马刺1996-97赛季实录（560+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-16

马刺新闻

• 病痛缠身的海军上将：中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)因背部疼痛缺席了周二的第二场季前赛。他今天不会随队出发，球队将开始两场客场比赛。马刺队将在周四访问纽约尼克斯队，并在周五前往威斯康星州的格林湾，与密尔沃基雄鹿队交手。马刺总经理格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)表示，他的中锋感觉好多了，但他无法确定回归的时间。

“他每天似乎都在好转，”波波维奇说。“经过治疗，他似乎正在稳定地康复。”

• 新秀后卫德克斯特·博尼(Dexter Boney)由于背部痉挛，也无法参加与费城队的比赛。他目前以“证明自己”合同参加训练营。

• 下一场比赛：马刺队将于10月24日在家中的阿拉莫穹顶球场迎战查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)率领的休斯顿火箭队。

• 关于工资帽：波波维奇表示，NBA的工资帽预计会增加，但这不会影响马刺队。据报道，工资帽可能会增加50万美元，达到2450万美元。

• 为每个人准备的雪茄：在与费城队的比赛开始前，罗宾逊在更衣室里分发了巧克力雪茄，庆祝他第三个儿子的到来，贾斯汀·迈克尔·罗宾逊(Justin Michael Robinson)。这个孩子在周一早上出生。

• 去除护垫：弗农·马克斯韦尔(Vernon Maxwell)在季前赛中首次将右肩上的保护垫取了下来。他在前两场比赛中一直戴着它，此前他在训练营的练习中被队友查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)撞伤了肩膀。

• 脚趾肿胀：七六人队的前锋德里克·科尔曼(Derrick Coleman)在缺席了揭幕战后，首次参加了季前赛。他因为不合脚的网球鞋导致大脚趾肿胀，并进行了抽取积液的手术。 - 杰瑞·布里格斯(Jerry Briggs)

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

- Ailing Admiral: Center David Robinson, bothered by a sore back, missed his second straight preseason game Tuesday. He will not travel with the team today when it leaves on its two-game road trip. The Spurs will visit the New York Knicks on Thursday and will meet the Milwaukee Bucks in Green Bay, Wis., on Friday. Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich said his center is feeling better, but he can’t put a time frame on his return.

“He seems to be getting a little relief every day,” Popovich said. “With treatment, he seems to be on the trail to steady improvement.”

Rookie guard Dexter Boney, in camp on a make-good contract, also was unavailable for the Philadelphia game with back spasms.

- Upcoming: The Spurs play their next home game Oct. 24 at the Alamodome against Charles Barkley and the Houston Rockets.

- No cap word: Popovich said the NBA’s salary cap is expected to increase, but that it would have no affect on the Spurs. The cap reportedly could increase by $500,000, up to $24.5 million.

- Cigars for everyone: Robinson passed out chocolate cigars in the dressing room before the Philadelphia game, heralding the arrival of his third son, Justin Michael Robinson. The baby was born Monday morning.

- Pad comes off: Vernon Maxwell took the protective pad off his right shoulder for the first time in the preseason. He had worn it in the first two games, following a jarring hit by teammate Charles Smith in training-camp practices.

- Swollen toes: Sixers forward Derrick Coleman played his first game of the preseason after missing the opener with swollen big toes. Coleman had fluid drained from the toes because of tennis shoes that didn’t fit properly. -Jerry Briggs

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-16, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

76人击败马刺 - 费城队利用圣安东尼奥队临时阵容的优势取得胜利

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)因背部疼痛，身着便装在场边观战。肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)虽然身着球衣，但也获得了周二对阵费城76人的比赛休息机会。由于马刺队前三名球员休息，76人队抓住了这个机会，在阿拉莫穹顶以 109-98 的比分赢得了季前赛的胜利。凭借这场胜利，费城队取得了 2-0 的战绩。圣安东尼奥队则跌至 0-3。

罗宾逊伤情的性质和严重程度仍然是一个谜。

罗宾逊在季前赛只打了 17 分钟，他说他背部仍然感到疼痛，上周五在对阵休斯顿火箭队的比赛中加重了伤情。

“我的背一直很痛，现在仍然很痛，”罗宾逊说。“它阻止我弯腰，跳跃——我想做的事情。”

罗宾逊至少会缺席接下来的两场比赛。他今天不会随队前往客场比赛。马刺队将在周四前往纽约麦迪逊广场花园球场与尼克斯队比赛，并在周五前往威斯康星州的格林湾与密尔沃基雄鹿队比赛。

马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)表示，罗宾逊可能在下周四球队与休斯顿火箭队的下一场主场比赛中复出。希尔在谈到希望看到罗宾逊和威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)分别作为中锋和强力前锋的首发阵容时，做出了上述评论。

罗宾逊在 76人队的比赛结束后说，他不知道预后会怎样。

“我会休息，伸展，服用一些药物，并尝试恢复，”他说。

二年级后卫杰里·斯塔克豪斯(Jerry Stackhouse)为费城队贡献了 31 分。艾伦·艾弗森(Allen Iverson)，上个夏天选秀大会上的状元秀，贡献了 17 分。前锋德里克·科尔曼(Derrick Coleman)继续投篮，最终得到 11 分，抢下 12 个篮板。

76人队上赛季只赢了 18 场比赛，在比赛过程中他们似乎信心十足，一些球员在比赛中对卫冕中西部赛区冠军的马刺队进行垃圾话。

在一节比赛中，科尔曼在篮下抢下进攻篮板。队友鼓励科尔曼“把球扣到（珀杜）头上”。

科尔曼顺从地扣篮得分。

“他们是我的兄弟，”马刺队后卫弗农·马克斯维尔(Vernon Maxwell)笑着说，他上赛季效力于 76人队。“他们是朋友。我知道他们会说垃圾话。我们昨晚谈论过这件事。我早有预料。”

对于马刺队来说，前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)得到 27 分，马克斯维尔贡献了 23 分。控球后卫科里·亚历山大(Cory Alexander)在与他来自弗吉尼亚州的多年好友艾弗森的对抗中贡献了 17 分。

“我认为他打得很好，”亚历山大说。“我从他高中一年级就开始认识他了。当你在球场上与朋友对决时，你就会全力以赴。今年夏天，我们会在海滩上吹嘘这件事。”

希尔采用了临时阵容，让第二阵容的球员上场，马克斯维尔和亚历山大获得了后场的首发位置。珀杜和前锋查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)与威尔金斯一起组成锋线。

“我只是想把这场比赛交给第二阵容，看看他们能做到什么，”希尔说。“另外，我需要给埃尔默·贝内特(Elmer Bennett)和格雷格·凯特(Greg Kite)一些上场时间，我想看看蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)在场上表现如何。我让首发阵容休息了一晚……看看替补席上有什么。”

希尔对看到的东西感到满意，包括马克斯维尔在第一节的火热手感，他得到 15 分，以及威尔金斯在篮下的旋转突破。但他们都没有投出特别高的命中率，防守也出现了很多漏洞，导致 76人队以 53.5% 的命中率投篮。

“我们今晚没有防守，”希尔说。“就像一个筛子。”

威尔金斯打了 35 分钟，23 投 11 中，抢下 9 个篮板，包括 5 个进攻篮板。马克斯维尔打了 36 分钟，23 投 8 中。

威尔金斯说，他对自己表现感到满意，因为他刚刚从流感中恢复。

“我开始摆脱束缚，放开手脚了，”威尔金斯说。

点击查看原文：Sixers ring Spurs' bell -Philadelphia flies past S.A.'s makeshift lineup

Sixers ring Spurs’ bell -Philadelphia flies past S.A.'s makeshift lineup

David Robinson, nursing a sore back, watched from the sidelines in street clothes. Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson suited up, but both were given the night off Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers. As the Spurs’ top three players rested, the Sixers took advantage of the situation with a 109-98 preseason victory at the Alamodome. With the win, Philadelphia improved to 2-0. San Antonio fell to 0-3.

The nature and seriousness of Robinson’s injury remained something of a mystery.

Robinson, who has played only 17 minutes during the preseason, said he still feels the pain in his back after aggravating it in the first game last Friday in New Orleans against Houston.

“The back’s been hurting and it’s still hurting,” Robinson said. “It stops me from bending, jumping - things I want to do.”

Robinson will miss at least the next two games. He will not travel with the team today when it embarks on a two-game road trip. The Spurs play the Knicks at New York’s Madison Square Garden on Thursday and the Milwaukee Bucks in Green Bay, Wis., on Friday.

Spurs coach Bob Hill raised the possibility that Robinson could play next Thursday when the team plays its next home game against Houston Rockets. Hill made the comment in reference to his desire to see Robinson and Will Perdue in a starting tandem at center and power forward, respectively.

Robinson, speaking after the 76ers game, said he didn’t know what the prognosis would be.

“I’ll just rest, stretch, take some medication and try to get better,” he said.

Second-year guard Jerry Stackhouse paced Philadelphia with 31 points. Allen Iverson, the top pick in the draft last summer, added 17. Forward Derrick Coleman kept shooting long enough to score 11 and pulled down 12 rebounds .

The Sixers, who won only 18 games last season, appeared to be feeling full of themselves during the course of the game, with a few players talking trash to the defending Midwest Division champion Spurs.

In one sequence in the first quarter, Coleman grabbed an offensive rebound under the basket. A teammate exhorted Coleman to “dunk it on (Perdue’s) head.”

Coleman obliged with a slam.

“Those are my boys,” said a smiling Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell, who played for the Sixers last season. “They are friends of mine. I knew they were going to be running their mouths. We talked about it last night. I expected it.”

For the Spurs, forward Dominique Wilkins scored 27 points and Maxwell produced 23. Point guard Cory Alexander chipped in with 17 in a duel with Iverson, his longtime friend from Virginia.

“I thought he played well,” Alexander said. “I’ve known him since he was a freshman in high school. When you’ve got friends on the court, you’re going to go at it. We’ll brag about this at the beach this summer.”

Maxwell and Alexander drew the starting assignments in the backcourt as Hill went with a makeshift lineup of second-team players. Perdue and forward Charles Smith joined Wilkins on the front line.

“I just wanted to give the game to the second team and see what they could do with it,” Hill said. “Also, I needed to get some playing time for Elmer Bennett and Greg Kite, and I wanted to see Monty (Williams) on the floor. I gave the (starters) the night off . . . to see what we had sitting there (on the bench).”

Hill liked some of what he saw, including Maxwell’s hot shooting in the first quarter when he scored 15 points and Wilkins’ spinning

drives to the basket. But neither shot particularly well and the defense broke down more than a few times, leading to the Sixers hitting 53.5 percent from the field.

“We played no defense tonight,” Hill said. “It was like a sieve.”

In 35 minutes, Wilkins hit 11 of 23 from the floor and rebounded well, grabbing nine boards, including five at the offensive end. Maxwell hit 8 of 23 from the field in 36 minutes.

Wilkins said he was satisfied with his performance, considering he is coming off a bout with the flu.

“I’m starting to shake it loose and let it go,” Wilkins said.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-17, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺不败的借口：这仅仅是季前赛

马刺前锋肖恩·埃利奥特给出了球迷们不应担心球队 0-3 战绩的一个主要原因。

“因为这是季前赛，”埃利奥特说。

马刺在对阵休斯顿、密尔沃基和费城的比赛中一败涂地，他们将在客场进行两场比赛。他们将于今晚在纽约对阵尼克斯，并在威斯康辛州格林贝于周五再次迎战密尔沃基。

在他们的上一场比赛中，马刺在第四节落后 76 人队多达 18 分 —— 76 人队是上赛季仅获得 18 场胜利的乐透队 —— 最终在周二晚上于阿拉莫圆顶球场以 98-109 输掉了比赛。

但是没有人拉响警报，因为教练组决定让球队的三名主力球员 —— 大卫·罗宾逊、埃利奥特和艾弗里·约翰逊 —— 在对阵费城的比赛中轮休。

埃利奥特说：“昨晚（对阵费城），我们让第二阵容打比赛，看看我们将会使用哪些轮换。”“另外，大卫（罗宾逊）仅仅打了大约 15 分钟。就是这个。这是季前赛。”

马刺教练鲍勃·希尔说，他希望罗宾逊能够在球队返回主场后的下周某个时间开始训练，他并未前往客场。

希尔说：“我们只能等待医生的消息。”

与此同时，这次客场之旅可能会演变成类似于“让多米尼克·威尔金斯（以及其他一些球员）恢复状态之旅”。

希尔说：“我们得让替补阵容进行一些体能训练。”“他们在前天晚上比赛结束时疲惫不堪（对阵费城）。在此之前，他们做了很多好的事情。”

威尔金斯，他在年轻时被称为“人类电影精华”，在与费城的比赛中重演了他作为全明星的过去。这位 36 岁的球员签署了一份为期一年的合同，顶替受伤的查克·珀森，他在 35 分钟内得到 27 分。

威尔金斯说：“在前两场比赛中，我生病了。”“我得了流感，无法奔跑。我开始摆脱它，让它过去。当你生病时很难打球。”

威尔金斯和另一名新秀球员弗农·马克斯韦尔以每场比赛 18.3 分的高分领跑球队。威尔金斯的投篮命中率为 45%，而马克斯韦尔的命中率则冷到了 32.7%。

马克斯韦尔承认，他也尚未达到最佳的身体状态，而且当他达到最佳状态时，他的投篮命中率应该会提高。

马克斯韦尔说：“我可以看出，当我想投篮时，我（远离篮筐）正在减速。”“我必须努力解决这个问题。当我有一点疲劳时，我就会开始减速。”

威尔·珀迪一直是球队中最稳定的球员之一。除了场均 9.3 分和全队最高的 11 个篮板外，他的投篮命中率还高达 80%（15 投 11 中）。当罗宾逊回归时，希尔想让这位身高 7 英尺的中锋担任锋线首发球员。

他说：“如果由我来定，我希望如此。”“这取决于他们想怎么做。如果不是这样，那么我还是有信心从替补席上出发。”

在纽约，马刺将面临有关在 2 月份将 J.R. 里德和布拉德·洛豪斯送到尼克斯队以换取查尔斯·史密斯（和他价值 350 万美元的大合同 —— 今年）、蒙蒂·威廉姆斯和首轮选秀权的交易明智程度的问题。

此后，纽约已经将里德和洛豪斯裁掉，并利用工资帽下的空间改变了阵容，引进了拉里·约翰逊、艾伦·休斯顿和克里斯·柴尔德斯。尼克斯利用他们的选秀权从雪城大学选中了约翰·华莱士。

史密斯和威廉姆斯都在为马刺队替补。

为了回应这些问题，希尔进行了反击，并指出：“他们现在都没有自己的球员，而我们拥有（参与交易的两名）球员。我们认为蒙蒂真的是一名表现优异的年轻球员，查尔斯可以成为这支球队不可或缺的一部分。我敢肯定查尔斯会受到纽约球迷的热烈欢迎。”

76 人队利用马刺轮休首发球员的策略作为激励措施，一年级教练约翰尼·戴维斯指出：“我们的球员非常自豪。当另一支球队决定让第二阵容首发时，这简直就是扇了一巴掌。”

• 马刺新闻：二年级后卫科里·亚历山大在球场上的投篮命中率为 55%，并且在 67 分钟内得到 37 分，这促使希尔赞扬了他的进攻侵略性。

但是希尔表示，他尚未致力于实施由艾弗里·约翰逊、文尼·德尔内格罗、弗农·马克斯韦尔和亚历山大组成的四后卫轮换阵容。

希尔说：“此事尚未定论。”“我还没有准备好这么做。”

点击查看原文：Winless Spurs' excuse: It's only the preseason

Winless Spurs’ excuse: It’s only the preseason

Spurs forward Sean Elliott listed one major reason why fans shouldn’t worry about the team’s 0-3 record.

“Because it’s the preseason,” Elliott said.

The Spurs, winless in exhibitions against Houston, Milwaukee and Philadelphia, are on the road for a two-game swing. They face the Knicks in New York tonight and Milwaukee again on Friday in Green Bay, Wis.

In their last game, the Spurs fell behind by as many as 18 points in the fourth quarter against the Sixers - an 18-win lottery team last season - before losing 109-98 Tuesday night at the Alamodome.

But nobody is sounding the alarm bells, because the coaches decided to rest the team’s top three players - David Robinson, Elliott and Avery Johnson - in the Philadelphia game.

“Last night (against Philly), we played the second team to see what rotations we are going to be using,” Elliott said. “Plus, Dave (Robinson) has only played about 15 minutes. It’s just that. It’s the preseason.”

Spurs coach Bob Hill said he is hopeful that Robinson, who did not travel, will be available to practice at some point next week after the team returns home.

“We just have to wait and see what the doctors say,” Hill said.

In the meantime, the road trip could turn into something akin to the “Get Dominique Wilkins (and a few other guys) In Shape Tour.”

“We’ve got to get some conditioning for the second unit,” Hill said. “They got fatigued at the end of the game the other night (against Philly). They did a lot of good things until then.”

Wilkins, the “Human Highlight Film” in his younger days, displayed a few reruns of his All-Star past against Philadelphia. The 36-year-old, signed to a one-year contract to fill in for the injured Chuck Person, scored 27 points in 35 minutes.

“The first two games, I was sick,” said Wilkins. “I had that flu and I couldn’t run. I’m starting to shake it loose and let it go. It’s hard to play when you’ve got the bug.”

Wilkins and fellow newcomer Vernon Maxwell are leading the team in scoring at 18.3 points per game. Wilkins is shooting 45 percent from the floor and Maxwell a frigid 32.7.

