ESPN.com - No answer to Spurs' puzzling success

ESPN.com: NBA

Wednesday, March 20, 2002
No answer to Spurs' puzzling success

By Scott Howard-Cooper
Special to ESPN.com

Don't ask. Just don't ask. There are no answers here.

The San Antonio Spurs themselves can't even figure this out. They had a great start in the standings but downplayed it themselves, citing a soft schedule. They had a tough middle, with David Robinson riding into the sunset, either because that's a Texas thing or because he couldn't carry himself, and speculation started about vultures swooping down to carry Tim Duncan to Florida in two summers. So everyone lunged to file them away as playoff fodder.

And now they are setting up for a big finish, except that the boss just called this a rebuilding mode.


	Tony Parker no longer watches from the bench during crunch time.

Hmmmmmmmm.

The Spurs are tougher on themselves than any critic, so the only reason there haven't been many "What's the deal with them?" stories before this is simple: They have already used all the best punch lines. Writing about them is like playing "Jeopardy!" They give the answer before anyone can finish asking the question.

Look at them now. They were on pace to win 56 games heading into Wednesday's showdown with the Lakers -- which they won 108-90 to extend their win streak to 10 games -- and are 1 game behind the Mavericks for first place in the Midwest Division, 2½ games behind the Kings for the best record in the league. And everyone is talking about how the Trail Blazers may crash the Sacramento-Los Angeles-Dallas elite.

Respect is tough to come by for San Antonio. But enough about the mood inside the Alamodome.

The disclaimer -- or reality check -- is that the nine-game winning streak came in the aftermath of blowing a nine-point lead to the Cavaliers in the final seven minutes of regulation and then falling in overtime, not to mention the opponents of those subsequent victories: tumbling Minnesota, New York, Golden State, Houston, Chicago, Denver, Memphis, Chicago again and Boston. Danny Bonaduce had it tougher with Barry Williams.

This is when everyone finds out for sure. The Lakers on Wednesday. At Dallas on Thursday. Miami on Saturday. And then a four-game tour of the Coast against the Clippers, Blazers, SuperSonics and Lakers. The return to San Antonio is against Seattle. There's a quick hop to Houston, but that's just a rest stop before getting the Mavericks and Blazers. Depending on how the Sonics-Jazz-Clippers skirmish for the last two postseason spots in the West turns out and how far the resurgence of the Heat goes, the Spurs could be stepping into a stretch in which 11 of 12 games are against playoff teams.

Little is known with certainty now, except this: Forgetting the Spurs is a mistake.

Overlook any team with Duncan and pay a price.

Dismiss any team that ranks among the top five defensive units and you're asking for trouble.

Off-handedly dismiss an offense that has a proven inside-outside game and get a reminder.

Turn your back on a team that has a coach, Gregg Popovich, whose intelligence is wasted on basketball, a burning-rubber point guard, Tony Parker, a defensive specialist such as Bruce Bowen and the emotional boost with the potential comeback of Sean Elliott and you wonder along with the Spurs about what sort of craziness has come this season.

How crazy?

The Spurs had to cancel one practice because of a small fire, had to bolt from the locker room another time because of a bomb threat, and most recently had a practice accompanied by a Tejano band blaring away for a senior's group Valentine's Day dance on the other side of a giant curtain that serves as a partition. Although, in a positive development, Robinson stayed with the team instead of partying with his contemporaries.

	“	We're in a rebuild mode. Our goal is to stay a winning team through a rebuild mode and that's not always easy obviously. ”
		— Peter Holt, Spurs chairman

So then Robinson goes from averaging 8.8 points and 7.4 rebounds and shooting 36.7 percent in January to a run over the next 13 games of 15.6 points, nine rebounds and 56 percent shooting. The Nets' fade prompts some to re-assess whether Jason Kidd is really such a lock for MVP after all, starting a surge for Duncan. Parker becomes more consistent and gets more time at the end of games, as opposed to the times earlier in the season when the rookie was replaced by veteran Terry Porter.

Of course, all this came about the same time as chairman Peter Holt told the San Antonio Express News that "We're in a rebuild mode. Our goal is to stay a winning team through a rebuild mode and that's not always easy obviously." Which made perfect sense, all except for that part about how Duncan is a free agent after next season and probably won't hear the phrase "rebuilding mode" too many times when management makes the pitch for him to stay and how Robinson, Porter, Steve Smith and Danny Ferry weren't brought back or brought in to plan for their retirements. Obviously.

The Spurs can't be looking big picture, for a couple of summers down the line, because there is no picture. It'll be more like a portrait. Parker and ... ummm ... errrrr ...

Being in position to have great salary-cap flexibility -- to be able to re-sign a superstar such as Duncan and still add critical pieces -- is a wonderful situation for management to look forward to, and it could pay off big time but doesn't do anything for the locker room now. Of course, this team isn't as formidable as the title team. Of course, they might be even better in two or three seasons. But to have a team on course to win 56 games be told it is part of the tearing down and building up? The only regret is not being able to see the look on some of the players' faces when they caught Holt's comments.

Or maybe the nine games before Wednesday was the look they gave in response. The 12 that follow, starting with the Lakers, will provide even greater insight. Or at least some hint. Maybe it's just too much to expect a real answer here.

Scott Howard-Cooper, who covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee, is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.