Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Wait almost over for Spurs

By Jeff McDonald

Blame the Los Angeles Clippers for whiffing twice in their bid to close out the Memphis Grizzlies. Blame the Grizzlies for their stubborn and steadfast refusal to go quietly.

Blame the Utah Jazz for putting up all the resistance of soaked newsprint in their first-round series with the Spurs. Blame the Spurs for the ruthless efficiency with which they swept away the Jazz.

Whoever is to blame for the Spurs’ prolonged break between playoff rounds — and there is plenty to go around — this is what is most important now:

The end, thank goodness, is nigh.

“I think everybody pretty much wants to get back on the floor and play,” Spurs guard Danny Green said.

Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals is set for Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. at the ATT Center. All that is missing now is an opponent.

By dinnertime tonight, that devilish detail should be finalized, too. Either the Grizzlies or the Clippers will win Game 7 in Memphis, slated for a noon tipoff, then will not pass “Go” en route to San Antonio for the start of the next round.

“I really don’t care who we play,” Spurs captain Tim Duncan said. “Whatever it might be, they’re going to figure it out themselves. We’re just going to be here waiting.”

And waiting.

When the Spurs finally take the floor again for Game 1, it will have been eight days since finishing off the sweep in Utah.

With such a long layoff, the Spurs are at least certain to start the next round completely healthy, afflicted by no malady save for cabin fever.

To pass the time, coach Gregg Popovich has staged a pair of full-squad scrimmages in the team’s practice gym, complete with referees. After the Grizzlies and Clippers dispense with their series this afternoon, the Spurs will reconvene for their first opponent-specific practice of the break.

“I think guys are getting a little excited to see who’s going to be next up,” Green said. “Playoffs are a big deal. We want to get back to them as quick as we can.”

By the time the Spurs returned from Utah early Tuesday morning, the fifth-seeded Clippers had forged a surprising 3-1 lead in their series. There was hope among Spurs players and coaches that the second round might be soon in the offing.

But the Clippers have since squandered two chances to finish the fourth-seeded Grizzlies — including once in Los Angeles in Game 6 — pushing the series to the limit.

Now that their two potential opponents have arrived at a do-or-die seventh game, the Spurs have expressed no public preference for which they prefer.

A matchup with Memphis would bring a rematch of last year’s first-round series, when the Grizzlies — then a No. 8 seed — stunned the top-seeded Spurs. A meeting with the Clippers would summon a pair of Western Conference All-Star starters to the second-round stage in Chris Paul and Blake Griffin.

In the regular season, the Spurs went 4-0 against Memphis and 2-1 against the Clippers, who on March 9 became one of only five visitors this year to win at the ATT Center.

“But both teams play very hard, good defensively, good defense on the bigs,” Spurs guard Manu Ginobili said. “Whoever we play will be really tough.”

At long last, the Spurs can fill in that last remaining blank this afternoon.

“It’s going to be nice to get back on the floor so we can get back in the flow of things,” Green said. “It’s the playoffs. Nobody wants to be sitting at home watching games. We want to be part of it.”

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

SPURS VS. CLIPPERS OR GRIZZLIES

Game 1: @Spurs, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., TNT

Game 2: @Spurs, Thursday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN

Game 3: @Clippers or Grizzlies, Saturday, 2:30 pm., ABC

Game 4: @Clippers or Grizzlies, Sunday, 9:30 p.m. or 7 p.m., TNT

*Game 5: @Spurs, May 22 (Tuesday), TNT

*Game 6: @Clippers or Grizzlies, May 24 (Thursday), ESPN

*Game 7: @Spurs, May 27 (Sunday), TNT

* if necessary

Playoff musings: Thoughts from around the web about Game 1

It’s playoff time.

That means we will provide a daily digest of all of the observations from around the nation on the Spurs’ playoff doings.

Here’s a compendium of thoughts and opinions from the Spurs’ Game 1 triumph over Utah. 

  • NBA.com’s Fran Blinebury explains why “ to the Spurs.
  • Marc Stein of ESPN.com describes Parker’s circus shots and textbook runners along with his sentimental side in the Spurs’ Game 1 victory over Utah.
  • Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake City Tribune reports that Tyrone Corbin said Monday that Josh Howard Wednesday night in Game 2.
  • The Austin American-Statesman’s Cedric Golden opines about the in a title run this season.  
  • David Flores of KENS5.com described the in the Spurs’ opening victory over the Jazz.
  • Brian Smith of the Salt Lake City Tribune was busy Sunday. He writes of the experienced Spurs’ “,  Gregg Popovich’s compared to Utah and the Jazz’s need to do a  in Game 2.
  • Jody Genessy of the Salt Lake City Deseret News notes the the Spurs had for Utah in the Jazz’s first playoff game since 2010. Genessy also provides.
  • Salt Lake City Tribune columnist Kurt Kragthorpe opines the Jazzin order to be more competitive with the Spurs in Game 2. 
  • Brad Rock of the Deseret News opines that keeping Parker out of the lane is like . He also breaks down the at the end of the third quarter as a turning point in the team’s victory on Sunday. 
  • Scott D. Pierce of the Salt Lake City Tribune notes coverage of the Jazz that he called “ by ESPN in Sunday’s game broadcast.   
  • Rhett Wilkinson for the Deseret News gives the Jazz for their first-game performance.
  • David Smith for the Deseret News notes the ” in their Game 1 victory.

