马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 17 日 15:20

1997-12-11, By Buck Harvey

该叫医生了吗？如果马刺继续这样下去

如果我是彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)，我会认为格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich) 撑过了他的第一个“必须赢”的比赛。如果他输给了快船队——在主场，也是鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill) 被解雇周年纪念日那天——他将无路可退。

但这“必须赢”的时刻本身就说明了一些问题。如果我是霍尔特，我会开始寻找退路。

如果我是霍尔特，我会看到一支没有改变迹象的球队，除非约翰尼·科克兰(Johnnie Cochran) 说服仲裁员，马克·弗尔曼(Mark Fuhrman) 在皮·杰·卡莱西莫(P.J. Carlesimo) 的脖子上留下了那些抓痕，并且释放了拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)，否则这支球队就不会改变。我看到一支需要时间但没有时间可浪费的球队。我看到电视台已经开始进行关于波波维奇未来的球迷投票，以及各种电话节目热线。

霍尔特，一个依赖波波维奇的 NBA 局外人，如何找到波波维奇的接替者？

昂贵的答案通常就坐在霍尔特球场边几排的位置。关于道格·里弗斯(Doc Rivers) 的有趣之处在于：自从他离开球队后，球队就再也没有恢复过。

里弗斯会对此一笑置之，然后像他曾经在球场上一样巧妙地周旋。他现在拥有一份太好的工作，无需承诺任何事情。电视让他有机会一边打高尔夫球，一边看望孩子们，还能赚到一半百万美元的薪水。每天对着肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 大喊大叫会影响到他的生活。

此外，里弗斯无疑也意识到了波波维奇所面临的困境。高水平的期望和低水平的球员阵容。这支球队已经不是两年前的那支马刺了，即使许多球员的名字仍然保留着。埃利奥特当时是全明星球员，现在已经无法交易了。查克·珀森(Chuck Person) 和威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue) 当年在锋线位置上搭档得非常出色，现在珀森的投篮命中率只有 26%，而珀杜甚至无法上场。

在这场讨论中，人们总是忘记了里弗斯。波波维奇带来了蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams) 作为他的第一个替补后卫。希尔带来了一位聪明、坚韧、从不犯错的人。

里弗斯在与马刺横扫菲尼克斯的系列赛中背部受伤。马刺在下一轮对阵犹他队的比赛中遭遇惨败，并在接下来的一个赛季中跌至历史低点，现在又在挣扎，这仅仅是巧合吗？

波波维奇比任何人都清楚这一点；无法找到里弗斯替代者的人，正是签下了里弗斯的人。所以波波维奇退而求其次用有缺陷的球员，然后等待。

但波波维奇正在对抗一个他自己创造的时间表，部分原因是他在选秀抽签中赢得了邓肯，而主要原因是他对希尔的处理方式。如果我是霍尔特，我可能和球迷们一样感到失望。邓肯-罗宾逊(Duncan-Robinson) 的马刺队不应该至少在休斯顿队打得具有竞争力吗？不要惊讶，少数股东可能已经联系了霍尔特。

霍尔特并不想这样做。他不想花钱，他更不想涉足他不了解的领域。

但是，坐在附近，对着麦克风说话，是一个安全的替代方案。里弗斯住在圣安东尼奥，了解圣安东尼奥，了解马刺队。球员们会喜欢他，球迷们也会喜欢他。他将有一半的赛季时间来学习如何执教，这也是球队现在需要的。

里弗斯会提出一些要求，因为他有筹码。两支球队已经与他联系，希望他明年执教。在这样的情况下，他很可能会要求将波波维奇提升到更高的职位。

这也意味着签下里弗斯需要支付新时代教练的薪水。要让里弗斯离开电视台的工作，就必须给他丰厚的报酬。

霍尔特曾经说过，钱不够。但如果在这个城市，问题变成了票价而不是球馆的价格——如果马刺队需要一个有魅力、有策略、能激发球队斗志的人——那么霍尔特怎么能负担得起不签下里弗斯呢？

如果我是霍尔特，我现在就会考虑这个问题。

点击查看原文：Call a Doc? If the Spurs keep it up

Call a Doc? If the Spurs keep it up

If I’m Peter Holt, I’m thinking Gregg Popovich survived his first must-win. Had he lost to the Clippers - at home and on the anniversary of the Bob Hill beheading - there would have been no saving him.

But the must-win moment says something by itself. If I’m Holt, I start looking for a way out.

If I’m Holt, I see a team that doesn’t show any sign of changing, not unless Johnnie Cochran convinces an arbitrator that Mark Fuhrman placed those scratches on P.J. Carlesimo’s neck and frees Latrell Sprewell. I see a franchise that needs time but can’t afford any. I see TV stations taking fan polls already about Popovich’s future and I see call-in shows light up.

How does Holt, an NBA outsider who has leaned on Popovich, go about finding Popovich’s replacement?

The expensive answer usually sits a few rows from Holt at courtside. The funny thing about Doc Rivers: The franchise has never been the same since he left.

Rivers would laugh at that, and then smartly maneuver as he once did on the court. He has too good a deal now to commit to anything. TV gives him a chance to earn a half mil while playing golf and seeing a lot of his kids. Yelling at Sean Elliott every day would cut into that.

Besides, Rivers no doubt realizes what Popovich has to work with. High-level expectations and low-level talent. These aren’t the Spurs of two years ago, even if a lot of names remain. Elliott was then an All-Star, now he’s not tradeable. Chuck Person and Will Perdue were magnificent sharing the big-forward spot, now Person shoots 26 percent and Perdue can’t get on the floor.

And always forgotten in this discussion is Rivers. Popovich brings Monty Williams as his first guard off the bench. Hill brought a smart, rugged man who didn’t make mistakes.

Rivers’ back went out in the middle of the series sweep of Phoenix. Is it only coincidence that the Spurs were humiliated in the next round against Utah, collapsed to an all-time low the next season and struggle now?

Popovich knows this better than anyone; the same GM who couldn’t find anyone to replace Rivers is the same GM who signed him. So Popovich exchanges flawed pieces and waits.

But Popovich works against a timetable he created partly by winning Duncan in the lottery, and mostly because of what he did with Hill. If I’m Holt, I’m probably feeling the way the fans feel. Shouldn’t the Duncan-Robinson Spurs at least be competitive in Houston? Don’t be surprised if the minority owners have already approached Holt.

Holt doesn’t want this. He doesn’t want to spend the money, and he sure doesn’t want to wade into an area he doesn’t know.

But sitting nearby, talking into a mike, is a safe alternative. Rivers lives in San Antonio, knows San Antonio, knows the Spurs. The players would like him, as would the fans. He would get a half- season to learn on the job, which is what the franchise needs anyway.

Rivers would demand a few things, since he would have leverage. Two teams have already approached him about next year. And under these dynamics, he might very well want Popovich kicked back upstairs.

This also means signing Rivers would cost new-age coaching money. It would have to be lucrative for Rivers to ask out of his TV deal.

Holt has said the money isn’t there. But if the issue in this town becomes the price of a ticket instead of the price of an arena - if the Spurs need a charmer and a strategist and a new reason to inspire - how can Holt afford not to sign Rivers?

If I’m Holt, I thinking that right now.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 17 日 15:30

1997-12-12, By Jerry Briggs

惨败火箭唤醒马刺

长时间的沉默最终变成了马刺的幸运。

周二晚上，马刺在客场以 78-108 惨败于休斯顿火箭，球员们悄无声息地登上了球队的包机。

当飞机飞越德克萨斯州的领空时，没有人多说关于他们在中西部赛区宿敌手中被赶出球场的比赛。

球队开始了自我反省。

最终，球员们找到了足够的决心，在周三晚上于阿拉莫圆顶球场以 102-87 击败洛杉矶快船。

“在从休斯顿回来的飞机上，静得连针掉在地上都能听见，”控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说。“每个人都很失望。”

马刺 (11-10) 在周四没有进行训练。他们将在今天恢复训练，为周六主场迎战奥兰多魔术 (16-7) 做准备，魔术在周四以 100-90 击败了达拉斯。

约翰逊在对阵快船的比赛中送出了职业生涯新高的 20 次助攻，他要求球迷不要在赛季初期对他们过于苛刻。

“本赛季对我们来说期望很高，”约翰逊说。“但我一直告诉人们，这是一场 10 公里的比赛，不是百米冲刺。我们还有很长的路要走。”

“我仍然认为我们是西部第五或第六好的球队。我们必须继续努力，不断进步，才能达到我们想要达到的目标。”

一场球队会议似乎吸引了所有人的注意力。

“我们谈论了责任，”马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说，他在对阵快船的比赛中狂砍 30 分，“以及互相监督，确保防守端达到预期。我认为我们在这方面做得很好。”

马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)对两位队长罗宾逊和约翰逊的领导力表示赞赏。

“艾弗里和大卫在团结球队方面做得很好，”波波维奇说。“他们训练刻苦的程度就是最好的证明。他们拼命地训练。”

魔术队在周三于佛罗里达州奥兰多以 106-98 击败芝加哥，但他们的全明星后卫佩妮·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)和后卫/前锋尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)都因伤缺阵。

哈达威在本周早些时候在休斯顿接受了其慢性疼痛的左膝手术。安德森则因骨折的手部缺阵。尽管如此，魔术队仍然是一支危险的对手。

与魔术的比赛结束后，马刺的赛程会相对轻松一些。

他们在周二和周三分别在客场对阵丹佛和主场对阵温哥华，这两支球队的战绩总计为 9-31。

“我们无法控制对手，”波波维奇说。“我们无法改变。我们只打比赛。”

马刺在过去的 15 场比赛中输掉了 9 场。一些球迷公开批评主教练。其他人则表示球队需要进行交易来提升档次。

“没有任何理由进行交易，”波波维奇说。“这就是我们现在的阵容。除非有增减，否则阵容将保持不变，无论是在今年，明年还是五年后。”

“球队显然会发生变化。但我们没有立即改变的计划。”

马刺新闻：

罗宾逊在周三早上由医生检查了他的右膝，然后在当晚取得了本赛季的第四场 30 分比赛。

波波维奇微笑着回应了医生应该加薪的建议。

威尔·珀迪(Will Perdue)是周日教练宣布的三位被排除在轮换阵容之外的资深球员之一，他在对阵快船的比赛中成为替补中锋的第一选择。

“所有轮换都是灵活的，”波波维奇说。

珀迪出场 14 分钟，抢下 4 个篮板。前锋查克·珀森(Chuck Person)在对阵火箭和快船的比赛中总共出场 17 分钟，7 投 0 中，他的出场时间减少了。

点击查看原文：Blowout loss to Rockets jump-starts Spurs

Blowout loss to Rockets jump-starts Spurs

A prolonged silence turned out to be golden for the Spurs.

After a humbling 108-78 loss to the Houston Rockets on the road Tuesday night, players quietly boarded the team’s charter aircraft.

As the plane soared through Texas airspace, nobody said much about a game in which they were run out of the building by their Midwest Division archrivals.

Soul-searching was in session.

What the players found, ultimately, was enough of a resolve to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers 102-87 on Wednesday night at the Alamodome.

“On the plane coming back from Houston, it was like you could hear a pin drop,” point guard Avery Johnson said. “Everyone was disappointed.”

The Spurs (11-10) didn’t practice Thursday. They will resume workouts today in preparation for a home game Saturday against the Orlando Magic (16-7), who beat Dallas 100-90 on Thursday.

Johnson, who sparked the Spurs with a career-high 20 assists against the Clippers, asked for fans not to judge them too harshly at this point in the season.

“The expectations are so high for us this season,” Johnson said. "But what I keep telling people is that this is a 10K race. It’s not a sprint. We have a long way to go.

"I still think we’re the fifth-or sixth-best team in the West. We have to keep working and improving to get where we want to be. "

A team meeting seemed to get everyone’s attention.

“We talked about accountability,” said Spurs center David Robinson, who exploded for 30 points on the Clippers, “and keeping each other accountable for what is expected defensively. I thought we did a good job of that.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich applauded the leadership of co-captains Robinson and Johnson.

“Avery and David have done a good job keeping this team together,” Popovich said. “The evidence is in how hard they work in practice. They bust their butts.”

The Magic, without injured all- star guard Penny Hardaway and guard/forward Nick Anderson, defeated Chicago 106-98 on Wednesday in Orlando, Fla.

Hardaway underwent surgery on his chronically sore left knee earlier this week in Houston. Anderson is out with a broken hand. Still, the Magic appear to be a dangerous opponent.

After the game with Orlando, the Spurs’ schedule softens some.

They play on the road at Denver and at home against Vancouver in back-to-back games Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively. The teams have a combined record of 9-31.

“We have no control over who we play,” Popovich said. “We can’t change it. We just play the basketball games.”

The Spurs have lost nine of their last 15 games. Some fans are openly critical of the head coach. Others are saying the team needs to make a trade to kick it into a higher gear.

“There’s no reason to have any trade talk,” Popovich said. "This is our team as we speak. This will be our team until additions or subtractions are made - whether that is this year, next year or five years from now.

“Teams obviously change. But we don’t have any imminent plans to change anything.”

- Spurs notes: Robinson had his right knee examined by a physician Wednesday morning, and then went out that night and notched his fourth 30-point scoring game of the season.

Popovich smiled at a suggestion that the doctor deserved a raise. -Will Perdue, one of three veterans left out of the playing rotation in an announcement made by coaches to the players Sunday, emerged as the first big man off the bench against the Clippers.

“All rotations are flexible,” Popovich said.

Perdue played 14 minutes and snared four rebounds. Forward Chuck Person was 0 for 7 from the field in 17 minutes combined against the Rockets and the Clippers since his playing time was reduced.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 17 日 15:40

1997-12-13, By Jerry Briggs

魔法并非易事 - 低迷的马刺希望摆脱困境

无论是操场上鼻涕流淌的孩子们在狂风中投篮，还是NBA的精英运动员，失败和沮丧都会撕裂任何球队的凝聚力。

马刺队将在今晚 7:30 在阿拉莫穹顶迎战奥兰多魔术队，他们可能比大多数球队都更感到沮丧。

尽管他们在周三晚上以 15 分的优势战胜了洛杉矶快船队，但马刺队在大多数情况下仍然被认为是 NBA 中最令人失望的球队之一。

马刺队被认为有能力在西部争冠，他们会坦率地承认，期望值已经超过了实际表现。虽然令人惊讶的魔术队以 16胜7负的战绩来到圣安东尼奥，但马刺队的战绩却只有11胜10负。

最近几场惨败的记忆，加上一些被分配了有限角色的老将球员，使得马刺队的更衣室难以建立任何温暖、模糊的同志情谊。

至少有一位马刺队球员将这种情况与 NFL 的达拉斯牛仔队进行了比较，牛仔队在周一晚上输给卡罗莱纳黑豹队后，正处于被淘汰出季后赛的边缘。

“看看牛仔队对阵黑豹队的比赛，我看到 45 名牛仔球员（他们）分崩离析，”马刺队前锋查克·珀森（Chuck Person）说道，“他们试图互相鼓励，但这有点虚假。我们也经历过一段这样的时期，但现在我们似乎开始更多地相互信任。我能感觉到化学反应正在回归，就像季前赛一样。”

前锋卡尔·埃雷拉（Carl Herrera）在左肩后方肌肉部分撕裂后缺席了最近的八场比赛，现已从伤病名单中激活。为了给埃雷拉腾出位置，马刺队将后卫雷吉·吉尔里（Reggie Geary）放入伤病名单，原因是左膝髌骨肌腱炎。

埃雷拉不会反驳珀森关于更衣室中化学反应消散的看法。他承认加入珀森和威尔·珀杜（Will Perdue）的行列，在接下来的几周内只承担临时的任务并不容易。

“这很难，真的很困难，”他说。

但与珀森一样，埃雷拉也没有放弃——无论是重回常规上场时间，还是球队夺冠的希望。

“我们在休斯顿的第一个冠军赛季（1993-94）经历过同样的情况，”埃雷拉说，他曾是火箭队首个冠军阵容的成员。“那一年发生了很多事情，比如他们试图用马特·布拉德（Matt Bullard）和罗伯特·霍里（Robert Horry）交易肖恩·埃利奥特（Sean Elliott，当时效力于底特律活塞队）。”

“我们似乎经历了如此多的争议。但我们团结一心，最终赢得了世界冠军。”

作为训练营期间最坚定地相信马刺队夺冠能力的人之一，埃雷拉拒绝直接回答他是否认为马刺队仍然有竞争力。

点击查看原文：Magic not an easy trick - Slumping Spurs hope to make woes disappear

Magic not an easy trick - Slumping Spurs hope to make woes disappear

Whether it’s a group of runny- nosed kids shooting hoops on a windswept playground or an elite collection of athletes in the NBA, losing and frustration can tear at the fiber of any team.

The Spurs, who play host to the Orlando Magic at 7:30 tonight in the Alamodome, may be feeling more frustrated than most lately.

Even though they whipped the Los Angeles Clippers by 15 points Wednesday night, the Spurs still are regarded in most quarters as one of the most underachieving squads in the NBA.

Picked to contend in the Western Conference, the Spurs would freely admit expectations have exceeded results. While the surprising Magic come in at 16-7, the Spurs have lurched out of the gate at 11-10.

The memory of recent blowout losses, combined with veteran players who have been assigned limited roles, have made it tough to build any warm, fuzzy feelings of camaraderie in the Spurs’ locker room.

