SB Nation - DeJuan Blair

Recap: Spurs 103, Warriors 91- Oh the humanity

jae — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 08:21:37 -0000

Monta Ellis frames Spurs' center Tim Duncan's head for a photo shoot while Bad Vlad Radmanovic trys to help keep the ball out of the way. Thanks Vlad! (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

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Originally posted Dec 17, 2009 12:21 AM PST

Spurs vs Warriors coverage | Spurs vs Warriors boxscore | Spurs vs Warriors recap

Preview/ Game Thread: I Love GSoM + Dysfunction Junction (1050+ comments)

Warriors Web Links: Nellie's back, Moore's out

I had not heard that Mikki Moore was injured until well after the game, so it came as something of a surprise that he was not in the starting lineup. He wasn't at the shoot-around either. Was this it? Had a big deal gone down where he and the rest of the expiring contracts had been packaged for something resembling the foundation of a basketball team? Sadly, no.

Moore's absence simply meant that someone else would have to pick up the slack of being on the court for a quarter and a half without accomplishing a thing. And try as they might, the rest of the team found out that such was no easy task. That level of inconspicuous nothing takes more than most of this rag-tag crew had in them.

Vladimir Radmanovic, who pretended to be a big man for much of the game, tried, but in his time on the court, Vlad simply missed too many shots. To accomplish nothing one must find quieter means of futility. Miss one or two and you can be forgotten, but fire up miss after miss like he did and you're likely to stand out.

Stephen Curry's noble attempt also failed to capture the essence of Moore, as (and I'm operating off of memory since I've yet to check a box score) his 458 fouls (plus or minus a few) attract too much attention.

And while eyes are still on Anthony Randolph, he's unlikely to fill out as many empty, unnoticed minutes. He should still try to take most of his shots no more than an arm's length from the rim. With even fewer big men to compete for playing time with, Randolph appeared to settle for jumpers above the key. If he took a shot in the paint, it was while I was distracted by the guys behind me making up stories about golf. ("So, you know Mike is a real good golfer I'd heard, but he hasn't been playing in years. Still he went out and shot a... [pause to make up a number that's not so low as to be unbelievable, but not so high as to possibly not sound impressive enough] ...a 73 [nailed it!] on a course in Phoenix on our last business trip there. Apparently, Mike played at Dook [where they have their own course, and it's real hard to make the team there. The only way to make the team is to shoot 7 under par or better for 3 rounds in 3 days, while also dragging a Volkswagen around the course using only your teeth or some other ridiculous rite of passage suggesting that in most years they'd never actually field a full squad]. So you know he's gotta have a whole lot of talent!") Anthony does have a real nice stroke from the right elbow though. He's deadly there. Unfortunately, from the *left* elbow and more or less anywhere else on the court, he may as well just hand the ball over to the opposition. It's not going in and we're not getting a rebound.

No, if there was a Warrior Wonder as in "I wonder where he was because I didn't seem to notice him at all tonight" it goes to Anthony Morrow. I didn't remember him doing anything in the second half, and wondered why, when we could have used the shooters to try to stay in the game, he wasn't playing more. That was until my friend in the seat next to me pointed out that he was actually in the game, and had been for much of the second half.

It's tough to really call this a team right now. It's more of an entourage where all the members just happen to be Turtle. Monta certainly shined above the rest. The ball seemed to find his hands in the right place and he seemed to be moving just that much faster and that much more smoothly than anyone nearby him (which was good when that guy is a Spur, but not so good when that guy is a Warrior). All critique of his ball-hogged ways that have been too frequent of late, tonight, *just watching him play*, it's clear that he can do quite a bit of good on the court and remains one reason to watch. He may not be an "all-star" and as a centerpiece of a winning team, he may always be lacking in some important regard, but he's also capable of dazzling grace on the court. We can lose games without him, but we'd miss out on some true on-court poetry in the process.

The Spurs made it interesting. They aren't particularly exciting and the Warriors led at halftime, but they just played with a quiet confidence where you knew that inevitably, they'd be around when the third quarter collapse hit. It did. They were. Even knowing that you are watching a certain future Hall of Famer in Duncan, his hand heavy with championship rings really doesn't spice up the methodical Spurs. If there's a player who actually caught my attention, it was DeJuan Blair. If he's "undersized" he sure doesn't look it in terms of his presence on the court. Maybe his head is a few inches below that of a "legitimate NBA bigman" but his presence is no shorter. When there's a shot off the rim to pull down, he looks like he's about 8 feet tall. And sure, his knees are held together with duct-tape and zip-ties and looking at him you get the impression that he's bound to be corpulent sooner or later, at which point he may no longer be fit for NBA duty. But until then, he's there where he needs to be, looking huge and doing what needs to be done.

Other observation: there are a whole lot of fans in jerseys of players who now play elsewhere around the association. Particularly cute was the couple sporting the (his) Jackson and (her) Richardson models walking hand in hand out of the arena after the game. Unlike about 60% of the attendees, they stayed 'til the bitter end.

