马刺1998-99赛季实录（780+篇）

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-23, By Johnny Ludden

“狼群吞噬马刺——邓肯和圣安东尼奥队在决胜时刻再次失利”

没什么秘密可言。想击败马刺？包夹，包夹，再包夹！

马刺队知道这一点，明尼苏达森林狼队显然也明白。在不到两周的时间里，森林狼队第二次对蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)和大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)进行了包夹。结果，当然是一样的。

邓肯和罗宾逊二人合计贡献了球队22次失误中的14次，马刺队再次在第四节崩溃，周一晚上在目标中心球馆15374名球迷面前以89-95输给了森林狼队。

“失误不仅仅是因为球队防守出色，”埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)说道，“我们对球的掌控不够强硬。直到我们决心变得足够强硬，撞开对手的鼻子或胸膛，我们才会停止犯这些错误。”

“对手会继续观看录像，他们会继续击败我们。”

森林狼队（8胜2负）不需要录像机，甚至不需要口头传播。2月9日，他们在目标中心球馆以74-70击败马刺队（5胜6负）时也迫使马刺队出现了22次失误。周一晚上，同样的地点，同样的故事。

马刺队在上一场失利中最后的7分钟里出现了7次失误。周一晚上，他们在最后一节出现了10次失误。

邓肯在上一场失利中创下了生涯新低的8分。周一晚上，如果不是在比赛结束前25秒的两次毫无意义的罚球，他将再次创造这个纪录。

“我们的想法是，如果你能限制邓肯和罗宾逊的出手次数，那么我们就会处于有利位置，”明尼苏达队主教练弗利普·桑德斯(Flip Saunders)说道，“当你将邓肯和罗宾逊的出手次数限制在10次和9次时，你应该赢得比赛。”

事情几乎就是这么简单。底特律活塞队，出于某种原因，在周日的比赛中并没有太多包夹邓肯，最终以64-85输掉了比赛。不幸的是，森林狼队并没有效仿活塞队的做法。

每当邓肯触球时，斯蒂芬·马布里(Stephon Marbury)或安东尼·皮勒(Anthony Peeler)——或者有时是他们俩——都会冲过来协防。这使得约翰逊和马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)合计得到39分，出手35次。但是邓肯在第一节之后只得到2分和2个篮板。

“我们在摆脱这种状况方面遇到了问题，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说道，“这才是真正的比赛的关键。”

“失误彻底杀死了我们。”

邓肯最终出现了8次失误，罗宾逊出现了6次。邓肯的5次失误发生在第二节最后5分钟，帮助将马刺队4分的领先优势变成了半场结束时的40-41落后。罗宾逊的失误代价更大。他所有的6次失误都发生在最后一节，而马刺队在这一节开始时领先1分。

“他们今年对（蒂姆）的防守非常严密，”罗宾逊说道，“他必须适应这一点。他必须找到一些简单的得分机会，让比赛进入状态。”

“我必须帮助他。我必须在比赛早些时候找到一些进攻机会，减轻一些包夹。”

明尼苏达队的运动能力让防守变得更加困难。凯文·加内特(Kevin Garnett)（6英尺11英寸）、乔·史密斯(Joe Smith)（6英尺10英寸）和迪恩·加勒特(Dean Garrett)（6英尺11英寸）又高又快，能够迅速回到外线，对马刺队射手进行封盖。

“他们能够干扰到很多传球，”邓肯说道，“这是一个问题。”

为了解决这个问题，埃利说邓肯和罗宾逊可以停止犹豫不决的打法。

“我不知道发生了什么，”埃利说道，“如果你被包夹了，就传出去。不要犹豫，直接做出动作。”

“我宁愿蒂姆和戴夫尝试突破（包夹）。他们只是在包夹中犹豫不决。”

“篮球是一项反应性运动。如果有两个人包夹你，那就有人是空位的。把球传出去。”

肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)在周日7投6中，而他在周一前10次出手都没有命中，最终16投3中。在马刺队在第四节前4分半钟没有得分之后，埃利奥特的3分球将森林狼队的领先优势缩小到81-85，比赛还剩1分47秒。

但是马利克·西利(Malik Sealy)——他和萨姆·米切尔(Sam Mitchell)联手贡献了森林狼队30分中的21分——在底线附近命中了一记20英尺的投篮。最终，马刺队自己扼杀了获胜的希望，邓肯又失误了。

“我们从未想过我们会走到今天这一步，”约翰逊说道，“从赛程来看，我们原本以为（周一）之后我们会取得8胜3负的战绩。”

没有人需要告诉埃利马刺队真实的战绩。

“我们5胜6负，”埃利说道，“这正在成为一个问题。”

点击查看原文：'Wolves devour Spurs - Duncan, S.A. falter down stretch again

'Wolves devour Spurs - Duncan, S.A. falter down stretch again

There’s not much secret to it. Want to beat the Spurs? Double team. Double team. Double team.

The Spurs know it. Apparently so does Minnesota. For the second time in less than two weeks, the Timberwolves blanketed Tim Duncan and David Robinson. The result, of course, was the same.

Duncan and Robinson combined for 14 of the team’s 22 turnovers as the Spurs again fell apart in the fourth quarter, losing 95-89 Monday night in front of 15,374 fans at the Target Center.

“The turnovers are not just because teams are playing great defense,” Avery Johnson said. "We’re just not being strong enough with the basketball. Until we decide to get strong enough and knock someone in the nose or knock them in the chest, we’re going to keep having these problems.

“Teams are going to keep on looking at film. And they’re going to keep beating us.”

The Timberwolves (8-2) didn’t need a VCR or even word of mouth. On Feb. 9, they also forced 22 turnovers in a 74-70 win over the Spurs (5-6) at the Target Center. Monday night it was the same location, same story.

The Spurs committed seven turnovers in the final seven minutes in their previous loss. Monday, they coughed up 10 in the final quarter.

Duncan matched his career low with eight points in the previous loss. Monday, only a pair of meaningless free throws with 25 seconds left prevented him from repeating the feat.

“Our thinking was, if you can limit the shots that Duncan and Robinson got, that we’d be in good shape,” Minnesota coach Flip Saunders said. “When you limit Duncan and Robinson to 10 and nine shots, you should win the game.”

It was almost as simple as that. Detroit, for some reason, didn’t double Duncan much in its 85-64 loss Sunday. Unfortunately for the Spurs, the Timberwolves didn’t follow the Pistons’ lead.

Every time Duncan touched the ball, Stephon Marbury or Anthony Peeler - or sometimes both - rushed over to help out. That allowed for Johnson and Mario Elie to combine for 39 points and 35 shots. But Duncan finished with just two points and two rebounds after the first quarter.

“We had problems getting the ball out of those situations,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "That was really the ballgame.

“Turnovers just murdered us.”

Duncan finished with eight turnovers; Robinson six. Five of Duncan’s turnovers came in the final five minutes of the second quarter and helped turn a four-point Spurs’ advantage into a 41-40 Minnesota lead at intermission. Robinson’s were even more costly. All six of his came in the final quarter, which began with the Spurs leading by one.

“They’re coming at (Tim) awfully hard this year,” Robinson said. "He’s got to get used to that. He’s got to get some easy buckets and get a flow going.

“I’ve got to help him out. I’ve got to get some things going early in the game and take some of the double teams.”

Minnesota’s athleticism made it difficult. Kevin Garnett (6-foot-11), Joe Smith (6-10) and Dean Garrett (6-11) are long and quick enough to jump back outside and get a hand in the face of the Spurs’ shooters.

“They were able to get their hands on a lot of passes,” Duncan said. “It’s a problem.”

To solve it, Elie said Duncan and Robinson can stop playing tentatively.

“I don’t know what’s happening,” Elie said. "If you get doubled, just kick out. Don’t hesitate, just make a move.

"I would rather Tim and Dave try to split (the double team). They’re just settling for the double team.

“Basketball is a reaction sport. If there’s two guys on you, someone is open. Get the ball out.”

It didn’t help that Sean Elliott, who hit 6 of 7 shots Sunday, missed his first 10 attempts Monday and finished 3 of 16. After the Spurs went scoreless for the first 4 1/2 minutes of the quarter, Elliott’s three- pointer cut the Timberwolves’ lead to 85-81 with 1:47 left.

But Malik Sealy - who teamed with Sam Mitchell to score 21 of Minnesota’s 30 fourth-quarter points - answered with a 20-footer on the baseline. And, fittingly, the Spurs then snuffed out their own hopes when Duncan threw away another pass.

“We would have never thought we’d be where we are now,” Johnson said. “Looking at the schedule, we thought we’d be 8-3 after (Monday).”

No one needed to tell Elie the Spurs’ true record.

“We’re 5-6,” Elie said. “This is becoming a problem now.”

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-23, By Buck Harvey

好莱坞方块：如何真正令人震惊

杰里·韦斯特(Jerry West) 周一前往拉斯维加斯考察德克萨斯基督教大学，同时也是为了远离丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)。

韦斯特对罗德曼的厌恶已经到了这种程度：他不愿与罗德曼身处同一星球的角落，更别提在罗德曼的“星球好莱坞”了。

因此，这是一个让人相信罗德曼会毁掉湖人的理由。在职业篮球界，没有人比韦斯特更聪明。

然后是周一的新闻发布会，罗德曼一会儿愤怒，一会儿下流，一会儿又哭泣。当罗德曼对自己都无法专心时，他怎么能不成为沙克和科比的干扰呢？

但在这场表演中，罗德曼也说了一些有道理的话。比如，所有湖人球员都希望成为超级巨星，但没有人知道自己的角色，没有人知道如何赢球。

迪恩·史密斯(Dean Smith) 也可能给出同样的枯燥演讲，就像卡门·伊莱克特拉(Carmen Electra) 用手指抚摸着他的时髦西装一样。所以，即使这一切都是出于错误的原因，主要是因为湖人队老板想要这样做，但罗德曼会成为那个完美的“好莱坞方块”，填补湖人这个圆形的空缺吗？

有一些事情应该让湖人感到担忧。一是罗德曼的体型。六个月的西瓜酒不会帮助一个 37 岁的篮板手。

另一个担忧是在周一，罗德曼的表现似乎比平时更加扭曲。他几乎陷入胡言乱语，一会儿说钱并不重要，一会儿又表现出对联盟最低薪资的侮辱。

罗德曼说，他是继迈克尔·乔丹之后世界上第二位最著名的篮球运动员，也许他说得没错。所以他不理解为什么他只能获得按比例计算的 25 万美元。他还说，他将在周一将几乎一半的钱捐赠给慈善机构，这时他流下了眼泪。“你们这些该死的人永远不会接受我，无论我做什么，”他说。

他在人潮拥挤的“星球好莱坞”，在闪光灯的照射下，在宣传他的新电影时说出了这些话。“Simon Says”，罗德曼指出，将在今年春天上映。

罗德曼是真正在寻求关注，而且他总是能得到它，除了来自 NBA 球队的关注。在 1 月份，有六支球队有机会为罗德曼出价 500 万美元或更多，就像菲尼克斯为汤姆·古格里奥塔(Tom Gugliotta) 所做的那样。所有球队都放弃了，因为没有乔丹在那里作为他的锤子，谁也不知道罗德曼会如何敲定更衣室。

现在，罗德曼预计将加入年轻的科比，科比已经渴望成为乔丹。埃迪·琼斯(Eddie Jones) 由于太多关于交易的传闻而变得紧张不安。而“爸爸柴油”沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)，则在嘲讽他所遇到的每个城市和每个裁判。

罗德曼从未与像他一样看似不成熟的群体在一起过。底特律、圣安东尼奥和芝加哥都提供超级巨星和超级成年人来缓和罗德曼，但现在，他会成为这些充满活力、被炒作的孩子中的老派方块。罗德曼一直都是一位聪明的球员，与他的新队友相比，他就像一位天才。

德雷克·哈珀(Derek Harper) 的冷静控球对湖人有所帮助，但他们明显的弱点是内线的硬度。他们迄今为止处理马刺非常出色，但罗伯特·霍里(Robert Horry)、埃尔登·坎贝尔(Elden Campbell) 和科里·布朗特(Corie Blount) 这一组合并不能让西部联盟感到害怕。那么，怎样才能在犹他州对抗卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)，在西雅图对抗文·贝克(Vin Baker)，在休斯敦对抗查尔斯·巴克利(Charles Barkley) 呢？

在一家夜总会采访过罗德曼之后，杰里·巴斯(Jerry Buss) 认为他知道答案。

所以，韦斯特有理由反对他那爱管闲事的老闆，而德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris) 有理由担心自己的理智。但罗德曼会不会像他通常那样，在沙克旁边抢篮板，把球传给科比，最终成为一个满怀幻想的老板认为他应该成为的那个人呢？

准备好再次震惊美国：罗德曼疯狂手段的理智结局？

点击查看原文：The Hollywood square: How to really shock

The Hollywood square: How to really shock

Jerry West went to Vegas on Monday to scout TCU. And to get away from Dennis Rodman.

West’s disgust for Rodman extends this far: He didn’t want to be on the same corner of the planet with Rodman, much less in Rodman’s Planet Hollywood.

So that’s one reason to believe Rodman will ruin the Lakers. Nobody in pro basketball is smarter than West.

Then there was the Monday press conference itself, with Rodman angry one moment, lewd the next, crying the next. How can Rodman not be a distraction to Shaq and Kobe, when he’s a distraction to himself?

But somewhere in the act Rodman said a few things that made sense. How all the Lakers want to be superstars. How no one there knows his role. How no one knows how to win.

Dean Smith might as well have given the same, dry lecture as Carmen Electra fingered his snappy blazer. So even if this comes about for all the wrong reasons - primarily because the Lakers’ owner wants it - could Rodman be the Hollywood square that fits perfectly into the round, Laker hole?

A couple of things should worry the Lakers. One is Rodman’s shape. Six months of watermelon shots will not help a 37-year-old rebounder.

Another worry was Monday, when Rodman’s performance seemed even more bent than usual. He lapsed into near gibberish, sometimes saying the money didn’t matter and sometimes acting insulted by the NBA minimum he will receive.

Rodman says he is the second most recognizable basketball player in the world, after Michael Jordan, and maybe he’s right. So he doesn’t understand why he will earn only a pro-rated $250,000. He also said Monday he will donate almost half to charities, and that’s when he teared up. “You damn people will never accept me no matter what I do,” he said.

He said this in a crowded Planet Hollywood, with cameras flashing, as he promoted his new movie. “Simon Says,” Rodman noted, will be in a theater near you this spring.

Rodman literally cries for attention and always gets it - except from NBA franchises. A half-dozen teams had the chance to bid $5 million or more for Rodman in January, as Phoenix did for Tom Gugliotta. All passed because, without Jordan there to be his hammer, there is no telling how Rodman will nail a locker room.

Now Rodman is expected to join kid Kobe, already aspiring to be Jordan. Eddie Jones, jumpy from too many trade rumors. And daddy diesel, Shaquille O’Neal, baiting every city and every ref he sees.

Rodman has never been with a group as seemingly immature as he is. Detroit, San Antonio and Chicago all offered superstars and super adults to soften Rodman, but now he’d be the old-school square among the gen-x, hyped-up kids. Rodman has always been a smart player; compared to his new teammates, he’d be the genius.

