SB Nation - Theo Ratliff

Game 9 Preview: Oklahoma City at San Antonio

Zorgon — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:33:05 -0000

by Eric Gay - AP

Get away from our basket!

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This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The American Telephone & Telegraph Center, San Antonio, Texas

TV: Fox Sports Net Oklahoma, KMYS My Network TV 35

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Pounding the Rock, 48 Minutes of Hell, Project Spurs

Backstory: The Spurs are like the old, forgotten team. They won a championship not so long ago and they continually make moves to stay competitive, but injuries just keep getting in the way of true success. This year, that description has held true to what the Spurs are. They made some off-season buzz by obtaining Richard Jefferson to fill a hole at Small Forward, but not near the amount of news the Magic made by grabbing Vince Carter, the Cavaliers made by grabbing Shaq, or the Lakers made by grabbing Ron Artest. And this season has started out with injury after injury, firstly to Tony Parker and secondly to Tim Duncan. One of them is probably going to play tonight, but we are unsure of who. Thus, I am very unsure of whom is going to win this game.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have been the epitome of average. At times, they look like they're on top of the world, able to compete with teams like the Lakers and blow out the short handed Magic, but at other times, they look pretty bad, barely beating the Clippers and playing extremely ugly games against the Trail Blazers and Kings. One never knows what we'll do against a slow, monotonous team like the Spurs, but considering we split the series last year, we have a fair shot at beating them.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups: (Please Note that the Spurs lineup wavers from game to game, so I'll just follow the lineup Pounding the Rock says that the Spurs will have.)

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Matt Bonner

Wow, a matchup of two outside shooting Centers! To be honest, I haven't seen much of Matt Bonner, but I'm pretty sure he's not much of an inside guy. I'd say that Bonner has the advantage outside, whereas Krstic has the advantage inside.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Tim Duncan (Possibly Jefferson or Blair)

Well, this is a mismatch if I've ever seen one. To be honest, if Green can get his outside shot going, this could turn very nasty. And, if Green doesn't get his outside shot going, this could also be very nasty. I could see either side dominating the matchup, but in the end, I think it will be a wash, with Green having less rebounds than usual. If Jefferson starts, I see him winning the matchup, as he's a more versatile scorer than Green.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Richard Jefferson (Possibly Michael Finley)

Durant wins this matchup either way, but if old man Finley gets the start here, I could see a Durant bonanza starting to form. If the Spurs are smart, he won't start here. Either way, I don't see Durants defense getting in the way of Jefferson or Finley, so I think they'll have good games as well.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Keith Bogans (Possibly Michael Finley)

That's right, Manu Ginobili isn't starting. He'll often be the top performer for the Spurs, but he does it off the bench for some reason. Well, whatever floats the Spurs' boat is fine with me. I think that Sefolosha will win the matchup, just because of his recent performance in the intangible categories, something which really isn't seen in the Box Scores of Bogans. If Finley plays, I think Sefolosha can do a fair job of keeping him down. In his day, he was one of the NBAs best scorers, but these days, he's just alright.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. George Hill (Possibly Tony Parker)

George Hill is a really nice scoring point guard to have, but he's not nearly the distributor Tony Parker is. With the way Westbrook has been playing, he's about equal to George Hill, but if Tony Parker plays, he'll find himself out of his league.

Battle of the Benches:

Well, by having Manu Ginobili on their bench, the Spurs get an automatic win here. Oh yeah, can they've got Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair, Roger Mason Jr., and Theo Ratliff as well. Talk about us getting outclassed.

Coaching and Intangibles:

Gregg Popovich is an excellent coach from way back, the Spurs are at home, and they've won their last two games without Duncan or Parker. I think even the dullest bowls of soup can determine who has the advantage here.

Bottom Line:

The odds are stacked against the Thunder, and if either Duncan or Parker play, we'll be up against even greater odds. But if the Thunder can focus on ball movement, Kevin Durant can luck into good matchups, and, if Duncan or Parker play, the Thunder can neutralize their threat, then we'll have a chance. But, in the Spurs house....I think we're going to fall back below .500.

Prediction: Spurs 85, Thunder 73

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

25 votes

The San Antonio Spurs

15 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

Spurs vs Kings: Stat(s) of the Game: 4, 10 and 87.5

BlaseE — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:26:42 -0000

I've picked three stats for this game because in a beatdown where our team dominates, it's somewhat difficult. Like my last stat of the game, these stats show the Spurs growth from last year to this year. The stats after the jump....

The Spurs and Pop, more specifically, scout players and give them a purpose or a task. We are a team full of specialists led by three serious jack of all trades for their position. I won't go into how much Parker, Duncan, and Manu can do because the focus of this is about what three of our new specialists were brought on to do and can do.

Stat #1: 4

Theo Ratliff was brought in to own the paint and block shots. 4 blocks in 24 minutes!!! He probably altered at least 2 to 4 more.

Stat #2: 10

We all have seen Blair's excellent hands and scoring prowess or at least heard about it, but we all know he was brought in for one thing. Pop has even gone on the record as saying that in terms of coaching he just told Blair, "Just go get the rebounds like you've always done" [not a direct quote]. Well Blair finished with 10 rebounds in 26 minutes. Sure he only had 1 offensive but I'll temper that stat with these three facts about the game:

1. He played a lot with Ratliff who can't leave the paint.

2. We shot 58% and only had 31 misses. That limits opportunites....

3. ...that are stolen by scrappy PG's named George Hill who led the team with 3 offensive boards.

Stat #3: 87.5%

Richard Jefferson isn't quite a one trick pony, at least he better not be, but he should be the 4th scoring option. After his slow shooting start, he goes 7 of 8 from the field for 21 points. Manu and Duncan both score under 15 points in under 23 minutes, and that's all we needed. I love it.

Sidenote: George Hill is our closer. In a game like this, we want to be able to get Tony, Tim, and Manu to the bench for good as soon as possible and trust the rest of the team. George Hill gives me a lot of confidence. In spite of what I wrote above, George Hill is making a case for being in the big 4. He is tenacious on D and can shoot, drive, pass, and get to the line efficiently.

San Antonio Spurs 2010 Season Preview

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:00:34 -0000

The Spurs 2010 season FINALLY starts on Wednesday. I say finally because I have been stoked ever since the trade for Jefferson on June 23rd. I sat and watched us snag DeJuan Blair in the draft. I read about us signing Antonio McDyess. I sat, in an uncomfortable chair I might add, and watched game after game of the Summer League in July as George Hill and Malik Hairston showed how much better they were. Then two months of boring old summer where we signed Marcus Haislip and Theo Ratliff. Lastly, a month of preseason games I couldn't watch. Yet, we made it. All of us together.

The season starts NOW. Holy FSM am I ready for it.

