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Buck Harvey: What Popovich couldn’t say — it wasn’t our night

MIAMI — Gregg Popovich went at his guys again, because this is what he does. He tells them what he thinks they need to hear on a certain night and, Tuesday, he thought they needed a scolding.

“We should be embarrassed,” he said.

He thinks this will help them next time. But he also knows this stance is better than acknowledging what really happened. There wasn’t much the Spurs could have done, no matter how physical they became, because this is what happens when LeBron James makes outside shots.

Mostly, you lose.

Mostly, you don’t lose like this. The Spurs scored 35 points in the first quarter without shooting a free throw, which might be an NBA first. Then, in the span of the third quarter, the Spurs went from a 14-point lead to wondering when Popovich would pull the starters to get ready for Orlando tonight.

Ever seen anything like it?

“Never,” said Richard Jefferson, and he’s been in the league for only 10 years.

There was certainly something to Popovich’s I-felt-we-folded speech. The Heat played the first half as if all of them had caught James’ cold, then began the second by blitzing and cutting. The Spurs, led by a suddenly unsure Tony Parker, had no response.

Still, when someone such as Mike Miller comes off the bench, playing for the first time all season, and throws in all six of his shots, all 3-pointers, well, how physical would the Spurs have had to be? Rarely do teams lose with an 18-point windfall like that.

But it started with James, not Miller, and with a similar reversal. While Miller hadn’t attempted a 3-pointer this season before Tuesday, James had made only three.

James swished that many in the third quarter alone, and maybe he only thought that was fair. When Danny Green ended the second quarter as he did the first, with a last-second 3, it happened at halfcourt with James next to him.

James looked at his bench with wide eyes, as if to say, can you believe it?

In the third quarter, James gave another look. Then, after his third 3-pointer, Popovich called time out, and James gave a long, significant stare at the Spurs’ bench.

Why?

“If they are going to back off,” he said, “I’m going to shoot.”

But everyone backs off of him, and that’s been the genesis of his playoff collapses in Cleveland and last year against Dallas. James can lose all confidence in his jumper and, with that gone, he loses confidence in everything else.

Bruce Bowen used the strategy in the 2007 Finals. If you give James anything, you give him the area behind the arc where he’s less than 33 percent for his career. Kawhi Leonard played James as Bowen did, but James turned into what he can be, which is the best player in the world.

Tim Duncan witnessed both 2007 and Tuesday. And afterward, when told what Popovich had said to the media, Duncan’s answer was telling.

“LeBron was coming down hitting tough ones,” he said. “That’s what you want guys to do. Every once in a while, someone’s going to get in the zone.”

Embarrassed?

Duncan didn’t sound that way.

That said, everything can’t be attributed to the other team shooting well. Duncan and the Spurs are one of only three teams that are winless on the road, and they face another test tonight in Orlando.

So Popovich will push on, correcting what he can, chewing out the Spurs when he isn’t encouraging them. And, in doing so, he will never give in to the reality of these nights, not as Parker did when he was asked about James.

“There is,” Parker shrugged, “not much you can do.”

bharvey@express-news.net

– Associated Press photos

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Heat 120, Spurs 98: Jan. 17, 2012

San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) looks to pass as Miami Heat’s Mike Miller (13) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker (9) passes the ball as Miami Heat’s LeBron James, left, looks on during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) shoots over San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard (2) and DeJuan Blair (45) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra puts his hand to his head during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s LeBron James (6) looks to pass as San Antonio Spurs’ Daniel Green (4) and Matt Bonner (15) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s Norris Cole (30) looks to pass the ball as San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan (21) and Richard Jefferson (24) defend during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s Chris Bosh (1) shoots as San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair (45) defends during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade cheers from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat defeated the Spurs 120-98. Wade did not play due to a sprained right ankle. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Miami Heat’s Mike Miller (13) reacts after shooting a 3-pointer as San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green (4) looks on during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. Miller contributed 18 points as the Heat won 120-98. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’, from left, DeJuan Blair, Richard Jefferson, Tony Parker, Tim Duncan and Danny Green watch from the bench in the closing seconds of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat won 120-98. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs’ Danny Green (4) drives to the basket as Miami Heat’s James Jones (22) defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat won 120-98. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich watches his team during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Miami Heat, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat won 120-98. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky) (AP)

Anderson, Novak shoot better outside the arc than in it

James Anderson has been turning heads at the early games of the Impact Basketball workouts in Las Vegas with strong work.

After a fast start in preseason camp last season, Anderson’s stress fracture effectively ended his season. He struggled to earn his way back into the rotation after Gary Neal developed into a strong perimeter threat as the season continued.

