马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-05, By Buck Harvey

为波波维奇做个手办？大卫重塑自我

奥兰多，佛罗里达州 - 大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)谈论防守，以及格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)如何向他强调这一点。这时，一个孩子走上前来要签名。这个孩子想让罗宾逊在自己的大卫·罗宾逊手办上签字。

罗宾逊签了名，有人提到这个迷你版罗宾逊并没有在防守。这个手办高举着一个篮球，高到足以对“特种部队”进行灌篮。其他配件，比如一个迷你版的埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)传球给他，并没有包含在内。

罗宾逊笑着说：“如果盖帽能卖掉手办，那么就会有迪肯贝·穆托姆博(Dikembe Mutombo)的手办。”

所以，面对这个市场真相，一种与之形成对比的销售策略已经持续了一年多。波波维奇一直认为，马刺队最好的机会是当罗宾逊更加专注于盖帽而不是投篮时。现在，当波波维奇没有宣讲这些时，他正在通过让罗宾逊独自对抗其他中锋来挑战他。周六对阵阿朗佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)就是这种情况。

随着马刺队在“老鼠玩偶”的国度中休假一天 - 他们刚刚取得了本赛季最大的客场胜利 - 重塑计划展现出了一些希望。

罗宾逊一直都在防守，没错，他以前也听过这些话。拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)让菜鸟罗宾逊坐下来，说，如果你想成为伟大的球员，那就成为比尔·拉塞尔(Bill Russell)。

“但拉里没有说那么多，”罗宾逊说。“我知道他想要什么。我只是没有从他那里听到。”

约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas)弥补了这一点。罗宾逊听到了关于得分、盖帽、抢断、助攻的信息。卢卡斯想要一切，他会告诉罗宾逊，“我们需要你的能量。”罗宾逊没有足够的能量去满足所有人。尝试在为J.R.·雷德(J.R. Reid)补防的同时赢得得分王。

然后是鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)。“鲍勃（在一定程度上强调了防守），”罗宾逊说。

在一定程度上并不足以满足波波维奇。在1996年季后赛输给爵士队后的那个星期 - 波波维奇对希尔感到愤怒，并考虑在那时换教练 - 波波维奇知道问题出在哪里。波波维奇当时说，利用联盟中最有运动能力的7尺球员的最佳方式，就是让他专注于防守。

思路是这样的：罗宾逊的得分能力仅次于乔丹，但他的跳投并不能让马刺队运转起来。罗宾逊太冷静，太沉着。

但当他改变对手的投篮 - 如果不封盖的话 - 那么马刺队就会从他的防守中获得能量。卢卡斯的能量理论有一定的道理。波波维奇只是想确保能量来自正确的地方。

所以波波维奇一直都在强调这一点。当罗宾逊得分不多时，比如在对阵温哥华的比赛中，波波维奇会确保媒体理解得分数据。“当大卫像今晚一样防守时，我们处于最佳状态，”波波维奇会在赛后新闻发布会上开始说道。

罗宾逊喜欢这个策略，但他认为阵容的配置让这个策略成为可能。有了丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)，有人必须得分。有了蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)在他旁边的低位进攻，罗宾逊可以选择他的得分时机。

罗宾逊将继续成为联盟中前五的得分手。毕竟，他在对阵热火的比赛中以27分领跑马刺队。但这并不是马刺队周六的打法。波波维奇让罗宾逊对位莫宁，并表示不会提供帮助。在换防或当莫宁拿到球深入内线时，当然，人们会换防。否则，比赛就是罗宾逊的防守。

当夜晚结束时 - 当所有的引用和签名都结束时 - 谁能反驳这个重新包装的罗宾逊？有手办，也有行动派。

点击查看原文：Action figure for Popovich? David remade

Action figure for Popovich? David remade

ORLANDO, Fla. - David Robinson talks about defense and how Gregg Popovich stresses it to him. And a kid comes up for an autograph. The kid wants Robinson to sign a David Robinson action figure.

Robinson signs, and someone mentions that the miniature Robinson isn’t playing defense. The action figure holds a basketball above his head high enough to dunk on GI Joe. Other accessories, such as a miniature Avery Johnson passing to him, were not included.

Robinson smiles at that. “If blocking shots sold dolls,” he said, “there would be Dikembe Mutombo dolls.”

So in the face of that marketing truth comes a contrasting sell that has been going on for more than a year. Popovich felt all along the Spurs’ best chance is when Robinson concentrates more on swats than swishes. Now, when Popovich isn’t preaching that, he’s challenging Robinson by sticking him, without double-team help, against other centers. That happened Saturday against Alonzo Mourning.

As the Spurs took a day off in the land of the mouse doll - coming off their biggest road win of the season - the makeover shows some promise.

Robinson has played defense his entire career, all right, and he’s heard the message before. Larry Brown sat down Robinson the rookie and said, in effect, if you want to be great, be Bill Russell.

“But Larry didn’t say that much,” said Robinson. “I knew what he wanted. I just didn’t hear it from him.”

John Lucas made up for that. Robinson heard about points, blocks, steals, assists. Lucas wanted it all, and he’d tell Robinson, “We neeeeed your energy.” Robinson didn’t have enough energy to go around. Try winning the scoring title while covering up for J.R. Reid.

Then came Bob Hill. “Bob (emphasized defense) to some extent,” said Robinson.

Some extent wasn’t enough for Popovich. The week after the playoff loss to the Jazz in 1996 - when Popovich fumed at Hill and considered a coaching change then - Popovich knew what was wrong. The way to take advantage of the league’s most athletic 7-footer, Popovich said then, was to aim him at defense.

The thinking goes like this: Robinson scores as well as anyone not named Jordan, but his jumpers don’t get the Spurs going. Robinson is too smooth and too impassive.

But when he’s changing shots - if not rejecting them - then the Spurs feed off of that. There’s something to Lucas’ energy theory. Popovich just wants to be sure it’s coming from the right place.

So Popovich talks it up. When Robinson doesn’t score much, which happened against Vancouver, Popovich makes sure the media understands the box score. “We are at our best,” Popovich will begin the postgame news conference, “when David plays defense as he did tonight.”

Robinson likes the strategy, but thinks the personnel makes it possible. With Dennis Rodman, somebody had to score. With Tim Duncan’s post-up game next to him, Robinson can pick his spots.

Robinson will continue to be a top-five scorer in the league. After all, he led the Spurs with 27 points against Miami. But that’s not how the Spurs approached Saturday. Popovich lined up Robinson against Mourning and said help wouldn’t come. On switches or when Mourning got the ball deep, sure, people would rotate. Otherwise, the game was Robinson’s to defend.

And when the night was over - when all the quotes and autographs were over - who could argue with the newly packaged Robinson? There are action figures, and there are active ones.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-06, By Jerry Briggs

马刺保持神奇手感——圣安东尼奥在与奥兰多的防守大战中获胜

佛罗里达州奥兰多——马刺并不介意比分板上出现一些难看的污点。

他们唯一关心的是最终的结果，周一晚上以 74-69 战胜奥兰多魔术队。

“这是我们 11 月份会输掉的比赛。”马刺队前锋查克·珀森说。

但这并非 11 月份。实际上，这支马刺队与本赛季早些时候在 13 场比赛中输掉 9 场的那支马刺队不同。

这支球队正在找到赢得比赛的方法，即使球员受伤、双腿疲劳、跳投击中篮筐边缘。

凭借第 4 场胜利，马刺队在其最近的 12 场比赛中以 11-1 的比分取得进步，并以 21-11 的比分占据了中西部赛区的榜首位置。

“每当你在客场取胜时，你都会感到高兴。”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“我尤其高兴，因为我认为魔术队表现出了强大的能量和斗志。他们对我们的大个子进行了出色的防守。”

马刺队克服了 40% 的命中率和与赛季最低得分持平的总得分，击败了命运不佳的魔术队，后者以 10 场比赛的第 9 场失利将战绩降至 17-16。

尽管珀森 9 投 0 中，中锋大卫·罗宾逊下半场没能投进一个运动战进球，但马刺队仍然取得了胜利。

“这表明我们作为一个团队正在变得更好。”珀森说，他在 36 分钟的比赛中抢下了 8 个篮板，同时背部僵硬。“这表明，当我们的投篮手感不佳时，我们的防守仍然存在。”

珀森代替前锋肖恩·艾利奥特首发，后者因腹股沟拉伤身着便服坐在场边。艾利奥特在马刺队周六以 84-77 战胜迈阿密的比赛中受伤，比赛开始 3 分钟后他就倒下了。

从这个意义上说，马刺队在没有两名首发球员的情况下横扫了两场客场比赛。后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗因肘关节过度伸展错过了最近的 10 场比赛。

在没有艾利奥特和德尔·内格罗的情况下，马刺队并不总是漂亮。但他们坚韧不拔是毋庸置疑的，因为在最近的热潮中，他们在客场连续赢得了 4 场比赛。

“这些横扫都很棒。”罗宾逊说，他在比赛最后 7 分钟内用 4 次封盖将魔术队拒之门外，“主场获胜是一回事。你必须走上客场并赢得一些艰难的比赛。而（这场比赛）绝对是其中之一。”

新秀蒂姆·邓肯以 20 分领先马刺队，但罗宾逊却是比赛后半段的胜负手。他在禁区内扼杀了奥兰多的罗尼·塞卡利，在场上盖掉了布莱恩·埃文斯的投篮，在篮下又盖掉了另外 3 次投篮。

因此，马刺队在 5 分钟内连续得分 12 分，并在比赛还剩 19.2 秒时以 74-66 领先。在这段期间，控球后卫埃弗里·约翰逊控制了进攻，罗宾逊连续罚进 6 球，邓肯则贡献了双手暴扣。

魔术队失去了 4 名受伤的关键球员，只能在离开球场时摇头。

“你不能对我们的努力不满意。”奥兰多教练查克·戴利说，他的球队命中率只有 34.1%，“我们对输球都很不高兴。我们都很失望。但是，多么努力。”

虽然马刺队因伤病而痛苦，但魔术队的问题几乎达到了荒谬的程度。奥兰多队没有受伤的首发球员佩妮·哈达威和尼克·安德森以及关键替补球员德里克·斯特朗和马克·普莱斯。

普莱斯由于腿筋拉伤而成为最新的伤员，迫使魔术队连续第二场比赛让四年级后卫达雷尔·阿姆斯特朗首发。

阿姆斯特朗最终以职业生涯最高的 21 分、9 个篮板和 6 次助攻带领魔术队。马刺队前锋弗农·麦克斯韦尔当天早些时候与魔术队签下了一份为期 10 天的合同，出场 1 分钟，没有得分。

马刺队动作迟缓，在半场休息之前落后多达 8 分，在中场休息时间进入更衣室时以 39-42 落后。

马刺队消息

前锋肖恩·艾利奥特缺席了周一与奥兰多的比赛，并表示他可能因腹股沟拉伤而缺席周三与丹佛的主场比赛。

“这只是一次拉伤。”艾利奥特说，他在周六迈阿密比赛的第一节中受伤，之后就没有再回来。“四五年前，我的腿筋拉伤得更严重。”

艾利奥特回忆说，他因严重的腿筋拉伤错过了三周的比赛。

“这次并不那么严重。”艾利奥特说。

点击查看原文：Spurs keep their Magic touch - S.A. claims defensive battle with Orlando

Spurs keep their Magic touch - S.A. claims defensive battle with Orlando

ORLANDO, Fla. - The Spurs didn’t mind seeing a few unsightly blotches on the box score.

All they cared about was the end result, a 74-69 victory over the Orlando Magic Monday night.

“This is the kind of game we would have lost in November,” Spurs forward Chuck Person said.

But this isn’t November. And, really, this isn’t the same Spurs team that lost nine out of 13 games at one point earlier in the season.

It’s a team that is finding ways to win even when players are hurt, legs are tired and jump shots are clanging off the rim.

With their fourth victory in a row, the Spurs improved to 11-1 over their last dozen games and assumed the undisputed top spot in the Midwest Division at 21-11.

“Whenever you win on the road, you feel pleased,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I’m especially pleased because I thought the Magic came out with a lot of energy, a lot of fire. They played great defense on our big guys.”

The Spurs overcame 40-percent shooting and a point total that tied a season low to beat the hard-luck Magic, who fell to 17-16 with their ninth loss in 10 outings.

The Spurs won despite 0-for-9 shooting from Person and a second half when center David Robinson failed to score a field goal.

“This is a sign that we’re getting better as a team,” said Person, who pulled down eight rebounds in 36 minutes while playing with a stiff back. “It shows that when we’re not shooting it, our defense is still there.”

Person started for forward Sean Elliott, who sat out in street clothes with a strained groin. Elliott went down with the injury three minutes into the Spurs’ 84-77 victory at Miami on Saturday.

In that sense, the Spurs swept the two-game road trip without two starters on the floor. Guard Vinny Del Negro has missed the last 10 games with a hyperextended elbow.

Without Elliott and Del Negro, the Spurs aren’t always pretty. But there is no questioning their heart, as they have won four in a row on the road during the recent hot streak.

“These sweeps are nice,” said Robinson, who turned the Magic away with four blocked shots in the final seven minutes. “Winning at home is one thing. You’ve got to get out on the road and win some tough games. And (this) was definitely one of those games.”

Rookie Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 20 points, but Robinson was the difference down the stretch. He smothered Orlando’s Rony Seikaly in the paint, blocked one shot by Brian Evans on the perimeter and three others under the basket.

As a result, the Spurs reeled off 12 consecutive points during a five-minute stretch and took 74-66 lead with 19.2 seconds remaining. During the run, point guard Avery Johnson assumed control of the offense, Robinson hit six-straight free throws and Duncan powered down a two-handed slam.

The Magic, minus four key injured players, could only shake their heads as they left the floor.

“You cannot be unhappy about our effort,” said Orlando coach Chuck Daly, whose team was held to 34.1 percent shooting. “We are all unhappy about losing We are all disappointed. But, what an effort.”

While the Spurs are hurting with injuries, the Magic’s problems have nearly reached ridiculous proportions. Orlando played without injured starters Penny Hardaway and Nick Anderson and key reserves Derek Strong and Mark Price.

Price has been the latest casualty with a pulled hamstring, forcing the Magic to start four-year journeyman point guard Darrell Armstrong for the second-straight game.

Armstrong ended up leading the Magic with a career-high 21 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Former Spurs guard Vernon Maxwell, signed to a 10-day contract by the Magic earlier in the day, played one minute and didn’t score.

Playing sluggishly, the Spurs fell behind by as many as eight points in the first half before ducking into the dressing room at intermission trailing 42-39.

- Spurs note: Forward Sean Elliott sat out Monday’s game with Orlando and said he might miss the home game with Denver on Wednesday with a strained groin.

“It’s just a pull,” said Elliott, who hurt himself in the first quarter at Miami on Saturday and didn’t return. “I pulled my hamstring a lot worse four or five years ago.”

Elliott recalled having missed three weeks with the bad hamstring.

“This one isn’t as severe,” said Elliott.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-06, By Buck Harvey

从佛罗里达到纽约？强大的阵容

佛罗里达州奥兰多市——大卫·罗宾逊依靠长长的左手臂看管着魔术队，开始横扫联盟其他球队。他说他知道谁应该在下个月的纽约全明星赛中加入他。他排队站在他旁边。

蒂姆·邓肯？一个菜鸟？

“教练最好把他加入球队。”罗宾逊说。

但西部还有很多其他前锋，不是吗？卡尔·马龙、查尔斯·巴克利、文·贝克？

罗宾逊点头，说了些对每个人物赞赏的话。然后补充道：“如果我必须选择，我会选蒂姆。”

胜利让人产生奇怪的想法，当然。但佛罗里达州发生的事情表明罗宾逊有足够的理由感到兴奋。马刺队在没有文尼·德尔·内格罗的情况下抵达，在迈阿密失去了肖恩·埃利奥特，并且在周一晚上几乎失去了查克·珀森，原因是背部痉挛。没有这三个人，还有希望吗？

因此，佛罗里达球队气馁了；帕特·莱利和查克·戴利赚了足够的钱来想出这样的巧妙策略。但这并不重要。罗宾逊为邓肯补防，邓肯也为罗宾逊补防。

星期一发生的事情展现了各自的实力。罗尼·赛卡里沮丧而愚蠢，固执地一路猛攻。罗宾逊在最后五分钟内四次封盖，甚至让罗宾逊本人感到惊讶。他以为自己得到了五个盖帽。

不勉强，抓住错误，站在赛卡里的对立面。邓肯还没有打完半个赛季，怎么会这么聪明？

至少在过去十年里，没有人这么早展现出如此高超的内线技巧。“我认为他是天生的优秀篮板手。”格雷格·波波维奇说，“他为我们持续得分，为我们持续篮板，日复一日。”

注意稳定性。邓肯在迈阿密拿下 22 分和 11 个篮板，在奥兰多拿下 20 分和 11 个篮板。

他继续领跑联盟的投篮命中率，这意味着他知道何时投篮。相比之下，赛卡里认为一路突破罗宾逊的左手范围是个明智之举。在联盟中待了 10 年之后。

“记住蒂姆的数据，”罗宾逊说，仍在为邓肯宣传，“因为他正与我并肩作战。”

然后罗宾逊开玩笑说，邓肯窃取了他的一些数据。他从更衣室的拐角处探出头来，看看邓肯是否坐在那里，这样他就可以取笑他封盖时没有出现在记分板上。当邓肯不在时，罗宾逊回到了主题。他说他认为邓肯将于 2 月 8 日与他一起在麦迪逊广场花园。

如果邓肯被列入东部名单，他将锁定一个全明星名额。但西部有很多前锋。此外，上一次在全明星赛中出场的菜鸟是格兰特·希尔，那是三年前的事了。从那时起，新秀只出现在周六更接近于麦当劳高中经典赛的新秀全明星赛中。如果邓肯入选星期日的全明星正赛，他就不用参加周六的新秀赛了。

邓肯怎么猜？当被问及他的全明星可能性时，他耸了耸肩。“我想这取决于球迷。”他说。

然后有人告诉他，如果他入选球队，那是因为教练会投票选他为替补。他几乎没有机会作为首发赢得一个席位，因为他现在在球迷投票中排名马龙、凯文·加内特和巴克利之后第四。

邓肯再次耸了耸肩。“所以我猜，”他面无表情地说，“我必须讨好教练。”

他具有教练应该喜欢的比赛风格。并且在哈基姆·奥拉朱旺受伤的情况下，应该有一个空缺名额。

但以防万一，罗宾逊游说。这是合适的，不是吗？这些人总是互相支持。

点击查看原文：From Florida to New York? A power show

From Florida to New York? A power show

ORLANDO, Fla. - Having taken care of the Magic with his long left arm, David Robinson began swatting the rest of the league. He says he knows who should join him in New York next month for the All-Star Game. He lines up right next to him.

