马刺1997-98赛季实录(680+篇)

1998-01-18, By Glenn Rogers

银靴:创始团队:杰瑞·钱伯斯(Jerry Chambers)

简要介绍:钱伯斯,现年54岁,在短暂的圣安东尼奥生涯中出场38次,场均得到5.9分。1974年1月24日,马刺队放弃了这位来自犹他州的6尺5寸前锋。他现在在哪里?钱伯斯现在在洛杉矶公园和休闲部门工作,担任韦斯特切斯特休闲中心的休闲主管/体育协调员。

马刺队之后的经历:钱伯斯在被马刺队放弃后离开了职业篮球赛场,此前他在ABA效力了五年。他加入了“桶装队员”(Bucketeers)队,该队是由米德尔拉克·莱蒙(Meadowlark Lemon)在离开花式篮球队后组建的。

“我为他们打球三年,走遍了世界各地,”钱伯斯说。

但这位前锋表示,他一直对表演感兴趣,并在好莱坞满足了这种渴望。

“我出演了几部电影,最后一部是华特迪士尼电影《大脚怪》,”他说。“我扮演了一个大脚怪。我最出名的电影是《拯救匹兹堡的拳头》。”

钱伯斯还出演过电视节目,包括《巡逻街》和《CHiPs》,并在美国足球联盟的洛杉矶快车队的社区关系部门工作过一段时间。

作为马刺球员的回忆:“我打进了对阵(圣地亚哥)征服者队的制胜球。那感觉很棒,因为他们前一年就放弃了我。我很幸运在夏天遇到了马刺队教练汤姆·尼萨尔克(Tom Nissalke),他把我带到了圣安东尼奥。”

个人生活:钱伯斯是鳏夫。他的女儿丹妮克·丹妮尔(Danique Danielle)住在华盛顿特区。

点击查看原文:Silver Spurs: The Original Team: Jerry Chambers

Silver Spurs: The Original Team: Jerry Chambers

The lowdown: Chambers, now 54, played 38 games and averaged 5.9 points during his brief stay in San Antonio. The Spurs waived the 6-foot-5 forward from Utah on Jan. 24, 1974. Where is he now? Chambers is working for the Los Angeles Department of Parks and Recreation and is the recreation director/sports coordinator of the Westchester Recreation Center. History after the Spurs: Chambers left professional basketball when he was waived by the Spurs, having spent five years in the ABA. He joined the Bucketeers, a team formed by Meadowlark Lemon after the latter left the Globetrotters.

“I played with them for three years, traveled all over the world,” Chambers said.

But the forward said he had always been interested in acting, and he satisfied that urge in Hollywood.

“I was in a few movies, the last one was a Walt Disney film called ‘Bigfoot,’” he said. “I played a sasquatch. The most famous movie I was in was ‘The Fist That Saved Pittsburgh.’”

Chambers also appeared in television shows, including “Hill Street Blues” and “CHiPs,” and served a stint in the community relations department of the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League. Memory as a Spur: “I hit the winning shot against the (San Diego) Conquistadors. that felt great because they had released me the year before. I was fortunate to meet up with Tom Nissalke, the Spurs’ coach, over the summer and he brought me to San Antonio.”

Personal: Chambers is a widower. His daughter, Danique Danielle, lives in Washington, D.C.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-18, By Jerry Briggs

史密斯事件对马刺来说越来越有利

密尔沃基 - 上周,当被要求对查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)神秘事件的最新消息做出回应时,马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)并不想停下来说话。

波波维奇在周三前往华盛顿MCI中心的更衣室途中只说他“没有证据”表明NBA已经批准马刺队为史密斯申请残疾球员的薪资帽特例。史密斯在1月6日被放弃。

尽管对波波维奇表示尊重,但越来越多的证据表明事实并非如此。

一位熟悉情况的NBA消息人士上周告诉《快报》专栏作家凯文·奥基夫(Kevin O’Keeffe),马刺队已经被告知他们拥有这个特例,并且他们可以在10月1日之前使用史密斯一半的薪水(据报道为190万美元)来签下一名球员。

这证实了之前《芝加哥太阳报》的一份报道。

波波维奇快步走着,对球队其他问题置之不理,回头说道:“什么,你是科伦坡(Columbo,是一个著名的美国经典电视电影系列中的主角,由彼得·福克饰演,是一个看似不修边幅但极具洞察力的洛杉矶重案组刑警)吗?”然后他消失在门后。

后来,我告诉马刺助理教练汉克·伊根(Hank Egan),我认为波波维奇刚刚恭维了我。伊根笑着说:“你得给自己弄件雨衣。”

我认为,即使这笔交易现在看起来比以往任何时候都好,科伦坡(Columbo)也无法弄清楚马刺队在1996年交易史密斯是否是一个明智的举动。

自从马刺队将J.R. 莱德(J.R. Reid)、布拉德·洛哈斯(Brad Lohaus)和一个首轮选秀权送到纽约以来,已经过去了将近两年。作为交换,尼克斯队将史密斯和小前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)送到了马刺队。

几乎从一开始,这笔交易就在德克萨斯州南部引发了争议,主要是因为史密斯在身体上崩溃了,在第二轮季后赛输给犹他爵士队的比赛中什么也没做。

史密斯被认为是球队解决大前锋位置问题的答案,过去两个赛季,他只参加了51场常规赛。他本赛季没有上场,并且由于右膝骨关节炎的困扰,可能不会再上场。

但是,随着这笔交易两周年纪念日将在大约三个星期后到来,这笔交易每天都在看起来越来越好。

那么马刺队最终从这笔交易中得到了什么呢?最初,他们得到了季后赛输给爵士队的糟糕表现,以及史密斯和波波维奇在更衣室里的紧张关系,以及在去年的一个糟糕的,伤病缠身的赛季中,他们签下了价值400万美元的合同,这已经给他们的薪资帽带来了沉重的负担。

但他们可能会从中全身而退。现在,他们拥有威廉姆斯,他是一名宝贵的替补,每次他脱掉热身服,进入比赛时,他都会给球队注入活力。

而且现在,他们显然获得了190万美元的特例,这可以在今年夏天转化为另一名优秀的球员。

从某种程度上说,波波维奇可以被看作是自己创造了机会的人。他交易了史密斯,他知道史密斯的膝盖不好,可能认为如果史密斯的膝盖垮了,他有一天可能会得到薪资帽的减免。

另一方面,这笔交易是否值得波波维奇-史密斯冲突带来的所有痛苦?如果联盟没有批准这个特例怎么办?而且首轮选秀权(最终是约翰·华莱士(John Wallace))可能比威廉姆斯更优秀吗?

对于这些问题,我需要寻求帮助。也许我们可以请马特洛克(Matlock)来帮忙。

AJ 毫无畏惧

多伦多猛龙队控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)在他的NBA新秀赛季赢得了“Mighty Mouse”的绰号。两年后,斯塔德迈尔可能已经进化成“Mighty Mouth”。

斯塔德迈尔已经对联盟中的一些球队口头抨击,因为他正在考虑自己可能会被交易到哪里。其中一击指向了马刺队,据猛龙队的说法,马刺队“不会赢得任何东西”,因为埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)担任控球后卫。

“他可能只是有点沮丧,”约翰逊说。“如果你在三年内只赢了40场比赛,我认为我也会很沮丧。”

据报道,斯塔德迈尔告诉《体育画报》,“埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)是一个好人,一个社区人士,但他们不会赢得任何东西,因为他担任控球后卫。”

约翰逊说,“猛龙队今年赢了几场比赛?”有人猜测大约是四场,约翰逊笑着补充说,“我认为我可以带领他们赢得超过四场胜利。”

实际上,猛龙队已经赢得了六场比赛。但他们的球迷可能在几周前就停止计算了。

点击查看原文:Deal for Smith looks better by the day for S.A.

Deal for Smith looks better by the day for S.A.

MILWAUKEE - Pressed for a response on the latest news in the Charles Smith mystery last week, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich didn’t feel like stopping to talk.

All Popovich said on his way to the dressing room at Washington’s MCI Center on Wednesday was that he had “no evidence” that the NBA had granted the Spurs a disabled player salary-cap exception for Smith, who was waived Jan. 6.

With all due respect to Popovich, the evidence is mounting.

An NBA source familiar with the situation told Express-News columnist Kevin O’Keeffe last week that the Spurs have been told they have the exception, and that they can use half of Smith’s salary - reportedly $1.9 million - to sign a player before Oct. 1.

It was confirmation of a previous report that appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times.

Walking briskly and brushing off other questions about the team, Popovich looked back and said, “What, are you Columbo?” And then he disappeared through the door.

Later, I told Spurs assistant coach Hank Egan that I thought Popovich had just paid me a compliment. To which Egan laughed and said, “You’ll have to get yourself a raincoat.”

I don’t even think Columbo could figure out whether it was a wise move for the Spurs to trade for Smith in 1996, even though the deal looks better now than it ever has.

It’s been almost two years since the Spurs shipped J.R. Reid, Brad Lohaus and a first-round draft pick to New York. In return, the Knicks sent Smith and small forward Monty Williams to the Spurs.

Almost from the beginning, the trade sparked controversy in South Texas, mostly because Smith broke down physically and did nothing in a second-round playoff loss to the Utah Jazz.

Billed as an answer to the team’s problems at power forward, Smith played in 51 regular-season games over the past two seasons. He didn’t play at all this season and - afflicted with osteoarthritis in his right knee - probably won’t play again.

But as the two-year anniversary of the deal approaches in about three weeks, it’s a transaction that is looking better every day.

So what did the Spurs end up getting out of this trade? Initially, they got the playoff bust against the Jazz, tension between Smith and Popovich in the locker room during a miserable, injury- wracked season last year and a $4 million contract on an already- overburdened cap.

But they may come out of it all right. Right now, they have Williams, a valuable reserve who infuses energy into the team each time he strips off his warmups and enters a game.

And now they apparently have the $1.9 million exception, which could be parlayed into another solid player this summer.

In one way, Popovich can be viewed as someone who created his own opportunities. He traded for Smith, known to have a bad knee, probably thinking he one day might be able to get salary-cap relief if Smith’s knee gave way.

On the other hand, was the deal worth all the grief the Popovich- Smith conflict created? What if the league hadn’t granted the exception? And could the first- round draft pick (eventually John Wallace) have turned out to be a better player than Williams?

For those questions, I’ll have to call for help. Maybe we can bring in Matlock. AJ unruffled: Toronto Raptors point guard Damon Stoudamire earned the nickname “Mighty Mouse” in his rookie year in the NBA. Two years later, it could be that Stoudamire has evolved into “Mighty Mouth.”

Stoudamire has taken several oral swings at teams around the league as he ponders where he might be traded. One of those shots was directed at the Spurs, who, according to the Raptor, “won’t win anything” with Avery Johnson at the point.

“He’s probably just a little frustrated,” Johnson said. “When you win maybe 40 games in three years, I think I’d be frustrated, too.”

For the record, Stoudamire told Sports Illustrated, “Avery Johnson is a good guy, a community guy, but they aren’t going to win anything with him.”

Said Johnson, “How many games have the (Raptors) won this year?” Someone guessed it was about four, to which Johnson added with a wink, “I think I could have led 'em to more than four victories.”

Actually, the Raptors have won six games. But their fans probably stopped counting weeks ago. To leave a message for Jerry Briggs, call ExpressLine at 554- 0500 and punch 7292, or e-mail to jbriggs@express-news.net

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-18, By Glenn Rogers

NBA的历史课:弱旅们,没什么新鲜事

你一定听过这种抱怨:“NBA的球队太多了,人才被稀释了。一半球队如果在几年前就已笑柄。”

真的吗?

确实,我们不得不忍受达拉斯和丹佛这样的球队,他们在本赛季73场比赛后,一共只赢了8场。只有铁杆球迷、朋友、亲戚、领到免费票的观众,或者那些想看迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)客场的球迷,才会想看这些球队在球场上跌跌撞撞地表演。

但情况真的改变了多少呢?

简单回顾一下往年的历史就会发现,这些替补球队一直都在那里——他们为对抗强队的比赛提供血肉和磨合机会。

强队可能会很幸运,在自己的分区找到这些弱旅,这样可以用来填饱自己的战绩。

马刺和犹他爵士并没有因为掘金和独行侠,以及温哥华灰熊出现在西部而感到沮丧。

这个赛季有很多烂队。但在1993-94赛季,到1月中旬,有9支球队胜率低于4成。达拉斯再次成为最差的球队,在36场比赛中只赢了2场。

在1994-95赛季,大约在同一时间点,有10支球队胜率低于4成。洛杉矶快船的战绩最差,为6胜35负。

奥兰多魔术和纽约尼克斯是那个赛季的幸运儿,他们的大西洋分区有4支球队在赛季结束时胜率低于4成。魔术在这4支球队身上取得了57场胜利中的12场,尼克斯取得了55场胜利中的16场。

1995-96赛季,芝加哥公牛队创造了联盟纪录,取得了72场胜利。那个赛季有7支球队胜率低于4成,公牛在这7支球队身上取得了22场胜利。

你说这是最近的历史?那就再往回看一看。

看看1972-73赛季,你会发现有5支球队在赛季结束时胜率低于4成。联盟当时只有17支球队,所以真正的强队可以轻松地将这些弱旅烤成“棉花糖”。

波士顿凯尔特人队那个赛季取得了联盟最高的68场胜利,他们以7比0的战绩击败了战绩为9胜73负的费城76人队。

洛杉矶湖人队在1971-72赛季取得了当时联盟纪录的69场胜利,当时有6支球队胜率低于4成。湖人在这6支球队身上取得了26场胜利。

另一个经常听到的抱怨,也是我经常抱怨的一点,是比赛的场次。

82场比赛的赛程被认为是造成球员受伤的原因,也让球员在季后赛开始时感到疲惫,无法发挥最佳水平。

但球员们几十年来一直在为这个赛程而奋斗。NBA从1961-62赛季开始,每年至少要打80场比赛。最后一次66场比赛的赛程是在1951-52赛季,第二年就增加到70场比赛,再下一年增加到72场比赛,1959-60赛季增加到75场比赛,下一年增加到79场比赛。

当然,季后赛是另一回事。它随着时间的推移而被调整和延长,也许对于那些担心球员疲劳和身体状况的人来说,这是一个合理的批评目标。

例如,在1964-65赛季结束时,当时有8支球队和两个分区,分区冠军只需要面对一个七场制的系列赛,然后就是总决赛,最多14场比赛。分区亚军需要面对一个五场制的首轮系列赛,来争夺与分区冠军争夺分区决赛的资格,最多19场比赛。

如今,为了适应联盟的扩张,一支冠军球队需要在其所属联盟中经历一场五场制系列赛和两场七场制系列赛的考验,然后是七场制的总决赛,最多26场比赛。这是一个痛苦的旅程,足以让最健康的运动员筋疲力尽,也必然会产生半场阵地战。

此外,对于那些寻找球员疲劳原因的人来说,另一个同样重要的因素是,球员们现在在休赛期需要承受大量的训练和迷你训练营,更不用说参加国家队比赛了。

点击查看原文:History lesson in NBA shows bottom dwellers nothing new

History lesson in NBA shows bottom dwellers nothing new

You’ve heard the complaint: “There are just too many teams in the NBA. The talent is watered down. Half of the franchises would have been laughingstocks years ago.”

Really?

It’s true we are subjected to the likes of Dallas and Denver, which after a combined 73 games this season had eight wins between them. Only hard-core loyalists, friends and relatives, holders of giveaway tickets or fans interested in the visiting Michael Jordan could possibly want to watch those squads blunder through the night.

But just how much have things changed?

A brief perusal through the years shows the punching bags always have been lurking - the bleeders and tuneups for the fights with contenders.

Strong teams can get lucky and find those weaklings in their own divisions, something to munch on to fatten their own records.

The Spurs and Utah Jazz aren’t exactly dismayed that the Nuggets and Mavericks, as well as the Vancouver Grizzlies, reside in the Midwest.

There are chumps aplenty this season. But during the 1993-94 season, there were nine teams under the .400 mark in mid- January. Dallas again was the lousiest, spiraling downhill while winning 2 of 36.

There were 10 teams wasting time under the .400 mark at about the same point of the schedule during the '94-95 season. The Los Angeles Clippers were bottoming out with a 6-35 mark.

The Orlando Magic and New York Knicks were the lucky fellows that season, with four teams in their Atlantic Division completing the year under .400. The Magic had 12 of their 57 wins against those teams, the Knicks 16 of their 55.

The Chicago Bulls established a league record with 72 wins in '95- 96. Seven teams finished under .400 that season, and Chicago notched 22 wins against them.

That’s recent history, you say? So travel further back.

Take a look at the '72-73 season, and you’ll find that five teams finished the season winning less than 40 percent of their games. There were only 17 teams in the league, so the real cookers were in good position to stick those marshmallows on the end of their sticks and enjoy the roasting.

The Boston Celtics finished with a league-high 68 wins that season and beat Philadelphia, which finished with a 9-73 mark, seven times.

The Los Angeles Lakers won the then-league-record 69 games during the '71-72 season when six teams finished under .400. The Lakers fed on them for 26 victories.

Another oft-heard whine, one I’ve honked about myself many a time, is the stream of games.

The 82-game slate is blamed for laying the groundwork for injuries, of simply leaving players fatigued and far from their optimum playing capabilities when the playoff battles commence.

But the fellas have been grinding through this schedule for decades. The NBA has played at least 80 games a year since the '61-62 season. The last 66-game schedule was played through the '51-52 season and it jumped to 70 games the next year, 72 the next, 75 during the '59-60 season and 79 the next.

The playoffs, of course, are another matter. They’ve been toyed with and extended through the years, and perhaps this is a just target for those concerned about fatigue and bodies breaking down.

At the end of the '64-65 season, for instance, when there were the eight teams and two divisions, division champions faced only one seven-game series and then the finals, a maximum of 14 games. Division runners-up faced an opening five-game series for the right to meet the division winner in the division finals, a maximum of 19 games.

