tinysands
2007-03-30, 12:43 PM
Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) brace for Sloan's tough Jazz
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA033007.01D.BKNspurs.vaughn.36a7d53.html
Web Posted: 03/29/2007 10:44 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Jacque Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) played four seasons under Utah coach Jerry Sloan, long enough to know the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would have been foolish to wait until tonight to begin preparing for their meeting with the Jazz.
With the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) trying to close out the final seconds Wednesday against New Orleans, Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) and David West batted around a rebound near the Hornets' basket. Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) ran behind them, leaped into the air, grabbed the ball and hit the floor with a back-crunching thud.
It was the type of play that would have made Sloan smile — and one the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) will need more of if they hope to beat Utah tonight at the AT&T Center.
"It's one of those games where the effort has to start during the walkthrough, because the cuts are going to be harder," Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) said. "The back screens and offensive rebounds are going to be more aggressive, so you have to be mentally in the right state of mind to play a Jerry Sloan team."
The rest of the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) know the same from experience. The Jazz have beaten them twice this season with a combined rebounding advantage of 100-66 in the two games.
The Spurs, who routed Utah on Dec. 28 in the teams' lone meeting at the AT&T Center, have distanced themselves in the standings, opening a four-game lead over the Jazz. With only 10 games left for each team after tonight, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) could make significant progress toward securing no worse than the Western Conference's No. 3 playoff seed with a victory.
"We want to hold the position we're in now and I know they want to take it," Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) said. "We want to stay where we're at and now every game we play is going to affect that, one way or the other."
If the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) were to drop to the fourth seed, they would likely face Houston in the first round. If they survived that, Dallas would probably be waiting in the conference semifinals.
Maintaining the third seed — or possibly moving up to second; the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have three more losses than Phoenix with one game left between the teams — would allow the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) to avoid the Mavericks until the conference finals. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) likely would play either the Los Angeles Lakers or Denver in the first round.
Coach Gregg Popovich said he hasn't worried about who the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) will face in the playoffs. But he does subscribe to the theory that the higher seed a team lands, the better.
"The purpose to win games is to get as much home court as you can," Popovich said. "That's just a logical thing to desire, even though we know sometimes it's worked for us, sometimes it hasn't worked for us. But it's still something one should try to achieve.
"Right now our emphasis is we want to keep the third spot. We don't want to drop below it. We want to strive to get above the third spot if we can. The first spot doesn't look very likely, but the second spot is still within reach if things go our way, so there's still a lot to be playing for."
The Jazz locked up no worse than the fourth seed Wednesday after winning the Northwest Division title with their victory over Minnesota. They still need to finish with a better record than the Rockets to have home-court advantage should the two teams meet in the first round.
In addition to solidifying their position in the standings, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) see tonight as another opportunity to measure their progress. After tonight, they have only three more games against teams currently holding playoff seeds: Phoenix (Thursday); at Dallas (April 15); and Denver (April 18).
Utah beat the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) 97-93 in the teams' last meeting on Jan. 31, despite missing All-Star forward Carlos Boozer. Center Mehmet Okur hit a 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left for the victory — the third time in the Spurs' past six trips to Utah he beat them with a basket in the closing seconds.
The previous two occasions came in the 2004-05 season off offensive rebounds.
"For us he's in the same 'pain-in-the-neck' category as (Dallas' Dirk) Nowitzki," Popovich said. "They play ferociously — and well. They're a hard-nosed, mentally tough, gritty team and that makes them a team that can win every single night they step out on the court."
The Jazz lead the league with a plus-5.16 rebounding differential, which doesn't come as a surprise to Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) or anyone else who knows how Sloan coaches.
"I think it's from the way he played," Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) said. "It starts there. He wasn't the most athletic guy, but he was hard-nosed. He would get into you defensively and he didn't care who you were, he respected you.
"That's what he taught us: One through 12, you respect those guys. But if they didn't have 'Jazz' on their jerseys, you play them different."
