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Ford’s injury throws backcourt in turmoil

MILWAUKEE — When limped off the floor at the just before halftime Tuesday, it didn’t just change the look of the Spurs’ bench.

It likely changed their starting lineup as well.

In what he termed “a freak accident,” Ford strained his left hamstring after a driving layup with 30 seconds left in the first half of the Spurs’ 106-103 loss to Milwaukee. He had to be helped to the locker room by two members of the Spurs’ support staff.

“I just came down wrong,” Ford said.

Ford, who left the Bradley Center under his own power, did not undergo an MRI or any other tests at the arena. He expects to be re-examined today in San Antonio.

With no other point guards on the Spurs’ traveling roster, shooting guard took over as ‘s primary backup, with rookie sliding into Neal’s starting spot.

It is a look Spurs coach hinted might open the game tonight when Houston visits the ATT Center. It would also not be surprising for rookie to be recalled from the for depth purposes.

There is no immediate timetable for Ford’s return. For now, Neal is prepared to log time at point guard, a position he practiced during the lockout before Ford was added to the roster.

“You never know what’s going to happen in the course of a season,” Neal said. “I have to be prepared.”

With already sidelined, Ford’s absence robs the Spurs of their two most prolific set-up men. Invoking a bit of NBA parlance, Spurs captain called Ford’s injury “a big loss for our littles.”

“It puts a lot more pressure on T.P. and Gary,” Duncan said. “Both their minutes are going to go up a little bit.”

THE IRON MAN: Duncan, the Spurs’ oldest player at age 35, pronounced himself no worse for wear after logging a season-high 35 minutes, 50 seconds in Tuesday’s loss.

With Popovich aiming to keep Duncan’s minutes down during this condensed season, it marked just the second time the Spurs’ power forward had crossed the 30-minute threshold.

“It felt good to be out there that long,” said Duncan, who had his first 20-point game of the season to go with eight rebounds and seven assists. “I know we have a game (Wednesday), so we’ll see how I feel then.”

ANOTHER AZTEC: Leonard should see a familiar face in the Spurs’ locker room tonight at the ATT Center.

Malcolm Thomas, Leonard’s teammate and roommate last season at San Diego State, is expected to be in uniform for the Spurs tonight against Houston after being called up from the Development League.

Thomas, a 6-foot-9 forward who averaged 14.3 points and 8.3 rebounds in eight games for the Los Angeles D-Fenders, was in San Antonio for a physical Tuesday.

“He’s athletic, he does a good job on defense,” said Leonard, offering the scouting report on the 23-year-old Thomas. He comes from help side, blocks shots. He’ll get tip-backs and rebounds. He’s a great team player.”

Old-school Spurs pump up defense

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

So these aren’t the Mike D’Antoni, “Seven-Seconds-or-Less” Phoenix Suns.

They don’t play offense as if shot from a cannon anymore. They don’t put up scores that would tilt a pinball machine. Steve Nash, at 37, is still proficient on the pick-and-roll, but no longer an MVP candidate. Amare Stoudemire is in his second season dunking in the Big Apple.

Three weeks into this lockout season, Phoenix — once a running, gunning scoring circus with Nash as ringmaster — ranks as one of the NBA’s most pedestrian offenses.

Given the Spurs’ well-chronicled struggles on defense this season, they’ll still take what happened in a 102-91 victory over the Suns on Sunday at the ATT Center as a definitive sign of progress.

“That’s where we want to go,” point guard Tony Parker said after the Spurs improved to 9-0 at home this season. “I thought overall, we played great defense.”

The Spurs (9-4) limited the Suns to just 41.8-percent shooting, the third straight opponent to ? hit less than 43 percent against them.

It arrived on the heels of a stretch in which three straight opponents shot better than 50 percent against them.

After Milwaukee torched the Spurs at a 51.8-percent clip Tuesday — in a game the Spurs lost 106-103 despite shooting 60 percent themselves — coach Gregg Popovich derided his club as “the worst defensive team we’ve ever had.”

The difference since?

“I think we just pay attention more,” Parker said. “I think everybody is making a conscious effort to play better defense.”

The Spurs’ return to defense was part of a throwback night Sunday that also featured an old-school duel between Nash and Tim Duncan, the Spurs’ 35-year-old power forward and Phoenix’s frequent nemesis.

Reprising their infamous clashes from postseasons past, Duncan threw in a season-high 24 points to go with 11 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season, while Nash had 20 points and 10 assists.

“It was a good back-and-forth,” said Duncan, who passed Gary Payton for 26th on the NBA’s all-time scoring chart.

Playing the role of Stoudemire as Nash’s favorite receiver was Marcin Gortat, who finished with 24 points and 15 rebounds as the Suns (4-8) dropped their fourth in a row. Aside from a stretch early in the third quarter, when the Spurs found little answer for the Nash-to-Gortat pick-and-roll, they were solid defensively.

