carina_gino20
05-06-2008, 01:19 AM
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/columnists/mfinger/stories/MYSA050608.04D.COL.BKNfinger.spurs.4042bd4.html
Mike Finger: Duncan desperately needs help
Web Posted: 05/06/2008 01:07 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Finger NEW ORLEANS — Snarling and outraged, Tim Duncan stood up for Fabricio Oberto. Now someone needs to stand up for Duncan.
If the Spurs are going to do what they've never done before — if they're going to win a playoff series they trail two games to none, and stem this tide of alley-oops and layups and shockingly thorough blowouts — then a few guys have to do for Duncan what he's so often done for them. This time they have to be the difference-makers.
It's true that the tone of a series can change as quickly as a burst of a fire extinguisher, and this one can take a similar turn on Thursday. But if a shift is coming, Duncan probably won't be the reason for it. The Hornets are intent on forcing somebody else to beat them, and so far no one has accepted the offer.
Rarely in his career has Duncan looked this frustrated, this powerless, this out of sync, in back-to-back games. If it hasn't been because of a reported illness — one he refused to acknowledge after Monday's game — it's been because of too-short jump hooks and the long arms and double-teams of the Hornets.
All of this was building up inside, and it finally erupted with 4:06 left in the third quarter. After David West was bumped by Oberto and drew a foul, West lingered in Oberto's face, clapping and nodding. Duncan, apparently taking umbrage with West's taunt, charged over screaming at West, and the two power forwards had to be separated.
But when it came time for Duncan's teammates to help him in a time of need, they failed to deliver. Manu
Ginobili, perhaps still suffering from a calf injury, couldn't work his usual magic. Even when Tony Parker got to the rim, he was often greeted by a defender waiting to swat his shot into the first row. Bruce Bowen couldn't keep up with Chris Paul, Oberto couldn't stay in front of West, and Michael Finley wasn't long enough for Peja Stojakovic.
And not only do the Hornets have the bodies to give the Spurs matchup problems, they have the minds to take advantage of them. An example:
Early in the third quarter, 6-foot-9, 240-pound West found himself being guarded on the baseline by 6-foot-2, 180-pound Parker. In that situation, most big men would try to post the smaller defender up.
But West? He knew someone was coming to help Parker. So he fired the ball to the spot where he figured that defender — Bowen — was coming from. When Morris Peterson caught the pass, he was all alone in the corner, and swished a 3-pointer.
Plays like that were the norm during the first two games, and simply moving the series west doesn't guarantee they'll stop. Even though he was better in Game 2 than he was in a historically bad Game 1, Duncan himself pointed out his effectiveness Monday was “not a whole lot different.”
He said the Spurs “have got guys who have been in this situation before,” but that's not entirely true.
Duncan is the only player on the team who's ever lost the first two games of a playoff series, and that one didn't work out so well. In the 2001 Western Conference finals, they were swept by the Lakers.
Gregg Popovich said he'd be worried even if the Spurs were coming home ahead 2-0, but he recognizes the magnitude of this challenge. And he also has a pretty good idea of what the solution is.
“Your best players,” Popovich said. “This is the time for all of them to perform.”
As we've seen all season long, the Spurs' “best players” aren't limited to tall men wearing No. 21 anymore. They have guys who can exploit matchup advantages of their own, guys who have hit big shots in big games, guys capable of firing off a quick-as-an-extinguisher change of momentum of their own.
Duncan, understanding the moment, stepped into the fray on Monday. What happens next depends on who follows him.
[email protected]
Mike Finger: Duncan desperately needs help
Web Posted: 05/06/2008 01:07 AM CDT
San Antonio Express-News
Finger NEW ORLEANS — Snarling and outraged, Tim Duncan stood up for Fabricio Oberto. Now someone needs to stand up for Duncan.
If the Spurs are going to do what they've never done before — if they're going to win a playoff series they trail two games to none, and stem this tide of alley-oops and layups and shockingly thorough blowouts — then a few guys have to do for Duncan what he's so often done for them. This time they have to be the difference-makers.
It's true that the tone of a series can change as quickly as a burst of a fire extinguisher, and this one can take a similar turn on Thursday. But if a shift is coming, Duncan probably won't be the reason for it. The Hornets are intent on forcing somebody else to beat them, and so far no one has accepted the offer.
Rarely in his career has Duncan looked this frustrated, this powerless, this out of sync, in back-to-back games. If it hasn't been because of a reported illness — one he refused to acknowledge after Monday's game — it's been because of too-short jump hooks and the long arms and double-teams of the Hornets.
All of this was building up inside, and it finally erupted with 4:06 left in the third quarter. After David West was bumped by Oberto and drew a foul, West lingered in Oberto's face, clapping and nodding. Duncan, apparently taking umbrage with West's taunt, charged over screaming at West, and the two power forwards had to be separated.
But when it came time for Duncan's teammates to help him in a time of need, they failed to deliver. Manu
Ginobili, perhaps still suffering from a calf injury, couldn't work his usual magic. Even when Tony Parker got to the rim, he was often greeted by a defender waiting to swat his shot into the first row. Bruce Bowen couldn't keep up with Chris Paul, Oberto couldn't stay in front of West, and Michael Finley wasn't long enough for Peja Stojakovic.
And not only do the Hornets have the bodies to give the Spurs matchup problems, they have the minds to take advantage of them. An example:
Early in the third quarter, 6-foot-9, 240-pound West found himself being guarded on the baseline by 6-foot-2, 180-pound Parker. In that situation, most big men would try to post the smaller defender up.
But West? He knew someone was coming to help Parker. So he fired the ball to the spot where he figured that defender — Bowen — was coming from. When Morris Peterson caught the pass, he was all alone in the corner, and swished a 3-pointer.
Plays like that were the norm during the first two games, and simply moving the series west doesn't guarantee they'll stop. Even though he was better in Game 2 than he was in a historically bad Game 1, Duncan himself pointed out his effectiveness Monday was “not a whole lot different.”
He said the Spurs “have got guys who have been in this situation before,” but that's not entirely true.
Duncan is the only player on the team who's ever lost the first two games of a playoff series, and that one didn't work out so well. In the 2001 Western Conference finals, they were swept by the Lakers.
Gregg Popovich said he'd be worried even if the Spurs were coming home ahead 2-0, but he recognizes the magnitude of this challenge. And he also has a pretty good idea of what the solution is.
“Your best players,” Popovich said. “This is the time for all of them to perform.”
As we've seen all season long, the Spurs' “best players” aren't limited to tall men wearing No. 21 anymore. They have guys who can exploit matchup advantages of their own, guys who have hit big shots in big games, guys capable of firing off a quick-as-an-extinguisher change of momentum of their own.
Duncan, understanding the moment, stepped into the fray on Monday. What happens next depends on who follows him.
[email protected]