马刺1996-97赛季实录（560+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-23, By Glenn Rogers, Around the NBA

该是制订新战术的时候了 - 感谢选秀抽签制度，马刺队面临着输球的压力

欢迎来到选秀抽签的世界。让我们穿过镜子，进入一个赢就是输，输就是赢，赛季将会变得越来越奇怪的境界。

NBA创造了这个世界，这要归功于那些害怕以下两点的老板和总经理：(1) 如果顶级球队能够幸运地拿到选秀状元签，它们可能会变得更强；(2) 他们自己的球队已经很糟糕了，如果拿不到前几名的签位，它们就会一直糟糕下去。

因此，现在我们有了选秀抽签制度，该制度倾向于保证胜场最少的球队能够得到最好的大学生球员（或者高中生球员），并有可能治愈他们痛苦的球队。

这意味着从现在到赛季结束，注定要排名前13的球队将面临着尽可能多地输球的压力。

这在体育界是一个奇怪的现象，体育界的根本理念是尽你所能去赢得比赛。

现在，圣安东尼奥马刺队的格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)面临着压力。

今年早些时候，他解雇了鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)，因为他表示，他发现了球队中一个危险的趋势——防守效率低下。他认为，即使有戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的存在，这种趋势也会在季后赛中带来灾难性的后果。

好吧，看来他不再需要担心季后赛了。

当马刺队在对阵犹他爵士队的比赛中打出一场精彩的比赛时，波波维奇变得有些兴奋。他的行为几乎像是他的球员阻止了一次外星人入侵。

现在，他的内心可能分裂了。在球场边拼尽全力，他的视角变得不同了。他是一名教练，他渴望带领球队走向胜利。

你如何指导球队去输球？

首先，你不会让罗宾逊复出——这是理所当然的，朋友和敌人对此都心知肚明。即使是最狂热的球迷也能理解，在排行榜上排名足够低才能有机会得到蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的逻辑，以及突然赢得足够多的比赛，在排名垫底的13支球队中排名中游或更高的逻辑。

这是这个奇幻世界宏伟的、反转的思维方式。通常情况下，如果戴维健康，他会复出，并努力帮助球队。这是体育世界的氛围。

但这种氛围已经被选秀抽签的核爆所打破。

这意味着肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)也要继续缺席。如果查克·珀森(Chuck Person)能够在比赛中起到作用，那么他也应该继续缺席。

这些决定似乎很简单，至少对于外部观察者来说是如此。当这些受影响的球员想要重返球场时，这些决定就会变得非常复杂。

而这一切都会变得更加奇妙。

马刺队剩余的赛程中有一些可以赢的比赛。还有一些比赛看起来不可战胜，但由于NBA的运作方式，当热门球队在某个夜晚状态不佳，并且在第四节勉强维持的时候，这些比赛就可能变得可战胜。

该怎么办？“马刺队获胜”的标题是不需要的。那是输球。

所以，把那个正在打出热手并且威胁要取得胜利的家伙拉下场。换上能力较差的球员，也就是最近从CBA招募来的球员。

前太阳队教练约翰·麦克劳德(John MacLeod)多年前就做过类似的事情，他将首发球员替补下场，从而将获胜的几率降到最低。

在这个颠倒的世界里，这很奇怪。球员们，尤其是那个刚刚被换下的球员，知道发生了什么，只能强忍着笑。

如果两支球队都在为选秀抽签而战，情况就会变得更加棘手。每支球队都必须模仿对方的输球策略。

一支季后赛球队有自己的担忧。如果他们面对另一支为争夺更高排名而努力的季后赛球队呢？或者，如果另一支准备进入季后赛的球队与一支试图在彩票中排名更低的球队相遇呢？

这里还有一个烧脑问题：那些著名的、教练们喜欢制定的、球员们喜欢参与的最后一秒战术呢？

如果一支乐透球队不幸落后两分，而且还剩下20秒，也许他们会放弃他们拥有的暂停，让球员们带球推进，并希望不会发生好事（读作：坏事）。

也许球员们知道，现在投进一个球并不那么及时。也许他们真的不知道应该为球队做什么才是最好的，或者也许他们只是不在乎，因为他们想要赢球。后者是他们唯一可以遵循的路线。

我们都可以从马刺队现在播放的电视广告中获得乐趣——那些球员们开玩笑谈论让他们跌落到排行榜底部的糟糕境地的片段。

最值得注意的是，我们看到戴维和查克承诺他们在回归后会扭转局势。

这些广告是在球队还有可能冲击季后赛的希望，并且需要提高对球队的关注度的时候拍摄的。

现在，这些广告需要一个标语——等待下一年，当球队能够再次穿过镜子回归的时候。

点击查看原文：Time to draw up a new play - Thanks to lottery, pressure is on Spurs to find a way to lose

Time to draw up a new play - Thanks to lottery, pressure is on Spurs to find a way to lose

Welcome to the world of the lottery. Let’s travel through the looking glass, into the realm where winning is losing and losing is winning and where the season will get curiouser and curiouser.

The NBA created this world, driven by owners and general managers who feared that (1) top-drawer teams could become even more top- drawer if they could get lucky and pick first in the draft, and (2) their own teams, already lousy, would stay lousy if they didn’t get top picks.

Thus, we now have a lottery that’s weighted to all but guarantee that the teams with the fewest wins get to haul in the baddest of the collegians (or high schoolers) and possibly cure their suffering franchises.

What it means is that, from now until the end of the season, teams destined to wind up in the bottom 13 will be pressured to compile records as poor as possible.

This is a strange phenomenon in the world of sports, where the fundamental idea is to play about as hard as you can to win.

The pressure on San Antonio’s own Gregg Popovich now shifts.

He fired Bob Hill earlier this year because, he said, he detected a dangerous trend - lack of defensive effectiveness. He reckoned that would carry over into the playoffs with disastrous results, even with the presence of David Robinson.

Well, it appears he needn’t worry anymore about the playoffs.

Pop got a little excited the other night when the Spurs played a solid game against Utah. He acted almost as though his players had thwarted an alien invasion.

His mind might be split now. Sweating it out on the sidelines takes on a different perspective. He is a coach, and his yen is to coach to victory.

How do you coach the team to a loss?

Well, first, you don’t bring back Robinson - that’s a given, understood by friend and foe alike. The most passionate fan sees the logic of finishing low enough in the standings to have a stab at Tim Duncan and the illogic of suddenly winning enough games to finish midway or higher among the bottom 13.

It’s the grand, inside-out thinking of this wonderland. Normally, if David is healthy, he returns and tries to help the team. That’s the atmosphere of the sporting world.

But the atmosphere has been cracked by the lottery’s atomic blast.

That means Sean Elliott also stays out. Same with Chuck Person, if he might make a difference in a game or two.

Those seem like easy decisions, at least to outside observers. They can get very complicated when the affected players want to return to the court.

And it all can get even more wonderfully intricate.

There are some winnable games on the Spurs’ remaining schedule. There are some games that don’t look winnable but, because of the workings of the NBA, could become so when the favored teams are out of sorts on a given night and just hanging on in the fourth quarter.

What to do? A ``Spurs win’’ headline isn’t needed. That’s a loss.

So, yank out the fellow who is having the hot night and threatening victory. Put in the less-capable player, the most recent acquisition from the CBA.

Former Suns coach John MacLeod did that years ago, benching his starters for the bulk of each fourth quarter to minimize the chances of winning.

It’s strange in this upside-down world. The players, especially the one who’s just been yanked, know what’s going on and just have to grin and bear it.

It can get a bit trickier if both teams are playing for the lottery. Each has to match the other’s move to lose.

A playoff-bound team has its own worries. What if it’s taking on another playoff-bound team jockeying for a higher position? Or what if another team headed for the postseason is pitted against one trying to plummet deeper into the lottery?

Here’s another mind-bender: How about those famous, last-second plays coaches love to draw up and in which players like to be involved?

If the lottery-bound coach finds himself unfortunate enough to be down by two with 20 seconds to go, perhaps he ignores the timeout he has, lets the players bring the ball up and hopes nothing good (read: bad) happens.

Maybe the players know a timely basket now is not quite so timely. Maybe they really don’t quite know what they should do for the best of the franchise, or maybe they just don’t care because they want that win. The latter is the only course they can follow.

We can all get a kick out of the TV commercials the Spurs are showing now - those clips of players joking about the horrendous set of circumstances that put them at the bottom of the standings.

Most notably, we see David and Chuck vowing a turnaround when they return.

The films were shot when there was hope of a possible run at the playoffs and interest in the team had to be spiked.

Now the ads need a tagline - Wait’ll next year, when the team can return through the looking glass.

By Glenn Rogers, Around the NBA, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-24, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

火箭对阵马刺：精神不振的表现并未给休斯顿带来太多困扰

休斯顿 - 在周日休斯顿火箭队最终以 95-85 战胜马刺队的中途，球迷们开始变得焦躁不安。在第三节的最后阶段，查尔斯·巴克利错失了几次罚球时，甚至还有几位球迷开始发出嘘声。

当时，火箭队已经领先 15 分。很显然，萨米特内部的售卖亭没有出售耐心。

巴克利说：“那只是一场无聊的比赛。我们很难打起精神。那是我们表现得漫不经心的一天，（球迷们）感觉到了这一点。”

火箭队（36-19）完全有权利打哈欠。马刺队（13-40）只带来了 8 名球员，并且在最近 24 场比赛中输掉了 20 场，他们带着比赛失败而离开。

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说：“赢得比赛当然很棒。他有六名球员因伤或生病缺席。但他们是一支非常优秀的篮球队。在季后赛时，他们会变得更加优秀。能够与他们抗衡感觉很好。”

中锋哈基姆·奥拉朱旺长期以来在休斯顿被称为“梦”。但在前三节比赛中，他更像是“白日梦”。奥拉朱旺错过了一些轻松的投篮，而且总体上看起来缺乏兴趣。

然而，在第四节，他突然表现得很积极并拿到了全队最高的 21 分中的 11 分。

波波维奇说：“他们表现得很不错，决定是哈基姆的时间到了。当他们把球传给他时，很难对付他。”

巴克利得到 19 分，但罚球 8 投 5 失。巴克利和奥拉朱旺两人一共只抢到 14 个篮板，而马刺队在篮板争夺中以 51-35 占据优势。

马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说：“我们在篮板上打败了他们。”他在那场比赛中表现活跃，得到 15 分、12 次助攻和 6 个篮板。“但在比赛结束时，他们比我们更有活力。”

火箭队也有更多的球员——11 人穿着球服。马刺队在最近五场比赛中进行四场比赛时都有八名球员参赛。通常情况下，八名球员可以在双人沙滩排球巡回赛中为一支球队带来良好的阵容深度。

但在 NBA 篮球的五人制比赛中，48 分钟的比赛中允许一支球队有 12 名球员——有时会快速连续进行——当你只有八名球员时，情况会很艰难。

约翰逊说：“我们称之为‘八大’，他们真的在努力拼搏。”

今晚 7:30，马刺队将在主场对阵夏洛特黄蜂队。因贫血连续错过了三场比赛的后卫弗农·麦克斯韦尔将在比赛前接受检查，并被列为可疑人员。

当他们进入一个艰难的赛程时，马刺队可以得到麦克斯韦尔的帮助。

在对阵火箭队的比赛中，约翰逊、多米尼克·威尔金斯（28 分，8 个篮板）和文尼·德尔内格罗（22 分，5 次助攻，4 个篮板）表现得很努力。但是，每个人都奋战了 40 多分钟，他们可能会在对阵夏洛特时筋疲力尽。

马刺队在上半场落后 11 分，在第三节的中段落后 17 分，他们在第四节初将火箭队的领先优势缩小到 6 分。

从那时起，火箭队在接下来的 10 分中得到 8 分，并且当凯文·威利斯从篮下转身命中一个反手上篮，并造成一次犯规并完成三分时，他们以 81-69 领先。

那是周五晚对阵亚特兰大得到 9 分的奥拉朱旺在接下来的三分钟内得到 9 分的时候。他的爆发抵消了威尔金斯的得分爆发，威尔金斯在第四节得到 10 分。

威尔金斯 22 次投篮命中 11 次，并用 40 分钟抢到了 8 个篮板。

巴克利在谈到威尔金斯时说：“他在整个赛季都表现得很好。任何 37 岁且平均每晚可以得到 20 分（实际上是 18.6 分）的人，都会给我留下深刻印象。”

马刺队在篮板争夺方面也获得了威尔·珀杜（14 个篮板）和新来的杰米·费克（9 个篮板）的强力支持。但有时，马刺队的努力并没有得到回报。

在第四节初，珀杜连续两次在进攻篮板争夺中抢到篮板球，但两次都失误了。两次失误都导致休斯顿在另一端命中篮筐。

整个下午，火箭队凭借三分球一直领先于马刺队。他们在三分线外 20 投 9 中，其中包括前马刺队员萨姆·马克 7 投 4 中。

马克得到 14 分，布伦特·普莱斯（三分球 4 投 3 中）得到 10 分。从替补席上出发的威利斯在内线拿下 21 分和 9 个篮板。马刺队笔记：尽管一直在与贫血作斗争，麦克斯韦尔仍然向波波维奇询问他能否前往休斯顿参加对阵他前队友的比赛，但波波维奇没有理会这一请求。

波波维奇说：“这并没有持续很长时间。他尝试了。但这并不是一项巨大的努力。他知道这将是徒劳的。”- 波波维奇表示，前锋查尔斯·史密斯可能很快就会恢复训练，但他拒绝具体说明时间表。当被问及史密斯本周是否会随队训练时，波波维奇微笑着说：“很快。”

他说，球队希望在两周内对史密斯进行训练，以测试他的右膝关节炎，时间是 2 月 13 日。这位 6 英尺 10 英寸的资深球员本赛季只打了前四场比赛。

点击查看原文：Rockets pad mark with Spurs - Lifeless play doesn't hurt Houston much

Rockets pad mark with Spurs - Lifeless play doesn’t hurt Houston much

HOUSTON - Midway through the Houston Rockets’ eventual 95-85 victory over the Spurs on Sunday, the fans grew restless. A few even started to jeer when Charles Barkley missed a couple of free throws late in the third quarter.

At the time, the Rockets were up by 15 points. Patience apparently wasn’t on sale at the concession stands inside The Summit.

It was just a boring game,'' Barkley said. It was hard for us to get motivated. It was a day (where) we were playing

lackadaisical, and (the fans) sensed that.‘’

The Rockets (36-19) had every right to yawn. The Spurs (13-40) brought only eight players and they left the building with their 20th loss in the last 24 games.

It sure would have been great to win,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has six players out with injuries or illness. But they’re a very good basketball team. They’ll be even better at playoff time. It felt good to be able to stay with them.‘’

Center Hakeem Olajuwon has long been known around Houston as The Dream.'' But in the first three quarters, he was more like, The Daydream.‘’ Olajuwon missed some easy shots and generally looked disinterested.

In the fourth quarter, though, he turned it on and scored 11 of his team-high 21 points.

They did a good job of deciding it was Hakeem time,'' Popovich said. When they got the ball to him, it was tough to handle him.‘’

Barkley finished with 19 points, but missed 5 of 8 free throws. Together, Barkley and Olajuwon combined for only 14 rebounds, as the Spurs won the battle on the glass, 51-35.

We killed 'em on the boards,'' said Spurs point guard Avery Johnson, who was active with 15 points, 12 assists and six rebounds. But they had a little bit more energy at the end of the game.‘’

The Rockets also had more players - 11 in uniform. The Spurs played with eight for the fourth time in the last five games. Generally, eight would give a team good depth on the two-man beach volleyball circuit.

But in the five-man game of NBA hoops, where 12 are allowed on a team in 48-minute games -played in sometimes rapid-fire succession - times can be tough when you have only eight.

`` `The Great Eight,’ as we call it, are really fighting hard,‘’ Johnson said.

At 7:30 tonight, the Spurs play at home against the Charlotte Hornets. Guard Vernon Maxwell, out for the last three games with anemia, will be examined before the game and is listed as questionable.

As they enter a tough stretch in the schedule, the Spurs could use Maxwell’s help.

Against the Rockets, Johnson, Dominique Wilkins (28 points, eight rebounds) and Vinny Del Negro (22 points, five assists, four rebounds) played hard. But with each going strong for more than 40 minutes, they could be dragging against Charlotte.

The Spurs, trailing by 11 points at the half and by 17 midway through the third quarter, cut the Rockets’ lead to six early in the fourth.

From there, the Rockets scored eight of the next 10 points and took an 81-69 lead when Kevin Willis spun out of the post and hit a reverse layup, drew a foul and completed the three-point play.

That’s when Olajuwon, held to nine points against Atlanta on Friday night, scored nine in the next three minutes. His outburst canceled out the late-game scoring explosion of Wilkins, who produced 10 in the fourth.

Wilkins hit 11 of 22 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds in 40 minutes.

He's played well all season,'' Barkley said of Wilkins. Anyone who is 37 and can average 20 (points, actually 18.6) a night, I’m impressed.‘’

The Spurs also had strong efforts on the boards from Will Perdue (14 rebounds) and newcomer Jamie Feick (nine). But at times, the Spurs’ efforts didn’t pay off.

Early in the fourth, Perdue hauled in offensive rebounds on two consecutive possessions and turned it over both times. Both led to Houston baskets on the other end.

The Rockets stayed ahead of the Spurs all afternoon with their three-point shooting. They hit 9 of 20 from behind the arc, including 4 of 7 by former Spur Sam Mack.

Mack finished with 14 points and Brent Price (3 of 4 on treys) added 10. Willis, coming off the bench, worked the inside for 21 points and nine rebounds. Spurs notes: Despite battling his anemia, Maxwell still asked Popovich if he could make the trip to Houston to play against his former teammates, but Popovich wouldn’t listen to the argument.

