SB Nation - Boris Diaw

Net Cords: San Antonio Spurs, Still Villains Of The NBA

Seth Pollack — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:00:22 -0000

The San Antonio Spurs have defied NBA conventional wisdom by apparently reloading on the fly. After getting swept out of the playoffs by Phoenix in 2010 and getting ousted in the first round by Memphis last year, many thought it was time to trade their top talent and rebuild through the draft.

Instead, the geniuses running one of the best organizations in the game ignored the fans and critics and kept their aging core while ading a variety of pieces, from castoffs like Danny Green and Boris Diaw to non-elite young players like Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard.

The result is a Spurs team in the top echelon of the NBA among the likes of Miami, Chicago and Oklahoma City.

Perhaps because their advice went went ignored, or maybe because they are just tired of the Spurs, but the national media has mostly ignored the success in San Antonio.

SB Nation's Spurs site, Pounding the Rock, has it's own unique and hilarious take on the situation.

The San Antonio Spurs: Villains of the NBA - Pounding The Rock
I know the importance of narrative. Humans need a story to help them understand the world. In this lockout-shortened season there's a dearth of storylines for fans to latch on to, and the small-market Spurs barely get a mention because the pundits don't have a convenient role into which they can force them.

So far they've gotten away with it ... but it's plain to see that the time is coming when ignoring San Antonio will no longer be an option.

[...]For us, it's a good old-fashioned heroic epic. For the rest of the league, it's a horror story. And we're the monsters.

Tony Parker as Hannibal Lecter. Tim Duncan as The Terminator (T-1000 model). Whatever it takes, the Spurs fans are more than willing to embrace their role in this story, even if it's as the villain.

'Net Cords' features the great work being done by the SB Nation network of NBA team sites.

Sunscast Ep. 16 : Steve Nash Sore Back Time Of The Year

Seth Pollack — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 20:00:38 -0000

Steve Nash's back is starting to fail him and the results are both predictable and expected. We also discuss observations from the NCAA West Regionals in Phoenix, Boris Diaw on the Spurs, the Lakers drama, and of course, update the playoff standings.

Hosted by Bryan Gibberman and Seth Pollack and presented by Arizona Sports 620 and SB Nation Arizona.

Subscribe on iTunes or stream online after the jump.

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Gregg Popovich's Real Talk Beats Anyone Else's Real Talk

Mike Prada — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 20:36:08 -0000

Gregg Popovich was clearly upset that Stan Van Gundy tried to knock him off his perch as the league's most colorful NBA coach interview, so he decided to say this about San Antonio Spurs newcomer Boris Diaw.

Popovich on Diaw: "Boris has never been in shape. He won't agree with me but just trying to keep it real." Also lauded his hoop IQ, though.
— Paul Coro (@paulcoro) March 27, 2012

David Stern Returns To Scene Of The...Crime?

Seth Pollack — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 19:21:13 -0000

NBA commissioner David Stern, along with his heir apparent Adam Silver, will be in Phoenix on Tuesday for the Suns game against the San Antonio Spurs. A press release from the team said that Stern and Silver will be available to the media before the game.

It was not stated, however, why Stern is in Phoenix and why he choose to be in Phoenix on the night the Suns happen to be playing the Spurs.

Chances are, the timing is pure coincidence. Stern and Silver are probably in town for some other business (golf? spring training baseball? quality time at the spa?) or likely they are simply dropping by our fair town as they do with every other NBA market at some point in the season.

Regardless of how innocent the visit is, don't expect Suns fans to let him forget about a certain suspension decision from 2007 that still haunts this franchise.

Suns fans, as evidenced by this tweet for example, aren't going to care that the decision to suspend Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for Game 5 was the right call based on the rules of the game.

They won't remember that the Suns, without Diaw and Stoudemire, had a 16-point lead in that game but couldn't close the deal. They won't care that the Suns bench was ridiculously thin and underused by Mike D'Antoni.

And the fact that the Spurs won the series 4-2 won't stop fans from blaming Stern for their team failing to win more games with Diaw and Stoudemire on the floor.

David Stern is a lot of things to a lot of people. He's the lightening rod for silly conspiracy theories. He's the evil dictator who nixed the Chris Paul trade. He's the heavy handed PR master who nearly cost the NBA season because he couldn't find a way to help the players save face during the final moments of the recent CBA negotiations.

Fortunately, Stern doesn't seem to be all that thin skinned and he's going to need that thick hide should he choose to make himself publicly visible to begrudged Suns fans on Tuesday night.

