马刺1997-98赛季实录（680+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By Jerry Briggs

太可惜马刺不在东部打球

如果马刺队继续前进，在季后赛第一轮获得主场优势，他们的球迷可以向东部联盟的球队发送感谢信。

马刺队在本赛季对阵东部球队取得了23胜7负的战绩，他们在周四晚上在阿拉莫穹顶以103-89战胜了迈阿密热火队。

这与他们在周六晚上对阵金州勇士队的主场比赛前对阵西部球队的28胜16负战绩形成了鲜明的对比。

不幸的是，马刺队无法申请加入东部季后赛的行列。

他们被困在西部，在那里他们很可能在第一轮遇到菲尼克斯太阳队。太阳队在本赛季对阵马刺队的比赛中以3-1获胜。

在常规赛最后七场比赛开始前，马刺队对阵已经获得西部季后赛资格的球队的战绩为9胜14负。

相反，他们在对阵东部前十名的球队中取得了14胜6负的战绩。他们在对阵迈阿密、印第安纳、克利夫兰、纽约和奥兰多的比赛中取得了2-0的系列赛胜利。

“我们的风格适合东部，”马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说。“我们喜欢进入半场比赛，然后慢慢磨。”

在对阵金州勇士队的比赛开始前，马刺队的场均得分排名联盟倒数第十，场均得分不到93分。他们凭借联盟中最好的防守取得了50胜以上的赛季，将对手的得分限制在不到89分。

这种风格并不总是奏效，比如对阵西雅图超音速队、犹他爵士队、洛杉矶湖人队或太阳队——所有这些都是来自西部的平衡性强的、高得分的球队。对阵这四支球队，马刺队的战绩为2胜10负。

“在西部，球队经常进行单打，一对一。比如太阳队的投篮命中率很高，他们可以用这种方式击败你，”罗宾逊说。“在东部，如果你在内线封锁了对手，你就有很大机会获胜。”

球迷们有理由感到不安，因为他们会质疑为什么他们的球队在对阵东部球队时表现出色，因为这会让人质疑这支球队在西部能够走多远。

新秀蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)最初耸耸肩，说他不知道为什么东部球队是如此容易的对手，而西部对马刺队来说却像丛林一样。

当然，他是在掩饰。

“我知道西部有许多更优秀的球队，”邓肯说。

- 开球！如果马刺队在第一轮对阵菲尼克斯队的比赛中获得主场优势，他们在季后赛的战斗口号很有可能是“开球！”

尼克斯后卫约翰·斯塔克斯(John Starks)和前锋拉里·约翰逊(Larry Johnson)在周二对阵马刺队的比赛之前，在他们的早晨热身训练和晚上比赛之间，利用纽约美丽的阳光天气打了一场高尔夫球。

不出所料，斯塔克斯和约翰逊帮助了马刺队。斯塔克斯在30分钟内一分未得。约翰逊得到4分和3个篮板。尼克斯队在篮球比赛中出现三杆高尔夫球，最终以78-95落败。

- 邓肯的决定：邓肯说，如果他收到邀请，他将参加今年夏天在希腊举行的国际篮联世界锦标赛。正如去年秋季这里预测的那样，邓肯是获得最后两个名单名额的有力竞争者。

- 暂停MVP的讨论：邓肯正在享受着本十年来最出色的新秀赛季之一。但说他应该获得联盟最有价值球员奖杯可能有点牵强，正如一些人所说。

迈克尔·乔丹(公牛队)、卡尔·马龙(爵士队)以及加里·佩顿和文·贝克(超音速队)都应该被视为有力竞争者，因为他们是联盟战绩最好的球队中最好的球员。

事实上，如果公牛队最终获得联盟最佳战绩，那么任何人都应该毫无争议地承认乔丹再次获得该奖项。

- 虚惊一场：圣安东尼奥警察局的一名官员周四晚上证实，在阿拉莫穹顶地板层的楼梯间门上发现的“可疑装置”并非爆炸物。

斯蒂夫·鲍姆(Steve Baum)警长说，官员们发现了一个“用胶带缠住的纸团”，上面连接着一个手表面。“事实证明它什么都不是，”鲍姆说。

一名引导员最初发现了这个装置，它被固定在距马刺队更衣室约100英尺的门口。发现装置的时间大约是在马刺队战胜热火队后30分钟。

安保人员立即疏散了该区域的球员、媒体和穹顶工作人员。

在这次惊吓事件之后，一名马刺队球员说需要加强安保。但罗宾逊说，除非官员们得知有人在比赛中蓄意伤害人们的阴谋，否则他认为没有必要加强安保。

点击查看原文：Too bad Spurs don't play in the East

Too bad Spurs don’t play in the East

If the Spurs march onward to claim home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, their fans can send thank you notes to teams in the Eastern Conference.

The Spurs completed a 23-7 record against the East this season when they plundered the Miami Heat 103-89 Thursday night at the Alamodome.

It’s an interesting contrast to their 28-16 record against teams from the West going into Saturday night’s home game against the Golden State Warriors.

Unfortunately for the Spurs, they can’t apply for entry into the East’s playoff bracket.

They are stuck in the West, where they most likely will meet the Phoenix Suns in the first round. The Suns won the season series against the Spurs 3-1.

Going into the last seven games of the regular season, the Spurs are a combined 9-14 against teams that have qualified for the West’s postseason party.

Conversely, they finished 14-6 against the top 10 teams in the East. They swept to 2-0 series victories against Miami, Indiana, Cleveland, New York and Orlando.

“Our style is suited to the East,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “We like to get into a half-court game and grind it out.”

Going into the Golden State game, the Spurs ranked in the bottom 10 in the NBA in scoring, averaging just less than 93 points a game. They pulled off a 50-plus win season with one of the league’s best defenses, holding teams to a fraction less than 89 points.

It’s a style that hasn’t always worked out against the Seattle SuperSonics, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Lakers or Suns - all of them well-balanced, high-scoring teams from the West. Against those four teams, the Spurs are a combined 2-10.

“In the West, teams isolate a lot and play one-on-one. For instance, Phoenix shoots it so well, they can beat you like that,” Robinson said. “In the East, if you shut teams down inside, you’ve got a good chance to win.”

Fans have a right to feel uneasy with questions about why their team is so much better against the East because it raises the issue of how far the ball club can expect to go in the West.

Rookie Tim Duncan initially shrugged and said he had no idea why the East teams have been such easy prey, while the West has been such a jungle for the Spurs.

Naturally, he was being coy.

“I do know there are a lot better teams in the West,” Duncan said.

- Fore! If the Spurs win the home- court edge in a first-round series against Phoenix, their battle cry going into the playoffs could very well be, “Fore!”

Knicks guard John Starks and forward Larry Johnson took advantage of beautiful weather in New York by playing a round of golf in between their morning shootaround and their evening game Tuesday against the Spurs.

Not surprisingly, Starks and Johnson aided the Spurs’ cause. Starks went scoreless in 30 minutes. Johnson produced four points and three rebounds. The Knicks triple-bogeyed the basketball game, falling 95-78.

- Duncan’s decision: Duncan said he will accept an invitation to play in this summer’s FIBA World Championships in Greece if he gets it. As predicted here last fall, Duncan is a front-runner to receive one of the final two roster spots.

- Hold the MVP talk: Duncan is enjoying one of the best rookie seasons of any player this decade. But it may be a stretch to say he deserves the league’s Most Valuable Player trophy, as some have suggested.

Michael Jordan (Bulls), Karl Malone (Jazz), and Gary Payton and Vin Baker (SuperSonics) should all be considered the front- runners because they are the best players on the teams with the best records in the league.

As a matter of fact, if the Bulls finish with the best record, there should be no argument from anyone that Jordan deserves it one more time.

- A false alarm: A San Antonio Police Department official confirmed Thursday night that the “suspicious device” found attached to a stairwell door on the floor level of the Alamodome was not an explosive.

Capt. Steve Baum said officials found “a wad of masking tape,” with a watch face attached to it. “It turned out to be nothing,” Baum said.

An usher initially found the device, which was fastened to the door about 100 feet from the Spurs’ dressing room. The discovery came about 30 minutes after the Spurs defeated the Heat.

Security immediately cleared the area of players, media and dome personnel.

In the wake of the scare, one Spurs player said beefed-up security was needed. But Robinson said he didn’t think heightened security was necessary unless officials learn of an organized plot to harm people at the games.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By Glenn Rogers

金州勇士队几乎给马刺队制造了意外

这些勇士队到底怎么回事？

他们今年在客场已经赢了六场比赛，总共赢了 16 场。他们是联盟中最差的球队之一，而他们应该尽力让自己降到乐透区的更低位置。

对于取得 52 场胜利的马刺队来说，他们本应该是一顿季后赛前的开胃菜。

但周六晚上，勇士队和马刺队在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆加时鏖战。

马刺队很幸运能来到这里。在常规时间比赛结束时，埃里克·丹皮尔在空位跳投不中。蒙蒂·威廉姆斯和文尼·德尔·内格罗在之前马刺队控球时投篮不中。

金州勇士队已经克服了 12 分的劣势。它在落后 22-2 的情况下挺了过来。尽管大卫·罗宾逊、蒂姆·邓肯和威尔·珀杜重复封盖、恐吓和制造一般的障碍，勇士队依然屹立不倒。

整晚都不好看。两支球队在常规时间都没能拿下超过 76 分。罗宾逊在 13 次投篮中只得到了 19 分。邓肯得到了 16 分和 8 次失误。

比赛在加时赛中并没有好转多少。马刺队命中了一记投篮，那是一个突破反篮上篮。这个动作让勇士队教练 P.J. 卡莱西莫感到沮丧。

他说：“整个晚上我们一直在防守上得到帮助。这一次没有人移动过去。那让比赛变成了两球定胜负。”

勇士队投中了一记投篮，那是多内尔·马歇尔在快攻中上篮。其他得分都来自罚球线。

那么，为什么勇士队会对马刺队打得如此艰难呢？

卡莱西莫说：“这可能只是他们在比赛中保持不输而不是去赢罢了。他们赢球的压力很大。他们预计会击败我们。他们接下来要与犹他爵士队、西雅图超音速队和洛杉矶湖人队比赛。

“我们有一些身高，在比赛中可以发挥长度优势。但蒂姆和大卫是伟大的球员。我们几乎整晚都在冲击他们，但他们封盖了很多（罗宾逊有七次封盖）。

“我们本可以赢得这场比赛，但我们错失了几个关键的罚球。我们在常规赛中投中了一些不必要的早早的三分球。”

第三节对勇士队来说并不友好。他们在比分上以 16 比 27 落后，在篮板上以 5 比 11 落后。他们只命中了 22 投 8 中。

但马刺队几乎让比赛在第四节中溜走，这通常是争冠球队的时刻。勇士队以 24-11 的比分领先马刺队。马刺队投篮命中率为 33%，而金州勇士队的命中率为 43%。

勇士队后卫杰拉德·马德金斯说：“我们知道他们是一支伟大的球队，我们必须全力以赴。我们不想在这里丢脸。”

没有任何尴尬。

金州勇士队一开始就摆出一副好斗的架势，将优势扩大到 22-10。吉姆·杰克逊状态火热——他得到了 11 分，让德尔·内格罗苦不堪言。尽管丹皮尔很快就吃到了两次犯规，但他在内线还是造成了麻烦。

但马刺队看起来像是用一波 22-2 的攻击击退了勇士队，将金州勇士队的比分压到了 26-36。

这发生在邓肯似乎摆脱了低迷状态，并在克拉伦斯·韦瑟斯庞身上连续得分之后。德尔·内格罗已经火热的状态，命中了五次投篮，得到 10 分。

但马刺队又回到了梦游模式，而勇士队再次接近。他们在半场以 36-38 落后，在罗宾逊坐下来休息，马格西·博格斯在半场结束时命中一个 25 英尺的三分球后，他们扳平了圣安东尼奥队的领先优势。

韦瑟斯庞说：“他们拼尽全力，当你是一支伟大的球队，当你主场作战时，你就应该这样做。”

马刺队教练格雷格·波波维奇说：“没有糟糕的胜利。”

从数学上来说，这足够正确。

点击查看原文：Golden State nearly pulled surprise on Spurs

Golden State nearly pulled surprise on Spurs

What is it about these Warriors?

They’ve won six games on the road this year and 16 total. They are one of the worst teams in the league and should be trying to bust down deeper into the lottery.

They should be a pre-playoff snack for the 52-win Spurs.

Instead, there were the Warriors and Spurs battering about in overtime Saturday night at the Alamodome.

The Spurs were lucky to be there. Erick Dampier missed an open jumper that would have ended the game as time ran out in regulation. Monty Williams and Vinny Del Negro had missed shots on the previous Spurs possession.

Golden State had overcome 12- point deficits. It had survived a 22- 2 run. It still was standing despite repeated blocks, intimidations and general obstructions thrown up by David Robinson, Tim Duncan and Will Perdue.

It hadn’t been pretty all evening. Neither team had been able to muster more than 76 points in regulation. Robinson had only 19 points on 13 shots. Duncan had 16 points and eight turnovers.

It didn’t improve much in overtime. The Spurs hit one field goal, a driving reverse layup. That move frustrated Warriors coach P.J. Carlesimo.

“We had been given help (on defense) all night,” he said. “That time nobody moved over. That turned it into a two-possession game.”

The Warriors put down one field goal, a fast-break layup by Donyell Marshall. The rest of the scoring came from the free-throw line.

So why did the Warriors play the Spurs so tough?

“It could be just a matter of their playing this one not to lose rather than win,” Carlesimo said. "There’s a lot of pressure on them to win. They’re expected to beat us. They have games against Utah, Seattle and the Lakers coming up.

"We’ve got some height, the length to play against them. But Tim and David are great players. We drove at them for most of the night, but they blocked a lot (Robinson had seven rejections).

“We could have won this game, but we missed a couple of critical free throws. We took some unnecessary early three-point shots (in regulation).”

The third quarter wasn’t kind to the Warriors. They were outscored 27-16 and outrebounded 11-5. They hit just 8 of 22 shots.

But the Spurs almost let the game get away in the fourth quarter, usually the time for contending teams. The Warriors outscored the Spurs 24-11. The Spurs put down 33 percent of their shots, Golden State 43 percent.

“We know they are a great team, and we had to come in playing hard,” Warriors guard Gerald Madkins said. “We didn’t want to get embarrassed here.”

There was no embarrassment.

Golden State started off in a belligerent stance, pulling out to a 22- 10 lead. Jim Jackson was hot - he had 11 points, bedeviling Del Negro. Dampier caused inside problems despite picking up two quick fouls.

But the Spurs looked as if they dropped the hammer with a 22-2 run that pushed Golden State down 36-26.

This came after Duncan seemed to shake off the doldrums and scored consecutive baskets over Clarence Weatherspoon. Del Negro already had been hot, hitting five shots for 10 points.

But the Spurs lapsed back into a sleepwalking mode, and the Warriors closed again. They were down 38-36 at the half, having wiped out the San Antonio lead after Robinson took a seat and Muggsy Bogues ended the half with a 25-foot three- pointer.

“They gutted this one out and that’s what you’re supposed to do when you’re a great team and you’re at home,” Weatherspoon said.

Said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich: “There are no bad wins.”