As a Spurs fan, I think we deal with two issues when starting a new season. One, the Spurs organization doesn't seem excited. Do you recall an interview with Pop saying something like "Man, this is going to be a great year! I can't believe the talent on this team. Easily the most talented team we've ever had." No. Me neither.

Two, they will play the regular season without excitement. Not too high. Not too low. How many times over the next 2-3 months do you think we will hear a player or coach say, "We're just trying to get better day-to-day. Each day is a step to the end of the season. We are trying to build on what we learn everyday." 500? At least. You won't hear Tim say, "Man, this team is stacked. We're playing great defense right now and it will only get better. I just can't see how anybody is going to beat us come May." Just business as usual.

News Alert - This Team Is Stacked

Well, I'm here to tell you this team is stacked. Top to bottom, this is a stout team with a great mix of attributes. We have everything we've had in the past and a couple things we have been missing. We have scorers, we have rebounders, we have playmakers, we have 3-point shooters, we have balance, we have depth, we have youth, we have athleticism, we have experience, we have length, and we have Tim.

Me, I have unbounded enthusiasm. I am stoked to the gills. Let me tell you some of the reasons why.

Three

Let's start at the top. We still have the Big 3. You win in the NBA with great players and we have three great players. We have three great players who have been in our system. We have three great players who have won before and still know what it takes to win. We have three great players who are still great. Tim might not be the best he's ever been, but he's not far from it. Manu probably isn't the best he's ever been, but he's not far from it. Tony is still getting better. We have three awesome players who contribute at both ends of the floor.

Four?

Do we have a fourth great? Very possibly. Richard "Rage" Jefferson will fit in wonderfully with this team. He can play off the ball and get shots off the play of others, and he can create shots for himself. He can sit in the corner and bury the open 3, or he can post up his man. He can also take his man off the dribble. He will spend most of his energy on the defensive end bullying the other team's best wing. He'll be a great if he is really good being a bully.

The Quiet Giant

Antonio McDyess is a quiet man and his play will be quiet. His ability to grab tough defensive rebounds, play physical defense, and hit open jumpers will be a huge part of the team's success. I think Antonio is the best big man to play next to Tim since David Robinson retired. He just has a great all-around game that will complement Tim's game wonderfully.

Bomb Brigade

We return three great 3-point shooters, all of whom should flourish with slightly reduced roles. Roger Mason, Michael Finley, and Matt Bonner shot 42.1%, 41.1%, and 44.0% respectively from long range last year. These are fantastic numbers that we want to see replicated. What we don't want to see replicated are 30.4, 28.8, and 23.8. Those were their minutes per game. Due to injuries and a lack of depth in the front court, all three played more minutes than I think is good for the team. I think we had to lean too hard on them. But, they are all back and they should all still be able to shoot.

Cubits, Baby, Cubits

You know I got on the George Hill bandwagon very early during the '08 Summer League debacle. I bought my George Hill jersey just about the time Pop sent him to the bench and declared him not ready for the playoffs. My faith wavered not. I started to really feel good about my decisions at '09 Summer League when George started showing his leadership skills. Now, after a very impressive preseason and effusive praise from Pop, I believe I know what my Halloween costume will be Saturday. Anybody know where I can find some long arms?

Oldies But Newies

The Spurs brought in a couple vets as situational players. Again, these guys are great complements to the team. Theo Ratliff and Keith Bogans were both brought in to play defense. Defense, defense, defense. I don't expect either to play more than about 8 minutes per game, but they should be very effective minutes. Will they score much? No. But if they can harass shooters, bang in the paint, and grab a couple rebounds . . . mission accomplished.

Beast, Man-Child, Freak of Nature

Yep, DeJuan Blair. He of the preseason double-double. He's the great wild card in the season. The greatest point of excitement. The unlimited upside. He can take over a game without ever running a play for him. Will he? On some nights, yes. Other nights, no. Anything he gives us will be a bonus. And I expect him to give us a lot.

Some Things I Will Keep An Eye On

Our defense in the last 3 minutes of games. Who's playing and how effective are we? You know, I know, and my dog knows that Pop will play with lineups during a game. He will play with different defenses. He will see what works. He will see what doesn't work. But, in the last 3 minutes, when it is winning time, he will go with his best. Pop, above all other things, will want to find out who his best defenders are and whether or not they can execute in the crunch. I expect we'll see a lot of Tony, Manu, Rage, Tim, and Antonio at the end of games. Look for George to be a situational substitution for Tony and Manu. Besides who is playing, how they play will be important. Will we play suffocating defense down the stretch of a game? This is the most important question in our season.

Manu's explosiveness. Manu has been the Spurs 4th-quarter master. He's the guy that has found a way to make plays. The 4th quarter is also when he has really looked to be aggressive scoring his own points. He needs his explosiveness to do it. When will he get it back and how much of it will he have? If Manu is able to recapture his 2008 physical form, well, I fear for the league. His explosiveness makes everybody that plays with him much, much better.

The second unit. I completely agree with Stampler. Our bench is the deepest in the league and, unlike the last two years, our second unit will build leads. In fact, as Stampler said, they will blow people out. Last year, everybody after the big 3 was a role player. Somebody that fit in with a particular skill. This year, we have guys that can make plays. Theo can block shots. DeJuan can get offensive rebounds. George can play tenacious defense. Rage can score his own points. This second unit has guys that can run over a team. Oh, and Manu will be leading that nasty second unit. Keep an eye on the second unit. Their ability to open up leads will be a huge benefit. However, their ability to close leads will be even better. How many times last year did it feel like our goose was cooked early in the second quarter? Tim and Tony had started -- Manu was injured -- the other team came out strong and got us down 8 early, then Tim and Tony went to the bench. We were trying to fight our way back into games with Fab, KT, Mason, Ime, and Jacque. This year, it will be George, Manu, FinDog, Blair, and Ratliff (we could also substitute Rage in for FinDog since I think we will rarely see 3 of the Big 4 on the bench). I don't know about you, but that lineup looks pretty damn good. I think it could win some games.

Player Expectations

Tim Duncan. King of the Spurs universe. In some ways, I expect this to be a down year for Tim statistically for anybody keeping an eye from a distance. I expect his points will be lower and you know that is 90% of what people pay attention to. I think his shot attempts and free throw attempts will be down. I think this will largely be because his minutes will be down AND that the team will run very little offense through him. HOWEVER, I think Tim is going to step up as a great garbage man. Expect his offensive rebound numbers to be up. Expect his rebounds per minute to be up. Expect his field goal percentage to go up. I think we will see relatively little of a very efficient Tim Duncan. Yeah, I'm worried about his knee and his mobility. But, we'll never know how he's doing. He'll play. He'll run the court. He won't complain.

Tony Parker. Offensive leader of the team. Tony just gets better every year on the offensive end. His one man fast break is one of the most amazing things in the NBA. The other team's need to game plan for him most likely represents itself in the fact that a relatively poor Spurs rebounding team last year was first in the league in defensive rebounding. Teams have to get back. Look for Tony to maintain his scoring average at 20-21 points per game, but look for his assists to get up in the 8+ range. Tony has better offensive players with him this year, and that will result in more passes to open players who can score.

Manu Ginobili. Leader of the second unit. Manu will be the pseudo-point guard of the second unit. George may bring the ball up the court, but Manu will initiate the plays. Again agreeing with Stampler, look for Manu to have great assist numbers playing with guys who can score on the second unit. Keep an eye on his 3-point shooting. If he gets his average up near 40%, he's going to be a nasty cover for teams.

Richard Jefferson. Defensive stopper. Rage's ability to be the primary wing defender will be critical to the team's overall defensive ability. If he can make the great scorers in the league work hard, then the Spurs will be in great shape. I know he'll fit in offensively. He'll sit in the corner and hit the open 3 when the other guys are doing their thing. He'll spend some time in the post when matchups call for it. And, he will be dangerous in the open floor with Tony and Manu.

Antonio McDyess. Veteran. I expect boring and solid. I expect many games where he doesn't do much but play 16 minutes and grab 4 rebounds. Those won't bother me. It's how he plays against the elite teams in the league that I want to see. Will he give us 10 and 10 against the Lakers? Can he lock up Gasol? Can he harass Dirk? Will he pull Shaq away from the basket? That's what we need from him. Don't judge him by a game against the Kings. Judge him by his ability to make solid plays in big games.

Michael Finley, Matt Bonner, Roger Mason. Shooters. These guys are here to shoot. Period. They will earn court time based on their ability to knock down 3 balls. As I said earlier, these guys can all shoot and I expect all of them to have fewer minutes. If any of them find that they don't have a good stroke this year, expect that person to see extended pine time. Don't get me wrong, they all know the system and be where they need to be. But they have to make shots.

George Hill. Backup point guard. The development of George Hill will be great to watch this season. I think we will see him playing 22 minutes per game. 14-16 as Tony's backup and 6-8 at shooting guard. Two things really impressed me in the game against the Thunder. One, he not only knocked down his corner threes, but he shot them aggressively and with confidence. Two, he attacked the rim and made a Tony-style layup where he extended his arm and flipped it up before the help defender could get over. Last year, he would try to get all the way to the rim and flip the ball up wildly off the side of the rim. He made layups harder than they needed to be. It looks like in one year, his offensive game has developed tremendously. But he's still a better defender. He's in the Bruce Bowen mold. He loves to defend. I think George is going to have a tremendous year. I think he'll end the year as one of the 20 best point guards in the league. I don't even think it will be debatable. Maybe, just this once, Pop isn't snowing us and George really is his favorite player.

DeJuan Blair. Wild card. If he gives us nothing, I think we have a great team. However, he's very capable of giving us 20 and 10 on any night. The best thing about Blair, and what separates him from any other Spur in the last 10 years, is that he can do it without ever having a play run for him. He can do it all without taking anything away from the team. DeJuan has something you don't see in very many hustle rebounders. Great touch. He has fantastic touch around the basket which gives him the ability to score. And score a bunch. DeJuan is a natural scorer. He knows how to use his body. He knows how to use the rim to protect against shot blockers. He has great footwork as well. His ability to put the ball in the bucket is what makes him special. He's not just a rebounder, which he will do plenty of, he's a scorer. And he scores off his rebounds. He's all upside. When you get a chance to watch him, watch his feet and watch how he scores. He's Ginobili-esque in his ability to get shots up in traffic and have them go in. I'm telling you. He's special.

Everybody else. Theo Ratliff, Keith Bogans, Marcus Haislip, Ian Mahinmi, and Malik Hairston. This team is so deep I'm afraid I forgot somebody. I think all these guys can help the team. I don't think any of them are 20 minutes per game guys. The contributions of these guys, along with the development of George and DeJuan, is what will keep our big guns fresh. Their ability to play well is what will get us a one or two seed in the West and home court advantage. They are important, but I think there will be small roles for each of them.

Defense

Back to basics. The team needs to get back to being a tenacious group. Our defense slipped a lot last year. Teams shot really well against us and we didn't cause turnovers and we didn't block shots. We need to get back to making teams uncomfortable. I think we have the personnel to do it. Defense is what the team will work hardest on all year. That's why Jefferson is so important. Look for us to be better in all three areas. Our defensive field goal percentage will be lower, we'll have more steals, and we'll block more shots. In general, I think teams will find us to be much more rugged.

Offense

Easy baskets. Our scoring out of our half court sets will be the same as always with a little less Tim. Tony and Manu will run the pick-and-roll. They'll drive. They'll kick out to 3-point shooters. Wash, rinse, repeat. However, I think we will be on the break more. For three reasons. One, we have more athletic personnel that will flourish in the open court with Tony's speed spearheading the attack. Two, our defense will create some havoc. Turnovers and blocked shots, and even stops, lead to more running opportunities. We wont' be the Suns, but we will get up and down the court some. Three, we will be a better offensive rebounding team. We really can't be worse, but I'd like to see us get to the middle of the pack.

My Outlook

I really think this will be the best team of the Spurs championship era. Pop won't push the older guys during the regular season like he used to. So I don't know if we will win 65 games. We very well might though if our second unit is as good as I think they will be. My schedule analysis said we win 56 games. I think that is worst case. I think we'll win 62-63 games. Best case, this team can win 66-67. Seriously, this is a very good team. This team is significantly better than last year. They are significantly better than every team in the West except the Lakers. This team is significantly better than every team in the East except the Celtics, Cavs, and Magic. This team should blow people out this year. I expect our point differential to be near 10 points per game this year through the end of January. We will be a juggernaut.

If you aren't excited about this season, you might not be a Spurs fan. If you are a Spurs fan, you should be excited about this season. Get ready. Get tickets. Watch games. This is going to be an amazing year. I'm just glad it's getting started. You should be too.

Preseason Game Thread #3: San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat

Tim C. — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 08:00:29 -0000

More photos » by Eric Gay - AP

Manu eez not here today. Now who will I talk about Eva and zee other housewives with? (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Browse more photos »

The Spurs have a game today in Miami and there's some good news and bad news. I'm going to get the bad news out of the way first: Tim Duncan and His Manuness aren't even at the game, and won't play. Don't worry, though... Pop is just being cautious, and wants them to stay in SA to work on their conditioning - it's preseason, after all. The good news? Miami is likely without their two best players, so maybe it's a wash. Preview after the jump.

San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat (Preseason)
Where: American Airlines Arena - Miami, FL
When: October 11, 2009, 5:00 PM Spurs time
Watch: This one might be airing on local TV in Texas, but the rest of us are out of luck.

