Spurs of the Moment

Well, the Magic definitely looked like they were an improved team after their recent trades, but unfortunately they decided to do so against the Spurs. It wasn’t even very close as the Spurs lost 123-101. It’s pretty difficult to win games when you allow the other team to score 123 points on 60% shooting. Gilbert Arenas finally came back to life and scored 14 points with nine assists and six boards, and is now looking more like a good fit with Orlando. They also got 15 points from Jason Richardson and 11 from Hedo Turkoglu. I don’t think they will miss Rashard Lewis and his lack of rebounding prowess. I am not worried about them too much, but I do sincerely hope they beat the crap out of Miami from now on.

Anyway, the Spurs were pretty much done in by poor defense and some off-shooting by Ginobili and a few others. Collectively they only shot 42% from the filed. George Hill is still out with a “strained right big toe” (huh?), but Gary Neal has continued to pick up the slack. Neal is now averaging 17.8 points and three rebounds in the past four games that Hill has missed. He’s shooting 47% from the field, 84% from the line, and 42% from downtown (11-for-26). Not too shabby.

Notable Spurs Stat Lines
Tim Duncan: 12 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist. Duncan shot 50% from the field and only played 20 minutes.
Tony Parker: 16 points, 3 assists, 1 rebounds. He also had 3 turnovers… his A/T ratio has been a decent 2.8 this season, but that sucked. He shot 7-0f-12 from the field tho.
Manu Ginobili: 10 points, 6 assists, 5 boards, and 1 block. He only shot 3-of-10 from the field and played just 20 minutes also.
DeJuan Blair: 10 points, 5 boards, 2 assists, and 3 steals. I am still not sure what to make of Blair this season. He can grab potentially 15 boards a game, but just hasn’t been getting close most nights.�
Tiago Splitter: 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Splitter had one of his better games so far in just over 17 minutes of action.
Richard Jeffferson: 10 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, and a steal. A little disappointing considering he played 30 minutes.
Matt Bonner: 10 points, 6 boards, 1 steal. And in seven fewer minutes than RJ.
Gary Neal: 16 points, 2 rebounds. His scoring has been great, but the lack of peripherals is worrisome. The NBA doesn’t need another scorer/one-trick-pony.

Highlights/Recap:

It’s been a weird month and a half to say the least. Being unable to post about the Spurs going 23-3 has been a little disappointing, but I can’t be too upset – I meant they’re 23-3! Plus they’re on (another) 8-game winning streak. About 1/3 through the season and the Spurs have the best record, and they are doing it with basically the same team from last year. RJ adapted in a big way, Manu is playing like an MVP, Duncan is rolling along as usual, and even Parker has been decent in spite of the impending divorce. (The divorce sucks by the way… it’s always nice to see Eva in the stands if only cuz it keeps the camera from showing us random people who look like they aren’t sure how to cheer or if they even want to be at the game. Plus she looks better than a dude wearing a Duncan jersey.) Tiago Splitter and DeJuan Blair – the two players who were supposed to make a significant impact this year – haven’t really done anything special to be honest. I’m not worried though. They play their roles and that’s what matters now.

Around the League
The Celtics and Mavs actually look pretty strong this year and Miami is in the midst of a 12 game winning streak as well. I still don’t think the Miami Dwyane Wades can compete with the Celtics in the playoffs tho. Also, Orlando just beefed up big time with the acquisitions of Gilbert Arenas and Jason Richardson. They also brought back Hedo Turkoglu who I contend they never should have let walk after their NBA Finals appearance. If Miami doesn’t make a power move soon to shore up their interior defense then they will not have a chance in May.

With the NBA season less than two weeks away, it’s time to unveil my Top 10 Spurs Fantasy Players. I am going to examine their value from a seasonal league and a keeper league perspective, and I will also name a few players who will be in similar draft positions so that you will get an idea of where to value them. Hopefully this information can help you all draft better teams than you would have otherwise… unless you’re in a league with me.

1. Tim Duncan (PF)
Duncan is the obvious choice here. Well, almost obvious. The concerns with Duncan – mainly injury history and age – are the same for the Spurs’ other two top dogs – Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. That’s why I can’t lower him for anyone else on the team, but it is worth mentioning that last year Duncan averaged his lowest rebounds (10.1 per game), points (17.9 per game), and blocks (1.5 per game) ever. His minutes went down to 31:18 per game, and the plan is to lower his minutes more this season as well as rest him in the second of back-to-back games. When he plays he will be the same double-double machine on most nights, but I wouldn’t recommend drafting him any higher than a 3rd round pick. For Power Forwards, I’d pick Amare, Dirk, Bosh, Pau Gasol, or David Lee before Duncan. However, I would pick Duncan before Zach Randolph, Odom, Millsap, or Jeff Green. In a Keeper League, this might be the last year you can get something for him in a trade, and I would avoid him in Keeper drafts unless he’s lingering there in the 6th or 7th round.

2. Manu Ginobili (SG)
Gino moves ahead of Parker for a couple of reasons. First off, he has seemingly shaken off the injury label – the same one that Parker picked up last season. Also, he had a great season last year and seemed rejuvenated on his way to tying his second-highest scoring average at 16.5 per game. He also averaged 3.8 rebounds, 1.4 steals, and a his most ever assists at 4.9 per game. He shoots well enough at 44% from the field and 87% from the charity stripe, plus he knocked down 132 threes last season. In fact, you could make a strong case for drafting him ahead of Duncan. There is one snag though, and that’s that Popovich likes to bring Manu off the bench a lot, so his minutes are usually in the 25-30 per game range. He’s probably about a 5th or 6th round pick, but I wouldn’t laugh at someone for reaching for him late in the 4th round. I wouldn’t pick him before OJ Mayo, Brandon Roy, or Monta Ellis, but I would pick him over Vince Carter, Kevin Martin, or Jason Terry. In a keeper league I would not pick him up earlier than the 6th round.

