Collection of Spurs 2014 Championship Photos

2014 Official Team Photo

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Three ESPN.com Headlines

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Two NBA.com Headlines

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A Few of My Favorite from Facebook Posts

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A Screenshot from the Game-5 Post-game Celebration

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THE Dunk

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The Team Trophy Photo, and My Three Favorites

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The Orchestrator Counting His Titles

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Thank you San Antonio Spurs for your excellent play this 2014 season! This one was absolutely the sweetest!!

Now, onward to the RACE for SEIS!!!

NBA Finals Update - Games 4 & 5

The 2013 NBA Finals resumed Thursday night in San Antonio for game 4. The way the series has gone, the team who loses a game rallies to win the next. Miami has even done it in this pattern for the entire series vs. Indiana in the prior round as well. So the Spurs surely expected some Heat. Yeah I intended that one.

It wasn't to be in the very beginning, however, as San Antonio came out strong, and had the early 19-11 lead. Everyone would soon get involved in the Miami offense, though, and they'd hold the 1st quarter lead, 29-26. Both teams were shooting well, and the intensity was obvious. Especially from the big-three dressed in red. Yeah Dwyane Wade and LeBron James came to play tonight. Their lead would be 9 by mid-2nd quarter, and both defenses began to tighten-up. Spurs came to within 5, and then Miami would extend it back out to 9 again (47-38) before San Antonio

Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

would go on a huge run to finish the half strong - something Pop stressed from our last loss. Parker & Diaw would score 11 together, while the Spurs held the Heat to 2 during the stretch, and at halftime we were tied at 49.

This one remained tight, as the Spurs held Miami's lead to 6 at the most, and after 3 quarters, the score was 81-76. Both teams struggled to score at the beginning of the 4th quarter, but the Heat found the groove first, and the lead was 10 at the midway point. Wade and LeBron suddenly were hitting almost everything they shot, they were getting the shots they wanted, and Chris Bosh was even working in the low post, contributing offense of his own. Spurs hung with them for the most part, but once Miami extended the lead to 15 with 5 minutes to go (100-85), it was clear that a win in this one would be hard to come by for San Antonio. Spurs would only score 8 in the final 5+ minutes, but putting up 15 of their own, LeBron & company Heat held on for the 109-93 victory. Here's ESPN's game-4 box score. James, Wade and Bosh combined for 85 points - their most ever as a threesome.

                              --------------------------------------------------------

Onto game 5 Sunday evening, the last of the three in SA. Between games 4 and 5, I read a lot of articles on how Manu's "done", how he's not been himself in a long time. I was even in agreement, as I produced a few stats to show my Mom just how much he's hurting our team sometimes. Going backwards, this is what that looked like:

vs MIA: 10-29 (34.5%).. 3-16 3-pt. (18.8%).. 6 reb/ 12 ast/ 3 stl/ 11 fouls.. 7 TO   (4 g's)
vs MEM: 11-27 (40.7%).. 4-14 3-pt. (28.6%).. 21 reb/ 18 ast/ 2 st/ 12 fouls.. 10 TO   (4 g's)
vs. GS: 26-76 (34.2%).. 7-40 3-pt. (17.5%).. 30 reb/ 38 ast/ 10 st/ 13 fouls.. 15 TO   (6 g's)
vs. LAL: 14-30 (46.7%).. 7-14 3-pt. (50.0%).. 12 reb/ 19 ast/ 7 st/ 4 fouls.. 8 TO (4 g's)

So I thought Pop should bench him before this gets any worse. So here we are at game time, and what does Pop do? He starts him.. Doh!

It appeared to pay off, however, as Manu hit his first shot (nearly a three), and dished out several assists right off the bat. It wasn't long before he hit a three, and was getting everyone involved -even more so than Tony- to the tune of a 1st quarter score of 32-19, Spurs, as San Antonio held Miami to 2 points in the final 4:45 of the quarter. But the drought continued, as the Spurs' lead was 14 after the first 3 minutes of the 2nd (36-22). This lead ballooned to 17 before Miami started to make their trips to the offensive end count. They would go on a 14-2

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run, and the score was at that point, 47-42, Spurs, with about 4 minutes left in the half.

Both D's tightened-up again, but the fast pace of the first 20 minutes was already in the books. Parker hit a last second shot to give the Spurs the 61-52 halftime lead. A lead that would be shrunk to 1 within 2 minutes. Then San Antonio would go on a 9-2 run to take the 61-60 lead back to 70-62, a lead the Spurs would maintain until about 3 minutes to go in the 3rd as the Heat would hit 7-straight (75-74). Then the Spurs would blow it open! Danny Green has continued his super-hot 3pt. shooting, and had hit 4 at this point already, but it was a Green three that began a 19-1 run through the end of the 3rd and the start of the 4th. Just before Green's 5th three, which tied Ray Allen's record for 3-pointers in a finals series, the score was 75-74, with 3+ minutes showing on the 3rd-quarter clock. After 3 quarters, Spurs led 87-75. By the end of the run, there was 9:30 showing on the clock, and the score was 94-75.

Those 5½ minutes would prove to be the difference in the game. But the Heat would stay strong, and make it a game again - coming to within 8 again with only 1:37 to play (109-101). Enter Danny Green again, who would sink his 6th three of the game to break Allen's record, and pretty much seal the game. San Antonio takes game-5 114-104, and leads the series 3-2, as it shifts back to Miami. Here is ESPN's game-5 box score.

