SB Nation User Blog: pollackj

Houston Chronicle: Rockets to pursue Spurs guard Barry in free agency

pollackj — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 11:23:48 -0000

Houston Chronicle: Rockets to pursue Spurs guard Barry in free agency

This article also reports that the Spurs are going to begin courting JR Smith.

Some Help for the Spurs and Celtics

pollackj — Mon, 26 May 2008 17:17:14 -0000

Some Help for the Spurs and Celtics

This is some random guy's blog that I found through True Hoop, he crunches Kobe's numbers during the time that both Duncan and Bowen are on the floor vs when 1 (or both) are sitting.

The &#@*&%^#@ Lakers

pollackj — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:38:55 -0000

It's been 4 years since the Lakers have been relevant (an eternity in NBA time). And I realized while thinking about the upcoming series that my hatred for the Lakers has dimmed during the last few years. In order to prepare for the Wednesday night, I need to be reminded of all the reasons why we hate the Lakers. Here is a partial list of things that I remember:

Shaq's disrespect of David Robinson

Phil Jackson and his publicity antics

0.4

The Colorado Cassanova

Kobe's elbow on Ginobili

Their overrated, bandwagon jumping fans.

Everything is fair game: players, coaches, team officials, history, uniforms, stadium, city of residence, fans, style of play, etc. Help me relight the fires of my hatred once again.

I'm comfortable winning.

pollackj — Tue, 20 May 2008 08:10:53 -0000

I'm comfortable winning.

--Manu, after game 7 during an interview with Craig Sager

Does He Look Like a Hassellhoff Fan?

pollackj — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:58:14 -0000

via www.nba.com

Since it is 7am here and I am too full of excitement and caffeine to sleep before work, I figured I would try my hand at a game recap. Let me know if it sucks.

Tim Duncan is a champion. Hornets fans who were hoping that the Spurs game 3 win was like Dallas' game 3 win in Round 1 have already realized their mistake. Tim Duncan is not Dirk Nowitski, he doesn't play like Dirk, he doesn't lead like Dirk, and most of all, his team doesn't fold when the games start to matter (like Dirk's).

We all knew that TD was going to come on strong tonight. He had been sick and underperforming during the first three games of this series. Maybe he was "due," maybe he had something to prove, maybe the Hornets just played him differently, but TD went off. 22pts on 10-13 shooting from the field, 15 boards, 4 blocks, and 3 assists (including a Manuesque zinger to TP underneath), and 5 Tyson Chandler fouls meant that the Spurs were going back to NO with the series all tied up.

Now he has done that which causes NO fans to tremble, he made the Hornets think. He is in their head. Scrappy-doo is pissed, West is pushing people and complaining to officials, Chandler is cussing himself out on the bench, Peja is forcing up 10 ft runners with two guys in his face. Sure, this isn't all the work of TD, but he made it possible. His defensive and offensive presence allow the lesser Spurs (read: all of them) to do what they do best instead of having to force the issue.

Because of Duncan, Thomas and Oberto can stay closer to West because they know TD has the rim protected. Because of Duncan, Parker can go under the screen because he knows TD will push Scrappy out and give him time to recover. Because of Duncan, Bowen can invade Peja's personal space because a driver will simply end in another awkward layup attempt. Because of Duncan; Bowen, Finley, Ginobili, Udoka, Horry, Barry, Parker, and Thomas can all shoot open jumpers off of New Orleans double-teams.

Tonight, once again, we are reminded that this is Duncan's team. Pop may be the front-man, Ginobili is our favorite, Parker is the flashy one, but in the end it all comes down to #21. When Duncan plays well, the Spurs win. When Duncan does not play well, the Spurs do not win.

Other Observations:

It may just be me, but I'm really getting tired of Scrappy-doo getting the Jordan treatment. One play in the 3rd quarter illustrated this best: Paul drove into the lane, barely missed Bowen with his right elbow (which was above his own shoulder) barreled into Parker with his left forearm, threw the ball wildly at the basket, and was rewarded with 2 fts. (Please note: I'm not complaining about the calls in general today, if anything I think the reffing favored SA, but I HATE the idea that superstars are somehow entitled to get those calls).

Udoka seems to be getting more comfortable as the playoffs go on. Let's hope he continues to get playing time, as he is our best rebounding win player and is the only Spur who can match up well with a fully-functional Bonzi Wells (who, I admit, we haven't seen this series).

David West is a bitch. I know that Oberto flopped on his elbow/push underneath the basket, and I suspect TD probably did on the other end as well, but West just cannot control his frustration when he is playing poorly. The Spurs have gotten into his head in each of the last three games. His response is usually a mixture of covert violence and complaining to the refs.

Reggie Miller is an alien who is still learning the English language. I don't think this requires an explanation.

Let's Go Spurs. Take game five and really get these kids doubting themselves.

"He's doing exactly what (Steve) Nash did when he won his MVPs, except he's playing defense."

pollackj — Fri, 02 May 2008 20:09:56 -0000

"He's doing exactly what (Steve) Nash did when he won his MVPs, except he's playing defense."

http://www.nola.com/sports/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-37/120970627324190.xml&coll=1

Chief from SR put this mix of Game 1 together. Enjoy.

pollackj — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:35:55 -0000

Chief from SR put this mix of Game 1 together. Enjoy.

Duncan's Laughter

pollackj — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 05:01:51 -0000

I'll be honest, when I first saw Tim Duncan laughing at the end of the bench during the final minutes of the ass-whooping that the clowns from Phoenix put on us last night, I was a little perturbed.

'll be honest, when I first saw Tim Duncan laughing at the end of the bench during the final minutes of the ass-whooping that the clowns from Phoenix put on us last night, I was a little perturbed. I mean, I wasn't even in the mood to laugh, and that game was should be much more important to him than to me. There I am feeling sick, having to watch Minnie Mouse, the JV, Crazy Eyes, Earmuffs, and Handles all sharing the court at one time and the leader of the team is laughing on the bench.

As I thought about it further though, I realized, this is a good thing. This is evidence that what SiMA said is true, that game last night was but one move in the chess match that Pop is playing with the rest of the league. Surely they did not come out intending to lose, but Pop probably knew we were pretty early on, and he let his team know that we are a good enough team to lose this game and still win the series easily.

I have laughed Duncan's laugh before. When I wrestle with my little brother (15 years my junior) and I take moment to catch my breath, he seizes that moment like a crazed wildcat, slugging me all over and trying to inflict as much pain as possible before I start fighting again. That was Duncan's laugh. He was as resistant to the Suns victory as I am to the blows of an 11 year old. He's just waiting for the Suns to tire themselves out so he can pin them on the floor and dangle spittle over their heads, just because he can.

Some good news, someone appreciates the master!

pollackj — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:36:45 -0000

Mr. DuPree over at SI gets it right with his list of the top 5 most exciting NBA players. It's good to see that even in the midst of this losing streak we can still celebrate getting to watch the love of my life as he puts on a show each and every night.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/david_dupree/03/18/all.fun.team/index.html