At least one Spurs player compared the situation to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who are teetering on the brink of elimination from the playoff picture after Monday night’s loss to the Carolina Panthers.

“Looking at that Dallas game against Carolina, I saw 45 guys (on the Cowboys) separated,” Spurs forward Chuck Person said. “They were trying to pump each other up, but it was kind of false. We were going through that a little bit, but it seems like we’re starting to trust each other a little more again. I can feel the chemistry coming back, like it was in the preseason.”

Forward Carl Herrera has been activated from the injured list after missing the last eight games with a partial tear of a muscle behind his left shoulder. To make room for Herrera, the Spurs placed guard Reggie Geary on the injured list with left knee patella tendinitis.

Herrera wouldn’t dispute Person’s view of a dissipated chemistry in the dressing room. He admitted joining Person and Will Perdue in a group scheduled for only situational assignments in the next few weeks has not been easy.

“It’s been hard, real hard,” he said.

But like Person, Herrera hasn’t given up - either for the return of his regular playing time or the team’s championship hopes.

“We went through the same thing in Houston in the first championship season (1993-94),” said Herrera, a member of the Rockets’ first title team. "So many things happened that year, like when they tried to make the trade of Matt Bullard and Robert Horry for Sean (Elliott, who played at the time for the Detroit Pistons).

“It seems like we had so many controversies. But we stuck together, and we ended up winning a world championship.”

As one of the foremost believers in the Spurs’ championship capabilities during training camp, Herrera declined to say directly whether he thought the Spurs were still in contention.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 17 日 15:50

1997-12-14, By Jerry Briggs
Spurs center David Robinson said he still loves Charles Barkley, a friend of the Robinson family for many years.

But you probably won’t hear that statement rolling off Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s lips.

Popovich bristled earlier in the week when Barkley said the Spurs tanked games last season in order to improve their chances in the NBA draft lottery.

Barkley made the remark Monday when someone asked him to speculate why the Spurs had been playing near-.500 basketball even with the addition of No. 1 pick Tim Duncan.

“When you cheat in life, good things do not come to you,” Barkley said. "There is a moral thing about sports that they cheated. And good things don’t happen to people who cheat.

“When you rest healthy players so you can get the No. 1 pick in the draft, that’s cheating. That’s not the way the draft was designed. And God does not look good upon that.”

Neither does David Stern.

But the NBA commissioner actively kept an eye on teams destined for last spring’s lottery to determine if hanky-panky took place toward the end of the season.

Stern didn’t raise a word of objection when the Spurs finished with the league’s third-worst record and then drew the pingpong ball that yielded Duncan.

Exactly which Spurs players Barkley thought were healthy enough to play last spring weren’t mentioned. But a published report in the Houston Chronicle said there were “whispers” Robinson could have played in March and April.

Robinson, out with a fractured foot and still rehabilitating a back injury at the time, shrugged off the comments as Barkley just being Barkley - outrageous.

“Utterly ridiculous,” Robinson said. “I don’t know who he was talking about, but I know I couldn’t have played. It was just a ridiculous statement. Does it bother me? No. He says things like that all the time. I love Charles, but sometimes I think he talks without thinking.”

Informed of Barkley’s oral blast Monday afternoon, Popovich took a few seconds in silence to formulate a response to the charge. Clearly irritated with the remark, he called it absurd.

The irony of the situation is the Rockets were widely rumored to be tanking in 1983 and '84 in order to qualify for a coin flip between the worst teams in the Western and Eastern conferences.

Houston won the flip both years and took Ralph Sampson and Akeem (now Hakeem) Olajuwon, respectively.

The NBA came up with the draft lottery soon thereafter to make it less appealing for teams to lose games on purpose, in order to draft a quality player.

Clearly, the current weighted lottery is better than a coin flip, but it still does nothing to dispel suspicions. I just never thought I’d hear Barkley say something to the effect of cheaters never prosper.

Oh, brother. Aren’t we out of third grade yet? Surprise, surprise: Spurs forward Sean Elliott said he is surprised to hear fans already are speculating about whether Popovich will remain the team’s coach.

“I am surprised because it’s early,” Elliott said. “It’s just sports these days. Things aren’t looked at in a positive light.”

Elliott also expressed surprise at teammate Chuck Person’s comments comparing the Spurs’ team chemistry to the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, who are falling apart during the stretch run.

“I always thought everyone (on the Spurs) was rooting for one another,” Elliott said. Elie weighs in: Houston forward Mario Elie said he thinks the Spurs still are trying to adjust to Duncan’s arrival.

“I feel they’re having a chemistry problem,” Elie said. "Every time I watch them play, it seems like they’ve got three guys in the paint. The year before last, they had good spacing, good rapport with each other.

“But now I see Sean Elliott, Tim Duncan and David Robinson - it’s a little crowded under there. Avery Johnson’s not getting his touches that he usually gets. And Vinny (Del Negro) is coming off of an injury. The chemistry is not there.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 17 日 16:00

1997-12-14, By Jerry Briggs
Unassuming rookie forward Tim Duncan would prefer to shy away from the hype. He doesn’t relish the attention that goes along with being the No. 1 pick in the draft.

When nicknames for Duncan were proposed earlier in the season, he cringed at some of them. And then some of his own teammates scoffed at the one he suggested - “Merlin.”

But there may be no more questioning his choice after he conjured up a career-high 32 points and 11 rebounds Saturday night in a convincing 107-78 victory for the Spurs over the Orlando Magic.

Duncan turned the Alamodome into his own Magic Kingdom, hitting 15 of 20 shots from the floor.

“We were running and moving the ball real well,” Duncan said. “I got a few down early and just kept it going. I had 'em rotating to me and I was going by 'em. Everything was working.”

Orlando forward Horace Grant, a proven veteran named four times to the All-NBA second-team defensive unit, could only shake his head at Duncan’s performance.

“It’s been awhile since someone tattooed me like that,” said Grant, who watched as Duncan dunked five times. “Everything impressed me about that guy. He can run the floor. He’s an intelligent player. San Antonio got themselves a jewel.”

The Spurs led by 35 points in the fourth quarter and won their second game in a row. They had lost nine of 14 before beating the Los Angeles Clippers and the Magic in the past four days.

With the victory, the Spurs broke Orlando’s four-game winning streak and improved to 12-10. The Magic, playing without All-Star guard Penny Hardaway, fell to 16-8.

Curiously, Orlando is 9-2 in games Hardaway has missed with injuries, including a recent stretch since he underwent arthroscopic surgery on his knee.

The only downside to the big night for the Spurs was an injury to guard Vinny Del Negro, who suffered a hyperextended elbow late in the first quarter when he fouled Orlando’s Bo Outlaw.

Del Negro returned to play three minutes in the second quarter and three more in the third quarter before coming out for good. He said he isn’t certain whether he will be able to practice Monday or play in the next game Tuesday night at Denver.

“It’s disappointing,” said Del Negro, who hit his first five shots from the field and finished with 12 points. “I’m day-to-day. I’ll see how it feels in the next few days and go from there. I had this a little in training camp. All I can do is ice it, rest it and stretch.”

For the Spurs, it was another step back toward respectability. They had been blown out by 30 Tuesday night at Houston and also were pummeled recently by Seattle, Utah and Atlanta.

Duncan sat out late in some of those games because his team trailed by such a wide a margin. This time, he played only three minutes in the fourth quarter and watched as his own team mopped up.

“I want to be out there,” Duncan said. “But in a situation like that, you want to sit. I’ll sit every fourth quarter when it’s like that.”

It was arguably the Spurs’ finest game of the year, considering the opposition.

The Spurs registered their widest margin of victory, scored their most field goals (49) and hit for their second-highest field-goal percentage (62.8). They also had their most points in a game after three quarters, when they led 83-56.

“It’s always satisfying to win,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has taken considerable heat from fans. “The best ones are those against good teams when our guys play together and everyone plays well.”

Popovich expressed regret that Del Negro was injured again.

“I’m worried about Vinny,” said Popovich, whose team went 6-5 in Del Negro’s absence earlier when he was rehabilitating a sprained ankle. “He wanted to give it a shot in the second half, but once he left- handed that one in the corner I knew it was time to take him out.”

Duncan, averaging 15.6 points a game to lead all NBA rookies, broke out of a two-game shooting slump in which he was 10 of 27 from the field. He hit a variety of hooks, jumpers and dunks.

When he was taken out of the game early in the fourth quarter, most of the 17,859 fans started to file out of the building.

“He was aggressive on the boards and in getting to his spot,” Popovich said. “Then once he caught it, he was very aggressive in making his moves. He understands now that he can take over. As he comes along he will dominate even more.”

Duncan’s previous high game came Dec. 2, when he scored 23 points in a 90-84 victory over the New York Knicks. He had just four games of 20 points or more before he torched the Magic.

One of his misses came when he heaved a shot from past halfcourt at the end of the first quarter. Otherwise, he missed only four shots all night.

Duncan exploded for his finest half of the season, scoring 22 points as the Spurs took a 52-36 lead at intermission. It was one of the Spurs’ best halves, as well. They led by 19 late in the second quarter.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 01:30

1997-12-14

球迷立场

拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)应该为自己的行为付出代价，但应该用其他的方式。我认为停赛10场、交易他并只允许他拿到联盟最低薪14万美元就可以了。但剥夺他所有收入并让他停赛一年的做法简直荒谬。

球员工会应该在这件事上支持斯普雷维尔，展现团结，因为没有人关心NBA球员的命运。这不是关于金钱的贪婪，而是关于一个人的工作。球员们，以后如果你们对教练感到愤怒，就把手插进口袋，转身离开。

每个人都说处罚过重是因为事件发生在联盟内部。我知道这是一个严重的罪行，但让我们回顾一下NBA另外两个恶棍的事件。

查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)最近把一个人扔进了玻璃窗。没有收到NBA的罚款。丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)称摩门教徒愚蠢，因为他们一直骚扰他。他被罚款了。同样的规则应该适用于所有NBA球员，无论他们说了什么或做了什么。

我只希望看到一场精彩的篮球比赛，没有任何人受伤。

厄琳·米勒(Earline Miller)，圣安东尼奥

斯普雷维尔事件中联盟过于宽容：NBA对拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔停赛一年的处罚是正确的，但还不够。教练卡莱西莫(Carlesimo)应该对斯普雷维尔提起人身攻击和殴打指控。

至于查尔斯·巴克利关于抵制全明星赛的言论，他应该记住棒球球员罢工时发生的事情。棒球联盟从未从失去的观众人数中恢复过来。

伯曼·E·德芬鲍(Berman E. Deffenbaugh) Jr.，圣安东尼奥

波波维奇应该为马刺队糟糕的表现负责：我是一个超过60年的狂热体育迷，这些年来我看了很多篮球比赛。但今年我从未像现在这样对马刺队的表现感到失望。

我和很多人谈过马刺队和他们的表现。相信我，他们100%都同意我的观点，问题不在于球员，而在于教练。

格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)不是一个主教练，从来都不是一个主教练，如果我能如愿以偿，他永远不会再成为一个主教练。

波波维奇的问题在于他的自负。他认为去年很多马刺球员受伤病困扰，这是一个解雇鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)的好时机。在我们看来，希尔是一位优秀的教练。

波波维奇声称希尔没有教防守。那波波维奇在教球员什么？如果他们需要学习的话？

克莱尔·比(Claire Bee)多年前说过，最好的进攻就是最好的防守。我同意。如果你得分次数比对手多，你就赢了。

弗雷德·巴克伦德(Fred Backlund)，圣安东尼奥

波波维奇应该辞去自己的职位，重新聘用希尔：格雷格·波波维奇解雇了鲍勃·希尔，因为希尔无法带领一支被伤病困扰的球队取得胜利。然后波波维奇证明了，他无法带领一支被伤病困扰的球队取得胜利。

现在，波波维奇拥有一支健康的球队，但他仍然无法取胜。希尔会带领这支球队取得60场胜利。波波维奇能取得40场胜利就不错了。

波波维奇应该为自己和球迷着想，辞职。也许鲍勃·希尔还在待岗。

约翰·A·斯托勒(John A. Stoler)，圣安东尼奥

罚球和教练困扰着低迷的马刺队：大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)前几天在休斯顿说得好：“我们有这个阵容。”

没错，马刺队拥有冠军球员。但想要成为一支冠军球队，你必须拥有一个冠军教练。

给球员们的一点建议：湖人队赢了10分，你们罚丢了11个球。用乔治·格文(George Gervin)的话说：“罚球线上没有压力。”明白吗？

点击查看原文：FANSTAND

FANSTAND

Sprewell’s punishment doesn’t fit the crime Latrell Sprewell should pay for what he did, but in some other way. I can see a 10-game suspension, a trade and only allowing him to make the NBA’s minimum pay of $140,000. But to take away all of his money and levy a one-year suspension is ridiculous.

The players union should stand by Sprewell on this and show some unity because no one else cares what happens to NBA players. This is not about monetary greed, it’s about someone’s job. Players, in the future, if you get upset with your coach, put your hands in your pockets and just walk away.

Everyone is saying the punishment was stiff because it was an incident inside the league. I know this was a serious offense, but let’s revisit what happened with two of the NBA’s other bad boys.

Charles Barkley recently threw someone through a glass window. No NBA fine. Dennis Rodman referred to the Mormons as stupid for hassling him. He was fined. The same rules should apply to all NBA players, whether it’s what you say or what you do.

All I want is to see a good game of basketball without anyone getting hurt. Earline Miller, San Antonio League was too easy in Sprewell incident: The NBA did the right thing by suspending Latrell Sprewell for a year. But it should have been more. Coach Carlesimo should file assault and battery charges against Sprewell.

And as for Charles Barkley’s remarks about a boycott of the All- Star Game, he should be reminded about what happened to organized baseball when its players went on strike. It has never recovered from the lost attendance. Berman E. Deffenbaugh Jr., San Antonio

Popovich to blame for Spurs’ poor play: I have been an avid sports fan for more than 60 years, and I have seen many basketball games over the years. But never have I been so disappointed as I am this year at the performance of the Spurs.

I have spoken with many people about the Spurs and their play. Believe me when I say that 100 percent of them agree with me that it is not their personnel that is the problem; it’s the coaching.

Gregg Popovich is not a head coach, never has been a head coach and, if I could have my way, would never be a head coach again.

Popovich’s problem is his ego. He thought that with so many Spurs being laid up with injuries last year that it would be a good time to fire Bob Hill. In our estimation, Hill was a fine coach.

Popovich made the statement that Hill did not teach defense. What is Popovich teaching the players; that is, if they need any teaching?

Claire Bee said it best many years ago that a good offense was your best defense. I agree. If you score more times than your opponent, you win. Fred Backlund, San Antonio Popovich should fire himself, re-hire HIll: Gregg Popovich canned Bob Hill because Hill could not win with a team that was decimated by injuries. Popovich then went on to prove that he could not with a team decimated by injuries.

Now, Popovich has a healthy team and he still can’t win. Hill would have gotten 60 wins out of this team. Popovich will be lucky to get 40.

Popovich should do himself and the fans a favor and fire himself. Maybe Bob Hill is still available. John A. Stoler, San Antonio Free throws, coaching plague slumping Spurs: David Robinson said it best the other night in Houston: “We have the team in the locker room.”

Yes, the Spurs have championship players. But in order to have a championship team, you must have a championship coach.

A note to the players: The Lakers won by 10 points and you missed 11 free throws. In the immortal words of George Gervin, “There’s no pressure at the free- throw line.” Get it? Marie Ann Smith, San Antonio Aggies finally getting attention they deserve: Kudos to your equity-minded sports staff for responding to periodic bleatings from Aggie faithful that they just don’t get the kind of coverage they deserve.

No doubt, all sports fans noted the four full pages of coverage the Express-News dedicated to the Big 12 Championship last Saturday and Sunday.

Finally, the recognition A&M deserved. Now folks can look past those creampuff first three games they scheduled this year. Ken Coleman, Universal City Massive changes aren’t helping bad Dragons: Generally, when a team goes bad, it’s the coach who goes, not the players. But not the Dragons. They have traded away most of their team, and the players they got in returned haven’t helped.

If you bring in new players, it takes four to six games before they feel comfortable with the system. Also, the new and old players have to work together to learn each others’ moves. This takes time, and time is running out for the Dragons.

I went to Iguanas games for two years. Last year, I went to Dragons and Iguanas games, but finally decided on the Dragons because they played a better brand of hockey. This year, we only have the Dragons, and the hockey is worse than what the Iguanas played. Michael F. Creese, San Antonio Dragons in good hands with Coach Brubaker: I am fed up with the television news media. The Dragons won back-to-back games last weekend and there wasn’t a blip about them on KMOL, KABB or KENS (I don’t know about KSAT).

Why is it that they spend more time on golf coverage, bloopers or tennis when they should being doing what they get paid for - covering local sports first? Go out to Freeman, cover the games more and develop fan interest.

