http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b...s.3e8c9c7.html
Mike Finger: Pop in no rush to set rotation
Web Posted: 03/05/2008 12:31 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
Gregg Popovich can't make up his mind, and that's fine when it comes to the NBA championship race. But he's killing the Spurs' chances of winning the Tour de France.
If the stationary bicycles in the team's exercise room really could take a rider through the Alps, Jacque Vaughn would've been there by now. Like other Spurs backups, he arrives at the AT&T Center early on game days and bases the intensity of his pregame workouts on his expected playing time. If he thinks he'll be riding the bench all night, he spends extra time on the bike.
"But these days," Vaughn said, "I'm never sure how much I need to ride."
That might be a problem if the Spurs were training for a road race, or if Vaughn wasn't chuckling when he said it. But as Popovich tinkers with big lineups and small ones, preparing to shorten a rotation that already seems crowded enough as it is, no one seems to mind that roles are being tried on and cast aside like prom dresses in a department-store fitting room.
Sooner or later, Popovich will find the one (or two) he likes. And when he does?
"You're on board even if you don't want to be," Vaughn said. "If you're not on board, you stand out pretty quick."
This is why no one in the Spurs' locker room is worried about adding Kurt Thomas and Damon Stoudamire at midseason, and why Brent Barry had no qualms about returning to the team offering him fewer guaranteed minutes than any of his other suitors. They understand that every piece serves its purpose, even if it's only in one matchup against one potential playoff opponent.
Popovich admits he still has no idea what his playoff rotation will look like, but it almost certainly will be shorter than the one he's using now. So even as the Spurs have won 10 games in a row, he's trying a little bit of everything, which can lead to some sporadic dosages of playing time.
Just in the span of the past six games, Michael Finley has had a 30-minute night and a 10-minute one. Robert Horry has had a sweaty 22-minute evening and a no-antiperspirant-required "Did Not Play." Fabricio Oberto has gone from 32 minutes to five minutes in back-to-back games. And Vaughn's playing time has ranged from 13 minutes to five seconds.
What should those players expect in April and May? It's too soon to tell.
"It's just something we'll decide on as we move on," Popovich said, "but I know we're not ready to decide now."
The only certainty is that there will be a good player or two who won't see any action at all in certain games. On Tuesday, when the nation's eyes were on Texas for reasons other than the second Spurs-Nets matchup in three days, Matt Bonner played the role of Mike Huckabee. Geez, people wondered, this guy still bothers to show up?
Of course, it might be a moot point. The top part of the rotation is what matters most, and the game-changing final sequence of the third quarter Tuesday proved that again. With the Nets still hanging around, Tim Duncan swatted away a Vince Carter layup attempt. While Carter stayed back to whine about the call, Duncan ran the floor, then twice rebounded his own misses before banking a shot home.
On the Nets' next possession, Richard Jefferson slowly retreated toward midcourt to grab a ball Manu Ginobili had poked away from him. What Jefferson didn't realize was that Ginobili was right behind him. And when Ginobili circled him to get to the ball first, then punctuated the hustle play with a one-handed dunk, few in the AT&T Center were worried about Popovich's rotation-related headache.
With Duncan and Ginobili playing like that, couldn't Pop give minutes to Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton and still get back to the NBA Finals?
Popovich knows better. He realizes he needs to figure out if Ginobili will help more starting or coming off the bench, and if Ime Udoka is worthy of more playing time than Barry, and if he'd rather have Stoudamire's shooting ability or Vaughn's steadiness at backup point guard.
"But when playoff time comes," Vaughn said, "I guarantee you there won't be any uncertainty."
Except maybe on the bike trails.
Beginning Friday, the Spurs will encounter an eight-day, five-game sequence that's about as tough as it gets in the NBA:
-Friday at Denver,
-Saturday at Phoenix, ()
-Monday at home against Denver,
-Wednesday at New Orleans,
-Friday at Detroit.
wow, tough sked.
I hope the Spurs can copy that 13-W winning streak of last yr. I seriously want to see more of Thomas esp against ShaQ & Rasheed.
10-W & counting....
Just lettin ya know, dont know if u noticed but Phoenix is Sunday at 2:30
San Antonio will never see a tougher regular season 5 games in a row. Time to get everyone some minutes.
Why Barack was DNP?
Pop had a chance to add some diplomacy into lineup
thanks.
I doubt if we can see this one live. Probably not.
Fri- @ Den
Sun- @ Phx
Mon- vs. Den
Wed- @ NO
Fri-@ Det
Damn that is a tough stretch but i think they can go 5-1 at best or at least 4-2. Denver always plays us tough on their home court but i think we pull it out, Sun at Phx I think our offense comes alive with that crap defense of the Suns, and come back Monday and handle our business at home against Denver. NO & Det are the games I'm not so sure about, NO hasnt been playing so great as of late but you never know....and Detroit we might wanna get some revenge after getting our ass kicked at home by them.
So basically...Pop's just about the got the rotation set
The Spurs could 5-0 that stretch easily. Fat Shaq sets Phoenix back against us. Detroit is the biggest threat to us on that stretch. The second time around against Denver maybe, only because it's a back to back, but even then, these Spurs are better than the 2006 Spurs that failed at an epic level on b2b's.
i dont really care about the denver games, since it looks like they might fall out of the playoff race
as for the suns, ftw
Pop's experimenting with any lineup that doesn't include Matt Bonner. But Bonner's not in the doghouse, right?
well, I'm almost certain with Brent Barry back, it's just a spin of a coin who will prevail w/ playing time in the playoffs and who will be the cheerleader- Vaughn or the Mighty Mouse?And Vaughn's playing time has ranged from 13 minutes to five seconds.
What should those players expect in April and May? It's too soon to tell.
Popovich knows better. He realizes he needs to figure out if Ginobili will help more starting or coming off the bench, and if Ime Udoka is worthy of more playing time than Barry, and if he'd rather have Stoudamire's shooting ability or Vaughn's steadiness at backup point guard.
"But when playoff time comes," Vaughn said, "I guarantee you there won't be any uncertainty."
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