Coach | SAN ANTONIO SPURS TICKETS

Old-school Spurs pump up defense

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

So these aren’t the Mike D’Antoni, “Seven-Seconds-or-Less” Phoenix Suns.

They don’t play offense as if shot from a cannon anymore. They don’t put up scores that would tilt a pinball machine. Steve Nash, at 37, is still proficient on the pick-and-roll, but no longer an MVP candidate. Amare Stoudemire is in his second season dunking in the Big Apple.

Three weeks into this lockout season, Phoenix — once a running, gunning scoring circus with Nash as ringmaster — ranks as one of the NBA’s most pedestrian offenses.

Given the Spurs’ well-chronicled struggles on defense this season, they’ll still take what happened in a 102-91 victory over the Suns on Sunday at the ATT Center as a definitive sign of progress.

“That’s where we want to go,” point guard Tony Parker said after the Spurs improved to 9-0 at home this season. “I thought overall, we played great defense.”

The Spurs (9-4) limited the Suns to just 41.8-percent shooting, the third straight opponent to ? hit less than 43 percent against them.

It arrived on the heels of a stretch in which three straight opponents shot better than 50 percent against them.

After Milwaukee torched the Spurs at a 51.8-percent clip Tuesday — in a game the Spurs lost 106-103 despite shooting 60 percent themselves — coach Gregg Popovich derided his club as “the worst defensive team we’ve ever had.”

The difference since?

“I think we just pay attention more,” Parker said. “I think everybody is making a conscious effort to play better defense.”

The Spurs’ return to defense was part of a throwback night Sunday that also featured an old-school duel between Nash and Tim Duncan, the Spurs’ 35-year-old power forward and Phoenix’s frequent nemesis.

Reprising their infamous clashes from postseasons past, Duncan threw in a season-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, while Nash had 20 points and 10 assists.

“It was a good back-and-forth,” said Duncan, who passed Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA’s all-time scoring chart.

Playing the role of Stoudemire as Nash’s favorite receiver was Marcin Gortat, who finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Suns (4-8) dropped their fourth in a row. Aside from a stretch early in the third quarter, when the Spurs found little answer for the Nash-to-Gortat pick-and-roll, they were solid defensively.

“Steve’s so tricky, he frustrates everyone no matter what you do,” Popovich said. “You can’t be perfect at it.”

For now, Popovich will accept “competent.”

After the debacle in Milwaukee — “a game we could have won,” Parker said — Popovich sat his team down for a come-to-Jesus film session. The topic, not surprising to anyone who has been around the Spurs’ program for more than 35 seconds, was defense.

Where the Spurs used to rely on “stops on demand,” too often this season Popovich had to resort to begging.

Heading into Sunday, even after back-to-back acceptable games against Houston and Portland, the Spurs ranked 26th in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (46.1 percent) and 19th in points allowed (95.6).

In a bit of a role-reversal, Phoenix came into the game averaging 94.1 points, a number the Suns in their high-scoring heyday could often approach in the third quarter.

“We know it’s a work in progress,” Duncan said. “We know it’s a long season, and we use the season to get where we want to be, but we know we have to be a lot better defensively.”

After Nash threw in a running 8-footer to cut what had been a 19-point deficit to 94-89 with 4:42 left, Popovich at last got the stops he demanded.

Phoenix managed just one field goal the rest of the game, and the Spurs held on to win the old-fashioned way.

“We had a couple of steals and some good stops at appropriate times,” Popovich said. “But we can certainly get better.”

– photos by Edward A. Ornelas

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Spurs 102, Suns 91 – Jan. 15, 2012

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Robin Lopez during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair shoots under Phoenix Suns’ Shannon Brown during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Cory Joseph looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Ronnie Price during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan drives around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair congatulates teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan after he scored against the Phoenix Suns during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room between Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoot around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Gary Neal shoots against the Phoenix Suns during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye as San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat look on during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili waves to fans from the bench during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat shoots between San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan and San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash walks off the court after the game with the San Antonio Spurs Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan reacts near the end of the game with Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – The San Antonio Spurs Coyote performs during the game with the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson talks with teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair defends Phoenix Suns’ Hakim Warrick during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker passes around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Spurs’ defense a major work in progress

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

If it’s January, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich must be complaining about his defense.

Earlier this week, Popovich raised eyebrows after a 106-103 loss in Milwaukee by labeling his current Spurs crop “the worst defensive team we’ve ever had.”

It is a theme he continued to hammer when the Spurs returned home to face Houston on Wednesday, noting the Spurs’ defensive ranks — 26th in field-goal percentage defense, 23rd in opponents’ points per game.

“That just won’t get anything done,” Popovich said. “That will portend a very mediocre basketball season for the San Antonio Spurs.”