People are chastising Coach Jeff Brubaker for trading away some of the “fan favorites.” Well, don’t you think Bru knows what he’s doing? I applaud him for the moves. He has brought in guys who can really play the game, hit hard and make things happen on the ice. They are proactive players; they don’t react because they make the other team react. Robin Goodfellow, San Antonio

via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 01:40

1997-12-16, By Glenn Rogers

马刺准备挑战掘金队

这个时候到丹佛地区观光的游客们大多都会带上滑雪板。

这些装备并没有被列入马刺的远征物品单内，但他们也会像本赛季其他造访丹佛的 NBA 球队一样寻找能让自己精神振奋的高地。

圣安东尼奥希望在今晚 8 点在 McNichols 球馆面对丹佛掘金队时能够延续两连胜。马刺应该能够如愿以偿。

丹佛以 2 胜 19 负的战绩垫底西部联盟。掘金队只赢了九场主场比赛中的两场。马刺在 10 月 31 日的赛季揭幕战中以 107 比 96 击败了丹佛，并于上周六在阿拉莫圆顶球馆以 107 比 78 大胜奥兰多魔术队。

圣安东尼奥也希望结束在客场由亚特兰大之旅于 11 月 30 日开始的四连败。马刺队在离开阿拉莫圆顶球馆后的最近七场客场比赛中输掉了六场，唯一一场胜利是在 11 月 25 日对阵达拉斯时取得的。

马刺队在周一上午于阿拉莫圆顶球馆进行训练后发出了惯常的提醒。

“你不能轻视任何一支球队，”大卫·罗宾逊说，表达了队友和教练们的想法，“没有人会想到温哥华会击败火箭队（周日），但他们做到了。”

但灰熊队至少在其主场取得了 7 胜 4 负的战绩。

在两连胜期间，马刺投篮命中率较高。

他们在这两场比赛中开局迅速，首节投篮命中率合计为 75.6%。上半场，他们延续了这种猛烈势头，投篮命中率合计为 60%。

但他们在对阵掘金队的比赛中不会有一双火热之手。文尼·德尔内格罗因右肘过度伸展而无法上场，他的首发位置将由贾伦·杰克逊替换。

“也许是周六，”德尔内格罗谈到他可能的复出时间，这意味着他也会错过周三在阿拉莫圆顶球馆对阵温哥华的比赛。

“现在感觉不太好。我今天会去看医生，继续接受治疗。我们必须消除肿胀，让它恢复一些活动能力。”

在阵容中没有德尔内格罗的情况下，马刺战绩为 6 胜 5 负。即使如此，他们也应该能够击败实力较弱的掘金队，后者将失去埃里克·威廉姆斯、布莱恩特·斯蒂斯和乔治·西代克。

“我们现在打得更出色了，”马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“我们的防守很稳固，投篮命中率也有了提高。”

在早些时候在西雅图和犹他失利后，波波维奇在一定程度上简化了防守策略，但他表示进攻计划仍然不变。

“我们还是在训练营和赛季初制定的那套体系，”他说，“现在球员们对进攻更有了一些理解。有一些跑位，一些挡拆，还有一些单打。”

马刺在蒂姆·邓肯 20 投 15 中的帮助下，对阵魔术队的命中率达到 62.8%，而奥兰多队的命中率只有 39.5%。邓肯得到职业生涯最高的 32 分。

上周马刺在主场以 102 比 87 战胜洛杉矶快船队，命中率为 47.9%，而快船队的命中率只有 39.5%。

“当你通过转换比赛轻松得到篮筐、扣篮和上篮时，这会让你轻松很多，”罗宾逊说，“我们的心态、态度现在好多了，这至关重要。”

艾弗里·约翰逊在训练中一刻不停地发布着命令和建议，他说球队在进攻端放得更开了。

“我们在抢下篮板后跑得更快更宽了，”约翰逊说，“我们终于回到了年初取得成功时的状态。（但是）我们不能像战胜尼克斯队后那样放松。”

马刺在阿拉莫圆顶球馆击败了纽约队，然后在客场连续输给了洛杉矶湖人队和快船队。

“最重要的是我们能够做出封盖，积极拼抢，并打出转换进攻，”约翰逊说，“这将给我们带来成功。”

点击查看原文：Spurs set to pick on Nuggets

Spurs set to pick on Nuggets

Most travelers who relish visiting the Denver area this time of year bring skis.

Those items weren’t included among the Spurs’ equipment, but they’ll be looking for the same type of Rocky Mountain high enjoyed by most NBA teams that have stopped there this season.

San Antonio hopes to extend a two-game winning streak when it faces the Denver Nuggets at 8 to- night at McNichols Arena. The Spurs’ hope should be fulfilled.

Denver rests at the bottom of the Western Conference with a 2-19 record. The Nuggets have won only two of nine home games. The Spurs, who defeated Denver 107- 96 in the season opener Oct. 31, are coming off a 107-78 blistering of the Orlando Magic on Saturday at the Alamodome.

San Antonio also hopes to end a four-game losing skid on the road that started in Atlanta on Nov. 30. The Spurs have lost six of their last seven away from the dome, with the only win coming against Dallas on Nov. 25.

The usual notes of caution were issued after the Spurs’ practice at the Alamodome on Monday morning.

“You don’t take any team too lightly,” said David Robinson, echoing the sentiments of teammates and coaches. “Nobody expected Vancouver to defeat the Rockets (on Sunday), but they did.”

But the Grizzlies at least boast a 7-4 record on their home court.

The Spurs have been making shots during their two-game streak.

They started fast in both games, hitting a combined 75.6 percent of their first-quarter field goals. They continued that torrid pace through the first halves of those games, putting up a combined 60 percent shooting mark.

But one set of hot hands won’t be on the court against the Nuggets. Vinny Del Negro, suffering with a hyperextended right elbow, will not play and will be replaced in the starting lineup by Jaren Jackson.

“Maybe Saturday,” Del Negro said of possible return, meaning he also will miss Wednesday’s game against Vancouver at the Alamodome.

“It’s not feeling very good right now. I’ll see the doctor (today) and continue to have therapy. We have to get the swelling out of it, get some mobility back into it.”

The Spurs are 6-5 without Del Negro in the lineup. Still, they should handle the less-talented Nuggets, who will be without Eric Williams, Bryant Stith and George Zidek.

“We’re playing a better brand of basketball,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We’re playing solid defense and the shooting is there.”

Popovich simplified the defensive scheme somewhat after earlier blowout defeats in Seattle and Utah, but maintains the offensive program is the same.

“It’s the same package we put together at training camp and the beginning of the season,” he said. “The players know the offense a little better now. There’s some motion, some pick-and-rolls, some isolations.”

The Spurs, helped by a 15-of-20 shooting night from Tim Duncan, hit 62.8 percent from the floor against the Magic and held Orlando to 39.5. Duncan scored a career- high 32 points.

San Antonio hit 47.9 percent from the field and held the Clippers to 39.5 during the 102-87 home win over Los Angeles last week.

“It makes it a lot easier when your getting easy baskets, dunks and layups, off the transition game,” Robinson said. “Our mentality, our attitude, is much better now and that’s vital.”

Avery Johnson, who keeps up an almost non-stop verbal stream of orders and urgings during practice sessions, says the team is cutting loose more on offense.

“We’re running faster and wider after rebounds,” Johnson said. “We’re finally getting back to the successes we had earlier in the year. (But) we can’t relax like we did after our win over the Knicks.”

The Spurs defeated New York at the dome, then promptly loss back- to-back road games to the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers.

“The main thing is we’re getting stops, chasing down loose balls and getting out on the break,” Johnson said. “That will lead to success.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 01:50

1997-12-17, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队以黄金般的表现战胜掘金队

丹佛 - 在美国最崎岖的地形之中，马刺队在周二晚上发现了他们本赛季客场赛程中或许最轻松的一站。

马刺队以24-6的领先优势开局，并在第四节抵挡住了毫无斗志的丹佛掘金队的反扑，最终以99-85的比分战胜对手，在麦尼科尔斯体育馆的10,916名观众面前取得胜利。

圣安东尼奥队（13-10）取得了三连胜，他们将在今晚在阿拉莫穹顶体育馆与温哥华灰熊队进行比赛。掘金队（2-20）遭遇了五连败，在西部联盟的排名进一步跌落至垫底。

在缺少受伤的维尼·德尔·奈格罗的情况下，马刺队派上了贾伦·杰克逊首发担任得分后卫。杰克逊全场得到18分，创造职业生涯新高，马刺队也结束了他们客场四连败的颓势。

杰克逊在第一节投进了两个三分球，点燃了一波20-2的马刺队进攻高潮。

“只要你投进了你的第一球——无论你是谁——你都会开始对自己的比赛感觉良好，”杰克逊说，他全场5投4中，命中了4个三分球。“我并不觉得首发有任何压力。我只想以不同的心态上场。

“我知道我将要打更多的时间，所以我想要小心避免犯规。”

当杰克逊不在用他的外线投射给掘金队制造麻烦时，马刺队的内线大将大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯正在内线为所欲为。

罗宾逊和邓肯联手贡献了42分和26个篮板。两人合计21投17中，带领马刺队的进攻取得了52.8%的命中率。

“我们今天晚上表现出色，”邓肯说。“我们知道我们在内线占优。我们比他们高大强壮，我们试图利用这一点。”

罗宾逊得到22分和14个篮板。他封盖了4次，其中包括在第四节阻止了掘金队反扑的几个封盖。

邓肯则11投9中，在过去两场比赛中合计31投24中。当有人提到他的数据时，邓肯羞涩地笑了笑。

“还不错，”他说。“我只是在投我认为我能投进的球，结果它们都进了。”

在防守端，马刺队在第一节将掘金队的命中率压制在了22%。圣安东尼奥队在第一节和第二节结束时分别以26-13和48-29领先，创造了本赛季第一节和第二节失分最少的纪录。

“我们开场打得很好，在防守端成功地限制了对手，而且投篮也很出色，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“我们开局很好，并且保持了优势。”

马刺队在最近三场比赛的第一节合计比对手多得了94分。

“这是首发球员的职责，”马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说。“我们不能让替补上场后落后8分或10分。我们必须每晚都充满侵略性。”

丹尼·福特森替补出场，为掘金队贡献了18分，是全队得分最高的球员。他在下半场率领球队发起了一波反击，将一度24分的差距缩小到了11分，当时比赛还剩6分钟。

“一开始就打成这样真的很令人沮丧，而且老生常谈，”福特森说，这位来自辛辛那提的新秀。“在板凳上看着它真的很痛苦。但至少我们还在努力，还在拼。”

全场比赛，马刺队将掘金队的命中率限制在了34.5%。这是马刺队连续第三场比赛将对手的命中率压制在40%以下。

点击查看原文：Spurs good as gold against the Nuggets

Spurs good as gold against the Nuggets

DENVER - In the midst of some of the most rugged terrain in the United States, the Spurs on Tuesday night discovered perhaps the softest spot of the season on their road schedule.

The Spurs jumped out to a 24-6 lead, held off a belated rally by the hapless Denver Nuggets in the fourth quarter and cruised to a 99- 85 victory in front of 10,916 at McNichols Arena.

San Antonio (13-10) won its third game in a row leading into tonight’s contest at the Alamodome against the Vancouver Grizzlies. The Nuggets (2-20) dropped their fifth straight and fell further into the basement in the Western Conference.

Playing without injured Vinny Del Negro, the Spurs called on Jaren Jackson to start at shooting guard. Jackson came through with a career-high 18 points as the Spurs broke a four-game losing streak on the road.

Jackson buried two three-pointers to ignite a 20-2 Spurs run in the first quarter.

“Any time you hit your first shots - I don’t care who you are - you start feeling good about your game,” said Jackson, who hit 4 of 5 treys on the night. "I didn’t feel any pressure starting. I just had to come in with a different mindset.

“I knew I was going to play more minutes, so I wanted to be careful not to get into foul trouble.”

When Jackson wasn’t irritating the Nuggets with his perimeter shooting, Spurs big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan were doing just about whatever they pleased in the paint.

Robinson and Duncan combined for 42 points and 26 rebounds. Together, they connected on 17 of 21 from the field to pace the Spurs’ offense, which hit 52.8 percent for the game.

“We had a great night,” Duncan said. “We knew we had an advantage down low. We had some size and some power (on them) and we tried to take advantage.”

Robinson scored 22 points and pulled down 14 rebounds. He blocked four shots, including a few that turned back the Denver rally in the fourth quarter.

For his part, Duncan hit 9 of 11 shots from the floor, making him 24 of 31 in the past two games. Duncan grinned sheepishly when someone brought up the statistics.

“Cool,” he said. “I’m just taking shots I can make and they’re going in for me.”

Defensively, the Spurs held the Nuggets to 22 percent in the first quarter. San Antonio led 26-13 after one period and 48-29 at intermission, establishing season bests for fewest points allowed after the first and second quarters.

“We started out playing good basketball, really making stops at the defensive end and then shooting it well,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We had a good start and maintained it.”

The Spurs have outscored their last three opponents 94-53 combined after one period.

“That’s the starters’ jobs,” Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “We can’t have the bench come in and be behind by eight or 10 points or so. We’ve got to come out aggressive every night.”

Forward Danny Fortson led the Nuggets with 18 points off the bench. He sparked a run in the second half that sliced a 24-point deficit to 11 with six minutes remaining.

“It’s very frustrating and old to start the way we did,” said Fortson, a rookie out of Cincinnati. “It’s tough to watch it on the bench. But at least we’re working and trying.”

For the game, the Spurs held the Nuggets to 34.5 percent shooting. It was the third straight game the Spurs have limited an opponent to less than 40 percent.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:00

1997-12-18, By Jerry Briggs

马刺战胜灰熊保持连胜

两周前，许多马刺队球迷要求变革，他们想要大变动。付费观众质疑从教练的替换模式到 Alamodome 爆米花上放的黄油量的一切。

此后，马刺队有效地让那些抱怨大比分失利和胜率为 0.500 的人闭嘴。他们周三晚上赢得了连续第四场比赛，以 98-87 战胜了温哥华灰熊队。

在穹顶现场的 13,576 名球迷面前，大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯再次在禁区展现了惊人的力量。球迷们欢呼控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊再次贡献了职业生涯纪录——助攻 20 次。

随后，马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇好奇地患上了失忆症。波波维奇不记得在球队上一次失利——12 月 9 日在休斯顿对阵火箭队的 30 分惨败中，球迷们引起的骚动。

“什么热度？”波波维奇反问。“那不是我们关心的事情。人们的意见不能指导我们作为团队所做的事情。”

在连续两晚取得第二次胜利后，马刺队（14-10）逐渐恢复了他们在常规赛初期所表现出的傲气。

自 9 晚前在休斯顿以 108-78 落败以来，波波维奇的球队累计以 69 分击败了洛杉矶快船队、奥兰多魔术队、丹佛掘金队和灰熊队（9-16）。

有趣的是，领先中西部地区的火箭队将于周六晚上在穹顶主场对阵。

在与温哥华比赛响起喇叭声后不到 10 分钟，马刺队就开始谈论与休斯顿的比赛。

“我们不会考虑复仇，”波波维奇说。“但我们知道我们的屁股被踢到了那里。他们踢得很好，真的滚球。我们真的很期待那场比赛。这是一场你可以用它来衡量自己的比赛。”

马刺队和灰熊队都因老将受伤而缺席，并在周二晚上在其他城市——圣安东尼奥和丹佛以及温哥华和休斯顿——比赛后，不得不召唤后备力量。

少了老将大前锋奥蒂斯·索普的灰熊队在下半场最后时刻以 19-3 的比分震惊了马刺队。凭借这一爆发，他们在中场休息时取得了 5 分的领先优势。

在没有后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗的情况下，温哥华在第三节初将优势扩大到 9 分，然后才反击圣安东尼奥。

罗宾逊被布莱恩特·里夫斯在上半场打败，他冲向温哥华中锋，并因 4 次犯规将他送上了板凳。

当里夫斯在第三节还剩 7:10 的时候坐下时，马刺队落后了 5 分。他们迅速拿到了接下来的 8 分，并在第四节取得了 74-69 的优势。

“在上半场，他拿到了 19 分，”罗宾逊说。“我告诉自己，我必须迎接挑战。我对自己的防守感到失望。上半场，我们在轮换中表现得很糟糕。我在挡拆防守中表现得很糟糕。但要肯定他。他在投那些球。”

罗宾逊在第三节拿到了全场最高的 33 分中的 9 分。对于这位 7 英尺 1 英寸的老将中锋来说，这是本赛季的第五场 30 分比赛，也是当前连胜中的第二场。

当约翰逊在后三场比赛中记录第二场 20 次助攻时，正是罗宾逊和邓肯用他们的内线防守和篮板球点燃了马刺队。

“就像在丹佛一样，”波波维奇说。“大卫·罗宾逊是我们行动的核心。当他盖帽和篮板时，这是我们需要的动力。他总是得分，但当他做其他事情时，那就是我们表现最好的时候。”

邓肯用几次盖帽引发了第三节的进攻。这位 6 英尺 11 英寸的前锋以职业生涯最高的 7 次封盖结束了比赛。邓肯还得到 19 分，并夺得全队最高的 13 个篮板。

邓肯在 11 月被评为 NBA 最佳新秀后，在比赛前受到了表彰，他说：“我们已经重新集中了注意力。”“我们正在回到今年早些时候所做的事情。我们更多地控球，让 AJ 更有效。我们扬长避短。”

点击查看原文：Spurs too game for Grizzlies - San Antonio keeps its win - streak intact

Spurs too game for Grizzlies - San Antonio keeps its win - streak intact

Two weeks ago, many Spurs fans were demanding a shakeup. They wanted big changes. Paying customers questioned everything from the coach’s substitution patterns, to the amount of butter on the popcorn at the Alamodome.