True enough, mathematically speaking.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By Dan Cook

希尔般快乐，只是另一位圣安东尼奥居民

鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)已经离开篮球教练岗位一年三个月零二十四天了，这是他自21岁成为博林格林大学助理教练以来最长时间远离这个职业。

当然，你记得希尔。他仍然是马刺队历史上最成功的球队主教练，他是在1996年圣诞节前被解雇的。

鲍勃现在49岁了，他很高兴仍然住在圣安东尼奥，而且似乎与世界和平相处。命运使然，希尔在每周两轮的高尔夫球中找到了放松，也许这是人类发明的最令人沮丧的游戏。

有些人认为，苏格兰人在发明高尔夫球后不久就发明了苏格兰威士忌，仅仅是为了平息高尔夫球手的破碎的神经。

无论如何，在我的要求下，希尔将开始的开球时间推迟了一个小时，以便我们能聊一聊。

我无意重新打开旧的伤疤，但我确实从一个显而易见的问题开始我们的谈话，这个问题需要一个答案。

“你对1996年12月10日的事情还感到有点苦涩吗？”

希尔犹豫了一下。不，他不必被提醒那是他被解雇为马刺队主教练的日期。他只是停顿了一下，寻找合适的答案。

“苦涩？不。我会说更多的是失望，因为我认为我们为未来打下了坚实的基础。”

然后他补充说：“但回顾当时的情况，当我回忆起密尔沃基和新泽西的官员要求（格雷格）波波维奇允许他们与我谈论工作，而他拒绝了，即使我一直认为，即使在那时，他也想取代我并自己担任教练职位时，这仍然让我有点困扰。后来，在那些工作被填补后，他告诉我，如果下次有人打电话，他会允许他们。”

“你与马刺队的三年合同已经结束好几个月了。你靠你的电视工作赚的钱够你在圣安东尼奥留下来，呃，每周打高尔夫吗？”

“哦，是的，我为其他几支NBA球队做了一些咨询工作，而且我从NBA全明星赛一直到季后赛，为ESPN-TV做周六的节目。今年，我为TSN（加拿大版的ESPN）做节目。但我们永远不会计划永远离开圣安东尼奥。这座城市是美国最不为人知的秘密，我们全家人都很喜欢这里。无论我在哪里工作，我们都投票决定永远在这里保留一栋房子。”

“你们投票了？”

鲍勃笑着回答：“在重大的问题上，我们家都是通过民主、自由选举来运作的。其他投票者是我的妻子帕姆，还有我们的三个儿子，卡梅伦(21岁)，克里斯(19岁)和凯西(14岁)。我们都投票决定继续住在圣安东尼奥，无论我在哪里工作，都保留一栋房子在这里。”

我向鲍勃解释说，凯蒂和我也是通过自由选举来做出决定。但她有两票，我只有一票。任何政治家都无法知道在一场又一场选举中以一票之差落败的痛苦。

转入一个更轻松的话题，我问：“你在高尔夫球中打多少杆？”

“哦，大约在79到82之间。前几天我打出了79杆。”

“你每周打两次？”

“嗯，是的。但大多数周，我还会在其他几天打很多练习球。”

“你见过或和波波维奇谈过吗？”

“没有。”

好吧，关于轻松的话题就说到这里。

“你觉得马刺队在季后赛会怎么样？你会为他们加油吗？”

“我认为他们会表现出色，我一定会为他们加油的。我仍然认为一些球员是我的好朋友。”

我们就这样告别了。他面临着前往多米尼昂的长途车程，参加他的开球时间。

点击查看原文：Hill happy as just another S.A. resident

Hill happy as just another S.A. resident

Bob Hill has now been out of basketball coaching one year, three months and 24 days, the longest he’s been away from the profession since he became an assistant at Bowling Green at age 21.

Come on, you remember Hill. He’s still the winningest head coach in Spurs’ history, the one who was canned just before Christmas '96.

Bob is now 49, happy to still be living in San Antonio, and seemingly at peace with the world. As fate would have it, Hill finds relaxation in two weekly rounds of golf, perhaps the most frustrating game ever devised by man.

Some believe that the Scots invented Scotch whisky shortly after they invented golf just to calm the shattered nerves of golfers.

At any rate, at my request, Hill pushed back a starting tee time one hour so we could chat.

It was not my intention to re- open an old can of worms, but I did start our chat with an obvious question that needed an answer.

“Are you still a little bitter about Dec. 10, 1996?”

Hill hesitated briefly. No, he didn’t need to be reminded that was when he was fired as the Spurs’ head coach. He paused only to search for the proper answer.

“Bitter? No. I would say more disappointed because I thought we had a great foundation laid for the future.”

Then he added, “But looking back at that situation, it still bothers me some when I recall how Milwaukee and New Jersey officials asked (Gregg) Popovich for permission to talk to me about a job and he refused, even though I’ll always believe that even then he wanted to replace me and take the coaching job himself. Later, after those jobs were filled, he told me that he would grant permission the next time someone called.”

“Your three-year contract with the Spurs ran out many months ago. Do you make enough with your TV chores to remain here and, er, ah, play golf every week?”

“Oh yes, I do some consulting for a few other NBA teams, and I worked from the NBA all-star break through the playoffs doing Saturday shows for ESPN-TV. This year I’m doing shows for TSN, (Canada’s) answer to ESPN. But we don’t ever plan to leave San Antonio for good. This city is the best-kept secret in America, and our whole family loves it here. We voted to always keep a house here no matter where I work.”

“You voted?”

Bob smiled and replied, “On major matters, our family operates on democratic, free elections. The other voters are Pam, my wife, and our three sons, Cameron (21), Chris (19) and Casey (14). We all voted to continue living in San Antonio and keep a house here no matter where I might wind up working.”

I explained to Bob that Katy and I also make our decisions through a free election. But she gets two votes and I get one. No politician can ever know the agony of losing so many elections by one vote.

Turning to a lighter topic, I asked, “What do you shoot in golf?”

“Oh, somewhere between 79 and 82. I had a 79 the other day.”

“And you play twice a week?”

“Well, yes. But I hit a lot of practice balls a couple of other days most weeks.”

“Do you ever see or talk with Popovich?”

“No.”

Well, so much for the lighter topic.

“How do you think the Spurs will do in the playoffs? Will you be rooting for them?”

“I think they’ll do well and I’ll certainly be pulling for them. I still consider some of the players good friends.”

We parted on that note. He faced a long drive to the Dominion for his tee time.

By Dan Cook, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-05, By Glenn Rogers

NBA 奖项颁给了…

颁奖时间悄然而至。

对于 NBA 来讲，马拉松式的赛季已接近尾声。球员们的腿在整个赛季都浸泡在冰水中，现在需要解冻并热身，为季后赛的疯狂冲刺做好准备。

关于复赛某些顶级荣誉的名称在不断蔓延，当地人都在热议圣安东尼奥马刺队的主教练格雷格·波波维奇将成为年度最佳教练。但当地人一直都在谈论马刺队主教练的合法性，如果不是非选择此人的必要性，那么也是为了封为骑士。

记住，拉里·布朗在他的第二年就必须赢得比赛。杰里·塔卡尼安卸任后，约翰·卢卡斯备受赞誉。鲍勃·希尔的球队创造了历史性的胜利记录，因此他成为必然的选择。

当然，当这些人陷入困境时，他们会立即失去支持，但这正是过度吹捧的后果。

一些人会坚持认为，今年胜利的逆转足以让波波维奇登上顶峰，尽管肖恩·艾利奥特、查克·帕森和艾弗里·约翰逊都受伤了，但他还是取得了胜利。

我从未对逆转抱有过多的期望。

布朗的支持者指出了他在第二年的逆转，但他们忘记了球队并没有真正地扭转局面。在第二赛季中引入的大卫·罗宾逊、艾利奥特、特里·卡明斯、莫里斯·奇克斯/罗德·斯特里克兰这四名首发球员开创了突然胜利的新局面。

今年呢？看看上赛季缺席、现在成为关键球员的人是谁。啊，就是罗宾逊。他的搭档蒂姆·邓肯也不容忽视。同样，不要忘记约翰逊和文尼·德尔内格罗，他们是稳健的球员，他们与罗宾逊的比赛融为一体，并且学到了邓肯的比赛风格。

这里并不是对波波维奇的批评。他做得很好。球员们似乎很支持他，他只需要抑制一下自己的情绪，并继续提高自己的执教能力。

但今年我们会寻找其他最佳教练。

帕特·莱利让迈阿密热火队的球员们几乎在场上沸腾起来，并且他有很多关键球员都受伤了。戴夫·考恩斯将他的夏洛特黄蜂队推到了比预期更高的水平，并且将其集体心态塑造成一种激烈的竞争力。尽管安东尼·梅森、格伦·莱斯、弗拉德·迪瓦茨不断地抱怨，以及弗拉德·迪瓦茨倾向于躺在地上。

没人指望拉里·伯德能把步行者队带到目前的高度。大多数人都预测它会经历一个低于标准的赛季。公牛队的菲尔·杰克逊是一位大师，但很难忽视迈克尔·乔丹的压倒性存在感。话虽如此，当你试图弄清楚何时将成功归功于教练或他的球员时，你会头疼。

犹他爵士队的杰里·斯隆必须在选民的心目中占据首位。西雅图超音速队的乔治·卡尔在西北赛区一直默默无闻，尽管他似乎无休止地获得了常规赛胜利。

那么我们应该选择谁呢？我认为伯德今年将获得此奖项。我喜欢考恩斯所做的一切，但我不得不向莱利致敬并为他投票，如果我不改变主意并选择斯隆的话。

本赛季的 MVP 投票范围缩小到了——令人惊讶——乔丹和卡尔·马龙。

和往常一样，可以为其他人提出论据。如果没有加里·佩顿，超音速队将如何？没有沙奎尔·奥尼尔，湖人队会怎样？如果没有罗宾逊，圣安东尼奥马刺队会怎样，即使去年在彩票中圣安东尼奥没有那么幸运，罗宾逊可能原本还会承担更多的得分和防守任务？

乔丹尽管今年看起来安静了一些，但他的球队仍然在东部联盟的顶端。马龙，让我们面对现实吧，他的爵士队意外地取得了西部联盟的最佳记录，并有望获得 NBA 最佳记录。

马龙一直都非常坚定。他被驱使着回到对抗公牛队和乔丹的比赛中去，也许是他对去年 NBA 总决赛中自己不像马龙的表现感到不满。

我认为今年马龙不会争取足够的选票，但我的复选标记会放在他的名字旁边。

那么年度最佳新秀呢？确实就是这样。

让我们看看，东海岸的那个家伙，新泽西网队的基思·范霍恩，在大西洋沿岸地区掀起了一点波澜。

还有多伦多猛龙队的昌西·比卢普斯，今年已经被交易走了，以及在波士顿队表现出色的罗恩·默瑟。布雷文·奈特让克利夫兰球迷们重新燃起了兴趣。

好吧，所有这些人都是本赛季遥遥领先的垫底者。只要篮网队的杰森·威廉姆斯不投票，那么唯一应该一致通过的奖项就应该颁发给真正的奇才邓肯。

想到他早些时候说，他至少想表现得足够出色，以进入全明星新秀阵容。

点击查看原文：And the NBA honors go to ...

And the NBA honors go to …

Award time has crept up on us.

The NBA marathon’s finish line is just around the corner. The players’ legs, packed in ice throughout the season, will have to be thawed and warmed for the mad sprint through the playoffs.

The names for some of the top regular-season honors are being bandied about and, locally, we’re hearing a lot of talk about Gregg Popovich for coach of the year. But then, locally, we always hear talk about a Spurs coach’s legitimacy, if not outright necessity, for this particular knighting.

Remember, Larry Brown just had to win in his second year. John Lucas was touted after he took over for Jerry Tarkanian. Bob Hill was a must after his franchise- record pile of victories.

Those fellows, of course, fell into immediate disfavor when they fell into hard times, but that’s the curse attached to over-priming the pump.

Some will insist that the turnaround in victories this year should be enough to catapult Popovich to the top, wins grabbed despite injuries to Sean Elliott, Chuck Person and Avery Johnson.

I’ve never been much for turnarounds.

Brown’s followers pointed to his turnaround in his second year, but they forgot to note that his team didn’t really turn around. Four new starters in his second season - David Robinson, Elliott, Terry Cummings and Maurice Cheeks/Rod Strickland - created the sudden winning atmosphere.

This year? Take a look at who is on the front line who was absent last season. Ah, that fellow Robinson. Take note, too, of his compadre, Tim Duncan. Don’t forget, either, the presence of Johnson and Vinny Del Negro, solid players who have meshed with Robinson’s game and learned Duncan’s.

No smack at Popovich here. He’s done a fine job. The players seem to be behind him, and he probably just has to curb his emotions a bit and continue to grow in coaching ministrations.

But we’ll look elsewhere this year for top coach.

Pat Riley has that Miami crew all but boiling on the floor, and he’s had more than his share of injuries to key players. Dave Cowens has pushed his Charlotte team to higher-than-anticipated levels and molded its collective mentality into a fierce competitiveness. This despite constant carping from Anthony Mason and Glen Rice, and Vlade Divac’s penchant for taking forearm shivers lying down.

No one expected Larry Bird to take the Pacers to their present height. Most predicted a subpar season. The Bulls’ Phil Jackson is a guru, but it’s just so tough to overlook the overpowering presence of Michael Jordan. Then again, you’ll get a headache trying to figure out just when success should be attributed to a coach or to his players.

Utah’s Jerry Sloan has to be there right at the forefront of voters’ minds. Seattle’s George Karl goes perenially unsung in the Northwest, despite his seemingly never-ending streams of regular- season victories.

So who do we go with? I think Bird is going to capture the award this year. I like what Cowens has done, but I’m going to have to tip my hat and vote for Riley, if I don’t change my mind and go with Sloan.

The MVP balloting this season has narrowed to - surprise - Jordan and Karl Malone.

As always, arguments can be made for others. Where would the SuperSonics be without Gary Payton? The Lakers minus Shaquille O’Neal? The Spurs without Robinson, who probably would have assumed still more scoring and defensive duties if San Antonio hadn’t been so lucky in last year’s lottery?

Jordan, albeit seemingly a little more quiet this year, has his team where it always is - on top of the Eastern Conference. Malone, let’s face it, has his Jazz unexpectedly challenging for the best record in the West with an outside shot at the best league record.

Malone has been all but relentless on course. He is driven to get back into a match against the Bulls and Jordan, upset, perhaps, by his not-so-Malone-like showing in last year’s NBA Finals.

I don’t think Malone will swing enough votes this year, but my check mark will be beside his name.

How about rookie of the year? How about it, indeed.

Let’s see, that guy on the East Coast, New Jersey’s Keith Van Horn, has made a bit of a splash in the Atlantic Ocean area.

There’s Toronto’s Chauncey Billups, already traded this year, and Ron Mercer, hanging in there in Boston. Brevin Knight has helped rekindle some interest in Cleveland.

OK, all are distant also-rans this season. The one award that should be unanimous, as long as the Nets’ Jayson Williams isn’t voting, goes to the true wunderkind, Duncan.