It didn't last long,'' Popovich said. He tried. But it wasn’t a monstrous effort. He knew it would have been in vain.‘’ -Popovich said forward Charles Smith could return to practice soon, but he declined to specify a timetable. Asked if Smith would work out with the team this week, Popovich smiled and said, ``Soon.‘’

He said Feb. 13 that the team wanted to practice Smith to test his arthritic right knee within two weeks. The 6-foot-10 veteran played only the first four games this season.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-24, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

他现在是“蜂王”——黄蜂队的考文斯执教生涯顺风顺水

自从戴夫·考文斯(Dave Cowens)离开马刺队，成为夏洛特黄蜂队的教练以来，发生了很多变化。考文斯离开了一支准备再次冲击NBA总冠军的球队，他接手了一支大多数NBA观察员认为将迅速跌入鱼腩行列的球队。

然而，今晚7:30在阿拉莫穹顶球馆，考文斯将看到一支马刺队，他们大部分球星都穿着西装，注定要进入乐透区。马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)则会看到一支为争夺高排名季后赛席位而战的黄蜂队。

谁会想到呢？

“我之前并不知道会发生什么，”考文斯最近在电话中从他在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的家中说。“我们有很多新球员，但我们团结一致。一切水到渠成。”

考文斯说他不喜欢谈论自己，从来没喜欢过。

“当我还是球员的时候，我就告诉媒体记者去和教练谈，”考文斯说，他是波士顿凯尔特人队名人堂球员。“现在我告诉他们去和球员谈。你明白我的意思吗？”

考文斯可能会这样说，但事实并非如此。他在圣安东尼奥是一名球迷和媒体宠儿，在夏洛特也是如此，就像他以前在波士顿一样。

“戴夫是我在体育界遇到的最自然、最具求知欲的人，”波士顿环球报体育专栏作家鲍勃·莱恩(Bob Ryan)说，他在考文斯效力凯尔特人队期间报道过他。“我不知道为什么他会暗示他不喜欢和媒体谈话。他和作家们有很好的关系。”

莱恩确实注意到考文斯有时会保持沉默。

“但他的情绪不会随着胜负而改变，”莱恩说。“他只是需要调整好自己的心态，因为他天生的天赋显然不是最好的，所以他不能在比赛结束后快速冷静下来。他会陷入狂热，然后在比赛结束后崩溃。所以有时他不愿意说话。”

现在的崩溃是另一种类型。

“作为一名球员，你把所有的一切都倾注在了球场上，”考文斯说。“当你成为教练后，你在比赛结束后会保留更多的东西。作为一名主教练，我的睡眠模式会受到更大的影响。我会醒来，很难再睡着。但这发生在胜负之后。

“你脑子里有太多的事情——这本来可能发生，我们本来可以这样做，诸如此类的事情。但我真的不会回头看任何特定的情况，说‘如果我能这样做或那样做’。

“我更多地是在思考整场比赛。”

无论是睡着还是醒着，考文斯说他从未想过如果他留在圣安东尼奥，他会成为马刺队的主教练。

“我不知道我会不会成为教练，”他说。“（马刺队助理教练）汉克·伊根(Hank Egan)不是教练。（助理）保罗(Paul)（普雷西(Pressey)）不是教练。为什么我应该认为我会是教练？”

考文斯拒绝评论前马刺队教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)被解雇一事。

“我不会谈论这个，”他说。“我算是了解这件事的两面。”

夏洛特黄蜂队副总裁鲍勃·巴斯(Bob Bass)对考文斯早期的执教成功并不感到意外。

“我认为他会做好这份工作，我真的是这么想的，”巴斯说，他曾是马刺队的前管理层官员和教练。“他有一种让球员努力打球的诀窍。在联盟中，这一点非常重要，那就是让球员们竞争起来。

“戴夫比较年长。但他和球员之间没有太大的代沟。他能说他们的语言。”

红头发的考文斯往往有点担心被过度赞扬为一名球员教练。

“当你赢球的时候，这很好，”考文斯说，他接替了艾伦·布里斯托(Allen Bristow)成为黄蜂队的主教练，布里斯托也是一名球员和助理教练，并与马刺队有渊源。“如果你开始输球，那就毫无意义。”

有迹象表明，考文斯有时会对球员的喜好啰嗦过头。

“我们从更衣室出来表现得并不好，”考文斯在季前赛期间说。“球员们告诉我我说话太多，让我闭嘴。”

黄蜂队球星格伦·莱斯(Glen Rice)带着一丝微笑说：“戴夫的教学可能有点冗长。但这很好，因为他教了我们很多很棒的东西。”

考文斯主要教授的是正面、强硬的比赛风格。

“他训练很刻苦，非常强硬，”巴斯说。“他们在那里拼抢、碰撞、对抗。这就是他以前打球的方式。他喜欢对抗。”

考文斯用芝加哥公牛队球星迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)来阐述他的防守理念。

“当然，我对迈克尔非常尊重，”考文斯告诉温斯顿塞勒姆（北卡罗来纳州）日报。“但如果我和他打比赛，乔丹会被打倒，我告诉你。他不会打完比赛，我也可能不会。皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)也不会。

“这就是你必须打他们的方式。”

同时，在赛季开始时，当夏洛特队，这一次没有前全明星阿隆佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)或拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)，决定以“硬球”为概念来制定他们的营销策略时，他有点犹豫，这是考文斯的标志。“马斯(黄蜂队的安东尼·梅森(Anthony Mason))打球就是这种风格。其他球员也是这样打的。”

又硬又成功。

梅森，在与纽约尼克斯队的交易中被换来代替约翰逊，是一名天然的强力前锋。莱斯，在与迈阿密热火队的交易中被换来代替莫宁，拥有神准的投篮。弗拉德·迪瓦茨(Vlade Divac)，在与洛杉矶湖人队的交易中被换来代替新秀科比·布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)，发现比赛除了从大西部论坛球馆出来之后，还可以是另一种情况。

“我们没有为迪瓦茨安排很多战术，”考文斯说。“梅森必须持球。格伦必须持球。而且（控球后卫）穆格西(Muggsy)（博格斯(Bogues)），敲敲木头，现在也投进了一些三分球。迪瓦茨在转换进攻中得分，以及篮板球附近。”

当然，迪瓦茨曾威胁要退役，而不是去夏洛特。

“他只是开玩笑说他不会来这里，”考文斯说。“他的经纪人不想让他来这里。”

在早些时候的评论中，当被问及迪瓦茨不愿意为夏洛特效力时，考文斯流露出幽默感。有人告诉他，迪瓦茨的妻子更喜欢洛杉矶，因为她想成为一名演员。

“该死的妻子，”考文斯说，并指出夏洛特有很多剧院。

考文斯在凯尔特人队效力了八年，以他狂热的激情、粗犷的打法和强劲的勾手投篮迷住了波士顿花园的球迷。

他也有一些场外恶作剧，比如他曾经兼职出租车司机。

“那只是一时兴起，”他说。“一个朋友来拜访我，我随口说了一句，‘让我们叫一辆出租车吧。’我记得租车要花35美元左右，我还要取得出租车执照。你只需要去市中心办理。我只做了那一晚上。没有人认出我。”

他在1978-79赛季短暂且不成功地担任了波士顿队球员兼教练，并在1979-80赛季的季前赛期间突然退役。

在印第安纳波利斯的一站，他上了球队大巴，告诉他的队友他结束了。

“是的，他们有点震惊，”他说。“我是首发中锋。但我有点筋疲力尽。我失去了动力。我觉得那一年我不被需要。他们有（凯文）麦克海尔(Kevin McHale)、（罗伯特）帕里什(Robert Parish)和（拉里）伯德(Larry Bird)。

“我不会让他们陷入困境的。他们在那一年的比赛中夺得了冠军。”

考文斯后来在1991年入选篮球名人堂，最近被评为NBA历史上的50位最伟大球员之一。

“我只想被认为是联盟的使者，”他说。

- - -

戴夫·考文斯档案

球员荣誉

• 1970-71赛季，被评为NBA最佳新秀（与波特兰开拓者队的杰夫·佩特里(Geoff Petrie)并列）
• 1972-73赛季，被评为NBA最有价值球员，当时他为凯尔特人队场均得到20.5分和16.2个篮板。
• 六次入选全明星赛
• 帮助凯尔特人队两次获得NBA总冠军（1973-74赛季和1975-76赛季）
• 1991年入选名人堂
• 1997年被评为NBA历史上的50位最伟大球员之一

教练履历

• 1978-79赛季，担任凯尔特人队球员兼教练（27胜41负），接替萨奇·桑德斯(Satch Sanders)
• 1984-85赛季，担任CBA湾州队主教练
• 1994-95赛季和1995-96赛季，担任马刺队助理教练

点击查看原文：He's the King Bee Now - Career move working out fine for Hornets' Cowens

He’s the King Bee Now - Career move working out fine for Hornets’ Cowens

There have been a few changes since Dave Cowens left the Spurs to become the Charlotte Hornets’ head coach. Cowens left a team being primed to make another run at the NBA title. He took over one that most NBA observers figured would decline rapidly into the ranks of also-rans.

Instead, at 7:30 tonight at the Alamodome, Cowens will glance over and see a Spurs team with most of its stars dressed in suits - and destined for the lottery. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will look down court and see a Hornets team battling for a high playoff seeding.

Who would’ve guessed?

I didn't know what to expect,'' Cowens said recently by telephone from his home in Charlotte, N.C. We had new guys. But we all came together. Things fell into place.‘’

Cowens says he doesn’t like talking about himself - never did.

When I was a player, I told the media guys to go talk to the coach,'' said Cowens, a Hall of Fame player with the Boston Celtics. Now I tell them to go talk to the players. You get what I mean.‘’

Cowens may paint that picture, but it isn’t accurate. He was a fan and media favorite in San Antonio and has become so in Charlotte - just like when he played in Boston.

Dave was the most natural, intellectually curious fellow I've met in sports,'' said Bob Ryan, a Boston Globe sports columnist who covered the Celtics during Cowens' playing days. I don’t know why he would try to imply that he didn’t like talking to the media. He had excellent relationships with writers.‘’

Ryan did note that Cowens had his tight-lipped moments.

But his moods didn't swing according to wins and losses,'' Ryan said. He just had to psyche himself up so much because his natural talent was obviously not the greatest, that he couldn’t come down so quickly after games. He would get into a frenzy and then crash after the game. So there were times when he wouldn’t like to talk.‘’

That crash is of a different type now.

As a player, you leave it all out there on the floor,'' Cowens said. You keep more of it after the game when you’re a coach. My sleep patterns are affected more as a head coach. I’ll wake up and it’s tough to get back to sleep. But that comes after wins and losses.

``There’s so much going on in your mind - this could have happened, we could have done that, that type of thing. But I really don’t look back at any one particular situation and say, `If I could have done this or that.’

``It’s more I’m thinking about the whole game.‘’

Asleep or awake, Cowens said he never ponders the notion that he would have become the Spurs’ head coach if he had remained in San Antonio.

I don't know that I would have become the coach,'' he said. (Spurs assistant coach) Hank Egan isn’t the coach. (Assistant) Paul (Pressey) isn’t the coach. Why should I think that I would have been the coach?‘’

Cowens declined to comment on the firing of former Spurs coach Bob Hill.

I won't get into that,'' he said. I kind of know both ends of it.‘’

Charlotte vice president Bob Bass has not been surprised with Cowens’ early coaching successes.

I thought he would do the job; I really did,'' said Bass, a former Spurs front-office official and coach. He just has a knack for getting guys to play hard. That’s so important in this league, just getting guys to compete.

``Dave is older. But there’s not a big generation gap between him and the players. He talks their language.‘’

The red-headed Cowens tends to be a bit wary of being complimented too much about being a player’s coach.

That's fine when you're winning,'' said Cowens, who replaced Allen Bristow, who also has Spurs connections as a player and assistant coach, with the Hornets. It doesn’t mean anything if you start losing.‘’

There are indications that Cowens has rattled along too long at times for his players’ liking.

We haven't been coming out of the locker room very well,'' Cowens said during the preseason. The guys told me I was talking too much and to shut up.‘’

Said Hornets star Glen Rice, with a grin: ``Dave’s teaching can drag on. But that’s good, because he’s teaching us a lot of great things.‘’

What Cowens primarily teaches is head-on, physical play.

He runs hard practices, very physical,'' Bass said. They are out there banging, bumping, hitting. That’s the way he played. He loved to hit.‘’

Cowens uses Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan to illustrate his defensive thinking.

I have all the respect in the world for Michael, of course,'' Cowens told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal. But if I played against (the Bulls), Jordan would go down, I’m telling you. He wouldn’t finish the game and I probably wouldn’t either. (Scottie) Pippen wouldn’t either.

``That’s how you have to play those guys.‘’

At the same time, he was a little hesitant at the start of the season when Charlotte, this time without former All-Stars Alonzo Mourning or Larry Johnson, decided to key its marketing strategy on the concept of ``Hard Ball,‘’ a Cowens trademark.y Mase (the Hornets’ Anthony Mason) plays. That’s the way the other guys are playing, too.‘’

Hard and successfully.

Mason, acquired for Johnson in a trade with New York, is a natural force at power forward. Rice, who came to Charlotte in the Mourning deal with Miami, possesses a dead-eye shot. Vlade Divac, exchanged for draft pick Kobe Bryant with the Los Angeles Lakers, is finding the game can be more than just all right away from the Great Western Forum.

We don't run a lot of plays for Vlade,'' Cowens said. Mase has to have the ball. Glen has to have it. And (point guard) Muggsy (Bogues), knock on wood, is hitting some threes now. Vlade gets his points in transition, around the boards.‘’

Divac, of course, had threatened to retire rather than go to Charlotte.

He was just kidding when he said he wouldn't come here,'' Cowens said. His agent didn’t want him to come here.‘’

In earlier comments, Cowens showed glints of his sense of humor when asked about Divac’s reluctance to play for Charlotte. He was told Divac’s wife preferred Los Angeles because she wanted to be an actress.

``Damn wife,‘’ Cowens cracked, noting that there were plenty of theaters in Charlotte.

Cowens played eight years with the Celtics, mesmerizing Boston Garden fans with his fevered passion, roughhousing and power hook shots.

He also amused with some off-court shenanigans, like the time he doubled as a cab driver.

That was just a lark,'' he said. A buddy came up to visit and I just said, `Let’s get a cab.’ I think it cost about $35 to rent it and I had to get a hackney’s license. You just had to go downtown and get that. I only did that one night. Nobody recognized me.‘’

He had a brief, unsuccessful stint as Boston’s player-coach during the 1978-79 season and retired abruptly during the '79-80 preseason games.

During a stop in Indianapolis, he got on the team bus and told his teammates he was through.

Yeah, they were a little stunned,'' he said. I was the starting center. But I was just kind of burned out. I lost the juice. I didn’t feel like I was needed that year. They had (Kevin) McHale, (Robert) Parish and (Larry) Bird.

``I wouldn’t have left them in the lurch. They went on to win the title that year.‘’

Cowens went on to be elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1991 and was recently named one of the NBA’s 50 Greatest Players of all time.

``I just would like to be considered an ambassador for the league,‘’ he said.

- - -

Dave Cowens file

PLAYER HONORS

-Named NBA Co-Rookie of the Year (with Portland’s Geoff Petrie) for Boston in 1970-71

-Named NBA Most Valuable Player for '72-73 season after averaging 20.5 points and 16.2 rebounds for Celtics

-Six All-Star Game appearances

-Helped guide Celtics to two NBA titles ('73-74 and '75-76)

-Elected to Hall of Fame in '91

-Recognized as one of NBA’s 50 Greatest Players in '97

COACHING HISTORY

-Served as player-coach for Celtics during '78-79 season (27-41), replacing Satch Sanders

-Served as head coach for Bay State of CBA in '84-85

-Served as assistant coach for Spurs in '94-95 and '95-96

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-25, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺再次遭受痛击——霍特·莱斯、梅森让黄蜂队难以招架

周一晚上，马刺队要么被梅森（Mase）挡在面前，要么被格伦·莱斯用三分球狂轰乱炸。莱斯得到 33 分，安东尼·梅森贡献 24 分和 16 个篮板，在阿拉莫穹顶体育场在 13,092 名球迷面前，夏洛特黄蜂队以 96-84 击败了人手不足的马刺队。

“莱斯和梅森都是全明星球员，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“他们不可思议，我们无法阻止他们。”

莱斯当晚投进了四记三分球，在第四节中拿下了 10 分，帮助黄蜂队抵御了马刺队迟来的反弹。

“我们的努力非常出色，”马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊说，他自 12 月因左脚骨头断裂接受手术以来一直未上场。“我在电视上观看了周日对阵休斯顿火箭队的比赛，他们的表现很顽强。他们在对阵实力强劲且表现出色的夏洛特队时再次展现了这一点。”

马刺队（13-41）在最近六场比赛中有五场都表现平庸，只有八名健康球员出战。六人因伤或病无法上场。周日马刺在休斯顿与火箭队交手时表现不佳，最终以 10 分之差落败。

夏洛特黄蜂队（35-21）的情况更加艰难。黄蜂队在第四节中需要全力以赴并且抓住几个机会才能击败马刺队，后者已经输掉了七场比赛中的六场，最近 25 场比赛中输掉了 21 场。

“我们让自己处于获胜的位置，”身着便服坐在板凳席最末端的罗宾逊说。“但是他们打进了那些大号球。”

尽管马刺队上周五在主场击败了密尔沃基雄鹿队，但罗宾逊说，此前的一系列失利——包括上周三以 33 分之差负于多伦多猛龙队——正在开始产生影响。

“日复一日地输球，这会让人精疲力竭，”罗宾逊说。“但我们的努力不容否认。我认为球员们可以昂首挺胸。格伦·莱斯和安东尼·梅森——这两位都是优秀的球员。夏洛特拥有一支优秀的球队。”

夏洛特黄蜂队中锋弗拉德·迪瓦茨在比赛中的影响力可能与进攻巨星相当。迪瓦茨盖帽八次，其中四次是在第四节中完成的，帮助黄蜂队击败了马刺队。

在第一节中，黄蜂队最多领先 16 分，在第四节初期，莱斯连续命中三球，将领先优势扩大到了 15 分。在比赛最后阶段，马刺队两次将分差缩小到 7 分。

比赛还剩两分钟时，马刺队本有机会将分差缩小到 5 分，但多米尼克·威尔金斯在迪瓦茨的防守下近距离投篮失手。

在另一边，夏洛特黄蜂队的里奇·皮尔斯上篮未中，梅森抓到了进攻篮板。随后上篮得分，在还剩 91 秒时将分差扩大到了 9 分。马刺在最后时刻无法将分差缩小到 8 分之内。

这场失利抹杀了维尼·德尔·内格罗、威尔金斯和艾弗里·约翰逊三人组的出色表现。三人在不到 24 小时的时间里出场时间都超过了 40 分钟。

德尔·内格罗 13 投 9 中，得到 24 分，这是他连续第二场得到 20 分以上。威尔金斯已经 37 岁高龄，但他左手上场前受了严重的挫伤，但还是得到了 20 分。与此同时，约翰逊作为进攻组织者贡献了 12 次助攻。他还得到 17 分并抢断三次。

尽管马刺队竭尽全力，但他们在西部联盟的季后赛争夺中几乎已经消失不见。由于失利，他们在西部联盟仅剩 28 场比赛的情况下落后于最后一个季后赛席位 10.5 场。

“我不再关注排名了，”约翰逊说。“没有理由。我们不在争夺中。”

达到 41 场失利的临界点，这意味着球队自 1989 年以来首次出现非胜利赛季。马刺队还有机会刷新球队创下的单赛季失利纪录，该纪录由 1988-89 赛季的 21-61 失利保持。

“赢得 59 场、62 场比赛似乎永远不够好，”德尔·内格罗说，他谈论了过去两个赛季，这两个赛季以季后赛失利而告终。“人们会说，‘哦，好吧，他们在季后赛中只会输球。’现在，人们开始明白我们有多幸运。”

“这是一个严酷的联盟。你们是在与男人们较量。没有人会轻易地把东西给你。”

- 马刺队的注意事项：多米尼克·威尔金斯周一晚上在对阵夏洛特黄蜂队的比赛中左手上场前受了挫伤。威尔金斯说，他在周日对阵休斯顿火箭队上半场时受的伤。周一午后拍的 X 光片显示没有骨折。

威尔金斯第一节上场时手上缠着绷带。他在再次上场之前让训练师约翰·安德森剪掉了绷带。

- 目前尚不清楚弗农·麦克斯韦尔和蒙蒂·威廉姆斯是否能够在周三晚上的比赛中对阵明尼苏达森林狼队。

两人都缺席了对阵夏洛特队的比赛。麦克斯韦尔因贫血连续缺席了四场比赛。威廉姆斯因右Wrist关节扭伤连续缺席了第五场比赛。

点击查看原文：Spurs feel the sting yet again - Hot Rice, Mason make Hornets too much to handle

Spurs feel the sting yet again - Hot Rice, Mason make Hornets too much to handle

The Spurs either had ``Mase’’ in their face or Glen Rice bombing them with three-pointers Monday night. Rice scored 33 points and Anthony Mason produced 24 points and 16 rebounds as the Charlotte Hornets blitzed the outmanned Spurs 96-84 in front of 13,092 fans at the Alamodome.

Rice and Mason are All-Stars,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. They are unbelievable players. We couldn’t stop them.‘’

Rice, who nailed four treys on the night, scored 10 of his points in the fourth quarter as the Hornets held off a belated Spurs rally.

The effort has been great,'' said Spurs center David Robinson, who remains out since he underwent surgery on a broken bone in his left foot in December. I watched the Houston game on television (Sunday) and they played hard. They did it again against a good Charlotte team that is playing well.‘’

The Spurs (13-41) have trudged through five of their last six games with only eight healthy players. Six men have been out with injury or illness. The Rockets toyed with the Spurs in Houston Sunday before winning by 10.

Charlotte (35-21) had a much tougher time of it. The Hornets needed hustle and a few breaks in the fourth quarter to hold off the Spurs, who have lost six of seven games and 21 of their last 25.

We put ourselves in position to win the game,'' said Robinson, who watched in street clothes from his seat at the end of the bench. But they hit those big shots on us.‘’

Even though the Spurs beat the Milwaukee Bucks at home last Friday, Robinson said the long string of losses - including a 33- point setback to Toronto last Wednesday - is starting to take its toll.

Losing day-in and day-out, it wears on you,'' Robinson said. But the effort has been undeniable. I think the guys can hold their heads up. Glen Rice and Anthony Mason - those are two good players. Charlotte’s got a good team.‘’

Charlotte center Vlade Divac may have had as much impact on the game as the offensive stars. Divac blocked eight shots, including four in the fourth quarter as the Hornets held off the Spurs.

The Hornets, who led by as many as 16 in the first half, hiked the lead to 15 early in the fourth period when Rice hit three straight baskets. The Spurs rallied to within seven twice down the stretch.

With two minutes remaining, the Spurs could have cut the deficit to five, but Dominique Wilkins misfired from close range over the outstretched arm of Divac.

On the other end, Charlotte’s Ricky Pierce missed a layup and Mason grabbed the offensive rebound. He followed with a layup, making it a nine-point game with 91 seconds left. The Spurs could not get closer than eight in the final minute.

The loss marred another strong showing by the troika of Vinny Del Negro, Wilkins and Avery Johnson, who each logged more than 40 minutes in a span of little more than 24 hours.

Del Negro scored 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting for his second consecutive game in the 20s. Wilkins, at age 37, added 20 points despite playing with a badly bruised left hand. Johnson, meanwhile, directed the attack with 12 assists. He also scored 17 points and made three steals.

As hard as the Spurs have played, they have nevertheless dropped almost out of sight in the playoff picture in the Western Conference. With the loss, they fell 10-1/2 games out of the last playoff spot in the West with 28 to play.