Today, accommodating the expanded league, a championship team faces the gauntlet of one five- game and two seven-game struggles in its own conference before the seven-game finals, a maximum of 26 games. That’s a torturous run, guaranteed to drain the most well-conditioned athletes and certain also to produce half- court trench warfare.

In addition, and perhaps an equally cogent factor for those looking for the cause of wear, are the extensive training rigors and minicamps, not to mention play on international teams, that players now are expected to endure during the off-seasons.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-18, By Associated Press

失去邓肯的“魔鬼执事”寻找替代中锋任重道远

温斯顿-塞勒姆,北卡罗来纳州 - 戴夫·奥多姆(Dave Odom)本赛季在一场比赛中,四肢着地,缓慢地低下头,不愿看着维克森林大学拙劣的进攻。

失去前明星球员蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)后,魔鬼执事(8-6)的生活并没有变得更好。邓肯以NBA状元秀的身份加盟马刺队,给这个在奥多姆的带领下连续五个赛季取得20胜的球队留下了巨大的空缺。

上个赛季,当这位两届大西洋海岸联盟年度最佳球员还在阵容中时,维克森林在常规赛中输掉了五场比赛,总共输了27分。周三晚上,排名第二的杜克大学在魔鬼执事的家门口以36分战胜了他们,这是他们在八场比赛中输掉的第六场。

除了邓肯,魔鬼执事还失去了6尺11寸的里奇·佩拉尔(Ricky Peral)和6尺8寸的肖恩·艾伦(Sean Allen),他们组成的锋线组合在1996-97赛季让对手的投篮命中率限制在36.4%,位居全国第二。本赛季,对手对阵维克森林的投篮命中率达到了41.2%。

周五晚上,奥多姆宣布他将暂停7尺1寸的二年级生洛伦·伍兹(Loren Woods)的比赛。

伍兹已经首发了全部14场比赛,是球队的篮板王(场均8.6个篮板)。他在大西洋海岸联盟篮板榜上排名第四,盖帽榜上以42次盖帽排名联盟第二。

“我暂停了洛伦,让他暂时离开球队,这是我和他共同的决定,我们认为他需要一些时间远离篮球,”奥多姆在一份声明中说。“这纯粹是一个篮球问题,是为了让洛伦明白比赛不是非赢不可,必须保持正确的视角。”

奥多姆在暂停伍兹之前就一直在抱怨球队内线的表现。

“我们的低位进攻没有过去八年那么好 - 不仅仅是过去四年有蒂姆,”奥多姆说。

奥多姆原本希望从大四球员托尼·鲁特兰(Tony Rutland)和杰里·布拉兹韦尔(Jerry Braswell)那里得到不错的后卫表现,但他们在上个赛季后期状态低迷。但这两个人的失误次数加起来比助攻次数还多,每场比赛只贡献大约16分。

“去年一切都围绕着蒂姆展开,然后总是感觉那些外线球员会投进致命的一球,”弗吉尼亚大学主教练杰夫·琼斯(Jeff Jones)说。“今年,这些外线球员承担了更多的得分重任。”

尽管如此,维克森林1胜3负的ACC战绩,大部分的批评都集中在伍兹身上。他在上个赛季邓肯在场的时侯展现过光芒,但一直无法独自承担内线得分重任。

“蒂姆·邓肯是去年全国最好的球员,”琼斯说。“他做很多事情都非常出色,也让周围的球员变得更好。可以理解,也许情况会发生变化,洛伦·伍兹,或者其他任何人,都不可能达到蒂姆·邓肯的标准。

“洛伦·伍兹是一名非常优秀的球员,但指望他打出和蒂姆·邓肯一样的数字,甚至对比赛产生同样的影响,这真是太荒谬了。”

虽然伍兹在ACC盖帽榜上排名第二,篮板榜上排名第四,但他场均只有11.6分,投篮命中率只有40%。邓肯上个赛季场均20.8分,投篮命中率为60.8%,领跑联盟。

“我接到一个人的电话,我几乎不认识他,他说,‘嘿教练,你的球队今年真的很起伏不定,’”奥多姆说。“我说,‘好吧,你每天都能获得100%的利润吗?’篮球队就像一家企业,今天兴旺,明天衰败。”

维克森林的经验不足 - 六名大一新生和两名大二学生 - 是球队的明显弱点。

“我必须对年轻球员有耐心,我必须对经验不足的球员有耐心,但你不能过度地有耐心,”奥多姆说。“你必须坚持严格的标准,让这支经验不足的球队努力达到标准。”

点击查看原文:Duncanless Deacons find filling middle a tall order indeed

Duncanless Deacons find filling middle a tall order indeed

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. - Dave Odom dropped to all fours and slowly lowered his head to the floor during one game this season, not wanting to watch Wake Forest’s inept offense.

Life hasn’t gotten much better for the Demon Deacons (8-6) without former star Tim Duncan, whose departure to the Spurs as the NBA’s overall No. 1 pick left a huge void in a program that has strung together five straight 20- win seasons under Odom.

With the two-time Atlantic Coast Conference player of the year in the lineup last season, Wake Forest lost five regular-season games by a combined 27 points. Wednesday night, No. 2 Duke beat the Demon Deacons by 36 on their home floor - their sixth loss in eight games.

Besides Duncan, the Demon Deacons lost 6-foot-11 Ricky Peral and 6-8 Sean Allen from a front line that limited opponents to 36.4 percent shooting in 1996-97 - second best in the nation. This season, teams are shooting 41.2 percent against Wake Forest.

Late Friday, Odom announced he had suspended 7-foot-1 sophomore Loren Woods.

Woods had started all 14 games, and is the team’s top rebounder (8.6). He’s fourth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in rebounding and second in the league in blocked shots with 42.

“I have suspended Loren from our team for an indefinite period based on a mutual feeling with him that he needs some time away from basketball,” Odom said in a statement. “This is solely a basketball issue, made in the hope that Loren will come to understand that the game is not an all-or-nothing proposition and must be kept in the proper perspective.”

Odom was lamenting the inside game even before the suspension.

“Our low-post game is not near where it has been for the last eight years - not just the last four years with Tim,” Odom said.

Odom had hoped to get good guard play out of seniors Tony Rutland and Jerry Braswell, who slumped late last season. But the two have more combined turnovers than assists and are only providing about 16 points per game.

“Last year everything went through Tim, then it always seemed like one of those perimeter guys would make the big shot to kill you,” said Virginia coach Jeff Jones. “This year, those guys on the perimeter are shouldering much more of the scoring load.”

Still, much of the criticism for Wake Forest’s 1-3 ACC record has been placed on Woods, who showed flashes of brilliance last season while Duncan was around but hasn’t been able to shoulder the inside scoring load alone.

“Tim Duncan was the best player in the country last year,” Jones said. "He did so many things well and made the players around him better. It’s understandable that maybe things are going to change and there is no way that Loren Woods, or anyone else, could live up to Tim Duncan’s standards.

“Loren Woods is a very fine player, but it’s ridiculous for anybody to expect him to put up the same numbers, but even more to have the impact on the game, that Tim Duncan had.”

While Woods is second in the ACC in blocked shots and fourth in rebounding, he’s averaging only 11.6 points per game and is shooting 40 percent from the field. Duncan averaged 20.8 points and shot a league-leading 60.8 percent last season.

“I had a guy call me who I barely know and he says, ‘Hey coach, your team is really up and down this year,’” Odom said. “I said, ‘Well, do you make 100 percent profit every day of the year?’ A basketball team is like a business - one day it’s up and one day it’s down.”

Wake Forest’s inexperience - six freshmen and two sophomores - is the team’s glaring weakness.

“I have to be patient with youth, I have to be patient with inexperience, but you can be patient to a fault,” Odom said. “What you have to do is remain tough in setting standards for this inexperienced team of ours to play up to.”

By Associated Press, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-19, By Jerry Briggs

马刺加时赛战胜雄鹿 扫荡之旅仍在进行

密尔沃基 - 密尔沃基雄鹿队的明星前锋格伦·罗宾逊(Glenn Robinson)因患流感而病休。另一方面,马刺队却拿不出医生证明来解释为什么雄鹿队在上半场频频在进攻篮板得分。在中场休息时认真反思后,马刺队终于振作精神,在周日晚上在布拉德利中心17,045名观众面前以98-92的比分战胜了雄鹿队,赢得了加时赛的胜利。

马刺队的中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)在下半场带领球队,贡献了全场最高的30分,其中19分是在下半场取得的。罗宾逊将他的队友带入了一个良好的状态,准备在今晚6点30分在新泽西州伊斯特拉瑟福德的康泰克航空球馆迎战新泽西网队,完成五场客场比赛的“扫荡”。

如果马刺队能够“扫荡”网队,这将无疑会极大地提振球队士气,因为他们曾一度质疑自己能否成为西部冠军的竞争者。

“这对我们来说将是一件很棒的事情,”罗宾逊说。“我们一直努力在客场站稳脚跟。你知道,我们遇到的这些球队都很强劲。这些球队并非弱旅。在任何一场比赛中,我们都有可能输球。”

相反,马刺队(27-12)在波士顿、华盛顿、夏洛特和密尔沃基都取得了胜利,并将在与网队(21-17)的比赛中迎来客场之旅的最后一场比赛。

圣安东尼奥队士气高昂,自12月9日以来取得了五连胜,并在最近19场比赛中赢了17场。在这段时间里,他们的17胜2负的战绩是NBA中最好的。只有西雅图超音速队,他们在最近18场比赛中赢了15场,才能与马刺队在争夺中西部赛区领先位置的比赛中取得如此辉煌的战绩。

“我认为雄鹿队在上半场表现出色,”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“他们真的比我们更努力。他们在禁区内通过二次进攻和失误得分。在下半场,我们展现了一些斗牛犬的韧性。我们坚持了下来,坚持了下来。我们很幸运赢下了这场比赛。”

尽管在上半场表现低迷,但马刺队差点在常规时间内战胜雄鹿队。他们在比赛还剩19秒时以3分的优势领先,直到密尔沃基控球后卫特雷尔·布兰登(Terrell Brandon)在人群中投出一记三分球,将比分扳平至83平。

“我当时就站在(布兰登)旁边,”马刺队后卫贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)说。“我不想犯规。我知道我们至少有机会赢下比赛。但他投进了。这对他来说是一个很棒的投篮。”

在另一端,查克·珀森(Chuck Person)在终场哨响前投出的三分球偏出,比赛进入加时赛。此时,杰克逊站了出来,在加时赛的第一回合投进一记三分球。这开启了马刺队8-0的得分狂潮,让雄鹿队不得不叫暂停寻找答案。

事实证明,他们没有答案。场均23分的格伦·罗宾逊因患流感而在家休息。布兰登是球队另一名主要的进攻威胁,他在加时赛开始70秒后,在防守艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)突破上篮时犯规被罚下。

雄鹿队在比赛还剩3分27秒时被蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)投进一记17英尺跳投将比分拉开至91-83,此后他们一直没有追到5分以内。密尔沃基队(18-21)唯一感到欣慰的是,他们对一支炙手可热的球队表现出了强烈的斗志。

“他们在比赛的最后时刻打得很聪明,”雄鹿队的泰伦·希尔(Tyrone Hill)说,他贡献了16分和14个篮板。“我们犯了错误,这让我们付出了代价。我们整场比赛都在带球突破,但却没有获得太多罚球机会。”

在比赛开始阶段,希尔在内线对罗宾逊和邓肯采取了强硬的防守。他在进攻篮板上的出色表现,让雄鹿队在上半场取得了14-6的二次进攻得分优势。

布兰登在上半场贡献了19分中的11分,密尔沃基队在上半场以45-31领先。他们在第三节开始两分钟后将比分扩大到49-33。

“这只是我们遇到的其中一个晚上,”约翰逊说,他在加时赛中贡献了13分中的7分。“当我们得知‘大狗’(格伦·罗宾逊)病了的消息时,我就知道我们会遇到麻烦。我们一开始没有进入状态。”

马刺队打得更努力,但在第四节开始阶段仍然落后10分,他们在罗宾逊的带领下奋力反击。罗宾逊在上一场对阵夏洛特的比赛中只得到9分,但在本场比赛中却爆发了,单节得到13分,大部分都是通过快速突破得分。

邓肯(20分,11个篮板)也打出了一次精彩的表现,他在后场双人包夹中从密尔沃基后卫雷·阿伦(Ray Allen)手中抢断,并轻松上篮得分,将比分扳平至78平。

之后,罗宾逊(15个篮板,6次助攻,3次抢断)在半场进攻中从阿伦手中抢断了一次传球。他在另一端造成了犯规并罚球得分,帮助马刺队在比赛还剩26.8秒时取得了83-80的领先优势。

  • 马刺队新闻:替补中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)仍然预测自己将在2月19日的交易截止日期前被交易,尽管他承认最近“谣言传播有点停滞”。

  • 首发小前锋肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)继续挣扎,10投2中得到5分。埃利奥特在本场客场之旅中只有22投5中。替补后卫科里·亚历山大(Cory Alexander)继续缺席,这是他连续第四场缺席比赛。

点击查看原文:Spurs rack up Bucks in OT Sweep still in order, thanks to Robinson

Spurs rack up Bucks in OT Sweep still in order, thanks to Robinson

MILWAUKEE - Milwaukee Bucks star forward Glenn Robinson called in sick with the flu. The Spurs, on the other hand, couldn’t produce a note from the doctor to explain why the Bucks were killing them on the offensive glass in the first half. Taking a long look at themselves in the mirror at intermission, the Spurs finally summoned the resolve to wrestle away a 98-92 overtime victory from the Bucks Sunday night in front of 17,045 at the Bradley Center.

Spurs center David Robinson led the way with 19 of his game- high 30 points after halftime. Robinson lifted his teammates into position to sweep the five-game road trip at 6:30 tonight in East Rutherford, N.J., when they meet the New Jersey Nets.

If the Spurs brandish the broom and take it out on the Nets, a sweep would undoubtedly do wonders for the psyche of a team that once questioned itself as a Western Conference title contender.

“It would be a great thing for us,” Robinson said. “We’ve been trying to establish ourselves a little on the road. And you know, these teams we’ve played are sol- id. These teams aren’t bad teams. Any given game out here, we could have got beat.”

Instead, the Spurs (27-12) have battled to wins at Boston, Washington, Charlotte and Milwaukee leading into the finale at Continental Airlines Arena against the Nets (21-17).

Flying high, San Antonio has won five in a row and 17 out of its last 19 since Dec. 9. The 17-2 record is the best in the NBA during that stretch. Only the Seattle SuperSonics, who have won 15 of their last 18, can claim even nearly as much success during the Spurs’ run to the Midwest Division lead.

“I though the Bucks did a great job in the first half,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “They really outhustled us. They scored in the paint off of second chances and off turnovers. In the second half, we had a little of a junkyard dog attitude. We just hung in there, and hung in there. We feel fortunate to win this one.”

Despite their first-half doldrums, the Spurs nearly ended the game against the Bucks in regulation. They had a three-point lead until Milwaukee point guard Terrell Brandon hoisted a trey in traffic that swished and tied it at 83 with 19 seconds remaining.

“I was standing right next to (Brandon),” Spurs guard Jaren Jackson said. “I didn’t want to foul him. I knew we’d at least have a chance to win it. But he hit it. It was a great shot on his part.”

On the other end, Chuck Person misfired on a three- pointer at the buzzer that brought on the extra period. At that point, Jackson stepped up big and buried a three on the first possession of overtime. It was the start of an 8-0 Spurs run that had the Bucks calling time to search for answers.

There were none, as it turned out. Glenn Robinson, averaging 23 points a game, was home with the flu. Brandon, another of the team’s primary offensive threats, fouled out 70 seconds into OT trying to guard Avery Johnson on a drive to the hoop.

The Bucks, who fell behind 91-83 when Tim Duncan buried a 17-footer with 3:27 remaining, never got closer than five the rest of the way. Milwaukee (18-21) could only find solace in knowing that it made a strong effort against a hot team.

“They played smart down the stretch,” said the Bucks’ Tyrone Hill, who produced 16 points and 14 rebounds. “We made mistakes and it hurt us. We took the ball to the hole all night, and did not get to the line much.”

In the early going, Hill played aggressively against Robinson and Duncan inside. His offensive rebounding resulted in a 14-6 Bucks edge in second-chance points during the first half.

With Brandon scoring 11 of his 19 points in the first half, Milwaukee led 45-31 at intermission. The Bucks increased that to 49-33 two minutes into the third period.

“This was just one of those nights,” said Johnson, who scored seven of his 13 points in overtime. “When we found out about ‘Big Dog’ (Glenn Robinson), I knew we were going to struggle. We weren’t into it mentally at first.”

Playing harder, but still training by 10 early in the fourth, the Spurs rallied behind David Robinson. Robinson, held to nine points at Charlotte on Friday night, blew up in the Bucks’ faces with 13 points in the period. He got them mostly on quick-step drives to the hoop.

Duncan (20 points, 11 rebounds) also produced a big play when he stole the ball from Milwaukee guard Ray Allen on a double-team trap in the backcourt, and cruised in for a dunk to tie it at 78 with 2:09 left.

Later, Robinson (15 rebounds, six assists, three steals) swiped a pass from Allen on a botched play in the half-court set. He turned it into free throws on the other end and an 83-80 lead for the Spurs with 26.8 seconds left.

- Spurs notes: Reserve center Will Perdue still predicts that he will be traded before the Feb. 19 deadline, even though he admitted the rumor mill has been “kind of stagnant” lately.

