Trip-opening loss drives Spurs
Mike Monroe
..."The Lakers are the best team in the West,” says Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, “and I’m not just saying that to blow smoke at them. They just are. They’re going to have some moments. You cannot expect them to be perfect every night, but they’re the best team.
“We can play with them and anybody else. There are four or five of us that have the opportunity to be the last team standing in the West.”
...Popovich said his players “folded a little bit” when the Blazers toughened up.
Spurs captain Tim Duncan didn’t disagree. The two-time MVP did not like how the team began its nine-game Rodeo Road Trip.
“There’s only two ways it could have gone,” Duncan said of rodeo trip game No. 1, “and that was not the way you want to start. But it is what it is, and we have so many more games on this road trip with a lot to clean up.”
..."Our record is great and all that stuff, and we love to feel good about ourselves because of the record, but this is a good reality check for us to refocus ourselves and go into L.A. and try to start on a good foot there,” Duncan said.
...“Focus is what has to change most, and be ready for 48 minutes,” (Ginobili) said. “(Tuesday) we played a pretty good first half, but then they just had better effort, went to the boards harder, and we didn’t execute, so there were too many things that didn’t go right.
“In L.A. we’ve got to not make mistakes, play smart offensively because they’re another good defensive squad, and see how it goes.”
..."What we did up in Portland ought to put a fire under us, because we didn’t play any type of defense down the stretch,” said Antonio McDyess, the oldest Spur. “They went on a run and got their energy going and got their crowd into the game, and we didn’t do anything about it.
“That should put a fire on us to go take that game in L.A.”
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