How They Stack Up


0-0	Home	0-0
0-0	Road	0-0
0.0	Offense	0.0
0.0	Defense	0.0
0	FG%	0
0	3-pt%	0
0	FT%	0
0	Rebounds	0
0	TOs	0
0-0	Last 10	0-0
N/A	Streak	N/A


	PG
	SG
	SF
	PF
	C
	Bench
	Coach
	Intangibles
	Mojo
	Winner

Spurs
(0-0)

Vs

Heat
(0-0)

Matchups

Tony Parker

Mario Chalmers

Tony played in the last game, and we can expect him to be back again tonight, in full dominating form. Chalmers is no spring chicken, but he's also not anywhere close to being on Tony's level. We'll probably see a lot of Chris Quinn and George Hill battles tonight as well, with George winning that matchup pretty easily. Isn't depth a wonderful thing?
Advantage: Spurs

1337 Player

Good Player

Keith Bogans

Dorell Wright

Keith started the last game against Olympiacos, and one would assume Pop will repeat that today. He's very solid on defense, and we'll already have enough offense in the game with Tony, RJ, and Bonner/Ian. However, his defense may not be as neccessary, since Dwyane Wade is sitting this one out(I would assume this has something to do with Manu not being at the game as well). Dorell Wright is just a guess - they might also start Q-Rich in Wade's absence.
Advantage: Tied

Big Head

Err... who?

Richard Jefferson

Michael Beasley

RJ's had some trouble getting involved in the offense the first two games. With Manu out, Pop may have Tony force feed him or call more plays for him. Beasley is still an awesome player, despite the substance use. He's very tall for a SF, and there's no way RJ can post him up. And hey, at least we're not putting Finley up against him.
Advantage: Heat

Princess Peanut

Rehabbed & Ready

Ian Mahinmi

Udonis Haslem

Either Ian or DeJuan Blair should get the start tonight. I'm guessing it will be Ian, since he started our first preseason game. Hopefully we'll get to see Ian's good side tonight, as well as a lot of Blair rebounds/putbacks, since the Miami frontcourt is on the small side. The key difference here is that our guys are faster than theirs. If Ian and DeJuan are at their best, this is one matchup we have in our favor.
Advantage: Spurs

Jekyll... or Hyde?

Decent PF.

Matt Bonner

Joel Anthony

Matty and RJ are the only two players to start both preseason games so far. Joel Anthony might actually be worse than him. Keep in mind that the Heat will probably have Anthony guarding Timmeh, so Matt's likey to match up with Haslem. Our backups will destroy theirs, since Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff are likely to be coming in off the bench again. Who else has players like that on their bench?
Advantage: Spurs

New Hampshire's finest

Plumbing the Depths

George Hill

Bench

Jamaal Magloire

Magloire is the tallest player on Miami's roster, along with Jermaine O'Neal, who probably won't be playing tonight. That's not saying much, but "You can't teach height". George Hill will probably continue looking like he's good enough to be a starter on a lot of teams. In fact, I'm sure the Heat would love to have him. Let's just be glad he's ours.
Advantage: Spurs

OoeyPooey

No Emotion

Gregg Popovich

Coach

Erik Spoelstra

I don't feel the need to explain why Pop is better than Spoelstra, for some reason...
Advantage: Spurs

Nice Brain

Nice Hair

images via yahoo.com

Intangibles: The Spurs are the smartest team in the league, and they're essentially playing against scrubs. Advantage: Spurs

Mojo: A team that made no significant roster moves in the summer against the team that made the best roster change. Advantage: Spurs

Winner: It's preseason.. who cares? But the Spurs would win this in the regular season, so let's just go with that.

Keys To The Game

Avoid a letdown - Just because this should be an easy win doesn't mean the Spurs should treat it as one. But losing a preseason game isn't the end of the world.
Dominate the frontcourt - The biggest mismatches in this game will be in the frontcourt, and the Spurs need to take advantage by relentlessly feeding the ball to the bigs, and letting them bring down the hammer.
Bench Play - Miami has nobody that can match Hill or Blair off the bench, and our bench goes way deeper than just those two guys anyway. Most of these guys are fighting for minutes and/or a spot in the rotation, so they would be wise to make good things happen out there for the Spurs. Malik Hairston could be an X-factor again tonight.

Last Time They Met

The Spurs last played the Heat in Miami on January 5th, winning 91-84. I wonder if there were any interesting things that happened in that game involving players who won't be on the court tonight...

Some Other Reading

Heat

Peninsula is Mightier - Miami's SBN blog, with a lot of good information. Stop by and say hi, and let them know nicely which team is going to win. :)
Hot Hot Hoops - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Heat. The more of the TrueHoop Network I see, the more thankful I am for Tim Varner and Graydon Gordian.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of Tim and Graydon, they're still doing their thing over at 48MoH. This is required reading for any Spurs fan... right after PtR, of course.
Project Spurs: This is a pretty slick fan blog, and they usually have good content about the Spurs.

The (sort of) Daily Twitter

manuginobili I won't be at the game tmrw. Just wanted to let u know. Had to stay in SA working out ... http://bit.ly/aOpcI

DeJuan45 Just woke up still tired getting ready 4 MIA

Some Other Viewing

Other things of possible interest

Addicting Things - This one is ~~not~~ more constructive, Mr. Beasley.
Playboy Covergirls - This is umm, different. But I promise you the link is safe.
Random Nostalgia comes out of nowhere.

Where to Tune In

TV

Spurs.com doesn't list anything, but since this is an away game, it might be on FSN. No blackouts for away games.

Online

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in this thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, but won't be working until the regular season. Bookmark it now, especially if you don't have the video league pass.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM). Yahoo might have an audio link at gametime, and we'll post that here if it becomes available.

Poll

Who will be the Spurs' biggest contributor tonight?

Tony Parker

14 votes

Richard Jefferson

15 votes

Antonio McDyess

0 votes

DeJuan Blair

103 votes

George Hill

29 votes

Ian Mahinmi

6 votes

Someone else (use comments section)

2 votes

169 votes | Poll has closed

San Antonio Spurs Season Preview

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 18:08:26 -0000

I know what you are thinking. Why today, ATS? Why today for a team preview when the preseason has just started? Well, today is my day. As part of blogger preview organized by Jeff at CelticsBlog, I've got the Spurs on Saturday, October 10th. So let's get down to it.

With the Spurs offseason acquisitions putting them well into luxury tax land for the first time, there is only one sufficient outcome to this season. Winning it all. Will they do it? Let's take a look.

Front court

The front court is where the Spurs have the most significant changes. I'm considering small forwards to be part of the back court. This may sound strange to non-Spurs people, but the Spurs use their 2's and 3's interchangeably. Roger Mason, Manu Ginobili, and Michael Finley are just as likely to be on the court as a shooting guard as they are as a small forward.