Adding Derek Harper’s point- guard coolness helps the Lakers, but their one, clear weakness is inside toughness. They’ve thus far handled the Spurs just fine, but the group of Robert Horry, Elden Campbell and Corie Blount doesn’t scare the West. So what’s the best way to counter Karl Malone in Utah, Vin Baker in Seattle, Charles Barkley in Houston?

Having interviewed Rodman in a nightclub, Jerry Buss thinks he knows.

So West has reason to object to his meddling owner, and Del Harris has reason to fear for his sanity. But wouldn’t it be just like Rodman to rebound next to Shaq, get the ball to Kobe and turn out to be precisely what a starry-eyed owner thinks he is?

Ready to shock America again: A sane end to Rodman’s crazy means?

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-24, By Glenn Rogers

和丹尼斯在一起的日子，笑料不断

约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas)、鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)和格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)应该充分利用丹尼斯·罗德曼(Dennis Rodman)秀中的幽默元素。

他们每个人都需要一些欢笑。卢卡斯只能坐在教练席上，看着掘金队比赛。希尔只能待在房间里，通过电视观看比赛。波波维奇在观看球队周一晚上对阵森林狼队的季前赛比赛后，可能会感到非常沮丧。

这三个人明智的做法是，把罗德曼周一在新闻发布会上发表的经典言论，以及有时尺度过大的内容，都录制下来。然后，当他们心情沮丧时，可以把这些视频放进录像机，坐下来，打开一罐苏打水或啤酒，从罗德曼的历史感中获得一些乐趣。

在哭泣和性暗示之间，丹尼斯，一个复古的乔·库尔(Joe Cool)，对他在圣安东尼奥的日子发表了轻松的评论。他面无表情地指出，他在圣安东尼奥没有错过训练，因为那里阳光充足。而芝加哥的寒冷天气往往会让他待在家里。

圣安东尼奥三人组可以拍着大腿，对着这个笑话哈哈大笑。

罗德曼在马刺队的训练中经常迟到甚至缺席，这几乎成了传奇。卢卡斯、希尔和波波维奇试图淡化这些事件，除非他们是为了满足媒体对罗德曼古怪行为的报道而刻意宣传。

丹尼斯在来到这里后，就向球队下了战书。他在球队向媒体和季票持有者介绍自己的时候迟到了。当他摘下帽子，露出他第一次染发的头发时，他赢得了在场观众的欢呼声。

从那以后，这就像是一场过山车之旅。

丹尼斯，在马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)之前，毫不犹豫地对他的新队友们指手画脚。他在季前赛就开始了，独自跑到健身房，刻苦锻炼自己的体格，以此来疏远自己。

“大卫要想赢得冠军，就必须变得更强硬，”罗德曼宣称。“整个球队都需要有更多的拼搏精神。”

这句话得到了马刺球迷的认同，罗德曼也开始成为球迷心中的偶像。

如果卢卡斯、希尔和波波维奇能互相沟通，他们就可以开个电话会议，互相讲讲罗德曼的趣事。

他经常坐在停车场的卡车里，确保自己迟到参加会议和训练。

他经常在被裁判因为自己的行为而驱逐出场后，戏剧性地脱下球衣扔进人群。

他宣称自己参加比赛前的投篮训练是愚蠢的，“因为我不是投手”。

他坚持要一直待在健身房或骑自行车，直到国歌演奏前才冲上球场，享受阿拉莫穹顶的欢呼声。

罗德曼成功地让鲍勃·巴斯(Bob Bass)下课，还鼓励卢卡斯逃往费城（并赚取数百万美元）。然后，波波维奇和希尔来了。

波波维奇尝试了鞭子和椅子的方法。他尝试了停赛、带薪休假以及更多的停赛。罗德曼称波波维奇是军国主义者，并用一些不可描述的词语来辱骂他。

球迷们站在罗德曼一边，很多人可能至今仍然不明白为什么罗德曼离开了，而波波维奇却留了下来。罗德曼在粉丝们的鼓励下，从未想过要收敛自己越来越奇怪的行为。

电子媒体的成员至今仍记得，他们在圣安东尼奥的街道上疯狂地追逐着罗德曼的车，试图捕捉到一些电视画面。

罗德曼在对阵湖人队的一场季后赛比赛中被罚坐板凳，在对休斯顿的一场比赛中仅上场17分钟就被罚坐板凳，在关键的第五场比赛中被罚替补上场，这是因为他在训练中迟到了超过半个小时。此外，他故意不愿留在防守轮换中，而是观看对手的外线射手帮助火箭队疯狂地投篮。

当然，罗德曼拒绝承认自己行为的责任，反而指责教练试图驯服他。

迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)和斯科蒂·皮蓬(Scottie Pippen)实力强大，天赋异禀，足以承受罗德曼的低谷，并利用他的高光时刻，在通往彩虹尽头的路上继续前进。

现在湖人队——我们提前同情副总裁杰里·韦斯特(Jerry West)和教练德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris)——将要见识到沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)和科比·布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)有多么强大。

点击查看原文：Days with Dennis worth a few laughs

Days with Dennis worth a few laughs

John Lucas, Bob Hill and Gregg Popovich should take full advantage of the humor involved in the Dennis Rodman show.

Each needs a laugh or two. Lucas has to sit on the coaching bench and watch the Nuggets play. Hill is confined to watching games on television in his quarters. Popovich could be in the strangling mode after watching his squad play like it was in a preseason scrimmage against the Wolves Monday night.

The trio would be wise to store away clips of Rodman’s classic, at times X-rated, press conference Monday. Then, when they’re down in the dumps, they can stuff the film into the recorder, sit back, crack a can of soda or beer and get a chuckle or two out of Rodman’s sense of history.

In between blubbering and sexual innuendos, Dennis, a retro Joe Cool, offered a breezy comment or two on his days in San Antonio. With a remarkably straight face he noted how he didn’t miss practices in the Alamo City because of the sunny weather. The cold in Chicago tended to keep him housebound.

The San Antonio trio can slap their knees and howl over that one.

Rodman’s late arrivals and non- appearances at Spurs workouts achieved almost legendary status. Lucas, Hill and Popovich tried to play down the events, unless it served their purpose to feed the hungry media tidbits on Rodman’s antics.

Dennis threw down the gauntlet when he arrived here, appearing late at the team’s introduction to the media and season-ticket holders. He drew cheers from the gathering when he doffed his cap and showed his first hair-dye job.

It was a roller coaster ride from thereon.

Dennis, pre-dating Mario Elie, wasted no time belaboring his new teammates. He was at it in the preseason, distancing himself by drifting alone to the weight room to chisel away at his physique.

“David can’t win any titles until he gets tougher,” Rodman announced. “The whole team has to have more heart.”

That went down well with Spurs fans, and Rodman began his romp as cult hero.

If Lucas, Hill and Popovich were on speaking terms, they could get on a conference call and have a gas relating Rodman anecdotes.

The times he sat in his truck in the parking lot to make sure he was late for meetings and workouts.

The histrionic pulling off his jersey and flinging it into the crowd after ejections by refs stunned by his behavior.

His declaration that it was foolish for him to have to attend shootarounds before games because “I’m not a shooter.”

His insistence on staying in the weight room or riding his bike until just before national anthem time so he could dash alone onto the court and bask in the Alamodome cheers.

Rodman managed to get Bob Bass fired and encouraged Lucas to flee to Philadelphia (and millions). Enter Popovich and Hill.

Popovich tried the whip and chair approach. He tried suspensions, leaves with pay and more suspensions. Rodman called Popovich militaristic and a host of unprintable names.

The fans sided with Rodman and many probably still wonder why Rodman is gone and Popovich remains. Rodman, with the encouragement of his cult following, never considered toning down the act that grew ever more bizarre.

Electronic media members still recall hair-raising rides through San Antonio streets, trying to keep Rodman’s car in sight, in pursuit of a handful of TV bites.

Rodman was benched for one playoff game against the Lakers, benched after 17 minutes in one Houston game and brought off the bench in crucial Game 5 as a disciplinary measure for being more than a half-hour late for practice. In addition, his studied reluctance to stay in the defensive rotation to watch perimeter shooters helped the Rockets bomb away.

Rodman, of course, declined to accept any responsibility for his actions, and instead blamed coaches for trying to tame him.

Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen were strong and more than talented enough to survive the Rodman downs and use his ups to stay in the race for the ride to the end of the rainbow.

Now the Lakers - we pity in advance Vice President Jerry West and Coach Del Harris - will learn just how strong are Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-25, By Johnny Ludden

海军上将火力全开 - 马刺凭借罗宾逊的29分击溃超音速

这并非一个扣篮，一个篮板球，甚至一个盖帽。事实上，这对于比赛的结果来说毫无意义。但对于马刺来说，意义重大。

比赛还剩8分49秒，马刺领先14分，戴尔·埃利斯(Dale Ellis)的三分球弹框而出，又被另外三名球员碰到，7尺1寸的大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)奋力扑到地上，抢下篮板球，迫使裁判判跳球。

罗宾逊兴奋地挥舞着拳头。马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)跑到球场中央，对他表示祝贺。其他马刺球员，或者说那些没有在难以置信中站着发呆的球员，也纷纷效仿。

“这完美地诠释了一个人有多渴望赢得比赛，”波波维奇说，“你无法编造这样的画面。我希望有人拍下了这一幕，因为我要把它挂在我的办公室里。”

在周三晚上亚拉莫多姆球馆进行的一场迫切需要的比赛中，马刺以99-81战胜西雅图超音速队，罗宾逊贡献了不止一张精彩瞬间。他扣篮，他抢篮板，他呐喊。

当比赛还剩不到2分钟时，他在接到艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的空中接力传球后，将球灌进篮筐，离开球场时，现场15209名球迷起立鼓掌，为他送上了热烈的掌声。

“哇，”约翰逊说，“这是他很久以来打得最好的一场比赛。我们一直在鼓励他，试图让他保持状态。因为他将带领我们走向总冠军。”

在经历了四场比赛中的三场失利后，罗宾逊带领马刺队至少取得了一场胜利。他全场得到29分，创赛季新高，并抢下17个篮板球，其中7个是进攻篮板球，还有3次抢断和2次盖帽。其中21分是在下半场得到的。

“大卫今晚表现出色，”波波维奇说。“他稳住了我们的防守，抢下篮板，带领我们前进。当大卫做出这样的贡献时，对我们来说意义重大。”

罗宾逊本场比赛之前场均只有15.0分，一些队友批评他打得太保守。在周一输给明尼苏达的比赛中，他打得很积极，但在决定胜负的第四节出现了6次失误。

“最近我的跑跳能力明显提升了，”罗宾逊说，“我的活跃度更高了。当人们设定了很高的标准时，你就必须尽力达到。我认为，当人们对你的期望很高时，这是好事。”

周三晚上，他兑现了诺言。在马刺（6胜6负）一度将19分的领先优势缩小到84-76，加里·佩顿(Gary Payton)在比赛还剩4分半左右时打成“3+1”后，罗宾逊帮助球队稳住局势。在连续两次进攻中，他先是在马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)投篮不中后抢下篮板球，暴扣得分，随后又接到约翰逊的传球，再次扣篮得分。

罗宾逊挥舞着拳头。安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)和马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)互相击掌庆祝。

“我告诉他，我希望他每晚都能够打出这样的表现，”罗宾逊最大的批评者埃利说。“当你的主力球员打得很好时，就会让你充满斗志。”

罗宾逊表示赞同。

“现在我开始感觉好多了，（其他球员）也开始意识到了这一点，这会让我们更有信心，”他说。“我会继续努力，创造机会。我会继续做任何我们需要做的事情，来帮助球队前进。”

罗宾逊的表现并非唯一的亮点。马刺前11个罚球全部命中，全场25罚20中（命中率80%），创赛季新高。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)贡献了18分和13个篮板球，罚球6中6。

超音速队则无法做到这一点。西雅图队获得了45次罚球机会，但只命中了27球（命中率60%）。超音速队在第三节的前五分钟一分未得，全场76投26中（命中率34.2%）。

“我真的不知道我们今晚为什么投得这么糟糕，”西雅图队主教练保罗·韦斯特法尔(Paul Westphal)说。“我们错失了很多空位投篮，罚球也不准——什么都做不好。原因我也不知道。”

在早上训练中，波波维奇告诉球员们要放松，享受比赛，马刺队开场就打得很有侵略性。肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)凭借速度摆脱德特勒夫·施伦普夫(Detlef Schrempf)的防守，不断冲击篮筐，上半场得到全队最高的9分。

这也是他最终的得分。

埃利奥特在第三节开始的第一分钟就领到了第三次和第四次犯规，迅速被罚下场。他在第四节中段的17秒内又领到了第五次和第六次犯规。然后他领到了一次技术犯规，接着又领到了第二次技术犯规——也是他职业生涯中第一次被罚出场——因为他从板凳上站起来，对裁判迪克·巴维塔(Dick Bavetta)大喊大叫。

埃利奥特说：“我得值回票价。”

点击查看原文：Admiral just fires at will - Spurs drown out Sonics behind 29 from Robinson

Admiral just fires at will - Spurs drown out Sonics behind 29 from Robinson

It wasn’t a dunk, a rebound or even a block. In truth, it was a play that meant nothing to the outcome. But everything to the Spurs.

With 8:49 left, with the Spurs up by 14, with a three- pointer by Dale Ellis banging off the rim and off the hands of three other players, 7-foot-1 David Robinson dove to the court and wrestled the rebound to force a jump ball.

Robinson pumped his fist. Spurs coach Gregg Popo- vich ran halfway on the court to congratulate him. The rest of the Spurs - or those who weren’t standing around in disbelief - followed suit.

“That’s a perfect expression of how badly someone wants to win the basketball game,” Popovich said. “You couldn’t make something like that up. I hope somebody got a picture of that because it will be hanging in my office.”

In a much-needed 99-81 victory over the Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday night at the Alamodome, Robinson provided more than one snapshot. He dunked. He rebounded. He yelled.

And when he left the court after slamming home the game on an alley-oop lob from Avery Johnson with just under two minutes left, the 15,209 fans on hand gave Robinson a standing ovation.

“Wow,” Johnson said. “That was the best game he’s had in a long time. We just kept encouraging him and tried to keep him going. Because he’ll be the one to lead us to a championship.”

After three losses in four games, Robinson guided the Spurs to at least one victory. He finished with a season-high 29 points, 17 rebounds - seven offensive - three steals and a pair of blocks. Twenty-one of his points came in the second half.

“David was fantastic tonight,” Popovich said. “He anchored our defense. He rebounded and got us going. When David makes plays like that, it’s huge for us.”

Robinson came into the game averaging only 15.0 points and had been criticized by some of his teammates for playing too passively. In Monday’s loss to Minnesota, he played aggressive but turned the ball over six times in the fatal fourth quarter.

“I’ve been running and jumping a lot better lately,” Robinson said. “My activity level has been better. When people set standards high, you have a lot to live up to. I guess that’s good when people expect a lot of you.”

Wednesday night, he delivered. After the Spurs (6-6) saw a 19-point cushion shrink to an 84-76 lead when Gary Payton completed a three-point play with about 41/2 minutes left, Robinson helped put the game away. On back-to-back possessions, he threw down a rebound dunk off a miss by Mario Elie and then dunked the pass from Johnson.

Robinson pumped his fist. Antonio Daniels and Malik Rose bumped chests.

“I told him I want to see that every night,” said Elie, Robinson’s biggest critic. “When your main player is playing well, it fires you up.”