3. Tony Parker (PG)
Parker’s stats took a nosedive last season as his scoring dropped from 22 points per game to 16 and his assists went from 6.9 to 5.7 per game. For a point guard who is supposed to score and rack up assists, that just won’t do. It’s bad enough that he doesn’t give you much in rebounding or three-pointers, but then there’s the fact that the only stat he went up in was turnovers. I feel like he will bounce back from a rough year that saw him play in only 56 games. Still, I’m cautious when it comes to drafting fantasy teams, so I would not pick him earlier than the 6th round. I’d pick him before Johnny Flynn or Rodney Stuckey, but not before Chauncey Billups or Devin Harris. In keeper leagues, I’d probably leave him alone until the 7th round at the earliest unless all the good point guards are drying up fast.

4. George Hill (G)
Hill started 43 games last year, mostly in place of Tony Parker. However, he also switched to Shooting Guard for several games and even started alongside Parker sometimes. What does that mean? It means that he will get minutes and it means that he showed us that he is capable of putting up at least 12.4 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per game. He plays a major role on the Spurs not only because of his ability to fill in at both guard spots in the case of injuries, but also for his defense. This is one the up-and-comers to look for with the Spurs, especially if the Spurs do mess around and trade Tony Parker. In a seasonal league, I’d pick him up no earlier than the 8th round. I’d take him before Richard Hamilton, Jrue Holiday, or Jose Calderon, but I wouldn’t take him before Jameer Nelson, Jason Richardson, or Eric Gordon. In a keeper league, I’d probably reach earlier for him, say in the 7th round.

5. DeJuan Blair (F/C)
Blair averaged 7.8 points and 6.4 boards in his rookie campaign while only playing about 18 minutes per game. This year he could start even more than last year’s 23 games. He has reportedly been working on his shooting all summer and has averaged 13.8 points in the first four games of this pre-season. He’s a double-double waiting to happen. I’d pick him up as early as the 8th round in seasonal leagues, but you may be able to catch people sleeping and grab him later in the maybe the 10th round. I’d pick him before Villanueva, Haslem, or even Elton Brand. I wouldn’t pick him before Scola, Rashard Lewis, or Carl Landry. In Keeper leagues, pick him up earlier, maybe as early as the 7th, just like George Hill.

6. Tiago Splitter (F/C)
Possibly the biggest sleeper this year, I would wager that you can get him in the last round of any draft. There are question marks everywhere with Splitter, especially now that he has some foot problems. Still, I think he will be solid and is worth a late round pick in all leagues. He was the MVP of the Spanish league and should be able to help on the boards immediately. I suspect his scoring will pick up mid-season and he will finish the year strong. In Keeper leagues, you may want to reach for him as early as the 10th round. I’d pick him before Jason Maxiell, Matt Barnes, or Drew Gooden. I wouldn’t pick him before Al Thornton, Blake Griffin, or even the injured Carlos Boozer.

7. Richard Jefferson (SF)
I’m not high on Jefferson these days for fantasy purposes. If he isn’t scoring then he isn’t doing much else for you. I’ll give him some credit for stepping up his efforts on the glass last season, but it’s not enough for me to pick him very high. I’d pick him with a late round pick, maybe as early as the 8th or 9th round if I was in a deep league with people who all knew what they were doing, but most likely I’d pick him up in a late round just because no one else wanted him and he was still there in the 10th or something. I’d pick him before Kelenna Azubuike, Omri Casspi, or Brandon Rush, but not before Josh Howard, Ron Artest, or Corey Maggette. I’d pick him way late in a keeper draft.

8. James Anderson (SG/SF)
Anderson won’t be a significant fantasy contributor this season, but I’d take him with a late round pick in a keeper draft, which is the only reason he ranks above the next two players.

9. Antonio McDyess (PF)
Worth a late round flier, but I wouldn’t pick him up in a keeper league unless I needed another Power Forward really bad.

10. Matt Bonner (PF/C)
I wouldn’t even pick him in a Keeper league except as a late rounder to boost three pointers or have an extra player with center eligibility.

Well the Spurs lost 102-111 in Game One, but I’m not really worried. They lost the first one to the Mavs as well, but were able to make the necessary adjustments to win the series. This game actually was pretty close in the fourth quarter as the Spurs played a much better second half than the Suns, but Phoenix was able to hang on for the win behind Steve Nash’s 33 points and 10 assists. Amare Stoudemire had 23 points and 13 rebounds, and Jason Richardson had 27 points.

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Well, here we go again. It’s time for another showdown with another rival – this time the Phoenix Suns. The Suns (54-28) have home-court in the series, but that means nothing to the Spurs who dismantled Dallas’s team in six games. The Suns shouldn’t be any more difficult to beat than those pesky Mavericks. Let’s look at who we’re facing.

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The Spurs beat the Suns yesterday 113-110. I will get into the gory details but first, the big story: Jason Richardson, of all people, missed a dunk in crunch time that would have tied the game with 42 seconds left. Two-Time Slam Dunk Champion Jason Richardson. Had 20 points in the game Jason Richardson. Had no one in front of him Jason Richardson. Missed A Dunk. As if we needed any more proof that, for whatever cosmic reason, the Spurs will always inexplicably own the Suns. Read more »

We’re all busy people, and it sucks when we finally have time to sit down and watch a basketball game only to find out it’s the Clippers or Bucks tonight. Who needs that kind of aggravation? I know I don’t, so I have compiled the following list of the Top 15 Must-See Games for Spurs fans this season. So mark your calendars, get your tickets, set your Tivo, book your flights, save up your sick days, or whatever you have to do, but do not miss these match-ups.

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