The Spurs have seven players on the roster for the two front court positions. Of those seven players, two played in a game for the Spurs last season: Tim Duncan and Matt Bonner. The Spurs added Antonio McDyess, Theo Ratliff, and Marcus Haislip in free agency. They picked up DeJuan Blair in the draft. Ian Mahinmi missed the season with an injury and has played about 23 total minutes in his NBA career. Those five guys will be replacing the contributions of Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. With so many people around, minutes are going to be hard to come by. I expect Tim's minutes to be down, but not by much. Expect stiff competition for playing time in the Spurs front court this year. AND, a really big and, that stiff competition presupposes that Popovich doesn't play small ball with either Finley or Jefferson at the 4.

Backcourt

Richard Jefferson is the big new name. Bruce Bowen is now in retirement. Ime Udoka and Jacque Vaughn were not resigned. The Spurs just recently signed Keith Bogans. With the holdovers from last year and the signing of Malik Hairston this summer, the Spurs back court now consists of: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson George Hill, Roger Mason, Michael Finley, Keith Bogans, Marcus Williams, and Malik Hairston. Yes, that is 16 players on the roster. Williams and Hairston are both on unguaranteed contracts and one of them won't be on the team. Still, that's a lot of depth. How deep?

Well, George Hill IS the backup point guard. He and Tony will get all the point guard minutes this year. Manu and Jefferson will get the bulk of the minutes (I'm calling over half "the bulk") at the 2 and the 3. That leaves about 40 minutes per game for Finley, Bogans, and Mason with the winner of the Williams/Hairston battle getting nothing.

Offense

The end of the Bruce Bowen era and the addition of Richard Jefferson gives the Spurs a completely different look on offense. We no longer have a player the opposition can ignore on defense. That's not quite true. Teams couldn't ignore Bruce because he could bury that corner three. However, they could hide their worst defensive player very easily. You just had to be warm to be able to guard Bruce. Gone are the days where Steve Nash would spend his game covering Bruce. Now, he gets Richard Jefferson? I don't think so. The offensive balance and ability to attack mismatches will be something new for Spurs fans. We might see some different looks this year and a reduced role for Tim.

In his media day interview, Manu flat-out said Tony Parker is the offensive leader of the team. I don't think this year's Spurs will be running nearly as much offense through Tim in the low blocks. We had been moving away from Tim in the last few years, but I expect him to be much less of a focus this year. I think Tim will be getting the ball a lot more on the move and in the high post than as a set play down in the blocks.

The last couple years the Spurs have lived and died by their 3-point shooting. When they were on, they were hard to beat. When they were off, they couldn't win. Michael Finley, Roger Mason, Bruce Bowen, and Matt Bonner are all spot shooters. We routinely had at least two of them on the court at one time. Add in a Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto, who doesn't really shoot at all, and the Spurs played large chunks of games with three guys on the court who specialized in standing still and shooting.

This year, I think the Spurs will be able to be more consistent scoring the ball and less reliant on 3-point shooting. I'd like to think the additions of Jefferson and McDyess as guys who can put the ball in the hole will keep teams from forcing the ball out of the hands of our stars and putting it in the hands of one dimensional shooters.

Oh, and having Manu back healthy will be a huge lift on the offensive end. His ability to drive and create for his teammates IS what he brings to the team. This team will be good offensively. In fact, I think they will be one of the most efficient offensive teams in the league.

Defense

Defensively is where I have the biggest question mark for the team. Last year was a huge step back in team defense for the Spurs. Perenially one of the best defensive teams in the league, the Spurs in '09 were nothing but ordinary. Will the addition of Jefferson and a longer, stronger, defensive focused front court players turn that around? I'm not sure. I hope so, but this is the one thing the team will have to prove on the floor this year.

The additions of McDyess and Ratliff give the Spurs some extra rebounding and shot blocking ability. Shot blocking, or even shot challenging, was something we didn't get last year out of Thomas, Oberto, and Bonner. The addition of Jefferson adds some size and athleticism on the wing.

Last year, the Spurs didn't make teams uncomfortable. They played smart, position defense. If a team could hit the jumper, we were content to let them take it. Hopefully, this year, we can start making teams uncomfortable again.

Athleticism, Length, and Energy

Where I hope we see the biggest improvement in the team is in the intangibles. The new roster changes infuse the team with desperately needed athleticism, length, and energy. The additions of Jefferson, Ratliff, McDyess, and Blair; and the emergence of George Hill, should help the Spurs with all the smaller things we didn't do well last year. A team that scraps for offensive rebounds. A team that tips rebounds. A team that challenges shots in the paint. A team that collects loose balls. A team that creates turnovers. A team that gets some easy baskets. A team that can win a game against a good team without playing a perfect game.

The Spurs will be good this year. They will be very good this year. But, they will need to be great. Will we see greatness? That is the question to be answered and I really like our chances.

PtR Preseason QuickCap: Olympiacos is Not an NBA Team

Tim C. — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 03:46:02 -0000

That weaksauce? Get it outta here.

OK, let's make this live up to the whole "quick" thing. All I have to go by is a box score, and several PtR members were at this game, so one or more of them should be able to drop a full recap on us.

Tonight the Spurs squared off against Olympiacos B.C., and beat them in convincing fashion(did you expect anything less?), 107-89. One look at the box score will tell you a few things:

The Leaders

George Hill is awesome. Cubits had 17 points, 3 board, 2 assists and shot 5-8 from the field in his 22 minutes of play. Rock on, Cubits, rock on.
Josh Childress is still a really good player. If he ever decides to come back to the states, the Spurs would be wise to provide a home for him.

The Rest

Tim Duncan(10 points, 5 boards, 3 assists) and Tony Parker(12 points, 3 assists) had a better +/- score than anyone else who played in this game. Big surprise, I know.
Manu Ginobili was pretty lackluster, but still chipped in a team-high 5 assists. It's OK Manu, you're still the Manuest, or something like that.
The Spurs got 5 blocked shots tonight: 2 from Timmeh, 2 from Malik Hairston(who was quietly effective again), and 1 from Theo Ratliff.
Richard Jefferson was again not very involved in the offense(going by the boxscore), but managed to get 2 steals on the defensive end to go with his 4 points on 2-2 shooting.
Roger Mason shot 4-5, including 2-3 from long range, for 10 points. It's good to see Roger back in midseason form.
Ian Mahinmi had a redemption game of sorts, coming away with 7 points, 2 rebounds and zero fouls, even though the game was already decided by then.
DeJuan Blair must have switched brains with Ian, as he had 4 fouls to go with the 9 points(mostly on FT's), 2 boards, and 2 steals he picked up.
Every player on the Spurs camp roster played tonight, and all but Marcus Williams and Dwayne Jones scored.
On the Olympiacos side, Von Wafer and Sofoklis Schortsanitis(leading scorer for the Greeks tonight) scored in double figures, though Schortsanitis got in foul trouble.
Linas Kleiza sucked. I wonder if this is because Keith Bogans started and SHUT. HIM. DOWN. Somebody who was at the game might be able to elaborate on this a bit more.
Ioannis Bourousis, of rumored-to-be-offered-a-deal-with-the-Spurs fame, had a less than stellar outing, but still managed to get 7 points, 4 board, and stole the ball from Manu at least once.

