SB Nation User Blog: LasEspuelas

Kareem to Grizzlies?

LasEspuelas — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 03:55:12 -0000

Kareem to Grizzlies?

Im going to offer a prediction. Two years from now there is going to be another Gasol in Lakers' land!

Seeing Bonner and Blair playing so well sent me into a Frankenstein like madness. Just imagine...

LasEspuelas — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 03:17:17 -0000

Seeing Bonner and Blair playing so well sent me into a Frankenstein like madness. Just imagine having this guy. He can shoot the three but at the same time be at the paint to get his own offensive rebound... Im salivating over the possibilities.

Pro Sports' Genie Problem

LasEspuelas — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 16:16:34 -0000

Baseball Superstar Accused of Performance-Enhancing Genie Use

Pro Sports' Genie Problem

Cavs likely to pass on Bowen

LasEspuelas — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 15:39:15 -0000

Cavs likely to pass on Bowen

Bowen and the Cavs dont seem to be close to signing anything. One bullet dodged.

The Atlanta Braves fan confidence widget at Talking Chop, the Atlanta Braves blog. I wonder what...

LasEspuelas — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 13:06:04 -0000

The Atlanta Braves fan confidence widget at Talking Chop, the Atlanta Braves blog. I wonder what our graph would have looked like this year

Should Horry be a Hall of Famer?

LasEspuelas — Thu, 28 May 2009 02:44:04 -0000

After some interesting discussion regarding Horry's merits to be included in the Hall of Fame I decided to do a little digging. In the process I found evidence both for and against Horry being inducted to the Hall of Fame. Im sorry for bringing stats and facts to the discussion, I know they are not always welcome here : )

The following table was borrowed and adapted from Wikipedia. Some of the names in the list are immediately recognized while others not so much. Out of these players only Tom Sanders and Jim Loscutoff are not in the Hall of Fame. Out of these guys K.C. Jones, Sanders, Loscutoff and Ramsey can probably be considered role players. Role players in the HOF include KC Jones and Ramsey.

Rank	Rings	Player	Seasons played	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th	11th
1	11	Bill Russell	13	1957	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1968	1969
2	10	Sam Jones	12	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1968	1969
3 (tie)	8	Tom Heinsohn	9	1957	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965
	8	KC Jones	9	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966
	8	Tom Sanders	13	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1968	1969
	8	John Havlicek	16	1963	1964	1965	1966	1968	1969	1974	1976
7 (tie)	7	Jim Loscutoff	9	1957	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964
	7	Frank Ramsey	9	1957	1959	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964
	7	Robert Horry	15	1994	1995	2000	2001	2002	2005	2007

The career of KC Jones has been used before to argue for the induction of Horry to the HOF. It is my understanding that Jones was a defensive specialist (and therefore a role player?). The difference with him though is that he had a successful coaching career.

Another player that Horry might be compared to is Ramsey. Ramsey's numbers are better than Horry's but I dont know exactly why he was inducted. They are obviously not amazing numbers. He is considereted by some to be the first "sixth man".

I think this numbers show that it is not unthinkable for Horry to make it to the HOF. If defensive specialist can be inducted, why not fourth quarter specialists? Or winning championships specialists? On the other hand Sanders and Loscutoff have similar or slightly better career numbers than Horry and similar amount of rings and are not inducted in the HOF, providing a precedent for Horry to be left out.

Career stats for some of these players via www.basketball-reference.com:

K.C. Jones, Tom Sanders, Jim Loscutoff, Frank Ramsey, Robert Horry

Discussion?

Poll

As it stands today, should Robert Horry be inducted in the Hall of Fame?

Yes, without him the Lakers, Rockets and Spurs would have less titles

25 votes

No, he just tagged along for the ride and is extremely lucky. He should spend time playing bingo!

16 votes

41 votes | Poll has closed

Yahoo Pipe for PTR

LasEspuelas — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:34:31 -0000

Yahoo Pipe for PTR

For those of you that use RSS you might be interested in having the main, fanposts and fanshots feeds grouped into one. I created a Yahoo Pipe that will do this so I thought Ill share.

Manu answers fan's questions

LasEspuelas — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 04:28:22 -0000

Manu answered some questions at his website. You can see the original answers here:

Manu answers questions

Some of the questions are translated after the jump...

How do you feel after the shock of the news of the injury? How is the rehabilitation going to be?

Now I am calmer. At the start it was complicated, but as time passed I was able to digest it better. The rehabilitation is not complex because there is plenty of time and it is only a matter of waiting for the bone to heal.