I don't look at the standings any more,'' Johnson said. No reason to. We’re not in the race.‘’

Reaching the 41-loss plateau clinched the team’s first non-winning season since 1989. The Spurs also have a chance to set a franchise record for losses in a season, claimed by the 1988-89 team at 21-61.

Winning 59, 62 games never seemed good enough,'' Del Negro said, talking about the past two seasons that ended in playoff disappointments. People would say, `Oh, well, they’re just going to lose in the playoffs.’ Now, people are getting to know how fortunate we were.

``This is a tough league. You are playing against men. Nobody is going to give you anything.‘’

- Spurs notes: Dominique Wilkins played against the Charlotte Hornets Monday night with a bruised left hand. Wilkins said he hurt the hand in the first half of Sunday’s game at Houston. An X-ray on Monday afternoon indicated that it wasn’t broken.

Wilkins played with a bandage on the hand in the first quarter. He later had trainer John Andersen cut off the wrap before he re-entered the game.

- There was no word on whether Vernon Maxwell and Monty Williams would be able to play Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Both sat out the Charlotte game. Maxwell has missed four games in a row with anemia. Williams sat out his fifth consecutive game with a sprained right wrist.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-25, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马克斯韦尔需支付592,000美元

休斯敦一位法官对马刺队后卫弗农·马克斯韦尔(Vernon Maxwell)做出了缺席判决，命令他向一位声称被马克斯韦尔感染了疱疹的女性支付592,000美元。《休斯敦纪事报》报道称，法官约翰·多纳文(John Donavan)在马克斯韦尔缺席审判后于周一做出了这项判决。

该女子，希拉·里亚斯(Sheila Rias)，去年9月对马克斯韦尔提起民事诉讼。

马克斯韦尔目前无法发表评论。但他在去年9月接受《圣安东尼奥快报》采访时否认了该女子的指控。

“我甚至不认识这个女人，”马克斯韦尔当时说。“希拉·里亚斯？我从没听说过她。我发誓我真的没听说过。我想我就是一个众矢之的。”

当时，马克斯韦尔推测，该女子可能听说他刚刚签署了与马刺队的合同。马克斯韦尔去年8月与马刺队签署了一份为期两年的合同。该合同规定他本赛季将获得100万美元，下赛季将获得115万美元。

“这是一个不公平的指控，”马克斯韦尔当时告诉《快报》。“我不认识她。我必须给休斯敦的朋友们打个电话，问问他们是否认识她。”

马克斯韦尔说他并没有感染疱疹病毒，这种病毒通常通过性交传播。

多纳文命令马克斯韦尔支付200,000美元的惩罚性赔偿，以及剩余的医疗费用、身体痛苦和精神折磨的赔偿。

法庭记录显示，马克斯韦尔去年年底两次被送达诉讼通知。据《纪事报》报道，本案中没有律师代表马克斯韦尔。

里亚斯声称她在1995年7月19日感染了病毒。她说，在与马克斯韦尔两次相遇之前，她一年都没有发生过性关系。

点击查看原文：Maxwell must pay $592,000

Maxwell must pay $592,000

A Houston judge has granted a default judgment against Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell, ordering the player to pay $592,000 to a woman who alleged that Maxwell infected her with herpes. Judge John Donavan issued the judgment Monday when Maxwell failed to appear for the trial, the Houston Chronicle reported.

The woman, Sheila Rias, filed the civil suit against Maxwell last September.

Maxwell was not immediately available for comment. But in an interview with the San Antonio Express-News last September, he denied the woman’s accusations.

I don't even know this lady,'' Maxwell said at the time. Sheila Rias? I never heard of her. I swear I haven’t. I guess I’m just a target for everybody.‘’

At the time, Maxwell speculated that the woman may have heard that he had just signed his Spurs contract. Maxwell signed a two-year deal with the Spurs last August. The contract called for him to be paid $1 million this season and $1.15 million next season.

It's an unfair statement,'' Maxwell told the Express-News at the time. I don’t know her. I’m going to have to call down to Houston and ask some friends if they know who she is.‘’

Maxwell said he did not have the herpes virus, which is commonly transmitted through sexual intercourse.

Donavan ordered that Maxwell pay $200,000 in punitive damages and the remainder of the judgment for medical expenses, physical pain and mental anguish.

In the court record, it was reported that Maxwell had been served notice of the lawsuit twice late last year. There was no attorney on record in the case for Maxwell, according to the Chronicle.

Rias claimed that she contracted the virus on July 19, 1995. She said that she had not had sexual relations for a year prior to two encounters with Maxwell.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-26, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

森林狼瞄准马刺的致命弱点

球队历史总有起起落落。本赛季马刺与明尼苏达森林狼的最后一场对决，戏剧性地凸显了局势骤变。

在本赛季之前，马刺曾在 34 次对决中 30 次击败森林狼，于圣安东尼奥举行的 17 场比赛中赢下 16 场。本赛季，森林狼对阵马刺取得了三连胜，并且有望在今晚 7:30 于阿拉莫穹顶球馆以横扫结束本系列赛。

“即使我们球队状态良好，明尼苏达也给我们造成了很大麻烦。”后卫文尼·德尼格罗在周二圣言大学的训练后说道，“他们正在前行。他们年轻有冲劲。”

森林狼就像过去几个赛季的马刺，稳居季后赛争夺行列。马刺就像过去几个赛季的森林狼，正螺旋式下降 menuju选秀抽签。

“今年对我们来说很艰难，”德尼格罗说道，“我之前从未经历过这种 （失败）局面。我们只能靠八名球员，这很艰难。”

除了阿弗瑞·约翰逊和多米尼克·威尔金斯，德尼格罗还为马刺的大部分进攻火力提供支持。

由于弗农·麦克斯韦因贫血休战，德尼格罗已经重回首发阵容担任得分后卫。对此，德尼格罗回应称自己在周一输给夏洛特和周日输给休斯顿的比赛中分别得到 24 分和 22 分。

“我得到了很多出场时间，并逐渐融入节奏，”德尼格罗说道，“基本上，我们正在努力避免沮丧，习惯在整个赛季中不得不在球场上摆出的不同阵容。”

但是，由于遭受了各种伤病，人们并不期望马刺在面对森林狼时有任何起色。

蒙蒂·威廉姆斯因手腕扭伤仍在接受治疗，而麦克斯韦仍然被列为出战存疑。

“他们需要休养生息，”马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇说道。

麦克斯韦在周二再次拜访了球队医生戴维·施密特，预计他今晚不会出场。

“我现在感觉还好，”麦克斯韦说道，“但是我一会感觉良好，一会又感到恶心。”

德尼格罗、约翰逊和威尔金斯平均每场比赛上场时间超过 40 分钟。德尼格罗在对阵休斯顿的比赛中出场时间长达 45 分钟。

波波维奇表示，随着赛季临近尾声，科里·亚历山大很可能会获得更多上场时间。亚历山大在对阵休斯顿的比赛中仅出场 10 分钟，对阵夏洛特的比赛中出场 7 分钟。

新进队的杰米·费克已经能够利用马刺伤员频出的前线阵容创造机会。费克在对阵休斯顿的比赛中出场 17 分钟，对阵夏洛特的比赛中出场 20 分钟。

“我在这里得到了机会，”费克说道，他在强硬的内场表现中令人印象深刻，“但很遗憾是以受伤的形式。我的主要工作是篮板球和防守，我专注于此就好。”

本赛季费克已经与马刺签署了四份 10 天合同，两份与马刺的合同，之后他与圣安东尼奥签署了剩余赛季的合同。

马刺消息：麦克斯韦在周二申明：他没有感染一位休斯顿妇女疱疹。

法院于周一判决他败诉，并命令他向希拉·里亚斯支付 592,000 美元。麦克斯韦和他的任何律师均未出庭受审。

“那根本不是事实，”麦克斯韦在周二的训练后说道，“我甚至都不知道那个女人是谁。”

麦克斯韦拒绝进一步发表评论。

第 61 区法院的一位发言人表示，麦克斯韦现在有三种选择 - 提交新审动议；如果失败，可向上诉法院提起诉讼；或者支付评估金额。

据报道，麦克斯韦将聘请一位律师。本案尚未立案。麦克斯韦去年表示自己没有患上疱疹病毒。

点击查看原文：Timberwolves go for Spurs' jugular

Timberwolves go for Spurs’ jugular

There are a lot of ups and downs in the histories of franchises. The final meeting this season between the Spurs and Minnesota Timberwolves dramatically emphasizes the sudden reversal of fortunes.

Before this season, the Spurs had whipped the Wolves 30 times in 34 meetings, 16 out of 17 in San Antonio. This season, the Wolves are 3-0 against the Spurs and will be in strong position to complete the series sweep at 7:30 tonight at the Alamodome.

Minnesota has given us trouble, even when we had a healthy team,'' guard Vinny Del Negro said after Tuesday's practice at Incarnate Word. They are stepping it up. They are young and aggressive.‘’

The Timberwolves, like the Spurs of the past few seasons, are squarely in the playoff picture. The Spurs, like the Wolves of the past few seasons, are spiraling toward the draft lottery.

It's been difficult for us this year,'' Del Negro said. I haven’t been in this type of (losing) situation before. We’re only going with eight guys and that makes it very tough.‘’

Along with Avery Johnson and Dominique Wilkins, Del Negro has been supplying the bulk of the Spurs’ offensive firepower.

He has returned to the starting lineup at shooting guard in the absence of Vernon Maxwell, who is sidelined with anemia. Del Negro responded by scoring 24 and 22 points, respectively, in the losses to Charlotte on Monday and Houston on Sunday.

I've been getting plenty of minutes and getting into the flow,'' Del Negro said. Basically, what we’re trying to do is avoid the frustrations, get used to the different lineups that we’ve had to put on the floor during the season.‘’

But with all the injuries, the Spurs’ plight isn’t expected to get much better against the Wolves.

Monty Williams, nursing a sprained wrist, and Maxwell still are listed as questionable.

``They are day-to-day,‘’ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Maxwell, who made another visit to team doctor David Schmidt on Tuesday, doesn’t expect to play tonight.

I feel OK now,'' Maxwell said. But I feel good one minute, then nauseous the next.‘’

Del Negro, Johnson and Wilkins have been averaging more than 40 minutes a game. Del Negro logged 45 against Houston.

Popovich said Cory Alexander probably will begin seeing more floor time as the season wears down. Alexander only played 10 minutes against Houston, seven against Charlotte.

Newcomer Jamie Feick has been able to take advantage of the Spurs’ injury-depleted frontline. Feick played 17 minutes against Houston, 20 against Charlotte.

I've had the opportunity here,'' said Feick, who has been impressive with his hard-nosed inside play. It’s just too bad it’s because of injuries. My main job is rebounding and defense, and it’s what I focus on.‘’

Feick had signed four 10-day contracts this season, two with the Spurs, before signing for the rest of the season with San Antonio. Spurs note: Maxwell reiterated Tuesday that he is not guilty of infecting a Houston woman with herpes.

On Monday, a Houston judge granted a default judgment against him and ordered him to pay $592,000 to Sheila Rias. Neither Maxwell, nor any counsel for Maxwell, appeared for the trial.

That stuff is not true,'' Maxwell said as he left Tuesday's practice. I don’t even know who that woman is.‘’

Maxwell declined further comment.

A spokesperson at the 61st District Court said Maxwell now has three options - file a motion for a new trial; if that fails, take the case to an appeals court; or pay the amount assessed.

Maxwell reportedly will hire an attorney. There was none on record in the case. Maxwell said last year he does not have the herpes virus.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-27, By Glenn Rogers Express-News Staff Writer

值得欢呼的壮举 - 狼队在第三节的火热手感帮助他们取得对马刺的第四场胜利

这一次，圣安东尼奥在第四节没有得到任何意外的获胜机会。尽管马刺在最近输给夏洛特和休斯顿的比赛中保持了合理的差距，但他们还是在周三晚上被明尼苏达在阿拉莫圆顶球场以108-89的比分彻底击败。森林狼队以4-0的总比分横扫了马刺队，包括两次在圆顶球场的胜利。

由汤姆·古格利奥塔（Tom Gugliotta）的29分带领的狼队，在第三节以79%的投篮命中率击败了马刺。明尼苏达在本节打出了一波15-2的进攻高潮，将半场结束时的8分领先优势扩大到21分，然后以80-62的领先优势进入第四节。

“正是这些进攻高潮杀死了我们，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇（Gregg Popovich）说。“我们现在还没有做好应对这些的准备。让我们输球的正是对手那5到6分钟的快速进攻。”

马刺在第三节的投篮命中率只有35%（23投8中）。

狼队选择不进入半场阵地，而是打转换进攻，投进了空位跳投，并且快速地突破篮下完成上篮和扣篮。

“当我们采取包夹防守（时），他们确实抓住了我们的一些空位，”马刺队的艾弗里·约翰逊（Avery Johnson）说道。

马刺队继续紧逼，并在约翰逊完成一次上篮后，将比分追至95-82，比赛还剩5分钟左右。

但狼队主教练弗利普·桑德斯（Flip Saunders）在比赛还剩4分04秒时让凯文·加内特（Kevin Garnett）重新回到比赛中。加内特，他没有在第四节开始时首发，贡献了一次“3+1”，让明尼苏达在比赛还剩3分13秒时将比分拉开到98-82。

马刺队已经连续输掉了三场比赛，并且在过去的16场比赛中输掉了14场。他们将在周五开始为期六场的客场之旅，对手分别是奥兰多、华盛顿、夏洛特、芝加哥、多伦多和印第安纳。

多米尼克·威尔金斯（Dominique Wilkins）认为裁判们没有判罚，让马刺队的生活更加艰难。

“他们完全不尊重我们，”威尔金斯说道。“我们在场上被打得鼻青脸肿，却没有得到任何判罚。太荒谬了。这种情况已经持续了2到3周了。”

威尔·珀杜（Will Perdue）以19分领跑马刺队，追平了他的职业生涯最高得分，并抓下了17个篮板。

“场上没有比威尔更好的球员了，”约翰逊说。“这是他作为一名职业球员的最佳表现。”

古格利奥塔为狼队的进攻贡献了最多的力量，并且还抓下了9个篮板。他的跳投阻止了马刺队的反扑，并且点燃了明尼苏达队的进攻高潮。

“我想今晚有人能防守古格利奥塔，”波波维奇说。“他真是太棒了。”

贾米·菲克（Jamie Feick）在第三节还剩59.6秒时因用膝盖撞击迪恩·加勒特（Dean Garrett）的头而被罚下。

在争抢一个球的過程中，菲克和加勒特倒在了地上。菲克站起来，当他跨过加勒特时，用膝盖碰到了狼队的头部。

• 马刺队花絮：出席周三晚上比赛的NBA副总裁拉塞尔·格兰尼克（Russ Granik）表示，球队可能在赛季结束时从联盟获得300万美元的额外收入。

格兰尼克表示，在休赛期联盟收入统计完成后，将有1000万到1500万美元的资金可供中小市场球队使用。他说，最大的援助金额约为300万美元。

“市场规模将决定一个球队是否能获得部分资金，也就是电视观众数量的市场规模，”格兰尼克说。“一支球队应该能够根据其市场规模产生一定的收入。如果它达不到这个标准，它就有资格获得一些经济援助。”

• 波波维奇说，仍然因贫血而缺阵的弗农·马克斯韦尔（Vernon Maxwell）可能会在周五从奥兰多开始的为期六场的客场之旅中加入球队。

“他今天（血液检查）的结果还不错，”波波维奇说。“但我们希望他再做几次检查，然后再让他重新开始比赛。”

• 蒙蒂·威廉姆斯（Monty Williams）因手腕扭伤缺席了六场比赛，在对阵明尼苏达的比赛中上场了12分钟。

“他的手腕被撞了几次。我们看看它今天是否会肿胀，”波波维奇说。“他可能将在客场之旅中参加所有比赛。”

• 查克·珀森（Chuck Person）推迟了他的加州英格伍德市凯兰-乔布诊所之行，直到3月12日。他原本计划在周三前往该诊所进行进一步检查。

点击查看原文：Feat worth howling about - Wolves' hot hand in third provides 4th win over Spurs

Feat worth howling about - Wolves’ hot hand in third provides 4th win over Spurs

This time, there was no unexpected chance to win for San Antonio in the fourth quarter. Although the Spurs stayed reasonably close in recent losses to Charlotte and Houston, they simply were wolfed down 108-89 by Minnesota at the Alamodome on Wednesday night. The Timberwolves swept the season series from the Spurs 4-0, including two victories at the dome.

The Wolves, led by Tom Gugliotta’s 29 points, blew out the Spurs in the third period by shooting 79 percent from the field. Minnesota fashioned a 15-2 run in the quarter to extend an eight-point halftime lead to as many as 21, then take an 80-62 advantage into the fourth.

It's those runs that kill us,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. We’re just not built now so that we can overcome them. What does us in is just those five or six minutes when the other team runs on us.‘’

The Spurs countered with 35-percent shooting (8 of 23) in the third.

The Wolves elected not to settle into half-court, set plays and scored heavily in transition, putting down open jumpers and racing in for layups and dunks.

``They did catch us with some open stuffs when we trapped (on defense),‘’ said the Spurs’ Avery Johnson.

The Spurs continued to press and got to within 95-82 with less than five minutes to play after a Johnson layup.

But Wolves coach Flip Saunders sent Kevin Garnett back into the game with 4:04 left. Garnett, who did not start the fourth, contributed a three-point play that put Minnesota in front 98-82 with 3:13 left.

The Spurs have lost three straight and 14 of their last 16. The begin an six-game road trip Friday, with games against Orlando, Washington, Charlotte, Chicago, Toronto and Indiana.

Dominique Wilkins believes the referees are making life even more difficult for the Spurs by not making calls.

They show us no respect at all,'' Wilkins said. We get hammered in there and we get no calls. It’s ridiculous. It’s been going on for two or three weeks now.‘’

Will Perdue led the Spurs with 19 points, tying his career high, and grabbed 17 rebounds.

There was no player out there on the floor better than Will,'' Johnson said. That was his best game as a professional.‘’

Gugliotta did most of the Wolves’ offensive damage and added nine boards. His jumpers stymied the Spurs’ comeback attempts and ignited Minnesota’s runs.

I guess some team could have defended Gugliotta tonight,,'' Popovich said. He was just great.‘’

Jamie Feick was ejected with 59.6 seconds left in the third for kneeing Dean Garrett in the head.

Feick and Garrett hit the floor during a chase for a loose ball. Feick got up and, as he stepped over Garrett, brushed his knee against the Wolf’s head.

-Spurs notes: NBA deputy commissioner Russ Granik, attending Wednesday night’s game, said the team could be in line to receive $3 million of additional revenue from the league at the end of the season.

Granik said anywhere from $10 to $15 million will be available to small-market teams after league revenues have been compiled during the off-season. He said the largest amount of any aid would be about $3 million.

Market size will determine whether or not a team can receive a portion of the funds, (that is) market size in terms of the number of television households,'' Granik said. A team should be able to generate a certain amount of revenue according to the size. If it falls short, it could be in line for some financial assistance.‘’

-Popovich said Vernon Maxwell, still out with anemia, probably will join the team sometime during the six-game road trip that begins Friday in Orlando.

He had a pretty good test today (on blood count),'' Popovich said. But we want him to have a few good tests before he starts playing again.‘’

-Monty Williams, who missed six games with a sprained wrist, played 12 minutes against Minnesota.