But according to Project Spurs.com, Anderson’s numbers in Las Vegas. In his first three games with Team Royal, Anderson is averaging 21.0 points per game while shooting 76.5 percent from the field.

Those numbers are a huge improvement over last season, when Anderson was among a handful of NBA players who had better shooting percentages from beyond the 3-point stripe as they did from the field.

It’s unclear how much defense is being played at the Impact games. But 76.5 percent from the field and 21 points per game would be impressive if Anderson was throwing up Nerf balls. So it’s a good step for Anderson and his improvement heading into his second season.

Only 14 NBA players had better 3-point percentages than from the field last season. Included in the list were Anderson and Steve Novak.

Here’s a list of those players and their percentages during the 2010-11 season.

Player, team 3P% FG%

Steve Novak, Dallas-Spurs .565 .522

Brian Cardinal, Dallas .483 .430

Carlos Arroyo, Miami-Boston .449 .440

Mike Bibby, Atlanta-Miami .440 .431

Brian Cook, Clippers .430 .424

James Jones, Miami .429 .422

Daniel Gibson, Cleveland .403 .400

Derek Fisher, Lakers .396 .389

Cartier Martin, Washington .394 .390

C.J. Watson, Chicago .393 .371

James Anderson, Spurs .391 .383

Steve Blake, Lakers .378 .359

Roger Mason, New York .364 .338

Rasual Butler, Clippers-Chicago .338 .333

Mike Monroe: NBA just posturing at this point

It’s Wednesday morning, and the owners and players are still talking to one another. Apparently, Tuesday was a very important day in the NBA’s collective bargaining process, but Friday is very, very important.

David Stern often resorts to hyperbole, so the massive magnitude the NBA commissioner had ascribed to Tuesday’s meeting caused some of us veteran reporters to roll our eyes.

Stern emerged on Tuesday to announce another negotiating session for Friday because the owners had made a new proposal that reflected their desire “to go as far as we can to avoid a lockout,” according to the Associated Press.

Perhaps his real goal was to make certain he can preside over the first round of Thursday’s draft without being booed off the stage or pelted with rotten tomatoes.

Thursday’s draftees may have to wait until 2012 to prove worthy of their spot in the annual selection, for there is little to suggest a collective bargaining breakthrough is imminent.

Negotiators don’t get more down-to-earth than Matt Bonner, the Spurs forward who is one of nine players on the union’s negotiating committee. But even the ever-upbeat Bonner is hard-pressed to see a way out of a process that has been complicated by major changes in the makeup of the league’s owners and a global recession that has affected nearly every business on the planet.

You can tell Bonner is discouraged when he fails to offer anything quirky or humorous in any conversation, and he was all business during a phone chat on Tuesday.

The problem with the owners’ negotiating position, Bonner said, is its very premise.

“There was movement,” he said of Tuesday’s meeting, “but the key to understanding it is that their starting position is based on the really extreme offer they made last year.

“They’re not starting from the current deal, which is our starting point, obviously. They’re starting from Candyland.”

The owners’ “Candyland” includes a hard salary cap, and Bonner and the other members of the union’s negotiating committee — president Derek Fisher and Bonner, Roger Mason Jr., Theo Ratliff, Mo Evans, Keyon Dooling, James Jones, Etan Thomas and Chris Paul — weren’t buying the latest iteration of that position, something Stern called a “flex cap.”

According to the Associated Press, Stern said the flex cap would ensure the players’ total compensation never would fall below $2 billion per year in a 10-year contract, a figure close to what the players’ total compensation was last season.

The tweak, according to Bonner, is just repackaging an old proposal in new language.

“It’s their attempt to spin something that is still essentially a hard cap,” he said.

Spurs owner Peter Holt, considered a moderate, is chairman of the owners’ labor relations committee, but it includes some relatively new owners who weren’t around when previous CBAs dictated the split of league revenues. The league insists 22 of 30 teams lost money last season and calls it proof the business model is broken and can be fixed only by the enormous changes they seek.

Frankly, some of the new owners paid too much for their teams — Phoenix’s Robert Sarver ($400 million in 2005) and Golden State’s Joe Lacob and Dan Gruber ($400 million in 2010) for example. Now they seek big givebacks from the union to prop up their bottom lines.

The players are disinclined to give up what took 40 years to gain.

This is Bonner’s first experience with collective bargaining, but he already understands the imperative that guides a negotiating committee that includes only one superstar.

“It’s humbling to be in a position where you can have an influence on a deal that’s going to affect the game that is so much bigger than you,” he said. “It will affect all the players in the game now and all the players that come in the league after you. It’s a big responsibility to do what’s right and fight for what’s right.”

The bell will ring on the next round on Friday — a very, very important day.

mikemonroe@express-news.net