Spurs of the Moment

I just felt compelled to touch on a few topics real quick…
A couple of weeks ago it was reported that Allen Iverson could be headed to China to play ball. Is AI’s ego really so out of control that he would rather play in China than be a backup in the NBA? If so, then all I can say is “Wow”… have fun in China sucka.

Greg Oden’s knee is still in shambles. I am gonna say that by roughly November 2012 we will all be on the same page about Oden being a bust.

I like the Golden State Warriors so I am delighted that Don Nelson has finally been relieved of his coaching duties. He seemed to be on a mission to ruin as many careers as possible while in Golden State. He ran off Baron Davis, feuded with Monta Ellis, inexplicably toyed with everyone’s minutes, possibly ruined Anthony Randolph (I think he’ll show and prove in NY tho, if the Knicks don’t trade him to Denver for Melo first), and basically started D-League teams half the time for no apparent reason other than he is a crazy old man.

LeBron is still an ass. Sorry, no link. I think the evidence is everywhere.

The NBA is making Technical Fouls even more stupid than ever. In an effort to eliminate any passion or emotional connection to the game at hand, refs will now be able to call techs on players for punching the air in frustration. I can only assume that glaring at a ref will now draw an automatic 20 game suspension. Atta boy, David Stern.

Ever wonder why Avery wasn’t missed in Dallas?

There was a rumor floating around in cyberspace this week about the Knicks possibly trading Wilson Chandler to the Spurs for their first round pick in 2011. Apparently the Knicks want to use the pick in a Melo trade. I’m down with both of those moves. There may be some truth to it.

The NBA Playoffs are ready to start and the bracket is below along with my thoughts on each round and my own predictions all the way to the NBA Finals. If I am wrong then so be it, but if I get it right I need proof that I “knew it all along” so here goes…

First Round
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs Oklahoma City Thunder > LA Lakers
This has the potential to be one of the funnest matchups in a long time. Durant is the youngest scoring champ in NBA history and is going against one of the best players the league has ever seen. It has all the makings of one of those classic “pass the torch” matchups. The only problem is that it isn’t. The Thunder just aren’t there yet and will be lucky to win a game against a well coached Lakers team who will make quick work of the young OKC squad. Scott Brooks is on his way as a fine coach, but this is where the real lessons are learned and the happy-to-be-in-the-playoffs-Thunder are going to get a quick, not-so-subtle lesson in humility. Still, I think that Durant and company will make this an entertaining series and Kobe has no shortage of fans or haters (me included) to keep things extra interesting. Prediction: Lakers in 5

Denver Nuggets vs Utah Jazz > Utah Jazz
The Nuggets are falling apart and have lost their coach and their mojo over the past month. They are 6-7 in their past 13 games and got pummeled in a blow-out loss against Phoenix in their season finale. Coach Karl is expected to miss at least the first round of the playoffs which means he is basically going to miss the playoffs. However, the Jazz don’t exactly inspire much confidence either, especially after the way they lost in their season finale, also against the Phoenix Suns. I think that neither team is a serious contender but they will battle eachother to a near standstill before one ultimately prevails  over the other only to get ousted in the next round. Prediction: Jazz in 7

Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trail Blazers > Phoenix Suns
The Suns are on a mission right now after thrashing both Denver and Utah in the past week en route to a 14-2 finish. The Blazers are likely going to be without their leading scorer and best overall player, Brandon Roy. The Blazers have shown that they can meet many challenges over the course of the season, but this is the end of the line for Portland. They can only hope that next year Greg Oden doesn’t get another case of janky-knees or pose for anymore risque pictures. Prediction: Suns in 5

Dallas Mavericks vs San Antonio Spurs > San Antonio Spurs
Oh boy. Revenge or Repeat? I say revenge for the Spurs. The Mavs made a nice little blockbuster deal during All-Star Weekend, but Caron Butler is not having quite the impact he was expected to. He’s no slouch, and is miles better than the inconsistent, injury-plagued, blitzed out of his mind Josh Howard, but he is not taking this team to the next level – at least not yet. Haywood has probably had a bigger impact for the Mavs. Still, after the Mavericks went on their 13 game win streak shortly after the trade, they came back down to earth and started looking mortal again. Can they win it all? Certainly, but they are known more for blowing up for no apparent reason than winning championships. Enter the Spurs. San Antonio has been slowly but surely integrating several new players into the Spurs system and while the results were not so great early on, they are now showing signs of being a legit contender. They can absolutely upset the Mavericks and anyone else in their path. Last year the Spurs didn’t have Manu Ginobili for the playoffs, and this year he returned to form in a big way and got a $39 million contract extension to boot. George Hill’s defense will factor in as well. He won’t stop Kidd from getting his fair share of assists, but he can keep the point guards for the Mavs from running amok. I’ll do a more in-depth preview of this matchup, but for now let’s just say that this matchup has “upset” written all over it. Prediction: Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Chicago Bulls > Cleveland Cavaliers
The Bulls barely managed to make the playoffs, and while their epic series against the Celtics showed a lot of promise, the only promise they have this year is a swift execution. Cleveland is the favorite in the East if not the league and will dispatch the Bulls quickly and with authority. Prediction: Cavs in 4