Game Preview #23: San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors

CapHill — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 07:09:12 -0000

Thank you, Suns. Why don't you stomp on it too.

Well, that was fun. I hate losing, especially when you manage to crawl out of the abyss, but then fail to close out on the best 3-point shooters in the League!

More doom and gloom after the jump.

Please, FSM, I can't take much more.

I thought that I would have some time to distance myself and do a real preview, but no, this is a SEGABABA. Crap. It's Game #23 and, according to Lauri, it's okay if I start panicking. Time to redo that poll, dfjmed. (My "Now" vote isn't looking so crazy, is it?)

San Antonio Spurs @ Golden State Warriors
Where: ORACLE Arena - Oakland, CA
When: December 16, 2009, 9:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSNSW

How They Stack Up


10-4	Home	4-5
2-6	Road	3-12
101.8	Offense	107.0
96.6	Defense	111.7
48.0	FG%	47.1
39.2	3-pt%	36.9
73.8	FT%	78.2
42.0	Rebounds	37.0
14.2	TOs	16.3
7-3	Last 10	2-8
Lost 1	Streak	Lost 3
2nd, Southwest	Position	5th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	12:30 AM
West Coast	7:30 PM
Philippines	11:30 AM
Central Europe	4:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	5:30 AM
East Coast	10:30 PM
Last Night's Massacre	8:30 PM
Perth, AUS	11:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	12:30 PM
Sydney, AUS	1:30 AM

Spurs (12-10)	Matchups	Warriors (7-17)
Tony Parker Meh	Point Guard Tony still seems to be having trouble integrating to the new offense. Plus, he seems a step slower. However, he actually is a point guard, unlike Curry, who's a shooting guard (emphasis on shooting) in a supermodel's body. Advantage: Spurs	Stephen Curry Not a Point Guard

Keith Bogans Meh	Shooting Guard Bogans is another one of those players whose contributions don't always show up in the box score. However, his non-boxscore contributions haven't been showing up lately either. Ellis isn't really big enough to play the 2, having a supermodel frame just like Curry. However, dude can shoot the damn ball. Advantage: Warriors	Monta Ellis Not a Point Guard

Richard Jefferson Meh	Small Forward RJ is still not showing up during some games. Morrow is a young kid who hasn't been starting the whole year. I could probably figure out who has the advantage by looking at advanced statistics, but I don't feel like it. Advantage: Neither	Anthony Morrow Summer League Stud

Tim Duncan Spurs' Savior	Power Forward I don't know why we even bother with rating this position. Timmeh is far superior to any Power Forward out there - don't even try arguing. Hollinger's PER compooper can't comprehend the greatness that is Tim Duncan, even though he's old and can't play anymore. Take that, you freakin' "experts". Advantage: Spurs	Vladimir Radmanovic Laker Cast Off

Antonio McDyess Meh	Center McDyess has been down lately. We need to see the boards and the pretty jumper come back. Mikki Moore has the height to play the center position, but not much else. With the way Dice has played the last few games, no one deserves the advantage here. Advantage: Neither	Mikki Moore Token Big Man

DeJuan Blair BAM	Bench & Role Players Corey Maggette seems to be the first player off the bench, but the Dubs also have Anthony Randolph, the other Summer League Stud. However, we have DeBeast, who will promptly dive on the floor to recover the flailing arms that he has ripped out of the sockets of the Warriors' front court. I love this guy! Oh, and we have Manu Ginobili and George Hill too. They're not bad. Advantage: Spurs	Corey Maggette Who Knows

Gregg Popovich No Beard for Mojo	Coach Even though we don't always agree with Pop and his crazy small ball lineups, at least we don't have to deal with Nelson and his game-by-game, throw the dice decision-making process when filling out the lineup card. Advantage: Spurs	Don Nelson Mr. Crazy Lineups
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
Intangibles
We really, really, really, really, really need a road win, especially against a team that's this bad at home. Advantage: Spurs
Mojo
We have none, after the Suns killed us. But then, the Dubs just lost to the Sixers. It's a tie for crappy karma. Apparently, both teams suck at sacrificing chickens. Advantage: Neither
Winner: The Spurs (I Hope)
The Spurs need another victory after that heartbreaking loss to the Suns. The Warriors want to trade all of their players. It should be a blowout, but it'll probably be too close for comfort. Prediction: Spurs win by less than 10.

Keys To The Game

Starters Show Up - Other than Timmeh, our starters have been wildly inconsistent this year. We can't continue to depend on Duncan to carry the team in the first quarter, or depend on BAM to pull our butts out of the fire.
No Crappy Quarters - Each game, the Spurs have one really bad quarter, or two, or three. It's hard to win when you start the game in a 20 point hole. No more RQCs (thank you, romes).
Defense - Defense is supposed to be a hallmark of the Spurs - not this year. Too many open 3s, too many easy jaunts down the lane - this is NOT acceptable and needs to be cleaned up.