He got it hit a few times. We'll see whether or not it swells (today),'' Popovich said. He probably will play all the games on the trip.‘’

-Chuck Person postponed his trip to the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Inglewood, Calif., until March 12. He had been scheduled to go to the clinic for further tests Wednesday.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-27, By Kevin O’Keeffe

波特对伤病缠身的马刺毫无同情

特里·波特(Terry Porter)，明尼苏达森林狼队的元老，是一位好人。在效力于波特兰开拓者队和现在的森林狼队的职业生涯中，波特一直积极参与社区服务，是一位值得尊敬的榜样。

因此，你可能会认为如果有人会同情伤病缠身的马刺队的困境，那一定是波特。

再想想吧。

“当我们无法竞争的时候，他们可没有担心过要战胜我们30分，”波特说，指的是马刺队对森林狼队的统治，森林狼队已经存在了八年。

的确如此。

马刺队在两队的前34场比赛中赢了30场。

然后就出现了“伤病之年”。

“我很抱歉大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)、肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和查克·帕森(Chuck Person)都受伤了，”波特说。“但是，嘿，在这个联盟里，就是你死我活的竞争。”

“我的看法是，我们要对马刺说，‘现在该轮到我们报仇了。’”

记住，这句话出自一位好人。

具有讽刺意味的是，如果前马刺队总经理鲍勃·巴斯(Bob Bass)在1985年如愿以偿，波特本应该在周三晚上出现在马刺队的更衣室里。

巴斯非常喜欢这位来自威斯康星州史蒂文斯波因特的后卫，并希望用第15顺位选中他。

但巴斯被加里·菲茨西蒙斯(Gary Fitzsimmons)否决了，加里的父亲卡顿(Cotton)当时是主教练。

这对父子选择了洛约拉大学(伊利诺伊州)的阿尔弗雷德里克·休斯(Alfredrick Hughes)。

还需要我多说吗？

“谁知道如果我一开始就来到圣安东尼奥，事情会怎样？”波特说。

首先，马刺队似乎无休止地寻找控卫的旅程在80年代末就永远不会发生。

波特在第24顺位被开拓者队选中，在那里担任控卫10个赛季，两次帮助开拓者队进入NBA总决赛（1990年和1992年）。

在1990年进入NBA总决赛的路上，波特和他的队友们不得不战胜马刺队，在西区半决赛中胜出，他们在波特兰的第七场比赛中通过加时赛以3分优势获胜。开拓者队在波特兰的第五场比赛中打进了双加时赛才获胜。

“那是一个伟大的系列赛，”波特回忆道。“大卫和肖恩当时还是新秀。他们是一支非常棒的球队。我们很幸运地战胜了他们。”

波特承认，他对开拓者队再也没有在季后赛中遇到马刺队感到惊讶。在那个系列赛之后，圣安东尼奥队实力下滑，在接下来的四个赛季中，在季后赛首轮中三度被淘汰。

马刺队更换了球员和教练，就像这个球队一贯的做法一样。

“有趣的是，有些事情就是会发生，”波特承认。

今年比这更明显不过了，今年比斯蒂芬·金(Stephen King)的小说还要恐怖。

尽管如此，周三对阵森林狼队的失利，让客队横扫了本赛季的系列赛，马刺队的球迷也不应该感到悲伤。

在目前的情况下，马刺队(13胜42负)只能通过输球来获胜，尽管这听起来很荒谬。

马刺队唯一的机会，鉴于他们的工资帽问题，就是进入NBA选秀抽签，并在抽签中拥有尽可能多的乒乓球。

输球带来更多的乒乓球。

并不是说这支马刺队在摆烂。

只是他们没有足够的球员来赢得比赛。

但这对球队来说是最好的。

对于马刺队来说，输球是一门好生意。

点击查看原文：Porter can find no pity in heart for ailing Spurs

Porter can find no pity in heart for ailing Spurs

Terry Porter, the elder statesman of the Minnesota Timberwolves, is one of the good guys. Active in community service throughout his career with the Portland Trail Blazers and now the T-Wolves, Porter is a role-model type.

Thus, you’d figure if anyone would empathize with the plight of the injury-riddled Spurs, it would be him.

Think again.

``They didn’t worry about beating us by 30 points when we couldn’t compete,‘’ Porter said, referring to the Spurs’ dominance of the T- Wolves, who are in their eighth year of existence.

True enough.

The Spurs won 30 of the first 34 games played between the two clubs.

Then came The-Year-Of-The-Ouch.

I'm sorry David (Robinson), Sean (Elliott) and Chuck (Person) are out,'' Porter said. But, hey, in this league, it’s a kill-or- be-killed attitude.

``The way I look at it, we’re saying, `Spurs, it’s time we get even.’ ‘’

Remember, that’s from one of the good guys.

Ironically, Porter might have been in the Spurs’ locker room Wednesday night had former Spurs general manager Bob Bass gotten his way in 1985.

Bass loved the Wisconsin-Stevens Point backcourt man and wanted to use the 15th pick in the draft to take him.

But Bass was overruled by Gary Fitzsimmons, whose father, Cotton, was head coach then.

That pair opted for Alfredrick Hughes of Loyola (Ill.)

Need I say more?

`Who knows how things would have turned out if I’d come to San Antonio in the first place?‘’ Porter said.

For one thing, the Spurs’ seemingly endless search for a point guard through the late '80s would never have had to take place.

Grabbed by Portland at No. 24, Porter manned the point there for 10 seasons, twice helping to guide the Blazers into the NBA Finals ('90 and '92).

En route to the '90 NBA Finals, Porter and crew had to outlast the Spurs in a tremendous Western Conference semifinals, taking Game 7 in Portland by three points in overtime. The Blazers had to go double- overtime to claim Game 5 in Portland.

That was a great series,'' Porter recalled. David and Sean were rookies. They were an excellent team. We were fortunate to get past them.‘’

Porter admits he was surprised the Blazers never met the Spurs again in the playoffs. S.A. slipped following that series, losing in the opening round of the playoffs in three of the next four seasons.

The Spurs changed players and coaches, as has been the wont of this franchise.

``Funny, how some things just happen,‘’ Porter allowed.

Never has that been more apparent than this year, which has been more gruesome than a Stephen King novel.

Still, Wednesday’s loss to the T-Wolves, which enabled the visitors to sweep the season series, should not be mourned by Spurs faithful.

At this juncture, the Spurs (13-42) can win only by losing, as contrived as that might sound.

The sole chance the Spurs have of improving the team, given their salary cap problems, is to be in the NBA Draft Lottery and have as many ping-pong balls in the hopper as possible.

Losing begets more ping-pong balls.

Not that this Spurs team is in the tank.

Simply, they don’t have enough players to have a chance to win.

But that’s what is best for the franchise.

For the Spurs, losing is good business.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1997-02-28, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer
马刺队的日程： 1）尝试避免客场惨败 - 艰苦征程在奥兰多开始

佛罗里达州奥兰多 - 马刺队希望这趟为期 10 天的 6 场客场之旅不会变成一场“北美巡回昏厥之旅”。无论你的预期如何，当马刺队晚上 6 点 30 分在奥兰多竞技场迎战复苏的魔术队时，他们将开启本赛季最长的客场之旅。

“这是所有客场之旅之母，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“我们对阵的球队、比赛安排的方式、一切都将很困难。”

即使是过去几个赛季中健康的马刺队，也可能在这趟旅途中遇到困难。

对手包括 4 支可能的季后赛球队，其中包括夺得 NBA 总冠军的热门球队 - 芝加哥公牛队。

第一个对手是奥兰多，该队目前以季后赛高顺位竞争者的身份表现。

佩妮·哈达威和其他球员在东部以 29-25 的战绩排在第八位，但如果他们在 4 月底季后赛开打之前提升到更高的位置，也不会让许多人感到惊讶。

在奥兰多之后，马刺队（13-42）将迎战季后赛希望队迈阿密热火队和夏洛特黄蜂队，然后是芝加哥公牛队。然后是多伦多猛龙队和印第安纳步行者队。最后四场比赛将在五天内进行。

马刺队本赛季还没与魔术队交手过。但本次回合的每一位其他对手都希望在早些时候在阿拉莫圆顶球场击败马刺队后，横扫两场常规赛系列赛。

马刺队因伤病而阵容实力受损，已经连续输掉三场，并且最近 26 场比赛输掉了 22 场。

“现在很难，”马刺队后卫文尼·德尔内格罗说。“我们刚刚进行了一场比赛（周三主场 108-89 输给明尼苏达森林狼队），其中出现了一点挫败感。在这趟旅途中，我们必须一次一个地面对他们，努力拼搏，聪明地比赛… 努力不让挫败感渗透进来。”

根本不要问他们对季后赛的希望。马刺队还有 27 场比赛，落后西部第八暨最后一个季后赛名额的萨克拉门托国王队 11 场。

在输给明尼苏达的比赛中，前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯表现得很努力，成为了一个亮点，在因手腕扭伤而缺席六场比赛后重返赛场。

他的存在将在对阵魔术队的比赛和周日下午在迈阿密的热火队的比赛中为马刺队提供九人轮换阵容。

患有贫血症的后卫弗农·马克西威尔可能会在夏洛特加入马刺队。有传言称他可能准备在周二晚上对阵黄蜂队时上场。

此外，前锋查尔斯·史密斯将在整个旅程中随队，但预计不会上场。自本周早些时候开始进行轻量级训练以来，马刺队一直在监测他右膝关节炎的进展情况。

波波维奇说：“我们预计他不会在这趟旅途中进行比赛，除非他的恢复速度远超我们预期。”史密斯自 11 月以来一直没有上场。

威廉姆斯说，他认为马刺队可以赢得至少两场比赛。

“我认为我们有机会赢两场，”威廉姆斯说，他对抗明尼苏达森林狼队时打了 12 分钟，得到 5 分。“在这个赛季的时候，一些球队会感到疲倦。我们应该有机会偷走几场。”

威廉姆斯原计划在今年夏天成为自由球员，在对阵森林狼队的比赛下半场摔倒后，他的左手腕再次加重了伤情。

威廉姆斯说：“这可能会困扰我到今年剩下的时间。” “但最讨厌的就是坐在场边了。我不喜欢看到其他球员试图自己去做。”

魔术队最近来了个彻底的翻盘，自从球队解雇了布莱恩·希尔作为主教练，并由希尔的原助理里奇·阿杜巴托临时替换他以来，已经连续赢得了五场比赛。

电视 KRRT，下午 6 点 30 分

电台 WOAI-AM，1200；西班牙语频道，KCOR-AM 1350

点击查看原文：Spurs' agenda: 1) Try to avoid being road kill - Arduous trip begins in Orlando

Spurs’ agenda: 1) Try to avoid being road kill - Arduous trip begins in Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Spurs are hoping that a 10-day, six-game road trip doesn’t turn into something like a ``Swoon Over North America Tour.‘’ Whatever your outlook might be, the Spurs open their longest trip of the season when they tip off at Orlando Arena against the rejuvenated Magic at 6:30 tonight.

It's the mother of all road trips,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. The teams we play, the way it’s set up, everything - it’s going to be difficult.‘’

Even a healthy Spurs team from one of the past few seasons might have a tough time on this trip.

The opposition includes four likely playoff teams, including the odds-on-favorite to win the NBA championship - the Chicago Bulls.

First up is Orlando, currently playing like a contender for a high playoff seed.

Penny Hardaway and friends have the eighth-best record in the East at 29-25, but it wouldn’t surprise many if they moved into a higher position by the time the postseason opens in late April.

After Orlando, the Spurs (13-42) will take on postseason hopefuls Miami and Charlotte, followed by Chicago. Then it’s on to Toronto and Indiana. The last four games will be played in five days.

The Spurs haven’t come face to face with the Magic this season. But every other opponent on the trip is looking to sweep the two-game season series after beating the Spurs earlier at the Alamodome.

Competing with an injury-depleted group, the Spurs have dropped three in a row and 22 of their last 26.

It's tough right now,'' Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro said. We just played a game (a 108-89 home loss to Minnesota on Wednesday) where a little bit of frustration set in. On this trip, we have to take them one at a time, play hard and play intelligently . . . try not to let the frustration seep in.‘’

Don’t even ask them about playoff hopes. The Spurs, with 27 games remaining, are lagging 11 games behind the Sacramento Kings for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

In the loss to Minnesota, forward Monty Williams played hard and emerged as a bright spot, returning to action after missing six games with a sprained wrist.

His presence will give the Spurs a nine-man rotation against the Magic, and against the Heat in Miami on Sunday afternoon.

Guard Vernon Maxwell, suffering from anemia, could join the Spurs in Charlotte. It is rumored that he may be ready to play against the Hornets on Tuesday night.

Also, forward Charles Smith will be with the team during the entire trip, but he is not expected to play. The Spurs are monitoring the progress on his arthritic right knee since he began light workouts earlier this week.

``We don’t expect him to play a game on this trip unless his recovery takes place a lot quicker than we anticipate,‘’ Popovich said. Smith hasn’t played since November.

Williams said he thinks the Spurs can win at least two games.

I think we'll have a chance to get a couple,'' said Williams, who played 12 minutes against Minnesota and scored five points. At this time of the season, some teams get tired. There should be a chance for us to steal a few.‘’

Williams, scheduled to be a free agent this summer, aggravated the left wrist again in a second-half fall against the Timberwolves.

This is probably going to mess with me for the rest of the year,'' Williams said. But I hate sitting on the side. I don’t like to see the rest of the guys trying to do it by themselves.‘’

The Magic have turned it around completely lately, winning five in a row since the team fired Brian Hill as head coach and replaced him on an interim basis with Hill’s former assistant, Richie Adubato.

TV KRRT, 6:30 p.m.

Radio WOAI-AM, 1200; in Spanish, KCOR-AM 1350

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-01, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer
马刺队在疲惫中开启客场之旅——威尔金斯在负于魔术的比赛中受伤

佛罗里达州奥兰多——周五晚上在奥兰多球馆中上演无能景象的马刺队，错失扣篮，跳投弹筐而出，并且因失误而丢球。在六场客场之旅的不详开局中，他们在以 94-73 输给奥兰多魔术队的比赛中创下了本赛季最低得分。

恰恰就在这时，真正糟糕的消息到来了。

马刺队报告称，前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯在第四节拉伤了右腿筋，使其在周日客场对阵迈阿密热火队的比赛中是否能出场成为问题。

威尔金斯说：“我（投篮）跃起，然后落地时有点别扭。”他在比赛中为马刺队拿到了 19 分，排名全队第一。“我感觉有点拉伤，开始肿胀起来。我现在必须敷点冰，（服用）一些消炎药。”

马刺队（13 胜 43 负）比赛开始时表现得并不算太差。他们缠住紧咬状态不错的魔术队（30 胜 25 负）一个多节，然后开始溃败。

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说：“总的来说，我们在上半场打得非常好。”“但我们的（快速）突破是 12 投 1 中，这对我们来说是致命的。我们有很多机会，但没有抓住它们。这就是上半场的故事。”

中场休息时，魔术队以 46-36 领先，但主队更衣室里没有人对此感到满意。他们在下半场加把劲，迫使马刺队犯下许多错误，并在里奇·阿杜巴托接任主教练后连续第六场取得胜利。

在比赛开始前，魔术队从阿杜巴托的头衔中移除了“临时”一词，并告诉他会指导球队度过本赛季余下的比赛，进入季后赛。

阿杜巴托在布莱恩·希尔于 2 月 18 日被解雇后就任指挥官。他说：“感觉很好。”“我知道至少在下一场比赛之前压力会减轻。压力会持续到周日，然后西雅图队就会到来，压力会很大。”

后卫佩妮·哈达威为魔术队拿到了 20 分，8 次助攻，5 次抢断和 5 个篮板。哈达威、布莱恩·肖和尼克·安德森也在马刺队的进攻中制造混乱，尤其是在下半场。

更糟的是，威尔金斯的弟弟杰拉德·威尔金斯替补为魔术队拿下了 16 分。在与哥哥的对决中，杰拉德·威尔金斯取得了 19-22 的战绩。

威尔金斯说：“我敢肯定他该死的会说个不停。”比赛结束后，他原计划与弟弟共进晚餐。“那就是杰拉德。”

马刺队本赛季开启了迄今为止最长的客场之旅，只有九名健康的球员，只能在第四节无奈摇着头，因为魔术队继续施加全场防守压力。

尽管比赛后期领先优势一度扩大到 23 分，但马刺队球员拒绝抱怨战术。

马刺队中锋威尔·珀迪说：“他们新换了教练，正在尝试一些事情。”“其中之一就是施压。这是球队试图提高成绩的标志。很明显，里奇·阿杜巴托希望他们变得更好。”

阿杜巴托指出，本赛季初哈达威等人因伤缺席时，没有人对魔术队表现出太多同情。

他说：“当时场上没有大卫·罗宾逊。”“没有查克·帕森和肖恩·埃利奥特（为马刺队）。”这是巨大的火力，但当我们受伤时，也没有人真正怜悯我们。我们只是试着走出去，以一点强度进行比赛。”

马刺队本赛季之前的得分低点出现在 11 月，当时他们在客场以 74-68 击败克利夫兰骑士队。他们在本赛季 13 次得分在 70 分左右。

随着客场之旅的继续，他们还面临着其他一些令人担忧的迹象，即最近 27 场比赛中输掉 23 场，以及关于罗宾逊和埃利奥特何时能回归的消息。

马刺队落后西部第八个及最后一个季后赛席位 11 场比赛。

个人来说，文尼·德尔内格罗在安德森等人施压下，艰难地拿到了 13 分。威尔金斯 17 投 7 中，德尔内格罗 14 投 6 中。

马刺队札记

魔术队对希尔保持沉默：奥兰多总经理约翰·加布里埃尔拒绝透露前马刺队教练鲍勃·希尔是否会在本赛季结束后接管魔术队。

加布里埃尔说：“我刚刚选择不谈任何候选人。”

马刺队于 12 月 10 日解雇了希尔，担任主教练。当魔术队于 2 月 18 日解雇布莱恩·希尔（与希尔没有任何关系）担任主教练时，鲍勃·希尔的的名字立即浮出水面成为远期候选人。——杰瑞·布里格斯

点击查看原文：Spurs start road trip in weary way - Wilkins injured in loss to Magic

Spurs start road trip in weary way - Wilkins injured in loss to Magic

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Spurs, a picture of futility Friday night at Orlando Arena, missed dunks, clanged jumpers off the rim and coughed the ball up on turnovers. In an ominous beginning to a six-game road trip, they rang up a season-low in points during a 94-73 loss to the Orlando Magic. That was precisely when the really bad news came in.

The Spurs reported that forward Dominique Wilkins strained his right hamstring in the fourth quarter, leaving his playing status in question for Sunday’s game in Miami against the Heat.

I went up (for a shot) and came down on it kind of funny,'' said Wilkins, who led the Spurs with 19 points. I felt it kind of pull. It started to swell up on me. Now I have to get some ice on it and (take) some anti-inflammatories.‘’

The Spurs (13-43) weren’t too bad at the beginning. They hung around and stayed with the streaking Magic (30-25) for a little more than a quarter, and then they started to fall apart.

Overall, we played the first half pretty well,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. But we were 1 for 12 on our (fast) break, and that was a killer for us. We had opportunities and didn’t take advantage of them. That was the story of the first half.‘’

At intermission, the Magic led 46-36, but nobody in the home team dressing room was really satisfied with it. They turned it on in the second half, forcing the Spurs into numerous mistakes, and ran off to their sixth victory in a row since Richie Adubato took over as head coach.

Before the game, the Magic took the ``interim’’ out of Adubato’s title and told him he would guide the team for the rest of the season and into the playoffs.

It feels good,'' said Adubato, who assumed command when Brian Hill was fired on Feb. 18. I know that the pressure’s off for at least another game. The pressure’s off until Sunday, and then Seattle will come in and the pressure will be on heavy.‘’

Guard Penny Hardaway led the Magic with 20 points, eight assists, five steals and five rebounds. Hardaway, Brian Shaw and Nick Anderson also created chaos in the Spurs’ offense with their pressure, particularly in the second half.

To make matters worse, Wilkins’ younger brother Gerald Wilkins pumped in 16 points off the bench for the Magic. In matchups with his older brother, Gerald Wilkins improved to 19-22.

I'm sure he'll talk all damn night,'' said Dominique Wilkins, who was scheduled to have dinner with his younger sibling after the game. That’s just Gerald.‘’

The Spurs, starting their longest road trip of the year with only nine healthy players, could only shake their heads in the fourth quarter as the Magic continued to apply defensive pressure all over the floor.

Although the lead grew to as much as 23 late in the game, Spurs players declined to whine about the tactics.

They have a new coach and they're trying to work on some things,'' said Spurs center Will Perdue. One of those things is the press. It’s a sign of a team trying to make improvement. Obviously, Richie Adubato wants them to get better.‘’

Adubato pointed out that nobody had much sympathy for the Magic when they were missing Hardaway and others earlier in the season with injuries.

There was no David Robinson out there,'' he said. There was no Chuck Person and no Sean Elliott (for the Spurs). That’s a lot of firepower, but no one really had mercy on us when we were hurt, either. We just tried to go out and play with a little intensity.‘’

The Spurs’ previous low in scoring this season came in November, when they defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 74-68 on the road. They have scored in the 70s on 13 occasions this season.

As the road trip continues, they are also confronted with a few other signs of distress, namely losses in 23 of their last 27 games and no word on when Robinson and Elliott will return.

The Spurs are 11 games out of the eighth and final playoff position in the West.

Individually, Vinny Del Negro fought though pressure from Anderson and others to score 13 points. Wilkins shot 7 of 17 from the field and Del Negro 6 of 14.

- - -

Spurs Notes

- Magic mum on Hill: Orlando general manager John Gabriel declined to address whether former Spurs coach Bob Hill is a serious candidate to take over the Magic after this season.

``I’ve just elected not to talk about any candidates,‘’ Gabriel said.

