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.

By Mason Pitluk

On a night when the Spurs got off to a fast start, things turned awfully bad really quick. After jumping out to an early 7-0 lead, San Antonio quickly found themselves down 25-35 entering the second quarter, a quarter which would see starting shooting guard Manu Ginobili fracture the fifth metacarpal in his left hand. This injury is devastating for both the Spurs and their star lefty who, as Tony Parker pointed out post-game, “was playing at an All Star level.” There will be plenty of time to discuss Ginobili’s injury in depth (as I plan to do soon in my next article), so let’s focus on last night’s contest alone, and what, beyond the loss of Ginobili, is worth noting.

Road Woes

A very brief look at the Spurs’ five games this season will reveal a pretty black and white blueprint for Silver & Black success; stay in San Antonio. In three home games this year the Spurs have blowout victories over their two toughest opponents thus far, the Grizzlies and Clippers, as well as the Utah Jazz, while their two road games have both ended in blowout losses to the Rockets and now the Timberwolves. Needless to say, if the Spurs can’t find a way to start picking up victories away from home they could be in danger of being out of playoff contention by the time Manu returns.

DeJuan Blair’s Defense

Throughout his time in San Antonio the biggest hole in DeJuan Blair’s game has been his defense. So far this season Blair has looked improved on both ends, especially offense, but last night he got torched. Kevin Love absolutely abused Blair on pick and pop three pointers, particularly in the first quarter, time and again receiving ample space to shoot from Blair, even after knocking down three after three. Blair’s help defense was also noticeably off last night. Much like taking a bad pursuit angle in football, Blair kept trying to meet driving guards around the free throw line, rather than lower in the paint, and more often than not was blown by as Ridnour, Rubio, or some other Minnesota guard finished easily at the rim. Obviously, listed very generously at 6’7’’, no one expects him to be a shot blocking force, but Blair has to position himself better to at least be able to contest shots as they go up. Overall, DeJuan had a really rough game, going 2 of 9 from the field for just 6 points to go along with only 3 rebounds in 28 minutes. For the Spurs to be successful Blair must continue to improve defensively, return to rebounding the ball at the high rate he had in his first two seasons, and continue along the offensive pace he set in this season’s first few games.

The Timberwolves Shooting

aka “Dr. K. Love (Or: How We Learn That Some Nights Teams Are Just On Fire and Win the Game)”

Minnesota ended the night shooting an amazing 58% from the field and 57% from three, but those numbers are misleading; the T-Wolves actually shot the ball way better. With about half the third quarter gone, the Timberwolves were still above 70% shooting from the field. Entering the fourth quarter Minnesota had hit 11 of 14 three pointers, a whopping 79%. No, these aren’t typos. Wesley Johnson, for example, had been averaging just over 5 points per game on 31% shooting. Last night he went 6 of 6 for 14 points. Overall as a team, the Spurs weren’t playing defense that terribly*. The younger Wolves, who were noticeably more energetic despite beating Dallas the night before, simply shared the ball to perfection. Playing the exact sort of balanced, pass-first, efficient and effective offensive that new coach Rick Adelman is known for, the home squad bombarded the visiting Spurs with bucket after bucket. When a team is playing that lights out, chances are they’re going to win, and unlike last year when Minnesota twice surrendered big leads to San Antonio, the Timberwolves never really let the Spurs back in it as they coasted to a 106-96 win.

In what was supposed to be a big time early season test for the new look Los Angeles Clippers, the hometown San Antonio Spurs completely humbled the visitors 115-90. Second year star Blake Griffin posted impressive numbers of 28 points and 9 rebounds, but was mostly embarrassed on the defensive end en route to a shockingly poor -37 plus/minus. Overall, the Spurs looked very much like a well-oiled machine on the night, where as Los Angeles looked very much like a squad that still has plenty of questions left to answer after acquiring Chris Paul just two and a half weeks ago. While it should come as no surprise that the accomplished squad with the intact core K’O'ed the hastily assembled young guns, the extent of the beat down still surprised many. How the Spurs were able to pull off the victory was a testament to perhaps basketball’s two most important factors; defense and efficiency. Here’s a look at those two aspects and one more that helped shape last night’s game.