Strength of Schedule

This is a SEGABABA on the road, after another crappy road loss, TO THE SUNS. This does not bode well for the team or our livers.

The Warriors are coming off of a road loss to the Sixers. However, they will be playing on one day of rest, at home. But the Dubs are less than .500 at home, so who knows.

Last Time They Met

Our last meeting with the Warriors was November 25th. We won 118-104, but not because of our defense on Ellis. Monta went off for 42 points, but no other Warrior did much. We had six players score double digits.

Here's some old school Bernard King and the Warriors vs. Iceman and the Spurs.

And now for my second favorite playoff upset of all times.

Some Other Reading

Warriors

Golden State of Mind - The Warriors' SBN blog is one of the most enjoyable blogs around. You gotta give it to Warriors fans, no matter how hard Nelly tries to destroy this franchise, the fans just keep coming and coming at you in waves.
Warriors World - The TrueHoop blog for the Dubs. Their tagline says it all: "We Got Suck and Salary Protection." Perfect.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Best damn TrueHoop affiliate out there. Always a must visit Spurs site.
Project Spurs: Features live chats, call-in shows and podcasts, with lots of content. Give 'em a try.

Twitter Musings

Nothing worth sharing (unless you count some more LOLs by Blair), but you can always find all the official Spurs Sports & Entertainment Twitter accounts here: http://twitter.com/spurs/official/members

Where to Tune In

TV

This game will be aired on FSN Southwest. If you have cable or satellite, you'll have to look up your individual channel. And of course, there's always League Pass for the haves. For the have nots, read on.

Online

As always, NBA League Pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Most Spurs games will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game 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.

NBA League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Game Preview: Suns vs Spurs

PanamaSun — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 18:01:26 -0000

More photos » by David Zalubowski - AP

Alvin Gentry will go against one of the best coaches in the league and a colleague he's known for 30 plus years.

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The Phoenix Suns will play hosts of the San Antonio Spurs tonight as they seek to remain perfect at home. Playing the Spurs is always fun and painful at the same time. Whenever I see their uniforms I can't help but to remember all the times they have broken my heart.

I've been bitter for days because of them. I've punched the wall, yelled at my friends, fought with my significant other, fought with my Mother In Law for fighting with my significant other, screwed up reports at work, I've forgotten important appointments and I've even kicked my dog... and I love my dog.

Interesting enough, I don't have any bad feelings towards them. I've tried to hate them, I've tried to channel my anger and convince myself that they are the bad guys. Nothing. All I feel is respect and admiration. They are disciplined and deadly accurate when running plays on both ends of the floor and all you can do is just shake your head and wish your team would execute in crunch time just like they do.

But this year the Spurs are struggling. They have been playing better as of late but their season has not started the way everyone predicted. Their off season moves looked very good on paper but they have had a hard time adjusting to Pop's system.

I wanted to ask a few questions to the enemy so I contacted Austechspur, fellow blogger from our brother SBN Blog Pounding the Rock, and he was kind enough to answer my inquiries.

His responses after the jump!

P-Sun: The Spurs are 12-9 as of today. You guys are used to a slow start and then picking it up in the middle of the season. Do you feel confident it will happen this year or do you have reasons to be concerned?

AustechSpur: I feel that we have a very good team and that we will get better, but I would be lying if I didn't say I was a little concerned as well. We all thought we would be better at the start of the season and then turn into a juggernaut, which is what you have to be in order to have a chance to win it this year. We have a rather pedestrian 12-9 record with a pretty easy schedule. I think we will pick it up during the season, but we have LOT of picking up to do to get to the top.

P-Sun: It's early in the season but do you feel the off seasonn moves (Richard Jefferson, Antonio McDyess, Keith Bogans) have improved your team?

AustechSpur: It's really hard to say. We are different this year and we are different in two ways. We are different in that we have new faces for a change. It's been several years since we have had to new players in the top of the rotation. We are different in that the team is a little more athletic with less defined roles. I'm not really sure how the three new guys fit into the offense and I'm not sure they know how they fit into the offense. Athletically, we should be much better than the last few years. But, until that translates into guys knowing where they need to be and shutting down opponents and making shots, I'm reserving judgment.

P-Sun: DeJuan Blair is playing really well for you guys. How important is this kid to the Spurs franchise and what are the areas you feel he needs to improve?

AustechSpur: DeJuan Blair is an absolute beast. He brought tremendous skills with him and he's getting better very quickly. He's learning to use his giant body on defense. I have no doubt that he will be a very good player. If he can learn to hit the mid-range jumper, he will be a border line all-star in the league for the next 10 years. If you watch one thing with him, check out his feel for the game around the rim. He has TREMENDOUS touch.

P-Sun: Have you had the chance to watch the Suns play this season? What are your thoughts about our team?

