The Phoenix Suns had the conference's best record when they gambled on Shaquille O'Neal. Who knows? They might be the best again, even if the record doesn't show it, and what Shaq has done against the San Antonio Spur's Tim Duncan suggests that.
Duncan has gone 15 for 40 in their two meetings this year, both Spurs losses. But has Shaq found a way to control Duncan? Or did these games say more about what Duncan has become in the regular season?
Duncan has come to see the regular season for what it is — simply prologue for what comes later. He can get pumped up for rivalry games, but he mostly endures the first 82 games with an emotional inability to reach the gear he wants.
Little wonder the Spurs struggled at times this season. Teams often didn't double Duncan, which led to fewer open looks for the other Spurs. And over the past month, even against power teams in the conference, Duncan's body language has screamed without much ambiguity:
"Could we please get to the playoffs?"
Wednesday was about that. The Spurs understood they needed to put everything together, no matter how that impacted seeding. They needed to get Manu Ginobili back, and for Brent Barry to make a shot, and for Tony Parker to return to last June.
They needed, too, for Duncan to zone in and treat the Jazz as he did in the playoffs a year ago. He did, scoring the first basket of the game, before following with an assortment of blocks and rebounds.
"Tim Duncan was running the floor," said Jerry Sloan, reacting to the sight. "He set the stage for everyone."
That's what he's done for his career. And now comes Shaq, and a rival, and a series where something has to give.
The San Antonio Spurs are trying to hand the New Orleans Hornets their second consecutive loss and extend a seven-game winning streak against the Hornets in New Orleans tonight. New Orleans matched last season's start for the best in franchise history with four straight wins before falling 93-90 to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. The Spurs, meanwhile, bounced back from their first loss with an 88-78 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday.
Peter Finney, a writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune paid great tribute to the Spurs today. What a good sport.
Finney wrote, "Let's all stand and applaud. How about a Big Easy welcome to the Invisible Dynasty that goes by the name of the San Antonio Spurs? The Spurs win by making plays that don't show up on "SportsCenter." They win with defense, by getting the ball to the open man, by wearing you down with basic fundamentals. Whatever happens tonight, win or lose, the Hornets will learn from the experience."
What a great article from the oposition's press? WOW! Do you think maybe, just maybe, Katrina changed the paradigm on how things are viewed in the Crescent City?
Imagine, remembering that sports are for fun. What a display of sportsmanship that is far to lacking these days. Thanks Peter.
The Hornets have one of the Western Conference's most potent backcourts. Third-year point guard Chris Paul dropped 21 assists on the Los Angeles Lakers in New Orleans' Tuesday night victory. Shooting guard Morris Peterson, signed as a free agent this summer, is finding his comfort zone. Backups Bobby Jackson and Rasual Butler are solid and consistent.
Bonzi Wells had 15 rebounds on Tuesday night to help the Houston Rockets over the San Antonio Spurs 89-81. Afterward, Wells reiterated that rebounding was his thing.Yao Ming added 13 rebounds. Tracy McGrady had nine rebounds. Houston controlled Tim Duncan and outrebounded the sluggish Spurs 55-28.
"It was a huge advantage that we gave up. It's pretty hard to win like that."
- Manu Ginobilion the Rockets 55-28 rebound advantage.
The Rockets had 25 offensive rebounds, part of the reason they outscored the Spurs 21-3 on second chances. The Rockets finished the first half with a 34-15 rebounding advantage.
"I think we all understand how good we can be," McGrady said. "If we can do this on a consistent basis, then we would be tough to beat."
San Antonio's Tim Duncancalled it a "very, very, very bad rebounding night" for his club — yes, he used three "verys" — and still probably understated the case.
"If they get 20-some-odd second shots," Duncan said, "it starts and ends right there."
"That was one of the keys tonight to win the game," Yao said. "If you look at field-goal percentage (40.7 percent), we were not shooting that well. But we had ... almost 20 (more) shots with offensive rebounds — Chuck (Hayes, who had four offensive rebounds), Bonzi (who had seven) and me (eight) — some on my shots that I missed and (were) put back in. That's about how hungry we were to win the game."
With the victory, the Rockets (4-1) ruined the Spurs' perfect start. The Spurs (3-1) are trying to rebound — in every sense of the word — tonight against the Miami Heat at the A####mp;T Center.
As a result of the San Antonio Spurs' deep bench, shooting guard Michael Finley has barely had to play. Finley, the Spurs' second-oldest starter at age 34, has only logged 20 minutes per game so far. That should go a ways toward keeping him fresh for later in the year.
So far this season, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has been able to successfully limit the minutes of Finley. As he often does this time of year, Popovich has been utilizing an expanded rotation, playing with various pieces as he attempts to evaluate who can do what. As a result, Finley has been averaging 8.3 fewer minutes per game, than his backup, Manu Ginobili, if you concede that Ginobili actually backs up Finley, and one fewer than Matt Bonner. Effectively massaging Finley's minutes has been a pastime of Popovich's since the guard joined the Spurs two seasons ago. Finley averaged just 22 minutes per game last year, not much more time than he is receiving now.
"It's good for all the guys who are a little bit older to make sure we don't overplay them," Popovich said.
The Spurs, whose last action was a victory against the Sacramento Kings on Friday, don't face the Houston Rockets until tommorrow night. After taking Saturday off, they commenced preparations with a 21/2—hour workout Sunday morning.
The NBA and FedEx Corp. have extended their United States marketing partnership that is centered around a core of international players. San Antonio Spurs guards Tony Parker (France) and Manu Ginobili (Argentina) will be a key part of that effort. Other international players to be involved in the marketing campaign include Phoenix Suns guard Steve Nash (Canada), Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng (England/Sudan), and New Orleans Hornets forward Peja Stojakovic (Serbia).
The Spurs' Parker is one of the first international players to win the NBA Finals MVP award. Parker achieved that honor last season, as the Spurs won their fourth NBA championship in the last nine seasons.
Parker scored 15 points in the Spurs win over the Sacramento Kings 96-80 Friday night.
The FedEx deal makes it the official air and ground delivery service of the NBA. FedEx (NYSE: FDX) is a ground and air transportation company based in Memphis, Tennessee.
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