Yeah Green hit a bunch more threes, and is probably our Finals MVP at this point, but the hero of this game was Manu Ginobili. Dude came out of nowhere and put up 24 points on 8 of 12 shooting, and added 10 assists.. all while everyone in the nation was thinking he should probably be benched for now. That's Pop! Bench him? Hell no, I'm gonna put him in the starting lineup so he gets to play with the starters, and not have to feel like the entire burden's on him to carry the second unit. That's the genius as we know him. Gregg Popovich never fails to impress me with his adjustments.

Game-6 is Tuesday night in Miami.

Spurs' Manu Ginobili is Doing an AMA on Reddit

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Many people over the years have utilized a Reddit AMA (Ask Me Anything) to simply get to know fans, and answer some of the question that they feel are important to them. They often get interesting with some of the answers that pop up, as well as some of the incredible questions that Redditors come up with. Anyway Manu is there answering question now. CLICK THE IMAGE to go check it out!

UPDATE: Now that it's done, here is a link that will take you to a much easier-to-read version of the questions & answers.. I love Reddit, but it can be confusing sometimes of you're not familiar with it.

Lastly, here is a video of Manu's post-AMA reaction.

Spurs Will Be OK Without TP

Tony Parker's got a grade-2 sprain, and that's what I had in July of 2011 (grade-1 is mild and grade-3 is severe). I walked through a giant airport terminal the very next day on mine. And granted I re-rolled it twice in the following month, but I got around pretty good after about 10 days. No, I'm not an NBA player, but I think Tony can come back from this sooner than 4 weeks. The month of March will surely be interesting.

Below is the entire remaining schedule. There is a big 7-game stretch right around the time he'll be close to coming back. But Wed, Mar. 27 vs. Denver is when I would think his target date should be. I have put the current playoff seeds next to the teams' names.


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I'm pretty optimistic that we can go 4-1 or 5-0 against DET, POR, MIN, DAL, and CLE.. i.e. the next 5 games against non-playoff opponents. I genuinely hope that Pop chooses to start - and lean on - Patty Mills, rather than De Colo or Joseph. It would be an incredible coming out party if Cory Joseph started these games, and became a sudden star, but I don't think he's ready for it. Not at all. And I doubt it would happen, either. It's too big a gamble. I think it's better to use him off the bench, and not put too much pressure on him. Patty needs to show him the ropes about this "spark" thing that he has going on.

With that said, I think Manu made a gigantic statement with his 14 assists Friday night. He can run the team at the point just about as well as Tony. So Manu's role has certainly changed to one of considerably-increased point guard duties. But I think Pop should still bring him off the bench as usual, expecting him to log 30 minutes, but allow Patty Mills to start. Manu still has to be shooting guard when Danny Green is resting! So we've still got FIVE guys who can run the PG position (Manu, Mills, Neal, De Colo, and Joseph - in that order).. and that's why I say De Colo's & Joseph's minutes should only be around 10-12, with Mills getting about 15. Remember Gary Neal will be back very soon, and I expect Pop to lean more towards starting him at the point than I would.

We're 1-1 with OKC, so I wouldn't be too upset if March 11 is a loss. Then again it is at home.. We'll have a 4th chance to even it back up at 2-2, or go up 3-1. But that game against Miami on March 31 has got to be the absolute latest of Tony's target dates. We need to win that game.

All in all I don't think we're in as bad a shape as a lot of people are saying. (We are 7-7 without Tony in the last 3 seasons, or something.. etc..) Given Tony comes back for the Miami game, I don't see us going any worse than 8-4 in his absence. Hopefully he'll be back for Denver, but we could possibly pull-out 9-3 or even 10-2 in this same stretch, if he doesn't.

Respect

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Timmy! 2013 All-Star Voting is Complete

How about giving Tim Duncan some love for getting a ton of all-star votes this year. If 4th among the West frontcourt players isn't enough to make his 14th all-star team, I don't know what it takes..

Here is a link to the final voting results..

Sadly, Tony is 7th & Manu is 10th among West backcourt voting. Not sure what they're watching, but oh well...

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Spurs Update

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So the buzz all night as the San Antonio Spurs visited the Miami Heat earlier Thursday night was the fact that Gregg Popovich chose not to play Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green for their 4th game in 5 days.

Spurs had won 5 straight road games, and 29 out of their last 33 (an all-time NBA record). Now for the final game of this long road-trip, and their second long road-trip of the season already, the best coach in the league decides to rest some key players. What better experience could the guys on your already strong bench get?

The issue that shouldn't have been continued to be an issue because, of course, the TNT announcing crew of Charles Barkley, Reggie Miller, and Kevin Harlan wouldn't leave it alone. Most had positive words to say, and I applaud them for that. But the media also wouldn't leave it alone. But what's new with the media? They take stupid stories involving the big-market teams (in any sport), and blow them way out of proportion. And the Spurs never get any media bias, but we, as Spurs fans, are OK with this. We don't need it, nor want it.

Not long after the starting lineups were announced, NBA commissioner David Stern came out with a statement:

"I apologize to all NBA fans. This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming." (Source)

Not only is this BS, but after the fact, it's going to be very interesting to see how Stern reacts after the outcome of the game. The game was a good one! Spurs had the chance to win down the stretch, and even led for a lot of this game. David Stern needs to step aside already, and apologize for his remarks. In a statement that his successor, Adam Silver, made in response to a very similar situation last season regarding the Spurs, Silver said:

"The strategic resting of particular players on particular nights is within the discretion of the teams." (Source)

Be sure to take a look at the box score for this game of "no-names" against the current NBA champions.