The Spurs fired Hill as head coach on Dec. 10. When the Magic fired Brian Hill (no relation) as their head coach on Feb. 18, Bob Hill’s name surfaced immediately as a long-range candidate. - Jerry Briggs

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-02, By Jerry Briggs, Spurs Beat

威金斯兄弟的言语交锋，杰拉德获胜

迈阿密 - 马刺队前锋多米尼克·威金斯(Dominique Wilkins)预测，他的弟弟杰拉德在魔术队以94-73战胜马刺队后会“垃圾话”不断。多米尼克是对的。

杰拉德·威金斯(Gerald Wilkins)在评论魔术队在下半场快速进攻的扣篮盛宴时，对奥兰多哨兵报说道：“我们过了一会儿才开始进入状态。我们像飞一样，感觉就像我们才是（哈林）环球旅行者。”

而马刺队则看起来像是华盛顿将军队。

• 回击：周三回到阿拉莫穹顶，一场中西部赛区的竞争诞生了。

明尼苏达森林狼队，他们在加入NBA的头七年中，在与马刺队的34场比赛中输掉了30场，本赛季完成了对马刺队四场比赛的横扫。

年轻且才华横溢的森林狼队以108-89痛击马刺队，彻底扭转了他们对这支曾经是西部联盟顶尖球队的战绩。

在这个赛季令人惊讶的伤病困扰中，马刺队在一些联盟常年的垫底球队面前输得最惨。

他们在温哥华灰熊队身上以1-3落后，在纽泽西篮网队身上以0-2落后。他们以0-3落后于洛杉矶快船队，并且以0-1落后于波士顿凯尔特人队，还有一场比赛要打。

在大多数情况下，马刺球迷相信，当大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)、肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和其他伤员在下赛季恢复状态后，局面将会扭转。

但马刺队与森林狼队的未来会怎样呢？球迷不得不怀疑，即使在马刺队恢复健康后，这两支球队在未来几个赛季中是否会势均力敌。

明尼苏达队可能拥有联盟中最优秀的年轻控球后卫斯蒂芬·马布里(Stephon Marbury)。马刺队后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)称马布里是NBA中带球速度最快的组织者，和凯文·约翰逊(Kevin Johnson)一样快。

凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett)，一位身高7英尺的球员打小前锋位置，是一位令人惊叹的健壮运动员，他只会变得更好。

而那些看到大前锋汤姆·古格里奥塔(Tom Gugliotta)在最近一次对阵马刺队的比赛中投进了12投11中的人，可以证明他的投篮能力。

在比赛结束后，马刺队在低迷的更衣室里，没有什么可以用来报复的。没有人谈论下赛季。不，马刺队被彻底打败了。

但即使没有说出这些话，你也可以从一些马刺队的表情中看出来，明尼苏达队是一支大胆且爱说大话的球队，他们将在1997-98赛季吸引马刺队的注意。

• 费克反击：来自密歇根州立大学的马刺队新秀杰米·费克(Jamie Feick)，在被罚出场后，激化了与明尼苏达队的潜在竞争。

在第一节，古格里奥塔突破篮筐。费克用手挡住了森林狼队前锋的脸，把他撞倒了。

在第三节，加内特感受到了费克的怒火。在追逐一个球时，身高6英尺9英寸，体重255磅的费克头朝下俯身去抢球，接近马刺队的替补席。失去平衡的加内特撞到他身上，摔倒在座位上。

费克站起来，走向加内特。费克之前在篮下被撞了好几次却没有得到裁判的哨声，他把腿和膝盖拉到加内特头上。

费克因为对古格里奥塔犯规而被判罚犯规，并且因为对加内特犯规而被判罚技术犯规，随后他被罚出场，这是他年轻职业生涯中的第一次。

费克，在残酷的十大联盟中磨练了牙齿，他说他并没有想和森林狼队发生冲突。

“第一个（对古格里奥塔）我只是想阻止一个轻松的进球，”他解释说。“那些都是规则。教练说没有轻松的进球。我是去抢球的，但我撞到他了，他摔得很重。”

“第二个，我是去抢球，他（加内特）踢到我的腿，”他说。“当我站起来的时候，我只是走过去。然后裁判把我罚出场了。”

点击查看原文：Wilkins war of words won by Gerald

Wilkins war of words won by Gerald

MIAMI - Spurs forward Dominique Wilkins predicted his brother Gerald would be talking trash after Gerald and the Magic mashed the Spurs, 94-73, Friday night in Orlando. Dominique was right.

Gerald Wilkins, commenting on the Magic’s fast-paced, second-half dunkathon, told the Orlando Sentinel, ``We sort of got things rolling there after awhile. We were flying, and it sort of felt like we were the (Harlem) Globetrotters.‘’

The Spurs, on the other end, sort of looked like the Washington Generals.

-Right back at you: Back home at the Alamodome on Wednesday, a Midwest Division rivalry was born.

The Minnesota Timberwolves, who had dropped 30 of 34 games to the Spurs in their first seven years of NBA existence, completed a sweep of this season’s four-game series.

The young and talented T-Wolves thrashed the Spurs 108-89, completely reversing their fortunes against a team that had been one of the Western Conference’s elite.

All during this season’s amazing string of crippling injuries, the Spurs have fallen the hardest against some of the league’s perennial doormats.

They have gone down 3-1 to the Vancouver Grizzlies and 2-0 to the New Jersey Nets. They trail the Los Angeles Clippers 3-0 and the Boston Celtics 1-0 with one game to play.

In most cases, Spurs fans are resting assured that things will turn around when David Robinson, Sean Elliott and the rest of the walking wounded return to form next season.

But what about the future of the Spurs-Timberwolves series? Fans have to wonder whether these two teams may be playing on nearly even terms over the next few seasons, even after the Spurs get healthy.

Minnesota may have the best young point guard in the league in Stephon Marbury. Spurs guard Avery Johnson calls Marbury the quickest playmaker in the NBA with the ball - as quick as Kevin Johnson.

Kevin Garnett, a 7-footer playing small forward, is an amazing physical specimen who will only get better.

And those who saw power forward Tom Gugliotta drain 11 of 12 shots on the Spurs in the latest encounter can attest to his hoop ability.

In a downcast locker room after the game, there wasn’t much woofing the Spurs could do about revenge. Nobody was talking any nonsense about next season. No, the Spurs had been thoroughly beaten.

But even though words weren’t spoken to the effect, you could tell in some of the Spurs’ expressions that Minnesota is a team - brash and talkative - that will command their attention in 1997-98.

-Feick strikes back: Jamie Feick, a Spurs rookie from Michigan State, stirred the budding Minnesota rivalry when he was tossed out of the game.

In the first quarter, Gugliotta drove to the basket. Feick, putting a hand in the T-Wolves forward’s face, knocked him down.

In the third quarter, Garnett felt Feick’s fire. Chasing a loose ball, the 6-foot-9, 255-pound Feick dove for it headlong near the Spurs bench. An off-balance Garnett fell over him and landed on the seat of his pants.

Feick got up and walked into Garnett. Feick, who had been getting hammered under the basket a few times with no calls, dragged his leg and knee into Garnett’s head.

Feick, called for a flagrant foul against Gugliotta, was whistled for a technical on the play against Garnett and was promptly kicked out for the first time in his young career.

Feick, who cut his teeth in the rough-and-tumble Big Ten, said he wasn’t trying to start anything with the Timberwolves.

The first one (on Gugliotta) I was just trying to stop an easy basket,'' he explained. Those are the rules. Coach says there are no easy baskets. I was going for the ball, but I hit him and he went down hard.

On the other one, I dove for the ball and he (Garnett) hit me in the leg,'' he said. When I got up, I just walked over him. That’s when the referee threw me out.‘’

To leave a message for Jerry Briggs, call ExpressLine at 554-0500 and punch 7292, or e-mail jbriggs@express-news.net.

By Jerry Briggs, Spurs Beat, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-02, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

医师！多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)受伤，马刺的困境加剧

迈阿密 - 由于多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)的腿筋拉伤，他将无法参加今天下午 2:30 对阵迈阿密热火的比赛，马刺队在周六再次改变了战术。 “今天我们练习了阵地进攻，以及针对压迫防守和压迫的进攻，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在当地一个健身中心进行了为时一小时的训练后说道。

波波维奇被迫寻找更加自由的进攻方式，因为他知道自己失去了威尔金斯，他原本是马刺队的主要低位威胁，并且很可能在接下来的客场之旅中缺席。

客场之旅还剩五场比赛，对手分别是迈阿密、夏洛特、芝加哥、多伦多和印第安纳。蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)将顶替威尔金斯首发。

但是，在没有队内得分王的情况下，马刺队的进攻会是什么样子，谁也不知道。

“我们没有同样的低位威胁，”波波维奇谈到伤缺的威尔金斯、大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)时说道。“我们必须做出一些改变。”

周五晚上在奥兰多对阵魔术队的客场之旅首场比赛中，马刺队创下了赛季最低得分，以 73-94 输掉了比赛。

在比赛接近尾声时，威尔金斯跳起投篮，落地时感觉腿筋一阵撕裂。

“它仍然很疼，”威尔金斯说道，他在短暂的训练中无法跑步。“昨晚我冰敷并服用了消炎药。我根本无法上场。”

现年 37 岁的威尔金斯，步伐比巅峰时期慢了许多，但他仍然渴望在重大比赛中成为焦点。而这场比赛将对阵东部联盟战绩第三的球队，并且将在 NBC 上进行全国直播。

“你知道，我想要上场，”他说。

波波维奇表示，马刺队只剩下 8 名健康球员，他们可能会考虑在短期内签下一名球员，签署 10 天合同。

与此同时，即使面对热火队（42-15），尽管他们连续两场输球，因为球队全明星中锋阿朗佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)受伤，马刺队（13-43）预计也会很艰难。

莫宁的脚底肌腱撕裂，这可能让他缺席几周。

“没什么区别，”波波维奇说道，否认了关于热火队在没有莫宁的情况下他会看到哪些变化的谈论。“他们会以完全相同的方式比赛。显然，他们在低位的进攻威胁不会那么大。”

魔术队通过全场紧逼的防守，迫使马刺队出现了 24 次失误，他们在马刺队半场进攻时，也通过堵截传球线路做出了几次拦截。

“迈阿密没有奥兰多那么有运动能力，”马刺队后卫科里·亚历山大(Cory Alexander)说道。“但他们的防守很侵略性。可能不像奥兰多那样，但我们会看到一些压迫。”

热火队在 12 月 23 日在圣安东尼奥以 90-79 击败了马刺队，从那一天起，马刺队的赛季开始走下坡路。罗宾逊在比赛中脚部骨折，此后一直没有上场。

结果，马刺队的输球次数与过去两个赛季的总和一样多。他们已经确定这是他们自 1989 年以来第一个输球的赛季，那是罗宾逊来到马刺队之前的一年。

“这表明大卫·罗宾逊有多么宝贵，”亚历山大说道。“你不能低估这一点。这也表明拥有完整的阵容有多么重要。我们有很多球员接连倒下。但我们是职业球员。没有人会对我们表示同情。”

点击查看原文：Medic! Spurs' woes worsen with news of Wilkins injury

Medic! Spurs’ woes worsen with news of Wilkins injury

MIAMI - The Spurs switched gears again Saturday in the wake of a strained hamstring that will keep Dominique Wilkins out of today’s 2:30 contest against the Miami Heat. ``Today we worked on a motion offense and offense against pressure defense and presses,‘’ Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said after a one- hour practice at a local fitness center.

Popovich was forced to look at a more free-lance style after he learned that he had lost Wilkins, his primary post-up threat, for what likely will be the remainder of the road trip.

There are five games left on the trip, against Miami, Charlotte, Chicago, Toronto and Indiana. Monty Williams will start in place of Wilkins.

But it’s anybody’s guess what the Spurs’ offense will look like without its leading scorer.

We don't have the same (post-up) threats,'' Popovich said, talking about the absence of injured Wilkins, David Robinson and Sean Elliott. We have to do something different.‘’

The Spurs recorded a season-low in points when they dropped the opener on the trip Friday night in Orlando against the Magic, 94-73.

Near the end of the game, Wilkins went up for a shot, came down and felt something tug at his hamstring.

It's still sore,'' said Wilkins, who couldn't run on it during the short workout. Last night I had the ice on it and took the anti-inflammatories. There’s just no way I can play.‘’

Wilkins, a step slower at age 37 than he was in his prime, still craves the spotlight of a big game. And this one will be against a team with the third-best record in the Eastern Conference, regionally televised on NBC.

``You know I want to be out there,‘’ he said.

Down to eight healthy players again, the injury-scarred Spurs may look harder at signing someone to a 10-day contact in the interim, Popovich said.

In the meantime, the Spurs (13-43) can be expected to struggle, even against a Heat team (42-15) that has lost two in a row in the absence of injured All-Star center Alonzo Mourning.

Mourning has a torn tendon on the bottom of his foot, an injury that could keep him out several more weeks.

No difference,'' Popovich said, dismissing talk about any changes he might see from the Heat without Mourning. They’ll play the exact same way. Obviously, they won’t have the same offensive threat down low.‘’

Orlando forced 24 Spurs turnovers with a harassing defense that picked up ball handlers all over the floor. The Magic also made several deflections by jamming the passing lanes in the Spurs’ half- court sets.

Miami's not as athletic as Orlando,'' Spurs guard Cory Alexander said. But their defense is aggressive. It might not be the same as Orlando, but we’ll see some pressure.‘’

The Heat beat the Spurs 90-79 in San Antonio on Dec. 23, the date on which the Spurs’ season turned sour. Robinson broke a bone in his foot during the game and hasn’t played since.

As a result, the Spurs have stacked up as many losses as they did in the last two seasons combined. They have clinched their first losing season since 1989, the year before Robinson arrived.

It shows how valuable David Robinson is,'' Alexander said. You can’t downplay that. It also shows the importance of having a complete team. We’ve had guys drop like flies. But we’re pros. Nobody is going to show any sympathy for us.‘’

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-02, By Glenn Rogers, Around the NBA

教练解雇意味着改变，但会更好吗？

那么，他们现在做得怎么样呢？今年，一大批教练被解雇了，因为球队糟糕的表现让焦虑的老板和总经理们忍无可忍。

结果如何呢？你自己判断吧。

菲尼克斯太阳队在赛季开始时遭遇了 0-8 的糟糕战绩，球队提前解雇了教练科顿·菲茨西蒙斯(Cotton Fitzsimmons)。丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge)接手了球队，如今太阳队的战绩是 21-36。

布莱恩·温特斯(Brian Winters)带领温哥华灰熊队取得了 8-35 的糟糕战绩，也被解雇了。灰熊队在斯图·杰克逊(Stu Jackson)的带领下，战绩有所提升，目前为 11-48。

吉米·莱纳姆(Jimmy Lynam)带领华盛顿子弹队取得了 22-23 的战绩，这支球队原本被预测为大西洋赛区的有力竞争者。莱纳姆被解雇后，子弹队在伯尼·比克斯塔夫(Bernie Bickerstaff)的带领下取得了 25-31 的战绩，进入周六晚上的比赛。

比克斯塔夫带领丹佛掘金队取得了 4-9 的战绩，离任后加盟了华盛顿子弹队。掘金队现在的战绩是 17-40。

如果比克斯塔夫读到尼克·范·埃克塞尔(Nick Van Exel)在湖人战胜子弹队后说的话，可能会感到有些沮丧：“那些球员看起来对教练很沮丧，我们看到后就想把他们打趴下。”

不用提醒大家，鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)在圣安东尼奥马刺队取得 3-15 的战绩后被解雇。也不用提醒大家，马刺队在格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的带领下取得了 13-43 的战绩。

布莱恩·希尔(Brian Hill)被解雇了，因为球员们投票决定不再让他执教。临时教练里奇·阿杜巴托(Richie Adubato)习惯于取代主教练，他执教后取得了 6-0 的战绩。这还不错，但还有很多时间。

显然，解雇教练不是万能的，更明智的做法是关注球员，以及他们可能遇到的伤病或疾病。也许唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)在清理达拉斯小牛队更衣室的时候的想法是对的。但考虑到尼尔森在勇士队最后的几年和在尼克斯队的执教经历，说他有很多好主意，实在有点牵强。

小牛队教练吉姆·克里蒙斯(Jim Cleamons)现在最好开始整理自己的 NBA 人脉了，因为如果尼尔森盯上了他，他就得找一个新的工作。

- 谁会愿意呢？魔术队的解雇事件引发了独特的反响——人们担心取代布莱恩·希尔(Brian Hill)。

奥兰多魔术队的老板据说已经列出了一份快速教练候选人名单，包括里克·皮蒂诺(Rick Pitino)、查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)和鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)。

可能只有希尔，他很喜欢在奥兰多的时光，才会在没有严重顾虑的情况下前往佛罗里达州的球队。

皮蒂诺坚称他无意离开肯塔基大学，但他表达了对布莱恩·希尔被解雇的担忧。

“在奥兰多，有些教练这么说——不是我在说——‘谁愿意在这种环境下执教，球员们只是经历了一段短暂的连败就被解雇了一位受欢迎的教练。’也许我们不知道事情的全部真相。但我知道布莱恩·希尔，他是一个很好的人。”

- 乐透黄金？对于那些认为选秀抽签是纯金的人，这里有一个提醒：

吉姆·杰克逊(Jim Jackson)从达拉斯小牛队转会新泽西篮网队，只是 1992 届 NBA 新秀的其中一个转会案例。在那届选秀的前 15 名选手中，已有 11 人效力过两支或以上球队，包括沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)、阿隆佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)、克里斯蒂安·莱特纳(Christian Laettner)和汤姆·古格里奥塔(Tom Gugliotta)。在这前 15 名选手中，只有丹佛掘金队的拉方索·埃利斯(LaPhonso Ellis)、克拉伦斯·韦瑟斯彭(Clarence Weatherspoon)、布莱恩特·斯蒂思(Bryant Stith)和马利克·西利(Malik Sealy)仍在被选中他们的球队效力。

还有更多：1991 届选秀的前 15 名选手中，已有 13 人转会其他球队，1993 届选秀的前 15 名选手中有 10 人，1994 届选秀的前 15 名选手中有 8 人。

- 挥金如土：丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)继续挥金如土，至少他把钱花在了未来可能用得着的地方。这位篮板球王表示希望在下个赛季重返芝加哥公牛队，并向公牛队提出了一个非同寻常的提议。

“我希望看到（运营主管）杰里·克劳斯(Jerry Krause)给我开出一张 1000 万美元的支票，然后将其存起来，直到赛季结束后。如果我完成了工作，就付给我这笔钱。如果我没有完成工作，他就可以留着这笔钱。我认为你应该先做好你的工作，然后再拿钱，”罗德曼说道。

马刺队可能会被这番话噎住。当马刺队在罗德曼在这里的最后一个赛季之前没有续约他的合同时，他感到非常愤怒，并且在整个赛季中时不时地给所有人制造麻烦。

也许他认为他在第一年已经赚够了这笔钱，因为他在那一年的表现让约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas)的生活变成了地狱。

但丹尼斯仍然是一个吸睛人物：在以罗德曼为主角的耐克运动鞋电视广告发布的第一周，耐克公司的股票在纽约证券交易所上涨了 37%。

点击查看原文：Coach firings spell change, but for the better?

Coach firings spell change, but for the better?

So how are they doing now? A host of coaches have bitten the dust this year, cast off when the team’s performance upset and worried owners and general managers.

Did it do any good? You be the judge.

Phoenix jettisoned Cotton Fitzsimmons a little early on the timetable when the Suns started the season 0-8. Danny Ainge jumped into the first seat. Phoenix now is 21-36.

Brian Winters was dispatched to the deep freeze in Vancouver after posting an 8-35 record. The Grizzlies since have clawed their way to an 11-48 overall mark under Stu Jackson.

Jimmy Lynam wobbled along to a 22-23 mark with the Bullets, a team forecast to contend for the Atlantic Division crown. He was fired through the bore and the Bullets were 25-31 overall under Bernie Bickerstaff going into Saturday night’s game.

Bickerstaff staggered to a 4-9 record with the Nuggets, departed and went to the Bullets. The Nuggets now are 17-40.

Bernie’s blood may have curdled a bit if he read this quote from Nick Van Exel after a Lakers win over the Bullets: ``The players over there looked like they were frustrated with the coach and, seeing that, we wanted to take it to them.‘’

No need to remind that Bob Hill was canned right here in San Antonio when he amassed a 3-15 mark. No need to remind that the Spurs are now 13-43 overall under Gregg Popovich.

Brian Hill got the bloody ax after his players voted they didn’t want him around anymore. Interim coach Richie Adubato, accustomed to replacing head coaches, has since compiled a 6-0 record. Not bad at all, but there’s still plenty of time.

Clearly, firing coaches is no cure-all and the sharper and wiser eye might keep watch on the players and whatever injuries or illnesses may be afoot. Perhaps Don Nelson had the right idea when he cleaned out his Mavericks locker room. But after Nelson’s disastrous final years with the Warriors and his stint with the Knicks, it’s a stretch to say he has too many bright ideas.

Mavs coach Jim Cleamons best be working his NBA Rolodex right now, preparing for a soft place to land if Nellie casts that stern eye in his direction.

- Who would want it? The Magic firing has unique fallout - fear of replacing Brian Hill.