And to think he said earlier that he at least wanted to play well enough to make the all-rookie team.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-06, By Jerry Briggs

谦逊的马刺队准备限制开拓者队

马刺队将带着五连胜的战绩以及最近的一堂谦逊课，在今晚 7:30 对阵波特兰开拓者队的比赛中亮相阿拉莫穹顶体育馆。

周六晚上，在主场作战的马刺队似乎无法维持对比赛的专注度和能量水平，他们对阵乐透球队金州勇士队表现不佳。

他们在整个晚上都难以应对金州勇士队，虽然在第四节初段建立了 14 分的领先优势，但在常规赛结束时，他们却让勇士队反超比分，并最终在加时赛中以 88-80 的比分险胜。

“我们领先了两位数，但他们投进了一些好球，”罗宾逊说，“与此同时，我们的防守也彻底崩溃了。我们在禁区被对手贴身防守，他们在我们头上灌篮。这不是我们想要的防守。”

马刺队逃脱了一场可能令人尴尬的失利，当时金州勇士队的中锋埃里克·丹皮尔在常规赛结束时的 buzzer-beater 16 英尺中投失手。

罗宾逊在加时赛中独得 5 分，最终以全场最高的 24 分带领排名第四的马刺队，继续保持着在西部联盟积分榜上领先第五名的菲尼克斯太阳队 2.5 场的优势。

“我认为我们在加时赛中重新找回了冷静，”罗宾逊说，“我们很好地进攻了篮筐。”

马刺队 (52-23) 在最近的八场比赛中赢下了七场。他们需要比太阳队 (49-25) 多赢一场比赛，才能在首轮季后赛中确保主场优势。

周六晚上，菲尼克斯太阳队以 90-83 的比分战胜了排名第六的开拓者队 (41-33)。

全美球迷可能认为主场优势是马刺队和太阳队系列赛的关键因素。但伤病也会在其中扮演重要的角色。马刺队需要他们的主力球员保持健康，而罗宾逊——他们最大的武器——似乎正在恢复状态。

罗宾逊在过去的一个月中一直受到膝盖伤势的困扰，但他在对阵纽约、迈阿密和金州勇士队的连续比赛中场均得到 23 分、13.7 个篮板和 3.8 个盖帽。

马刺队的控球后卫艾弗里·约翰逊在因右髋屈肌拉伤缺席四场比赛后，正慢慢恢复体能。他在对阵金州勇士队的比赛中以有限的出场时间复出，预计将在对阵开拓者队的比赛中获得更多上场时间。

“我感觉比对阵芝加哥的时候好多了，”约翰逊说，“波波维奇（马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇）说 12 分钟，我想我正好打了 12 分钟。下一场比赛，我认为我的上场时间将增加到 24 分钟。我们会慢慢来。这将让我为季后赛做好准备。”

马刺队在连胜期间享受了一些好运。看起来他们将对阵开拓者队时获得更多好运，因为开拓者队将缺席受伤的中锋阿维达斯·萨博尼斯。由于右髋挫伤，萨博尼斯已经连续两场比赛缺席了。

这将是马刺队第一次对阵阵容发生变化的开拓者队，他们将在 2 月份交易截止日期前从多伦多猛龙队交易来的控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔。斯塔德迈尔在 3 月 8 日马刺队在波特兰以 82-78 获胜的比赛中因脚踝扭伤缺席。

马刺队争夺第三名的机会正在慢慢消失。他们落后排名第三的洛杉矶湖人队 3 场比赛。湖人队 (55-20) 在周日下午的比赛中以 105-103 的比分在加时赛中战胜了底特律活塞队。

在对阵开拓者队之后，马刺队将连续对阵西部前三名的球队——客场挑战犹他爵士队，然后主场对阵西雅图超音速队和洛杉矶湖人队。

“我们不能担心湖人队或太阳队会做什么，”马刺队中锋威尔·珀杜说，“我们只需要专注于自己。”

点击查看原文：Humbled Spurs out to contain Blazers

Humbled Spurs out to contain Blazers

The Spurs will take a five-game winning streak and a recent lesson in humility into tonight’s 7:30 game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Alamodome.

Playing at home Saturday night, the Spurs couldn’t seem to sustain their concentration or energy level against the lottery-bound Golden State Warriors.

They struggled most of the evening against Golden State, built a 14-point lead early in the fourth quarter, allowed the Warriors to rally for a tie at at the end of regulation and then pushed ahead for an 88-80 victory in overtime.

“We were up double figures and they hit some good shots,” Robinson said. “At the same time, our defense really broke down. We got posted up on the blocks and they dunked on us. That’s not the kind of defense we want to play.”

The Spurs escaped what might have been an embarrassing loss when Golden State center Erick Dampier missed a wide-open, 16-foot jumper at the regulation buzzer.

Robinson scored five of his game-high 24 points in the extra period as the fourth-place Spurs remained 2 1/2 games ahead of the No. 5 Phoenix Suns in the Western Conference standings.

“I thought we regained our composure in overtime,” Robinson said. “We did a good job of attacking the basket.”

The Spurs (52-23) have won seven of their last eight games. They need to finish one game better than the Suns (49-25) to secure home-court advantage in a first-round playoff series.

Phoenix recorded a 90-83 victory over the sixth-place Trail Blazers (41-33) Saturday night.

Fans nation-wide may view the home-court edge as the key factor in a Spurs-Suns series. But injuries will also play a major role. The Spurs need to have their big guns healthy, and Robinson - their biggest - apparently is rounding into form.

Robinson, who has struggled with a sore knee off and on for the past month, has averaged 23 points, 13.7 rebounds and 3.8 blocked shots in consecutive performances against New York, Miami and Golden State.

Spurs point guard Avery Johnson is slowly regaining his stamina after sitting out four games with a right hip strain. He returned in restricted playing time against Golden State and is expected to see more court time against the Trail Blazers.

“I felt a lot better coming back than I did against Chicago,” Johnson said. “Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) said 12 minutes, and I think that was exactly what I got. Next game, I think it’ll jump up to 24 minutes. We will take a slow approach. That will allow me to be ready for the playoffs.”

The Spurs have enjoyed some good fortune during their winning streak. It looks as if they will get some more against the Trail Blazers, who will be without injured center Arvydas Sabonis. Sabonis hasn’t played in the last two games because of a bruised right hip.

It will be the first time the Spurs have played the revamped Blazers with point guard Damon Stoudamire, acquired from the Toronto Raptors before the trade deadline in February. Stoudamire sat out an 82-78 Spurs victory at Portland on March 8 with a sprained ankle.

Time is running out for the Spurs to move up to the third seed. They trail the third-place Los Angeles Lakers by three games. The Lakers (55-20) rallied to defeat the Detroit Pistons 105-103 in overtime Sunday afternoon.

After Portland, the Spurs play consecutive games against the best three teams in the West - at Utah and then at home against Seattle and the Lakers.

“We can’t worry about what the Lakers or the Suns do,” Spurs center Will Perdue said. “We just have to worry about ourselves.”

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-07, By Glenn Rogers

侵略性十足的开拓者定下基调 - 马刺在对阵波特兰的对抗中落败

这些是季后赛球队用来调整状态、为未来艰苦比赛做准备的比赛。

波特兰开拓者在周一晚上于阿拉莫穹顶球馆的比赛中展现了强大的实力。马刺听到了不少的金属碰撞声和蜂鸣声。

“我们想要来这里赢球，”开拓者控球后卫达蒙·斯塔德迈尔(Damon Stoudamire)说道，他拿下了6分，但成功地找到了合适的射手，送出了15次助攻。“他们最近状态不太好，所以我相信他们也想要赢下这场比赛。”

开拓者目前排名西部第六，很有可能在第一轮对阵洛杉矶湖人。他们从一开始就掌控了比赛，最终以79-75取得了胜利。

“我们必须准备好面对球队的比赛方式，”马刺中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说道。“布莱恩·格兰特(Brian Grant)上来就对威尔(珀迪)进行了猛烈冲击，并在篮下得分。”

身高6英尺9英寸的格兰特整场比赛都打得非常强硬。他在29分钟内就获得了5次犯规，但他仍然与新秀前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和罗宾逊对抗，几次将他们挤开，最终以13分和8个篮板结束了这场强硬的比赛。

“我认为，大卫和年轻的蒂姆都很高，如果我面对他们，他们总会封盖我的投篮，”格兰特说道。“所以我利用自己的力量，将他们挤开。我投进了一些球，也错过了一些，还被封盖了几次。”

格兰特无法防守罗宾逊，如果阿维达斯·萨博尼斯(Arvydas Sabonis)没有因骨挫伤缺阵，他也不应该出现在这个位置。

但比赛的节奏已经确立，尽管开拓者在篮板球上以39-48落后，但他们还是抓住了机会。罗宾逊仍然贡献了23分和18个篮板，邓肯获得了24分和15个篮板。但侵略性十足的开拓者成功地让这二人组合在33次投篮中错失了18次。

开拓者新秀凯尔文·卡托(Kelvin Cato)凭借着高高跃起的挥臂封盖，将对手的投篮和传球都阻挡了。他在比赛还剩40秒时封盖了罗宾逊的空中传球，帮助锁定胜局。

“我想这就是我的职责，”卡托谈到他的长臂封盖时说道。“但我们只想确保他们的内线球员无法掌控比赛。然后我们就能封锁他们的外线，除了J.J. (贾伦·杰克逊)，他投进了几个球。”

罗宾逊在上半场表现不佳，5投仅中4，包括几次空位上篮。

“他在场上有一段时间看起来有点瘸腿，”格兰特说道。“我认为他扭伤了脚踝，或者被撞了一下。”

但罗宾逊表示自己没事，只是在最后几分钟撞了一下膝盖。

波特兰将精准的投篮与侵略性融合在一起，在第三节还剩不到两分钟时将比分拉开至66-51。

前锋拉希德·华莱士(Rasheed Wallace)在前两节比赛中表现出色，帮助开拓者利用好防守，在上半场结束时取得了11分的领先优势。

他利用闪电般的转身和挡拆后直接投篮，前12次出手命中了10次。

点击查看原文：Aggressive Blazers set the tone - Spurs drop physical battle with Portland

Aggressive Blazers set the tone - Spurs drop physical battle with Portland

These are the games that playoff teams use as tuneups for the heavy action down the road.

The Portland Trail Blazers put a little purr in their engine Monday night at the Alamodome. The Spurs heard more than a few clanks and buzzes.

“We wanted to come in here and get a win,” said Blazers point guard Damon Stoudamire, who had six points but managed to find the right shooters to pick up 15 assists. “They haven’t been playing that well lately, so I’m sure they wanted this one, too.”

The Blazers, resting in the sixth playoff slot in the Western Conference and probably heading for a first-round matchup with the Los Angeles Lakers, grabbed the game from the start and stalked off with a 79-75 victory.

“We have to be ready for the way teams play,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “Brian Grant came out and smashed Will (Perdue) up against the basket and scored.”

The 6-foot-9 Grant played game-long bang- ball. He picked up five fouls in only 29 minutes, but he took on rookie forward Tim Duncan and Robinson, backed them down a time or two and finished the rugged game with 13 points and eight rebounds.

“I figured, David and young Tim are so long, if I faced them up, they would block my shot, anyway,” Grant said. “So I went to my strength and backed them down. I scored a couple, missed a few and got some blocked.”

Grant couldn’t guard Robinson and wouldn’t have been in that position if Arvydas Sabonis, out with a bone bruise, was on the floor.

But the tempo inside was established, and the Blazers capitalized despite being outrebounded 48-39. Robinson still had 23 points and 18 rebounds, and Duncan had 24 points and 15 boards. But the aggressive Blazers managed to get the duo to miss 18 of their 33 shots.

Blazers rookie Kelvin Cato was in there, with his high, windmilling blocking, swatting away shots and passes. His last block of a Robinson attempted overhead pass inside with 40 seconds left helped seal the Spurs’ fate.

“I guess that’s what I do,” said Cato of his long-armed intimidation. “But we just wanted to make sure their big guys didn’t take over the game. Then we were able to pretty much shut down their outside game, except for J.J. (Jaren Jackson), who hit a few.”

Robinson was off his game through the first half, hitting just 4 of 5 tries, including a couple of wide open layups.

“He looked a little hobbled after a while out there,” Grant said. “I think he turned his ankle or got hit or something.”

But Robinson said he was fine - just banged his knee a bit in the final minutes.

Portland combined hot firing with its aggressive nature and put the Spurs in a 66-51 hole with less than two minutes left in the third quarter.

Forward Rasheed Wallace scorched the nets through the first two quarters to help take advantage of the Blazers’ defense and give Portland an 11-point lead at the half.

He used a lightning-quick turnaround and straightaway jumpers off the pick-and-roll to put down 10 of his first 12 shots.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-07, By Associated Press

季后赛形势仍在变化

马刺队力求主场优势

距离常规赛结束还有两周时间，NBA季后赛格局依然充满变数。

当然，西部联盟八支晋级球队已经确定了数周。东部联盟芝加哥公牛队(Chicago Bulls)也已经锁定分区第一。

但除此之外，其他方面仍有悬念。

芝加哥、西雅图超音速队(Seattle SuperSonics)和犹他爵士队(Utah Jazz)还在争夺联盟最佳战绩，而华盛顿奇才队(Washington Wizards)、纽约尼克斯队(New York Knicks)、奥兰多魔术队(Orlando Magic)和新泽西网队(New Jersey Nets)则为东部联盟最后两个席位竞争。

在争夺种子排名和首轮和第二轮主场优势的比赛中，菲尼克斯太阳队(Phoenix Suns)决心追赶圣安东尼奥马刺队(San Antonio Spurs)，印第安纳步行者队(Indiana Pacers)有机会超越迈阿密热火队(Miami Heat)，克利夫兰骑士队(Cleveland Cavaliers)可以追赶亚特兰大老鹰队(Atlanta Hawks)，而老鹰队则可以超越夏洛特黄蜂队(Charlotte Hornets)。

“你打完整个赛程——82场比赛。不可思议的事情会发生。”奥兰多主教练查克·戴利(Chuck Daly)说。他的球队在周日华盛顿比赛中输掉了一场关键比赛，跌至东部联盟第十位，落后新泽西两场。

魔术队、奇才队、篮网队和尼克斯队目前面临的压力最大，但从长远来看，公牛队、超音速队和爵士队最有希望。

公牛队正处于一波12连胜中，在失利场次上领先超音速队和爵士队一场。芝加哥必须在失利场次上领先犹他队一场，因为爵士队拥有胜负关系的优势。

如果芝加哥和西雅图最终战绩相同，胜负关系将由双方对阵各自联盟内季后赛球队的战绩决定。

但要出现任何一种情况，公牛队在接下来的七场比赛中至少要输一场——主场对阵华盛顿、奥兰多、印第安纳和纽约，客场对阵克利夫兰、底特律活塞队(Detroit Pistons)和费城76人队(Philadelphia Sixers)。

“我更关心我们在第一轮会遇到谁，以及我们将在季后赛中表现如何，无论我们是带着气势进入季后赛，还是仅仅为了露面而参加季后赛。”爵士队主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)说。“如果我们没有每个人都打得很好，我们不会坚持太久。”

如果赛季在周一结束，除了迈阿密对阵纽约之外，所有1-8和2-7的对阵都会看起来像是毫无悬念的。

但由于在过去五场比赛中输掉了四场，尼克斯队突然发现自己有跌出季后赛的风险。他们在失利场次上仅领先第八名的新泽西一场，还剩下六场比赛：亚特兰大、迈阿密（两次）、华盛顿、多伦多猛龙队(Toronto Raptors)和芝加哥。

在迈阿密，阿朗佐·莫宁(Alonzo Mourning)预计将在今晚对阵明尼苏达森林狼队(Minnesota Timberwolves)或周三对阵纽约的比赛中从颧骨骨折中恢复过来。

步行者队还不确定里克·史密斯(Rik Smits)什么时候能够因为脚伤回到赛场。

在西部联盟，排名第五的太阳队正在努力追赶圣安东尼奥，圣安东尼奥目前排名第四，太阳队想要获得主场优势，并在面对高大的马刺队时取得一些优势。

“我真的不喜欢这场对决。”太阳队主教练丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge)说。

菲尼克斯在失利场次上落后两场，但他们拥有胜负关系的优势，因为他们在本赛季系列赛中获胜。太阳队的赛程也略微轻松一些。虽然两支球队都需要面对超音速队、洛杉矶湖人队(Los Angeles Lakers)和爵士队，但圣安东尼奥还需要面对西雅图两场。

点击查看原文：Playoff picture is work in progress

Playoff picture is work in progress

Spurs sider state plug With two weeks left in the regular season, the NBA playoff picture is unsettled in many ways.

Sure, all eight Western Conference teams have been known for weeks. And yes, the Chicago Bulls are a lock to win the East.

But beyond that, not much is hammered down.

There still is a race among Chicago, Seattle and Utah for the best record leaguewide, and Washington, New York, Orlando and New Jersey are competing for the final two spots in the East.

In fights for seeding and home-court advantage in the first and second rounds, Phoenix is intent on catching San Antonio, Indiana has a chance to overtake Miami, Cleveland can catch Atlanta and the Hawks can pass Charlotte.

“You play the schedule - 82 games. Unbelievable things happen,” said Orlando coach Chuck Daly, whose team dropped to 10th place in the East, two games behind New Jersey, by losing a crucial game Sunday at Washington.

The Magic, Wizards, Nets and Knicks have the most at stake now, but those with the most to gain long term are the Bulls, SuperSonics and Jazz.