By the way, here's how ESPN's Sportsnation views the (non)-issue:


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Click here to go vote on this..

Spurs are 13-4, and doing very well, stupid issues aside. They host the hot Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday, Dec. 1 in only their 4th home game since Nov. 7th. Memphis currently holds the best record in the NBA at 11-2. I would think I'd want my players fresh for that game, especially since the Grizzlies are not only a conference opponent, but a division foe as well.

UPDATE: David Stern has fined the organization $250,000.

Crock. Of. Horse$%&@.

And here's an awesome Reddit thread about this..

Spurs Update: Western Conference Finals

Game-2 of the Western Conference Finals took place in San Antonio Tuesday night, as Oklahoma City would try to even up the 1-0 series.

The Spurs jumped out to a 6-0 lead as Danny Green finally made his first shot of the series. By the time half the quarter was gone, Tony had 6, Green had 5, and the Spurs' lead was 15-7. We got off to a MUCH better start this time around. Kevin Durant and Tony Parker would effectively trade buckets for a few possessions. Spurs would then hold OKC scoreless for two minutes, while Timmy got his stuff going. The last minute of the 1st-Q saw OKC pour in 7 to the Spurs' 6, and the break at 28-22, San Antonio. 1st-Q points: Tony-10, Durant-12. Wow!

After Derek Fisher opened the 2nd-Q with a three, the Spurs would go on a 14-4 run for the first half of the 2nd-Q (all 4 Thunder points by James Harden). Five different Spurs scored those 14 points, Tony Parker or Tim Duncan not included! So with the 13-pt. lead (42-29) most of both team's starters returned. The Thunder would slowly close this lead to 11 by the end of the half, but Tony netted 7 more, and then Tim Duncan did this on Serge Ibaka:


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So after a Durant three, Timmy would hit two FTs, and then close the half with a sweet block on a Westbrook layup attempt: 55-44.

The 3rd-Q saw the scoring-fest commence. Both offenses scored at will for a few minutes, including 3 Spurs' threes by Leonard, Green, and Diaw - and one from Westbrook. After only 3½ minutes had gone by, the Spurs had scored 13 to the Thunder's 8, and the score was quickly 68-52. The Thunder would keep fighting but it was getting quickly out of hand. With a 75-58 lead, and with 23 points already, Tony Parker lined-up one of the most wide-open threes in NBA history:


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This forced a Thunder timeout, but as soon as play resumed, Boris Diaw hit a layup to put the Spurs up 80-58, the largest lead of the game.

Kevin Durant & Manu would then begin demanding the ball, but after OKC closed the 22-pt. lead to 14, Hack-a-Splitter began. Tiago made 5 of 10, and OKC scored 6, so they made up 1 measly point. Timmy entered for Tiago, and we'd close out the 3rd-Q 92-76.

The Thunder are a good team, so no one expects them to crumble. They kept fighting, and went on their own 10-3 4th-Q run, despite a clutch Gary Neal three. With James Harden leading this charge, and down 95-86, Harden, Durant, and Westbrook
A rare growl from a charged Manu - Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

would get to the line time in and time out. But for most of the 4th-Q either Manu, Tony, or Timmy would respond to the Thunder closing the lead to within 7 or so, and then extend it back to 9, or 11. Tony & Manu continued to get their way when in charge of creating shots. Eight is as close as the Thunder would get, and the Spurs did everything they had to to close it out 120-111.

Tony had 34-8-3 on 16 of 21 shooting! He owned this game, and no one has yet to figure out how to stop him, and our pick-n-roll when Tony's on his game. Duncan had 11 & 12, but Manu & Kawhi had 20 & 18 respectively. Kawhi also added 10 boards. The Thunder's big-3 all got theirs (88 points on 30 of 54 shooting.. Yeah that's 56%). Unfortunately the rest of the team shot 7 of 34 (21%). Here is ESPN's boxscore..

That's 20-straight. TWENTY! Game-3 is Thursday night in OKC at 8pm Central. One more win would tie the Lakers' 2001 record

Tony had a monster game-2 - Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

of 11-straight to begin the playoffs in any season. It's gonna be a MUST-win for OKC, and I think they could very well win it. But then again, I'll still be a little surprised if they can figure out how to stop us, and especially Tony Parker.

Ohhh the Similarities

2007:

2012:

Image Source (Photo by Layne Murdoch/NBAE via Getty Images)

Spurs Semi-Finals Update

I totally should've posted my review of game-2, which was Thursday night, on Friday night, since -duh- our game-3 was early Saturday afternoon. Nevertheless, I'll just do two right here right now.

So in Thursday night's game-2 in San Antonio, the Clippers played us pretty close for most of the 1st half, or at least for the last 15 minutes of the 1st half. It was a half of runs. With the score 10-9, Clips, at around the 7:00 mark, the Spurs went on a 14-0 run, during which the "big-3" scored all 14. So with a 23-10 lead, the Spurs stretched it to 27-12, at which point LA would go on their own 9-2 run to close the 1st-Q 29-21. But this little run continued for 3 more minutes into the 2nd-Q, as it was 29-25 before Splitter finally scored for the Spurs at 9:11 mark - effectively a 13-2 Clippers run.