Robinson agreed.

“Now that I’m starting to feel better and (the rest of the team) is starting to sense that, it’s going to give us a little more confidence,” he said. “I’m going to continue to try to make things happen. I’m going to continue to do whatever we need to get us going.”

Robinson’s performance wasn’t all that was out of character. The Spurs made their first 11 free throws and finished a season-best 20 of 25 (80 percent) from the line. Tim Duncan, who added 18 points and 13 boards, made all six of his foul shots.

The same couldn’t be said of the Sonics. Seattle went to the line 45 times but made only 27 (60 percent). Seattle, which went scoreless for the first five minutes of the third quarter, finished 26 of 76 from the field (34.2 percent).

“I’m at a loss for how badly we were shooting tonight,” Seattle coach Paul Westphal said. “We missed some wide-open shots, a lot of free throws - everything. Why is a mystery to me.”

After being told by Popovich at the morning shootaround to relax and have some fun, the Spurs started aggressively. Sean Elliott, using his speed to blow by Detlef Schrempf, continually drove to the basket and finished the first half with a team-high nine points.

That’s also what he finished with.

Elliott picked up his third and fourth fouls in the first minute of the third to quickly earn a seat on the bench. He earned Nos. 5 and 6 within 17 seconds in the middle of the fourth. Then he picked up a technical. Then a second - and his first-ever ejection - when he got up off the bench and yelled at official Dick Bavetta.

Said Elliott: “I had to get my money’s worth.”

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-25, By Glenn Rogers

超音速被活力四射的马刺队惊呆了

西雅图更衣室里一片否认之声，但超音速队肯定对他们在周三晚上遇到的球队感到惊讶。

大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)最近一直在挣扎。后场球员只在偶尔的比赛中表现出色。最终比分通常在80分左右。

超音速队在周二晚上在休斯顿惨败后，遇到了由突然变得年轻的罗宾逊领衔的“收割机”。

“我不知道那些传言都是些什么，”主教练保罗·韦斯特法尔(Paul Westphal)在球队以81比99败给马刺队后说道。“我们无法应对罗宾逊。他看起来像以前那个大卫。”

罗宾逊以其充满活力的表现让所有到场观众感到惊讶，他凭借飞翔的扣篮、突破上篮、腾空补篮和跳投砍下了29分。他还获得了14次罚球机会。

“你知道，这个联盟会把你击倒，然后践踏你。你必须站起来，”韦斯特法尔说道。“我没有关注马刺队的战绩。我知道他们是一支很有天赋的球队。”

超音速队让人想起周日进入阿拉莫穹顶的底特律队，他们的投篮命中率只有26%。

西雅图队以快速进攻著称，以快攻上篮和三分球为主，但他们遇到了钢铁般的防守，投篮命中率只有34%。超音速队也获得了许多罚球机会，但他们错失了18次罚球。

文·贝克(Vin Baker)继续着自己的痛苦，他四次罚球全部打铁。贝克本赛季的罚球命中率只有4/33。他还错失了7次投篮中的6次。

戴尔·埃利斯(Dale Ellis)只有8投3中，5次三分球全部打铁。他几乎将罚球投出界外。

“我不知道发生了什么事，”埃利斯说道。“但这里真的很难投篮。背景环境对于篮球来说太糟糕了。”

但埃利斯在他效力圣安东尼奥的两年中并没有遇到太多投篮命中率的问题，他当时的投篮命中率分别为49.9%和49.4%。

“如果我们能罚进更多的球，我们仍然有机会赢得这场比赛，”他说。

也许吧。超音速队确实在第三节末和第四节都发起过几次反击。他们在比赛还剩4分22秒时将比分差距从19分缩小到8分。

如果他们在这一节的21次投篮中命中率超过6次，比赛可能会更加接近。

但罗宾逊在两次篮板后接连扣篮，扼杀了他们的反击。

贝克不认同埃利斯的穹顶理论。

“我们只是投不进，”他说。“我的球队确实努力想赢得这场比赛，他们在第三节和第四节拼得很凶，但就是投不进。而且我一直没有打好，没有帮助球队。”

更糟糕的是，贝克在被击中头部后，视线模糊了数分钟。

“不，我没有要求被换下。我带着模糊的视线打了一段时间，”他说。

贝克表示，周五晚上马刺队和超音速队在西雅图的比赛将会不同。

“这可能是一件好事，在下一场比赛中再次遇到这支球队，”他说。“我们有一天的休息时间，我们是一支习惯于赢球的球队。”

点击查看原文：Sonics stunned by energetic performance

Sonics stunned by energetic performance

spurs.sider spts/08c There was general denial in the Seattle locker room, but the Sonics must have been at least a little surprised by the team they ran into Wednesday night.

David Robinson and Tim Duncan had been struggling. The backcourt found only occasional good games. The final score usually was somewhere in the 80s.

The Sonics, coming off a beating in Houston on Tuesday night, ran into a threshing machine powered by a suddenly near-juvenile Robinson.

“I don’t know what all that talk was about,” said Coach Paul Westphal after his team was smacked 99- 81 at the Alamodome. “We couldn’t deal with Robinson. He looked like the old Dave to me.”

Robinson amazed one and all in attendance with a boisterous performance that rained down 29 points off flying dunks, driving layups, leaping putbacks and jumpers. He also paraded to the foul line for 14 shots.

“You know, this league will kick you down and stomp you. You just have to get back up,” said Westphal. “I wasn’t looking at the Spurs’ record. I knew they were a very talented team.”

The Sonics reminded one of the Detroit team that meandered into the Alamodome on Sunday and hit 26 percent of its shots.

Seattle, known for a racing offense marked with layups and flying three-pointers, found mostly iron, hitting 34 percent of its attempts. The Sonics, too, paraded to the foul line but missed 18 of their tries.

Vin Baker continued his agony, clanking all four of his free-throw attempts. Baker is 4 of 33 on the year from the line. He also missed 6 of 7 field goals.

Dale Ellis was just 3 of 8 from the field, missing all five of his three-pointers. He almost air-balled a free throw.

“I don’t know what happened there,” Ellis said. “But this is really a difficult place to shoot in. The background perception is ridiculous for basketball.”

But Ellis didn’t have much trouble with the rims during his two years with San Antonio, when he hit 49.9 and 49.4 percent of his shots.

“We still had a chance to win this game if we could have hit more free throws,” he said.

Maybe. The Sonics did indeed make a couple of runs late in the third and again in the fourth period. They got from 19 down to eight down with 4:22 left to play.

And it may have been closer if they had hit more than six of their 21 field-goal attempts in the quarter.

But Robinson snuffed the comeback with two rebounds followed by rim-ringing dunks.

Baker didn’t buy Ellis’ dome theory.

“We just missed,” he said. “My team really tried to win this game, they hustled in the third and fourth, but shots didn’t go down. And I haven’t been playing well at all, I haven’t been helping.”

To make matters worse for the poor-shooting Baker, his vision blurred for several minutes after he was smacked on the side of the head.

“No, I didn’t ask to be taken out. I played for a while with blurred vision,” he said.

Baker says it will be different when the Spurs and Sonics tangle in Seattle on Friday night.

“It could be a blessing in disguise, meeting this team again in the next game,” he said. “We’ll have a day’s rest, and we’re a team that is used to winning a lot of games.” D

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-25, By Buck Harvey

深渊巨兽再现

医生们已经准备好确认那些谈话节目中的“博士”们早已知晓的事实：悲剧降临到大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)身上。他正在缓慢而坚定地变成艺斯·吉尔摩(Artis Gilmore)。

迹象十分明显，包括明尼阿波利斯球赛最后时刻的六次失误，以及他那如同哥斯拉在东京市中心撞击电线杆一样的肢体语言。如果时间足够，迈克尔·乔丹(Michael Jordan)在联合中心外的雕像会比他更快地抢到一个篮板球。

这也许是人们认为马刺队永远不会崛起的真正原因。如果罗宾逊的膝盖和背部让他只剩下50%的实力，那么马刺队是否就变成了100%的垃圾？

然后，周三的比赛来了，这场比赛对于马刺队来说至关重要，而罗宾逊也从深渊中苏醒，展现出了他那巨兽般的实力。

这并不会阻止那些谈话节目再次大肆渲染，或许在周五晚上西雅图就会有新的爆料。届时，超音速队会得到休息，所有旧问题也会重新浮出水面。马刺队的大个子们能够一起打球吗？他们能够在埃弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)的带领下获胜吗？彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)什么时候才会解雇那个蠢货波波维奇(Popovich)，然后交易掉那个冷血的罗宾逊？

本周最好的谈话节目评论：天哪，为什么安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)得不到任何上场时间？

仿佛上个春天在菲尼克斯和犹他州发生的一切都没有发生过。那时，罗宾逊和邓肯(Duncan)一起打球，AJ表现得很好，波波维奇也证明了他了解自己的核心阵容。

然而，这一切都在本赛季他们打完不到12场比赛的时候就又回来了，也许这只是说明了马刺队在这座城市激起的强烈情绪。或者，也许这说明了由吉尔摩领军的马刺队是多么糟糕。当罗宾逊被攻击却没有回击，当他看起来太魁梧而无法将球传到看台上的时候，难道每个人都不会像迈克·泰森(Mike Tyson)那样感到愤怒吗？难道每个人都不会想扔掉电视机吗？

如果手边有电视机，马里奥·伊利(Mario Elie)上周就会扔掉它。他在周三赢球后抱怨说，每个人都夸大了他关于自己队友软弱的话。但事实上，伊利已经发起了一次大众传播干预行动。

他向罗宾逊指出了他的问题，同时也告诉全世界该从哪里寻找答案。CNN/SI本周来到这里，要拍摄关于罗宾逊和邓肯这两个人形卫生纸的专题报道。显然，干预行动奏效了。当罗宾逊在周三为了争夺一个跳球而倒地，并爬起来鼓掌时，他看起来已经很久没有这样精神抖擞了，自他出现在芝麻街以来还是第一次。现在，他需要做的就是不要过度激动，罗宾逊跳起准备争抢跳球，却把球拍到了篮板后沿。

尽管如此，罗宾逊凭借着自己独特的打法获得了最有价值球员奖、篮板王和得分王。过去一年中真正改变他的不是他的内心，而是他的膝盖。

“说实话，看看他本赛季的前11场比赛，然后告诉我，他看起来和他在联盟的前八九年里一样吗？”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说道。“你还记得我们以前每晚看到的他的速度吗？”

罗宾逊的确有一些高光时刻，在周一明尼苏达州的比赛中也有一些亮点。他得了17分，抢了17个篮板，这确实让人印象深刻。

但今年，他从未像对阵西雅图队时那样充满活力。“我听说他本赛季打得不太好，”超音速队主教练保罗·韦斯特法尔(Paul Westphal)说道。“但今晚他看起来真像是从前的那个大卫。”

从前的那个大卫偶尔会在一场十场比赛中打出一场糟糕的比赛。但另外九场比赛呢？他是联盟中最好的协防球员，也是联盟中最活跃的七尺巨人。从前的那个大卫总是给马刺队带来获胜的机会。

周三，他也做到了同样的事情。对于整个赛季来说，马刺队非常清楚地看到了从前的那个大卫和现在的老人之间的区别。

点击查看原文：The monster of the deep rises up again

The monster of the deep rises up again

Doctors were prepared to confirm what talk-show Ph.Ds knew long ago. Tragedy had come to David Robinson. Slowly, steadily, he was calcifying into Artis Gilmore.

Telltale signs included a six- turnover final quarter in Minneapolis, as well as body language that looked a lot like Godzilla hitting the power lines in downtown Tokyo. Given time, Michael Jordan’s statue outside the United Center would beat him to a loose ball.

And maybe that was The One, Real Reason to believe these Spurs would never rise. If Robinson’s knees and back reduced him to 50 percent, then weren’t the Spurs 100- percent manure?

So then came Wednesday, in a game the Spurs desperately needed, when, from the deep, the monster in Robinson came alive.

That won’t stop the talk shows from lighting up again, maybe by Friday night in Seattle. Then the Sonics will be rested, as will all the old issues. Can the Spurs’ big guys play together? Can they win with Avery Johnson? And when will Peter Holt fire the idiot Popovich and trade the heartless Robinson?

The best talk-show second-guess of the week: Gosh, why can’t Antonio Daniels get any minutes?

It’s as if last spring in Phoenix and Utah never happened. Then Robinson and Duncan played together, AJ held up just fine and Popovich proved he knew his primary colors.

Yet all of it came back at them before they could play a dozen games this season, and maybe that just shows the emotion the Spurs bring out in this city. Or maybe it says something about how awful the Gilmore-led Spurs can look. When Robinson gets attacked and doesn’t elbow back - when he looks too big and muscular to throw a pass into the bleachers - doesn’t everybody feel like Mike Tyson? Doesn’t everyone want to throw the TV?

Mario Elie would have thrown his last week if it had been handy. He grumped after Wednesday’s win that everyone exaggerated what he’d said about his softy teammates. But Elie, in effect, had created a mass-communication intervention.

He confronted Robinson with his problem, and in doing so told the world where to look. CNN/SI showed up this week to do a feature on the two-ply, Robinson- Duncan bathroom tissue. And the intervention apparently worked. When Robinson went to the floor for a tie ball Wednesday and came up clapping, he hadn’t looked this animated since he appeared on Sesame Street. Now he needs to work on not getting too emotional; Robinson went up for the jump ball and spiked the ball off the backboard.

Still, Robinson won an MVP title, a rebounding title and a scoring title playing his own way. What ultimately changed him the past year wasn’t his heart. It’s a little lower, toward the knee.

“Honestly, look at him the first 11 games this season and tell me he looked that way his first eight or nine years in the league,” said Sean Elliott. “Remember the quickness we used to see every night?”

Robinson had his moments, all right, and Monday’s loss in Minnesota had a few. A 17-17 night will do that.

But never this year has he had the spring he had against Seattle. “I heard he hadn’t been playing so well this season,” said Sonics coach Paul Westphal. “But he sure looked like the David of old tonight.”

The David of old sometimes went flat in one out of 10 games. But in the other nine? He was the league’s best help defender, the league’s most active 7-footer. The David of old always gave the Spurs a chance.