Boston Celtics vs Miami Heat > Boston Celtics
The Celtics are nowhere near the dominant team they were a few years ago when they were NBA champs. The Big Three are older, slower, and a little bit rickety. Even Doc Rivers is hinting at bailing out before it gets worse next season. They just aren’t the same squad. Bill Simmons blames Rasheed Wallace to an extent which is probably about accurate, although I think it’s more an effect than a cause. The cause is that they simply aren’t as hungry, aren’t as desperate, and aren’t as good as they once were. Having said that, the Miami Heat have very little chance of advancing. As hopeless as I think the Celtics are when it comes to winning it all this year, the Heat are not any better. Can they upset the Celtics? Certainly. Will they? I think not. Prediction: Celtics in 7

Atlanta Hawks vs Milwaukee Bucks > Atlanta Hawks
I don’t really like Milwaukee, but I like Brandon Jennings. He won’t be able to win this for the Bucks though. Atlanta has a veteran point guard in Bibby who will run all over the Bucks who really don’t have anyone on the team that’s playoff tested unless you count Jerry Stackhouse or Kurt Thomas  – and I don’t. John Salmons has a little bit of experience with Chicago, but that won’t be enough to overcome the Hawks. Atlanta wants everyone to know they are for real, and they are not going to let the Bucks stand in their way. Prediction: Hawks in 6

Orlando Magic vs Charlotte Bobcats > Orlando Magic
The Charlotte Bobcats are making their first playoff appearance with Larry Brown leading the charge. They have the coaching and the personnel to flat out embarrass the Orlando Magic if they don’t come with it. I still don’t see it happening though. The Bobcats are good, but Orlando has too many weapons at every position and even an injury to one of the Magic’s key players probably wouldn’t be enough to derail them this early on. They need to focus on this opponent and this round though, or they will be taking an early vacation. Prediction: Magic in 6

Second Round
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs Utah Jazz > LA Lakers
The Lakers will be well rested and the Jazz will be out of their element in this round. Aside from Deron Williams at point guard, the Jazz have no favorable matchups in this round and he won’t have an easy day with everyone from Fisher, to Kobe, to Artest pushing him around. Prediction: Lakers in 6

Phoenix Suns vs San Antonio Spurs > San Antonio Spurs
I don’t know why, but for some reason the Spurs always own the Suns. Maybe God hates the Suns or maybe just likes the Spurs – I don’t know. Maybe the fix is in. Either way, the Spurs almost always beat the Suns and this will be no different. Prediction: Spurs in 6

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Boston Celtics > Cleveland Cavaliers
This is where the wheels fall off for Boston. This will be the last time the Big Three play in a series together, the last time Boston is considered a true contender, and hopefully the last time we are forced to look at Rasheed Wallace’s man-boobs. One can only hope. Prediction: Cavs in 6

Atlanta Hawks vs Orlando Magic > Orlando Magic
Orlando can smell the NBA Finals by this point and will be itching to get to Cleveland without being battered too much. That’s too bad though because the Hawks will give them everything they can handle. Atlanta has a good team, but not a great team, but they can take another step in the right direction in this series. Prediction: Magic in 7

Conference Finals
Western Conference:
LA Lakers vs San Antonio Spurs > LA Lakers
I want to be wrong. I want so desperately to be wrong, but I just don’t see it happening. The Spurs can beat the Lakers, but I fear that Artest and Kobe will harass RJ and Ginobili too much. I don’t think the Spurs can really account for Gasol and Bynum. The keys to this series for the Spurs will be the play of Tony Parker and George Hill at the point guard spot, and whether or not McDyess and Blair can neutralize Bynum at the center spot. The Spurs can beat the Lakers, but probably not four games out of seven. I just hope the Spurs batter the Lakers enough to weaken them for the Finals. Prediction: Lakers in 7

