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.

As if the Spurs being ousted by the Suns wasn’t bad enough. My Playoff Predictions went from perfect to utterly ruined in Round Two as the Cavs choked against the Celtics in what could be LeBron’s last championship run in Cleveland.

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The Spurs defeated the Mavs 97-87  and won the series 4-2. The Suns finished off the Blazers last night 99-90 and will be the next team the Spurs face.

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I couldn’t help but goad Chris Stuckey from MavsBall.com into a little smack talk over the first round matchup between the Spurs and Mavs. Here’s our email exchange:

Brian (Spurs of the Moment) vs Chris (MavsBall)

Brian: Chris, I noticed you mentioned that Popovich was being arrogant since he benched Duncan and Ginobili for the season finale. I think it was more a testament to a) not wanting to risk injury to a key player after finally getting everyone healthy again, and b) not wanting to risk facing the Jazz. What do you think?
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Chris: If you say that resting Ginobili and Duncan was in part due to the fact that the Spurs did not want to risk playing the Jazz, you are disrespecting Mavs. I understand not wanting to risk injury, but the Jazz excuse is weak.
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Yeah, Utah is crazy good at home and if the Spurs had to play the Jazz they would be playing that series without the luxury of home court advantage.  That would certainly be a tough task but why would playing the Mavs be an easier?  Who has the best road record of any team in the Western Conference?  That would be the Dallas Mavericks.Â
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Let me get this straight.  The Spurs would rather play a team that is great at home and the best on the road than a team that is one game over .500 on the road?  Child, please.
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Brian: Given that the Jazz beat the Spurs all four times this season I am personally more worried about them than those choke artist Mavs, then again, maybe I am crazy (probably) and Popovich could care less. That’s entirely plausible and probably the case. The concern over injury is legit though. After all, Manu missing the playoffs last year sure didn’t hurt the Mavs effort to advance.
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Chris: Sounds to me like Pops is trying to channel his inner-Phil Jackson.  Head games galore.  The media is making this more of a story than it really is and I guarantee you Pops is loving it.  But I do think that Pops wanted the Mavs and that’s exactly what he got.  Be ready.
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Brian: What do you think are keys to this series for the Mavericks?
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Chris: The Mavs can’t let Ginobili beat them.  Manu is by far the best player on that eyesore of a Spurs roster and when healthy he is borderline dominant.  But that’s where Shawn Marion enters the picture.  The Matrix is the best defender in the league…yeah I said it.  Beware.
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Some other keys are bench scoring and the battle of the second scoring options.
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Brian: Which league are we talking about again? I’m just wondering if that’s the same Shawn Marion that let Richard Jefferson drop 29 on the Mavs earlier this year, then have a 13-point and 11-rebound game, and a 15 point game after that? I’ll be the first to admit that RJ took a long time to adjust to the Spurs system, but the Mavs are going to have to account for him cuz he seems to have an easier time against them.
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Bench scoring I think will be a wash. The Mavs have some nice backups in Terry and Beaubois, the Spurs have Blair and Hill. Even Matt Bonner and Roger Mason can be problematic when they come in and start hitting threes right away. The problem for the Mavs is that Blair is a madman on the glass and can grab a ton of offensive boards. Dirk or Marion are likely to get an arm ripped off they try to battle him for a rebound. I gotta admit that Haywood is going to be a nuisance, but I think McDyess and Blair can hold down the fort – not to mention Duncan.
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Chris:  It’s hard to take Matt Bonner seriously when my banker looks more athletic. The dude can shoot but he’s streaky at best. Just another reason to not like the Spurs.
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Is Blair going to get many minutes? He’s a rookie with no playoff experience or ACLs.