He did the same Wednesday. For the season. Then the Spurs saw so clearly the difference between the David of old. And an old David.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-26, By Johnny Ludden

霍尔特对波波维奇表达信任 - 马刺老板呼吁耐心等待

马刺主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)正在阅读他的邮件。他明白，每个人都想知道为什么他的球队陷入了困境。

但在马刺以6胜6负的战绩战胜西雅图，战绩持平后的一天，霍尔特呼吁大家保持耐心。他还驳斥了媒体的猜测——这些猜测是在周三洛杉矶湖人队解雇教练德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris)后产生的，声称马刺教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的帅位岌岌可危。

“球迷可能只是需要发泄一下，”霍尔特说。“如果我收不到任何电话，我会更担心。那可能意味着没有人关心我们。

“我很高兴人们希望我们赢球。我也很高兴人们在输球的时候会生气。

“但我对格雷格·波波维奇绝对有信心。我喜欢他组建的球队，我喜欢他执教这支球队的方式。我相信这支球队会团结起来。”

霍尔特的信心源于上赛季，当时马刺队开局9胜10负，之后却赢得了56场比赛。马刺队还没有连续赢过两场比赛，但他们已经展现出进步的迹象。他们的进攻虽然仍然受到失误问题的困扰，但已经逐渐开始打开局面，而在过去的三场比赛中，罚球线的难题也开始消失。

“我去年就说过：这支球队需要稳定，”霍尔特说。“我理解球迷们。你不会挑剔你最喜欢的球员，你会挑剔教练。

“但我认为失误与教练没有太大关系。我说的很真诚。我理解一些球迷可能会认为是波波维奇设计的战术导致了失误。

“失误是球员造成的。我认为缺乏季前训练，以及这群球员缺乏默契，才是问题所在。”

今晚对阵超音速的复赛将是马刺本赛季最艰难的一段赛程之一。在他们对阵西部联盟对手犹他爵士（周日）和休斯顿火箭（周二）之后，马刺将在八场比赛中对阵七支西部联盟季后赛球队。马刺队在本赛季开始时连续三场比赛在主场作战，直到三月底才会在阿拉莫穹顶连续进行两场比赛。

“我们所有人都怀有很高的期望，”霍尔特说。“我们仍然有很高的期望。

“我们的赛程在赛季的最后几个月会相对均衡，也许我们可以开始赢球。如果我们想打进季后赛，我们必须这样做。”

霍尔特说，周三战胜西雅图的比赛应该会帮助马刺队保持乐观。罗宾逊在比赛中场均得到15.0分和8.8个篮板，但他在那场比赛中打出了他本赛季迄今为止最好的表现，贡献了29分和17个篮板。

“大卫真的很沮丧，”霍尔特说。“我们担心的是球队会开始自暴自弃。

“我们不想失去对自己的信心。我们有一支非常棒的球队。现在关键是要团结一致。”

如果能再次战胜超音速，将是一个巨大的帮助。周三的胜利尤其令人满意，因为马刺队在周一输给森林狼后，经历了一次漫长而安静的从明尼阿波利斯飞往圣安东尼奥的航班。

“很多球员都拼尽全力，享受比赛，”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说。他可能是唯一一个没有享受比赛的马刺球员，因为他在比赛中第一次被罚出场。 “这对球队的态度和兴奋度有很大帮助。马里奥（埃利）一直在说要撞胸口——所有这些都有帮助。

“如果你没有乐趣，没有享受你的工作，你的表现就会很糟糕。”

马刺队的澳大利亚替补射手安德鲁·盖兹(Andrew Gaze)甚至在比赛结束前几秒钟投进了一个三分球，这是他本赛季的第一分。在他错过了第二次投篮后，盖兹将球传给了贾伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)，杰克逊也投进了三分球。

“真是太奇怪了，”盖兹说。“每个人都很开心。自从我来到这里，我还没见过这种情况。”

点击查看原文：Holt expresses trust in Popovich - Spurs owner preaches patience for team

Holt expresses trust in Popovich - Spurs owner preaches patience for team

Spurs chairman Peter Holt reads his e-mail. And he understands everyone wants to know why his team is stuck@crossroads.com.

But one day after the Spurs evened their record at 6-6 with a victory over Seattle, Holt preached patience. He also dismissed broadcast speculation - fanned by Wednesday’s firing of Los Angeles Lakers coach Del Harris - that Spurs coach Gregg Popovich’s job was in jeopardy.

“Fans probably just need to vent,” Holt said. "I would be worried more if I didn’t get any calls. That would probably mean nobody cared.

"I’m glad people want us to win. And I’m glad people get mad when we don’t win.

“But I have absolute faith in Gregg Popovich. I like the team he’s put together and I like the way he is coaching this team. I believe the team is going to come together.”

Holt’s faith stems from last season when the Spurs started 9-10 before going on to win 56 games. The Spurs, who have yet to win more than two straight games, have shown signs of progress. Their offense - though still plagued by turnover problems - has gradually begun to open up and the problems at the free-throw line have started to disappear over the last three games.

“I said it last year: What this team needs is stability,” Holt said. "I understand the fans. You don’t pick on your favorite player, you pick on the coach.

"But I don’t think the coach has much to do with turnovers. And I mean that sincerely. I can see how some fans might look at it and say Pop set up a play that forces a turnover.

“Turnovers are created by the players. And I think it’s that lack of spring training and having this group working together that’s been a problem.”

Tonight’s rematch against the Sonics continues one of the Spurs’ toughest stretches of the season. After they play Midwest Division rivals Utah (Sunday) and Houston (Tuesday), the Spurs will have met seven Western Conference playoff teams in eight games. After starting the season with a three-game homestand, the Spurs don’t play two straight games at the Alamodome until the end of March.

“We all had high expectations,” Holt said. "We still have high expectations.

“Our schedule kind of levels out over the last couple of months of the season and maybe we can start picking up some games. We’re going to have to for us to get to the playoffs.”

Wednesday’s win over Seattle, Holt said, should help the Spurs keep their heads up. Robinson, who came into the game averaging 15.0 points and 8.8 rebounds, turned in his best night to date with 29 points and 17 boards.

“David was getting really frustrated,” Holt said. "That was one of our worries was that the team would start getting down on themselves.

“We don’t want to lose confidence in ourselves. We have a hell of a good team. The key now is pulling it together.”

Another victory over the Sonics would help. Wednesday’s win was particularly satisfying after the Spurs endured a long, quiet flight from Minneapolis following Monday’s loss to the Timberwolves.

“A lot of guys went out there and had a good time playing,” said Sean Elliott, who may have been the only Spur who didn’t after being ejected for the first time in his career. "That goes a long way to the attitude and excitement of the team. The chest-bumping that Mario (Elie) keeps talking about - all of that helps.

“If you go out there and don’t have fun and don’t enjoy your work, it’s going to show.”

Andrew Gaze, the Spurs’ Australian insurance shooter, even knocked down a three-pointer in the final seconds for his first points of the season. After he missed his second attempt, Gaze passed to Jaren Jackson who drained one of his own.

“It was weird,” Gaze said. “Everybody was happy. I really haven’t seen that since I’ve been here.”

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-26, By Glenn Rogers

Wondering about NBA’s wanderers

There are a lot of familiar faces wearing unfamiliar uniforms this season in the NBA.

There’s Scottie Pippen with a rocket rather than a bull on his jersey. And you can find Tom Gugliotta is in sunsplashed Phoenix instead of icy Minnesota. Chris Webber took a cross-country trip from Washington to Sacramento.

Many others, whether center-stage stars and merely supporting players, have switched loyalties, joining the ever-growing list of the league’s wandering mercenaries.

Some were traded before the lockout. Most were involved in the frantic turmoil of the brief free-agent signing frenzy between the lockout’s end and the abbreviated 1998-99 season.

So, how are they doing? Let’s look.

ANTONIO McDYESS

What happened: The Denver Nuggets signed him as a free agent, ending his two-year stay in Phoenix.

How he’s doing: Should have listened to his Suns teammates. He’s scoring (18.8) and rebounding (10.4 boards) well, but it’ll be a couple of years before he begins to taste real winning.

TOM GUGLIOTTA

What happened: Phoenix signed him as a free agent, ending his four-year stay in Minnesota.

How he’s doing: Beginning to fit in Suns’ schemes, averaging 17 points and 11 boards. Fans and Jason Kidd will begin to forget McDyess.

SCOTTIE PIPPEN

What happened: Houston acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls, where Pippen had won six NBA Championships.

How he’s doing: Not yet the Pippen of the Bulls’ championship runs. He’s out of the triangle offense and into the Hakeem Olajuwon post-up attacks, and then he lost Charles Barkley for a few games. Scoring and shooting percentage down.

LATRELL SPREWELL

What happened: The Golden State Warriors traded the unwanted son to the Knicks for Chris Mills, John Starks and Terry Cummings.

How he’s doing: Looked good until he fractured his heel after playing only two games.

MITCH RICHMOND

What happened: Sacramento acquiesced to Richmond’s wishes and traded him to Washington for Chris Webber.

How he’s doing: Just fine. League’s offensive problems aren’t touching him. He’s hitting 47 percent and scoring 20.9 points and waiting for Rod Strickland and Juwan Howard to catch up.

CHRIS WEBBER

What happened: The Wizards traded the trouble-prone player to Sacramento for Richmond.

How he’s doing: Said he would honor his contract here, and he’s playing strong and effectively. Providing a nice boost but needs more help from a few teammates.

LUC LONGLEY

What happened: Phoenix acquired him in a sign-and-trade deal with the Chicago Bulls for Mark Bryant, Martin Muursepp and Bubba Wells.

How he’s doing: He’s finding out what it’s like not playing with Mike and Scottie. He can be a presence at times but is pulling down just 5.6 boards. Has to get tougher and more active.

JOE SMITH

What happened: Minnesota signed him as a free agent when it lost Tom Gugliotta.

How he’s doing: Beginning to pick up the pace after a slow start. Playing for a new contract and is in position to use his athletic skills. Averaging a nice 15 points.

JIMMY JACKSON

What happened: Portland signed him as a free agent when the Warriors were unable to complete a sign-and-trade deal for him.

How he’s doing: Showing why Warriors had trouble getting a deal for him. He’s averaging 21.3 minutes and 7.4 points, but he’s not quite capable of knocking Isaiah Rider out of the box.

VLADE DIVAC

What happened: Charlotte refused to meet his contract demands, so he signed with Sacramento.

How he’s doing: He’s showing why he’s not worth the $10 million he wanted from Charlotte. Averaging 9.8 points and is a decent rebounder with 10 boards a game, but is not quite lively enough to add more spark to the games of Jason Williams and Webber.

BRENT BARRY

What happened: The Bulls acquired him as a free agent.

How he’s doing: Far from the electric presence expected when signed by vice president Jerry Krause. Expected to add fire to the offense, he’s putting down only 40 percent of his shots.

CHARLES OAKLEY

What happened: New York traded the veteran Knick to Toronto for Marcus Camby.

How he’s doing: Still mumbling darkly about the sinister Knicks plotting to move him out of the Big Apple. Not much he can accomplish in Toronto, but is playing hard with 7.3 boards.

DERRICK COLEMAN

What happened: Signed by Charlotte as free agent to replace Divac.

How he’s doing: So-so at best, averaging 14.1 points on this squabbling team heading for the lottery. He tends to fit in when he can play at half-speed.

VINNY DEL NEGRO

What happened: Milwaukee signed him as free agent.

How he’s doing: Vinny, used to scoring off the pick-and-roll with David Robinson, is trying to find offensive niche. The jumper is off, going down only 40 percent of the time.

DEREK HARPER

What happened: Los Angeles Lakers signed him as free agent.

How he’s doing: Better than expected - the Spurs sure hated running into him at the Forum. Showing leadership and steady hand at helm on this sometimes rattled team.

STEVE NASH

What happened: Mavericks picked him up in a trade with Suns.

How he’s doing: Terrible. Coach Don Nelson must figure that Phoenix saw something he missed. Averaging 8.5 points on a team ready-made for any player to strut his stuff.

MARIO ELIE

What happened: Spurs signed him as free agent.

How he’s doing: Making himself known, both with his mouth and his play. Nice spark with points and hustle. Locker-room yakker, hoping to energize Robinson and Tim Duncan with verbal jabs.

STEVE KERR

What happened: Spurs acquired him in sign-and-trade deal with Bulls for Chuck Person and a first- round pick.

How he’s doing: Feeling his way in the new halfcourt offense. He misses the movement and cutting of the Bulls’ triangle attacks. Shooting percentage will improve once he works into Spurs’ pick- and-rolls and set-up plays.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-27, By Johnny Ludden

超音速队报复马刺队 - 圣安东尼奥的麻烦在输给西雅图后卷土重来

模糊的视野。阿拉莫穹顶经常被诟病的视线。大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)和蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)修长的臂膀。文·贝克(Vin Baker)症。

西雅图队对他们在周三圣安东尼奥的比赛中糟糕的进攻表现有自己的解释。当然，马刺队在周五的KeyArena球馆里并没有花费太多时间去寻找自己的解释。

失误。用大写的T。就像第三节的十次失误一样。

超音速队突然找到了投篮的感觉，他们充分利用了马刺队的失误，在这一节投进了五个三分球，最终以92-82战胜了马刺队，现场17,072名球迷见证了这场比赛。

“他们在第三节投进了很多关键球，他们真的击溃了我们，”前锋肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说。“我们失去了冷静。”

不仅仅是这一点。马刺队全场只命中了78投28中（35.9%）。下半场，他们只命中了39投12中。

尽管超音速队在第三节结束时已经基本上控制了比赛，但杰伦·杰克逊(Jaren Jackson)在比赛还剩2分39秒时投进了一个三分球，这是马刺队在第四节的第一球。

“我们只是在处理球方面有点粗心，”罗宾逊说，他在周三的比赛中得到29分，而周五则得到10分并出现了4次失误。“他们投进了一些关键球。而这个时候，你必须保持冷静。我们没有做到。”

结果，马刺队本赛季继续着他们的起伏不定，战绩跌至6胜7负。

“我们正在努力扭转局势，”邓肯说。“我们有足够的天赋来做到这一点。我们有足够的经验来做到这一点。我保证我们一定会做到。”

与此同时，西雅图队在周五享受着自己的逆转。在周三以99-81输给马刺队的比赛中，他们罚丢了18个罚球，投篮命中率只有34.2%。两天后，超音速队在第三节重新点燃了进攻火力。西雅图队全场投篮命中率为43.6%，但在第三节命中了21投12中。

超音速队在第三节投进了6个三分球中的5个，将半场时的平局变成了12分的领先优势。加里·佩顿(Gary Payton)全场得到23分，是全场得分最高的球员，他投进了三个三分球。

戴尔·埃利斯(Dale Ellis)在周三的比赛中只命中了8投3中，他抱怨阿拉莫穹顶的背景板。在周五的比赛中，他投进了三个三分球，得到13分。贝克甚至连续投进了两个罚球。赫西·霍金斯(Hersey Hawkins)也经历了一个赛季的低迷，他在第三节投进了一个三分球，总共得到5分，并贡献了2次抢断。

“我们并没有做任何不同的事情，”超音速队主教练保罗·韦斯特法尔(Paul Westphal)说。“我们的打法是一样的。只是今天晚上是我们的夜晚。”

这绝对是西雅图队的这一节。在50秒内叫了两个暂停之后，马刺队抬起头发现自己落后了10分，比赛还剩不到5分钟。

当马刺队在邓肯的银行球命中后将比分缩小到62-57时，佩顿用一个三分球回应。几分钟后，他在马刺队的篮板球中抢断，并再次投进了一个23英尺的球。埃利斯随后投进了一个三分球，而西雅图队的又一次抢断又帮助佩顿得到了一次三分球。

在53秒内，超音速队连得9分。马刺队本来可以控制的劣势已经变成了74-59的巨大差距。杰克逊在终场哨响前投进了一个三分球，但这已经无济于事。马刺队已经输了。

“我们真的失去了冷静，”马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说，他再次谈到了这场比赛的主题。“我们投了快攻。并且有不同的人试图掌控比赛。

“我们在进攻端停止了作为一个团队的打法。所以（超音速队）反超了我们。”

贝克在第二节开始时连续投进了两个罚球，这是他本赛季第一次做到这一点，这引发了全场球迷的欢呼。在站上罚球线之前，贝克只投进了35投4中，包括在第一节的一次空中球偏右。

超音速队对贝克感到沮丧，他们认为贝克为了避免罚球而回避身体对抗。在周三的比赛中，他抱怨眼睛被戳后视力模糊，最终只得到了7投1中得到2分。

然而，周五，贝克在半场结束前表现出了走出低迷的迹象。他在12分钟内得到7分和4个篮板，然后因为第三次犯规被替换下场，距离中场还剩9分钟多。他最终得到12分和5个篮板。

“你不能把所有投篮都投丢，”霍金斯说。“至少我希望不会。”

点击查看原文：Sonics pay back Spurs - San Antonio's troubles return in loss to Seattle

Sonics pay back Spurs - San Antonio’s troubles return in loss to Seattle

Blurred vision. The Alamodome’s oft-maligned sight lines. The long arms of David Robinson and Tim Duncan. Vin Baker- itis.

