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.
Tim Duncan and Tracy McGrady have helped their teams to quick starts. The division rivals meet for the first time this season on Tuesday in Houston, as McGrady and the Houston Rockets get a chance to see how their new offense matches up against the veteran San Antonio Spurs. McGrady, named the Western Conference's player of the week on Monday, is averaging a league-high 33.3 points per game during Houston's 3-1 start. San Antonio is picking up where it left off last season thanks to the consistent play of Duncan and Tony Parker, who are averaging 18.7 and 17.0 points per game, respectively.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich says he's holding off judgment on how much different the Houston Rockets look under new coach Rick Adelman until later in the season.
“They're playing very well right now, very confidently,” Popovich said. “I think they're reacting well to a new situation.”
In previous coaching stops in Portland and Sacramento, Adelman preferred a fast-paced brand of basketball diametrically opposed to the slow-it-down system employed by Jeff Van Gundy, his predecessor in Houston.
"We want to push the ball, but it's not so much pushing the ball as flowing into an offense in transition,” Adelman said. “We're just trying to get by without making a lot of calls. We don't want to walk it up, if we can help it. We want to push it up.”
Adelman's offense so far, however, has featured only McGrady and Yao Ming doing most of the scoring. Yao had 21 points and 11 rebounds to join McGrady as the only Rocket in double figures on Monday.
"We have to learn how to beat a good team and get more people involved," Adelman said.
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.
The San Antonio Spurs beat the Sacramento Kings 96-80 Friday night to remain unbeaten. The Spurs are 3-0 for the first time since the 2000-01 season, when they finished with the best record in the league. The Kings have yet to win a game this season. The Kings never led, and most of the Spurs' starters sat out the entire fourth quarter.
Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich had this to say about the game. “It was great to play a lot of guys and a lot of people off of the bench got to get some time tonight, especially new guys like Darius Washington, Ime Udoka and Ian Mahinmi. They got a chance to take a look at the system.” It’s good to see that the guys kept their focus and played well. The starters really supported the guys off of the bench and did a fine job.”
Spurs guard Bruce Bowen likes the way the team has started the season. “We have had a really good start to the season but in a game like tonight it’s the mental edge that plays a major factor. We need to focus on keeping the ball moving and stay healthy as a team.”
Udoka Popovich
Beno Udrih, who was traded on Monday from San Antonio to Minnesota, then signed with Sacramento after the Timberwolves waived him, did not dress while still recovering from a broken left index finger he got last month during Spurs training camp. Udrih won two rings with the Spurs, including last season, when he lost his spot as backup point guard to Tony Parker after Jacque Vaughn took over. Popovich gave Udrih his championship ring before tip-off Friday.
The Denver Nuggets' mercurial guard Allen Iverson is about as slippery and elusive a player as there is the NBA. He's only 165 pounds but is adept at creating his own shot because he can change directions very quickly and find openings on the floor when there doesn't appear to be any.
In the series against the Spurs, there were very few openings for Iverson. When he would use a crossover dribble, Tony Parker or Bruce Bowen would still be right there with him. On the occasions where he was able to get by one of his main defenders, help was almost always there. His 6-for-22 shooting performance in Game 5 was indicative of how difficult it was for one of the league's best scorers to find any rhythm in his game.
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Udoka 