“Steve’s so tricky, he frustrates everyone no matter what you do,” Popovich said. “You can’t be perfect at it.”

For now, Popovich will accept “competent.”

After the debacle in Milwaukee — “a game we could have won,” Parker said — Popovich sat his team down for a come-to-Jesus film session. The topic, not surprising to anyone who has been around the Spurs’ program for more than 35 seconds, was defense.

Where the Spurs used to rely on “stops on demand,” too often this season Popovich had to resort to begging.

Heading into Sunday, even after back-to-back acceptable games against Houston and Portland, the Spurs ranked 26th in the NBA in field-goal percentage defense (46.1 percent) and 19th in points allowed (95.6).

In a bit of a role-reversal, Phoenix came into the game averaging 94.1 points, a number the Suns in their high-scoring heyday could often approach in the third quarter.

“We know it’s a work in progress,” Duncan said. “We know it’s a long season, and we use the season to get where we want to be, but we know we have to be a lot better defensively.”

After Nash threw in a running 8-footer to cut what had been a 19-point deficit to 94-89 with 4:42 left, Popovich at last got the stops he demanded.

Phoenix managed just one field goal the rest of the game, and the Spurs held on to win the old-fashioned way.

“We had a couple of steals and some good stops at appropriate times,” Popovich said. “But we can certainly get better.”

– photos by Edward A. Ornelas

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Spurs 102, Suns 91 – Jan. 15, 2012

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tiago Splitter shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Robin Lopez during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair shoots under Phoenix Suns’ Shannon Brown during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Cory Joseph looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Ronnie Price during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker shoots around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan drives around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair congatulates teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan after he scored against the Phoenix Suns during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair looks for room between Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan shoot around Phoenix Suns’ Markieff Morris during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Gary Neal shoots against the Phoenix Suns during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker drives around Phoenix Suns’ Channing Frye as San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair and Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat look on during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Manu Ginobili waves to fans from the bench during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat shoots between San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan and San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – Phoenix Suns’ Steve Nash walks off the court after the game with the San Antonio Spurs Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan reacts near the end of the game with Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – The San Antonio Spurs Coyote performs during the game with the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Richard Jefferson talks with teammate San Antonio Spurs’ Kawhi Leonard during first half action against the Phoenix Suns Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ DeJuan Blair defends Phoenix Suns’ Hakim Warrick during first half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tim Duncan looks for room around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

FOR SPORTS – San Antonio Spurs’ Tony Parker passes around Phoenix Suns’ Marcin Gortat during second half action Sunday Jan. 15, 2012 at the ATT Center. The Spurs won 102-91. (PHOTO BY EDWARD A. ORNELAS/eaornelas@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)

Five quick takes: Why RJ now works better than Howard

Here are five quick thoughts in the wake of the Spurs’ 104-89 victory over Utah Saturday night.

1. Josh Howard was a ballyhooed potential free-agent who thought about coming to San Antonio for a few days before accepting a more lucrative offer from the Jazz. Howard went for 18 points and seven rebounds against the Spurs Saturday night, but at least for this season, Richard Jefferson might be a better fit in the Spurs’ rotation. Jefferson’s institutional knowledge after two seasons makes him more adaptable in the present for Gregg Popovich’s whims. Howard might be more creative, but Jefferson provides what the Spurs need him to do. And he even got into the scoring act with the second unit again Saturday night when he was inserted with them in the second quarter.

2. Maybe it came after exchanging dollars for rubles for a few weeks during the lockout. Or it could have been the frank exit interview he had with Popovich on his way out of San Antonio after last season. But DeJuan Blair appears to be a changed player. His 17 points Saturday against the Jazz finished off his strongest three-game scoring effort of his career. Take away his foul trouble in the opener and he’s been the Spurs’ most consistent player this season. He had a similarly strong start last season before the Whataburgers caught up with him. Now, we’ll see if he can steer clear of those temptations to continue his personal growth this season.

3. Gary Neal is still a week away from getting back into the lineup. It will be interesting to see whose minutes he will impacts when he returns. T.J. Ford has provided a lift with the second unit, but I’m thinking that Neal will see more playing time at point guard than he did last season. And that could affect Ford’s role on the team and perhaps even determine whether Cory Joseph sticks with the squad over the long haul.

4. Popovich steered away from much emotion about his 800th victory. But veteran players like Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili were eloquent in their praise for the only NBA head coach they have played for. It’s hard to imagine the three of them not being together.

5. The Jazz looked like a classic NBA team on the back end of a back-to-back with their early struggles Saturday night. They clanked 13 of their first 17 shots and never appeared to be in a groove offensively before the Spurs took control. We’ll see a lot of tired teams that will look like that over the course of the season. Take the Spurs Thursday night in Houston.