Offensive efficiency:

Last night the Spurs shot an excellent 56.3% from the field and turned the ball over 15 times, with the starters combining for just 6 turnovers all night. Most impressively, the Spurs made over half their three point attempts, going 10/19, and made every single one of their 15 free throws. That’s right, the Spurs went 100% from the stripe. Our starters dominated, posting a plus/minus average of +18.4. The individual play of four particular starters stood out, especially in terms of how efficiently they played last night. Manu Ginobili once again led the Spurs with 24 points, going 6/10 from the field, 5/8 from three, and 7/7 from the line. Tony Parker shot an excellent 6/9, working for his shot all night long and setting up teammates when it wasn’t there. In the end, TP ended up with 9 assists in 26 minutes, and only turned the ball over once. DeJuan Blair absolutely abused Blake Griffin on the offensive end. Granted, he didn’t offer much resistance against the superstar defensively, but any night Blair can post 20 points on 10/15 shooting San Antonio will gladly take it. Lastly, Richard Jefferson was an absolute marvel against the Clips, facing off against his would-be replacement, Caron Butler, and totally outshining him. Going 8/9 from the field (3/4 from three), Jefferson looked like he couldn’t miss, and to be honest I don’t even remember the one time he did so. Finishing with 19 points to go along with his 14 on Monday, Jefferson is having the exact start to the season Spurs fans were hoping for…though maybe not expecting. The Spurs had 27 assists on the night and ultimately just looked like a team that has few kinks left to work out early on in this strange season. Clippers coach, and former Spur, Vinny Del Negro summed up San Antonio’s performance on the night while simultaneously pointing out exactly what separates our squad from his in his post-game comments.  The Spurs  “shot it really well tonight,” said Del Negro, “They hit some tough shots when they had to. But you expect that. They have been together for awhile.”

Defense:

Coming into the game, the main question was whether San Antonio’s thin frontcourt could keep up with the dynamic athleticism of Griffin, DeAndre Jordan, and the Lob City Clips. Fortunately, that question was answered not through individual efforts, but a stifling brand of team defense that never allowed the Clippers to get hot and gain momentum. Very few highlight plays were allowed by the Spurs D, and likewise San Antonio allowed few easy buckets. On the night, San Antonio held L.A. to just 39.2% shooting, and though they forced only half the turnovers they did against Memphis, the Spurs never allowed the Clippers to get comfortable on offense. This fact is best represented by Paul’s numbers, as the superstar floor general went a disappointing 3/10 from the field for just 10 points to go along with 9 assists in 36 minutes.

Minutes:

Spurs fans will be happy to see that no member of the big three played over 27 minutes, and neither, for that matter, did any other starter. Overall, ten Spurs played somewhere between 18 and 27 minutes, a stat that not only bodes well for the depth of the squad, but also sets us up nicely heading into tonight’s game against the Houston Rockets. Blow out wins are nice, but they are especially nice on the first night of back-to-backs, and Coach Popovich has to hope more games in this condensed season will see a similar distribution of minutes.

Last night I had the good fortune to get a last minute invite to the Spurs season opener against the Memphis Grizzlies. Beaten down by a long week of work and illness, followed by a long weekend of good times in my hometown, tied up with previous plans in place and faced with a daunting, late-night drive back to Austin ahead of me, I naturally jumped at the chance. The people of San Antonio were more than ready for the return of their Spurs, and, needless to say, the stadium was rocking from the tip. The Spurs rode the home crowd through an offensively offensive first quarter to a one point halftime deficit, before completely locking down the Grizz in the third, building a big lead, and finishing the night with a 95-82 victory and a 1-0 start to the season. Rather than further recap the game in length, this article will focus on a few individual Spurs of interest, and what we can take away from their performances on opening night.

