Spurs Mailbag: Oberto's fine play bodes well for Scola

Spurs Mailbag: Oberto's fine play bodes well for Scola's future

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

After it became evident this summer the Spurs were neither going to sign Luis Scola nor trade him, Scola’s agent accused the team of making his client a “prisoner” in the “country of liberty.”

Well, he and every other member of the Society For A Free Luis Scola would be wise to celebrate the success of Fabricio Oberto.

The better Oberto plays, the better chance Scola has of wearing an NBA uniform next season.

The Spurs didn’t find much of a market for Scola’s draft rights this summer, in part, because teams were reluctant to invest their free-agent dollars in a foreign player after watching Oberto, Sarunas Jasikevicius and Arvydas Macijauskas struggle in their transition from Europe to the NBA.

If Oberto continues to produce for the Spurs, he’ll be the third member of Argentina’s national team to make an impact in the NBA. Who would want to bet against Scola — who, two years ago, was considered the better prospect of the two — also succeeding?

The Spurs haven’t ruled out signing Scola for themselves. Robert Horry may retire at the end of the season and Oberto, if he wants, can opt out of his contract.

Chances are, however, the Spurs will continue to shop Scola’s draft rights. His contract demands last summer — three years, $9 million — were more than reasonable for a middle-of-the-rotation player.

That’s also only a little more than the Spurs paid for Oberto. And while it’s only been six games, Scola’s countryman looks like a bargain.

On to the readers:

Who have the Spurs played? — Monica, San Antonio

Dallas, Cleveland, Toronto, New York, Phoenix and New York.

Can I comp some tickets for an OKC/Spurs game to show these OK people how a real team plays? — Patrick C. Hoffman, Tulsa, Okla.

Sorry, we don’t do tickets.

Are y’all playoff team? — Terence, Taylor

Y’all hopes so.

How can I find good AT&T Center tickets for a Spurs game? — Gil, Brownsville

At Spurs.com.

I really don’t have a question. But I wanted to say that I love my Spurs and keep it up. GO SPURS GO. — Gilbert, San Antonio

And my editors wonder why I continue to question the wisdom of this project.

Why did you think Coach Pop kept Duncan on the floor with seconds remaining and Spurs leading by one (on Wednesday)? It’s obvious the Suns would foul him? Why not the Spurs best free-throw shooters? — Arnold Pineda, Hong Kong

Great question. (And trust me, those two words aren’t in heavy circulation here at the Mailbag.)

Getting Tim off the court in an obvious foul situation seems like the logical move to me and, I assume, just about everyone else populating our fine planet. In fact, I’d want him so far away from the free-throw line, I’d tell him to go wait in the locker room.

But here’s the rub: Pop rarely pulls Tim in those situations. And I love him for it.

For one thing, it only adds to the drama of the moment. Have you ever heard 18,000 people gasp at once? That’s what happens at the AT&T Center when Tim steps to the foul line. Good times.

Here’s what I also like: By leaving Tim out there, Pop is essentially saying, “If we’re going down, we’re going down with our best player on the court, free throws be damned.” He’s letting Tim know that he’s The Guy, and The Guy, sooner or later, better be able to come through at the line.

There are only a few times I remember Tim getting yanked. One was a game against Orlando midway the 2000-01 season. The Magic were up two with 6.4 seconds left in overtime. Orlando coach Doc Rivers had already intentionally fouled Tim earlier in the game, and made it clear he would do so again if the ball touched his hands on the next possession.

So Pop sat Tim. But I got the impression after the game he felt sick doing it.

Pop’s not dumb. A lot of times when Tim’s on the court in those situations, he makes him the inbounder, which essentially removes him from the play.

On Wednesday, Michael Finley inbounded with Tim setting a screen to free either Manu Ginobili or Tony Parker, the play’s first two options. When Finley didn’t think he had a good passing lane to either of the Spurs’ guards, he inbounded to Tim, who was fouled before he could get rid of the ball.

At that point, Tim was 6 of 7 from the line. Which, of course, didn’t mean much when he missed both. Had Raja Bell not bailed out the Spurs by clanging his own free throw, they would have lost.

Call me delusional, but as bad as Tim has looked at the line, I think he’ll improve over the course of the season. He’s working with Chip Engelland, the team’s shooting guru, more than he did last year, and everyone knows what Chip has done with Tony. Tony also started slow last season, but ended up making 80 percent of free throws in the playoffs.

If Tim’s going to make a similar improvement, he’s going to need to be in pressure situations like Wednesday. Even if it means the Spurs lose a game or two along the way.

Tim also has this going for him: He owns the franchise records for free-throw accuracy in a regular-season game (17 of 17) and a playoff game (15 of 15). He can’t be that bad, can he?

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/bask ... 1a467.html

Getting Tim off the court in an obvious foul situation seems like the logical move to me and, I assume, just about everyone else populating our fine planet. In fact, I’d want him so far away from the free-throw line, I’d tell him to go wait in the locker room.

Great line, LOL

I understand not wanting to bench "The Man", but at what point does Timmy say, "Pop, I can't hit free throws, don't make me lose this game, put in guys who can hit free throws."

If Tim’s going to make a similar improvement, he’s going to need to be in pressure situations like Wednesday. Even if it means the Spurs lose a game or two along the way.

That makes sense, but forget about coaching his freethrow technique. Tim might benefit from visualization therapy.