The 2nd-Q as a whole simply wasn't good period for the Spurs, as we shot 8 of 21 (38%) with several turnovers, while the Clippers put up another semi-solid 21 points. So we took a 46-42 lead to the break.

Similar to game-1, the Spurs came out on all cylinders to begin the 3rd-Q, and everyone was involved. The first 4½ minutes was a 16-5 Spurs' run. Yeah, 16! Our defense was fine as well, but LA shots were also starting to fall (notably Paul & Butler). But it didn't seem to matter, as Spurs felt confident enough to score almost every time down the floor. Danny Green had 10 3rd-Q points as the Spurs put up 32 to 25 from the Clips. The score going into

TP finally got going in game-2 Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

the 4th-Q was 78-67.

This is when the energy and defense were both taken up a notch. Neal, Splitter, and Diaw would lead another mini-run for most of 5 minutes, at which time the scoreboard read 92-76. Griffin and Evans were getting it done inside, but they had nothing to stop Tony & Tim in the 4th-Q pick-n-roll. Isn't that kind of a common theme this season? The combo would score 8 straight for SA during a 3-min. stretch that saw the lead increased to 19! Patty Mills closed it out for Tony, after a scary late foul Tony took. No idea why he was still in with 2:05 left in what was then a 17-point game.

Spurs beat the Clippers 105-88, after trading baskets a few times, and now lead the series 2-0. And we have now won 16-straight! Griffin had 20 points, but was held to 1 rebound. Chris Paul had another lackluster game with 10 pts. & 5 assts. Tony Parker led the Spurs with 22 on 8 of 19 shooting, with 5 boards and 5 assts. in 37 tough minutes. Timmy had 18 pts., 5 reb., 3 assts., and 2 steals in 33 minutes. Here's ESPN's boxscore..

Games 3 & 4 are Saturday 2:30 & Sunday 9:30 in a DUMB back-to-back in LA..

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Game-3 between Spurs & Clippers was at 12:30 Los Angeles local time in Staples Center, beginning a stretch of absolute craziness involving the Lakers, Kings, and themselves. Who didn't think this out clearly enough?

I knew game-3 in hostile territory was our best chance to lose, and as the game began, what I was seeing wasn't really anything I didn't expect. While the very beginning went pretty normal - Tony scores his 3rd bucket to bring the Spurs to within 4 at 13-9, with 7:00 showing on the clock. Over the next SIX minutes none of our shots went down. We had a mere 3 turnovers, but when you combine 9-striaght missed shots with the Clippers' 6 of 9 shooting, the result is a 14-0 run that no one really saw coming. But then again I think we might have. Blake Griffin was getting almost anything he wanted,

Griffin had a career-game Image Source (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

and everyone was feeding off the crazy crowd. So when a couple mid-run Pop-timeouts didn't work, the end of the quarter would have to. But by this time it was 33-11.

When the 2nd-Q got underway, Manu & Neal would hit a few shots, but so would Mo Williams and Nick Young. The lead ballooned to 24 at 40-16 with 9:17 on the clock. So down 24 (DOH!) Pop brought in many new guys, and for us that makes things happen. In just 2 minutes the lead was down to 18. Two minutes later it was 15. Then holding the Clippers to 5 pts. in the final 3:47 of the 1st half, Spurs would get 5 from both Manu & Tony, and 5 more from Diaw & Duncan, and the Clippers' halftime lead was only 10 at 53-43.

So now that it appeared the Spurs were going to, in fact, make it a game, the crowd was much less of a factor to begin the 3rd-Q. Paul hit a jumper, and then after a nice Duncan layup, Griffin would follow it up with his own layup. With 9:38 showing on the clock, and the Clippers leading 57-45, something happened.

For the next 8:13, the Spurs would hold the Clips completely SCORELESS, while themselves netting 24 straight!   During this stretch the Spurs would shoot 10 of 15 (68%), but the Clippers went 0 for 12. And just like that, we now had a 12-pt. lead, 69-57.

Spurs 24-0 run was legendary Image Source (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

They were stuck on 57 for a long, long time. After 3-Q's it was 69-61.

So now that we've outscored them 32-20 in the 2nd-Q, and 26-8 in the 3rd-Q, the crowd wasn't about to let us run away with it. The first 3 minutes or so of the 4th-Q saw back-to-back buckets for both teams.. Leonard's 3rd three, Manu, Splitter, Neal, and for LA it was Griffin & Mo Williams. Pop would take a critical timeout with our lead cut to 7 and 9:14 on the clock. Following the timeout, both defenses were superior, as more than 3 minutes later, our lead was still 8 (scoring was 8-7 for these 3+ minutes).

Tony & Manu were pretty much scoring at will by this point, and neither team could manufacture a serious run. As is often the case late in games against these Spurs, time would simply run out on the Clippers, and five straight FTs would cement the Spurs' win 96-86.

As improbable as it seemed at the time, now that I'm looking back at the stats & play-by-play, it's no surprise that Vinny Del Negro just apparently didn't have any changes to make during his team's 8 minute 3rd-Q drought. He did call one timeout, and there were two substitutions (KMart for DJordan, and later Foye for Butler), but neither of these are moves to initiate an offensive spark for your team. Similar numbers as game-2 for San Antonio, as Tony, Tim & Manu led us again, but this time Kawhi Leonard also had a great game with 14 pts. & 9 reb.

