Tag: Gregg Popovich

Spurs won’t strain for NBA’s top mark

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

Goal No. 1 for the Spurs this season has been accomplished: securing the best record in the Western Conference and the corresponding home-court advantage through rounds one, two and three of the playoffs.

With three regular-season games to be played, goal No. 1-A — the best regular-season record in the league — remains reachable, but with slightly less urgency.

The team’s top scorer, guard Manu Ginobili, understands that coach Gregg Popovich now will practice prudence with the workloads of some of the team’s key players now that the West’s top record has been secured. That starts with today’s game against the Jazz at the ATT Center.

“The most important thing was clinching No. 1 in the West,” Ginobili said. “You never know, first, if you are going to make it to the Finals and then if the other (No. 1 Eastern seed) will make it to the Finals. We usually don’t care what happens in the East.

“Now that we are so close, of course we want to get it. The best way to do it is just to concentrate on the next opponent. Just concentrate on Utah. Then we’ll see.”

Point guard Tony Parker won’t fight Popovich if he wants to scale back the playing time for key players, just as long as all players get to suit up and maintain a modicum of pre-playoff rhythm.

He thinks the Spurs would rue losing the home-court edge over presumed Eastern No. 1 seed Chicago were both teams to advance to the NBA Finals.

“I think we should play, all of us,” he said. “We worked hard all season long to have the best record and we still have one game up on Chicago, so I think we should play all three and make sure we have home-court advantage for all the playoffs.

“I just think it helps, especially if you have a Game 7. We went through that in 2005. It’s better to have that game at home, not on the road. You saw what happened last year with the Lakers. It helps when you’re at home.”

The Spurs secured their third NBA title in 2005 by beating the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 at the ATT Center.

The Lakers defeated the Celtics in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

THIN MARGIN: The final three games will determine which of the starting guards will finish as the Spurs’ leading scorer. Ginobili and Parker go into tonight’s game separated by just hundredths of a point.

Officially, both players average 17.7 points per game. Ginobili is listed first because his average actually is 17.705, while Parker’s is 17.671 points per game.

MONEY WHISPERS: Though each Spurs player stands to get a substantial cut of the $346,105 the team would get from the NBA playoff pool if they finish with the best record in the league, Ginobili said money won’t be an overriding factor in the final three games.

“Of course, it’s important,” he said, “but when you are so close to accomplishing something that big, I think it’s more important for the main guys to rest and have your legs ready than getting extra money.

“The important thing is to be ready for the playoffs. We’ll see what Pop decides on how we approach the next games.”

Shooters can’t find range

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

Nothing about the Spurs’ six-game losing streak is as puzzling as the sudden struggles from beyond the 3-point line.

Friday’s 5-for-19 3-point shooting (26.3 percent) was the third straight game in which the Spurs shot below 30 percent from long range.

Outscored by 12 from beyond the arc by the Rockets, the Spurs suffered a 119-114 overtime loss.

Matt Bonner still leads the NBA in 3-point accuracy despite a 2-for-13 slump over the past three games, but he missed all five of his long-range attempts Friday.

Manu Ginobili, who has taken more 3-pointers than any teammate, missed four of his six against the Rockets.

It was the continuation of a trend that has coach Gregg Popovich at a loss for an explanation.

“We had a lot of great shots that guys aren’t knocking down,” he said, “guys who have been good 3-point shooters all year long, and they’re just not falling down.”

Had it been a one-game aberration, the errant shooting would not be such a worry. That it has become a trend puts a furrow on Popovich’s forehead.

“During these games, our 3-point percentage has gone in the toilet,” he said. “Our 3-point percentage has gone down, and it’s really been the difference.

“We’ve hung in every game, but you’ve got to shoot it well. There’s really no drill for that. You just have to hope that worm turns and we can shoot better.

“So we’ve got to concentrate on penetrating more, trying to move the ball a little better, and get more open, uncontested shots, and see if the percentage goes up at all.”