- Starting small forward Sean Elliott continued to struggle, making 2 of 10 shots for five points. Elliott has hit only 5 of 22 attempts from the field on the road trip. Reserve guard Cory Alexander sat out his fourth straight game.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-19, By Scott Huddleston

达拉斯可能引发关于圣安东尼奥竞技场的争论

达拉斯选民上周六以微弱优势通过了对新建篮球和冰球职业体育场进行公私合营融资的提案,引发了人们的猜测,圣安东尼奥人是否会支持类似的计划。

周日,来自圣安东尼奥竞技场融资问题两方面的观察人士表示,关于圣安东尼奥马刺队新主场的计划讨论,可能会在 1998 年重新燃起。

“我当然希望如此,”帕特·弗罗斯特(Pat Frost)说道,他是圣安东尼奥体育基金会的主席,该基金会希望将 2007 年泛美运动会吸引到阿拉莫城。

尽管达拉斯的公投结果仅以 50.7% 的微弱优势通过,得票数为 62,861 票对 61,237 票,但弗罗斯特表示,投票结果表明公众对公私合营体育场的支持。

“我们在这里建造的任何东西,都必须得到选民的批准,并且可能需要包含私人融资部分,”他说。

“我希望有人站出来,让圣安东尼奥也能像达拉斯一样,考虑对体育场进行公私合营融资。”

利奥·戈麦斯(Leo Gomez),马刺队负责社区和政府关系的副总裁,表示达拉斯在投票率仅为 40% 的情况下,两个月后就发生了转变,这表明选民认识到新建体育场可以带来的文化和经济效益。

达拉斯小牛队在 NBA 西部联盟中仅比垫底球队高出一线,而马刺队则势头正盛。

戈麦斯表示,马刺队“愿意为使用该设施的时间支付我们应有的份额”,以及其他可能使用新建体育场的当地利益相关者。

多年来,马刺队官员一直表示,球队更适合在一个专门为篮球设计的、拥有 20,000 到 25,000 个座位的体育场,而不是在拥有 65,000 个座位的阿拉莫穹顶。

在马刺队的比赛中,由于只使用穹顶的北端,因此豪华包厢数量有限。

贝克萨尔县竞技场咨询委员会,管理着弗里曼竞技场,也讨论过建造一座竞技场,以增加竞技场的座位数。

竞技场举办的活动包括圣安东尼奥巨龙队的冰球比赛以及圣安东尼奥牲畜展览会和牛仔竞技表演,该活动去年吸引了超过 85 万人。

牲畜展览会组织者一直希望将座位数从目前的 9,800 个增加到至少 15,000 个。

达拉斯选民通过了为新建竞技场提供约 1.25 亿美元的融资,该项目的总成本为 2.3 亿美元,资金来源是提高汽车租赁税 5% 和酒店税 2%。

小牛队和达拉斯星队将为该项目的剩余部分提供资金,并在 30 年内支付 1.32 亿美元的租金,以及任何超出预算的建设成本。两支球队将获得未来的竞技场收入。

贝克萨尔县业主纳税人协会主席鲍勃·马丁(Bob Martin)表示,他反对使用任何纳税人资金建造竞技场。

他说,他预计自己在广告方面会处于劣势。达拉斯的反对者花费了约 8 万美元,而支持者花费了近 200 万美元。

“圣安东尼奥是一个比达拉斯贫穷得多的城市,”马丁说。“对我们市民征收新的税收将是一件令人痛心的事情。”

市长霍华德·皮克(Howard Peak)表示,他将考虑公私合营的计划,但反对仅由公共资金资助的竞技场。

“我们有很多其他的事情需要花钱,”皮克说。

他说,尽管竞技场融资问题很重要,“但它们不在我的首要考虑范围内。”

“考虑到职业篮球的经济状况以及球员的薪酬水平,我怀疑马刺队是否能够留在圣安东尼奥,即使他们拥有一个新的竞技场,”皮克说。

然而,戈麦斯表示,马刺队认为圣安东尼奥是一个可行的市场,即使它是 NBA 中最小的市场之一。

“我们对圣安东尼奥能够支持这支球队充满信心,前提是我们要拥有一个合适的设施,”他说。

点击查看原文:Dallas may reignite furor over S.A. arena

Dallas may reignite furor over S.A. arena

Saturday’s razor-thin approval by Dallas voters of public-private funding for a new professional basketball and hockey arena has raised speculation whether San Antonians would favor a similar plan.

Observers on both sides of the arena-funding issue here Sunday said an open discussion of plans for a new home for the San Antonio Spurs will likely reignite during 1998.

“I certainly hope so,” said Pat Frost, chairman of the San Antonio Sports Foundation, which hopes to attract the 2007 Pan Am Games to the Alamo City.

Although the Dallas referendum passed with only 50.7 percent - 62,861 to 61,237 - Frost said the vote indicates support exists for public-private arenas.

“Anything we build here with approval from voters probably will have to have a private financing component,” he said.

“I would like to see someone come forward so San Antonio can have the same opportunity as Dallas to look at public-private funding of an arena.”

Leo Gomez, Spurs vice president for community and government relations, said the turnaround in Dallas two months after the approval rating stood at only 40 percent shows voters recognized the cultural and economic benefits a new arena can provide.

The Dallas Mavericks are one step away from the cellar in the NBA’s Midwest Division, where the Spurs are riding high.

Gomez said the Spurs are “willing to pay our fair share for the time we use the facility,” along with other local interests that might use a new arena.

Spurs officials have for years said the team would be better suited in an arena designed for basketball with 20,000 to 25,000 seats, rather than the cavernous 65,000- seat Alamodome.

It has a limited number of luxury boxes, especially during Spurs games when only the north end of the dome is used.

The Bexar County Coliseum Advisory Board, which manages Freeman Coliseum, also has discussed building an arena as a way to increase seating at the Coliseum.

Coliseum events include San Antonio Dragons hockey games and the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo, which drew more than 850,000 last year.

Stock show organizers have long sought expansion of seating there from the current 9,800 to at least 15,000.

Dallas voters approved financing about $125 million of the $230 million cost of a new arena through a 5 percent increase in its car-rental tax and a 2 percent rise in the hotel tax.

The Mavericks and the Dallas Stars hockey team will finance the rest of the project and will pay $132 million in rent over 30 years, as well as any construction cost overruns. The teams are to collect future arena revenues.

Bob Martin, president of the Homeowner-Taxpayer Association of Bexar County, said he opposes the use of any taxpayer funds for an arena.

He said he expects to be outgunned on advertising. Dallas opponents spent about $80,000 vs. almost $2 million.

“San Antonio is a much poorer city than Dallas,” Martin said. “A new tax on our citizens would be a travesty.”

Mayor Howard Peak said he’d consider a public-private plan but opposes an arena financed solely by public funds.

“We just have a lot of other things we need to spend money on,” Peak said.

Although arena financing issues are important, “they’re not at the top of my list,” he said.

“Given the economics of professional basketball and the level of salaries for its players, I’d wonder if the Spurs could stay in San Antonio, even if they had a new arena to play in,” Peak said.

Gomez, however, said the Spurs see San Antonio as a viable market, even though it is one of the NBA’s smallest.

“We feel very confident that San Antonio could support this franchise, given that we have an appropriate facility,” he said.

By Scott Huddleston, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-19, By Kevin O’Keeffe

新秀之争:范霍恩有望成为最佳新秀

只有一个原因能让 NBA 还没有将年度最佳新秀奖颁发给圣安东尼奥马刺队的蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan):新泽西篮网队的基思·范霍恩(Keith Van Horn)。

现在,别误会我的意思。我认为邓肯,这位在职业生涯的头两个多月里表现出色的球员,是这项荣誉的最有力竞争者。

对我来说,邓肯是这个奖项的热门人选。

但范霍恩,上个夏天选秀大会上仅次于邓肯的第二顺位球员,将会成为一个强劲的竞争者。他会让这场竞争变得很激烈,如果仅因为他在东部联盟打球…而且他是白人。

“那是浅肤色,”新泽西篮网队的杰森·威廉姆斯(Jayson Williams)说,他今年兼职做着范霍恩的公关经理。

这位来自犹他州,棱角分明、身高 6 英尺 10 英寸的菜鸟前锋确实给了威廉姆斯很多工作,他利用媒体大力推销范霍恩。

在因脚踝韧带撕裂缺席赛季前 17 场比赛后,范霍恩场均得到 19.8 分,表现强势。在周六晚上篮网队战胜亚特兰大老鹰队的比赛中,他砍下了 23 分。

今晚范霍恩和邓肯之间的对决将进一步为谁将成为 NBA 年度最佳新秀增添话题。

邓肯的得分 (17.4 分)、篮板 (11.6 个) 和盖帽 (2.4 个) 成为马刺队从上赛季饱受伤病的灾难中复苏的关键。

邓肯的罚球命中率 (52.2%) 仍然是他的阿喀琉斯之踵,但本赛季他还没有打过一场糟糕的比赛。即使他的得分挣扎,他的篮板、盖帽和传球仍然出色。

邓肯是真正的实力派。

但范霍恩也是真正的实力派 II。

就像邓肯一样,范霍恩也留在了大学打完大四。而且,就像邓肯一样,他这样做并不是为了成为 NCAA “留在学校”项目的代言人。

邓肯曾承诺他的母亲,他会接受大学教育,范霍恩也向他父亲承诺过同样的事情,他父亲在他进入犹他大学一年级的时候去世了。邓肯的母亲在他 13 岁时去世。

范霍恩在内线的力量和投射能力(在他犹他大学的最后一年,三分球命中率达到 40%)让他很有吸引力。

在选秀前对范霍恩进行评估后,篮网队助理教练肯尼·加蒂森(Kenny Gattison)告诉总经理约翰·纳什(John Nash):“无论你需要付出什么代价,都要得到他。”

奇怪的是,费城 76 人队主教练拉里·布朗(Larry Brown)莫名其妙地将范霍恩的选秀权交易到新泽西篮网队,换来了蒂姆·托马斯(Tim Thomas)。

蒂姆·谁?

新泽西篮网队的约翰·卡利帕里(John Calipari),在他的执教 NBA 的第一个赛季,带领篮网队横扫了马刺队,他很高兴能从布朗的愚蠢行为中获益。

“基思是那种让对方主教练问 ‘我们如何防守他?’ 的球员,”卡利帕里说。

卡利帕里并没有停止对这位已经和拉里·伯德(Larry Bird) 相比的菜鸟的赞美。

“基思的成熟令人难以置信,”卡利帕里说。“你在录像中给基思看什么,他就会做什么。”

马刺队的球迷们,这听起来像谁?

成熟。可教。卡利帕里难道不是在说邓肯吗?这可能是 NBA 高层对这对组合感到欣喜的最大的原因。

与近年来带着一帮骗子… 甚至还有犯罪记录的联盟顶级新秀不同,邓肯和范霍恩是好人。

而且是优秀的球员。

点击查看原文:Ute movement: Van Horn viable as top rookie

Ute movement: Van Horn viable as top rookie

There is only one reason why the NBA hasn’t already FedExed the rookie of the year award to San Antonio for Tim Duncan to place on his mantle: New Jersey’s Keith Van Horn.

Now, don’t misunderstand me. I believe Duncan, who has been sensational in his first two-plus months as a pro, is the favorite for the honor.

To me, it’s Duncan’s to lose.

But Van Horn, the No. 2 pick overall in last summer’s NBA draft behind Duncan, is going to be a serious contender. He will make it close, if for no other reason than he plays in the East … and he’s white.

“That’s light-skinned,” said New Jersey’s Jayson Williams, whose part-time job thus far this year has been as Van Horn’s press agent.

And the angular, 6-foot-10 rookie forward from Utah certainly has given Williams a lot to work with in pushing him with the media.

After missing the season’s first 17 games with a torn ankle tendon, Van Horn has come on to average 19.8 points a game. He had a strong performance Saturday night, scoring 23 in the Nets’ victory over Atlanta.

Tonight’s duel between Van Horn and Duncan will add further spice to the topic of who will be the NBA Rookie of the Year.

Duncan’s scoring (17.4), rebounding (11.6) and shot blocking (2.4) have been the staple of the Spurs’ resurrection from the injury-plagued disaster of last season.

Duncan, whose free-throw shooting (52.2 percent) remains his Achilles’ heel, has not played a bad game this season. Even when he has struggled to score, his rebounding, shot blocking and passing have been there.

Duncan is the real deal.

But Van Horn is real deal II.

Like Duncan, Van Horn remained for his senior season in college. And, like Duncan, he didn’t do it to be the poster child for the NCAA’s “Stay In School” program.

As Duncan had promised his mother that he would get a college education, Van Horn did the same with his father, who died when he was a freshman at Utah. Duncan’s mom died when he was 13.

Van Horn’s prowess inside and ability to shoot from the perimeter (40 percent from three-point range in his final year at Utah) made him attractive.

Why, after working out Van Horn before the draft, Nets assistant coach Kenny Gattison told General Manager John Nash, “Whatever you have to give up to get him, do it.”

Odd that Philadelphia 76ers coach Larry Brown inexplicably traded the draft rights to Van Horn to New Jersey for Tim Thomas.

Tim who?

New Jersey’s John Calipari, whose Nets swept the Spurs last season in his first year as an NBA coach, was more than happy to benefit from Brown’s brain-dead move.

“Keith is the kind of player who makes the opposing coach ask, ‘How do we guard him?’” Calipari said.

Calipari wasn’t through praising the rookie who already has drawn comparisons to Larry Bird.

“Keith’s maturity is incredible,” Calipari said. “You show Keith something on film and he does it.”

Spurs fans, who does that sound like?

Mature. Coachable. Could not Calipari have been talking about Duncan, too? Therein might be the biggest reason the NBA hierarchy is ecstatic about this duo.

Unlike the league’s top draftees in recent years, who arrived with entourages of phonies … and in some cases a police record themselves, Duncan and Van Horn are good guys.

And great players.

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

1998-01-20, By Buck Harvey

彼特·霍尔特(Peter Holt)脑中盘算:大变动,大修订?

彼特·霍尔特(Peter Holt)脑中的方程式可能随着每一次篮板球的出现而改变。去年夏天,当霍尔特谈论大笔资金时,他并不知道蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的手会如此柔软。

修改后的威胁:即使马刺队没有得到新的体育场,他们仍会与邓肯续约。但他们可能无法签下其他任何球员。

但这只是其中一个修改后的方程式。另一个方程式是由 270 英里以北发生的事件引起的,那里另一个德克萨斯州的城市承诺提供大量资金来建造另一座体育场馆。

在观看完达拉斯的辩论后,霍尔特无法阻止另一个想法在他脑海中回响。比如,我们这里能成功的机会有多大?

霍尔特足够聪明,不会因为其他德克萨斯州城市投票支持体育场馆而欣喜若狂。事实上,如果从达拉斯和休斯顿体育场投票中学到一件事,那就是任何关于体育场馆的选举都会非常激烈和焦灼。

圣安东尼奥不妨从日本长野市学习如何举办冬奥会。毕竟,达拉斯和休斯顿的投票都是由支持体育场馆的市长领导的。事实上,《达拉斯晨报》宣称体育场馆的胜利是达拉斯市长罗恩·柯克(Ron Kirk)的“高调成功”。

与此同时,在圣安东尼奥,没有一位公职人员愿意被发现关注比赛结果。这就是为什么这里没有进行合理的辩论,尽管圣安东尼奥与达拉斯和休斯顿不同,没有一个中等规模的体育场馆。

但是,当圣安东尼奥回顾最近的达拉斯体育场馆投票时,如果说有什么不同的话,那就是对当地体育场馆的推动来说是乐观的。达拉斯支持体育场馆的人群通过广告资金说服了自己,但他们也遇到了圣安东尼奥不会面临的障碍。

比如佩罗特(Perot)这个名字。为富有的运动员资助一个体育场馆是一回事。帮助德克萨斯州最富有的家族是另一回事。

最糟糕的情况也不应该对达拉斯意味着像对圣安东尼奥那样重要。如果小牛队和星队要搬迁,他们会搬到普莱诺或梅斯基特。相比之下,马刺队则会搬到 1000 英里之外。

现有的建筑也不应该造成紧迫感。没错,复兴竞技场没有豪华包厢,但它比马刺队曾经使用的任何体育场馆都要好。有多少达拉斯选民不得不怀疑为什么要升级?在圣安东尼奥,只有那些不知道橄榄球和篮球区别的人才会认为阿拉莫穹顶是足够的。

人口统计?达拉斯的选民不应该让圣安东尼奥体育场馆的倡导者感到气馁。只有达拉斯本身进行了投票,而不是那些传统上支持体育场馆的富裕郊区。

然后是球队本身带来的情绪。星队履行了自己的职责,在全明星赛的间歇期位居其所在赛区的榜首。但是小牛队——佩罗特的小牛队——在这个世纪无法出售希望,更不用说租车税了。

唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)所做的就是为他和他的儿子创造了保障。如果他的球队在圣安东尼奥比赛,他们将在阿拉莫穹顶前面对着 5000 名观众比赛,并且一年后就会离开。

相反,霍尔特兜售着一个看不见的充满潜力和希望的套餐。那么,如果早期的策略已经到位,如果一项要求将私人和公共资金的正确组合纳入投票的公投在上周末,当马刺队沿着东海岸前进时,被提上了日程,会发生什么呢?

篮板球。和修订。

点击查看原文:Inside Holt's head: Big D, big revisions?

Inside Holt’s head: Big D, big revisions?

The equation in Peter Holt’s head probably changes with every rebound. When Holt talked hard dollars last summer, he didn’t know Tim Duncan’s hands were this soft.

The revised threat: Even if the Spurs don’t get a new arena, they will still re-sign Duncan. They just might not be able to sign anyone else.

But that’s only one revised equation. The other was caused by something that happened 270 miles north, where another Texas city pledged another huge chunk of money to build another sports venue.

After watching the Dallas debate, Holt couldn’t have stopped something else from rattling inside his head. Such as, how awful is the chance that something gets done here?

Holt is smart enough not to be giddy just because other Texas cities voted for venues. In fact, if there’s one lesson to be learned from the Dallas and Houston stadium votes, it’s that any election for sports venues will be close and bitter.

San Antonio might as well try to learn something from Nagano, Japan, about how to host the Winter Olympics. The votes in both Dallas and Houston, after all, were led by pro-arena mayors. The Dallas Morning News, in fact, proclaimed the arena victory to be a “high-profile success” for Dallas mayor Ron Kirk.

Meanwhile, in San Antonio, no public official wants to be caught looking at a box score. That’s why there isn’t a logical debate going on here, even though - unlike Dallas and Houston - San Antonio doesn’t have a midsized arena in place.

