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Thanks Duncan228.
Can't wait.
Pop: No more excuses
Jeff McDonald
PHOENIX — In the past few weeks, the Spurs have crowned the Kings, battered the Bobcats, and clobbered the Clippers. They have whipped both the Wizards and the Warriors and have 86'ed the 76ers.
On their way to a 12-9 record, the Spurs have feasted — heartily — on a diet consisting mostly of cupcakes. When forced to take on meatier fare, however, the Spurs have mostly choked on it, going 2-8 this season against teams that were over .500 heading into Monday's slate.
“We still need a couple quality wins against quality teams,” forward Richard Jefferson said. “That's something I think we're lacking.”
Tonight in Phoenix, against the 16-8 Suns, the Spurs have a chance to address that hole in their résumé.
They have proven they can dominate the league's dregs, winning their last three games — over Sacramento, Charlotte and the Los Angeles Clippers — by an average of 19 points. Now, the Spurs would like to prove, to themselves as much as anybody, that they can beat the NBA's upper crust.
“There are some teams we haven't played as well as we've liked against,” said Jefferson, who has averaged 19 points during the three-game winning streak. “As we start to get more growth, I think good things will start to happen.”
As has been their annual custom, the Spurs started the season slowly, hovering around .500 while breaking in a bevy of new players.
Before his team boarded its flight to Phoenix, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich served notice that the summertime roster renovation will no longer be considered a viable excuse for poor play against good teams.
“We've given up a lot of games already,” Popovich said. “There are more good teams, and they're too damn good. So while we're trying to get everything in order, we've got to focus a lot better, a lot more quickly. We've taken enough time.”
The Spurs have won eight of their past 11 to scoot above .500, but just one of those wins came against a team with a winning record (Houston). The three losses during that span came to Boston, Denver, and Utah, all in a row.
With that as the backdrop, the Spurs will use tonight's game to gauge their progress against an elite team.
That represents quite a turnabout for the Suns, who spent much of this decade weighing themselves against the Spurs — and whose perennial failure to measure up cost Mike D'Antoni his job after the 2007-08 season.
No longer hampered by a Shaquille O'Neal-sized anchor to drag down their running game, the Suns have returned to the fast-breaking style that made them an offensive circus under D'Antoni. They have won 17 consecutive games at US Airways Center, dating to last season.
With point guard Steve Nash returning to All-Star form, Phoenix has scored 100 points in 35 straight home games, the longest streak in the league.
“It's a very big game for us,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “As bad as we've been on the road, as bad as we've been against some of the better teams in the league, both of those are motivating factors. It could be a good confidence builder for us.”
First, however, the Spurs have to win.
In their last three entanglements against upper echelon teams, the Spurs were in the game late but couldn't make the one or two plays necessary to win. None of those defeats came by more than seven points.
Heading into Phoenix, those experiences offer the Spurs a modi of hope.
“It's not like we're getting completely outplayed,” Jefferson said.
“I think as we get a little more familiar as a group, instead of losing those games by two, we'll start winning those games by two.”
By two or by 20, the Spurs will take a win in Phoenix any way it will come.
Thanks Duncan228.
Can't wait.
Great quotes from RJ.
Very good article. The author, like the team, is much improved.
/article
glad to hear that there are no longer any options other than just doing whatever it takes to win
I like the sound of that. No excuses from Spurstalk sounds good too.
Great article. While I don't think the Suns game (or any regular season game for that matter) is a definitive measuring stick, I think this will be a great game to see if Manu's and RJ's re-emergence over the past couple days is real or just held up by weak teams. Granted, their offensive numbers will be inflated by the Suns' style, and I fully expect both of them to score 15+ even if they have bad games, but we should be able to tell by the flow of the game how far the integration process has really come.
Pop hasn't even used the soft speech yet...
Great to hear the team feeling a sense of urgency. You know it is there, but good to hear it. Phoenix vs. Spurs games are always fun. I am really looking forward to it.
Go Spurs!
That's generally mid January...
I find it odd that I'm happiest to hear a kind word for McDonald... poor bas has gotten precious little acceptance since he came on, deservedly or not.
Thought you left us? Good to have you back, whottt.
A bump for those that are still using the old excuses.
Spurs can't beat good teams, they barely beat ty teams...
This team has a load of talent but no clue on the court...
This team lacks a whole bunch of ...
Pop's fault.
So.... let's hear it... what happened?
only one thing has become obvious at this point in the season.
more matt bonner
BLOWN OUT, this team just is not that good right not and I accept it! Utterly pathetic at times.
I had to wait for a fourth member to post...more accurately, the fourth but first member who wasn't part of the Big 3.
SequSpur, DesignatedT, and init2winit are the official Big 3 of the San Antonio Fairweather Cliffjumpers
A shamefull bump!
Pop has just become way too soft..
I see Pop getting thrown out of the next game to show some passion and heart!
this team is just lost right now. its like they forgot how to win big games
Peter Holt! Time to start getting on someones ass! How is last years team better than this year?
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