Manu Ginobili (by far a team high +17 when on the floor) – What can be said about San Antonio’s fearless Argentine that hasn’t been already? A classic performance from Manu, as, once again, he did it all last night. I remember one point, very early on in the game, I looked up at the score board to check Manu’s stats. So amazed was I with his heart and hustle, I simply had to check, and what did I see? 0 points, 0 fouls, 2 assists, and 1 rebound. Not the type of line that most players would be satisfied with, even in the first quarter, but, at that point, Manu had to have already taken two charges, drawn at least three offensive fouls of some kind in total, and gotten at least one of his three steals. Manu was the heart and soul of the team last night, and if he has many more games like this 24 point, 5 rebound, 4 assist, 3 steal, 1 block performance, the Spurs should be in for one heck of a season.

Kawhi Leonard – Leonard made his NBA debut last night, and the nerves were obvious. In his first trip to the line Leonard missed two free throws, and, later on, got his “Welcome to the NBA” moment via a Rudy Gay strip and steal that led to a monster dunk from the Memphis forward. Leonard simply couldn’t get anything going offensively at first, and yet his impact was impossible to miss. Unable to hit a shot from the field, Leonard helped his team with a flurry of hard-nosed rebounds and steals, using those legendary massive hands to wreak havoc on defense and poke away the ball time and again. Leaving the game I honestly thought Leonard had more steals than the two in the box score, but such is the disruptive force of Leonard’s style of play. An offensive rebound and put back led to one of Leonard’s two field goals, but it was the other that truly impressed. In the Spurs highlight of the night, Leonard drained a corner three after a behind the back dish from Ginobili following the veteran’s sick crossover and split of two defenders. There was an audible “ooo,” from the crowd, and the pressure was definitely on the rookie to make the shot, and after he once again rose to the occasion  for the Spurs (preseason game winner, anyone?) the stadium rewarded him with perhaps its biggest roar of the night. When it was all said and done, Leonard finished with 6 points on a disappointing 2 of 9 shooting, 6 rebounds (4 offensive), 2 steals, and an assist in just 14 minutes.

Tiago Splitter – With Tim Duncan in foul trouble all night, Splitter played 33 minutes, tied with Tony Parker for the most on the team, and was a really big part of the Spurs’ victory. Offensively, Splitter left a lot to be desired, shooting 2 of 7 from the field with both buckets coming off of nice assists. Defensively, Splitter was a force. Splitter was a huge part of a Spurs defense that forced Memphis into committing 24 turnovers, and held Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph to a combined 23 points and 12 boards. The Brazilian big man finished the night with 2 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 5 points and a solid 8 boards.

Richard Jefferson – The embattled RJ did exactly what the Spurs needed him to on opening night. After an offseason which saw him narrowly escape the amnesty axe, Jefferson came out last night like a professional and dropped 14 points on a solid 5 of 11 effort from the field, including 3 of 7 from behind the arc. Most impressively, with the big three on the bench for a stretch in the second quarter, Jefferson scored two or three buckets while he and the Spurs reserves regained the lead.

James Anderson – A lot of people in the Spurs fan base are expecting a lot of things from the second year Anderson after his rookie campaign was cut short by injury. Anderson got 21 minutes in the opener, getting a nice 9 points on 4 of 9 shooting, though he went a disappointing 1 of 5 from three point range. What impressed me most about Anderson wasn’t apparent in the box score. From the minute he stepped on the court until the end of the game, Anderson was ready to shoot. The former Big 12 scoring champ was fearlessly looking for his shot all night long, yet he played within himself throughout the game and very rarely forced it.

Matt Bonner – Oh dear. Where to begin? Bonner had one of those incredible absentee performances that, especially upon seeing how many minutes he was out on the floor later, truly boggles the mind. In 28 minutes (fifth most on the squad), Bonner managed to grab exactly ZERO rebounds, while scoring three points on 1 of 6 shooting (1 of 5 from downtown), getting two assists, and posting a donut in every other statistical category. How this line is possible for a 6’10’’ man in 28 minutes of play is entirely beyond comprehension, though one thing that is easy to understand is the soon to be reignited vitriol sputtering forth from many Spurs fans toward the Red Rocket.

I would say that the Miami Heat Dwyane Wade and Friends were just beat with the Ugly Stick, perhaps the entire Ugly Tree. And they can expect another drubbing on March 14th.

