Category: In the News

Notes on a scorecard: Why Pop’s record is a big deal, even if he disagrees

Gregg Popovich looked like somebody had slipped him an exploding cigar during his post-game press conference.

The Spurs coach never has been one to show much ego or emotion about his own achievements.

So knowing Popovich like we do, it doesn’t surprise many that he didn’t seem overly excited about learning that he had passed Red Auerbach for second place for coaching victories with a single franchise.

After his team defeated Sacramento, 124-92, Wednesday night, Popovich now has 796 victories with the Spurs. It’s behind only Jerry Sloan’s 1,127 victories with the Utah Jazz, but tops the 795 wins earned by Red Auerbach from 1950-66 with the Boston Celtics.

His players were more excited about the honor than the veteran coach seemed to be.

“Pop doesn’t let us know his individual achievements,” Spurs guard George Hill said, laughing. “But I’ll have to congratulate him on that first time I see him tomorrow.”

Hill threatened to bring Popovich a cake to mark the achievement — even if he might not want to acknowledge his achievement.

“I think I should go buy a cake and come in and surprise him with a cake,” Hill said. “Somebody will have to give me the real stats so I’ll know what to put on the cake.”

Here are a few other notes and factoids from the Spurs’ third straight victory and their second victory of more than 17 points in their last two home games.

  • Manu Ginobili finished with 25 points for the 14th time this season. The Spurs are 13-1 in those games. He’s hit 57.1 percent from the field in his last two games. And he hit 4-for-6 from behind the 3-point arc against the Kings, snapping a streak where he hit 3-for-18 from beyond the arc (16.7 percent) in his previous five games. 
  • Tony Parker notched 15 points in only 26:35 — his 10th lowest game in terms of playing time this season. It continued a streak where he’s hit 51.5 percent from the field and averaged 20.3 points in his last six games. He also notched six rebounds and six assists. Park has produced 15 points, six rebounds and six assists in three games this season — all Spurs victories.
  • With 19 points,  Hill continued his recent surge that has included at least 19 points in four of his last seven games. During that period, Hill has hit 56.4 percent from the field, 45.5 percent from 3-point territory, 83.8 percent from the line and averaged 18.4 points per game.   
  • After he was shut out for  only the third time of the season last night in Atlanta , Gary Neal rebounded to scored 14 points on 6-for-8 from the field and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. It’s his third double-figure game in his last four.
  • Tim Duncan had a productive game filling up the stat sheet in limited playing time, notching 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Since returning from his injury five games ago, Duncan is averaging 16.0 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.4 blocked shots. He’s also shooting 64.6 percent and 78.2 from the foul line. All of that totals are better than his season average before the injury with the exception of  his blocked shots.
  • It also marked the sixth time this season that Duncan has notched at least 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks in a game. The Spurs are 6-0 in those games.
  • Richard Jefferson bounced back from his struggles against Atlanta to score nine points on 4-for-5 shooting. He was averaging only 7.3 points per game in his previous three games before Wednesday. But his shooting has been strong, including Wednesday’s game. He’s hit 60 percent from the field in his last three games.
  • After showing promise in recent games, Danny Green erupted for a career-high nine points in 12:38, hitting 4-for-7 from the field. In his last two games, he’s averaging 8.0 points, hitting 70 percent from the field and 66.7 percent of his 3-point shots.
  • Antonio McDyess had a productive night with eight points, seven rebounds and two assists. In his last three games, he’s averaging 8.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists. As a starter, he’s averaging  6.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per  game in 15 games. During that period, the Spurs are 9-6.
  • Besides impressing Popovich with his hustle, DeJuan Blair produced six points, eight  rebounds and three assists. It came within one assist of matching his season high in assists and within one rebound of his high since being demoted from the starting lineup.
  • After picking up a DNP against Atlanta, Tiago Splitter played only 3:29 against Sacramento. He finished with four points, two rebounds and a steal in his limited time. It marked his shortest playing stint since notching 33 seconds March 9 against Detroit.
  • The Spurs set several season highs during their blistering second half. They notched 41 points in the third quarter for their highest scoring quarter of the season. They also hit 82.4 percent from the field in that quarter for their highest in a quarter this season. And their 73 points was the highest they’ve scored in any half this season, topping the 72 at Washington on Feb. 12.
  • San Antonio’s 124 points was their second-highest scoring game of the season, topped only by the 125 points against Miami on March 4.
  • The Spurs’ 60.5 field-goal percentage was their highest since hitting 64.3 percent against Detroit on March 9. Those are the only two times the Spurs have hit 60 percent or better from the field this season.
  • San Antonio’s 63.2 percent was tied for second this season in 3-point percentage, trailing only the 64.7 percent against the Clippers on Nov. 10. And after struggling from the foul line during the losing streak, the Spurs have hit at least 80 percent in back-to-back games for the first time since the Golden State and Denver games on March 19 and 21.
  • The Spurs also notched 36 fast-break points to tie their single-game high against Philadelphia on Nov. 11.
  • Their defense kicked in as they limited Sacramento to 39.8 percent from the field. It was their lowest defensive field-goal percentage since allowing Cleveland to hit 39.6 percent from the field on March 2. When the Spurs limit opponents to less than 40 percent shooting this season they are 14-1.
  • Nine of the 12 players on the Spurs’ playing roster had double-figure positive plus-minus scores. McDyess led the team at plus-25. Duncan was at plus-22. Parker was at plus-21. Ginobili was at plus-20. Jefferson was at plus-15. Hill was at plus-11. Only Matt Bonner at minus-2 had a negative score. The Spurs’ starters were a combined plus-103. The reserves were a plus-57.
  • All of the San Antonio players scored with the exception of Steve Novak. Da’Sean Butler, Chris Quinn and James Anderson all were inactive.

