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Wich is why a loss every 13th game is helpfull."Losses," Popovich said, "mean more to players than coaches' cheap talk."
Spurs winning without stops
Web Posted: 11/23/2005 12:00 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...e.d81a77a.html
Three weeks into the season, the Spurs have the best record in the Western Conference.
On most nights, their championship pedigree has forced them to absorb their opponent's hardest punch. They have weathered injuries to Michael Finley, Brent Barry and Manu Ginobili. They have completed their longest road trip in eight seasons.
Their only two losses have come on the second night of back-to-backs. And although they nearly wasted fourth-quarter leads of 20 and 17 points in two of the past three games, they won just the same.
That's reason enough to smile, isn't it?
"Certain people are happy," Tim Duncan said, "and certain people aren't."
Duncan's coach falls into the latter category. After the Spurs (9-2) survived another near meltdown to beat Sacramento on Monday night, Gregg Popovich saw little reason to celebrate. Instead, he lit into the team.
"He was mad," Tony Parker said. "Maaaaaad."
Popovich, whose team plays at Golden State tonight, complained about the Spurs' sloppiness — they had eight turnovers in the fourth quarter — but he also has grown concerned about an area that usually requires little worry: the defense.
In Duncan's first eight seasons, the Spurs never ranked worse than fifth in field-goal percentage defense. In all but two, they finished in the top three. This season, they are 11th.
While the Spurs allow an average of 89.6 points per game, the third-fewest in the league, Popovich traditionally has considered field-goal percentage defense a more accurate indicator of his team's success. Spurs' opponents have averaged 43.4 percent — a reflection, he said, that the team's defense is no better than "very mediocre."
"We definitely have not focused the way we need to," Popovich said.
During the past week, the Spurs have particularly struggled to maintain their defense in the fourth quarter. The Kings made 11 of their last 19 shots after shooting 33.8 percent in the first three quarters. Thursday, Houston shot 52.9 percent in the fourth quarter, almost erasing the Spurs' 20-point lead.
Not even holding Phoenix to 38 points in the second half Saturday impressed Popovich.
"I think you noticed Amare (Stoudemire) wasn't there," he said. "We usually hold him to 391/2 (points), and he's usually 12 for 16 from the field because they're all dunks. So that had a lot to do with their percentage."
The defense, Duncan said, remains "a work in progress." The rotations haven't been as sharp as they should. Players have missed assignments.
Parker blamed some of Monday's problems on the team's weakside defense. After forcing the ball handler to the baseline, help sometimes arrived late.
"We're kind of slow now," Parker said.
Although Fabricio Oberto, Nick Van Exel and Finley are still learning the system, Popovich doesn't blame the newcomers for the defensive lapses. Finley has played in only six of the 11 games. Oberto hasn't received consistent minutes.
"I think it's our team that's doing a poor job getting into the flow defensively," Popovich said. "Philosophically, I just told myself it's because they know how difficult it is to sustain it for an entire season.
"I think maybe they're thinking about taking a little bit of a break in that regard and then thinking about turning it on down the road."
It's that type of at ude, Robert Horry said, that successful teams have to guard against.
"Sometimes it's human nature to be so confident in yourself that you think you can do anything," Horry said. "But if you look at it, we didn't really beat anybody (last season). It was all close games."
Which is why Popovich is less worried about the Spurs' record than he is about their performance.
"I'm exaggerating, but he almost don't care if we win games," Parker said. "He wants us to play defense and share the ball — play the right way."
And if the Spurs don't pick up their defense? Then their coach might not yell at all.
"Losses," Popovich said, "mean more to players than coaches' cheap talk."
Wich is why a loss every 13th game is helpfull."Losses," Popovich said, "mean more to players than coaches' cheap talk."
"Sometimes it's human nature to be so confident in yourself that you think you can do anything," Horry said. "But if you look at it, we didn't really beat anybody (last season). It was all close games."
This is so ironic, coming from the man who has exceled in waiting until the playoffs to show up for games. But he's right.
I'll bet...that was terrible.
This is just a confirmation of what we all see. Not to worry. This team, barring injuries, will be unbelievable next Spring.
As long as Pop rarely uses Rasho in the fourth quarter, the fourth quarter defense will have nights like this when they struggle. Both games it was the player (McGrady/Bibby) running the PnR getting open shots- usually when Tony got screened off by the other teams big man. For all his faults, Rasho is the best big at defending the PnR.During the past week, the Spurs have particularly struggled to maintain their defense in the fourth quarter. The Kings made 11 of their last 19 shots after shooting 33.8 percent in the first three quarters. Thursday, Houston shot 52.9 percent in the fourth quarter, almost erasing the Spurs' 20-point lead.
Plus, Horry didn't even play until the last 3 minutes of the game and he is almost always in the game in the 4th quarter. Pop knows what is going on, he is just trying to keep the team aware of what is needed down the road. I doubt he is really concerned with the veteran team he has.
True, the fourth quarter in Sacramento was without Rasho and Horry for the most part, and the defense of Nazr and Oberto just isn't at that level- at least not yet.
It has been a lack of effort and focus. Nothing else.
Commiting 8 TOs and allowing 35 pts in 4th qtr is very unfocussed.
Unfocused Spurs are getting some breaks in their Nov Ws:
Phx w/o Leandro, Amare
Hou with Tracy hurting, w/o Sura
Sac w/o Peja
probably w vs GSW w/o Boris
oops w/o Diaw (my 2nd error on these dudes today)
Last edited by boutons; 11-23-2005 at 02:03 PM.
spurs have a terrible tendency to play down to teams missing their best players. it happened last year, too.
Who's Boris?
I think he meant Pietrus.
Boris Badenov
Screw it. Let's just run and gun our way to another le.
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