Maxwell admitted that he, too, is not quite in tip-top physical form, and that his shooting should improve when he gets there.

“I can tell that when I go up, I’m fading (away from the basket) on my shot,” Maxwell said. “I’ve got to work on that. As I get a little fatigued I start fading.”

Will Perdue has been one of the team’s most consistent players. He is shooting 80 percent (11 of 15), in addition to averaging 9.3 points and a team-leading 11 rebounds. Hill wants to try the 7-footer as a starter on the front line when Robinson returns.

“I’d like to,” he said of his desire to start. “It just depends on what they want to do. If that’s not the case, then I still feel confident coming off the bench.”

The Spurs will be confronted in New York with questions about the wisdom of the trade that sent J.R. Reid and Brad Lohaus to the Knicks in February for Charles Smith (and his large contract -$3.5 million this year), Monty Williams and a first-round pick.

New York has since cut away both Reid and Lohaus and used the room under the salary cap to revamp its roster with Larry Johnson, Allan Houston and Chris Childs. The Knicks used their draft pick to select John Wallace from Syracuse.

Both Smith and Williams are coming off the bench for the Spurs.

In response to the questions, Hill went on the offensive, noting, "They don’t have either guy now, and we have both (individuals involved in the trade). We feel like Monty is really a

good, young player and Charles can be an integral part of this team. I’m sure Charles will catch some heat from the New York fans."

The Sixers used the Spurs’ ploy of resting their starters as an incentive, with first-year coach Johnny Davis noting, “Our guys have a lot of pride. It’s a slap in the face when the other team decides to start their second team.”

-Spurs notes: Second-year guard Cory Alexander is shooting 55 percent from the field and has scored 37 points in 67 minutes, prompting Hill to praise his offensive aggression.

But Hill said he hasn’t committed to instituting a four-guard rotation consisting of Avery Johnson, Vinny Del Negro, Vernon Maxwell and Alexander.

“The jury is still out,” Hill said. “I’m not ready to commit to it.”

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-18, By SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS

负伤的马刺队向尼克斯队低头

纽约 - 大卫·罗宾逊因背部酸痛留在圣安东尼奥疗养，这使得马刺队的内线出现了一个巨大的漏洞，纽约尼克斯队对此非常乐意进行填补。尼克斯队在比赛开始后就对缺少人手的马刺队内线发起了猛攻，随后阿兰·休斯顿用跳投狂砍 23 分帮助球队收下比赛，最终纽约尼克斯队在周四晚上的季前赛中以 97-76 战胜了马刺队。

威尔·珀杜顶替罗宾逊首发，得到 17 分并抢下 9 个篮板。替补出场的弗农·麦克斯韦尔得到 12 分，但对于已经输掉所有四场季前赛的马刺队来说，积极的方面却寥寥无几。

“我们的进攻糟糕透顶，” 马刺队前锋肖恩·埃利奥特在投篮 7 中仅命中 1 球得到 7 分后表示。

这场与尼克斯队的比赛本应是联盟中两支强队检验自身实力的机会，但最终却事与愿违。

“这令人沮丧，” 马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔说道，“我知道我们会变得更好，只是需要一些时间。尼克斯队在体能和默契方面都更接近他们应该达到的状态。”

马刺队最近饱受伤病和流感困扰。他们上一场比赛没有一名常规首发球员上场。周四晚上，由于流感的影响以及上赛季效力于希腊联赛球队的合同纠纷，多米尼克·威尔金斯缺席了比赛。

维尼·德尔内格罗和埃弗里·约翰逊都还受到流感的影响，出场时间有限。

“这不应该成为借口，” 埃利奥特谈到阵容不断变化带来的伤病和流感时说道，“但有时候球员们不知道自己应该站在哪里。我们的一些球员完全不在状态。”

尼克斯队则没有这样的问题。他们展示了他们为什么被认为是芝加哥公牛队争夺东部冠军的有力竞争者。

第一节中段一波 16-1 的攻势基本上为纽约队奠定了胜局。

“我们就像是被关在电话亭里一样，根本防不住任何人，” 马刺队前锋查尔斯·史密斯说道。

点击查看原文：Hobbled Spurs bow to Knicks

Hobbled Spurs bow to Knicks

NEW YORK - With David Robinson nursing a sore back at home in San Antonio, the Spurs had a big hole in the middle that the New York Knicks were only too happy to fill. The Knicks went inside early against the undermanned Spurs and then finished the job with Allan Houston peppering the Spurs with jumpers for 23 points Thursday night as New York rolled to a 97-76 preseason victory.

Will Perdue, starting in place of Robinson, scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Vernon Maxwell came off the bench to score 12 points, but there were few positives for the Spurs, who have lost all four of their exhibition games.

“Our offense was horrific,” Spurs forward Sean Elliott said after hitting just 1 of 7 from the field for seven points.

The matchup with the Knicks should have been a chance for two of the league’s best teams to see how they stand. It didn’t work out that way.

“It’s been frustrating,” Spurs coach Bob Hill said. “I know we’re going to be good. It’s just going to take some time. The Knicks are more where they should be in terms of conditioning and timing.”

The Spurs have been hit hard by injuries and illness. They played their last game without any of their regular starters. Thursday night Dominque Wilkins sat out because of lingering effects of the flu and contract difficulties with the Greek league team he played for last season.

Vinny Del Negro and Avery Johnson, both still suffering from the flu, played sparingly.

“It shouldn’t be an excuse,” Elliott said of the injuries and illnesses that have kept the lineup in flux. “But sometimes guys don’t know where they should be. We had guys way out of place.”

The Knicks had no such problems. They showed why they are expected to challenge the Chicago Bulls for the Eastern Conference title.

A 16-1 run midway through the first quarter essentially put the game away for New York.

“We couldn’t guard anybody in a phone booth,” Spurs forward Charles Smith said.

By SPECIAL TO THE EXPRESS-NEWS, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-18, By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)因希腊合同纠纷无法上场

多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)至少在一周内无法代表圣安东尼奥马刺队上场，因为他在希腊联赛的前东家声称他仍然受合同约束。这场争端将在下周在伦敦的仲裁听证会上得到解决。

威尔金斯于10月4日与马刺队签署了一份为期一年的最低工资合同，薪资为247,500美元。周四晚上，在圣安东尼奥与纽约尼克斯队在纽约进行的季前赛中，他坐在板凳上但没有身穿制服。

“从技术上讲，他的合同被否决了。但我们将支持他和马刺队参加仲裁听证会，因为我们没有找到任何证据表明（威尔金斯和希腊球队之间）存在合同关系，”NBA发言人布莱恩·麦克因泰尔(Brian McIntyre)表示。

对于NBA俱乐部来说，在球员在海外效力后检查其合同状况是标准程序。

当马刺队和NBA向希腊篮球联合会核实时，他们被告知威尔金斯与雅典的帕纳辛奈科斯(Panathinaikos)仍然存在有效合同，该球队在去年春天由他带领获得了欧洲俱乐部冠军。

威尔金斯曾多次与俱乐部发生冲突，涉及金钱、教练战术和无故缺席。在支付了超过300万美元的1996-97赛季薪资后，俱乐部在夏季将其释放。

“这纯粹是希腊老板怀恨在心、恶意报复，”威尔金斯的经纪人史蒂夫·考夫曼(Steve Kauffman)说。“这毫无道理，因为我们有文件和法庭证词证明他的合同已经终止。”

考夫曼表示，希腊球队试图在波士顿、新罕布什尔州和希腊的法庭上停止对威尔金斯1996-97赛季薪资的支付，但被驳回了。考夫曼说，威尔金斯按时收到了他的工资。

“这真是个荒谬的麻烦，”考夫曼说。“太恶意了。他去年为他们赢得了冠军，现在他们没有他却打得一塌糊涂。”

马刺队总经理格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)表示，球队并没有将这场争端视为重大问题。

威尔金斯是一位拥有13年职业生涯、9次全明星的球员，在圣安东尼奥的前三场季前赛中，场均得到16.3分和5.3个篮板。

点击查看原文：Greeks bearing rifts: Dominique grounded

Greeks bearing rifts: Dominique grounded

Dominique Wilkins cannot play for the San Antonio Spurs for at least a week because his former team in the Greek League still claims to have him under contract. The dispute will be settled at an arbitration hearing in London next week.

Wilkins, who signed a one-year contract with the Spurs for the minimum salary of $247,500 on Oct. 4, was on the bench but not in uniform Thursday night in New York for San Antonio’s exhibition game against the Knicks.

“Technically, his contract has been disallowed. But we will support him and the Spurs at the arbitration hearing because we have found no evidence that a contractual relationship exists (between Wilkins and the Greek team),” NBA spokesman Brian McIntyre said.

It is standard procedure for NBA clubs to check a player’s contract status after he has spent time overseas.

When the Spurs and the NBA checked with the Greek Basketball Federation, they were told Wilkins still had a valid contract with Panathinaikos of Athens, the team he led to the European club championship last spring.

Wilkins had several run-ins with the club over money, coaching tactics and unexcused absences. The club released him over the summer after paying him more than $3 million of his 1996-97 salary.

“This is just something vindictive and spiteful that the Greek owner is doing,” said Steve Kauffman, Wilkins’ agent. “It makes no sense because we have documents and court testimony in which they state his contract was terminated.”

Kauffman said the Greek team was rebuffed in its attempts to stop payments on Wilkins’ 1996-97 salary in court hearings in Boston, New Hampshire and Greece. Kauffman says Wilkins has received his payments on schedule.

“This is a ridiculous hassle,” Kauffman said. “It’s very spiteful. He won them a championship last year, and now they’re terrible without him.”

Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich said the team wasn’t looking at the dispute as a major problem.

Wilkins, a 13-year veteran and nine-time All-Star, averaged 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds in San Antonio’s first three exhibition games.

By COMPILED FROM STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-19, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺队对威金斯加盟充满信心

多米尼克·威金斯(Dominique Wilkins) 周五预测，尽管 NBA 最近决定禁止他的合同，他仍然会在这赛季为马刺队效力。 “毫无疑问，”威金斯说，“这只是一个小小的、令人讨厌的事情。”

NBA 于周四禁止了威金斯与马刺队签署的一年合同。

由于联盟的行动，这位前全明星前锋被迫缺席了马刺队的最后两场季前赛。

据 NBA 发言人称，关于此事仲裁听证会将在下周的伦敦举行，具体日期尚未确定。争议的焦点在于希腊的一支球队是否仍然拥有威金斯的权利。

NBA 还证实，在问题解决之前，威金斯将无法参加马刺队的比赛或训练。

“这让我很沮丧，但仅仅是因为我喜欢打球，”威金斯说。“这只是一件短期的事情。没什么好担心的。”

威金斯于 10 月 4 日与马刺队签约。上个赛季，他效力于希腊的帕纳辛奈科斯队，该队拒绝放弃它认为对这位 36 岁的得分高手所拥有的权利。

听证会的日期尚未确定，尽管威金斯表示，他认为这场冲突将在“未来几天内”得到解决。

马刺队管理层似乎并不担心此事。总经理格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 对情况最终会对球队有利充满信心。

“没有证据表明多米尼克与希腊球队之间有任何合同，”波波维奇说。“我们相信这只是一件技术问题。”

波波维奇说，在最初与威金斯谈判时，他并不知道希腊球队会对合同提出异议。

“他被介绍给我们时是一名自由球员，”波波维奇说。

马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill) 也表示，他不担心威金斯的状况。

“从欧洲回来的每个人都会遇到类似的情况，”希尔说。“很难解释。在海外，他们对篮球和合同有不同的看法。他们说一套，第二天又反悔，还告你。”

NBA 公共关系副总裁布莱恩·麦克因泰尔(Brian McIntyre) 表示，联盟被迫禁止了该合同。

麦克因泰尔表示，联盟采取了这一行动是因为它与国际篮球联合会 (FIBA) 的协议。

“我们有一个协议，我们要尊重 FIBA 联盟的球队合同……”他说。“希腊联赛是 FIBA 的一部分。”

麦克因泰尔不愿对听证会的结果进行推测。

“我们到达那里就会知道了，”他说。“我们会支持马刺队。”

帕弗洛斯·吉安纳科普洛斯(Pavlos Giannakopoulos)，一名制药进口商和分销商，是希腊联赛帕纳辛奈科斯队的总裁。

“这只是他们的策略，”威金斯说。“他们会尝试一切。”

根据威金斯的经纪人史蒂夫·考夫曼(Steve Kauffman) 的说法，希腊球队在 7 月份上诉法院，试图阻止对威金斯的付款，但遭到了驳回。

考夫曼表示，他拥有文件和法庭证词，证明希腊球队表示合同已经终止。

点击查看原文：Spurs confident Wilkins theirs

Spurs confident Wilkins theirs

Dominique Wilkins predicted Friday that he would play for the Spurs this season, despite the NBA’s recent decision to disallow his contract. "Without a doubt, " Wilkins said. “This is just a little, nagging thing.”

The NBA disallowed Wilkins’ one-year contract with the Spurs on Thursday.

Because of the league’s action, the former All-Star forward has been forced to sit out the Spurs’ last two preseason games.

An arbitration hearing on the matter is scheduled for an unspecified date next week in London, according to an NBA spokesman. At issue is whether a team in Greece still holds the rights to Wilkins.

The NBA also confirmed that Wilkins would not be able to play or practice with the Spurs until the issue is resolved.

“It’s got me down, but only because I like to play,” Wilkins said. “It’s a short-term thing. Nothing to really worry about.”

Wilkins signed with the Spurs on Oct. 4. He played last season in Greece for Panathinaikos, which is refusing to relinquish what it believes are the rights it has on the 36-year-old scoring whiz.

The date of the hearing has not been set, although Wilkins said it was his understanding that the conflict would be resolved “in the next few days.”

Spurs management don’t seem concerned about it. General Manager Gregg Popovich remains confident the situation will be worked out in the team’s favor.

“There is no evidence of any contract between Dominique and the Greek team,” Popovich said. “We are confident that this is just a technicality.”

Popovich said he had no idea during the initial talks with Wilkins that the Greek team would contest the contract.

“He was presented to us as a free agent,” Popovich said.

Spurs coach Bob Hill also said he wasn’t worried about Wilkins’ status.

“The same thing happens to everyone who comes back from Europe,” Hill said. “It’s hard to explain. Overseas, they have a different idea of basketball and contracts. They say one thing and then the next day they turn around and sue you.”

Brian McIntyre, the NBA’s vice president of public relations, said the league was forced to disallow the contract.

McIntyre said the league took the action because of its agreement with FIBA, basketball’s international governing body.

“We have an agreement that we honor contracts of teams in FIBA . . .,” he said. “The Greek League is part of FIBA.”

McIntyre did not want to speculate on the outcome of the hearing.

“We’ll find out when we get there,” he said. “We’ll support the Spurs.”

Pavlos Giannakopoulos, a pharmaceutical importer and distributor, is the president of the Panathinaikos team in the Greek League.

“This is just their tactics,” Wilkins said. “They’ll try anything.”

The Greek team went to court in July to try and stop payments to Wilkins, but have been rebuffed, according to Wilkins’ agent, Steve Kauffman.

Kauffman said he has documents and court testimony in which the Greek team stated the contract had been terminated.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-20, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺为罗宾逊的伤痛感到担忧 - 中锋将接受背部检查

马刺队本希望全明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)本周能够回归训练，但他们周六收到消息，罗宾逊需要等到前往西海岸看背部专家后才能参加训练。据宣布，罗宾逊和前锋查克·珀森(Chuck Person)将于周一前往加州英格尔伍德的克尔兰-乔布骨科医疗诊所。

两位球员的伤势将在诊所进行重新评估。

马刺队之前宣布，患有椎间盘突出症的珀森将接受背部手术。手术原定于周三进行，球队表示他将至少缺席 2-3 个月。

尽管预计珀森仍将进行手术，但马刺队官员在周六下午在圣安东尼奥大学的一次会议后表示，这个决定现在处于暂停状态。

直到罗宾逊在周五圣安东尼奥的训练后感到疼痛，球队才开始对他的背部伤病表示担忧。当时，球队正在威斯康星州的格林湾进行季前赛。

“大卫的恢复情况不太好，”马刺队队医大卫·施密特医生(Dr. David Schmidt)说。“他周五进行了一些训练，之后感到疼痛。我希望那些（克尔兰-乔布诊所的）专家能够看一下。我想确保我们全面了解情况。”

马刺队希望了解罗宾逊的脊柱是否存在结构性损伤。

如果他存在结构性损伤，球队可能不得不为其核心球员的长期缺阵做好准备。然而，马刺队总经理格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在回答关于他对罗宾逊的担忧程度的问题时，拒绝谈论这个问题。

“在 1-10 的范围内？”波波维奇反问。“当你的球员受伤时，你总是会担心他。我们足够担心，所以派他去洛杉矶，听听他们的意见，看看他们的看法。”

马刺队在为常规赛做准备的过程中似乎一直在遇到问题。他们遭遇了伤病、疾病，甚至在周四被联盟驳回了前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)的合同。

联盟裁定，威尔金斯与马刺队的合同正受到其在希腊的前东家挑战，因此他将无法与队友一起训练或比赛，直到问题解决。本周某个时间，将在伦敦举行听证会。

马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)表示，他不理解为什么威尔金斯必须缺席球队最近的两场客场比赛，却不能参加训练。

“这真是一条毫无道理的规定，”他说。“我真的不明白。这只是在进一步阻碍我们。”

周六，关于伦敦听证会日期的消息尚未传出，但马刺队相信它将在本周中旬进行。

希尔曾多次表示，威尔金斯需要恢复状态并减轻体重。如果他不能与球队一起训练，那么他可能需要独自训练。教练将这种情况比作大学篮球中的 NCAA 规则，这些规则违背逻辑。

“就像在大学里一样，”希尔说。“如果你必须在暴雨中将一名球员带到收费站，从技术上讲，这违反了规则。这毫无道理。”

希尔和波波维奇都没有责怪联盟，联盟在 10 月 4 日威尔金斯与马刺队签约时批准了他的合同，然后在上周驳回了该合同。

“这不是 NBA 的错，”波波维奇说。“谁都没有错。”

希尔让他的球队周六休息。但为了加强他的理念并尝试一些新的轮换阵容，他将指导这支卫冕中西部赛区冠军球队，每天进行两次训练，直到周二。

“在目前的情况下，我们只需要做些事情，”希尔说。“由于疾病和伤病，所有这些事情都让我们后退了一步。我们必须进行体能训练，看看其他一些事情。”

罗宾逊已经连续缺席了四场季前赛，包括最近在新泽西和威斯康星州格林湾的两场客场比赛。

马刺队在没有罗宾逊的情况下苦苦挣扎，季前赛战绩为 1 胜 4 负。圣安东尼奥在周四以 21 分的差距输给了纽约，然后前往格林湾，在那里他们于周五晚上以 97-91 击败了密尔沃基雄鹿队，取得了他们的首场胜利。

点击查看原文：Spurs feel Robinson's pain - Center's back to be examined

Spurs feel Robinson’s pain - Center’s back to be examined

The Spurs, hoping for All-Star center David Robinson’s return to practice this week, received word Saturday that he should be held out of workouts until he sees a back specialist on the West Coast. It was announced that Robinson and forward Chuck Person would visit the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Medical Clinic in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday.