McDyess: ‘Now is where the playoffs start’

The four injured Spurs who missed Monday’s game against Portland all were working to a goal of playing in tonight’s pivotal game against Boston at the ATT Center.

Coach Gregg Popovich again said that Tony Parker (left patella contusion) and Antonio McDyess (lower back contusion) both were closer to recovery than Tim Duncan (sprained left ankle) or Manu Ginobili (left quadriceps contusion.) Both Parker and McDyess have said they could have played Monday night in an emergency situation.

Popovich said that Duncan and Ginobili will be game-time decisions.

McDyess said the additional rest has helped the team as it prepares for the stretch run with eight games left in the regular season.

The Spurs will be attempting to turn around a season-worst four-game losing streak. In each game, they squandered a fourth-quarter lead.

McDyess said having the time off has helped the team refocus after the recent slump.

“That’s tough, but we look at it it as a positive because we were in every game,” McDyess said.  “Now is where the playoff starts. We need to focus down the stretch and get the rest of these games.”

Tonight’s game starts a tough finishing kick for the Spurs, who will play their final eight games during the next 14 days. Included will be three groups of back-to-back games.

McDyess said the upcoming schedule is the primary reason he is pushing the start of the playoffs ahead a couple of weeks.

“It’s now,” he said. “You can’t just jump into the playoffs and feel like we’re going to start in the first game of the playoffs. We’ve got to prepare ourselves before. That’s why we say that this is when the playoffs start.”

Duncan in need of good vibes vs. L.A.

LOS ANGELES — When the Spurs take on the L.A. Lakers tonight at Staples Center, there are no guarantees Tim Duncan’s name will be in the starting lineup.

With the Spurs’ perch in the Western Conference playoffs locked up, Gregg Popovich could opt to sit his 34-year-old star power forward for one or both of the final two games.

If anyone in silver and black could use a positive outcome against the two-time defending champions, however, it is Duncan.

Repeatedly flummoxed by the Lakers’ twin 7-footers, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, Duncan has scored a total of just 12 points on 5-of-26 shooting in three games against the Lakers this season.

“They clog it up inside,” Duncan said. “They do a good job challenging shots. With their length, they can do that.”

Duncan’s struggles against the Lakers could come into play if the teams meet in the playoffs. So far, there has been no direct correlation between his statistical line and the Spurs’ fortunes against L.A.

Twice, Duncan has turned in identical two-point, 1-for-7 performances. The Spurs won the first game 97-82 on Dec. 28 and lost the second 99-83 on March 6.

For now, Duncan remains more focused on rounding into playoff shape after missing five games since late March, four of them with a sprained left ankle. In six games since his return, Duncan — who acknowledges the ankle is still not 100 percent — has averaged 15 points and 7.8 rebounds.

“I expect Timmy to play at his best once the playoffs come,” point guard Tony Parker said. “He’s always done it. I don’t see why it would be different.”

To rest, or not: Before leaving San Antonio, Popovich had not decided which of his regulars to play tonight against the Lakers. The entire roster will make the season-ending trip to Los Angeles and Phoenix, which leaves his options open.

“We haven’t thought about dealing with it any differently at this point,” Popovich said. “We’ll see as the games approach exactly what we might do.”

Several players have expressed an interest in fending off Chicago for the top overall record, which would probably require the Spurs to beat the Lakers and the Suns.

“We’ve played this well all season, we’d love to finish out atop the NBA,” Duncan said. “We’re going to try to do the best of managing minutes and winning games, and doing that all at the same time.”

Scoreboard watching: The Spurs locked up the West’s No. 1 seed last week, giving them plenty of time to handicap which team they might face in the first round.

The No. 8 seed remains up for grabs between Memphis and New Orleans.

The Spurs could still draw either team in the first round, as well as Portland, which currently is sixth.

Memphis’ game tonight at Portland should go a ways toward sorting out the seeding.

“If anybody can figure it out, let me know, because it’s kind of confusing,” Ginobili said. “We just worry about ourselves and just wait.”