AustechSpur: No, I haven't seen them at all.

P-Sun: It seems that no one can stop Steve Nash this season. Now that Bruce Bowen is no longer a Spur, what do you think Pop will do to try to slow him down? Who's the "stopper" on the team now?

AustechSpur: Do you remember this joke? Q: Who is the only person that could keep Michael Jordan under 20 points per game? A: Dean Smith. Replace Jordan with Nash and Smith with Porter. Steve Nash is just fantastic in space. It's his game. We don't' really have a replacement for Bowen who is the one-stop shop for all defense from Steve Nash to Dirk Nowitzki. I expect Steve will see a whole lot of George Hill. George has the perfect attributes to deal with Steve. He's quick enough to stay with him and he has ridiculously long arms to harass passes. That's all you can do with Steve anyway.

P-Sun: What is it about the Spurs system that it takes so long for new players to learn it?

AustechSpur: I'll refer you to this article by DK Wilson for FoxSports.com http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/10471634/Spurs-not-yet-jelled,-but-could-still-turn-into-force and this quote from Antonio McDyess "Everything here is so exact; every play there's so much detail." Apparently, the Spurs are VERY particular about every little detail and where you should be. I think this causes players to think instead of play for a while. I get the sense that Pop rarely says, "Just go out and play your game."

Let's take a look at the key match-ups for tonight's game

Guards

Everyone that plays the Suns try to do different things to slow Nash down. They try guarding him with a small but pesky player, they try switching to a big man, they try double teaming him. Nothing works. Truth is that Steve Nash is playing amazing basketball and I don't even remember if he has had a bad game all season. Pop is smart and he might try different things to keep Nash under control. Like Austechspur said, we might see a George Hill on him. He might bother Steve with his quickness and length. Good luck George, you are going to need it.

On the other hand we have Tony Parker. In the last two games he has had assists in the double digits but has also been a turnover prone. The Suns need to keep him under control and limit his baskets in the paint. We can afford him scoring but the Suns can't let him get his teammates involved. Depending on how he's playing, I expect to see different defenders on him.

Manu Ginobili is still dangerous. He has had very good games this season and when he plays up to his talent the Spurs are almost unbeatable. He has been slowed down by injuries and this has taken a toll on his defense. Once a feared and hated defender, Ginobili has noticeably lost a step. The Suns should take advantage of this and drive to the hole on him.

Forwards

Amar'e has been playing really well. He continues to be very efficient from the field but everyone has noticed that he's not as explosive as he once was. That's what recovering from an eye surgery will do to you. I expect him to continue making those jump shots to keep the Spurs defense guessing. This is a big game for him.

Timmy Duncan has been playing out of his mind. Just like with Nash, everyone doubted he would have an excellent season. He's knees are holding up quite well but that doesn't mean that Spurs fans don't cringe whenever he goes down on the hardwood. Channing Frye will get a chance to defend him and if he get's in foul trouble Robin Lopez will have his hands full with him.

Richard Jefferson is averaging 13.7 point per game. He has struggled offensively and I expect Hill to be on his grill. We need to keep him under control. We already have our hands full with Duncan and Parker.

Predictions

The fact that the Suns are at home, where they have played really well, gives them an advantage over a Spurs team who's still working on their on-court chemistry. The Suns are always fired up to play against them and they'll come out firing. They just need to be consistent throughout 48 minutes of basketball and not throw away any early leads. I feel confident that the Suns will win this one.

Game Links:

Spurs vs Suns coverage
Spurs vs Suns preview
azcentral.com blogs - Coro's Suns dish - PaulCoro - The Imperial March
The magic number is 100 for most teams. For Phoenix, it's fittingly higher at 104. When the Suns score less than that this season, they are 2-8. When they score at least that, they are 14-0.
Will Hill and Billups Receive Hall Passes? -- NBA FanHouse
Hill looked to have a sure-fire Hall pass when he came out of Duke in 1994 and starred for six seasons for Detroit. But Hill, after signing with Orlando in 2000, had numerous ankle problems that nearly wrecked his career. Between 2000-04, he played in just 47 of 264 possible games.
Game Preview #22: San Antonio Spurs @ Phoenix Suns - Pounding The Rock
Preview for Spurs-Suns, complete with Nash-photoshopping link.

[Note by Phoenix Stan, 12/15/09 3:31 PM MST ]

Video's via Suns.com from today

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at San Antonio Spurs

David Arnott — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:23 -0000

Pump Up Music: Sponge -- "Plowed"

The Big Picture: What happened to the San Antonio Spurs? If the season ended today, they'd be a half game out of the playoffs. Part of it is probably injury. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have both missed time already, and Manu, especially, just hasn't been himself, his field goal percentage falling through the floor. But even that doesn't explain the Spurs' shakiness, seeing as Tim Duncan is as steady as ever.