Injuries to both players will be re-evaluated at the clinic.

The Spurs had announced previously that Person, suffering from a herniated disc, would have back surgery. The surgery was scheduled for Wednesday, and the team said he would be out for at least 2-3 months.

That decision is now on hold, although it is expected that Person still will have the surgery, Spurs officials said after a meeting Saturday afternoon at the University of the Incarnate Word.

There was no expression of major concern for Robinson’s back ailment until he felt pain following a workout Friday in San Antonio while the team was playing a preseason game in Green Bay, Wis.

“David’s still struggling a little bit,” said Dr. David Schmidt, the Spurs’ team physician. “He did a little work (Friday) and he got sore. I want one of those guys (at the Kerland-Jobe clinic) to take a look. I want to make sure we’re covering all our bases.”

The Spurs are hoping to learn if there is any structural damage to Robinson’s spine.

If he has structural damage, the team might have to brace for an extended absence from its franchise player. Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich, however, declined to raise that issue as he answered questions about his level of concern for Robinson.

“On a scale of 1-10?” Popovich asked rhetorically. “Whenever one of your players is hurt, you’re concerned about that player. We’re concerned enough to send him to Los Angeles and get their opinion, and see how they feel.”

The Spurs have seemingly run into problems at every turn trying to get the team ready for the regular season. They have had injuries, illnesses and even had forward Dominique Wilkins’ contract disallowed by the league on Thursday.

Wilkins, whose Spurs contract is being contested by his former team in Greece, will not be able to play or practice with his teammates until the issue is resolved, the NBA has ruled. A hearing on the matter is scheduled in London sometime this week.

Spurs coach Bob Hill said he doesn’t understand why Wilkins, who had to sit out the team’s two recent road games, can’t practice.

“It’s a rule that doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “I don’t really understand it. It’s just holding us back a little more.”

There was no word Saturday on the date of the hearing in London, although the Spurs believe it will be sometime in midweek.

Hill has said repeatedly that Wilkins needs to get in shape and lose some weight. If he can’t practice with the team, then he may have to do it on his own. The coach compared the situation to NCAA rules in college basketball that defy logic.

“It’s like in college,” Hill said. “If you have to take a player to a toll gate in a driving rainstorm, technically it’s against the rules. It just doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

Neither Hill nor Popovich would blame the league, which approved Wilkins’ contract when he signed it with the Spurs on Oct. 4, then disallowed it last week.

“It’s not the NBA’s fault,” Popovich said. “It’s nobody’s fault.”

Hill gave his team the day off Saturday. But he will direct the defending Midwest Division champions in two practices daily through

Tuesday in an effort to reinforce his philosophies and experiment with some new rotations.

“This is just something we need under the circumstances,” Hill said. “With the illnesses and the injuries, all those things have set us back. We have to work on conditioning and take a look at some other things.”

Robinson has missed four straight exhibitions, including the recent two-game swing at New York and Green Bay, Wis.

The Spurs have struggled without Robinson, going 1-4 in the preseason. San Antonio was hammered in a 21-point loss at New York on Thursday, then traveled to Green Bay, where they beat the Milwaukee Bucks 97-91 Friday night for their first victory.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-20, By Glenn Rogers, Pro Basketball

差点成为现实：还记得“冰人”换“博士J”的交易吗？

你能想象篮球历史上，朱利叶斯·“博士J”·欧文（Julius “Dr. J” Erving）身穿银黑球衣，在圣安东尼奥的希米斯菲尔体育馆（HemisFair Arena）上飞天遁地，引燃球迷热情吗？或者你能想象阅读关于乔治·“冰人”·格文（George “Iceman” Gervin）的辉煌事迹，他为纽约网队或费城76人队效力，手指翻球，名扬四海吗？

长期支持马刺队的球迷们知道，这一切本可以成为现实。我们体育部门搬迁新址时，翻出了一些旧的剪报，其中一篇报道揭示了马刺队在1976-77赛季开始之前拒绝了用格文交易欧文的提议。

时任球队老板安吉洛·德罗索斯（Angelo Drossos）证实，网队和马刺队之间确实进行了谈判，但他表示欧文不值那个价——格文、马克·奥尔伯丁（Mark Olberding），以及乔治·卡尔（George Karl）和迈克·盖尔（Mike Gale）两人中的一人。

格文入选了名人堂，他将圣安东尼奥带上了篮球地图。欧文也是名人堂成员，但东部海岸的媒体帮助他获得了全国和国际声誉。

老乔治可能会思考，这样的名声，在那个年代的圣安东尼奥无法获得，本该属于他的……更不用说欧文在1983年与76人队赢得的NBA总冠军了。

-耳熟能详的言辞：步行者队的老板赫布·西蒙（Herb Simon）和梅尔·西蒙（Mel Simon）将他们的目光投向了印第安纳波利斯的金融市场。西蒙兄弟和市政官员正在研究市中心的选址以及为一座价值1.8亿美元的建筑筹措资金的方式和方法。

“多年来，我一直没有谈论新的球馆，也没有谈论包厢，”赫布·西蒙说道，他现在正在提及这些因素。“我更关注如何填满看台和打造一支有竞争力的球队。但现在，竞争力和拥有合适的场馆是密不可分的。没有威胁，也没有要求，但很多人关心球队，并相信这座城市拥有职业球队会变得更好，我们致力于尽一切努力留住球队。”

-奥尼尔发誓：沙奎尔·奥尼尔（Shaquille O’Neal）来到了一座新的城市，但他表示他将回归旧日作风。

“我的第一年，我非常凶狠。没人知道该期待什么。然后我有时变得友善。现在我要回到那个灌篮、挂在篮筐上、带领球队的我，”他发誓道。“我要回到那个凶狠的奥尼尔，突破防守，直杀篮下。

“我厌倦了听到‘他很大很强壮’，”这位确实又高又壮的家伙说。“如果有人对我犯规很重，我觉得很脏，我会做出反应。”

怎么做？“我不知道。反正不会是好事。人们可以抓我，抱住我。我只要碰到一个人，那个人就倒地，他们就想要吹犯规。我不哭，也不抱怨。但‘砍鲨战术’将不复存在。”

不过，他可能想要抛弃的一个老习惯，是他的罚球表现。

-新杰克城：不要把杰克·哈雷（Jack Haley）称为丹尼斯·罗德曼（Dennis Rodman）的保姆。

哈雷在上个赛季为公牛队夺冠贡献了7分钟，上周他随雄鹿队来到这座城市。他说他正在寻找一个新的开始，让自己远离上个赛季的罗德曼事件。

“（在芝加哥）这段经历很棒，”哈雷说。“但我已经准备好了离开，去一个我可以上场打球的地方，远离‘罗德曼保姆’这个标签。这让我很抓狂。完全没有根据。这让我很恼火。”

当然，杰克将责任推给了媒体，也许他忘记了自己在圣安东尼奥尽职尽责地照顾丹尼斯，以及丹尼斯帮助他留在NBA。

“当我来到芝加哥的时候，并没有（保姆）这种看法，”他坚持说。“但一两个记者注意到了，整个赛季都成了媒体的看法。直到今天，我从未跟菲尔·杰克逊（Phil Jackson）谈过关于丹尼斯·罗德曼的事情。他和丹尼斯的关系很好。”

-早期的传闻：一位联盟内部人士表示，热火队正在兜售萨沙·丹尼洛维奇（Sasha Danilovic）。如果这笔交易是为了换取选秀权，那么热火队可以节省182万美元的薪资空间，也许可以让他们有机会签下布莱恩·威廉姆斯（Brian Williams），或者让中锋罗尼·塞卡利（Rony Seikaly）回归，塞卡利想要离开金州勇士队。

主教练帕特·莱利（Pat Riley）说：“这是胡说八道，不属实。他没有被兜售。很多球队都在谈论萨沙。”

-还记得吗：前马刺球员扎尔科·帕斯帕利（Zarko Paspalj）在本赛季似乎要重返NBA。他与老鹰队签下了最低年薪247,500美元的合同，并有望竞争一个替补位置。但最终，帕斯帕利——在希腊打球时是一位英雄——回到了南斯拉夫，只提到了个人原因。

帕斯帕利在1989-90赛季大卫·罗宾逊（David Robinson）的新秀赛季被带到马刺队，因他的进攻技巧而受到赞赏。但由于他的防守技术并不出色，他的上场时间很少，并且没有进入季后赛名单；迈克·米切尔（Mike Mitchell）被带了进来。

当扎尔科坐在飞机的后面——在吸烟区吞云吐雾时，他也让教练组的集体头脑微微摇晃了几下。

点击查看原文：What might have been: Remember Ice-for-Dr. J deal?

What might have been: Remember Ice-for-Dr. J deal?

Can you imagine basketball history featuring Julius “Dr. J” Erving flying and dunking in a silver-and-black uniform, rousing the fans in HemisFair Arena? Or can you imagine reading about the exploits of George “Iceman” Gervin, finger-rolling to fame for the New York Nets or Philadelphia 76ers?

Longtime Spurs fans know it could have happened. Our sports department’s move to new quarters turned up some old clippings, one

bearing the story disclosing that the Spurs turned down an Erving-for-Gervin trade just before the 1976-77 season.

Then-owner Angelo Drossos confirmed that talks had taken place between the Nets and Spurs, but Drossos said Erving wasn’t worth the price - Gervin, Mark Olberding and either George Karl or Mike Gale.

Gervin is in the Hall of Fame, and he put San Antonio on the basketball map. Erving also is a Hall of Famer, but the East Coast media helped propel him to national and international fame.

Ol’ George might ponder the notion that such fame, not available in San Antonio in those bygone years, would have been his . . . not to mention the NBA title that Erving won with the Sixers in 1983.

-Familiar words: Pacers owners Herb and Mel Simon have cast their lines into the Indianapolis monetary waters. The Simons and city officials are studying downtown sites and ways and means to finance a $180 million building.

“For many years, I didn’t say anything about a new arena and I didn’t say anything about suites,” notes Herb Simon, who now is mentioning just those factors. “I was more concerned about filling the stands and fielding a competitive team. But now being competitive and having the proper facility are synonymous. There are no threats and no demands, but there are a lot of people who care and believe the city is a better place for having a pro franchise, and we’re committed to doing everything we can to keep it.”

-Shaq swears: Shaquille O’Neal is in a new town but says he will return to his old ways.

“My first year, I was mean. Nobody knew what to expect. Then sometimes I got nice. Now I’m going back to the dunking, the hanging on the rim, leading my team,” he vows. "I’m going back to the mean Shaq, taking it to the hole.

"I’m tired of hearing, `He’s big and strong,’ " says a guy who, indeed, is big and strong. “If someone gives me a real hard foul, like I think was dirty, I’m going to react.”

How? “I don’t know. Something not good. Guys get to grab and hold me. The minute I touch a guy, the guy flops and they want to call a foul. I don’t cry and I don’t complain. But the Hack-a-Shaq is no more.”

One old way he might want to ditch, though, is his free-throw performance.

-New Jack city: Don’t call Jack Haley Dennis Rodman’s babysitter.

Haley, who contributed seven minutes to the Bulls’ championship run last season, came through town last week with the Bucks. He says he’s looking for a fresh start to distance himself from that Rodman business of last season.

“It was a great experience (in Chicago),” says Haley. "But I was ready to move on, go somewhere where I had a chance to play and get

away from the Rodman babysitter thing. It was driving me crazy. It was absolutely unfounded. It irritated me."

Jack, of course, blames the media, perhaps forgetting his dutiful take-care-of-Dennis stint in San Antonio and Dennis’ help in keeping Jack in the NBA.

“When I went to Chicago, there was no perception (as a babysitter),” he insists. “But one or two reporters picked up on it and it became a media perception the whole year. To this day, I have never talked to Phil Jackson about Dennis Rodman in any capacity. He and Dennis have a great relationship.”

-Early rumors: A league insider says the Heat are shopping Sasha Danilovic. The move, if made for a draft pick, could clear $1.82 million in cap space and perhaps give Miami a shot at signing Brian Williams or allow for a return of center Rony Seikaly, who wants out of Golden State,

Coach Pat Riley says: “It’s B.S. Not true. He is not being shopped. Sasha is talked about by a lot of teams.”

-Remember when: Former Spur Zarko Paspalj appeared headed back to the NBA this season. He signed for the minimum $247,500 with Atlanta and was expected to compete for a reserve slot. Instead, Paspalj, a hero while playing in Greece, has returned to Yugoslavia, citing only personal reasons.

Paspalj was brought to the Spurs during David Robinson’s rookie season of 1989-90, admired for his offensive moves. But, because of his not-so-admired defensive skills, he played sparingly and was left off the playoff roster; Mike Mitchell was brought aboard.

Zarko also earned a few shakes of the coaching staff’s collective head when he sat in the rear of airplanes - puffing away in the smoking section.

By Glenn Rogers, Pro Basketball, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-21, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

罗宾逊计划上场，但未定时间表

马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)周日表示，他计划在本赛季复出参加篮球比赛。但他无法确定何时复出。他和马刺队希望在今天得到更明确的信息，因为球队的头号球星今天将在西海岸接受一位专家的检查，检查他腰部凸出椎间盘的情况。

“它仍然很痛，”罗宾逊在球队早间训练后说，“他们整个星期都在治疗，但没有好转。”

罗宾逊在两次训练中骑了一次固定自行车并投球。另一名受伤的球员是前锋查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)，他膝盖受伤。多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)因为合同问题，单独在一旁训练。

然而，大多数人都关心罗宾逊的情况。他说他希望九天来第一次回到训练场。但球队医生进行了干预，建议他今天先去加州英格尔伍德的科兰-乔布骨科诊所。

“它就是很痛，”罗宾逊说，“好像错位了或什么。我不能弯腰。我正在看脊椎按摩师并服用药物。很难形容，与其说它是肌肉方面的问题，不如说是关节方面的问题。”

罗宾逊说，他在 10 月 4 日训练营练习前夕接受了 MRI 检查。他说，检查显示他的腰部出现了椎间盘突出。

“我的几个椎间盘突出，或类似的问题，”他说。“但他们说大多数人都有这个问题。”

在训练营期间，罗宾逊练习了六次，在马刺队年度争夺赛中参加了一轮高尔夫球赛，并在 10 月 11 日对阵休斯顿的季前赛揭幕战中打了 17 分钟。这是他最后一次比赛或训练。

从那时起，他已经错过了球队过去四场表演赛，他周四在主场对阵休斯顿的比赛状态也存在疑问。马刺队中一些人甚至开始怀疑他能否参加 11 月 1 日的赛季揭幕战。

但这位马刺队中锋、防守核心和得分领袖否认了错过任何一场常规赛的可能性，“完全不可能”，尽管他无法肯定地预测自己何时能做好准备。

“没有时间表，”他说，“我只能一天一天地过。”

马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)对球队阵容不稳定、表现不佳感到不满，他开玩笑说球队的不幸，指出位于道成肉身圣言大学的麦克德莫特会议中心的篮筐有一个坏了，周日早上无法使用。

“篮筐坏了是新情况，”希尔说，“这为我们增加了一个全新的维度。”

威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)出色地替代了罗宾逊，后者是过去两个赛季平均赢得 60.5 场比赛的球队的“海军上将”。在罗宾逊缺席的情况下，7 英尺高的珀杜在周五晚上对阵密尔沃基的第一场季前赛胜利中得到了 15 分和 9 个篮板。

“这没关系，”珀杜在谈到人们对他稳定的表现缺乏关注时说。“这完全不困扰我。反正这是季前赛，你正在研究比赛。”

珀杜 9 月份在科罗拉多州阿斯彭与罗宾逊一起训练，当时罗宾逊刚刚从疝气手术中康复。

“在阿斯彭，他刚刚从疝气手术中康复，进行一些轻量级的工作，跑步和骑自行车，”他说，“那时，（他的背）困扰着他，但不像现在这样。”

珀杜说，如果罗宾逊本赛季要出现背部问题，那么现在出现总比以后出现好。

“我关心的是他好起来，”珀杜说。“我宁愿他在四五月份（季后赛）的时候健康，而不是在十月和十一月份。”

• 马刺队笔记：大卫·罗宾逊周日参加了一个轻松的傍晚训练，与由威尔·珀杜、肖恩·艾利奥特、艾弗里·约翰逊和维尼·德尔内格罗组成的阵容一起演练战术 - 鲍勃·希尔教练希望在常规赛开始前测试这个首发阵容。

查尔斯·史密斯在早间训练中没有跑步或比赛。过去困扰他的右膝不适，最初是在周五晚上在威斯康星州格林贝的密尔沃基比赛中复发的。球队将每日监测史密斯的状态，以确定他何时可以再次训练。

德尔内格罗在格林贝时右膝也感到不适，他参加了这两次训练。

点击查看原文：Robinson plans to play, but sets no timetable

Robinson plans to play, but sets no timetable

Spurs center David Robinson said Sunday that he plans to play basketball this season. What he couldn’t say was when. He and the Spurs hope to get a clearer picture of that today, when the franchise’s top player has his lower back, beset with bulging discs, examined by a specialist on the West Coast.