Ok, I lied about only going by the boxscore - there's also some video highlights. And photos.

I have no idea why there are no second half highlights as of this writing, which sucks.

all images below via yahoo

Oh man, I hope I don't get me the Bourousis from this.

Hey Josh, will you be my backup next year? OK, fine, I'll back YOU up instead... just come to SA.

Didn't I just beat you last month?

So, the Spurs won a game they were supposed to win, got good performances from most of the guys we're concerned about, and nobody got hurt. Seems like a good outing to me. Next up, the Spurs play in Miami on Sunday night.

Roster Reality For The 2009-2010 Spurs: The New 4 (or 5)

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:52:24 -0000

The first pre-season game is tomorrow night. I'm excited to see all the new guys. I think it is time for me to start realistically setting my expectations. The more I can get those expectations in line with those of the organization, the less surprised I will be.

The summer roster changes created a lot of excitement. The Jefferson trade, the draft, and the free agent signings. I think all the excitement leads to some unreal expectations. This became clear to me at the media day last Monday. I shouldn't have been surprised. We'd already seen the first glimpse of our reality smack-in-the-face when Jack McClinton was released. But still, there is nothing like some facts to really open the eyes.

The Spurs have the Big 4now. We all know this. We know that Jefferson is a very strong 4th wheel. The eye-opening thing for me was the New 4. I went into media day thinking about all the new faces and all the young faces. What I wasn't prepared for was the concept of the New 4. The Spurs presented it to me as "the New 4" in describing the day's activities. Manu, in his interview, references the New 4 and then throws in a "five with Bogans".

The New 4 are:

Conspicuously missing, to me anyway, was 48MoH feature of the day Marcus Haislip. The players the team considered to be of media interest were Tony, Tim, Manu, Jefferson, McDyess, Ratliff, Blair, and the very newly signed Bogans. Not the returning contributors. Not Mason, not Finley, not Hill, not Bonner. Not the returning fringe guys. Not Mahinmi, not Hairston, not Williams. And not Marcus Haislip.

I'm reading between the lines here some, but this just tells me that the organization's expectations of Haislip are not high. They don't consider him to be a "big" signing and that they aren't expecting him to be a large part of the rotation. In much the same way, I don't think they are expecting much from Ian, Malik, or the other Marcus.

For the record, I started writing this post on Saturday. I'm not responding to the 48MoH choosing to post their interview with him today as way to dismiss the article . Tim and I get along just fine. His interview with Haislip is very good. You guys should read it. I love me the guys at the end of bench as much as anybody.

Open Scrimmage and Rookie Ticket Holder Event

BlaseE — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 05:29:39 -0000

Today was the open practice and scrimmage at the AT&T center. It was also host to some additional events. I was there for a rookie season ticket holder event. When Holt went all in, I felt like I should as well. I'm a diehard sports and Spurs fan, and I'm lucky enough to work in the city where I was born and my favorite pro team plays. The seats might fit my budget better in the future, but I'd regret it forever if I missed seeing Duncan, Manu, Parker, and this championship calibur team our FO has assembled play.

This post is about my experiences today and some random observations/recap about the game.

Note: My camera is relatively new and I haven't used it much. We took 150 pictures today, but most of them are incredibly bad quality. I figure it is better to show you bad quality pics than no pics at all though.

We arrived at 12:00 for a photo opportunity with the 4 championship trophies. They basically had them on a fold out table and you got to stand behind them. They printed a 5x7 for you right there.

My company for the day and owner's of one of the 4 seats in my group. I don't know if they want me posting their faces all over PTR so they have been mosaic'ed. It was their wedding anniversary too.

At 12:15, they provided us with Pizza Hut pizza and drinks as we awaited a mysterious FO speaker. Out comes R.C. Some highlights that I can remember from his speech:

- The Spurs organization thought that if Manu was healthy in 2008, we were a top contender competing for a chip.
- The fate of our team this season is all on the health of Tony, Tim, and Manu.
- Bonner has had an awesome week in camp and he hopes it will continue to the regular season. He then knocked on wood which drew a pretty good laugh.
- He said RJ was a player they have wanted since playing against him in 2003. They always thought he was an organizational/chemistry fit.
- Tony will see a reduced role in the scrimmage because he played with the French National team. It seemed like he played a ton to me though.
- He made everyone over 20 raise their hands. Then, he asked everyone under 20 to raise their hands. He then said, "look at those people and that is Blair." They don't know what to expect from him this year since he is young. He also brought up that he was raised a stone's throw (my words) from Pitt and it is a big deal for him to be moving so far to Texas.

Terrible quality. The room was really dark too.

He then opened it up to questions and took about six. In general, the questions were very hardcore. I expected some fluff, but the questions were all really good. I know I'm forgetting some, but here are the few I remember.

-I asked him if RJ was consulted before Bogans was picked up since they had played together last season. He said he was sure Pop had asked him a question or two.
-Someone asked him to comment on Blair's health. He said he has never had any problem with his non-ACL'd knees. He expects him to have a shortened career, but at 20 years old, they aren't really concerned with that now.
-Someone asked when we would hear about Manu's extension and he gave the typical wait and see answer. He commented that Manu was obviously important though.

Next, they introduced us to our ticket service representatives and held a raffle. I didn't win, but prizes included:

-Ball autographed by last year's roster
-George Hill autographed 5x7 unframed
-Finley augtographed 5x7 unframed
-Championship trophy replica
-Spurs merch gift bag...no idea what was inside

They then told us we had reserved sections to sit for the game and to fill the sections. We sat right at half court and probably 10 rows or so up. It was amazing. So Pop came out and said the players would go through drills for 15 minutes and then scrimmage. He told the crowd to feel free to have fun and make as much noise as we felt like. The Spurs did some running drills and then some offensive set drills moving the basketball. They finished with some defensive drills where they would trap the guy with the ball and force him to another man off the dribble. It was neat to see.

Someone posted that they thought Finley looked cut from the training camp videos. I've never seen any of these players this close before so I don't really have any comparison, but most of the players looked really cut. Theo Ratliff was very reminiscent of Kevin Willis to me. His arms were super muscular. I think he is using his own stash of Youngevity. George Hill is the leanest guard I've ever seen. I'd be shocked if you told me he even had a body fat percentage. Marcus Williams is really lanky. He is as tall as the forwards but his arms are probably the skinniest on the whole roster. From one of my pictures, he looks like he has an inch or two on Blair. Bogans, Blair, Hill, Haislip, Ratliff, and Dice all have crazy wingspans. Bogans wingspan was really impressive to me because I'm not that familiar with him so it was kind of unexpected.