Whether the Spurs finally heeded Popovich’s message — or perhaps the second night of a back-to-back got to their opponents — Wednesday’s 101-95 overtime win over the Rockets seemed to represent a modest step forward on the defensive front.

After allowing Houston to shoot 65 percent (13 of 20) in the first quarter — “It looked like the same defense from Milwaukee,” Popovich said — the Spurs held the Rockets to 28-of-76 shooting the rest of the way, including 2 for 10 in OT.

Houston finished the game at 42.7 percent, breaking a string of three straight opponents to top 50 percent against the Spurs. The Rockets made just 3 of 21 3-pointers.

Though obviously pleased with the performance, Popovich and team captain Tim Duncan both said they’d like to see more of the same before declaring the Spurs’ defensive woes cured.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Duncan said. “We’ve got a long ways to go to get to where we believe the Spurs’ defense should be.”

All-Star crickets: No Spurs ranked among the top six of their respective positions in the first release of All-Star balloting returns Thursday, a sign that perhaps the league is prepared to stage its first midseason classic in 16 years without a San Antonio representative.

Tim Duncan was the Spurs’ leading vote-getter, placing seventh among Western Conference forwards. Out with a broken left hand, Manu Ginobili is running eighth among West guards, while Tony Parker is not in the top 10.

The last time the NBA played an All-Star Game without a member of the Spurs was 1997, a year in which David Robinson was injured and Duncan was a senior at Wake Forest.

Duncan has played in 13 consecutive All-Star games, starting the past 12.

Ready to help: Spurs rookie point guard Cory Joseph spent four games in the Development League before T.J. Ford went down with a torn hamstring. Recalled before Wednesday’s game, Joseph believes his short time in Austin has him better prepared to contribute to the NBA club.

“(The Toros) run the same stuff, and getting that game experience helped me a lot, really helped my confidence,” Joseph said.

The 20-year-old Joseph averaged 11.3 points in his stint with the Toros, shooting less than 28 percent (10 for 36). Gary Neal will serve as Parker’s primary backup for as long as Ford is out, with Joseph on hand for use in emergency situations.

Manu, Pop ponder loss to Rockets

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

The long NBA lockout, which began in midsummer and stretched deep into the fall, allowed Manu Ginobili to spend quality time in Argentina, where he is one of the most popular personalities in his native land.

For the civic-minded Spurs guard, this interlude included a lot of personal appearances on behalf of many causes, including promoting a new book authored by mathematics professor Adrián Paenza.

Ginobili explained to his countrymen that he is hooked on math, so it seemed natural Thursday night when he turned to the most logical of disciplines to explain how the Spurs laid an egg in a 105-85 loss to the Rockets in Houston in their third game of the season.

Taking note of how surprised he had been at the excellence the Spurs had displayed in their first two games, both victories over talented teams, the two-time All-Star said a subpar performance probably should have been expected.

“My way of thinking now is that this is a typical case of regression to the mean,” he said. “We played an extremely good first two games, over the expectations, and today we were below. So it happens.”

Of course, the goal for the Spurs every season is to play far above the mean. They will try to ? get back on a better-than-average track tonight when they play the Utah Jazz at the ATT Center to close out the blink-of-an-eye 2011 portion of the 66-game 2011-12 season.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — no stranger to higher math himself — seemed to agree with Ginobili that Thursday’s performance could be explained by something approaching science.

There was no postgame rant about lack of effort or poor execution. Rather, Popovich also applied an analytical approach to the game, going deep into his bench early and getting some on-the-job training for rookies Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph and second-year players Tiago Splitter and James Anderson. He kept team captain Tim Duncan, the team’s oldest player, on the bench throughout the second half.

Popovich regards Splitter and Anderson as virtual rookies because injuries cost them so much court time last season. He considers their early development vital to his team’s ability to cope with the grind of the compressed schedule.

“We’ve got some players that we had last year but weren’t available,” he said. “Tiago Splitter and James Anderson are like two new draft picks coming in, so we’re a deeper team that’s more prepared.”

Splitter admitted he was surprised when Popovich told him to take the court to start the second half in Duncan’s spot.

“Pop changed his mind so he could rest ‘TD’ for the next game,” he said. “I just think, ‘Well, just keep working out there and try to play good.’?”

Popovich said he was encouraged by Splitter’s performance. The Brazilian center logged nearly 25 minutes, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

“Tiago is a professional,” he said. “Last year he was hurt, so he couldn’t play. He’s been a great competitor and been on a lot of great teams in Europe, just like Luis (Scola) was before he came over.

“Tiago just knows how to play, and he’s the ultimate pro. He plays defense, he rebounds, he runs the floor, he’s unselfish. He’s just a blue-collar guy who works his butt off.”