“It’s still sore,” Robinson said after the team’s morning practice. “They’ve treated it all week and it hasn’t gotten better.”

Robinson rode a stationary bike and shot the ball during the first of two workouts. Another player ailing was forward Charles Smith, nursing a sore right knee. Dominique Wilkins, with his contract status in question, worked on the side on his own.

Most of the concern, however, centered on Robinson. He said he had hoped to return to workouts Sunday for the first time in nine days. But the team’s physicians intervened and recommended that he first visit the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic in Inglewood, Calif., today.

“It just hurts,” Robinson said. “It’s like it’s out of joint or something. I can’t bend. I’m seeing a chiropractor and taking medication. It’s just hard to describe. It’s not so much muscular as joint-wise.”

Robinson said he had an MRI on the eve of training camp practices, which opened Oct. 4. He said the test showed bulging discs in his lower back.

“A couple of my discs were bulging, or something like that,” he said. “But they said most people have that.”

During training camp, Robinson practiced six times, teed it up for a round of golf in the annual Spurs Scramble and played 17 minutes of the preseason opener against Houston on Oct. 11. It was the last time he has played or practiced.

Since then, he has missed the team’s last four exhibitions, and his status for the Houston game at home on Thursday is in question. Some in the Spurs’ camp are even be-ginning to wonder about his availability for the season opener on Nov. 1.

But the Spurs center, defensive cornerstone and scoring leader dismissed the notion of missing any of the regular season as "not a

possibility at all," even though he couldn’t predict with any certainty when he could be ready.

“There’s no timetable,” he said. “I’m just taking it day by day.”

Spurs coach Bob Hill, unhappy about the team’s unsettled rotations and lackluster performances, joked about the team’s misfortunes, noting that one basket at McDermott Convocation Center at the University of the Incarnate Word was down and unavailable for use Sunday morning.

“The basket thing was new,” Hill said. “It added a whole new dimension to us.”

Will Perdue has filled in admirably for Robinson, “The Admiral” of a team that has averaged 60.5 wins the past two seasons. In Robinson’s absence, the 7-foot Perdue scored 15 points and pulled down nine rebounds in the team’s first preseason victory Friday night against Milwaukee.

“That’s all right,” Perdue said, discussing the lack of attention focused on his steady play. “It doesn’t bother me one bit. It’s preseason, anyway, when you’re working on the game.”

Perdue worked out in Aspen, Colo., in September with Robinson, who was just recuperating from hernia surgery.

“In Aspen, he had just recovered from the hernia surgery to do some light work, running and riding the bike,” he said. “At that time, (his back) was bothering him, but not like it is now.”

Perdue said that if Robinson was going to have back problems this season, it’s better to have them now than later.

“My concern is he gets better,” Perdue said. "I’d rather have him healthy in April and May (for the playoffs), rather than October and November. "

- Spurs notes: David Robinson participated in a light evening workout Sunday, walking through plays with a unit composed of Will Perdue, Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson and Vinny Del Negro - a starting lineup that Coach Bob Hill would like to test before the start of the regular season.

Charles Smith did not run or scrimmage in the morning session. The discomfort in his right knee, which has bothered him in the past, flared up originally in the Milwaukee game at Green Bay, Wisc., on Friday night. The team will monitor Smith day to day to determine when he can practice again.

Del Negro, also bothered by a sore knee at Green Bay, went through both practices.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-22, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

“人类电影精华”因合约问题暂停 - 马刺队威尔金斯可能错过剩余的季前赛比赛和训练

周一，多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)的经纪人表示，这位前锋可能会被迫在接下来的一周内缺席马刺队的训练和季前赛比赛，直到关于他争议合约的案件提交给仲裁员。史蒂夫·考夫曼(Steve Kauffman)在电话采访中表示，案件有可能像最初计划的那样在本周晚些时候进行听证，但也可能推迟到下周初。

“我们可以在周四或周五进行，”考夫曼说，“或者我们把时间推到周一或周二，确保我们已经准备好一切？我们确信（威尔金斯应该被允许为马刺队比赛）。但我们想谨慎行事。这也是两难处的一部分。”

周四，NBA否决了威尔金斯与马刺队的合约，理由是他在希腊的前东家声称仍然拥有他的权利。NBA表示，在伦敦仲裁员解决此事之前，威尔金斯不能参加马刺队的训练或比赛。

威尔金斯在前三场热身赛中场均得到16.3分，对这种情况感到沮丧。他穿着便装坐在替补席上观看了最后两场比赛，自马刺队周日恢复每日两次训练以来，他只能独自训练。

“这太令人恼火了，”威尔金斯说。“我至少应该可以参加训练。我早点来投篮，然后出去跑步。这是我能做的全部。”

马刺队的球迷可能也会感到有点恼火，因为NBA在威尔金斯于10月4日签署合约时批准了它，然后在13天后在雅典帕纳辛奈科斯队的挑战下取消了它。

如果威尔金斯被迫缺席整个周末，他将错过球队的最后三场热身赛。

“我与联盟没有矛盾，”威尔金斯说。

“不幸的是，他们必须进行法律程序。希腊老板只是在胡闹。”

所有各方——包括马刺队、NBA和考夫曼——都坚持认为没有证据表明帕纳辛奈科斯和威尔金斯之间存在合约。

威尔金斯上赛季为希腊球队效力，帮助球队获得了联赛和欧洲冠军。但他也与教练和老板发生了争执。考夫曼表示，球队在一年的合同期满后终止了最初的两年合约。

“现在，”考夫曼说，“只要说他还在合约中，我们就得进行仲裁。”

NBA表示，他们不能允许威尔金斯参加比赛或训练，因为抗议是由一支参加国际篮球联合会（FIBA）管辖的联赛的球队提出的。1990年，NBA同意尊重所有球员与FIBA成员球队之间的合约。

然而，一个引人注目的问题是，为什么NBA在公开声明不相信威尔金斯与帕纳辛奈科斯有合约的情况下，却将威尔金斯排除在比赛之外。

“这可能是一件政治事件，”考夫曼说。“我认为这就是正在发生的事情。我不知道具体情况是什么。真正让人觉得糟糕的是希腊篮球联赛的人。”

点击查看原文：`Highlight Film' stuck in pause over contract - Spurs' Wilkins may miss remaining preseason games, practices

`Highlight Film’ stuck in pause over contract - Spurs’ Wilkins may miss remaining preseason games, practices

Forward Dominique Wilkins potentially could be forced to sit out Spurs practices and preseason games for the next week before the case on his disputed contract goes to an arbitrator, the player’s agent said Monday. Steve Kauffman said in a telephone interview that it was possible the case could be heard late this week, as originally planned, but that there also was a chance it might be pushed back until early next week.

“We could go on this Thursday or Friday,” Kauffman said, “Or do we do it Monday or Tuesday to make sure we have everything in order going in? We are sure (that Wilkins should be allowed to play with the Spurs). But we want to be careful. It’s part of the dilemma.”

The NBA disallowed Wilkins’ contract with the Spurs on Thursday after his former team in Greece claimed that it still held his rights. The NBA said Wilkins can’t practice or play with the Spurs until the issue is resolved before an arbitrator in London.

Wilkins, who averaged 16.3 points through the first three exhibition games, expressed frustration about the situation. He watched from the bench in street clothes in the last two games and has only been able to work on his own since the Spurs renewed the two-a-day practices Sunday.

“This is very irritating,” Wilkins said. “I should at least be able to practice. I come early to shoot and then I go out and run. That’s all I can do.”

Spurs fans may be a little irritated themselves that the NBA approved Wilkins’ contract when he signed it on Oct. 4, and then disallowed it 13 days later under challenge by Panathinaikos, a team based in Athens, Greece.

If Wilkins is forced to sit out through the weekend, he would miss the team’s last three exhibition games.

“I have no quarrel with the league,” Wilkins said.

“Unfortunately, they have to go through the legal process. The Greek owner is just being an (expletive) about it.”

All parties - including the Spurs, the NBA and Kauffman -have insisted that there is no evidence of a contract existing between Panathinaikos and Wilkins.

Wilkins played for the Greek team last season and helped the squad to the league and European championships. But he also was involved in disputes with the coach and the ownership. Kauffman said the team terminated what was originally a two-year deal after one year.

“Now,” Kauffman said, “just by saying he is under contract, we have to go to arbitration.”

The NBA said it can’t allow Wilkins to play or practice because the protest was filed by a team that plays in a league under the auspices of FIBA, the international governing body for basketball. In 1990, the NBA agreed to honor all player contracts with teams in FIBA.

A simmering issue, however, centers around why the NBA has taken Wilkins off the floor when it stated publicly that it did not believe he was under contract with Panathinaikos.

“It may be a political thing,” Kauffman said. “I think that’s what’s going on. I don’t know exactly what it is. The people who really look bad are those in the Greek basketball league.”

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-22, By Glenn Rogers and Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writers

罗宾逊无需手术 - 但这位全明星中锋可能需要“休息一段时间”

马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)周一晚上从背部检查中回来，虽然官方诊断仍不确定，但他表示不需要手术。罗宾逊周一在加州英格伍德接受了凯尔兰-乔布骨科诊所的比尔·沃特金斯医生(Dr. Bill Watkins)对他的背部的检查。

“他们说我的背部有些问题，可能需要一段时间才能恢复，”罗宾逊周一晚上抵达圣安东尼奥后说。“我必须和波波维奇(Spurs executive vice president Gregg Popovich)和希尔(Coach Bob Hill)商量，然后决定下一步怎么做。

“我现在真的不知道要多久。我们之前尝试了拉伸和药物治疗，但没有效果。可能要休息一段时间。”

至于休息多久，和罗宾逊一起去接受背部检查的前锋查克·珀森(Chuck Person)表示，他预计他的队友将缺席“大约一个月”。

“我患有椎间盘突出，而戴夫……他有一些问题，”珀森说，他将于10月29日接受手术修复他的椎间盘突出。“看起来他将缺席大约一个月。我可能要休息三个月。

“这些都是艰难的时期。希望我们能渡过难关。”

罗宾逊表示手术“完全没有必要”。

早些时候，波波维奇拒绝推测伤病的严重程度。

“我对它（听不到）可能意味着什么没有意见，”他说。“我们明天会坐下来，把所有事情整理一下，然后发表声明。”

罗宾逊表示，核磁共振显示他的背部有突出椎间盘。疼痛使他缺席了四场季前赛，并且在过去10天里一直缺席。

“事后诸葛亮，但也许训练营可以以其他方式更好地利用，让我做好准备，”罗宾逊说。“但我们决定走另一条路。”

罗宾逊原本希望周日恢复训练，但他在周六的轻度训练中感到疼痛加剧。

“他们整个星期都在治疗，但它仍然很痛，”罗宾逊周日说。

“这是我经历过的最奇怪的季前赛，”希尔说，指的是罗宾逊、珀森和多米尼克·威尔金斯的情况。“但我们仍然必须比赛。我们只需要为此做好准备。”

威尔金斯与马刺的合同在希腊上赛季效力的球队的抗议后被NBA否决了。

替补中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)表示，他将准备好担任任何首发任务。

“我们不会改变太多进攻，”他说。“我们仍然会尝试推进球，快攻。大部分变化会在半场中的定点战术中。”

珀杜表示，现在是罗宾逊休息的时候了。

“我知道他的背部整个夏天都在困扰他，”他说。“我和他在科罗拉多州一起训练。看着他在痛苦中挣扎，有时候很难过。有时候，他几乎不能走路。随着休赛期的进行，情况似乎越来越糟。最重要的是，我们希望他在本赛季后期完全康复。”

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)表示，罗宾逊在训练营初期进行训练可能不会对他的背部造成更严重的影响。

“我认为这不会有任何区别；现在他的背部不会有任何不同，”埃利奥特说。

-马刺备忘录：查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)因右膝疼痛缺席了上午的训练。

-卡尔·埃雷拉(Carl Herrera)参加了训练，但随后选择退出训练结束时的冲刺，并在左腿筋上敷冰。

点击查看原文：No surgery for Robinson - But All-Star center may have to sit out `a while'

No surgery for Robinson - But All-Star center may have to sit out `a while’

Spurs center David Robinson returned Monday night from an examination on his back, and although the official diagnosis is still uncertain, he said surgery won’t be necessary. Robinson was in Inglewood, Calif., on Monday to have his back examined by Dr. Bill Watkins at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.

“They said something is wrong with it and it probably will take a while to get right,” Robinson said upon arriving in San Antonio late Monday night. "I have to get with Pop (Spurs executive vice president Gregg Popovich) and (Coach Bob) Hill and we’ll decide what to do.

“I really don’t know now how long it will be. We tried stretching and medication before and that didn’t work. It could be a while.”

As for how long, forward Chuck Person, who accompanied Robinson to have his own back examined, said he expects his teammate to be out “about a month.”

“I have herniations while Dave . . . he has some problems,” said Person, who will surgery to repair his herniated discs Oct. 29. "It

looks like he’ll be out about a month. I’ll probably be out for three months.

“These are tough times. Hopefully we can weather the storm.”

Robinson said surgery was “not necessary at all.”

Earlier in the evening, Popovich declined to speculate on the seriousness of the injury.

“I have no opinion on what it (no hearing) might mean,” he said. “We’ll sit down tomorrow, put it all together and make a statement.”

Robinson has said that MRIs disclosed bulging discs in his back. The pain has kept him out of four preseason games and he has missed the last 10 days.

“Hindsight is 20-20, but maybe the training camp could have been better used in other ways for me to get ready,” Robinson said. “But we decided to go the other way.”

Robinson had hoped to return to practice Sunday, but he suffered more pain during a light workout Saturday.

“They’ve treated it all week but it’s still sore,” Robinson said Sunday.

“This is the most bizarre preseason I’ve been through,” said Hill, referring to the situations with Robinson, Person and Dominique Wilkins. “But we still have to play. We just have to prepare for it.”

Wilkins’ contract with the Spurs has been disallowed by the NBA after a protest from the team he played for in Greece last season.

Backup center Will Perdue said he would be ready for any starting assignments.

“We won’t change the offense that much,” he said. “We’ll still try to push the ball up, get out on the break. Most changes would be in set plays in the halfcourt.”

Perdue said now is the time for Robinson to rest.

“I know his back has been bothering him all summer,” he said. “I worked out with him in Colorado. It was tough at times watching him in pain. At times, he could barely walk. It seemed to get worse as the off-season went on. The main thing is we want him completely healthy later in the season.”

Sean Elliott said that Robinson’s practicing early during the training camp probably did not have any more serious impact on his back.

“I just don’t think that would have made any difference; the back just wouldn’t be any different now,” Elliott said.

-Spurs notes: Charles Smith sat out the morning practice, nursing a sore right knee.

-Carl Herrera practiced but then opted out of the workout-ending sprints, applying ice to his left hamstring.