But when San Antonio steps back and reviews the latest arena vote in Dallas, the differences, if anything, are optimistic for a local arena push. The Dallas pro-arena crowd sold itself with advertising money, all right, but also with obstacles that San Antonio won’t face.

Such as the Perot name. Helping to fund an arena for wealthy athletes is one thing. Helping one of the richest names in Texas is another.

The worst-case scenario also shouldn’t have meant as much to Dallas as it would to San Antonio. If the Mavericks and Stars were going anywhere, it was to Plano or Mesquite. The Spurs, in contrast, would relocate 1,000 miles away.

Existing structures shouldn’t have created urgency, either. Reunion Arena doesn’t have luxury boxes, all right, but it’s a better arena than anything the Spurs have ever called home. How many Dallas voters had to wonder why it was necessary to upgrade? In San Antonio, only those who don’t know the difference between football and basketball would see the Alamodome as adequate.

Demographics? The Dallas electorate shouldn’t discourage San Antonio arena advocates. Only Dallas itself voted - not the yuppie suburban areas that traditionally back sports venues.

And then there is the emotion caused by the teams themselves. The Stars upheld their end, sitting in first place in their division at the All-Star break. But the Mavericks - Perot’s Mavericks - can’t sell hope in this century, much less a rental-car tax.

All Don Nelson has done is create security for himself and his son. If his team played in San Antonio, they’d be playing in front of 5,000 in the Alamodome and gone in a year.

Instead, Holt sells an unseen package of height and promise. So what would have happened if the earlier strategy had been in place, if a referendum calling for the right combination of private and public funds had gotten on the ballot last weekend, as the Spurs marched along the East Coast?

Rebounds. And revisions.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-21, By Glenn Rogers

马刺凯旋,重返征程

归巢即猎手,远征归还时……

这句诗意盎然的诗句用在马刺队身上再合适不过了,他们结束了在东部联盟的五场成功狩猎后凯旋而归。

圣安东尼奥队从五场远征中收获了四张毛皮,分别来自波士顿、华盛顿、夏洛特和密尔沃基。马刺队在周一夜间在对阵新泽西篮网的比赛中失去了部分优势,95-84败北。

在球队重返征程之前,他们有一个短暂的休息。球员们在周二没有训练,但将在今晚 7:30 在阿拉莫穹顶球场迎战亚特兰大老鹰队。

这种紧凑的比赛安排让一场主场比赛多少有点客场的感觉。

“我真的不知道为什么,但所有 NBA 球队在经历了一场漫长的客场之旅后都会担心第一场主场比赛。”主教练格雷格·波波维奇在周二说道。“你必须重新站稳脚跟,重新组织。所以我们明天晚上必须要高度专注。我们正在迎战联盟中最好的球队之一。”

对阵篮网的比赛结束了本次客场之旅,并且在对阵雄鹿队艰难地获得加时赛胜利后仅休息了一晚。在这两场比赛中,马刺队的篮板都被对手抢走,而篮网队利用 30 个进攻篮板大肆敛财,得到了 28 分。

“在你们投篮命中率达到 48% 而对方只有 35% 的情况下,输掉比赛着实让人痛心。”波波维奇在谈到对阵新泽西的比赛时说道。“但我们确实耗尽了汽油。那场加时赛可能比我预期的更加让我们疲惫不堪。我们谈论过此事,但我们不想以此作为借口。无论如何我们都想要完成比赛,因为这有助于提升心理韧性。”

尽管如此,这次的客场之旅还是很成功的,圣安东尼奥队以 27 胜 13 负的战绩回到了主场,在中西部赛区的积分榜上仅随26 胜 12 负的犹他爵士队。

马刺队的防守在所有五场客场比赛中都将对手的投篮命中率控制在 40% 以下。

“我们的防守不论是个人还是整体都做得很好。”波波维奇说道。“我们确实在拿到球(篮板)后遇到了问题,这或许是因为我们所对阵的球队运动能力很强,而且我们缺乏专注力。我们在这一点上需要有纪律性。

“防守成果的一部分就是快攻得分。我们不想失去这一点。”

总体来看,进攻缺乏稳定性让人稍显担忧。

“我们不能完全依赖我们的防守。”中锋大卫·罗宾逊在与密尔沃基队的比赛后说道。“这会成为我们的本钱,但我们需要更多的进攻。我们需要让一些事情顺利进行,例如让(维尼)德尔·内格罗主导挡拆。”

波波维奇表示,德尔·内格罗主导的挡拆是球队进攻中的一个重要元素。但是,他对外线球员整体进攻产出不足感到担忧。

“我们还没有达到那一步。”波波维奇在谈到外线投篮时说道。“对阵新泽西时,我们的投篮命中率是 47%,但看看谁投的篮。”

新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯在对阵篮网的比赛中 17 投 10 中,替补中锋威尔·帕杜命中了全部 4 次出手。

但前锋肖恩·艾利奥特 4 投 0 中,后卫贾伦·杰克逊 9 投 3 中,前锋查克·帕森 4 投 1 中。

在对阵雄鹿队的比赛中,罗宾逊 17 投 10 中,邓肯 15 投 9 中,将马刺队的投篮命中率提高到了 45%。但艾利奥特 10 投 2 中,杰克逊 11 投 3 中,帕森 8 投 3 中。

“不,专注于稳固的防守不会导致进攻端的衰退。”波波维奇说道。“我们获得了所有想要的出手机会,但我们没有把握住。”

波波维奇表示,杰克逊将继续担任得分后卫的首发。

“贾伦的表现很好,我们在他的带领下赢得了很多比赛。”他说。“我不会轻易地夺走他的位置。”

德尔·内格罗由于左肘过度伸展而缺席了 13 场比赛。在对阵夏洛特的比赛中复出后,他打了 5 分钟,在对阵密尔沃基的比赛中打了 18 分钟,在对阵新泽西的比赛中打了 27 分钟,并且 10 次出手命中 5 次。

点击查看原文:Back home and back to work for Spurs

Back home and back to work for Spurs

Home is the hunter, home from the hill …

That poetic line applies to the Spurs, who have returned from a successful five-game hunting trip through the Eastern Conference.

San Antonio bagged four of its five quarries, bringing back pelts from Boston, Washington, Charlotte and Milwaukee. The Spurs left a bit of their own hide in New Jersey on Monday night, falling to the Nets 95-84.

There’s just a brief pause before the team gets back into action. The players didn’t practice Tuesday, but they will play the Atlanta Hawks at 7:30 tonight in the Alamodome.

The quickness attaches a bit of a road feel to the home game.

“I don’t know why, really, but all NBA teams worry about that first home game after a long road trip,” Coach Gregg Popovich said Tuesday. “You have to get your legs back under you and get reorganized. So we have to be very focused tomorrow night. We’re playing one of the best teams in the league.”

The Nets game capped the trip and came one night after a grinding overtime win against the Bucks. In both games, the Spurs were outrebounded, with the Nets capitalizing heavily with 28 points off 30 offensive rebounds.

“You hate to give away a game when you shoot 48 percent and they shoot 35 percent,” Popovich said of the New Jersey contest. “But we did run out of gas. That overtime game probably caught up to us more than I wanted to admit. We talked about that, but we don’t want to use that as an excuse. We want to get it done anyway because that adds to your mental toughness.”

Still, it was a solid road run, and it left San Antonio with a 27-13 record, percentage points behind the Utah Jazz’s 26-12 mark atop the Midwest Division.

The Spurs’ defense held all five of the road prey under 40 percent shooting.

“The defense has done a great job, as individuals and as a group,” Popovich said. "We did have a problem getting the ball (rebounds) after that, probably because of the athleticism of the teams we played and a lack of focus. We need to be disciplined there.

“Part of the fruit of the labor (of defense) is fast-break baskets. We don’t want to lose that.”

The general lack of a consistent, overall offense is becoming a bit of a worry.

“We can’t rely completely on our defense,” center David Robinson said after the Milwaukee game. “That will be our stock in trade, but we need more offense. We need to get things, like Vinny (Del Negro) running the pick-and-roll, going.”

Popovich said the pick-and-roll with Del Negro is an important element in the team’s attack. But he is most concerned with the all- around lack of offensive output from the perimeter.

“We just don’t have that yet,” Popovich said of the outside game. “We shot 47 percent against New Jersey, but look who did the shooting.”

Rookie forward Tim Duncan was 10 of 17 against the Nets, and reserve center Will Perdue hit all four of his attempts.

But forward Sean Elliott was 0 of 4, guard Jaren Jackson 3 of 9 and forward Chuck Person 1 of 4.

Against the Bucks, Robinson was 10 of 17 and Duncan 9 of 15, pushing the Spurs’ shooting to 45 percent. But Elliott was 2 of 10, Jackson 3 of 11 and Person 3 of 8.

“No, concentration on solid defense doesn’t lead to a downswing in offense,” Popovich said. “We’re getting all the shots we want, but we’re not putting them down.”

Popovich said Jackson will continue to start at shooting guard.

“Jaren has played well, and we’ve won a lot of games with him starting,” he said. “I’m not going to just take it away from him.”

Del Negro had missed 13 games because of a hyperextended left elbow. He played five minutes in his return against Charlotte, 18 minutes against Milwaukee and 27 against New Jersey and was 5 of 10 from the floor.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-22, By Glenn Rogers

马刺大胜老鹰

马刺队在周三晚上给来访的亚特兰大老鹰队带来了一点惊喜。

老鹰队在周二亚特兰大比赛后的长途飞行后感到疲惫,他们知道他们必须飞得更高才能克服马刺队的“双塔”——大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)。

想象一下,当他们看到马刺队的首发阵容中出现了“三塔”——7尺1寸的罗宾逊,6尺11寸的邓肯和7尺的威尔·珀迪(Will Perdue)时,他们的沮丧之情。

珀迪首发出场,顶替了肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott),埃利奥特在周三的比赛前因膝盖疼痛被列入伤病名单。

这一策略让老鹰队陷入混乱,导致圣安东尼奥队在阿拉莫穹顶以90-76轻松取胜。

“这是我们在训练中尝试了一段时间的战术,”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“我知道总有一天我们会尝试的。它可能不适合我们每晚的计划,但今晚效果很好。”

好到足以在半场结束前解决问题。

6尺8寸的查基·布朗(Chucky Brown),无疑期待着代替埃利奥特防守查克·帕森(Chuck Person),结果却与邓肯对上了。布朗在被吹罚第二次犯规前只坚持了6分钟。6尺9寸的艾伦·亨德森(Alan Henderson)接替了他的位置,但也没有取得成功。

邓肯在第一节得到11分,上半场得到15分,当时马刺队领先20分;他在第三节结束时得到23分,当时圣安东尼奥队领先30分。

“威尔是这场比赛和亚特兰大比赛(108-96失利)之间区别的关键,”邓肯说。“对于我们来说,这是一个很好的阵容。威尔在篮板球和保持迪肯贝(穆托姆博,Dikembe Mutombo)失去平衡方面真的很有帮助。我认为这个阵容可以在很多情况下发挥作用。唯一可能搞砸的人就是我。戴夫和威尔会做他们通常做的事情。我可能会撞到人。”

马刺队的“三塔”在首节抢下了15个篮板球,老鹰队只有8个。这三个人在第三节结束时抢下了25个篮板球,得到了50分。老鹰队的前场穆托姆博、克里斯蒂安·莱特纳(Christian Laettner)和布朗抢下了12个篮板球,得到了17分。

陷入困境的老鹰队在前三节的投篮命中率只有29%,他们从各个方向都投失了,他们的内线进攻也被压制了。

邓肯和罗宾逊在第四节休息,但珀迪打了30分钟,并以19分追平了他的职业生涯最高得分。

“我想波波现在会看起来像个天才。只用了42场比赛就找到了这个阵容,”珀迪笑着说。“今晚这对我们来说绝对有利,但我不能说它在每场比赛中都会奏效。老鹰队可能是一支爆发力很强的球队。我们想确保他们拿不到进攻篮板球,我们也拿回了一些,并把他们放进篮筐里。”

马刺队在篮板球上以39-24领先老鹰队,在前三节的第二机会得分上以13-4领先。周一晚上在新泽西,篮网队抢下了30个进攻篮板球,得到了28分。

艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)开玩笑地说:“我们想在威尔被交易之前提高他的得分。”

珀迪说:“我不知道。当他们让马特·盖格(Matt Geiger)在夏洛特首发出场时,他们就开始谈论交易,所以也许这里也是一样的。”

下半场的亮点包括珀迪,在这个场合担任小前锋,在快攻中直冲禁区。他扣篮不中,但被犯规了。他还完成了一个漂亮的跑动挑篮。

“这很罕见,”波波维奇说。

波波维奇表示,埃利奥特可能要缺席一个月。

“这不像一个星期那样,需要很短的时间,”波波维奇说。

当被问及是否担心手术时,波波维奇回答说:“我们担心所有事情。没有必要让他一直等下去。现在是让他进行康复,并努力让他恢复到我们认识的肖恩。”

波波维奇说,大卫·施密特(David Schmidt)医生和埃利奥特今天将会见面,并开始康复计划。施密特还将让外面的医生检查埃利奥特的膝盖。

大约一个月前,埃利奥特膝盖的核磁共振检查结果为阴性。

埃利奥特预计不会缺席一个月。

“这是一个被提出来的期限,但我认为不会,”他说。

事实上,埃利奥特并没有完全同意将他列入伤病名单的决定。

“但我必须照顾好自己,然后我们再看看,”他说。“我只想避免去年那种情况,不要缺席整个赛季。”

埃利奥特说,关于他和波波维奇就此事发生了激烈争论的报道纯属虚假。

前锋肖恩·埃利奥特在周三因膝盖问题被列入伤病名单。

埃利奥特左膝患有肌腱炎,右膝反复疼痛,无限期缺席,将在一个广泛的康复计划中接受评估。

马刺队激活了马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)。

点击查看原文:Spurs get big win over Hawks

Spurs get big win over Hawks

The Spurs had a little surprise for visiting Atlanta on Wednesday night.

The Hawks, weary after their long flight following a game in Atlanta on Tuesday, knew they would have to fly high to surmount the Spurs’ “Twin Towers” - David Robinson and Tim Duncan.

Imagine their chagrin when they saw the Spurs’ starting lineup featured “Tri-Towers” - 7-foot-1 Robinson, 6-11 Duncan and 7-0 Will Perdue.

Perdue started in the place of Sean Elliott, placed on the injured list before Wednesday’s game with sore knees.

The ploy threw the Hawks into disarray and led to a 90-76 San Antonio walkover at the Alamodome.

“It’s something we’ve been playing around with in practice for a while,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “I knew at some point we would try it. It may not fit our plan every night, but tonight it worked well.”

Well enough to settle the issue by the end of the first half.

The 6-8 Chucky Brown, undoubtedly expecting to guard Chuck Person in place of Elliott, instead was matched up against Duncan. Brown managed to stay on the floor for six minutes before picking up his second foul. The 6-9 Alan Henderson took over and had no more success.

Duncan had 11 points in the first quarter, 15 by halftime, when the Spurs led by 20, and 23 by the end of the third quarter, when San Antonio led by 30.

“Will was the difference between this game and the game in Atlanta (a 108-96 loss),” Duncan said. “This was a good lineup for us. Will really helped on the rebounding and keeping Dikembe (Mutombo) off balance. I think the lineup can work, in a lot of cases. The only one who can foul it up is me. Dave and Will will be doing what they usually do. I could be running into people.”

The Spurs’ triplets hauled down 15 rebounds in the opening period. The Hawks had eight. The threesome had 25 rebounds and 50 points at the end of three quarters. The Hawks’ frontline of Mutombo, Christian Laettner and Brown had 12 boards and 17 points.

The flustered Hawks hit just 29 percent of their shots through the decisive first three quarters, misfiring from every direction and seeing their inside attacks blunted.

Duncan and Robinson rested in the fourth, but Perdue played 30 minutes and tied his career high with 19 points.

“I guess Pop will look like a genius now. It only took 42 games to figure out this lineup,” Perdue said jokingly. “It certainly worked to our advantage tonight, but I couldn’t say it would in every game. The Hawks can be an explosive team. We wanted to make sure they didn’t get offensive rebounds and we got some of our own back and put them in.”

The Spurs outrebounded the Hawks 39-24 and scored 13 second- chance points to the Hawks’ four through three quarters. In New Jersey on Monday night, the Nets pulled down 30 offensive rebounds and scored 28 second-chance points.

Said Avery Johnson kiddingly: “We wanted to pad Will’s scoring for when he gets traded.”

Said Perdue: “I don’t know. When they started Matt Geiger in Charlotte, they all started talking about (a) trade, so maybe it’s the same thing here.”

Highlights in the second half included Perdue, serving as a small forward on this occasion, filling the lane on the fast break. He clanked the dunk, but was fouled. He also served up a dandy running finger roll.

“That’s rare,” said Popovich.

Popovich indicated Elliott could be out for as long as a month.

“It’s not something done in a short period of time, like a week,” Popovich said.

Asked if surgery was feared, Popovich responded: “We fear everything. There was just no point in waiting around for him to come around. It’s time to put him in rehab and try to get the Sean we know back.”

Popovich said Dr. David Schmidt and Elliott will get together today and beging rehabilitation plans. Schmidt also will have Elliott’s knees examined by outside doctors.

MRIs performed on Elliott’s knees about a month ago turned up negative.

Elliott doesn’t anticipate being out a month.

“That was a time period that was thrown out, but I don’t think so,” he said.

In fact, Elliott didn’t go completely along with the decision to be placed on the injured list.

“But I have to take care of myself and then we’ll see,” he said. “I just don’t want a repeat of the situation last year and be out for the season.”

Elliott said there was no truth to reports that he had a heated discussion with Popovich about the situation.

Elliott sidelined

Forward Sean Elliott on Wednesday was placed on the injured list with knee problems.

Elliott, who has tendinitis in his left knee and a recurring pain in his right knee, is out indefinitely and will be evaluated during an extensive rehabilitation program.

