Ludden: Spurs aim to rebound vs. Heat

[Kori Ellis]

Spurs aim to rebound vs. Heat

Web Posted: 02/10/2007 11:28 PM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...t.1c37eaa.html

MIAMI — By the time the Spurs touched down here early Saturday morning, Tim Duncan already had been sentenced to his .8 seconds of YouTube infamy: Dwight Howard's Game-winning Dunk!!!! HOWARD IS A BEAST!!!!
Cable TV also didn't offer much relief for Duncan or his teammates unless they somehow skipped past the 1,237 replays of Howard's demoralizing flush that aired on at least two of ESPN's channels.

So how did Spurs coach Gregg Popovich begin the morning-after recovery from the team's disheartening 18-point meltdown in Orlando? With more video.

While Popovich treated the Spurs to a 30-minute film session before their afternoon practice, he wasn't as concerned with the made-for-SportsCenter final play — which he simply called "unbelievable" — as he was with the 18-plus minutes that preceded it.

"When we score 104 points, we're supposed to win those games," Popovich said. "But when we let an opponent score 106, shoot 58 percent and score 58 points in one half, we should be embarrassed.

"That's too soft of a performance. It's just not compe ive enough on the part of the group. ... We totally let down defensively."

The Spurs' toughness likely will be tested again this afternoon against Dwyane Wade, Shaquille O'Neal and the rest of the defending champion Miami Heat. The Spurs also may have to battle O'Neal, who returned from left knee surgery a little more than two weeks ago, without their own starting center.

Francisco Elson had swelling in his left knee Saturday and is questionable to play, Popovich said.

"I guess he banged it at some point in (Friday's) game — he doesn't really remember when — and it swelled up significantly last night," Popovich said. "He could hardly walk last night getting on the bus. This morning, he was walking better, but it's still swollen, just not quite as much."

If Elson can't play, Fabricio Oberto would probably start in his place. Jackie Butler, who has appeared in only five games, might get to spend a rare day in uniform.

Regardless, Popovich wants to see a better defensive effort than Friday's. Among the problems that showed up on film: The Spurs failed too often to run J.J. Re off the 3-point line; they sometimes double-teamed Howard when they weren't supposed to and didn't double him as instructed on other occasions; and they allowed the Magic to take three offensive rebounds on the final possession of the third quarter, leading to a 3-pointer from Jameer Nelson that tied the game.

"Those kind of things are inexcusable, unacceptable and that's when a teammate lets his team down," Popovich said. "That's the part I'm actually angered about — that consistency of effort, consistency of physicality, consistency of focus is not there as far as the group is concerned.

"There's always a weak link someplace, and that's not good enough."

As a result, the Spurs have yet to prove whether they're capable of challenging for a berth in the NBA Finals. The Heat endured similar questions about their consistency — as well as the age of their supporting cast — last season before marching through the playoffs for their first le.

The Spurs, however, aren't quite ready to draw inspiration from today's opponent.

"We know it can happen because it happened last year," Manu Ginobili said. "But we know it's really hard to do it like that, and we don't want to get satisfied with thinking about that.

"We want to try to improve, get better and get to the playoffs in the best shape possible."

Miami has had an even tougher time this season with O'Neal missing nearly half the schedule and coach Pat Riley taking a leave of absence to tend to his own health issues. The Heat continue to cling to the Eastern Conference's eighth and final playoff seed after their season-high five-game winning streak ended Friday with a loss in Cleveland.

Popovich said he isn't overly concerned about the Spurs' seeding. But he does want to make sure the players don't think they can simply "turn it on" once the playoffs approach.

"As we all know, you can't do that," Popovich said last week before the team opened its trip in Washington. "That's a ridiculous notion.

"What's important is a group of men understanding that the real job is to get better as the season moves along and to be at your best at the end."

Notebook: Matt Bonner went through another full-contact practice Saturday. If his left knee responds well to the workout, he might get some minutes in Tuesday's game against New Jersey, Popovich said. "I'm shocked he's ready this quickly," the coach added. "I didn't think we'd get him back doing anything basketball-wise until after the All-Star break." ... Popovich said he plans to continue using Jacque Vaughn as the backup point guard instead of Beno Udrih. "I'm sticking with him," Popovich said, "and that's my story." ... Popovich did find some humor in Friday's loss, comparing it to the Spurs' .4 defeat against the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 5 of the 2004 conference semifinals. "We're just bad at point-anything," he said. "If there's a point-anything game, I guess (our) fans should just start to leave."

[Kori Ellis]

they allowed the Magic to take three offensive rebounds on the final possession of the third quarter, leading to a 3-pointer from Jameer Nelson that tied the game.

"Those kind of things are inexcusable, unacceptable and that's when a teammate lets his team down," Popovich said. "That's the part I'm actually angered about — that consistency of effort, consistency of physicality, consistency of focus is not there as far as the group is concerned.

"There's always a weak link someplace, and that's not good enough."

I'm sure someone got destroyed by Pop when they reviewed tape about that rebounding sequence.

[timvp]

Pop pulls the Soft Card

The Spurs usually respond well to Pop's annual usage of the Soft Card.

I've been waiting for it.

[Kori Ellis]

Francisco Elson had swelling in his left knee Saturday and is questionable to play, Popovich said.

