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San Antonio Spurs Keeping old-timers healthy will be key for Spurs
By Marty Burns, CNNSI.com Last year the Spurs had the NBA's best regular-season record, only to get swept by the Lakers in the conference finals. Then Derek Anderson forced a trade, Avery Johnson signed in Denver, and Sean Elliott retired. So the Spurs should be in trouble, right? Wrong. With Tim Duncan and David Robinson, San Antonio still has 14 feet of shot-blocking to defend the basket. Steve Smith, acquired from the Blazers for Anderson, should knock down a lot of open jumpers if his creaky knees hold up. If Terry Porter, Antonio Daniels and free-agent signee Bruce Bowen can defend the perimeter, the Spurs should again be a formidable power.
The big question for San Antonio will be keeping old-timers like Robinson, Porter and Smith healthy over the long haul. Also, head coach Greg Popovich would like to use more motion offense in an effort to free Duncan from the zones he is liable to face. That means Daniels must be ready to step in and run the show at the point, something he has not been able to do consistently. The Spurs still have the Twin Towers and enough role players to make a run at the NBA title. But they are going to have to avoid injuries, and hope all their new faces can jell quickly. If not, they will come up short in the postseason once again. Standout stat: 23.4 Points averaged by Derek Anderson (traded to Blazers) and Sean Elliott (retired) last season.
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