Tim Duncan? A mere rookie?

“The coaches had better put him on the team,” said Robinson.

But aren’t there a lot of other forwards in the West? Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Vin Baker?

Robinson nodded and said something nice about each. Then he added: “If I had to choose, I’d take Tim.”

Winning does strange things to people, all right. But what happened in Florida indicates Robinson has reason to be giddy. The Spurs arrived without Vinny Del Negro, lost Sean Elliott in Miami and all but lost Chuck Person to back spasms Monday night. Without those three, are there threes?

So the Florida teams packed it in; Pat Riley and Chuck Daly earn enough money to think up such keen strategy. But it didn’t matter. Robinson watched Duncan’s back, Duncan watched Robinson’s.

And what happened Monday showed the power of each. Rony Seikaly, frustrated and stupid, stubbornly pounded it inside. Robinson’s four blocks in the last five minutes surprised even Robinson. He thought he had five.

Grabbing the misses, forcing nothing, stood the anti-Seikaly figure. How can Duncan be so smart, when he hasn’t even played a half season yet?

No one in at least a decade has showed such inside subtleties so early. “I think he’s one of the more naturally gifted rebounders I have seen,” Gregg Popovich said. “He has consistently scored for us, rebounded for us, night after night.”

Consistency noted. Duncan went for 22 points and 11 rebounds in Miami, 20 and 11 in Orlando.

He continues to lead the league in field-goal percentage, which indicates he knows when to shoot. Seikaly, in contrast, thought it smart to keep driving into Robinson’s left-hand reach. That, after 10 years in the league.

“And the thing to remember about Tim’s numbers,” said Robinson, still selling, “is that he’s playing next to me.”

Robinson then joked that Duncan is stealing some of his numbers. He peaked around the corner of the locker room to see if Duncan was sitting there, so he could kid him about a block he had that didn’t show up in the box score. When Duncan wasn’t to be seen, Robinson went back to the theme. He says he thinks Duncan will be with him in Madison Square Garden on Feb. 8.

If Duncan were listed in the East, he’d be a lock. But there are a lot of forwards in the West. Besides, the last rookie to play in the All-Star Game was Grant Hill, and that was three years ago. Since then the rooks have appeared only in a Saturday game that’s closer to a McDonald’s high school classic. If Duncan gets named to the Sunday game, no, he doesn’t have to play a back-to-back.

Duncan’s guess? He shrugged when he was asked about his All- Star possibilities. “I guess it’s up to the fans,” he said.

Then someone told him if he gets named to the team, it will be because the coaches vote him on as a reserve. There is little chance he will earn a spot as a starter, since he now stands fourth in the fan voting behind Malone, Kevin Garnett and Barkley.

Duncan shrugged again. “So I guess,” he deadpanned, “I have to suck up to the coaches.”

He has the kind of game that coaches ought to love. And with Hakeem Olajuwon injured, there should be an at-large spot open.

But in case everyone hasn’t noticed, Robinson lobbies. It’s fitting, isn’t it? These guys always back up each other.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-07, By Glenn Rogers

史密斯在马刺队的动荡生涯结束

马刺队采取了进一步的措施，正式结束与查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)长达数年的纠纷。

圣安东尼奥马刺队在周二宣布放弃这位经验丰富的强力前锋，将其从球队名单中剔除。

马刺队在1995-96赛季中期通过交易获得史密斯，他们将J.R. 莱德(J.R. Reid)、布拉德·洛豪斯(Brad Lohaus)和一个首轮选秀权送往纽约尼克斯，换取史密斯和蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)。尼克斯用这个选秀权（第18顺位）选中了约翰·华莱士(John Wallace)。

史密斯在那赛季为马刺队打了32场比赛，但一场严重的膝伤，被描述为“骨头摩擦”，迫使他缺席了上赛季的19场比赛。在本赛季开始前，他因右膝关节炎被列入伤病名单，从训练营开始前就再也没有为马刺队打过球或参加过训练。

史密斯完成了9个NBA赛季，他不再是马刺队的一员，但他的合同还有两年。这份合同将在本赛季结束后支付他390万美元，明年支付400万美元，最后一年的工资为450万美元。

这些款项将在合同到期前一直计入马刺队的薪资帽。然而，由于史密斯的医疗问题，尼克斯似乎将支付大部分款项。据联盟消息人士透露，马刺队在放弃史密斯之前遵循了严格的医疗指南，以满足与尼克斯队交易的条款。

马刺队无法从薪资帽中剔除史密斯的工资，但他们已经申请了残疾球员特例，这将允许他们签下一名球员，工资约为190万美元——大约是史密斯工资的一半。

“我们最近申请了特例，但我们不知道联盟什么时候会给我们答复，”主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。

如果获批，球队将有时间截止到10月1日使用这笔钱来签下一名自由球员。

波波维奇说，他一直在与球员史密斯、史密斯的经纪人布里格·欧文斯(Brig Owens)以及联盟合作，试图解决史密斯的问题。

“我们认为现在放弃他是合适的时机，因为他显然不会是球队的一员，”波波维奇说。“这与任何退休问题无关。这以及他的医疗状况是查尔斯需要讨论的事情。显然，他接受了很长一段时间的严格医疗检查。

“我们确保对每种方案都进行了调查，并尽一切努力帮助查尔斯成为球队的一员。但有时，事情不会很快发生。”

32岁的史密斯对放弃过程感到不满。

“你知道，你比我还早知道被放弃的事情，”史密斯说。“我甚至没有得到被告知的礼貌。这就是马刺队对球员的尊重程度。

“但我很好，我没事。还有一些待解决的诉讼，所以我不能对自己的处境或提及诉讼中涉及的人说太多。

“但我认为球队应该有礼貌地在行动发生前几天通知我。今天我和波波维奇谈完话后，我在芝加哥的一个朋友打电话给我，大约过了三分钟。我说了，他听了。

“我一直努力以专业的方式处理自己的事情，我也会继续这样做。球队所做的很不尊重，但我并不感到惊讶。

“你知道，我越来越清楚地认识到，劳资协议中有一条将球员和设备放在同一句子里的条款。在他们眼中，我只是件家具。”

史密斯暗示，他还没有放弃康复到能够继续打球的程度。

“但我要告诉你，这不是你最后一次听到我的消息，”史密斯说。“被放弃根本不算什么。最重要的是，没有医生能告诉你能不能打球。到时机成熟的时候，我会做我想做的事情。”

当被告知史密斯的言论时，波波维奇表示，球员在马刺队期间一直受到应有的尊重。

“自从查尔斯来到这座城市，他一直受到我们这个组织以及与之相关的所有人的一流待遇，包括耐心和最好的医疗保健，”波波维奇说。“我祝他在未来的道路上一切顺利，也希望他在任何努力中都能取得成功。”

史密斯在圣安东尼奥的旅程一直很不顺利。

他在这里的第一个赛季膝盖一直困扰着他，当时的主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)在1996年季后赛对阵犹他的比赛中不得不将他换下，因为他的活动能力有限。

史密斯表示，他为此感到尴尬，并充满了动力，因此他在夏天花了时间稳定和加强膝盖。上赛季之前，他以兴奋的心情参加了训练营，但膝盖再次出现问题，只打了四场比赛就再次开始接受治疗。

直到3月15日对阵丹佛的比赛，他才再次上场，打了5分钟。

他又打了2场比赛，然后在3月20日菲尼克斯的比赛后离开了球队。在菲尼克斯比赛结束后的更衣室里，他和波波维奇发生了激烈的争吵，他猛地站起来，撞倒了桌子上的佳得乐，溅了一些到波波维奇身上。

他又打了10场比赛，然后因为脚踝扭伤缺席了4月12日的比赛。他随队旅行，在萨克拉门托和西雅图打球，但在西雅图更衣室里，他和艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)发生了口角。

他因右膝问题缺席了本赛季最后两场比赛，尽管他坚持说自己能够打球。

点击查看原文：Smith's rocky tenure with Spurs now over

Smith’s rocky tenure with Spurs now over

The Spurs took one more official step to clear the San Antonio decks of the long-running Charles Smith affair.

San Antonio removed the veteran power forward from the roster by waiving him Tuesday.

The Spurs acquired Smith midway through the 1995-96 season in a trade that sent J.R. Reid, Brad Lohaus and a first-round draft pick to the New York Knicks for Smith and Monty Williams. The Knicks used the pick (No. 18) to select John Wallace.

Smith played in 32 Spurs games that season, but a debilitating knee injury, described as “bone on bone,” forced him out of all but 19 games last season. Before the start of this season, he was placed on the injured list with osteoarthritis of the right knee and has not played or practiced with the Spurs since before the start of training camp.

Smith, who completed nine NBA seasons, no longer is a Spur, but he still has two years left on his contract after this season. The package pays him $3.9 million this season, $4 million next year and $4.5 million for the final year.

The sums will remain on the Spurs’ salary cap until the contract expires. However, it appears that the Knicks actually will pay the bulk of the amounts because of Smith’s medical problems. The Spurs, according to league sources, followed strict medical guidelines before waiving Smith to satisfy terms of the trade with the Knicks.

The Spurs cannot get Smith’s monies off the cap, but they have applied for a disabled player’s exception, which would allow them to sign a player for about $1.9 million - roughly half of Smith’s salary.

“We’ve applied for the exception, recently, but we don’t know when the league will get back to us on that,” Coach Gregg Popovich said.

If granted, the team would have until Oct. 1 to use the money to acquire a free agent.

Popovich said he has been working on the process of resolving the Smith matter with the player, Smith’s agent, Brig Owens, and the league for some time.

“We felt that it was the appropriate time to waive him since it was obvious he would not be part of the team,” Popovich said. "This has nothing to do with any retirement issue. That and his medical situation is something for Charles to discuss. Obviously, he has been heavily scrutinized (medically) for quite some time.

“We made sure every approach was investigated and every possibility pursued to help make Charles a part of the team. Sometimes, that doesn’t happen quickly.”

Smith, 32, was not happy with how the waiving process was handled.

“You know, you found out about the waiving before I did,” Smith said. "I didn’t get the decency of being told about it before the media. That’s how much regard (the Spurs) have for the players.

"But I’m fine, I’m OK. There’s still some outstanding litigation, so I can’t really say much of anything about my situation or mention who is or who isn’t involved in the litigation.

"But I would think the team would have had the courtesy to let me know about this action a few days before it happened. I got a call from a friend in Chicago about three minutes after I spoke to Popovich today. I spoke and he listened.

"I’ve always tried to handle myself in a professional manner, and I will continue to do that. What the team did is disrespectful, but I’m not surprised.

“You know, more and more I’m aware of the line in the collective bargaining agreement that puts players and equipment together in the same sentence. I’m just a piece of furniture to them.”

Smith implied he is not finished in his quest to rehabilitate to the point where he can continue playing.

“But this is not the last you’ve heard of me, I will say that,” Smith said. “Being waived is not a concern at all. The bottom line is, no doctor can tell you whether you can or cannot play. I’ll do what I want when the time comes.”

When told of Smith’s comments, Popovich said the player had been treated with all due respect during his tenure with the Spurs.

“Charles has been treated first class, with patience and the best medical care since he arrived in this town by this organization and every person associated with it,” Popovich said. “I wish him the best as he pursues his future, and our organization hopes he is successful in any endeavor.”

Smith’s road in San Antonio has been rocky.

He was bothered by his knee during his first season here, and then- Coach Bob Hill had to pull him out of games against Utah during the 1996 playoffs because of his limited mobility.

Smith said he was embarrassed and motivated enough by that to spend the summer working to stabilize and strengthen the knee. He was exuberant when he arrived in training camp before last season, but the knee again broke down and he played in only four games before resuming therapy.

He did not reappear for games until March 15 against Denver when he played five minutes.

He played in two more games but then left the team after the March 20 game in Phoenix. In the locker room after the Phoenix game, he got into an angry exchange with Popovich and jumped to his feet, knocking over a table of Gatorade, spilling some on Popovich.

He played in 10 more games and then missed the April 12 game with a sprained ankle. He traveled with the team and played in Sacramento and Seattle, but he got into an oral exchange with Avery Johnson in the locker room at Seattle.

He was held out of the final two games of the season because of his right knee, although he insisted he was capable of playing.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-07, By Glenn Rogers

掘金队没有理由松懈

当两辆火车朝相反的方向行驶时，不存在相撞的危险。

但是，这是 NBA，两支朝相反方向前进的球队将在今晚 7:30 相遇，届时马刺队将在阿拉莫穹顶体育场迎战丹佛掘金队。

马刺队在联盟积分榜上不断攀升，带着 21-11 的战绩和四连胜进入比赛。掘金队则在周二晚上输给达拉斯，在排名中不断下滑，拥有联盟最差的 2-29 战绩。

是时候稍微放松一下并继续刷战绩了吗？

“你们可能会想当然，但丹佛仍然在 NBA 中，如果我们不全力以赴，他们可以赢得这场比赛，”教练格雷格·波波维奇在周二上午在球场进行轻度训练后说道。“我们必须每晚证明我们是一支出色的篮球队。”

圣安东尼奥正在做到这一点，赢得了最近 12 场比赛中的 11 场，并击败了七支胜率高于 0.500 的球队中的六支。

马刺也不得不两名首发缺席比赛。

前锋肖恩·艾利奥特拉伤右腹股沟，并且在周六对阵迈阿密时只打了三分钟。艾利奥特缺席了周一对阵奥兰多的比赛，并且不会对阵丹佛。波波维奇说，艾利奥特可能也会错过周五在菲尼克斯的比赛，以及周六在球场对阵萨克拉门托的比赛。

后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗因右手肘肱三头肌拉伤和撞击综合征缺席了最近 10 场比赛。他将继续治疗，并且至少会缺席接下来三场比赛，可能不会参加周二在波士顿开始的五场比赛客场之旅。

在最近三场比赛中，马刺队在进攻中没有让任何对手感到自豪，在奥兰多得到 74 分，在迈阿密得到 84 分，在对阵波特兰得到 85 分，但他们的防守非常窒息。

“我们一直在防守（并且）我们一直在抢篮板，”波波维奇说道。“我们对防守的投入显而易见，这就是这支球队的基础。”

中锋大卫·罗宾逊同意这一观点，他在对阵奥兰多时得到 12 分和 11 个篮板。

“我们在防守中明显加快了节奏，”罗宾逊说道。“我们的进攻对阵奥兰多时不是很有效，但将他们限制在 60 分以下是一个稳定的表现。“

“我们只是无法将球投进篮筐。现在，我们想在客场赢下重要比赛。”

罗宾逊在西部联盟中锋投票中以 186,199 票跃升至第一名，他说，各队迅速对他进行包夹，试图让他无法持球。

他说：“当他们这么做时，我必须要么将球传出投篮，要么重新站位并再次拿球。”“在对阵奥兰多时，我重新站位的表现并不好，所以我必须努力解决这个方面以达到我比赛的巅峰。”

马刺队还让新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯在罗宾逊不在场的情况下获得了更多的时间。

罗宾逊说：“在最近几场比赛中，我并没有一直和蒂姆同场。”“我认为蒂姆和波波现在都对蒂姆独自上场充满信心。蒂姆在那里得到更长的出场时间，他是核心人物。”

邓肯在西部前锋投票中也上升了，获得了 153,325 票，仅落后于明尼苏达的凯文·加内特（153,637 票）。

球队领袖、控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊指出，在他的赛季初期，他的角色也发生了一些变化。

约翰逊说：“在赛季初，波波希望每个人都能控球；从我接球，然后到我传球（在最后一步之前）。”“现在，并不总是从我开始，但以我控球结束。“

“在每场比赛之后，（波波维奇）都会查看我的助攻失误率，如果比 5-1 差的话，他不喜欢。但这是他最关心的我比赛的一个方面。”

点击查看原文：Nuggets no reason to ease up

Nuggets no reason to ease up

There’s no danger of collision when two trains are heading in the opposite direction.