Brian: Ahh, the ACLs again. They didn’t stop him from having a 27-point, 23 rebound game in the season finale in Dallas. I don’t expect that in the playoffs, but he is clearly a force on the glass and can give the Mavs problems in the paint.
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What matchup do you think the Spurs should be most worried about?
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Chris: The big German. Honestly, who on the Spurs can guard Dirk Nowitzki?  Still thinking?  Perusing the roster?  Yeah, I can answer that.  No one.  Prepare the double-team.  But just want to let you know, Dirk will throw 10 assists on the Spurs if they double him.
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Brian:  You may have forgotten about this guy named Tim Duncan, but he is a pretty decent Power Forward and has been known to play some good defense. Now if Dirk actually remembers how to take the ball to the hole he might do well, but I don’t see him sticking a ton of those jump shots over Duncan. Never know though, they usually have a pretty good battle, especially when the teams are both at full strength which neither team has really been in any meeting this year. I don’t think Dirk can count on another silly foul from Ginobili to help them squeak into the next round though.

What matchup are you most worried about?
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Chris:  You must be talking about the Mavs currently unknown second round opponent…right?  Nah.  I’m just kidding.  The Mavs should be worried about Ginobili. They can’t sleep on him or his bald spot.
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Brian: I would agree with that. And yes, the bald spot has a dizzying, hypnotic sort of power. We have already seen it work against Dampier, or is he always that useless?
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Chris:  Ask Timmy D if Dampier is useless then get back to me.

It’s your turn.  What matchup are you most worried about?

Brian: You mean besides a classic Duncan vs Dampier battle? Hmm, I would have to agree with you and say Dirk. Like I said, if he settles for jumpers all series then the Mavs are beatable. When he goes to the rack, the rest of the team follows his lead and that’s when they get to be the most dangerous since as soon as teams start clogging the paint it starts raining threes. Duncan’s lateral movement isn’t what it once was, so if Dirk insists on taking him or McDyess off the dribble more often than not then we’re in for some long nights. Heaven forbid Popovich puts Bonner on him.
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Chris:  Let’s get this on the record.  What is your official series prediction?  I have the Mavs taking down the Spurs in six games.  The Mavs are simply a better basketball team.  Don’t be a homer, Brian.

Brian: I say Spurs in six. It will be Miami and Golden State all over again. High expectations and no delivery, but either way it should be another great Texas Shootout.

 

Thanks, Chris! I know we’re both looking forward to Sunday night’s tipoff and more smack talk next week!

Go Spurs!

Well, in an update to my earlier statement that I think Pop should rest several key players tonight, it appears that the Spurs’ coach has every intention of doing the exact opposite. Shows what I know… I think. As Coach P puts it…

“We just go into the game to play it,” Popovich said after the Spurs’ morning shootaround at American Airlines Center. “There are other factors that help determine what seed you’re going to be that you don’t control, so the best thing to do is just continue to try to be the best team you can be by the time the playoffs start.

“If it’s Dallas, it’s Dallas. If it’s somebody else, it’s somebody else. You really can’t control everything, so there’s no sense trying. Just do your best. That’s what you can control.”

So I guess that’s that. Now part of me wants the Mavs to take control early so that Pop will be forced to rest guys anyway, but that desire is over-ridden by the notion that the Spurs coming to play their best basketball as usual – and losing in a blowout – would be a bad taste to go into the playoffs with, especially since they’d be playing the same Mavs team. So now we are left to hope for a Suns win tonight in Utah or the Blazers to lose to Golden State that so we don’t get stuck with a Utah-Spurs first round series that will probably = first round exit. I’m not trying to be a pessimist or anything, but let’s face it, the Jazz have had the Spurs’ number all season and I don’t see that changing next week.

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 did what they’ve done all year long – beat the crap out of bad teams, then proceed to crumble against the real competition. Golden State is now 19-50 and Atlanta is now 45-24. The Spurs are 41-27 and hanging onto the 7th seed in the West. A lot of good it will do if they don’t learn to beat good teams in the next couple of weeks.

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It’s Friday (finally!) and the Spurs have a game against the Warriors, plus the March Madness continues (Go Kentucky!). There’s a nice article at hoopsworld.com on the maturation of Spurs youngsters DeJuan Blair and George Hill. Both have had to start a significant number of games this year and are clearly going to be integral pieces of the Spurs’ future.

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The Spurs have won seven of their last eight games and are on a three game winning streak again after that debacle against Cleveland. OK, so they only played the Clippers, T-Wolves, and Knicks, but as the Knicks showed our North Texas Nemesis, if you don’t come to play, there are no easy wins in this league – not even against the cellar dwellers.

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