hour before tipoff of Sunday’s game at U.S. Airways Center. “That’s the way I treat them. For me to walk in and tell them what the situation is would be disingenuous.”
After the Suns staved off elimination in the best-of-7 series by handing the Spurs a 105-86 defeat, Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said he and his teammates were disappointed in their inability to match the Suns’ intensity, born of desperation.
“They came out fired up. We expected that. We understood they would give the effort that they did,” Bowen said. “But we had no response for that in any aspect, from the defensive end, to the execution on the offensive end, as well.”
Silver linings: Looking for positives from a blowout loss?
No Spurs starter played as many as 30 minutes, so they all should be well-rested when Tuesday’s game tips off at AT&T Center.
“I guess you lose by two and you play all those minutes or you lose by 20 and you get some time to rest,” Duncan said. “I guess you can find a positive there. Obviously, you never want to lose a game like this, but it happens.
“We’ll be ready to go next time.”
Robert Horry, who missed a month of action with a knee injury before returning in Game 2, played 20 minutes, and while he made only 2 of 7 shots, he said he had a chance to establish some rhythm in a long stint in the second half.
“We lost the way we lost, but you always try to find a silver lining in a dark cloud,” he said. “For me, it was just to get some consistent minutes and try to get a rhythm out of it.”
Not D-Lighted: Spurs forward Ian Mahinmi joined the team for the trip to Phoenix after returning from Boise, Idaho, where the Austin Toros lost two straight to the Idaho Stampede in the D-League championship series, losing that best-of-3 set.
Mahinmi still was incredulous about Stampede coach Bryan Gates’ intentional technical foul in the final seconds of Game 2. With the Toros, down three, inbounding the ball near the Stampede bench with 5 seconds remaining, Gates reached out and touched the ball, incurring a technical. With no time outs remaining, the Toros were confused on the ensuing inbounds play, failing to convert a basket that could have tied the score.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he and his assistants had discussed Grant’s stratagem at length. Their conclusion: It had been a smart move, and both the NBA and the D-League likely will revisit the rule regarding such shenanigans.
“I’ll be surprised if they don’t take a look at that this summer,” Popovich said.
Notebook: Spurs disappointed with Game 4 performance
By Mike Monroe
[email protected]
PHOENIX — Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it wasn’t necessary to warn the Spurs that the Suns were an excellent team that would give an all-out effort to avoid elimination in Game 4 of their Western Conference first-round playoff series.
“They’re grown men,” he said an hour before tipoff of Sunday’s game at U.S. Airways Center. “That’s the way I treat them. For me to walk in and tell them what the situation is would be disingenuous.”
After the Suns staved off elimination in the best-of-7 series by handing the Spurs a 105-86 defeat, Spurs forward Bruce Bowen said he and his teammates were disappointed in their inability to match the Suns’ intensity, born of desperation.
“They came out fired up. We expected that. We understood they would give the effort that they did,” Bowen said. “But we had no response for that in any aspect, from the defensive end, to the execution on the offensive end, as well.”
Silver linings: Looking for positives from a blowout loss?
No Spurs starter played as many as 30 minutes, so they all should be well-rested when Tuesday’s game tips off at AT&T Center.
“I guess you lose by two and you play all those minutes or you lose by 20 and you get some time to rest,” Duncan said. “I guess you can find a positive there. Obviously, you never want to lose a game like this, but it happens.
“We’ll be ready to go next time.”
Robert Horry, who missed a month of action with a knee injury before returning in Game 2, played 20 minutes, and while he made only 2 of 7 shots, he said he had a chance to establish some rhythm in a long stint in the second half.
“We lost the way we lost, but you always try to find a silver lining in a dark cloud,” he said. “For me, it was just to get some consistent minutes and try to get a rhythm out of it.”
Not D-Lighted: Spurs forward Ian Mahinmi joined the team for the trip to Phoenix after returning from Boise, Idaho, where the Austin Toros lost two straight to the Idaho Stampede in the D-League championship series, losing that best-of-3 set.
Mahinmi still was incredulous about Stampede coach Bryan Gates’ intentional technical foul in the final seconds of Game 2. With the Toros, down three, inbounding the ball near the Stampede bench with 5 seconds remaining, Gates reached out and touched the ball, incurring a technical. With no time outs remaining, the Toros were confused on the ensuing inbounds play, failing to convert a basket that could have tied the score.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he and his assistants had discussed Grant’s stratagem at length. Their conclusion: It had been a smart move, and both the NBA and the D-League likely will revisit the rule regarding such shenanigans.
“I’ll be surprised if they don’t take a look at that this summer,” Popovich said.