But this is the NBA, and two teams heading in the opposite direction will collide at 7:30 tonight when the Spurs meet the Denver Nuggets at the Alamodome.

The Spurs are pushing ever upward in the league standings, taking a 21-11 record and four-game win streak into the game. The Nuggets, who lost at Dallas on Tuesday night, are spiraling down through the ranks and own the league’s worst record at 2-29.

Time to relax a bit and still pad the record?

“You may think otherwise, but Denver is still in the NBA and they can win this game if we don’t compete,” said Coach Gregg Popovich after the team’s light practice at the dome Tuesday morning. “We have to prove every night that we are a solid basketball team.”

San Antonio has been doing just that, winning 11 of its last 12 games and defeating six of seven teams with records better than .500.

The Spurs also are playing without two starters.

Forward Sean Elliott strained his right groin and played only three minutes against Miami on Saturday. Elliott sat out the Orlando game Monday and will not play against Denver. Popovich said Elliott also probably would miss Friday’s game in Phoenix and maybe the Sacramento game Saturday at the dome.

Guard Vinny Del Negro has missed the last 10 games with a right elbow triceps strain and impaction syndrome. He will continue therapy and miss at least the next three games and may not make the five-game road trip beginning Tuesday in Boston.

The Spurs haven’t made any offensive gods blush the last three games, scoring 74 points at Orlando, 84 at Miami and 85 against Portland, but their defense has been suffocating.

“We have made stops (and) we have been rebounding,” Popovich said. “Our commitment to defense has been obvious, and that’s what this team is predicated on.”

Center David Robinson, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Orlando, agrees.

“We’ve definitely picked up the pace on defense,” Robinson said. "Our offense wasn’t very effective (against Orlando), but it was a solid job to hold them in the 60s.

“We just weren’t able to put the ball into the bucket. Right now, we want to develop winning big games on the road.”

Robinson, who has moved into first place in the All-Star balloting for Western Conference centers with 186,199 votes, said teams have been doubling down on him quickly, trying to get the ball out of his hands.

“When they do that, I have to either get the ball out of there for a shot or re-postup and get the ball back again,” he said. “Against Orlando, I wasn’t effective re-posting, so I have to work on that aspect to get to the top of my game.”

The Spurs also have been giving rookie forward Tim Duncan more time on the floor without Robinson.

“I haven’t been on the floor all the time with Tim the last couple of games,” Robinson said. “I think Tim and Pop both feel confident now with Tim out there alone. Tim’s getting longer stretches out there where he’s the main man.”

Duncan also has moved up in the All-Star balloting among West forwards with 153,325 votes, just behind Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett (153,637).

The team’s pilot, point guard Avery Johnson, noted that his role also has changed somewhat over the course of the early part of the season.

“At the beginning of the season, Pop wanted everybody to touch the ball; it started with me and finished with me (before the final move),” Johnson said. "Now, it doesn’t always start with me, but it finishes in my hands.

“After every game, (Popovich) looks at my assist-to-turnover ration, and he doesn’t like it if it’s worse than 5-1. But that’s the area of my game he’s most concerned with.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-09, By Kevin O’Keeffe

向一位军官和绅士致敬

如果你也是马刺队的忠实球迷，相信球队最近的连胜得益于来自天堂的帮助，你或许是对的。

现在明白，我并没有贬低格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)教练精湛的执教，也并非轻视他的球员们今晚在菲尼克斯努力将连胜延长至六场的精彩表现。

但请考虑一下：

自马刺队的忠实球迷科尔·霍尔登(Col. Maury Holden)在12月20日马刺队在阿拉莫穹顶大胜休斯顿火箭队后去世以来，球队在八场比赛中只输了一场。

虽然我不确定抵达天堂后的流程，但我想科尔·霍尔登在马刺队输给波特兰开拓者队的那个晚上正在接受处理。

无论你有多么享受球队的这一波出色表现——自12月9日在休斯顿遭遇30分惨败后，马刺队在过去13场比赛中取得了12胜——科尔·霍尔登都比你更享受。

科尔·霍尔登是马刺队的创始投资者之一，他是当时马刺队首席执行官安吉洛·德罗索斯(Angelo Drossos)的邀请加入的，安吉洛·德罗索斯去年也去世了。科尔·霍尔登还担任了球队秘书兼财务主管长达17年。

科尔·霍尔登获得这个职位的方式与他参与各种活动的方式一样，无论是从男孩村到三一浸信会教堂——都是自愿的。他总是乐于助人。

然而，马刺队才是他的激情所在。每场比赛之夜，这位善良的人都会在比赛开始前出现在阿拉莫穹顶的123区DD排1号座位上——这是他的位置。他的妻子洛雷娜(Lorena)坐在2号座位上。

科尔·霍尔登在与亲密朋友杰克·杜兰(Jack Duran)观看完马刺队与火箭队的比赛后驾车回家时，突发中风而去世。科尔·霍尔登在驾驶过程中发生了中风。杜兰在事故中没有受伤。

“就在事故的前一天，我刚和莫里通了电话，”鲍勃·巴斯(Bob Bass)说，他与霍尔登几乎每天一起共进午餐长达20年，也是霍尔登的灵柩抬棺者之一。

“我们几乎去过城里所有的墨西哥餐厅，而且每次都去过一百次，”巴斯说，他在马刺队效力了20年，担任过各种职位，包括副总裁、主教练和助理教练。他现在是夏洛特黄蜂队的篮球运营副总裁。

“我仍然无法相信莫里已经走了。”

我也是。

到目前为止，科尔·霍尔登已经打电话给我，或者在马刺队的比赛中把我拉到一旁，讨论他对篮球的另一份热爱——堪萨斯大学杰鹰队。

毫无疑问，堪萨斯大学球星雷夫·拉弗伦茨(Raef LaFrentz)的受伤将是他最关心的问题。

科尔·霍尔登在离开军队后从事银行业务，他还在另一个领域接受过培训——新闻学。

他是堪萨斯大学报纸的体育编辑，在菲格·艾伦(Phog Allen)执教杰鹰队的年代，他就报道过他的消息。

但科尔·霍尔登喜欢谈论的是他在堪萨斯大学读大一时的体育课老师。也许你听说过这位老师：

詹姆斯·奈史密斯博士(Dr. James Naismith)。

科尔·霍尔登不仅仅是一个运动迷。他的兴趣广泛，他对任何事情都全心全意地支持。

科尔·霍尔登是一位 devoted family man，他积极参与三一浸信会的活动，牧师巴克纳·法宁(Rev. Buckner Fanning)主持了感人的告别仪式，送别上校踏上回家的旅程。

那里，他能更好地观看马刺队的比赛，比123区DD排1号座位还要好。

点击查看原文：One last salute to an officer and gentleman

One last salute to an officer and gentleman

If you are among the Spurs’ faithful who believe the team’s current winning streak has been aided by a little help from above, you just may be right.

Now understand, I’m not taking anything away from the fine work of Coach Gregg Popovich or the masterful performance of his players as they try to extend their streak to six straight wins tonight in Phoenix.

But consider this:

Since Col. Maury Holden, a most dedicated Spurs fan, died on Dec. 20 after the Spurs’ thumping of Houston in the Alamodome, the club has lost only once in eight games.

And while admittedly not knowing the procedure upon arrival in heaven, I’d guess Col. Holden was being processed the night the Spurs lost in Portland.

No matter how much any one of you are enjoying this grand run by the team - 12 wins in 13 outings since the embarrassing 30-point loss in Houston on Dec. 9 - Col. Holden is enjoying it more.

One of the Spurs’ original investors at the behest of then- Spurs CEO Angelo Drossos, who also died last year, Col. Holden also served as secretary-treasurer of the organization for 17 years.

Col. Holden got that position the same way he’d gotten involved in so many activities from Boysville to Trinity Baptist Church - he volunteered. He always wanted to help.

Still, the Spurs were his passion. There never was a game night on which this wonderful man wouldn’t be in his place - Section 123, Row DD, Seat 1 - in the Alamodome before tipoff. Lorena, his wife, could be found in Seat 2.

Col. Holden died of a stroke as he and close friend, Jack Duran, drove home after that Spurs-Rockets game. Col. Holden suffered the stroke while behind the wheel of his car. Duran wasn’t hurt in the accident.

“I had just talked to Maury the day before (the accident),” said Bob Bass, who had lunch with Holden just about every work day for 20 years and served as one of Holden’s pallbearers.

“There wasn’t a Mexican restaurant in town we hadn’t been to a hundred times,” said Bass, who was with the Spurs for 20 years in various capacities from VP to head coach to assistant coach. He is now vice president for basketball operations with the Charlotte Hornets.

“I still can’t believe Maury’s gone.”

Me, neither.

By now, Col. Holden would have called me or pulled me aside at a Spurs game to discuss his other basketball love - the University of Kansas Jayhawks.

No doubt the hand injury suffered by KU star Raef LaFrentz would have been foremost on his mind.

Col. Holden, who went into banking business after leaving the military, had training in yet another field - journalism.

He was the sports editor of the KU newspaper, covering Coach Phog Allen during his days with the Jayhawks.

But one of the things Col. Holden used to like to talk about was a teacher he had for a P.E. class his freshman year at KU. Perhaps you’ve heard of that teacher:

Dr. James Naismith.

Col. Holden wasn’t strictly a jock fan. His interests were varied and there wasn’t anything he didn’t support with all of his heart.

A devoted family man, Col. Holden was active at Trinity Baptist Church, where Rev. Buckner Fanning officiated the touching service to bid the Colonel farewell on his journey home.

Where his vantage point for Spurs games is even better than Section 123, Row DD, Seat 1.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-09, By Glenn Rogers

马刺面临严峻的考试周

对于疲惫的 NBA 球员而言，没有休息的时间。

马刺队已经在过去 13 场中赢下 12 场，周四下午晚些时候抵达这里，将于今晚 9:30 在西部美国球场与太阳队交锋。

在比赛结束后，他们将迅速离开菲尼克斯，在周六凌晨时分返回圣安东尼奥，并在那天晚上在阿勒摩巨蛋与国王队交锋。

周一下午，马刺队离开圣安东尼奥市，开始为期五场的客场之旅，并将在周二和周三晚上分别在波士顿和华盛顿进行连续两场背靠背比赛。

“事实是我们已经进行了多场背靠背比赛。”主教练格雷格·波波维奇在周四早上说道，“当你手下的球员从去年的伤病中恢复过来，你想要努力组建一支球队时，这可是最糟糕的事情。”

“我们在凌晨 3 点后抵达迈阿密时，进行了与迈阿密的比赛，而现在，（在对阵菲尼克斯的比赛后）凌晨 3 点左右回到圣安东尼奥后，我们将与萨克拉门托交锋。”

“在我们的两名先发球员缺阵的情况下，这只是让球队在这个时候变得非常困难。这展示了球员们所拥有的心理纪律和专注力。”

先发得分后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗因右侧肘部拉伤仍留在伤病名单中，而先发前锋肖恩·艾利奥特因右侧腹股沟拉伤而缺阵。

波波维奇表示，紧张的赛程是联赛中的生活方式。

“在谈到我们的赛程时，你也必须意识到其实无关紧要，因为在赛季的某个时刻，同样的事情会发生在每支球队身上。”他说。

太阳队也因伤病而变得虚弱。后卫凯文·约翰逊在进行右膝手术后进入了伤病名单。丹尼·马宁因腹股沟拉伤而缺阵。

尽管如此，菲尼克斯已经赢得了 16 场主场比赛中的 12 场，并拥有 21-10 的战绩。

“太阳队带来了问题，因为他们的许多外线球员都是可以互换的。”波波维奇说道，“他们可以跑动和投篮。当他们状态正佳时，他们可以拿下很多分，并且几乎不可能阻止他们。”

“他们增加了（安东尼奥）·麦克戴斯和克利夫·罗宾逊，这给了他们在前线额外的力量。他们是一支非常强劲的球队。”

马刺队的防守让 12 支球队的得分低于 90 分。圣安东尼奥对远距离射手进行了快速的轮换，并结合在外线进行了有效的系列陷阱。

“我们显然必须真正地防住那些有运动能力的得分手和射手。”波波维奇说道，“但是我们让肖恩（·艾利奥特）和文尼（·德尔·内格罗）回来仍然非常重要。我们不能永远像这样。我们太薄弱了，如果我们的外线球员之一陷入犯规问题，我们就会陷入严重的麻烦。”

“这实际上并不是为客场之旅做出的伟大准备。”大卫·罗宾逊在周三 96-89 战胜丹佛后带着一丝微笑说道，“但我们一直在客场打出出色的篮球。”

“菲尼克斯将是一次很好的考验。这是一支高能量的球队。他们有很多弹跳运动员，很多射手。但我们有身高优势，我们应该能够控制篮板。”

控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊在对阵掘金队的关键最后时刻帮助控制了进攻，他同意太阳队尽管缺少球员，但仍会打得很热。

“他们有一些伤病，但他们是一支非常有深度的球队。”约翰逊说道。

马刺消息

马刺队的锋线查克·帕森没有随队乘坐包机前往菲尼克斯。他下午 6:05 乘坐商用航班抵达这里，比球队晚大约三个小时到达。

帕森拒绝发表评论，称所有信息都必须来自教练格雷格·波波维奇。周四晚上无法联系到波波维奇。

然而，消息来源显示，波波维奇知道帕森不会赶上航班，并且预计会晚到。

点击查看原文：Serious exam week ahead for Spurs Phoenix is first test in tough stretch for S.A.

Serious exam week ahead for Spurs Phoenix is first test in tough stretch for S.A.

PHOENIX - There’s no rest for the weary in the NBA.

The Spurs, already flying high after winning 12 of their last 13 games, landed here late Thursday afternoon and will play the Suns at 9:30 tonight at America West Arena.

A quick departure from Phoenix after the game will land them in San Antonio in the wee hours of Saturday morning and they will play the Kings at the Alamodome that night.

On Monday, the Spurs leave the Alamo City and begin a five-game road trip, spiced with two more back-to-back sets, beginning in Boston and Washington on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, respectively.

“The facts are that we’re already having a bunch of our back-to- backs,” Coach Gregg Popovich said Thursday morning. "That is about the worst thing that can happen when you have guys coming back from the injuries they had last year and you’re trying to put a team together.

"We had the game against Miami when we got there after 3 in the morning and now we’ll play Sacramento when we get back to San Antonio (after Phoenix game) about 3 a.m.

“That just makes it pretty hard on the team at this time with two of our starters out. It shows the mental discipline and focus the players have had.”

Starting shooting guard Vinny Del Negro remains on the injured list with a strained right elbow and starting forward Sean Elliott is out with a strained right groin.

Popovich said the grueling test of a heavy schedule is a way of life in the league.

“Having said that about our schedule, you also have to realize it doesn’t matter because the same thing happens to each team at some point in the season,” he said.

The Suns also are weakened by injuries. Guard Kevin Johnson is on the injured list after surgery on his right knee. Danny Manning is out with an abdominal strain.

Nevertheless, Phoenix has won 12 of 16 home games and has a 21-10 record.

“The Suns present problems because so many of their perimeter people are interchangeable,” Popovich said. "They can run and shoot. When they are rolling they can score a lot and it’s almost impossible to stop them.

“They’ve added (Antonio) McDyess and Cliff Robinson and that gives them additional strength on the front line. They are a very tough team.”

The Spurs’ defense has held 12 teams under 90 points. San Antonio has had rapid rotation to outside shooters and mixed in effective series of traps on the perimeter.

“We obviously have had to really cover teams that have the athletic scorers and shooters,” Popovich said. “But it’s still very important that we get Sean (Elliott) and Vinny (Del Negro) back. We can’t go forever like this. We’re too thin and we can get into serious trouble if one of our outside guys gets into foul problems.”

“This wasn’t really a great preparation for the road trip,” David Robinson said with a slight grin after Wednesday’s 96-89 victory over Denver. "But we have been playing great basketball on the road.

“Phoenix will be a nice test. It is a very high-energy team. They have a lot of leapers, a lot of shooters. But we have a size advantage and we should be able to control the boards.”

Point guard Avery Johnson, who helped keep the offense under control during the crucial final minutes against the Nuggets, agrees the Suns will be hot enough despite their absent players.

“They have some injuries but they are a very deep team,” Johnson said.

Spurs note: Spurs forward Chuck Person did not travel to Phoenix on the team’s charter. He took a commercial flight at 6:05 p.m. and arrived here about three hours after the team.

Person declined comment, saying that all information had to come from Coach Gregg Popovich. Popovich could not be reached late Thursday night.