Since then, the Spurs have effectively silenced those who groused about blowout losses and a .500 record. They won their fourth game in a row Wednesday night, recording a 98-87 victory over the Vancouver Grizzlies.

A crowd of 13,576 fans at the dome watched as David Robinson and Tim Duncan once again displayed awesome power in the paint. The fans cheered another career- high tying 20- assist effort by point guard Avery Johnson.

Afterward, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich curiously suffered a memory lapse. Popovich couldn’t remember a thing about the fan uproar caused by his team’s last loss, a 30-point debacle at Houston against the Rockets on Dec. 9.

“What heat?” Popovich asked rhetorically. “That’s something we don’t concern ourselves with. People’s opinions can’t guide what we do as a team.”

With their second win in two nights, the Spurs (14-10) are gradually regaining the swagger that carried them through the early part of the regular season.

Since they were trounced 108-78 in Houston nine nights ago, Popovich’s team has beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, the Orlando Magic, the Denver Nuggets and the Grizzlies (9-16) by a combined 69 points.

The Midwest-leading Rockets, interestingly, are up Saturday night at the dome.

It didn’t take 10 minutes after the horn sounded on the Vancouver game before the Spurs were talking about the rematch with Houston.

“We don’t think in terms of revenge,” Popovich said. “But we know we got our butts kicked down there. They are playing well, really rolling. We’re really looking forward to that one. It’s a game that you can measure yourself with.”

Both the Spurs and the Grizzlies were playing without injured veterans and had to summon reserve sources of energy after playing Tuesday night in other cities - San Antonio at Denver and Vancouver at Houston.

The Grizzlies, minus veteran power forward Otis Thorpe, stunned the Spurs with a 19-3 run at the end of the half. With the outburst, they took a five-point lead at intermission.

Vancouver kicked the advantage up to as many as nine points early in the third quarter before San Antonio - without guard Vinny Del Negro - mounted its comeback.

Robinson, outplayed in the first half by Bryant Reeves, drove on the Vancouver center and sent him to the bench with four fouls.

When Reeves sat down with 7:10 left in the third, the Spurs trailed by five points. They promptly scored the next eight points and took a 74-69 edge into the fourth quarter.

“In the first half, he got 19 points on me,” Robinson said. “I told myself I had to be up to the challenge. I was disappointed in my defense. In the first half, we were awful on our rotations. I was awful on the pick-and-roll defense. But give him credit. He was making those shots.”

Robinson scored nine of his game-high 33 points in the third period. It was the fifth 30-point game of the season for the veteran 7-foot-1 center and the second in the current winning streak.

While Johnson was recording his second 20-assist game in the last three outings, it was Robinson and Duncan who ignited the Spurs with their interior defense and rebounding.

“It was just like in Denver,” Popovich said. “David Robinson is the core of what we do. When he’s blocking shots and rebounding, it’s the juice we need. He always scores, but when he does the other things, that’s when we’re at our best.”

Duncan sparked the third-quarter rally with a couple of blocks himself. The 6-foot-11 forward finished with a career-high seven rejections. Duncan also scored 19 points and speared a team-high 13 rebounds.

“We’ve regained our focus,” said Duncan, honored before the game as the NBA Rookie of the Month for November. “We’re getting back to what we did earlier in the year. We’re pushing the ball more and making AJ more effective. We’re playing to our strengths, not to our weaknesses.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:10

1997-12-18, By Jerry Briggs and Glenn Rogers

马刺笔记

更多交易讨论： 最近的报道表明，球队正在尝试进行交易以提升后场实力。

消息来源称，圣安东尼奥一直在与明尼苏达和底特律讨论一项三方交易，该交易将让马刺将威尔·普度送往活塞队，活塞队将后卫马利克·西利和中锋/前锋西奥·拉蒂夫送往森林狼队，森林狼队将后卫克里斯·卡尔和中锋切罗基·帕克斯送往马刺队。

这是卡尔在联盟的第三个年头。上赛季替补出场，他投进了 44% 的球和 35.2% 的三分球。

森林狼队教练菲利普·桑德斯说，他的球队正在电话中进行大量商谈，但“现在什么都没有发生”。

马刺队总经理格雷格·波波维奇也拒绝确认有任何交易正在进行中。

德尔·内格罗的状况： 后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗的右肘周一被抽出积液以缓解肿胀。但德尔·内格罗仍然感到疼痛，今天可能无法在训练中进行大量投篮，并且可能无法在周六对阵休斯顿火箭队的比赛中出场。

点击查看原文：SPURS NOTES

SPURS NOTES

More trade talk: Recent reports indicate that the team is making attempts to pull off a trade to improve the backcourt.

Sources say San Antonio has been talking to Minnesota and Detroit about a three-team deal that would have the Spurs sending Will Perdue to the Pistons, the Pistons sending guard Malik Sealy and center/forward Theo Ratliff to the Timberwolves and the Timberwolves sending guard Chris Carr and center Cherokee Parks to the Spurs.

This is Carr’s third year in the league. Coming off the bench last season, he hit 44 percent of his shots and 35.2 percent of his three-point tries.

Wolves coach Flip Saunders said his team is talking a great deal on the telephone, but that “nothing is going on right now.”

Spurs general manager Gregg Popovich also refused to confirm any deal was in the works.

Del Negro’s status: Guard Vinny Del Negro had his right elbow drained of fluid Monday to relieve swelling. But Del Negro is still experiencing soreness, probably won’t be able to shoot much at practice today and may not be able to play Saturday against the Houston Rockets.

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

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:20

1997-12-19, By Glenn Rogers

挨了打就反击 - 火箭的痛击激发了马刺

九天，足以改变一切。

12月10日，马刺还在为火箭在休斯顿的康柏中心108-78的痛击带来的伤痛而苦恼。

那场比赛是马刺连续第三场失利，也是他们在13场比赛中的第9场失利。球迷的怒火变得越来越强烈。打电话和写信的人都在问马刺怎么了。许多人要求主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)下课。

但马刺通过取得四连胜来为这场危机的爆发降温，从击败洛杉矶快船开始，最后以击败温哥华灰熊结束。在这期间，他们的受害者是奥兰多魔术和丹佛掘金。这些被击败的对手中并不包括联盟的精英，虽然魔术队在没有明星佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)和射手尼克·安德森(Nick Anderson)的情况下仍然以16胜9负的战绩并列大西洋赛区榜首，但他们周四输给了犹他爵士。掘金、快船和灰熊将在明年五月参加选秀抽签。

尽管如此，马刺的表现依然令人印象深刻。在火箭的痛击之后，马刺的投篮命中率为45.9%。在四连胜之后，他们的投篮命中率达到了47%，在联盟中排名第四，仅次于洛杉矶湖人，位居西部第二。

在对阵休斯顿的比赛之后，马刺的对手投篮命中率为43.3%。这一数字降至42.4%，在联盟中排名第四，在西部排名第一。

在这四支被击败的球队中，没有一支球队在对阵马刺的比赛中投篮命中率超过40%，而马刺在对阵魔术的比赛中投篮命中率为62.8%，对阵掘金的比赛中投篮命中率为52.8%，对阵快船的比赛中投篮命中率为47.9%，对阵灰熊的比赛中投篮命中率为47.6%。

“我们在球场上的打法更加积极，”波波维奇周四说道，那天是球队练习的休息日。“我们在球场上对彼此的反应很好。我们的防守已经提升，这导致了很多快攻。”

马刺在对阵温哥华的比赛中得到32分快攻得分，对阵快船的比赛中得到26分快攻得分，对阵奥兰多的比赛中得到25分快攻得分。他们在对阵丹佛的比赛中没有那么快，只得到8分快攻得分。

“现在，球员们在半场进攻中的位置上感觉更加舒适，”波波维奇说。

这种进攻主要来自前场的两位大个子——大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)。这两位球员在这四场比赛中总共得到187分，其中罗宾逊得到102分，邓肯得到85分。

此外，罗宾逊还有43个篮板和11次盖帽，邓肯有44个篮板和16次盖帽。

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在这段时期内得到39分，投篮命中率为17投42中。他在对阵灰熊的比赛中找到了射程，12投7中。

“他（波波维奇）让进攻更加灵活，”后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)在对阵灰熊的比赛之前说道。“他把球更多地交到我的手中，这很好，因为我可以做出正确的决定。”

约翰逊在对阵快船的比赛中得到20次助攻，在对阵灰熊的比赛中再次得到20次助攻。他在对阵掘金的比赛中得到10次助攻，在对阵魔术的比赛中得到9次助攻。

具有讽刺意味的是，马刺的下一场比赛将是与火箭的比赛，这次比赛将在周六晚上更加友好的阿拉莫穹顶球馆进行。

点击查看原文：Shooting away after getting shot - Rockets' thrashing spurs San - Antonio

Shooting away after getting shot - Rockets’ thrashing spurs San - Antonio

What a difference nine days make.

On Dec. 10, the Spurs were still nursing the wounds inflicted by the Rockets during a 108-78 thrashing at Houston’s Compac Center.

That loss was San Antonio’s third straight and ninth in 13 games. Fan heat became intense. Callers and writers wondered what was wrong. Many demanded the head of head coach Gregg Popovich.

But the Spurs applied a coolant to the threatened meltdown by winning four straight, beginning with the Los Angeles Clippers and ending with the Vancouver Grizzlies. In between, the victims were the Orlando Magic and Denver Nuggets. The array of vanquished opponents didn’t include the league’s elite, although the Magic, playing without star Penny Hardaway and shooter Nick Anderson, still boast a 16-9 record and are tied atop the Atlantic Division despite losing to Utah on Thursday. The Nuggets, Clippers and Grizzlies will be looking at lottery picks come next May.

Still, the Spurs were impressive. San Antonio was hitting 45.9 percent from the floor after the Rockets’ blast. It’s now hitting 47 percent after the four-game run, fourth-best in the league, second- best in the Western Conference behind the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Spurs were allowing 43.3 percent shooting by opponents after the Houston game. That dropped to 42.4 percent, again fourth-best in the league, tops in the Western Conference.

Not one of the four defeated foes hit 40 percent against the Spurs, who hit 62.8 percent against the Magic, 52.8 against the Nuggets, 47.9 against the Clippers and 47.6 against the Grizzlies.

“We’ve been much more aggressive in our approach on the court,” Popovich said Thursday, an off- day from practice for the team. “We’ve been reacting well to each other on the floor. Our defense has stepped up and that has led to a lot of fast breaks.”

The Spurs had 32 fast-break points against Vancouver, 26 against the Clippers and 25 against Orlando. They weren’t quite so rapid in Denver where they had eight off the break.

“Right now, the guys are feeling more comfortable with their positions during the half-court offense,” Popovich said.

That offense has come primarily from the two big guys up front - David Robinson and Tim Duncan. The duo combined to score 187 points through the four games, 102 from Robinson, 85 from Duncan.

In addition, Robinson had 43 rebounds and 11 blocks, Duncan 44 rebounds and 16 blocks.

Sean Elliott scored 39 points in the stretch, hitting 17 of 42 shots. He found the range a bit against the Grizzlies, putting down 7 of 12 tries.

“He (Popovich) has made the offense a little more flexible,” said guard Avery Johnson prior to the Grizzlies game. “He has put the ball more into my hands, and that’s good because I can make good decisions.”

Johnson had 20 assists against the Clippers and again against the Grizzlies. He had 10 against the Nuggets and nine against the Magic.

Ironically enough, the Spurs’ next game will be against the Rockets, this time in the more friendly confines of the Alamodome on Saturday night.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:30

1997-12-20, By Jerry Briggs

马刺准备复仇火箭

马刺队对12月9日休斯顿火箭队给他们带来的惨败记忆犹新，那场比赛是他们本赛季遭遇的最惨痛的失利。

今晚7点30分，马刺队将在阿拉莫穹顶球馆迎来一场备受期待的复仇之战，他们将有机会展现自那场在休斯顿的耻辱性比赛后，他们已经取得了多大的进步。

马刺队后卫埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)周五回忆道，那场108-78的失利彻底耗尽了他的情绪。

"你感觉空虚，伙计，”约翰逊说道，“他们上来就羞辱了我们。他们为那场比赛做好了充分准备，而我们没有。他们彻底地羞辱了我们。”

凭借周五在休斯顿以116-98战胜萨克拉门托国王队的胜利，中西部赛区领头羊火箭队战绩提升至14胜7负。与此同时，马刺队自与休斯顿的比赛以来，连胜四场，战绩也升至14胜10负。

马刺队利用赛程的有利时机，连续战胜了洛杉矶快船、奥兰多魔术、丹佛掘金和温哥华灰熊队，总共赢得了69分。

在这四场胜利中，约翰逊带领球队取得了突破，他送出了59次助攻，只出现了8次失误。在马刺队经历了13场比赛输掉9场的低迷时期，约翰逊没有得到他想要的那样多的控球权。

“我一直认为，当我拿到两位数的助攻时，我们就在朝着正确的方向前进，”约翰逊说道，“这同时也是我们投篮命中率高的标志。我一直告诉大家，除非你传球的球员投进球，否则你不会得到助攻。”

当其他人为马刺队控球时，比赛很容易变得混乱。自从约翰逊开始掌控局势后，球队大幅减少了失误。

反过来，防守也提升了，这使得球队打法变得更加快速和进攻性。随着约翰逊将雷达般精准的传球穿过防守，马刺队开始以更高的命中率完成投篮。

在四场比赛中的两场，约翰逊创造了职业生涯新高，送出20次助攻。

“这是一个好兆头的表现，”约翰逊说道，“首先，我们对进攻的理解更加透彻。空间利用更合理，球员移动更流畅，我们也投进了更多的球。然后，防守也会随之提升。所以，这很有利。”

马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)似乎暗示，约翰逊成为快速进攻中领头羊的崛起，是球队努力寻找自身的过程中自然而然的结果。

“我认为埃弗里非常了解进攻，他付出了很多努力来弄清楚……什么才是对场上球员最有利的战术，”波波维奇说道。“同时，我们对把球交到他手中感到安心，因为他总是做出正确的决定。”

为了今晚的比赛，马刺队将开放上层看台，希望吸引超过30,000名观众。

考虑到球场上明星球员的阵容，这场比赛注定会是一场激动人心的比赛：马刺队的戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)，以及火箭队的查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)和克莱德·德雷克斯勒(Clyde Drexler)。

休斯顿的全明星中锋哈基姆·奥拉朱旺(Hakeem Olajuwon)将继续缺席比赛，他已经因膝盖手术缺席了连续第11场比赛。在周五的比赛中，火箭队在奥拉朱旺缺席的情况下取得了8胜2负的战绩。

在本赛季两队之间的首场比赛中，火箭队通过命中18次三分球中的10次，从15次失误中获得26分，以及替补球员的出色表现，击败了马刺队。火箭队的替补球员以44-22领先马刺队。

“他们只是击败了我们，然后离开了球场，”约翰逊说道。“（没有）庆祝 - 就好像我们喜欢做的那样。我们应该像他们那样。他们没有庆祝。他们只是击败了我们，然后回家了。”

约翰逊表示，火箭队并不像第一场比赛所显示的那样强大。

“我们知道我们是西部前五的球队之一，”约翰逊说道。“我们不认为任何球队比我们强30分。但同时，在那场比赛中，他们确实比我们强了30分。你只是期待着再次与他们交手。如果你真的有心，你就会期待着与那些击败过你的球队交手。”

点击查看原文：Spurs fired up for Rockets rematch

Spurs fired up for Rockets rematch

The Spurs remember vividly the feeling of frustration that seeped into their minds when the Houston Rockets handed them their worst loss of the season Dec. 9.

In a long-awaited rematch beginning at 7:30 tonight in the Alamodome, the Spurs will get a chance to show how far they have progressed since that embarrassing display in Houston.

Spurs guard Avery Johnson recalled Friday how the 108-78 loss completely drained his emotional gas tank.

“You just felt empty, man,” Johnson said. “They just came out and embarrassed us. They were so ready to play that game and we weren’t. And they just flat-out spanked us.”

The Midwest Division-leading Rockets improved to 14-7 by defeating the Sacramento Kings 116-98 Friday night in Houston. Meanwhile, the Spurs are surging at 14-10 after winning four games in a row since the meeting with Houston.

Taking advantage of a soft spot in the schedule, the Spurs have beaten the Los Angeles Clippers, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets and Vancouver Grizzlies by a total of 69 points.

Johnson has led the charge, passing for 59 assists and turning it over eight times in the four victories. During a Spurs swoon when they lost nine of 13 games, Johnson did not have his hands on the ball as much as he would have liked.

“What I’ve always felt is when I get double- figure assists … we’re headed in the right direction,” Johnson said. “Also, it’s a sign that we’re making shots. That’s what I keep telling people. You cannot get an assist unless the person you pass to makes the shot.”

It’s also true when others are handling the ball for the Spurs, the game can get sloppy in a hurry. Since Johnson started to take charge, the team has cut down its turnovers significantly.

In turn, the defense has picked up, which has led to a faster-paced, attacking style. And with Johnson throwing radar passes through the defenses, the Spurs have started to connect on a higher percentage of their field-goal attempts.

In two of the four games, Johnson has tied his career high with 20 assists.

“It’s a sign of a couple of things,” Johnson said. “First, we’re understanding the offense better. The spacing is better, the movement is better and we’re making shots. Then, what happens is your defense tends to get better. So that’s what’s good about it.”

