http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/79721.html
Steady Spurs are no secret
The Kings will put their perfect home record on the line against San Antonio
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:26 am PST Sunday, November 19, 2006
During the interview process that led to the hiring of Eric Musselman, he was asked to dissect tape of the Kings' first-round playoff series loss against San Antonio.
His assessments, one could assume, were impressive enough to bolster his case for the Kings' head-coaching job. Tonight at Arco Arena comes the harder part, that of stopping the Spurs for real when there's no button on the DVD player to slow them down.
"Great defense, great offense, great coaching, good bench -- that pretty much sums them up," said Musselman, who would appreciate a victory even more considering today is his 42nd birthday.
In a Western Conference that's as loaded as ever, the Spurs are looking elite again. Through Saturday's games, only Utah had a better record than San Antonio's 7-2, and the Spurs have already defeated a few supposed heavies in Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago and Houston. Their 4-0 road record to start the season is a franchise best, forged by the seemingly timeless core of point guard Tony Parker, forward Tim Duncan, and small forward Manu Ginobili, and will be challenged today by the Kings, 4-0 at home. And with much news of late regarding defensive specialist Bruce Bowen and his sometimes-controversial ways, it's clearly status quo on the Spurs' front.
After watching tape of this season's Spurs for two days, Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin said it was easy to see that not much had changed. And swapping center Nazr Mohammed out and placing a productive Fabricio Oberto at center hardly counts.
"We watched a lot (of tape) the last couple days, and it's the same old Spurs," Martin said. "Tony Parker getting to the rim, (Tim) Duncan just being a Hall of Famer, (Manu) Ginobili feeding off of them, and (Brent) Barry hitting wide-open shots."
Martin is as good a sign as any that the Kings enter with their minds far from occupied with memories of their six-game playoff defeat last May. After all, the man of that moment -- shooting guard Bonzi Wells -- is now in Houston, which comes as a relief to the Spurs after he abused them so.
Martin, meanwhile, was the man of the micro-moment, his awkward, flying pretzel layup at the Game Three buzzer at Arco Arena giving the Kings hope with their first win and easily serving as the young player's crowning achievement at the time.
Fast-forward that game tape to present day, and Martin is the team's leading scorer who's hardly stuck in the past. As for his shot that sent the home crowd into hysterics and sparked a championship-like celebration?
"I only really think of it when people ask me about it," he said. "Somebody gave me a picture of it. It's in a drawer. It was one shot."
If anything has changed about the Spurs, it's their health. Duncan, at last visit, had battled foot inflammation for the entire season and was allegedly slowed by the injury.
And in between scorching the Kings from inside and out, Parker had complained of thigh contusions. The Spurs have no such health restrictions now, just a combined scoring average of 40-plus points and the assurance of knowing they're nearly impossible to stop, healthy or hurt.
Parker's presence means the Kings will have no reprieve at the point-guard spot. Their perimeter defense has been scorched the past two games, with Memphis' Chucky Atkins scoring 27 points on 10 of 11 shooting in Wednesday's Kings victory at Arco Arena and Golden State's Baron Davis putting up 36 points and 18 assists in Thursday's road loss.
The duty may be made easier if swingman John Salmons can play. Salmons, who was absent the last two games with a right thigh contusion, said he's leaning toward playing but will be a day-of-game decision.
"They're a good team, but where we are right now is we're just trying to establish ourselves and keep playing well," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "We lost a game, so we want to get back on track. We've got to get out and fight and battle."
Just like before.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
Steady Spurs are no secret
The Kings will put their perfect home record on the line against San Antonio
By Sam Amick - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:26 am PST Sunday, November 19, 2006
During the interview process that led to the hiring of Eric Musselman, he was asked to dissect tape of the Kings' first-round playoff series loss against San Antonio.
His assessments, one could assume, were impressive enough to bolster his case for the Kings' head-coaching job. Tonight at Arco Arena comes the harder part, that of stopping the Spurs for real when there's no button on the DVD player to slow them down.
"Great defense, great offense, great coaching, good bench -- that pretty much sums them up," said Musselman, who would appreciate a victory even more considering today is his 42nd birthday.
In a Western Conference that's as loaded as ever, the Spurs are looking elite again. Through Saturday's games, only Utah had a better record than San Antonio's 7-2, and the Spurs have already defeated a few supposed heavies in Dallas, Phoenix, Chicago and Houston. Their 4-0 road record to start the season is a franchise best, forged by the seemingly timeless core of point guard Tony Parker, forward Tim Duncan, and small forward Manu Ginobili, and will be challenged today by the Kings, 4-0 at home. And with much news of late regarding defensive specialist Bruce Bowen and his sometimes-controversial ways, it's clearly status quo on the Spurs' front.
After watching tape of this season's Spurs for two days, Kings shooting guard Kevin Martin said it was easy to see that not much had changed. And swapping center Nazr Mohammed out and placing a productive Fabricio Oberto at center hardly counts.
"We watched a lot (of tape) the last couple days, and it's the same old Spurs," Martin said. "Tony Parker getting to the rim, (Tim) Duncan just being a Hall of Famer, (Manu) Ginobili feeding off of them, and (Brent) Barry hitting wide-open shots."
Martin is as good a sign as any that the Kings enter with their minds far from occupied with memories of their six-game playoff defeat last May. After all, the man of that moment -- shooting guard Bonzi Wells -- is now in Houston, which comes as a relief to the Spurs after he abused them so.
Martin, meanwhile, was the man of the micro-moment, his awkward, flying pretzel layup at the Game Three buzzer at Arco Arena giving the Kings hope with their first win and easily serving as the young player's crowning achievement at the time.
Fast-forward that game tape to present day, and Martin is the team's leading scorer who's hardly stuck in the past. As for his shot that sent the home crowd into hysterics and sparked a championship-like celebration?
"I only really think of it when people ask me about it," he said. "Somebody gave me a picture of it. It's in a drawer. It was one shot."
If anything has changed about the Spurs, it's their health. Duncan, at last visit, had battled foot inflammation for the entire season and was allegedly slowed by the injury.
And in between scorching the Kings from inside and out, Parker had complained of thigh contusions. The Spurs have no such health restrictions now, just a combined scoring average of 40-plus points and the assurance of knowing they're nearly impossible to stop, healthy or hurt.
Parker's presence means the Kings will have no reprieve at the point-guard spot. Their perimeter defense has been scorched the past two games, with Memphis' Chucky Atkins scoring 27 points on 10 of 11 shooting in Wednesday's Kings victory at Arco Arena and Golden State's Baron Davis putting up 36 points and 18 assists in Thursday's road loss.
The duty may be made easier if swingman John Salmons can play. Salmons, who was absent the last two games with a right thigh contusion, said he's leaning toward playing but will be a day-of-game decision.
"They're a good team, but where we are right now is we're just trying to establish ourselves and keep playing well," Kings forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim said. "We lost a game, so we want to get back on track. We've got to get out and fight and battle."
Just like before.
About the writer: The Bee's Sam Amick can be reached at samick@sacbee.com.