The Spurs activated Malik Rose.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-22, By Tim Price

老鹰队表示,失利是由于糟糕的发挥,而非身高问题

周三晚上,肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)身穿便服坐在替补席上,威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)顶替他进入首发阵容,并迅速在跳球中输给了亚特兰大中锋迪肯贝·穆托姆博(Dikembe Mutombo)。这场比赛早期,除了这一个球以外,马刺队几乎没有抢到任何散球。

珀杜与蒂姆·邓肯和戴维·罗宾逊联手,组成马刺队的三位七尺长人,他们在比赛中抢下了前五个篮板,最终以48-38的优势控制了篮板球,并以90-76战胜了老鹰队,取得了在阿拉莫穹顶的胜利。

对于珀杜来说,这是他本赛季40场比赛后的首次首发。他以19分的得分追平了自己的职业生涯最高纪录。

“波波(马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇)有点固执,”珀杜说,“所以他花了42场比赛才想明白。”

直到比赛开始前几分钟,球队才决定让珀杜代替埃利奥特进入首发阵容。由于右膝持续疼痛和左膝肌腱炎,马刺队在周三的比赛前将埃利奥特列入伤病名单。

然而,赛前热身前,记分牌上显示查克·珀森(Chuck Person)取代了埃利奥特的首发位置。直到比赛开始前几分钟,才将它更改过来。

老鹰队主教练莱尼·威尔金斯表示,他对此并不感到意外。

“我热身结束后走出更衣室之前就知道,”他说,“但这与我们的比赛方式无关。我们今晚打得很糟糕。

“这并没有改变我们的比赛方式。我们投篮不中。我们传球不好。我们没有很好地轮换,也没有在需要的时候挡住双人夹击。

“(高个阵容不会影响一支球队)如果你执行得当。你不会突破到篮下。但我们没有投进任何球,因为我们没有执行。”

这两支球队上一次交锋时,亚特兰大以108-96战胜了马刺队,但差距并不大。老鹰队在下半场领先了26分之多。

穆托姆博以10投12中的效率得到22分和11个篮板。

但这一次,老鹰队没有做任何帮助自己的事情。他们前五次投篮全部偏出,也没有抢到一个篮板球。这使马刺队取得了10-0的领先优势。亚特兰大直到比赛开始近四分钟才得分。

面对马刺队高个阵容,老鹰队全场投篮命中率仅为35%。马刺队的投篮命中率为45%。

首节结束时,马刺队领先了15分,比分来到27-12。在这节比赛中,马刺队前场组合珀杜、邓肯和罗宾逊在篮板球上以15-4的优势压制了亚特兰大的四人轮换阵容穆托姆博、克里斯蒂安·莱特纳、艾伦·亨德森和查基·布朗。

周三,老鹰队在周二晚上在亚特兰大击败密尔沃基后前往圣安东尼奥,而马刺队则在球队练习期间尝试了珀森、邓肯和罗宾逊的阵容。

“看起来不错,”马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说,“我们今天早些时候练习过。波波尝试了,它奏效了。我认为你很快就会看到它再次出现。”

点击查看原文:Hawks say poor play, not height caused loss

Hawks say poor play, not height caused loss

With Sean Elliott dressed in street clothes and sitting on the bench Wednesday night, Will Perdue stepped into the starting lineup and promptly lost the tipoff to Atlanta center Dikembe Mutombo. It would be about the only loose ball the Spurs didn’t get their hands on early in the game.

With Perdue joining Tim Duncan and David Robinson to give the Spurs a trio of 7-footers on the floor, San Antonio grabbed the first five rebounds of the game - ending with a 48-38 advantage on the backboards - and defeated the Hawks 90-76 at the Alamodome.

For Perdue, it was his first start after 40 games this season. He responded by matching his career high of 19 points.

“Pop (Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich) is a little stubborn,” Perdue said, “so it took him only 42 games to figure it out.”

And it took up until a few minutes before the decision to go with Perdue in the lineup in place of Elliott was noticed. The Spurs placed Elliott on the injured list before Wednesday’s game because of recurring pain in his right knee and tendinitis in his left knee.

But the scoreboard prior to pre- game warmups showed Chuck Person in Elliott’s spot. It wasn’t changed until a few moments prior to tipoff.

Hawks head coach Lenny Wilkins said he wasn’t taken by surprise.

“I knew it before I came out (of the locker room) after warmups,” he said. "But that had nothing to do with how we played. We played horrible tonight.

"It didn’t do anything to change our game. We missed shots. We didn’t pass it well. We didn’t rotate well and didn’t pick up the double teams when we needed to.

“(A tall lineup doesn’t affect a team) if you execute properly. You don’t drive to the basket. But we didn’t hit any of our shots because we didn’t execute.”

The last time the two teams played, Atlanta kicked the Spurs around by the score of 108-96, but it wasn’t that close. The Hawks led by as much as 26 points in the second half.

Mutombo scored 22 points on 10- of-12 shooting and had 11 rebounds.

But this time the Hawks did nothing to help themselves. They missed their first five shots and didn’t chase down one of the rebounds. That allowed the Spurs to build a 10-0 lead. Atlanta didn’t score a basket until almost four minutes into the game.

Facing San Antonio’s taller lineup, the Hawks shot 35 percent from the floor. The Spurs finished at 45 percent.

It went to a 15-point lead - 27-12 - by the end of the first quarter when the San Antonio frontcourt of Perdue, Duncan and Robinson outrebounded Atlanta’s four-man rotation of Mutombo, Christian Laettner, Alan Henderson and Chucky Brown 15-4.

While the Hawks were traveling to San Antonio on Wednesday after beating Milwaukee on Tuesday night in Atlanta, the Spurs were tinkering around with the Person- Duncan-Robinson lineup during the team shoot around.

“It looked good,” Spurs point guard Avery Johnson said. “We practiced it earlier today. Pop tried it and it worked. I think you’ll be seeing it again real soon.”

By Tim Price, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-23, By Kevin O’Keeffe

埃利奥特的烦恼,也源于心理 - 摇摇晃晃的膝盖只是马刺昔日明星问题的冰山一角

对于马刺前锋肖恩·迈克尔·埃利奥特(Sean Michael Elliott)来说,这本该是他人生中最美好的时光。

他和结婚四年的妻子秋子(Akiko)将在五月迎来他们的第一个孩子。

马刺的战绩也相当不错,在今晚与实力不济的达拉斯小牛队在阿拉莫穹顶球馆的比赛开始前,他们已经取得了最近21场比赛中的18场胜利。

然而,这却是埃利奥特充满不满的赛季。

这位昔日的NBA全明星球员——你还记得吗,仅仅两年前——成为了脱口秀节目打电话者的攻击目标,除了少数几场比赛,他一直只是曾经辉煌的影子。

如今,埃利奥特已经进入伤病名单。

而这不仅是因为身体上的…还有心理上的痛苦。

周四,他采取了一项措施试图解决身体方面的问题,他离开球队去寻求对膝盖伤病的第二意见,最终在周三对阵亚特兰大的比赛之前,他被送进了伤病名单。

埃利奥特将至少缺席五场比赛,他离开穹顶球馆时面容沮丧,因为他将要缺席更多比赛。毕竟,由于去年2月进行的右股四头肌腱撕裂修复手术,他只打了39场比赛。如果需要再次进行手术,埃利奥特知道他将缺席整个赛季。嘿,他甚至不愿意进入伤病名单,更别提冒着缺席整个赛季的风险。但曾经能够切入篮下并沿底线突破的埃利奥特已经消失了。部分原因是他的膝盖力量不足,但也部分原因是格雷格·波波维奇在不同时间让他在球场上扮演不同的角色。

埃利奥特从来没有成为一个优秀的定点射手,而他的突破也消失了,因此他可以理解地感到沮丧。

虽然我不是医生,但我在这篇专栏文章中扮演着医生的角色。因此,我一直认为埃利奥特从本赛季开始就没有健康。

从来没有过。

当他休赛期回归能够进行对抗训练的时间从7月推迟到8月,再推迟到9月时,我认为这很重要。

我们不要忘记,前马刺教练鲍勃·希尔说,早在1996年训练营时,埃利奥特就已经受伤了,但由于背部问题已经让大卫·罗宾逊和查克·珀森缺席,他并没有被列入伤病名单。

你还记得吗,9月,埃利奥特在一周的季前训练营比赛后被告知休息几天。

11月底,他向一些人透露了双膝的疼痛,尽管他始终坚持自己能够带伤作战。

但身体上的痛苦只是埃利奥特心烦意乱的一部分原因。

从赛季开始,他对自己在球队中的角色感到不确定,因此也不高兴。

状元秀蒂姆·邓肯的到来改变了球队的进攻体系。原本为埃利奥特设计的战术现在都变成了为邓肯服务的战术。这不仅打击了埃利奥特的信心,也加剧了他的身体问题。

因此,12月3日爆出埃利奥特想要被交易的消息并不令人意外。

在与波波维奇进行了一次严厉的谈话后,埃利奥特否认了这一消息,选择放弃这种言论。

考虑到他不断下降的信心,我仍然不确定埃利奥特是否不想离开。

从波波维奇的角度来看,我相信他认为自己用目前肖恩正在享受的3200万美元的合同买下了他的忠诚和服从。

对于埃利奥特来说,他可能感觉自己被波波维奇背叛了,他认为波波维奇是一个与自己关系密切的人,现在却让他成为球场上出现问题时的攻击目标。

最近,埃利奥特在球场上出现了许多糟糕的时刻,在最近的客场之旅中,他的失误次数(9次)比他的投篮命中次数(5次)还要多。

埃利奥特听到波波维奇暗示他可能缺席一个月并不高兴。

这就是埃利奥特去看其他医生的原因。我认为这是一个折衷方案。

波波维奇和他的教练组认为埃利奥特应该能够做一些事情,但埃利奥特一直做不到,要么是因为膝盖不好,要么是因为缺乏信心。

或者两者都有。

肖恩·埃利奥特并没有在过去三个月里忘记如何打篮球。

因此,我不确定这次进入伤病名单能否治愈他身体上…或者心理上的病痛。

点击查看原文:Elliott's woes mental, too - Wobbly knees just part of the problem for Spurs' once-rising star

Elliott’s woes mental, too - Wobbly knees just part of the problem for Spurs’ once-rising star

For Spurs forward Sean Michael Elliott, these should be the best of times.

He and his wife of four years, Akiko, are expecting their first child in May.

The Spurs are playing quite well, having won 18 of their last 21 games coming into tonight’s Alamodome fray with the hapless Dallas Mavericks.

Instead, this has been Elliott’s season of discontent.

The former NBA All-Star - only two years ago, remember? - has been the target of talk-show callers and, save for a select few games, has been only a shadow of his former self.

Today, Elliott is on the injured list.

And that’s for physical … and mental pains.

Thursday, he took a step to try to rectify the physical part, leaving town to seek another opinion on his ailing knees, which finally sent him to the injured list before Wednesday’s game against Atlanta.

Elliott, who will be out a minimum of five games, left the Dome grimfaced at the prospect of missing more time. After all, he played in just 39 games last season because of February surgery to repair a tear in his right quadriceps tendon. Should surgery be necessary again, Elliott knows he would be out for the rest of the season. Hey, he doesn’t even want to be on the injured list, let alone chance missing the rest of the season. But the Elliott who used to be able to slash to the basket and drive the baseline has been MIA. In part because there is a lack of strength in his knees, but also in part because of where Gregg Popovich has him on the floor at different times.

Never a good spot-up shooter whose slashing game has disappeared, Elliott is understandably frustrated.

Although I am not a doctor, I do play one in my column. Thus, it’s been my belief from the outset of this season that Elliott isn’t healthy.

Never has been.

When his off-season return date to be able to have contact work went from July to August to September, I believe that was significant.

Lest we forget, former Spurs coach Bob Hill said Elliott was hurting as early as training camp 1996, but wasn’t put on the injured list because of back problems that already had sidelined David Robinson and Chuck Person.

This September, if you’ll recall, Elliott was told to rest for several days after participating in a week of pre-training camp games.

By late November, he confided to some about the pain in both knees, although he always has maintained that he can play through it.

But the physical woes are only partly responsible for Elliott’s troubled frame of mind.

Since the start of the season, he was unsure of, and thus unhappy with, his role on this team.

The arrival of No. 1 draft choice Tim Duncan has altered the offense. Plays that had been run for Elliott were now run for Duncan. That has killed Elliott’s confidence, along with the physical problems.

Therefore, there was no surprise Dec. 3 when a story broke that Elliott wanted to be traded.

Following a stern conversation with Popovich, Elliott denied the story, opting to back off that kind of talk.

I’m still not certain that Elliott doesn’t want out, given his lagging confidence.

From Popovich’s standpoint, I’m certain he believed he bought Elliott’s loyalty and obedience with the $32-million contract Sean is in the midst of at present.

For Elliott, he may feel somewhat betrayed by Popovich, a man he believed was close to who has now made him a target when things go bad on the floor.

And there have been many bad moments on the floor of late for Elliott, who had more turnovers (9) than field goals (5) on the last road trip.

Elliott did not sound pleased to hear Popovich suggest he could be out a month.

That’s why Elliott is seeing other physicians. I think it was a compromise.

Popovich and his staff think Elliott ought to be able to do certain things and Elliott hasn’t been able to do them, either because of bad kneed or a lack of confidence.

Or both.

Sean Elliott didn’t forget how to play basketball in the last three months.

So I’m not sure this trip to the injured list will cure what ails him physically…or mentally.

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

1998-01-23, By Glenn Rogers

圣安东尼奥山峰可能随着埃利奥特表现不佳再次崛起

马刺队本月将连续第五次迎来背靠背的比赛。

在最近21场比赛中赢得了18场之后,他们将在今天晚上7:30在阿拉莫圆顶球场迎战小牛队,然后在周六晚上7:30前往休斯顿对战火箭队。

圣安东尼奥很高兴摆脱这种双人搭档 - 剩下的赛季里赛程中只有三场背靠背的比赛。幸运的是,小牛队是联盟中最差的球队之一,火箭队也在努力保持状态以争夺季后赛位置。

在休斯顿,如果戴蒙·斯托达迈尔最终被交易并最终引导火箭队进攻,马刺队可能会受到冲击。但圣安东尼奥也有可能带来惊喜,重新启用大卫·罗宾逊、威尔·珀杜和蒂姆·邓肯的三峰锋线。三人组不太可能对阵身材不高的独行侠队,但也许凯文·威利斯(如果他还效力于休斯顿)和查尔斯·巴克利将接受圣安东尼奥山峰的考验。

“我不确定我们是否会使用该阵容(对阵小牛队),”主教练格雷格·波波维奇在周四在 Incarnate Word 的训练后说道。“但那将是一场有趣的比赛。(独行侠队教练)唐(纳尔逊)会采取各种措施来制造麻烦。

“我认为蒂姆(邓肯)很好地适应了小前锋的位置,适应得像他适应一切一样好。我们已经编写了剧本,一旦队员们理解了它,这将是一种非常简单的进攻。

“有些事情奏效了;有些事情我们必须努力,”他补充说,但没有具体说明问题所在。

如果马刺队不使用三人组,他们可以在小前锋位置上让查克·帕森或蒙蒂·威廉姆斯代替肖恩·埃利奥特,他现在在伤病名单中。

埃利奥特在周四与球队医生戴维·施密特效力,然后在加利福尼亚州英格尔伍德的 Kerlan-Jobe 诊所与克拉伦斯·希尔兹医生会面。

“我们对肖恩的未来没有任何把握,”波波维奇说。“我们相信他的膝盖是他的问题,我们乐观地认为他能够恢复并以他能够发挥的方式比赛。”

波波维奇说,球队将安排埃利奥特去看第三名医生,然后再制定康复计划,埃利奥特很可能至少会缺席一个月。

“肖恩比任何人都沮丧,”波波维奇说。“但在公路旅行期间显然他打得很困难。肖恩只是不会告诉我们他有多疼。

“我必须对他在地板上正在发生的事情狠狠地打击他,他不得不表示同意,”波波维奇在埃利奥特被列入伤病名单之前提到他与埃利奥特的会面时说道。

在马刺队最近五场东部联盟客场之旅中,埃利奥特命中了26投中的5球,场均得到2.8分、3.2个篮板、2次助攻和19.8分钟。

“我敢肯定,肖恩意识到他无法以自己想要的方式进行比赛,”罗宾逊说。“但他给了我们在球场上的另一股强大力量,我们将在季后赛中需要这种力量。

在“他不在的时候,我们将不得不集中精力防守,但最重要的是让他恢复健康。我们已经到了不得不强迫他坐下的地步,因为他是一个竞争者,他想出去比赛。”

罗宾逊也喜欢大个子阵容,但他承认他期待与他的高大同志进行更多的练习。

“我想在下场比赛之前再进行一些练习,”他说。“我正在防守小前锋,四处乱跑,说,‘我在干什么?’但这是一个很好的阵容,尤其是在面对波特兰这样的强队时。”

波波维奇让罗宾逊休息,他说在公路旅行后他需要休息时间来避免背部疲劳。

“这是一个很好的休息机会,”罗宾逊说。“我的膝盖有点酸痛,所以这是个好时机。”

马刺动态

文尼·德尔内格罗说他的肘部正在好转,尽管很慢。

“我必须克服疼痛,”他说。“我需要变得更加灵活,像今天这样的练习会很有帮助。我的手臂几乎可以完全伸展,但有时它会让我感到非常困扰。”

德尔内格罗在 12 月 13 日因肘部过度伸展而缺席比赛,但在周五在夏洛特复出。

“不,没有手术的选择。我很好,我会百分之百复出,”德尔内格罗说。“我今天举了重。我正在继续接受治疗;只是时间问题。”

点击查看原文:San Antonio hills may rise again with Elliott laid low

San Antonio hills may rise again with Elliott laid low

The Spurs now roll into their fifth back-to- back combination of games this month.

After winning 18 of their last 21 games, they’ll take on Dallas at 7:30 tonight at the Alamodome before traveling to Houston to play the Rockets at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

San Antonio will be happy to get rid of this duet - the schedule has just three more back-to-backs the rest of the season. Luckily, Dallas is one of the league’s worst teams and the Rockets are struggling to stay in shape to make a serious playoff run.

