Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Ford joins Joseph, rehabs with Toros

For one day at the Spurs’ practice facility, the NBA D-League’s Austin Toros were loaded with NBA point guards schooled at the University of Texas.

T.J. Ford, the former All-American and a veteran of seven-plus NBA seasons, officially was assigned to the Toros for one day so he could go through a full practice session. He joined Spurs rookie and former Longhorns starter Cory Joseph, who was assigned to the Toros on Saturday to get playing time that would have been rare with Ford back on the Spurs’ active list.

Ford didn’t even have to pack an overnight bag to go to practice. The Toros came to San Antonio for the workout.

Ford has played in two games since returning to the lineup after missing 24 games with a torn muscle in his left hamstring and remains in need of conditioning and full-court game rhythm. He did not play in the first half of Sunday night’s 99-94 loss to the Nuggets and only 5 minutes, 46 seconds in the second half. He was productive enough in his short stay, making his only shot, grabbing three rebounds and getting one assist.

Gutting it out: Suffering a stomach ailment that his coach hinted was akin to food poisoning, team captain Tim Duncan gutted out 23:46 of play in the loss to the Nuggets.

Afterwards, Duncan said his energy level was “all right,” but coach Gregg Popovich made sure he didn’t remain on the court for long stretches. Duncan’s longest stint was in the fourth quarter, when he played the final 5:28.

Duncan milked 14 points and nine rebounds out of his 23 minutes but missed two free throws with 58.5 seconds left and the Spurs trailing 95-92.

Still the one: It had been two months since Manu Ginobili had played at the ATT Center, and it was hard to tell who was happier when he entered Sunday’s game with 5:45 left in the first quarter: Ginobili or Spurs fans who greeted his entry into the game with a rolling, standing ovation.

“It felt great,” Ginobili said. “I was excited enough for being back after two full months of not playing in this gym. It really motivated me and made me feel good. Of course, I’m always thankful to (the fans).

“First, you think about just coming back, starting playing, feeling the games, not just watching from the first row. I was happy enough to just be with the team, wearing the 20. It was a good moment.”

Ginobili expressed a grudging admiration for a play made by Denver’s Ty Lawson that was reminiscent of the all-out effort plays Ginobili often makes during crunch time. Lawson came from the perimeter to grab a rebound from Ginobili’s grasp after a missed Denver free throw with 4:18 left in a close game.

“I don’t know what kind of play it was,” he said, “but we didn’t see him. I was going to grab the rebound. He came from behind and snatched it. It was a good, hard play that he made.”

Blair update: Starting center DeJuan Blair played only 3:35 after banging knees with Nuggets center Timofey Mozgov early in the first quarter. The injury was termed a knee contusion, and Blair played briefly in the second half.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Twitter: @monroe_SA

Six quick takes: Why Pop’s decision was the right one

Sure, the 11-game winning streak was fun while it lasted.

But the NBA is all about positioning for the playoffs. And playing starters for extended minutes in February doesn’t make much sense, particularly when injuries and back-to-back games start piling up during the most  difficult road trip of the season.

Gregg Popovich can’t be faulted for resting Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in his team’s 137-97 blowout loss Tuesday night at Portland.

The Spurs are already struggling without Tiago Splitter, Manu Ginobili and T.J. Ford. Those injuries led to Duncan playing nearly 79combined  minutes in his last two games. You don’t ask a 35-year-old player to play those minutes and then demand much on the back end of a back-to-back.

During the month of February, Parker has played at least 38 minutes in five games. His minutes in the last two games ranked among his top 11 games of the season. It made sense to give him a chance a night of rest on Tuesday night, too.

“Those guys are out and I can’t run our other guys into the ground,” Popovich told reporters after the game. “When it’s time for them to rest based on the schedule and the time they’ve been playing, that’s what’s got to happen if you want to put some money in the bank for later.”

The Spurs were going to have trouble in Portland anyway after bringing a six-game losing streak at the Rose Garden before Tuesday’s game. They had failed to break the century mark against the Blazers in 13 straight games. If Popovich was going to pull back on the reigns in any game during the Rodeo Road Trip, Tuesday’s game made the most sense of any to concede.

“Every team is going to do this at some point with this season,” Popovich said. “Tonight was our night.”

After a day off the Spurs should be about as well rested as possible playing at the end of a nine-game road trip Thursday night in Denver. The Nuggets will play Wednesday night, so the Spurs get an edge there. Parker and Duncan should be ready to go if asked. It will be the last game before the All-Star break.

