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!!!

Fear the Silent Ones

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Final NBA Finals Post

OK well I didn't get game-6 done in time for game-7, so once again I have to lump them together. But rather than even bother, and since it's over, I'm just gonna type what I want. Everyone knows by now the Heat won. Everyone knows we blew a terrific chance to take the title in game 6. So, I'm not gonna bore everyone with two game synopses. Instead I'm gonna post a couple pictures, and focus on how I feel, and what this did to me.

Image Source

This was by far the best image from the last few days. After watching and listening to all the post-game interviews, it's hard for me to explain how I feel now. But if you saw Tim's game 7 post-game conference, and have any idea the way it appeared he felt - that's how I feel. We blew it in game 6, and I knew game 7 was just one more chance to watch my team play. Or at least that's how I chose to go about it. I was tons more confident in win #4 on Tuesday than I was Thursday. I knew we still had the chance to hoist the trophy, but I wasn't holding my breath, so to speak. Then once we were right there, yet again, I had to just smile, and enjoy it, win or lose.

Now we don't have any Spurs games until late October, and I feel like one feels just after accepting a relationship they've been in is now over. You're not still ultra-sad. You've accepted it, but there's a gaping hole. The only other time I felt this gigantic gaping Spurs hole was after game 5 of 2004's West Finals. Duncan hit the last shot at the buzzer to put us up 3-2 on the Lakers, and one game from a chance to repeat, and shut Phil Jackson up. Everyone also knows good and well that there was 0.4 left on the clock, and the rest is infamous Spurs history.

I know we had a great season - it was far beyond the expectations of most "experts". Probably beyond the expectations of most fans, too. It was in fact a season that many years from now I will hold right up there with, well, 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. Trite as that just sounded, that's just how close we were. I loved every second of it! We'll be back, too. This team isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Pop said so, and when Pop says something, you must believe.

Here are the two ESPN box scores in case you're interested: GAME 6 ... GAME 7

Let's Make It Five!

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Spurs/Lakers

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Spurs Update

Well all the "experts" said we would lose our top-seed because of Tony Parker's serious ankle injury. Not only did he come back well before the 4-week time-table, but we did just fine without him. We did not lose our #1 seed while he was hurt. I'm gonna post the same image I have posted the last two updates, although of course it's updated with the results since my last update.


Mine / Schedule Source

Oddly enough, Tony Parker played in the first game since my last update. We have gone an unimpressive 5-4 since then. Tony missed a bunch of games, and I think we went 6-2 or something without him. But many other things have struck this team. In the 2nd quarter of Tony's 4th game back, at home vs. the LA Clippers, Manu twekaed a hamstring that's been bothering him somewhat all season. It was determined that it was bad enough that he would miss 3-4 weeks. Boris Diaw missed several games due to a back problem. DeJuan Blair was sick and missed several. Stephen Jackson had missed a bunch of games, and appeared only here & there when his ankle would allow. Then Tony got a neck stinger during the OKC game, and had to miss two more!

We went through a stretch of FIVE straight games, even with Tony, which were all decided on the last play of the game. And for one (James Harden) reason or (Chris Bosh) another, we lost 3 of those 5. We competed well, and should've won against a Miami team, who sat its stars this time around. A phantom Kawhi Leonard foul on Norris Cole lost us that game. Then the very next night against Memphis, we had a 3-pt lead with mere seconds to go, for the second night in a row, and Mike Conley buried us with last-second heroics. Both of these games were officiated badly, and we should've won - no doubt.

Friday, April 12th was not a good day. News surfaced that Boris Diaw had back surgery to remove a spinal cyst, and would miss 3-4 weeks. Then just hours later it was revealed that a week-long ongoing "feud" between Stephen Jackson and Coach Pop resulted in him being CUT. Apparently he's been upset about his diminished role, and probably still not 100% psychologically since the death of his unborn child. He argued with Pop, and you know who's gonna win that battle.