In Houston, the Spurs could get a shock if Damon Stoudamire finally is traded and winds up guiding the Rockets attack. But San Antonio could pull off a surprise and again start their tri-peaked front line of David Robinson, Will Perdue and Tim Duncan. That trio likely won’t start against the not- so-tall Mavs, but perhaps Kevin Willis (if he’s still in Houston) and Charles Barkley will get a dose of the San Antonio hills.

“I’m not sure if we’ll use that lineup or not (against Dallas),” Coach Gregg Popovich said after Thursday’s workout at Incarnate Word. "But it’s going to be an interesting game. (Mavs coach) Don (Nelson) will do a variety of things to make it awkward.

"I think Tim (Duncan) adapted well to the small forward slot, adapted as well as he does to everything. We’ve scripted the plays, and once the guys understand them it’s a pretty simple offense.

“Some things worked; some we have to work on,” he added, without specifying the problem areas.

If the Spurs don’t use the big trio, they can start either Chuck Person or Monty Williams at small forward in place of Sean Elliot, now on the injured list.

Elliott met Thursday with team doctor David Schmidt and then with Dr. Clarence Shields at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic in Inglewood, Calif.

“We have no crystal ball on Sean’s future,” Popovich said. “We believe his knees are his problems and we’re optimistic he will be able to return and play the way he is capable of playing.”

Popovich said the team would make arrangements for Elliott to see a third doctor before establishing a rehabilitation program, and that Elliot likely would be out at least a month.

“Sean is more frustrated than anybody,” Popovich said. "But it was clear during the road trip that he was having difficulties playing. Sean just wouldn’t tell us how much pain he was feeling.

“I had to hit him pretty hard with what was going on on the floor and he had to agree,” Popovich said of his meeting with Elliott before he was put on the injured list.

Elliott, hitting 5 of 26 shots through the Spurs’ recent five-game Eastern Conference road trip, averaged 2.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2 assists and 19.8 minutes per game.

“I’m sure Sean realizes he’s not able to compete the way he wants to,” Robinson said. "But he gives us another strong presence on the floor, and we are going to need that dimension in the playoffs.

“While he is out, we’re going to have to bear down on defense, but the main thing is to get him healthy. We got to the point where we almost had to force him to sit down, because he is a competitor and he wants to be out there.”

Robinson also likes the big lineup but admitted he’s looking forward to a few more practice sessions with his tall cohorts.

“I’d like to work on it a little more before the next game,” he said. “I was guarding the small forward and kind of running around saying, ‘What am I doing?’ But it’s a great lineup, especially against big teams like Portland.”

Popovich let Robinson sit out the practice, saying he needed time off after the road trip to avoid taxing his back.

“This was a good chance to rest,” Robinson said. “My knee was a little sore so it was a good time for it.” Spurs note: Vinny Del Negro said his elbow is coming along, albeit slowly.

“I just have to work through the pain,” he said. “I need to get more flexibility, and a practice like today helps. I have pretty much full extension but sometimes it bothers me a lot.”

Del Negro had been out since Dec. 13 with a hyperextended elbow but returned to action Friday at Charlotte.

“No, there’s no option for surgery. I’m fine and I will be 100 percent,” Del Negro said. “I lifted weights today. I’m continuing therapy; it’s just a matter of time.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-24, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队险胜小牛队 - 步枪手挺身而出

达拉斯小牛队主教练唐·尼尔森(Don Nelson)在周五晚上使出了浑身解数,试图用一些花招来迷惑马刺队和他们的“三座塔楼”进攻。

这几乎奏效了。

替补小前锋查克·珀森(Chuck Person)在第四节末段用5分和2个篮板球拯救了马刺队,帮助他的队友以81-75战胜了小牛队,在阿拉莫穹顶球馆前的15465名观众面前取得胜利。

尽管马刺队的投篮命中率只有38.8%,但他们在22场比赛中获得了第19场胜利,战绩提升至29胜13负,并独占中西部赛区榜首。

他们将在今晚在休斯顿的康柏中心挑战战绩为18胜20负的休斯顿火箭队。在险胜实力弱于自己的小牛队(战绩7胜33负)后,马刺队立即将注意力转向火箭队。

“对我们来说,这是一场必胜的比赛,”马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道,“他们是一支危险的球队。他们有(查尔斯)巴克利(Charles Barkley)和(凯文)威利斯(Kevin Willis)以及(马特)马洛尼(Matt Maloney),这些家伙都能对我们造成很大威胁。他们将会很强劲。”

“我不在乎他们输了多少场连胜。当我们对阵他们时,这场对抗总是会变得更加激烈。”

这是马刺队连续第二场比赛让“三塔”阵容——威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)、罗宾逊和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)——首发出场。这个阵容在周三晚上的比赛中以90-76战胜了亚特兰大老鹰队,在首秀中就表现出色。

对阵老鹰队时,马刺队早早建立了领先优势,并且始终保持领先。

但马刺队似乎始终无法摆脱小牛队的纠缠。他们两次将领先优势扩大到13分——一次是在第二节,另一次是在第三节——然后眼看着小牛队在第四节末段三次将比分追至3分。

在赛后的新闻发布会上,马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)对一位记者将这场比赛称为“丑陋的比赛”的评价进行了调侃。

“我不在乎你认为怎么样,”波波维奇说,“这支球队就是战胜了西雅图(周二晚上)的球队。他们整场比赛都打的是1-2-2区域联防。这种防守只会让你打得乱七八糟。”

小牛队让马刺队的新秀蒂姆·邓肯在第二场担任小前锋的比赛中感到很不适应,他在9投2中的情况下只得到8分。实际上,邓肯整场比赛都在大前锋和小前锋之间轮换。

“我对此(位置变化)没问题,”邓肯说,“我还在适应。他们只是用了一些不同的防守来对付我们,让我们偏离了我们的进攻意图。”

邓肯表示,尼尔森的防守让他想起了他在上赛季效力于维克森林大学时对阵佛罗里达州立大学时的场景。

“就是这样,”他说,“他们打了一个半场陷阱,有很多的移动。我们的一些首发球员没有打出我们想要的投篮。但最终结果才是最重要的。”

小牛队在第四节依靠替补前锋丹尼斯·斯科特(Dennis Scott)的出色表现展开反击,他在最后时刻得到全队最高的17分中的9分。斯科特在比赛还剩1分08秒时罚中3罚2中,将比分追至78-75。在另一端,达拉斯后卫迈克尔·芬利(Michael Finley)从珀森手中抢断。

但在暂停过后,达拉斯没能抓住机会。艾瑞克·斯特里克兰(Erick Strickland)在艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的防守下,右翼15英尺的投篮偏出。珀森抢到篮板球,邓肯在最后1分钟罚中4罚3中,确保了胜利。

在该节比赛的早些时候,珀森在40秒内命中一个三分球和一个跳投,帮助马刺队抵挡住了小牛队的进攻。

“我只是在正确的时间出现在了正确的位置,”珀森说,“在投三分球的时候,我本来想突破进去,但我想我已经投了1200个左右的三分球(在我的职业生涯中),所以不妨试试。”

贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)对达拉斯球星迈克尔·芬利防守出色,芬利全场14投5中,得到15分。中锋肖恩·布拉德利(Shawn Bradley)得到14分。

罗宾逊以17分和13个篮板球领衔马刺队,邓肯得到13分和10个篮板球。珀杜在连续第二场首发出场中拿下14个篮板球。

比赛开始阶段,马刺队显得有些迷茫,小牛队以8-2领先。马刺队逐渐换上更小的阵容,并在中场休息时以43-35领先。

动态

  • 交易谈判:克利夫兰骑士队后卫鲍勃·苏拉(Bob Sura)一直被认为是马刺队可能通过交易获得的球员。

其他的可能性包括明尼苏达的克里斯·卡尔(Chris Carr)和底特律的马利克·西利(Malik Sealy)。

  • 罗斯回归:马刺队前锋马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)在周五回到球队,此前他前往费城处理个人事务。

罗斯在周三以90-76战胜亚特兰大的比赛中没有出现在阿拉莫穹顶球馆。

  • 威廉姆斯喜得千金:小前锋蒙蒂·威廉姆斯(Monty Williams)家添新成员——一个名叫莱尔·乔伊·威廉姆斯(Lael Joy Williams)的女儿,体重7磅6盎司,身高20英寸,出生于周三下午。

球队发言人表示,威廉姆斯的妻子英格丽德(Ingrid)和孩子一切安好。

点击查看原文:Spurs sputter but round up Mavericks - Rifleman comes to the rescue

Spurs sputter but round up Mavericks - Rifleman comes to the rescue

Dallas Mavericks coach Don Nelson dug deep into his bag of tricks Friday night and pulled out a few gimmicks in an attempt to hoodwink the Spurs and their “Triple Towers” attack.

It nearly worked.

Reserve small forward Chuck Person saved the Spurs with five points and two rebounds late in the fourth quarter to lift his teammates to an 81-75 victory over the Mavericks in front of 15,465 at the Alamodome.

Even though the Spurs shot a cool 38.8 percent from the field, they won for the 19th time in 22 games, improved to 29-13 and assumed sole possession of first place in the Midwest Division.

They will meet the 18-20 Houston Rockets tonight at Houston’s Compaq Center. After barely sneaking past the lowly Mavericks, who fell to 7-33, the Spurs turned their attention immediately to the Rockets.

“It’s a must win for us,” Spurs center David Robinson said. "They are a dangerous team. They’ve got (Charles) Barkley and (Kevin) Willis and (Matt) Maloney, and all those guys who can really hurt you. They’re going to be tough.

“I don’t care how many they’ve lost in a row. When we play, that rivalry always kicks up.”

For the second straight game, the Spurs started the “Tri-Towers” frontline of Will Perdue, Robinson and Tim Duncan. The lineup destroyed the Atlanta Hawks in its debut during a 90-76 victory Wednesday night at the dome.

Against the Hawks, the Spurs jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back.

But the Spurs never seemed to shake the Mavericks. They built leads as large as 13 points twice - once in the second quarter and again in the third - then watched as the Mavs pulled within three points three times late in the fourth period.

In the postgame news conference, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich took mock offense to one reporter’s suggestion that the Spurs had just won an ugly game.

“I don’t care what you think,” Popovich said. “That was the same team that beat Seattle (Tuesday night). They played a 1-2-2 zone the whole time. It just gets you playing funky.”

The Mavericks flustered Spurs rookie Tim Duncan, who hit 2 of 9 from the floor and scored eight points in his second game at small forward. Actually, Duncan split time between power and small forward during the evening.

“I’m fine with that (position change),” Duncan said. “I’m still getting used to it. They just threw some different defenses on us and it took us out of what we wanted to do.”

Duncan said Nelson’s defense reminded him of what he saw last season at Wake Forest, when his Demon Deacons played Florida State.

“That’s what it was,” he said. “They had a little halfcourt trap, a lot of movement. Some of our starters didn’t have the shots we wanted. But the end result is all that matters.”

The Mavericks rallied in the fourth period behind the shooting of reserve forward Dennis Scott, who scored nine of his team-high 17 points down the stretch. Scott hit two of three free throws with 1:08 remaining to pull the Mavs to within 78-75. On the other end, Dallas guard Michael Finley stole the ball from Person.

But after a timeout, Dallas couldn’t capitalize. Erick Strickland, guarded by Avery Johnson, missed a 15-footer off the right wing. Person rebounded, and Duncan made three of four free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.

Earlier in the period, Person hit a three-pointer and a jumper in a span of 40 seconds to hold off the Mavericks.

“I was just in the right place at the right time,” Person said. “On the three-pointer, I thought about stepping in, but I figured I had about 1,200 threes (in my career) so I might as well shoot it.”

Jaren Jackson did a solid job on Dallas star Michael Finley, who finished 5 of 14 from the field with 15 points. Center Shawn Bradley scored 14.

Robinson led the Spurs with 17 points and 13 rebounds, and Duncan finished with 13 and 10, respectively. Perdue pulled down 14 rebounds in his second straight start.

Early on, the Spurs looked confused as the Mavericks took an 8-2 lead. The Spurs gradually shifted into a smaller lineup and took a 43-35 lead at intermission.

NOTES

- Trade talks: Cleveland Cavaliers guard Bob Sura continues to be mentioned as a player the Spurs may be interested in acquiring through a trade.

Other possibilities are Minnesota’s Chris Carr and Detroit’s Malik Sealy.

- Rose returns: Spurs forward Malik Rose returned to the team Friday after attending to personal business in Philadelphia.

Rose was not at the Alamodome on Wednesday for the 90-76 victory over Atlanta.

- Williams a father: Small forward Monty Williams has an addition to his household - a baby daughter, Lael Joy Williams, weighing 7 pounds, 6 ounces and measuring 20 inches at birth Wednesday afternoon.

Williams’ wife, Ingrid, and the baby are doing fine, a team spokesman said. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-24, By Tim Price

小牛队并未悄然倒下 糟糕的战绩,矮小的阵容无法阻挡达拉斯斗志昂扬的球队

达拉斯小牛队的胜负记录比去年同期马刺队的还要糟糕,他们不可能争夺任何分区冠军。不,甚至连季后赛席位也无法争夺。

不过,小牛队还有一次机会与马刺队上演一场顽强的对决。周五晚上在阿拉莫穹顶球馆,他们将第四节时15分的落后差距缩小到只剩3分,距离用一记三分球扳平比分只差一分钟。圣安东尼奥最终以81-75战胜了对手。

圣安东尼奥在本赛季还将在2月19日马刺队前往重聚竞技场时,与达拉斯队再进行一次较量。

马刺队投篮命中率只有38%,但仍然赢得了周五晚上的比赛。而达拉斯队则29投84中,命中率仅为34%。

“我们只需要今晚投进一些空位球就能赢下比赛,”小牛队主教练兼总经理唐·尼尔森说,“我们的表现越来越好,今晚的努力非常出色。”

达拉斯队的战绩是7胜33负。马刺队在去年的这个日期是11胜28负。

然而,小牛队在经历了上周连续两晚的惨败后,表现出了一些进步。他们在休斯顿输了13分,在亚特兰大输了16分。

但在这两场失利和周五对阵马刺队的比赛之间,达拉斯队在加时赛中输给了明尼苏达队,并以9分优势战胜了西雅图队。小牛队在对阵超音速队的比赛中一度领先16分。

这些都是实力强大的对手。森林狼队在中西部赛区落后马刺队4.5场。如果有人愿意看看胜负记录的话,西雅图队是今年最强的球队,而小牛队在周二晚上与超音速队缠斗了一场。

约翰逊周五负责防守达拉斯队的后卫埃里克·斯特里克兰。斯特里克兰试图在比赛还剩40秒时,在约翰逊头上投进一记扳平比分的三分球,当时马刺队领先78-75。

斯特里克兰没有成功,所以他突破进入内线,投出一记软弱的跳投,球击中篮圈前沿,被马刺队的查克·珀森抢下篮板球。

斯特里克兰在对阵西雅图队的比赛中砍下了职业生涯新高的30分。他在对阵马刺队的比赛中只得到7分,而且他甚至没有参加首节比赛。

“我们今晚都获得了很好的出手机会,”斯特里克兰说,“我们今晚投的是10英尺左右的球。”

“我们的表现越来越好,但一些细节问题一直在困扰着我们。今晚,就是投丢了空位球。”

“我认为这支球队还有进步的空间。这支球队还不太熟悉彼此,我们仍在互相学习。我们正在努力追赶。”

在斯特里克兰上个赛季以落选新秀身份离开内布拉斯加州之前,并没有多少人认识他。他在CBA打球,并与小牛队签了一份10天合同。他的表现足够出色,足以获得达拉斯队提供的六年合同。

他也是小牛队在某些时间段内场上的小个阵容的一部分。在比赛的某个时刻,场上没有一个达拉斯球员的身高能达到6尺10寸。在那些时间段里,A.C. 格林以6尺9寸的身高,为达拉斯队撑起了“高个”的场面。

丹尼斯·斯科特身高6尺8寸,是唯一一个在7尺高的大卫·罗宾逊的一些背身单打进攻中,站在篮筐前的人。

罗宾逊以12投7中得到17分,成为马刺队得分王。

点击查看原文:Mavericks didn't fall quietly Losing record, tiny lineup couldn't faze feisty Dallas squad

Mavericks didn’t fall quietly Losing record, tiny lineup couldn’t faze feisty Dallas squad

With a won-loss record that looks worse than what the Spurs had at this time last year, the Dallas Mavericks aren’t going to contend for any division titles. Nope, not even a playoff spot.

But the Mavericks have one more chance to play pesky punk against the Spurs. They did it Friday night at the Alamodome, trimming a 15-point deficit in the fourth period to a three-point shot from tying the Spurs with a minute left. San Antonio finally held on to win 81-75.

San Antonio has to fiddle with Dallas one more time this season when the Spurs travel to Reunion Arena on Feb. 19.

The Spurs shot 38 percent from the floor and still won Friday night. But Dallas went 29 of 84 - 34 percent.

“All we have to do is make some wide-open shots tonight and we win this game,” Mavericks coach and general manager Don Nelson said. “We’re playing better, and it was a great effort tonight.”

Dallas is 7-33. The Spurs were 11- 28 on this date last year.

But the Mavs are showing some improvement after they got hammered in two games in as many nights last week. They got beat by 13 points at Houston and 16 points in Atlanta.

But between those losses and the game against the Spurs on Friday, Dallas lost to Minnesota in overtime and beat Seattle by nine points. The Mavs had a 16-point lead on the Sonics in the second half.

Those are quality opponents. The Timberwolves are 41/2 games behind the Spurs in the Midwest Division. Seattle is the best team in basketball this year if anyone bothers to look at won-loss records, and the Mavs dogged the Sonics on Tuesday night.

Johnson had to defend Dallas guard Erick Strickland on Friday. Strickland tried to get off a game- tying three-pointer over Johnson with less than 40 seconds remaining and the Spurs ahead 78-75.

Strickland wasn’t able to do it, so he drove toward the lane and put up a weak jumper that hit the front of the rim and was rebounded by the Spurs’ Chuck Person.

Strickland scored a career-high 30 points against Seattle. He was limited to 7 by the Spurs, but he didn’t even play the first quarter.

“We all got great looks tonight,” Strickland said. "We were getting 10-footers tonight.

"We’ve been playing better, but it’s the little things that have been hurting us. Tonight, it was missing the open shots.

“I think there’s still room for improvement for this team. This team is fairly new to one another. We’re still learning each other. We’re going hunting.”

Not many knew of Strickland before last season when he was an undrafted rookie out of Nebraska. He played in the CBA and signed a 10-day contract with the Mavs. He played well enough to get a six- year deal with Dallas.

He was part of a small lineup that was on the floor during some stretches for the Mavs. At one point in the game, there wasn’t a Dallas player on the floor that was even tall as 6-foot-10. A.C. Green had the stilts for Dallas at 6-9 during those stretches.

Dennis Scott, all 6-8 of him, was the only player who stood in front of the basket on some of 7-footer David Robinson’s post-up moves.

Robinson led the Spurs with 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

By Tim Price, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-25, By Glenn Rogers

重蹈覆辙 - 火箭再次轻松战胜马刺

休斯顿 - 如果历史会重演,那么马刺队将会很开心。

12 月 9 日,火箭队在休斯顿以 108-78 的比分痛击马刺队,这是两队在周六晚上之前最后一次在此交手。受到这场比赛的激励,圣安东尼奥队在接下来的 22 场比赛中赢得了 19 场。而休斯顿队则在接下来的 21 场比赛中输掉了 15 场。

因此,或许火箭队在周六于康柏中心以 112-87 的比分横扫马刺队的比赛所带来的影响不会持续太久。马刺队将在周一于阿拉莫圆顶球馆获得报仇的机会。

火箭队在周六的比赛中全面压制了马刺队。他们将球推进到马刺队令人畏惧的三位大个子球员 - 大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson)、蒂姆·邓肯 (Tim Duncan) 和威尔·珀杜 (Will Perdue) - 的手中,并通过投篮命中率极高的上篮和跳投得分。

他们在篮板球争夺中压制了马刺队,并在争夺球权方面领先一步。篮板球统计显示休斯顿队以 41-25 领先。马刺队的篮板球总量创下了赛季新低。

马刺队的防守陷入了困顿和缺乏沟通的状态,这种状态导致了他们在 11 月和 12 月的失利。火箭队的投篮命中率达到 52%,其中 14 次三分球命中率高达 50%。

休斯顿队在半场结束时领先 13 分,随后,尽管凯文·威利斯 (Kevin Willis) 被罚下 (他在第二节被罚下),但他们在进入最后一节时将领先优势扩大到 83-68。

查尔斯·巴克利 (Charles Barkley) 在比赛还剩 5 分 21 秒时命中三分球,并高举双臂庆祝胜利,当时比分是 97-74。

“我们的团队和个人防守都很糟糕,这就是最根本的原因,”教练格雷格·波波维奇 (Gregg Popovich) 说,他在上半场最后几秒被罚下。“他们拼尽了全力,而我们打得非常糟糕。”

克莱德·德雷克斯勒 (Clyde Drexler) 以 23 分领衔所有球员的得分。德雷克斯勒将他的比赛风格融合了突破、抛投和中距离投篮。巴克利在内线强势进攻,得到 21 分。

但得分来自各个方面。控球后卫马特·马洛尼 (Matt Maloney) 在过去几天一直有传言说他将被交易到多伦多,以换取达蒙·斯塔德迈尔 (Damon Stoudamire),他在本场比赛中展现出了他的斗志,得到 16 分。

奥塞拉·哈灵顿 (Othella Harrington) 抢下了 5 个篮板,得到 12 分。40 岁的查尔斯·琼斯 (Charles Jones) 由于威利斯和哈基姆·奥拉朱旺 (Hakeem Olajuwon) 的缺阵而被派上场,他打了 15 分钟,并封盖了 2 次投篮。

“每个人都打得很好,他们弥补了我的错误,”威利斯说。

这个错误发生在上半场还剩 45 秒的时候,看起来这对火箭队来说将会是一个非常严重的失误。

裁判泰德·伯恩哈特 (Ted Bernhardt) 对威利斯吹罚了一个技术犯规,因为威利斯对被判犯规推搡罗宾逊提出抗议。威利斯随后走过去与裁判鲍勃·德莱尼 (Bob Delaney) 交谈,看起来有点过于激动。德莱尼对他吹罚了第二个技术犯规,并将其罚下。

但马刺队没能抓住这个机会。大卫·罗宾逊四罚全失,包括两次技术犯规罚球和两次被威利斯犯规的罚球。

德莱尼对波波维奇进行了处罚 - 由于波波维奇抱怨对艾弗里·约翰逊 (Avery Johnson) 吹罚的犯规,他在上半场还剩 4.1 秒时对波波维奇吹罚了第一个技术犯规。约翰逊对这个判罚感到愤怒,因为德莱尼认为约翰逊在中场绊倒了布伦特·普莱斯 (Brent Price)。

波波维奇加大了抗议力度,在助理教练汉克·伊根 (Hank Egan) 将波波维奇拉开之前,德莱尼对波波维奇吹罚了第二个技术犯规,并将其罚下。

火箭队在下半场没有威利斯的情况下加快了比赛节奏,但马刺队却没有找到获胜的能量来为他们的教练赢得一场比赛。

点击查看原文:Been there, blown that - Rockets hand Spurs another one-sided loss at Houston

Been there, blown that - Rockets hand Spurs another one-sided loss at Houston

HOUSTON - If history repeats itself, the Spurs are in good shape.

The Rockets slammed the Spurs 108-78 on Dec. 9, the last time the two teams met here before Saturday night. San Antonio, thus sparked, went on to win 19 of its next 22 games. Houston went on to lose 15 of its next 21.

So perhaps the effects of the Rockets’ 112-87 all-around thrashing of the Spurs at the Compaq Center on Saturday won’t linger. The Spurs will have the opportunity for a little payback pretty quickly - Monday at the Alamodome.

The Rockets beat the Spurs in every phase of Saturday’s game. They pushed the ball down into the Spurs’ dreaded three big men – David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Will Perdue - and scored on layups and jumpers off the pitchouts.

They beat the Spurs to the boards and got a step on them in the chase for loose balls. The rebounding line read 41-25 in Houston’s favor. The Spurs’ total was a season low.

The Spurs’ defense lapsed into the lethargic, non-communicative stage that led to losses in November and December. The Rockets hit 52 percent of their shots, including 50 percent of their 14 three-point tries.

Houston led by 13 after two quarters, then, despite the absence of Kevin Willis (who was ejected in the second quarter), increased the advantage to 83-68 going into the final period.

Charles Barkley put down a three-pointer and raised his arms in victory with 5:21 left in the game and the score 97-74.

“Our team and individual defense was poor, that was the bottom line,” said Coach Gregg Popovich, who was ejected in the final seconds of the first half. “They played their fannies off, we played poorly.”

Clyde Drexler led all scorers with 23 points. Drexler mixed his game of driving, floating layups and jumpers from around the perimeter. Barkley barreled around in the paint and scored 21 points.

But the baskets came from everywhere. Point guard Matt Maloney, one of the players rumored these past few days to be ticketed on his way to Toronto in exchange for Damon Stoudamire, showed his grit with 16 points.

Othella Harrington bullied about for five rebounds and 12 points. Forty-year-old Charles Jones, pressed into service because of the absence of Willis as well as Hakeem Olajuwon, played 15 minutes and blocked two shots.

“Everybody played well; they made up for my mistake,” said Willis.

The mistake came with 45 seconds left in the first half, and it appeared it would be a seriously bad turn for the Rockets.

Referee Ted Bernhardt whistled Willis for a technical when Willis protested being called for fouling Robinson. Willis then went over and talked to official Bob Delaney, apparently a little too vehemently. Delaney tossed him with a second technical.

But the Spurs couldn’t capitalize. David Robinson missed all four free-throw attempts, the two technicals and two for being fouled by Willis.

Delaney did all the damage on Popovich - issuing his first tech when Popovich complained about a foul called on Avery Johnson 4.1 seconds left in the half. Johnson was upset with the call, which came when Delaney thought Johnson tripped up Brent Price at midcourt.

Popovich escalated his protests and, before assistant coach Hank Egan could drag Popovich away, Delaney issued the second technical and the ejection.

The Rockets stepped up their pace without Willis in the second half, but the Spurs couldn’t find the juice to win one for their coach.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-25, By Jerry Briggs

马刺在NBA释放出了怪物阵容

上星期三晚上在阿拉莫多姆,马刺错失了一个将球员介绍提升为戏剧性表演的机会。

他们本可以将灯光调暗。球员走出来后,他们可以从扬声器系统中播放出风、雨和雷声,然后是令人毛骨悚然的管风琴音乐。

随后,一个打扮成矮小、白发驼背的人可以冲到场边,从公共广播员斯坦·凯利手中抢过麦克风,对着球迷大喊:“教练疯了,我说。他已经疯了。”

这时,马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇可以从马刺的更衣室走出来。

“恭喜你,弗兰肯斯坦博士,”小个子沙哑着嗓音说,“你的怪物已经准备好接受实验了。”

弗兰肯斯坦,呃,波波维奇,在对阵亚特兰大老鹰队的比赛中,展示了三个身高七英尺的球员的恐怖阵容。据信这是十年来,三个这个身高的球员同时在场上的第一次。

由于肖恩·埃利奥特因伤缺席,可能是整个月的时间,马刺在对阵亚特兰大的比赛中让大卫·罗宾逊、威尔·珀杜和新秀小蒂姆·邓肯首发。

这三个大家伙开始掠夺老鹰队,在三节后帮助马刺将领先优势扩大到了30分。在第四节垃圾时间之后,马刺以90-76获胜。

赛后,老鹰队对失利不以为然,将失利更多地归咎于他们的旅行日程,而不是马刺阵容变化所做的任何事情。

但很明显,身高6英尺11英寸的邓肯在进攻时担任小前锋,几乎可以在任何时候对阵查基·布朗或艾伦·亨德森得分。

同样明显的是,身高7英尺2英寸的迪肯贝·穆托姆博和老鹰队不会从马刺队那里得到很多篮板球。

马刺后卫艾弗里·约翰逊说:“看起来我们那里有很多树。”“这个阵容对西雅图和明尼苏达这样(高大的)球队可能是有效的。如果我们在进攻端能更全面,这将对我们有很大帮助。”

在20世纪80年代中期,密尔沃基雄鹿队曾尝试过由七尺中锋阿尔顿·利斯特、兰迪·布鲁尔和保罗·莫克斯基组成的前场阵容。这远没有罗宾逊、邓肯和珀杜的可能性那么大。

“我想更频繁地用这个阵容练习,”罗宾逊说。

在这种情况下,波波维奇的发明不一定是因为必须。

无论如何,教练计划在本赛季的某个时候使用这个阵容。恰好埃利奥特倒下了,这在前线开辟了一个位置。

看着邓肯——大学的中锋——迈出他作为NBA小前锋的第一步,真是太神奇了。他在外线流畅地移动,一记又一记地命中跳投。

波波维奇说:“他适应得就像他适应其他一切一样容易。”

当马刺队81-75击败小牛队时,这个阵容并没有取得同样的成功。邓肯只出手了11次,整个首发阵容似乎都在早期陷入停滞。

但波波维奇为阵容进行了辩护,一些球员建议在球队输掉一两场比赛之前,阵容可能会保持完整。

如果马刺队继续用这个阵容获胜,波波维奇可能会重新考虑在2月19日的截止日期之前交易珀杜的愿望。

再者,这个阵容可能需要大胜,才能让管理层完全改变主意。球队似乎仍然需要另一个可以命中跳投、切入和防守的运动型后卫或前锋。

埃利奥特上不了场,这些需求变得更加明显。

马刺后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗说:“失去一名关键球员总是让人沮丧的。”“我们会想念肖恩。我们一整年都没有集齐阵容。但我们最终会成功的。”

同时,有一个怪物正在四处逃窜。

斯普雷维尔的猜测:马刺更衣室周围的猜测是,拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔的案子将在交易截止日期之前由仲裁员裁决。

斯普雷维尔的案子将于1月27日进行讨论。

一名球员说:“众所周知,马刺队对此很感兴趣。”

斯普雷维尔是前金州勇士队的三届全明星后卫。12月,他在试图扼杀并威胁要杀死勇士队教练P.J. 卡莱西莫后,他的合同被终止并被联盟停赛了一年。

点击查看原文:Spurs unleash monster lineup on NBA

Spurs unleash monster lineup on NBA

The Spurs missed a chance to upgrade introductions into a theatrical spectacle last Wednesday night at the Alamodome.

They could have turned the lights down low. After players walked out, they could have boomed sounds of wind, rain and thunder from the speaker system, followed by creepy organ music.

Subsequently, someone dressed like a little, white-haired, hunchback could have sprinted to courtside, seized the microphone from public-address announcer Stan Kelly and screamed to the fans, “The coach is mad, I say. He’s gone mad.”

At that point, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich could have stepped out of the Spurs’ dressing room.

“Congratulations, Dr. Frankenstein,” the little man would say with a raspy voice. “Your monster is ready for experimentation.”

Frankenstein - err, Popovich - unleashed three seven-footers in a scary exhibition of size and talent against the Atlanta Hawks. It was believed to have been the first time in a dozen years that three players of that size had played together on the floor at the same time.

With Sean Elliott sitting out his first game in what could be a monthlong stay on the injured list, the Spurs started David Robinson, Will Perdue and rookie sensation Tim Duncan against Atlanta.

The three big fellows proceeded to plunder the Hawks, lifting the Spurs to a 30-point lead after three quarters. Following a fourth- quarter of garbage time, the Spurs won 90-76.

Afterward, the Hawks shrugged off the loss, blaming it more on their travel schedule than anything the Spurs did with the lineup switch.

But it was obvious that the 6- foot-11 Duncan, playing small forward on offense, could have scored just about anytime he wanted against Chucky Brown or Alan Henderson.

It was equally obvious that the 7- 2 Dikembe Mutombo and the Hawks weren’t going to get many rebounds against the Spurs.

“It looked like we had a lot of trees in there,” Spurs guard Avery Johnson said. “That lineup can be effective against (big) teams like Seattle and Minnesota. If we can get more versatile offensively, it will help us an awful lot.”

In the mid-1980s, the Milwaukee Bucks experimented with a frontcourt consisting of seven- footers Alton Lister, Randy Breuer and Paul Mokeski. It didn’t have nearly the possibilities of Robinson, Duncan and Perdue.

“I want to practice with that lineup more often,” Robinson said.

Necessity wasn’t necessarily the mother of Popovich’s invention in this instance.

The coach planned to use the lineup at some point this season anyway. It just so happened that Elliott broke down, which opened a spot on the front line.

It was amazing to watch Duncan - a center in college - take his first steps as an NBA small forward. He moved smoothly on the perimeter and knocked down jumper after jumper.

“He adapted to that just as easily as he has to everything else,” Popovich said.

The lineup didn’t enjoy the same success Friday night when the Spurs defeated the Mavericks 81- 75. Duncan got only 11 shots and the entire starting five seemed to stagnate early.

But Popovich defended it, and some of the players suggested that it would probably remain intact until the team lost a game or two.

If the Spurs continue to win with it, Popovich might entertain second thoughts about his desire to trade Perdue before the Feb. 19 deadline.

Then again, the lineup will probably have to win big to make management change its mind completely. It still seems that the team needs another athletic guard or forward who can hit the jumper, slash and play defense.

Those needs are magnified even more with Elliott on the shelf.

“It’s always difficult to lose a key player,” Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro said. “We’re going to miss Sean. We haven’t had the whole lineup together all year. But we’ll get there eventually.”

In the meantime, there’s a monster on the loose. Sprewell speculation: Speculation around the Spurs locker room is that the Latrell Sprewell case will be decided by an arbitrator before the trading deadline.

Sprewell’s case comes up for discussion Jan. 27.

“It’s pretty well-known that the Spurs are interested,” one player said.

Sprewell is a three-time All-Star guard, formerly of the Golden State Warriors. In December, he had his contract terminated and was suspended by the league for a calendar year after choking and threatening to kill Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-25, By Kevin O’Keefee

火箭队红光闪耀 - 休斯敦的混乱让马刺队难以招架

休斯敦 - 马刺队早就预料到这场比赛会很艰难,但他们还是没能躲过。

在经历了一周的交易传闻以及五连败的糟糕战绩之后,火箭队已经变成了“混乱之队”。

“我在比赛前跟他们说,火箭队会像猛虎出笼一样,”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)谈到赛前与队员的对话时说道。

他没有撒谎。

周六早上,愤怒已经达到顶点,以“咆哮之口”著称的查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley)表示,他不关心火箭队是否在赛季剩下的比赛中全败,他只想去享受比赛的乐趣。

周六晚上,他确实玩得很开心。

火箭队上下都乐开了花,他们在以112-87的比分痛扁马刺队的比赛中玩得非常尽兴,比赛的结果并没有反映出比赛的真实情况。

比赛早期的分差并没有拉开,但马刺队在比赛中仅领先过一次 - 在第二节开局 74 秒时,他们以 30-29 的比分短暂领先。

比赛只出现过一次平局。

“就像一台嗡嗡作响的电锯,”马刺队控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说道。“火箭队的情绪明显高涨,我们到现在还没搞清楚发生了什么事。”

这场遭遇战结束后 20 多分钟,AJ 仍然心有余悸。

“今晚对他们来说意义重大,”威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)说道,他再次与蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)组成马刺队的“三座塔”。

“鲁迪(汤姆贾诺维奇(Rudy Tomjanovich),火箭队主教练)赢得了他的第 300 场胜利,”珀杜指出。“而凯文·威利斯(Kevin Willis)会竭尽全力让火箭队的管理层难堪。”

更不用说马刺队的防守了。

或者说是防守的缺失,导致了这场失利。

威利斯是传闻中与多伦多猛龙队交易控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)的关键人物之一,他在首节开局打进了火箭队的前 4 分,并且在头 12 分钟内以 10 分领跑全场得分。

尽管威利斯在首节让珀杜在中锋位置上苦不堪言,但波波维奇表示他从未想过让大卫·罗宾逊去防守他。

为什么要让一个前 NBA 防守球员去防守威利斯?