Eastern Conference:
Cleveland Cavaliers vs Orlando Magic > Cleveland Cavaliers
This is where the Magic are going to miss Hedo Turkoglu’s play-making ability. The Cavs defense is going to smother the Magic and do to them what they should have last season – knock them out of the playoffs. Prediction: Cavs in 6

NBA Finals
LA Lakers vs Cleveland Cavaliers > Cleveland Cavaliers
Kobe wants to repeat, but not as much as LeBron wants to win his first title. Kobe doesn’t have the same motivation that he had in previous seasons since Shaq left town, but LeBron has all the motivation in the world. Also, Shaq will surely enjoy snatching a championship away from Kobe. This is LeBron’s year and that’s all there is to it. The Cavs all know that if they don’t win it all, LeBron could walk. If they do win it all, there is no way LeBron walks away. Everyone in Cleveland knows this. You know it. I know it. The Lakers know it… and there is nothing they can do about it. Prediction: Cavs in 7

The Spurs have one more regular season game tonight and it’s against the Dallas Mavericks… of course. Still, the Spurs could face one of three different teams in the first round, and it’s anybody’s guess who that team will be. Let’s look at the different possible scenarios.

These are the current Western Conference Standings, with the ones in blue being pretty much stuck where they are:

Here are the key matchups tonight:

San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks
Phoenix Suns @ Utah Jazz
Portland Trail Blazers vs Golden State Warriors

So here are the possibilities:
Scenario 1) If San Antonio loses tonight or San Antonio wins andPortland wins, then the Spurs stay in the 7th seed and face the #2 seed. The #2 seed is Dallas if the Spurs lose, but if the Spurs win and Utah wins their game against Phoenix tonight then the Jazz will move into the #2 slot. So basically, in this scenario, the Spurs play the Mavs in the first round if the Mavs win tonight, or they’ll face Utah if the Jazz beat Phoenix and the Spurs beat Dallas and Portland beats the Warriors tonight. I think I would prefer the Mavs to Utah since the Jazz swept the season series, so  if I’m Coach Popovich I am seriously considering resting everybody.

Scenario 2) If San Antonio wins and Portland loses then the Spurs will move up to the #6 seed and play the #3 seed, which would end up being Dallas unless the Suns beat the Jazz, then the Spurs are off to Phoenix. I’d take that matchup since the Spurs always own the Suns, but it’s a little more improbable.

At least I am pretty sure that’s how it all would shake out, so if you were able to keep up with that, then we are rooting for a Utah loss at Phoenix so that regardless of who wins the Spurs-Mavs game tonight, the Spurs don’t face the Jazz. The Spurs face off against the Mavericks at 7 pm CT, a good 2.5 hours before the other two games start on the West coast, so maybe resting Duncan, Parker, Hill, and Ginobili, and preparing for the Mavericks is the way to go.

The Spurs pummeled the Timberwolves last night 133-111 for their 11th straight 50-win season. Unfortunately, this does not mean a high playoff seed in the West where 50 wins is barely  enough to get a team into the playoffs.

Eight Spurs players scored in double figures led by Keith Bogans with 17. You know it’s an easy game when Bogans is the high scorer on the team. McDyess sat this one out and Matt Bonner started at center, but no starter played more than 23 minutes. The Spurs shot 14-of-26 from downtown and were 58% from the field. They also had 12 turnovers to the Wolves’ 19. Ramon Sessions had the games lone double-double with 13 points and 10 assists off the bench for Minnesota.

Playoff Matchups
The Spurs play the Mavericks on Wednesday in what is very possibly a first round preview. Here’s the deal: If the Spurs lose to Dallas OR beat Dallas and Portland beats Golden State, then the Spurs will face Dallas in the first round. If the Spurs win in Dallas AND the Blazers lose to the Golden State Warriors on the same night, then the Spurs move a game ahead of Portland and will face the Denver Nuggets, Utah Jazz or Phoenix Suns in the first round. Denver is currently in 3rd with a half game lead on Utah and Phoenix. That 3rd spot is up for grabs though as Utah plays Golden State and Phoenix still, Phoenix plays Denver and Utah, and Denver plays only Phoenix. Honestly,  I would take any of those three teams over the Mavs or Lakers in the first round, but the Spurs’ first round fate is only in their hands so much. Of course, now that I think about it, if the Spurs beat the Mavs then Dallas could conceivably drop to 3rd place depending on how the Denver/Utah/Phoenix scenarios play out. This is getting too complicated for only two days left in the season. I’ll revisit this tomorrow.