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich seemed to indicate that Johnson’s emergence as the ringleader in a faster-paced game is a natural evolution of a team trying to find itself.

“I think Avery just understands the offense really well and has worked very hard to figure out what … is best for the people who are on the floor,” Popovich said. “At the same time we feel comfortable with the ball in his hands because he makes such good decisions.”

For tonight’s game, the Spurs will open the upper deck in hopes of attracting a crowd in excess of 30,000.

It promises to be an electric atmosphere, given the marquee names on the court - David Robinson and Tim Duncan for the Spurs and Charles Barkley and Clyde Drexler for the Rockets.

Houston’s injured All-Star center, Hakeem Olajuwon, will sit out his 11th straight game since undergoing knee surgery. With Friday’s win, the Rockets improved to 8-2 in Olajuwon’s absence.

In the first game of the season between the teams, the Rockets beat the Spurs by hitting 10 of 18 three-point attempts, netting 26 points off 15 turnovers and by getting superior play off the bench. Rockets reserves outscored the Spurs 44-22.

“They just beat us and walked off the floor,” Johnson said. “(There was) no celebrating - kind of like what we like to do. That’s where we need to be. There wasn’t any celebrating. They just beat us, and then they went home.”

Johnson said the Rockets are not as superior to the Spurs as the first game might indicate.

“We know we’re one of the top five teams in the West,” Johnson said. “We don’t think anyone is 30 points better. But at the same time, that particular night, they were 30 points better. You just look forward to when you get another chance to play them. If you really have heart, you look forward to playing teams that have beaten you bad.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:40

1997-12-21, By Jerry Briggs

马刺轻松战胜火箭马刺让火箭烟消云散

圣安东尼奥为首次对决的惨败复仇

周六晚上，马刺以 21 分优势进入下半场，并在阿拉莫穹顶以 100-87 击败休斯顿火箭队，31282 名球迷见证了这场胜利。

这是中西部分区对手之间的首次交锋，此前火箭队在 12 月 9 日于休斯顿进行的赛季首场交锋中以 30 分优势获胜。

马刺队所有五名首发球员得分均上双，他们的战绩提升至 15-10，连续第五场获得赛季最佳胜利。火箭队进攻糟糕，三分球命中率更低，自毁长城，战绩跌至 14-8。

“这就是我们想要做到的。”马刺队前锋肖恩·埃利奥特说，“我们想发表一份声明。我认为如果我们只赢了两分，我们都会很失望。”

埃利奥特表示，马刺队需要弥补在休斯顿惨败 108-78 的损失，这是他们本赛季最惨痛的一次失败。

“那是一场令人沮丧的失利。”他说，“我们进行了两天的比赛准备，然后我们出去输了 30 分。对每个人来说，那都是一场艰难的失利。”

火箭队前锋查尔斯·巴克利仍然认为他的球队实力更强。

“我认为我们的团队比他们好。”巴克利说，“我知道现在没有人会这么说，因为我们刚刚被羞辱了。我认为我们今晚的助攻数创下了职业生涯新低（10 次）。我们不能这样获胜。”

火箭队在 21 次三分球中只有 19 次命中，也很难赢得很多比赛。

在这场充满惊喜的比赛中，马刺队投进了比火箭队（两个）更多的三分球（七个），并亲眼目睹控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊以 21 分的赛季最高分成为该队的领先得分手。

埃利奥特命中了四个三分球，也以 20 分创下赛季新高。他与新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯的得分相匹配，蒂姆·邓肯几乎整晚都与巴克利进行了一场精彩的对决。

“我很难应付他。”邓肯说，“他非常强壮，可以在球场上跑动。他们做得很好，但是当他们对我进行包夹时，我能够把它传出去，我们命中了空位跳投。”

在进入赛场前，火箭队在赛季第一节的三分球命中数（156 个）是马刺队（74 个）的两倍以上。火箭队在与两队的首次交锋中命中了 10 个三分球，这是大胜的关键因素之一。

“我们今晚轮转得很好。”马刺队后卫贾伦·杰克逊说，“我们选择了包夹内线的时机。有时我们呆在家里。有时我们没有。大卫（罗宾逊）和蒂姆在内线防守得很好。”

因此，马刺队在周界游荡，让火箭队的射手失去平衡。

“我们今晚找不到篮筐。”休斯顿教练鲁迪·汤姆贾诺维奇说，“我们有空位投篮，我们通常能投中。我们的三分球命中率是我记忆中一段时间以来最低的。”

休斯敦后卫克莱德·德雷克斯勒以 26 分领跑火箭队。巴克利得到 22 分和 14 个篮板。作为一个团队，休斯顿的投篮命中率为 39.7%——马刺队连续第五支将对手的命中率控制在 40% 以下。

“这场比赛是我们衡量自己的标尺。”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“我们想知道我们（在最近的连胜中）所做的事情是否真实。显然是。”

在连胜期间，约翰逊凭借传球主导了进攻。他在最近四场比赛中送出 59 次助攻。面对火箭队时，他利用火箭队打挡拆战术的方式，寻求自己的投篮机会，并命中了 13 投中的 10 球。

约翰逊还送出 10 次助攻和 4 次抢断，创下赛季新高。

“AJ 在转换中是一头怪物。”波波维奇说，“他觉得他可以通过挡拆深入内线。如果他们包夹，也许他的助攻数会多于得分。”

约翰逊说他宁愿给他的队友创造机会，但他并不抱怨比赛的结果。

“我们必须继续前进。”约翰逊说，“这是我们连胜期间遇到的最好的俱乐部。这是出于很多原因我们真正需要赢得的一场比赛，主要是为了我们的信心。”

马刺队流畅、高效的进攻，在中场休息时投进了三个三分球，取得了 55-40 的领先。

杰克逊连续命中两个，埃利奥特又命中一个，在第二节结束时完成了一波 11-0 的得分高潮。它给了马刺队 53-27 的领先，是上半场最大的领先优势。

在下半场，火箭队从未缩小到 13 分以内。当约翰逊强力突破上篮时，马刺队在还剩 7:46 时将领先优势扩大到 88-67。

在与火箭队的首场比赛中，马刺队自毁长城，出现了 15 次失误，导致对手得到 26 分。他们在前两节犯了 11 个错误，随后在中场休息时被大比分击败。在复赛中，他们只失误了 10 次，创下赛季新低。

注：

德尔内格罗仍然疼痛：马刺队后卫文尼·德尔内格罗抱怨右肘严重过度伸展，“仍然锁住了”，他说他不知道他是否能够参加下周的任何一场主场比赛。

德尔内格罗说，肘部的康复因肌腱和肌肉撕裂导致该区域液体堆积而放缓。

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇表示，德尔·内格罗可能会被列为周二对阵印第安纳的比赛“有疑问”，周五对阵波士顿的比赛“可能”出场。

在得知马刺队计划将他列为对阵波士顿的“可能”出场球员后，德尔·内格罗在周六上午说：“我不知道。我以为我会参加（对阵火箭队的比赛）。当我能够上场时，我会在那里。”

德尔·内格罗因肘部疼痛缺席了三场比赛，总共缺席了 25 场中的 14 场，其中包括 11 月份因脚踝扭伤而缺席的比赛。

火箭队新秀退出：火箭队将新秀后卫/前锋罗德里克·罗兹因左膝扭伤列入伤病名单。

点击查看原文：Spurs slip Rockets in pocket Spurs send Rockets up in smoke S.A. avenges blowout loss in first meeting

Spurs slip Rockets in pocket Spurs send Rockets up in smoke S.A. avenges blowout loss in first meeting

Redemption was sweet Saturday night for the Spurs, who built a 21- point lead in the second half before finishing off the Houston Rockets 100-87 in front of 31,282 at the Alamodome.

It was the first game between the Midwest Division rivals since the Rockets won by 30 in the first meeting of the season Dec. 9 in Houston.

All five starters scored in double figures for the Spurs, who improved to 15-10 with their season- high fifth victory in a row. The Rockets, self-destructing with an ugly offense and even uglier three- point shooting, fell to 14-8.

“This is what we wanted to do,” Spurs forward Sean Elliott said. “We wanted to make a statement. I think if we’d have won this game by two, we’d have been disappointed.”

Elliott said the Spurs needed to make amends for the 108-78 thrashing they took at Houston, their worst setback of the season.

“That was a disheartening loss,” he said. “We worked on plays for two days, and then we went out there and lost by 30. That was a hard loss for everyone.”

Rockets forward Charles Barkley still thinks his ball club is superior.

“I think our team is better than their team,” Barkley said. “I know nobody will say that now because we just got our butts kicked. I think we had a career low in assists tonight (10). We can’t win like that.”

The Rockets also can’t win many games by misfiring on 19 of 21 from the three-point line.

In a game full of surprises, the Spurs hit more treys (seven) than the Rockets (two) and watched as point guard Avery Johnson emerged as the team’s leading scorer with a season-high 21 points.

Elliott, who nailed four three- pointers, also posted a season-high with 20. He matched the scoring output of rookie forward Tim Duncan, who was involved in an entertaining duel against Barkley most of the night.

“I had a hard time with him,” Duncan said. “He is very physical and is able to get around the floor. They did a good job on me, but when they double-teamed me, I was able to kick it out and we hit the open jump shots.”

Coming in, the Rockets had made more than twice as many threes (156) as the Spurs (74) in the first quarter of the season. The Rockets hit 10 treys in the first meeting between the teams, one of the key factors in the big victory.

“We were rotating real well tonight,” Spurs guard Jaren Jackson said. “We picked our spots doubling the post. Sometimes we stayed at home. Sometimes we didn’t. David (Robinson) and Tim played good defense inside.”

As a result, the Spurs roamed the perimeter and kept the Rockets’ shooters off-balance.

“We couldn’t find the basket tonight,” Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich said. “We had open shots and we usually make them. We shot for the lowest percentage I can remember in a while from the three-point line.”

Houston guard Clyde Drexler led the Rockets with 26 points. Barkley finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. As a team, Houston shot 39.7 percent from the field - the fifth team in a row the Spurs have held below 40 percent.

“This game was a measuring stick for us,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We wanted to know if what we’d been doing (in the recent winning streak) was real. Obviously it was.”

During the streak, Johnson had dominated the offense with his passing. He had 59 assists in the last four games. Against the Rockets, he took advantage of the way the Rockets played the pick-and- roll play, looked for his own shot, and connected on 10 of 13 from the field.

Johnson also passed for 10 assists and produced a season-high four steals.

“AJ was a monster out there on the break,” Popovich said. “He felt he could get inside on the pick- and-roll. If they had doubled it, maybe he would have had more assists than points.”

Johnson said he would rather set up his teammates, but he wasn’t complaining about the way the game turned out.

“We have to keep it going,” Johnson said. “This was the best club we have played during the streak. It was one game we really needed to win for many reasons, mainly for our confidence.”

The Spurs, running a smooth, effective offense, went on a three- point shooting binge and took a 55- 40 lead at halftime.

Jackson hit two in a row and Elliott added another to cap an 11-0 run near the end of the second quarter. It gave the Spurs a 53-27 lead, the largest of the half.

In the second half, the Rockets never got closer than 13. The Spurs kicked the lead up to 88-67 with 7:46 remaining when Johnson drove hard for a layup.

In the first game against the Rockets, the Spurs self-destructed with 15 turnovers that led to 26 points. They made 11 of the mistakes in the first two quarters and were subsequently blown out of the game by intermission. In the rematch, they turned it over a season-low 10 times.

Notes

Del Negro still ailing: Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro, complaining that a severely hyperextended right elbow is “still locked up,” said he didn’t know if he would be able to play in either home game next week.

The elbow’s rehabilitation has been slowed because of fluid build- up in the area caused by a torn tendon and muscles, Del Negro said.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Del Negro would likely be listed as questionable for Tuesday’s game against Indiana and probable for Friday’s contest against Boston.

Told that the Spurs planned to list him as probable for Boston, Del Negro said Saturday morning, “I don’t know. I thought I was going to play (against the Rockets). When I’m able to go, I’ll be out there.”

Del Negro has missed three games with the sore elbow and 14 out of 25 overall, including 11 with a sprained ankle in November.

Rockets rookie out: The Rockets placed rookie guard-forward Rodrick Rhodes on the injured list with a left knee sprain. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 02:50

1997-12-21, By Jerry Briggs

马刺战胜：马刺将迎来背靠背比赛的喘息机会

马刺可能不知道，当他们能在比赛间隙获得一天的休息时间来旅行时，他们该如何应对。

在本赛季的前七周，马刺25场比赛中的16场都是背靠背进行的。

“这确实有影响，”马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道，“背靠背比赛太难了。”

到目前为止，在马刺的八个背靠背比赛系列中，他们中有七个是第一晚在一个城市比赛，然后第二天晚上飞往另一个城市进行另外48分钟的比赛。

“这些比赛都很难，”罗宾逊说道，“幸运的是，现在还处于赛季早期。现在就把这些比赛打完，比在明年春天的时候打这么多比赛要好。”

到目前为止，马刺已经很好地适应了这个令人头晕目眩的早期赛程。他们在周六晚上以100-87击败休斯顿火箭队后，战绩为15胜10负。

值得一提的是，马刺在背靠背比赛的第一晚取得了5胜3负的战绩。在第二晚，他们取得了4胜4负的战绩。在全明星赛休息之前，他们还有五个在两天内进行的两场比赛的系列赛，但在全明星赛休息之后只有两个。

NBA在制定赛程时，并没有针对马刺。大多数球队在本赛季都有14-17个背靠背比赛系列。在每架球队飞机上，球员们都会在某个时候抱怨赛程安排。

令人惊讶的是，在20世纪80年代后期，当时联盟只有23支球队，比现在少6支，一些旅行赛程更糟糕。例如，马刺在1987-88赛季打了22场背靠背比赛。

除此之外，当时的NBA球队乘坐的是商业航班。如今，如果球队不乘坐包机，球员们会造反。

事实上，联盟中普遍存在着对被安排到所谓的“艰难赛程”的担忧。

迈阿密热火队甚至比马刺队更有理由抱怨。热火队和马刺队一样，已经打了八个背靠背比赛。他们在本赛季剩余的比赛中还有九个背靠背比赛。

西部联盟中领先的休斯顿火箭队在本赛季有15个背靠背比赛。休斯顿队目前只打过三个，但他们将在1月份打四个，2月份再打四个。

在头七周的时间里，马刺球员告诉他们的球迷，“好的球队会克服困难”。

但如果火箭队在全明星赛休息前的几周里表现不佳，马刺球迷会露出笑容。他们至少有一个解释——这就是在路上生活的滋味，宝贝。

艰难时刻：回顾过去，马刺在背靠背比赛的第二晚表现最差的时刻有三次。如果你愿意，可以称之为“背部断裂者”。

11月22日，在犹他州，马刺以103-74败北；11月26日，在主场对阵战绩低于5成的华盛顿队，他们以98-94落败；11月30日，在亚特兰大，他们在下半场落后26分，最终以108-96输掉了比赛。

清理门户：不要对马刺未能签下杰瑞·斯塔克豪斯感到太失望。如果他们交易得到他，他们将在明年夏天付出代价——他的新合同价值在7000万到8000万美元之间。一定有更好的交易在等着他们。

费城将斯塔克豪斯和中锋埃里克·蒙特罗斯送往底特律，换取中锋兼前锋西奥·拉特利夫、后卫亚伦·麦基和一个未来的首轮选秀权。

我有一种预感，活塞队不会停止交易。我有一种直觉，底特律队主教练道格·科林斯如果蒙特罗斯没有奏效，可能会加大努力，争取马刺队的威尔·珀杜。

点击查看原文：Spurs Beat: Spurs to get relief for back-to-back pain

Spurs Beat: Spurs to get relief for back-to-back pain

The Spurs may not know how to act next spring when they get a day off to travel between games.

Through the first seven weeks of the season, 16 of their 25 games have been played on consecutive nights.

“It makes a difference,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “Back to backs are tough.”

In seven of their eight back-to- back sequences so far, the Spurs played in one city the first night, and then traveled to another city for another 48-minutes of basketball the second night.

“Those have been difficult,” Robinson said. “Fortunately, it’s early in the season. It’s good to get these out of the way now instead of having so many of them next spring.”

So far, the Spurs have survived the head-spinning, early schedule pretty well. They are 15-10 after beating the Houston Rockets 100-87 Saturday night.

For the record, the Spurs are 5-3 in the first night of the back-to- backs. On the second night, they are 4-4. They have five more of the two-game, in two-night sequences scheduled before the All-Star break, but only two afterward.

The NBA, in drawing up the schedule, is not picking on the Spurs. Most teams have 14-17, back- to-back sequences this season. On every team plane, players grumble about the schedule at some point.

What’s amazing is that in the late 1980s - when the league had 23 teams, six fewer than today - some travel schedules were worse. The Spurs, for instance, played 22 back-to-backs during the 1987-88 season.

On top of that, NBA teams back then flew commercial. Today, if teams didn’t fly charter, players would rebel.

As it is, insecurity about getting stuck with the so-called “tough schedule” is rampant around the league.

The Miami Heat may even have more cause to gripe than the Spurs. The Heat, like the Spurs, have already played eight back-to- backs. They have nine more the rest of the season.

The Midwest Division-leading Houston Rockets have 15 back-to-backs this season. Houston has played only three so far, but the Rockets will have four of them in January and four more in February.

During the first seven weeks, Spurs players have told their fans that “good teams play through” the tough times.

