Spurs of the Moment

San Antonio beat Philly 97-89 and have now won five in a row. The Spurs also held a ceremony last night for David Robinson to celebrate his induction into the Hall of Fame. It was fitting that the Spurs would be on such a roll while paying tribute to one of their best players in franchise history, and it was nice to get a win last night and keep it going. Manu Ginobili came back from his hiatus, but the Spurs lost Roger Mason to a hamstring injury suffered against Houston. He’s day-to-day. The Spurs are now 9-6 but are still committing a ton of turnovers, which they are only getting away with because they aren’t playing any elite teams right now. They need to take better care of the ball in these next few games because Boston, Denver and Utah are sure to take advantage of careless and sloppy play. The Spurs also gave up 25 fast break points last night and let Philly’s defense harass them with 12 steals and 10 blocks last night. On the bright side, the Spurs bench outscored the Sixers bench 49-15. Also, the Spurs shot 10-of-18 from downtown. Finley, Bonner, Ginobili, and Jefferson shot 9-of-13 from beyond the arc, but Keith Bogans was only 1-of-5 from three and shot 1-of-7 from the floor for the game. The Sixers were without Marreese Speights (torn left MCL), Elton Brand (hamstring), and Lou Williams (fractured jaw). On another note, they are talking about possibly bringing Iverson back now that they are 5-12. I’ll believe it when I see it. Highlights below:

[youtube VG9aaUg98U0]

Spurs Notable Stat Lines
Tim Duncan: 22 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks. You know what you’re getting from Tim each night, but I am still gonna complain that he is playing too many minutes – 31 last night. Then again, what good is being rested for the playoffs if you don’t get there, and as long as he is helping get those W’s I can’t complain too much.
Tony Parker: 16 points, 8 assists, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 block. 4 turnovers again. Other than that, he is back to his old self.
DeJuan Blair: 11 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks. You have to be thrilled with a double-double for Blair in only 17 minutes of action. Add the three swats for good measure and what’s not to like about this guy? (Check for more on Blair at the bottom.)
Matt Bonner: 16 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist.  It was good to seem him bounce back after a couple of off nights against Golden State and Houston where he only manged a combined total of five points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block.
Michael Finley: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist. Decent, and 27 minutes are tolerable since Mase was out and there is no rush to play Manu too many minutes.
Manu Ginobili: 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 3 turnovers. He only played 17 minutes, and the three turnovers sucked. Here’s hoping he stays healthy from here on.

76ers Notable Stat Lines
Andre Iguodala: 21 points, 8 rebounds ,7 assists, 5 steals, 3 blocks. 4 turnovers. Andre did it all last night. All except get the win, but it’s not like he held anything back. Look at that stat line… that’s incredible.
Willie Green: 17 points, 3 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound, 3 blocks. How does Willie Green block three shots? He only had 52 career blocks (six seasons not counting this one) but he gets three in one game… wow. We will never see that happen again.
Samuel Dalembert: 14 points, 14 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 3 blocks. Nice double-double for Sam. Too bad he can’t do it when Brand and Speights are around.
Thaddeus Young: 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists. Decent game, and he made the most of the extra minutes.

Coyote Ugly: George Hill
This was not part of the plan when I picked him up on one of my fantasy teams. 24 minutes, 1 point, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover, 3 fouls. He shot 0-of-2 from the field and 1-of-2 from the foul line. What the? Please refrain from stinking up the place in the future, George. There isn’t much on the wire in my fantasy league as it is.

And for an extra treat…

DeJuan Blair Vs the Houston Rockets
Now for your viewing pleasure, I give you the DeJuan Blair highlights from the Spurs preseason game against Houston.. enjoy!

 [youtube av_bSec5UQY]