Blake Griffin possibly put together the best game of his short career on this night - he had 28 & 16 on 13 of 24 shooting in 43 long minutes - most of it early on. Chris Paul had 12 pts. & 11 assts., and Mo Williams had a very nice 19. Here's ESPN's full boxscore..

Spurs can end the misery later tonight in game-4 at 9:30 CDT. That would be 17-straight!!

SICK Chemistry

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And how's this for a stat:
The Spurs scored 48 points from inside 5 feet in their win Sunday, the most by any team in a game in the last 2 postseasons. --ESPN Stats & Info

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Spurs Update

Sunday and Monday the Spurs played their last two home games of the season against Cleveland and Portland. Duncan dressed, but would only play if necessary Sunday, as Diaw started in his place. It's really hard to write about these games, and still try to not portray a sense of arrogance, or act as if I know what's going to happen, but things are flowing so well that they're very nearly foregone conclusions. Just as we have the last few weeks, we put up 29 against Cleveland's22 for the 1st-Q.

Just halfway through the 2nd-Q it was pretty obvious by the look of Pop's face, that Timmy may as well go bury himself in a book in the locker room. Manu, Neal, Green, and Jack were all hitting shots, and it was 43-27 before you knew it. The fiesty Cavs would, however, make a run and close to within 52-44 at the break. DeJuan Blair would then score 13 3rd-Q points, as we slowly pulled away to begin the 4th-Q at 81-70.

I think both Manu & Jackson were extra-determined, because they were huge factors in extending a late 3rd-Q 9-pt.
Manu made it clear: "I'm ready!" - Via (AP Photo/Darren Abate)

lead to 20 with 5:11 left. Jackson had 13 of his 17 in the 4th. Trying to make NBA history by winning 6 straight games by 21+, the Spurs would fall short of the record, but the 114-98 WIN was nothing to slouch about. Not our best game of the last several, but we still shot 55%, shot 40% from three, out-rebounded and out-assisted our opponent. Five players in double-figures, and ten scored 7 or more. Here is the boxscore..

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The next night with Portland coming to the AT&T Center, most of us were remembering a Feb. 21 trip to Portland in which Pop rested Duncan & Parker, with Manu & Tiago both hurt. Oh, we also had an 11-game winning streak on the line, but Pop let it go by the wayside in order to have our guys rested as much as he wanted them. We lost by 40. So yeah, you bet we'd be at full-strength - at least for a while.

Danny Green started us off with two threes. The team was solid, and the Blazers weren't hitting anything. 27-10 it was with more than 2 minutes left in the first. A little Portland run closed the 1st-Q at 31-18, but Splitter & Green would come out with 6-straight (37-18), followed by 10-straight from Babbitt & Flynn (37-28)! Then Neal & Green would score 8-straight, and our lead was 45-28. It was at this point when the Blazers were already looking gassed. Tony, Timmy, Neal, & Jack kept up the aggression towards a 63-41 halftime lead.

Danny Green had a perfect night - Via (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Duncan would play sparingly from here on out, but of course, Pop still needs to keep him in "game-shape", and when he was in he dominated (26 min. 18 pts. 8 reb. 4 blk. on 8 of 13 shooting). By the end of the 3rd-Q it was obviously our game, and a little more-so (91-65). In almost back-to-back plays, a Diaw assist to James Anderson was very Globetrotter-like, followed by a sweet right-handed tip-in rebound from Manu.

Portland continued to turn it over, miss shots, relax on D, and we continued to score at will by this point. Jack hit 6, Anderson hit 5 more quick ones, and then Patty Mills entered to get some revenge on his former team - and he did so with 3 4th-Q threes. Everything was clicking as we closed out our regular-season at home with a 37-pt. beatdown WIN vs. the Trailblazers 124-89. Season-high 34 assists on 48 FGs - this with Tony playing only 22 minutes. SIX players in double-figures, and two more with 9 & 8 respectively. Oh yeah, and Manu also had 6-2-3-2 in 17 fully-charged minutes. Here's the boxscore..

With this, our 31st double-digit win of the season (NBA best), we secured the #1 Western Conference Seed. Already leading the NBA in both shooting and 3-pt. shooting, the Spurs are also now fractions of a point behind Denver for the highest-scoring team in the NBA, after averaging 116+ ppg the last eight games, and 112.3 in our last 22 wins (a 22-5 stretch), and 108.5 in our last 31 games overall (25-6). No, these are not the Spurs of old. Old? And no we're not old, either.

The last two games are at Phoenix, and at Golden State. I do not expect many - IF ANY - minutes from Tim, Tony, or Manu. They may not even travel. The #1-seed is already ours, and barring the challenge with the Bulls for the best overall record, I know Pop isn't going to go overboard in these last two games. We know he has a much larger goal in mind.

Spurs Update

I forgot to post about the Spurs vs. T-Wolves game Wednesday. It seems that it's the losses or the easier wins that I forget. Another reason that I fell into that trap is the entire Spurs Nation has been waiting for our first back-to-back-to-back, which started tonight. It wasn't much of a contest, but what did you expect?