Highlights Below:

The Spurs became the first team to reach 50 wins this season by beating up on the poor, defenseless Cavaliers. Hey, somebody had to do it. George Hill (I told you he’d fill in nicely for Parker) led the team to a 109-99 victory with 22 points, five rebounds, and five assists. DeJuan Blair had a double-double with 14 points and 10 boards. Tim Duncan only had to play 23 minutes but still scored 16 points along with six assists, three blocks, and four boards. Also, Gary Neal returned to score 14 off the bench.

The Cavs were led by the Man, the Myth, the Legend – Samardo Samuels. I don’t know either, but I wish the guy in my keeper league who picked him up would stop squawking about him already. Samuels had 23 points and 10 rebounds in his first start. Not bad, now let’s see you do it again. Former Spur, Alonzo Gee, had 18 points and seven rebounds.

Also, so much for the Spurs getting Corey Brewer. The Mavs are set to sign Brewer today. Frankenhead strikes again I guess. It won’t help them though – at least not against the Spurs. Feel free to get out of the first round this year though. And, in the words of Michael Scott , “Boom, roasted!”

It’s not their first Rodeo (road trip), it just looked like it last night. The Spurs lost 77-71 to Philly after shooting a mere 33% from the field and scoring only 25 points in the second half. Maybe it’s the travel, maybe it was just a weird day in the NBA. The Jazz played their first game in 1000 years without Jerry Sloan as coach (and they lost). Also, the Cavs won their first game in eons. Just a weird day I say.

The Spurs committed 16 turnovers, but out-rebounded the Sixers 57-46 and held them to 35% shooting. Also the Spurs bench outscored the Sixers bench 27-16. The problem was that our starting backcourt was outplayed by Jrue Holiday. Manu and Tony combined for 17 points on 5-of-20 shooting (0-of-5 from downtown and 7-of-10 from the line), six turnovers, 10 assists and a steal. Holiday had 27 points on 9-of-14 shooting (3-of-4 from downtown and 6-of-6 from the line), five rebounds, two assists, and three steals. Richard Jefferson’s 1-for-8 night didn’t help matters, but at least he held Andre Iguodala in check (seven points on 2-of-15 shooting, four boards, six assists). Call it an off day I guess.

On the bright side Duncan looked good with a 16-point, 13-rebound effort. McDyess also had a double-double with 11 points and 11 boards. Also, DeJuan Blair had 14 rebounds and eight points (3-of-11 from the floor though… *sigh*).

Highlights and lowlights below:

The complete rosters for the 2011 NBA All-Star game were released on Thursday and the Spurs have two players who were chosen as reservers – Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Duncan is averaging 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks per game this season. Manu Ginobili is averaging 18.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game this season. Tony Parker (17.3 points, 6.7 assists) missed the cut. While there is going to be another player selected to take Yao Ming’s place on the team (he’s been injured for basically two years, how the !@#% did he get voted in?!) I wouldn’t hold out much hope for Parker. I expect the slot to go to LaMarcus Aldridge… at least it should. The Celctics lead all teams with four players (Rondo, Garnett, Allen, Pierce).

Spurs vs Lakers

The Spurs topped the Lakers last night 89-88 on a McDyess tip-in off a Duncan miss just before the buzzer. And this is why the Spurs are the best. Parker misses, no problem. Ginobili misses, no problem. Duncan misses, no problem. The Spurs don’t stand around and hope one guy will save them (*COUlakersGH*), or have three stars and a bunch of scrubs (COheatGH*). Honestly this year should be the Boston Celtics vs the Spurs in the Finals. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be a great match-up. Anyway, the main problem the Spurs had last night was poor shooting, only 41% from the field. Tim Duncan was only 3-of-12 for eight points points plus eight rebounds. Parker led the team with 21 points, Jefferson had 18, and Ginobili had 14 along with eight assists. McDyess finished with eight points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Kobe was one rebound short of a triple-double. Guess which rebound he wishes he got. Mwahahaha.

Highlights Below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KgjuG_GhHw

NY 128, SA 115

I was certain the Spurs would roll right on through Madison Square Garden and face the Celtics with a six-game winning streak on the line. Apparently, the Knicks had different plans as they shot the lights out in a 128-115 victory. I didn’t want to blame the Spurs defense for allowing 128 points, including 72 in the first half. I wanted to say that the truth is the Knicks were just on that night. It’s partially true – that really was one of those ridiculous games that comes out of nowhere – one of those games that, if it happened on the playground, you’d be like, “Nah, uh-uh, run that back.” But then, of course, they let Boston go off on them the very next night… but I’ll get to that in a minute.

