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Home | Sports | Timberwolves

Jerry Zgoda's Sunday Insider: Spurs steady, and ready

Delcia Lopez, Associated Press

San Antonio has taken on the personality of Tim Duncan: unexpressive but fundamentally sound.

Other contenders make splashy moves on and off the court to keep up with boring but brilliant San Antonio.

By JERRY ZGODA, Star Tribune

Last update: March 29, 2008 - 9:59 PM

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WOLVES WEEK IN REVIEW

Record: 0-2

• A quiet week, but one that took the Wolves through a formidable two-game Texas trip. They knocked a 10-point, third-quarter deficit down to a basket twice early in the fourth quarter Wednesday, but succumbed to Tracy McGrady and Houston 97-86 anyway. Friday, they cut a 20-point deficit to three, only to lose to Manu Ginobili and San Antonio 99-84.

STAR TRIBUNE'S STAR OF THE WEEK: Al Jefferson, forward

• Yes, it's big Al again this week, but not for his scoring and rebounding, but rather his shot blocking (his five in Wednesday's loss at Houston tied a career high) and playmaking. Go figure.

THIS WEEK: Four games

Sunday: 2:30 p.m. vs. Utah. Tuesday: 7 p.m. vs. Detroit. Wednesday: 8 p.m. at Utah. Friday: 9 p.m. at Phoenix.

• The final four games in a six-game stretch where the Wolves face playoff-bound teams, including two against the Jazz to conclude the teams' season series. The Wolves didn't play the Pistons for the season's first five months and now face them twice in two weeks.

THE QUOTE

"I picked a lot of upsets, but not the right ones. So I think I’m out." — Two-time NCAA champ Corey Brewer, who apparently is not as successful filling out a tournament bracket as he is playing his way through one.

JERRY ZGODA

More from Timberwolves

NBA Commissioner David Stern grows an inch or two taller when conversation turns toward a dizzying Western Conference playoff race destined to produce springtime thrills and robust television ratings.

In a season that began with NBA referee Tim Donaghy's infamy and included the Seattle Sonics scheduling everything but the movers for their transfer to Oklahoma City, the commissioner is thrilled about the topic.

"We're actually talking about basketball,'' he said.

You can blame the San Antonio Spurs for that.

Champions four times in the past nine years, 50-game winners for nine consecutive seasons now, the Spurs seemingly inspired a frantic arms race before last month's trading deadline that featured Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal and Jason Kidd, among others, changing teams just to keep up with the Ginobilis.

"That's flattering," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "But I'm not sure how much truth there is to it."

So gifted and so dull at the same time, the Spurs strangely enough are both a favorite and an afterthought in a looming conference playdown where the Lakers and the Suns and maybe even the Golden State Warriors will bring the sizzle and the Spurs will provide the steak.

"Definitely, the Lakers right now are playing the best basketball, but you know what?" Wolves guard Marko Jaric said. "Every year there a couple of teams -- Detroit, San Antonio -- nobody talks about and they always seem to get to the finals or the conference finals."

A recent segment on an ESPN Radio program asked this question: Why are the Spurs so boring? There was no consensus. Some theories: They've taken on the personality of superstar Tim Duncan, who is so fundamentally sound and so unexpressive. They have too much character and no characters. They're just so darn good defensively, and who pays to watch defense?

"They never change their stuff for anybody," said Sacramento guard Beno Udrih, a former Spur. "They stick with their principles and it works. Poppy's been there for 10 years. It works for them for 10 years, I think."

Nearly every season except maybe for this one, the Spurs increasingly have paced themselves until the All-Star break, then revved their turbines. This season, their current six-game winning streak was preceded by a four-game losing streak.

"They don't show the determination like they used to, but they are one of the playoff teams I would not trust," Jaric said. "They have a good foundation. They have good coaching. They are just solid."

And they are the defending champs, with their triumvirate of Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker together for the past five seasons.

"They've been through all this many, many times," Wolves coach Randy Wittman said. "Not once, not some of them. They all have. They know what's ahead and what's in store for them."

Only the Lakers from 1979-91 and the Celtics from 1979-88 have had more consecutive 50-victory seasons.

"I just think there's absolutely no substitute for understanding truly what it takes to win conference finals and NBA finals, in Games 6 and 7s," Wolves VP of basketball operations Kevin McHale said. "Five guys tied together, four or five guys coming off the bench every bit tied together as your starting five. There's a whole cohesiveness that's pretty cool to be around if you've ever been around it. I would say that's why they win more than anything else.

"And Pop is the best coach in the league and never has gotten the credit he deserves. He has the unique ability to demand a great, great deal and yet have that human touch where they'll play for him and there's not a revolt."