Seattle had its theories for its anemic offensive showing in San Antonio on Wednesday. The Spurs, of course, didn’t have to search nearly as long for theirs Friday at KeyArena.

Turnovers. With a capital T. As in Ten in the Third quarter.

The Sonics, who suddenly located their shot, took full advantage of the mistakes, burying five three- pointers in the quarter to bury the Spurs 92-82 in front of 17,072 fans.

“They hit a lot of big shots in third. They really blitzed us,” forward Sean Elliott said. “And we lost our composure.”

That wasn’t all that was missing. The Spurs made only 28 of 78 shots (.359). In the second half, they made only 12 of 39.

Though the Sonics pretty much had the game in hand at the end of the third quarter, Jaren Jackson’s three-pointer with 2:39 left was the Spurs’ first basket of the final quarter.

“We just got a little careless with the ball,” said Robinson, who followed up Wednesday’s 29-point performance with 10 points and four turnovers Friday. “They hit some big shots. And that’s when you have to keep your composure. We didn’t.”

As a result, the Spurs continued their up-and-down season, falling to 6-7.

“We are looking to turn it around,” Duncan said. “We have the talent to do it. We have the experience to do it. And I guarantee that we are going to do it.”

Seattle, meanwhile, enjoyed its own turnaround Friday. Two days after a miserable performance that saw them miss 18 free throws and shoot 34.2 percent from the field in a 99-81 loss to the Spurs, the Sonics jump-started their offense in the third quarter. Seattle shot .436 for the game, but made 12 of 21 shots in the third.

The Sonics buried 5 of 6 three- pointers in the third quarter to turn a tie game at the half into a 12-point lead. Gary Payton, who led all scorers with 23 points, knocked down three of the bombs.

Dale Ellis, who complained about the Alamodome’s backdrop after making only 3 of 8 shots Wednesday, sunk three three-pointers en route to 13 points. Baker even canned two straight free throws. Hersey Hawkins, also in a season- long funk, dropped in a three-pointer and totaled five points and a pair of steals in the third quarter.

“We didn’t do anything differently,” Sonics coach Paul Westphal said. “We played the same way. It was just our night.”

It was definitely Seattle’s quarter. After burning a pair of timeouts within 50 seconds, the Spurs looked up to see themselves trailing by 10 with less than five minutes gone.

When the Spurs trimmed it to 62- 57 on Duncan’s bank shot, Payton answered with a three-pointer. Minutes later, he came up with a steal off a rebound by the Spurs and pulled up for another 23-footer. Ellis followed with a three, and another Seattle steal led to another three-point play by Payton.

In 53 seconds the Sonics had piled on nine unanswered points. A manageable deficit for the Spurs had grown to a 74-59 mountain. Jackson threw in a three-pointer at the buzzer, but it didn’t matter. The Spurs were dead.

“We really lost our composure,” said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, retouching on the night’s theme. "We took quick shots. And had different people trying to take over the game.

“We stopped playing as a group at the offensive end. So (the Sonics) got us back.”

Baker brought the house down when he sank back-to-back free throws for the first time this season at the start of the second quarter. Before stepping to the line Baker had made only 4 of 35 attempts, including an air ball wide right in the first quarter.

The Sonics had grown frustrated with Baker, believing he was shying away from contact to avoid going to the line. In Wednesday’s loss he complained of blurred vision after getting poked in the eye and finished with only two points on 1- of-7 shooting.

Friday, however, Baker looked ready to break out of his slump in the first half. He had seven points and four rebounds in 12 minutes before being sent to the bench with his third foul with more than nine minutes left before halftime. He finished with 12 points and five boards.

“You can’t miss everything you put up,” Hawkins said. “At least I hope not.”

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-27

专栏作家辞职

凯文·奥基夫(Kevin O’Keeffe)已辞去其在圣安东尼奥快报担任体育专栏作家的职位。

奥基夫自1975年起便在快报工作，并在1980年成为专栏作家。

“圣安东尼奥快报的编辑们对周五下午收到凯文·奥基夫的辞职信感到失望，”主编罗伯特·里瓦德(Robert Rivard)说道，“我们认为他可以继续担任专栏作家。如果他不愿意，我们要明确表示，他没有被解雇，也没有被迫提交辞职信。”

里瓦德驳斥了奥基夫公开声称因撰写批评马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的专栏文章而被迫辞职的说法。

“我们不会将内部人事问题公之于众，”里瓦德说道。

点击查看原文：Columnist resigns

Columnist resigns

Kevin O’Keeffe has resigned his position as a sports columnist for the San Antonio Express-News.

O’Keeffe has worked for the Express-News since 1975. He became a columnist in 1980.

“The editors at the San Antonio Express-News were disappointed to receive Kevin O’Keeffe’s letter of resignation Friday afternoon,” Editor Robert Rivard said. “It is our position that he can return to work as a columnist. If he does not, we want to make it clear that he was not fired or otherwise forced to tender his letter of resignation.”

Rivard discounted public claims made by O’Keeffe that he was forced to quit for writing columns critical of Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

“We will not air an internal personnel situation in public,” Rivard said.

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-27, By David King

SlamDuncan 网站，名字太明显

你的战地记者有一个特别讨厌的东西（除了“特别讨厌的东西”这个词本身，它需要被带去给兽医“处理”），那就是用人名来玩文字游戏。

拥有一个容易被玩弄的名字会加剧这种厌恶感（“国王队以六分战胜 Pflugerville 青少年队”这句话就让人想起这种感觉），这就像在周五晚上做橄榄球比赛报道的时候，非体育报纸的人会通过电话接收比赛报道，然后把憋了很久的文字游戏从他们的系统中释放出来（“冈萨雷斯跑锋约翰·梅森在周五晚上用一个大罐子把库埃罗队装进了 145 码，并获得了三个达阵……”）。

也许蒂姆·邓肯（Tim Duncan），这位沉默的大人物，不会遇到他的名字被评论员玩弄的问题。他可能至少在一个地方获得了报酬——他的新网站 www.slamduncan.com 。太明显了。

对于官方球员网站来说，邓肯的网站相当普通。这里有他标准的个人资料：

鞋码：16

纹身：“魔术师”和“巫师”（希望不要指的是他在这个赛季的第四节消失的行为）

汽车：两辆，两辆车的价格都超过了没有文字游戏名字的普通人两年的收入。

这里有职业生涯的亮点，包括他上赛季对阵勇士队时取得的 35 分和对阵公牛队时取得的 22 个篮板。低谷却无处可寻，除非你把这个赛季的比赛数据统计表算作低谷，这些数据可以通过点击按钮查看。

球迷可以签署留言簿（仅供内部使用），直接给 SlamDuncan 发邮件（或者至少直接发送给过滤邮件的人），还可以查看 SlamDuncan 的慈善工作（正在进行的善事）。

关于该网站发布的新闻稿承诺了来自 SlamDuncan 本人的电影和音乐评论，这很有道理，因为该页面由 DVD Holding Corp 赞助。你听说过 DVD 公司了吗？它带来了——是的，这是真的——一种新的电影和音乐格式。新闻稿中还提到了 SlamDuncan 对电子邮件的回复将在网站上发布，以及在线聊天室的可能性。

（请注意，在最近的一次访问中出现了一个故障：每个页面都想要加载两次，这可能会在 28.8 调制解调器上变得很烦人。）

现在，看看他的商业赞助商，这是一个代言阵容：耐克、希克和雪碧。哦，是的，还有一个有用的网站——musicHQ.com，一个在线搜索和购买 CD 的网站（包括 1965 年的“Chieftains 1”，价格为 12.78 美元，外加运费和手续费）。

接下来会发生什么？“马刺队的凝视让国王队畏惧？” www.slamduncan.com

点击查看原文：SlamDuncan site clangs off back iron

SlamDuncan site clangs off back iron

One of your Field Correspondent’s pet peeves (besides the term “pet peeve,” which needs to be taken to a vet and “altered”) is puns using people’s names.

Having a readily punnable name feeds the peeve (“King crowns Pflugerville JV for six points” comes to mind), as does working on Friday Night Football, when non-sports newspaper people take phoned-in game reports and get pent-up puns out of their systems ("Gonzales running back John Mason jarred Cuero for 145 yards and three touchdowns Friday night …).

Perhaps Tim Duncan, the Great Silent One, doesn’t have such problems with his name falling prey to pundits. It probably helps that he gets paid for it in at least one case - his new Web site, www.slamduncan.com. Ugh.

As official player sites go, Duncan’s is pretty generic. There’s your standard bio:

Shoe size: 16

Tattoos: “Magician” and “Wizard” (hopefully not referring to his fourth-quarter disappearing acts this season)

Cars: Two, both costing more than the average guy without a pun for a name makes in two years.

There’s career highlights, including that 35-point game against the Warriors and his 22- rebound effort against the Bulls last season. Lowlights are nowhere to be found, unless you consider this season’s box scores, which are available at the click of a button.

Fans can sign a guest book (for internal use only), e-mail SlamDuncan directly (or at least directly to the person who filters the e-mail) and check out SlamDuncan’s charitable work (good works in progress).

The news release about the site’s launch promises movie and music reviews from the man himself, which is only logical since the page is sponsored by DVD Holding Corp. You’ve heard of DVD, company bringing you - yes, it’s true - movies and music in a new format. There’s also mention of SlamDuncan’s answers to e-mails posted on the site, as well as the possibility of online chat sessions.

(Be warned that there was a glitch in a recent visit: Every page wanted to load twice, which probably can get annoying on a 28.8 modem.)

For now, be happy with links to his commercial sponsors, a who’s who of endorsements: Nike, Schick and Sprite. Oh yes, and there is one useful one - musicHQ.com, a site for searching and buying for CDs online (including “Chieftains 1,” circa 1965, $12.78 plus shipping and handling).

What’s next? “Spurs’ Gaze withers Kings?” www.slamduncan.com

Gimme back my Chucks: You know the story: You find a style of tennies you really like, and then the maker quits having those 8- year-old employees put them together in a sweat shop deep within Far Eastern City.

Roadrunnersports.com, which bills itself as “The World’s Largest Running Shoe Site!” is offering an e-mail service to let you know about your favorite styles. When the Grand Adios approaches for your Pro Keds, you can snatch up a few pairs - perhaps from Roadrunnersports.com. Hey, don’t expect any service like this for nothing.

Lace 'em up: www.roadrunnersports.com/ roadrunner/disc(underscore) description.asp (An underscore is a shifted hyphen)

By David King, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-28, By Glenn Rogers

Razzing the Jazz - Spurs fans have reasons aplenty to hate Utah

It’s Sunday afternoon. Upper-level seats will be open at the Alamodome.

Concession-stand owners will smile and rub their hands in anticipating of ringing registers.

The Coyote will dig out the best in his bag of tricks, gnaw on opponents’ legs, get entangled in and thrown out of opponent huddles.

The Baseline Bums - still missed from their one-time actual baseline seats - will be at their throatiest, and Big George Valle will even more feverishly wave the Lone Star State flag.

The roar of the boos will be at least as loud as possible in the cavernous palace when No. 32 is introduced.

The Utah Jazz are in town.

It’ll be a fun day down around Durango Street and a rowdy one inside the dome when the Spurs battle the visitors from the Wasatch Mountains at 2 p.m. today.

Spurs fans hate the Jazz.

They make fun of the name, amused that the citizens of Salt Lake City still haven’t been able to figure out that few people associate their town with smoky little joints featuring a jamming trio.

They assume the name of the former New Orleans basketball team is retained because it’s snappier than anything with the word salt in it.

Why do Spurs fans hate Utah?

Out-of-towners might assume it has something to do with the Jazz knocking the Spurs out of the playoffs in 1994, 1996 and 1998.

But true Spurs fanatics harbor deeper, darker feelings.

If you ask, they will tell you it’s for these five reasons…

1. The choirboy backcourt: Choirboys from hell, more like it.

John Stockton possesses a pair of the league’s most lethal elbows. David Robinson calls them irritating. Others say much worse, objecting to the kidney massage Stockton administers while he’s setting his infamous back picks.

Stockton also doesn’t mind using an elbow from time to time to clear a little space or to remind an offensive player that he’s in the vicinity.

Some call it dirty play; Jazz coach Jerry Sloan calls it tough, physical play.

Don’t overlook backcourt mate Jeff Hornacek. We’re sick and tired of watching him gently wipe the side of his face every time he goes to the free-throw line. This is apparently a message, a hello to his children. Say hello when you get home, Jeffy.

It’s especially infuriating when he doesn’t miss.

2. Good, old Sloan: We beg Jerry to can those John Deere caps. We’ve got the message - he’s a down-home fellow, content with the simple pleasures in life.

We point out that he has made millions during his stint on the Utah sidelines, where he infuriates everybody with his incessant complaining about every call and non-call.

We envision Sloan sitting in a mansion on the slopes of the Wasatch Mountains, smoking a meerschaum pipe, sipping 100-year-old brandy and chortling about his image.

Then again, maybe not.

3. The pick-and-roll: We’re sick of it, sick of watching it, sick of hearing about it. It’s borrrring.

There’s Stockton, coming off a Karl Malone pick (at least three elbows flashing here), and the computer mind ticking off the endless list of options. A Malone roll for a jumper or catch and drive. A Stockton curl into the lane for a pullup, dish off or layup. A Stockton blah, blah, blah.

We’ve seen it already.

Truth be known, Sloan devised the guillotine-like operation because Stockton can’t jump, can’t dunk, can’t soar like any self- respecting NBA highlight lover.

He’s slow and getting slower. If he loses another step they’ll have to go to the 35-second clock.

If he beats the Spurs again, we’ll come up with worse things to say about him.

4. The Mailman: Some nickname. We wish he’d deliver the free throws on time. If he was on your postal route he’d slap the letters out of your hands.

Referees still can’t tell the difference between a hand slapping a leather ball and one slamming into skin. Robinson knows the difference.

Robinson also will tell you about Malone’s elbow delivery. The Spur had to pull himself back into consciousness when he caught one upside the head at the Delta Center last year. (Some Spurs fans unkindly said David got bopped when his mind was wandering again).

Malone says he’s just protecting his territory when he clears space with bone-jarring blows. We say he’s been practicing his wrestling moves for years, only they aren’t fake on the court.

5. The pinata affair: Longtime fans remember well the day Malone desecrated a time-honored HemisFair Arena tradition - the pinata, often bearing the number of the opponent’s key player.

The idea was for a blindfolded fan to whack away at it with a stick until money spilled out. Malone saw one with his number on it. He dragged it into the visiting team’s shower and punched it apart. It was never reported whether or not the moolah was inside.

Malone said he was insulted.

