Popovich Not Ready to Panic

Coach Gregg Popovich is not about to make any changes with the San Antonio Spurs, who lost the first two games of their Western Conference finals to the Lakers.

The Spurs will stick with what got them this far, even if that means getting swept.

“I told them that they are a hell of a group,” Popovich said. “You are still the same group you were when you finished the regular season with the best record. You have to dig down and continue to do exactly what got you here. The shots will fall or they won’t. Let’s just go do it.”

The Spurs’ numerous missed shots are a major part of their problem.

During the regular season, the Spurs’ 46.5% shooting percentage was fourth in the league, and in four games against the Lakers, they made 45.7%. But in Games 1 and 2, they shot 40.9%, compared to the Lakers’ 45.8%.

“Shots are not going to fall all of the time,” shooting guard Antonio Daniels said. “That’s just basketball. But what we can’t have is the defensive lapses we’ve been having and the easy buckets we have given up.”

Daniels is holding up his end. After averaging only 9.4 points during the regular season he is scoring 22 against the Lakers.

Daniels has been taking the spot of Derek Anderson, who has sat out the Spurs’ last six playoff games because of an injured right shoulder.

Anderson will practice today, but Popovich is not counting on him to solve the Spurs’ woes. In fact, he is not sure when Anderson will be able to return.

“The strength coach and our doctors think his strength is real good,” Popovich said. “It is more of a matter of seeing how tentative he might be. When people come back from injury, sometimes they have a hard time because they are very tentative and they don’t really play aggressively.”

Veteran David Robinson had a strong first half in Game 1 but since then, he has been a non-factor for the Spurs.

After playing only 30 minutes in Game 1, he played 27 minutes in Game 2 and finished with seven points, nine rebounds and five fouls.

“He had some tough fouls that probably were unnecessary that really put him in a tough spot,” Popovich said. “We want to play him more. We expected him to play 35 to 38, minutes but we couldn’t do it.

“It is unfair to say that David has to score more. There were a lot of people who need to score more. Not a lot [of points], but just knock down some shots.”

Tim Duncan gave 6-foot-7 Malik Rose credit for the job he did defending Shaquille O’Neal in Robinson’s absence.

“He did a great job of staying in front of Shaq, not giving him any easy ones,” Duncan said. “He did that all night, but to have David in there, just another 7-footer in there, things just happen, and we didn’t have that down the stretch.”