By Glenn Rogers and Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-22, By Buck Harvey

爸爸的光盘：为什么坐着会有帮助？

如果说家里有谁会患上严重的腰痛问题，那一定非罗宾逊太太莫属了。一个为身高 7 英尺的父亲生育了三个儿子的母亲，理应被自动列入伤残名单。但是，只要隆起的椎间盘属于罗宾逊先生，我们便有以下医学建议：只要他感到一阵刺痛——任何刺痛——他应继续延长产假。

这对于马刺队是个明智之举，他们需要他在 4 月上场。对于戴夫爸爸来说，这也是明智之举。尽管他在近年来的表现受到广泛批评，但没有什么比让他休息一段时间更能塑造他的正面形象。

那时，每个人都会看到其他马刺球员躺在牵引床上。

即使无法弯腰，罗宾逊也会选择上场。没有人会用“勤勉”一词来形容罗宾逊，但他的表现可与卡尔·马龙和约翰·斯托克顿相媲美。在他的七个赛季中，他只缺席过六场常规赛。

这也是马刺队的一贯理念，他们非常注重常规赛的每一分钟。马刺队能在两个赛季内赢下 121 场比赛，这绝非通过控制速度所能实现的。而且，此举大有裨益。如果马刺队在前两个赛季的季后赛中让球迷失望了，那你就想象一下他们以第 4 或第 5 名中面对实力更强的首轮对手时的情形吧。

因此，当罗宾逊在新奥尔良的一场表演赛中背部再次受伤时，他的行为就好像区区几节椎骨并不能阻止他进行既定的训练。“医生说只有休息才能让它好起来，”他说，“但现在还不到休息的时候。”

如果 10 月份不是一个令人心旷神怡的休养月，什么时候才是呢？但是上个周末，在前往洛杉矶看医生之前，罗宾逊在这次主题上发表了持续的看法。他说，缺席任何一场常规赛，“根本不可能”。

哈基姆·奥拉朱旺可能会为此发笑。他曾在过去两年里休息过。在 3 月份。有一次是由于贫血。

如果罗宾逊已经赢得过冠军头衔，就像奥拉朱旺所做的那样，也许他会感觉不同。但两年前在比赛中被奥拉朱旺打败，上赛季在犹他输得丢人，罗宾逊的反应是重返赛场。没有什么比低下头专注于当下更能让他更快地解决过去的问题。

这有助于他将自己的比赛水平提升到了几乎无与伦比的高度，联盟中的许多人都看到了这一点。罗宾逊可能不是迈克尔·乔丹，但他确实位列下一个梯队中的少数几人。例如，查克·戴利在本月为某杂志的 NBA 预览写下了这样一段文字：“大卫·罗宾逊是有史以来最顶尖的中锋之一——他不够强壮的说法站不住脚。他之所以没有进入决赛，是因为他从未有过支持团队。”

肖恩·埃利奥特、阿弗里·约翰逊、弗农·马克斯韦尔、文尼·德尔内格罗……他们都是出色的 NBA 球员。但在没有一位 7 英尺高的名人堂成员在场上弥补错误的情况下，联盟中是否有人会惧怕他们？罗宾逊没有奥拉朱旺那样的支持，更不用说乔丹了。

但是，当季后赛失利来临时，媒体、球迷乃至他自己的球队都会指着他说，奇怪他为什么不够好。他是不是太软弱？太友善？太分心？

现在，他太痛了。如果马刺队必须在他缺席的情况下勉强前进，他们在 11 月份赢得 8 胜 8 负的战績就算幸运了。事情不应发展到这一步，对于一个拥有他这样才能和动力的人来说更是如此。但是，他的缺席可能会比 MVP 奖杯为他提升更多地位。

因此，当洛杉矶的专家们在周一聚在一起，查看 X 光片并比较病例时，他们也许看到了许多人忽视的东西。罗宾逊的背痛没问题。因为他已经背负了这个球队七年了。

点击查看原文：Daddy disc: Why sitting would help

Daddy disc: Why sitting would help

If anyone in the family should have a bad back, it’s Mrs. Robinson. Mothers who give birth to three sons of a 7-foot father should automatically go on the injured list. But as long as the bulging discs belong to Mr. Robinson, we have the following medical opinion: As long as he feels a twinge - anything - he should continue with extended paternity leave.

That would be smart for the Spurs, who need him in April. And that would be smart for daddy Dave. For all the abuse he’s taken in recent years, nothing might make his image stand up straighter than for him to sit down for a while.

Then, everyone would watch the other Spurs lie in traction.

Robinson would prefer to play, even if he can’t bend over. No one thinks of Robinson in lunch-pail terms, but the guy compares to Karl Malone and John Stockton. He’s missed only three games in six of his seven seasons.

That’s also the philosophy of a franchise that puts emphasis on seemingly every minute of the regular season. The Spurs haven’t won 121 games in two seasons by pacing themselves. And there’s a lot to be said for that. If the Spurs disappointed fans the last two years in the playoffs, imagine them in the No. 4 or No. 5 playoff hole, matched against better first-round teams.

So when Robinson’s back worsened in an exhibition game in New Orleans, he acted as if mere vertebrae wouldn’t stop him from his appointed practice rounds. “The doctors say nothing but rest will make it better,” he said then. “But it’s not time to rest right now.”

If October isn’t a wonderful resting month, when is? But last weekend, before his trip to L.A. to see doctors, Robinson continued with this theme. Missing any of the regular season, he said, is “not a possibility at all.”

Hakeem Olajuwon might laugh at that. He’s taken off the last two years. In March. Once for anemia.

Had Robinson won a title already, as Olajuwon had, maybe he’d feel differently. But beaten by Olajuwon two years ago, embarrassed in Utah last season, Robinson reacts by going back to work. Nothing seems to make him resolve his past faster than to put his head down and concentrate on the present.

It’s helped elevate his game to nearly unmatched heights, and a lot of people in the league see that. Robinson might not be Michael

Jordan, but he’s among the few on the next rung. Chuck Daly, for example, wrote this for a magazine’s NBA preview this month: "David

Robinson is one of the premier centers of all time -the rap that he’s not physical enough is empty. He’s never been to the Finals because he’s never had the supporting cast."

Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, Vernon Maxwell, Vinny Del Negro . . . they are capable NBA players. But does anybody in the league fear

them without a 7-foot Hall of Famer there to erase mistakes? Robinson doesn’t have the support that Olajuwon has, much less Jordan.

But when playoff losses come, the media, fans and even his own franchise point at him and wonder why he isn’t better. Is he too soft? Too nice? Too distracted?

Today, he’s too sore. And if the Spurs have to plod ahead without him, they would be lucky to go 8-8 in November. It shouldn’t come to this, not for someone with his talent and drive. But his absence might do more for his status than an MVP trophy once did.

So when the L.A. specialists huddled Monday, looking at X-rays and comparing notes, maybe they saw what a lot of people have overlooked. Robinson’s back hurts, all right. Because he’s carried this franchise for seven years.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-23, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

马刺队将缺席海军上将的开局航程

马刺队在周二开始为没有大卫·罗宾逊的常规赛开局做准备。罗宾逊(David Robinson)因背部下部疼痛预计将缺席两到四周。

“大卫将回到洛杉矶大约五天，在凯兰-乔布诊所开始康复训练，”马刺队执行副总裁格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“手术并非必要，但我们预计大卫需要两到四周才能回归球队。”

如果罗宾逊缺席四周的常规赛，他将错过马刺队的前十场比赛。

这位全明星中锋一直在忍受背部下部疼痛，并在周一在洛杉矶郊区英格尔伍德的凯兰-乔布诊所接受了检查。

“这将需要一段时间，”罗宾逊在周一晚上从加州返回后说道。“医生说完全没有必要进行手术。”

马刺队训练师约翰·安德森(John Andersen)指出罗宾逊的背部下部肌肉是疼痛的根源。

“他患有机械性背部下部拉伤，”安德森说。“这受躯干肌肉力量的影响，而这些肌肉在疝气手术后活动量减少导致变弱。”

罗宾逊在八月份接受了疝气手术，但在亚特兰大夏季奥运会上为梦之队三队比赛时，就抱怨背部疼痛。在他的职业生涯中，他曾多次出现背部下部疼痛，并在上赛季的一些比赛中佩戴了背部下部支撑物。

背部下部疼痛在不同程度上是 NBA 中相当普遍的现象。

“我们必须做出的最关键决定是何时让他重返赛场（行动，以便）不会有复发的危险，”波波维奇说。“我们希望他完全康复。”

罗宾逊周二无法发表评论。

“大卫说他的肌肉在放松，当他落地时对骨骼施加压力，”马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)说。

这种压力显然会导致一些炎症。

希尔说，推测罗宾逊是否应该缺席训练营的初期是徒劳的。这位中锋曾说过，事后看来，也许他和球队本可以以不同的方式处理这种情况。

“我认为大卫不需要这么想，”希尔说。“大卫只是不抱怨疼痛。在（训练营）训练中我问他感觉如何，他说他感觉良好。在这方面他非常坚强。他会说他的背部有点僵硬，但训练没问题。”

希尔已经开始调整马刺队的进攻和防守策略，以便在没有罗宾逊的情况下融入球队。

“我们必须坐下来看看需要做哪些改变，”他说。“这不像失去丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)，我们必须弥补 15 到 17 个篮板。我们必须弥补 26 分，12 到 13 个篮板和 3 到 4 个盖帽。

“我今天告诉球员们，他们可以坐下来，郁闷，自怜，或者他们可以利用这种情况。有些人将获得更多球权。他们都可以通过展示他们可以在没有大卫的情况下打球来提高他们的自尊心。”

人们会将目光聚焦在替补中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)身上，他现在将担任首发角色。

“威尔是一位优秀的中锋，”希尔说。“我们必须做出一些改变，让他处于得分舒适区。但每个人都必须站出来。我知道肖恩（埃利奥特）（Sean Elliott）肯定不会抱怨他的上场时间。”

珀杜预计对手会在没有罗宾逊的情况下对篮筐发起猛烈进攻。

“他们会试图冲破我们的防线，”珀杜说。“我们必须尽可能地迫使他们的持球人运球。如果他们命中所有跳投，那将是一个漫长的夜晚。”

即使没有速度飞快的罗宾逊，珀杜也预计马刺队将继续保持他们的快节奏进攻。

“我们仍然希望在快攻中得分，”他说。“但我也很舒服在内线接球。”

控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说，球队在周二上午的训练中并没有达到最佳状态。

“今天每个人都像在戒断一样，”约翰逊说。“教练（希尔）可能不喜欢这次训练。但我想在与哈基姆和里克交手后，每个人都会清醒过来。”

马刺队即将与两支拥有顶级中锋的球队进行季前赛：休斯敦的哈基姆·奥拉朱旺(Hakeem Olajuwon)和印第安纳的里克·史密斯(Rik Smith)。

“我们其他的领袖必须在领导力和产量方面都站出来，”约翰逊说。“我听说大卫不会很快回归。他恢复得很快，但这不会是一两天的

点击查看原文：Spurs must set sail at start without Admiral

Spurs must set sail at start without Admiral

The Spurs on Tuesday began preparing to start the regular season without David Robinson. Robinson, suffering from lower-back problems, is expected to be out of the lineup from two to four weeks.

“David will return to Los Angeles for about five days to begin rehabilitation under the regimen of the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic,” Spurs executive vice president Gregg Popovich said. “Surgery is not indicated as necessary, but we expect it will be between two to four weeks before David can rejoin the team.”

If Robinson is sidelined four weeks of regular-season play, he would miss the Spurs’ first 10 games.

The All-Star center has been suffering from lower-back pains and was examined Monday at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, Calif.

“It’s going to be awhile,” Robinson said upon returning from California late Monday night. “The doctor said surgery is not necessary at all.”

Spurs trainer John Andersen pinpointed Robinson’s lower-back muscles as the root of the pain.

“He has a mechanical lower back strain,” Andersen said. “It is affected by the strength of the trunk muscles and those were the ones that became weakened as a result of his decreased activity after his hernia surgery.”

Robinson underwent hernia surgery in August, but had complained of back pain while playing for Dream Team III during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta. He has experienced attacks of lower-back pain before during his career and wore lower-back supports in some games last season.

Lower-back pain, in varying degrees, is a fairly common phenomenon in the NBA.

“The most critical call we’ll have to make is when to bring him back (to action, so) there will be no danger of a relapse,” Popovich said. “We will want him completely healthy.”

Robinson was unavailable for comment Tuesday.

“David said his muscles are relaxing and putting pressure on the bones when he lands,” Spurs coach Bob Hill said.

That pressure apparently is causing some inflammation.

Hill said it was futile to speculate whether or not Robinson should have sat out the early days of training camp. The center had said hindsight indicated that maybe he and the team could have handled the situation differently.

“I don’t think David has to think that,” Hill said. “David just doesn’t complain about pain. I asked him during the (camp) practices how he felt and he said he felt OK. He is very tough in that respect. He would say that his back felt a little stiff but was all right to practice.”

Hill already has begun tinkering offensive and defensive strategies for the Spurs to incorporate without Robinson.

“We’re going to have to sit down and see what changes we have to make,” he said. "This is not like losing Dennis Rodman, where we had to make up for 15 to 17 rebounds. We have to make up for 26 points, 12 to 13 rebounds and three to four blocked shots.

“I told the guys today they could sit down, mope and feel sorry for themselves or they could take advantage of the situation. Some of the guys will get the ball more. They can all raise their self esteem by showing the can play without David.”

Dramatic attention will be focused on backup center Will Perdue, who now assumes the starting role.

“Will is a quality center,” Hill said. “We’ll have to make some changes to put him in his comfort zone for scoring. But everybody is going to have to step up. I know that Sean (Elliott) certainly won’t be complaining about his minutes.”

Perdue expects opponents to attempt some fierce attacks on the basket without Robinson on patrol underneath.

“They’ll try to drive it down our throats,” Perdue said. “We’re going to have to force their ballhandlers to pick up their dribble as much as we can. Then it could be a long night if they’re hitting all their jumpers.”

Even without the fleet Robinson, Perdue expects the Spurs to keep their running game going.

“We still want to get out on the break,” he said. “But I also feel comfortable getting the ball in the post.”

Point guard Avery Johnson said the team wasn’t at its peak during Tuesday morning’s practice.

“Everybody was like in withdrawal today,” Johnson said. “Coach (Hill) probably didn’t like the practice. But I think everybody will wake up after we’ve gone through Hakeem and Rik.”

The Spurs have upcoming preseason games against two teams with premier centers, Houston’s Hakeem Olajuwon and Indiana’s Rik Smith.

“The rest of us leaders are going to have to step up in both leadership and production,” Johnson said. "I hear that it is not going to be soon before David returns. He is a quick healer, but it’s not going to be a one- or two-day thing.

“We still have to look down the line. We can go 25-0 without David and that would mean nothing if we don’t produce after the regular season.”

- Spurs notes: Guard Vinny Del Negro left practice midway through the session Tuesday night at the Alamodome, complaining of a sore right knee. Del Negro had undergone an MRI on the knee earlier in the day.

The wait continues on Dominique Wilkins. The Spurs hadn’t heard as of late Tuesday afternoon when his contract dispute with a team in Greece would be heard by an arbitrator.

By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-24, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

今晚威尔金斯重返马刺队

在马刺队和 NBA 做出“常识性”决定的同时，前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯将于今晚 7:30 在阿拉莫多姆与休斯顿火箭队进行季前赛。自 10 月 17 日联盟勒令威尔金斯离开球场以来，威尔金斯于周三首次与球队进行了训练。这位 36 岁的神射手在 10 月 4 日与马刺队签订了一份为期一年的合同，在这场僵局中错过了两场季前赛和三天的训练。

“我们（与 NBA）达成了协议，允许多米尼克打球和训练。”马刺队总经理格雷格·波波维奇说。“但案件仍需裁决。这是一项常识性的决定，允许他在案件进展的同时参加比赛。”

下周在伦敦将初步安排一次听证会，听取有关威尔金斯权利的国际争端中的辩论。

希腊球队帕纳辛奈科斯队宣称他们与这位 6 尺 8 前锋签有合同。威尔金斯的经纪人表示，与他前东家的合同已终止。马刺队和 NBA 表示没有合同证据。

NBA 的行动代表着联盟政策的改变，联盟最初表示，威尔金斯将无法打球或训练，因为他们与篮球国际管理机构国际篮联有协议。联盟发言人表示，由于听证会日期的延迟，威尔金斯被允许回归。

“我们预计到目前为止会结束。”联盟公共关系副总裁布赖恩·麦金太尔说。“由于拖得比我们预期的长，我们正在制定妥协方案。”

波波维奇说，他没有与希腊球队的老板达成和解。他拒绝透露威尔金斯是否必须与马刺队签订新合同。“这些细节既无聊又不相关。”他说。

威尔金斯说，他很高兴再次与队友们一起训练。

“这是一个艰难的夏天。”威尔金斯说。“希腊（在球队管理）中那些人混蛋透了。他们不断试图找到证据。他们提到的部分内容甚至不合法。不过现在一切都好。我已不再担心这件事。”

周三晚上晚些时候，联系帕纳辛奈科斯队主席帕夫洛斯·扬纳科普洛斯征求评论是徒劳的。给他家的电话无人接听。

威尔金斯说，他仍然相信自己会在这个赛季为马刺队效力。他甚至猜测这次听证会可能永远不会举行，因为听证会尚未正式安排。

“当 NBA 和国际篮联拥有终止函时，不需要去找仲裁员。”威尔金斯说。“我不知道有什么可仲裁的。”

威尔金斯去年与帕纳辛奈科斯队签订了一份为期两年的合同，据报道价值 700 万美元。威尔金斯阵营称，球队在第一年后终止了合同，然后在今年夏季试图通过法院中断付款但未成功。

当被问及 NBA 为什么改变主意允许威尔金斯回到球场时，马刺队教练鲍勃·希尔耸了耸肩，并指出：“够了，我想。我不知道为什么，真的。显然，早期所说（关于合同终止）是准确的，文件一切正常。”

休斯顿比赛是马刺队在得知中锋大卫·罗宾逊因背部受伤将损失2-4周后进行的第一场比赛。

此外，前锋查尔斯·史密斯可能不会上场，因为他膝盖疼痛。史密斯已经连续缺席四天的训练。后卫文尼·德尔内格罗将尝试上场，尽管过去两天他因膝盖肿胀而缺席了一些训练时间。

全明星前锋查尔斯·巴克利在休斯顿新签约，他将作为火箭队的一员首次亮相圆顶球场。预计火箭队将没有中锋凯文·威利斯，他的背部疼痛。后卫兰迪·利文斯顿和前锋特雷西·摩尔存疑。

休斯顿在季前赛中 4-2，周二晚上在圣地亚哥以 116-114 击败了洛杉矶湖人队。圣安东尼奥在 10 月 18 日取得首场胜利后，1-4，在威斯康星州绿湾以 97-91 击败了密尔沃基队。

点击查看原文：Wilkins returns to Spurs tonight

Wilkins returns to Spurs tonight

In the wake of a “common-sense” decision between the Spurs and the NBA, forward Dominique Wilkins will play tonight in a preseason game against the Houston Rockets at 7:30 at the Alamodome. Wilkins practiced with the team for the first time Wednesday since the league ordered him off the floor Oct. 17. The 36-year-old scoring ace, signed to a one-year contract with the Spurs on Oct. 4, had missed two preseason games and three days of practice during the impasse.

