Tag: Miami

Spurs preparing for Thunder storm

By Mike Monroe

Gregg Popovich fussed with a lock on the door that separates his postgame interview room from the Spurs locker room. The pregnant pause inspired a final shouted inquiry from the back of the media pack that had interrogated him after his team’s Thursday night victory over the Hornets at the ATT Center.

“What about the Thunder on Saturday night?”

As he pulled a curtain over the jamb so the door wouldn’t lock behind him, Popovich stuck his head back in the room. He summarized the challenge the Spurs face tonight against Oklahoma City, the team with the NBA’s best record, in what will be their last game at home for 25 days.

“I don’t think they’ve lost a game yet, have they?” he said.

The door closed on the curtain and Popovich headed to his office to begin plotting a way to compete against a team that has been only slightly less dominant than he had suggested.

Oklahoma City isn’t undefeated, but the 17-4 record the Thunder took into Friday’s home game against Memphis had them 2??1/2 games better than second-place Denver in the Western Conference and two games better than Chicago, which is tops in the East.“They’re the best team in the league right now, playing the best basketball in the league right now,” said Spurs captain Tim Duncan. “They’re very comfortable with each other and very talented. We’re going to have a lot on our hands.”

The Thunder has one of the league’s most potent one-two offensive punches.

Former Texas Longhorns star Kevin Durant, a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate, is the league’s No. 3 scorer at 26.6 points per game. Point guard Russell Westbrook ranks eighth at 21.9 points per game.

Only Miami’s duo of LeBron James (29.7 points) and Chris Bosh (20.4) has been more productive.

? The Spurs have reached the brink of their annual rodeo road trip with a 15-9 record. They’re fourth in a tight Western race despite playing all but five games without two-time All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, sidelined since Jan. 2 by a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand.Their ability to stockpile home wins before the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, which will send them packing for more than three weeks, has been vital. Their 12-1 record at the ATT Center is the league’s best home mark.

Duncan understands the importance of dominating at home, even against a Thunder team that has the league’s best road record at 9-3.

“Absolutely, absolutely we have to, especially the way we’ve played on the road so far,” he said. “Home court is huge for us, and we have to continue to win here.”

There have been some close calls at home of late, including Wednesday’s victory over the Rockets that required a second-half comeback from a 58-40 deficit, but Duncan has found encouragement in the team’s recent defensive improvement.

“Yeah, the defense is getting up there,” he said. “We’re starting to understand and starting to get on the same page. There’s not a lot of practice, so there’s not a lot of situations where we can go in there and work on one thing and get it under out belts.

“We have to work on things during the game and get that experience there. Then watch film when we can and work on those situations. But we’re getting there.”

The Spurs haven’t spent one minute of practice time working on zone defense.

Nevertheless, they came out of a timeout in the fourth quarter Thursday and played one defensive possession in a zone, forcing a Hornets miss.

Forward Matt Bonner called it a Popovich exercise in negative reinforcement.

“That’s Coach Pop’s joke when you screw up,” he said.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Why Friday’s game shows the Spurs need help inside

The internet is buzzing about two potential inside players who potentially could help the Spurs.

After their 87-79 loss to Minnesota Friday night, it’s clear that either Kenyon Martin and Chris Kaman would be critical additions for the Spurs.

That is, of course, if they could be convinced to come to San Antonio.

ESPN.com reported that the Spurs are among , a free agent former Denver forward who left for the Xinjiang Guanghui Flying Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association during the lockout.

And ESPN.com also reported that Kaman, who was traded to league-owned New Orleans in the Chris Paul trade, . Kaman was not with the Hornets for their game Friday night against Orlando as trade offers are being considered.

This speculation is coming after the Spurs struggled inside in their loss Friday night at Minnesota.

The Spurs grabbed two offensive rebounds in that game — their lowest single-game total in more than 10 years — as they were dominated in the paint by Kevin Love and journeyman Minnesota backup center Nikola Pekovic.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been hesitant to play Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter together except for brief periods because of problems it would cause his rotation of big players. Popovich has been unwilling to play DeJuan Blair and Matt Bonner together because of matchup problems. And without a replacement for the retired Antonio McDyess, the Spurs have had to piece together a tenuous rotation of big players during the first 20 games of the season.

Either Martin or Kaman would be a welcome addition, particularly in an extremely competitive Southwest Division.

ESPN reported that Martin has offers from Miami, the Spurs, the Los Angeles Clippers, Atlanta and New York.

Martin signed a $2.6 million contract with Xinjiang and left China in late December with hopes of returning to the NBA. But according to CBA rules, Martin will not be available to sign or play for an NBA team until Xinjiang finishes its season.