Did you have medical check ups before and after every game since you came back from the micro-fracture? It seems curious to those of us who don't know, that you should have felt some discomfort even before the Cleveland game. Nobody recommended that you sit down for a few more games before restarting intense practice?

After every game I felt very good. Only before the Cleveland game did I feel something different in the leg and discomfort that would not go away. That's when I realized that something was not right, but I never thought that I had re-aggravated it.

In the last few days there has been a lot of talk about you continuing to play with Team Argentina. What is your opinion in this regard? Your brother mentioned in a note that he would not be surprised if San Antonio adds a clause to your contract to forbid you from playing for the national team. Can this happen?

I have no clue what I am doing in the near future. What I am sure of is that if I want to play for many more years, I will have to take even better care of my body.

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION: It is not possible to place a clause in NBA contracts to forbid players from playing for their national teams, it is simply not legal, and thus my brother was confused or misinterpreted. One of the two.

Are you going to attend the rest of the Spurs games? What are you doing with your extra free time?

Of course I will go to the games. Im part of the team and even though I'm not going to be playing I will be there cheering them on. With the free time I will start lifting weights and swimming. I will also dedicate some time to my girl (LasEspuelas addition: wife?) who during the season has traveled a lot. I also started playing the Wii.

What part of your game would you like to improve?

Keep improving my mid-range game. This is what is going to benefit me the most in a few years. I also need to get back to last year's physical conditioning. It is an important part of the game as well.

Now that you got hurt... Have you though about retiring now or in a year? Dedicate yourself to other things like family, friends, etc...? You have done great things already and you would be in your right to do this. Don't you have a desired to travel, see friends or places that you miss? Like traveling to Bologne to remember old times or to the Rioja to visit Sepo or see a long time friend and eat an "asadito" without guilt? Or simply travel alone with your wife and enjoy some time in the Bay, far from the camera flashes and the "heavy" fans like me? Jaja (haha)

Jeje. Yes I would like to do all that, but there will be plenty of time for it. I do it for 2 months in the offseason and then I come back to do what I like to do best, which is to play basketball. Remember that basketball careers last until the 35, 36, 37 years of age or something like that. After that I will have 40 years to do whatever I want, like traveling, eating, visiting, etc...

Manu, whenever I ask about your future you answer that you would love to retire in San Antonio, but at the same time, you answer that the NBA is business. My question is regarding the contracts because you mentioned that if an agreement is not reached by June you would be a free agent. How does that work? If SA proposes something and you are not convinced can you pass and be a free agent? And play for another team?

I would become a free agent in July of 2010. And yes, if they don't renew my contract before that date I could go wherever I want or wherever they want me more, including the possibility of returning to San Antonio. My idea is still the same though. To stay in SA.

What do you know about the Spurs right now? I mean, is there a card under Pop's sleeve to fight for the championship this year? Or most of the Spurs personnel are thinking about next season?

Its looking like we will get #50 Robinson and #32 Elliot back on the court, but don't say anything... lets keep it quiet!

...Are the Spurs the common denominator of the NBA in your opinion or are they actually an exception to the rule? They look like a FIBA team on and off the court, where it does not matter who the star is.

We are an exception. I was very lucky to "land" in this organization and for this reason I would prefer not to leave.

Do you think the SA press recognizes Duncan much more than necessary? I notice that in your regard for example... they are hard if you make mistakes... on the other hand Duncan makes mistakes and nobody says a thing, jajaj.

I don't read the SA press or any other press for that matter. So on this matter you know better than me. One must recognize that Tim is possibly the best PF in history, 2 MVPS, 2 finals MVPs and 12 all-star appearances... I think he deserves all that recognition, right? If they are really like you describe, I think its great, I wish that in our country we were more grateful with those who gave us so much.

If the Spurs make it far into the Playoffs (I doubt they will)... Would you be able to play this season? Is there even a remote chance?

I was told I'm OUT, if I don't train with the team and I'm out of shape it is almost impossible. But I never say its completely impossible... I think that if we make it to the finals I will play even without my fibula.

How do you see the chances of the Spurs and of them reaching the Finals?

It is going to be very complicated. I don't believe we are favorites, but you have to believe. A struck of luck can always happen. (Emphasis added)

Marcus Williams Called-up

LasEspuelas — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:59:36 -0000

Marcus Williams Called-up

Marcus Williams has been called up by the Spurs according to Ridiculous Upside. There is still argument regarding who's spot he will fill in, because we have 15 players under contract.

Ian Mahinmi to play again this season

LasEspuelas — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:24:57 -0000

Ian Mahinmi to play again this season

Ridiculous upside reports that Mahinmi is going back to the Toros this season instead of next. Yay or Yawn?