NBA.com talks about what the Spurs did well last season, and what went oh-so-wrong versus Memphis.

You know what else the NBA is asking us to believe? That a new system will automatically eliminate the case of the overpaid player. Why should we believe that when, for the most part, these are the same owners and general managers who continued to overpay players despite all of the cost-containment mechanisms that were already in place.

The other fallacy is that if the owners get what they want it will promote competitive balance throughout the league. As if that were a priority to them. If it were, the NBA would have trotted out details of its proposed revenue-sharing plan a lot earlier than this month. They might have even had something ready to go in June, when there was still a chance to avert a lockout in the first place.

Refers to owners Dan Gilbert and Robert Sarver, their other business ventures and the irony of their stance in the NBA's labor issues.

Also features old Gilbert quotes that seem to substantiate the opinions in Malcolm Gladwell's Grantland piece about owning NBA teams being similar to owning works of art.

Kind of interesting that Spurs Nation has a post saying how the Spurs are well set up to handle a lockout, considering that they had another recent post about how the team has a lot to lose in the wake of a lockout. Read both and let's see what the lb.ers (pounders) think!

"Thirteen years ago, NBA owners put an end to the league’s last work stoppage simply by waiting for players to start missing paychecks. When their pocketbooks started feeling the pinch, members of the players’ union signed off on a deal that, at the time, was deemed favorable to ownership.

That took 204 days."

George Hill seems to be taking the news in stride.

Click on the title to watch the Spurs.com video of an interview of Hill responding to the trade to his home team.

A fictitious (?) interview between Jackson and the new Dubs' owner. You know the drill. Hilarity ensues.

Yes, this came from the Worldwide Misleader Follower Kobe-LeBron Network Yankees-Red Sox Channel Brett Favre Retirement Speculation Extravaganza Website called "espn.com."

"Critics say he has no personality but, the thing is, he does. He just doesn't bother to show it to us. He graciously accepts the fame that comes with being a 13-time All-Star, he just doesn't flaunt it. As a result, we've become indifferent to a man who really should have been the face of the league: never in trouble, philanthropist and humanitarian off the court, the game's biggest winner on it. But because we've become a culture conditioned to reality TV and manufactured celebrity -- paying attention only to big personalities or vacuous people who are famous for making a spectacle of themselves -- we don't fully appreciate the beauty of someone who focuses his public persona on being an elite athlete, a person like Duncan."

A familiar face (avatar? internet personality?) pontificates about the top five-man units for the Spurs on True-Hoops' Spurs affiliate.

Neal earned early playing time with his ability to knock down 3-point shots, and Popovich praised his willingness to "stick his nose in" defensively.

"Beyond that, you have to learn how to play defense wisely, and that’s where he’s really improving. He’s learning how to save steps; how to get angles; how to do work early; how not to foul in certain situations. He’s learning to do those sorts of things and be more consistent."

Just read it, Pounders. Trust me.

Expect the unexpected when Manu and other Spurs use their Twiddle or MyFace.

What do you think?

Manu is the only Spur listed here.

Two of the three analysts have Manu as Western Conf. MVP at this point, and two of three have Pop as West COY.

Just a reminder that stats don't tell the whole story and that they're open to interpretation.

"The Spurs sit at 35-6 as I write this and no one is more responsible for their surprising start than a healthy, finally-starting Manu Ginobili. In a year where Spurs great Tim Duncan has been limited to just 29-minutes per game Manu has acted as the unpredictable, dynamic, shooting guard-version of Steve Nash for San Antonio on offense and a ball-hawking terror on defense."

"He’s been improving, year in and year out," Popovich said. "He’s never going to be a quote-unquote ‘perimeter player,’ as far as handling the ball and running pick and rolls. But along with his shot, he’s learned to drive it, and that’s made him a pretty dangerous guy."

Michael Jordan has a new table -- with one hole in it for each point he scored in the NBA.

Click the link for the pictures and story.

The Spurs are ranked No. 2 in the SI NBA Power Rankings. More importantly, the columnist, Britt Robson, had the following to say:

"Perhaps more than any other NBA star, statistics cannot adequately convey Manu Ginobili's value. The fourth quarter of Friday's game in Indiana is a recent example. With the Spurs down nine with six minutes to play, Ginobili draws a charge on Danny Granger, sending Indiana's leading scorer to the bench with his fifth foul. A minute later, he steals the ball and goes in for a layup. Forty seconds after that, he nails a three from the top of the key and it is suddenly a two-point game. With 16 seconds left and the Spurs down a point, he was fouled and made both free throws. According to the "clutch" stats at 82games.com, every one of Ginobili's relevant stats except for assists -- field-goal, free-throw and three-point accuracy, steals, rebounds, blocks and turnovers -- improves in the last five minutes of games in which teams are separated by five points or fewer. But you still have to see it to fully appreciate it."

'Melo Drama and how superstars' situations may not change much even when they change teams.

Some of the comments are worth reading. I especially love the one from "badger," which includes the following (it was big enough that I didn't want to post the whole thing):

If not for his height, typical Duncan attire would have allowed him to blend in at a high school, at the beach, or at the mall. No need to impress anyone. I suspect that along with the need not to impress anyone is the good sense not to blow money on (stuff) he doesn’t really want or need.

It appears the dunk contest at All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles will feature Blake Griffin, JaVale McGee, Serge Ibaka and Brandon Jennings.

Your thoughts?

I think Blake has to be the favorite here, although I have seen some nice stuff from JaVale.

I was struck by the fact that 3 of the 4 players are "bigs." Traditionally the dunk contest seems to be for the midsized athletes (6'6"-ish, give or take an inch or two). Dwight Howard may have had an impact in that regard. Additionally, you have Jennings, who is relatively small. Are we seeing the Nate Robinson effect?

Oh, yeah, Jacque Vaughn rules. Even ask Coach Pop. Check out the link at 48 MoH.

Spurs center Matt Bonner sat at his locker before a recent game at the AT&T Center, deep in thought and staring at his feet, as if contemplating some key piece of preparation for the night ahead.

"Which pair of shoes should I wear?" Bonner finally asked, holding aloft a pair of Converse and a pair of New Balance.

Someone proposed he don one of each, a suggestion Bonner considered a few seconds before an eavesdropping teammate shattered the dream.

A mismatched shoe selection would violate the NBA’s uniform dress code, Manu Ginobili interjected, and could cost Bonner $25,000 in fines.

"Just think of how many sandwiches that is," Ginobili said, referring to Bonner’s famously favorite form of sustenance.

Estimating (conservatively, he says) 700 sandwiches per year at $5 a pop, Bonner ? concludes it would cost seven years’ worth of hoagies to flout the NBA’s uniform rules for one night.

"The punishment doesn’t fit the crime," he sighed, as the rest of the room disintegrated into laughter.

Take a peek. GOL @ Jalen Rose, who doesn't seem to watch the Spurs much.