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In a zone Spurs change defenses to change momentum of seriesPosted: Monday June 09, 2003 7:25 PMUpdated: Monday June 09, 2003 8:41 PM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) -- Bruce Bowen has made his mark in the NBA by playing tenacious man-to-man defense. He's been a second-team selection on the All-Defensive squad the last three seasons and he's enhanced his reputation this postseason by shutting down some big-time scorers. Now Bowen and the San Antonio Spurs are leading the New Jersey Nets 2-1 in the finals and, to his delight, their defense is leading the way. Their zone defense, that is. Huh? "I was one of the first ones to say, `Zone? Man, I don't like the zone,"' Bowen said Monday. "But it's been helping us. So instead of keeping on saying no to it, you buy into it." Coach Gregg Popovich has the same attitude. Although he's the one who decided to pull the scheme out of mothballs for this series, it's not his preferred way of stopping teams. "I hate it," Popovich said. "I think it's awful." San Antonio tinkered with the zone this season, but never for too long, partly because of Popovich's stance and mostly because the Spurs weren't very good at it. They used it sporadically in the playoffs. It worked better against the Lakers than the Suns and Mavericks, both of which have strong outside shooters. The Nets don't. Their scoring comes mainly from a great transition game and, in the halfcourt, from forwards and guards soaring through the lane -- a lane that can be more congested when defenders cover areas instead of players. So with the encouragement of assistant coach P.J. Carlesimo, Popovich made it part of the game plan for the finals. "Most of our guys were not particularly pleased," center David Robinson said. "Once we've gotten in and seen how it works ... the guys feel pretty good about it now." With the Spurs using more zone each game, the Nets' scoring has gone down each game. New Jersey went from 89 points in the opener to 87 to 79. The Nets had just nine in the second quarter Sunday night, tying the finals record for fewest points in any quarter. It's a big dropoff from the 95.4 points New Jersey averaged in the regular season, and an even bigger dip from their 98.6 mark the first three rounds of the playoffs. In those 14 games against Milwaukee, Boston and Detroit, the Nets scored at least 90 points 10 times. Their three-game drought against San Antonio matches their longest streak of the season, done three times. The Spurs will try to make it four straight in Game 4 on Wednesday night. "The zone has been a shock to us," New Jersey guard Kerry Kittles said. "We haven't seen zone since college. It's been seven years since I've played offensively against the zone. It's different. It's definitely different. ... "I think it's probably covering up their defensive liabilities. That's why most teams play zone. These guys are playing zone because they don't want to guard our forwards slashing to the hoop against them one-on-one." Maybe. But has anyone seen Richard Jefferson lately? While the zone has been the Spurs' best friend in the halfcourt, their real success has been forcing the Nets to set up their offense so often. They've done that by slowing one of the best transition games in the NBA. San Antonio has kept New Jersey out of the fast break by dropping back two, three and sometimes four players after putting up a shot. Most of the Nets' quick-scoring opportunities have come off turnovers at the top of the key. The Spurs also have shut off backdoor plays, keeping New Jersey from the alley-oop dunks players savor. Forced to work for more baskets, the Nets' shooting percentage has gone from 44.8 over the first three rounds to 38.7 this series. "You take away those easy buckets," Robinson said, "and you've got a chance to win the game." And, at this point, the championship. |
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