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Duncan, Ginobili take different roads to campBy Ian Whittell
Special to ESPN.com
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Five observations from Spurs camp:
1. All rest and no play. Manu Ginobili played for his country this summer, Tim Duncan did not. So which player benefited most from that arrangement? Both, according to coach Gregg Popovich.
Last season, the pair was hobbled by injuries: Duncan struggled with debilitating plantar fasciitis and a variety of ailments kept Ginobili out of 17 games. Yet both reported to preseason camp in excellent health.
"[Duncan] needed rest for his foot and he is in the best shape he's been in the last five or six years," Popovich said. "His foot is fine, so the break was great for him.
"Manu, I can't explain it to you other than Manu and Tim are very different. Manu has got to keep playing, he has problems if he stops. He's got to be in his rhythm, got to keep taking his shots, keep playing. Odd as it sounds, Manu needs to keep playing, Tim needs to rest."
Nevertheless, Ginobili suffered a painful blow to his hip during Thursday's victory over Asvel Villeurbanne, although it did not keep him out of Sunday's win over Maccabi Tel Aviv in which he played 23 minutes.
"We've got to figure out a way to get some meat on that body," said Popovich, referencing Ginobili's penchant for putting his body on the line on a nightly basis. "He feels those elbows too much."
2. To the point. Think Popovich is frustrated by backup point guard Beno Udrih's lack of durability? He is not the only one.
Udrih, 24, was expected to emerge, unopposed, as the second point guard on the roster this preseason, but a persistent hamstring injury has seen his role in France reduced to that of spectator.
Currently, he stands -- or should that be limps? -- behind Jacque Vaughn and Brent Barry in the compe ion to mop up the expected 10-13 minutes a game that Tony Parker will not spend on the floor during the regular season.
"Last year I was sick once, I had a toe infection," Udrih said. "I was hurt the first year in training camp. I totally understand [Popovich], he wants all his players [healthy], but I'm not happy, either.
"I would rather be out on the court than watching my teammates practice. If anybody is frustrated, it is me. I hope I get back as soon as possible. I am just trying to work hard and do everything to stay healthy."
After the disaster of last year's Nick Van Exel experiment, Udrih was in pole position to replace him as Parker's backup. But after playing in the World Championship, he felt his right hamstring pop during the sprinting drills he does as part of his Spurs offseason training program.
Udrih now concedes he tried to come back too soon from the initial tear after two weeks and aggravated the injury.
"At least when I go back to San Antonio I can start working on strengthening it and, hopefully, I'll be playing in a week," the Slovenian said.
Still, it was hard not to recall Popovich's response when quizzed about Udrih earlier in the week: "He's the fourth point guard on our team now. Give me a break."
3. New kids on the block. Second-year Spur Michael Finley can empathize with the 10 players on the 20-man roster who are new to the team this preseason.
"It's been a slow process for them," Finley said. "Coming in last year, I was trying to learn a new system so I know what they're going through and I'm pretty sympathetic when it comes to them trying to learn and fit in. They're trying to pick things up and they're doing it slowly but surely.
"It is not that it is a difficult system to learn, but it is a smart, from a basketball sense, system. What Pop does is put you in situations to flourish. Everything is based around Tim [Duncan] and Tony [Parker], to a certain extent. Everybody else picks their spots so you have to be mentally prepared when your number is called."
With the loss of Nazr Mohammed and Rasho Nesterovic, that transition has been most keenly felt within the ranks of the big men, where the likes of Matt Bonner, Jackie Butler and Francisco Elson have been competing for time with Fabricio Oberto, the Argentine who saw limited service with the Spurs last season.
4. Bruce Almighty. Don't expect Bruce Bowen to gain extra inspiration from his idle summer.
Many observers thought Bowen's defensive skills and all-around experience were badly missing on the USA's World Championship roster in Japan. But Popovich sees no reason why the snub should have any effect on his play -- good or bad.
"That's got nothing to do with it," Popovich said. "Bruce is the consummate professional, his job is with the San Antonio Spurs.
"He doesn't really need to prove anything to anybody. He has been a champion, an All-League defender, that's what he does and what we expect of him."
5. The big question. The big question at the Spurs' French training camp -- apart from "Is Eva here yet?" -- has revolved around the center position.
Oberto started there in Thursday's exhibition opener, but Bonner, Butler and Elson have all been mentioned as potential fives.
There is also a growing body of evidence, based on their playoff exit to a "small ball" Dallas Mavericks lineup, that Duncan will see more time at that position than in any other season to date.
"I don't know if we know who is going to start, we're four days into practice, nothing is determined," GM R.C. Buford said. "But since David Robinson retired, Tim has played double-digit minutes at the five ever since.
"I think the longer we go into Tim's career, that's going to be the reality of our situation. Having said that, we hope to be versatile enough that we can play big or small during the time when Tim is at the five. We're pretty open-minded."
Bonus observation: Food for thought
Popovich has been criticized in some quarters in Europe for his constant references to the wine and food he has enjoyed while in France.
Admittedly, Pop has set a never-to-be-beaten NBA record for the use of the word "gastronomical" this week, but the knock that he is more interested in treating camp as a French vacation and less as a serious sporting endeavor is totally wide of the mark.
Euros are often quick to accuse Americans abroad of lacking refinement and culture and Popovich has made every effort to fly in the face of that stereotype and share the French love of the finer things in life.
"The best thing about Paris? The gastronomical experience," he said after Saturday's practice, not for the first time.
"Stopping by the cafes, finding a good wine that you can't get in the States. We had some wine last night that you can't find on a wine list in New York or San Francisco or Chicago. That was really nice."
But Popovich has not been slow to show that behind the public relations savoir faire, there is also the steely grit and determination that has made him such a perennial winner.
"I haven't played our new guys too much," he said when quizzed about the 10 new faces on his roster. "We'll get time to look at them later in the month in the States. For now, we're taking these games seriously. We're playing good teams and we're trying to win."