The Orlando ownership group reportedly compiled a quick wish list of coaching candidates that included Rick Pitino, Chuck Daly and Bob Hill.

Probably only Hill, who loved his stay in Orlando, would venture to the Florida franchise without serious misgivings.

Pitino maintained he has no interest in leaving Kentucky but expressed his concerns over the firing of Brian.

``In the Orlando situation, there are coaches out there saying - and this isn’t me talking - `Who wants to coach in that environment when the players just got on a modest losing streak and fired a popular coach.’ Maybe we don’t know the whole story. But I know Brian Hill, and he’s a wonderful man.‘’

- Lottery gold? Here’s a note for all those who see pure gold in the lottery:

Jim Jackson’s move from Dallas to New Jersey was just one of the relocations for the NBA’s Class of '92. Of the top 15 picks in that draft, 11 already have played for two or more teams, including Shaquille O’Neal, Alonzo Mourning, Christian Laettner, and Tom Gugliotta. Of that Top 15, only Denver’s LaPhonso Ellis, Clarence Weatherspoon, Bryant Stith and Malik Sealy still are with the teams that selected them.

There’s more - 13 of the top 15 picks in 1991 have moved on to other teams, 10 of the top 15 from the 1993 draft and eight of the 15 best from 1994.

- Free spender: Dennis Rodman continues to be free with his money - at least money that might come in handy down the road. The rebounder says he’d like to return to Chicago next season and he has made the Bulls an unusual offer.

``What I’d like to see is (operations chief) Jerry Krause write me out a check for $10 million and set it aside until after the season. If I do the job, then pay me the money. If I don’t do my job, then he can keep the money. I believe you should do your job first and then get paid,‘’ Rodman said.

The Spurs might choke at that. Dennis was irate when the Spurs wouldn’t extend his contract prior to his last season here and made life miserable for one and all off and on throughout the year.

Maybe he figured he had already earned the money during his first year, when he made life all but a living hell for John Lucas.

But Dennis remains a magnet: During the first week of the television commercials featuring Rodman promoting Converse sneakers, the price of Converse shares rose 37 percent on the New York Stock Exchange.

By Glenn Rogers, Around the NBA, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-03, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺队在迈阿密陷入僵局——但威廉姆斯对热火构不成威胁

迈阿密——在小前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯受伤后，马刺队为迈阿密热火队制定了动态进攻战术。但事实证明，大部分的动态是蒙蒂·威廉姆斯冲过脚步沉重的贾马尔·马什本。

尽管威廉姆斯获得了职业生涯最高的 28 分，但马刺队目睹了一场由 NBC 在区域内播出的比赛在最后时刻陷入僵局，他们在迈阿密球场以 79-72 不敌马什本和热火队。

“我获得了比赛机会，”替补威尔金斯在小前锋位置上先发的威廉姆斯说，“以我的看法，如果我不抓住机会，其他人就会抓住。”

威廉姆斯的合同在明年生效，但这位来自圣母大学的三年级球员表示，随着赛季临近尾声，他在着眼于更大的目标，这可能让马刺队获得抽签资格。

“不是为了得到另一份合同，”威廉姆斯说道，他在面对篮筐的精彩特技动作中投进了 17 次投篮中的 11 次，“是为了留在联盟。”

热火队（43 胜 15 负）结束了连续两场失利，避免了从大西洋赛区榜首跌落的命运。热火队在没有全明星中锋阿朗佐·莫宁的情况下，战绩提升至 2 胜 2 负。

对于状态不佳的马刺队（13 胜 44 负），他们可以就伤病问题向热火队讲述一两件事。全明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊几乎整个赛季都缺席，这拖累了球队。

马刺队已遭遇五连败，过去 11 场比赛输掉 10 场，过去 28 场比赛输掉 24 场。

输给迈阿密的后果还包括他们在客场之旅中战绩 0 胜 2 负，而这次客场之旅还将继续进行四场比赛，包括下周二晚上在北卡罗来纳州夏洛特的下一场比赛。

球队得分王威尔金斯至少在剩余的客场比赛时间内出局，由于右腿筋拉伤，他可能还会缺席更长时间。马刺队通过在周六晚上晚些时候与前锋乔·科特尼签下一份为期 10 天的合同来应对伤病。

“小伙子们今天表现得很好，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇说道，他看到球队连续第二次创造本赛季最低得分，“他们的防守轮转和冷静表现得非常好。我要求不了更多的东西，当然，除非结果是获胜。”

在 2 月 14 日以来首次先发上场后，威廉姆斯贡献了 39 分钟的表现，这有时会让备受瞩目的马什本感到沮丧，马什本得到了 15 分。

马什本最近在与达拉斯小牛队的交易中来到热火队。

“蒙蒂非常激进，”波波维奇说，“我们改变了进攻策略，做了一些不同的尝试。我们花了一天时间来制定计划，我认为我们执行得很好。”

马刺队比热火队更具侵略性，在第一节比赛中以七分领先，并在第二节开始时拉开多达 12 分的差距。

第四节中段，热火队重新获得了优势，进入了最后 6:45 的比赛，此时他们以 74-62 领先。

从那时起，马刺队打出了稳健的防守，让热火队四分钟以上没有得分，并且在中锋威尔·帕度剩下的 2:26 时间里的三分进攻中将分差缩小到 74-70。

“他们富有侵略性，”热火主教练帕特·莱利谈到马刺队时说，“他们不让我们获得好机会。威尔·帕度让我们不得不改变投篮方式。”

正如这个赛季的惯例一样，马刺队无法维持这种势头。

他们在最后五分钟内罚丢了 8 个罚球中的 4 个，最后还有几个倒霉的失败。在马刺队防守明显得到控制后，控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊三次未能确保控球权。

当比赛只剩不到一分钟时，蒂姆·哈达威在篮下单打投篮不中，而约翰逊在底线附近抢到篮板后踩出了界外。

这导致了迈阿密的另一投——中锋艾萨克·奥斯汀投篮不中——热火队的 P.J. 布朗抢到前场篮板，然后哈达威在剩下的 28 秒内投进了致命的罚球。

哈达威命中投篮后，瞥了波波维奇一眼，他以一种恶作剧般的邪恶目光致敬了他之前在金州勇士队担任的助理教练，而此时现场观众因热火队 78-70 领先而欢呼雀跃。

“蒂米用这记罚球将我们钉在耻辱柱上，”波波维奇说，“他似乎天生就是要这么做。”

奥斯汀得到 15 分和 15 个篮板。布朗得到 16 分和 11 个篮板，而哈达威一直努力为队友制造机会，得到 11 分和 10 次助攻。

马刺队的前锋卡尔·埃雷拉表现出色，得到 18 分和 12 个篮板。后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗自重返首发阵容以来一直处于进攻状态，得到 16 分。

• 马刺队新闻：前锋乔·科特尼在周六晚上晚些时候与马刺队签下一份为期 10 天的合同，加盟了他的第八支 NBA 球队。科特尼在对阵迈阿密的比赛中出场 9 分钟，命中 4 次投篮中的 1 次，得到 2 分。

助理教练保罗·普雷西和迈克·布登霍尔泽立即开始与科特尼合作，在周六午夜左右在球队酒店与他讨论战术。

科特尼还曾效力于芝加哥公牛队、金州勇士队、菲尼克斯太阳队、密尔沃基雄鹿队、夏洛特黄蜂队、克利夫兰骑士队以及最近的费城 76 人队。76 人队在他完成了一份为期 10 天的合同后于 1 月 27 日将他释放。

• 当威廉姆斯在还剩 5.1 秒时命中上篮时，马刺队避免了创下球队在单场比赛中的历史最低得分。1995 年 4 月他们在对阵波特兰的比赛中曾得到 71 分，创造了球队的最低得分记录。

马刺队在周五晚上以 94-73 输给了奥兰多魔术队。负于热火队是球队本赛季第 14 次得分在 70 分以内。

点击查看原文：Spurs get caught in Miami vise - But Williams no treat for Heat

Spurs get caught in Miami vise - But Williams no treat for Heat

MIAMI - The Spurs drew up a motion offense for the Miami Heat in the wake of an injury to forward Dominique Wilkins. But as it turned out, most of the motion turned out to be Monty Williams bolting past a flat-footed Jamal Mashburn.

Despite a career-high 28 points from Williams, the Spurs saw a rally fizzle at the end of the NBC regionally televised game and they dropped a 79-72 decision to Mashburn and the Heat at Miami Arena.

I've been given an opportunity to play,'' said Williams, starting in Wilkins' position at small forward. The way I look at it, if I don’t take advantage of it, someone else will.‘’

Williams is in the last year of his contract, but the third-year player from Notre Dame said he is looking at a bigger picture as the season winds down for what probably will be a Spurs lottery finish.

It's not about getting another contract,'' said Williams, who hit 11 of 17 shots from the field on some acrobatic moves to the basket. It’s about staying in the league.‘’

Miami (43-15) broke a two-game losing streak and avoided a fall from the top spot in the Atlantic Division. The Heat improved to 2-2 without injured All-Star center Alonzo Mourning.

For the fading Spurs (13-44), they could tell the Heat a thing or two about injuries. They have been without All-Star center David Robinson virtually the entire year and it is dragging them down.

The Spurs have lost five in a row, 10 of their last 11 and 24 of their last 28.

The setback against Miami also dropped them to 0-2 on a road trip that will continue with four more games, including their next encounter Tuesday night in Charlotte, N.C.

Wilkins, the team’s leading scorer, is out for at least the remainder of the trip and possibly longer with a strained right hamstring. The Spurs responded to the injury by signing forward Joe Courtney to a 10-day contract late Saturday night.

The guys were great today,'' said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who saw his team produce a season-low point total for the second straight outing. Their rotations on defense and their composure were excellent. I couldn’t ask for anything more, unless it turned out to be a win, of course.‘’

In response to his first start since Feb. 14, Williams turned in a 39-minute performance that, at times, frustrated the more-heralded Mashburn, who scored 15.

Mashburn came to the Heat recently in a trade with the Dallas Mavericks.

Monty was very aggressive,'' Popovich said. We changed offenses to do some different things. We had a day to put it in and I thought we ran it pretty well.‘’

The Spurs looked more aggressive than the Heat early, running off to a seven-point lead after the first period and going up by as many as 12 early in the second.

By the middle of the fourth, the Heat had regained the advantage and took a 74-62 lead into the final 6:45.

From there, the Spurs played sound defense, held the Heat without a point for more than four minutes and pulled to within 74-70 on a three-point play by 7-foot center Will Perdue with 2:26 remaining.

They were aggressive,'' Heat coach Pat Riley said of the Spurs. They didn’t let us get a good shot. Will Perdue was making us change our shots.‘’

The Spurs, as has become customary this season, couldn’t sustain the momentum.

They missed 4 of 8 free throws in the final five minutes and, at the end, had a few bad breaks go against them. After apparent stops by the Spurs’ defense, point guard Avery Johnson on three occasions couldn’t secure the possession.

The killer came with less than a minute remaining when Tim Hardaway missed a runner in the lane and Johnson stepped out of bounds after he got the rebound near the baseline.

It led to another Miami shot - a miss by center Isaac Austin - an offensive rebound by the Heat’s P.J. Brown and then the killing three-pointer by Hardaway with 28 seconds remaining.

Hardaway glanced at Popovich after he hit the shot, giving his former assistant coach at Golden State the mock evil-eye as the crowd erupted in cheers at a 78-70 lead by the Heat.

Timmy drove that stake in us with the three,'' Popovich said. It seems like he’s born to do that.‘’

Austin finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds. Brown had 16 points and 11 rebounds and Hardaway, looking to set up his teammates all afternoon, had 11 points and 10 assists.

Spurs forward Carl Herrera put in a good day with 18 points and 12 boards. Guard Vinny Del Negro, who has been on an offensive roll since moving back into the starting lineup, scored 16.

-Spurs notes: Forward Joe Courtney joined his eighth NBA team when he signed a 10-day contract with the Spurs late Saturday night. Courtney played nine minutes against Miami, hitting 1 of 4 shots and scoring two points.

Assistant coaches Paul Pressey and Mike Budenholzer started working with Courtney immediately, going over plays with him at the team hotel around midnight Saturday.

Courtney has also played with Chicago, Golden State, Phoenix, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Cleveland and, most recently, Philadelphia. The 76ers released him after he completed a 10-day contract Jan. 27.

-The Spurs avoided establishing an all-time franchise low for points in a game when Williams hit a layup with 5.1 seconds left. Their lowest-scoring effort came in April 1995 with 71 points against Portland.

The Spurs lost 94-73 at Orlando on Friday night. The loss to the Heat marked the 14th time this season the team has scored in the 70s.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-03, By Kevin O’Keeffe

前马刺球员肯农成为了一位汽车销售员

拉里·肯农正在开会，突然 North Park 林肯水星接待员呼叫了他。肯农，在马刺期间更广为人知的名号则是“K 先生”，几分钟之后便出现在了展厅里，迎接一位老熟人。

但当看到我的时候，肯农显得有些失望。

“就是他们告诉我说我有客户了，”肯农打着哈哈说。“结果我马上赶了过来，看到你后就说，‘这不是客户，这只是凯文。’”

他特意指出，这没有什么个人恩怨。

如今在汽车经销商担任新车销售员的肯农更愿意做生意，而非回忆过去。

事实上，他的同事们在和他交谈时，都被他很少谈论自己的 NBA 往事而感到惊讶。

“如果我是个前球员的话，我会利用这点，”曾在 KMOL-TV 工作过的销售员杰西·埃雷拉说道，他曾是拉雷多电视台的一名体育主播。

埃雷拉说，肯农在 North Park 非常受欢迎，K 在那里工作了超过五个月。

“我们都被拉里的工作努力程度惊到了，”埃雷拉说。“他很出色。”

我一点也不惊讶。

奇怪的是，如今有一代马刺球迷从未见过肯农打球。

肯农是 20 世纪 70 年代末期成功的那支马刺队的不可或缺的一员。在乔治·格文和詹姆斯·西拉斯的光芒之下，肯农也是一股不容圣安东尼奥人小觑的力量。

这实在太遗憾了。

但当肯农 1973 年从孟菲斯州职业生涯开始时，他也必须生活在另一位球员的阴影之下。K 先生最初效力于 ABA（美国篮球协会）的纽约篮网队，在那儿他只是朱利叶斯·欧文的“搭档”前锋。

肯农于 1975 年 6 月 3 日来到圣安东尼奥，和迈克·盖尔一起来，交换条件是斯温·纳特——当时他是马刺队基石球员之一。

很快，肯农就证明了自己是一个改变局势的关键人物。

看看马刺的媒体指南就知道肯农在早期的 NBA 生涯中有多么重要。

1976-1980 年间，他一直都是球队的篮板王——尽管身高只有 6 英尺 9 英寸。1977-1979 年间，他一直都是球队罚球命中率最高的球员，并且在 1976-1979 年间的上场时间也最长。

肯农的数据使他在 1978 年和 1979 年成为了 NBA 全明星，并使他跻身于 1976-1977 赛季联盟篮板前 10 名，以及 1976-1980 赛季联盟得分前 20 名。

肯农仍然是马刺队历史上的篮板第 4 位、抢断第 6 位和罚球命中率第 5 位。

而且……当马刺队在 1976 年 10 月 27 日首次在 NBA 中进行主场比赛时，是肯农而不是格文成为得分最高的球员。K 先生的 41 分使马刺队在菲尼克斯得胜。

然而令人难以置信的是，在 1983 年宣布的马刺队的十年全明星阵容中，肯农并未入选。对我来说，这就好像在没有保罗·里维尔的全殖民者阵容中一样。

肯农的 35 号球衣也尚未被马刺队退役——不忘提醒。

肯农的 NBA 生涯于 1983 年春天在金州勇士队黯然收场。

由于对马刺队付给他的钱财不满意——这是 20 世纪 70 年代末 80 年代初所有球队成员的共同抱怨——肯农在 1980 年 9 月 12 日与芝加哥公牛队签署了一份自由球员合同。

“那是很久以前的事了，我几乎已经不记得了，”肯农说。“但我可以告诉你，我不想念打球。哦，刚开始退役的时候，我想念那些家伙，我想念日以继夜的挑战。”

今天，他的挑战是向你出售一辆汽车。在选择在 North Park 林肯水星工作之前，肯农在圣安东尼奥经营了自己多年的汽车批发业务。

“我知道许多人对汽车销售员都有偏见，”肯农笑着说。

但与“红色”·麦克康布斯——汽车销售之王和马刺队前老板——的一席谈话缓解了肯农的不安。

“我享受这份工作，”肯农说。“但我仍然在学习。”

尽管并不常去马刺队的比赛，肯农仍然和前队友格文和盖尔打高尔夫球。

“我还给 GG（格文）卖过一辆车，”肯农自豪地说。

肯农最应该感到自豪的是，他不仅仅是一个生活在过去的过气运动员。

他在这个新领域里非常努力。他就像当年冲锋陷阵的快攻马刺队一样，艰苦奋战，他们最伟大的时刻仍然保留在 1979 年春天，距离 NBA 总决赛只有两分钟的时间。

点击查看原文：Ex-Spur Kenon making points as car salesman

Ex-Spur Kenon making points as car salesman

Larry Kenon was in a meeting when the receptionist at North Park Lincoln Mercury paged him. Kenon, better known as ``Mr. K’’ during his days with the Spurs, appeared in the showroom a few moments later to greet an old acquaintance.

But Kenon had rather a disappointed look when he saw me.

It's just that they told me I had a customer,'' said Kenon, breaking into a laugh. And I got here, saw you and said, `That’s no customer. That’s only Kevin.’ ‘’

Nothing personal, he noted.

You see, Kenon, now in new car sales at the dealership, would rather be doing business than reminiscing.

In fact, in speaking with his co-workers, they are amazed at how little he talks of his NBA past.

``If I were a former player, I’d use that,‘’ said salesman Jesse Herrera, who spent time at KMOL-TV and was a sports anchor with a TV station in Laredo.

Herrera said Kenon is well liked at North Park, where K has been working for a little more than five months.

All of us are impressed with how hard Larry works,'' Herrera said. He’s good.‘’

No surprise to me.

It’s odd to imagine that there is now nearly a generation of Spurs fans who never saw Kenon play.

Kenon was an integral part of the successful Spurs teams during the late 1970s. Playing in the shadow of George Gervin and James Silas, Kenon was a force that few in San Antonio appreciated.

And that’s too bad.

But Kenon also had to live in another player’s shadow when he arrived in the pros from Memphis State in 1973. Mr. K began with the ABA’s New York Nets and was the ``other’’ forward there next to Julius Erving.

Kenon came to San Antonio on June 3, 1975, along with Mike Gale, in exchange for Swen Nater, who at that time was one of the cornerstones of the Spurs’ franchise.

Quickly, Kenon proved to be a difference-maker.

A glance at the Spurs’ media guide shows how important Kenon was in the those early NBA years.

He led the team in rebounding from 1976-80 - at 6-foot-9, no less. He led the team in free-throw percentage from '77-79 and was tops in minutes played from '76-79.

Kenon’s numbers made him an NBA All-Star in '78 and '79 and placed him among the top 10 in rebounding in the league in '76-77 and top 20 in scoring from '76-80.

Kenon remains fourth all-time in rebounds, sixth all-time in steals and fifth all-time in free-throw percentage in Spurs’ history.

And . . . when the Spurs played their first home game in the NBA on Oct. 27, 1976, it was Kenon, not Gervin, who was the leading scorer. K’s 41 points paced the Spurs by Phoenix.

Incredibly, though, Kenon was not named on the Spurs’ all-decade team announced in '83. To me, that’s a little like having an all- colonists team without Paul Revere.

Mr. K’s No. 35 jersey also has yet to be retired by the Spurs - hint, hint.

Kenon’s NBA career ended in relative obscurity with the Golden State Warriors in the spring of '83.

Unhappy with the money he was getting from the Spurs, a common complaint by all members of the franchise in the late '70s and early '80s, Kenon signed a free-agent contract with the Chicago Bulls on Sept. 12, 1980.

That's all so long ago, I can hardly recall it,'' Kenon said. But I can tell you, I don’t miss playing. Oh, when I first got out, I missed the fellows. I missed the night-in and night-out challenge.‘’

Today, his challenge is to sell you a car. Kenon owned his own car wholesale business in San Antonio for several years before electing to work at North Park Lincoln Mercury.

``I know the preconceived ideas too many people have about car salesmen,‘’ said Kenon, laughing.

But a talk with B.J. ``Red’’ McCombs, the king of car salesmen and former Spurs owner, allayed Kenon’s fears.

I've enjoyed this,'' Kenon said. But I’m still learning.‘’

Although not a regular at the Spurs’ games, Kenon still plays golf with former teammates Gervin and Gale.

``I even sold GG (Gervin) a car,‘’ Kenon said with pride.