This Minnesota team is just not the same without Ricky Rubio, who was lost for the season a few weeks back because of a torn ACL. They were also playing without Nikola Pekovic (ankle issues). But these things will likely help this team in the future, as it provides good game-minutes for first round
Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

pick Derrick Williams, and time for JJ Barea to mesh with this team a little more. It was never really in doubt as we jumped out to a 32-16 lead after 1-Q, and withstood a sub-par 2nd-Q to lead by 9 at the half.

Learning that Tony Parker was feeling tightness in a hamstring, the rest of the squad would have to play without him for 2½ quarters, as Pop chose to retire him for the evening. But welcoming Stephen Jackson back to SA in his first home game was easy, and Pop's challenge would be met.. quickly, as the Spurs went on a 20-8 3rd-Q run to take control for good. We would lead by as much as 27, but finished of the WIN 116-100. (Here's ESPN's boxscore..)

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Just a few hours ago the Spurs began their first back-to-back-to-back of the season at home vs. the Dallas Mavericks, after having just played them in Dallas on St. Patrick's Day. Parker is in street clothes, as expected, but so is Tiago Splitter (unexpected back spasms). It was only yesterday that we learned of the signing of former Trailblazer Patty Mills, and then just today Boris Diaw was signed after being bought-out (given up on by) Charlotte. Wow!

So with this turn of events, and no "real" PGs, Manu would start the game, and Gary Neal would be his back-up at the "point". I say it that way because Manu's almost a PG anyway. That can't be said about too many shooting guards in the league. It was defense, however, by
Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

both teams that was the theme of the 1st-Q. Our youngsters were providing the home spark early in this one, as a DeJuan Blair dunk & jumper would close out the 1st 24-21.

Offenses would pick up markedly in the next stanza. Bonner would hit 3 threes, and then here comes Boris Diaw. Literally hours from being in Charlotte, the guy hits the floor for us! Gotta love Pop. Green, Kawhi and Diaw together would spark the crowd with key defensive stops, and a 52-45 halftime lead.

As is the case sometimes, Spurs came out FLAT for the 3rd. We failed to share the basketball; Mavs made key changes on offense; and there was too much standing around on offense. The 15-4 Mavs run put us behind 63-58, but after a timeout, Bonner & Neal would hit some quick easy ones after great stops, followed by Diaw's first points as a Spur. Then with the game tight and the crowd tense, both Manu and Neal would hit critical threes. 70-63 after 3-Qs. So after their 15-4 run, we ended the 3rd on a 12-0 run.

But we weren't finished. Just as soon as the 4th-Q clock went from 12:00 to 11:59, Jackson, Manu, and Green would add 10 more to Jason Terry's 2 to complete a 22-2 run, and a lead of 80-65. Both Terry's and Dirk's frustration were becoming obvious as Terry was swiping randomly at balls, and Dirk even complained about Kawhi's defense one too many time for a quick technical. We held Dirk to 5 of 21 shooting, 16 pts. and 2 boards. Nice! They would come to within 11, but it was our relentless defense, and scrappy play that led us to a wonderful 104-87 WIN. Heck, Eric Dawson even came in and recorded 6 pts. on 3-3
Image Source (Soobum Im-US PRESSWIRE)

shooting and also had a sweet block.

Six guys in double figures (two more with 8). Total team effort. Super defensive display, and a statement game that evened the season series 2-2. The biggest difference between this game and the one last Saturday was on the boards. Timmy pulled down 12, Kawhi & Jackson grabbed 8, and Manu had 7, as we out-rebounded them 54-34! Huge fix right there.. Kudos, gentlemen! Here's the ESPN boxscore..

One more thing. Last week when I learned of the Jefferson/Jackson trade, I was like "Ehh, I see that it saves us a lot of money, but ehhh...". Then I learn the deal for Patrick Mills is going through. Realizing with TJ Ford's retirement, and Cory Joseph just not taking shape yet, I was still like "Ehh - I guess that's OK". Today when I heard they pulled the trigger on grabbing Boris Diaw, with whom one of the worst teams in the league became disinterested, I was again like "Hmm... ehh.. I guess he's a big body we need. But ehh.."

It only took a game and a half for Jack. I don't miss RJ at all. You can count on Stephen to score the basketball. You can count on him to mix things up on defense, and make things happen. And he's been here before - he knows. Then Diaw does a 1-day turnaround, and I'm already impressed with his poise inside. I've been saying all along that we've needed an experienced BIG to help out. And you know what? He's also a pretty good ball player too. Then Pop finally puts Eric Dawson in to show what he can do, and what do you know. He does NOTHING BUT produce. Has anyone ever gone 3-3 with 6 pts. and a block in just over a minute?

Well done, Spurs.. Well done!

Spurs Update

So I've gotten a little behind on my Spurs updates.. but not too bad. I guess it was the yawn-factor of the Bobcats game, combined with the "that was totally a game we should not have lost" factor of the Nuggets game. Nevertheless tonight's Knicks game restored everything back to normal.



So here's what you've missed since I last did an update:

• Friday, 3/2, was a good home WIN against the Charlotte Bobcats, 102-72.

• Sunday, 3/4, we took a tough home LOSS to the Denver Nuggets, 99-94.

• Tonight we pretty much blew-out the NY Knicks. The home WIN was 118-105, but it felt like a 30-pt. win.