It's probably the defense. They don't have a perimeter stopper, and that has a cascade effect on everyone else. Sure, Richard Jefferson is far from embarrassing on D. Same goes for Roger Mason, Jr. and Keith Bogans. But the formula kind of breaks down without that perimeter defender. Yes, Duncan is still an anchor in the paint, but when the opponent's go-to guy -- usually a wing player that Duncan can't guard one on one -- doesn't have to deal with Bruce Bowen harassing him all night (in ways both legal and gray area), it magnifies the others' defensive weaknesses, and suddenly Matt Bonner's ability to stretch the D on the offensive end of the floor doesn't seem like such a great advantage when he has to help more on slashers. It's not too late to correct this. Someone like Rasual Butler might be a great acquisition for them down the line.

Key to Victory: Tyson Chandler has to stay in the game. If he can avoid foul trouble and make life difficult for Timmy, the Spurs will have a really difficult time scoring on the Bobcats' defense. Secondarily, here's hoping Boris Diaw can punish San Antonio for playing either Matt Bonner or DeJuan Blair (a.k.a. Thabeet Killer) with his inside-outside game.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Larry Brown lasted 3 1/2 years as Spurs coach in the late 80s and early 90s. He was replaced by Bob Bass, apparently on an interim basis, for the rest of the 1991-92 season. But then, to start the 1992-93 season, somehow Jerry Tarkanian(!) lasted only twenty games before getting canned.

Spurs vs Kings: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:52:55 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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Ever since they lost Kevin Martin, they've really been a team. I was impressed with the Kings' effort last night. They are a scrappy bunch. We could learn a thing or two from them. Oh yeah, Casspi was meant to be a Spur. I'm praying it still happens someday. Come inside for a couple stats....

Here is your song. It's the Beatles' Good Night off the White Album for anyone stuck behind a firewall who is curious what the song was.

1. Manu had an outstanding game.

Exhibit A: 20 points...in 26 minutes!!! Most of them were pretty timely too.

Exhibit B: 8 FTA's on 11 FGA's and he made all 8 of them

Exhibit C: 3 assists and 2 steals to 1 turnover

Exhibit D: Tell me you saw that fake out and then the dunk he had in fourth. If that didn't get you up out of your seat (computer chair, couch, or AT&T center fold out), then you are crazy and/or stupid and/or lame.

I think that is like 8 fingers around the rim. Pretty nice.

2. We got our turnovers down to 13 this game from those disgusting atrocities we'd been forced to witness. At the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th, there a particularly terrible stretch though. To go all ATS on you, Bonner turned it over to Evans on a bad pass with 1:38 left in the 4th. That lead to Tony fouling Evans. We missed our next two shots, Bonner and Manu. Tony Parker has the ball stolen with 4 seconds left in the 3rd and Evans gets another layup. Manu misses to start us off in the 4th.

RJ comes through with some points finally and makes his 3. Manu misses another shot. Dejuan Blair gets loose ball foul. Richard Jefferson gets called for an illegal defense. Bonner misses another shot with 9:53 left in the 4th. The lead was still 8 at this point because the Kings failed to capitalize on our poor shooting and execution over this period.

Finally after all of that Hill and Mason come in and score 7 points over the next minute to get our lead up to 13. We then let them back into it again with a missed Mason 3, George Hill turnover, and then a Blair defensive 3 seconds. Just like that, we are up by only 6 with 6:33 to play. The Spurs failed twice to end this game early and send the Kings packing.

3. The Kings had 62 points in the paint to our 48. They left 7 points on the charity stripe (7 of 15 FT's). They played an aggressive game and if they had made a few of their free throws and had one or two less turnovers themselves, then they could have really made this game interesting. I mean they were within 3 with 4:00 minutes to play. Yes, Manu and Parker took it over and Duncan had an EPIC BLOCK, but the Kings really showed something to me.

I like their chemistry with this group. I think they should trade Kevin Martin and try to get another big man to move Hawes to the bench. Kevin Martin had 1 assist, 29 points and a +/- of -28 the first time we played them. Hawes was the only other player to score over 7 points. He had 22 off the bench. I'm not saying they are a playoff team yet, but they sure are way better than last year's travesty.

Preview: Kings at Spurs

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:23 -0000

by Darren Abate - AP

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THE OPPONENT

The Spurs are far better than .500, despite the record. I could try to explain what's gone wrong, but Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell can do it from a tighter perspective, much more eloquently.

[T]hrough 18 games, those horses have come up lame. Rather than getting a lift from the supporting cast, Tim Duncan is playing with MVP-efficiency and barely keeping the Spurs at a half-respectable .500. If the Spurs recover from their start of sputter and stall, Tim Duncan ought to be placed at the center of the MVP conversation. He’s threatening a career season, at least in terms of efficiency. And it’s all lost on a 9-9 start.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that no one else is playing well. Matt Bonner is a having a career year; DeJuan Blair is occasionally sensational. Tony Parker is not dominating, but playing competent basketball. I get all that, and I could further qualify. It’s just that the supporting cast taken as a whole is providing more drag than momentum-gathering boost. Tim Duncan is all dragster, and the team is mostly parachute.

