Spurs of the Moment

While the Spurs season ended in dissapointment, I thought it would be good to take a look back at some of the awesome moments there were and to also look to the future. For the last 13 yrs the Spurs have won at least 50 games a season, surpassing a streak held by that of the showtime Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s (12 straight seasons). Add to that, the Spurs accomplished this feat in a fast paced 66-game season (which included many back to backs and two back to back to backs).

The Young Guys

The Spurs got to see the exciting development of a few young players. Kawhi Leonard ( 7.9 pts 5 rbs ) emerged at the Small forward spot with a dedication to rebounding and defense. He also added the 3 pt shot ( 37%) to what was said to be a limited offensive arsenal. Danny Green ( 9 pts 43% 3 pt fg) had his best season as a pro. Last season Green was a bench warmer and played what I call the Malik Hairston role. Come in for one play and put forth a Bowen-like defensive effort. As a dark horse this year, Green snuck in and grabbed the starting spot at shooting guard for the injured Ginobili and gave the Spurs some shooting and intense defense with Leonard. Tiago Splitter (9.3 pts 5 rbs) gave the Spurs a solid back up to Duncan. At 6-11 he gave the Spurs some length and some ability to score in the low-block. Although not a shotblocker, he did a great job of protecting the rim. His free throw shooting for the season was an amazing improvement. Last year Splitter was at 54%, this past season Splitter raised his average to 69%. Dejuan Blair (9.5 pts 5.5 rbs) again started most of the season for the Spurs. He didnt rebound as well he did last year, but did manage to add to his offensive game with the “floater”. What most impressed me was how mature and professional Blair was when he lost his starting spot to the newly acquired Boris Diaw. He didn’t complain but came in and gave the Spurs good minutes when called on in the Western Conference Finals.

The Vets

Stephen Jackson ( 8.9 pts ) claimed he started tearing up when Pop talked to him about coming back to SA. What Jackson did for the Spurs was no crying matter. The grit, patience and heart that Jackson brought to the Spurs was a big reason why they got so far in the Playoffs. His timely plays in the fourth quarters on both ends reminded Spurs fans why they loved him. Boris Diaw ( 4.7 pts 4.3 rbs) while not the tall, shotblocking presence that Spurs fans hoped for, Diaw could be compared to a Fabricio Oberto with handles and a 3 pt shot. Physically, Diaw was not the ideal starter for many teams (including the Bobcats), but from an IQ standpoint he was just what the doctor ordered. He was obviously able to handle opposing players in the post with his “girth”, but he also was able to move his feet and stay in front of quicker power forwards. Add to that his ability to make plays off the dribble like a guard and you had the perfect compliment to the Spurs offense and defense.

The Shooters

Gary Neal ( 9.9 pts) as usual lit it up from 3 pt range (41%) along with his bigger counterpart Matt Bonner (6.6pts) who shot 42% from downtown. With Bonner there never is too much to say, during the regular season he knocks down 3 after 3. And after playing for years and getting lots of playing time off the bench it’s safe to say he is vital to what the Spurs do offensively despite his occasional troubles on the other end. Gary Neal had a rough start. His health wasn’t all to great, but once he got back in the swing of things he did what he usually does, score and hit timely baskets late in the game. All was well until Spurs backup TJ Ford went down for the season. The Spurs moved Neal to the backup point guard spot. Lets just say it was an adjustment for both sides, but judging from their 50-16 record it worked out somehow.

THE BIG 3

Tim Duncan (15.4 pts/9 rbs) Manu Ginobili (12.9 pts/4.4 ast) and Tony Parker (18.3 pts/7.7 ast) have played the last ten seasons together. Tim Duncan was finishing around the rim with authority and wasn’t constantly dragging that leg around. He managed to stay heathly all season. Manu Ginobili was at 100% went it mattered, the Playoffs. Tony Parker took his game to the next level and finished in the top 10 for MVP voting. The season did end in dissapointment but all 3 players got to make history in some way, and we all got a chance to witness it.

Accomplishments

May 31, 2012 – Tim Duncan becomes the alltime playoff blocks leader passing Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon.

April 12, 2012 – Manu Ginobili becomes the fifth Spur to reach 10,000 points.

February 4, 2012 – Tony Parker passes Avery Johnson as the Spurs alltime assist leader.