So here we stand with THREE games remaining.. tied in the loss-column with OKC, but without the tiebreaker. Tony is looking great, but not quite 100%. Manu might be back midway through the first round of the playoffs, which begin NEXT SATURDAY. We won't see Boris Diaw until probably the second round. Our fierce veteran leader, and only small forward not named Kawhi Leonard is history. Yeah I hate the move, but I don't run the team. Thank you Captain Jack!!

The silver lining is that Timmy Duncan has been playing lights-out.. All season, really. Like he's 26 - not 36. Gary Neal's been one of our only sparks off the bench, and we're gonna need that to continue. There are 3 games remaining. The Lakers lost Kobe to a ruptured achilles.. He's done for a long time. We should be able to win all three of these. The only problem is OKC can just as easily win their two. We're probably gonna be stuck in the 2-seed, but at least it wasn't because of Tony Parker's ankle, as everyone assumed. It's because this team has been hit with a broad, gigantic spectrum of things no one could foresee. But that's OK with me - this team is historically resilient. A few players are gonna have to step up right now. Kawhi Leonard. DeJuan Blair. Tiago Splitter. Even you, Mr. Bonner. A series against Houston or Golden State doesn't bother me at all, really. And a Denver team who was as hot as hot can be the last month is also now reeling with Lawson & Galinari injuries of their own.

So the question remains:

Can we beat OKC in the Western Conference Finals? Of course we can! Putting our franchise's 4-0 Finals record against these Miami Heat, however, might be a different story altogether.

Here are the current NBA standings with four days left.

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:


Source

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.

"Yeah - It's Definitely Time for One More!"

Via / Image Source: 2012 NBAE (Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images), NBA Store

Such a Perfect Basketball Name

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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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Timmy's Dunk on McRoberts Tuesday

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Or here's the video clip if you want it bigger. (Source)

Spurs Update

Thursday night the Spurs hosted the Memphis Grizzlies for the 4th and final time this year. The race is tightening, but we've beaten the Grizzlies 3 times already. Tim Duncan (28 & 12 on this night) would continue to turn back the clock, as he and the guys come out strong. The Spurs did well containing the Grizzlies' interior play - a weakness exposed the night
Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

before by the Lakers. But Duncan guaranteed a better performance, and he certainly delivered. Spurs ended the 1st-Q with a 10-4 run (27-21).

For most of the 2nd-Q, we would hold a small lead while the starters rested, until about the 5½ minute mark, when Conley hit a three to give them the lead 37-36. But that wasn't all. We were scoreless for almost 6 minutes, during which Memphis scored 13 straight to change the game (44-36, Memphis). Duncan & Diaw would be the ones to bring us back, however, as some tight D and several key shots brought the half to an end - down by just 4, 49-45: a Spurs 13-1 run!

This time it was the 3rd-Q which proved to decide the game, for the most part, as Duncan would score 14 in the quarter. Everyone was back to sharing the ball at this point again, and lock-down D allowed a 13-5 Spurs run to end the 3rd-Q with an 8-pt. lead, 82-74. But the run continued - Manu & Bonner increased our lead to 14, as most of the rest of the final quarter, we maintained a small 5-8 point lead. What a perfectly bad time for a 5-minute Spurs' scoring drought. OJ Mayo hit a shot to bring them to within 2 at 94-92 with 2:54 left. Sigh.. Suddenly the game was on again.

The last 2 minutes were tight, but everything seemed to go our way, as our BIG THREE were all working like a well-oiled machine, and Timmy continued his dominance. Almost all our shots fell, and we got the stops we needed. Manu hit all 6 final-minute FTs in Memphis's foul-mode to clinch the 4-0 SWEEP of the Grizzlies with the 107-97 WIN. Here is the boxscore.

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After a nice day of rest, the team took the court Saturday night to face a Phoenix Suns squad, who won in Houston on Friday, in the comfy confines of our AT&T Center. This one featured a spectacular start by the home team, and to be honest, it was nearly over after one quarter. We jumped out to a 21-4 lead before a Phx timeout, and then poured it on with ultra-high intensity to take a 35-13 1st-Q lead.

