SB Nation User Blog: Big50

48 MoH: Spurs might be broken

Big50 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 19:36:32 -0000

48 MoH: Spurs might be broken

Timothy Varner reacts to John Hollinger's article on the Spurs and talks about what it might take for this team to get better.

Where art thou Tony Parker?

Big50 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 15:18:52 -0000

I have been noticing that Tony Parker, while he hasn't be awful, he's not the same as last year. Last year TP was carrying this team on the offense. Why is Tony less effective this year? Is it possible that he's trying to recover from the long summer of international ball? That might be part of it, but I think there's more that troubles Frenchie McWonderbutt.

"I am so tired after playing for French" (Read with French accent)

I have a theory. I think Tony isn't as motivated as he was last year. Last year, with Manu Ginobili out for large chunks of time, Tony took it on himself to score and pick up the slack. During the off-season the Spurs go pick up a scorer at small forward and a big man that can help score and then Manu comes back. From Tony's perspective he doesn't have to score as much because this team is better.

Of course it could be something similar to what I think is happening to Richard Jefferson, which is he's unsure of his role on this team. Parker may be worried about taking other guys shots away. I tend to think it's a little bit of all three things. Tony hasn't seemed as motivated to score, he seems unsure of himself on the floor at points during games and he also looks a little tired.

This team needs Tony Parker to be a big time scorer. As much as the Spurs need RJ to not suck, Parker is much more important. They need Tony to be strong and active in order to help this team score and put pressure on teams transition defense. I'd love to see Tim Duncan continue his form and I'd like to see Manu get back to playing his game consistantly, but I think this team needs a 100% healthy and confident Parker in order to move up towards the top of the Western Conference.

This is the Tony Parker we need

Let's hope that whatever it is, Tony Parker gets back to his form from last year and helps this team climb the ladder towards the ultimate goal. Come on Frenchie McWonderbutt!

Rankings...I know they don't matter, but...

Big50 — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 19:44:26 -0000

I just took a gander at ESPN's NBA Power Rankings. I know they are totally made up just to get the knuckleheads that comment over at ESPN.com to rack up the hits. That being said I was wondering, where would I rank the Spurs at this point in the season? Tim C. did a bang up job of giving the Spurs a first semester grade here and I think he was on for the most part.

ESPN has the Spurs ranked 11th overall in the NBA. Teams like Utah, Denver and Houston are ranked ahead of them. I don't think that I really have a problem with the Spurs ranking at 11th. I think that 1/4 of the way through the season that this team is fine. Could they be playing better? For sure, but I'd much rather be ranked 11th and have a 12-9 record now then be dinged up and exhausted later in the year.

This is what they play for in San Antonio, not for ESPN's approval

So, knowing what you know and being biased Spurs fans, where would you rank this squad at this point in the year? I think 10-12 is fair and I think it's fine to be there. As I have mentioned before, things will look better soon. Not only because the team will gel, but the schedule is a little lighter and will make winning a bit easier. Winning, even against bad teams, builds confidence and when this team is confident...look out ESPN, you might be heading to SA for a few days in the late spring.

Fist pumping the Spurs to victory

Poll

Where do the Spurs rank in your mind at this point in the season?

Is God a Manu fan? This picture would suggest that He is.

Big50 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 15:44:17 -0000

Is God a Manu fan? This picture would suggest that He is.

Why?

Big50 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 19:13:55 -0000

After the Spurs went on a 5 game winning streak and all was right with the world, they have since dropped 2 games in a row and have not looked particularly good in doing so. This leads me to wonder, "What is going on with all this crappy play and very un-Spurs like basketball?" Having had the weekend to wonder and think about it I've come up with a theory or two.

How are the Spurs losing with fans like these?

When these Spurs were winning five games in a row, they were playing regularly. 5 games in eight days and 5 wins. Then the Spurs are off for 5 days and come out extremely sloppy in the next two games. The Celtics and the Nuggets took advantage of turnovers and poor offense.

Theory 1

This Spurs team needs to gel. Therefore when they play games regularly they will mesh more and be more effective. When having almost a week off there will be more rust than with teams that have been together for many years. Look for the Spurs to play well despite a couple of SEGABABAs in the month of December.

December	Opponent	Time	Local TV	Nat TV	Radio
Mon 07	@ Utah	8:00pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 09	vs Sacramento	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Fri 11	vs Charlotte	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sun 13	@ LA Clippers	8:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Tue 15	@ Phoenix	8:00pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 16	@ Golden State	9:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sat 19	vs Indiana	7:30pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Mon 21	vs LA Clippers	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Wed 23	vs Portland	7:30pm	My35 HD		WOAI-AM 1200
Sat 26	@ Milwaukee	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sun 27	@ New York	5:00pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Tue 29	vs Minnesota	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Thu 31	vs Miami	6:00pm			WOAI-AM 1200

Who comes up with these schedules?!

