Defensive touch: Spurs recover from tough midseason stretch with — what else?
Web Posted: 04/20/2007 10:14 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Four years in Utah playing under the bare-knuckled reign of Jerry Sloan stiffened Jacque Vaughn’s spine and hardened his ears. Sloan’s we’re-too-bleepin’-soft rants are legendary — he once suggested former center Greg Ostertag was more suited for a career as Bear, the team’s mascot — and Vaughn listened more than a few times as his coach peeled the paint from the walls of the Jazz’s locker room.
So when Gregg Popovich tore into the Spurs after a loss at home to Milwaukee in late December, saying he hadn’t coached a worse defensive team in eight years, Vaughn had reason to think he had heard it all before. But it was what happened next that made the veteran point guard smile.
Popovich didn’t punish the Spurs with a bruising, three-hour practice the next day. Over the ensuing weeks, he continued to blister the team when warranted, but when the players huddled during timeouts, he also pointed out their improvement.
Even after a few losses, Popovich sounded almost giddy at the next day’s film session. “We’re getting better,” he said.
“That instilled a confidence in you,” Vaughn said, “that we were good enough to win a championship and we were building towards that.”
The Spurs continue to clutch those same championship hopes as they open the playoffs Sunday night against Denver, and even that says something about how far the team has traveled in the past five months.
During a seven-week stretch from Dec. 22 to Feb. 11, the Spurs went a listless 13-12, losing at home, surrendering large leads, looking as if they had lost the same mental toughness that had made them one of the NBA’s most feared opponents. Team officials called around the league, exploring possible ways to upgrade the roster’s athleticism.
Privately, Popovich even expressed his own concern. But given a day or so to clear his head after each loss, he came back to the same thought: Dallas and Phoenix, surging to 60-win seasons, may be that good, but we can’t be this bad.
The key, as it always has been during Popovich’s tenure, was getting the team to reclaim its defensive identity. After finishing in the top three in field-goal percentage defense in each of the past four seasons — and in the top five each of the previous nine — the Spurs had slipped to 12th by the start of January.
“I was optimistic we had the knowledge and character as a group to understand what we had to do to be the team we’ve been in the past,” Popovich said. “So when they accomplished it, I wasn’t surprised. I was pleased they recognized what needed to be done.”
Popovich also took the unusual step of telling the team after a tough loss at home to Houston on Jan. 26 that he wouldn’t be making any significant trades. The Spurs ended up making one minor move, swapping Eric Williams, who seldom played, for Melvin Ely, but otherwise stayed true to Popovich’s vow.
“We were not going to go trade for this guy or that guy and all of a sudden become a defensive team or all of a sudden be focused,” Popovich said. "We were focused last year and we can focus this year. We should be even better at it because you guys have been together now. It’s right here in this room and it’s right between the ears.
“I told them either this group will get it done or it won’t. No saviors.”
Despite the Spurs’ long history of coming together in the second half of the season, there was some doubt in the locker room whether they could do it again this season. The team’s confidence took another jolt in early February after consecutive losses in Orlando and Miami.
“You always have questions about things and you always wonder if people are going to start to get it,” Tim Duncan said. “For the most part, we have.”
Like clockwork, the Spurs ran off a 13-game winning streak that began shortly before the All-Star break. Popovich strengthened his reserve unit by moving Manu Ginobili to the bench. Francisco Elson, the team’s new starting center, slowly grew more comfortable with the defensive system.
By the end of the season, the Spurs were ranked first in scoring defense, allowing 90.1 points per game, and fourth in field-goal percentage defense (.443).
“They got a defensive attitude on the court on a consistent basis,” Denver coach George Karl said. “Pop went back to being more of a hammer, a little tougher.”
The Spurs’ defense will be even more taxed in the playoffs. Denver is averaging 105.3 points, third-most in the NBA. If the Spurs survive the first round, the Phoenix Suns, who are putting up a league-high 110.2 points per game, could be waiting in the Western Conference semifinals.
The Spurs have won just twice in the 14 games in which they’ve allowed 100 or more points.
“We’re not as good offensively as Dallas or Phoenix or that type of thing,” Popovich said. “We have to do it with defense and stop people to some degree.”
Despite the Spurs’ struggles this season, they have reason to feel even better about themselves than they did a year ago. Duncan is considerably healthier than he was entering the playoffs last season. Ginobili is coming off arguably the finest season of his career. Michael Finley also has shown signs the past month of providing the type of support the team needs from its role players.
The Spurs will continue to hear questions about whether they’re athletic enough to seriously challenge for their third championship in five years. They’ve struggled to keep some opponents off the boards and the Nuggets are one of the most athletic teams in the league.
But as they prepare for another rugged trek through the playoffs, the Spurs can smile about this much: Their defense appears to have returned, and, along with it, so has their confidence.