The Bulls, on a 12-game winning streak, have a one-game lead in the loss column on both Seattle and Utah. Chicago must finish one game ahead of Utah because the Jazz own the tiebreaker advantage.

If Chicago and Seattle finish with the same record, the tiebreaker would be determined by their records against playoff teams in their own conference.

But for either scenario to happen, the Bulls would have to lose at least once during their final seven games - home matchups with Washington, Orlando, Indiana and New York and road games at Cleveland, Detroit and Philadelphia.

“I’m more concerned about who we are going to play in the first round and how we are going in the playoffs, whether we go into the playoffs with momentum or we go into the playoffs to just show up,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “If we don’t have everyone playing well, we won’t be there very long.”

If the season had ended Monday, all of the 1-8 and 2-7 matchups would look like walkovers except for Miami-New York.

But with losses in four of their last five games, the Knicks suddenly find themselves at risk of dropping out of the playoff picture altogether. Only one game ahead of eighth-place New Jersey in the loss column, the Knicks have six games remaining: Atlanta, Miami (twice), Washington, Toronto and Chicago.

In Miami, Alonzo Mourning is expected back from a fractured cheekbone tonight at Minnesota or Wednesday at New York.

The Pacers are uncertain when Rik Smits will be able to play on his aching feet.

In the West, the fifth-seeded Suns are trying to catch San Antonio, which currently holds the fourth seed, to gain home-court advantage and have some sort of edge on the much-taller Spurs.

“I don’t like this matchup at all, really,” Suns coach Danny Ainge said.

Phoenix trails by two games in the loss column but owns the tiebreaker advantage from winning the season series. The Suns also have the slightly easier schedule. Although both teams must play the Sonics, Lakers and Jazz, San Antonio must play Seattle two more times.

By Associated Press, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-08, By Jerry Briggs

难度颇高的三分：爵士、音速和湖人在马刺季后赛到来之际步步紧逼

从数字意义上来说，马刺常规赛时间表的接下来的三场比赛只不过是看似无休止的 82 场比赛中的第 77 场、第 78 场和第 79 场。

但是马刺球迷会告诉你，这三场比赛不同，十分重要 - 甚至至关重要 - 因为它们决定了球队的长期命运。

马刺将在今晚 8 点对阵犹他爵士，在盐湖城迎战西部联盟三支最强球队。

随后，他们将在周五回到主场迎战西雅图超音速，并在下周一对阵洛杉矶湖人。

距离季后赛仅剩两周，你可以从多个角度看待这三场比赛。

你可以看到与顶级对手较量的机会是为成功的季后赛奠定势头的办法。

另一方面，一些不够乐观的球迷可能会对比赛持敬畏态度，这种感觉就像赤脚跑过荆棘丛。

尽管由于伤病的原因马刺方面无法以最佳阵容出战，但他们为考验做好了准备。

马刺后卫埃弗里·约翰逊说：“对我们来说这是一周的好时光”，他在周一晚上主场以 75 比 79 输给波特兰时因髋部旧伤而苦苦挣扎。“我们不可能有更好的安排了。我们在客场对阵犹他、在主场对阵西雅图和湖人。

“这些都是艰苦的比赛。这就是我们需要的。我宁愿和这些球队较量，也不愿和那些苦苦挣扎的球队较量。”

马刺队（52 胜 24 负）不仅了解积极势头的可能性，而且出于策略目的也需要胜利。在有望进行五局三胜制首轮比赛中主场优势的争夺中，他们领先菲尼克斯太阳队 11/2 场。

太阳队（50 胜 25 负）周二晚上在萨克拉门托进行比赛。菲尼克斯在周一击败西雅图以 102 比 92 赢得了一场关键比赛。

马刺希望这会成为一个警钟，上半场他们对阵开拓者队表现不佳，上半场最多落后 15 分，然后在第四节卷土重来依然未能成功。

马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊说：“我认为我们没有感受到压力，但这（是）一种很好的紧迫感。”“这不是惊慌失措。我们只需要调整好防守。在犹他，我们遇到了一些麻烦。但我们只需要从一开始就调整好防守，并打出我们的风格。”

马刺队并没有在对战爵士、超音速和湖人的比赛中取得成功，对战这三支球队的综合记录是 1 胜 7 负。马刺对阵卫冕联盟冠军爵士队的战绩是 1 胜 2 负，对阵音速队的战绩是 0 胜 2 负，对阵湖人队的战绩是 0 胜 3 负。

马刺后卫文尼·德尔·内格罗说：“我的目标是赢得所有比赛。”“我们需要执行我们的比赛计划，充满自信，带着正确的心态上场。主要是上场拼尽全力。”

马刺队在剩余的六场比赛中，还将在下周最后一次客场之旅中对阵西雅图。

马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇并没有那么关心在第一轮取得主场优势，他更关心的是微调和在季后赛中达到较高的水平。

波波维奇指出，休斯顿火箭队从西部联盟第六种子中脱颖而出，并于 1995 年夺得 NBA 总冠军。

波波维奇说：“我们只想进入季后赛并且表现出色。”“几年前，休斯顿队对自己能做到什么非常有信心。他们不在乎对手是谁，也不在乎比赛地点。一切都是积极的。那就是我想要进入季后赛的方式。”

犹他（56 胜 18 负）看起来像一支希望在 NBA 总决赛中与芝加哥公牛队再次相遇的球队。在全明星周末过后，爵士队在 28 场比赛中赢下了 25 场，周二晚上在奥克兰加州对阵金州勇士队进行一场精彩的比赛。

约翰逊说：“爵士队看起来比去年更有饥饿感。”“就像他们再次尝到了成功的滋味一样。”

犹他队的后卫杰夫·霍纳塞克是一个优秀的补充型球员，他提升了超级巨星卡尔·马龙和约翰·斯托克顿的技术水平，他说爵士队还没有达到他们想要的状态。

霍纳塞克说：“我们一直打得很好。”“但我们还没有达到去年的水平。”

音速队将在周四晚上在达拉斯比赛后进入圣安东尼奥。在全明星加里·佩顿和文·贝克的带领下，他们的每场比赛得分比 NBA 中除湖人队外的任何球队都多。

温哥华教练布莱恩·希尔最近说：“如果说在这个联盟中哪支球队投篮命中率更高，那么我还没有见过。”

点击查看原文：Tough 3-pointer Jazz, Sonics, Lakers stand in Spurs' way as playoffs loom

Tough 3-pointer Jazz, Sonics, Lakers stand in Spurs’ way as playoffs loom

In a numeric sense, the next three games on the Spurs’ regular- season schedule are merely the 77th, 78th and 79th out of a seemingly endless string of 82.

Then again, Spurs fans will tell you that these three are different, important - even critical - in determining the team’s long-term destiny.

The Spurs will open a stretch run against the best three teams in the Western Conference at 8 tonight in Salt Lake City against the Utah Jazz.

Afterward, they return home to play the Seattle SuperSonics on Friday and Los Angeles Lakers on Monday.

With the playoffs looming two weeks away, you can look at these three games in a number of ways.

You could see the opportunity to play top competition as a means to create momentum for a successful playoff run.

On the other hand, the games may be viewed with some dread by less-optimistic fans - sort of like running barefoot through a briar patch.

Even though the Spurs aren’t at full strength because of a few injuries, they are ready for the test.

“It’s a good week for us,” said Spurs guard Avery Johnson, who struggled with a nagging hip injury in a 79-75 loss Monday night at home against Portland. "We couldn’t have a better one. We have Utah on the road and Seattle and the Lakers here.

“All of them will be tough games. It’s what we need. I’d rather play these teams than ones that are struggling.”

With the potential for positive momentum understood, the Spurs (52-24) also need the victories for strategic purposes. They lead the Phoenix Suns by 11/2 games in the race for home-court advantage in a likely best-of-five, first-round matchup.

The Suns (50-25) played Tuesday night at Sacramento. Phoenix won a huge game Monday when it defeated the SuperSonics 102-92 in Seattle.

In what the Spurs hope will serve as a wake-up call, they played poorly in the first half against the Blazers, fell behind by as many as 15 points in the first half, and then came up short in a fourth-quarter rally.

“I don’t think we feel pressure, but (it is) a good sense of urgency,” Spurs center David Robinson said. “It’s not a panic. We’ve just got to get the ‘D’ tuned up. In Utah, we’ve had some trouble there. But we’ve just got to get the ‘D’ started early and play our game.”

The Spurs haven’t enjoyed success against the Jazz, Sonics and Lakers, posting a combined record of 1-7 against the trio. The Spurs are 1-2 against the defending conference champion Jazz, 0-2 against the Sonics and 0-3 against the Lakers.

“My goal is to win them all,” Spurs guard Vinny Del Negro said. “We need to execute our game plan and play with a lot of confidence, go in with the right mindset. Just go in and play hard, mainly.”

The Spurs, with six games remaining on the schedule, also will play Seattle on their final road trip next week.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich isn’t so much concerned with having home-court advantage in the first round as he is with fine-tuning and taking a high level of play into the postseason.

Popovich pointed out that the Houston Rockets emerged from the sixth seed in the West and went on to capture the NBA championship in 1995.

“We just want to go in (to the playoffs) playing well,” Popovich said. “Houston was very confident in what they could do a few years ago. They didn’t care who they played or where. Everything was positive. That’s how I want to go in.”

Utah (56-18) is playing like a team that wants a return date with the Chicago Bulls in the NBA Finals. The Jazz have won 25 of 28 since the All-Star break, going into a late game Tuesday night in Oakland, Calif., against the Golden State Warriors.conference playoffs.

“(The Jazz) look hungrier than last year,” Johnson said. “It’s like they taste it again.”

Utah guard Jeff Hornacek, a fine complementary player who augments the skills of superstars Karl Malone and John Stockton, said the Jazz are not quite where they want to be.

“We’ve been playing decent,” Hornacek said. “But we’re not up to last year’s level yet.”

The Sonics will come into San Antonio after playing Thursday night in Dallas. Led by All-Stars Gary Payton and Vin Baker, they score more points per game than any team in the NBA except the Lakers.

“If there’s a team that shoots the ball better in this league, then I haven’t seen them,” Vancouver coach Brian Hill said recently.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-08, By Jerry Briggs

伤病仍然困扰约翰逊

盐湖城 - 伤病缠身的马刺后卫艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)今晚对阵犹他爵士队的比赛能否有效发挥，仍是一个疑问。

约翰逊右髋部拉伤，行动受阻，预计会出战。但马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)在圣安东尼奥周二上午的训练结束后，拒绝预测这位经验丰富的控球后卫会打多少时间。

“他会出战，”波波维奇说，“但我不知道会打多少时间。他的伤势恢复得并不理想。”

伤病，以及随之而来的关键球员何时能够参加训练和比赛的不确定性，在常规赛收官阶段困扰着马刺。

前锋肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在1月份接受左股四头肌腱手术后，预计将在常规赛最后6场比赛中复出。但埃利奥特没有设定具体的目标日期。

前锋查克·帕森(Chuck Person)也正在努力克服背伤，计划重返阵容，尽管没人确定他是否能在两周后的季后赛开始时就绪。

约翰逊和埃利奥特都在球队上午的训练中参加了对抗赛。两人似乎都没有恢复到最佳状态。帕森进行了跑步和投篮，但没有参加对抗赛。

这是埃利奥特自三周前开始跑步以来最长、强度最大的训练。

“感觉还可以，”埃利奥特说。“不算特别好，但还可以。每次训练都在进步。我希望能赶在赛季结束前复出。”

埃利奥特和帕森都不会在今晚对阵犹他的比赛中出场。

帕森在周一和周二的训练中出现，多少有些出人意料，考虑到他在3月25日对阵底特律的比赛中第四次背部伤势复发时所感受到的剧烈疼痛。

点击查看原文：Injury still bothering Johnson

Injury still bothering Johnson

SALT LAKE CITY - The effectiveness of injured Spurs guard Avery Johnson will be a question going into tonight’s game against the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center.

Johnson, slowed by a right hip strain, is expected to play. But Spurs coach Gregg Popovich declined to predict after a Tuesday morning practice in San Antonio how much playing time his veteran point man would get.

“He’ll play,” Popovich said. “But I don’t know how much. He’s not healing the way we want him to.”

Injuries - and the resulting uncertainty of when key players will be available to practice and play - have haunted the Spurs going down the stretch of the regular season.

Forward Sean Elliott, coming off left quadriceps tendon surgery in January, expects to play at some point in the final six games of the regular season. But Elliott did not set a target date.

Battling a back injury, forward Chuck Person also is planning a return to the lineup, although nobody seems certain if he will be ready when the playoffs open in two weeks.

Johnson and Elliott both participated in a scrimmage at the team’s morning practice. Neither seemed to be at full speed. Person ran and shot the ball, but did not scrimmage.

It was Elliott’s longest and most rigorous workout since he started running three weeks ago.

“I feel OK,” Elliott said. “Not terrific, but all right. It gets better with every practice. I’m looking to play before the season ends.”

Neither Elliott nor Person will play tonight against Utah.

Person’s appearance at a Monday shootaround and the Tuesday workout was something of a surprise, considering the severity of pain he felt when he reinjured his back for the fourth time this season March 25 at Detroit.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-08, By Glenn Rogers
#东西部实力之争并非那么明确

东边是东边，西边是西边，两边永不相交…

这在NBA中并不完全适用，因为他们将在几个月后的NBA总决赛中相遇。

他们在整个赛季中，在全国各地的小规模冲突中相遇过。与往常一样，联盟观察者喜欢坚持认为一个联盟比另一个联盟更强大。本赛季，许多人似乎认为西部拥有更强壮的肌肉。

一些数据并不完全支持这一观点。

例如，看看丹佛…好吧，这有点过分了。不过，看看西部的排名，你会发现有六支球队表现比0.400的胜率还要差。在东部，只有两支。

你说这仅仅意味着西部的顶级球队很稳固。好吧，这可能仅仅意味着底层球队真的很糟糕。

两个联盟的顶级球队在本赛季的单挑中表现如何？

芝加哥和夏洛特在对阵西部球队时，本赛季战绩为20胜8负。迈阿密在周二晚上输给明尼苏达后，战绩为18胜10负。印第安纳取得了17胜11负的战绩，亚特兰大为16胜12负。

犹他队以24胜6负的战绩横扫东部。圣安东尼奥表现出色，取得了23胜7负的战绩。西雅图战绩为22胜8负，洛杉矶湖人和菲尼克斯都为19胜11负。

东部球队比西部球队多一支。但是，除了爵士队令人惊叹的战绩外，看起来每个联盟的顶级球队在相互对战时表现都差不多。

总决赛应该在西雅图或犹他队与芝加哥或迈阿密队之间进行。

太平洋赛区

**试水：**金州勇士队的智囊团将会出现在几乎所有的选秀前训练营，而且他们不仅仅是选拔球员。

他们的主要目标是与其他球队官员谈话，以确定拉特雷尔·斯普雷维尔的市场行情。金州勇士队担心潜在的NBA劳资协议锁定，以及在整个夏天都无法交易斯普雷维尔的可能性，从而阻碍了新球员在休赛期通常的推广，这将影响到季票和豪华包的销售，以及激发兴趣。

他们的明显目标是在7月1日之前交易斯普雷维尔，或者制定一项在7月22日之后或劳资协议锁定结束后生效的交易协议，具体以先到者为准。

勇士队认为他们最终会进行三方交易，因为那些表达过兴趣的球队无法直接给他们想要的东西。我们不得不猜测马刺队会参与其中。

**守护者：**萨克拉门托国王队认为新秀安东尼·约翰逊可能是他们未来的控球后卫，而不仅仅是糟糕球队中的首发球员，以及后来的替补球员。

因此，萨克拉门托可能会忽略自由球员控球后卫，并寻求中锋或大前锋。伊萨克·奥斯汀和克里斯蒂安·莱特纳是他们的首选。

中西部赛区

**新启航：**休斯顿火箭队阵容中有11名自由球员，只有凯文·威利斯、布伦特·普莱斯、罗德里克·罗兹和哈基姆·奥拉朱旺在下个赛季有合同。

当火箭队清理阵容时，这11名自由球员中的大多数将会得到他们的解雇信。

“我认为这支球队可能要走另一个方向了，”摇摆人马里奥·埃利说。“他们可能想要年轻化，而且外面有很多优秀且年轻的球员——汤姆·古格利奥塔、斯科蒂·皮蓬、杰里·斯塔克豪斯。”