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketball/nba/spurs/stories/MYSA033007.01D.BKNspurs.vaughn.36a7d53.html
Web Posted: 03/29/2007 10:44 PM CDT
Johnny Ludden
Express-News
Jacque Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) played four seasons under Utah coach Jerry Sloan, long enough to know the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) would have been foolish to wait until tonight to begin preparing for their meeting with the Jazz.
With the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) trying to close out the final seconds Wednesday against New Orleans, Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) and David West batted around a rebound near the Hornets' basket. Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) ran behind them, leaped into the air, grabbed the ball and hit the floor with a back-crunching thud.
It was the type of play that would have made Sloan smile — and one the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) will need more of if they hope to beat Utah tonight at the AT&T Center.
"It's one of those games where the effort has to start during the walkthrough, because the cuts are going to be harder," Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) said. "The back screens and offensive rebounds are going to be more aggressive, so you have to be mentally in the right state of mind to play a Jerry Sloan team."
The rest of the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) know the same from experience. The Jazz have beaten them twice this season with a combined rebounding advantage of 100-66 in the two games.
The Spurs, who routed Utah on Dec. 28 in the teams' lone meeting at the AT&T Center, have distanced themselves in the standings, opening a four-game lead over the Jazz. With only 10 games left for each team after tonight, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) could make significant progress toward securing no worse than the Western Conference's No. 3 playoff seed with a victory.
"We want to hold the position we're in now and I know they want to take it," Tim Duncan (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/tim_duncan) said. "We want to stay where we're at and now every game we play is going to affect that, one way or the other."
If the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) were to drop to the fourth seed, they would likely face Houston in the first round. If they survived that, Dallas would probably be waiting in the conference semifinals.
Maintaining the third seed — or possibly moving up to second; the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) have three more losses than Phoenix with one game left between the teams — would allow the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) to avoid the Mavericks until the conference finals. The Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) likely would play either the Los Angeles Lakers or Denver in the first round.
Coach Gregg Popovich said he hasn't worried about who the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) will face in the playoffs. But he does subscribe to the theory that the higher seed a team lands, the better.
"The purpose to win games is to get as much home court as you can," Popovich said. "That's just a logical thing to desire, even though we know sometimes it's worked for us, sometimes it hasn't worked for us. But it's still something one should try to achieve.
"Right now our emphasis is we want to keep the third spot. We don't want to drop below it. We want to strive to get above the third spot if we can. The first spot doesn't look very likely, but the second spot is still within reach if things go our way, so there's still a lot to be playing for."
The Jazz locked up no worse than the fourth seed Wednesday after winning the Northwest Division title with their victory over Minnesota. They still need to finish with a better record than the Rockets to have home-court advantage should the two teams meet in the first round.
In addition to solidifying their position in the standings, the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) see tonight as another opportunity to measure their progress. After tonight, they have only three more games against teams currently holding playoff seeds: Phoenix (Thursday); at Dallas (April 15); and Denver (April 18).
Utah beat the Spurs (http://www.chinaspurs.com) 97-93 in the teams' last meeting on Jan. 31, despite missing All-Star forward Carlos Boozer. Center Mehmet Okur hit a 3-pointer with 27.5 seconds left for the victory — the third time in the Spurs' past six trips to Utah he beat them with a basket in the closing seconds.
The previous two occasions came in the 2004-05 season off offensive rebounds.
"For us he's in the same 'pain-in-the-neck' category as (Dallas' Dirk) Nowitzki," Popovich said. "They play ferociously — and well. They're a hard-nosed, mentally tough, gritty team and that makes them a team that can win every single night they step out on the court."
The Jazz lead the league with a plus-5.16 rebounding differential, which doesn't come as a surprise to Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) or anyone else who knows how Sloan coaches.
"I think it's from the way he played," Vaughn (http://www.chinaspurs.com/players/jacque_vaughn) said. "It starts there. He wasn't the most athletic guy, but he was hard-nosed. He would get into you defensively and he didn't care who you were, he respected you.
"That's what he taught us: One through 12, you respect those guys. But if they didn't have 'Jazz' on their jerseys, you play them different."