Sweet taste of chemistry
Buck Harvey
San Antonio Express-News
09/30/2003
Many times last season, with tension growing, Steve Smith would walk down the sideline to the SBC Center scorer's table. There he would extend his shooting hand, his right one.
And grab a few sticks of red licorice provided by the stat crew.
That's not much of a highlight film for a guy who earned about $10 million last season. But when Smith walked back and sat down, swallowing both licorice and ego, the moment told about a feature the Spurs had last season.
Chemistry.
Beginning this week: The Spurs will have to find it again if they are to compete with the buffed-up Lakers.
Chemistry was the least of the Spurs' concerns Monday evening. Then, when the defending champions came together, they worked on the basics. First names, last names, basics such as that.
NBA history was made when a Manu hung with a Rasho and a Hedo (a Tim-o was there, too). But the one who wasn't there signaled the change.
No David Robinson, for this franchise, is like no basketball.
No basketball is quite a change for Robinson, too, as well as two others who retired after playing more than a decade in the league, Steve Kerr and Danny Ferry.
"I think I've been playing some sport since I was 6 years old," said Ferry, who on Monday officially became the Spurs' director of basketball operations. "So, yes, this feels weird."
The Spurs' locker room will feel as weird without these veterans. They approached the game the right way, even if they couldn't play it as well anymore. And that's why Gregg Popovich thought about trying to bring back either Kerr or Ferry.
Even if neither played a minute, couldn't the mere presence of one of them make a difference?
Over the grind of a long season, personalities such as these can. And Smith, when he arrived in San Antonio, was the opposite.
The word from Portland then: If Smith's minutes get cut, someone will bleed.
The same Smith who was once generous enough to give over $5 million to his alma mater, Michigan State, is the same Smith who could steal the air out of a locker room. He stewed with the Blazers over both money and playing time.
The Spurs saw the same side, and it was as subtle as it was potentially divisive. Popovich was angry enough after the 2002 season that he temporarily thought about releasing Smith and paying off his massive salary. Smith's jumper failed in the playoffs then, but his demeanor failed as badly.
Money likely remained a source of it. Portland had turned down Smith's request for an extension, and financial possibilities weren't looking any better for him in San Antonio.
Last season, then, brought the ultimate test, when Stephen Jackson replaced Smith as a starter early in the season. If Smith pouted when Bonzi Wells took his minutes, how would he react when uneven Stephen did?
What followed, said Ferry, was "one of the big factors in our championship." Smith worked hard, stayed late and tutored Jackson.
"Things didn't go well for him," said Ferry. "But he handled it well. He set a tone for the group, a maturity, a selflessness. He made you feel stupid for getting frustrated because you weren't playing, because there he was, a former Dream Teamer, accepting his role."
Ferry brought this up on his own, and teams in other sports have their own examples. When the Baltimore Ravens won the Super Bowl a few seasons ago, they credited a 1,000-yard runner for being supportive after being benched.
Priest Holmes got his ring in Baltimore then, and he has gone on to do a few things since.
Holmes understood that whining on a winner wouldn't help anyone, including himself, and Smith likely felt the same. If Smith is going to land a job now, it will be because he proved last season to other franchises that he's a pro.
The Spurs' younger players are better prepared now to go on without Robinson, Kerr, Ferry and Smith, and Popovich has reason to believe. When the best player is Tim Duncan, it's easier for a lot of attitudes to adjust.
But others will still have to bend, as Smith did, because this is one of the deepest rosters in Spurs' history. Whether it's Bruce Bowen and Robert Horry, or Ron Mercer and Malik Rose, someone will have to go to the scorer's table.
For something other than minutes.