April 17 an April 20, 2012 – Bringing back the Twin Towers. Gregg Popovich starts Tiago Splitter and Tim Duncan together  against the rival Lakers enroute to a 112-91 win on april 17th in LA and a 121-97 win back home on April 20th.

February 18, 2012 – Gary Neal steals the ball from Chris Paul and knocks down a 3 to tie and send the game into overtime and eventually give the Spurs an overtime win.

April 26, 2012 – The Spurs had 12 straight seasons of 50 wins or more, and that streak looked to be in trouble. At a 49-16 record with the Big 3 resting and playing on the road, the Spurs get their 50th win against the Warriors and extend their streak to 13 seasons. Patty Mills put in a game high 27 pts with 12 ast along with Blair who gave the Spurs 22 pts and 13 rbs.

May 19, 2012 – Being down 24 to the Clippers in game 3, it seemed as if the Spurs win streak would come to an end. But with a collective calm and a surgical run the Spurs worked their way back and took a commanding 3-0 series lead behind a 96-86 victory in Los Angeles.

Their were several memorable moments this season and hopefully their will continue to be some in the near future. As we did last season, we will next take a look at the Spurs roster situation and look at what moves they can make to win the West and get that elusive 5th ring.

Tiago Splitter has a strained plantar muscle in his foot and will miss a week or so. Well that sucks, and hopefully this isn’t the beginnings of the dreaded plantar fasciitis. Stay tuned, but I think he will be back in time for a couple of pre-season games.

Meanwhile, Tim Duncan is apparently in great shape and ready to ride “until the wheels fall off“. The only real question has been exactly when are the wheels going to fall off? Well, not this season it seems. Once Tiago’s foot stops aching, he will be able to provide more support for the Spurs frontcourt along with the veteran McDyess and the emerging talents of DeJuan Blair.

After a summer that included conditioning drills designed to minimize stress on his knees, Duncan is prepared for a truncated ration of regular-season playing time. He hopes for a better start to the Spurs season that won’t scuttle coach Gregg Popovich’s plan to lessen his workload, which is to include an occasional night off in the second game of back-to-back sets.

Some of you may recall that the plan last year was to rest Duncan in the second of back-to-back games, but that didn’t quite pan out while the Spurs were fighting for a playoff spot.

Don’t look now, but Bobby Simmons has been seen in San Antonio attending the Spurs camp.

For those of you who don’t remember Bobby Simmons, allow me to recap for you. Bobby Simmons played for the Clippers and had a nice season in 2004-05 that earned him the Most Improved Player award and a nice contract from the Bucks the following summer. He had averaged roughly 16 points, six rebounds, and three assists and was on the verge of becoming a reliable contributor in the NBA as well as fantasy basketball. During the ’05-’06 season he struggled to put up the same numbers as they all dropped to roughly 13 points, four rebounds, and two assists per game.  Then he got hurt and missed the entire season in 2006-2007, came back the next season a shell of his former self, got traded and has been fading into obscurity in New Jersey ever since. I picked him up in a few fantasy leagues along the way in the hopes that he would get back to his playing level in LA, but it just never happened. I am convinced that it never will, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be a decent contributor. If nothing else he could spell RJ for five to ten minutes a game and give the Spurs a little offense. I’m not too sure about his defensive skills though, and that could make or break his stint with the Spurs before the season starts. Last season he averaged 5.3 points and 2.7 boards in about 17 minutes per game for the Nets, but I don’t expect him to get that kind of playing time in San Antone. I always liked him so I hope he still has something left, but I wouldn’t expect much even if he does make the squad.

Another player at camp, Kirk Penney, apparently averaged 24.7 points in the FIBA World Championships this summer. I had no idea who he was, and he never played against the US in the tourney, so I had to do a little research. The closest to NBA level talent he played against this summer was probably Spain and he scored 21 points. If he isn’t much more than a scorer then I am not sure how he fits, but we’ll see. I don’t expect him to make the cut to be honest.

