Spurs see defense as concern

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Web Posted: 12/25/2006 09:50 PM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

The Spurs shot better than they had all season, made a dozen 3-pointers and distributed 33 assists during Saturday's victory in Oklahoma City. What mattered most to coach Gregg Popovich, however, was the number he wrote on the locker-room grease board: 29.

That's how many points the Hornets totaled in the second half. It also signified that for, one night at least, the Spurs' defense had returned to the land of the living.

Only three hours earlier, still feeling the sting of the previous night's embarrassing loss to Houston, Popovich had called the current collection of Spurs "our poorest defensive team in the last four or five years."

"We don't seem to have the same passion for it, and it doesn't seem to hold the same sense of urgency," Popovich said. "I'm not sure this group believes in it as much as past groups as to how important it is for us.

"That's a major concern for us."

The numbers support Popovich's claim. While the Spurs are allowing 90.6 points per game, the second-fewest in the league, their field-goal percentage defense, which Popovich has long considered a more accurate barometer of the team's success, has slipped noticeably.

In each of Tim Duncan's first nine seasons, the Spurs' field-goal percentage defense ranked among the top five in the NBA; in all but two of those years it was no lower than third. This season, the Spurs are 12th with their opponents shooting 45.1 percent.

Shooting and scoring are up league-wide, but the Spurs still see considerable room for improvement. Before Saturday, their previous three opponents each had shot better than 48 percent, with Memphis and Houston making better than half their attempts.

"When we realize opponents are shooting more than 50 (percent)," Manu Ginobili said, "that's not us."

The Spurs will be tested again tonight when the Milwaukee Bucks visit. Led by guards Michael Redd and Mo Williams, the Bucks rank sixth in the league in scoring (102.6 points per game) and fifth in shooting (47.6 percent).

Adding to the Spurs' concern is their defense has been worse at home than on the road. Opposing teams are shooting 46.8 percent at the AT&T Center this season.

Popovich has yet to pinpoint a specific reason for the team's struggles.

Starting center Francisco Elson is still trying to get comfortable in the system — he was benched quickly in the second half against the Rockets for failing to rotate and protect the rim from Bonzi Wells — but Popovich said, "You can't put it on Francisco."

With the league cracking down on hand-checking fouls and other forms of perimeter contact, the Spurs have given more of a cushion to opposing shooters than in previous seasons. That's helped them from getting beat off the dribble as often, but it also has allowed their opponents a little more room to shoot.

The Spurs have done a good job of keeping their opponents off the free-throw line, which has long been an important element of their defense. Their 19.5 fouls per game is by far the league's lowest average. But their rebounding has lacked on some nights, and they rank only 22nd in the league in blocks per game, down from sixth last season.

In the meantime, the Spurs have become a much more potent offensive team compared with previous years. They rank ninth in scoring, averaging 100.1 points per game, and are second in field-goal percentage (.483) and first in 3-point percentage (.423).

The Spurs' success at the other end of the floor has some observers wondering whether the team has lost some of its defensive identity.

"I think we've emphasized it as much as we always had," Popovich said. "Maybe it's become boring for everybody or something. Or maybe they take it for granted. Perhaps they just want to ease into it.

"I don't know what it is. We just don't have the same defensive consistency. That doesn't bode well for the team as we progress."

Popovich was happy to see the Spurs respond Saturday by holding New Orleans to 37.3 percent shooting, the lowest by an opponent this season. While the Spurs took advantage of the undermanned Hornets, they also know their improvement needs to start somewhere.

"It's a process," Tim Duncan said. "You'd love to start a season and turn that key and the car run perfectly, but it's not that way. You're going to take some ups and downs, you're going to learn some lessons and you're going to have to go through some experiences together.

"That's not saying we're in a bad position — we're in a great position right now. But to win the kind of games we want to win and to get places we want to get, we're going to have be a better defensive ball club than we've been thus far."