Now the question is if Coach Popovich will resign himself to facing anyone but the Lakers and rest some key players on Wednesday when Dallas possibly rests some of their players.

The Spurs went back to their wishy-washy ways this weekend with a mind-boggling loss to the Grizzlies followed by another great win over the Denver Nuggets – a Western Conference contender. It’s a good thing the playoffs are starting soon because this recent trend of losing to bad teams but beating good ones will be much more useful in the coming weeks. Also, there hasn’t been a ton of minutes for Malik Hairston lately, but the good news is there haven’t been many for Keith Bogans either. At any rate, let’s recap the games a little bit and see what other Spurs news I can dig up.

Stupid Blue Bears
The Grizzlies beat San Antonio on Friday night thanks in part to Zach Randolph’s 28-point, 15-rebound performance. The Grizzlies outrebounded the Spurs 48-39 and held a 16-7 edge in offensive boards. It boiled down to the Spurs having seven more free-throw attempts, but the Grizzlies having 13 more field goal attempts – 10 of which they made. They were simply better at getting to the ball and outplayed the Spurs for the whole night except for the first quarter.

The game got out of hand in the second quarter when the Grizzlies scored 22 points in the paint on their way to 46 for the night. Watching Mike Conley run amuck at the end of the first half kinda shows you how important it is for George Hill to return.

Richard Jefferson had one of his off nights with only seven points on 1-of-4 shooting, and he only grabbed two rebounds. Not his A game in other words. Manu Ginobili, for his part, at least led the way for the Spurs with 26 points, eight rebounds, and five assists. A comforting stat line in light of his recent contract extension. Unfortunately he was off from downtown on 1-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc. Fortunately, Matt Bonner was able to hit 6-of-10 from deep on his way to 19 points off the bench. We needed every bit of it since McDyess was back to playing like crap (0-of-3 from the field for zero points, four boards and a turnover in 15 minutes), and DeJuan Blair couldn’t stay out of foul trouble (5 points, 3 rebounds, but four fouls in eight minutes). Tim Duncan did his usual double-double thing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, plus he had five assists. Temple was adequate with eight points as the starting point guard again, but Tony Parker played about the same amount of minutes (26) and had 13 points and eight assists. I think he will be starting again before season’s end.

No One’s Scared of the Nuggets
The Spurs showed up in Denver though, as they kept the pressure on the Nuggets all night before turning the game into a blowout in the 4th quarter. The Nuggets got about 50 technicals in the second half, two of which got Carmelo Anthony booted from the game. He finished with 19 points, four rebounds, two steals, one assist, and five turnovers. I kind of understand them losing their minds though. The Spurs shot 45  free throws in the game. That is not a typo. Forty-five free throws – they made 30 of them. The Spurs also outrebounded Denver 48-31 and shot 46% from the field compared to only 39% for the Nuggets. So basically it was everything that could wrong kind of did for the Nugs. Billups was on his game though with 27 points – he just couldn’t get anyone else going as he only had three assists. Yes, that was the team high for both.

For the Spurs, Tim Duncan had 18 points and 10 rebounds. RJ bounced back with 15 points, seven boards, and two assists. Ginobili was slowed down a little bit with only 15 points of his own to go with seven assists, three boards, and a steal. Temple was still the starter at point guard but only played 20 minutes, finishing with 11 points and four rebounds. He might have played more if not for foul trouble. Tony Parker played 31 minutes and had 12 points, six assists, two rebounds, and… you will never guess… five turnovers. Sheesh, man. DeJuan Blair had one of his better games lately with 12 points and eight rebounds in 19 minutes off the bench.

Next On the Schedule
There are only two games left. Monday night’s game against the T-Wolves, and the Wednesday night finale against the Dallas Mavericks. They should be able to win against the Wolves easy enough, unless they pull another Nets/Grizzlies game out of their hats, so the real fun will start on Wednesday when the Spurs play the Mavs. Then it’s Playoff Time! But I’ll get into all of that in my next update. Stay tuned…

Ginobili’s Summer
Manu signed a nifty contract for $39 Million over three years, but is still deciding on whether or not he will play in the World Championships this summer. Personally, I would like him to take off because it would suck immensely if he got hurt after the Spurs just gave him all that money. Also, with his wife set to give birth to twins, maybe staying with her is a better way to spend the down time this year. I wouldn’t blame him either way – he’s a professional basketball player so that’s what he does – period. Still, I hope he leans toward an easier summer. He says he will make his decision in the coming days.

