Must-see TV? Not if Spurs' defense can help it
Mike Monroe
LOS ANGELES — The Spurs are the bane of the TV networks because the defensive excellence that makes them the winningest pro franchise of the past decade is lost on viewers who measure a game's appeal by counting dunks.
When they take on the Los Angeles Lakers in ABC's featured game this afternoon, don't expect the Spurs to engage in another shootout like their 112-111 victory at the AT&T Center on Jan. 14.
That was their lone non-overtime win over a team that topped 100 points, which explains why Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it was “like watching a World Cup soccer game that was 13-12.”
Soccer fans wouldn't know what to make of such an unusual World Cup game, and Popovich was perplexed by a victory he called an aberration.
“For fans, I'm sure it was one of the greatest games of the year,” he said. “But I wouldn't want to think we could be that fortunate again to give up that many points and still come out on top.”
Popovich has been pounding away at his players for more than a week to convince them that they can't expect to win in April, May or June unless their opponents score in the 80s.
Most of their opponents, anyway.
“The Lakers?” he said. “They've got to be in the 90s for us to win a basketball game against them.”
Limiting the easy opportunities of a team with Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom can be daunting, as the Lakers' 56.6 percent shooting Jan. 14 attests.
Popovich doesn't judge his team by its performance in any one game, though. Consistency counts, so he regards the past four games, during which the Spurs have held their opponents to 40.2 percent shooting, merely as a good start on the road back to defensive excellence.
“The whole season is a process,” Popovich said. “Whether you're talking about execution on offense or defense, you can't take a snapshot. It's about consistency over time.
“Whatever it may be — a rotation on a certain defense, individual defense, blocking out; transition defense, picking up the ball, weakside defense — you're looking for consistency in those areas, both by individuals, and the team reaction when you're in a team defense.”
Veterans of the Spurs' le runs know better than to believe they have turned a defensive corner. Bruce Bowen, named to the NBA's All-Defensive first team each of the past five seasons, believes the three-game trip against Western playoff contenders that begins today at the Staples Center can be a defining stretch.
“Our field-goal percentage defense has been better,” Bowen said. “And there has been more emphasis on our transition defense. But I think it will be more telling to see where we are after this road trip, and especially to see where we are after we play the Lakers.
“Last time we played them, they shot 56 percent. That's what they do, and we've got to be able to limit something. It has to be on the defensive end.”
The Lakers, five games ahead of the second-place Spurs in the overall Western Conference standings, challenge any defense with a balanced attack that features interior scoring from forwards Gasol and Odom and, recently, center Andrew Bynum, plus the perimeter productivity of Bryant and Fisher.
There will be defensive choices to make today, which is the reason Popovich understands expectations for defensive limitation must be altered. Holding the Lakers to a score in the 90s is acceptable, but only if they can be held well under 50 percent from the field.
“Basically, they got whatever they wanted last time,” said Manu Ginobili, who scored a season-high 27 points in the Jan. 14 victory. “We're always talking about how much better we want to get defensively. Well, we've got to make them take tougher shots, and not get to the rim so much.”
Worth noting: With today's early tipoff, the Spurs opted to fly to Los Angeles around midday and bus straight to Santa Monica High School from the airport for a practice session that left them plenty of rest time before an early departure for the Staples Center.
They stay in Los Angeles after the game, then fly to Salt Lake City on Monday. They face the Jazz on Tuesday night.
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