Sources, however, indicated that Popovich was aware that Person would not make the flight and the later arrival was expected.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-10, By Glenn Rogers

在沙漠中被灼烧 马刺在输给太阳21分后无法找到阴凉

菲尼克斯 - 马刺队表示，这场比赛将是另一个很好的衡量标准。

圣安东尼奥并没有表现得很好。

菲尼克斯太阳队攻击着马刺队防守的核心，在周五晚上在美国西部球馆以100-79击败了圣安东尼奥。

这场胜利结束了马刺队的三场客场连胜和五场总连胜。

太阳队在第三节取得了比赛的胜利。太阳队在切入和中远距离投篮中得分。在雷克斯·查普曼（Rex Chapman）在半场结束时投进三分球后，他们迅速将比分拉开到70-53。

圣安东尼奥被灼烧，但还没有完全放弃。

马刺队在蒂姆·邓肯（Tim Duncan）突破约翰·威廉姆斯（John Williams）得分后将比分追至73-61。

但太阳队再次将马刺队逼到绝境，并在本节最后8分钟里得分，以81-61领先进入第四节。

查普曼和安东尼奥·麦克戴斯（Antonio McDyess）为太阳队各得18分。

查克·珀森（Chuck Person）为圣安东尼奥队得到16分。大卫·罗宾逊（David Robinson）得到15分和16个篮板，邓肯得到15分和9个篮板。

太阳队因其运动能力和全面的得分能力而受到赞扬。他们还增加了单一目标的毅力。

菲尼克斯队毫无畏惧地冲击着邓肯和罗宾逊通常强大的防守。杰森·基德（Jason Kidd）和塞德里克·塞巴洛斯（Cedric Ceballos）不仅毫不留情地冲击着，而且有效地冲击着有时看起来惊讶的邓肯和罗宾逊。

“有时候你必须站出来，因为他们有很多射手，有时候他们会突破你的防守，”邓肯说。

“是的，你可以用这个词，”罗宾逊在被问及内线是否打得很艰难时说。“当你在内线得到这样的突破和传球时，就会很危险。”

太阳队想要球。他们在篮下抢下大量的篮板球。他们从马刺队手中抢走球。

“我们今晚有点粗心大意，”主教练格雷格·波波维奇（Gregg Popovich）说。“我们没有做好所有应该做的事情来击败这样一支球队，因为我们的外线球员太薄弱了。”

点击查看原文：Scorched in the desert Spurs unable to find shade in 21-point loss to Suns

Scorched in the desert Spurs unable to find shade in 21-point loss to Suns

PHOENIX - The Spurs said this game would be another nice measuring stick.

San Antonio didn’t measure up very well.

The Phoenix Suns, attacking the very core of the Spurs’ inside defense, spanked San Antonio 100-79 Friday night at America West Arena.

The victory ended the Spurs’ three-game road win streak and five-game overall win streak.

Phoenix took the game in the third quarter. The Suns scored deep inside off cutting penetrations and off medium and long-distance jumpers. They rushed to a 70- 53 lead after a Rex Chapman three- pointer midway through the period.

San Antonio was scorched but not quite done.

The Spurs pushed back to within 73-61 after Tim Duncan scored over John Williams.

But the Suns put the Spurs’ feet to the fire again and scored the last eight points of the period to take an 81-61 lead into the final quarter.

Chapman and Antonio McDyess each scored 18 points for the Suns.

Chuck Person scored 16 points for San Antonio. David Robinson had 15 points and 16 rebounds, and Duncan had 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Suns have been applauded for the athleticism and ability to score from all points. They added singled-minded tenacity.

Phoenix drove fearlessly at the usually awesome defensive threats of Duncan and Robinson. Jason Kidd and Cedric Ceballos drove not only relentlessly but effectively at the sometimes astonished-looking Duncan and Robinson.

“Sometimes you have to step out when they have a lot of shooters and sometimes they get by you,” Duncan said.

“Yes, that’s one word you could use,” said Robinson, when asked if it was a rough night inside. “When you get penetrations and dishes like that inside, it can get dangerous.”

The Suns wanted the ball. They rebounded in masses under the basket. They grabbed balls out of Spurs’ hands.

“We were a little sloppy tonight,” Coach Gregg Popovich said. “We didn’t do all the things right that we had to do to defeat a team like this when our perimeter is so thin.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-10, By Travis Poling

需要季后赛

在圣安东尼奥马刺队上赛季垫底之后，门票销售只能往上走。事实证明确实如此。

马刺队副总裁兼首席财务官里克·派克 (Rick Pych) 说，本赛季前 13 场主场比赛只开放了底层，门票销售比上赛季平均增长了 15%。

当算上上层座位时，总门票销售仅增长了约 2%。但派克表示，包括上层在内的数字并不是衡量销售改善程度的良好指标。上层不是真正的赚钱机器，但每年大约会开放 9 场常规赛，以确保当芝加哥公牛队和犹他爵士队等人气球队来访时，有足够的空间容纳所有人。

马刺队上赛季由于门票销售低迷、特许经营收入微薄以及缺乏季后赛收入，运营亏损了约 400 万美元。唯一的救星是为一整套首发阵容的受伤球员提供的 500 万美元残疾保险支票。

派克说，球队的财务状况看起来不错，但季后赛仍然是盈利赛季的关键。

点击查看原文：Business of Sports: NCAA cuts back on gift giving S.A. committee dumps barbed wire cufflinks for boots

Business of Sports: NCAA cuts back on gift giving S.A. committee dumps barbed wire cufflinks for boots

Gift giving can be a tricky business.

It has become traditional for NCAA men’s basketball board officials to receive gifts from the Final Four tournament host city. San Antonio has budgeted about $25,000 on such trinkets, but has been shot down by the NCAA on its first proposed gift.

“We had these awesome cufflinks,” said Sandra Lopez, director of the Final Four San Antonio Local Organizing Committee at host university UTSA. The Texas-style men’s jewelry was fashioned from silver to resemble barbed wire by local artist Carol Dublin. The cufflinks and accompanying pieces retail for $300 to $500 a set.

The message from the NCAA: too expensive, try again.

The NCAA has taken heat on gift giving expectations in the past and is carefully monitoring the practice and considering dropping it altogether, an NCAA spokesman recently told the Kansas City Star.

San Antonio’s organizing committee is now back to the drawing board.

Next offered up for consideration will be pairs of handmade Lucchese boots - the Rolls Royce of western footwear - for 15 NCAA basketball board members and the NCAA executive director. Lucchese boots retail from about $300 to “if you have to ask you can’t afford it” for each pair.

“We understand the difficulty they’ve had in the past,” Lopez said of the NCAA gift-taking. But she said they want the NCAA officials to leave with a gift with class to remember the first San Antonio Final Four by.

An additional 13 people are likely to receive leather carry-all bags from the King Ranch. Secondary gifts being considered are San Antonio snow globes featuring the locally famous North Star mall cowboy boots sculpture, the Tower of Americas and other landmarks.

- Playoffs needed: After the San Antonio Spurs cellar-dwelling last season, ticket sales had no where to go but up. That has turned out to be the case.

For the first 13 home games of the year with only the lower level open ticket sales were up an average of 15 percent compared to last season, said Rick Pych, Spurs vice president and chief financial officer

Overall ticket sales were up only about 2 percent when upper level seating is figured in. But the figures that include the upper level are not a good benchmark for how well sales have improved, Pych said. The upper level is not a real money-maker, but it is opened for about nine regular-season games a year to make sure there is room for everybody when high-draw teams such as the Chicago Bulls and Utah Jazz come to town.

The Spurs had operating losses of about $4 million last season because of low ticket sales, meager concessions revenues and lack of playoff income. The only saving grace was a $5 million disability insurance check for a starting lineup’s worth of injured players.

Pych said things are looking good financially for the team, but the playoffs are still the key to a profitable season.

By Travis Poling, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-11, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队洗刷瞌睡沉沉的开场后，痛击国王队 - 大比分输给太阳队并抛之脑后

在菲尼克斯经历了本赛季表现最差的一场失利之后，马刺队在周六进行了猛烈反击，在阿拉莫穹顶球馆以 109-67 大比分击败了萨克拉门托国王队。

他们凭借新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯的统治级表现，以及在第二节和第三节中打出的 56-26 的进攻狂潮，创造了两年来最大的胜利差距。

邓肯得到 28 分和 16 个篮板。与此同时，中锋大卫·罗宾逊在仅出战 28 分钟的情况下得到 24 分和 7 个篮板。

周五晚上在菲尼克斯以 100-79 输给了太阳队之后，马刺队在对阵国王队的比赛中取得了胜利，并且在中西部赛区与犹他爵士队并列第一。“那是一场令人印象深刻的比赛，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“很明显，我们在（对阵太阳队时）遇到了困难。然后我们早上 4 点左右都回到了床上。”

凭借这场胜利，马刺队的战绩提升至 23 胜 12 负，即将开启一场五连客之旅，从周二对阵波士顿开始。圣安东尼奥队在最近 15 场比赛中取得了 13 胜 2 负的战绩。

这场失利让萨克拉门托队 15 胜 21 负的连胜势头戛然而止。国王队已经连胜四场，包括以 16 分优势战胜了东部联盟强队夏洛特黄蜂队。

对于马刺队来说，这是他们自 1995 年 11 月 8 日以 111-62 击败扩张后的温哥华灰熊队，并以 49 分创下球队纪录以来最悬殊的胜利。

邓肯说：“我认为我们今晚带着非常好的能量出场，”他几乎打完了比赛，只休息了最后九分钟。“很多球员都站了出来。雷吉·吉尔和贾伦·杰克逊这样的球员走出去，把所有的小事都做好了。”

在对阵菲尼克斯的比赛中，马刺队早早就陷入了犯规麻烦，在下半场投篮表现不佳，并在第四节两次落后 27 分。

比赛结束后，他们登上包机飞回了圣安东尼奥，大约在凌晨 3:30 到达。

最初，马刺队在对阵国王队的比赛中以 21-13 落后七分钟，表现出了一些旅行的疲惫。

在那之后，一场凶猛的防守限制了萨克拉门托队在比赛剩下的时间里只投进了 6 个运动进球。在第二节结束时，罗宾逊和邓肯都得到 7 分，带领球队打出一波 22-6 的攻击波，从而打开了比赛。

吉尔在这一波进攻中还抢断并得到 6 分。

“在国家电视台上对阵菲尼克斯，并且像我们那样踢球，这太丢人了，”吉尔说道，他从杰克逊身边获得了越来越多的替补时间。“今晚，我们想走出去，按照我们能力发挥的水平去比赛。”

国王队后卫米奇·里奇蒙德本赛季第一次亮相圣安东尼奥，带来了一些悬念。去年秋天里士满被传言将被交易至马刺队，他在上午的投篮训练后表示“这里绝对是一个不错的地方。”

作为回应，波波维奇对这位梦之队的后卫的评论做出了简短的反应。

“我从未讨论或回应任何（交易）猜测，”波波维奇说。

里士满与杰克逊、吉尔和其他球员展开了一场激烈的对决，他始终无法找到他惯常的投篮节奏。他 14 次出手命中 2 次，只得到 8 分。

“我认为我今晚有一些不错的机会，但我没能出手命中，”里士满说。“即使是我那些专利的投篮，今晚似乎也没有投进。”

在第一节战平 27-27 后，马刺队在中场的两节比赛中摧毁了国王队。国王队在马刺队的压力下崩溃，垃圾时间在中场休息后不久就到来了。

邓肯的一记小跳投帮助球队在第三节开场打出一波 17-6 的攻击波，使得国王队以 73-47 落后。

圣安东尼奥继续限制萨克拉门托队在这一节中 20 投只中 5，从而以 83-53 领先进入第四节。邓肯一直打到比赛还剩 9:07 时被换下，而马刺队领先 34 分。

“我故意这么做的，”波波维奇说。“他 21 岁。如果我需要他打 48 分钟，我就会让他打 48 分钟。我们希望他留在球场上。我们需要让他为季后赛做好准备。”

重振后的防守和进攻让马刺队的更衣室里的每个人都对即将到来的客场之旅充满信心。特别是进攻，从上周的表现中有了质的飞跃。

笔记

艾利奥特很快就会回来？马刺队前锋肖恩·艾利奥特有可能在周二对阵波士顿的客场之旅揭幕战中上场。艾利奥特因右侧腹股沟拉伤缺席了最近四场比赛。

预计艾利奥特将在周一開始训练。如果他能跑，“他将能够”对阵凯尔特人队，马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说。

后卫文尼·德尔内格罗的状态则不太确定。德尔内格罗因右肘过度伸展缺席了最近 13 场比赛，一名球队发言人表示他“50-50”能够参加这一场比赛。

点击查看原文：Spurs sting Kings after sleepy start - Loss to Suns shrugged off

Spurs sting Kings after sleepy start - Loss to Suns shrugged off

The Spurs, stung by one of their poorest performances of the season a night earlier in Phoenix, retaliated with a vengeance Saturday and walloped the Sacramento Kings 109-67 at the Alamodome.

They used a dominating performance by rookie forward Tim Duncan and a 56-26 blitz in the middle quarters to record their biggest blowout in two seasons.

Duncan finished with 28 points and 16 rebounds. Center David Robinson, meanwhile, produced 24 points and seven rebounds in only 28 minutes.

Rebounding from a 100-79 loss Friday night at Phoenix, the Spurs smacked the Kings around and pulled into a virtual tie for first place in the Midwest Division with the Utah Jazz. “That was an impres sive game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popo vich said. "We obvious ly had a tough time (against the Suns). Then we all got to bed around 4 a.m. But "

With the victory, the Spurs im proved to 23- 12 leading in to a five- game road trip that begins Tuesday at Boston. San Antonio is 13-2 in its last 15 games.

The loss cooled off streaking Sacramento at 15- 21. The Kings had won four in a row, including a 16- point victory over the Charlotte Hornets, an Eastern Conference power.

For the Spurs, it was their widest margin of victory since the team established the franchise record at 49 points in a 111-62 decision over the expansion Vancouver Grizzlies on Nov. 8, 1995.

“I thought we came out with real good energy tonight,” said Duncan, who played all but the last nine minutes. “A lot of players stepped up. Guys like Reggie Geary and Jaren Jackson went out and got the little things done.”

Against Phoenix, the Spurs found themselves in early foul trouble, shot poorly in the second half and trailed by 27 points twice in the fourth quarter.

They boarded their charter flight after the game and flew home to San Antonio, arriving at about 3:30 a.m.

Initially, the Spurs showed some of the wear and tear from the travel by falling behind 21-13 in the first seven minutes against the Kings.

After that, a fierce defensive stand limited Sacramento to only six field goals in the rest of the half. Both Robinson and Duncan scored seven points in a 22-6 run at the end of the second quarter that broke the game open.

Geary also added a steal and six points during the streak.

“It was embarrassing to be on national TV against Phoenix and play like we did,” said Geary, who is getting more and more time off the bench behind Jackson. “Tonight, we wanted to come out and play to the level that we’re capable.”

The first San Antonio appearance this season by Kings guard Mitch Richmond provided some intrigue. Richmond, linked in trade talks to the Spurs last fall, said after the morning shoot- around that “this would definitely be a nice place to play.”

In response, Popovich had a terse reaction to the Dream Team guard’s comments.

“I never speak about or respond to any (trade) speculation,” Popovich said.

Richmond, locked up in duels with Jackson, Geary and others, never got into his customary shooting rhythm. He finished 2 of 14 from the field and scored only 8 points.

“I thought I had some good looks tonight but I couldn’t knock them down,” Richmond said. “Even my patented shots didn’t seem to be falling tonight.”

Breaking from a 27-27 tie after one period, the Spurs obliterated the Kings in the middle two quarters. Garbage time arrived just after intermission as the Kings crumbled under the Spurs’ pressure.

A short jumper by Duncan capped a 17-6 run to start the third period and left the Kings trailing 73- 47.

San Antonio went on to limit Sacramento to 5-of- 20 shooting in the quarter, racing to a commanding 83-53 lead going into the fourth. Duncan played every minute until he was pulled with 9:07 remaining and the Spurs leading by 34.

“I did that on purpose,” Popovich said. “He’s 21 years old. If I would have needed for 48 minutes I would have played him for 48 minutes. We want him to be on the court. We need to get him ready for the playoffs.”

A rejuvenated defense and offense left everyone in the Spurs’ dressing room feeling better about themselves leading into the road trip. The offense, in particular, made a quantum leap from performances in the last week.

Notes

Elliott back soon? Chances are improving that Spurs forward Sean Elliott will be able to play the opener of a five-game road trip Tuesday at Boston. Elliott has missed the last four games with a right groin strain.