火箭队将有一些钱可以花，控球后卫是他们的首选目标。罗德·斯特里克兰和达蒙·斯塔德迈尔将在自由市场上寻找机会。

中央赛区

**鸟鸣：**印第安纳步行者队主教练拉里·伯德一直都是一个特例，但他不想永远被人记住为特例。

这发生在1983年，当时联盟和工会正在协商一份新的合同，其中包括第一个工资帽。与此同时，波士顿凯尔特人队正在与伯德的代表谈判一份合同延期，以便在伯德最初的五年325万美元的合同在1984-85赛季结束后到期后，让他留在波士顿。

凯尔特人队的薪资将远远超过拟议的工资帽——每支球队360万美元。联盟和工会达成协议，在新协议中将有一项条款，允许球队超出工资帽来重新签约自己的自由球员。伯德是第一个，因此，在凯尔特人队给了他一份为期七年的1260万美元的合同后，这个特例以他的名字命名。

“与其说是我真的想要一份新合同，不如说是凯尔特人队想要签下我，”伯德说。“当然，知道他们想让我留在那儿很高兴。他们只是必须找到一种方法来做到这一点。我认为我们的手被绑住了，但他们想出了一个解释，他们可以用某种方式做到，而且他们做到了。

“这有点毁了联盟，不是吗？我当时认为这对每个人都有好处，因为我们有一支优秀的球队，我们可以留住（凯文）麦克海尔和（罗伯特）帕里什以及丹尼斯·约翰逊。”

伯德长期以来一直表示，他相信球员应该尽可能多地赚钱——只要老板愿意支付。

大西洋赛区

**巨额资金：**波士顿凯尔特人队主教练里克·皮蒂诺表示，他的球队将努力控制支出，但仍然计划在今年夏天让安托万·沃克成为一个富人。

沃克谈到潜在的合同延期时说：“当我还是个孩子的时候，我只是想过进入NBA。我认为我能赚到200万美元或300万美元（每年）。当我听到有人谈论我将得到1400万美元、1500万美元、2000万美元的时候，我仍然不敢相信。”

很多球迷也无法相信，他们仍然认为200万美元或300万美元将是一笔非常丰厚的薪水——一两年就足够了。

“我希望人们明白，我想留在波士顿。我爱在这里打球。但是一旦4月18日到来，商业因素就接管了，”沃克补充说，模仿着试图将忠诚与雇佣军联系起来的那句话。

罗杰斯的排名

排名基于最近的比赛表现以及未来几天胜负的预期。1. 芝加哥 2. 犹他 3. 洛杉矶湖人 4. 西雅图 5. 迈阿密 6. 印第安纳 7. 菲尼克斯 8. 圣安东尼奥 9. 夏洛特 10. 克利夫兰 11. 波特兰 12. 亚特兰大 13. 华盛顿 14. 新泽西 15. 奥兰多 16. 明尼苏达 17. 波士顿 18. 纽约 19. 休斯顿 20. 底特律 21. 费城 22. 密尔沃基 23. 达拉斯 24. 金州 25. 萨克拉门托 26. 洛杉矶快船 27. 温哥华 28. 多伦多 29. 丹佛。

点击查看原文：East-West strength debate not so clear-cut

East-West strength debate not so clear-cut

The East is East, the West is West, and never the twain shall meet …

Not quite in the NBA, where they will meet in a couple of months in the NBA Finals.

They have met, through the season, in skirmishes throughout the land. As always, league observers like to insist that one conference is stronger than the other. This season, many seem to figure the West has the more bulging muscles.

Some figures don’t quite support that position.

For instance, take Denver … please. OK, that’s a low blow. Still, peek at the West standings and you have to be horrified to see that six teams are playing worse than .400 ball. In the East, only two.

That just means the top West teams are solid, you say. Well, it might just mean that the bottom teams are that bad.

How have the top teams in the two conferences done one-on-one through the season?

Chicago and Charlotte finished the season 20-8 against the West. Miami went 18-10 after losing Tuesday night to Minnesota. Indiana chalked up a 17-11 mark and Atlanta was 16-12.

Utah stormed through the East with a 24-6 record. San Antonio did fine, going 23-7. Seattle was 22-8 and the Los Angeles Lakers and Phoenix were both 19-11.

The East has one more team than the West. But, except for the Jazz’s amazing foray, it looks like the top teams in each conference fared about as well against one another.

Should be Seattle or Utah against Chicago or Miami in the Finals.

Pacific Division

Testing waters: The Golden State Warriors’ braintrust will be seen at just about all the pre-draft camps - and they won’t be just scouting players.

Its prime aim will be to talk with other team officials to determine the market for Latrell Sprewell. Golden State is worried about the potential NBA labor lockout and the prospect of having no way to deal Sprewell all summer, thus holding back the usual off-season promotions of new players in an effort to sell season tickets and luxury boxes, and drum up interest.

The apparent goal is to either move Sprewell before July 1 or set up a deal that will go into effect after July 22, or after the lockout ends, whichever is the case.

The Warriors figure they will end up in a three-way exchange since the teams that have expressed interest can’t give them directly what they want. We’d have to guess the Spurs are involved in the mix.

A keeper: The Sacramento Kings think rookie Anthony Johnson might be their point guard of the future, rather than just the starter on a bad team and later a backup.

So Sacramento may ignore free- agent point guards and pursue a center or power forward. Issac Austin and Christian Laettner are high on its list.

Midwest Division

A new launch: The Houston Rockets have 11 free agents on their roster, with only Kevin Willis, Brent Price, Rodrick Rhodes and Hakeem Olajuwon under contract for next season.

Most of the 11 free agents will get their walking papers when the Rockets clean house.

“I think this team may be headed in another direction,” swingman Mario Elie said. “They may want to get younger, and there’s a lot of good, young players out there - Tom Gugliotta, Scottie Pippen, Jerry Stackhouse.”

The Rockets will have some money to spend and a point guard is a prime target. Rod Strickland and Damon Stoudamire will be loose in the market.

Central Division

Bird chirps: Indiana Pacers coach Larry Bird always has been an exception, but he doesn’t want to forevermore be remembered for the exception.

It happened in 1983, when the league and union were negotiating a new contract that would include the first salary cap. Simultaneously, the Boston Celtics were negotiating with Bird’s representatives on a contract extension that would keep Bird in Boston after his original five-year, $3.25 million deal expired after the 1984-85 season.

The Celtics were going to be well over the proposed cap - $3.6 million per team. The league and union agreed there would be a clause in the new deal allowing teams to exceed the cap to re-sign their own free agents. Bird was the first, so, after the Celtics gave him a seven-year, $12.6 million deal, the exception bore his name.

“It was more the Celtics wanting to get me signed than it was me really wanting to get a new contract,” Bird said. "Of course, it was nice knowing they wanted to keep me around there. They just had to find a way to do it. I thought our hands were tied, but they came up with an explanation that they could do it a certain way, and they got it done.

“It’s sort of ruined the league, hasn’t it? I thought at the time it was good for everybody because we had a good team and we could keep (Kevin) McHale and (Robert) Parish and Dennis Johnson.”

Bird has long stated he belief that players should get as much money as they can - as long as the owners are willing to pay it.

Atlantic Division

Big bucks: Boston Celtics coach Rick Pitino said his club will try to hold the line but still plans to make Antoine Walker a wealthy man this summer.

Said Walker about the prospective contract extension: “When I was growing up, I just thought of being in the NBA. I thought I’d make $2 million or $3 million (per year). I still can’t believe it when people start talking about me getting $14 million, $15 million, $20 million.”

Neither can a lot of fans, who still figure $2 million or $3 million would be mighty hefty pay years - just one or two would certainly do.

“I want people to understand that I want to stay in Boston. I love playing here. But once April 18 hits, the business side takes over,” added Walker, mimicking that line that tries to bind loyalty to mercenaries.

Rogers’ rankings

Rankings are based on recent performance and expectations for wins and losses during the next few days. 1. Chicago 2. Utah 3. L.A. Lakers 4. Seattle 5. Miami 6. Indiana 7. Phoenix 8. San Antonio 9. Charlotte 10. Cleveland 11. Portland 12. Atlanta 13. Washington 14. New Jersey 15. Orlando 16. Minnesota 17. Boston 18. New York 19. Houston 20. Detroit 21. Philadelphia 22. Milwaukee 23. Dallas 24. Golden State 25. Sacramento 26. L.A. Clippers 27. Vancouver 28. Toronto 29. Denver.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-09, By Jerry Briggs

大卫·罗宾逊倒下，马刺队输球 - 马龙肘击头部导致罗宾逊受伤

盐湖城 - 周三晚上，马刺队对犹他爵士队前锋卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)的肘击表示抗议，该肘击导致大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)头部受伤，送往医院接受治疗。

他们也不喜欢爵士队在德尔塔中心 19,911 名观众面前以 98-88 获胜，并最终赢得中西部赛区冠军。

马刺队后卫埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)因右髋拉伤缺阵，身穿便装坐在板凳席上观战。比赛开始两分钟后，马龙用肘击将罗宾逊击倒在地。

“从回放来看，情况不容乐观，”约翰逊说。“我对大卫的遭遇感到非常失望。希望联盟会对此事进行调查。”

约翰逊说，他认为马龙的肘击是有意的，应该对他进行禁赛处罚。

“你看到了回放，”约翰逊说。“二加二等于四。这显而易见。但我们必须看看联盟怎么说。”

当被问及他是否相信马龙的肘击是故意的时，约翰逊停顿了一下，然后说：“我必须说，是的。很难知道别人的内心想法。但这看起来不太好。”

马龙对联盟可能对他进行处罚的观点嗤之以鼻。

“我听说圣安东尼奥的媒体说我应该被禁赛，”马龙说。“这都是 (脏话)。我希望大卫没事。我希望我们仍然是朋友。”

罗宾逊将在犹他州圣徒医院留院观察一夜。

在罗宾逊缺阵的情况下，马刺队前锋蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)表现出色，25 投 14 中，得到 34 分。后来，他说他没有看到肘击他的队友的画面。

但邓肯说，他对来自马刺队队友的消息感到愤怒。

“据我所知，这可能是故意的，”邓肯说。“我对此非常 (脏话)。如果真是 (故意的)，那就太糟糕了。”

马龙在周二晚上对金州勇士队的比赛中得到 56 分，接着又在对马刺队的比赛中得到 32 分。其中一球是在最后时刻打进的，帮助爵士队 (58-18) 抵挡了马刺队的反扑。

这是马刺队 (52-25) 连续第二场失利，这使他们在战绩上与菲尼克斯太阳队 (51-25) 并列。马刺队需要至少领先太阳队一场比赛，才能确保季后赛主场优势。

就在中场休息之前，罗宾逊被送往医院进行 CT 扫描和神经科检查。

在导致罗宾逊离场的比赛中，马龙在低位站定，准备接球。罗宾逊从后面移动，试图贴住马龙。

马龙试图用左肘挥开空间，击中了罗宾逊头部侧面。罗宾逊在倒地前似乎已经昏迷。

当他倒下时，距离第一节结束还剩 9 分 32 秒，他没有用手撑住身体，而是头部侧面着地，躺了超过两分钟，期间一直得到训练师约翰·安德森(John Andersen)的帮助。

当马刺队的中锋摇摇晃晃地走出球场前往更衣室时，观众欢呼起来。然后，他们似乎对裁判宣布对罗宾逊犯规，而对马龙没有任何判罚感到困惑。

“这很有趣，”马刺队中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)说。“有趣的是，当类似的事情发生在另一座球馆时，你就看不到回放 (在巨型屏幕上)。这不太好。”

邓肯对罗宾逊的安危表示担忧。

“与爵士队比赛总是很激烈，”邓肯说。“这就是他们的比赛方式。发生在大卫身上的事非常吓人。一开始，我以为他撞到地板时肩膀脱臼了。然后，当他翻身时，我看到他的眼睛翻白了。”

即使没有罗宾逊，马刺队也打得很顽强。爵士队在第四节初领先 8 分，但随后被客队追到只差 4 分，卡尔·埃雷拉(Carl Herrera)在比赛还剩 3 分 15 秒时打进了一个上篮。

这就是他们能达到的最接近的距离。布莱恩·拉塞尔(Bryon Russell)罚进了两次罚球，然后在比赛还剩 2 分 20 秒时投进了一个三分球，帮助爵士队以 92-83 领先。

点击查看原文：Down go David, Spurs - Elbow to head fells Robinson in loss to Jazz

Down go David, Spurs - Elbow to head fells Robinson in loss to Jazz

SALT LAKE CITY - The Spurs cried foul Wednesday night about an elbow from Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone that sent David Robinson to the hospital with a concussion.

They also didn’t like the idea that the Jazz went on to clinch the Midwest Division championship with a 98-88 victory before 19,911 at the Delta Center.

Spurs guard Avery Johnson, who did not play because of a strained right hip, watched from the bench in street clothes as Malone floored Robinson with an elbow a little more than two minutes into the game.

“From what the replays showed, it doesn’t look good,” Johnson said. “I’m very disappointed with the way things turned out for David. Hopefully, it will be addressed by the league.”

Johnson said he thought the elbow was intentional and that Malone should be suspended.

“You saw the replay,” Johnson said. “Two plus two equals four. It’s a no brainer. But we’ll have to see what the league says.”

Asked if he believed that the blow was delivered on purpose, Johnson paused before saying, “I have to say, yeah. It’s kind of hard to tell what’s in someone’s heart. But it did not look good.”

Malone scoffed at the idea that he should be reprimanded by the league.

“I heard the San Antonio press say I should be suspended,” Malone said. “That’s (expletive). I hope David’s OK. I hope we’re still friends.”

Robinson was scheduled to remain at LDS Hospital overnight for observation.

In the absence of Robinson, Spurs forward Tim Duncan put on a show, scoring 34 points in 14-of-25 shooting from the field. Later, he said he didn’t see the elbow that dropped his teammate.

But Duncan said he was angry about the reports from his friends in silver and black.

“From what I’m hearing, it might have been intentional,” Duncan said. “I am pretty (expletive) about it. If it was (on purpose), it’s bad.”

Malone, who scored 56 points in a win at Golden State on Tuesday night, followed with 32 on the Spurs. One of the baskets came in the last minute and helped the Jazz (58-18) stave off a Spurs rally.

It was the second loss in a row for the Spurs (52-25), and it dropped them into a tie with the Phoenix Suns (51-25) in the loss column. The Spurs need to finish at least a game ahead of Phoenix in order to secure home-court advantage in the playoffs.

Just before intermission, Robinson was on his way to the hospital for a CAT scan and a neurological examination.

On the play that knocked Robinson out of the game, Malone set up in the low post and prepared to receive a pass. Robinson responded by moving in from behind and putting his body on Malone.

Malone tried to clear space by swinging his left elbow, which connected on the side of Robinson’s head. Robinson apparently was unconscious before he hit the floor.

When he toppled over, with 9:32 remaining in the first quarter, he did not break his fall with his hands. Rather, he hit the floor on the side of his head and stayed down for more than two minutes while being aided by trainer John Andersen.

As the Spurs’ center walked unsteadily off the floor to the dressing room, the crowd cheered. Then they seemed to be puzzled by the announcement that a personal foul had been called on Robinson and nothing was called on Malone.

“That was very interesting,” Spurs center Will Perdue said. “It’s interesting that when something like that happens in another building, you don’t see a replay (on the big screen). It’s not good.”

Duncan expressed concern about Robinson’s well being.

“Always with the Jazz it’s a physical game,” Duncan said. “That’s the way they play. It was extremely scary what happened to David. At first, I thought he had dislocated his shoulder when he hit the floor. Then when he was turned over, I saw his eyes rolled back.”