SHUFFLING LINEUPS: After the Spurs allowed the Rockets 64 first-half points on 52 percent shooting, Popovich opened the second half with the starting lineup he had used through the first 53 games of the season, replacing Antonio McDyess with DeJuan Blair.

Whether the change was the reason, the Spurs tightened their defense appreciably in the second half, holding Houston to 35 percent shooting in the third and fourth quarters and limiting the Rockets to just four shots in overtime.

CONFUSION REIGNS: The Spurs’ failure to take a foul to stop the clock after Houston rebounded Tony Parker’s missed 3-point attempt with 27 seconds left baffled Popovich and some of his players.

Trailing 117-114, the Spurs didn’t move to take a foul until Tim Duncan grabbed Kevin Martin with 7.5 seconds remaining in the overtime period.

Popovich waved his arms frantically and screamed for his players to foul, but Parker said crowd noise prevented him from hearing Popovich, whom he could not see from his position on the court.

“For me, we were down three with three seconds (difference between the shot clock and game clock), and I thought it was better not to foul because if we make a stop we have a chance to tie the game,” Parker said. “That’s what went through my head, and I didn’t hear Pop calling for the foul.”

GREEN TO AUSTIN: The Spurs on Saturday assigned swingman Danny Green to their Austin Toros team in the NBA D-League. Signed for the remainder of the season March 16, Green had appeared in three games. He scored seven points with three rebounds and two assists.

Spurs can take foot off gas, but when?

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Now that the Spurs have locked up the top seed in the Western Conference, rendering the final three games of the season close to meaningless, coach Gregg Popovich has decisions to make about how soon to start resting some of his older players.

Thirty-something starters like Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Antonio McDyess might anticipate a night off before the end of the regular season, but perhaps not right away.

“If there’s a chance to give somebody a break, we’d probably do it,” said Popovich, whose team next plays Saturday at home against Utah. “At the same time, we watch everybody’s minutes all year long. We don’t have anybody that’s been overplayed, so it’s not really a huge concern.”

The question of when to take the foot off the gas will certainly be a topic of conversation in coaches’ meetings for the next few days.

At the heart of the issue is the old question of rest vs. rust. In the past, Popovich has preferred to give his older players ample time to recharge at the end of the season, and almost certainly will again at some point this year.

Still, with 10 days between clinching the West on Wednesday and the possible start of the first round April 16, there is a danger in squandering some of the momentum accumulated during the three-game winning streak, should they downshift too quickly.

“This is the time of year where everybody who is going to be in the playoffs wants to go in with momentum,” Popovich said.

Duncan, who turns 35 on April 25, remains a particularly interesting case. Normally, Popovich would jump to give his captain as much rest as possible entering the postseason.

But with Duncan coming off a sprained ankle that cost him four games in late March and early April, he could probably use some time to maintain the groove he’s been working on since returning.

In the past five games, Duncan has averaged 16 points, 8.8 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 64.6 percent (31 of 48). In the three games Duncan played more than 30 minutes, he averaged 20 points and 10.7 rebounds.

“I think his rhythm is coming back,” Popovich said. “He’s making some jumpers. I think he’s doing OK.”

NEW MEANING TO GREEN WEEK: Locking up best record in the Western Conference put quite a few extra dollars in the players’ pockets.

From the league’s $12 million playoff pool, $302,841 goes to the teams that compile the best records in each conference. The second-place teams in both conferences get $243,411 apiece.

The Spurs’ seventh-place finish last season got them just $179,092. Beating the Mavericks in the first round earned them another $213,095.

There is a significant financial incentive for the Spurs to lock up best record in the league in their final three games. Should they finish with a better record than the Chicago Bulls, the only Eastern team that can surpass their 60 victories, another $346,105 will go into their playoff kitty, for a total of $648,946 before a single playoff game is played.

Express-News staff writer Mike Monroe contributed to this report.