Spurs spread the wealth to beat Clippers
Jeff McDonald
Most nights, Spurs center Theo Ratliff follows the same routine.
He gets to the arena early, gets in some light shooting and slips on his silver and black No. 42 jersey. Then, he finds a comfortable spot on the end of the Spurs' bench from which to watch one of the NBA's all-time greats weave his nightly magic.
It turns out Ratliff hasn't just been watching Tim Duncan. Even at age 36, he's been learning, too.
I've been watching him doing his little running hooks, getting that little mid-range game together, Ratliff said after the Spurs' 103-87 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. You're never too old to learn.
With the Spurs' big man rotation thrown into upheaval because of a fracture to Matt Bonner's red-hot shooting hand, Ratliff had ample opportunity to unveil his new Duncan-esque game against the Clippers.
Ratliff, who hadn't played since Dec. 13 against these same Clippers, threw in a couple of jump hooks and buried a 14-footer on his way to 10 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
Did he look even a little like Duncan?
I don't know if I'd go that far, Tony Parker chuckled, but he played well.
Ratliff wasn't the only Spurs' big man to earn that designation. Abandoning the lineup he'd used for 14 consecutive games, coach Gregg Popovich gave rookie DeJuan Blair the starting nod at center over Antonio McDyess.
McDyess, Popovich believed, had a better chance of stretching the floor a la Bonner than any big man he had left.
The reshuffling appeared to pay off for McDyess, as well as for Ratliff. Resurfacing from a miserable scoring slump, McDyess added 10 points, surpassing what he'd scored in the previous four games combined.
He had been learning from a teammate, too.
I was getting the Matty shots tonight, he said. I just tried to knock them down.
Parker led the Spurs with 19 points, his most since Dec. 7, and did not play in the fourth quarter. Duncan had 13 points, while Roger Mason Jr. scored 10 of his 12 in the first half.
The Spurs (15-10) were in no mood for messing around with the Clippers, whom they had beaten by 25 points only eight days earlier.
A 15-2 run to close the first quarter gave the Spurs a 33-19 lead. Los Angeles (12-15) would get no closer than eight the rest of the way.
Just to make sure, the Spurs finished off the third quarter with a 17-4 spurt to knock the Clippers into oblivion, and set a course for their sixth win in seven games.
A pair old big men in new roles helped the Spurs pull away.
McDyess made all three of his shots in the second half, including one of those Matty Bonner shots a 17-footer to beat the shot clock.
He said he enjoyed coming off the bench for a change.
That's where my comfort zone is, McDyess said. Where ever they need me to play, I will. Tonight, I was just relaxed and wanting to play.
Ratliff, meanwhile, was happy to get in a game at all. He celebrated by tossing up five shots in the fourth quarter, making three.
So what if No. 42 didn't look quite like No. 21?
It's hard to be Tim Duncan, McDyess noted.
These moments have been few and far between for Ratliff. He has been more valuable off the court for the Spurs, mentoring Blair, than he has been on it.
Still, Ratliff kept himself prepared for just such an occasion. This he learned from players even older than he Otis Thorpe, Rick Mahorn, Mark West.
I know you have to be ready when you get an opportunity in order to get minutes, Ratliff said. I'm here and I'm ready.
Ready to watch, and never too old to learn.
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http://www.mysanantonio.com/Spurs_10..._87.html?c=n#1
"You're never too old to learn." Wow....that quote by Ratliff is what gets me the most. Big props to this guy... While Ratliff sat and waited patiently on the bench for his turn, many other NBA players would be ing about minutes. This guy is the true meaning of professional.
I'm definitely pleased to see that Pop decided to put 'Dyess back in his comfort zone and promote Blair to the starting lineup. Between the needed development of Blair and the most efficient and effective way to utilize an older 'Dyess, I really believe it's their best bet moving forward.
Listening to Coach Brown after the game, it sounds like this is going to be something they're going to roll with for a while. The spacing aspect has some merit and I'm sure Pop's not being completely disingenuous with his reasoning, but this is one of those dates and games you probably want to mark on the calendar or put in the mental rolodex; Blair just got his hands on the reins and he might not ever give 'em back.
I'm sure Pop was pleased with Ratliff's aggressiveness.. didn't hesitate to shoot if the defense gave him the opening. Like Bogans, any points he scores are pure gravy.
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