Elliott is expected to practice Monday. If he can run, “he’ll be available” to play against the Celtics, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

Guard Vinny Del Negro’s status is less certain. Del Negro, who has missed the last 13 games with a hyperextended right elbow, is “50- 50” to make the trip, a team spokesman said. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-11, By Jerry Briggs

里奇蒙德视圣安东尼奥为“打球的好地方”

或许可以肯定地说，马刺没有足够的筹码去进行一笔能得到萨克拉门托国王队全明星后卫米奇·里奇蒙德(Mitch Richmond)的交易。

但这并不妨碍里奇蒙德梦想着与大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)一起打球。

周六早上国王队训练结束后，里奇蒙德表示，他不知道是否应该把圣安东尼奥排除在他职业生涯的未来选项之外。

“我毫无头绪，”他说，“但这里绝对是个打球的好地方。他们有那两位大个子，阵容配置很棒。这是一支老牌球队（拥有经验丰富的球星），也是一支新锐球队（拥有一位天才新秀）。”

交易截止日期是2月19日。如果马刺能够达成一笔交易得到里奇蒙德，毫无疑问会极大地增强他们的实力。但马刺没有足够的筹码——或者说，他们不愿意付出足够的筹码——来促成这笔潜在的交易。

与此同时，里奇蒙德在等待。从赛季开始他就明确表示想要离开萨克拉门托。国王队几乎在家庭购物频道上公开招募买家。

但国王队坚持要换来一位全明星或者两名年轻潜力新星，所以一直没有结果。

“有时候你以为事情快成了，结果却什么都没发生，”里奇蒙德说。

比如上周，萨克拉门托、波士顿和迈阿密之间的一桩三方交易就破裂了。

据报道，里奇蒙德将前往迈阿密；迈阿密的艾克·奥斯汀(Ike Austin)和贾马尔·马什本(Jamal Mashburn)将前往波士顿；波士顿的新秀罗恩·默瑟(Ron Mercer)和昌西·比卢普斯(Chauncey Billups)将加入国王队的后场。

但波士顿主教练里克·皮蒂诺(Rick Pitino)否决了这笔交易，因为他不喜欢在今年夏天试图以5000万美元的合同续约奥斯汀的想法。里奇蒙德听到了这些传闻，然后一切就都安静下来了。

“我不知道这些传闻会造成什么影响，”里奇蒙德说，“我很久以前就一直被卷入交易传闻中。有时候，电话会响。你不知道是什么事。你不知道是关于交易还是你的妻子。”

马刺的消息人士去年秋天预测，里奇蒙德最终会加入洛杉矶湖人队。里奇蒙德不相信这种说法。

“我认为这种可能性已经没有了，”他说。

一位不愿透露姓名的国王队官员最近在一篇报道中表示，所有关于里奇蒙德的交易谈判都已结束。

“他不会去任何地方，”这位消息人士告诉南佛罗里达的媒体。

但也有人坚称里奇蒙德的交易迫在眉睫。

“你永远不知道会发生什么，”里奇蒙德说。

- 球馆推动：圣安东尼奥新建球馆的计划仍在推进。

去年夏天，圣安东尼奥体育基金会考虑过一个全县体育设施计划，该计划可能在5月份提交给选民投票。这个计划包括为马刺建造一个新的主场球馆。

该项目正在进行，但最乐观的规划者现在认为11月份是一个更有可能举行选举的时间。然而，贝克萨尔县县长辛迪·泰勒·克里尔(Cyndi Taylor Krier)周五表示，还没有人向她提出举行选举的想法。

有报道称，体育基金会希望看到一个田径场，以及对其他场馆的改造，所有这些将使社区焕然一新，并加强城市申办2007年泛美运动会的实力。

马刺显然将被要求为球馆建设费用支付至少20%的资金。

- 斯普雷维尔观察：如果停赛的全明星后卫拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)能够在1月27日的仲裁听证会后获得复出资格，马刺可能会加入争夺他的行列。

你可能会听到斯普雷维尔并不是那么坏的人，每个人都应该得到第二次机会。

然而，对马刺老板来说，真正应该关注的是1995年9月3日发生的一件事，当时斯普雷维尔在加州奥克兰因超速被拦下，然后因未持驾照而被捕。

据《体育画报》报道，他还因涉嫌威胁警官而被捕，据称他告诉警官：“你很容易被枪杀，这里很多人会被枪杀。”

交通违规指控据称被撤销，官员们表示，他们选择不对威胁警官的行为提出正式指控，因为这些言论“缺乏可信度，不能构成即时威胁”。

上个月，斯普雷维尔掐住了金州勇士队主教练P.J. 卡莱西莫(P.J. Carlesimo)的脖子。结果，勇士队解除了斯普雷维尔价值3200万美元的合同，联盟也对他禁赛一年。球员协会正在对这两项决定提出上诉。

点击查看原文：Spurs Beat: Richmond sees S.A. as 'nice place to play'

Spurs Beat: Richmond sees S.A. as ‘nice place to play’

It’s probably safe to assume the Spurs don’t have enough material to offer in a trade that would yield Sacramento Kings All-Star guard Mitch Richmond.

But that doesn’t stop Richmond from dreaming about playing with David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Talking after the Kings’ shootaround Saturday morning, Richmond said he doesn’t know whether to write off San Antonio as a future stop in his career.

“I have no idea,” he said. “But this would definitely be a nice place to play. They have those two big guys. It’s a good mix. It’s an older team (with established veterans) and a new team (with a talented rookie).”

The trade deadline is Feb. 19. The Spurs undoubtedly would be bolstered dramatically if they could swing a deal for Richmond. But there just isn’t enough the Spurs have - or, that they would be willing to give up - that makes a potential deal possible.

In the meantime, Richmond waits. He has made it clear from the outset of the season he wants out of Sacramento. The Kings have all but advertised his availability on the Home Shopping Network.

But, with the Kings holding out for either an All-Star or two solid, young prospects, nothing has materialized.

“Sometimes you think something is close and nothing happens,” Richmond said.

Such as last week, when a three- way deal between Sacramento, Boston and Miami broke down.

Reportedly, Richmond was going to Miami; Miami’s Ike Austin and Jamal Mashburn were headed for Boston; Boston rookies Ron Mercer and Chauncey Billups were scheduled to take up residence in the Kings’ backcourt.

But Boston coach Rick Pitino killed the deal because he didn’t like the idea of trying to re-sign Austin this summer to a $50 million contract. Richmond heard the rumors, and then everything was quiet.

“I don’t know about distractions,” Richmond said. “I’ve been in trade rumors for a long time. Sometimes, the phone will ring. You don’t know what it’s about. You don’t know if it’s a trade or if it’s your wife.”

Spurs sources predicted last fall that Richmond eventually would wind up in Los Angeles with the Lakers. Richmond doesn’t buy that theory.

“I think that one is dead,” he said.

One unidentified Kings official said in a published account recently that all Richmond trade talks were dead.

“He isn’t going anywhere,” the source told the South Florida media.

Others insist a Richmond deal is imminent.

“You never know what’s going to happen,” Richmond said.

- Arena push: The drive for a new arena in San Antonio is alive.

Last summer, the San Antonio Sports Foundation tinkered with the idea of a countywide sports facilities package that could be presented to the voters in May. Such a package would include an arena home for the Spurs.

Work on the project is ongoing, but the most optimistic planners are thinking November now is a more likely election target. Bexar County Judge Cyndi Taylor Krier, however, said Friday that nobody has approached her about the idea of calling for an election.

Reports have surfaced that the Sports Foundation would like to see a track-and-field stadium and improvements to other venues that - all told - would spruce up neighborhoods and bolster the city’s bid for the 2007 Pan American Games.

The Spurs apparently will be asked to put up a minimum of 20 percent toward the cost of the arena.

- Sprewell watch: If suspended All-Star guard Latrell Sprewell is allowed to play after his Jan. 27 arbitration hearing, the Spurs likely will jump into the fray in trying to sign him.

You probably will hear that Sprewell is not that bad a guy and that everyone deserves a second chance.

What should be of interest to Spurs ownership, however, is a Sept. 3, 1995, incident in which Sprewell was stopped for speeding in Oakland, Calif., and then arrested on an outstanding warrant for driving without a license.

According to Sports Illustrated, he also was booked for investigation of threatening a police officer after he reportedly told the officer, “You can be shot real easy, and people get shot out here.”

Traffic charges reportedly were dropped, and officials said they elected not to pursue formal charges on threatening the officer because the comments “lacked credibility and immediacy as a righteous threat.”

Sprewell choked Golden State Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo last month. As a result, the Warriors terminated Sprewell’s $32 million contract, and the league suspended him for one year. Both actions are being appealed by the players’ association.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-11, By Glenn Rogers

NBA 球探：幸运之神不只眷顾球队

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和马刺队在去年5月幸运地拿到了状元签，随后在6月选中了蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)。

邓肯也相当幸运。他避免了带领一支实力平庸的球队冲击季后赛的压力。他加入了一个有望争夺总冠军的团队，这对他来说是一个绝佳的机会。

多年来，选秀大会给球员带来了各种机遇与挑战。让我们来看看几个例子。

• 魔术师约翰逊(Magic Johnson)在1979年结束密歇根州立大学的二年级学业。幸运的是，洛杉矶湖人队，他们在上赛季取得了47胜的战绩，拥有状元签。

湖人队获得这个选秀权是因为盖尔·古德里奇(Gail Goodrich)与当时的 New Orleans Jazz 签约。Jazz队很“友好”地在 78-79 赛季取得了联盟最差的战绩。

因此，这位天赋异禀的年轻后卫加入了一支拥有传奇球星卡里姆·阿卜杜勒-贾巴尔(Kareem Abdul-Jabbar)的球队。

我们不禁好奇，如果魔术师去了新奥尔良，他能否赢得这么多总冠军？如果他选择与奥斯蒙德兄弟(Osmonds)在犹他州待在一起，而不是与杰克·尼科尔森(Jack Nicholson)在好莱坞，他还会如此出色吗？

• 波士顿凯尔特人队未来的名人堂成员凯文·麦克海尔(Kevin McHale)在 1980 年从明尼苏达州走出来时，幸运至极。狡猾的雷德·奥尔巴赫(Red Auerbach)与金州勇士队达成了一项交易，交换了选秀权——勇士队获得了第一和第十三顺位，凯尔特人队获得了第三顺位和罗伯特·帕里什(Robert Parish)。

金州勇士队青睐乔·巴里·卡罗尔(Joe Barry Carroll)。凯尔特人队则看上了身材高挑的麦克海尔。毋庸置疑，麦克海尔会打出亮眼的成绩，但真正的名声和冠军在波士顿花园，与拉里·伯德(Larry Bird)的传球和球场智慧相辅相成。卡罗尔则在无聊和漠不关心中度过了职业生涯。

• 芝加哥公牛队拥有迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)，但他们在 85-86 赛季只取得了 30 胜 52 负的战绩，86-87 赛季也仅为 40 胜 42 负。乔丹在 86-87 赛季场均得到 37.1 分，但他只能仰望波士顿、费城和湖人队等强队。

然后是 87 年的选秀大会。西雅图超音速队拥有第五顺位，他们将目光锁定在了奥尔登·波利尼斯(Olden Polynice)身上。公牛队总经理杰里·克劳斯(Jerry Krause)则看上了来自中阿肯色州的一位名不见经传的球员——斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)。

公牛队将波利尼斯的选秀权交易到了西雅图，换来了皮蓬。公牛队在下一个赛季取得了 50 胜的战绩。他们在 91 年获得了第一个总冠军，之后更是连夺五冠。

如果没有皮蓬的加入，人们还会像现在一样崇拜迈克尔吗？如果斯科蒂去了西雅图，他的手指上会戴上 NBA 冠军戒指吗？波利尼斯现在在哪里？萨克拉门托。

• 佩尼·哈达威(Penny Hardaway)在 93 年幸运地被奥兰多魔术队选中，他与沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)并肩作战，展现了他精妙的传球和突破技巧。魔术队也随之崛起。他们在 95 年打入总决赛，并在 96 年杀进东部决赛。

然后，哈达威遇到了不顺。奥尼尔从佛罗里达搬到了加州。佩尼留在了奥兰多，现在他希望罗尼·塞卡利(Rony Seikaly)能帮助他重返巅峰。祝你好运。

• Jazz队错过了魔术师，但他们在 85 年获得了卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)。等待他的是约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton)。在历史上的双人组中，斯托克顿和马龙的名字就像艾伯特和科斯特洛(Abbott & Costello)、马丁和刘易斯(Martin & Lewis)、刘易斯和克拉克(Lewis & Clark)一样耳熟能详。

如果没有斯托克顿，他还能创造联盟助攻纪录吗？如果“邮差”去了华盛顿（他们是在犹他队之前选中他的），他的投篮还能那么及时吗？

• 你不需要拥有前几顺位的选秀权才能获得幸运或不幸。

贾森·卡菲(Jason Caffey)是 95 年的第 20 号新秀。迪基·辛普金斯(Dickie Simpkins)是 94 年的第 21 号新秀。公牛队选中了这两位球员，他们都拥有两枚总冠军戒指。

科里·布朗特(Corie Blount)就没那么幸运了。公牛队在 93 年选中了他，他是第 25 号新秀，他在芝加哥打了两个赛季。不幸的是，乔丹在那几年选择尝试一下小联盟的投手生涯。

点击查看原文：Around the NBA: Teams not only ones to feel luck of the draft

Around the NBA: Teams not only ones to feel luck of the draft

David Robinson and the Spurs got lucky last May when the pingpong balls bounced their way and Tim Duncan followed in June.

Duncan got pretty lucky, too. He avoided the pressures of trying to lead a subpar team to respectability. He walked into an opportunity to join a group that might contend for a championship.

The draft has smiled and frowned on players through the years. Let’s look at a few.

- Magic Johnson left Michigan State after his sophomore year in 1979. Fortuitously enough, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won 47 games the previous year, had the No. 1 pick.

The Lakers got that pick in compensation when Gail Goodrich signed with the then-New Orleans Jazz. The Jazz were kind enough to finish with the league’s worst record during the '78-79 season.

Thus, the flashy young guard joined a squadron that already had a legend waiting to take his passes - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

We wonder how many championships Magic would have won if he had gone to New Orleans. Would he have flourished so well if he hung out with the Osmonds in Utah instead of Jack Nicholson in Hollywood?

- Kevin McHale, the Boston Celtics’ future Hall of Famer, was more than lucky when he emerged from Minnesota in '80. Crafty Red Auerbach engineered a trade with the Golden State Warriors that included switching draft picks - the Warriors got Nos. 1 and 13, the Celtics got No. 3 plus Robert Parish.

Golden State liked Joe Barry Carroll. The Celts liked the rangy McHale. Suffice to say that McHale would have produced numbers, but fame and titles were waiting with the passing and floor genius of Larry Bird at Boston Garden. Boredom and indifference awaited Carroll.

- The Chicago Bulls had Michael Jordan, but they struggled through a 30-52 season in '85-86 and went 40- 42 in '86-87. Jordan averaged 37.1 points during the '86-87 season, but he could only look up and admire teams such as Boston, Philadelphia and the Lakers.

Then came the '87 draft. The Seattle SuperSonics had the No. 5 pick and had their sights on Olden Polynice. Bulls general manager Jerry Krause had his sights on a little-known player out of Central Arkansas - Scottie Pippen.

The Bulls traded the rights to Polynice to Seattle for Pippen, and Chicago won 50 games the next season. The Bulls won the first of five titles in '91.

Would everyone want to be like Mike if Pippen hadn’t arrived? Would Scottie’s fingers ever have been adorned with NBA jewelry if he had gone to Seattle? Where is Polynice right now? Sacramento.

- Penny Hardaway got lucky in '93. The Orlando Magic plucked him, and he got to demonstrate his nifty passing and penetrating skills with Shaquille O’Neal. The Magic blossomed. They went to the NBA Finals in '95 and Eastern Conference finals in '96.

Then Hardaway got unlucky. O’Neal traveled from Florida to California. Penny stayed behind and now hopes Rony Seikaly will help take him to league glory. Good luck.

- The Jazz missed out on Magic, but muscle came in the form of Karl Malone in '85. Waiting for him was John Stockton. In the history of duos, the names Stockton & Malone roll off the tongue like Abbott & Costello, Martin & Lewis and Lewis & Clark.

Would Stockton still have set league records in assists? Would the Mailman’s deliveries have been so timely if he had gone to, say Washington, which picked just before Utah?

- You don’t have to be nestled among the top picks to get lucky or unlucky.

Jason Caffey was the 20th pick in '95. Dickie Simpkins was the 21st pick in '94. The Bulls made those picks, and each player already can display two championship rings.

Corie Blount wasn’t so lucky. The Bulls picked him No. 25 in '93, and he played two years in Chicago. Unfortunately, Jordan chose those years to try to see whether he could hit minor-league pitching.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-12, By Jerry Briggs

杰里备战，本赛季下半年继续为马刺效力

对于马刺来说，“夹克”很合适。雷吉·杰里 (Reggie Geary) 由于其顽强的防守技巧，被队友们取此绰号，他已获得了一份至本赛季结束的受保障合同。

“这减轻了一点压力，”杰里说。“我承认，压力是有。”

在那方面，杰里比任何队友都更享受周日的休息。“我们的后场有人受伤，雷吉做的非常好，”马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“有人必须在场，我们比任何可用的球员都更喜欢他。”

周六，马刺在圣安东尼奥的多功能体育馆以 109-67 击败萨克拉门托国王队，赢得了最近 15 场比赛中的第 13 场胜利。对于球队来说，这是决定是与没有保证合同的球员解约还是将合同保障到赛季结束的截止日期。

杰里一直认为他会留在这个球队。

“一切都很好，”他说。

几个月前，杰里可能还在挣扎。在很长一段时间里，他并没有发挥出太大的作用。但马刺教练并没有放弃他。杰里也没有放弃自己。

即使在连续几周他坐在替补席上，根本无法上场的情况，他也经常会最早到场上。

这几乎就像赛前惯例，售货员会爆米花，工作人员打扫过道，或者技术人员给媒体席的电脑接线。

杰里在那里，和助理教练迈克·布登霍尔泽或保罗·普雷西一起研究自己的比赛。

波波维奇说：“雷吉是一位出色的防守球员，是我们俱乐部最好的防守球员之一。”“我们将他当作一名防守者。球员们叫他‘夹克’。”

随着名单缩减日期的临近，马刺给了杰里更长的上场时间。

他在周五的菲尼克斯赛场上打了 18 分钟，然后在周六晚上马刺以 109-67 战胜萨克拉门托国王队的比赛中打了赛季最高的 20 分钟。

对阵国王队时，他创造了赛季最高得分（7 分）、助攻（4 次）和抢断（3 次）。

马刺主要将杰里用作替补控球后卫，但对阵国王队时，他也打了一些得分后卫。上半场他因为犯规，被萨克拉门托明星米奇·里士满骗了起来，被罚下场。

杰里说：“在大学里，你允许犯一些错误。”“在 NBA，这些错误要让你损失 8 或 10 分。这里的球员更有天赋，更具爆发力。”

上个赛季，这位身高 6 英尺 2 英寸的后卫在克利夫兰以新人的身份打了 39 场比赛。在为亚利桑那大学打了四年球之后，他成为山猫队历史上抢断最多的球员，并在 1996 年选秀中成为第 56 位（倒数第三）被选中。

马刺动态

球队乐观地认为，肖恩·埃利奥特可以在波士顿比赛。埃利奥特计划在今天的训练中对他的右腹股沟拉伤进行测试。

一位发言人说，受伤的后卫文尼·德尔内格罗有 50-50 的机会进行公路旅行，其中包括在华盛顿、夏洛特、密尔沃基和新泽西的比赛。

点击查看原文：Geary geared up to stay a Spur for rest of season

Geary geared up to stay a Spur for rest of season

For the Spurs, “The Jacket” fits. Reggie Geary, given that nickname by his teammates for his tenacious defensive skills, has been awarded a guaranteed contract for the remainder of the season.