Richard Jefferson has certainly been disappointing, and Manu Ginobili has seemingly been on-and-off, hot-and-cold. For the Kings' sake, given that our defense isn't bright and the Spurs' defense continues to be, let's hope Jefferson disappoints and Ginobili is more cold than warm.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tim Duncan	16	32.3	7.6	13.8	55.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	4.0	5.2	77.1	3.1	7.7	10.8	3.4	2.0	0.5	2.1	1.9	19.1
Tony Parker	14	30.4	6.4	12.8	50.3	0.1	0.4	20.0	4.7	5.9	79.5	0.1	2.6	2.7	5.6	3.3	0.7	0.3	2.1	17.6
Richard Jefferson	18	33.2	4.4	10.1	43.4	0.9	2.8	33.3	3.1	4.6	68.3	0.7	3.6	4.3	2.7	1.6	0.8	0.3	2.1	12.8
Manu Ginobili	13	22.8	3.5	9.6	36.8	1.6	4.4	36.8	4.0	4.8	83.9	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.6	2.0	1.2	0.5	1.9	12.7
George Hill	18	25.3	3.7	9.0	40.7	0.9	2.3	38.1	2.4	3.1	78.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	2.1	0.9	1.0	0.4	3.4	10.7
Matt Bonner	18	21.5	3.3	6.7	49.2	2.0	4.4	45.6	0.7	0.9	81.3	1.6	3.7	5.2	1.4	0.7	0.2	0.2	2.3	9.3
DeJuan Blair	18	14.9	2.8	4.7	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.2	45.5	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.7	1.1	0.2	0.7	2.5	6.2
Antonio McDyess	17	20.9	2.5	5.2	47.7	0.0	0.1	0.0	1.1	1.5	69.2	1.8	3.8	5.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	6.0
Roger Mason Jr.	17	18.4	2.3	6.0	38.2	0.9	3.1	30.8	0.4	0.5	77.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	2.2	1.1	0.3	0.2	1.5	5.9
Michael Finley	17	18.2	2.1	4.6	44.3	0.7	1.7	41.4	0.4	0.5	66.7	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	5.2
Keith Bogans	17	17.5	1.4	3.5	40.0	0.5	2.1	25.0	0.6	0.8	76.9	0.2	2.4	2.5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.1	1.9	3.9
Marcus Haislip	1	3.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Theo Ratliff	9	8.8	0.7	1.4	46.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.4	1.6
Malik Hairston	9	3.8	0.3	0.6	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7

THE KEY BATTLE

Tony Parker vs. Tyreke Evans. Reke struggled to defend the pick-and-roll against the Spurs last time around, with Parker slicing to the rim at will. Now granted, Parker does this against most teams. But if the Kings want to compete, Parker can't own the driving lines. He's going to have to work.

On the other end, it's a two-fold challenge in attacking San Antonio's defense: win the favorable size mismatches (particularly Evans-Parker) and overachieve in the problem spots (Andres Nocioni against the tough-inside, anti-three team defense, Jason Thompson vs Tim Duncan). Evans is the biggest key here, both in terms of punishing Parker without getting denied by Duncan and friends, and in terms of setting up Thompson, Spencer Hawes and others with easy attempts.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

Let's play Inane Arguments, hosted by Grant Napear! His tirades against

a) Paul Westphal for protesting the shot clock violation when the Kings inbounded with 1 second on the clock, and

b) Jason Thompson for protesting his fifth foul, which came when he pulled Darius Songaila's jersey on defense

were inane. Everyone, including Westphal, who, you know, has been around the league a while, knows that there could be less than a second left. Westphal was indicating he thought the New Orleans scorekeeper jobbed the Kings by starting the shot clock just a touch before the ball was touched. This is a pretty classic home court advantage type move. If you read Westphal's lips, he says "Nice timekeeper!" or something like that. He is indicating that he believes the shot clock was started early. Not that the Kings deserve a full second because the clock read 1. You idiot.

Regarding Thompson, Napear kept on about how obvious a foul it was, and how Thompson should have shut up about it and play smarter defense. Of course, Thompson was protesting the fact that he was assaulted repeatedly at the other end, with nary a whistle to help him out. You can see him motion to the refs that he had been beaten about the head by the Hornets defense, and how he deserved to get some calls if the refs insisted on calling Nancy garbarge like the jersey yank. Thompson wasn't saying, "I didn't pull his jersey!" He was saying, "They are beating me about the head and whatnot, how bout a whistle, chum?"

And missing those things isn't terrible. It's the attitude that he, Grant, is the smartest person in the world that grates.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Matt Bonner takes more three-pointers than Spencer Hawes.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Spurs by ... never mind. I am not a jinx.