Like we didn’t know this already. Well, maybe not all of us. There are some journalists, “experts”, and NBA enthusiasts who seem to think that Tony Parker wants to leave for NY or something. I will say this over and over just like I have been, the real issue at hand is how long Duncan can hold up. That’s what has Tony anxious, and that’s what pretty much everyone who has any interest in the Spurs is anxious about. Tony’s contract is up, but like Ginobili did last season, I expect Tony to go ballistic this year and get an extension. He had an off year with his injuries, but he will bounce back this year. And yes, he wants to be here:

“As we did last year, we were in constant communication with Manu’s people and I continue to have discussions with Tony’s representatives,” Buford said. “But I don’t know that means that Tony will be here if he plays well or if he doesn’t play well. He’ll have the opportunity to make an impact in that decision as well.”

Parker averaged 16 points last season; as an All-Star the year before, he led the Spurs with 22 points per game. He came off the bench throughout April after returning from a broken hand, but Popovich said Monday that Parker was a starter.

When Parker returns to All-star form, it won’t be a question of if he signs an extension, but when.

Remember Spurs backup point guard Jacque Vaughn? If you’re a casual hoops fan then probably not, but he did in fact exist and even played for the 2007 championship team. He retired a couple of years ago after 12 seasons in the NBA, but the Spurs have found a new gig for him as an assistant coach. His playing career never really amounted to much, but maybe he can soak up the coaching expertise of Greg Popovich and have a bright future someday. Never know…

When the Spurs picked James Anderson with the 20th overall pick in the draft, my first reaction was something along the lines of, “Huuuhh?” I hadn’t even considered it, so I thought that maybe I needed to go back and look at some highlights on Youtube or something, but there was nothing there that convinced me that I had overlooked something extraordinary. If this was any other team I would be ready to say that this was a bad pick, but with the Spurs you have to realize that there is almost always a method to the apparent madness. I figured that, as usual with the Spurs, the decision was not only based on talent, but also on the player’s disposition. The Spurs are known for not just shying away from any potential head-cases, but bringing in potentially great players who are willing to play team basketball and have a good attitude. That’s why I am hopeful that I did overlook something about James Anderson. Then, of course, this article came out on Sunday from the San Antonio Express News that details the humble roots of our newest Spur. It’s definitely the sort of player story to make any sports fan interested in seeing the player succeed.

Of course, we still have to look at the stats. At least I do. Anderson played three years at Oklahoma State and got better each year. He never averaged less than 30 minutes per game, and from his freshman year to his junior year when his minutes per game jumped from 30.9 to 34.1, his scoring average jumped from 13.3 to 22.3 points per game. So in just over three more minutes per contest his scoring average went up nine points. He shot the ball slightly better in his sophomore season, but he became a better passer by his junior year when he went from 1.4 assists per game to 2.4 per game. He still needs to work on his turnovers, also at 2.4 per game. He seems comfortable shooting the three, but I am not so sure I am comfortable with him shooting it at 34 percent. He may develop a decent three-point shot at the NBA level, but I don’t see it happening right away. He’s a decent rebounder at 5.8 per game in his junior year – up from 3.7 in his freshman year – so I think I’d rather see him play closer to the rim.

So what are we looking at here? It’s hard to say since we didn’t get to see him play in the Summer League, so we’re left waiting until the preseason. For right now, we’re looking at a 6-6, 210 lb.  Shooting Guard/Small Forward who can kinda shoot threes, has the same amount of assists as turnovers, can score about 22 points a game if he gets 15 shots, is an adequate rebounder, and has no special defensive skills to speak of (1.4 steals and .6 blocks in his junior year).  Looking at all of that, I don’t see much to get overly excited about, but as the Spurs have shown us time and time again, there are intangibles that don’t show up in the box score. Here’s hoping that those intangibles are what I overlooked and what James Anderson brings to the table.

Ready for some more good news, Spurs fans?

According to Greg Popovich, Time Duncan may be in better shape going into this season than he was last year at this time.

Gregg Popovich said Thursday that Duncan returned this summer for his 14th season perhaps in even better shape than a year ago, when the perennial All-Star reported to training camp 15 pounds lighter.

“He’s trim and slim. I think he’s even slimmer than he was last year,” Popovich said. “He’s really serious about this. He knows his responsibilities. He wants to win again.”

That’s certainly encouraging, and especially since he’ll finally have a decent running mate in the front court to take some of the pressure off him. Speaking of which:

Originally drafted by the Spurs in 2007, Splitter is a former MVP and championship winner in the Spanish League. He joins the Spurs amid high expectations — Popovich compared Splitter’s NBA-readiness to Manu Ginobili’s arrival in 2002.