But if the Rockets stumble a bit in the weeks leading to the All-Star break, Spurs fans will be smiling. They will have at least one explanation in mind - it’s just life on the road, baby.

- Hard times: In retrospect, the Spurs have been at their worst three times on the second night of the back-to-backs. Call them back-breakers, if you will.

At Utah on Nov. 22, the Spurs fell 103-74; at home against sub-.500 Washington on Nov. 26, they stumbled 98-94; and at Atlanta on Nov. 30, they trailed by 26 in the second half before losing 108-96.

- Housecleaning: Don’t be too upset about the Spurs failing to pick up Jerry Stackhouse. If they had traded for him, they would have had to pay the price next summer - as in the $70 million-$80 million neighborhood on his new contract. A better deal out has to be out there.

Philadelphia sent Stackhouse and center Eric Montross to Detroit for center- forward Theo Ratliff, guard Aaron McKie and a future first-round draft choice.

Something tells me the Pistons aren’t through trading. I have a hunch Detroit coach Doug Collins may crank up efforts to get the Spurs’ Will Perdue if Montross doesn’t work out.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:00

1997-12-21

球迷看台

波波维奇必须被解雇，马刺队才能成为赢家

彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)最好清醒一点。为了这个城市，他必须在格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)彻底失败成为教练和总经理之前解雇他，否则他会疏远大多数马刺队的球迷。

就目前而言，迫切需要的新的球馆问题即将结束，或者处于极度危急状态。如果霍尔特先生坚持留任波波维奇，整个特许经营权将面临严重危险，因为马刺队的球迷对这种徒劳无功感到厌倦，并厌倦了等待。

对于那些说球员支持教练的人来说，请考虑以下事实：波波维奇从绝望中拯救了这支球队中的大多数球员。并且，对于大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)来说，尽管他很聪明，但他对球场上的事情并不十分敏锐。我的意思是，如果有人从街上把我带走，我也会心存感激。

霍尔特先生，请听听球迷们的意见。考虑到波波维奇先生是这支球队的缔造者，他必须被解除教练以及其他与球员引进相关的职责。谁应该接替他？鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)或格伦·里弗斯(Glenn Rivers)怎么样？杰西·洛佩兹(Jesse Lopez)，圣安东尼奥

三分射手是马刺队绝对需要的

我想给马刺队的格雷格·波波维奇提出一些建议。

首先，让蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)和科里·亚历山大(Cory Alexander)首发，让肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)替补出场。科里的外线投篮能让马刺队更快地开局，并减轻罗宾逊和邓肯在内线的双人包夹。蒙蒂防守强硬，并在篮筐附近积极进攻。

其次，达纳·巴罗斯(Dana Barros)、乔治·麦克劳德(George McCloud)和雷克斯·查普曼(Rex Chapman)是得分高手，如果拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)和米奇·里奇蒙德(Mitch Richmond)无法得到，可以通过交易来获得。肖恩·埃利奥特、威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)或艾弗里都是优秀的球员，可以用来交易以获得急需的外线射手。

对亚特兰大、犹他州和休斯顿的惨败证明马刺队需要改变。虽然肖恩和艾弗里都是好人，但如果他们无法稳定地命中空位投篮或三分球，现在该是交易他们或者让科里和/或蒙蒂首发的机会了。史蒂夫·休伦(Steve Huron)，圣安东尼奥

罗宾逊、邓肯很棒，但马刺队需要完整的阵容

就像“需要一个村庄”一样，需要一个团队——不仅仅是大卫·罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯。

在任何一个晚上，马刺队似乎只有这两个球员，也许再加上一个球员打得很好。那就是 9 个人中的 3 个，所以我们能期待什么？

如果目前的马刺队老板无法（或不愿）支付足够的薪水来招募一些顶级射手加入“双塔”，也许他们应该把自己的股份卖掉以增加资金。

当然，他们需要迅速行动，在波波维奇彻底毁掉马刺队之前，否则他们就无法把股份送出去。玛拉·K·罗斯(Marla K. Rose)，圣安东尼奥

点击查看原文：Fanstand

Fanstand

Dallas’ drug problem different from Favre’s The Dec. 7 Fanstand featured another disillusioned Dallas Cowboys fan who doesn’t know or can’t handle the truth.

First of all, Vicodin (which is what Brett Favre was taking) is a Schedule II pharmaceutical drug that is prescribed. It is legal.

Michael Irvin, Shante Carver and Leon Lett were all associated with drugs that fall into the Schedule I category - those that have no current accepted medical use and have a high potential for abuse.

All I know is that if you or I were caught with that, we would be serving time, not just a suspension.

As far as the 'Boys outdrawing other NFL teams, please step out of your glass bubble. There is no other team that draws 30,000 in every opponent’s stadium like the Green Bay Packers do.

If you still don’t believe, you can buy some stock in the real America’s team. David M. Geppert, Converse

Popovich must be fired for Spurs to be winners

Peter Holt had better wake up. For the sake of this city, he has to give Gregg Popovich the boot before this total failure of a coach and general manager alienates most of the Spurs’ fan base.

As it stands right now, the much- needed new arena issue is about dead or in extremely critical condition. If Mr. Holt is adamant about sticking with Popovich, the whole franchise will be in serious jeopardy because Spurs fans are tired of the futility and are tired of waiting.

For those who say that the players are behind the coach, consider this: Popovich rescued most of the players on this team from oblivion. And with all due respect to David Robinson, for all his intelligence, he is not very perceptive in regard to matters on the court. My point is that if someone picked me off the street, I, too, would be grateful.

Mr. Holt, please listen to the fans. Considering Mr. Popovich is the architect of this team, he has to be relieved of both his coaching and his other duties that have to do with player acquisitions. Who should replace him? How about Bob Hill or Glenn Rivers? Jesse Lopez, San Antonio

Three-point marksmen absolute must for Spurs

I would like to offer the Spurs’ Gregg Popovich a few ideas.

First, start Monty Williams and Cory Alexander, and bring Sean Elliott and Avery Johnson off the bench. Cory’s outside shooting would get the Spurs off to quicker starts and relieve Robinson and Duncan from double-teams on the inside. Monty plays tough defense and is active offensively around the basket.

Second, Dana Barros, George McCloud and Rex Chapman are scorers who would be great to acquire through trades if Latrell Sprewell and Mitch Richmond are unattainable. Sean Elliott, Will Perdue or Avery are good players, but tradeable to acquire much- needed outside shooters.

The blowout losses to Atlanta, Utah and Houston are proof that the Spurs need a change. Although Sean and Avery are good people, if they can’t hit open jumpers or three-pointers consistently, it’s time to make a trade or give Cory and/or Monty a chance to start.Steve Huron, San Antonio

Robinson, Duncan fine, but Spurs need full team

Just like “It Takes a Village,” it takes a team - not just David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

On any given night, the Spurs seem to have those two and maybe one other playing well. That’s only three out of nine, so what can we expect?

If the current Spurs owners can’t (or won’t) pay enough to get some top shooters to add to the Twin Towers, maybe they should sell their shares to jack up the treasury.

Of course, they need to move quickly before Popovich totally ruins the Spurs or they won’t be able to give shares away. Marla K. Rose, San Antonio

Tennessee governor roasted for remark

I believe Tennessee Gov. Don Sundquist has set a new standard for pettiness in his response to the non-selection of Peyton Manning for the Heisman Trophy.

Understandably, the governor was disappointed, but to take the low road and denigrate the winner, Charles Woodson, by saying, “Peyton is better than that guy from Michigan,” is a new low for a politician at any level.

The scary thing is that Sundquist is chief executive of a state in the United States. We can only pray for the people of Tennessee because if Sundquist makes decisions like he talks, the state is in for some rocky times.

I have always disagreed with the school of thought espoused by some that Tennessee is a “backward” state, but when you think about it, they did elect this guy governor. John M. Robison, San Antonio

College, youth soccer point way to next level

Through their detailed reporting of women’s college championships, various club soccer activities, and local college and high school games, Marissa Silvera, Arthur Garcia and Gage Harter have contributed greatly to the continuing growth of soccer in San Antonio.

Every sport deserves its chance and soccer in San Antonio, like it or not, is here to stay. It is a year- round activity that is the most popular sport among youths in the city.

With media support, San Antonio could easily back a Major League Soccer team and/or an indoor league team. At last count, San Antonio was listed as the eighth-largest city in the U.S. It is now bigger than Dallas, which has both indoor and outdoor pro soccer teams.

It’s time for San Antonio to come of age and recognize the many local soccer programs currently in existence. Hopefully, the Express-News will continue its recent trend in reporting. James D. Hamilton, San Antonio

Sprewell’s punishment is indeed ‘ridiculous’

In the Dec. 14 Fanstand, a writer claimed Latrell Sprewell’s punishment was “stiff” and “ridiculous.” If you ask me, it was a slap on the wrist.

I work at a bank. If I were to become angry with my manager and strangle him, I would be out of a job, and rightfully so. Do you think they would transfer me to another branch or cut my pay? I would also most likely be brought up on assault and battery charges. Again, rightfully so.

Sprewell is an employee of the NBA. They have every right to terminate his contract. The people who need to show unity aren’t the union bosses, but the NBA bosses.

Sprewell should be banned for life. He said himself he’s willing to play in France if he has to. Let him take his game and all of its antics overseas. That’s one less headache for Commissioner David Stern. Greg M. Ruder, Universal City

TO SPEAK OUT ON SPORTS. . .

By mail: Fanstand, Express-News Sports Dept., P.O. Box 2171, San Antonio, TX 78297-2171.

By fax: (210) 250-3351.

By e-mail: sports@express-news.net.

via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:10

1997-12-21, By Glenn Rogers

NBA 球场内外：1997 年，斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell) 的勒颈事件震惊全场

又是这一年，让我们回顾一下 1997 年 NBA 的头条新闻。

1. 拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔事件：金州勇士队的斯普雷维尔在勒住教练 P.J. 卡莱西莫(P.J. Carlesimo) 后，成为新闻头条的焦点。

现在，联盟主席大卫·斯特恩(David Stern) 和我们其他人将不得不忍受强尼·科克兰(Johnny Cochran) 用他那温柔而有说服力的语调解释为什么斯普雷维尔被激怒而发疯。

这个故事最耐人寻味的部分将是当另一个球队在本赛季或下赛季签下斯普雷维尔时，而卡莱西莫的 NBA 生涯很可能随着勇士队解雇他而结束。

1. 女裁判：10 月 31 日，迪·坎特纳(Dee Kantner) 和薇奥莱特·帕尔默(Violet Palmer) 成为了第一个进入全男性职业体育联盟的女性裁判，这是一个更光明的、更有历史意义的日子。

斯特恩和他的团队坚持认为，这两位裁判的入选并非因为她们的性别，而是因为她们是候选人中最优秀的。

我们姑且相信斯特恩的说法，让他享受这份荣耀吧。

1. 凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett) 的合同：当明尼苏达被迫签下一份价值 1.26 亿美元的合同给凯文·加内特，而他并非一名球队招牌球员时，球员的薪水终于突破了天花板。

这份合同为那些与加内特实力相当或更强的球员的未来合同设定了标准。它让球队老板们擦着汗，等待着他们自己的自由球员的报价。马刺队的老板彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt) 特别担心未来与蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 的谈判。

1. 电视转播权费用：NBC 和 TNT 将 26.4 亿美元注入联盟的腰包，确保了球员薪资的持续膨胀。斯特恩、球队老板和球员们必须解释一下，为什么他们不能在没有罢工和停摆的情况下，决定如何分享联盟创造的数十亿美元的收入。
1. 教练们的收入：教练们也发了大财，虽然球队老板们在聘请里克·皮蒂诺(Rick Pitino)、拉里·伯德(Larry Bird)、查克·戴利(Chuck Daly) 和拉里·布朗(Larry Brown) 加入由帕特·莱利(Pat Riley) 领衔的富人和权势阶层时，并没有像对待球员那样抱怨。
1. 球员们的精彩表现：谁能忘记约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton) 在他的压哨三分球将休斯顿队淘汰，将犹他队带入总决赛后，表现出的那种前所未有的、不受控制的喜悦？

谁能忘记身体疲惫、患上流感或食物中毒的迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)，强迫自己上场 44 分钟，得到 38 分，包括在总决赛第五场中投出的制胜三分球？

1. 罗德曼和其他坏小子：丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman) 在一年一度的麻烦球员巡回演出中，以踢打一名场边摄像师拉开了序幕。他被禁赛 11 场，并被罚款 25000 美元，为斯普雷维尔的史诗级离场奠定了基础。

然后是查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley) 将一名男子扔到一块玻璃窗上的事件，艾伦·艾弗森(Allen Iverson) 被指控持有大麻和携带武器，丹尼斯·斯科特(Dennis Scott) 生日派对上发生枪击案，斯科特在停车场对孩子们大喊大叫，黄蜂队老板乔治·辛(George Shinn) 因为一名女性的性侵指控而接受调查，加里·格兰特(Gary Grant) 因殴打罪被捕，等等等等。

1. 选秀乐透：马刺队赢得了乐透，获得了选中邓肯的权利。球队立即重获生机。波士顿和新教练皮蒂诺输了。凯尔特人队的球迷们意识到，他们还有很长的路要走才能让辉煌重返这支传奇球队。
1. 芝加哥公牛队：最棒的戏剧。总经理杰里·克劳斯(Jerry Krause) 哼哼唧唧，宣称这是教练菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson) 的最后一年，这位教练帮助他的球队获得了五个 NBA 冠军。

杰克逊几乎变成了一个神秘的人物，与禅宗和感恩而死乐队(The Grateful Dead) 联系在一起。

这部戏的主角，乔丹，宣布这是他最后一年，因为他对他的搭档，斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)，感到恼火，后者威胁说要拒绝回归球队，从而破坏最后的夺冠之旅。

皮蓬，尽管他经常公开表达对管理层的憎恨，但仍然坐在比赛的替补席上，变得温和起来，并表示他可能会回归。

戏剧性的最后一幕将在季后赛的某个时间上演。

1. 阿尔伯特事件：NBA 首席解说员马夫·阿尔伯特(Marv Albert) 失去了工作，并遭受了无法言说的个人羞辱，因为他私下浪漫的时刻被揭露，包括咬伤女性和穿上女性内衣。

点击查看原文：Around the NBA: Sprewell the Strangler stole the stage in 1997

Around the NBA: Sprewell the Strangler stole the stage in 1997

It’s that time of year, so let’s take a look at some of 1997’s top NBA stories.

- 1. The Latrell Sprewell incident: The Golden State Warriors strangler usurped the most prominent spot in the news when he throttled Coach P.J. Carlesimo.

Now, Commissioner David Stern and the rest of us will be subjected to listening to Johnny Cochran explain in those soft, persuasive tones why Sprewell was unduly provoked into madness.

A most illuminating twist to this tale will come when another team signs Sprewell, this season or next, and Carlesimo’s NBA career probably is finished once the Warriors dismiss him.

- 2. Female referees: A brighter and more historic day came Oct. 31 when Dee Kantner and Violet Palmer became the first female referees in an all-male professional sports league.

Stern and Co. insisted the two were chosen not because of their gender but because they were among the best candidates available.

We’ll let that slide and allow Stern to bask in the moment’s glory.

- 3. Kevin Garnett’s contract: Players’ salaries finally did go through the roof when Minnesota was forced to sign Kevin Garnett, not a franchise player, to a contract worth $126 million.

That contract set the standard for pacts to come for players equal or superior to the youthful Garnett. It has team owners mopping their brows while awaiting the requests of their own free agents. Spurs owner Peter Holt especially must be sweating future negotiations with Tim Duncan.

- 4. Television money: NBC and TNT assured the continued bloating of salaries when they poured $2.64 billion into the league’s coffers. Stern, the owners and the players will have to explain just why they can’t decide how to share the billions of dollars generated by the league without strikes and lockouts.

- 5. Coaches cash in: Coaches broke the bank, too, although team owners didn’t whine as much when they hired Rick Pitino, Larry Bird, Chuck Daly and Larry Brown to join the wealthy and powerful ranks already occupied by Pat Riley.

- 6. The true wonders of players: Who can forget John Stockton’s explosion of unrestrained and uncharacteristic joy after his buzzer-beating three-pointer salted away Houston and sent Utah into the Finals for the first time in franchise history?

Who can forget the ailing Michael Jordan, physically drained by either flu or food poisoning, willing himself to play 44 minutes and score 38 points, including the clinching three- pointer, in Game 5 of the Finals?

- 7. Rodman and other bad boys: Dennis Rodman, fitfully enough, kicked off the year-long parade of troubled players by booting a courtside cameraman. He was suspended for 11 games and fined $25,000, setting the stage for Sprewell’s historic ouster.

Then we had Charles Barkley throwing a guy through a plate-glass window, Allen Iverson charged with marijuana possession and carrying a concealed weapon, a shooting at Dennis Scott’s birthday party and Scott’s ranting and raving at kids in a parking lot, Hornets owner George Shinn investigated regarding a woman’s accusation of sexual abuse, Gary Grant’s arrest for battery, etc., etc., etc.

- 8. The lottery and draft: The Spurs won the lottery and the right to draft Duncan. The franchise was immediately revitalized. Boston and new coach Pitino lost. Celtics fans realized they had more years to go before true glory returned to the fabled franchise.