The Knicks pretty much ran amuck with three main guys…

Amare Stoudemire: 28 points (11-of-17), nine rebounds, six assists, three blocks – Amare is having a great season
Raymond Felton: 28 points (10-of-17), seven assists, four rebounds – Felton is proving to be the point guard the Knicks needed
Wilson Chandler: 31 points (13-of-19), nine rebounds, four assists, one steal – See why I was hoping the Knicks would trade him to San Antonio as part of their quest to get Carmelo Anthony?

As for the Spurs, well they weren’t too shabby either from the offensive standpoint as six players scored in double figures…

Manu Ginobili: 15 points, five boards, five assists, one steal, one block
Tony Parker: 26 points, six assists, two boards, two steals
DeJuan Blair: 17 points, eight boards, one steal
Richard Jefferson: 13 points, three boards, one assist
Tim Duncan: 14 points, six boards, one assist, one steal, one block
George Hill: 13 points, two boards, one assist

They shot 54% from the field, but it just wasn’t enough as the Spurs allowed the Knicks to shoot 55% and just ran out of gas in the fourth quarter.

BOS 105, SA 103

So that brings us to Boston. Blair fizzled away again, only playing 11 minutes, but everyone else played fairly well… except for letting Rajon Rondo go off for a triple-double (12 points, 10 rebounds, 22 assists – wait, what the?) and Ray Allen shoot 13-of-16 from the floor for 31 points. Oh, and Glen Davis pretty much got whatever he wanted as he put up 23 points.  Paul Pierce also finished with 18 points and seven boards. This time the Spurs only shot 45% from the floor, but allowed the Celtics too shoot a whopping 61%.

And therein lies the problem. Back-to-back games allowing ridiculously high field goal shooting will never get it done. I only hope the Pacers don’t have the game of their season tomorrow and shoot 60% while Granger goes off for 50 points on 20-for-25 shooting.

Of course, a game against the Pacers is probably just what the Spurs need to get back to their winning ways.

Count me among the NBA fans who enjoy watching the Lakers lose. It wasn’t always this way, but that Kobe guy just irks me. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the Spurs thrashing of the Lake-No-Shows last night 97-82. The Lakers played (count em) ONE good quarter -- and that was the 2nd. I am not sure it was even them playing a good quarter as much as it was the Spurs having a bad one. At any rate, the Lakers have now lost three straight and Kobe is starting to (maybe) realize that his 30-ish% shooting is as much to blame as anyone else on the team. He was 8-for-27 from the field. It doesn’t help that Pau Gasol, Ron Artest, and Lamar Odom barely made a dent in the game, Shannon Brown was 1-for-11 and their point guards suck. All in all, the Lakers shot 35% from the field and committed 16 turnovers -- and five were courtesy of Kobe Bryant. At least Andrew Bynum is coming along (10 points and 7 boards in 22 minuntes). If he’s available in your fantasy league then now is a good time to snatch him up.

On the flip side, San Antone handled their biz as usual. Aside from Duncan having a horrible game (1-of-7 from the filed for 2 points, 4 boards and 2 assists in 30 minutes), everyone else was decent or better. Tony Parker had another great game going off for 23 points, two boards, two steals, and three assists without a single turnover. It’s so nice to see him not turning the ball over five times a game like last year. Also -- DeJuan-Frikkin-Blair was awesome with 17 points, 15 rebounds, two steals and a block. Now that’s what I’m talking about. I can’t see why he doesn’t approach those numbers more often. It’s not like the Lakers lack size or anything.

George Hill played 27 minutes and had 10 points, nine rebounds, four blocks, three assists, and two steals -- no turnovers. Meanwhile, Gary Neal only played about 18 minutes. Like I said, it’s time to move on if you picked him up in your fantasy league.

Speaking of George Hill, Kobe almost provoked him in to going Chris Childs on him at one point. Peep the video below: