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Correction: a WANNA-BE Version of the Spurs.... just like every other ing team in the NBA now. WGAF.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....bcd49a57.html
Pro basketball: Hornets another version of Spurs
Mike Finger
Express-News Staff Writer
WESTWEGO, La. — If a visitor who didn’t know any better had wandered into the Alario Center on Thursday afternoon — if he watched the New Orleans Hornets spend the better part of a half-hour attempting bank shots off a wall 30-feet high, then erupt in a spontaneous team-wide game of dodgeball that left everyone in the gym ducking for cover — he’d come to a natural conclusion:
Melvin Ely is crazy.
“This team here,” Ely said, “is another version of the Spurs, in every sense.”
Given the occasional retirement-community vibe of the Spurs’ locker room and the middle-school atmosphere of the Hornets’ practice, this is a difficult premise to accept. But upon closer inspection, Ely might not be as nuts as he sounds.
Ely, after all, is the one man most qualified to make the comparison. He has an NBA championship ring, courtesy of the time he spent last season on and behind the Spurs’ bench. Now he fills a similar spot with the Hornets, who are preparing to meet the Spurs in the second round of the playoffs.
And what Ely has noticed might surprise you.
“We’ve got a coach who tells you exactly what he wants,” Ely said, referring to Byron Scott. “We’ve got our own Tony Parker (point guard sensation Chris Paul). We’ve got David West over there, doing what Tim Duncan does. And in the locker room, there’s a bunch of guys with the same at ude as the Spurs have. They don’t care about the credit. They care about winning.”
This, as it turns out, is no coincidence. While other teams around the NBA jumped on the up-tempo, defense-be-danged approach popularized by Phoenix and Golden State, the Hornets tried to build themselves in the Spurs’ image. They share the ball, they trust their playmakers, and they take guarding people seriously.
“We just tried to put a team together that could compete with the likes of San Antonio,” Scott said.
Said West, the power forward who made a point of noting he is “not in Duncan’s class”: “We see the Spurs as the bar.”
The Hornets haven’t reached that bar yet, but they’re closer than most would’ve expected them to be at this point. Thanks to an MVP-caliber season from Paul — the second-year guard who bettered Parker with regular-season averages of 21.1 points, 11.6 assists and 4.0 rebounds per game (compared with Parker’s 18.8, 6.0 and 3.2) — New Orleans finished first in the Southwest Division. West, who averages 20.6 points per game, and Peja Stojakovic (16.4 points per game), did their parts to fill in the Hornets’ own version of a “big three.”
Will it stand up against the real thing?
“Well,” Hornets forward Bonzi Wells said, “we feel our scheme has a better chance against them than the Suns’ did.”
As for the loose, playground-style environment? Paul said it’s not about a lack of focus, but rather about bringing “a sense of normalcy” to the playoffs.
And Ely said it’s not as different from the Spurs as one might think. He said he has fond memories of paintball fights with Duncan that were not unlike Thursday’s dodgeball outbreak.
“Those guys have fun,” Ely said of the Spurs. “They just do a better job of hiding it.”
Correction: a WANNA-BE Version of the Spurs.... just like every other ing team in the NBA now. WGAF.
Ely obviously knows basketball.
Last edited by boutons_; 05-02-2008 at 09:22 AM.
Ely didn't say they have a Manu Ginobili.
Ely didn't say they have a Manu Ginobili.
'cause they don't
We've gotten this article from every other cities spurs faced during the RS.
Spurs are boring but everybody want to be like them. Go figure...
I wouldn't believe that NO is similar as SA...
They don't have a defensive stopper like bowen
They don't have a BIG SHOT ROB to make the crucial shots
They don't have POP's poker face - intimidating look
They don't have an all star - who pretends to be a sixth man
They have a pass first mentality PG (CP) which is never like our gang bang - do it all from the inside - Parker.
Actually, the Hornets are as close to the West Coast Pistons as you'll get.
- 4 very good starters (Rip, Chauncy, Prince, Sheed) (Peja, David, CP3, Chandler)
- 3 guys out of 4 guys aren't great defensive players but as a group, they are very good defensively
- 1 very good shooter, 1 very good defender, 4 options on offense
- They stretch defense in all the zones 3pt, midrange, post, paint
- They have 1 guy who can do anything and is a top 10 talent in the NBA (Sheed & CP3)
- Thin bench (very good at the top then a severe dropoff)
- Both are #2 seeds in their conference because they can survive bad nights by 1-2 of their main 4 starters. On any given night, they trot out 4 prime players on the court whereas most teams have 2 to 3.
If they keep their core together, they'll be contenders for years...Peja being the 1 old guy. They'll also win the championships in years where other teams are "off"
Last edited by Allanon; 05-02-2008 at 04:55 AM.
Exactly What I was thinking... Excuse me, but where is your version of Manu Ginobili?Ely didn't say they have a Manu Ginobili.
why so much hate?
i think its funny the media and fans of other teams label them as boring but yet other teams try to model themselves after the spurs. is it the fundamentally sound basketball they play? or could it be the fact they are the epitome of what it takes to make and run a team? the spurs are one of the most cohesive teams in pro sports today. you do not see the same guys with the high points of the game EVERY night like you do with the other teams. thats just my .02. what could i know, my team is boring.
While I don't think the Hornets are similar to the Spurs, I do think we are witnessing a very up-and-coming team. The Spurs are doing what they can to rebuild while they still have Tim, Tony, Bruce, and some old guys. We can't last forever with this team and even Duncan's day will come (not anytime soon, tho, IMHO). Anyway, I think this Hornets team is for real and with another year or two under their belt, they will be battling the Spurs and Lakers for supremecy - not only in the West but in the entire NBA.
IMHO, Phoenix and Dallas are on the downslope, and many of the other WC teams just aren't there right now. So, I think this Hornets team may - just MAY - be the team to beat in the near future a'la Phoenix and Dallas of just a few short years back. Especially if the Spurs don't start getting younger blood to replace some of the older gents.
And, before I get flamed, I still feel this Spurs team will win it all this year and have a legitimate shot for the championship for years to come.
Indeed, the Hornets are a darn good, up & coming team, Paul still needs a bit of growing up & a bit more of humility, but he's a real deal as a franchise player -i still take Deron over him though.
I really don't see too many similarities.
I agree, the Hornets are a well put together team not unlike other "classic" teams (including the Spurs) with a terrific at ude, and they'll be in the thick of things (along with the Lakers and Jazz) during the next few years.
But the one thing the Spurs have going for them at this moment: they are motivated, man. They're as sick and tired as their fans are by the same old thing people say: "The Spurs are not a dynasty because they have never repeated."
And of course, the Spurs are not too "old" to repeat. How can you call a team that has just outrun the Suns "old?" This "old" business is just wishful thinking on the part of fans and sportswriters working for other teams (I seriously doubt that other NBA players and coaches think of the Spurs as "old" -- they ain't as stupid as fans and sportswriters).
But guaranteed, barring serious injury (knock on wood), we'll be seeing an even hungrier, focused, more rabid Spurs team during the next three rounds than what we've seen in years. Not repeating is a huge monkey on everyone's back, and this is the year to break it off.
Last edited by oboymeetsogirl; 05-02-2008 at 01:07 PM.
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