Even without Robinson, the Spurs played tough to the end. The Jazz took an eight-point lead early in the fourth quarter, only to see the visitors rally to within four on a layup by Carl Herrera with 3:15 remaining.

It was as close as they would get. Bryon Russell made two free throws and then hit a three-pointer with 2:20 remaining to give the Jazz a 92-83 edge.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-09, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队新闻

约翰逊将进行核磁共振检查: 马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)表示，后卫阿维里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)今天将进行核磁共振检查，以检查他右髋的拉伤。

约翰逊由于持续的梨状肌综合征（一种发生在他右髋深处的肌肉嵌顿）问题，没有参加马刺队对阵爵士队的比赛。

波波维奇表示，约翰逊有可能在周五于阿拉莫穹顶球馆进行的西雅图比赛中复出。

波波维奇宣布，受伤的前锋肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)将缺席对阵西雅图和洛杉矶湖人队的比赛，湖人队将于下周一在穹顶球馆比赛。

据报道，埃利奥特在周二圣安东尼奥的一次对抗赛结束后，仍然感到他手术修复的左股四头肌肌腱疼痛。

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

MRI for Johnson: Spurs guard Avery Johnson will have an MRI examination performed today on his strained right hip, Coach Gregg Popovich said.

Johnson did not play in the Spurs’ game against the Jazz because of continuing trouble with piriformis syndrome, a muscle impingement deep in his right hip.

Popovich said Johnson is probable for the Seattle game Friday at the Alamodome.

Popovich ruled out injured forward Sean Elliott for Seattle and the Los Angeles Lakers, who will play at the dome next Monday.

Elliott reportedly was still feeling pain in his surgically repaired left quadriceps tendon at the end of a scrimmage in San Antonio on Tuesday. - Jerry Briggs

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-09, By Glenn Rogers

马龙(Karl Malone)坚持比赛不应过度解读为肢体冲突

盐湖城 - “三角洲部队”从未对圣安东尼奥友善。

卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)，这位在三角洲中心为犹他爵士队效力的强力前锋，带领爵士队两次在季后赛系列赛中击败马刺队。

周三晚上，他再次给予马刺队致命一击，导致大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)因脑震荡被送往医院进行过夜观察。

马龙和罗宾逊为了位置争夺激烈，马龙突然将肘部击向罗宾逊头部左侧。

马刺队的中锋——被击中后失去意识——像树一样倒下。他脸朝下摔倒在球场上，甚至没有抬起手臂来缓冲摔倒。

马龙对一些人坚持认为这次击打是故意的感到不满。

“我听到一些圣安东尼奥的记者说我应该被禁赛，”他说。“那是胡说。我希望大卫没事。我希望我们还是朋友。

“那是一个战术配合。他靠进来，当我转过身时，我撞到了他，”马龙说。“我不需要以这种方式打球来在这联盟里谋生，所以为什么我要这么做？我不会。”

马龙保持着侵略性的风格，不断与马刺队的中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)在底线纠缠。马龙继续与马刺队的替补中锋进行推搡、挤压和口头争执。

犹他前锋随后用一个尖锐的肘部击打新秀蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的背部，检验了他的意志。这次撞击把邓肯送上罚球线以执行恶意犯规罚球。

这次撞击并没有击垮邓肯。他在上半场带领马刺队得到14分，在下半场继续他的侵略性进攻，再得20分。

爵士队通过这场胜利赢得了中西部赛区冠军，他们并不认为比赛过于激烈。

“我知道很多人认为比赛很激烈，但我并不这么认为，”马龙笑着说。“我没有看到发生在大卫身上的事。我只是看到他摔倒了。显然，我希望他没事。我不喜欢看到有人受伤。”

布莱恩·拉塞尔(Bryon Russell)也不认为比赛过于侵略性。

“那不是针对罗宾逊的故意行为，”拉塞尔说。“大卫不应该抓住他。卡尔只是想把他的胳膊拉出来，打他的下巴，我想。”

亚当·基夫(Adam Keefe)说，这次撞击发生在双方情绪开始高涨之后。

“双方都出现了三四个漏判，”基夫说。“但卡尔肯定没有故意用肘击打大卫的头部。不，我认为比赛之后并没有变得更加激烈。”

尽管如此，比赛中出现了50次个人犯规，其中30次由马刺队球员犯下。

“试图用肢体冲突让我们退出比赛是不行的，”拉塞尔说。“你不知道为什么裁判不吹哨，但我猜他们不可能注意到所有事情。”

没有一位犹他球员对赢得分区冠军表示兴奋。

“那个冠军是一个小目标，但它并不意味着什么，”基夫说。“主场优势才是最重要的，而我们的目标是赢得(NBA)总冠军。”

点击查看原文：Malone, Utah insist game wasn't too physical

Malone, Utah insist game wasn’t too physical

SALT LAKE CITY - The “Delta Force” has never been kind to San Antonio.

Karl Malone, the power forward who labors for the Utah Jazz at the Delta Center, has led the Jazz to two devastating playoff-series victories over the Spurs.

Wednesday night he dealt another crushing blow when he sent David Robinson to the hospital for overnight observation of the effects of a concussion.

Malone and Robinson were locked in a struggle for position when Malone swept up his elbow straight into the left side of Robinson’s head.

The Spurs’ center - knocked unconscious by the blow - toppled like a tree. He landed face down on the court, not even getting his arms out to block the crash.

Malone was upset that some insisted the blow was intentional.

“I heard some of the San Antonio press say I should be suspended,” he said. "That’s bull. I hope David’s OK. I hope we’re still friends.

“That was a set play. He was leaning in and when I turned, I hit him,” Malone said. “I don’t have to play that way to get a job in this league, so why would I? I don’t.”

Malone kept up his aggressive style, tangling repeatedly with Spurs center Will Perdue along the baseline. Malone continued to exchange shoves, pushes and verbal jabs with the Spurs’ backup center.

The Utah forward later tested Tim Duncan’s resolve by delivering a sharp elbow to the rookie’s back. The blast sent Duncan to the free- throw line as the result of a flagrant- foul whistle.

The blow failed to shake Duncan. He led the Spurs with 14 points in the first half and continued his aggressive push through the second half with another 20.

The Jazz, who wrapped up the Midwest Division title with the victory, didn’t consider the game overly physical.

“I know a lot of people think the game was physical, but I don’t,” Malone said with a slight smile. “I didn’t see what happened to David. I just saw him fall. Obviously, I hope he’s all right. I don’t like to see anybody get injured.”

Bryon Russell also didn’t consider the game overly aggressive.

“That wasn’t intentional on Robinson,” Russell said. “David shouldn’t have been holding him. Karl just tried to pull his arm out and hit him on the chin, I guess.”

Adam Keefe said the blow came after tempers were beginning to rise.

“There were three or four no- calls at both ends,” Keefe said. “But Karl certainly didn’t intend to elbow David on the head. No, I don’t think the game got any nastier after that.”

Still, there were 50 personal fouls called during the game, 30 on the Spurs.

“It doesn’t work to try to physical us out of our game,” said Russell. “You wonder why the refs don’t blow the whistle, but I guess they can’t catch everything.”

Not a single Utah player indicated any excitement over winning the division title.

“That title is a little goal, but it doesn’t really mean anything,” Keefe said. “Home-court advantage is what’s important, and winning the (NBA) title is what we’re after.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-10, By Arthur Garcia

受伤的罗宾逊成为街谈巷议的话题

下次圣安东尼奥对阵犹他爵士时，马刺球迷的口号可能会是：“记住三角洲中心！”即使大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)自己记不起来。

在周三晚上的圣安东尼奥与犹他爵士的NBA比赛中，爵士前锋卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)无意中——或者根据某些人说法是有意地——用肘击了罗宾逊，导致马刺中锋遭受脑震荡，激怒了马刺球迷。

罗宾逊还扭伤了左膝盖囊，并在倒地撞击三角洲中心地板时头部磕出肿块。他将错过今晚对阵西雅图的比赛。

“我现在最担心的是我的膝盖，”他说。“这是我身体上最疼的地方。”

罗宾逊在比赛开始三分钟后被击中后脑勺后几乎什么都不记得了。

“等我到医院的时候，我的头脑已经很清楚了，在此之前都模糊不清，”罗宾逊说。

他认为马龙的击打并非有意。

“这很不幸，”罗宾逊说。“但在看到它之前，很难说（是否故意）。”

马龙的击打以及马刺球员的反应——或缺乏反应——为电视、体育广播和互联网提供了素材。

在expressnews.com的马刺论坛上，大多数球迷认为肘击是故意的，并认为马刺球员应该站出来为罗宾逊辩护。

“我认为这绝对是一次故意的肘击，”圣安东尼奥的保罗·希门尼斯(Paul Jimenez)写道。“我想知道为什么没有人在这件事发生后去面对马龙。这就是马刺所欠缺的……一个执法者！”

来自盐湖城的埃里克·汉森(Eric Hansen)认为这只是一个意外，并提到了两位球员之间的友谊。

“罗宾逊和马龙多年来一直是场外的朋友。马龙不可能有意伤害他非常尊重并认为是朋友的人。罗宾逊是马龙最想与之同队打球的少数中锋之一，”汉森说。

点击查看原文：Sidelined Robinson talk of town

Sidelined Robinson talk of town

Next time San Antonio plays the Utah Jazz, the battle cry of Spurs fans could be, “Remember the Delta Center!” Even if David Robinson can’t.

In Wednesday night’s San Antonio-Utah NBA game, Jazz forward Karl Malone inadvertently - or advertently, according to some - elbowed Robinson, causing the Spurs center to suffer a concussion, and outraging Spurs backers.

Robinson also sprained his left knee capsule and suffered a knot to his forehead during the fall to the Delta Center floor. He will miss tonight’s home game against Seattle.

“My main concern right now is my knee,” he said. “It’s the sorest part of my body.”

Robinson remembered little after the blow to the back of his head, which took place three minutes into the game.

“By the time I got to the hospital my head was pretty clear, before that it’s fuzzy,” Robinson said.

He didn’t think Malone’s hit was intentional.

“It was unfortunate,” Robinson said. “But it’s hard to comment (on whether it was intentional) until I see it.”

Malone’s blow and the reaction of Spurs players - or lack thereof - provided fodder for TV, sports radio and the Internet.

Most fans on the expressnews.com Spurs forum felt the elbow was intentional and thought Spurs players should have come to Robinson’s defense.

“I think it was definitely an intentional elbow,” writes Paul Jimenez of San Antonio. “I am wondering why anyone did not get into Malone’s face after (the) incident. That is what the Spurs are lacking … an ENFORCER!!”

Eric Hansen from Salt Lake believed it was accidental, citing the friendship of the two players.

“Robinson and Malone have been friends off the court for years. There is no way that Malone would intentionally hurt someone whom he highly respects and considers a friend. Robinson is one of the few centers that Malone would love to play with on the same team,” Hansen said.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-10, By Arthur Garcia

遭肘击后被“停泊” 海军上将今晚将缺席比赛

马刺队中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)将在今晚对阵西雅图的比赛中缺席，作为预防措施，他在周三晚上对阵犹他的比赛中遭受了脑震荡，并再次伤到了左膝。

罗宾逊在周四下午回到了圣安东尼奥，距离卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)的肘击将他击倒昏迷不到15个小时。

根据周四在圣安东尼奥进行的核磁共振检查，罗宾逊的左膝关节囊拉伤，但没有韧带损伤。

神经学家也检查了罗宾逊，并确定如果他在24小时内没有出现与脑震荡相关的症状，例如头痛，他就可以恢复训练。

罗宾逊最早可能在周一晚上对阵洛杉矶湖人队复出。马刺队发言人汤姆·詹姆斯(Tom James)表示，罗宾逊今晚将缺席他本赛季的第七场比赛，如果他能度过24小时的观察期，他将被列为逐场观察。

罗宾逊在比赛开始三分钟后扭伤了左膝，并在跌倒时额头撞到地板，犹他队以98-88战胜马刺队，锁定西部联盟冠军。

马龙的左肘击中了罗宾逊的后脑勺，当时两人正在争抢位置。罗宾逊立刻软倒在地，左膝弯曲，脸部撞击了三角洲中心的地板。

离开球场后，罗宾逊被送往三角洲中心内的X光室，最终被送往盐湖城的一家医院，在那里他接受了CAT扫描并留院观察了一夜。

罗宾逊表示，他在离开球场前已经恢复了意识。

“还好我没有在头脑清醒后出现很多头痛，”罗宾逊说。“当我到达医院时，我感觉已经很清楚了。我真的一点都不记得了。我记得说球队祈祷词，（还有）抢到球权。之后就模糊不清了。”

罗宾逊不认为马龙故意想要伤害他，但他对马龙的粗野行为并不感到意外。

“我认识他有一段时间了，在球场上一直都是这样，”罗宾逊说。“他以前也踢过我。他道了歉，我接受了。如果（是故意的），我会感到惊讶。我不想认为他想要伤害我。”

马龙也否认试图伤害罗宾逊。

“我当然没有想要击中他。大卫是我的好朋友，”马龙说。“这只是一个我们经常进行的战术，我转向篮筐时就会这样。”

威尔·珀迪(Will Perdue)在大部分时间里都与马龙对位，他并没有那么宽容。

“我认为这看起来有点可疑，”珀迪在周四的阿拉莫穹顶训练前说。“我不知道（马龙）是否认为大卫太强硬了，但他做的事有点过分。”

珀迪说，马龙的肘击是他一贯的行为。罗宾逊受伤后，两人短暂地发生了口角。

“这不是第一次发生，也不会是最后一次，”珀迪说。“你永远不知道（马龙）脑子里在想什么。我读到（犹他队的）一个球员认为大卫在抱住他，但当你反复观看回放，看到他后脑勺受到的撞击有多严重，很难相信这一点。”

马龙在比赛后期再次用肘击犯规，这次他击中了马刺队的菜鸟蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)的后背。

“卡尔的风格就是他伸出膝盖，挥舞着肘部，”波波维奇说。“多尼尔·马歇尔(Donyell Marshall)有同样的感觉。”

马龙在周二晚上在加州奥克兰对阵金州勇士队的比赛中用膝盖顶到了马歇尔的肋骨，导致马歇尔肋骨骨折，犹他队以101-99获胜。

马龙和约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton)在周三晚上去医院探望了罗宾逊。

“卡尔·马龙和他的妻子，约翰·斯托克顿和他的妻子在比赛结束后来了，”罗宾逊说。“他们都很害怕。”

马龙说：“我对他说第一句话就是，‘对不起。’他说，‘卡尔，这种事总会发生的。’”

波波维奇说，他还没有联系NBA，关于可能对马龙采取的纪律处罚。

“罗德在菲尼克斯，我还没有和他通话，”波波维奇说，他指的是NBA篮球运营高级副总裁罗德·索恩(Rod Thorn) - 负责联盟纪律的负责人。“我将把这个决定留给联盟。”

罗宾逊和波波维奇的注意力转向了罗宾逊的膝盖，这个膝盖让他本赛季缺席了几场比赛。

“他的膝盖现在是一个严重的问题，”波波维奇说。

“我的膝盖很疼，”罗宾逊说。“我不知道发生了什么，但今天很痛。”

这一事件发生在马龙获得亨利·P·伊巴公民运动员奖的同一天，该奖项表彰他对儿童慈善事业的奉献。

- 美联社对此报道有贡献。

点击查看原文：Docked after getting decked Admiral will sit out tonight after the Mailman's delivery

Docked after getting decked Admiral will sit out tonight after the Mailman’s delivery

Spurs center David Robinson will miss tonight’s home game against Seattle as a precautionary measure after he suffered a concussion and reinjured his left knee in Wednesday night’s loss at Utah.

A still-groggy Robinson returned to San Antonio on Thursday afternoon, less than 15 hours after a Karl Malone elbow knocked him unconscious.

Robinson has a strained left knee capsule, but no ligament damage, according to MRI tests performed in San Antonio on Thursday.

