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 Follow the team all season long with the 20-Second Timeout blog by Bill Schoening, The Radio Voice of the Spurs. Bill has been honored by the Associated Press with its “Top Texas Play-by-Play Award” four times and has over 20 years of play-by-play experience. *Timeout Archive: October 08 | November 08 | December 08 | January 09 | February 09 | March 09 
All About Game 5 I recall thinking that of all the first round matchups in the NBA playoffs this season, the series that would be impacted the LEAST by homecourt advantage would be the Spurs-Mavericks series. Afterall, each team had closed out a playoff series on the opponent's home floor this decade. Each team had won on the other team's floor this season, and the Spurs had the second best road record in the Western Conference. The Mavs immediately took away homecourt with their Game 1 win, but the Spurs were unable to return the favor in Games 3 and 4. So now it comes to a must home win. Point guard Tony Parker, the leading scorer in the series, says the Spurs will get extra adrenaline and energy from the home crowd tonight.
If the Spurs can take care of the homecourt this evening, then they will have one more chance to win a road game and bring the sries back for a Game 7. They did it in '06, and they'll try to do it again tonight.
Series On You didn't really expect anything different, did you? When the San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks play a preseason game there's a buzz. So when they hook up for a playoff series, watch out. That is the case once again this season and judging from the first two games, this series will be another memorable one. The Spurs are determined to keep 7-foot German Dirk Nowitzki in check. In Game 2, Nowitzki connected on just three field goals. The Spurs have given him a variety of looks by putting different defenders on him. Matt Bonner, Michael Finley, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Ime Udoka and Kurt Thomas have all spent time in the first two games trying to contain the high scoring forward. The Mavs, conversely, are trying to figure out ways to slow down point guard Tony Parker, who exploded for 38 points and eight assists in Game 2. Former Texas A&M Aggie Antoine Wright has gotten into early foul trouble in each of the first two games while guarding Parker. Jason Kidd, JJ Barea and Josh Howard have all taken their cracks at Parker as well. Mavs' coach Rick Carlisle may end up employing more zone in an effort to turn Parker into more of a shooter than a scooter. The Spurs, already facing a challenge without the services of Manu Ginobili, now gear up for a raucous crowd in Dallas for games three and four.
The series is on.
"Coach" Duncan Tim Duncan appeared to take his role as assistant coach pretty seriously on Sunday night. After being informed that he would be resting on the first night of a back to back, Duncan declined an offer to join the Spurs' television broadcast, as he told Bill Land, "I'm sorry, but I'll be too busy with my coaching responsibilities." For the next several hours, Duncan joined the coaches huddle during timeouts, pulled players aside to give them tips and pointers, and was vocal on the bench. He was often the first person to greet players as they came off the floor, offering a pat on the head or a high five. After timeouts, he counseled players even more, just before they took the floor.
After the game, I told the Spurs newest staff member, "Good job, Coach Duncan". He simply smiled, gave me a thumbs up and went over to Matt Bonner. More advice to be given out, I'm sure.
Drew Gooden Pouring In Points Spurs newcomer Drew Gooden is seeing an increase in his workload and in his production, and it's becoming clear that his contribution to the Spurs' frontcourt will be of paramount importance as the Spurs head into the postseason. "It's important for us to get him some quality minutes right now with the other guys on the floor" says assistant coach Don Newman, who spends a lot of time with the Spurs big men. Gooden can help the Spurs second unit with his low post defense and rebounding and his ability to score in the paint and on the baseline. It may be a good sign that some of Gooden's best offensive performances came during the Spurs recent three-game road trip when he scored 17 points at Indy, 15 points at Cleveland and 20 points in Oklahoma City. |
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