Collection of Spurs 2014 Championship Photos

2014 Official Team Photo

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Three ESPN.com Headlines

Via


Two NBA.com Headlines

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A Few of My Favorite from Facebook Posts

Via


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!!!

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.

Spurs Update

Well it's been exactly 20 days since Tony Parker went down with a severely sprained ankle. Tomorrow will be the 3-week mark. He was already running on the treadmill a week ago, and is now already beginning limited practices. I doubt we'll see him tomorrow night against Utah, but chances are good that my prediction from my last update (back in the lineup by Wednesday, March 27th's game against Denver) will happen. And we may even get him one game sooner than that!

Here is the same schedule I posted for that last update, but this time I've written in the results since that update:


Mine / schedule source

So 6-2 without our leader? Nothing wrong with that, I say. Especially if you consider the following:

Admittedly, we did not play well in that game vs. Minnesota, and they just flat-out wanted it more. Of course when you shoot 35%, you're not gonna win very many - if any - NBA basketball games. But in the Portland game, we actually played pretty well. Shot 52%, had only 12 turnovers, and still had an almost-acceptable 22 assists on 44 FGs. But Portland shot the lights out (62%). Soon-to-be rookie of the year Damian Lillard was practically unstoppable in the 4th quarter, and they're fighting for their playoff lives. I believe they will make it, but that's another blog post.

Anyway to continue my point, we've won a few ugly games in the span as well, as our defense has been questionable lately. Those who have stood in for Tony have done a great job on the offensive side, but Tony's value on the defensive end is becoming very evident. Most importantly, however, is that we won the one game we needed the most - OKC. The Thunder have also helped matters by losing twice since their loss in San Antonio.

Our lead over OKC now stands at 2½, with Memphis, the Clippers, and Denver ALL 5½ back. Look at this way: The Heat have won 24 in a row, and they're still only 2½ games ahead of us.

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.


Schedule Source

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.

A Couple of Coach Nick's Basketball Breakdowns

I. Thunder @ Rockets - "How Russell Westbrook Helped Blow This Game"


II. Spurs @ Clippers - "How Tony Parker & The Spurs Offense Blew Out The Clippers"


Videos Source

Coach Nick is a basketball genius. I love watching his breakdowns - especially when they exploit Westbrook, and praise TP!

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...

Image Source

Spurs Update

28-11, 1st in the Southwest Division, 3rd in the West - at nearly the halfway point.

Here's the stretch of games since my last Spurs Update:

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Not too shabby, but not nearly up to potential. We ran off a solid 7-straight, scoring an average of almost 112 a game. Then we laid an egg in the big apple during our quest for revenge on the Knicks loss from early in the season. But it's been clear to me that something is wrong with Tony Parker the last several games. I'm not sure whether he's just not seeing the open man, or whether guys just aren't getting open, but he's averaging 5 assists per game these last 5 games. More importantly his assist-to-turnover ratio the last three games is 14:15. (Source & math)  Ouch! Anyone know if he has a new girlfriend or something? Perhaps he lost a girlfriend?

Granted he's shooting the ball well (53.3%, last 5 games), and scored 30 last night in an OT loss in Memphis. He has also been hot from three-range, which is not really his niche (20 of 46 for 43.5% on the season - by far his best). He even went 3 for 3 and nailed the shot at the buzzer last night to send the game into OT:



Nevertheless it's not all on Tony, or any particular player. I have been posting on the Spurs' Facebook page for several games now that Pop has got to recognize when Tony is struggling to keep the offense running fluently. Patty Mills has got to get in the game!! He gives us such a tremendous spark, but we don't get that when he's merely waving his towel on the bench. Even Gary Neal's & a few other bench players' minutes are down, and I'm not sure why Pop isn't going a little deeper these days. Tony and Tim both played 40-ish minutes last night. Yes it was OT, but that's way more than their average minutes per game, and way more than necessary when you have a Patty Mills on the bench (and a DeJuan Blair getting basically NO playing time).

C'Mon guys - it's time to ratchet it up!

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:


Source

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:


Source

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.

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!!

Spurs Update

Image Source

The Spurs begin the 2012 playoffs against the Utah Jazz. We have the home court advantage against every team except the Chicago Bulls, who lost reigning MVP Derrick Rose to a torn ACL yesterday. I learned today that we hadn't won a series opener in 6 straight series. Gulp!

It was the usual starters for the Spurs, except Boris Diaw started at center - rather than DeJuan Blair or Tiago Splitter. It didn't matter because Diaw had 5 early points. Jack and Manu had 4 each off the bench as 8 different Spurs players scored in the quarter. Both teams appeared a little rusty after 1-Q: 28-22, Spurs.