“We’ve come to an agreement (with the NBA) that allows Dominique to play and practice,” Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich said. “But the case still has to be adjudicated. It’s a common-sense decision to allow him to participate as the case moves forward.”

A hearing is tentatively scheduled next week in London to hear arguments in an international dispute over Wilkins’ rights.

The Greece team, Panathinaikos, claims it has a contract with the 6-foot-8 forward. Wilkins’ agent said the contract with his former team has been terminated. The Spurs and the NBA have said there is no evidence of a contract.

The action by the NBA represented a change in policy by the league, which originally said Wilkins would not be able to play or practice because of its agreement with FIBA, basketball’s international governing body. A league spokesman cited a delay in setting the date of the hearing as the reason Wilkins has been allowed to return.

“We expected that it would be done by now,” said Brian McIntyre, the league’s vice president for public relations. “Since it took longer than we expected, we are working out a compromise.”

Popovich said there had been no settlement with the owners of the Greek team. He declined to say whether Wilkins had to sign a new contract with the Spurs. “Those details are both boring and irrelevant,” he said.

Wilkins said he was just glad to practice with his teammates again.

“This has been a tough summer,” said Wilkins. “These people (in team management) in Greece are jerks. They keep trying to find stuff. Some of the things they bring up aren’t even legal. But it’s all right now. I’m not worrying about it anymore.”

Efforts to reach Panathinaikos team president Pavlos Giannakopoulos for comment late Wednesday night were futile. A phone call to his home went unanswered.

Wilkins said he remains confident that he will play for the Spurs this season. He even speculated that the hearing, which hasn’t formally been scheduled, might never take place.

“There’s no need to go to an arbitrator when the NBA has the letter of termination and FIBA does, too,” Wilkins said. “I don’t know what there is to arbitrate.”

Wilkins signed a two-year contract worth a reported $7 million with Panathinaikos last year. The Wilkins camp claimed the team terminated the deal after the first year and then tried unsuccessfully in the courts this past summer to discontinue payments.

Spurs coach Bob Hill shrugged his shoulders when asked why he thought the NBA reversed itself in allowing Wilkins back on the floor, noting, “Enough is enough, I guess. I don’t know why, really. Obviously, what was said early on (about the contract termination) was accurate and the documents were in order.”

The Houston game will mark the first for the Spurs since they learned that center David Robinson would be lost from the team for between 2-4 weeks with a back injury.

Also, forward Charles Smith may not play because of a sore knee. Smith has missed four straight days of practices. Guard Vinny Del Negro will try to play, despite missing some practice time the past two days with swelling on one of his knees.

All-Star forward Charles Barkley, a new addition in Houston, will make his first appearance in the dome as a member of the Rockets. The Rockets are expected to be without center-forward Kevin Willis, who has a sore back. Guard Randy Livingston and forward Tracy Moore are questionable.

Houston is 4-2 in the preseason after beating the Los Angeles Lakers 116-114 Tuesday night in San Diego. San Antonio is 1-4 after registering its first win on Oct. 18, a 97-91 decision over Milwaukee in Green Bay, Wis.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-25, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

人手短缺的马刺有足够的力量击败火箭队

马刺和休斯顿火箭队之间的I-10公路德比战在周四晚上变成了一场生存之战，两队教练都清空了他们的板凳席，看着鲜有出场的球员们希望能留在联盟。阿拉莫体育馆的23,790名观众几乎没有瞥见超级巨星，但当马刺队以108-76击败火箭队时，在场的观众带着一些满足离开了场地。

前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯自因与他之前在希腊的球队合同纠纷而被弃用后首次复出，得到22分，抢下7个篮板，带领马刺队得分。后卫弗农·麦克斯韦尔得到21分。

如果球迷们享受到了廉价的刺激，那么几天前得知全明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊因背部受伤将缺席2-4周后，马刺队的球员们也会感觉好一些。

“当我们所有人回来后，”威尔金斯说，“我们将变得非常非常强硬。我们是一个团队。我们不能因为伤病而垂头丧气。如果你垂头丧气，那时你就会遇到问题。我们必须继续努力。”

在第一节的前两次投篮尝试中，威尔金斯都投失了。他逐渐在比赛中找到了自己的节奏，最终以17投9中结束比赛。

“我已经休息五六天了，”威尔金斯说。“我有点紧。在下半场，我告诉自己我要发挥自己的实力，并进入状态。”

自今夏早些时候与马刺队签约以来，这是麦克斯韦尔首次战胜他的前队友，但他淡化了这给他带来了个人满足感的任何想法。

“这是季前赛，”麦克斯韦尔说，他20投9中。“这在积分榜上不算数。这场胜利只是激励了球队。这对我来说现在已经足够了。”

随着这场胜利，圣安东尼奥的战绩提高到2胜4负。火箭队以4胜3负的战绩落败，但他们输掉的不仅仅是一场比赛。他们在第一节争抢一个松球时，首发控球后卫布伦特·普莱斯左臂肱骨骨折。

普莱斯的伤势可能会让他退出阵容2-3个月。这被视为对火箭队的重大挫折，他们将在本赛季成为西部分区中推翻马刺队地位的主要竞争者。

“我们对我们的年轻球员寄予厚望，”休斯顿教练鲁迪·汤姆贾诺维奇说。“但你必须有一个老将，所以我们将搜寻所有可能性（作为潜在的替补）。”

全明星前锋查尔斯·巴克利作为火箭队的一员首次在穹顶体育馆亮相，打了21分钟，表现平平，得到5分和8个篮板。

马刺队没有罗宾逊、查尔斯·史密斯和维尼·德尔·内格罗，第一节领先5分，半场领先11分，第四节垃圾时间领先17分。在比赛结束的蜂鸣声响起时，马刺队以32分的分差取得了比赛中最大的优势。但对于购票公众来说，这场比赛不会被任何一家俱乐部认真对待。

火箭队让后卫克莱德·德雷克斯勒和马里奥·埃利休息了一晚。前锋/中锋凯文·威利斯也因背部疼痛而缺席比赛。火箭队全明星中锋哈基姆·奥拉朱旺上场24分钟，得到6分。

在比赛中，休斯顿的新秀控球手在几次进攻中都无法将球传过半场。马刺队逼出了26次失误，并把这些失误转化为24分。

“今晚，防守就是区别所在，”马刺队教练鲍勃·希尔说。“我们从比赛一开始就追着他们。我们非常积极。我们在第三节开局慢了，但我们暂停了一下，然后又加快了比赛节奏。我认为我们在奥拉朱旺身上做得很好。威尔（珀杜）做得很好。”

在进攻方面，马刺队送出了27次助攻，而且当老将艾弗里·约翰逊掌控控球点的时候，他们的组织比较有条理。但大多数时候，都是威尔金斯或麦克斯韦尔定点投篮，或者在运球后创造机会。希尔说，两人在常规赛中可能不会被要求出手那么多次。

“可能不会，”希尔说。“他们不会得到那么多的投篮机会，但他们都是积极的球员。他们想要球。那是他们的作风。他们一直是这么打的。当大卫回来后，我们将更多地为他创造机会。只要我们不要纠缠于谁得分，我​​们就会没事的。”

马刺队前锋肖恩·埃利奥特在30分钟内只投了六次篮，他说威尔金斯和麦克斯韦尔给了他鼓励。

“他们将为我们提供板凳席上最大的进攻火力，”埃利奥特说。

点击查看原文：Depleted Spurs have enough to crush Rockets

Depleted Spurs have enough to crush Rockets

The Interstate 10 rivalry between the Spurs and the Houston Rockets turned into a battle for survival on the access roads Thursday night, with both coaches emptying their benches to watch little-used players hoping to stay in the league. A crowd of 23,790 at the Alamodome barely caught a glimpse of the superstars, but those on hand left the premises with some satisfaction as the Spurs disposed of the Rockets 108-76.

Forward Dominique Wilkins, in his first game back since being sidelined in a contract dispute with his former team in Greece, scored 22 points and pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Spurs. Guard Vernon Maxwell added 21 points.

If the fans enjoyed a cheap thrill, the Spurs’ players felt a bit better about themselves a few days after learning that All-Star center David Robinson would miss 2-4 weeks with a back injury.

“When we get all our people back,” Wilkins said, “we’re going to be awful damn tough. We are a team. We can’t hang our heads about injuries. You hang your head, and that’s when you have problems. We have to keep pushing.”

Wilkins missed badly on his first two field-goal attempts in the first quarter. Gradually, he found his rhythm during the course of the night, finishing with 9-of-17 shooting.

“I’d been out five or six days,” Wilkins said. “I was a little tight. In the second half I told myself I was going to play my game and get in the flow.”

It was Maxwell’s first victory over his former teammates since he signed with the Spurs earlier this summer, but he downplayed any notion that it gave him a jolt of personal satisfaction.

“This is preseason,” said Maxwell, who hit 9 of 20 from the field. “It doesn’t count in the standings. This win just motivates the team. That’s good enough for me right now.”

With the victory, San Antonio improved to 2-4. The Rockets fell to 4-3, but they lost more than a game. They also lost their starting point guard, Brent Price, to a broken humerus bone in his left arm during a first-quarter scramble for a loose ball.

Price’s injury may knock him out of the lineup for 2-3 months. It was viewed as a major setback for the Rockets, who will be prime

contenders to dethrone the Spurs in the Midwest Division this season.

“We’re really high on our young players,” Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “But you have to have a veteran, so we’ll be scouring all the possibilities (as potential replacements).”

All-Star forward Charles Barkley, in his first appearance at the dome as a member of the Rockets, toiled for 21 uneventful minutes and produced five points and eight rebounds.

The Spurs, playing without Robinson, Charles Smith and Vinny Del Negro, led by five points after one period, by 11 at the half and by 17 going into a garbage-time fourth quarter. At the final buzzer, the Spurs had produced the largest margin of the game at 32 points. But with all due respect to the ticket-buying public, this game will not be taken seriously by either club.

The Rockets gave guards Clyde Drexler and Mario Elie the night off. Forward/center Kevin Willis also sat out the game, resting a sore back. Rockets All-Star center Hakeem Olajuwon played 24 minutes and scored six points.

During the course of the night, Houston’s rookie ball handlers couldn’t get the ball past midcourt on several occasions. The Spurs forced 26 turnovers and turned the mistakes into 24 points.

“Tonight, the difference was defense,” Spurs coach Bob Hill said. “We got after them from the beginning of the game. We were very active. We got a slow start in the third quarter, but we took a timeout and picked it back up. I thought we did a good job on Olajuwon. Will (Perdue) did a good job.”

Offensively, the Spurs passed for 27 assists and had some direction when veteran Avery Johnson was handling the point. But most of the time, it was either Wilkins or Maxwell spotting up and shooting, or creating off the dribble. Hill said the two probably won’t be asked to shoot that much in the regular season.

“Probably not,” Hill said. “They’re not going to get as many shots, but they are aggressive players. They want the ball. That’s their m.o. That’s the way they’ve always played. When David gets back, we’ll play more off him. As long as we don’t get caught up in who scores the points, we’ll be all right.”

Spurs forward Sean Elliott, limited to only six shots in 30 minutes, said he was encouraged by Wilkins and Maxwell.

“They’re going to give us the biggest offensive spark off the bench that we’ve had,” Elliott said.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-25

马刺消息

马刺队又有两名常客缺阵：前锋查尔斯·史密斯和后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗因膝伤被教练鲍勃·希尔列为“每日观察”状态，希尔周四表示。史密斯和德尔·内格罗都没有参加对阵休斯顿火箭队的季前赛。

“我不知道他们会缺席多久，”希尔说。“这是每天的情况。我们决定让文尼在一场表演赛中打15分钟对他没有好处。查尔斯已经五天没有训练了。”

德尔·内格罗和史密斯在季前赛中都表现不佳。德尔·内格罗在三场比赛中投篮命中率为25%（3投12中），场均得分为4.7分。史密斯在五场比赛中的投篮命中率为31.3%（5投16中），场均得分为3.2分。

史密斯在场均19.4分钟的时间里，平均有1.4次盖帽和4.2个篮板的表现。

德尔·内格罗在他作为马刺队员的四个赛季中大部分时间都是首发。上赛季他打了全部82场比赛。史密斯去年二月加入球队，在下半场开始时担任大前锋。

大卫·罗宾逊在洛杉矶：马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊正在南加州的Kerlan-Jobe骨科诊所接受背部疼痛治疗。预计他将在诊所度过周末。罗宾逊因背部受伤将缺席2-4周。

如果罗宾逊从周二起两周后回归阵容，他将错过常规赛的前两到三场比赛。如果他缺席四周，他可能会被迫缺席10场比赛。

最坏的情况是四周，这将是他自1992年3月因左拇指韧带撕裂缺席14场比赛以来最长的连续缺席期。

马克斯的孩子们：十名戴维斯中学的学生作为马刺后卫弗农·麦克斯韦的嘉宾观看了休斯顿的比赛。麦克斯韦“收养”了这座城市东区的学校，以提供学术成就的激励，为麦克斯韦、多米尼克·威尔金斯和科里·亚历山大工作的公关人员摩西·梅斯说。

周三折扣：如果马刺球迷出示Santikos剧院的票根，他们可以在周三晚的比赛中以$4的折扣购买$15、$22或$32的门票。如果球迷出示周一到周四的Santikos特色电影票根，他们将得到折扣。

国歌试唱：有兴趣在马刺比赛中演唱国歌的球迷可以在周二晚上6点到9点在硬石咖啡馆进行试唱。- 杰瑞·布里格斯

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

- Two more regulars out: Forward Charles Smith and guard Vinny Del Negro have been listed as “day-to-day,” with knee injuries, Spurs coach Bob Hill said Thursday. Neither Smith nor Del Negro played in the preseason game against the Houston Rockets.

“I don’t know how long they’ll be out,” Hill said. “It’s a day-to-day thing. We decided playing Vinny for 15 minutes in an exhibition game won’t do him any good. Charles hasn’t practiced in five days.”

Both Del Negro and Smith have struggled in the preseason. Del Negro, in three games, is shooting 25 percent from the floor (3 for 12) and averaging 4.7 points. Smith is shooting 31.3 percent (5 for 16) and averaging 3.2 points in five games.

Smith has enjoyed moments with an average of 1.4 blocked shots and 4.2 rebounds in 19.4 minutes.

Del Negro has been a starter for most of his four seasons as a Spur. He played all 82 games last season. Smith, who joined the team last February, started at power forward in the second half last season.

- Robinson in LA: Spurs center David Robinson is in Southern California at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic undergoing treatment for his sore back. He is expected to be at the clinic through the weekend. Robinson is out 2-4 weeks with the back injury.

If Robinson returns to the lineup two weeks from Tuesday, he would miss either the first two or three games of the regular season. If he is out four weeks, he could be forced to sit out 10 games.

The worst-case scenario of four weeks would put him out of action for the longest stretch of games since he missed 14 in March 1992 with a torn ligament in his left thumb.

- Max’s kids: Ten Davis Middle School students attended the Houston game as guests of Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell. Maxwell has “adopted” the school on the city’s East Side to provide incentives for academic achievement, said Moses Mays, a publicist working for Maxwell, Dominique Wilkins and Cory Alexander.

- Wednesday discount: Spurs fans can receive $4 discounts on $15, $22 or $32 tickets for Wednesday night games if they present a ticket stub from Santikos Theatres. Fans will get the discount if they present a stub from a Santikos Monday-through-Thursday feature.

