“That’s the beauty of Coach Pop and Timmy (Duncan) and everybody in this organization:
We try to adapt,” said Spurs point guard Tony Parker.
Once a grind-it-out ballclub,
San Antonio Spurs
have evolved offensively
By Michael Lee
The Washington Post
SAN ANTONIO — For so long, the success of the San Antonio Spurs was accepted, even if not widely appreciated. With their small-market charm, low-maintenance stars and a coach who was sometimes charming and sometimes a curmudgeon, the Spurs were more concerned about being champions than being cool.
But as the Spurs’ offense has evolved from boring to beautiful, their staying power has attracted more admirers. Earlier this season, Washington Wizards center Marcin Gortat compared San Antonio’s offense to “listening to Mozart.”
The Spurs transitioned from a grind-it-out outfit that crossed half court and immediately looked inside to David Robinson and Tim Duncan to a group that still relied heavily on Duncan yet had the occasional improvisations of Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. As Duncan began to age and Parker and Ginobili matured, Coach Gregg Popovich loosened the controls. And as Popovich realized reducing regular season minutes was going to be imperative to prolong careers, the Spurs became more concerned about how they created shots than who took them.
“That’s the beauty of Coach Pop and Timmy and everybody in this organization: We try to adapt,” Parker said. “And I think our game has arrived to a point where we can score but we can play defense. We can play any kind of style.”
Going from slow and prodding to fast and furious has yet to produce another title, but the change has helped the Spurs take a 1-0 lead over the Miami Heat in the best-of-seven NBA Finals. Game 2 is Sunday at AT&T Center.
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