Theory 2

Pop is trying to figure out who to start, who to play and who to finish. The Boston game was crazy. The bench played more than the starters and Manu didn't play late in the 4th. Once this team gets a good rotation down it will help with the continuity of the team. Knowing your roll makes it easier for you to accomplish what you set out to do, like win. Look for this team to improve when Pop gets a rotation set.

Maybe it's time for the beard to make a comeback...

The Answer

All in all I like where the team is headed. The defense is getting better, the rebounding is improving and if they can get the recent free-throw and turnover woes in check this team will look a lot better. Don't forget, this team was 12-12 at this time last year, with similar injuries and much more team chemistry to rely on.

Two years ago the Spurs started off hot only to struggle later in the year. This team is more athletic and younger, but mostly they are just new. This team has a great foundation and just needs to square away a few things. I look forward to a nice December and an even better 2nd half of the season. It's early and way to soon to lose faith.

Sometimes we just need a hug...or a slap on the butt

Unofficial Spurs/Mavs Recap

Big50 — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:22:36 -0000

That was a tough game to lose. There are some really good signs from last nights game, but one thing that is really not good is the loss of Manu Ginobili. I haven't heard if he's going to be out for an extended period or if everything was just precautionary last night. Let's just hope that game last night didn't cost us more than a loss.

On to the game....

The defense was pretty good last night. You have to give credit to Dirk Nowitzki, he put up 41 points on some of the hardest shots anybody could make him take. Matt Bonner and Antonio McDyess shared most of the duty guarding the large German. McDyess seemed to handle Dirk the best. 48 MoH has a table of how it Nowitzki did against Bonner and SAM. Bonner only gave up one more shot and deed seem to make Dirk work hard for his shots.

They worked hard, but came up just short

Over all our defense was strong, George Hill lead the charge on the perimeter defense. His foul trouble hurt us late in the 3rd quarter. Richard Jefferson, Keith Bogans and a rare Malik Hairston sighting really gave the Mavs trouble on the outside. Our interior defense is really suspect when Timmeh is not on the floor. In fact, it's sometimes suspect when TD is on the floor. Drew Gooden gave us worlds of problems as did the quick guards the Mavs where throwing at us. I would have liked to see a little more DeJuan Blair coming in to guard Gooden.

The little cockroach gave the Spurs trouble

Offensively, the Spurs seemed out of sorts most of the game. RJ is still not comfortable when playing with Duncan. He seems like he doesn't want to upset anyone by being aggressive. This was the kind of game we needed RJ to come out and dominate. Late in the game he was working hard, but couldn't seem to get it going offensively. Cubits ran the offense pretty well, but made several turnovers when his spacing got bad. We really could have used the Sickness during stretches where things got stagnant. There were way too many turnovers. Many times we made the Mavericks job easier with a quick shot or poor spacing.

Finley played pretty well. Roger Mason Jr. is lost. You know this is true when he tries to give somebody a facial. I'd like to see more of that type of aggression from him. McDyess did his thing. I'd like to see him in the game late to force teams to play Timmeh one on one. Tim Duncan was a rock last night. He should have gotten at least two calls late in regulation and a couple in overtime that he didn't get. He worked hard and almost carried this team to a victory.

We'd like to know why you can't get a call too, Tim

Overall I think this game was a positive. The defense looked good, the offense was a little off, but had moments that seem to tell us a bright future is coming. If we were rolling with Tony Parker and Manu I think this game would have been different. A tough loss to be sure. Yes, there is work to do, but there are signs of a team that is going to be very very good.

My 3 stars:

George Hill: Played good defense, hustled and was hitting open shots. 15 points, 4 assists

Richard Jefferson: Played hard, did fairly well on defense. 13 points, 11 rebounds

Tim Duncan: Carried the team, scored when he needed to and kept the interior defense up. 22 points, 14 rebounds

ESPN: Mavs Howard out indefinitely

Big50 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 20:36:36 -0000

ESPN: Mavs Howard out indefinitely

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy. Should help in our rematch next week...or when ever it is.

ESPN Highlights of Spurs over Mavs

Big50 — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:28:34 -0000

ESPN Highlights of Spurs over Mavs

This has the awesome Jefferson dunk. I must warn you, it's OTSTANDING!

ESPN: Jones says Cowboys had a Trade Offer

Big50 — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:39:02 -0000

ESPN: Jones says Cowboys had a Trade Offer

Jerry is pretty vague, but it sounds like we've got some young players that are thought of pretty highly by someone out there.

Sporting News: Spurs Team of the Decade

Big50 — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:05:29 -0000

Sporting News: Spurs Team of the Decade

Spurs team of the decade according to Sporting News. Not surprising. Pop coach of the decade.