Spurs: Elson making new adjustment
Web Posted: 10/21/2007 11:55 PM CDT
Mike Monroe
Express-News staff writer
It was just one missed rebound in the middle of the third quarter of a meaningless preseason game.
But as he buttoned the cuffs on a neatly pressed dress shirt after the Spurs defeated the Detroit Pistons at AT&T Center on Saturday night, Francisco Elson explained how a Pistons rookie named Cheikh Samb had managed to snare a missed shot he felt he had positioned himself to grab.
“When I look up,” Elson said, “sometimes I see double. That’s why I keep missing some rebounds.”
Occasionally wondering which of two basketballs to rebound has been the worst of the adjustments Elson has had to make while getting accustomed to a protective mask he must wear for the remainder of his basketball career. The mask protects the orbital bone around his left eye, fractured this summer while Elson competed for his native Holland in a tournament in Europe. Removing it for the sake of an additional rebound or two is not an option.
“I broke my eye socket, and if I get hit one more time, that’s my vision you’re talking about,” Elson said.
The mask also makes it hard for Elson to clear sweat from his eyes now and then, but it does not seem to have affected his shooting even slightly, and the Spurs are happy about that. The 7-foot center has one of the softest jumpers of any of the league’s big men. He made six of eight shots in the first half of the Spurs’ 104-80 exhibition victory on Saturday, three from mid-range.
If Elson, now in his fifth season, shoots more from the perimeter than at any time in his career, it will be with the blessing of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.
“Last game I told him, ‘If you don’t get up 10 jumpers I’m going to waive you,’” Popovich said after Saturday’s game.
“I told him, ‘You’ve got to shoot it. You’re a hell of a shooter.’”
When the Spurs re-thought their center situation after the 2005-06 season, Elson was the player they most coveted. They loved his speed and his shooting stroke, though he rarely was allowed to demonstrate his perimeter accuracy for the Nuggets.
“If you think back, he was our first guy,” Popovich said. “We went after him right off the bat in free agency and made the offer and then waited to see if Denver was going to match it. We loved his speed and his length and felt he was a good shooter. We loved all those things, and because of that we went to work with him.”
The Spurs believed Elson had been under-utilized in Denver. There were suspicions he had been disrespected by some of his teammates to the point his confidence was nearly non-existent. The Spurs’ staff went to work rebuilding his basketball ego.
“We thought one of the things we wanted to do was show confidence in him and show him the respect we thought would help him be a better player, if he felt better about himself,” Popovich said.
“When he first got here we didn’t think he felt real good about himself as a player. We made sure we were hard on him — we wanted to make sure he learned the system and all that. But at the same time, we talked with him a lot so he would know exactly where we were coming from so he’d know we cared about him whenever we were saying something of a critical or of a positive nature.”
When Elson arrived in San Antonio he renewed a working relationship with shooting coach Chip Engelland, with whom he had worked in Denver. Elson believes his shot is more reliable. More importantly, he understands the importance of shooting whenever he is open.
“Coach says if you don’t shoot when you’re open it’s a wasted possession, so you have to shoot it,” Elson said. “So that’s what I’m doing.”
Elson also feels more comfortable in the Spurs’ system.
“Last year, just like most people, it took him a year to figure out the system,” Popovich said. “This year he’s not thinking about the system. He’s playing basketball within the system, which he understands.”
“You know exactly where and when your shots can come from,” Elson said, "and where not. I tend to pick out my spots and feel more comfortable most of the time.
“I’m excited about everything right now, so I can’t wait for the regular season to start.”