DETAILS

The tip-off, again, is at 5 o'clock. Game thread then, with the second game thread at 6 and the post-game thread at 7:45. Recap someday.

Spurs vs Kings Preview

Tim C. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:57:32 -0000

I'm not going to beat around the bush. We really need a win. We also need a game in which we play for 48 minutes. A solid 48 minutes of good, well-executed, hustling basketball. We need to make the Kings uncomfortable and we need to pummel them. Seriously pummel them into the court.

So tune in and grab your sword. We are storming the castle. It's Bastille Day.

You knew it was coming.

Sacramento Kings @ San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: December 9, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: NBA TV

How They Stack Up


8-4	Home	8-3
1-5	Road	1-8
100.0	Offense	104.3
97.1	Defense	105.0
46.6	FG%	47.1
36.1	3-pt%	38.9
74.5	FT%	73.8
42.4	Rebounds	42.9
14.2	TOs	16.1
5-5	Last 10	4-6
Lost 3	Streak	Lost 3
3rd, Southwest	Position	4th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	9:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
CapHill's Chaisse	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 pM

Spurs (9-9)	Matchups	Kings (9-11)
Tony Parker Wee Frenchman	Point Guard Tony in a landslide. No, not really. Tyreke is getting better and better and he is big and physical. He could end up abusing us the way Russell Westbrook did. Scary thought there. Advantage: Spurs	Tyreke Evans Big Bad Boy

Manu Ginobili The Sickness	Shooting Guard Donte got the start last night against the Hornets. We'll see a lot of Beno as well here. Either way, I'm going with the Gino. Advantage: Spurs	Donte Greene Not George Hill

Richard Jefferson Shoots Too Little	Small Forward Close. But, I have to go with RJ even if he isn't playing well. Advantage: Spurs	Andres Nocioni Shoots Too Much

Tim Duncan Skilled Vet	Power Forward Tim is still named named Tim. In case you didn't know. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Thompson Semi-skilled Soph

Antonio McDyess Roll Tide	Center Maybe, just maybe, SAM will break out of whatever has him locked up. Advantage: Spurs	Spencer Hawes U of W

Georege Hill Long	Bench & Role Players Kenny Thomas and Ime Udoka are getting a lot of minutes off their bench. Advantage: Spurs	Beno Udrih Gone

Gregg Popovich Mad Pissed	Coach Pop better be mad. I expect an all business from him for 48 minutes. Advantage: Spurs	Paul Westphal Mad Crazy
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles The Kings are scrappy and have been playing pretty well since Kevin Martin went down. The Spurs have not been scrappy. Intangibles favore scrappy. Advantage: Kings
	Mojo We appear to be mojo-less. Advantage: Kings
	Winner We better be one hell of a motivated team. If we don't come out and play the best game of the season, I'll be disappointed. Advantage: Spurs

Keys To The Game

Intensity - We better be right, and by right I mean sharp, from the opening tip.
Jump the Gun Early - Leftover from last game against the Kings, but we need to crush them early. They lost a tough game in New Orleans last night. Step. On. Their. Throat.
Bench - Our bench is way, way better than theirs. We need them to show it and give Tim some rest.

Last Time They Met

Was the third game of the season and we whipped them 113-94. We need to do the same again.
Oh yeah, it was also the night Manu swatted the bat.

Some Other Reading

Kings

Sactown Royalty - The Kings SBN blog. They also have members who actively comment during games. Go visit them and drop a friendly line or two, olf-style

Cowbell Kingdom - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Sacramento. I hate the sound of cowbells, but these guys do a great job covering the ~~Maloofs~~ Kings.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, we're extremely lucky that the best one is dedicated to the Spurs. Tim and Graydon are really good.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Spurs fans are lucky to have so many good blogs out there.

Where to Tune In

(Note: The League Pass free preview is available until Nov. 3 for both broadband and television.)

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

As always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. This one should also be on ESPN 360, if your ISP provides access to it.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Spurs vs Sixers: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:00:29 -0000

There was something very weird about this game. I think ATS was pretty close about the game feeling in control even when it got close. I was excited for the big plays, but I wasn't super excited for the gritty stuff like usual. I think I've come up with a few culprits:

* A Sunday game

* During football season

* Against the Sixers (AI2, Dalembert, and who? I've heard of Holiday but, yeah...sorry Ivey, but I didn't even know you were on the roster until I looked at the boxscore. Shame on me.)

* Where the main event is actually post game.

Another list after the jump....

I don't listen to much Green Day anymore, but this is a great one for me.

STATS OF THE GAME

* We "live and die" by the 3 so anytime we shoot over 50% behind the arc is worth noting, 55.6% to be exact. So without Mason; Bonner, Finley, Manu, and RJ combine for 9 of 13 for 69.2%. Where were the other 5 attempts? K-Boges was 1 of 5....In his defense, I think most of them were fair attempts. You can't make them all.

