Tag: Chip Engelland

Spurs notebook: Splitter’s free-throw work paying off

For Spurs center Tiago Splitter, shooting free throws was once an adventure.

As a rookie last season, he made just 54.3 percent of them, converting at just better than the rate of “heads” in a coin flip.

“I didn’t have a great mechanic,” Splitter said. “We tried to change it, and it wasn’t easy. You’re changing the way you shot your whole life.”

After a season working with shooting coach Chip Engelland, and a lockout-prolonged offseason spent honing his touch on his own, Splitter appears to be developing into a rarity among Spurs big men — a competent foul shooter.

Splitter is hitting 69 percent of his freebies heading into tonight’s game against Phoenix, having converted 20 of 29. Those numbers will never confuse him for Mark Price, but they do make him a more valuable weapon in the post.

With so much juking and junk in his post game, Splitter can count on drawing fouls and going to the line often.

“If he’s going to make his free throws, we can definitely pass him the ball inside,” point guard Tony Parker said. “He’s going to be a force down there.”

Splitter had made nine consecutive free throws before snapping that streak with a 4-of-7 showing in Friday’s 99-83 win over Portland. He hopes it is a sign that his new shooting mechanic is becoming second nature.

“Sometimes, you make them in practice, then you go to the game, and it’s different,” Splitter said. “You start thinking too much. Now, I just go there and shoot it.”

Talking ’bout practice: For the first time since the start of the regular season, coach Gregg Popovich was able to conduct a full-scale practice Saturday.

The light, 45-minute session was focused mostly on teaching and geared to younger players such as rookies Kawhi Leonard, Cory Joseph and Malcolm Thomas, as well as second-year guys such as Splitter and James Anderson.

“The young guys are still a little confused in the system,” Popovich said. “They need time in it. So the weight room and the film room and the court are all important places for education, and we were able to do all three today.”

Getting defensive: After the Spurs gave up 51.8 percent shooting in a 106-103 defeat at Milwaukee — a performance so porous they lost despite hitting 60 percent — Popovich challenged his players to become more defensive minded.

In the two games since, wins over Houston and Portland, neither opponent has shot better than 42.7 percent. The Blazers made just 40.7 percent of their shots Friday and were held to just 36 points in the second half.

“I like to think it’s increased focus and understanding of who we have to be and what we have to do if we want to win basketball games,” Popovich said. “We’re not an offensive juggernaut by any stretch, so we’ve got to guard people.”

That said, the Spurs do rank fourth in the league in scoring (100.8 points per game). Typically prolific Phoenix ranks 16th at 94.1.

Splitter struggles to score

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

MAR DEL PLATA, Argentina — If Spurs fans have been fretting about the unimpressive numbers center Tiago Splitter has been putting up in the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament, Hall of Famer Gail Goodrich has an explanation.

“I just don’t see much offensive skill there,” said Goodrich, working as an analyst on ESPN’s English language telecasts of the games that will send the top two teams to the 2012 Olympic tournament in London next summer.

“For a guy who was supposed to be one of the best big men in this tournament, maybe the best, he’s really struggled.”

Indeed, Splitter’s offensive performance has been shockingly mediocre and inconsistent. The only NBA player on a very young Brazilian team, which scored a surprising 73-71 victory over host Argentina on Wednesday, Splitter totaled only 17 points in the four games that preceded a 17-point outburst in Brazil’s Thursday victory over Puerto Rico.

A player coach Gregg Popovich has called “a linchpin of the future” for the Spurs got off to a good start in the tournament. He made 7 of 8 shots and scored 17 points in Brazil’s first game, but since he has scored in double figures only once more in the six games that preceded the meeting with Puerto Rico.

He made 6 of 8 shots and scored 16 points, with 10 rebounds, in Brazil’s 79-74 victory over a Dominican Republic team that features Al Horford, the Atlanta Hawks’ two-time NBA All-Star center, and Charlie Villanueva, the Milwaukee Bucks veteran power forward. It was his most impressive performance of the two-week tournament, but he had struggled before breaking out against an undersized Puerto Rican team.

