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"Parker -- who only recently was a walking Popovich migraine"
bull .
Ordinarily, I don't like this writer's POV but he hit the nail on the head with this article.
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Signs of life
By Sean Deveney - SportingNews
Last weekend's itinerary for the Spurs looked something like this: Shake off the Kings, a bludgeon of an eighth-seeded playoff foe, in Sacramento by 10:30 p.m. PT Friday, hop on an early-morning flight back to San Antonio, sleep a few hours, watch film, do some scouting, practice, then tip off Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday, oh, about 36 hours after the conclusion of that Friday game.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, taking note of the scheduling wizardry that put his team into such a frenzied bind, said after the first-round finale, "I think we play Dallas in 20 minutes."
Meanwhile, the Mavericks spent last week resting in Texas after sweeping the Grizzlies, which left plenty of time to contemplate the nature of their burgeoning rivalry with the Spurs -- though so far it's been too one-sided to qualify as a rivalry.
For Dallas, this series is a chance to get closer to a championship, of course, but it's also an opportunity to prove that Spurs-Mavericks enmity has gone beyond intrastate bragging rights and losers' envy. This won't be a truly hot-blooded hoedown until Dallas actually beats San Antonio in the spring, and the Mavericks know it.
"We haven't been successful against them in the playoffs," coach Avery Johnson said to reporters, "and we're hoping that can change this year."
Because Round 2 opened with the Mavericks pulling themselves out of their hammocks while the Spurs pulled themselves off the mat, there was a sense that, if ever Dallas had the chance to upend San Antonio, it was this spring. Dallas split its regular-season games with the Spurs, finished with 60 wins (tying a franchise record) and finally absorbed the value of defense, long its postseason weak spot.
The Spurs, particularly two-time MVP Tim Duncan, have been a hobbled bunch. That adds an air of vulnerability to the team, and its first-round struggles could be interpreted as a sign of a team on its sickbed, its vital signs faltering.
But perhaps the Spurs deserve a re-examination of those vital signs -- have another look at what's transpired in the playoffs, and you'll see this team is far from dead. As good as Dallas was this season, the Spurs were better -- they won 63 games (also a franchise best), topped the Mavs for the Southwest Division le and finished second in the league in points allowed. "We won 63 games, but no one mentions that," Spurs forward Bruce Bowen says. "For some reason, every year there's always a reason why people think we can't do it."
The "it" in question is winning a championship, which would mark the Spurs' second straight le and their third in four years. San Antonio showed some pretty strong vital signs despite the quick turnaround before Game 1 and tightened up its second half defense during a win over the Mavericks in the series opener.
The best sign of all came in the opening minutes of the game, when the Spurs consistently fed Duncan, who scored 20 points by halftime. He looked rejuvenated, and Dallas seemed uncertain about how to stop him -- Johnson called for his Mavs to double-team Duncan which, given Duncan's passing ability, might not be a good idea over the long term.
"He has been a little bit hurt, but it is not his fault he is not scoring as much," point guard Tony Parker says. "Sometimes, we have to do a better job of giving him the ball. With us, everything should go through Tim."
That hasn't always been the case this season. With Duncan's sore foot, Popovich ceded control of the offense to Parker, who responded with a brilliant All-Star season and averaged 18.9 points. If there's a reason most in the league thought the Spurs would be vulnerable come playoff time, that was it: They just did not look like the team we've become accustomed to with Parker -- who only recently was a walking Popovich migraine -- dominating the ball, and doing so with the blessing of his coaches.
"Any coach will tell you," says one West scout, "that you'd rather figure out how to stop Tony Parker than stop Tim Duncan. That's why everyone thinks they can be beaten, even though no one beat them during the season."
In fact, during the first round Kings coach Rick Adelman wondered if, maybe, the Spurs were a better team because of what they went through this year. "Now you have Parker who can be such a threat, and you still have Tim," Adelman said.
"But they have a bunch of players who are threats, and when they are making their shots, they are a five-man team. You can try to double Tim or Tony, but you leave someone open who can make a shot. It's pick your poison."
Against Dallas to open the second round, the Spurs overcame the poison of some bad scheduling and a talented, amped-up foe. Look a little deeper -- the pulse of these Spurs still is there.
"Parker -- who only recently was a walking Popovich migraine"
bull .
hahaaaha i thought it was gino that was the migraine
Yeah, I thought that was a little uncalled for but Pop did used to come down hard on Tony not long ago.
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