The Suns would finally start to maintain the pace (coming to within 17 at 47-30), but an 11-0 run peaked our lead at 28, but became 62-38 at
Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

halftime. Since Phoenix was so far behind, Pop started Manu for the 2nd-half, in the hopes that he, too, could sit while the bench closed it out. Word surfaced that Steve Nash & Grant Hill would not return due to injury tweaks, and with that, we went up 27 again (74-47). But by 3rd-Q's end, Suns closed to within 19 (84-65).

Phoenix continued to fight back, and after outscoring us by 5 in the 3rd, they would do the same in the 4th, but it was too little too late. We shot 53% for the game and 9 of 18 from three. Everyone got in on the action once again, as all 13 Spurs had double-figure minutes, and everyone scored. The dominating 105-91 WIN sealed the Spurs' Southwest Division Championship. But yeah - we've got much, much larger goals. My man Timmy was definitely the #1 factor for these two games. Already playing younger than his years, I believe he got a little wake-up call.. Thanks, Andrew Bynum! We'll see you Tuesday! Here's the boxscore..

Our second B2B2B is Mon-Tues-Wed. all on the road against Golden St., the Lakers, and Sacramento. All eyes are on you, Pop! I expect minimal minutes out of Tony, Manu, & Tim for the first one.

Timmy Being Timmy

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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

My Spurs began their rodeo road-trip last night in Memphis. This would be our 2nd game there in a week, and 3rd vs. the Grizzlies this season. Memphis came out looking a little more like they wanted to play basketball, unlike last week. After the Grizz held the early 10-9

Image Source (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)

lead, we went on a 9-0 run to lead 18-10. Seven different Spurs scored in the 1st Q to give us the 26-18 lead. That lead would then grow to 14, before going on a 2-minute dry spell, and Memphis would surge to within 6 at the half, 52-46. A Jeremy Pargo 27-ft. three at the buzzer helped.

Duncan and Blair would score the first 6 of the 3rd Q, followed by an RJ three a minute later, but then we would go scoreless for a while, as the Grizz tightened-up their D, and dominated us on the offensive end - outscoring us 18-2 over that 7-minute stretch. This was also a 31-14 Memphis run, going back to our 49-35 lead with 3:31 left in the 1st half. But Pop let 'em continue to a 73-67 deficit after 3 Qs.

Then obviously Pop told the guys to step it up on D, because Memphis would be stuck on 73 for HALF of the 4th Q. By this point Tiago Splitter had made 8-straight Spurs points, as apparently Pop heard Sean Elliott continuously declaring that the ball needed to go into him. The ongoing battle between Duncan & Gasol was becoming the feature of the game by this point. Duncan then tied it at 73, and James Anderson hit a three to put us up by 3. After back-to-back Rudy Gay & OJ Mayo jumpers, Tony & Timmy went to work yet again - the two of them scoring the Spurs' next 11 points, and our lead was a commanding 87-81. But Conley would sink a long three off the glass with a minute left (87-84).

During the last minute of the game, it seemed like the Grizzlies got a half-dozen attempts on their end of the floor, due to a reviewed OB call, a Duncan foul, a reviewed jump-ball call, and 3 Spurs blocks on 4 Memphis shots. Danny Green would finally secure the rebound, and nail both FTs for the 89-84 WIN.

Duncan had 19 & 17, and 5 blocks, in 32 minutes. Tony led us with 21 & 7 assists. This time Rudy Gay would score 18, but on 9 of 26 shooting. Gasol had 22, and Conley 19. Here's the ESPN boxscore, and here's the video recap. (Source)

Wednesday we're in Philly for game-2 of the road trip! I've been looking forward to this one for a while.

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
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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!

Same Ol' Timmy

Via

And he looked GREAT in his first action of the season last night! Stay healthy, Tim!