The Spurs will have a better chance of winning Thursday night in Denver than Tuesday night in Portland.

Popovich’s personnel movements only helped his chances. 

Here are a few other quick takes from perhaps the best example imaginable why a running clock is needed in the NBA when a margin is greater than 30 points in the fourth quarter.

  • Kawhi Leonard was the brightest spot in an otherwise dismal one for the Spurs in his best professional game. Leonard erupted for team-high totals of 24 points, 10 rebounds and five steals. He was as active and hustling during his latter minutes at the end of the game as at the beginning. Popovich has to be charged thinking about the opportunity to work with Leonard during the summer, building his offensive game and his strength on an otherwise intriguing skill set. Leonard can become a special player  under Popovich’s tutelage.
  • Two days ago, Eric Dawson was a member of the Austin Toros and hoping for a chance at the NBA. He received more of an early opportunity than he probably ever would have expected when he arrived with the Spurs, notching nearly32 minutes in his career debut and scoring nine points. The Spurs still need some depth inside and Splitter will be out of action for a couple of weeks. Dawson will have a chance to show what he can do during that time.
  • James Anderson’s wishes to be traded probablyo didn’t get much of a lift as he struggled through a miserable shooting effort. And when his shooting is struggling, Anderson sometimes goes into a funk defensively that harms his entire game. If he’s going to get a shot somewhere in the NBA, he needs to make the most of opportunities like the one he had on Tuesday night.
  • Even if they were playing the Spurs’ junior varsity team, Portland made a complete turnaround from earlier in the season. The Trail Blazers were struggling offensively, hitting only 32.9 percent from 3-point territory and ranking 18th in the league. They hit 53.6 percent of their 3-pointers in the first quarter to effectively blow the game open and never looked back.
  • Even with the huge lead, Gerald Wallace and Wesley Matthews were surprisingly playing early in the fourth quarter with the game already settled. Matthews hobbled off the court early in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle. It should have made Portland coach Nate McMillan realize the ramifications of playing his top players  too much in blowout games. If he needed any rationale, maybe he should have looked at Duncan wearing a suit along the Spurs’ sidelines for inspiration.

Spurs at the midway point

For every Spurs player not named Tony Parker, the All-Star break provided a welcome respite from the grueling grind of this blink-and-you’ll-miss-it lockout season. Before the games resume Wednesday against Chicago (8 p.m., KENS, ESPN), Express-News staff writer Jeff McDonald presses pause to gauge the state of the Spurs at the midway mark:

What went right

Playing like an All-Star and borderline MVP candidate, Parker is enjoying his best season with a team-leading 19.4 points and career-best 8.1 assists per game.

The Spurs’ bench, led by youngsters such as Tiago Splitter, Gary Neal, Danny Green and rookie Kawhi Leonard, has been a revelation. The Spurs wrapped up the first half by going 8-1 on the rodeo road trip, the second-best mark in the history of the annual trek.

Coach Gregg Popovich has been able to keep 35-year-old power forward Tim Duncan fresh by limiting his minutes to career-low levels.

What went wrong

The Spurs were kind of an injury train wreck for much of the first half, which makes their 24-10 record all the more impressive.

Manu Ginobili (hand, oblique) has played just nine games.

Backup point guard T.J. Ford (hamstring) has missed the past 24.

Splitter and Leonard (strained calves) also could open the second half on the injured list.

The Spurs have weathered the injury bug well so far, but it’s difficult to imagine them doing much damage in the playoffs if not at full strength.

What happens next

As payback for finishing the first half on a nine-game road trip, the Spurs get to open the second half with seven straight games at home, where they are 13-1.

Wednesday’s game against Derrick Rose and the Bulls will be the Spurs’ first at the ATT Center since Feb. 4. The remaining schedule does come with some trouble spots, including a stretch of five games in six nights at the end of March and a road-only back-to-back-to-back on the West Coast in April.

What happens next, Part II

Thanks to the lockout, the trade deadline has been pushed back to March 15. It still shouldn’t matter much to the Spurs.

Though team officials acknowledge the roster could use a fifth big man, the Spurs don’t appear to have the assets to land one via trade. A more likely scenario has the front office scouring the waiver wire after the deadline, when untraded veteran players typically achieve contract buyouts.

jmcdonald@express-news.net