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Is Pop trying to hard to beat his mentor? 50 new plays this late in the game?? That doesnt concern you all at all?
Spurs want to maintain running ways in Finals
Associated Press
Jun. 6, 2005 12:00 AM
SAN ANTONIO - San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich repeated his pat answer when he was asked how his Spurs will customize their game to fit their yet-to-be-decided opponent in the NBA Finals.
"At this point of the season, each of us is who we are," Popovich said. "None of us is going to change right now."
It's a well-worn line, but some of the Spurs players are talking otherwise. They say they are making some changes for the championship series after having so much success playing full-throttle offense while eliminating the Suns in five games in the Western Conference finals. advertisement
"One of the things we realized against Phoenix is that if we push upfield, we're pretty potent offensively," said Robert Horry, who will be playing for his sixth championship ring with a third team.
Horry said the long break that the Spurs are getting after ousting Phoenix on Wednesday is generally a good thing.
"The bad thing is that Pop's throwing in about 50 other plays and that's confusing me," he said.
San Antonio has long been among the NBA's top defensive teams - this season it allowed opponents a league-low 88.3 points per game.
And the Spurs have long been seen as a bland bunch on offense - just dump the ball into Tim Duncan on the block and let him do his thing.
Duncan's still the first offensive option, but this season he posted the lowest scoring numbers of his eight-year career. Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili have both emerged as legitimate scoring threats, and San Antonio has increasingly relied on transition scoring sparked by its defense.
In their five-game series, the freewheeling Spurs outscored the Suns - the league's No. 1 offense during the regular season - by an average of five points.
"I think that's one of the things we're going to stress a little bit more is to push upfield and try to make the other team get back defensively," Horry said.
Bruce Bowen said the series against the Suns showed the Spurs how effective their running game can be, so there's no reason not to keep it up.
"You want those types of points, you want those types of transition baskets," he said. "That's something we worked on all year and it kind of paid off even more against Phoenix."
The Spurs took a couple of days off after the Phoenix series, and they'll be off again today. But their practices remain strenuous, even though some of the players - most notably Duncan and Ginobili - are contending with injuries.
"Maybe that's not smart on my part, maybe it is. I don't know. But I think we have to stay sharp and that's the only way I know to stay sharp," Popovich said Sunday after an intense session lasting nearly two hours.
Damn, I hope Pop is doing the right thing.. 50 new plays and confusing Horry?! Yikes...
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Is Pop trying to hard to beat his mentor? 50 new plays this late in the game?? That doesnt concern you all at all?
I'm pretty sure Horry was exaggerating.
Wet Blankets.
I think it is great that we finally have a running team after all those years of the half court offense. Dont get me wrong we won alot of games that way but it is nice to see our guys running and gunning sometimes.
Here's hoping they at least give the running offense a shot. The one thing the Spurs really have going for them (advantage wise) is that they are a better offensive team than Detriot. They have more offensive options and weapons. Running some and not letting it settle solely into a half court game will allow the Spurs some additional oportunities to utilize their options and role players. Tony leading a fast break is going to be a more likely score for TP than Tony in the half court forcing a jumper.
All we need is problems with our transition defense due to new offensive plays and unfamiliarity with help and switches in new sets when getting back on D. I know Pop is right on with this one, I just hope the fellas get it. We may see the evolution of a Dynasty. The question is from which team?
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