“It takes a little pressure off,” said Geary. “I’ll be the first to admit it was there.”

In that respect, Geary may have enjoyed his day off Sunday more than any of his teammates.

“We’ve got people hurt (in the backcourt) and Reggie’s doing a real good job,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “Somebody’s got to be there, and we liked him better than anyone that was available.”

The Spurs won their 13th game in their last 15 outings Saturday when they wiped out the Sacramento Kings 109-67 at the Alamodome. It was deadline day for teams to either cut players with nonguaranteed pacts or guarantee them through the end of the season.

Geary felt all along that he would be retained.

“Everything was positive,” he said.

A few months ago, Geary may have been on the bubble. He hadn’t played much during long stretches. But Spurs coaches did not give up on him. Geary didn’t give up on himself, either.

Even during weeks when he sat on the end of the bench without a prayer of getting into games, he would usually be the first one on the floor earlier in the evening.

It was a pregame ritual almost like concessionaires popping the popcorn, workers sweeping the aisles or technicians wiring up the computers on press row.

There was Geary, working on his game with assistant coaches Mike Budenholzer or Paul Pressey.

“Reggie is an outstanding defender, one of the top defenders on our club,” Popovich said. “We look at him as a stopper. The players call him ‘The Jacket.’”

As roster cutdown day arrived, the Spurs gave Geary longer stretches of playing time.

He was on the court 18 minutes at Phoenix on Friday and then he played a season- high 20 minutes in the Spurs’ 109-67 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

Against the Kings, he recorded season- highs in points (seven), assists (four) and steals (three).

The Spurs have used Geary primarily as a reserve point guard, but he also played some off guard against the Kings. He went to the bench in the first half when he committed his third foul, getting caught on an up-fake by Sacramento star Mitch Richmond.

“In college you’re allowed a few mistakes,” Geary said. “In the NBA, those mistakes cost you eight or 10 points. The players here are so much more talented and explosive.”

Last season, the 6-foot-2 guard played in 39 games as a rookie in Cleveland. He was the 56th (and third to last) player taken in the 1996 draft after a four-year career at Arizona, where he became the Wildcats’ all-time leader in steals. Spurs notes: The team is optimistic that forward Sean Elliott will be able to play at Boston. Elliott is scheduled to give his strained right groin a test run at practice today.

- A spokesman said injured guard Vinny Del Negro has a 50-50 chance to make the road trip, which will include stops at Washington, Charlotte, Milwaukee and New Jersey.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-13, By Glenn Rogers

德尔·内格罗和埃利奥特重返对阵凯尔特人的比赛

周一，马刺队宣布自己状态良好并且已经准备好踏上本次东部客场的五场旅程。

圣安东尼奥的客场之旅从今晚 6 点开打，对手是凯尔特人队，这是他们在本赛季迄今为止时间最长的客场之旅。

在与波士顿的比赛之后，马刺队将于周三前往华盛顿，周五前往夏洛特，周日前往密尔沃基，周一前往新泽西。

圣安东尼奥此行的阵容将得到补强，肖恩·埃利奥特和文尼·德尔·内格罗将回归。主教练格雷格·波波维奇表示，埃利奥特将在对阵凯尔特人的比赛中上场，但德尔·内格罗的上场情况还有待观察。两位球员都参加了周一上午在化身圣言大学举行的球队训练。

在长时间的训练之后，马刺队球星戴维·罗宾逊表示：“我们的信心很足。我们已经准备好上场了。”

马刺队必须做好准备。他们的客场战绩是 8 胜 9 负，但他们已在最近的四场比赛中赢得了三场，上次输球是输给了充满能量的菲尼克斯太阳队。

他们在波士顿将遭遇另一支充满能量的球队。凯尔特人的实力远不如太阳队，但波士顿的冲撞式防守可以制造混乱，尤其是在喧嚣的凯尔特人球迷面前。

12 月 26 日，在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆，马刺队以 101 比 86 战胜了凯尔特人队，迟到了的圣诞节庆祝活动得以圆满举行。狂热的凯尔特人确实迫使圣安东尼奥队犯了 28 次失误，但依靠罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯强势的内线，马刺队也得到了很多轻松的上篮和扣篮的机会。

罗宾逊说：“我们必须利用我们的体型优势，轻松上篮和扣篮。否则，我们可能会遇到麻烦。”

马刺队认为他们与波士顿的比赛将决定他们在寒冷气候中的表现基调。

马刺队后卫埃弗里·约翰逊说：“你总对第一场比赛感到紧张。我们希望在第一场比赛中获胜，然后继续前进。”

马刺队研究了凯尔特人的比赛录像，并且尽可能为波士顿新教练里克·皮蒂诺的进攻陷阱和全力压迫的防守策略做好准备。这些策略已经取得了一些成功，但那些幸存下来的或没有幸存下来的球员都嘲笑这些策略。

约翰逊说：“我们没有轻易突破他们的紧逼，但当我们必须突破时，我们做到了。他们会对紧逼战术进行一些调整，但我认为我们已经做好了准备。”

约翰逊也欢迎埃利奥特和德尔·内格罗重返阵容。

约翰逊说：“如果我们在波士顿的阵容实力达到最佳状态，那么我们每场比赛的上场时间可能会减少。这将有利于我们在连续比赛中的表现。”

德尔·内格罗和埃利奥特都表示他们已经准备好上场了。德尔·内格罗因右肱三头肌拉伤错过了过去 13 场比赛。埃利奥特因右腹股沟拉伤缺席了四场比赛。

德尔·内格罗说：“在过去的几天里，我的投篮情况非常好。我从上篮开始，然后向外移动，（周一）命中了一些 20 英尺的投篮。我的状态还没有恢复到 100%，但我的手感正在恢复。只要不肿胀或发炎，我就应该没问题。我会与（波波维奇）交谈。我希望能够在（与波士顿的比赛中）上场。”

埃利奥特对出现在与波士顿的比赛中很有把握。

他说：“我有些着急了。我之前没有打过篮球，也没有进行过任何突破，所以在（周一）进行训练感觉挺好。如果我上场时间超过 25 分钟我会感到惊讶。（波波维奇）在从伤病中恢复时非常保守。”

波波维奇表示，球队必须去适应客场之旅。

他说：“与谁比赛或在何处比赛都无关紧要。你必须按照赛程表比赛。每晚都是一场战斗，对抗任何球队。76 人队进入论坛球馆并赢得了（对阵湖人队的）比赛。所以你知道任何事情都有可能发生。”

马刺动态

当德尔·内格罗从伤病名单中激活后，马刺队将不得不调整阵容。

前锋马利克·罗斯或后卫雷吉·格里可能会进入伤病名单。

点击查看原文：Lucky for Spurs, Del Negro, Elliott return for Celtics

Lucky for Spurs, Del Negro, Elliott return for Celtics

The Spurs pronounced themselves fresh and ready Monday for their five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio tips off the stretch, their longest away from home thus far this season, at 6 tonight against the Celtics at the FleetCenter.

After Boston, the Spurs move on to stops at Washington on Wednesday, Charlotte on Friday, Mil waukee on Sunday and New Jersey on Monday.

San Antonio will have a stronger force for this trip with the return of Sean Elliott and Vinny Del Ne gro. Coach Gregg Popo vich said Elli ott will see ac tion against the Celtics, but Del Negro remains questionable. Both players practiced with the team Monday morning at the University of the Incarnate Word.

“Our confidence level is high,” said Spurs star David Robinson after the long workout. “We’re ready for this trip.”

The Spurs have to be. They stand 8-9 on the road, but have won three of the last four, falling last to the high-energy Phoenix Suns.

They will meet another high-energy team in Boston. The Celtics are far from being as talented as the Suns, but Boston’s rampaging defense can create havoc, especially in front of the raucous Celtics fans.

The Spurs enjoyed a belated Christmas celebration by smacking the Celtics 101-86 on Dec. 26 at the Alamodome. The frenetic Celtics did help to force 28 San Antonio turnovers, but the Spurs also enjoyed a stream of easy layups and dunks, thanks to the big frontline of Robinson and Tim Duncan.

“We have to take advantage of our size, get the easy shots and dunks,” Robinson said. “Otherwise, we could be in trouble.”

The Spurs see their meeting with Boston setting the tempo for the run through the cold climates.

“You’re always nervous about the first game,” Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. “We want to get that one in back of us and proceed from there.”

The Spurs have studied video of the Celtics and are readying themselves as much as possible for the attacking traps and full-pressure defensive tactics of new Boston coach Rick Pitino. The strategies have been somewhat successful, but ridiculed by players who both have and haven’t survived the onslaughts.

“We didn’t break their press easily, but we did when we had to,” Johnson said. “They’ll make some adjustments in the press, but I think we’ll be ready for that.”

Johnson also welcomed the return to the lineup of Elliott and Del Negro.

“If we’re full strength at Boston, that could cut down on the number of minutes we have to play,” Johnson said. “That would be to our advantage on the back-to-backs.”

Both Del Negro and Elliott said they were ready to play. Del Negro has missed the last 13 games with a strained right triceps. Elliott missed four games with a strained right groin.

“I got some good shooting in the last few days,” Del Negro said. “I started with layups, moved out and hit some 20-footers (Monday). I’m not 100 percent, but I’m getting the stroke back. As long as it doesn’t swell or get inflamed, I should be allright. I’ll talk to (Popovich). I hope I can get in there (against Boston).”

Elliott was certain about his appearance against Boston.

“I’ve been getting pretty antsy,” he said. “I hadn’t played any basketball, didn’t do any cutting, so it was good to practice (Monday). I’ll be surprised if I get over 25 minutes. (Popovich) is pretty conservative when it comes to coming back from injuries.”

Popovich said the team has to take the road trip in stride.

“It just doesn’t matter who you play or where,” he said. “You have to play the schedule. Every night is a battle, against any team. The Sixers went into The Forum and won (against the Lakers). So you know anything can happend.”

- Spurs note: The Spurs will have to make a roster adjustment when Del Negro is activated from the injured list.

Forward Malik Rose or guard Reggie Geary probably will go on the list.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-14, By Jerry Briggs

马刺压制凯尔特人的反扑

波士顿——众多波士顿凯尔特人队球员在禁区围攻之下，马刺队新秀蒂姆·邓肯始终未能找到自己的进攻节奏。

无数凯尔特人球迷的噪音如同机场跑道的分贝水平，马刺队在周二晚上在 FleetCenter 球场举行的比赛接近尾声时几乎失去了冷静。

无论失去还是得到，这并不重要。马刺队在东部联盟五场比赛的客场之旅中首场比赛中，以 97-88 击败凯尔特人队，顽强坚持到了最后。

中锋大卫·罗宾逊得到 36 分——其中 25 分在第一节得到——为马刺队提供了足够的缓冲。阿弗里·约翰逊和查克·佩森也在最后关头做出重要贡献，帮助圣安东尼奥队在过去 16 场比赛中的第 14 场比赛中取得胜利。

“如果你没有赢得第一场比赛，你就无法在客场之旅中保持不败，”佩森说。“如果你输掉第一场，那将是一件令人沮丧的事情。我们不希望发生这种情况。”

马刺队（24 胜 12 负）将于今晚在华盛顿继续他们的旅程，他们将在新的 MCI 中心迎战奇才队（19 胜 19 负）。奇才队在 11 月 26 日于阿拉莫圆顶体育馆以 98-94 取得胜利，为马刺队提供了一些复仇的动力。

“我喜欢在客场连续比赛，”罗宾逊说。“我希望比赛继续进行，这样我就可以回到家里陪我的孩子们。（奇才队）在我们的主场击败了我们，所以这对我们来说是一个挑战。”

凯尔特人队（16 胜 19 负）虽然开局非常糟糕，但事实证明这对马刺队来说是一个挑战。波士顿让球迷们昏昏欲睡，前 16 次投篮中有 15 次偏出，第二节开局不久就落后 20 分。

凯尔特人队的球迷们在开局时嘘声一片，当他们努力追平比分时，他们的声音越来越大——安托万·沃克在还剩 3:29 时两次罚球得分，将两队踢成 87 平局。

但罗宾逊做出回应，两次罚球得到 10 分，直到终场哨响，这让马刺队得以赢得比赛。最后的高潮包括约翰逊，他得到了赛季最高的 22 分，抢断后上篮得分。

此外，佩森在还剩 37 秒时投进了一个三分球。神枪手的投篮让他得到了八分。这也清空了球馆，因为球迷们匆匆逃离。

“当你的球队拥有蒂姆·邓肯和大卫·罗宾逊时，这些投篮往往会失误，”佩森说。“我保持冷静，保持耐心，AJ（约翰逊）找到了我。我可以有时间转动手腕，在投篮前找到球的接缝。这会让它更容易。”

在凯尔特人队不断收缩的防守的压力下，邓肯的进攻遇到了困难，12 次投篮中有 8 次脱靶，还有 5 次失误。

在最后几分钟，他抢到一个篮板球，但球从他双腿之间滚出界外，给了凯尔特人队一次新的进攻机会。

“我认为他们只是想对我和大卫堵住禁区，”邓肯说，他最终得到 10 分、10 个篮板和 3 次盖帽。“对我来说，我的开局很糟糕，从未真正投入比赛中。”

凯尔特人队的球员几乎每当邓肯触球时都会将他围住，邓肯有 3 次助攻，但他传球有时还是有成效的。在几次困境中，他将球传给了双人包夹中的罗宾逊，但没有得到助攻，因为比赛会演变成罚球尝试。

罗宾逊在 43 分钟内，19 次出手命中 13 次，16 次罚球命中 10 次。他抢下了 11 个篮板球并得到 3 次盖帽。罗宾逊在第二节得到 16 分。

“他们发挥了自己的优势，大卫·罗宾逊，我们对此无能为力，”波士顿新秀后卫昌西·比卢普斯说，他以 26 分领先凯尔特人队。

凯尔特人队在自己的主场输掉了第五场比赛，但他们可能已经找到了更好的打法——突破篮筐。尽管有罗宾逊和邓肯的存在，但凯尔特人队还是冲进禁区，制造了犯规，并且在罚球线上得到了 31 分（在 35 次尝试中）。

12 月 26 日在圣安东尼奥以 101-86 落败时，凯尔特人队在罚球线上被击溃，以 30-8 被对手压倒。在重赛中，他们将其变成了对自己有利的 31-17。

凯尔特人队也在篮板球上反弹得更有力。他们与身材更高的马刺队在篮板上打成平手，得分为 39，而他们在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆的篮板上以 48-25 被对手击败。

“我认为波士顿表现得很好，”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说。“他们竭尽全力，但没能赢下比赛。”

马刺动态

德尔内格罗回来了：马刺队在周二激活了后卫文尼·德尔内格罗，但他并没有在以 97-88 战胜波士顿凯尔特人队的比赛中出场。为了给德尔内格罗腾出活跃阵容中的位置，球队将前锋马利克·罗斯因左膝髌腱炎放入伤病名单。

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇在比赛之前说，德尔内格罗只有在凯尔特人队犯规严重时才会被使用。

德尔内格罗因肘部过度伸展缺阵 14 场比赛，今晚在华盛顿的比赛中被列为不确定。 - 杰瑞·布里格斯

点击查看原文：Spurs able to lower Celtic pride Boston rally falls short to Robinson & Co.

Spurs able to lower Celtic pride Boston rally falls short to Robinson & Co.

BOSTON - With so many Boston Celtics swarming him in the post, Spurs rookie Tim Duncan never found his offensive rhythm.

With so many Celtics fans making noise at airport tarmac decibel levels, the Spurs nearly lost their composure at the end of Tuesday night’s game at the FleetCenter.

Lost or found, it didn’t matter. The Spurs survived it all, holding off the Celtics 97-88 in the first game of a five-game road trip through the Eastern Conference.

Center David Robinson scored 36 points - 25 of them in the first half - to give the Spurs enough of a cushion. Avery Johnson and Chuck Person also made big plays at the end, lifting San Antonio to its 14th win in its last 16 games overall.

“You can’t go undefeated (on a road trip) if you don’t win the first game,” Person said. “If you lose the first one, it can be a debilitating thing. We didn’t want that to happen.”