- Anthem tryouts: Fans interested in singing the national anthem at a Spurs game can try out Tuesday from 6-9 p.m. at the Hard Rock Cafe. - Jerry Briggs

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-25, By Buck Harvey

季前赛惩罚：巴克利医生有空吗？

查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)向一名球童要了一条湿毛巾，然后开始清理他在阿拉莫穹顶的更衣柜。这是“清洁先生”鲜为人知的特质。如果有人在他更衣柜区域附近掉纸，他很可能会训斥那个淘气鬼。因此，巴克利打扫干净了，擦拭了他甚至不会使用的架子，然后开始说垃圾话。关于他的朋友大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)应该忍受疼痛继续比赛。关于罗宾逊患有凯文·威利斯(Kevin Willis)病，意思是罗宾逊像巴克利的休斯敦队友一样锻炼二头肌，而不是腿部肌肉。

谈话结束了。当访客离开更衣室时，巴克利说再见。然后他补充道：“向他们表示我的慰问。”

谁？

他笑着说：“你的球队。”

那是周四比赛之前——火箭队失去了他们新签下的价值1800万美元的控球后卫，他将缺阵长达三个月。如果这场断臂事件不能证明普莱斯家族有诅咒，那么它说明了NBA的脆弱性。这里的幸福，可以随着头部上的冰袋而结束。

考虑到火箭队在这场比赛之前的表现，最新一幕戏剧性地突显出来。他们曾在南卡罗来纳州、纽约和圣地亚哥训练。所以，在比赛开始前，得知自己将在两节比赛中上场，巴克利问是否可以提前在半场结束前完成他的时间。然后飞回家。“我们会输掉这场比赛，”他说，“这样才能避免进入加时赛。”

他最终决定脱掉便鞋跑步。比赛早期，他在通常的嘘声中投罚球，他命中了第一球并将手放在耳边。如果他不肯带着全明星的火焰比赛，他仍然可以迎合观众。

如果夏天情况有所不同，巴克利可能已经以马刺队的身份这样做。巴克利自己也从未想过会发生这种情况。“他们无路可退，”他说。

巴克利认为拥有罗宾逊的马刺队是西部第四强的球队。现在呢？他露出了微笑，并投来意味深长的目光，仿佛他们不值得他的一针见血。

而他对他的高尔夫球伙伴、梦之队队友留下了这句话：“我的椎间盘突出已经有三四年了。你必须忍受着比赛。热身，然后比赛。”

格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)可以将这条信息转达给洛杉矶的治疗师团队，因为波波维奇今天将飞往那里探望罗宾逊。

而且波波维奇也可以从巴克利那里转达这句话给罗宾逊。别再锻炼你的手臂了，大卫。巴克利说这无助于你的背部。

这是巴克利在赛前打趣时说的。也许他完全有理由享受比赛。毕竟，巴克利上次来到阿拉莫穹顶——在同一个刚打扫干净的更衣室里——他以太阳队的身份离开。现在他带着他自己的健康、身高7英尺的德克萨斯球员回来了。

但体育的脆弱性在几分钟内就显露出来。布伦特·普莱斯(Brent Price)从膝伤中恢复过来，他的哥哥马克曾遭遇前交叉韧带断裂、脚部骨折和手腕粉碎性骨折，他为了抢球而跳跃，结果手臂骨折。

巴克利的态度表明，没有人应该在十月份跳跃。“我很无聊，”他在赛后说。“这些季前赛只是浪费时间。这只是从球迷身上赚钱的一种方式。”

尽管如此，在普莱斯倒下几分钟后，巴克利推了肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)，然后用肘部卡位抢篮板。

普莱斯对火箭队的重要性不如罗宾逊对马刺队重要。尽管如此，这又是另一个打击，通常情况下，最优秀的球队是避免身体损伤的球队。至少，分区冠军经常取决于一支球队损失了他们的中锋一个月，另一支球队损失了他们的控球后卫三个月。

因此，在一个比分无关紧要的夜晚，一个时刻却很重要。对于两支德克萨斯球队来说，到处都是慰问。

点击查看原文：Preseason punishment: Is Dr. Barkley available?

Preseason punishment: Is Dr. Barkley available?

Charles Barkley asked for a wet towel from a ballboy, then proceeded to clean his locker in the Alamodome. It’s the little-known trait about Sir Clean. If someone drops paper near his area in the locker room, he’s likely to scold the scamp. So Barkley cleaned up, wiping shelves he wouldn’t even use, and then started talking trash. About how his buddy, David Robinson, ought to just play with pain. About how Robinson has Kevin Willis Disease, meaning Robinson builds his biceps, as Barkley’s Houston teammate does, and not his leg muscles.

The conversation ended. And as the visitor left the locker room, Barkley said good-bye. Then he added, “Give them my condolences.”

Who?

He smiled. “Your team.”

That was before Thursday’s game - when the Rockets lost their new, $18 million point guard for as many as three months. And if this broken arm doesn’t prove the Price family is cursed, then it says a lot about the fragile NBA. Happiness, here, can end with an ice pack on its head.

The latest turn is dramatic, considering how the Rockets came into this game. They’d spent time in South Carolina and New York and San Diego. So told before the game he would play in two quarters, Barkley asked if he could go ahead and get his minutes over in the first half. Then fly home. “We’ll tank this game,” he said, “to keep it from going OT.”

He finally opted to take off his loafers and run. And early, shooting free throws to the usual boos, he made the first and held his hand to an ear. If he wouldn’t play with All-Star fire, he could still play to the crowd.

Had the summer gone differently, Barkley could have been doing this as a Spur. Barkley, for one, never saw it happening. “They had nothing to give up,” he said.

Barkley considered the Spurs with Robinson to be the West’s fourth-best team. Now? He gives a smile and a knowing glance, as if they aren’t worth one of his barbs.

And here’s what he saved for his golfing, Dream Teaming friend: “I’ve had bulging discs for three or four years. You got to play through it. Warm up, play.”

Gregg Popovich can relay that message to the team of therapists in Los Angeles, since Popovich flies there today to visit Robinson.

And Popovich might as well tell Robinson this from Barkley, too. Quit pumping up the arms, Dave. Barkley says it doesn’t help your back.

That came from the playful Barkley during pregame. And maybe he had every right to be enjoying himself. After all, the last time Barkley was in the Alamodome - in the very same, freshly scrubbed locker - he was leaving as a beaten Sun. Now he came back with his very own, healthy, 7-foot Texan.

But the delicate nature of sport revealed itself within minutes. Brent Price, coming off a knee injury, whose brother Mark has suffered torn ACLs, broken feet and splintered wrists, dove for a loose ball and shattered an arm.

Barkley’s attitude would indicate nobody should dive in October. “I was bored,” he said afterward. “These preseason games are just a waste of time. It’s just a way to make money off the fans.”

Still, minutes after Price went down, Barkley shoved Sean Elliott, then rebounded with elbows out.

Price doesn’t mean as much to the Rockets as Robinson does to the Spurs. Still, it’s another dent, and usually the best team is the one that avoids body damage. Division titles, at least, are often decided because one team loses its center for a month, and another its point guard for three.

So on a night when the score didn’t count, a moment mattered. For two Texas teams, condolences all around.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-26, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

赫雷拉重拾往日风采——马刺球员重回状态

引用吉姆·莫里森 (Jim Morrison)，已故“大门乐队”主唱的一句歌词：“当你是一个陌生人时，人们很奇怪。当你独自一人时，脸看起来很丑陋。当你不受欢迎时，女人似乎很邪恶。当你沮丧时，街道都寂寞。”

马刺队前锋卡尔·赫雷拉 (Carl Herrera) 去年在 NBA 赛季期间的低落情绪并不像莫里森在他的热门歌曲《奇异的人》(People are Strange) 中所展现的那样，这首歌曲是 60 年代来自档案库的经典摇滚乐。

然而，在许多方面，赫雷拉能够理解这句歌词。

在赫雷拉的心态中，在他生命中最令人分心和沮丧的八个月里，无论他走到哪里，人们似乎都显得奇怪。

“关于去年，有很多事情，”赫雷拉周五在今晚 7:30 马刺队在阿拉莫穹顶迎战纽约尼克斯队的季前赛前夕表示。“人们对你有很多期待，而当你无法满足这些期望时，它会给我带来巨大的压力。”

赫雷拉在与球队签署四年合同的第二年，以稳健的季前赛开局，并在穹顶进行了为期两小时的训练后，反思了那些艰难的时刻。他似乎渴望将自己的感受说出来。

去年，赫雷拉获得了“预期的先发大前锋却未能打出来”这一令人不光彩的称号。

“我去年（来到球馆）的时候，人们会说，‘他怎么了？哦，他受伤了。他不会上场了，’”赫雷拉说道。“你会环顾四周，想知道人们会怎么想你。”

事实证明，人们确实对这位前休斯顿大学明星球员感到疑惑。但他也说，他的大部分焦虑和担忧都是自找的。

“当你脑子有问题的时候，”赫雷拉承认，“你就会这样想。”

从他在季前赛中的表现来看，赫雷拉的脑子已经恢复正常，准备重回巅峰状态，而他的巅峰状态在 1994 年休斯顿火箭队夺得 NBA 总冠军时达到顶峰。在火箭队首次夺冠的征程中，这位 6 英尺 9 英寸的前锋在替补席上发挥了关键作用，帮助火箭队七场战胜了尼克斯队。

他在季前赛的 6 场比赛中首发了 5 场，投篮命中率为 56.7%，场均上场 19 分钟得到 7 分。在周四晚上对阵休斯顿的比赛中，赫雷拉奋力抢夺篮板球，倒地拼抢，并且全心全意地投入比赛。

“我感觉很棒，”赫雷拉说道，他在周五的训练中对后卫弗农·马克斯韦尔 (Vernon Maxwell) 进行了一次强力挡拆。“只是我正在努力让事情发生。我抢到篮板球……盖帽。这给了我巨大的动力。”

伤病限制了赫雷拉两年前只出战 61 场比赛，去年仅出战 44 场比赛，他的上场时间 (393 分钟)、得分 (85 分) 和篮板球 (81 个) 都跌至生涯新低。赫雷拉在训练营中拉伤了腿筋，后来又加重了长期存在的肩部疼痛。

除了伤病，他在 12 月份还陷入情绪低谷，当时医生被迫让他的妻子在怀孕七个月时就进行引产。他的女儿莎拉·娜奥米 (Sara Naomi) 出生时体重只有 2 磅，并且由于各种健康问题住院治疗了两个月。

“看到她现在恢复得很好，我感觉很棒，”赫雷拉说道。“我记得去年，我会回家，收拾东西，然后去医院。没有她在家真是太难了。医生说她的脑子里有积液，可能需要手术。现在，她一切都很好。她在家，又哭又闹，吃东西，玩玩具。真是太棒了。”

在赛季的下半段，赫雷拉的身体恢复得足以重返赛场。但到那时，他已经从主教练鲍勃·希尔 (Bob Hill) 的计划中消失了，并且在季后赛第二轮对阵犹他队的比赛中一直坐在替补席上，直到最终失利。

“我没有打好，”赫雷拉说道。“我失去了信心。正如教练（希尔）所说，‘这不是我的错，也不是他的错。’”

联盟中的许多人想知道赫雷拉的职业生涯是否已经结束了。希尔对他很失望，但他不认为这位 1992 年委内瑞拉奥运会选手在 NBA 的日子已经结束了。

“如果一个人缺席训练营，错过了体能训练和比赛节奏，那会很难，”希尔说道。“他在训练营里表现很好，后来拉伤了腿筋，无法恢复。然后他又遇到了个人问题。等他回来的时候，赛季已经进行了一段时间，我不想打乱阵容（轮换）。但是，不，我认为他的职业生涯还没有结束。”

赫雷拉说他现在对篮球充满了新的热情。

“我只是在做我应该做的事情，”赫雷拉说道，他是第一个也是唯一一个在 NBA 效力的委内瑞拉球员。“没什么真正不同。但当你感觉好的时候，就真的不一样了。如果你把今年和去年相比，根本没有可比性。”

对于赫雷拉来说，人们似乎并不那么奇怪了。

• 马刺队新闻：前锋查克·珀森 (Chuck Person) 将于周二在加利福尼亚州英格伍德进行背部手术。手术将由克尔兰-乔布骨科诊所的罗伯特·沃特金斯 (Robert Watkins) 医生进行。

根据希尔的说法，前锋查尔斯·史密斯 (Charles Smith) 不会参加今晚的比赛，也不会参加周日在印第安纳州的最后一场季前赛。史密斯表示，他似乎正在恢复右脚踝和膝盖的灵活性，这两处部位最近又疼痛起来，导致他从上周末开始就没有上场。

点击查看原文：Herrera feels like old self - Spur rediscovers game

Herrera feels like old self - Spur rediscovers game

To quote Jim Morrison, the late lead singer of The Doors: “People are strange, when you’re a stranger. Faces look ugly, when you’re alone. Women seem wicked, when you’re unwanted. Streets are all lonely, when you’re down.”

Spurs forward Carl Herrera wasn’t as low emotionally during last year’s NBA season as Morrison seemed to be in his hit song, “People are Strange,” a '60s rock classic from the archives.

But in many ways, Herrera can relate to the lyrics.

In Herrera’s state of mind, people seemed strange everywhere he went in one of the most distracting and depressing eight months of his life.

“There were so many things about last year,” Herrera said Friday on the eve of tonight’s 7:30 preseason game at the Alamodome against the New York Knicks. “So many things were expected from you, and when you were not able to meet those expectations, it put me down under a tremendous weight.”

Herrera, off to a solid preseason start in the second year of his four-year contract with the team, reflected on the hard times after a two-hour workout at the dome. He seemed eager to get his feelings off his chest.

Last year, Herrera earned the dubious distinction as the projected starter at power forward who didn’t work out.

"I’d come in (to the building) here last year and it would be like, `What’s wrong with him? Oh, he’s going to be hurt. He won’t be playing,’ " Herrera said. “You look around and wonder what people must be thinking about you.”

As it turned out, people did wonder about the former University of Houston standout. But also, he said much of his anxiety and worry was self-inflicted.

“When you’re head’s screwed up,” Herrera admitted, “you just think like that.”

Judging from his play in the preseason, Herrera’s head has been situated just right for a return to his old form, which reached a peak in the 1994 NBA Finals for the Houston Rockets. In the Rockets’ first drive to the title, the 6-foot-9 forward played a key role off the bench as the Rockets beat the Knicks in seven games.

He has started five of six games for the Spurs in the preseason, shot 56.7 percent from the field and averaged 7.0 points n 19 minutes. Against Houston on Thursday night, Herrera battled for loose balls, dove on the floor and generally reveled in the game.

“I’m feeling great,” said Herrera, who set a crunching pick on guard Vernon Maxwell in practice Friday. "It’s just in the way that

I’m trying to make things happen. I get a rebound . . . block a shot. It gives me a big boost."

Injuries limited Herrera to 61 games two years ago and 44 last year, when he plummeted to career lows in minutes (393), points (85) and rebounds (81). Herrera popped a hamstring in training camp and later aggravated a chronic sore shoulder.

On top of the injuries, he lapsed into an emotional abyss in December when doctors were forced to induce his wife into labor only seven months into her pregnancy. His daughter, Sara Naomi, originally weighed 2 pounds and was hospitalized for two months with various health problems.

“It’s a great feeling to see her doing well now,” Herrera said. “Last year, I remember I’d go back home, prepare my things and go to the hospital. Just not having her home was hard. The doctor was saying she had fluid on her brain and that she might have to have surgery. Now, she’s doing fine. She’s home, screaming, eating and playing with toys. It’s great.”

In the second half of the season, Herrera returned to the team healthy enough to play. But by that time, he had fallen out of Coach Bob Hill’s plans and he rode the bench to the bitter end against Utah in the second round of the playoffs.

“I wasn’t playing well,” Herrera said. "My confidence wasn’t there. Like coach (Hill) said, `It wasn’t my fault, and it wasn’t his fault.’ "

Many in the league wondered if Herrera’s career might be finished. Hill was down on him, but he didn’t think the 1992 Venezuelan Olympian’s NBA days were through.

“It’s hard if a guy misses camp and loses out on the conditioning, the timing,” Hill said. “He was in camp and was playing well and then he had the hamstring and couldn’t get over that. Then he had the personal problems. By the time he got back, the season was getting on and I didn’t want to disrupt things (in the rotation). But, no, I didn’t think it was over for him.”

Herrera said he now feels a renewed enthusiasm for the game.

“I’m just doing what I’m supposed to be doing,” said Herrera, the first and only Venezuela resident who has played in the NBA. “Nothing’s really different. But it is different when you feel good. If you compare this year to last year, there’s no comparison.”

For Herrera, people don’t seem so strange after all.

-Spurs notes: Forward Chuck Person will have back surgery Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif. The procedure will be performed by Dr. Robert Watkins of the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopedic Clinic.

Forward Charles Smith will not play tonight or in the team’s final preseason game Sunday at Indiana, according to Hill. Smith said he seems to be regaining the flexibility and strength in his right ankle and knee, which have flared up and caused him to sit out since last weekend.