Friday against the Bobcats we shot almost 48%, including 50% from three (10 of 20), and our defense was strong all night long. Charlotte struggled shooting (37%), and also got out-rebounded by the often out-rebounded Spurs 55-37. Ouch! Enough said. Kemba Walker played 24 minutes, but is still not starting, and Tyrus Thomas played a measly 4 minutes. I'm not really sure what's going on over there, but if I were Michael Jordan, I'd consider selling this team out of embarrassment. Spurs had 5 in double-figures, and needless to say, our youngsters got some quality minutes. Here's the boxscore.

Sunday we welcomed the Denver Nuggets, after having just given them a beatdown last week. Ty Lawson's been playing out of his mind lately, and it showed. We got into an early 13-4 hole in this game, and never seemed to have the energy to get out of it, although we did close an 8-pt. 1st-Q deficit to 4-pts. by halftime.

That 4-pt. lead was still there after 3 Qs, as we were within striking distance the entire game. But the strike never really happened. As soon as we'd make it a 1-possession game, Lawson, Afflalo, and company would have nothing of it. We also didn't shoot very well most of the game, except for a small stretch right in the middle, and we got pounded on the boards 49-40. George Karl's a great coach, and he and the Nuggets were able to force Tony to do stuff he wasn't planning on doing, and rarely got into the paint. Tough loss, but we still own the season series. Here's the boxscore.

Earlier tonight Carmelo, Amar'e, and Jeremy Linsanity were in our house, and they're always a pretty good draw for fans, but I've been waiting for this one. And apparently so were the Spurs, and also the fans who were in attendance. Our spirit and energy were obviously apparent from the very beginning, as it hasn't seem to exist at this level in several games. We shared the ball, and shot well en route to a 28-23 1st-Q lead.

The Knicks would briefly take the lead early in the 2nd-Q, before a nice 30-11 run the rest of the quarter. Manu was being Manu, Tony had 23 1st-half points, and the defense was solid. Well, ours was anyway. TJ Ford would take a cheap nudge from behind by Baron Davis. After laying on the floor for several minutes, he would return to the bench with a "stinger", and word that he was neurologically OK. Phew - he's had several back/neck issues already.

Later in the 3rd-Q DeJuan Blair and Amar'e Stoudemire would get into it enough that Timmy had to get between them (double technicals). And with a 21-point lead later in the quarter, coach Popovich would get angry enough at a foul drawn by JR Smith on Tiago Splitter, that he would get double-technicals, and earn an ejection.

Spurs would lead by as much as 23. Aside from the drama of all the technicals, the obvious frustration from most of the Knicks, and Linsanity (who honestly got schooled all night long by Tony Parker), the theme of the night was the lack of anything resembling
Image Source (Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)

defense by the Knicks. Tony and Manu both had countless layups. Sean Elliott even mentioned at one point that "#1 [Stoudemire] may as well be a mannequin out there." 118-105. TP had 32 & 6 dimes. SIX other players scored double-figures, including Duncan's 17, Manu's 17, and Gary Neal's 12. The rebound edge was ours this time 47-37, and even losing the turnover margin 17-10, the Spurs dominated. Here's the boxscore.

Next up is the LA Clippers on Friday night.

Spurs Update

The San Antonio Spurs finally had a nice, long practice, and some much needed rest. Then it was time for stop #3 on the rodeo road trip in New Jersey Saturday night. And the news of the night was the return of Manu Ginobili, after missing 22 games since breaking his hand on Jan. 2.

I ran across a super review of this game over at PoundingTheRock Dot Com, so I tip my hat to the author, Fred Silva, for a great article.. and for saving me some time.

Here is the game review. (Spurs WIN 103-89 and increase their win streak to seven.)

Spurs Update

The Spurs had their first 2-days off in a row of the season Thursday and Friday.. That's pretty unbelievable, but true. When we set out on our rodeo road trip, it's inevitably a sudden & rough time for the team, although we've traditionally done very well on this trip each year. But with this season's ultra-condensed schedule the extra days off are a blessing, because we finally get some practice time!

Wednesday night the Spurs visited the surprisingly good Philadelphia 76ers. They've done great stuff so far this season, coming in at 18-7 & 3rd in the East. The game started slowly, as both teams missed shots. The energy was high, however, as was the spirit of the Philly crowd. 76ers were cold for several early 1st Q minutes, and we led 12-6. The pace would speed up, and Gary Neal & Lou Williams would trade a bunch of buckets.

26-24 after 1 Q, and then 32-26 after Tiago got busy in the next 3 min. With a 36-28 lead, the Spurs would then go cold for 4 minutes (38-36 Philly). Tony & Timmy would combine for the next 12 pts. of the half, and our halftime lead was 48-45.
(Image Source - Photo by Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images)

Andre Igoudala scored 6 in the first 5 min. of the 3rd Q, as Neal, Blair, and Tiago again helped Tony & Timmy launch us to an 11-pt. lead, which was 8 after 3 Q (75-67). Tiago & Tony showed more pick 'n' roll mastery, and Gary Neal nailed several key shots to carry our 6-to-12 point lead throughout. Sixers would come to within 5 with 1:46 left (95-90), but wouldn't score again. The 100-90 Spurs WIN was our first win there in 4 trips. And a great win it was! This Philly team plays very well together, and will certainly be a factor in the East playoff race.

TP again had a monster game, 37 points & 8 assists. That's 100 pts. & 24 assists in 3 games, and this recent performance has led to him being rewarded with his 4th all-star appearance. Kudos Tony!! Neal had 18, Duncan 16 & 11, and Splitter 15. Possible 6th-man of the year, Lou Williams, led Philly with 22. (Boxscore)

Supposedly, Manu will be back tonight in New Jersey! WooHoo!