That return could be as soon as Feb. 16 if Xinjiang is knocked out of the playoffs.

Sources  told ESPN.com that Martin wants to play a large role with a contending team.

Martin, 34, struggled in his least productive season of his career last season with the Nuggets, averaging 8.6 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. But he would provide inside strength and leadership for a contender after twice reaching the NBA Finals with New Jersey.

Several of the contenders have signed players to max deals and would have to pay a luxury tax to acquire Martin. The best offers would be from the Clippers and Knicks, who can both give him a $2.5 million mini-midlevel exceptions. The Spurs could offer a similar amount, but sources told ESPN the team would not likely be willing to do.

Kaman, who turns 30 in April, might be more attainable if they were willing to pay the tax.  

“We’ve informed Chris that we are looking into possible trades and he was understanding about the situation,” Hornets general manager Dell Demps told ESPN.com. “We’re working together on this.

“Chris has been the ultimate professional since he joined us. In no way is this a disciplinary action. We had discussions about extending his current contract when he first came to the Hornets, but the organization decided to go in a different direction.”

The 7-foot Kaman is making about $14 million this season. He made the All-Star Game in 2010 when he averaged 18.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game for the Clippers. But he was limited to 32 games last season with the Clippers because of an injury to his left foot.

Obviously, Demps is familiar with Popovich after working under him with the Spurs earlier in his career. I don’t know if that will help in making a deal with the league-owned team. But it certainly can’t hurt.

But it’s clear that Friday’s game was eye-opening because of the way the Timberwolves dominated inside.

What about it Spurs Nation?

Do you believe there is a problem with the Spurs’ inside rotation?

And could Kaman or Martin help?

Bargnani returns with S&D effort in Raptors’ victory

Andrea Bargnani made the most of his return to the lineup Tuesday night.

It helped the Toronto Raptors bust several streaks along the way.

Bargnani scored 27 of his game-high 36 points in the second half to help the Raptors snap an eight-game losing streak with a 99-96 victory over Phoenix.

It was his first game back after missing the Raptors’ last six games with a left calf strain.

That return helped explain a slow start that turned around when he erupted for 18 points in the third quarter.

“I didn’t do anything different from the first quarter because I was pretty aggressive in the first quarter too, I just didn’t score,” Bargnani told the Associated Press. “Jose (Calderon) told me to shoot from the outside because I was just driving the ball and everybody was waiting for me. They found me open and they went in. It was all good.”

It certainly was for the Raptors, who claimed their first victory over the Suns in eight years.

And it was for Bargnani, who hit all 12 foul shots included two critical ones with 22.9 seconds left to seal the victory.

“Andrea coming back makes everything easier for everbody else,” Toronto coach Dwane Casey told  the AP. “He is kind of the hub for everybody to play off of.”

STUDS

Toronto F Andrea Bargnani: Returned to the lineup for the first time in two weeks with 36 points and six rebounds and was plus-1 in the Raptors’ victory over  the Suns. It helped snap Toronto’s eight-game losing streak.

Miami F Chris Bosh: Scored 35 points and grabbed seven rebounds and was plus-5 in the Heat’s victory over the Cavaliers.

Orlando F Ryan Anderson: Went for 24 points, including five 3-pointers, grabbed eight rebounds and was plus-11 in the Magic’s victory at Indiana.

New York C Tyson Chandler: Notched 20 points and 17 rebounds in only 29 minutes and was plus-13 in the Knicks’ victory at the Bobcats.

Portland C Marcus Camby: Scored only three points, but was a force inside with 22 rebounds, five blocked shots and was a game-best plus-29 in the Trail Blazers’ victory over the Grizzlies.

DUDS

New York F Carmelo Anthony: Produced a career-low one point in 30 minutes on 0-for-7 shooting in the Knicks’ victory over the Bobcats.

Miami F LeBron James: Didn’t get up for his old teammates as much as usual as he was 8 for 21 from the field with five turnovers in the Heat’s victory over  the Cavaliers.

Charlotte G Kemba Walker: Went 7 for 17 from the field with four turnovers and was minus-23 in the Bobcats’ loss to the Knicks. 

Indiana C Roy Hibbert: His recent broken nose must have affected his shooting form as he clanked through a 5-for-16 effort with two turnovers and was minus-19 in the Pacers’ loss to the Magic.

Charlotte F Tyrus Thomas: Went 1 for 9 from the field with three turnovers and was minus-16 in the Bobcats’ loss to the Knicks.