Tag: point guard

Leonard makes fast first impression

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

Spurs rookie Kawhi Leonard was the first player off Gregg Popovich’s bench in the team’s 95-82 season-opening victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night at the ATT Center, but it didn’t take him long to make an impact.

Entering the game with 6:57 left in the first quarter, Leonard’s first official statistic as an NBA player was a steal a minute after taking the court.

That his next statistic was a missed layup when he tried to turn the steal into a basket seemed somehow fitting. The Spurs gave up one of their top defenders, combo guard George Hill, in a draft-day trade because they believed Leonard could be an impact defender, rather than a ready-made scorer.

By game’s end, Leonard had taken nine shots in 13 minutes but missed seven and scored only six points. However, his energy and defense were vital as the Spurs gained their 25th victory in 36 NBA season openers.

“Kawhi is a very athletic individual,” Popovich said. “He’s got good size, good strength, and he possesses great length. It really helps him, and he’s active. He wants to be involved on the boards, running the floor and defensively. He’s not afraid to put up a shot.”

Leonard finished with six rebounds and two steals and declared his professional debut a success for the most important of reasons.

“We got our victory, and that’s what made it fun,” he said.

Admitting to pregame jitters, he attributed a pair of early turnovers to trying to play at too fast a pace.

“I was just trying to find the rhythm of an NBA game,” he said. “I was going a little bit too fast.”

His veteran teammates preached patience.

“It was his first official game,” point guard Tony Parker said. “You have to be patient.”

HOLT RELIEVED: Spurs managing general partner Peter Holt shared a hug and a laugh with Parker just before tipoff of a game played before a sellout crowd of 18,581.

“You had me scared over in France,” Parker told Holt, who served as chairman of the NBA owners labor relations committee and spent much of October and December in New York for negotiations with the players union.

Holt wished Parker luck in the opener before praising Spurs fans, who filled the arena to its capacity.

“I’ve got to tell you, that (lockout) wore me out,” he said. “I know why I never became a lawyer.

“At the end of the day, I’m just so happy we’re playing basketball again. These great fans here deserve it.”

HEISMAN WINNER IN THE HOUSE: Players from both the Baylor and Washington football teams that will play in the Valero Alamo Bowl on Thursday attended the game, including Bears quarterback Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy winner.

“The Heisman was in the house?” swingman Danny Green said. “Why didn’t someone tell us? I could have run up and talked to him.”

Neal happy to see Ford in camp

With the draft-night trade of George Hill to Indiana, the Spurs’ backcourt depth figured to be a little depleted.

Because of Hill’s departure, Gary Neal worked extensively at the point this summer during workouts in Baltimore with the assumption his minutes would increase at the position.

The arrival of T.J. Ford has changed all that.

“Yeah, I didn’t know the Spurs were going to sign a point guard. I didn’t know they were going to sign T.J.,” Neal said. “So my skill work in the summer was basically trying to develop my skills as a point guard a little bit and try to enhance my decision making a little bit.”

With Ford, a six-season NBA veteran at the point, Neal likely won’t see much action there.  But Neal is ready if needed at the point.

“I was happy to see that,” Neal said with a chuckle. “But yeah, if something was to happen and they needed another point guard to play the spot for 10 or 15 minutes, I’m comfortable in my abilities to do it.”

Spurs set for a grueling slate?

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

After playing his fourth game in as many nights at the FIBA Americas Olympic qualifying tournament in Argentina in September, Manu Ginobili, the Spurs guard from Bahia Blanca, Argentina, acknowledged utter exhaustion.

“Can you imagine,” he said, “what Pop would say about having to play back-to-back-to-back-to-back?”

Ginobili and his Spurs teammates probably won’t have to speculate about coach Gregg Popovich’s opinion of back-to-back-to-back games, which will be part of the new schedule for a 2011-12 NBA season scheduled to begin Dec. 25.

Final details of a new, lockout-ending collective bargaining agreement still must be settled by negotiators and approved by both sides, but a new schedule is expected this week. Some details have been released, including the fact each team will play at least one set of three straight games.

Some may play as many as three sets of three in a row. There will be many more sets of back-to-backs.

For a team like the Spurs, with aging veterans among its key players, the grind will be especially difficult. Perennial All-Star and two-time Most Valuable Player Tim Duncan is 35, Ginobili 34. Richard Jefferson and Matt Bonner are 31. Point guard Tony Parker is just 29, but has been playing professionally since he was 15.

Popovich has been limiting Duncan’s and Ginobili’s playing time for several seasons. One expert on Popovich’s approach expects even more vigilance.

Mike Brungardt announced his retirement in July, after 17 seasons as the only strength and conditioning coach in franchise history. He was with Popovich in the 50-game lockout season of 1998-99, when the Spurs played three straight on one occasion and back-to-backs 10 more times.

“It’s going to be a situation where he has to monitor their minutes closely and probably be even more conscious of it,” Brungardt said. “Pop’s really good about sticking to a game plan with minutes for each player, adjusting as he goes. He’s got a great feel for players, always questioning, always staying on top of it. I know he’ll go into the season with a plan for exactly how he wants to approach every scenario.

“You always have to adjust on the fly. Things change. People get hurt. Some games become more important than others. But he will stay with his plan for the most part. He’s as experienced as anyone at dealing with a situation like this. He’s always done well in these types of scenarios.”

The schedule also will mean Matt Herring, who replaced Brungardt, will have to adapt his approach to keeping players at peak strength.

“When you compress that many games into that short a period of time, it’s going to be important not to overtrain guys,” Brungardt said. “I would assume that most teams will probably practice much less than in the past, simply because of the schedule. And even when they do practice, most practices won’t be as intense or as long.”

Brungardt is convinced most Spurs will be in good condition when camp opens. So is former Spur Bruce Bowen, who warns that players who neglected conditioning during the lockout will pay when camps open.

“Once they start playing, there’s going to be a lot of injuries,” said Bowen, 40, now an NBA analyst for ESPN. “I saw it last time. Some guys, especially young guys, just don’t stay in shape. They don’t know what’s about to hit them.”

Most of the Spurs have been diligent about staying in shape, according to Brungardt.

“I know Timmy is in great shape, and Manu and quite a few of the others,” he said.

Duncan has organized local workouts for many of his teammates during the lockout. Participants have included Ginobili, Parker, Tiago Splitter, James Anderson, Gary Neal, Danny Green, Da’Sean Butler and Kawhi Leonard.

“With a guy like him (Duncan) leading the way, those guys will be ahead of the curve,” said Bowen. “When the greatest power forward of all time is out there in the heat working, it’s hard for other guys to slack off.”