Oh Boy More Oberto!

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

We've been trying to improve rebounding all year, it's not magically going to change

[Kori Ellis]

We've been trying to improve rebounding all year, it's not magically going to change

The Spurs were up 20-10 on the boards in the first half yesterday and then got demolished in the second.

[timvp]

Francisco Elson had swelling in his left knee

What kinda lame azz injury is that? If players sat out everytime they had swelling in their knees, there'd be no NBA.

Elson is quickly becoming the modern day Paino Udrih.

[mjnxn]

You can fight for position all you want, but you can't rebound well without athleticism.

[Kori Ellis]

What kinda lame azz injury is that? If players sat out everytime they had swelling in their knees, there'd be no NBA.

Elson is quickly becoming the modern day Paino Udrih.

Well if it's swollen to the point he can't walk that's one thing. But if he just has some minor swelling/tendinitis like everyone else, then he will probably play.

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

The Spurs were up 20-10 on the boards in the first half yesterday and then got demolished in the second.

I missed the game yesterday, but when it comes to playing teams like Utah and Dallas, we don't have the tools to compete with them when it comes to rebounding.

[whottt]

Pop pulls the Soft Card

The Spurs usually respond well to Pop's annual usage of the Soft Card.

I've been waiting for it.

Yeah but is it a good thing or a bad thing he waited this long to play it?

I think it's bad that it's taken him this long to play it. In our last le he played it like 2 weeks into the season or something.

[Marcus Bryant]

How long must Jackie Butler sit? It's not like we've seen great consistent production from either Oberto or Elson. It's also not like this team has that much time left in its championship window.

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

Yeah but is it a good thing or a bad thing he waited this long to play it?

I think it's bad that it's taken him this long to play it. In our last le he played it like 2 weeks into the season or something.

This Spurs team probably won't even respond, everytime you think they've turned a corner, they take 2 steps back. Maybe it's because we don't have that locker room voice (ala. AJ/Sjax/Kwill) to fire guys up

[whottt]

Oh Boy More Oberto!

Oberto>Shaq

[Kori Ellis]

Maybe it's because we don't have that locker room voice (ala. AJ/Sjax/Kwill) to fire guys up

SJax and KWill were never much of a lockerroom voice. But I get your point.

[whottt]

How long must Jackie Butler sit? It's not like we've seen great consistent production from either Oberto or Elson. It's also not like this team has that much time left in its championship window.

Agree, if Butler is going to be any kind of a factor, it'll be against a team like the Heat.

[timvp]

Yeah but is it a good thing or a bad thing he waited this long to play it?

I think it's bad that it's taken him this long to play it. In our last le he played it like 2 weeks into the season or something.

Nah, I think it's usually around the All-Star break. In 2003, it was the first game after the All-Star game. In 2005, didn't he pull the soft card after Duncan went down injured?

[Marcus Bryant]

Yeah but is it a good thing or a bad thing he waited this long to play it?

I think it's bad that it's taken him this long to play it. In our last le he played it like 2 weeks into the season or something.

It's going to take more than that. This team simply does not have the horses. It's been sometime since we've seen a rotation this weak. The Spurs have virtually nothing up front with TD. This team is horrid on the boards. The defense is .

[timvp]

I'm sure someone got destroyed by Pop when they reviewed tape about that rebounding sequence.

I watched the replay right now and I'm not exactly sure who Pop is pissed at. If it's just for the rebounding, both Duncan and Finley missed chances at pulling it in. If it was the defense he's pissed at, I'm guessing Barry didn't earn any praise for playing eight feet off of Nelson

[Solid D]

[Marcus Bryant]

This Spurs team probably won't even respond, everytime you think they've turned a corner, they take 2 steps back. Maybe it's because we don't have that locker room voice (ala. AJ/Sjax/Kwill) to fire guys up

Think about the difference then. You had DRob as your starting center. Backing up him and TD was Malik in his prime and Kevin Willis. You had a fearless young scoring wing willing to take big shots in Jack. You had a solid backup point.

You had a real supporting cast. That's what matters. Pop can yell at his team all he wants and call them things worse than 'soft' but at the end of the day, there are far too many holes.

[timvp]

What could playing Butler in place of Oberto hurt? The only thing Oberto has going for him is sometimes he's a decent post defender. That's about it.

At least by playing Butler, you help develop him. At best, he blossoms and the Spurs have a real center.

[kobe_bryant]

u better win

[GINNNNNNNNNNNNOBILI]

What could playing Butler in place of Oberto hurt? The only thing Oberto has going for him is sometimes he's a decent post defender. That's about it.

At least by playing Butler, you help develop him. At best, he blossoms and the Spurs have a real center.

I've said it before, but it really seems Pop is walking on egg s s trying to not hurt feelings this year.

[Marcus Bryant]

This team has really missed out by not at least trying to develop some younger talent over the last couple of years. They grew content. They gave away draft picks and of the ones they did keep, they used them on international players years away (if at all) from playing in the NBA. That the Spurs have nit this nadir is a little surprising. One might think that the front office let all of the adulation thrown their way for their past personnel successes go to their heads. Perhaps, but there's something much more obvious, and it's a ing shame as a fan to have seen. Maybe things will change. Hopefully.