Spurs of the Moment

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…

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.

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.

There is a new and improved rumor involving Tony Parker. This one has him going to the Pacers for Troy Murphy, Brandon Rush, and the Number 10 overall pick in the NBA Draft.

I am not sure what to think of this one just yet. On the one hand, I do not want to see the Spurs part with Tony. I think George Hill is great, but I am not 100% convinced he can replace Tony. Plus I hate the Pacers so there’s that. Then again, Troy Murphy is a great rebounder and can shoot the three – he is basically a one man replacement for Antonio McDyess and Matt Bonner. Brandon Rush is decent player with upside, but I am not sure where (or if) he fits into the Spurs system. Then we come to the #10 overall pick. That’s the most interesting piece of this puzzle. Would they go after Ed Davis, Ekpe Udoh, Cole Aldrich? Try and trade up some more for a shot at someone like DeMarcus Cousins? Who knows? I am somewhat intrigued by this scenario tho, and I trust Popovich and Buford to do what’s in the best interest of the team and winning another championship. We’ll just have to wait and see whow much truth there is to this one.

It all started with Phil Jackson playing his little mind games with the media, the public, the refs, and the opposition. Jackson accused Nash of travelling … frequently. However, Nash decided to take a little jab of his own by stating:

“It’s news to me. I’m fortunate. I don’t know if I’ve been called for a carry yet,” he said after the Suns practiced Saturday, then he added straight-faced: “I’ve never heard anyone accuse me of carrying it. I mean, the best coach in the league Gregg Popovich [of San Antonio] didn’t have a problem with it last week.”

Now I can’t say for sure if he meant it or was just trying to get under Phil’s skin, but it’s certainly debatable anyway. Now I am adding this as a 5th reason I want the Suns to beat LA.

In other news, Roger Mason just had hand surgery. I’m not exactly too concerned with this since I am betting he won’t be a Spur next season anyway.

Tony Parker does not want to go to New York. In fact, Parker is trying to make it perfectly clear that he wants to be a Spur and nothing else.

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The Spurs beat the Miami Heat last night 88-76. The game ended up being a lot close than it should have considering that the Spurs had a 24-point lead in the first half. The Spurs outscored Miami 29-14 in the first quarter, but the Heat tried to make a little run late in the game and even outscored the Spurs by six points in the second half. In the end, the early damage was too much, Ginobili was too much, and the Heat not being able to hit shots was too much.

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