<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Rasho Nesterovic had been shipped to Toronto, Nazr Mohammed was packing his bags for Detroit and Gregg Popovich couldn't leave the safety of his gated community without being pelted with questions about both. From July to October, it didn't matter whether the Spurs coach was standing in line at the grocery store, picking up his dry cleaning or sitting down to eat at his favorite restaurant, the queries were always the same. "Who's going to start at center NOW?" "I would say, 'How many minutes did you see those guys play?'" Popovich said. "Or, 'Aren't you the guy who ripped Nesterovic all year long? And now that we trade him, you want to know what we're going to do now that he's not here?'" Popovich, unlike the local fan base, didn't see the hole in the middle of the Spurs' lineup as reason to fret. He already had one of the league's best centers; Tim Duncan had made a nice living masquerading as a power forward. The Spurs also had already joined the growing number of teams downsizing their lineup to play small and fast. "The old-school way, you still played a (power forward) and (center), and a (point guard), (shooting guard) and a (small forward)," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Now I think coaches, and I follow in that category as well, are thinking, well, why? If I have two (small forwards), a (shooting guard) and a (point guard) and then a pretty good (center), why can't I play small? "I think a lot of teams are starting to view it that way." The Spurs are among them. Two seasons ago, they beat the Phoenix Suns at their own game by playing small in the Western Conference finals. In last season's playoffs, Popovich moved Robert Horry into the starting lineup, then dumped him for Michael Finley ? Mohammed and Nesterovic were already strapped to the bench ? shortly after Dallas went to a two-point guard lineup. With Mohammed and Nesterovic having totaled only 27 minutes against the Mavericks in the conference semifinals, the Spurs were hesitant to invest in a long-term contract for a slow-footed center who couldn't keep pace in the fast lane of today's Western Conference. After flirting with Miami's Alonzo Mourning, they signed Francisco Elson, a lanky 7-footer from Denver whose greatest attribute was his ability to run the floor. They also added 21-year-old Jackie Butler, thinking if they could get him in shape he might be able to help by the second half of the season. Fabricio Oberto, an undersized scrapper, returned with a better understanding of the team's system and his role. Duncan also will continue to share minutes at center. Since David Robinson retired in 2003, Duncan has typically played the position in the fourth quarter with Horry, Finley or Malik Rose usually lined up next to him. But while Popovich considers Duncan a part-time center, he remains hesitant to call him such. He has long joked that he has a standing agreement with Duncan to refer to him only as a four, the basketball terminology for power forward. "The one statement I made (to the team) at the beginning of the year, is no matter who is on the court, Timmy is always the power forward," Popovich said. "If I call Thumbs-This-Sideways-Lift-Floppy-What Four, it's for Duncan. If we're going small and Finley's on the floor, he's the (center) and Duncan is the four. "I have absolutely no (guts) whatsoever. If he wants to be four, he's four." In truth, today's up-tempo, let-it-fly game ? popularized by the frenetic Suns ? requires most players to play hybrid positions. Horry, a small-ball pioneer from his days in Houston, jokingly referred to himself as a "dinosaur" during last season's playoffs. Even the typically staid Jeff Van Gundy has Houston playing small: The Rockets could begin the season with 6-foot-8 Shane Battier as their starting power forward. Some teams have taken the trend to an extreme. Denver's goal this season is to score within the first 10 seconds of the shot clock. When the league tweaked its defensive rules two seasons ago, a fast, attacking guard like Tony Parker quickly became one of the most prized weapons. "You see little guys propel themselves into that lane and nine times out of 10, the foul goes against the defender," Popovich said. "I'm not saying that's wrong or right; that's just the way it is. But it hurts people like us who used two 7-footers in our (defensive) schemes all those years." Popovich said he doesn't expect the Spurs to utilize their small lineup much more than in the past, if only because they had already begun to increasingly use it. But they have practiced with it more frequently in the preseason than in previous years. "Last year, we didn't really emphasize the small lineup until playoff time," Finley said. "So now if that situation occurs, we'll be better prepared and hopefully we'll be a little better at it." The Spurs also hope Elson's athleticism allows them to stay big more often. Though the team often still uses its same basic defensive scheme when playing small, it can require more double-teaming. Adding another big man with 3-point range in Matt Bonner also could further help space the floor for the Spurs' guards to attack. Popovich refutes the suggestion the Spurs would have been better off staying big against Dallas. Regardless, team officials think they have assembled a more versatile roster to allow them to better adapt to their opponents. Of course, there are those among the Spurs who think the team adapted just fine last season. When someone recently mentioned Mavericks coach Avery Johnson caused the Spurs' downfall with his decision to pair Devin Harris and Jason Terry in the backcourt, Duncan only laughed. "That's the reason they won? Oh, really," Duncan said with just a touch of sarcasm. "Well, he's the Coach of the Year, so that's obviously the move that won the series. "I thought it came down to Game 7 overtime, but that's just me."</div>http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/basketb...all.954bfb.html
That is a great read. I think the lack of big men in the game are also a reason why this is happening.
