Gregg Popovich was asked Friday to explain the curious fact that his team had scored at least 112 points in five of its seven victories and also had the fifth-biggest increase in average points per game, from last season to this. His response was a combination of faultless logic and biting sarcasm. "We have more good players this year than we had last year," he said. "Or, I could say I invented some new plays that nobody else knows and that are unbelievable."
In fact, Popovich has tossed a lot of pages out of his playbook, simplifying things for a roster full of newcomers.
It must be the improvement in talent.
Popovich insists the Spurs are not trying to push the pace of the game this season just because they finally got younger and more athletic.
Other teams definitely are, including the Rockets, who have to compensate for the season-long loss of 7-foot-6 Yao Ming.
"Yeah," said Rockets coach Rick Adelman, "more teams are trying to push the ball. There are different philosophies in what they're doing when they're pushing it and how they're doing it. I think it depends on the players you have and your personnel. But I think more teams are in that mode of trying to get it up the court faster."
Simply pushing the pace is no guarantee of success. Paul Westhead proved that in 1990-91, when his Denver Nuggets led the NBA in scoring, at 119.9 points per game, but gave up 130. Westhead's theory that a hyper-fast pace favored the team that forced the action worked when he coached a talented Loyola-Marymount team but got turned on its head in the NBA.
Mike D'Antoni two years ago got pushed out of his job in Phoenix because scoring in seven seconds or less was no way to beat the Spurs in the playoffs.
"I don't think it was the Spurs' defense that beat the Suns," Adelman said. "It was the fact the Suns couldn't stop the Spurs . It was pretty good for them. (Manu) Ginobili and (Tony) Parker were able to get to the rim as the speed increased, and they got easier baskets."
Adelman is one of the NBA's most under-appreciated coaches, and he has shown he can coach whatever pace it takes to win.
"When the pace increases, you're going to get hurt at the other end," he said. "You're playing a different type of game. Our style in the past, with Yao, we were a very good half-court defense. We got back, and it was hard to score.
"I think what happens when teams run more is you get easier baskets. Now, do you have something to fall back on when the running doesn't work and you're not getting the easy baskets? That's the problem we're running into."
Know this: Just because the Spurs' scoring average is up by more than five points per game doesn't mean they won't fall back on their defense when they must.
mikemonroe@express-news.net
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