The weather outside might be sunny and perfect, but David Stern will be walking into a storm of boos and heckles at U.S. Airways Center this week. That won't be a first for him.

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Bad Box Scores: Oh No, Charlotte Bobcats

Brian Floyd — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 02:03:45 -0000

The Charlotte Bobcats could probably have their own section of Bad Box Scores, but this one is particularly noteworthy. On Sunday evening, the Bobcats were throttled by the Indiana Pacers in a 108-73 loss. It wasn't pretty, but it's worth taking a quick second look at.

To the box score!

The biggest thing to look at isn't actually in a regular box score. The plus/minus numbers for this game were incredible, and incredibly bad. For instance, D.J. Augustin was -44 in 32 minutes, Corey Maggette was -39, and Boris Diaw and Reggie Williams were each -32. Bismack Biyombo had the best plus/minus of the starters at -15 in 24 minutes.
Charlotte shot 37.8 percent from the field (28-74) and 59.1 percent from the free throw line (13-22).
Two starters, Diaw and Biyombo, didn't score a point.
The Charlotte starters combined for 25 points. The bench combined for 48 points. Something is wrong with this picture.
No idea what DeSagana Diop was doing, but he finished with zero points, two rebounds and four turnovers in 16 minutes. Yep.

You know what, it was just all bad. Charlotte was actually coming off a win -- snapping a 16-game losing streak -- and then this happens. Sorry, Charlotte fans.

Bobcats Have Ended The Reign Of 'Paul Smilas'

Tom Ziller — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 14:38:17 -0000

When Paul Silas took over for Larry Brown as head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats a year ago, the most notable difference was that Silas smiled a lot, so much so that our friends at Rufus On Fire dubbed the veteran coach "Paul Smilas."

Well, Paul Smilas is dead. The Bobcats lost by 30 to an Atlanta Hawks team missing Al Horford on Thursday. From Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer:

Silas said his starters have "just kind of given up now. I don't know what to say." Then he added, "I tell my players, we've got to learn from our losses. That doesn't seem to be coming very quickly."

It's hard to tell exactly who Silas is talking about. Byron Mullens received his first start, replacing DeSagana Diop (a prime candidate for Paul Frownyface's "given up" list). Gerald Henderson also seems to put out effort, even in losing causes. Tyrus Thomas (a natural power forward) just came back from injury, and was asked to guard Joe Johnson, a two-guard. I don't think it's him either. D.J. Augustin didn't have a great game. Perhaps Silas, the head coach that set Augustin free from Brown's shackles in 2011, is disappointed there.

I don't know, let's check the box score from Thursday's game. Hmm ... OH.

Boris Diaw: zero points on 0-3 shooting, six rebounds, four assists, two turnovers, 60 pounds overweight.

It's Boris Diaw.

This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things XLV

Tom Ziller — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 13:33:49 -0000

On October 20, 2006, Boris Diaw, after one strong season replacing Amar'e Stoudemire for the Phoenix Suns, signed a five-year, $45 million early extension. Had the Suns not signed Diaw then, he would have become a restricted free agent in 2007, meaning the Suns could match any offer.

Diaw's averages fell substantially as Stoudemire returned and become the offense's top finisher again. Diaw would have less than half as many points and rebounds per game as Amar'e in 2006-07.

Atlanta Hawks Vs. Charlotte Bobcats: Bobcats 99, Hawks 66; Atlanta Falls Flat in Preseason Finale

Phil Foley — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 04:04:31 -0000

The Atlanta Hawks ended the preseason with a whimper, dropping a 99-66 decision to the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday night at the Time Warner Cable Arena. The Hawks (2-5), who played what looked like a regular season game against LeBron James and the Miami Heat on Friday, gave their starters a bit of a breather in the exhibition finale. The Bobcats (4-4) had no problem taking advantage.

Charlotte outscored Atlanta 31-10 in the second quarter for the victory. Former Hawk Stephen Jackson lead all players with 21 points. Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw and Tyrus Thomas had 12 each for the Bobcats.

Joe Johnson played 17 minutes in this one and did not record a point. He lead all Hawks players with 27 points on Thursday. Jamal Crawford had 15 points and Al Horford chipped in 12 for Atlanta, which got an extended look at Jeff Teague.

Teague finished with eight points and dished three assists in at team-high 34 minutes. Josh Powell scored four points in 22 minutes for Atlanta, which did not dress Mike Bibby in the preseason finale.

Atlanta opens the season on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies before taking on the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday. The home opener is on Oct. 30 vs. the Washington Wizards.