- 9. The Chicago Bulls: Theater at its best. General manager Jerry Krause harrumphs and proclaims this is the last year for Coach Phil Jackson, a man who helped guide the general manager’s team to five NBA titles.

Jackson assumes almost a mystic persona, identified with Zen and The Grateful Dead.

The production’s star, Jordan, announces this will be his last year after becoming perturbed that his co-star, Scottie Pippen, is threatening to ruin the final title run by refusing to return to the team.

Pippen, despite his oft-stated hatred of management, sits with the team during games, softens and says he probably will return.

The dramatic final act will come sometime during the playoffs.

- 10. The Albert saga: NBA premier play-by-play man Marv Albert lost his job and suffered untold personal embarrassment when it was disclosed his private romantic moments included back- biting and the donning of women’s lingerie.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:20

1997-12-22, By Glenn Rogers

马刺从蹒跚走向自信

马刺现在可以更有活力地迈步了。

他们在取得四连胜的佳绩后，又以 100-87 击败休斯敦火箭队，将连胜扩大到五场。这场比赛是在阿拉莫体育馆进行的，气氛热烈。

正是火箭队在 12 月 9 日休斯敦以 30 分的大比分战胜马刺队，让马刺队陷入了自我怀疑。马刺队渴望复仇。

周六晚上，圣安东尼奥报复了火箭队，将火箭队变成了他们五连胜中第四支被限制在 40% 射篮命中率以下的球队，也是第三支被他们得分超过 100 分的球队。马刺队此前还分别以 99 分和 98 分战胜了掘金队和灰熊队。

圣安东尼奥队对阵火箭队的投篮命中率高达 50.6%。

“我们会今晚庆祝这场胜利，但从明天（周日）上午 10 点开始，我们将把它抛在脑后，每个人都会回到工作岗位上。”教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 比赛结束后说。

好吧，马刺队直到周一上午 10 点才恢复训练。并且他们可能在悠闲的周日享受了战胜休斯敦的喜悦。

当然，人们有很多疑问，究竟是什么原因造成了他们从三连败到五连胜的转变。中锋大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 指出了一些关键因素。

“我们的进攻效率更高了。”罗宾逊说。“几年前，我们的挡拆战术非常有效，现在我们又回到了那个水平。我们根据防守情况做出了一些细微的调整，让挡拆的距离更高或更低。”

挡拆战术帮助马刺队五名球员得分上双，控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊 (Avery Johnson) 更是创下了赛季新高 21 分。

“蒂姆 (Duncan) 正在成为一名成熟的球员。”罗宾逊谈到马刺队的新秀前锋时说，“我认为他已经意识到自己有多强壮，以及他能够做到什么。一旦他学会如何运用自己的力量并提高平衡性，他将变得更加出色。”

谈到自己的角色，罗宾逊说：“我认为我的作用应该是防守、封盖和篮板球。上一场比赛凯文·威利斯 (Kevin Willis) 表现出色 (28 分钟内得到 16 分)，而他是我的防守对象。”

周六，威利斯在 36 分钟内得到了 18 分。

“埃弗里的表现水平已经大幅提升。”罗宾逊说。“他的传球更多了，他正在积极地冲击篮筐。”

罗宾逊表示，马刺队在休斯敦惨败后讨论了他们的不足之处。

“我们只是谈论了我们的防守。”他说。“我们在比赛中的一些时间段里没有保持冷静。我们本来有机会赢球，但突然间就被拉开 18 分。我们必须打出更稳定的防守。我们的许多进攻都来自于对手的失误，来自于我们防守和篮板球带来的快攻。”

前锋肖恩·埃利奥特 (Sean Elliott) 表现出色，以 14 投 7 中的效率创下了赛季新高 20 分。

“我们所有人都打得很好。”埃利奥特说。“我们分享球，我们保护球做得更好。

“我们执行的一些战术让内线球员处于更好的位置。有时候，我们把球传给他们的时候太深了。你知道的，球队之间会互相研究。他们知道我们什么时候会进行低位进攻。他们已经熟悉了我们的轮转。

“我们正在我们的运动战进攻中加入越来越多的战术。我们执行的战术更多了，球的传导更加频繁。”

埃利奥特表示，老牌球队知道如何走出低谷。

“我们都经历过这些时期。”埃利奥特说。“我曾在一支连续输掉 14 场比赛的球队中效力。但是，我不认为我们能够如此迅速地扭转局势。”

约翰逊凭借他的突破和 10 次助攻摧毁了火箭队，他说马刺队迫不及待地想要再次与火箭队交手。

“在输掉比赛后，我们不想对阵勇士队或超音速队，也不想对阵任何其他球队。”约翰逊说。“我们想对阵火箭队。”

谈到自己出色的表现，约翰逊说：“得分不是我应该做的事情。我更愿意让队友变得更好。我还是最后的选项——替补球员比我优先。我知道这一点。

“火箭队似乎想让我得分更多，想让我完成进攻。他们给了我投篮的机会。他们看到了我在连胜期间送出了很多助攻，决定采取不同的策略。

“但在我们的进攻体系中，蒂姆和大卫需要很多球权，他们每个人每场比赛大约会出手 20 次。我们必须认识到这一点。”

波波维奇表示，约翰逊已经开始掌握球队的进攻套路。

“埃弗里一直都是负责进攻的人。”他说。“今年没有什么不同。这只是一个不同的情况，我们都需要一起成长。埃弗里对此非常清楚。”

点击查看原文：Spurs make transition from stagger to swagger

Spurs make transition from stagger to swagger

The Spurs can put a little more bounce in their steps now.

The Spurs were enjoying a nice four-game win streak, but they added fiber and taste to it when they extended the run to five with a rousing 100-87 victory over the Houston Rockets on Saturday in the Alamodome.

It was the Rockets who plunged the team into some self-doubt with their 30-point pounding of the Spurs on Dec. 9 in Houston. It was the Rockets the Spurs wanted.

San Antonio returned the favor Saturday night, making Houston the fifth straight team the Spurs have held under 40 percent shooting and the third against whom they scored 100 points. The Spurs also scored 99 and 98 points against the Nuggets and Grizzlies, respectively.

San Antonio hit 50.6 percent of its shots against the Rockets.

“We’ll all celebrate this win tonight, but by 10 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday) it will be forgotten and everyone will go back to work,” Coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

Well, the Spurs didn’t return to practice until 10 a.m. Monday. And they probably relished the Houston win throughout their leisurely Sunday.

Questions, of course, abound on just what has created the turnaround from three straight losses to five straight wins. Center David Robinson pointed to a few features.

“Our offense is more efficient now,” Robinson said. “A couple of years ago, we were very effective with the pick and roll and we’re getting back to that. We make some subtle adjustments to it according to the defense. We set it a little higher or lower.”

The pick and roll helped lead to five Spurs scoring in double figures and point guard Avery Johnson scoring a season-high 21 points.

“Tim (Duncan) is really maturing as a player,” Robinson said of the Spurs’ rookie forward, who scored 20 points. “I think he realizes how big he is and what he can do with that. Once he learns how to use his strength and improves his balance, he will be even better.”

Regarding his own role, Robinson said: “I think my impact has to be on defense, shot- blocking and rebounding. The last game Kevin Willis had a big game (16 points in 28 minutes) and he was my man.”

Saturday, Willis had 18 points in 36 minutes.

“The level of Avery’s play has really gone up,” Robinson said. “He dishes it out more. He’s really attacking the basket.”

Robinson said the Spurs discussed their shortcomings after the disaster in Houston.

“We just talked about our defense,” he said. “Our composure was not good during some stretches. We’d be in the game and then all of a sudden we’d be down by 18. We just had to put together more stretches of solid defense. A lot of our offense comes off turnovers, off the fastbreaks from our defense and rebounding.”

Forward Sean Elliott enjoyed a nice outing, scoring a season-high 20 points on 7 of 14 shooting.

“We’re all playing well,” Elliott said. "We’re sharing the ball. We’ve been taking care of the ball a lot better.

"Some of the plays we’re running put the big guys in better position. Sometimes, we were getting it to them down too deep. You know, teams scout each other. They knew when we would post up. They had our rotations down pat.

“We’re putting more and more plays into our motion offense. We’re running more plays. The ball is hopping a lot more.”

Elliott said veteran teams know how to pull themselves out of slumps.

“We’ve all been through those periods,” Elliott said. “I was on a team that lost 14 in a row. But no, I didn’t think we’d be able to turn it around this quickly.”

Johnson, who wrecked the Rockets with his penetrations and 10 assists, said the Spurs can’t wait to get another crack at Houston.

“After the loss, we didn’t want to go play the Warriors or the Sonics or any other team,” Johnson said. “We wanted to play the Rockets.”

Of his own big night, Johnson said: "Scoring isn’t really what I have to be doing. I’d rather be making these guys better. I’m still the last option - the guys on the bench are options before me. I know that.

"The Rockets kind of came out with the mindset to make me score more, to finish plays. They gave me shots. They had seen me getting all those assists during the streak and decided to play it a little differently.

“But in our offense, Tim and David demand a lot of attention, about 20 shots a game each. We have to realize that.”

Popovich indicated that Johnson has begun to get a handle on the team’s attack formations.

“Avery has always been in charge of the offense,” he said. “There is nothing different this year. This is just a different situation, and we all have to grow together. Avery understands that in spades.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:30

1997-12-22, By Jerry Briggs

马里·霍尔登(Maury Holden)，马刺队创始投资人之一，逝世享年78岁

已故上校马里·霍尔登(Maury Holden)之子于周日表示，他父亲，马刺篮球队的创始投资人之一，在周六去世时是快乐的。

霍尔登，78岁，周六晚上驾车回家，此前他心爱的马刺队在阿拉莫穹顶以100-87战胜休斯敦火箭队。

他的儿子米奇·霍尔登(Mickey Holden)表示，霍尔登在37号州际公路靠近巴斯路附近发生的一起单车事故中，在车停下之前可能已经因中风或心脏病去世。

车上的乘客杰克·杜兰(Jack Duran)没有受伤。

“毫发无损，”米奇·霍尔登在周日下午说道。

霍尔登表示，这两位老朋友在事故发生时正在庆祝马刺队的胜利。

两人正在收听WOAI电台的赛后节目，并讨论谁可能会在杰伊·霍华德(Jay Howard)的“明星球员”环节中接受采访。

“杰克说，‘你离墙太近了，’”霍尔登说道。“他们撞到了墙上，弹回了三条车道。车子最后停在了围栏附近。”

对霍尔登进行的CPR抢救无效。

米奇·霍尔登表示，得知父亲在当晚早些时候对马刺队的表现感到高兴，他感到了一些安慰。

“看到马刺队战胜火箭队，对他来说是完美的，”霍尔登说道。“没有什么比这更让他高兴了，除非他们赢得NBA总冠军。”

马里·霍尔登(Maury Holden)出生于堪萨斯州的切里维尔，是1973年马刺队创始投资团的成员，并从1989-90年起担任球队秘书长兼财务主管长达17年。

他是马刺队大家庭中许多人的朋友，人们记得他是一个乐观开朗的人，一个狂热的球迷，最近还是穹顶123区DD排1号和2号座位的季票持有者。

“他是一个特别的人，”球队负责商务运营的执行副总裁鲁斯·布克宾德(Russ Bookbinder)说，“从一开始就加入了这个团队。他是一个机构，一个鼓励者，无论走到哪里都充满了欢笑。”

霍尔登是一名退役的美军上校，曾在1940年代在萨姆·休斯顿堡接受训练。在军中服役25年，包括在二战和朝鲜战争中的服役后，他担任了德克萨斯州立银行的总裁。

在堪萨斯大学读书时，他是新闻专业学生，并担任堪萨斯大学校报的体育编辑。后来，他在萨姆·休斯顿堡的第二步兵师担任《先锋报》的编辑和出版人。

霍尔登的妻子是洛丽娜·威廉姆斯·霍尔登(Lorena Williams Holden)，他还有三个女儿——劳丽·霍尔登(Laury Holden)、李·霍尔登·朗(Lee Holden Long)和林恩·霍尔登·拉什(Lynn Holden Rash)，以及一个儿子米奇·霍尔登(Mickey Holden)和儿媳切维·霍尔登(Chevie Holden)。

悼念活动将于周二下午6点至8点在波特·洛林殡仪馆举行。葬礼将于周三上午10点在圣三一浸信会教堂举行，随后将安葬在萨姆·休斯顿堡国家公墓。

点击查看原文：One of Spurs' original investors dead at 78

One of Spurs’ original investors dead at 78

The son of the late Col. Maury Holden speculated on a sad day Sunday that his father - an original investor in the Spurs basketball team - died a happy man.

Holden, 78, was driving home Saturday night after his beloved Spurs whipped the Houston Rockets 100-87 at the Alamodome.

He suffered either a stroke or a heart attack and had probably passed away before his car came to rest following a one-car crash on Interstate 37 near Basse Road, said his son, Mickey Holden.

Jack Duran, a passenger in the vehicle, was not injured.

“Not a scratch,” Mickey Holden said Sunday afternoon.

Holden said the two longtime friends were hailing the Spurs’ victory when the accident occurred.

The two were listening to WOAI radio’s postgame show and were talking about who might be interviewed on Jay Howard’s “Star of the Game,” segment.

“Jack said, ‘You’re getting close to the wall,’” Holden said. “They hit the wall and ricocheted across three lanes. The car came to rest by a fence.”

Efforts to revive Holden by CPR were futile.

Mickey Holden said he drew some comfort in knowing that his father was pleased by the Spurs’ effort earlier in the evening.

“For him to see the Spurs beat the Rockets, that was perfect,” Holden said. “Nothing would have made him happier, except if they had won an NBA championship.”

Maury Holden, a native of Cherryvale, Kan., was part of the team’s original investment group in 1973 and worked for 17 years as the franchise’s secretary-treasurer through 1989-90.

He was a friend to many in the Spurs family and was remembered as an irrepressible optimist, an ardent fan, and most recently a season-ticket holder at the dome in Section 123, Row DD, seats 1 and 2.

“He was a special man,” said Russ Bookbinder, the team’s executive vice president for business operations, “and a part of this team from Day One. He was an institution, an encourager, just full of cheer wherever he was.”

Holden, a retired U.S. Army colonel, trained at Fort Sam Houston in the 1940s. After a 25-year career in the military, which included active duty in World War II and the Korean War, he served as president of Texas State Bank.

In college at the University of Kansas, he was a journalism student and sports editor of the school newspaper at the University of Kansas. He later worked as editor and publisher of the Spearhead newspaper for the 2nd Infantry Division at Fort Sam Houston.

Holden is survived by his wife, Lorena Williams Holden; three daughters - Laury Holden, Lee Holden Long and Lynn Holden Rash; a son, Mickey Holden, and daughter- in-law Chevie Holden.

Visitation is scheduled Tuesday from 6-8 p.m. at Porter Loring Mortuary. Funeral services are Wednesday at 10 a.m. at Trinity Baptist Church, with burial to follow at Fort Sam National Cemetery.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:40

1997-12-23, By Glenn Rogers

传奇大鸟降临圣安东尼奥 - 伯德让步行者相信勤奋，六连胜势不可挡

“拉-里，拉-里，拉-里。”

这句曾经在波士顿老花园球馆里熟悉的呼喊，依然回荡在波士顿凯尔特人球迷的耳中。

而现在，最常听到的呼喊将是 “雷-吉，雷-吉，雷-吉”，指的是市场广场球馆里的雷吉·米勒，这对于那个 “拉-里” 来说是美妙的音乐。

拉里·伯德(Larry Bird)，也称为传奇大鸟，在波士顿身披33号球衣，赢得过三座总冠军戒指，如今他将自己的职业生涯转移到了印第安纳步行者队的场边。

伯德来到圣安东尼奥，带领印第安纳队今晚7:30在阿拉莫穹顶迎战马刺队。去年夏天，副总裁多尼·沃尔什(Donnie Walsh)聘请他执教步行者，引发了轰动。

印第安纳，就像圣安东尼奥一样，是一个规模较小的球队，在NBA巨头中努力维持着自己的声誉。步行者队已经开始等待一座新的球馆，当拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)穿上他的流浪汉长袍，向东前往费城时，他们希望为这座城市增添一些活力。

他们的目标已经实现。季票销售火爆，伯德已经率领球队取得了17胜8负的开局，这是印第安纳波利斯球队在NBA历史上最好的开局。

伯德的名字在过去的几个赛季里一直在教练圈子里流传，大多与凯尔特人有关。然而，许多人认为执教不是伯德的目标，当里克·皮蒂诺(Rick Pitino)被聘请来重振凯尔特人时，波士顿的大门也随之关闭了。

那么，为什么传奇大鸟回来了呢？

一句话，他感到无聊。

“我认为我在佛罗里达州那不勒斯退休的日子里有些浪费生命，”伯德谈到他的退休生活时说，“我过得不错，但我只是在玩乐。我想要竞争，我想要赢得胜利。金钱和权力对我来说毫无意义。”

伯德思考了步行者的报价一段时间，但他的决定来得突然。在一个星期二的下午早些时候，他给多尼·沃尔什打电话，第二天就宣布了这个消息。

怀疑论者立即开始议论纷纷。他们坚持认为，伟大的球员很少能成为伟大的场边指挥者。最令人担忧的是：伯德无法忍受比他能力差的球员。

著名前球星，现任优秀教练莱尼·威尔肯斯(Lenny Wilkens)说：“当他无法亲自影响比赛，当他必须依赖其他人时，他会感到非常沮丧。”

“不，我不这么认为，”伯德周一在步行者队在穹顶训练后说道，训练结束后进行了许多从底线到底线的团队冲刺。“我没有任何想要回到球场上的愿望，想要投一个最后一秒的球或传球。我再也不想那样做了。”

米勒表示，他会帮助伯德取得成功。

“这是我的球队，但我希望成为他场上的延伸，”米勒在赛季开始时说道。“我希望通过他的眼睛去看比赛，我希望证明所有关于他的错误言论是错误的。我想要证明伟大的球员也可以成为优秀的教练。”

伯德是一个情绪化的竞争者，但内心的火焰依然燃烧。在比赛中，他通常坐在场边，胳膊肘撑着膝盖，下巴抵着手掌。

当他站起来的时候，随着比赛的紧张程度越来越高，他站起身来，双手插在口袋里，踱来踱去，依然很少对球员说话，更少对裁判说话。

但他表示，他正在向球员传达他的信息。步行者队已经取得了六连胜，伯德说他认为球员现在相信他说的话：只要他们做好准备，每晚都能赢得大多数比赛。

迄今为止，这位来自印第安纳州弗伦奇利克(French Lick)的前乡下小子表示，在他短暂的执教生涯中，没有发生任何意料之外的事情。

“我执教的时间并不长，所以没有什么特别的事情留在我脑海里。但有一件事可能比其他任何事情都更让我困扰，那就是那些没有认真比赛的球员。每当我上场时，我总是全力以赴，我只希望我的球员也能做到这一点。”

拉里·伯德档案

职位：印第安纳步行者队主教练

作为球员：在波士顿凯尔特人队效力了13年，率领球队获得了三座NBA总冠军和十座大西洋赛区冠军…成为NBA历史上第三位，也是第一位非中锋球员，连续三年获得MVP奖…在1979年带领印第安纳州立大学打入NCAA决赛

作为教练：在1992年退役后，担任凯尔特人队的特别助理，之后加入步行者队担任主教练…带领印第安纳队取得了自球队加入NBA以来的最佳开局(17胜8负)

点击查看原文：Larry Legend Comes To Town - Bird has Pacers believing in work ethic, riding 6-game streak

Larry Legend Comes To Town - Bird has Pacers believing in work ethic, riding 6-game streak

“L ar-ry, Lar-ry, Lar-ry.”