That doesn’t mean Splitter will be a go-to scorer. Popovich said the Brazilian’s biggest impact will instead be rebounding and defense, but those contributions should be immediate.

“He’ll come in running, so to speak, and not have a problem,” Popovich said.

Also:

“He’s a really solid player who is going to have a great NBA career, but he’s not going to lead us in scoring,” Popovich said. “He’s not going to be our go-to guy.”

That’s fine, because the Spurs have plenty of scorers, but what they need the most is a return to good old fashioned Spurs defense. I think we can all agree that there is no “next Bruce Bowen” evident on the horizon right now, but that doesn’t mean the Spurs can’t do a better job on help defense and controlling the paint. Someone will eventually have to step up and at least limit the Kobes and Durants of the league, but simply becoming a more fine-tuned defensive UNIT would be a move in the right direction.

I can’t take it anymore. Even with the Fantasy Baseball Playoffs and the fact that football season has finally started and I am once again in an inordinate amount of fantasy football leagues (Eight to be exact – Money, IDPs, Keepers, Expert Leagues… you name it), I am anxious to focus on the upcoming basketball season. Let’s start today with a quick summary of what has happened and is about to happen in Spurs Land.

Last year we started the season with archaic has-beens like Theo Ratliff and Michael Finley, projects like Ian Mahinmi and Malik Hairston, and a deadly three-point shooter in Roger Mason. Oh yeah, and Keith Bogans (blech). None of them are in San Antonio anymore. Ratliff and Finley’s corpses were cast off mid-season, while Roger Mason’s jump shot and hopes for a lucrative off-season deal both died a horrible and unexpected death over an agonizing season of inconsistency.  Mason is now in New York where he will probably have much more opportunity to either find his jumper again or at least jack up tons of errant threes. Mahinmi was not retained and is now the problem of the Dallas Mavericks, and the promising Hairston decided he would rather play in Europe than watch his teammates play in the NBA. Oh, and Keith Bogans was allowed to leave (blech again).

Mid-season acquisitions Alonzo Gee and Garrett Temple are both still around as is Curtis Jerrells who was cut, then brought back later in the year.

The Spurs did mediocre in the draft by picking up James Anderson with the 20th pick and Ryan Richards at #49. I wasn’t a big fan of the picks (I liked Jordan Crawford, Dominique Jones, and maybe even Damion James better), but I am keeping an open mind.

Also added to the mix was Summer League sensation Gary Neal. And of course, the most unheralded major off-season acquisition, Tiago Splitter was finally brought to San Antonio from the Spanish League where he is the reigning MVP.

I’ll do some more analysis of the Spurs newbs in the coming weeks.

The NBA Preseason begins October 3rd, but the Spurs have their first game on October 7th @ Houston. Their first home game is October 9th vs Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Friends. The rest of the Pre-season schedule goes like this:
Oct 12 @ Clippers (in Mexico City)
Oct 14 @ Cleveland (at the U of Pittsburgh)
Oct 16 vs Vitoria (I believe that this is one of the 50 names for Tiago Splitter’s old Spanish League team)
Oct 18 vs Oklahoma City
Oct 21 vs Houston

The season opener is a home game vs the Indiana Pacers on October 27th.

Danny Ferry is returning to the San Antonio Spurs as vice president of basketball operations.

This really doesn’t make much difference to me. I don’t exactly know what he brings to the table that we weren’t getting from Popovich or Buford, but I suppose the more the merrier.

That’s really all I can say about this…

God, I can’t wait for pre-season to start.

Another guard is leaving San Antonio this summer. Keith Bogans has agreed to a 2-year, $2.5 mil deal with the Chicago Bulls. Bogans had a few solid games, but for the most part he never quite fit in and fell almost completely out of the Spurs rotation during the playoffs. He started 50 games last season, but only averaged 4.4 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.2 assists. During the post-season, his playing time dwindled to less than seven minutes per game and he only scored five points total over 10 playoff games. He was supposed to be a defensive specialist, but never really had that kind of impact over the season. I thought last year that Bogans or Hairston would emerge as replacements for Bruce Bowen as defensive stoppers, but neither really did and now both are gone. The Spurs’s Malik Hairston signed to play in Europe. Free-agent Roger Mason agreed to a deal with the New York Knicks last week.