It’s looking more and more like the Spurs will be settling for the 8th seed in the West. That’s not ideal, but it was only a month or so back that many of us worried about the Spurs even making the playoffs. Manu Ginobili’s re-emergence along with RJ finally fitting in and being consistently productive helped the Spurs finish March relatively strong. Right now, the remaining schedule looks like this:

Vs Orlando Magic (53-22) Fri, Apr 2 – 7:30 pm CT
@ Los Angeles Lakers (54-21) Sun, Apr 4 – 2:30 pm CT
@ Sacramento Kings (24-52) Tue, Apr 6 – 9:00 pm CT
@ Phoenix Suns (49-26) Wed, Apr 7 – 9:30 pm CT
Vs Memphis Grizzlies (38-36) Fri, Apr 9 – 7:30 pm CT
@ Denver Nuggets (49-27) Sat, Apr 10 – 8:00 pm CT
Vs Minnesota Timberwolves (15-60) Mon, Apr 12 – 7:30 pm CT
@ Dallas Mavericks (50-26) Wed, Apr 14 – 7:00 pm CT

What to Watch: Four of the five road games are against Western Conference teams that have better records than the Spurs. In a way this can be seen as a test since A) the Spurs will likely be facing either the Lakers or Mavs in the first round of the playoffs – and they face both teams this month, and B) they will not be the home team in any series of the playoffs. So basically, we get to see how well the Spurs can play on the road against playoff teams that they will likely be facing in a month.

Predictions: I think that if the Spurs can go 3-2 (or better) in those road games, or better yet go 3-2 against the four road-game contenders and Orlando, then we can be reasonably optimistic about them upsetting their first round opponent – that is IF they win the matchup this month against that same opponent (LA or Dallas). If the Spurs don’t beat either team and/or fail to win at least three of those five games, then I think we should prepare ourselves for a possible first round exit.

It looks as though Coach Popovich’s love affair with Michael Finley will be coming to an end today. Read more »

First off, the Spurs did the unthinkable and beat the Nuggets on Thursday night 111-92. It was a road win, a win against a playoff team, and great way to go into the All-Star Break. In other words, it completely defied logic, or at least my significantly lowered expectations. That makes the Spurs 3-2 on the Rodeo trip, and the next three games are against weaker teams, so they should be able to come back to San Antonio with the (minimum) 6-2 record I’d hoped for as well as a win over at least one of the three playoff caliber teams. At this point I will be happy with that scenario.

As for the All-Star festivities, Read more »

Are the Spurs interested in Chicago’s Ty Thomas and/or John Salmons? I like Salmons, but I am not sure where Thomas fits in, but either way the Spurs need to bench or dump RJ. It just isn’t working and I grow weary of his shenanigans.

Speaking of which…

One more person weighs in on the struggles of Richard Jefferson. Ah, yes… RJ bashing. It can’t go on forever though, so what about some solutions to the Spurs woes, such as…

Should Ginobili be starting, and would it “save the season”? It’s actually a good question, and I for one, don’t see why Coach Popovich hasn’t given it a fair shot this season.

Of course, there are other “issues” facing the Spurs besides their crummy record.

Before Oden, there was Hill. George Hill’s nude photos showed up on the interweb and the Spurs sent lawyers after them. When will people learn that nothing is sacred in the Internet Age? George says “my bad” (in so many words).

 Tomorrow the Spurs play the Denver Nuggets in what I consider a must-win game. Why? Because every game is a must win game, especially when you are losing a lot.

The All-Star Break is coming up this weekend and Tim Duncan will be starting for the West,  while DeJuan Blair will be in the Rookie Challenge game.

The trade deadline is next Thursday. Hopefully by next weekend something amazing will have occurred in the form of a trade or at least a few wins.

The Spurs lost to a Lakers team that was missing arguably the best player in the game right now and their starting center. They may as well have lost to Pau Gasol and four lucky fans last night. Gasol had some ridiculous numbers with 21 points, 19 rebounds, eight assists, five blocks, and a steal. Ron Artest had 18 points, and Lamar Odom had a double-double with 16 and 10. For the Spurs, the usual players showed up – Duncan (16 points, 15 boards), Parker (20 points, 8 assists), and Ginobili (21 points). The tandem of Antonio McDyess and DeJuan Blair had 15 points and 14 rebounds… not too bad. George Hill was a non-factor, and Richard Jefferson…. oh boy.

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