That chant, once a familiar cry at the old Boston Garden, still rings in the ears of Boston Celtic fans.

The chant to be heard most now by the former recipient of those cries will be “Reg-gie, Reg-gie, Reg-gie,” as in Miller in Market Square Arena, and it will be music to the “Lar-ry” guy.

Larry Bird, a.k.a. Larry Legend, owner of three championship rings from his days as Boston’s No. 33, now plies his trade along the sidelines during Indiana Pacers games.

Bird, in town to lead Indiana against the Spurs at 7:30 tonight at the Alamodome, sparked a sensation last summer when Vice President Donnie Walsh hired him to coach the Pacers.

Indiana, like San Antonio, is a small franchise struggling to maintain respectability among the NBA giants. The Pacers, already awaiting a new arena, wanted to add some buzz to the town when Larry Brown donned his nomad robes and wandered east to Philadelphia.

Mission accomplished. Season-ticket sales flourished and Bird already has led the team to a 17-8 start, best in the NBA history of the Indianapolis franchise.

Bird’s name has been bandied about in coaching circles for a couple of seasons now, mostly attached to the Celtics. Many figured, however, that coaching was not a Bird objective and the Boston door closed when Rick Pitino was hired to resurrect the leprechaun.

So why is The Legend back?

In a word, he was bored.

“I thought I was kind of wasting my life,” Bird has said of his retirement days in Naples, Fla. “I had a pretty good life going there, but I was just playing around. I want to compete. I wanted to get some wins. The money and power doesn’t really mean anything.”

Bird mulled over the Pacers’ offer for a while but his decision came abruptly. He called Donnie Walsh in the early afternoon on a Tuesday and the announcement was made that Wednesday.

Skeptics began talking at once. They insisted great players rarely have the makeup to become great sideline walkers. The one alarm most ringingly sounded: Bird wouldn’t be able to abide talent less than his own.

Noted former star player and now outstanding coach Lenny Wilkens: “He will become most frustrated when he is unable to impact the game personally, when he has to depend on others.”

“No, I don’t feel that,” Bird said Monday after the Pacers’ practice at the dome, a practice capped by numerous team sprints from baseline to baseline. “I don’t have any desires to get out there on the court, to make a last-second basket or a pass. I don’t care to do that anymore.”

Miller said he would help make sure Bird succeeded.

“This is my team but I want to be an extension of him out on the floor,” Miller said when the season started. “I want to see through his eyes and I want to prove everybody wrong about him. I want to prove wrong that great players can’t coach.”

Bird is an emotional competitor but the fire stays inside. During games, his usual posture is seated at courtside with his elbow on his knee and his chin in his hand.

When he does get up, which is more frequently as a tense game goes on, he stands and paces with his hands in his pockets, still saying little to the players, less to the refs.

But he says he’s getting his message across to the players. The Pacers have won six straight and Bird said he thinks the players now believe him when he says they can win most games simply by being ready to play each night.

Thus far, the former Hick from French Lick (Ind.), says nothing unexpected has occurred in his brief reign.

“I haven’t been doing it very long, so nothing really sticks out in my mind. But one thing that probably bothers me more than anything is guys who don’t come to play. Whenever I played, I always went out and played hard and I just want my guys to do that.”

Larry Bird file

Position: Indiana Pacers head coach

As a player: Spent 13 years with Boston Celtics, leading them to three NBA titles and 10 Atlantic Division titles … Became third player - and first non-center - in NBA history to win three straight MVP awards … Led Indiana State to NCAA title game in 1979

As a coach: Joined Pacers as head coach after serving as a special assistant with the Celtics since retirement in 1992 … Has guided Indiana to its best start (17-8) since the franchise joined the NBA

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

这也将成为过去 · 2024 年6 月 18 日 03:50

1997-12-24, By Jerry Briggs

马刺对步行者保持连胜

周二晚上，马刺延续其连胜势头，在阿拉莫圆顶球场以 91-79 战胜了由一年级教练拉里·伯德执教的印第安纳步行者队，在圣诞礼物的单子上又添了一笔。

中锋大卫·罗宾逊领衔进攻，在马刺队豪取六连胜并终结步行者队六连胜的比赛中，得到赛季最高的 39 分。

“大卫总是想要球，而我们总会把球给他，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“大卫是最棒的。”

随着胜利的到来，马刺的战绩提升至 16-10，在中西部赛区与犹他爵士队并列第一。步行者队在后卫雷吉·米勒得到 25 分的带领下，战绩变成 17-9。

“（罗宾逊）表现得非常好，非常好，”伯德在谈到他 1992 年奥运会的队友时说，“他打败了我们。”

罗宾逊全场 24 投 15 中，拿下 12 个篮板和 3 个盖帽，让比赛变得更加精彩。新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯也给步行者队带来了麻烦，得到 18 分和 17 个篮板。

“他们整场都在做背打，而我们通常在这种情况下的防守做得更好，”伯德说，这位前全明星球员在 20 世纪 80 年代带领波士顿凯尔特人队三次夺冠，“他们用背打击败了我们，每次都抢在我们前面。”

在第四节，邓肯的拼搏和罗宾逊的侵略性上演了一场精彩的比赛，让 15,690 名球迷激动不已。

邓肯抢到一个进攻篮板，但随后处理球失误，将球丢在地上。他迅速俯身抢球，周围都是强壮的身体在晃动。保住球权后，邓肯在跪着的姿势下，将球传给了罗宾逊。

罗宾逊拿到球后，在侧翼区域突入禁区尝试扣篮，遭到犯规，并命中两个罚球。

“蒂姆每天都让我感到惊讶，”罗宾逊说，“他是一个出色的传球手，在进攻篮板方面非常积极。他用力将球传了出来。我希望自己能够完成扣篮，这样他就能助攻了。”

邓肯表示，重返分区第一名感觉很好。

“这是迟早的事，”他说，“我们低迷了一段时间，每个人都开始质疑我们。现在还很早。但重新回到我们之前的位置感觉很好。”

在比赛开始前，马刺队回忆起步行者队在主场取得的成功。步行者队在圣安东尼奥已经三连胜，而马刺队自 1994 年 2 月以来还没有在主场战胜过他们。

“他们是一支如此庞大、强壮、强硬的球队，”马刺队控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊说，他送出 11 次助攻，“我们在主场比赛中一直被他们压制。我们想在比赛一开始就取得好成绩，我们做到了。”

在步行者队在第二节末段发起强势进攻之前，马刺队在上半场曾领先多达 10 分。

中锋里克·斯密茨和米勒在该节最后 6 分钟内帮助球队打出 20-5 的攻势，步行者队以 47-40 领先进入中场休息。这是自 12 月 9 日在休斯顿输球以来，马刺队在中场休息时首次落后。

在 35-27 落后的情况下，步行者队以替补后卫特拉维斯·贝斯特的一记 16 英尺跳投拉开连胜序幕。斯密茨随后又投进两个跳投。最后，米勒以两个远投三分结束连胜。

“我不知道我们下半场是不是更有活力了，”波波维奇说，“只是两支球队在互相较量，然后雷吉投进了那两个三分球。这让我们在中场休息时情绪很低落。”

在第三和第四节，马步行者队在整体比赛中进入状态，并封锁了步行者队所有尝试的动作。他们 30 投 18 中，命中率达到 60%，而步行者队 35 投 9 中，命中率仅为 26%。

“我们落后 7 分进入下半场，罚球 4 投 1 中（实际上是 4 投 3 中），”约翰逊说，“但我们坚持了下来。我们只是坚持不懈。我们知道这场比赛对我们非常重要，因为休斯顿和印第安纳是我们这一阶段遇到的两个最强的对手，我们想击败他们。”

马刺队在上一场比赛中以 100-87 击败了火箭队。

在对阵休斯顿的比赛中，马刺队展现了更为均衡的得分方式。但在他们最近的两场比赛中，最终结果都是一样的 - 他们将一支强队限制在不到 40% 的投篮命中率，同时命中了自己 50% 的投篮。

“这是一场大胜，”罗宾逊说，“我们刚刚击败了两支相当出色的球队。我们希望保持那种快速开局。我们觉得这将是关键。”

马刺队笔记：

邓肯在对阵印第安纳的比赛前以 56.3% 的投篮命中率领衔联盟。在与步行者队的比赛之前，邓肯在四场比赛中命中率为 65.5%（61 投 40 中）。

波波维奇表示，肖恩·艾略特的股四头肌腱部分撕裂需要在 2 月进行手术。但尚未讨论为文尼·德尔·内格罗进行手术，他右臂的肱三头肌腱部分撕裂。

“目前还没有人提到手术，”波波维奇说。

德尔·内格罗已经错过了周二晚的第四场比赛，原因是他的投篮手的肘部疼痛和肿胀。

点击查看原文：Spurs don't slow down for Pacers Robinson helps continue run

Spurs don’t slow down for Pacers Robinson helps continue run

The Spurs added to their holiday gift list Tuesday night, extending a burgeoning string of seasons beatings with a 91-79 victory over first- year coach Larry Bird and the Indiana Pacers at the Alamodome.

Center David Robinson led the attack, scoring a season-high 39 points as the Spurs won their sixth game in a row and snapped a six- game win streak by the Pacers.

“David always wants the ball, and we’re always going to give it to him,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “David is the man.”

With the victory, the Spurs improved to 16-10 and moved into a tie for first place with the Utah Jazz in the Midwest Division. The Pacers, led by guard Reggie Miller’s 25 points, fell to 17-9.

“(Robinson) played very, very well,” said Bird, talking about his former teammate from the 1992 Olympics. “He killed us.”

Robinson spiced his game with 15 of 24 shooting from the field, 12 rebounds and three blocked shots. Rookie forward Tim Duncan also caused problems for the Pacers, scoring 18 points and pulling down 17 rebounds.

“All they did all night was post up, and we usually play better defensively in those situations,” said Bird, the former All-Star who led the Boston Celtics to three championships in the 1980s. “They posted us up and beat us to the punch every time.”

A play featuring Duncan’s hustle and Robinson’s aggression had the 15,690 fans roaring in the fourth quarter.

Duncan grabbed an offensive rebound and then mishandled the ball, losing it on the floor. He promptly dived after it, with big bodies stumbling all around him. After securing possession, Duncan - from his knees - whipped a pass to Robinson.

With the ball on the wing, Robinson drove for an attempted dunk, drew the foul and hit two free throws.

“Tim surprises me every day,” Robinson said. “He’s a great passer and he’s very aggressive on the offensive boards. He flicked that pass out there pretty hard. I wish I’d have finished the dunk so he could have had an assist.”

Duncan said it felt good to be back in first place in the division.

“It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “We went down (in a slump) and everyone started to question us. It’s still very early. But it feels good to be back were we were.”

Coming into the game, the Spurs remembered past success that the Pacers have enjoyed in the dome. The Pacers had won three in a row in San Antonio, and the Spurs hadn’t won a game off them at home since February 1994.

“They are such a big, strong and physical team” said Spurs point guard Avery Johnson, who passed for 11 assists. “We’ve had some problems with them in this building. We wanted to come out and have a good first quarter, and we did.”

The Spurs led by as many as 10 points in the first half before the Pacers went on a strong run at the end of the second quarter.

Center Rik Smits and Miller fueled the 20-5 outburst in the final six minutes of the period as the Pacers took a 47-40 lead at the half. It was the first time the Spurs trailed at intermission since their last loss Dec. 9 at Houston.

Down 35-27, the Pacers initiated the streak with a 16-footer from reserve guard Travis Best. Smits followed with a two more jumpers. Finally, Miller capped it with two long three-pointers.

“I don’t know if we had more life in the second half,” Popovich said. “It was just two teams knocking each other’s heads off, and then Reggie hits those two threes. It was a real downer for us at halftime.”

In the third and fourth quarters, the Spurs whipped their overall game into gear and shut down everything the Pacers tried to do. They hit 60 percent from the field (18 of 30) and held the Pacers to 26 percent (9 of 35).

“We came out, down seven at the half, and we missed our first four free throws (actually three),” Johnson said. “But we hung in there. We just persevered. We knew we needed this game badly because Houston and Indiana were the two toughest teams we’ve played in this stretch, and we wanted to get both of them.”

In their last game, the Spurs beat the Rockets 100-87 Saturday night.

The Spurs featured a more balanced scoring attack against Houston. But in both of their last two games, the end result was the same - they held a quality team to less than 40 percent from the field and hit 50 percent of their own shots.

“This was a big win,” Robinson said. “We just beat two pretty solid teams. We wanted to get off to that fast start. We felt like that was going to be a key.” Spurs notes: Duncan entered the Indiana game as the league’s leader in field-goal percentage at 56.3. Duncan had hit 65.5 percent (40 for 61) in four games preceding the meeting with the Pacers.

- A partial tear in Sean Elliott’s quadriceps tendon required surgery in February. But there has been no discussion of surgery for Vinny Del Negro, who is suffering from a partially torn triceps tendon in his right arm, Popovich said.

“Nobody’s mentioned surgery at any point,” Popovich said.

Del Negro missed his fourth game Tuesday night because of soreness and swelling in the elbow of his shooting arm.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

该叫医生了吗？如果马刺继续这样下去

Call a Doc? If the Spurs keep it up

惨败火箭唤醒马刺

马刺新闻：

Blowout loss to Rockets jump-starts Spurs

魔法并非易事 - 低迷的马刺希望摆脱困境

Magic not an easy trick - Slumping Spurs hope to make woes disappear

球迷立场

FANSTAND

马刺准备挑战掘金队

Spurs set to pick on Nuggets

马刺队以黄金般的表现战胜掘金队

Spurs good as gold against the Nuggets

马刺战胜灰熊 保持连胜

Spurs too game for Grizzlies - San Antonio keeps its win - streak intact

马刺笔记

SPURS NOTES

挨了打就反击 - 火箭的痛击激发了马刺

Shooting away after getting shot - Rockets’ thrashing spurs San - Antonio

马刺准备复仇火箭

Spurs fired up for Rockets rematch

马刺轻松战胜火箭 马刺让火箭烟消云散

Spurs slip Rockets in pocket Spurs send Rockets up in smoke S.A. avenges blowout loss in first meeting

马刺战胜：马刺将迎来背靠背比赛的喘息机会

Spurs Beat: Spurs to get relief for back-to-back pain

球迷看台

Fanstand

NBA 球场内外：1997 年，斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell) 的勒颈事件震惊全场

Around the NBA: Sprewell the Strangler stole the stage in 1997

马刺从蹒跚走向自信

Spurs make transition from stagger to swagger

马里·霍尔登(Maury Holden)，马刺队创始投资人之一，逝世享年78岁

One of Spurs’ original investors dead at 78

传奇大鸟降临圣安东尼奥 - 伯德让步行者相信勤奋，六连胜势不可挡

拉里·伯德档案

Larry Legend Comes To Town - Bird has Pacers believing in work ethic, riding 6-game streak

马刺对步行者保持连胜

马刺队笔记：

Spurs don’t slow down for Pacers Robinson helps continue run

马刺战胜灰熊保持连胜

马刺轻松战胜火箭马刺让火箭烟消云散