The Spurs (24-12) will continue their journey tonight in Washington when they take on the Wizards (19-19) at the new MCI Center. The Wizards recorded a 98-94 victory Nov. 26 at the Alamodome, providing the Spurs some payback incentive.

“I like back-to-back games on the road,” Robinson said. “I want to get the games going so I can get back home to my kids. (The Wizards) beat us at home, so it’s a challenge for us.”

The Celtics (16-19) proved to be more than challenging for the Spurs, despite an awful start. Boston lulled its fans to sleep by missing 15 of its first 16 shots from the field and falling behind by 20 early in the second quarter.

Celtics fans, booing at the start, revved up the volume when their team rallied to tie the game at 87 on two Antoine Walker free throws with 3:29 remaining.

But Robinson responded with two free throws to start a 10-1 run to the buzzer, allowing the Spurs to escape with the win. The highlights at the end included Johnson, who scored a season-high 22 points, making a steal and driving for a layup.

Also, Person buried a three- pointer with 37 seconds left. The Rifleman’s shot made it an eight- point game. It also emptied the building, as fans hurried to the exits.

“When you have Tim Duncan and David Robinson on your team, those shots tend to be freed up,” Person said. “I stayed wide and stayed patient and AJ (Johnson) found me. I had time to turn the label and find the seams (on the ball) before I shot it. That makes it easier.”

Under pressure from the Celtics’ collapsing defense, Duncan had a rough time of it offensively, misfiring on 8 of 12 shots and turning it over five times.

In the last few minutes, he snared a rebound and lost the ball through his legs out of bounds, giving the Celtics another possession.

“I think they just wanted to clog up the lane against me and Dave,” said Duncan, who finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots. “As for me, I didn’t get off to a good start and never really got into it.”

Surrounded by Celtics virtually every time he touched it, Duncan had three assists, but his passing was effective at times. On several occasions, he threw out of a double team to Robinson and didn’t get the assist because the play would evolve into free-throw attempts.

Robinson, in 43 minutes, hit 13 of 19 from the field and 10 of 16 at the stripe. He grabbed 11 rebounds and recorded three blocks. Robinson had 16 in the second quarter.

“They went to their strength, David Robinson, and there was nothing we could do about it,” said Boston rookie guard Chauncey Billups, who led the Celtics with 26 points.

The Celtics lost their fifth game in a row, but they may have discovered a better way to play - by driving to the basket. Despite the presence of Robinson and Duncan, the Celtics went inside, drew fouls and came up with 31 points (out of 35 attempts) at the line.

In a 101-86 loss at San Antonio on Dec. 26, the Celtics were killed at the line, getting outscored 30-8. In the rematch, they turned it around in their favor, 31-17.

The Celtics also rebounded more effectively. They tied the taller Spurs at 39 on the boards, after getting whipped 48-25 on the glass at the Alamodome.

“I thought Boston was great,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They did everything but win.”

Spurs notes

- Del Negro back: The Spurs activated guard Vinny Del Negro on Tuesday, but he did not play in the 97-88 victory over the Boston Celtics. To make room for Del Negro on the active roster, the team placed forward Malik Rose on the injured list with left knee patella tendinitis.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said before the game that Del Negro would be used against the Celtics only in a foul-trouble emergency.

Del Negro, out 14 games with a hyperextended elbow, is listed as questionable tonight at Washington. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-15, By Jerry Briggs

马刺让奇才队陷入魔咒——末节爆发再次艰难取胜

华盛顿——马刺队的进攻无法像莫奈的画那样被装裱起来展出。没人会给他们的进攻颁发博物馆奖项。他们的进攻无法从美学角度赢得任何夜间比赛的奖项。

然而相比较而言，他们的进攻似乎总是比对手的更好。为此，你要感谢马刺队的防守，他们将华盛顿奇才队作为最新受害者。

周三晚上最后三分钟，马刺队以 11-2 击败奇才队，在 MCI 中心以 89-79 取胜，面前有 20,674 名观众。

“我们坚持了下来。”马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说，“从技术层面上来说，这可能不是一场非常好看的比赛。但是我真的很高兴我们赢得了比赛。我们只是坚持了下来。我认为今晚两支球队都没有表现得很出色。”

周二晚上，马刺队用一种类似的方式击败了波士顿凯尔特人队——仅仅是用了一名不同的 7 英尺球员。大卫·罗宾逊在 FleetCenter 以 36 分击溃了波士顿。

面对奇才队，新秀蒂姆·邓肯从对阵波士顿队的 10 分欠佳表现中恢复过来，击溃了克里斯·韦伯和其他试图防守他的人。邓肯在低位转身进行勾手以及禁区外跳投。

总而言之，他得到 28 分和 17 个篮板。

邓肯说，他的队友们还记得 11 月 26 日在圣安东尼奥以 98-94 输给奇才队的比赛。

“我们知道上一场比赛他们对我们造成了影响，所以我们想来到这里，进行一点小报复。”邓肯说，他在 43 分钟内 19 投 12 中。

不要介意马刺队的进攻整体上出现 17 次失误，只有 19 次助攻。

结果说明了一切——他们在五场客场比赛中取得 2-0 纪录，在过去一个月内取得 15-2 纪录，在总体战绩为 25-12，与犹他并列中西部赛区榜首。

“我认为我们可以进步。”波波维奇说，“我认为我们还可以有很大进步。我们还远远达不到联盟最佳水平。这就是（连胜）好的地方。”

在中场休息时领先奇才队三分，奇才队的战绩跌至 19-20，马刺队的进攻陷入停滞。幸运的是，对于在电视上观看的马刺队球迷来说，他们的球队的防守很好地履行了自己的职责，几乎完全迷惑了奇才队。

最终，他们以 37-30 赢得了下半场——相当于马刺队在 ABA 联盟年轻时的许多首节比分。奇才队向篮筐投出手榴弹时，最后 12 分钟内只得到了 13 分和 6 个运动投篮。

在让波士顿的投篮命中率控制在 31% 的一晚之后，马刺队让奇才队不得不在得分区中观察到 36%。

“我们已经连续三场比赛投篮命中率都没有达到 40%。”奇才队教练伯尼·比克斯特夫说，“面对邓肯和罗宾逊这样的球队，我们必须得分。令人惊讶的是，当你的投篮命中率只有 36% 时，你还能参与比赛。”

奇才队一直坚持到马刺队在比赛还剩一分钟多一点的时候迫使 24 秒违例。

马刺队用罗宾逊（22 分、17 个篮板）的两罚一中和查克·佩尔森（替补得到 14 分）的一个长距离三分球做出了回应。

“那个防守动作是一把利刃。”马刺队后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说，“在那之后，他们垂头丧气了。”

之后，当佩尔森在比赛结束时命中他的三分球时，每个人都翻起了白眼。他投进了 27 英尺——反弹球——比赛还剩 32.4 秒。

之后，佩尔森听起来有点伤心，因为他的队友认为罗宾逊在第三节结束时的三分球比他比赛结束时的三分球更漂亮。

“我以为他会投另一个。”佩尔森说，“在（24 秒）计时器还剩大约 4 秒时，他拿着球，然后传给了我。我知道当我拿到球时，计时器会显示三秒、两秒或一秒。我就投了。”

在第三节结束前投进那个漂亮的进球之前，罗宾逊本赛季的三分球 0 投 3 中。那是他两年来的第一个三分球，也是他职业生涯的第 25 个。

在谈到这两个进球的相对美感时，马刺队后卫雷吉·吉尔利投了罗宾逊。

吉尔利说：“我会选戴夫。”“他的姿势很好。查克？它只是一球中篮。”

肖恩·埃利奥特在因腿筋拉伤缺席四场比赛之后，在第二场比赛中表现不佳。他打了 15 分钟，送出四次犯规和四次失误。

另​​一位马刺队的常规首发球员文尼·德尔·内格罗自伤病名单归来以来没有参加第二场比赛。预计德尔·内格罗将在周五夏洛特对阵的比赛中出场。

对于奇才队来说，克里斯·韦伯得到 27 分，领跑奇才队。朱万·霍华德得到 21 分，但在过程中投篮 23 投 15 偏，其中许多是在外线时被人防守。

华盛顿控球后卫罗德·斯特里克兰得到 16 分和 12 次助攻。

邓肯小插曲

犹他队的卡尔·马龙在宣布的最新的投票中，超过了明尼苏达队的凯文·加内特和马刺队的蒂姆·邓肯，为西部全明星队的先发位置升至榜首。

马龙获得 178,264 票，而加内特获得 168,319 票，邓肯获得 160,496 票，成为前锋中的佼佼者。马刺队的大卫·罗宾逊（208,985 票）继续领跑所有西部中锋。

点击查看原文：Spurs leave the Wizards spellbound - Late spurt scrapes up another win

Spurs leave the Wizards spellbound - Late spurt scrapes up another win

WASHINGTON - The Spurs’ offense will never be framed like a painting by Monet. It will never be featured in anyone’s museum. It will not win any awards for aesthetics on a night-to-night basis.

But by comparison, it always seems to come out looking better than their opponent’s. For that, you can thank the Spurs’ defense, which claimed the Washington Wizards as its latest victim.

The Spurs outscored the Wizards 11-2 in the final three minutes Wednesday night and recorded an 89-79 victory in front of 20,674 at the MCI Center.

“We persevered,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It probably wasn’t the prettiest game, technically. But I’m real happy we came up with the win. We just kept plodding along. I don’t think either team played great tonight.”

The Spurs whipped the Boston Celtics in similar fashion Tuesday night - just with a different 7- footer. David Robinson pounded Boston with 36 points at the FleetCenter.

Against the Wizards, rookie Tim Duncan rebounded from a 10-point effort against Boston and ripped Chris Webber and others who tried to defend him. Duncan spun in the low post for hooks and stepped outside to hit jumpers.

All told, he finished with 28 points and 17 rebounds.

Duncan said his teammates remembered a 98-94 loss to the Wizards at San Antonio on Nov. 26.

“We knew they took it to us in the last game, so we wanted to come up here and exact a little revenge,” said Duncan, who hit 12 of 19 from the field in 43 minutes.

Never mind that the Spurs’ offense as a whole committed 17 turnovers against only 19 assists.

The result was what counted - a 2-0 record on their five-game road trip, a 15-2 record in the last month and a 25-12 mark overall, tied with Utah for the top spot in the Midwest Division.

“I think we can improve,” Popovich said. “I think we can improve a lot. We’re nowhere close to the best teams in the league. That’s what’s good about this (streak).”

Leading by three at halftime over the Wizards, who fell to 19-20, the Spurs stalled offensively. Fortunately for Spurs fans watching on television back home, their team’s defense held up its end of the bargain by befuddling the Wizards almost completely.

In the end, they won the second half 37-30 - tantamount to many first-quarter scores in the Spurs’ younger days as an ABA franchise. The Wizards, shooting hand grenades at the rim, managed only 13 points and six field goals in the final 12 minutes.

A night after holding Boston to 31 percent shooting, the Spurs sent the Wizards home looking at 36 percent in the box score.

“We have had three games in a row where we haven’t shot 40 percent,” Wizards coach Bernie Bickerstaff said. “Against a team like Duncan and Robinson, we’ve got to make the short ones. It’s amazing that you’re in a game when you shoot 36 percent.”

The Wizards were in it until the Spurs forced a 24-second shot-clock violation with a little more than a minute to play.

The Spurs responded with a pair of free throws by Robinson (22 points, 17 rebounds) and a long, three-pointer off the glass by Chuck Person (14 points off the bench).

“That one defensive play was a dagger,” Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. “They dropped their heads after that one.”

Later, everyone in the building rolled their eyes when Person hit his trey at the end. It was a 27-footer - off the glass - with 32.4 seconds remaining.

Afterward, Person sounded a little hurt that his own teammates thought that a rare three by Robinson at the end of the third quarter looked prettier than his at the end of the game.

“I thought he was going to take the other one,” Person said. “He had the ball with about four seconds left on the (24-second) clock, then he passed it to me. I knew the clock would be three, two or one when I got it. I just put it up.”

Robinson was 0 for 3 on his three-pointers this season before he shot the rainbow to finish the third period. It was his first trey in two years and the 25th of his career.

Talking about the comparative beauty of the two shots, Spurs guard Reggie Geary gave the nod to Robinson.

“I’ll go with Dave,” Geary said. “He had good form. Chuck? Just say it went in.”

Sean Elliott struggled in his second game back after missing four with a strained hamstring. He played 15 minutes, committed four fouls and four turnovers.

Vinny Del Negro, another of the Spurs’ regular starters, did not play in his second game since coming off the injured list. Del Negro is expected to see action Friday at Charlotte.

For the Wizards, Chris Webber led the way with 27 points. Juwan Howard finished with 21, but he missed 15 of 23 shots in the process - many with a hand in his face on the perimeter.

Washington point guard Rod Strickland had 16 points and 12 assists.

DIP FOR DUNCAN

Utah’s Karl Malone moved up to starting position for the Western Conference All-Stars, surpassing Minnesota’s Kevin Garnett and the Spurs’ Tim Duncan, in the latest voting announced Wednesday.

Malone has 178,264 votes, compared with 168,319 for Garnett and 160,496 for Duncan, to lead among forwards. The Spurs’ David Robinson (208,985) continued to pace all West centers.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-16, By Jerry Briggs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Spurs rookie forward Tim Duncan and veteran guard Vinny Del Negro may have a different mind-set than some of their teammates tonight when they suit up against the Charlotte Hornets.

For Duncan and Del Negro, it’s more than just the third game on a five-game road trip and the 38th on an 82-game schedule.

Duncan will play his first NBA contest in the state that claims him as one of its own because of his All-America exploits at Wake Forest in nearby Winston-Salem.

“It’s going to be great,” Duncan said. “I’ll have a lot of friends and family there. To be able to play in front of a lot of the people I know, it’s just going to feel good.”

Del Negro, meanwhile, may also feel a little nostalgic.

But he probably won’t be thinking as much about his collegiate career at North Carolina State as he will about how much he has missed playing basketball - period.

Plagued with a hyperextended elbow suffered Dec. 13, Del Negro has sat out the Spurs’ last 15 games. He was activated off the injured list Tuesday, but he did not play in Spurs victories over Boston (97-88) on Tuesday and Washington (89-79) on Wednesday to start the road trip.

“I’m not quite 100 percent yet,” Del Negro said. “It was good to get an extra few days rest for the last two games. But obviously I’m really happy to go out and get back in there.”

Despite the injury to Del Negro and nagging ailments that have slowed several other players, the Spurs are 15-2 since Dec. 9 - the best record in the NBA in that stretch - and 25-12 overall.

“I’ve never been one to think about streaks,” said Del Negro. “I think it’s great, but our mentality has to be, ‘Go in and do the job, and then get ready for the next one.’ We can’t think about anything else.”

Nearly six months after the Spurs selected Duncan with the No. 1 pick in the draft last summer here at the Coliseum, the unassuming native of the U.S. Virgin Islands has more than met expectations of fans, players and coaches.

Duncan is averaging 17.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He has bolted into serious contention for a berth on the NBA All-Star team, for Rookie of the Year and possibly even a spot on Dream Team IV in the FIBA World Championships of Basketball next summer.

He was picked Thursday as a participant in the Schick Rookie Game, set for Feb. 7 at Madison Square Garden during the All-Star Weekend.

A league spokesman said if Duncan is named to the Western Conference All-Star team, which plays the East at the Garden on Feb. 8, he won’t have to play in the rookie game.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich listed three reasons why Duncan has been such a quick study.

“First, he embodies intelligence,” Popovich said. "Second, he is unimpressed with his position in life. And, third, he is totally committed to being the best.

“Put that together with all that talent, and you have someone who is pretty special.”

Duncan passed up opportunities to turn pro in both 1995 and 1996. He likely would have been the No. 1 pick either year. Looking back, he said it helped that he stayed at Wake Forest for four years and learned the game under Demon Deacons coach Dave Odom.

“It was of tremendous importance because I had a lot of growing up to do,” Duncan said. “I don’t think (leaving early) would have given me the chance I have now. I don’t think I would have been ready (two years ago).”

Spurs center David Robinson has teamed with Duncan to make the team nearly unstoppable over the last five weeks.

But other than the three-point shots hoisted by 33-year-old forward Chuck Person, the Spurs have been erratic from the perimeter. That is where Del Negro could come in handy.

“Winning like we have been winning is good, in a way,” Del Negro said. “We’ve had to concentrate on defense. The other things (like outside shooting) will come. I hope I can help in that category.”

The Hornets (22-14) played at Detroit on Thursday night. The Spurs may catch them at the right time after a long plane trip home. San Antonio closes the road trip at Milwaukee on Sunday and at New Jersey on Monday.

“All of the next three are going to be tough,” Person said. “We’re facing three teams that can all really score the basketball. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

Rookie all-stars

Participants in the 1998 Schick Rookie Game, to be played Feb. 7 at Madison Square Garden:

WEST

Guards: Antonio Daniels, Vancouver; Bobby Jackson, Denver; Rodrick Rhodes, Houston; Alvin Williams, Portland.

Forwards: Danny Fortson, Denver; Tim Duncan, Spurs; Maurice Taylor, L.A. Clippers.

Center: Michael Stewart, Sacramento.

EAST

Guards: Derek Anderson and Brevin Knight, Cleveland; Chauncey Billups and Ron Mercer, Boston.