We say his muscles extended into his noggin’ that day and he didn’t understand the backhanded compliment.

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-02-28

专栏作家称遭施压遭到否认

圣安东尼奥快报体育专栏作家凯文·奥基夫(Kevin O’Keeffe)的辞职引发了社区的热议。

奥基夫自1980年起便在快报担任专栏作家，他在周五提交了辞职信。

奥基夫随后出现在当地广播和电视台，称他辞职是因为报社管理层对他在专栏中批评马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)感到不满。

“重申一次，凯文·奥基夫并没有被解雇，也没有被迫辞职，”主编罗伯特·里瓦德(Robert Rivard)说道。“如果他遵守快报关于自由职业工作、编辑分配以及给予专栏主题合理机会表达他们观点的政策和做法，他可以继续撰写他的专栏。

“我们在周四的长时间会议上敦促他不要辞职。我们认为他的决定是情绪化的，他正在放弃在快报的精彩工作和高知名度职业生涯。”

里瓦德驳斥了奥基夫和广播界人士周五提出的马刺队在专栏作家离职中扮演了角色的说法。

“马刺队没有向我们施压，如果他们尝试过，我们也不会妥协，”里瓦德说道。

点击查看原文：Columnist's claims of pressure denied

Columnist’s claims of pressure denied

The resignation of San Antonio Express-News sports columnist Kevin O’Keeffe has sparked a measure of conversation in the community.

O’Keeffe, a columnist for the Express-News since 1980, submitted his resignation Friday.

O’Keeffe subsequently appeared on local radio and television stations, saying his decision was a result of newspaper management’s dissatisfaction over columns in which he criticized Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

“Again, Kevin O’Keeffe was not fired or pressured to resign,” Editor Robert Rivard said. "He can continue to write his column if he adheres to Express-News policies and practices regarding free-lance work, assignments from editors and giving column subjects reasonable opportunity to express their point of view.

“We urged him not to resign in a long meeting on Thursday. We believe his decision was an emotional one, and that he is walking away from a wonderful job and high-profile career at the Express-News.”

Rivard rejected assertions made Friday by O’Keeffe and broadcast personalities that the Spurs played a role in the columnist’s departure.

“The Spurs have not pressured us, and if they tried, we would not accommodate them,” Rivard said.

via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-01, By Johnny Ludden

马刺队跌至谷底 - 圣安东尼奥在对阵爵士队的比赛中全面失利

马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)头上有个包，走路一瘸一拐，钱包里少了1000美元。俗话说，痛苦是会相互感染的。埃利和他的主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)一样，都被罚下了场。

这对组合被判入禁闭室，开始在NBC上观看最后几分钟的比赛，他们以87-101输给了犹他爵士队，这时波波维奇做了一个下午最明智的决定：他关掉了电视。

“我很高兴，”埃利说，“我不想再听那些（脏话删除）。我（脏话删除）。”

“我的脚踝很痛，我的心也很痛。”

用埃利的原话说，对于马刺队来说，这是一个充满脏话的糟糕的周日下午。而对于他们所有的身体和精神上的伤痛，也许这个伤疤最深：

在全国电视观众面前，许多人可能在波波维奇之前就关掉了电视，在18165名圣安东尼奥球迷面前，许多人都在嘘他们，马刺队表现得像反面爵士队一样，一个功能失调的团队，无法投篮、传球或奔跑。

“这，”肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)说，“是迄今为止最糟糕的一次。”

马刺队有理由记录他们的失败，这已经说明了一切。连续两场令人尴尬的失败——以及最近七场比赛中的五场失利——让他们目前的战绩跌至6胜8负。

马刺队更衣室的裂痕也开始显现。而秃鹫也开始盘旋。

“我认为随着沮丧感的加剧，每个人都会变得有点焦躁，”大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)说。“现在我们正在努力训练。我认为每个人都在努力做波波维奇要求他们做的事情。”

“我认为他关心胜利。我们也关心胜利。”

当被直接问及他是否认为波波维奇需要被替换时，罗宾逊，似乎选择他的话语很谨慎，给出了一个不那么肯定的认可。

“我会让你们自己去猜测，”罗宾逊说。“现在，我不会说任何话。我100%支持他。我认为球员们都在努力为他工作。”

“我们有一些问题需要解决。我认为我们会解决它们的。”

马刺队最优先的任务是找到他们已经丢失的转换进攻。在头三节比赛中，爵士队快攻得分18分，而马刺队只得到5分。

尽管蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)以17投10中得到全队最高的21分，但马刺队的半场进攻反复出现问题。当爵士队在第一节比赛还剩1分30秒的时候，马刺队在不到1分30秒的时间内出现了四次失误，爵士队抓住机会打出了最后的10分，并最终拉开了比分。

罗宾逊，全场8投6分，对自己的出手次数感到沮丧。他表示，改善转换进攻会有所帮助。埃利表示，罗宾逊也可以更好地处理双人包夹。

史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)也在努力找到他在马刺队进攻中的位置，在最近的六场比赛中平均只有四次出手。

“我们是一支奔跑的球队，但我们打得太多半场进攻，”埃利说，“我们需要轻松的得分。我们似乎为每一分都费尽心力，而他们却有10到12次轻松地跑到篮下完成空位上篮。”

马刺队无法投进他们得到的那些投篮。他们在第一节比赛中22投7中（命中率31.8%），而且他们在最近几场比赛中消失的罚球命中率也再次出现。马刺队罚球26罚14中（命中率53.8%），而爵士队罚球22罚21中。

埃利、埃利奥特和艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)三人联手28投9中。埃利奥特在过去的四场比赛中50投15中。

“我们错过了一些好机会，”埃利奥特说。“如果我们投进了那些球，我们可以让比赛更接近。”

“感觉就像篮筐上盖了一个盖子。我认为我的四次投篮绝对进了。”

虽然埃利奥特和约翰逊的挣扎让他们在最后16分钟里被按在了板凳上，但埃利在第四节还剩5分16秒的时候，因为肘击格雷格·奥斯特塔格(Greg Ostertag)并推搡他而被罚下，他离开了比赛。他们在第一节比赛中也因为对峙而被判技术犯规。

波波维奇也因为在第三节还剩2分06秒的时候冲到中场去抱怨马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)被犯规而被罚下，并且拿下了本场比赛八次技术犯规中的两次。

“我们必须相信球员们和体系，”波波维奇说。“有些人已经改变了，但体系是一样的。”

与此同时，爵士队再次展现出高效的进攻。卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)轻松地投进了他的跳投，最终得到30分。约翰·斯托克顿(John Stockton)和杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek)则依靠挡拆配合，合计得到32分和17次助攻。

“我们只是在执行力上输了，”埃利说。“他们彻底地执行了比赛。”

埃利表示，如果马刺队还没有按下恐慌按钮，他们也快了。

“我们现在看起来像11胜2负的球队一样，”埃利说。“生气吧。愤怒吧。扔点东西吧。我们现在是6胜8负。我们在西部联盟中排名第10。萨克拉门托和金州比我们强。”

“这真是耻辱。”

马刺队观战

周日：爵士 101，@马刺 87

亮点：马刺队几乎没有亮点。约翰·斯托克顿和卡尔·马龙继续让圣安东尼奥队头疼，主教练格雷格·波波维奇和后卫马里奥·埃利被罚下。

战绩：马刺 6-8；爵士 11-2

下一场比赛：周二 @休斯顿，晚上7:30

在线：www.expressnews .com/spurs

点击查看原文：Spurs hit lowest note - S.A. fails on all levels of game against Jazz

Spurs hit lowest note - S.A. fails on all levels of game against Jazz

Mario Elie had a knot on his head, a limp in his step and $1,000 less in his wallet. Misery, they say, loves company. And Elie had his in Gregg Popovich, Spurs coach and fellow ejectee.

The pair, sentenced to locker- room confinement, started to watch the final minutes of their 101-87 loss to Utah tick away on NBC when Popovich made one of the best moves of any Spur all afternoon: He turned off the TV.

“I was glad. I didn’t want to hear that (expletive deleted),” Elie said. "I was (expletive deleted).

“My ankle is sore. My heart is sore.”

To further paraphrase Elie, it was one long, expletive-filled mess of a Sunday afternoon for the Spurs. And for all their physical and emotional wounds, perhaps this scar cuts deepest:

In front of a national television audience, many of whom probably clicked off long before Popovich, and an Alamodome crowd of 18,165, many of whom booed, the Spurs showed up as the anti-Jazz, a dysfunctional bunch that couldn’t shoot, pass or run.

“This,” Sean Elliott said, “is the worst one yet.”

That the Spurs have reason to catalog their defeats says enough. Two straight embarrassing defeats - and five losses in their last seven games - have grounded them at 6-8.

Cracks in the Spurs’ locker room also are beginning to show. And the vultures are beginning to circle.

“I think as the frustration builds, everybody gets a little antsy,” David Robinson said. "For right now we’re working hard. I think everyone is trying to do what (Popovich) is asking them.

“I think he cares about winning. And we care about winning.”

Asked pointedly if he thought Popovich needed to be replaced, Robinson, who appeared to choose his words carefully, delivered a less-than-ringing endorsement.

“I’m going to let you all speculate on that,” Robinson said. "That’s no for me, right now, to say anything. I’m behind him 100 percent. I think the guys are working hard for him.

“We have things to solve. And I think we’ll get them solved.”

Tops on the Spurs’ to-do list would be to locate their long-lost transition game. Through the first three quarters, Utah outscored the Spurs 18-5 off the break.

Though Tim Duncan scored a team-high 21 points on 10-of-17 shooting, the Spurs’ halfcourt offense repeatedly broke down. The Jazz pulled away for good when they scored the last 10 points of the first quarter after the Spurs committed four turnovers in less than 11/2 minutes.

Robinson, who finished with eight points on six attempts, is frustrated with the number of shots he’s getting. Improving the transition game would help, he said. Robinson, Elie said, also could do a better job at splitting the double teams.

Steve Kerr, too, is struggling to find his role in the Spurs’ offense, averaging only four shots in the last six games.

“We are a running team and we’re playing too much half court,” Elie said “We need easy baskets. We seem to labor for every basket we make, while they have 10-12 times where they just run down the lane for open layups.”

The Spurs couldn’t hit the shots they did get. They made only 7 of 22 (.318) in the first quarter, and their free-throw shooting problems, which disappeared in the last few games, also resurfaced. The Spurs shot 14 of 26 from the line (.538), while the Jazz sunk 21 of their first 22.

Elie, Elliott and Avery Johnson finished a combined 9 of 28 from the field. In his last four games, Elliott has missed 35 of 50 shots.

“Some of the shots we missed were good looks,” Elliott said. "We could have kept the game a lot closer if we had made those.

“It’s like there’s a lid on the basket. I thought four of my shots were definitely in.”

While Elliott’s and Johnson’s struggles confined them to the bench for the last 16 minutes, Elie left the game for good after he was ejected with 5:16 left in the final quarter for elbowing and pushing Greg Ostertag. He and Ostertag also were hit with technicals when they squared off in the first quarter.

Popovich also picked up an ejection and two of the game’s eight technicals when he stormed out to midcourt to complain about a foul on Malik Rose with 2:06 left in the third quarter.

“We just have to believe in the guys and the system,” Popovich said. “Some of the people have changed, but the system is the same.”

The Jazz, meanwhile, were again the picture of efficiency. Karl Malone had little trouble knocking down his jumper en route to 30 points. And John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek pick-and- rolled their way to a combined 32 points and 17 assists.

“We just got outexecuted,” Elie said. “They executed the hell out of us.”

If the Spurs haven’t yet hit the panic button, Elie said, they’re close.

“We’re walking around like we’re 11-2 or something,” Elie said. "Get mad. Be mad. Throw something. We’re 6-8. We’re 10th in the (Western Conference). Sacramento and Golden State are better than us.

“That’s a disgrace.”

Spurs watch

Sunday: Jazz 101, @Spurs 87

Highlights: Very few for the Spurs. John Stockton and Karl Malone continue to give San Antonio fits as Coach Gregg Popovich and swingman Mario Elie get ejected.

Records: Spurs 6-8; Jazz 11-2

Next game: Tuesday @Houston, 7:30 p.m.

Online: www.expressnews .com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-01, By Glenn Rogers

犹他展现友善，赛后不落井下石

犹他爵士队非常谨慎，不会在赛后点燃对手心中任何可能燃起的火焰。

爵士队在周日下午的阿拉莫圆顶体育馆中战胜了马刺队。

他们在所有重要的统计类别中都胜过了马刺队，激励了现场观众对马刺队的球员和教练嘘声不断，并因犯规而得到技术犯规，领先优势一度高达 24 分。

但他们在比赛结束时对他们落魄的对手只有好言相劝。

“当然，我认为球员们都有些沮丧，两队都是，”爵士队主教练杰里·斯隆(Jerry Sloan)说。“他们有很多大个子球员，我们必须应对这一点。这往往会导致比赛看起来很激烈。你必须非常积极才能在这里获胜。”

比赛的激烈程度吸引了裁判的注意力。他们吹罚了 8 次技术犯规，包括一次对斯隆的和两次对格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)的。

斯隆早早地定下了比赛的基调，在第一节中段，他认为艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)应该被判罚走步或出界时，他爆发了。

“这只是篮球的一部分，”斯隆说。“我事后总是感到很糟糕，这让我损失了钱。但我猜我必须用错误的方式学习。”

当被问及马刺队的进攻是否在某些时候看起来很混乱时，斯隆回答说：“我看到了我们进攻中有很多混乱，球员们不知道该往哪里走。”

斯隆在大多数时间里都没有什么不开心的事情。波波维奇则有很多不开心的事情，他在第三节还剩 2 分 06 秒时爆发了，当时他的球队落后 17 分。他从咄咄逼人的裁判乔伊·克劳福德(Joey Crawford)那里得到了两次快速的哨声，并被赶下了场。

“我试过（被罚下）几次，我不怪他，”斯隆说。“但通常情况下，裁判会强迫我坐在那里忍受。”

波波维奇已经忍受够了。

爵士队在一端撕裂了马刺队的防守，在另一端压制了马刺队的得分。

“我们必须打防守来定下基调，这就是我们一开始就做的，”卡尔·马龙(Karl Malone)说。“我们的防守往往会为我们打开空间，让我们在转换进攻中打出一些轻松的得分。”

犹他队快攻得分 20 分，马刺队只有 8 分。

“但我们来这里之前就知道这是一支有天赋的球队，我们想从一开始就打出气势，”马龙说。“我认为他们会团结起来的。重要的是，我们必须在这里两次面对他们，而在犹他只打一次。季后赛开始后，系列赛可能很重要。”

马龙没有理会关于马刺队需要新教练的任何言论。

“我不参与那些事情，我是一名球员，”他说。“我尊敬我的教练和对方球队的教练。”

格雷格·奥斯特塔格(Greg Ostertag)只得到 7 分，但在内线表现强势，抢下 10 个篮板，并打出了强硬的防守。他足够靠近马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)，导致马刺球员犯规两次，第二次是 2 型犯规，肘击对手。埃利被罚下。

“马里奥想定下基调，”奥斯特塔格说。“人们倾向于认为我在上赛季之后变软了，所以我不能退缩。”

在取得大胜后，奥斯特塔格依然保持着温和和温柔。

“我不会说我们把他们碾压了，”他说。“我们只是设法在第一节就对他们形成了压制。杰里相信在防守端击垮他们，进攻就会随之而来。”

奥斯特塔格在下半场因肘部过度伸展导致疼痛而弯腰，但他仍然坚持留在场上，展现了自己的韧性。

杰夫·霍纳塞克(Jeff Hornacek)以 18 分的成绩烧灼了圣安东尼奥，而斯隆甚至没有指望他上场。

“霍纳塞克总是看起来像（脏话删除），”斯隆笑着说。“他有一条老腿。我真没想到他会上场。但在这支球队里，如果一名球员不认为上场会让他受伤，如果他认为自己可以上场，他就会上场，即使是在疼痛的情况下。”

点击查看原文：Utah offers kindness after on-court display

Utah offers kindness after on-court display

The Utah Jazz are a little too cagey to fan any flames that might burn in an opponent’s heart later on down the road.