Having a highlight dunk already, Manu came out and did it again, but after building an 8-pt. lead, the Spurs allowed the Jazz 6-straight to come within 2, 32-30. Jack would then nail a three, and it was now that we would finally see Tony get going. He would have 12 2nd-Q points to lead us to a 54-47 halftime lead.

Both defenses were tighter as the 3rd-Q began, but the 7-pt. halftime lead was quickly extended to 11 about halfway through the 3rd, as Tony, Timmy, and Kawhi all earned it at the line. Gordon Hayward, Al Jefferson, and Paul Millsap were really the only ones scoring for Utah, so Pop was in the process of changing his focus well away from Devin
It's what he does - Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Harris, who seemed non-existent. For the next four minutes, we would see some serious brilliance out of the Spurs' big three. Pick 'n' rolls galore, and all three continuing to create scoring opportunities in the paint, including this beautiful Manu assist to Timmy. Then with a 74-66 lead, Neal, Jackson, and Bonner would all hit threes, and along with a super lay-up by DeJuan Blair in his limited minutes, the lead became 15! Bonner's aforementioned three happened late enough that it was a GIGANTIC crowd boost as the quarter wound down.

Leading 85-70 through 3 quarters, Tinsley, Carroll, and Burks were the guys scoring for the Jazz. Then Jefferson & Tinsley made 5-straight to pull within 8 at 89-81 with 7:31 left. For the next 6 minutes, Tony, Manu, Bonner, & Jackson would outscore the Jazz 15-6 with a few
MVP Tony Parker, again - Image Source (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

key steals, and bad shooting by Devin Harris. Tony would follow-up his 12-point 2nd-Q with 12 more in the 2nd-half, leading the team with 28 pts., 8 assts., and 4 reb. on 10 of 19 shooting in 37 minutes. Time ran out on the Jazz, and the Spurs grabbed the 106-91 WIN, and while it wasn't our best, I'm not worried. We were out-rebounded 45-39, we shot only 35% from three (6 of 17), and we missed 8 FTs (20 of 28). But with only 10 turnovers compared to Jazz's 16, and their 6 more fouls, we were able to pull out a game that wasn't our best - by 15. Here's ESPN's boxscore.. Spurs lead 1-0.

Game 2 is Wednesday at 6 CDT, again in San Antonio.

Highlights of the first weekend were Durant's game-winner against Dallas, and an incredible Clippers comeback from 27 down in Memphis.

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.

Way to Go, Tony!

Congratulations to San Antonio Spurs' Tony Parker for winning the Skills Competition at All-Star Saturday Night! He beat Rajon Rondo and Deron Williams in the final, and Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving, and John Wall, who didn't advance to the final.

And in case you missed it, here is Tony's final-round winning performance.



Image Source (Shep McAllister)

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.
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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 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 Update

Thursday night the Spurs hosted the 4-18 New Orleans Hornets. No doubt memories of the finish against the Hornets 10 days ago existed, when Tim Duncan had to nail a hook shot at the buzzer in their gym.

This one was mostly defensive, as neither team seemed to get on an offensive roll. Spurs led 23-22 after 1 Q. We live and die by the three, and they weren't falling.. so yeah. But our defense was making stop after stop, and like many games this season, it was anyone's game at the half.. 44-45. Tony & Tim began their usual thing, since

Image Source (Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)

outside shots weren't falling. Neal, Green, Tiago, and even Cory Joseph made a few key shots in a contest in which we as a team only had 16 assists on 34 made shots. No, that's not good.

But it's not Tony's fault, as he led the scoring with 18, and had 7 assists. By the end of the 3rd Q, we led 71-68. This was turning into another common scenario, where we would have to either take control, or LOSE for lack of shot accuracy. Finally realizing the ball must go into Tiago, he scores on 3 of 6 straight offensive trips, and the other three were two TP layups & a Bonner three. Just like that we were up 12, 84-72. Spurs defense took over, and within a few minutes we were up 16. Suddenly, the Hornets only had about a minute left, and we finished-off the WIN 93-81.

                                ____________________________________

Spurs went nuts on Oklahoma City tonight in SA. In the wake of finalized all-star voting, Tony Parker made a HUGE statement to the coaches: "I'm not worthy, you say?" The Spurs made just as big a statement to the rest of the league with a serious pounding of the Thunder, the "favorite" to win the West.

Parker put together a 42-point, 9-assist performance (with NO turnovers) in a 107-96 WIN against the team with the NBA's best record. Kawhi Leonard had the super task of chasing Kevin Durant around most of the night. More on that later, but

Image Source (Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)

Kawhi also made a big impact right off the bat draining 3 early threes.. 13 1st Q points, and once the Spurs took the lead on Kawhi's 1st three (14-13), we would never relinquish it.