* The Spurs have been doing a good job of making opposing leaders into being poor leaders. Jennings looked not so great against us. The Wizards, a veteran team, looked completely leaderless. Ariza chucked away to get his points. Iguodala 21 points and is an awesome athlete, but please don't tell him that. He was 1 of 6 from 3. If I was the Sixers coach, the first thing I would do is sit him down and say, "you are an average 3 point shooter at best, but you can rock the paint and get to line at will so if you don't drive the ball, I will bench you!" Once again, an opponents best player finishes the game with the worst +/- on the team. AI Jr. was -15.

* Dejuan Blair had a disgusting line (11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks).....in 16 minutes of play! A note from watching the Spurs this season: Manu likes passing to Blair more than anyone else. Watch for it. Manu forced at least 3 crazy passes in this game alone at Blair. The first I remember was a turnover because Blair wasn't ready. The second was a turnover because Manu's pass went too crazy for any human or Beast. The third was an easy score. I'm not sure if Manu and him just have a a connection, Manu wants to see Blair dominate the opponent, or Manu trusts Blair's wingspan and low body center to the person guarding him to prevail, but watch when they are on the court together. As the season goes along, expect Manu to Blair, points for Blair, assist for Manu to be a very common and efficient sight.

* Duncan and Parker were monsters of efficiency. For the sake of this being a triumvirate of power, I'll include Manu who wasn't half bad either in his limited role and coming off an injury. So your Cerberus of All the is Holy has a combined stat line of 84 minutes, 46 points on 17 of 30 shooting and 11 of 11 from the line, 15 assists, 9 rebounds (in spite of Blair's night and then Bonner, Finley, and Bogans combining for another 16 rebounds), 2 steals, and 5 blocks. What turnovers? I don't see that column.....

Finally, here is the man of the night!!! Thank God every Spursday or those ones in between that we can claim this guy to our franchise so I leave you with this last stat of the night: +1 Spurs with their retired jersey saying "Hall of Fame".

Mavericks Vs Spurs: Game 12 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:12:31 -0000

Spurs vs Mavericks preview Spurs vs Mavericks coverage Pounding The Rock

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Kidd called the recent road trip "a character test" and claimed that the Mavericks "Passed". Well tonight begins the next test for Kidd and the Mavs. The last time in San Antonio Kidd was given the luxury of not having to defend Parker, but Parker is healthy again and Kidd better be ready.

vs.

Tony Parker: Tony made his return to the Spurs line up against Oklahoma City this past Saturday night, after being out with a sprained ankle. Parker looked good in his return with 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. Since then the Spurs have been sitting waiting on tonight's match up.

Edge: Spurs (a fresh Parker against Kidd after a long road trip, this is not how I wanted the home stand to start)

Shooting Guard

Rodrigue Beaubois: Roddy B had a stellar road trip, and continues to open eyes around the NBA. Roddy could have really helped the Mavs in there last meeting against the Spurs, but someone decided not to play him, uh hmm...

vs.

Keith Bogans: The last time Bogans faced the Mavs he saw a lot of JJ Barea, and Bogans had a field day on both ends of the court. He only played 17 minutes in OKC but would be prepared to see quite a bit of him tonight.

Edge: Mavericks

Forward

Shawn Marion: Shawn is listed as day to day after suffering a sprained ankle in the first quarter of the game in Milwaukee on Monday night. I think he will play but I am not sure how effective he will be. We will likely see quite a bit of Kris Humphries and the Q

vs.

Richard Jefferson: Richard alone beat the Mavericks in the last meeting, but Jefferson was non existent in OKC on Saturday night. Apparently the Spurs and Jefferson are having a hard time getting on the same page when he is in the line up with Duncan and Parker. Jefferson played 35 minutes scoring 4 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists. The Spurs will more than likely try to get Jefferson going quickly against an ailing Shawn Marion.

Edge: Spurs

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: He's just "Dirktastic"

vs.

Tim Duncan: Duncan is stil
l a walking double double but his game has diminished, then factor in the soreness he is still feeling from the bad ankle and you got the makings of a big night from Dirk.

Edge: Mavericks

Center

Drew Gooden: I never saw this coming, but Gooden has played really well as of late and he will be needed tonight. In his last game against the Bucks Drew went off for 22 points and 14 rebounds. Another performance tonight any where near his last would go a long way in bringing a victory to the home team.

vs.

DeJuan Blair: Who knows how long he can hold up physically, but so far he has been excellent for the Spurs. The Spurs continue to limit his minutes to around 18 but he makes the most of his minutes (7 ppg, 7 rpg) I would highly suggest for Gooden to wear a little extra padding tonight.

Edge: Even

Injuries/Suspensions

San Antonio:

OUT - None

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Josh Howard

Prediction: This should be another great Spurs, Mavs match up. So sit back and enjoy it. Mavericks win a nail biter. Go Mavs!

Mavericks: 94

Spurs: 91

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!

View full size photo »

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