The Jazz stomped the Spurs at the Alamodome on Sunday afternoon.

They outplayed them in every category of any importance, inspired the crowd to boo the Spurs’ players and coach, picked up technical calls for hard fouls and enjoyed leads as large as 24 points.

But they had nothing but kind words for their downtrodden foes at game’s end.

“Sure, I think guys got a little frustrated out there - on both teams,” Jazz coach Jerry Sloan said. “They have a lot of big guys and we have to combat that. That tends to make things look pretty physical. You have to be very aggressive to win here.”

It was physical enough to keep the referees’ attention. They called eight technicals, including one on Sloan and two on Gregg Popovich.

Sloan set the tone early, erupting midway through the first, when he thought Avery Johnson should have been called for traveling or losing the ball out of bounds.

“It’s just part of basketball,” Sloan said. “I always feel bad about it afterwards, it costs me money. But I guess I must learn the wrong way.”

Asked if the Spurs’ offense looked confused at times, Sloan replied, “I saw plenty of confusion on our offense, guys not knowing where to go.”

Sloan had little to be unhappy about throughout most of the game. Popovich had plenty, and he exploded with 2:06 left in the third period, when his team was down by 17. He received two quick whistles from pugnacious ref Joey Crawford and was dispatched to the locker room.

“I’ve tried (to get ejected) a couple of times, I don’t blame him,” Sloan said. “But usually, the refs force me to sit there and suffer.”

Popovich had suffered enough.

The Jazz ripped through the Spurs’ defense at one end and stifled the Spurs’ scorers at the other.

“We have to play defense to set the tone, and that’s what we did right away,” Malone said. “Our defense tends to open up the floor for us to score some easy buckets in transition.”

Utah scored 20 points off the fastbreak to the Spurs’ eight.

“But we came in here knowing this is a talented team, and we wanted to get it going right away,” Malone said. “I think they will get it together. The important thing is we have to play them twice here and only once in Utah. The season series could be important once the playoffs get under way.”

Malone shook off any talk about the Spurs needing a new coach.

“I don’t get into that, I’m a player,” he said. “I respect my coach and the other team’s coach.”

Greg Ostertag scored only seven points but was a force in the paint with 10 rebounds and bruising defense. He got into Mario Elie’s hair enough to cause the Spur to pick up a couple of flagrant fouls, the second a Type 2 for tossing an elbow. Elie was ejected.

“Mario was trying to set a tone,” Ostertag said. “People tend to think I’m soft after last season, so I can’t back down.”

After the big win, Ostertag stayed soft and gentle.

“I wouldn’t say that we rolled over them,” he said. “We just managed to get after them in the first quarter. Jerry believes in killing them on defense and the offense will come.”

Ostertag showed his own toughness by staying in the game after doubling over in pain with a hyperextended elbow in the second half.

Jeff Hornacek scorched San Antonio with 18 points, and Sloan hadn’t even expected him to play.

“Hornacek always looks like (expletive deleted),” Sloan said with a laugh. “He has an old leg. I really didn’t think he would play. But on this team, if a player doesn’t think going will hurt him, if he thinks he can play, he does - even with pain.”

By Glenn Rogers, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-01, By Johnny Ludden

马刺笔记

获得出场时间: 马刺替补控球后卫安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)在过去 11 场比赛中平均只有 2 分钟的上场时间，但周日他出战了 22 分钟，并得到了 13 分、2 次助攻和 1 次失误。

丹尼尔斯是在史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)扭伤脚踝后替补上场的。在第三节替换艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)后，他一直打到比赛结束。

“安东尼奥一直在练习中非常努力地进行三对三训练，”马刺主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)说。“他一直表现出色，所以我们让他上场了一些时间。

“他做得很好。他控制得很好，把球员们带进了进攻。”

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

Getting time: Spurs backup point guard Antonio Daniels, who was averaging only two minutes the last 11 games, played 22 Sunday and finished with 13 points, a pair of assists and one turnover.

Daniels entered the game after Steve Kerr turned his ankle. He played the remainder of the game after replacing Avery Johnson in the third quarter.

“Antonio has been working very hard on three-on-three (drills) in practice,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "He’s been doing a good job so we got him some game minutes.

“He did a good job. He was under control and got the guys into the offense.” - Johnny Ludden

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-01, By Buck Harvey

教练和球馆的时间表

我会解雇格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)。

最早也要一个月后。

在马刺队经历了丹佛-达拉斯的3月赛程之后。在肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott)证明是他的跳投出了问题还是教练出了问题之后。在艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)寻找他1998年的状态之后。在大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)不再担心自己的角色并且开始打球之后。

然后，如果马刺队像对阵爵士队那样站在那里无所事事，我会考虑球馆问题，以及波波维奇如何比NESD更快地阻止这种情况。

我猜：彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)也有同样的时间表。

霍尔特今天永远不会说出来，因为就在上周，他宣布对波波维奇“绝对信任”。这是所有好老板在被问到这个问题时都会说的话，还有“还有好座位”。

但霍尔特也拥有NBA中最令人失望的球队。每个人都认为输给太阳的比赛是最低谷，然后就迎来了爵士队。从第二节开始，马刺队从未将分差接近10分，这不是度过一个下午的好方法。马刺队唯一做对的事情就是激怒了犹他州的一些技术犯规。

他们大多都像杰里·塔卡尼安(Jerry Tarkanian)还在城里一样打球。波波维奇最明智的举动是什么？被罚出场，避免了垃圾时间里的嘘声。当他离开球场时，球场上的嘘声是对裁判的愤怒吗？1) 罚他出场还是2) 没有早点罚他出场？

波波维奇说，“我相信这些家伙”，但这不是问题。他们相信他吗？他的引援来自拥有稳固、高调教练的球队，他们在这次低迷期间对波波维奇感到怀疑。然后还有那些已经在这里的人。

比如罗宾逊。在本赛季早些时候，他说他不知道什么时候应该投篮，什么时候不应该投篮，而NBC的分析师在周日提出了这个问题。如果罗宾逊得到6次投篮，他们说，那就是波波维奇的错。

也许是。但即使是马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)也对此表示异议。蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)已经学会了如何战胜双人夹击，埃利说。罗宾逊也必须学会。

埃利也责怪自己，因为他10投3中，埃利奥特也是，因为他11投3中。如果马刺队无法命中空位跳投，菲尔·杰克逊(Phil Jackson)会有什么区别吗？

马刺队还没有放弃为波波维奇打球，就像湖人队对德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris)那样。他们只是还没有开始融合。当被问到是否有哪个赛季让他想起这个赛季时，埃利奥特回到了1994年，当时马刺队开局7胜9负。

那一年，他们在鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill)的带领下赢得了62场比赛。

也许霍尔特看到了这一点。但他可能看到了其他问题。解雇波波维奇将是一个棘手的问题，因为波波维奇组建了这个教练团队。替补席上的任何人都不会被提升，因此新教练必须适应现有的体系。目前，这意味着多克·里弗斯(Doc Rivers)。

里弗斯可能会成功，假设里弗斯愿意接手这份工作，因为丹尼·安吉(Danny Ainge)在太阳队获得了类似的战场晋升，而且当时他几乎没有任何执教经验。而且马刺队周日的表现，这确实是一个有趣的想法；雷德·麦克莫斯(Red McCombs)解雇了塔卡尼安，换上了约翰·卢卡斯(John Lucas)，卢卡斯带来了一种态度，即使没有其他东西。

尽管如此，里弗斯将会成为一个菜鸟，在赛季缩短的情况下，带着同样的阵容，面对着犹他州的机器。这就是为什么霍尔特认为波波维奇是他现在赢得胜利的最佳机会。波波维奇不仅在上个赛季扭转了局势，他还将犹他州逼到了季后赛，这在当时是不可想象的。如果这种情况再次发生，那么胜利将治愈即使是波波维奇的认可度。

但如果这种情况没有发生呢？如果马刺队在4月份看起来和周日一样迷茫？如果霍尔特想卖掉球馆，买一些支持？

他也会解雇波波维奇。

点击查看原文：The timetable for a coach and an arena

The timetable for a coach and an arena

I’d fire Gregg Popovich.

In a month, at the earliest.

After the Spurs go through a Denver-Dallas March. After Sean Elliott proves it’s his jumper or it’s coaching, after Avery Johnson searches for his 1998 game, after David Robinson quits worrying about his role and plays.

Then, if the Spurs stand around as they did against the Jazz, I’d think about an arena and how Popovich would stop that faster than the NESD stopped one.

A guess: Peter Holt has the same timetable.

Holt would never say that today, because just last week he announced he has “absolute faith” in Popovich. That’s what all good owners say when asked, along with “good seats still available.”

But Holt also owns the NBA’s most absolutely disappointing team. Everyone thought the collapse against Phoenix was the low point, and then came the Jazz. The Spurs were never as close as 10 from the second quarter on, which is no way to spend an afternoon. All the Spurs did right was encourage a few technicals out of Utah.

Mostly, they played as if Jerry Tarkanian were back in town. Popovich’s smartest move? Getting tossed and avoiding the garbage-time catcalls. When he left the floor to a dome of boos, was the anger aimed at the refs for 1) ejecting him or 2) not ejecting him sooner?

Popovich says, “I believe in these guys,” but that’s not the question. Do they believe in him? His additions come from franchises with solid, high-profile coaching, and they wonder about Popovich during this slump. Then there are those who were already here.

Such as Robinson. He said earlier in the season he didn’t know when to shoot and when not to, and NBC analysts brought up that issue Sunday. If Robinson is getting six shots, they said, then it’s Popovich’s fault.

Maybe it is. But even Mario Elie disputed that. Tim Duncan has learned to beat the double teams, said Elie. Robinson has to.

Elie also blamed himself, because he went 3 for 10, as did Elliott, because he went 3 for 11. If the Spurs can’t hit open jumpers, would Phil Jackson make any difference?

The Spurs haven’t quit playing for Popovich yet, as the Lakers did with Del Harris. They just haven’t started to mesh. And when asked if any season reminds him of this one, Elliott went back to 1994, when the Spurs started 7-9.

They won 62 games that year. With Bob Hill.

Maybe Holt sees that. But he probably sees other issues. Firing Popovich would be sticky, because Popovich put together this staff. No one on the bench would be promoted, so the new guy would have to be comfortable with the system in place. For now, that leaves Doc Rivers.

Rivers could succeed, assuming Rivers would take the job, because Danny Ainge got a similar battle- field promotion in Phoenix with as little coaching experience. And the way the Spurs looked Sunday, that’s an intriguing idea; Red McCombs dumped Tarkanian for John Lucas, and Lucas provided an attitude, if nothing else.

Still, Rivers would be a rookie treading in the middle of a shortened season, with the same personnel, with Utah’s machine still waiting. And that’s why Holt sees Popovich as his best chance to win now. Popovich not only turned it around last season, he pushed Utah in the playoffs as no one thought possible. If that happens again, then winning cures even Popovich’s approval rating.

But if that doesn’t happen? If the Spurs head to April looking as lost as they did Sunday? If Holt wants to sell an arena and buy some support?

He’d fire Popovich, too.

By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-01, By Arthur Garcia

球迷怒火缺席NBA电视收视率

经过了缩短的季前赛的十余场比赛，球迷们显然已经重新回归了。全国和地方电视收视率都上升了，这个事实并没有逃过业内人士的注意。

特纳体育NBA演播室主持人小欧尼·约翰逊(Ernie Johnson Jr.)没有预料到球迷们的宽恕会如此迅速地到来。

“我对球迷们重新拥抱比赛的速度感到惊讶，比我想象的要快，”约翰逊上周在圣安东尼奥参加有线电视大会时说道。“对很多人来说，这是一个不确定的时期。他们会看吗？他们会去现场看比赛吗？”

“有些人说他们一分钱都不会给我，我认为可能还有些人是这么想的，但看到收视率在没有迈克尔(乔丹)的情况下仍然上升，真是令人振奋。”

啊哈，这就是考验。停摆可能让电视高管们感到恐惧，但后乔丹时代的NBA的不确定性是史蒂芬·金(Stephen King)笔下的恐怖故事。

相反，乔丹的缺席并没有损害收视率，反而让全联盟的球迷燃起了希望。

“没有他在，这增加了联赛开放的元素。人们对此很感兴趣，这很好，”约翰逊说。

他说，目前的球员不需要像乔丹那样扛起NBA的重担。

“我认为当你谈论传承的时候，这很不公平。我认为当你给任何人贴上‘下一个’的标签的时候，这很不公平，”约翰逊说。“让我们坐下来，欣赏我们能看到迈克尔·乔丹打球的事实。永远不会再有另一个迈克尔·乔丹了，但这将会有拥有他部分特质的球员，也许不是全部。”

他指出了格兰特·希尔(Grant Hill)、沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)和萨克拉门托的新秀球星杰森·威廉姆斯(Jason Williams)作为球迷们可以期待的球员。

“我认为让联盟有吸引力，让球迷坐在电视机前和球场上的原因是，你正在观看一些新的人才，”约翰逊说。“这些球员可能会让老球迷想起皮特·马拉维奇(Pete Maravich)。

“联盟会生存下去，我认为迈克尔也承认这一点。永远都会有NBA，永远都会有篮球，美国公众很擅长找到观看比赛的理由。”

上周德尔·哈里斯(Del Harris)被洛杉矶湖人队解雇以及球队无法快速起步，约翰逊对此没有忽视。他说马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)也可能面临同样的审查。

“当你拥有像（湖人队）这样的天赋时……你不能坐在那里说，‘这是一个不稳定的开局，我希望我们会改善。’你必须做点什么，”约翰逊说。“我认为你在圣安东尼奥也能看到这一点。那些拥有巨大天赋，球队应该表现更好的地方。如果波波维奇感到压力，我不会感到惊讶。”

除了每周三晚上在TNT和TBS上的NBA解说工作外，约翰逊还将在周二和周三为TBS的“高尔夫球手大满贯”比赛提供解说。

• 波波维奇压力更大：NBC分析师彼得·维克西(Peter Vecsey)在马刺队以101-87输给犹他爵士队后说道：“当你战绩低于五成时，你只能坚持一个教练这么长时间。”

马刺队目前的战绩是6胜8负。

维克西还说，波波维奇错用了史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)，让他打了一个不适合他的控球后卫位置。

点击查看原文：Fan anger absent in NBA's TV ratings

Fan anger absent in NBA’s TV ratings

A dozen or so games into this lockout- shortened NBA season, fans obviously are tuned back in. Television ratings are up nationally and locally, and that fact isn’t lost on those in the industry.

Turner Sports NBA studio host Ernie Johnson Jr. didn’t expect the fans’ forgiveness to take hold seemingly right off the bat.

“I’m surprised at the way the fans have embraced the game again, quicker than I thought they would,” said Johnson, in San Antonio last week for a cable TV convention. "There was an uncertain time for a lot of people. Would they watch? Would they come to the game?

“There were people who said they weren’t going to get a dime of my money, and I think there’s probably people out there that feel that way, but it’s been real heartening to see ratings up with Michael (Jordan) not there.”

Ahhh, that’s the test. The lockout might have frightened TV execs some, but the uncertainty of a post-Jordan NBA was the stuff of Stephen King.

Instead, Jordan’s absence hasn’t hurt ratings and has given fans around the league hope.

“Without him here, it’s added the element of a wide open league. There’s interest there and it’s great to see,” Johnson said.

He said a current player doesn’t need to step in and carry the NBA on its back like Jordan did.

“I think it’s unfair when you talk about passing the torch. I think it’s unfair when you label anybody ‘the next,’” Johnson said. “Let’s just sit back and appreciate the fact we got to watch Michael Jordan play. There’s never going to be another Michael Jordan, per se. But there’s going to be players that have elements of his game, maybe not the entire package.”

He pointed to Grant Hill, Shaquille O’Neal and Sacramento rookie sensation Jason Williams as players fans can be excited about.

“I think what gives the league its lure and gets people to the set and to the arena is that you’re watching some new talent,” Johnson said. "Guys that might remind the older fan of Pete Maravich.

“The league is going to survive and I think that Michael admits that, too. There’s always going to be the NBA, there’s always going to be basketball, and the American public is pretty good at finding a reason to watch.”

The fallout of last week’s firing of Del Harris by the Los Angeles Lakers and the team’s inability to get out of the gate quickly isn’t lost on Johnson. He said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich could be under the same scrutiny.

“When you have talent like (the Lakers) have … you can’t sit around and say, ‘It’s a shaky start, I hope we’ll improve.’ You’ve got to make something happen,” Johnson said. “I think you see that in San Antonio, too. Places where there’s great talent, where teams should be doing better. I wouldn’t be surprised if Pop is feeling it under the collar a little bit.”

In addition to his NBA duties three nights a week on TNT and TBS, Johnson will call the action for the Senior Slam Senior PGA tournament on Tuesday and Wednesday on TBS.

- More heat on Pop: NBC analyst Peter Vecsey said after the Spurs’ 101- 87 loss to Utah on Sunday that: “There’s only so long you can stick with a coach when you’re under .500.”

The Spurs are 6-8.

Vecsey also said Popovich has misused Steve Kerr, playing him out of position at point guard.

- San Antonio up for another league: Spurned by the NFL in the last round of TV negotiations, Turner and NBC reportedly are set to announce a new football league this month.

“Electronic Media” reported last week that the proposed league, which has been rumored for some time, would be owned by the two networks, and San Antonio is listed as one of the 12 franchise cities. Play would begin in 2000.

The two networks were without the NFL last season as Turner lost its “Sunday Night” cable package to ESPN and CBS outbid NBC for the AFC contract.

The league initially would run from May through September, and it’s not certain if it eventually would compete head to head with the NFL.

The viability of the proposed league is based on a survey of what fans don’t like about the NFL. The findings said fans don’t like team relocations, free agency and players’ off-field problems. They need a survey to figure that out?

- Baseball TV schedule out: Fox Sports Southwest released its 150-game 1999 Major League Baseball schedule and local fans will have plenty of chances to catch Texas’ two clubs.

Games of the Houston Astros, last season’s National League Central champion, will be televised at least 64 times, while the AL West champ Texas Rangers have 60 dates. In addition to those 124 games, FoxSW has 26 Thursday night national telecasts.

By Arthur Garcia, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-02, By Johnny Ludden

马刺队新闻

霍尔特否认报道：马刺队主席彼得·霍尔特(Peter Holt)否认了媒体报道，他并没有设定两周的期限来决定是否留任马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)。

“大家都知道，如果我们赢了周日的比赛，我们根本就不会谈论这件事，”霍尔特说道。“这纯属无稽之谈。”

霍尔特表示，马刺队的一些少数股东对球队6胜8负的开局感到沮丧。但他表示，他没有告诉他们，他为球队扭转局势设定了最后期限。霍尔特还表示，没有任何球员向他表达过对球队领导层的担忧。

“我们都很沮丧，”霍尔特说。“但我告诉所有人，‘听着，我们组建了这支球队并聘请了教练。让我们尽量保持稳定。’

“我认为这是一个合理的问题。在体育界，当一支球队表现不佳时，每个人都会首先质疑教练。但我肯定不会对我自己的评估设定时间表。”

在今晚对阵火箭队的比赛结束后，马刺队接下来的14场比赛中只有两场是面对上赛季进入季后赛的球队。如果球队没有明显进步，波波维奇的未来势必会引发更大的猜测。

• 艾利缺阵：马里奥·艾利(Mario Elie)在对阵爵士队的比赛中左脚踝扭伤，周一的大部分训练时间都缺席了。波波维奇预计他今晚会出战。

点击查看原文：Spurs Notes

Spurs Notes

Holt rejects report: Spurs chairman Peter Holt denied a broadcast report that he had set a two-week timeline to decide whether to retain Spurs coach Gregg Popovich.

“Everybody knows we wouldn’t even be talking about this if we had won Sunday,” Holt said. “There’s nothing to it.”

Holt said some of the Spurs’ minority investors had expressed frustration in the team’s 6-8 start. But he said he did not tell them he had set a deadline for the team to reverse its course. Holt also said none of the players had approached him with concerns about the team’s leadership.

“We’re all frustrated,” Holt said. "But I tell everyone, ‘Look, we put this team together and hired the coach. Let’s try to keep some stability.’

“I think it’s a legitimate question. In sports, when a team isn’t playing well, everyone questions the coach first. But I would certainly never put a timeline on my evaluation.”

After tonight’s game against the Rockets, only two of the Spurs’ next 14 games are against teams who made the playoffs last year. A lack of improvement obviously would lead to greater speculation about Popovich’s future.

- Elie sits: Mario Elie was held out of much of practice Monday after he sprained his left ankle against Utah. Popovich expects him to play tonight. - Johnny Ludden

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News

[这也将成为过去]

1999-03-02, By Johnny Ludden

马刺队“90%确定”珀杜将在今晚对阵火箭队的比赛中复出

在这段黯淡、灰色的日子里，昏昏欲睡的马刺队将在任何地方寻找他们的阳光。而将他们早已被遗忘的替补中锋威尔·珀杜(Will Perdue)和替补控球后卫安东尼奥·丹尼尔斯(Antonio Daniels)调回球队，现在被认为是一线希望。

珀杜因右脚踝扭伤缺席了最近的12场比赛，他在周一与球队在圣母大学进行了对抗赛。马刺队主教练格雷格·波波维奇(Gregg Popovich)表示，珀杜的状况将在今天早上重新评估，然后决定是否让他参加今晚对阵休斯顿火箭队的比赛。

“我认为我们有90%的把握（珀杜会出战），”波波维奇说。“我们想看看他在今天晚些时候的表现，以及他早上是否仍然英俊等等。如果他可以，我们可能会将他从（伤病名单）中剔除。”

“他在训练中表现得很好。我们互相攻击，他就在其中。这是一个好兆头。这是我不知道多久以来第一次，一个月左右了。”

珀杜是在2月6日马刺队对阵明尼苏达的赛季第二场比赛中，蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan)倒在他腿上时伤到了脚踝。他于2月17日进入伤病名单，并在过去三周里一直在进行康复训练，而不是练习。

“回到训练中感觉很好，”珀杜说。“进展还算顺利，但我不能说我完全不疼。”

“我只是在努力恢复体能，以便能够重新开始跳跃。”

虽然珀杜的受伤的脚仍然难以发力，但他7英尺的身高本身就能起到帮助。

在他缺席的情况下，马刺队不得不在大卫·罗宾逊(David Robinson)坐在板凳上时打小阵容。在对阵洛杉矶湖人队的比赛中，杰拉德·金(Gerard King)(6尺9寸)或马利克·罗斯(Malik Rose)(6尺7寸)不得不防守沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal)，以避免邓肯陷入犯规麻烦。

在他受伤前的两场比赛中，珀杜在30分钟内总共得到15分和18个篮板。

“我觉得我一定能帮上忙，”珀杜说。“可能不一定总是很好，但我总是试图创造一些事情。大多数时候都是好事。”

“不幸的是，我们凭借防守让自己一直留在比赛中，但进攻却很挣扎。我并不是进攻的主要齿轮，但我擅长保持球的活力，给我们第二次机会。”

“尽管我可能被认为是这支球队中一些年轻球员的老人，但我可能需要像一个比我更老的人一样打球，专注于卡位和抢篮板。”

与此同时，丹尼尔斯自从赛季前两场比赛以来几乎只在练习。由于表现不佳，他被埋没在板凳席的末端，直到周日下午，他上场22分钟，得到13分，两记三分球全部命中，并送出两次助攻，只出现一次失误。

“他真的领会了我们传达给他的信息，”波波维奇说。“他在训练中非常努力，态度也很好。所以他能够重新赢得自己的上场时间。”

马刺队需要丹尼尔斯提供一些稳定的贡献，他可以为球队提供一些急需的活力和运动能力。艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson)一直在苦苦挣扎，史蒂夫·科尔(Steve Kerr)不得不在丹尼尔斯缺席期间更多地担任控球后卫。

“实际上，我更喜欢在这个进攻体系中打（得分后卫），”科尔说。“我很高兴安东尼奥，因为我认为他可以为我们球队真正增加一些东西。他与艾弗里形成了鲜明的对比。”

“我更像是一个保守的控球后卫。安东尼奥可以增加一些爆炸力和一些轻松的得分。他需要上场。他是一个有天赋的球员，他需要发展。”

除了他回到芝加哥以及周三战胜西雅图上半场的比赛之外，科尔并没有发挥出太多作用。科尔被签下是为了给马刺队提供他们上赛季非常缺乏的外线投射能力，但他在过去的六场比赛中场均只有四次出手。他只投进了30次出手中的9次（命中率30.0%）。

“我对进攻体系已经足够熟悉了，”科尔说。“我只是找不到足够多的投篮机会或得分机会，而且我错过了一些空位投篮。我可能有点紧张。但它会回来的。”

“有趣的是，我职业生涯的大部分时间都是慢热型。我通常需要一个月左右的时间才能找到自己的投篮节奏。今年的问题是，这个赛季将在一个月内结束。”

马刺队其他球员都太清楚这一点。

珀杜说：“现在，就像他们说的，我们一只脚在坟墓里，另一只脚踩在香蕉皮上。”

马刺队观战

今晚：马刺队@火箭队

时间、地点：7:30，休斯顿的康柏中心

战绩：马刺队6胜8负（中西部赛区第四名）；火箭队8胜6负（中西部赛区第三名）

连胜：输了2场

电视：KSAT

广播：WOAI AM-1200；KCOR AM- 1350（西班牙语）

赔率：火箭队让4.5分

点击查看原文：Spurs '90 percent sure' Perdue will return vs. Rockets tonight

Spurs ‘90 percent sure’ Perdue will return vs. Rockets tonight

In these bleak, graying days the comatose Spurs will take their ray of sunshine wherever they can find it. And relocating Will Perdue, their long forgotten backup center, and Antonio Daniels, their long forgotten backup point guard, now qualifies as a glimmer of hope.

Perdue, who has missed the last 12 games with a sprained right ankle, scrimmaged with the team at the University of the Incarnate Word on Monday. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said Perdue’s condition will be re-evaluated this morning before a decision is made to activate him for tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets.

“I think we’re 90 percent sure (Perdue will play),” Popovich said. "We want to see how he does later in the day and whether he’s still handsome in the morning and all that kind of stuff. If he is, we’ll probably take him off (the injured list).

“He did pretty well at practice. We went after each other and he was right in the mix. That’s a good sign. It’s the first time in I don’t know how long, a month or something.”

Perdue hurt his ankle when Tim Duncan fell on his leg in the Spurs’ second game of the season against Minnesota on Feb. 6. He went on the injured list Feb. 17 and has spent the past three weeks doing rehabilitation exercises instead of practicing.

“It was good to get back and practice,” Perdue said. "Things went fairly well, but I wouldn’t say I’m pain-free.

“I’m just trying to get my strength back so I can get back to jumping again.”

Though Perdue is still struggling to push off on his sore foot, his 7-foot presence alone should help.

Without him in the lineup, the Spurs have to play small when David Robinson is on the bench. Against the Los Angeles Lakers, Gerard King (6-9) or Malik Rose (6-7) had to guard Shaquille O’Neal to avoid getting Duncan in foul trouble.

In his two games before the injury, Perdue totaled 15 points and 18 rebounds in 30 minutes.

“I feel I can definitely help,” Perdue said. "It may not always be good, but I try to make something happen. The majority of time it is something good.

"Unfortunately we’ve kept ourselves in games with our defense, but our offense is struggling. I’m not necessarily the main cog in the offense, but I’m pretty good at keeping the ball alive and giving us second chances.

“Even though I may be considered an elder on this team to some of the younger guys, I might have to play like a guy even older than me and just concentrate on blocking out and getting the rebound.”

Daniels, meanwhile, has done little but practice since the first two games of the season. He was buried on the end of the bench for not playing well until Sunday afternoon when he scored 13 points, made both of his three-point attempts and handed out a pair of assists with only one turnover in 22 minutes.

“He really got the message that was sent to him,” Popovich said. “He worked hard in practice and his attitude was great. So he was able to earn back his minutes.”

The Spurs could use some consistent production from Daniels, who can provide some needed energy and athleticism. Not only has Avery Johnson been struggling, but Steve Kerr has had to play more time at point during Daniels’ absence.

“I actually prefer playing (shooting guard) in this offense,” Kerr said. "And I’m glad for Antonio because I think he can really add something to our team. He’s a nice contrast to Avery.

“I’m more of a conservative point guard. Antonio can add some explosiveness and some easy baskets. And he needs to play. He’s a talented guy and he needs to develop.”

With the exception of his return to Chicago and the first half of Wednesday’s win over Seattle, Kerr hasn’t been much of a factor. Signed to give the Spurs the outside shot they so desperately lacked last season, Kerr has averaged only four shots the past six games. He has made only 9 of 30 (.300) three-pointers.

“I’m comfortable enough with the offense,” Kerr said. "I’m just not finding enough shots or scoring opportunities, and I’m missing some open shots. I may be pressing a little bit. But it will come.

“It’s funny, I’ve been a slow starter for most of my career. It usually takes me a month or so to find my shooting rhythm. The problem this year is that the season is going to be over in a month.”

The rest of the Spurs know that all too well.

Said Perdue: “Right now, as they say, we’ve got one foot in the grave and the other on a banana peel.”

Spurs watch

Tonight: Spurs @Rockets

When, where: 7:30, Houston’s Compaq Center

Records: Spurs 6-8 (fourth in Midwest Division); Rockets 8-6 (third in Midwest Division)

Streak: Lost 2

TV: KSAT

Radio: WOAI AM-1200; KCOR AM- 1350 (in Spanish)

Line: Rockets by 41/2

Online: www.express.news.com/spurs

By Johnny Ludden, via San Antonio Express-News