Then, the scrimmage. It was Spurs in black versus Guests in white.

Your Spurs roster was Parker, Mason, Finley, Bonner, Ratliff, Mahinmi, Malik, Dice, and Jerrells

Your Guests roster was Duncan, Manu, Hill, RJ, Williams, Blair, Dwayne Jones, Haislip, and Bogans

Spurs won 76-74. I was rooting for Guests. That seems right for a score the Spurs would finish with if they played themselves and dictated the pace on both ends. I'm a terrible judge of basketball talent, and I completely understand ATS's feeling to do microscopes at summer league now. When you want to learn something from a game, it is incredibly hard to pick up things amid the fray. You really have to focus on a player. I lack this focus. Luckily, for me (and in turn, you), the Spurs streamed the game and fellow PTR'ers posted some key plays and their general feelings. See here. Anyways, here are some key plays and some of my general feelings from the game.

-Jerrells will be a useful asset to the Toros. That isn't a slight either. I was really impressed with his ability to finish.
-On the offensive end, Marcus Williams really impressed me. I really liked seeing him run the offense and I hope he is our 15th man. I didn't really care before today.
-Manu ran the point a lot while on the court with Hill. I told my friend I liked it, and he said it seemed very "natural." That is the best way to describe it. They were really effective together.
-RJ seemed to miss everything. It was annoying. He looked good on defense though.
-Malik Hairston had a really awesome dunk.
-Ratliff had a really good block on Duncan, and they called a foul. I didn't see a foul.
-Duncan passed to a ref who dodged it as it flew out of bounds. The crowd cheered as if to reassure Duncan it was okay. It was a funny moment.
-Manu got a open drive in transition and dunked it. The crowd went absolutely crazy. The ankle looked good.
-Parker looked more or less like Parker. He drove and finished in the paint when it looked over. There was one play where Hill blocked him and Parker got the block and put it back up. He is just so fast.
-We didn't give up a lot in transition with either roster.
-Blair looked really good. He had two really nice post moves that made my jaw drop. On one of them, he drove under the basket on the baseline. I mean as far behind the basket as you can be. He then used his strength to muscle his way directly under the basket and then used his wingspan to put the ball around a defender and up to the hoop. He needs to learn when to give up on the offensive board and get back on D though.
-Bonner looked good. He had an and 1 on a three point make. He also had two good drives and finishes in the paint.
-Duncan missed a Duncan-shot. It was disappointing.
-Bogans and Hairston both looked good on D.
-I didn't notice Haislip much. He had a 2 minute stretch where he took every shot for his team and then I don't remember much of anything.
-George Hill looked comfortable calling plays. His shot looks really good, and yes, he made a beyond half court shot at the end of the half.

RJ getting Duncan to participate. The picture is taken off of the Jumbotron because we were looking at RJ's back. You can see us in that red box.

Finally, they did a three point contest hosted by RJ. Mason was set to go last but the crowd got Duncan to go. Duncan won. Finley should have won it easily, but every shot was in and then came out. Bonner took the mic to thank everyone for coming and to say it was going to be a great season, but the crowd got really wild for Manu to shoot 3's. I don't know if the Spurs understood though. Duncan went over to Bonner and took the mic from him and gave it to Manu. Manu asked what he was supposed to say. Some people in the crowd yelled for him to shoot, but he just said he would say what Bonner said in Spanish. Bonner would say a short sentence, Manu would say it in Spanish, and everyone would cheer like crazy. On the way out, we received a Manu bobble head per season ticket holder group. That was my day. Below is a picture for anyone who hasn't been to the AT&T Center of the rafters we should be talking about a lot this season.

The Rafters

Additional note: George Gervin sat front row and talked with Pop for awhile during the game. Assistant coaches coached the two teams and Pop just kind of wandered around.

Spoiler Alert: San Antonio Spurs Preview

djturtleface — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 03:26:44 -0000

GET BACK IN THE GRAVE!

I hate the Spurs. Hate. Hate. Hate. I wish they were done forever, I wish Tim Duncan would either start acting out, Pop's genius would just drive him to insanity already, or Tony Parker and Manu would just head back to their respective countries.

But they don't die. They seem to go stronger every year. Guess who had both the most lopsided trade and caught the biggest steal on draft day. Don't guess, actually. You already know that it was the damn Spurs. The Spurs are like the Yankees but the exact opposite--they thrive on ingenuity, not capital. And I hate them for it.

Preview

I even hate talking about the Spurs, because I want to say bad things, but they always come out good:

The Spurs picked up DeJuan Blair very late in the draft because of his knee problems. That means they may only get four or five years of extremely solid production out of a second round draft pick.
The Spurs traded for Richard Jefferson. He's overpaid; though definitely still a solid player. Also he's not good enough to be a first option--the Spurs already have three better options.
The Spurs are still going to be boring as grass this year, but less boring with the electrifying Manu Ginobilli at full health.
The Spurs bench...actually, it's really difficult to even start to hate on the Spurs bench.
Tim Duncan is old. FINALLY SOMETHING.

Not surprisingly the only criticism of the Spurs that sticks is also going to be their main concern this season. The Spurs are undoubtedly title contenders with a healthy Duncan. But a healthy Duncan could be difficult to provide with this roster. McDyess will likely share the floor with Duncan often, which means everybody's favorite power forward of all time will again be playing center this season. And while Duncan has backup at his traditional position, Matt Bonner and Theo Ratliff aren't exactly names that inspire confidence.

Aside from that what is there to say? This Spurs team is largely a known commodity. No other team will bring as much chemistry and experience to the table, though, on the inverse, no other team is as easy to game plan against. Not that predictability has hurt this team in the past, but we know now better than ever just what to expect from these guys, and that's success.

Fantasy Preview

Breakout: Nobody- There, I said it. Nobody. This team doesn't have a single fantasy player I'm chewing at the bit to get in the draft. Tony Parker is well undervalued in his ESPN ranking, but he'll go higher in your drafts and will still perform worse than last season, which I have a hard time counting as a breakout.

Bust: Tim Duncan- Duncan will play short minutes this season, probably won't suit up 70 times, and I think it's not long till the guy who was formerly a well of blocks dries up. Someone will take him in the second round; don't make the same mistake.

Useful: Tony Parker, Manu Ginobilli, Richard Jefferson: All three of these guys are far from elite at their position, but all three will provide some scoring punch in the late rounds. Parker has value at his ESPN rank of 56, but I think that's actually a bit high to take him. He can't be much better than last season, and he was only 44th on the player rater then. Manu is too great of an injury risk for me, and Richard Jefferson is fine as a later round safety pick if you gambled early in the draft. Also consider "handcuffing" RJ and Manu, because I suspect the two will often alternate big nights, and if Manu is hurt Jefferson will be the first to see his stats climb.

Predictions

My Prediction: 51-31 (ESPN: 54-28)- As much as I hate the Spurs, and that might be why I'm a little under ESPN, it's impossible to give them any less than 50 wins this season. Could it happen? Of course, but not without a lot of things going horribly wrong. This is an excellent team that, like Boston, I'm ranking a little low in the regular season due to age and injury risk, but is going to be as dangerous as the Cavs and Lakers in the playoffs.

Brock's Take: 52-30-

The 'Big 3' has quietly turned into the 'Big 4' in San Antonio, because, last time I checked, Richard Jefferson was still a very good player--just stuck in Milwaukee. This team has a lot of miles on them, namely Tim Duncan, and the injuries of the 'Big 3' are a concern, but the arrival of Jefferson will spread the workload out a little bit. Not to mention that Antonio "Old Man Winter" McDyess will fill a big need at power forward.

Those who say the Spurs gave up too much depth in order to complete the Big 4 are wrong. Look at what we're working with here: Roger Mason Jr. was huge last season, Matt Bonner (who I know my boy djturtleface has love for [ed. note: it's love in the same way one loves a horrendous kung-fu film]) and Theo Ratliff provide decent depth of bigs, and I fully expect youngsters George Hill and Dejuan Blair to make a huge impact.

Yes this team is old, but they're tricky old. The Spurs will bore you to death, and by the time you realize what happened, you're down 15.

Pounding the Rock is a great Spurs blog. Not that I ever visit, but you might.

Poll

How many games will the Spurs win this season?

Over 51 wins.

106 votes

Under 51 wins.

5 votes

111 votes | Poll has closed

Around the Association: 2009-2010 San Antonio Spurs: An Apple A Day...

Fantasy Junkie — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 20:00:17 -0000

After a disappointing postseason which ended with a first round exit at the hands of the Dallas Mavericks, the Spurs knew they needed to reload. The Spurs did just that by bringing in Richard Jefferson and are ready to take aim at the mighty Lakers. In the Western Conference, only two teams are considered title contenders, the heavily-favored Lakers and the Spurs. Nobody else is seriously in that conversation. But the Spurs title hopes are a precarious one and require things to go just right. An apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Offseason Additions
VIA FREE AGENCY
Keith Bogans (from Milwaukee)
Theo Ratliff (from Philadelphia)
Marcus Haislip (from Spain)
Malik Hairston (from NBDL)
Antonio McDyess (from Detroit)

VIA DRAFT
DeJuan Blair (No. 37)
Jack McClinton (No. 51)
Nando De Colo (No. 53)

VIA TRADE
Richard Jefferson (from Milwaukee)

Offseason Subtractions
VIA TRADE
Bruce Bowen (to Milwaukee, then retired)
Kurt Thomas (to Milwaukee)
Fabricio Oberto (to Detroit)

Why the Spurs traded for RJ

There's no doubt in my mind that the Spurs upgraded their roster.

They traded some spare parts (Kurt Thomas, Fabricio Oberto, and Bruce Bowen) for a bona-fide scorer, Richard Jefferson. That single move launches the Spurs from pretender to contender. He'll take a lot of the load off of Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili to score and he'll also make it easier for them to score with his ability to draw defenders away from any double teams on those guys.

And those spare parts they traded, the Spurs replaced them with shinier and better functioning spare parts.
They signed Antonio McDyess to be their starting power forward. Doesn't it seem like McDyess has been around for 20 years? The guy keeps finding a home and "brings his lunch pail to work everyday".

They also signed Theo Ratliff to help out down low. I'd say he gets under 10 minutes per game, but every minute that Duncan doesn't have to play in the regular season allows his body to be that much more rested for the postseason.

They drafted DeJuan Blair who should be able to step in right away and give Tim Duncan a quick breather every now and then. He's got the girth to take up space in the lane, grab boards, and maybe get some easy, garbage buckets.

All in all, these moves reshaped the supporting big man cast around Duncan. He's got some better players down low to help him out and give him a breather. It's all about keeping those minutes down for Timmy.

But all those moves still may not be enough to take down the Lakers.

Which brings me to the big concern I have about the Spurs. They're one injury away from not being a title contender. We saw that with the Manu injury last year. He played just 44 games, missed the postseason, and they got bounced in the first round in just 5 games. The trade for RJ will help if any injuries happen, but that just puts them on par with where they were at last year. The problem with that is the top Western teams have all got better than they were last year, so staying on par is not going to help their title chances.

If the Spurs can stay healthy and Tim Duncan's production doesn't slip (too much), then they'll be in the Western Conference finals facing the Lakers. If things do not go perfectly for this team though, they might find themselves in another early postseason exit.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Keep eating them apples.

For more on the San Antonio Spurs check out Pounding the Rock:

Poll

Will any of the Spurs stars miss the postseason?

Tim Duncan

43 votes

Manu Ginobili

147 votes

Richard Jefferson

18 votes

Tony Parker

14 votes

None

125 votes

347 votes | Poll has closed

SB Nation - Theo Ratliff

Game 9 Preview: Oklahoma City at San Antonio

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

The San Antonio Spurs

Spurs vs Kings: Stat(s) of the Game: 4, 10 and 87.5

Stat #1: 4

Stat #2: 10

Stat #3: 87.5%

San Antonio Spurs 2010 Season Preview

News Alert - This Team Is Stacked

Three

Four?

The Quiet Giant

Bomb Brigade

Cubits, Baby, Cubits

Oldies But Newies

Beast, Man-Child, Freak of Nature

Some Things I Will Keep An Eye On

Player Expectations

Defense

Offense

My Outlook

Preseason Game Thread #3: San Antonio Spurs @ Miami Heat

Vs

Keys To The Game

Last Time They Met

Some Other Reading

Heat

Spurs

The (sort of) Daily Twitter

Some Other Viewing

Other things of possible interest

Where to Tune In

TV

Online

Radio

Who will be the Spurs' biggest contributor tonight?

Tony Parker

Richard Jefferson

Antonio McDyess

DeJuan Blair

George Hill

Ian Mahinmi

Someone else (use comments section)

San Antonio Spurs Season Preview

Front court

Backcourt

Offense

Defense

Athleticism, Length, and Energy

PtR Preseason QuickCap: Olympiacos is Not an NBA Team

The Leaders

The Rest

Roster Reality For The 2009-2010 Spurs: The New 4 (or 5)

Open Scrimmage and Rookie Ticket Holder Event

Spoiler Alert: San Antonio Spurs Preview

How many games will the Spurs win this season?

Over 51 wins.

Under 51 wins.

Around the Association: 2009-2010 San Antonio Spurs: An Apple A Day...

2009-2010 Around the Association

Will any of the Spurs stars miss the postseason?

Tim Duncan

Manu Ginobili

Richard Jefferson

Tony Parker

None