In Wednesday’s game against Manu Ginobili’s Argentine team, the 6-foot-11 center took only six shots — none from more than 5 feet from the basket — and missed them all. Three of them were blocked at the rim, including one by Ginobili and another by former Spurs center Fabricio Oberto, a solid post defender but never a renowned as a shot-blocker.

Splitter’s problems at the foul line also persist.

Though it is clear he is trying to adhere to the revamped free-throw stroke he learned last season from Spurs shooting coach Chip Engelland, his official free-throw percentage through seven games is 42.4. Three converted free throws were disallowed by the referees because of lane violations by overaggressive teammates, clearly anticipating misses and trying to gain rebounding position.

Those show up as misses on Splitter’s stats, but adding them in raises his accuracy to only 51.5 percent.

The good news for the Spurs? Splitter’s work on the boards and on defense has been solid, if not spectacular. His rebounding average, 7.6 per game, is seventh best in the tournament.

Splitter takes solace in Brazil’s 7-1 record and its victory over archrival Argentina. He feels his defensive presence is more important to Brazil’s team goals than his offensive work, especially when the semifinals arrive Saturday. Olympic berths will go to the winners of the two semifinal games.

“We know that now is the time to play and now is when the games really matter,” Splitter said. “Of course, you have more pressure now. You have everything on the line.

“We have figured out how to (play) defense better. Coach (Ruben) Magnano wants us to have good defense and then start the fast break. That is the key to our game, so I am trying to contribute most on defense and start the fast break. I am not worrying about getting my points. I mostly try to (play) defense and rebound.”

Meanwhile, Splitter awaits the end of the NBA lockout so he can resume working on smoothing the rough edges that have been on display in Ginobili’s home country.

“The good thing with Tiago is that he worked on it right after the season,” Ginobili said. “He stayed for a month and a half in San Antonio and worked with the coaches before the lockout. But it really (stinks) that we can’t work out in our gym or even talk to Pop. It’s really crazy, but it is what it is.”

Rare 3-point sabbatical surprising for Ginobili

When he arrived at the bench with 5:12 remaining in Saturday’s game against the Jazz at the ATT Center, Manu Ginobili knew his work for the evening was over.

After a few moments, a second realization hit him: He had not attempted a 3-point shot.

Unable to recall the last game he had not launched at least one, he was surprised to discover the last time he had not attempted a 3-pointer was Game 4 of the Spurs’ 2008 first-round playoff series against the Suns.

“I thought it was going to be more, but I guess it’s just three seasons,” he said after Sunday’s practice.

Ginobili has taken 441 3-pointers this season, more than any of his teammates and already a career-high. Previously, his 389 attempts in 2007-08 had represented his busiest season from long range.

Ginobili had a simple explanation for his failure to launch on Saturday.

“I didn’t get the opportunity,” he said. “It’s not that I passed shots that I didn’t take. I was just guarded the whole time, and I tried to attack and find open teammates.

“I realized after I went to the bench for the last time that I hadn’t shot one, but it’s no big deal. Once in a while, it’s good not to force it. If you’re open, you shoot; if you’re not, you just drive it.”

The two-time All-Star understands his willingness to fire away from long range forces opponents to choose how to defend him. When a defense opts to guard him closely when he is at the 3-point line, driving lanes open.

“It’s not going to be every game like that,” Ginobili said. “Sometimes you do have to shoot it to keep the defense honest and guard you. Some teams just focus on not letting you get into the paint, so you have to punish them.

“I didn’t see the opportunity yesterday, so I didn’t take any.”

DUNCAN FRESH: With his minutes played at a career-low 28.4 per game, Tim Duncan says he has gotten to the brink of the playoffs with plenty of energy.

“I feel great,” he said after Saturday’s victory. “My ankle’s not 100 percent, but juice-wise I feel pretty energized.”

Duncan suffered a sprained left ankle against the Kings on March 21 but returned to the court March 31.

HOW MANY COACHES DOES IT TAKE? Tiago Splitter’s free-throw mechanics remain an ongoing project. The 6-foot-10 rookie has the lowest percentage (54.0) of any Spurs player who has attempted more than 10 free throws this season, but not because of lack of practice.

After Sunday’s brief session, Splitter stayed on the court for more than half an hour working on his form with shooting coach Chip Engelland. By the time most of his teammates had headed for the showers, Splitter was surrounded by five Spurs assistants.