What Kenon also should be most proud of is that he’s not simply an ex-jock living in his past.

He is working hard at this new endeavor. As hard as he worked when leading the fast break for those run-and-gun Spurs, whose greatest moment remains being within two minutes of the NBA Finals in the spring of '79.

By Kevin O’Keeffe, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-04, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺远征前一天的平静——圣安东尼奥对阵黄蜂的比赛考验其进攻能力

夏洛特，北卡罗来纳州——马刺为期 10 天的公路旅行第五天，他们得到休息。星期一，球队乘坐其租赁的喷气式飞机飞往城镇，然后直接前往酒店放松身心。“我们会让他们放松一下，”马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“我们不可能进行训练。我们接下来将在五天内进行四场比赛。我们需要尽可能补充能量。”

马刺希望在今晚 6 点 30 分在夏洛特球馆迎战势头正旺的黄蜂队时，打破五连败。

在六场公路旅行中，马刺队以 0-2 落后，今晚将背靠背对阵夏洛特，然后在星期三对阵芝加哥，接着在星期五对阵多伦多和星期六对阵印第安纳。

马刺队因后卫弗农·麦克斯韦尔的到来而获得对阵黄蜂队急需的帮助，此前他因贫血缺席了最近七场比赛。

但在唐米尼克·威尔金斯因腿筋拉伤至少缺席到旅行结束的情况下，马刺似乎没有必要的力量来挑战任何人。

例如，他们在星期天下午在迈阿密将热火队压制在 79 分，这是一次坚实的防守努力，在大多数情况下都足以获胜。

但他们仍然以 79-72 输掉了比赛。当马刺队需要开火时，进攻火力根本不存在。

对阵迈阿密，马刺队有蒙蒂·威廉姆斯，他职业生涯最高得分 28 分，除了卡尔·埃雷拉（18 分）和文尼·德尔内格罗（16 分）之外没有任何得分。

“我们有很多人出局，”威廉姆斯说。“大卫·罗宾逊、肖恩·艾利奥特和唐米尼克·威尔金斯出局了。你根本无法填补他们的位置。我只是打小前锋，尽我所能做到最好。”

中锋威尔·珀杜表达了对威尔金斯的伤势严重性的担忧，威尔金斯在旅行的第一场比赛中马刺队在奥兰多以 94-73 失利比赛的第四节中受伤。

“我们最近还有其他伤病，我们没有签约任何人，我们只是等待球员回来，”珀杜说。“我担心我们不得不签下另一名球员（星期天达成 10 天协议的乔·考特尼）。这可能是一个迹象，表明尼克的伤势比他承认的要严重。”

威廉姆斯今晚将全力以赴对付联盟中最炙手可热的球员之一。夏洛特的格伦·莱斯在过去 15 场比赛中场均得到 30.5 分，在此期间黄蜂队取得了 12 胜 3 负的战绩。

“他们是一支打得很棒的球队，”马刺后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说。“我们了解他们的教练戴夫·考恩斯（去年是马刺助理教练）。他今年可能会成为年度最佳教练。我们必须尝试减缓莱斯和安东尼·梅森的速度。”

2 月 24 日，莱斯得到 33 分，梅森得到 24 分和 16 个篮板，黄蜂队以 96-84 战胜马刺队。

“无论你做什么，格伦·莱斯都会投篮的，”马刺前锋卡尔·埃雷拉说。“你只需要控制他，让他尽可能困难。这很艰难，因为他们做了很多事情让他用这么多掩护摆脱防守。”

点击查看原文：Spurs' day calm before the swarm - S.A.'s visit to Hornets' nest puts limping offense to test

Spurs’ day calm before the swarm - S.A.‘s visit to Hornets’ nest puts limping offense to test

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - On the fifth day of the Spurs’ 10-day road trip, they rested. The team flew into town Monday on its chartered jet, then went straight to the hotel for some relaxation. We're going to let 'em get off their feet,'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. There’s no way we can practice. We have four games in five nights coming up. We’re going to need all the energy we can get.‘’

The Spurs are hoping to snap a five-game losing streak when they meet the red-hot Hornets tonight at 6:30 in the Charlotte Coliseum.

On the six-game road trip, the Spurs are 0-2 with back-to-back games scheduled tonight against Charlotte and then Wednesday in Chicago, followed by another back-to-back set at Toronto on Friday and at Indiana on Saturday.

The Spurs will get some much-needed help against the Hornets with the arrival of guard Vernon Maxwell, who has missed the last seven games with a case of anemia.

But without injured Dominique Wilkins, who will sit out at least through the end of the trip with a strained hamstring, the Spurs don’t seem to have the necessary firepower to challenge anyone.

For instance, they held the Heat to 79 points on Sunday afternoon in Miami, a solid defensive effort that should have been good enough to win in most cases.

But they still lost 79-72. Offensive firepower is just not there when the Spurs need to turn it on.

Against Miami, the Spurs had Monty Williams, who scored a career- high 28 points, and little else other than Carl Herrera (18 points) and Vinny Del Negro (16).

We have so many guys out,'' Williams said. We have David Robinson, Sean Elliott and Dominique Wilkins out. There’s no way you can fill those shoes. I’m just playing at small forward, trying to do the best I can.‘’

Center Will Perdue expressed concern about the severity of the injury to Wilkins, who was hurt in the fourth quarter of the Spurs’ 94-73 loss at Orlando on the first game of the trip.

We've had other injuries lately where we haven't signed anyone, where we just waited for the player to get back,'' Perdue said. It concerns me that we had to go sign another player (Joe Courtney, who came in on a 10-day deal Sunday). Maybe it’s a sign that Nique’s injury is more serious than he’s letting on.‘’

Williams will have his hands full with one of the hottest players in the league tonight. Charlotte’s Glen Rice has averaged 30.5 points per game over the last 15 games, a stretch during which the Hornets have gone 12-3.

They are a team playing great basketball,'' Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. We know about their coach, Dave Cowens (a Spurs assistant last year). He may be the Coach of the Year this year for the job he’s doing. We’re going to have to try and slow down Rice and Anthony Mason.‘’

Rice scored 33 and Mason had 24 points and 16 rebounds in the Hornets’ 96-84 victory over the Spurs Feb. 24.

Glen Rice is going to get off his shot no matter what you do,'' Spurs forward Carl Herrera said. You just try to contain him, make it as difficult as possible for him. It’s tough because they do a lot to get him open with so many picks.‘’

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-05, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer
马刺再失一员大将：帕杜伤退

北卡罗来纳州夏洛特——周二晚上，马刺以 98-105 负于夏洛特黄蜂后，主教练格雷格·波波维奇发泄了自己的不满。他并不是因为一系列令人头晕目眩的失利而生气：在今晚对阵卫冕 NBA 冠军公牛队的芝加哥比赛中，马刺队已经连续六次失利。这次客场之旅的开局战绩也不是 0-3。

波波维奇为又一次伤病而勃然大怒。

这真的让我很生气''，波波维奇说。这已经超出了荒谬的程度。这简直太疯狂了。‘’

马刺队的替补中锋威尔·帕杜在第一节拉伤腿筋，受伤后坚持打了 27 分钟，然后在第四节末期慢慢走向替补席——伤势太重无法继续比赛。

帕杜不确定自己是否能够在今晚对阵自己的前球队时出场。

帕杜说：我来到（更衣室）并将其包扎了起来''，他在对阵黄蜂队的比赛中得到 12 分并拿下 7 个篮板。回到场上后，它似乎并没有恶化。但我不知道明天会有什么感觉。‘’

帕杜是马刺队在途中因腿筋受伤而失去的第二名球员，这次六场比赛的远征将于周五在多伦多和周六在印第安纳进行。

多米尼克·威尔金斯在周五奥兰多的开场战中受伤，此后一直没有上场。他至少要缺席接下来的三场比赛，可能还会更久。没有人确定特许经营中心大卫·罗宾逊或前锋肖恩·埃利奥特本赛季是否会再次上场。

（马刺队后卫）埃弗里（约翰逊）告诉我，他认为可能是水出了问题''，马刺队前锋卡尔·埃雷拉开玩笑说，他在马刺队中以 21 分领跑。不到一周的时间里，有两三名球员受伤。太令人惊讶了。不过，我认为明年我们会回来。我们会变得非常好。‘’

现在，对于已经输掉了最近 29 场比赛中的 25 场的马刺来说，情况非常糟糕。在这连败中，他们在 26 场比赛中有四名或更多球员因伤缺阵。

不管他们是否做好准备，他们今晚将以 13-45 的战绩前往芝加哥，面对公牛队，公牛队在主场已经取得了 21 连胜，总战绩为 51-7。

马刺可能已经输掉了一堆比赛。但至少他们没有失去他们的竞争优势。当有人提出西方半球没有多少人相信他们有能力对抗公牛队时，前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯怒不可遏。

我很高兴你没有打球''，威廉姆斯告诉一名记者。如果我们这么想，我们就会惨败。我们会努力比赛，争取胜利。‘’

埃雷拉连续第二场打出了稳扎稳打的比赛，在 15 次投篮中命中 9 次。文尼·德尔·内格罗得到 17 分，威廉姆斯得到 15 分，这是自接替威尔金斯担任首发小前锋后第二次得分上双。

韦农·马克斯韦尔因贫血缺席了最近的七场比赛，他在 21 分钟内替补出场得到 14 分。

但对于得到大前锋安东尼·梅森（19 分、13 个篮板、12 次助攻）的三双和最近被评为 NBA 月度最佳球员的格伦·莱斯 24 分的黄蜂队来说，这还不够。戴尔·库里从替补席上得到 20 分，杀死了马刺队。

黄蜂队教练戴夫·考恩斯在过去两个赛季担任马刺队助理教练，他横扫了自己的前雇主。夏洛特（38-22，在东部联盟中排名第六）几周前在圣安东尼奥赢得了两场比赛中的第一场比赛，以 12 分优势获胜。

那些家伙打得太努力了''，考恩斯说。我认为教练们做得很出色。他们真的对你施加了压力，他们是一群非常有韧性的人。你知道，那里有很多骄傲。埃弗里（约翰逊）和文尼，那些家伙有自豪感，他们一直在努力比赛。‘’

在赛前介绍中，当球迷们想起德尔·内格罗在北卡罗来纳州立大学的时光时，他受到了热烈的掌声。当德尔·内格罗在比赛的开场分钟内开始对黄蜂发起猛攻时，同一位球迷们陷入了沉默。

德尔·内格罗在上半场得到 13 分。他完成了一系列跳投和冲向篮筐的奔跑，马刺队紧随其后，仅在下半场落后 54-52。

在第三节，马刺队在进攻中诡异地远离了德尔·内格罗。直到这一节的最后五分钟，他才看到球。在那一点上，他连续错过四个。下半场他七投五失。

你只需要承受打击''，德尔·内格罗说。在上半场，感觉非常好。下半场我错过了几个本该投进的球。‘’

周日在对阵迈阿密的比赛中得到 18 分的埃雷拉表示，在失利期间表现出色并不能让他感到满足。

美联社

夏洛特中锋马特·盖格（52）在第一场比赛中击打了马刺队前锋卡尔·埃雷拉投出的球，但他最终击中了埃雷拉。

马刺队笔记

- 罗宾逊更新：马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇说，他无法预测中锋大卫·罗宾逊本赛季是否能够重返赛场。

``我没有猜测’'，他说。

波波维奇是在《今日美国》周二版的一篇采访发表后发表上述言论的，暗示罗宾逊可能要到下个赛季才能再次上场。

简而言之，他的回归迫在眉睫''，波波维奇告诉《今日美国》的大卫·杜普雷。我担心的是他是否健康。如果要等到明年，那很好。‘’

在周二夏洛特比赛前被要求详细说明时，波波维奇说他的本意只是说罗宾逊不会很快回来。

``具体是什么时间，我们不知道’'，他说。

罗宾逊于 12 月 23 日摔断了脚趾骨。波波维奇说，他可能还要再过几个星期才能在篮球场上做任何事情。- 杰里·布里格斯

点击查看原文：Hamstrung again: Spurs lose Perdue

Hamstrung again: Spurs lose Perdue

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - After the Spurs lost 105-98 to the Charlotte Hornets on Tuesday night, Coach Gregg Popovich vented his frustration. He wasn’t mad at the dizzying string of setbacks: six in a row going into tonight’s game at Chicago against the defending NBA- champion Bulls. It wasn’t the 0-3 record on this road trip.

Popovich fumed over yet another injury.

This really makes me angry,'' Popovich said. This is beyond the point of ridiculous. It’s just crazy.‘’

Spurs reserve center Will Perdue pulled a hamstring in the first quarter, played 27 minutes after he hurt it and then walked slowly to the bench - too sore to continue -late in the fourth period.

Perdue isn’t certain whether he will be able to play tonight against his former team.

I came in (the dressing room) and got it taped up,'' said Perdue, who put up 12 points and pulled down seven rebounds against the Hornets. It didn’t seem to get any worse after I went back in. But I don’t know how it’s going to feel tomorrow.‘’

Perdue is the second player the Spurs have lost to a hamstring injury on the trip, a six-game trek that will continue at Toronto on Friday and at Indiana on Saturday.

Dominique Wilkins went down in the opener at Orlando on Friday and hasn’t played since. He is out for at least the next three games, possibly longer. And nobody is certain whether franchise center David Robinson or forward Sean Elliott will play again this season.

(Spurs guard) Avery (Johnson) told me he thinks it might be something in the water,'' joked Spurs forward Carl Herrera, who led the Spurs with 21 points. Two or three guys get hurt in less than a week. It’s amazing. But next year I think we’re going to be back. We’re going to be very good.‘’

Right now, things are going very badly for the Spurs, who have lost 25 of their last 29 games. In that string of losses, they have had four or more players out with injuries in 26 of the games.

Ready or not, they will take a 13-45 record into Chicago tonight to face the Bulls, who have won 21 in a row at home and have posted a 51-7 record overall.

The Spurs may have lost a bunch of games. But at least they haven’t lost their competitive edge. Forward Monty Williams bristled when it was suggested that not many people in the Western Hemisphere believe that they have a chance against the Bulls.

I'm glad you're not playing,'' Williams told a reporter. If we think like that, we’ll go in and lose by 60. We’re going to go in and play hard to win.‘’

Herrera enjoyed his second solid game in a row, hitting nine of 15 shots from the floor. Vinny Del Negro scored 17 points and Williams added 15, his second game in double figures since taking over at starting small forward for Wilkins.

Vernon Maxwell, out for the last seven games with anemia, came off the bench with 14 points in 21 minutes.

But it wasn’t enough to match the Hornets, who got a triple-double from power forward Anthony Mason (19 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists) and 24 points from Glen Rice, the recently named NBA Player of the Month. Dell Curry killed the Spurs with 20 points off the bench.

Hornets coach Dave Cowens, an assistant with the Spurs the last two seasons, picked up a sweep of his former employers. Charlotte (38-22, good for sixth in the Eastern Conference) won the first game of the two-game set by 12 points a few weeks ago in San Antonio.

Those guys are playing so hard,'' Cowens said. I think the coaches are doing a good job with them. They really put pressure on you and they’re a very resilient bunch. You know, there’s a lot of pride over there. Avery (Johnson) and Vinny, those guys have pride and they play hard all the time.‘’

During pregame introductions, Del Negro received an ovation from fans who remembered his days as a collegian at North Carolina State. Those same fans fell silent as Del Negro started to torch the Hornets in the opening minutes of the game.

Del Negro scored 13 in the first half. He hit a variety of jumpers and running drives to the hoop as the Spurs stayed close, trailing only 54-52 at intermission.

In the third quarter, the Spurs went strangely away from Del Negro in the offense. He didn’t see the ball much until the last five minutes of the quarter. At that point, he missed four in a row. He misfired on five of seven in the second half.

You just have to roll with the punches,'' Del Negro said. In the first half, I felt real good. I missed a couple I should have made in the second half.‘’

Herrera, who scored 18 against Miami on Sunday, said he can’t take much satisfaction in playing well during losses.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Charlotte center Matt Geiger (52) swats away a first-half shot by Spurs forward Carl Herrera but winds up swatting Herrera in the process.

Spurs Notes

- Robinson update: Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he can’t predict whether center David Robinson will be able to return to action this season.

``I don’t have a guess,‘’ he said.

Popovich made the comment in the wake of an interview published in Tuesday’s editions of USA Today, hinting that Robinson might not play again before next season.

In short, his return isn't imminent,'' Popovich told USA Today's David DuPree. What I’m concerned is that he is healthy. If that isn’t until next year, fine.‘’

Asked before Tuesday’s game in Charlotte to elaborate, Popovich said all he meant to say was that Robinson wouldn’t be returning soon.

``When that date is, we don’t know,‘’ he said.

Robinson broke a bone in his foot Dec. 23. Popovich said he may not be cleared to do anything on the basketball court for another couple of weeks. - Jerry Briggs

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-06, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

马刺惨遭公牛暴虐

芝加哥 - 至少，卫冕 NBA 总冠军芝加哥公牛队在周三晚上没有对马刺队做出任何下三滥的举动。但他们几乎做了所有其他事情来激怒他们来自西部联盟的对手，在联合中心以 111-69 的比分将马刺队打得落花流水，创下马刺队史单场得分最低纪录。

“比赛结束了吗？”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇（Gregg Popovich）在他的赛后开场白中开玩笑地说道。“只要比赛结束了，我就没问题。”

前马刺球员丹尼斯·罗德曼（Dennis Rodman）在 1995-96 赛季之前被交易到公牛队，没有出现在比赛现场。由于在周一晚上争抢篮板时击打密尔沃基雄鹿队的乔·沃尔夫（Joe Wolf）的腹股沟，罗德曼正在执行联盟对其处以的一场禁赛。

但是，面对阵容不整的马刺队，公牛队并没有他的缺席。

斯科蒂·皮蓬（Scottie Pippen）得到 19 分，迈克尔·乔丹（Michael Jordan）得到 16 分，而公牛队窒息般的防守将圣安东尼奥队的总得分和投篮命中率（30.6%）限制在球队历史最低水平。

马刺队在这两项指标上的此前最差表现出现在 1995 年 4 月对阵波特兰的比赛中，当时他们的投篮命中率为 30.7%，得分 71 分。

“他们绝对比我们强，”波波维奇说。“我知道我们带着（缺乏）得分来到这里会很麻烦。像公牛这样的球队会放大这种差距。”

圣安东尼奥队在为期最长的客场之旅中，连续两晚打了两场比赛，最终被对手彻底压制，输掉了本赛季最大分差的比赛。

前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯（Monty Williams）以 19 分领衔球队得分。

“我们是在对阵世界上最好的球队，你们看到了结果，”威廉姆斯说。“很难说发生了什么。我们必须看录像才能知道。今晚，他们派上替补，并保持了这样的势头。”

事实上，公牛队的替补得分（50 分）超过了马刺队的先发（38 分）。而芝加哥队是在没有托尼·库科奇（Toni Kukoc）的情况下完成这一壮举的，他是联盟中最顶级的第六人之一。库科奇因脚后跟疼痛被列入伤病名单。

公牛队主教练菲尔·杰克逊（Phil Jackson）也对他的球队总体表现感到失望。

“我不想让这件事变得很费劲，”杰克逊说。“但这场比赛是那种你一年中只会看到一两次的比赛，它让你怀疑你是否让比赛倒退了。我们的投篮命中率很糟糕（40.8%）。我们打得和对手水平相当。”

圣安东尼奥队的中锋威尔·珀杜（Will Perdue）在比赛开始后 7 分钟因左腿筋拉伤下场，无法继续比赛。他加入了另外 5 名因伤缺阵的马刺球员。

“我尝试了一下，”珀杜说，他只在面对他的前队友时投进了两球。“但我不确定那样做是不是最好的选择。我不知道是帮了忙还是起了反作用。当球员看到有人走下（球场）时，他们只会说，‘哎呀，又少了一个人。’”

圣安东尼奥队（13-46）目前在这趟为期 10 天的 6 场客场之旅中前四场比赛都输了，并且已经连续输了 7 场比赛。如果他们在周五的下一场比赛中输给多伦多队，他们将追平本赛季最长的连败纪录。

与此同时，公牛队（52-7）继续保持着强劲势头，凭借他们在主场的第 22 场连胜，巩固了联盟最佳战绩。

尽管惨败，但波波维奇仍然对球队感到乐观，因为球队将在八年内第一次无缘季后赛。

“本赛季唯一令人沮丧的是，偶尔会出现像今晚这样的比赛，”他说。“总的来说，他们拼尽了全力。伤病很令人沮丧。球员们表现出色。”

波波维奇希望罗德曼能够参加比赛。

“我有点期待这场比赛，”波波维奇说。“丹尼斯确实有幽默感。我相信我们会以某种方式进行交流。”

• 马刺队新闻：波波维奇表示，珀杜的伤病很可能让他错过本队客场之旅的最后两场比赛，分别是周五在多伦多的比赛和周六在印第安纳的比赛。

• 自从多米尼克·威尔金斯（Dominique Wilkins）在周五的奥兰多首场比赛中拉伤腿筋，被排除在本队客场之旅之外后，威廉姆斯在过去三场比赛中分别得到 28 分、15 分和 19 分，成为了首发小前锋。

• 乔丹最近在 NBA 历史得分榜上超越了威尔金斯，升至第七位。

截至周三的比赛，乔丹已经得到 26293 分。威尔金斯得到 26258 分。

• 马刺队在本赛季 11 月份在前任主教练鲍勃·希尔（Bob Hill）的带领下，创下了本赛季最长的 8 场连败。公牛队在 11 月 30 日的阿拉莫穹顶球馆以 97-88 的比分赢得了那场连败中的最后一场比赛。

• 球队董事长彼得·霍尔特（Peter Holt）参加了周三的比赛，观看芝加哥的联合中心。

他还借此机会拍了拍波波维奇的肩膀。

“我对波波非常满意，”霍尔特告诉 KSAT-TV。“我们将在今年年底聚在一起，他会决定自己想做什么。”

波波维奇表示，他将放弃他的两份工作中的一份，要么是主教练，要么是篮球运营副总裁。

霍尔特还表示，圣安东尼奥的新球馆问题远未结束。

“我们必须等待一些支持性立法通过（以便城市发行债券），然后我们会与城市一起讨论是否要建造一个球馆，”霍尔特说。“马刺队在过去的几个赛季中都取得了很大的成功。本赛季由于伤病问题，出现了一些反常情况。我们明年会卷土重来。”

• Express-News 的工作人员格伦·罗杰斯（Glenn Rogers）对本篇报道做出了贡献。

点击查看原文：Spurs suffer through nasty Bull whipping

Spurs suffer through nasty Bull whipping

CHICAGO - At least the defending NBA champion Chicago Bulls didn’t throw any below-the-belt punches at the Spurs on Wednesday night. But they did just about everything else to antagonize their foils from the Western Conference, handing the Spurs a record-setting 111- 69 loss at the United Center.