Neurologists also checked Robinson and determined he would be able to resume workouts if, after a 24-hour period, he has no symptoms related to the concussion, such as headaches.

The earliest Robinson could return is Monday night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Spurs spokesman Tom James said Robinson, who will miss his seventh game of the season tonight, will be listed game-to-game should he get through the 24-hour window.basketball."

Robinson twisted his left knee and received a knot to his forehead during the fall, which took place three minutes into Wednesday’s game, which Utah won 98-88 to clinch the Midwest Division title.

Malone’s left elbow caught Robinson in the back of the head as the two were battling for position. Robinson immediately went limp, his left knee buckled, and his face hit the Delta Center floor.

After leaving the court, Robinson was taken to the X-ray facilities in the Delta Center and eventually to a Salt Lake City hospital, where he received a CAT scan and stayed overnight for observation.

Robinson said he was able to regain his bearings before he left the arena.

“It was good I didn’t get a lot of headaches after I got my head clear,” Robinson said. “By the time I got to the hospital, I was pretty clear. I really don’t remember a whole lot. I remember saying the team prayer, (and) then stealing the tip. After that it’s fuzzy.”

Robinson didn’t believe Malone intentionally tried to hurt him, but he wasn’t surprised by the rough play.

“I’ve known him for a while, and it’s always been like that on the court,” Robinson said. “He’s kicked me before. He apologized, and I accepted it. It would surprise me if it was (intentional). I’d hate to think he was trying to hurt me.”

Malone also denied trying to hurt Robinson.

“I wasn’t trying to hit him, of course. David’s a great friend of mine,” Malone said. “That’s just a play that we run, where I turn to the basket like that.”

Will Perdue, matched up with Malone for most of the game, wasn’t as forgiving.

“I’d say it looks a little suspect,” Perdue said before Thursday’s practice at the Alamodome. “I don’t know if (Malone) thinks David was being too physical, but what he did was a little too excessive.”

Perdue said the elbow was a typical act from Malone. Both players exchanged words shortly after Robinson’s injury.

“It’s the not the first time it’s happened, and it’s not the last,” said Perdue, who was whistled for a flagrant foul on Malone in the second quarter. “You never know what goes through (Malone’s) mind. I read where one of (Utah’s) guys thought David was holding him, but it’s hard to believe that when you watch the replay over and over, and see the severity of the contact to the back of his head.”

Malone did pick up a flagrant foul later in the game with another elbow, this time when he nailed Spurs rookie Tim Duncan in the back.

“Karl’s style is he gets his knee out there and he flails his elbows,” Popovich said. “Donyell Marshall is feeling the same thing.”

Malone kneed Golden State’s Marshall on Tuesday night in Oakland, Calif., fracturing his rib in Utah’s 101-99 victory.

Malone and John Stockton visited Robinson in the hospital Wednesday night.

“Karl Malone and his wife, John Stockton and his wife came after the game,” Robinson said. “They were pretty scared.”

Said Malone: “My first words to him were, ‘I’m sorry.’ He said, ‘Karl, those things happen.’”

Popovich said he hasn’t contacted the NBA regarding possible disciplinary action against Malone.

“Rod’s in Phoenix and I haven’t spoken to him,” Popovich said of Rod Thorn, the NBA’s senior vice president for basketball operations - the executive in charge of league discipline. “I’ll leave this decision to the league.”

Robinson and Popovich’s attention turned to Robinson’s knee, which has kept him out of several games this season.

“His knee is of significant concern right now,” Popovich said.

“My knee is sore,” Robinson said. “I don’t know what happened, but it hurts today.”

This incident came the same day as Malone received the Henry P. Iba Citizen Athlete Award for his devotion to children’s charities.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-10, By Kevin O’Keeffe

罗宾逊先生的邻里缺少朋友

今晚在阿拉莫圆顶体育馆，马刺队将向许多为这里篮球迷们创造过去25年难忘回忆的人致敬。

周三晚上在盐湖城，这支身披银黑球衣的球队本可以派上一些老将。

你肯定已经知道，犹他州的卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)挥出一肘击中马刺队的戴维·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的后脑勺，导致罗宾逊昏迷。

看着罗宾逊倒地，真是让人不寒而栗。

马龙本人也对这一幕感到惊恐，他的肢体语言表明他并不想伤害罗宾逊。他在盐湖城的一家医院探望了罗宾逊并向他道歉，进一步证明了他的真实感受。

他是故意挥肘的吗？

当然。

然而，周四这里人们都在为此事疯狂，他们把责任归咎于马龙，甚至把他和圆顶体育馆的泥土、凯利空军基地的关闭联系在一起——他们甚至把他放在了1963年11月22日达拉斯的草地山丘上——而马刺球员在事发时没有做出任何反应，这一点却无人关注。

这种情况以前也发生过，罗宾逊曾多次遭到恶意犯规。

让我们回到11月3日芝加哥的那场比赛：

公牛队的丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)在远离比赛的时候用肩膀撞向罗宾逊的背部。罗宾逊摔倒在地，短暂地躺在地上。

没有一个人站出来挑战罗德曼。

快进到周三晚上的三角洲中心：

马龙对罗宾逊用胳膊搂住他不满。马龙回击，挥出一肘。

没有一个马刺球员上前制止马龙。

这才是让马刺球迷周四感到愤怒的事情。

科比·迪特里克(Coby Dietrick)，70年代末马刺队出色阵容的关键成员之一，表示球员们最初的反应是确保罗宾逊没事。但一旦确认罗宾逊没事……

“如果有人对乔治·格文(George Gervin)下手，我感觉自己有义务回击他们，”迪特里克说道。

保罗·格里芬(Paul Griffin)，80年代初马刺队“伤痕兄弟”的创始成员之一，在80-81赛季的季后赛中与另一位马龙，休斯顿火箭队的莫西斯·马龙(Moses Malone)斗智斗勇。

当被问及如果他在周三晚上在场，会发生什么时，格里芬说：“我会冲到卡尔面前。”

他会等到事后再去了解事情的具体细节。

格里芬承认一些马刺球员可能没有看到这次犯规。这是许多人提出的一个观点，他们也对11月那晚芝加哥的比赛说了同样的话。

但两起事件的录像表明并非如此。

马刺队的蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)都看到了马龙挥肘和罗宾逊倒地的一幕。

如果你多年来一直阅读我的专栏，你就会知道我痛恨体育运动中的暴力行为。

但是，作为一个团队的本质就是保护被伤害的队友。

我并不是说邓肯或杰克逊应该对马龙拳脚相向。但是，为什么不站出来，面对面地告诉“邮差”他的投递需要额外付费呢？

哦，当达拉斯的哈里德·里夫斯(Khalid Reeves)在本赛季初用衣领勒住罗宾逊时，确实有一些球员做出了反应。

但里夫斯带来的威胁远远不及罗德曼或马龙。

周三晚上马刺队的更衣室和周四上午的训练中，人们对这次事件充满了愤怒和正义的愤慨。

为时已晚。

马刺队强烈反对他们在美国媒体上“软弱”的形象。

周三晚上在盐湖城发生的事件，解释了这种形象为何存在，以及为何它将继续存在。

点击查看原文：Mr. Robinson's Neighborhood lacking friends

Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood lacking friends

Tonight in the Alamodome, the Spurs will honor many of the men who have made the last 25 years memorable for basketball fans here.

Wednesday night in Salt Lake City, the current group wearing silver and black could have used a few of the old hands.

As you are no doubt aware, Utah’s Karl Malone flung an elbow that struck the Spurs’ David Robinson in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious.

It was horrifying watching Robinson crumble to the floor.

One who felt that horror was Malone, whose body language showed that he didn’t intend to hurt Robinson. An apology and a visit with Robinson in a Salt Lake City hospital gave further evidence of Malone’s feelings.

Did he intend to throw an elbow?

You bet.

Still, lost in Thursday’s frenzy here, where people blamed Malone for dome dirt, the closing of Kelly AFB - they even placed him on the grassy knoll in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963 - was the non-reaction of Spurs players at the time of the incident.

And it’s happened before when Robinson has been clobbered.

Rewind to Nov. 3 in Chicago:

The Bulls’ Dennis Rodman stuck his shoulder into Robinson’s back away from the play. Robinson fell and was briefly on the ground.

No one challenged Rodman.

Fast forward to Wednesday night in the Delta Center:

Malone objected to Robinson wrapping an arm around him. Malone whipped an elbow in response.

Not one Spur came at Malone.

That is what should have had Spurs fans angry Thursday.

Coby Dietrick, one of the key members of the excellent Spurs teams of the late '70s, said that the initial response by the players was to make sure Robinson was OK. But once that was ascertained …

“If somebody bounced George Gervin, I felt it was my job to bounce them,” Dietrick said.

Paul Griffin, a charter member of the Spurs’ Bruise Brothers of the early '80s, jousted with another Malone, Moses of the Houston Rockets during the '80-81 playoffs.

When asked what would have happened had he been on the floor Wednesday night, Griff said, “I’d have been in Karl’s face.”

And he would have waited until later to get details.

Griffin allowed that some of the Spurs might not have seen what happened on the play. It’s an argument advanced by several people, who said the same thing about that night in Chicago in November.

Tapes of both incidents indicate otherwise.

Why the Spurs’ Tim Duncan and Jaren Jackson each had a view of Malone’s elbow and Robinson’s collapse.

Now if you’ve read my column through the years, you know I abhor violence in sports.

Still, the essence of being a team is to take care of a teammate who has been wronged.

I’m not suggesting that Duncan or Jackson should have cold- cocked Malone. But what would have been wrong with standing nose-to-nose and explaining to the Mailman that his delivery came with postage due?

Oh, there was response by some when Dallas’ Khalid Reeves clotheslined Robinson earlier this season.

But Reeves hardly poses the same threat as Rodman or Malone.

Rage and righteous indignation regarding the incident was evident in the Spurs locker room Wednesday night and at practice Thursday morning.

Too late.

The Spurs vigorously object to their reputation in the national media as being a soft team.

What didn’t happen Wednesday night in Salt Lake City is why the reputation exists … and why it will continue to do so.

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

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-10, By Glenn Rogers

马刺面对严峻考验，伤兵满营

本来局面不应该这样。

马刺期待着与爵士、超音速和湖人的艰苦比赛作为即将到来的季后赛的热身。

大卫·罗宾逊 (David Robinson) 表示这将是一个激动人心的时刻，让马刺与西部联盟最优秀的球队对抗，为对阵这些相同球队的季后赛做好准备。

但……

周三晚上 98-88 失利对阵爵士时，罗宾逊被卡尔·马龙的肘击击中头部失去意识，仅出场三分钟。

他在医院度过一夜，然后返回圣安东尼奥接受更多神经学检查，结果显示膝盖囊肿拉伤。当马刺队今晚 7:30 在阿拉莫圆顶迎战西雅图时，他将缺席。

文尼·德尔·内格罗在与爵士的比赛中因呼吸道疾病而步履蹒跚，该疾病沉积在他的胸部，导致他周四卧床不起。他能否参加与超音速队的比赛存在疑问。

艾弗里·约翰逊周四对自己的臀部肌肉进行了另一项 MRI 检查，这是预防措施，他可能将对阵超音速队，尽管他不会首发。

教练格雷格·波波维奇说：“显然，这些打击在此时并不受欢迎。这些伤病阻止我们此时达到我们的巅峰状态。在最后 10 或 15 场比赛中，球员无法上场或只能半速上场，这不是你想要的局面。

“但是，对此无能为力，你只需要坚持比赛。我们的目标是在季后赛开始时尽可能地恢复健康。我关心他们所有人。文尼昨晚在球场上时几乎奄奄一息，但他倾其所有。他今天的情况更糟。”

那还并未提到那些已经一瘸一拐的球员。

波波维奇说：“（查克·）珀森（背部疼痛）充其量有 50- 50 的机会。我真不认为肖恩（艾利奥特，膝盖手术后正在康复）能够上场。他在训练中一直经历着剧烈疼痛，”波波维奇说。“我可能有些悲观，但我不会让任何人冒着风险上场。对他来说情况看起来不太妙。”

波波维奇说，球队一直能够忽视关键球员的缺席并展开竞争。

波波维奇说：“球员们一直在全力以赴地做我们要求他们做的事情，无论是在前场还是后场。他们一直能够专注于比赛。他们去年也做了同样的事情。”

计划在圣安东尼奥比赛的球队将以最佳状态比赛，每支球队仍有可能改善其季后赛排名。

超音速队盯上了联盟最佳战绩，但他们必须赶上犹他队。西雅图本赛季已经两次击败圣安东尼奥，并将于 4 月 17 日在西雅图再次与马刺队交锋。

湖人队必须不断赢球，才能实现赶上西雅图和犹他的机会。他们将于下周一会来到这里，今年已经三次击败马刺队。

实力下降的马刺队可能正是持续繁荣的法宝。

波波维奇说：“我们只需要想办法度过难关。这支球队以前也这么做过。事情会变得更好。我们期望艾弗里和文尼，还有大卫在季后赛开始后能恢复到最佳状态。”

点击查看原文：Spurs face tough stretch with few healthy players

Spurs face tough stretch with few healthy players

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

The Spurs were looking forward to a tough run against the Jazz, Sonics and Lakers as a tuneup for the upcoming playoffs.

David Robinson said this would be an exciting time, matching the Spurs against the best of the Western Conference, getting ready for the postseason games against these same teams.

But …

Robinson was knocked unconscious by a Karl Malone elbow and played only three minutes against the Jazz in Wednesday night’s 98-88 loss.

He spent the night in a hospital and returned to San Antonio for more neurological exams, which showed a strained knee capsule. He will not play when the Spurs take on Seattle at 7:30 tonight at the Alamodome.

Vinny Del Negro staggered through the Jazz game with a respiratory illness and that settled into his chest and put him in bed Thursday. He is questionable for the Sonics.

Avery Johnson had another MRI on his hip muscle Thursday, a precautionary measure, and he probably will play against the Sonics, although he won’t start.

“These hits are not welcome at this time, obviously,” Coach Gregg Popovich said. "These injuries have stopped us from reaching our peak at this time. It’s not the situation you want, during the last 10 or 15 games, to have players unavailable or at half speed.

“But, there’s nothing you can do about it, you just have to play through them. The goal is to get as healthy as we can by the time the playoffs begin. I’m concerned about all of them. Vinny was half dead on the floor last night but he gave every ounce of what he had. He was worse today.”

And that’s not to mention those already hobbling.

“Chuck (Person, back pain) is 50- 50 at best. I really don’t think Sean (Elliott, recovering from knee surgery) is going to be able to play. He has been experiencing serious pain during his practices,” Popovich said. “I may be being pessimistic, but I’m not going to put anybody at risk out on the floor. It just doesn’t look good for him.”

Popovich said the team has been able to ignore the absence of key players and compete.

“The players have been giving everything we’ve asked from them, at both ends of the floor,” Popovich said. “They’ve been able to focus on the games. They did the same thing last year.”

The teams on schedule to arrive in San Antonio will be playing in top form, each is still in position to improve its playoff standing.

The Sonics have their eye on the conference’s best record, but they have to catch Utah. Seattle has stopped San Antonio twice this season and will face the Spurs again on April 17 in Seattle.

The Lakers have to keep winning to realize their opportunity to catch Seattle and Utah. They will be here Monday night and already have defeated the Spurs three times this year.

The weakened Spurs can be just the ticket to continued prosperity.

