Tag: Manu Ginobili

Spurs notebook: Popovich keeps playbook abridged

Faced with the prospect of little practice time during last season’s NBA lockout-condensed schedule, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich approached the installation of his offensive and defensive playbooks with one acronym in mind.

KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid.

Though blessed with ample time to tinker this preseason — the Spurs are in the midst of a stretch of five consecutive days without a game — Popovich’s theme for this year’s camp might well be KISS II.

“No, it’s not even a goal,” Popovich said Wednesday, when asked if he’s had time to open up the playbook in practice. “We’re trying to be real basic and simple all the way through camp and make sure whatever we’re doing is done well.”

Offensively, at least, it is a question of not fixing what wasn’t broken.

The Spurs were a well-oiled juggernaut in 2011-12, ranking first in the NBA in offensive efficiency and second in points per game.

Defensively, the Spurs were “a middle-of-the-road team,” according to Popovich and the numbers, and their personnel hasn’t changed much since June.

Instead of using new gimmicks to improve on that end of the floor this season, Popovich prefers his team be more disciplined with the same philosophies that were in place last season.

For players such as center Boris Diaw, forward Stephen Jackson and guard Patty Mills — who all arrived after the trade deadline last season — the decision to keep the playbook uncomplicated had led to an increased comfort level.

For now.

“So far, we’re sticking with simple, what we were doing last year,” Diaw said. “But I’m sure as the days go by, we’re going to put more things in.”

Pasteurized, posterized: Power forward Tim Duncan returned to the practice court after missing Monday’s workout with an undisclosed illness.

Reserve guard Gary Neal was not as lucky, calling in sick for the team’s two-hour practice session.

Asked if perhaps there was a bug going around the locker room, Popovich reminded that he is only a basketball coach.

“What am I, Louis Pasteur?” he said.

Mills, who is recovering from a right ankle sprain, was limited to non-contact work.

But he’s no De Niro: Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili worked overtime, filming another installment of their celebrated H-E-B commercials after practice.

Diaw was quick with the quip when asked to critique the acting chops of Parker, his friend and fellow Frenchman.

“Best French actor since — who do you guys know? — since Gérard Depardieu,” Diaw said. “And the guy who got the Oscar for ‘The Artist.’ Dujardin. Jean Dujardin.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net

Ginobili: Contract no cause for worry

By Mike Monroe

Just as Spurs captain Tim Duncan angered his agent when he declared himself a Spur for life weeks before hitting the free-agent market in June, veteran guard Manu Ginobili on Monday undercut what bargaining power he may have had when his contract expires in July.

Saying that he plays for the love of the game, Ginobili asserted that being in the final season of a three-year, $38.8 million contract won’t change his approach this season.

“I don’t even think like this,” he said. “I don’t care. If it’s for a lot of money, a huge amount of money, I don’t care. I’m fine with what I’ve earned in my career. That is not a point of emphasis this year. I just want to play well and help my team make it as far as last year.”

Ginobili, 35, gave no hint if he will play beyond this season, but stressed his preference to stay with the Spurs if he does.

“If I’m going to play next year, it’s highly likely it’s going to be here,” he said. “So I really don’t care (about this being a contract season).”

Big addition: It was hard to miss the surprise addition to the training camp roster during Monday’s media day session. Seven-foot, 295-pound center Eddy Curry always has been a magnet for attention, starting with his selection at the No. 4 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

Curry, with career averages of 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds over 10 seasons with the Bulls, Knicks and Heat, was signed to a non-guaranteed contract after participating in open gym sessions last week. He says he lost 15 to 20 pounds over the summer.

“I came here last week, and I like how they play,” Curry said. “I think I showed them I can get up and down the court when I came here. I think Pop knows what I can do. The main thing now is just to build on that and have a good camp.”

After playing pickup games with Curry, Duncan said he was encouraged by his conditioning.

“I see potential, potential, potential,” Duncan said. “He does seem fit, and I think he’s anxious. I hope that translates into something. He’s a heck of a body, a heck of a talent, and I hope we can turn that into something and give us another huge piece. It would be great.”

Curry is one of six non-roster players invited to camp and one of three with NBA experience. Other former NBA players are 6-8 forward Derrick Brown and 6-9 forward Josh Powell.

Also invited to camp: 5-11 guard Sherron Collins, 6-8 forward Tyler Wilkerson and 6-9 forward Wesley Witherspoon.

mikemonroe@express-news.net
Twitter: @Monroe_SA

Spurs’ non-guaranteed players show off

By Mike Monroe

There was good reason for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich to give Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Matt Bonner a night of rest during a 101-99 preseason victory over the Hawks. But it had nothing to do with saving their energy.

“It’s early in the preseason, so it’s an opportunity to look at some other guys,” Popovich said. “I know we’re not going to do it the fourth, fifth, sixth game, so we’ve got to do it now to give those guys time to see if we like anybody.”

Those benefiting from resting the Big Three, plus Bonner, were non-guaranteed big men Eddy Curry, Josh Powell and Derrick Brown as well as wing players Wesley Witherspoon and Tyler Wilkerson.

Curry (11 points, eight rebounds) and Brown (10 points, two rebounds) started. Powell came off the bench and was the team’s top scorer with 14 points. Witherspoon made 2 of 3 3-pointers.

Popovich withheld judgment about the play of the five non-roster players.

“I pretty much reserve those opinions right now, rather than get somebody excited or get somebody depressed,” he said.

Ferry gets down to business: When new Hawks general manager Danny Ferry pulled the trigger on one of the biggest offseason trades of the summer, it came as no surprise to Popovich.

“Danny’s not a fool-around type of guy,” Popovich said of the former Spurs’ player. Ferry also did two separate stints in the club’s front office before Atlanta hired him as its GM in July.

Soon after getting his new job, Ferry traded All-Star guard Joe Johnson and his $18 million-per-season contract to the Brooklyn Nets for five players with expiring deals and a future first-round draft pick.

“If he sees something that is going to improve the team he’s going to get after it and get it done,” Popovich said. “He’s already done a good job, with little time, to jump start it and get their team the way he wants it to be.”

Ferry believes the deal will prove to be a win-win.

“I think the deal with Brooklyn is good for Brooklyn, good for Joe and, hopefully, ultimately, it will be good for us in the long run.”

Anderson back in building: James Anderson, the Spurs’ first-round draft pick in 2010, started for the Hawks and scored five points in around 17 minutes. The 2009-10 Big 12 player of the year for Oklahoma State is trying to earn a spot on Atlanta’s roster.

The Spurs did not pick up the option on a third season of Anderson’s rookie contract, making him a free agent July 1.

“James has done a good job in camp,” Ferry said. “He certainly plays hard every play and brings a lot of intangibles to the court that we really like.”

mikemonroe@express-news.net
Twitter: @Monroe_SA