Spurs 101 - Warriors 95

What a great win for my Spurs tonight! The first game without Manu Ginobili, no doubt Spurs fans everywhere were all on the edges of their seats awaiting someone to step-up. It took a while. Most of the game went just as expected. We trailed by 5, then 12, then 6, then 10, but trailed nonetheless...

Until mid-4th quarter, when something happened. And it was the something we all were hoping to see.

It was a short segment when TJ Ford hit a three from the top of the key, and then the Spurs put together a couple fast breaks, with
Image Source

absolutely super play from Danny Green, that gave us the lead for the 1st time in the game. And I don't think we ever let it go.

Popovich put Duncan & Parker back in to finish the game along with the three who had led the charge: TJ, Danny, and Richard Jefferson, who went 5-5 from three point range on the night.

I had told my Mom earlier in the night, "they need to play TJ & Tony together some - it should pay off." I also told her "Danny Green will help us a bunch, too, at the SG slot." -- A sweet and rare "I called it" moment. I also said things about James Anderson, Gary Neal, and Kawhi Leonard, but I have no doubt it's only a matter of time before they, too, will provide the spark(s) needed to pull out wins, until Manu is back.

Tony took over the game in the final two to three minutes, and sealed the win with a critical jumper, and two clutch free throws.

Foreshadowing: Ford, Parker, Green, Jefferson, and Duncan should be seeing a lot of time together when the match-ups allow it.

4-2 ...Mavs in SA Thursday!

Manu being Manu

...from opening night against Memphis. In case you missed it..


Source

Manu Played Through Broken Arm

The San Antonio Spurs are confirming to News 4 WOAI Monday that Manu Ginobili played with a fractured elbow in the playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies.

On April 13th in the final game of the regular season against the Phoenix Suns Ginobili injured his right elbow. The Spurs initially announced that it was a hyper-extension, and then later announced that it was a sprain.

Spurs fans still believed that Ginobili was a fighter for playing with a sprained elbow, but what they did not know was just how much Ginoibli was fighting.

Ginobili recently told the Argentine website Noticiasmdq.com that he fractured his humerus bone. But the Spurs told News 4 WOAI on Monday that Manu actually fractured his right ulna, which is the bone running from the elbow to the pinky.

Ginobili played 5 of the 6 playoff games against the Grizzlies with a fractured arm, and still lead the team with an average of 20.6 points per game.

“Last Wednesday I had an MRI with the San Antonio medical staff. The swelling has gone down and the small fracture is about 85 percent healed. I have to rest for about three weeks and then begin slowly," Ginobili Tweeted.

Ginobili chose to downplay his injury, while Boston’s Rajon Rondo was receiving a lot of national media credit for his ability to play through a hyper-extended elbow.

We'll put this right up there with the broken nose, killing the bat, and the rest of the stories when we write the book about the legend of Manu Ginobili.

Stolen from WOAI Dot Com, and enhanced

Not So Fast Mr. Bucher

Ric Bucher is an NBA reporter for ESPN.


Click for clarity..                                                                                                                         Via

From Popovich's Exit Interview:

Reporter -- "Do you anticipate a lot of changes with this team.. next year, in terms of the roster?
Popovich -- "Well there's always gonna be, you know, some changes, but... we never get drastic in that sense, and start thinking.. Somebody asked me yesterday, 'you know we lost, so are we gonna blow it up'? I mean, you know, that's just the most preposterous attitude to have right after you lose, because 29 teams lose."

A-hem, 56-13 when Duncan went down (went on to win that game, by the way), so that's 57-13 (81.4% - still on pace for 67 wins..) before the 6 game-skid, the first 4 of which Duncan did not play. Duncan looked surprisingly sharp in his first game back against Boston (20 & 13 on 8 of 12 shooting in 33 minutes), and followed that up with another strong showing in Houston - on a back-to-back - with 23 & 13 on 9 of 16 shooting in 36 minutes. Both were losses (the Rockets in OT), but look at the situations and opponents.

We then went on to win 4 straight again (for the 9th time this season), and then give some key players some rest in the last two games. Manu injuring his elbow perhaps really only cost us that game, and game-1 against Memphis, because in my opinion, he played lights-out in that series. As Sean Elliott quoted on several occasions during the series, and of course I'm paraphrasing from my memory of the broadcasts, "this is one of the best individual playoff performances you will ever see."


I can explain 'that series' very succinctly: We ran into a buzzsaw! Before likewise resting their own players in the final two games, the Grizzlies were playing some of the best basketball in the league, and beating good teams in the process. Aside from the fact that we didn't shoot well the entire series - a tribute to the Grizzlies defense, the series exposed a major weakness for our team - young interior athleticism.

It's all pretty simple to me. Duncan's got another year on his contract, and I don't expect him to quit on next season. Dice will likely retire, but other than that, we'll have pretty much the same 9-10 guys next year. And yes, I think we add one young athletic big body. Imagine how much confidence Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter will have after a full off-season! James Anderson will also have an entire healthy off-season, as will DeJuan Blair going into his 3rd season. And in case no one paid attention, we also signed 2010 NCAA West Virginia sensation Da'Sean Butler, and he will help us a ton.

An immediate overhaul?? Not for a while, my friend.