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-27, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

尼克斯尼克斯阻止马刺——珀杜在失利中拇指骨折

在周六晚上得知中锋威尔·珀杜在以 93-77 的比分不敌纽约尼克斯的季前热身赛中左拇指骨折后，马刺队惊讶万分，反响强烈。

“我从未见过这种情况，”马刺队前锋肖恩·艾利奥特说道。“在这场（训练）比赛中，我们有球员生病，受伤。我们带着伤病踏入赛场。现在又出事了。令人惊讶。”

珀杜在第三节中拇指受伤。尼克斯队前锋查尔斯·奥克利拍了一下珀杜的手，从他手中抢走了球。在尼克斯队的下一次进攻中，帕特里克·尤因对珀杜实施了明显的犯规，而珀杜向裁判抱怨，他认为奥克利在另一端对他实施了犯规。

代替受伤的全明星大卫·罗宾逊首发上场的珀杜留在比赛中又打了几乎一节。比赛还有 10 分钟时他被替换下场，送往医院，X 射线显示拇指尖端骨折。

他的受伤让马刺队只剩下卡迪拉克·安德森和流浪球员格雷格·凯特，在今晚与印第安纳步行者队的季前赛决赛中担任中锋。预计罗宾逊和珀杜都不可能在本周五马刺队对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的揭幕战中出场。

“难以置信，”马刺队教练鲍勃·希尔说道。“绝对难以置信。现在我们还必须参加这场可笑的（季前赛）比赛。我认为我只会安排四名球员首发。我们都被蛇咬了。”

马刺队表示，珀杜将至少休战两周。根据球队之前宣布的恢复时间表，罗宾逊因背部受伤将在未来 9-23 天内休战。

当记者提出本周球队可能不得不找另一名中锋时，希尔难以置信地做出了回应。

“我们必须找一名中锋？”他反问。“去哪里找？能找到的人不多。但我猜我们周一会讨论一下。我在与印第安纳队的比赛前要祈祷，希望其他人没事。”

珀杜是对阵尼克斯时的第二位受伤的马刺队球员。在第二节中，前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯在快攻时滑倒并摔倒，手臂肘部受伤。他没有重返赛场。珀杜和威廉姆斯都不会参加印第安纳的比赛。

六名球员从本月 1 日起遭受了伤病或加重了原有伤势。这份名单包括查克·珀森（背部）、罗宾逊、查尔斯·史密斯（膝盖）、维尼·德尔内格罗（膝盖）、珀杜和威廉姆斯。

“一个个球员都倒下了，”前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯说道，他以 24 分领跑马刺队。“球队必须调整。我们别无选择。”

在上赛季 46 场比赛中只打了 344 分钟的安德森惊讶地表示，可能会在与明尼苏达队的比赛中首发出任中锋。

“没人告诉我任何这件事，”他说。“我只需要继续努力并帮助球队。但说真的，没人告诉我任何事情。”

尼克斯队在第三节中打出了一场势均力敌的比赛，最终在大圆顶球场上以 16,022 名球迷的欢呼声取得了胜利。

第三节中，纽约队以 23-9 击败了圣安东尼奥，马刺队在该节中的投篮命中率为 19 投 3 中。

“下半场时我们只是陷入了低迷，”威尔金斯说道。“我们在那里有点拖沓。”

随着这场失利，马刺队在季前赛中的战绩变为 2 胜 5 负。尼克斯队的战绩提升为 4 胜 3 负。

尤因以 28 分钟的出场时间为尼克斯队贡献了 18 分和 7 个篮板。新秀前锋约翰·华莱士替补出场，贡献 17 分和 9 个篮板。尤因、奥克利、华莱士和拉里·约翰逊牢牢控制着内线，帮助尼克斯队以 44-33 占据篮板优势。

马刺队的威尔金斯以 7 投 11 中的投篮命中率得到了 24 分。在重新加入阵容后的两场比赛中，他以 18 投 26 中的投篮命中率得到 46 分。

注

- 伤病：马刺队前锋查尔斯·史密斯因膝盖和脚踝疼痛而休息，在周六的季前赛第二场中没有上场，也不会在今天前往印第安纳波利斯参加与步行者队的季前赛决赛。

马刺队在 NBA 中的伤病困境并不孤单。印第安纳队今晚对阵圣安东尼奥队时将没有中锋里克·史密茨和埃里克·丹皮尔，也没有老将前锋埃迪·约翰逊。

史密茨在 9 月份接受了双脚手术。他此后就没有进行训练，可能会错过一些常规赛。丹皮尔本周某个时候可以进行训练。这名新秀在上周四接受了疝气手术。约翰逊要到 12 月份才能复出，他在 5 月份进行股四头肌腱手术后休养了整个夏天。

步行者队教练拉里·布朗在两周前接受了疝气手术后已重返教练席。

马刺队将在没有全明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊和前锋查克·珀森的情况下开始本赛季。珀森计划于周二在加利福尼亚州英格尔伍德进行背部手术。他将至少休战三个月。

罗宾逊目前正在英格尔伍德的克尔兰-乔布诊所住院。罗宾逊也因背部受伤，可能会错过三到十场常规赛。

马刺队的头号得分手和篮板手今天将返回家中。

“我跟他沟通过，他说他感觉好多了，”教练鲍勃·希尔说道。

- 赛程遭到批评：马刺队的季前赛赛程令希尔感到不快。

球队有三场背靠背的比赛，马刺队连续两晚都在比赛。第三场背靠背比赛将在今晚进行，当时球队将在与尼克斯队的比赛 24 小时后迎战步行者队。

- 电台频道变更：马刺队在周六宣布，今天的马刺-步行者队比赛将在 The Ticket（KTKR，AM-760）上播出，而不是 WOAI。

广播将于下午 4：30 开始。比赛将于下午 5：00 开始。

球队官员表示，日程冲突导致了此项变更。——杰瑞·布里格斯

点击查看原文：Knicks, nicks stop Spurs - Perdue breaks thumb in loss

Knicks, nicks stop Spurs - Perdue breaks thumb in loss

The Spurs reacted with stunned amazement at their misfortune Saturday night after they received word that center Will Perdue had broken his left thumb during a 93-77 preseason loss to the New York Knicks at the Alamodome.

“I have never seen anything like this,” Spurs forward Sean Elliott said. “During this (training) camp, we’ve had guys sick, hurt. We came into it banged up. Now this. It’s amazing.”

Perdue hurt his thumb in the third period. Knicks forward Charles Oakley slapped down on Perdue’s hand and stripped him of the ball. On the Knicks’ ensuing possession, Perdue was called for a flagrant foul on Patrick Ewing, and complained to a referee that he thought Oakley had fouled him on the other end.

Starting for injured All-Star David Robinson, Perdue stayed in the game and played for nearly another quarter. He was taken out with 10 minutes left in the game and transported to a hospital, where X-rays showed a fracture in the tip of the thumb.

His injury leaves the Spurs with little-used Cadillac Anderson and journeyman Greg Kite to play the pivot in tonight’s exhibition finale at the Indiana Pacers. Neither Robinson nor Perdue is expected to be ready opening night on Friday, when the Spurs play at Minnesota against the Timberwolves.

“Unbelievable,” Spurs coach Bob Hill said. “Absolutely unbelievable. Now we’ve got to go play this other stupid (exhibition) game. I think I’m only going to start four guys. We are snake-bitten.”

The Spurs said Perdue would be out at least two weeks. Robinson, according to the team’s prev-iously-stated time line for recovery, will be out for the next nine-to-23 days with a back injury.

Hill reacted incredulously to the suggestion that the team might have to search for another center this week.

“We have to go get a center?” he asked rhetorically. “Where? There aren’t many. But I guess Monday we’ll have to go over that. I’m going to say a prayer before the Indiana game, hoping someone else doesn’t go down.”

Perdue was the second Spur to suffer an injury against the Knicks. In the second quarter, forward Monty Williams slipped running the floor on a fast break and bruised his elbow. He did not return to the action. Neither Perdue nor Williams will make the trip to Indiana.

Six players have suffered injuries or aggravated pre-existing conditions since the first of the month. The list includes Chuck Person (back), Robinson, Charles Smith (knee), Vinny Del Negro (knee), Perdue and Williams.

“We have guys dropping like flies,” said forward Dominique Wilkins, who led the Spurs with 24 points. “The team has to adjust. We have no choice.”

Anderson, who played only 344 minutes in 46 games last season, reacted with surprised to the suggestion that he might have to start at center in Minnesota.

“Nobody’s told me anything like that,” he said. “I just have to keep trying hard and help the team. But, really, nobody has told me nothing.”

The Knicks broke open a close game in the third quarter and cruised to the victory in front of 16,022 fans at the dome.

In the third period, New York outscored San Antonio 23-9 and held the Spurs to 3-of-19 shooting from the field.

“In the second half we just hit a cold spot,” Wilkins said. “We were all dragging out there a little.”

With the loss, the Spurs fell to 2-5 in the preseason. The Knicks improved to 4-3.

Ewing led the Knicks with 18 points and seven rebounds in 28 minutes. Rookie forward John Wallace came off the bench for 17 points and nine boards. Ewing, Oakley, Wallace and Larry Johnson controlled the inside, helping the Knicks to a 44-33 rebounding edge.

For the Spurs, Wilkins scored his two dozen points on 7-of-11 shooting. He has scored 46 points on 18-of-26 shooting in two games since returning to the lineup.

Notes

- Injuries: Spurs forward Charles Smith, resting a sore knee and ankle, did not play for the second consecutive preseason game Saturday and will not make the trip to Indianapolis, Ind., today for the exhibition finale against the Pacers.

The Spurs aren’t alone in their injury woes in the NBA. Indiana will be without centers Rik Smits and Erick Dampier and veteran forward Eddie Johnson against San Antonio tonight.

Smits is coming off September surgery on both feet. He hasn’t practiced since and will probably miss some of the regular season. Damper will be able to practice sometime this week. The rookie had hernia surgery last Thursday. Johnson won’t be back until December,

having sat out the entire summer after May surgery on a quadriceps tendon.

Pacers coach Larry Brown has returned to the bench after undergoing hernia surgery two weeks ago.

The Spurs will start the season without All-Star center David Robinson and forward Chuck Person. Person is scheduled for back surgery Tuesday in Inglewood, Calif. He will be out three months, at least.

Robinson is winding up a stay at the Kerlan-Jobe clinic in Inglewood. Also suffering from a back injury, Robinson could miss anywhere from three to as many as 10 games of the regular-season schedule.

The Spurs’ leading scorer and rebounder will return home today.

“I talked to him and he said he’s feeling better,” said coach Bob Hill.

- Schedule criticized: The Spurs’ exhibition schedule has been an irritation for Hill.

The team has had three back-to-back situations where the Spurs have played on consecutive nights. The third of the three will be tonight when the team meets the Pacers 24 hours after dueling with the Knicks.

- Radio change: The Spurs announced Saturday that today’s Spurs-Pacers game will be broadcast on The Ticket (KTKR, AM-760) instead of WOAI.

The broadcast will begin at 4:30 p.m. Tipoff is at 5 p.m.

A scheduling conflict forced the move, team officials said. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1996-10-27, By Glenn Rogers, Pro Basketball

火箭队升级后的阵容缺乏活力

看起来，火箭队将在赛季初期花费大量时间磨合进攻战术。周四在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆，休斯敦队几乎没有展现出真正的实力，但我们能从中一窥火箭队将如何艰难地将查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)和哈基姆·奥拉朱旺(Hakeem Olajuwon)融入进攻体系。

巴克利大多徘徊在球场外围，或是在奥拉朱旺背身单打时，站在底线另一侧。当巴克利在低位接球时，情况则反过来。

马刺队对这种情况应对自如。对奥拉朱旺或巴克利的快速包夹迫使他们传球。由于巴克利和奥拉朱旺都不是远投威胁，至少其中一人会被孤立，这使得防守方更容易选择盯防谁。

火箭队的内外结合可能无法像过去几个赛季那样有效，需要更多球员切入篮下，或者让其中一名大个球员靠近篮筐，而另一名则在外围观察。

布伦特·普莱斯(Brent Price)的受伤对火箭队造成了沉重打击。下一任控球后卫不一定非要很出色，但必须能够投进远距离跳投。

早期的消息称，肯尼·史密斯(Kenny Smith)在活塞队的训练营中表现不佳，可能会被裁掉。火箭队可能会再次向他招手。

• 罗宾逊的传奇：他们该不该这样做？这个问题还会持续一段时间。

看起来，马刺队应该在训练营初期，当大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)开始抱怨背痛，并且行动僵硬时，就让他休息。

然而，罗宾逊却选择在疼痛期间参加了两场高尔夫锦标赛，而且他并没有强烈要求限制自己只进行日常康复训练。

罗宾逊应该直接从犹他州的季后赛结束，进入到一个夏季的体能训练，最多进行一些轻微训练，而不是参加奥运会之旅，并投入到高强度的训练中。

应该将责任分摊到几个人的肩上。

• 大块头：奥利弗·米勒(Oliver Miller)最近在达拉斯以247,500美元的年薪签约，他在训练营的体重为342磅。他在小牛队的首秀中就撕裂了球衣。“至少现在我可以说我退役了一件球衣，”米勒一边说，一边摸着自己像沙发靠垫一样的大肚子。

• 对伤病的打击：联盟决定严厉打击球队将“受伤”球员列入伤病名单，但让他们参加训练的习惯。

将要执行的规则是，受伤球员只能进行一到两次训练，然后必须激活。换句话说，球队不能再让球员参加训练，以保证完整的训练阵容，或者保持状态，以便在真正受伤的球员需要的时候替补上场。

联盟将对训练情况进行检查。

好吧，如果他们打算查看马刺队的训练，他们必须出示有效的证件，否则可能会被强行赶出去。马刺队最近为了保护训练的私密性，甚至要求一位修女离开他们在圣母无染原罪大学的训练场地。

媒体成员前几天又笑了一场，因为他们被要求不要坐在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆的一个位置，因为那个位置可以让他们在数百英尺外看到篮筐下的一部分球场。

• 大虫在逃：公牛队有些担心。

迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)对丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)早期的行为很不满。这位前马刺队球员在拉斯维加斯的公牛队第二场季前赛中被罚下。

“丹尼斯必须面对现实，他会遭遇到很多不利于他的判罚，”乔丹说。“今年要控制住他将是一项艰巨的任务。”

丹尼斯因其书籍和电影交易而更加出名和富有，他正在成为一个巨大的威胁。据报道，他要么擅自离队，要么被允许不随队出行，因此错过了季前赛。

上周六的季前赛期间，罗德曼去了球队郊区的训练基地，触发了安保系统，试图在球队在市中心比赛时进行训练。罗德曼曾告诉运营主管杰里·克劳斯(Jerry Krause)他将单独训练，而克劳斯说他忘记告诉主教练菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)，后者认为罗德曼是无故缺席。

丹尼斯的回应？“没什么大不了的，但我知道媒体正在夸大这件事。人们还在等着丹尼斯·罗德曼犯错。但（哔——），我不会犯错。去年，每个人都在亲吻丹尼斯·罗德曼的（哔——）。今年，我想他们会叫我滚蛋。”

丹尼斯又回到了他想要的地方——进行媒体巡回。

点击查看原文：An absence of oomph in Rockets' beefed-up arsenal

An absence of oomph in Rockets’ beefed-up arsenal

It looks like the Rockets will spend quite a few of their early season games working on offensive schemes. Houston brought almost nothing of its actual team Thursday to the Alamodome, but we got a glimpse at how the Rockets will struggle some infusing Charles Barkley and Hakeem Olajuwon into attack formations.

Barkley hung out about the perimeter or well on the other side of the baseline when Hakeem took the ball in the post. About vice versa when Barkley took over on the block.

The Spurs had little trouble handling that situation. Quick doubles on Hakeem or Barkley forced outlet passes. Since neither Barkley nor Olajuwon is much of a long-distance shooting threat, at least one of them is taken out of the action, making it a tad easier to decide who to leave open.

Houston’s inside-outside game might not be quite as effective as it has been in recent seasons, crying for more diving and cutting action through the paint or keeping one of the big men considerably closer to the hoop while watching the other at work.

Houston took a serious blow when Brent Price went down. The next point guard doesn’t have to be great, but he’ll have to be able to knock down that long jumper.

Early word is that Kenny Smith is struggling badly in the Pistons’ camp and could get the knife. The Rockets might beckon again.

-Robinson saga: Should they or shouldn’t they have? That’s going to be the question for a while.

It appears the Spurs should have sat David Robinson down early on in training camp when the center first started complaining about backaches and was walking around stiff as a broomstick.

Yet, Robinson also decided to participate in two golf tournaments during the time of pain and certainly wasn’t the most vocal about restricting himself to merely daily rehab programs.

Robinson should have gone directly from the Utah playoffs to a summer of conditioning and, at best, light work, instead of the Olympic journey and the move into heated practice sessions.

Plenty of blame to sit on several sets of shoulders.

-Plenty big: Oliver Miller recently signed on in Dallas for $247,500 and weighed in at camp at 342 pounds. He promptly split open a jersey in his Mavericks debut. “At least now I can say I had a jersey retired,” Miller said with his couch-cushion love handles.

-Tough on injuries: The league has decided to crack down on the habit of teams keeping “hurt” players on the injured list but letting them take part in practices.

The rule that will be enforced is that an injured player may only practice once or twice before he must be activated. In other words, no more keeping players around to enable full practices or to stay in condition to relieve a suddenly truly injured fellow.

The league intends to check on the goings on at practices.

Well, if they intend to look in on any Spurs practices they’ll have to be duly identified or run the risk of being summarily tossed out. The Spurs recently went so far to preserve the sanctity of their workouts that they asked a nun to leave a practice at the University of Incarnate Word.

Members of the media had another laugh the other day when they were asked to stop sitting in a spot at the Alamodome that allowed them to see a slice of the action under one of the hoops a few hundred feet away.

-Worm on the loose: There’s some worry in Bulls land.

Michael Jordan is none too pleased at the early behavior of Dennis Rodman. The former Spur was ejected from the Bulls’ second exhibition game in Las Vegas.

“Dennis has to face the fact that he’s going to get a lot of bad calls against him,” Jordan said. “It’s going to be a tough task trying to control him this year.”

Dennis, ever more famous and wealthy thanks to his book and movie deals, is being quite the menace. He has missed exhibition games either because he went AWOL or was excused from traveling with the team, according to which story is being told.

During last Saturday’s exhibition game, Rodman went to the team’s suburban training facility and tripped the security system in an effort to work out while the team was downtown playing. Rodman had told operations chief Jerry Krause he would work out privately and Krause says he forgot to tell Coach Phil Jackson, who considered Rodman absent without permission.

Dennis’ comments? “It’s no big deal, but I know what’s happening with the media blowing this out of proportion. People are still waiting for Dennis Rodman to (bleep) up. But, (bleep), I’m not going to (bleep) up. Last year everybody was supposedly kissing Dennis Rodman’s (bleep). This year, I guess they want to tell me to get my (bleep) out of town.”

Dennis is right back where he wants to be - conducting the media tour.

By Glenn Rogers, Pro Basketball, via San Antonio Express-News