25-21 after one Q, Durant certainly made his presence known, compiling 17 first-half points. Parker (16 1st-half pts.) was constantly slashing and dishing, and the Spurs racked-up 8 threes by half-time. The lead was 10 halfway through: 57-47. An explosion of 3 threes in the final 2 minutes of the half reminded me of the Jan. 17th game @Miami, where we had 63 at the half, and a nice comfy lead.

In the last game vs. OKC (Jan. 8) it was the early 3rd when they took control. Same thing @Miami on Jan. 17th. After a couple quick OKC buckets, Tony Parker decided it was time to take over. Halfway through the quarter our lead was back to 15, as Russell Westbrook & Tony Parker took this duel to another level. While this became blatantly obvious, it soon became clear that Tony was playing at a level a notch or two above every one else on the court. Energy.. aggression.. defense.. steals.. a scuffle on the floor. Nearing 30 points, and a nice Spurs' lead, he changed mentality and decided it was time to get the San Antonio franchise assist record over-with. Timmy jumper, Kawhi layup, Green three.. Another quick 8 points, and one more Parker-assisted Bonner three, and we're up 24.

Thunder would actually make it a little interesting, such that Timmy & Tony had to come back in to seal the deal early in the 4th Q. That they did. And Tony would still score yet another 8 for his 42. Sweet, sweet win guys! 13-7 now without Manu. How's that?

Duncan had 13 & 15 boards. Kawhi, RJ, & Green held Durant to 22 points on 9-19 shooting, 11 reb. and 5 fouls. Westbrook had 18 on 8-15 shooting, 6 asst. 6 reb. and 4 fouls.

Tony's complete stat-line: 42 points on 16 of 29 shooting, 10-12 FTs, 9 assists 3 rebounds 2 steals 1 block, and 0 turnovers in 39 minutes.

Here's the standings. We've won 4-straight now, Dallas has lost 3 straight.. Things are starting to take shape as we head out for our nicely forgving 9-game rodeo road-trip.

Spurs Update

We lost a game we should've won in Milwaukee Wednesday night. But as has been consistent with the last few games, our opponents continue to shoot a great percentage. Tony took it a little bit too much upon himself near the end of this one, and tried to do a lot of it himself. Nevertheless, RJ had a chance at the buzzer, and it didn't fall this time.
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L 103-106

I'm glad we beat Houston (in San Antonio) tonight. Those guys don't need to get it in their heads that they can beat us. After two preseason games in which we split victories, we have now split two regular season games. And there will be two more in the next three weeks. Sigh.

It was close the whole game, and it sucked that we had to go to overtime to win, because the play under their basket with only 12 seconds left should've been determined a shot-clock violation. After a Duncan block on Kyle Lowry that didn't hit the rim, Danny Green touched the ball only to save it from going out of bounds. Amidst the chaos, the shot clock should've ended, but was shown to be shut off at :05 (before Danny Green touched the ball during his under-the-basket save), and the Rockets were awarded the basketball under their own basket. Scola then hit a running hook-shot with a few ticks remaining on the clock to tie the game and send it to OT.

At any rate, Tony had hit a crazy shot that I thought would give us the win with 1:22 left. Nevertheless the aforementioned screwed-up play happened, and we have to win it in OT.

If not for the fact that Kyle Lowry hit two nasty threes - one in the final minute of regulation, and the other in the final minute of OT, it would've been a lot less exhausting. Duncan missed 3 of 4 FTs, and another wide-open jump shot. Two minutes and 28 seconds went by in OT before anyone scored. But it was (once again)
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an RJ three at 1:08 and a Duncan post-move shot after a Houston timeout that gave us a 4-point lead. Immediately after Lowry's second amazing three (96-95, Spurs), Parker draws a foul which leads to two crucial made FTs, followed by a stellar defensive stop, and rebound by Kawhi Leonard. He then ices the game with a FT, and two more from Tony, and it goes down as a 101-95 Spurs OT WIN.

Saturday night we host Portland, and that one will be TOUGH. Then Monday night it's Phoenix here in SA. I would hope we can get that one because the next two after this will be a difficult back-to-back on the road, at Orlando and Miami next Wed-Thurs.

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!

Still Rollin'

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Respect

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It's about time we get some credit. I wondered how long it was gonna take before the national media finally realized this squad has started 8-1, and is on their way to 9-1 right now in a game against Chicago. The process probably went something like this throughout news and media headquarters all across the country:

"Eva and Tony are divorcing. Oh no!! Wow, they are? Hmm.. They really are. I wonder if.. Wait a minute, did anyone notice the Spurs are off to a red-hot start? Hmm I didn't either."