Even for Duncan, such thing as too much rest

By Jeff McDonald

Tim Duncan made the long, slow shuffle across the Spurs’ practice facility Friday, twin bags of ice Ace-bandaged to his knees.

For a 36-year-old power forward in the midst of his 14th NBA postseason, this qualifies as routine post-practice maintenance.

It had been four days since the Spurs closed out their series with Utah. While waiting for Memphis and the L.A. Clippers to finish their first-round slap fight, the Spurs have held two spirited intrasquad scrimmages — complete with hired-gun officiating crews — but zero games.

“It’s been interesting,” Duncan said. “We’ve practiced hard, trying to keep our rhythm as much as possible. A little weird at this point in the season, but we’re excited to get the next series started. We hope (the wait) comes to an end soon.”

In terms of health, there is no player on the Spurs’ roster who has benefited more from the extended between-rounds break than Duncan. A fresher Duncan is a better Duncan. The numbers, not to mention common sense, bear that out.

Yet even when it comes to the Spurs’ oldest player, there is still such a thing as too much rest.

Throughout his career, Duncan has considered himself a “rhythm player.”

Knock him from his groove, he says, and it takes him a while to rediscover it. It’s a reason Duncan often bristles at coach Gregg Popovich’s attempts to sit him at various points in the regular season.

“I can lose it pretty quickly,” Duncan said.

A two-time league MVP in his prime, Duncan produced a solid first-round series against the Jazz — 14.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and nearly two blocks per game.

Whether the Western Conference semifinals bring Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol and the Grizzlies, or Blake Griffin, Kenyon Martin and the Clippers, the Spurs will need Duncan to pick up where he left off.

The sweet spot for Duncan appears to be two days rest. Afforded exactly that much time off in the regular season, Duncan averaged 17.5 points and shot 52.3 percent in 13 games. He also made 72 percent of his foul shots, 2.5 points higher than his season average and a telltale sign of fresh legs.

Playing on three days off or more, Duncan averaged 16.3 points and 10.3 rebounds, but shot just 44.7 percent.

In hopes of striking a balance between rest and too much rest, Popovich has pushed his team through every-other-day scrimmages over the past four days.

“We just want to keep our rhythm and keep our conditioning as best we can,” Popovich said.

The last time Duncan faced a hiatus as long as this one — five days off during the All-Star break — it took him a few games to find his groove.

The first game back, a home loss to Chicago, Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds but made just 8 of 21 shots. Two nights later, in a home victory over Charlotte, Duncan produced a 14-point, eight-rebound line and went 6 of 17.

How long might it take Duncan to return to basketball form once the playoffs resume for the Spurs?

“It all depends,” he said, chuckling. “If things go good, a little while. If things don’t go good, a little longer.”

In the meantime, Duncan and the Spurs have used the inflated break to work out what few kinks remain in a team that appeared well-oiled in the first round. Specifically, Duncan is working on his chemistry with recently acquired big man Boris Diaw, who joined the team in late March and was named the starting center just before the playoffs.

The Duncan-Diaw pairing has proven surprisingly sturdy on defense. As soon as Duncan gets accustomed to Diaw’s pass-first mentality on offense, the two should look more fine-tuned on that end of the floor as well.

“We’ve got to figure out when he takes shots and when he doesn’t,” Duncan said. “All in all, he’s a smart basketball player, and we’re happy to have him. I’m still surprised by a lot of what he does.”

More than once in the Spurs’ first-round series, Diaw threw a nifty pass that sailed by an unsuspecting Duncan. It happened again in Friday’s scrimmage.

“They’re still trying to learn each other,” point guard Tony Parker said. “That’s why these practices are good.”

Still, for the sake of building playoff rhythm, there is no substitute for playing playoff games.

Duncan is as eager as anyone to see what kind of groove he is in once the Spurs’ postseason resumes. The sooner, the better.

jmcdonald@express-news.net
Twitter: @JMcDonald_SAEN

SPURS VS. CLIPPERS OR GRIZZLIES
Game 1: @Spurs, Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., TNT
Game 2: @Spurs, Thursday, 8:30 p.m., ESPN
Game 3: @Clippers/Grizzlies, TBA, TBA
Game 4: @Clippers/Grizzlies, TBA, TBA
*Game 5: @Spurs, TBA, TBA
*Game 6: @Clippers/Grizzlies, TBA, TBA
*Game 7: @Spurs, TBA, TBA
* if necessary