Is it over yet?'' Spurs coach Gregg Popovich asked facetiously in his opening postgame remarks. As long as it’s over, I’m OK.‘’

Former Spur Dennis Rodman, traded to the Bulls before the 1995-96 season, wasn’t in the building. Rodman was serving a league-ordered, one-game suspension for striking Milwaukee’s Joe Wolf in the groin area during a struggle for a rebound Monday night.

But against the short-handed Spurs, the Bulls didn’t miss him.

Scottie Pippen scored 19 points and Michael Jordan added 16, while a suffocating Bulls defense limited the San Antonio to franchise lows for total points and field-goal percentage (30.6).

The Spurs’ previous worst showings in those categories came against Portland in April 1995, when they shot 30.7 percent and scored 71 points.

They're definitely better than we are,'' Popovich said. I knew we were in trouble coming in here with our (lack of) scoring. A team like the Bulls can multiply that factor.‘’

Playing its second game in as many nights on the longest road trip of the season, San Antonio was overwhelmed, losing by the widest margin of the season.

Forward Monty Williams led the team with 19 points.

We were playing against the best team on the planet and you saw what happened,'' Williams said. It’s kind of hard to tell what happened. We’ll have to watch the film to see. Tonight, they brought in the reserves and just kept it up.‘’

In fact, the Bulls’ reserves outscored the Spurs’ starters 50-38. And Chicago accomplished that rare feat without Toni Kukoc, one of the league’s top sixth men. Kukoc is on the injured list with a sore heel.

Bulls coach Phil Jackson was also sore - at his team in general.

I don't want to make this a laborious process,'' Jackson said. But this game is one of those that you see once or twice a year that makes you wonder if you set the game back. We had a dismal shooting night (40.8 percent). We played to the level of our competition.‘’

San Antonio center Will Perdue played the first seven minutes on a strained left hamstring, but couldn’t continue. He joined five other Spurs who were sitting out with injuries.

I tried to give it a shot,'' said Perdue, who scored only one basket against his former teammates. But I don’t know if that was the best thing to do. I don’t know if it helped or hurt. When the guys see someone walking off (the court), they just say, `Dang, there goes another guy.’ ‘’

San Antonio (13-46) now has lost the first four games on the 10- day, six-game road trip and seven straight overall. A loss at Toronto in its next game Friday would tie the season’s longest losing skid.

The Bulls (52-7), meanwhile, continue to roll, padding the league’s best record with their 22nd consecutive victory at home.

Despite the lopsided loss, Popovich remained upbeat about the team as the franchise’s first non-playoff season in eight years looms.

The only thing frustrating about this season is that, once in a while, you have a night like this,'' he said. Overall, they’ve competed their butts off. The injuries have been frustrating. The guys have been great.‘’

Popovich wished Rodman would have been able to play.

I was kind of looking forward to it,'' Popovich said. Dennis does have a good sense of humor. I’m sure we would have communicated in one way, shape or form.‘’

-Spurs notes: Perdue’s injury likely will force him to miss the last two games of the team’s road trip at Toronto on Friday and at Indiana on Saturday, according to Popovich.

-Williams has scored 28, 15 and 19 points in three games since taking over as the starting small forward for Dominique Wilkins, who was knocked out for the road trip when he strained a hamstring in the first game at Orlando on Friday.

-Jordan recently moved into seventh place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, passing Wilkins.

With Wednesday’s game, Jordan has 26,293 points. Wilkins has 26,258.

-The Spurs established their season-long, eight-game losing streak in November under former coach Bob Hill. The Bulls won the last game in that streak 97-88 at the Alamodome on Nov. 30.

-Peter Holt, the team’s chairman of the board, attended Wednesday’s game to take a look at Chicago’s United Center.

He also took the opportunity to give Popovich a pat on the back.

I'm very happy with Pop,'' Holt told KSAT-TV. The two of us will get together at the end of the year and he will decide what he wants to do.‘’

Popovich has said he will give up one of his two jobs - either head coach or vice president of basketball operations.

Holt also said the new arena issue in San Antonio is far from dead.

We have to wait for some enabling legislation to pass (for the city to issue bonds) and then we'll get together with the city and see if they want to build an arena,'' Holt said. The Spurs have been big winners for the past several seasons. This season has been an anomaly because of all the injuries. We’ll be back next year.‘’

- Express-News Staff Writer Glenn Rogers contributed to this report.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-07, By Jerry Briggs Express-News Staff Writer

被公牛“顶”伤的马刺远征多伦多寻求慰藉

多伦多——两年前多伦多猛龙队在圣安东尼奥以 33 分的巨大优势战胜了马刺队，两周多以后，马刺队将在今天晚上 6 点于 SkyDome 迎来报仇的机会。

是的，那将激励我们，尤其是当我们想到他们是如何击败我们的。''马刺队前锋卡尔·埃雷拉(Carl Herrera) 说，我们知道这一点，我们将尽己所能扭转局面。‘’

但马刺队似乎并不太自信或谈论复仇。因为他们在周三晚的芝加哥之旅中以 42 分输给了卫冕冠军芝加哥公牛队。

尤其是经过最近几天的几名球员相继受伤。

球队的状态？''周四训练后，马刺队控球后卫阿弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)问道。嗯，我们今天训练得很好。但很困难。你拥有（因为受伤）那样的球员配置，却大比分输掉比赛…这真的很令人失望。‘’

马刺队在其本赛季最长的客场之旅（10 天6 场比赛的东部征程）中目前遭遇了 0-4 的战绩。他们已经连续输掉了七场，在最近的 30 场比赛中输掉了 26 场，这代表了该球队历史上最糟糕的 30 场比赛的连败纪录。

今晚上输球将追平该球队本赛季最长的连败纪录。

马刺队在宽敞的 SkyDome 进行了一次轻量级训练时，又发生了一起受伤事件。马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说，前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)遭遇了 ``轻微’’ 腹股沟拉伤。

``我们只能观察一下明天的情况。''波波维奇说，在这个客场之旅的第一周，他伤痕累累的队伍里接连出现了三名新伤员。

波波维奇在周五进行的第一场比赛中失去了前锋多米尼克·威尔金斯(Dominique Wilkins)，原因是在奥兰多拉伤了肌腱。从那以后，威尔金斯就没有再上场。该球队表示，他已于周四回到圣安东尼奥“处理家庭事务”。

接下来，威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)在周二晚对战夏洛特的比赛中拉伤了左腿肌腱。珀杜曾试图对战公牛，但仅在第一节比赛了七分钟后就被迫离场。

波波维奇表示，珀杜将在今晚和周六晚在印第安纳举行的客场之旅的最后一场比赛中缺席。他说，这位 7 英尺高的中锋有可能在周二对战休斯顿时重返赛场。威尔金斯的下一周的状态还存在不确定性。

除了上述最新的病痛，大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)、查克·皮尔森(Chuck Person)、查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith) 和肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)也几乎整个赛季都没有上场。根据这种情况来看，马刺队(13-46) 的状态远逊于二年级的猛龙队(20-39) 也就不足为奇了。

在芝加哥，马刺队以 111-69 告负，创下了本球队在单场比赛的最低得分和投篮命中率(30.6)。

回到主场，马刺队球迷讨论的重点并非常规赛的最后 23 场比赛，而是马刺队会在抽签中排到什么位置，以及他们能够选拔什么样的球员。这样的讨论激怒了马刺队的资深球员。

``对于文尼(维尼·德尔·内格罗) 和我来说，即使是现在，我们也很难接受——我们不会进季后赛，我们不会在（常规赛最后一场对战）休斯顿的比赛后的那个星期五上场。''约翰逊说。

马刺队最近的问题很大程度上源于竞争对手的实力。他们在这次旅行中的前四个对手——奥兰多、迈阿密、夏洛特和芝加哥——都可能进入季后赛。而公牛队更有可能再次赢得联盟冠军。

在这种背景下，伤病问题已经演变成了重大难题。马刺队以 21 分之差输给了奥兰多，之后又在迈阿密和夏洛特进行了势均力敌的比赛，并以 7 分之差输掉了比赛。在那之后，局面变得更糟。

- - -

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点击查看原文：Bull-gored Spurs trudge to Toronto looking for relief

Bull-gored Spurs trudge to Toronto looking for relief

TORONTO - The second-year Toronto Raptors defeated the Spurs by 33 points in San Antonio more than two weeks ago. The Spurs get a chance to make amends for that woeful performance tonight at 6 at SkyDome.

Yes, it gives you motivation, especially when you think about the way they beat you,'' Spurs forward Carl Herrera said. We know that, and we’ll do what we have to to turn it around.‘’

But it’s not like the Spurs are too confident or talking about revenge. Not after they lost by 42 points to the defending champion Chicago Bulls on Wednesday night in Chicago.

And especially not after a few more players suffered injuries the past few days.

The mood of the team?'' Spurs point guard Avery Johnson asked following Thursday's practice. Well, we had a good practice today. But it is hard. You get blown out like that with the type of personnel that you have (because of the injuries) . . . and it’s just really disappointing.‘’

The Spurs are 0-4 so far on their longest road trip of the season, a 10-day, six-game journey through the East. They have lost seven in a row overall and 26 of their last 30, which represents the worst 30- game skid in franchise history.

A loss tonight will tie the team for its longest losing streak of the season.

The Spurs had another injury occur at the light workout in the cavernous SkyDome. Forward Monty Williams suffered a ``minor’’ groin pull, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

``We’ll just have to see what it looks like tomorrow,‘’ said Popovich, who has had three new injuries hit his injury-ravaged squad in the first eight days of the trip.

Popovich lost forward Dominique Wilkins to a strained hamstring at Orlando in the first game Friday. Wilkins hasn’t played since. He returned home to San Antonio on Thursday on ``family business,‘’ the team said.

Next, Will Perdue suffered a strained left hamstring at Charlotte on Tuesday night. Perdue tried to play against the Bulls but had to be removed from the game after only seven minutes of the first quarter.

Popovich said Perdue is out for tonight and Saturday night’s road- trip finale at Indiana. He said there was a chance the 7-foot center could play Tuesday at Houston. Wilkins’ status for next week is still uncertain.

In addition to the newest maladies, David Robinson, Chuck Person, Charles Smith and Sean Elliott have all been out most of the season. In that light, it’s not surprising that the Spurs (13-46) are in far worse shape than the second-year Raptors (20-39).

At Chicago, the Spurs lost 111-69 and established franchise lows for points and shooting percentage (30.6) in a game.

Back home, the talk among Spurs fans hasn’t been about the last 23 games of the regular season. It’s been about where the Spurs will finish in the lottery and what kind of player they will be able to draft. And It’s talk that has irked the Spurs veterans.

``Guys like Vinny (Del Negro) and myself, it’s just hard for us to accept - even now - that we won’t be in the playoffs, that we won’t be playing the following Friday after (the last game of the regular season against) Houston,‘’ Johnson said.

Much of the Spurs’ problems lately stem from the caliber of the competition. Their first four opponents on the trip - Orlando, Miami, Charlotte and Chicago - all likely will be in the playoffs. And the Bulls are favored to win the league title again.

In that context, injury problems have turned into major dilemmas. The Spurs lost by 21 to Orlando and then by seven in respectable games at both Miami and Charlotte. After that, the bottom fell out.

- - -

TV - KRRT, 6 p.m.

Radio - WOAI-AM 1200; in Spanish, KCOR-AM 1350

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

[这也将成为过去]

1997-03-07, By Buck Harvey

去疯吧？疯狂的另一面

堪萨斯城，密苏里州 - 他的一条胳膊上纹着蝙蝠侠，而他身上其他地方都写着伟大。托尼·巴蒂（Tony Battie）能跑能跳，能盖帽，还能嘲弄他的教练。所以如果马刺队输了蒂姆·邓肯（Tim Duncan）抽签，如果他们最终得到这个来自德克萨斯理工大学的孩子，会怎么样呢？

这会很糟糕：很有可能，威尔·珀杜（Will Perdue）会在训练中欺负巴蒂一年。

这就是巴蒂潜力背后的负面因素。随着大卫·罗宾逊（David Robinson）的巅峰期窗口逐步关闭，马刺队能等待某人成长吗？

巴蒂并非例外。在邓肯之后，选秀中下一个最好的球员将太年轻，也太不可预测。肯塔基大学的罗恩·默瑟（Ron Mercer）、北卡罗来纳大学的安托万·贾米森（Antawn Jamison）、维拉诺瓦大学的蒂姆·托马斯（Tim Thomas）、堪萨斯大学的雷夫·拉弗伦茨（Raef LaFrentz）……每位应届生都会带来一切，除了保证。

这就是三月疯狂的职业版本。马刺队在抽签中只有一次机会找到一名球星，他们必须从一群男孩中选择一名能胜任男子工作的球员。这是一个赌博，因为即使是第二顺位的选秀球员也曾失败过。例如，马刺队在1987年赢得了抽签，菲尼克斯队获得了第二名。马刺队选中了罗宾逊。太阳队最终选择了阿蒙·吉利厄姆（Armon Gilliam）。

吉利厄姆带领UNLV打进了四强，他展现出的强硬和技巧给鲍比·奈特（Bobby Knight）留下了深刻印象。但如今吉利厄姆已经在第五支NBA球队效力了。

考虑到这一点，马刺队带着开放的视野和祈祷的心情观察着这些锦标赛。也许没有人像巴蒂（发音为Ba-TEE）那样给他们的印象深刻，也让他们担忧。

他是一位来自达拉斯南部橡树崖的慢热型球员。如果这听起来很熟悉，那么丹尼斯·罗德曼（Dennis Rodman）也走过同样的道路。但相似之处到此为止。巴蒂确实纹身了，但他也有自己的个性。

“他非常有趣，”德克萨斯理工大学教练詹姆斯·迪基（James Dickey）说。迪基说，他知道巴蒂最著名的表演是模仿迪基本人。当巴蒂表演“迪基”时，他会来回踱步，拳头紧握，怒目而视，说着阿肯色口音。

“我太尊敬他了，无法当面嘲笑他，”巴蒂说。“我告诉他，我会在我大四毕业后为他表演。”

但没有人期待他会打到大四。如果巴蒂像其他所有为钱而战，而不是为NBA而战的球员一样，他就会离开。如果他在拜伦·汉斯帕德（Byron Hanspard）的学习小组中，他就别无选择。

一些球探将他排在邓肯之后。马刺队不确定。今天，他们会选择拉弗伦茨，因为他打得更努力，这是一个令人沮丧的特点。马刺队难道不需要勇士吗？这是他们在贾米森身上看到的品质，他是一个强悍的篮板王。

但随后马刺队在周四观看了德克萨斯理工大学战胜堪萨斯州立大学的比赛，他们再次感到疑惑。也许即使是邓肯也无法像6英尺11英寸的巴蒂那样将身高和敏捷性结合在一起。他盖了4次帽，抢了10个篮板，送出3次助攻。在下半场，当德克萨斯理工大学的领先优势缩小到只有4分时，巴蒂后退了一步，投进了一个三分球。

今天是一个更好的考验；在之前与爱荷华州立大学的比赛中，他只得了3分。但大多数人认为巴蒂已经证明了自己，他在与堪萨斯大学和科罗拉多大学的比赛中打出了精彩表现。“他在下一个级别将会有一个不错的职业生涯，”科罗拉多大学教练里卡多·帕顿（Ricardo Patton）说。

马刺队希望巴蒂能比优秀更好。也许没有哪个地方像圣安东尼奥那样能给他这样的机会。在罗宾逊和肖恩·埃利奥特（Sean Elliott）之间，巴蒂会感到压力更小，并会有时间成长。

但马刺队有时间吗？他们敢错过吗？

马刺队记笔记，感受着疯狂，也许比参赛的球队还要多。

点击查看原文：Going Battie? Another side of the madness

Going Battie? Another side of the madness

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - He has a Batman tattoo on one arm, and greatness written all over the rest of him. Tony Battie can run, rebound, block shots and make fun of his coach. So if the Spurs lose The Tim Duncan Lottery, how bad would it be if they ended up with the kid from Texas Tech?

This bad: More than likely, Will Perdue abuses Battie in practice for a year.

And that’s the downside to Battie’s upside. With David Robinson’s window closing more every year, can the Spurs wait for someone to grow up?

Battie isn’t the exception. After Duncan, the next best in the draft will be too young and too unpredictable. Kentucky’s Ron Mercer, North Carolina’s Antawn Jamison, Villanova’s Tim Thomas, Kansas’ Raef LaFrentz . . . each undergrad would come with everything but a guarantee.

That’s the pro version of March madness. The Spurs, given one lottery season to find a star, choose between boys for a man’s job. It’s some gamble, since even No. 2 draft picks have failed. The Spurs won the lottery in 1987, for example, and Phoenix came in second. The Spurs drafted Robinson. The Suns ended up with Armon Gilliam.

Gilliam, taking UNLV to the Final Four, had a package of toughness and touch that impressed even Bobby Knight. But today Gilliam plays with his fifth NBA team.

Knowing that, the Spurs scout these tournaments with eyes open and fingers crossed. And maybe no one impresses them and worries them as much as Battie (pronounced Ba-TEE).

He is a late-grower out of Dallas South Oak Cliff. If that sounds familiar, then Dennis Rodman followed the same path. But the comparisons end there. Battie has a tattoo, all right, but a personality, too.

He's tremendously funny,'' said the Tech coach, James Dickey. And Dickey says that knowing Battie's most famous bit is a dead-on depiction of Dickey himself. When Battie does The Dickey,‘’ he paces around, fists clenched, scowling, Arkansas drawling.

I have too much respect for him to mock him to his face,'' Battie says. I told him I’ll break down and do it for him after my senior year.‘’

But no one expects there to be a senior year. If Battie is like every other player who is ready for the money, if not the NBA, he’s gone. If he’s in Byron Hanspard’s study group, he has no choice.

Some scouts list him immediately after Duncan. The Spurs aren’t sure. Today, they would give the nod to LaFrentz because he plays harder, and that’s a damning trait. Don’t the Spurs need warriors? That’s a quality they see in Jamison, a bullish rebounder.

But then the Spurs watched Thursday, when Tech beat Kansas State, and wondered again. Maybe even Duncan doesn’t combine height and agility as the 6-foot-11 Battie does. He blocked four shots, grabbed 10 rebounds, tossed three assists. And in the second half, when the Tech lead slipped to only four, Battie backed up and tossed in a trey.

Today is a better test; he scored but three in the previous meeting with Iowa State. But most think Battie has already proved himself, with big games against Kansas and Colorado. ``He’ll have a good career at the next level,‘’ said the Colorado coach, Ricardo Patton.

The Spurs will want Battie to be better than good. And maybe no place offers him that chance as San Antonio does. Between Robinson and Sean Elliott, Battie would feel less pressure and would get time to grow.

But do the Spurs have time? Do they dare miss?

The Spurs take notes and feel the madness, maybe more than the teams do.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News