波波维奇的这种想法或许也能解释为什么珀杜,他在上半场是马刺队得分效率最高的球员(6 投 6 中,12 分),在下半场没有首发出场?

毫无疑问,这也是波波维奇的决定,尽管他当时已经被罚出场外。

事实证明,裁判鲍勃·德莱尼(Bob Delaney)帮了波波维奇一个忙,让他不必继续观看马刺队自上一场在这里比赛以来的最糟糕表现,当时火箭队以 30 分的优势大胜圣安东尼奥马刺队。

在中场休息前 4 秒,波波维奇因为对 AJ 在中场的判罚提出质疑而被罚下场。

他因为坚持己见而被判罚了第二个技术犯规。

尽管波波维奇否认了这一点,但我相信他是在故意想被罚下场。

在威利斯在下半场还剩 45 秒时被罚下场后,火箭队及其球迷都兴奋起来。

球迷的狂热情绪导致罗宾逊罚丢了四罚全失,这可能是整场比赛的转折点。

罗宾逊有機會将火箭队的领先优势缩小到 4 分,但他的失误却确保了 16285 名球迷将在接下来的比赛中保持最佳状态。

考虑到发生的事情以及威利斯离场给火箭队带来的活力,我认为,尽管他否认了,但波波维奇可能意识到同样的事情也会发生在他的球队身上,如果他被罚出场。

毕竟,像波波维奇这样纪律严明的军人一定能在他知道再多说一句话就会被罚下场时停止。

点击查看原文:Rockets' red glare - Houston in turmoil too much for Spurs

Rockets’ red glare - Houston in turmoil too much for Spurs

HOUSTON - The Spurs saw this one coming … but they still couldn’t get out of the way.

Fueled by a week of trade rumors, not to mention a five-game losing streak, the Rockets had become Team Turmoil.

“I told them before the game that they (the Rockets) were going to come out like gangbusters,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of his pre-game chat with his men.

He wasn’t lying.

Why, the frustration had reached the point that Charles Barkley, the Mouth That Roared, stated Saturday morning that he didn’t care whether or not the Rockets lost every game the rest of the season. He was going to go out and have fun.

And did he ever on Saturday night.

All the Rockets had a great deal of fun in trashing the Spurs, 112-87, in a game which wasn’t as close as the score might indicate.

Oh, the point differential wasn’t severe in the early going, but consider that the Spurs led only once in the game - 30-29 just 74 seconds into the second quarter.

Hey, the game was only tied once.

“A buzz-saw, yes,” began Spurs points guard Avery Johnson. “The Rockets certainly had a big emotional high. I still don’t think we know what hit us.”

And AJ was talking more than 20 minutes after the encounter ended.

“Tonight was a lot of things for them,” said Will Perdue, who again was a part of the Spurs’ Tri-Towers, along with Tim Duncan and David Robinson.

“Rudy (Tomjanovich, Rockets’ coach) won his 300th game,” Perdue noted. “And Kevin Willis was going to do everything he could do to make the (Rockets’) management look foolish.”

Not to mention the Spurs’ defense.

Or lack thereof in the loss.

Willis, one of the key figures in the rumored swap with Toronto for point guard Damon Stoudamire, scored Houston’s first four points and netted 10 to lead all scorers in the first 12 minutes.

Yet, despite Willis making life miserable for Perdue in the pivot in the opening quarter, Popovich said he never considered putting David Robinson on him.

Why would you want to put a former NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Willis?

Might that line of thinking by Popovich also explain why Perdue, who was the Spurs’ most effective scorer in the first half (six for six afield, 12 points), didn’t start the second half?

No doubt that was also Popovich’s decision, even though he had been tossed from the game by that point.

Turns out, referee Bob Delaney did Popovich a favor so he didn’t have to watch a continuation of the Spurs’ worst game since the last one here, when the Rockets ripped S.A. by 30 on Dec. 9.

Popovich was booted for arguing a call on AJ at midcourt with four seconds left before intermission.

He got the second technical foul for being persistent.

While Popovich denies it, I believe he was trying to get thrown out.

The Rockets, and their patrons, had been energized after Willis was tossed with 45 seconds left in the half.

The frenzy of the partisans aided Robinson in missing not one, not two, not three, but all four free throws, which may have been a turning point in the evening.

With a chance to reduce the Rockets’ lead to four, Robinson’s errant tosses only made sure the 16,285 were going to be in their best voice the rest of the way.

Given what had happened and the spark Willis’ departure gave the Rockets, I believe, despite his denial, that Popovich might have figured the same thing could happen for his team with his ouster.

After all, a disciplined military man like Popovich certainly could stop when he knew one more word was going to get him ejected.

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

1998-01-25, By Glenn Rogers

银靴:初代阵容

概况: 沃伦(Warren), 51岁,在1973-74和1974-75赛季为马刺队效力了107场,场均得到4.6分。1975年9月8日,他被交易至纽约网队,与理奇·琼斯(Rich Jones)、查克·特里(Chuck Terry)和金·休斯(Kim Hughes)一起被交易,换来比利·波尔兹(Billy Paultz)。

他现在在哪里? 沃伦是家乡肯塔基州哈丁的兄弟姐妹基督教(BASIC)训练宗教组织的平信徒牧师。

马刺之后的经历: 沃伦在ABA联盟合并并将其四支球队并入NBA的1976年,在圣地亚哥海盗队结束了自己的职业生涯。他在ABA联盟效力了8年。

“波士顿凯尔特人队给我打电话,希望我打后卫,这样他们就可以让约翰·哈夫利切克(John Havlicek)打前锋,”沃伦说。“但当我前往波士顿的时候,凯尔特人队决定选择史蒂夫·库贝尔斯基(Steve Kuberski)。他们第二年夏天再次给我打电话,但已经太晚了。我的身体已经疲惫不堪了。”

沃伦最初与洛杉矶之星队签约,年薪为25000美元,他在职业生涯期间的最高薪水为50000美元。

“我用这笔钱在哈丁买了一个养猪场,打完篮球后我就去了那里,”沃伦说。“我们养了多达300头猪。五年前父亲去世后,我卖掉了它们,放弃了这种生活。从那时起,我一直专注于传道工作。”

沃伦在农场上建造了自己的木屋,现在农场上有一个静修中心和宿舍,可容纳60人。

沃伦还是哈丁的名誉市长。“镇上的居民(目前人口约500人)对一个职业运动员来自这里感到印象深刻。在我接受采访时,我开玩笑地说,我希望有一天能成为哈丁的市长。所以我回到家乡后,他们就让我担任名誉市长。”

作为马刺队的记忆:“球迷和球员。我记得跳舞的哈里(Dancing Harry)和我的队友,科比·迪特里克(Coby Dietrick)、乔治·卡尔(George Karl)、GG(乔治·格文(George Gervin)),他们所有人,我真的记得。那时我经历了一段艰难的时期,离婚了,他们都帮助我度过了这段艰难时期。

“最重要的是,一个名叫拉里·赫佩斯(Larry Heppes)和他的妻子玛丽(Mary)收留了我,爱护我,教会我认识主,我希望在我离开篮球后继续做下去。”

**个人:**沃伦和妻子金(Kim)有一个两岁的儿子本杰明(Benjamin)。

点击查看原文:Silver Spurs: The Original Team

Silver Spurs: The Original Team

The Lowdown: Warren, 51, played 107 games for the Spurs during the 1973-74 and '74-75 seasons and averaged 4.6 points. He was traded Sept. 8, 1975 to the New York Nets along with Rich Jones, Chuck Terry and Kim Hughes for Billy Paultz.

Where is he now? Warren is a lay minister for the Brothers and Sisters in Christ (BASIC) Training religious organization in his hometown of Hardin, Ky.

History after the Spurs: Warren finished his career with the San Diego Sails when the ABA folded and merged four of its teams into the NBA in 1976. He had spent eight years in the ABA.

“The Boston Celtics called me and wanted me to play guard so they could move John Havlicek to forward,” Warren said. “But while I was traveling to Boston, the Celtics decided to go with Steve Kuberski. They called me again the next summer, but it was too late. My body had too many miles on it.”

Warren originally signed with the L.A. Stars for $25,000, and his salary peaked at $50,000 during his career.

“I used that money to buy my hog farm in Hardin, and that’s where I went after basketball,” Warren said. “We raised as many as 300 hogs. I sold them off and gave up that life about five years ago when my father died. Since then, I’ve been concentrating just on the ministry.”

Warren built his own log house on the farm, and now the land includes a retreat center and dormitories housing 60 people.

Warren also was honorary mayor of Hardin. “The people of the town (current population about 500) were impressed that a professional athlete came from there. During one of my interviews I mentioned, kiddingly, that I’d like to be mayor of Hardin someday. So when I returned home, they made me honorary.”

Memory as a Spur: "The fans and the players. I remember Dancing Harry and my teammates, Coby Dietrick, George Karl, GG (George Gervin), all of them, really. I was going through a tough time then, a divorce, and they all helped me through it.

“Most important, a man named Larry Heppes and his wife, Mary, kind of took me in and loved on me and taught me about the Lord, and I wanted to carry that on when I left basketball.”

Personal: Warren and wife Kim have a 2-year-old son, Benjamin.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

1998-01-26, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队在薪资特例上收到坏消息 NBA 规则要求球队必须尽快使用史密斯的薪资空间

马刺队在周六晚上客场以 25 分之差输给了死敌休斯顿火箭队,这让他们感到震惊。在休斯顿的康柏中心,火箭队以 112-87 的比分大胜,让所有身穿银黑球衣的人都感到沮丧。

许多人并不知道,这是马刺队在短短几天内遭受的第二个打击,而且这甚至不是最痛苦的。

在今天晚上 7:30 与火箭队在阿拉莫穹顶进行重赛的前夕,马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在周日证实,球队在与联盟的争论中败下阵来,这可能让球队失去了今年夏天签下一名优质球员的机会。

尽管马刺队的律师极力辩护,但 NBA 仍然表示,球队将只有到本周末才能使用为最近被裁掉的球员查尔斯·史密斯(Charles Smith)提供的薪资帽特例。

NBA 拒绝了马刺队的论点,认为球队应该获得大约 190 万美元的薪资空间,并将其使用到 10 月 1 日,这给球队带来了比任何一场比赛失利都更大的负面影响。

“我们非常失望,因为我们没有办法在整个夏天使用这个特例,”波波维奇说。“我认为我们有充分的理由。但联盟并不认同。”

波波维奇说,NBA 在 12 月 16 日对史密斯的检查中确定,他的膝伤——一种可能危及职业生涯的骨关节炎——严重到足以获得薪资帽特例。

联盟和马刺队之间争论的焦点在于伤病发生的时间。一位联盟医生表示,伤病发生在 12 月 1 日之前的不确定时间。

如果马刺队能说服 NBA,证明伤病发生在 12 月 1 日之后,他们似乎就可以获得时间,直到 10 月 1 日才能用这笔钱签下另一名球员。但联盟作出了相反的裁决,从检查的时间开始计时 45 天。

波波维奇承认,由于缺乏优质的自由球员,这个特例现在“几乎毫无意义”,他说提出上诉是徒劳的。

“上个月联盟告诉我们他们的发现时,我们说,‘让我们谈谈这个,’”波波维奇说。“我们说我们认为我们应该把这个(特例)放到夏天。但最重要的是,上周末快结束的时候,最后的结果出来了。联盟说,他们认为这场伤病发生在 12 月 1 日之前……再悲伤(任何更长时间)都没有用。”

马刺队在 1 月 6 日放弃了史密斯。他的薪水将继续计入马刺队的薪资帽,直到 1998-99 赛季结束后。据报道,纽约尼克斯队将承担史密斯未来两个赛季剩余的 850 万美元的大部分薪水。

波波维奇拒绝评论此裁决可能会如何影响马刺队签下停赛的球员拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔(Latrell Sprewell)以提升球队本赛季季后赛希望的可能性。

但是,由于斯普雷维尔的案件将在周二提交给仲裁员,他现在看来不太可能加盟。

联盟观察人士猜测,这位备受争议的前金州勇士队后卫有可能被允许上场比赛,但此事可能至少需要两周才能解决。

在那之后,马刺队将处于经济劣势,只能提供最低工资。与此同时,马刺队教练将继续寻找稳定外线投篮的球员。

对阵火箭队时,马刺队三分球 5 投 1 中。火箭队则三分球 14 投 7 中。马刺队的防守和篮板球也出现失误,导致比赛在第三节后失控。

波波维奇说,他不知道这么快再次与火箭队交手是好事还是坏事。

“我不考虑那些神秘的事情,”他说。“我把这留给你们(媒体)。”

波波维奇说,马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的左肩拉伤不是什么大问题。罗宾逊在第二节封盖休斯顿队球员罗德里克·罗兹(Rodrick Rhodes)时加重了伤势。

罗宾逊在球场上痛苦地翻滚了几秒钟,被换下,但几分钟后又回来了。他打了 34 分钟,得到 16 分和 6 个篮板。

“大卫的肩膀不会好,因为他总是被扭到,”波波维奇说。“他只是在封盖时很不幸,因为他的肩膀被拉伤了。这是一个令人讨厌的问题。这种不确定性会让你(作为教练)感到困扰,但它并不是什么大问题。”

在第一节,州际 10 号公路的激烈竞争显而易见,裁判对休斯顿队主教练鲁迪·汤姆贾诺维奇(Rudy Tomjanovich)吹罚了技术犯规,然后又将火箭队中锋凯文·威利斯(Kevin Willis)和波波维奇罚下。

波波维奇说,他的第一个技术犯规是无端的。他说,他只是指出,他认为一名休斯顿队球员试图传出一个不平衡的球,结果绊倒了马刺队后卫埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson),后者被判犯规。

点击查看原文:Spurs get bad news on salary exception NBA rules team must use Smith slot soon

Spurs get bad news on salary exception NBA rules team must use Smith slot soon

The Spurs absorbed a shock to their system when they lost a road game by 25 points to the archrival Houston Rockets on Saturday night. A 112-87 blowout at Houston’s Compaq Center plunged everyone wearing silver and black into a foul mood.

Unknown to many, it was the second body blow for the Spurs in a matter of days - and not even the most painful.

On the eve of tonight’s 7:30 rematch with the Rockets at the Alamodome, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich confirmed Sunday that the team lost an argument with the league that probably cost it a chance to sign a quality player this summer.

The NBA, despite pleas from Spurs lawyers, said the team will have only until the end of this week to use a salary-cap exception for recently released forward Charles Smith.

In a setback with greater ramifications than any single-game loss, the NBA turned down the Spurs’ contention that they should have been granted the cap space - roughly $1.9 million - through Oct. 1.

“It’s very disappointing we don’t have the exception to use through the summer,” Popovich said. “I feel we had a strong case for that. But the league felt differently.”

Popovich said the NBA determined in a Dec. 16 examination of Smith that his knee injury - a career-threatening case of osteoarthritis - was serious enough to warrant a cap exception.

The point of contention between the league and the Spurs centered around when the injury occurred. A league doctor said it occurred at an unspecified time before Dec. 1.

If the Spurs could have convinced the NBA that it happened after Dec. 1, they apparently would have been given until Oct. 1 to sign another player with the money. But the league ruled otherwise, starting the 45-day clock from the point of the examination.

Admitting that the exception is now “nearly meaningless” because of the lack of quality free agents, Popovich said it would be futile to file an appeal.

“When the league told us (last month) what they found, we said, ‘Let’s talk about this,’” Popovich said. “We said we thought we should get this (exception) into the summer. But the bottom line is, near the end of last week, the final word came down. The league said it felt that this injury took place before Dec. 1 … Grieving it (any longer) doesn’t do any good.”

The Spurs waived Smith on Jan. 6. His salary will remain on the Spurs’ cap until after the 1998-99 season. Reportedly, the New York Knicks are responsible for most of the remaining $8.5 million owed to Smith over the next two seasons.

Popovich declined comment on how the ruling might affect the Spurs’ chances of signing suspended guard Latrell Sprewell to bolster the team’s playoff hopes this season.

But, with Sprewell’s case scheduled to go before an arbitrator Tuesday, it now seems unlikely.

League observers are speculating that there is a chance the controversial former Golden State Warriors guard could be cleared to play, but that it likely will take two weeks at least for the matter to be resolved.

After that, the Spurs would be at an economic disadvantage of having only minimum salary to offer. In the meantime, Spurs coaches will continue to search for consistent perimeter shooting.

Against the Rockets, the Spurs hit only 1 of 5 from three-point territory. The Rockets, in turn, made 7 of 14 from long distance. The Spurs’ defense and rebounding also faltered, which resulted in a game that got out of hand after three quarters.

Popovich said he didn’t know whether playing the Rockets again so soon would be positive or not.

“I don’t think about that mystical stuff,” he said. “I leave that to you guys (in the media).”

Popovich said Spurs center David Robinson’s strained left shoulder is not a major concern. Robinson aggravated it when he blocked a shot by Houston’s Rodrick Rhodes in the second half.

Robinson writhed in pain on the floor for a few seconds and was taken out of the game, but he returned a few minutes later. He finished with 16 points and six rebounds in 34 minutes.

“David’s shoulder is not going to heal because he keeps getting it tweaked,” Popovich said. “He was just unlucky on that block because he got it stretched back. It’s a nagging thing. The uncertainty bothers you (as a coach), but it’s not really a major concern.”

The intensity of the Interstate-10 rivalry was evident in the first half when referees hit Houston coach Rudy Tomjanovich with a technical foul, then followed with ejections of Rockets center Kevin Willis and Popovich.

Popovich said his first technical foul was uncalled for. He said he simply pointed out that he thought a Houston player tried to make an off-balance pass and tripped over Spurs guard Avery Johnson, who was called for the personal foul.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News