“We just have to figure out ways to get through it,” Popovich said. “This team has done it before. Things will get better. We expect both Avery and Vinny and, hopefully, David to be back at full strength once the playoffs begin.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-11, By Jerry Briggs

马刺队发出了响亮而清晰的回应，在罗宾逊缺阵的情况下，他们战胜了超音速队

马刺队的明星中锋大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)周五晚上身穿便服坐在板凳上，或许正在思考48小时前与卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)的暴力冲突。

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)和查克·珀森(Chuck Person)也缺阵，他们可能正在想是否能及时伤愈，赶上季后赛。

西雅图超音速队来到客场，他们正为争夺西部最佳战绩而努力。

但是，缺少多位主力球员的马刺队，尽管近两场比赛都输了，却也有自己的想法。在老将贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)职业生涯最高的31分以及新秀蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和老将威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)的内线强势表现下，圣安东尼奥队在阿拉莫穹顶体育场以99-84战胜了超音速队，现场26,939名观众见证了这场比赛。

在终场哨声响起后，球迷们长时间起立欢呼，为这支在本赛季最后一个月经历了重重困难的球队欢呼。

“球场上压力很大，”杰克逊说，他也创下了职业生涯最高进球数（11个）和三分球数（6个）。“每个人都知道这场比赛对我们来说很重要。我们知道西部第四名的争夺战。

“而且在与犹他队的比赛后，人们都知道我们接下来的比赛很关键。我们知道我们必须拿下其中一些比赛。最终，我们赢下了这场比赛。”

马刺队在周三以98-88输给犹他队后，面临着媒体的严厉批评。在那场比赛中，马龙挥肘打倒了罗宾逊，导致他昏迷倒地。

因此，NBA对马龙禁赛一场，并罚款5,000美元。尽管受到了处罚，但罗宾逊可能是最糟糕的受害者。他在盐湖城一家医院住了一夜，被诊断为脑震荡。

虽然他说自己的头部已经清醒过来，但他左膝扭伤，太疼了，无法对阵超音速队。罗宾逊可能也无法参加周一晚上对阵洛杉矶湖人的主场比赛。

一些马刺队球员仍然对马龙的肘击感到愤怒，但他们在战胜超音速队后否认他们以此作为动力。杰克逊说，他们没有为了罗宾逊，而打出本赛季最佳的比赛。

“这场比赛是为了戴夫，也是为了所有无法上场的球员，”杰克逊说。“我们知道有些球员想参加这些比赛，但他们做不到。我知道那些球员很失望。但我们必须站出来，打出自己的水平。”

邓肯据报道当天早些时候入选了美国篮球世界杯精英阵容，他在低位打出了出色表现。这位身高6英尺11英寸的奇才以28分、17个篮板和7次盖帽的成绩统治了内线。

“他们在五分钟前告诉我（这个消息），”邓肯说，他在比赛结束后，还没有完全消化他在更衣室里取得的成就的重大意义。“波波维奇（马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇）告诉我的。我真的没有时间去反思。这是一个巨大的荣誉。”

美联社报道称，邓肯和迈阿密热火队的蒂姆·哈达威(Tim Hardaway)将填补美国队最后两个阵容名额，他们将在今年夏天晚些时候参加在希腊举行的国际篮联世界杯比赛。

“我对此一无所知，”波波维奇说。“当我看到它并了解它时，我会做出反应。但现在我什么都不知道。”

这场胜利暂时让马刺队（53胜25负）在争夺西部第四名和季后赛首轮主场优势的比赛中，领先菲尼克斯太阳队（51胜25负）一场。菲尼克斯队在周五晚些时候对阵洛杉矶湖人队。

对于超音速队（58胜20负）来说，这是一场代价高昂的失利，他们正与爵士队争夺西部最佳战绩。爵士队（59胜18负）的球迷可能不会为马龙的禁赛而感到难过，因为他们看到了他们的球队以126-109大胜洛杉矶快船队。

私下里，马刺队对马龙的禁赛只让他休息一场比赛感到愤怒——而且还是对实力弱小的快船队。

“最好什么也不说，”珀杜说，他抢下了16个篮板，给超音速队造成了很大的麻烦。“这就是我的感受。”

马刺队在上半场落后5分，在下半场以53-33战胜了超音速队。他们在第三节对西雅图队的联盟领先的防守施加了压力，限制了客队仅以6投20中的命中率得到13分。

点击查看原文：Spurs heard loud, clear With Robinson out, S.A. clubs the SuperSonics

Spurs heard loud, clear With Robinson out, S.A. clubs the SuperSonics

Spurs star center David Robinson was in street clothes Friday night, sitting on the bench and perhaps thinking about a violent encounter with Karl Malone 48 hours earlier.

Sean Elliott and Chuck Person also were out, probably wondering if they could make it back into the lineup in time for the playoffs.

The Seattle SuperSonics were in town, driving for the best record in the Western Conference.

But the short-handed Spurs, losers of their last two games, had their own ideas. Led by journeyman Jaren Jackson’s career-best 31 points and the inside power of rookie Tim Duncan and veteran Will Perdue, San Antonio stunned the Sonics 99-84 in front of 26,939 at the Alamodome.

The fans stood and cheered long after the final buzzer to hail a team that has faced one adversity after another in the last month of the season.

“There was pressure out there,” said Jackson, who also established career highs in field goals (11) and three-pointers (six). "Everyone knew this was a big game for us. We knew about the race for fourth (place in the West).

“And after the Utah game, people knew we had some big ones coming up. We knew we had to get some of these games. We ended up getting this one.”

The Spurs had faced their share of media scrutiny in the wake of Wednesday’s 98-88 loss at Utah, where Malone threw an elbow and knocked Robinson unconscious to the floor of the Delta Center.

As a result, the NBA suspended Malone for one game and fined him $5,000. Despite the penalty, Robinson may have got the worst of it. He spent the night in a Salt Lake City hospital with a concussion.

And while he said his head had cleared, his twisted left knee was too tender for him to play against the Sonics. Robinson may not be able to play a home game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday night, either.

Some of the Spurs still were angry about the blow by Malone, but they denied in the wake of the victory over the Sonics that they used it as motivation. Jackson said they didn’t play perhaps their best game of the year for Robinson, specifically.

“This was for Dave, along with everyone else who couldn’t play,” Jackson said. “We knew there were guys who wanted to be in these games and they couldn’t. I knew those guys were disappointed. But we had to step up and play.”

Duncan, reportedly named earlier in the day to the elite USA Basketball world championship team, enjoyed a big night on the low post. The 6-foot-11 wonder whirled and powered his way to 28 points, 17 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

“They told me about (the report) five minutes ago,” said Duncan, who had not quite digested the magnitude of his achievement in the locker room after the game. “Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich) told me. I really haven’t had time to reflect on it. It’s a great honor to be selected.”

The Associated Press reported that Duncan and Miami’s Tim Hardaway were the choices to fill the final two roster spots on the team that will play in the FIBA World Championship tournament in Greece later this summer.

“I don’t know anything about it,” Popovich said. “When I read it and find out about it, I’ll have a reaction. But I don’t know anything about it right now.”

The victory temporarily pushed the Spurs (53-25) a game ahead of the Phoenix Suns (51-25) in the race for fourth place and home- court advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Phoenix played later Friday night at the Los Angeles Lakers.

It was a costly loss for the Sonics (58-20), who are locked in a battle with the Jazz for the best record in the West. Fans of the Jazz (59-18) probably didn’t shed any tears about the Malone suspension as they watched their team wallop the Los Angeles Clippers 126-109.

Privately, the Spurs were angry that the suspension gave Malone only a one-game rest - against the lowly Clippers, no less.

“It’s probably best that I don’t say anything about it,” said Perdue, who pounded the Sonics with 16 rebounds. “That’s the way I feel.”

The Spurs, trailing by five at the half, ripped the Sonics 53-33 in the second half. They clamped their league-leading defense on Seattle in the third quarter and limited the visitors to 13 points on 6-of- 20 shooting from the field.

By Jerry Briggs, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-11, By Arthur Garcia and Glenn Rogers

海军上将的父亲：马刺队让儿子失望了

不要以为大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)的父亲会同意那些认为马刺队在周三儿子被卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)的肘击击倒后，采取息事宁人的做法是正确的。

安布罗斯·罗宾逊(Ambrose Robinson)说，球队应该在周三为儿子辩护，当时马龙的野蛮肘击击晕了马刺队的中锋，并让他在马刺队与犹他爵士队的篮球比赛中遭受脑震荡。

罗宾逊老先生在周五晚上马刺队在阿拉莫穹顶与西雅图队的比赛之前发表了讲话。

马刺队以99-84获胜，结束了他们的两连败，但他们是在没有明星中锋的情况下做到的。

“我非常沮丧，没有人为他说句话，”罗宾逊老先生说。

马龙被NBA禁赛一场——他于周五晚上在爵士队对阵洛杉矶快船队的比赛中执行了禁赛——并被罚款5000美元。

“如果他们要采取任何行动，那还不够，”罗宾逊老先生谈到马龙的处罚时说。

大卫·罗宾逊则持有不同的看法，他说球员在球场上没有报复，他们的行为是正确的。他也并没有批评NBA的处罚。

“我肯定认为（禁赛）不应该更长，”马刺队的中锋说。

点击查看原文：Admiral's father: Spurs failed son

Admiral’s father: Spurs failed son

Don’t count David Robinson’s father among those who felt the Spurs were right in turning the other cheek when his son went down under Karl Malone’s elbow Wednesday.

Ambrose Robinson said the team should have come to the defense of his son Wednesday, when Malone’s wild elbow knocked the Spurs’ center unconscious and left him with a concussion during the Spurs’ basketball game against the Utah Jazz.

The elder Robinson spoke out prior to Friday night’s Spurs-Seattle game in the Alamodome.

The Spurs won 99-84 to end a two-game losing streak, but they did it without their star center.

“I’m very frustrated that nobody took up for him,” the elder Robinson said.

Malone received a one-game suspension from the NBA - which he served Friday night when the Jazz played the Los Angeles Clippers - and a $5,000 fine.

“If they were going to do anything, that wasn’t enough,” the elder Robinson said of Malone’s penalty.

David Robinson felt differently, saying the players acted correctly in not retaliating on the court. He also didn’t criticize the NBA’s punishment.

“I definitely don’t think (the suspension) should have been longer,” the Spurs’ center said.

By Arthur Garcia and Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1998-04-11, By Glenn Rogers

马刺队在中场休息时向昔日球星致敬 昔日球星表示他们仍然可以打NBA

脸上多了几条皱纹，头发也多了几根白发。肚子也开始微微隆起。

但总的来说，周五晚上在对阵超音速队的比赛中场休息时受到表彰的马刺队昔日球星，看起来依然十分健壮，即使还没准备好穿上球衣，在替补席上上场几分钟。

参加新闻发布会、晚餐以及中场休息时介绍的球员有：吉恩·班克斯(Gene Banks)、艾伦·布里斯特(Allan Bristow)、科比·迪特里希(Coby Dietrick)、迈克·盖尔(Mike Gale)、乔治·格文(George Gervin)、阿蒂斯·吉尔摩(Artis Gilmore)、保罗·格里芬(Paul Griffin)、基思·埃德蒙森(Keith Edmonson)、威廉·弗兰克林(William Franklin)、乔治·约翰逊(George Johnson)、乔治·卡尔(George Karl)、拉里·肯农(Larry Kenon)、前训练师伯尼·拉罗(Bernie LaReau)、前老板雷德·麦科姆斯(Red McCombs)、前教练道格·莫(Doug Moe)、约翰尼·摩尔(Johnny Moore)、斯文·奈特(Swen Nater)、埃德·尼利(Ed Nealy)、马克·奥伯丁(Mark Olberding)、比利·保尔茨(Billy Paultz)、詹姆斯·塞拉斯(James Silas)以及前广播员特里·斯滕布里奇(Terry Stembridge)。

昔日球星们非常高兴。

“这很好，因为你和过去一起打球的球员在一起，不仅仅是来自不同时代的球队球员，”盖尔说。“看到他们感觉很好。”

迪特里希说，球员们喜欢这些聚会，但他也指出，没有人生活在过去。

“看到大家做得很好，这感觉很好，”他说。“能够有机会和他们所有人聚在一起，真好。在这样的日子里，你会想起过去的美好时光。”

保尔茨说，这样的重聚让人想起辉煌的日子。

“这些聚会意义重大，”保尔茨说。“已经25年了，你会倾向于忘记很多事情。这些人中有许多是我的好朋友。马刺队是做这种事情最好的球队。我还把我的号码给了道格，这样我们就可以更频繁地联系。”

保尔茨说，今天的球员可能拥有更多的运动能力，但他那个时代的球员仍然可以进入NBA的阵容。

“从1到12，个人可能拥有更多技能，但比赛仍然取决于篮板、防守和投空篮等基本功，”保尔茨说。

“当你老了，你就会有回忆，你也会期待这些聚会。我现在已经老了，”莫说。“今年夏天，我参加了ABA的聚会（在印第安纳波利斯）。我看到了很多老朋友，但我已经好几年没见过叮当（马克·奥伯丁）了。”

阿蒂斯·吉尔摩指出：“站在这里，我认识所有的球员，真正的变化是我不认识媒体记者了。”

“A-Train”在他职业生涯中一直是内线的一股强大的力量，他说他和马刺队昔日球员可以进入今天的球队。

“我知道这听起来像是我在自吹自擂，”他说。“但我看比赛，我仍然会是顶尖球员。最大的区别是今天的球员获得了更多的曝光度。”

布里斯特的观点有点不同。

“我很惊讶我能和这群人在一起，”他说。“我每年都得努力才能进入球队。这些球员现在能上场吗？当然，从阿蒂斯开始。”

塞拉斯说，这帮人承诺在未来的几年里保持联系。

“当我们聚在一起的时候，这就是我们谈论的事情，”他说。“我们至少要交换名片。我们不会让这种情况再次发生。”

点击查看原文：Spurs salute ex-players at halftime Former stars say they can still play in NBA

Spurs salute ex-players at halftime Former stars say they can still play in NBA

There were a few more lines on the faces, a few more gray hairs. There were a few paunches developing.

But, all in all, the former Spurs who were honored at halftime during the game against the Sonics on Friday night looked amazingly fit, if not quite ready to suit up and be ready to come off the bench for a few minutes.

Gathering for a news conference and dinner and then the halftime show when each was introduced were Gene Banks, Allan Bristow, Coby Dietrick, Mike Gale, George Gervin, Artis Gilmore, Paul Griffin, Keith Edmonson, William Franklin, George Johnson, George Karl, Larry Kenon, former trainer Bernie LaReau, former owner Red McCombs, former coach Doug Moe, Johnny Moore, Swen Nater, Ed Nealy, Mark Olberding, Billy Paultz and James Silas and former radio broadcaster Terry Stembridge.

The former players were delighted.

“It’s nice because you’re with all the guys you played with, not just players on the team from another time,” Gale said. “It just feels good to see them.”

Dietrick said the players love the gatherings but noted that none live in the past.

“It’s just good to see the guys have done well,” he said. “It’s nice to have the chance to catch up with all of them. On days like this, you remember the times you used to have.”

Paultz said such reunions bring back memories of the glory days.

“These gatherings mean a lot,” Paultz said. “It’s been 25 years and you tend to forget so much. A lot of these guys were very good friends of mine. The Spurs have been the best team to do this sort of thing. I’ve even given my number to Doug so we can communicate more often.”

Paultz said players today may have more athleticism but the members of his era would still make NBA rosters.

“From 1 to 12, the individuals may have more skills, but the game still depends on the basics of rebounding, defense and hitting the open jumper,” Paultz said.

“When you get older, you have the memories and you look forward to these get-togethers. And I’m an old guy now,” Moe said. “I was at the ABA gathering (in Indianapolis) this summer. I saw a lot of guys but I haven’t seen Ding- Dong (Mark Olberding) in years.”

Artis Gilmore noted: “Standing here, I know all the guys, the real change is I don’t recognize the media guys.”

The A-Train, a formidable force in the paint during his career, said he and the former Spurs could man today’s teams.

“I know this sounds like I’m patting myself on the back,” he said. “But I watch the games, I’d still be at the top. The biggest difference is the players today get a lot more exposure.”

Bristow’s take was a little different.

“I’m amazed I’m even here with this group,” he said. “I had to struggle to make the team every year. Could the guys suit up now? Sure, start with Artis.”

Silas said the gang pledged to maintain contact through the coming years.

“That’s what we talked about when we got together,” he said. “We’re going to exchange at least cards. We’re not going to let this happen again.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News