Forwards: Cedric Henderson, Cleveland; Tim Thomas, Philadelphia; Keith Van Horn, New Jersey.

Center: Zydrunas Ilgauskas, Cleveland.

Note: Coaches for the teams will be announced Wednesday.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-16, By Kevin O’Keeffe

寻找190万美元答案

他们会还是不会？

马刺队在放弃伤病缠身的锋线球员查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)后，是否还有190万美元可以用来购买球员？

这个数字大约是史密斯本赛季薪水的一半。

史密斯上周被放弃，本赛季没有上场。他上个月接受了联盟医生的检查。马刺队队医一年前坚称史密斯的膝盖问题将使他永远无法再上场。

据马刺队队医称，史密斯在2000年之前拥有保障合同，他的右膝患有骨关节炎。

这190万美元将作为医疗特例，因为史密斯巨额的薪水计入了马刺队的工资帽。

芝加哥太阳时报专栏作家莱西·J·班克斯(Lacy J. Banks)报道称，马刺队确实被NBA官员告知，他们有190万美元可以花。

一位熟悉此事的消息人士周四也说了同样的话。

请注意，马刺队最近表现出色，他们没有理由想让这些信息公开，因为它只会成为一种干扰。

周四晚上，在夏洛特酒店房间里，马刺队媒体关系总监汤姆·詹姆斯(Tom James)说：“我还没有听到任何官方消息。我一直置身事外。”

教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)告诉快报马刺队记者杰里·布里格斯(Jerry Briggs)：“我没有任何证据证明（马刺队被告知有190万美元可以花）。”

实际上，马刺队是否有联盟的许可花190万美元买新球员，目前无关紧要。

哦，这将在午餐室或饮水机旁提供一些谈资。

但现在还没有人值得这个价钱。马刺队直到10月才能使用这个特例。

现在，对于那些满嘴泡沫的拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)支持者来说，也许你们认为斯普雷维尔先生会因为这个数字而被引诱到圣安东尼奥，请忘了它吧。

正如你所知，斯普雷维尔因为勒住并殴打他的金州教练P.J. 卡莱西莫(P.J. Carlesimo)而被停赛一年。

斯普雷维尔的合同也被取消，他损失了2500万美元的最后三年合同保障金。

啊哈… 这就是NBA球员协会为斯普雷维尔辩护的原因，而他并不是受害者。

斯普雷维尔事件的听证会定于1月27日在俄勒冈州波特兰举行。这使得圣安东尼奥的斯普雷维尔支持者十分激动。

提前释放？

联盟主席赦免？

嘘… 以上都不是。

据一位NBA官员称，这仅仅是第一步。斯普雷维尔和他的团队还需要前往纽约接受问询。

希望在一切尘埃落定之前，马刺队董事会主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)会意识到斯普雷维尔不适合他的球队。

这个人是一个高出手量的射手，不会在外线投篮（他在攻击事件发生时，外线命中率为39%），近来没有防守过任何人，显然也不善于与他人合作。

也许今天应该问的问题是，马刺队是否会使用这190万美元的特例？

金钱很重要。

所以，也许当你们今天围在饮水机旁时，应该问：

他们会还是不会，而不是他们会还是不会？

点击查看原文：Searching for an answer to $1.9 million

Searching for an answer to $1.9 million

Do they or don’t they?

Do the Spurs have an extra $1.9 million to spend on a player in the aftermath of waiving injury- riddled forward Charles Smith?

That figure is approximately half Smith’s salary for this season.

Smith, who was waived last week, has not played this season. He was examined by a league physician last month. Spurs team doctors insisted a year ago that Smith’s knee problems would prevent him from ever playing again.

Smith, who has a guaranteed contract through 2000, has osteoarthritis in his right knee, according to Spurs team doctors.

The $1.9 million would be a medical exception, since Smith’s huge salary counts against the Spurs’ salary cap.

Chicago Sun-Times columnist Lacy J. Banks reported that the Spurs indeed had been told by NBA officials that they had the $1.9 million to spend.

A source familiar with the matter said the same thing Thursday.

Understand, the Spurs, who are playing quite well of late, have no reason to want that information out since it only will serve as a distraction.

Reached in his hotel room in Charlotte on Thursday evening, Spurs media-relations director Tom James said, “I’ve not heard anything official. I’ve stayed out of it.”

Coach Gregg Popovich told Express-News Spurs beat writer Jerry Briggs, “I have no evidence of that (the Spurs being told that have $1.9 million to spend).”

Actually, whether or not the Spurs have the league’s OK to spend $1.9 million on a new body is irrelevant … for now.

Oh, it will provide some conversation fodder in the lunch room or around the water cooler.

But there is no one out there available that is worth that money. The Spurs have until October to use the exception.

Now, for those of you Latrell Sprewellites who are foaming at the mouth thinking maybe Mr. Assault would be enticed to come to S.A. for that sum, forget it.

Sprewell, as you are no doubt aware, was suspended for a year for choking and then hitting P.J. Carlesimo, his coach at Golden State.

Sprewell also had his contract voided, losing $25 million guaranteed in the final three years of his pact.

Ahhh … that is what caused the NBA Players Association to fight for Sprewell, who is not the victim here.

A hearing on the Sprewell matter is scheduled for Jan. 27 in Portland, Ore. That has San Antonio’s Sprewellites in a tizzy.

Early parole?

Commissioner’s pardon?

Psst … none of the above.

According to an NBA official, that hearing is merely Step 1. Sprewell and his group still will have to go to New York for depositions.

Hopefully by the time it all unfolds, Spurs chairman of the board Peter Holt will realize Sprewell is a terrible fit for his team.

The guy is a high-volume shooter who can’t shoot from the outside (he was at 39 percent afield at the time of the assault), hasn’t guarded anyone in recent memory and obviously doesn’t play well with others.

Perhaps the question that should be asked today is if the Spurs will use the $1.9 million exception at all?

Money matters here.

So maybe when you gather around the water cooler today, it should be:

Will they or won’t they, rather than do they or don’t they?

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

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-17, By Jerry Briggs
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Tim Duncan made a triumphant return Friday night to the state that adopted him as a collegiate All-American. In his first game in North Carolina as a professional, Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

More important, the former national player of the year at Wake Forest paced the Spurs to their fourth win in a row with a 76-71 victory over the Charlotte Hornets.

Duncan gave away more than 50 tickets to friends who drove 90 miles from Winston-Salem to see him play. During introductions, he received a rousing ovation from the 24,042 fans.

“It felt good to come back,” Duncan said. “The crowd was really into it. I had a lot of friends here. It was just great to get the response that I did.”

The streaking Spurs improved to 3-0 on their five-game road trip, to 16-2 in their last 18 games and to 26-12 overall. Duncan, the No. 1 pick in the draft last summer, said he felt no pressure coming back to play in Atlantic Coast Conference country.

“I wasn’t nervous at all,” he said. “I’ve already played a lot of games (in the NBA). The jitters went out a long time ago.”

The Spurs may have felt some anxiety as a team in the final 23 seconds when the victory nearly slipped away.

The Hornets misfired on three three-point shots on one possession. If any of them had dropped, the Hornets would have forced a tie in a game that the Spurs probably should have salted away much earlier in the evening.

As it turned out, Glen Rice missed the first one and the last one. B.J. Armstrong bricked the other, which was wide open from the right wing.

“You’re always hoping that one of those doesn’t go in,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “But the only one with a halfway decent look was the one by B.J. We had the others covered pretty good.”

Robinson, bumped around by burly Anthony Mason most of the night, scored only nine points. Two of them came on free throws with 4.5 seconds remaining that sealed the win.

But as Robinson drifted out of the offensive flow, Duncan and others did just enough to beat the injury-depleted Hornets, who lost their third in a row and fell to 22- 16.

The Spurs’ starting backcourt of Avery Johnson and Jaren Jackson combined for 29 points. Reserve center Will Perdue got into his best rhythm since last year with a season-high 13 points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes.

Perdue hit 6 of 6 from the field, most on dunks or layups.

“I had a good idea I’d play because of their lineup,” said Perdue, who sometimes doesn’t see any playing time when the Spurs play a smaller team. “Then Pop (Coach Gregg Popovich) mentioned at shootaround that I might be in there.”

The Hornets played an aggressive game for a team that had gone into overtime and lost a night earlier in Detroit. They also played shorthanded, without injured shooting guards Bobby Phills and Dell Curry.

“Tonight, we were extremely lucky,” Popovich said. “If you look at the stats and if you watched the game closely, Charlotte completely outhustled us. Just look at the offensive rebounds (Charlotte, 18-6). That gives you an indication of the kind of effort they gave.”

Oddly enough, defensive-minded center Matt Geiger started and played 43 minutes. Geiger’s job was to slow down Duncan, but he instead hoisted a career-high 26 shots, scored 22 points and pulled down 13 rebounds.

His shooting binge may have been good news for the Spurs, who covered the Hornets’ primary offensive threats well. Rice was held to 11 points on 4 of 17 shooting. Mason scored eight points. Only point guard David Wesley hit better than his average with 15.

Charlotte center Vlade Divac barely broke a sweat, playing 18 minutes. Divac went 3 for 10 and scored six points.

Trailing by 10 points with seven minutes remaining, the Hornets went on an 11-4 run. Geiger capped it when he followed a miss by Mason and jammed in a dunk and pulled the Hornets to within 72-69.

- Spurs notes: Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro got into the game off the bench for five scoreless minutes in the first half. It was his first action since Dec. 13 at the Alamodome against Orlando, when he hyperextended his right elbow.

Del Negro didn’t get off a shot attempt and missed two free throws.

- The hottest teams in the league since Dec. 9 are the Spurs (16-2), followed by the Seattle SuperSonics (14-3).

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-01-18, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队不为平淡的风格找借口

密尔沃基 - 马刺队是那种你想要淋上巧克力酱的球队。

像香草冰淇淋一样平淡无奇。

他们大部分时间都打稳妥的防守。他们不冒险。他们不以快攻进攻来惊艳任何人。

无聊吗？也许有时候他们是这样。但他们以一种持续获胜的方式，对对手来说，他们无异于一种循序渐进的威慑。而对他们自己的球迷来说？绝对是美味。

马刺队将在今天下午 5 点在布拉德利中心迎战密尔沃基雄鹿队，他们将努力将连胜纪录延长至五场。圣安东尼奥队最近 10 场比赛取得了 9 胜 1 负，最近 18 场比赛取得了 16 胜 2 负，这是自 12 月 9 日以来 NBA 最佳连胜纪录。

马刺队在目前五场客场比赛中也取得了 3 胜 0 负，只有雄鹿队和新泽西篮网队阻挡着他们横扫对手的步伐。马刺队将在周一晚上在新泽西进行比赛。

马刺队以 26 胜 12 负的战绩高居中西部赛区榜首，但他们仍然渴望进步。他们想要更大的挑战。这几乎就像他们宁愿结束这段东部之旅，与几支西部联盟的强队对抗。

“我在赛季初告诉球员们，你不能要求尊重，”马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道。“我告诉他们，你必须赢得尊重。而我们通过在洛杉矶击败（湖人队）来做到这一点，我们通过在西雅图获胜来做到这一点。

“(但是)我们最近为我们自己做的事情，这是坚实的。这是货真价实的。”

马刺队在联盟中投篮命中率防守排名第一（41%），在失分方面排名第四（每场 88.9 分）。在四连胜期间，他们在球场的自己那一端设置了禁入标志，只让对手得到 76.3 分，命中率为 33.6%。

“这是我们所擅长的，”马刺队新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)说道。“当进攻不顺时，我们总是似乎可以压制对方。当我们把一支球队压制到非常低的得分时，我们就会很享受。”

在过去的两场比赛中，罗宾逊的进攻表现挣扎。但这并没有对球队造成太大影响。邓肯在战胜华盛顿奇才队和夏洛特黄蜂队的比赛中站了出来，带领球队进攻。

他在比赛最后时刻对黄蜂队的防守球员的勾手投篮帮助球队抵挡了对手的反扑，最终以 76-71 获胜。

“每当我的进攻陷入低迷时，蒂姆都站了出来，”罗宾逊说道。“这就是我们为什么能够取得 15 胜 2 负或者其他战绩的原因。有他这样的人在我身边，这对（对手）来说是令人望而生畏的。”

前马刺队主教练鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)认为他知道为什么马刺队还没有发挥出自己的全部潜能。

“他们没有得分，”希尔说道，他在周三为 TBS 播报了马刺队与奇才队的比赛。“我认为他们在联盟中罚球命中率垫底（67.4%）。他们能获得罚球机会，但他们投不进。另外，他们在投篮出手次数方面排名第 28 位（29 支球队中）（每场 74.6 次）。

“如果他们在打完防守之后（在快攻中）向前推进，他们就可以获得更多轻松的得分机会。对阵强队时，轻松得分机会会起到决定性的作用。”

控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)表示，马刺队可以成为比希尔执教的 1994-95 赛季的球队更好的球队，当时他们取得了 62 胜，晋级西部决赛，并在距离 NBA 总决赛仅差两场胜利的情况下止步。

“我们正在朝着那个方向前进，”约翰逊说道。“我们有机会比那一年更好。但我认为那样的球队不是标准。那些赢得过总冠军的球队才是你想要拿来比较的球队。”

约翰逊暗示在 2 月 19 日交易截止日期之前可能会发生交易。

“我认为这支球队要到全明星赛之后或者交易截止日期之后才会真正稳定下来，”他说。“就像一年中的任何一支球队一样，仍然有很多事情需要解决。”

约翰逊表示，连胜对他来说毫无意义。

“这毫无意义，”他说。“我们还有很多事情要做。无论我们战绩是 15 胜 2 负还是 13 胜 4 负，这都不重要。我们需要在训练场上花更多的时间。我们希望能在季后赛之前打 150 场比赛，而不是 82 场。我们就是不能得到太多的训练。”

点击查看原文：Spurs make no excuses for bland style

Spurs make no excuses for bland style

MILWAUKEE - The Spurs are the kind of team you’d want to drench in chocolate syrup.

Plain vanilla.

They play straight-up defense most of the time. They don’t gamble. They don’t wow anyone with a fast-breaking offense.

Boring? At times, maybe they are. But the way they keep winning, they’re nothing short of methodically intimidating to the opposition. And to their own fans? Absolutely delicious.

The Spurs will try to extend their winning streak to five when they face the Milwaukee Bucks at 5 p.m. today at the Bradley Center. San Antonio has won nine of 10 overall and 16 of its last 18, the best streak in the NBA since Dec. 9.

The Spurs also are 3-0 on the current five- game road trip, with only the Bucks and the New Jersey Nets standing in the way of a sweep. The Spurs play at New Jersey on Monday night.

Standing atop the Midwest Division with a 26-12 record, the Spurs nevertheless crave improvement. They want big challenges. It’s almost like they’d rather finish this Eastern excursion against a couple of the better Western Conference teams.

“I told the guys at the beginning of the year that you don’t claim respect,” Spurs center David Robinson said. "I told them that you have to earn it. And we do that by beating the (Lakers) in L.A. We do it by winning in Seattle.

“(But) what we’ve done for ourselves lately, this is solid. This is for real.”

The Spurs lead the NBA in field-goal defense (41 percent) and rank fourth in points allowed (88.9 per game). During the four-game streak, they have put an off-limits sign on the hoop at their end of the floor, giving up just 76.3 points and 33.6 shooting.

“That’s what we thrive on,” Spurs rookie forward Tim Duncan said. “When the offense doesn’t click, we always seem to hold down the other team. When we hold a team down to a real low score, we have a good time with that.”

In the past two games, Robinson has struggled offensively. But it hasn’t hurt the team too much. Duncan stepped in victories over Washington and Charlotte to lead the offense.

His hook shot in traffic held off a Hornets rally in the final minutes of a 76-71 victory Friday night.

“Tim’s taken up where I’ve left off every time,” Robinson said. “That’s why we’ve won 15 of 17 or whatever it is. To have that kind of presence next to me, it can be intimidating (to the opposition).”

Former Spurs coach Bob Hill believes he knows why the Spurs haven’t reached their potential.

“They’re not scoring,” said Hill, who worked the Spurs-Wizards game at Washington on Wednesday for TBS. "I think they’re last in the league in free-throw shooting (67.4 percent). They’re getting to the line, but they’re not making them. Also, they’re 28th (out of 29 teams) in field-goal attempts (74.6 per game).

“If they would move forward (in a running game) after they play the defense, they could get more easy baskets. Against the great teams, easy baskets make a difference.”

Point guard Avery Johnson said the Spurs can become a better team than the Hill- coached 1994-95 squad that won 62 games, advanced to the Western Conference finals and came within two victories of the NBA Finals.

“We’re getting there,” Johnson said. “We’ve got a chance to be better than that year. But I don’t think teams like that are the standard. Teams that have won championships are the ones you want to compare yourselves to.”

Johnson hinted that a trade could be looming before the Feb. 19 deadline.

“I don’t think this team will really settle in until after the (All-Star) break or after the trade deadline,” he said. “There are still a lot of things being addressed, just like any team at this time of year.”

Johnson said the streak is meaningless to him.

“It don’t mean nothing,” he said. “We still have a lot to do. It doesn’t matter if we’re 15-2 or 13-4 or whatever. We need more and more time on the practice floor. We wish we could play 150 games before the playoffs, rather than 82. We just can’t get too much practice.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News