Spurs of the Moment

After Going 8-0 in the playoffs, the Spurs faced the up and coming OKC team. This team was obviously young, lacked a true lowpost presence, and was beatable ( Spurs won season series 2-1). The Spurs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, but this time it was slightly different. In the first 2 games of the last few series the Spurs manhandled their opponent. In game one verses the Thunder, the Spurs were knocked back in the first 3 quarters, until the offense of Ginobili and the defense of Stephen Jackson bailed them out for a late victory. In game two, the Spurs returned the favor and got out to a convincing lead. The Thunder never gave up and fought back only to lose by 9. The end of game 2 spelled possible trouble for the rest of the series. After defensive adjustments by the Thunder and poorly timed meltdowns from Spur role players the Thunder won four games straight and ended the Spurs season and advanced to the NBA Finals.

All in all a very succesfull season for the Spurs. The young guns contributed much more than expected and gave the Spurs a reason to believe in the future. With Tim Duncan’s hefty contract coming off the books and a good chance he’ll resign for significantly cheaper, the Spurs have an opportunity to pick up better, mentally tougher role players to replace some of the ones that didnt fair well.

Tim Duncan -  17 pts  9.8 rbs  2.3 blks

The numbers look good, but the reality is that Duncan got those numbers by playing more minutes than he usually does. The lowpost defense of Kendrick Perkins and shotblocking ability of Serge Ibaka had Duncan playing indecisive and at times soft. Kevin Garnett of the Celtics shoots jumpers without hesitation, for a while Duncan did just that. In the WCF, Duncan hesitated and was unsure of what he wanted to do. Eventually Duncan ran out of gas (most notably in the second half of game 6).

Kawhi Leonard – 8.8 pts 7.3 rbs

Leonard did pretty much everything you can ask from a rookie, especially in this series. He did his best to defend Kevin Durant. He played a lot of power forward next to Duncan at center but still held his own on the boards. More amazing is the circumstances he did it in. During this series, lineup changes were made because most of the role players couldn’t handle the pressure that OKC was throwing at them, which lead to DNP-CD’s and limited minutes for them. Because of this, Leonards minutes were increased (41 minutes in game 6 / 30 min avg for series) and he performed well.

Boris Diaw – 5.8 pts 4.8 rbs

Diaw didnt really do anything negative in the series, he also didnt do much positive as well. Basically he didnt do much of anything. His basketball IQ and passing really didnt lead to much production; some games he rebounded well, others he didn’t. He wasn’t running around making poor plays, but he wasn’t a difference maker and simply ate up minutes this series.

Tony Parker – 21.5 pts 6.3 ast

Parker against Westbrook was a key to the Spurs winning this series. Westbrook at times forces the issue and forgets about his teammates (Durant in particular). If Parker simply ran the show and didnt make it a one on one game I figured the Spurs would be poised to win. In games 1-2 and 6 Parker went after Westbrook, the problem was that more than half the role players that Parker had at his disposal during the regular season went missing in action. Parker had to work a lot harder in the latter part of the series and although he had a sensational first half in game 6 (21 pts 10 ast/ finished with 29 pts/12 ast) he along with the remaining Spurs got tired and worn down by the athletic Thunder.

Manu Ginobili 18.5 pts  3.3 ast 3.8 rbs

After coming off the bench for most of the season and playoffs, Ginobili – being one of the few Spurs that had heart – started game 5 of the series. Manu immediately had an impact and poured in 34 pts, but it wasn’t enough for the Spurs to win the pivotal game 5. In game 6 Ginobili played more minutes than he was used to and didnt have alot to give en route to a 107-99 loss to the Thunder. While his scoring in the series was up and down, Ginobili did what he could in other areas of the game as usual. However, like many of the Spurs ballhandlers/playmakers the length and athleticism of the Thunder forced him into  ill-advised turnovers.

The Bench

Stephen Jackson – 11.8 pts 61% 3pt fg

It had been a decent run in the playoffs for Jack, but when the chips were down he rose to the occasion. In game 1 Kevin Durant needed to be held in check and thats exactly what Jackson did. On the defensive end he got “Nasty” with Durant and hit a momentum shifting three pointer and helped the Spurs win game 1. In game 6 he showed true grit. With the Spurs bench cut in half due too poor play, Jackson logged big minutes and produced 5/6 from behind the arc and refused to go down without a fight. He jawed with TNT analyst and Thunder assistant coach Mo Cheeks, and gave it his all. It’s no secret why the Spurs traded for him.

Gary Neal – 6.5 pts 48% 3pt fg

Neal, battling illness for the latter part of the series, did what he could. He shot well, but the athletic Westbrook and the veteran Derek Fisher got the best of him. Going forward, hopefully his ballhandling and defense will improve next season.

The Spurs bench had been so dominant in the regular season and playoffs, which helped to keep the big 3′s minutes down.  Tiago Splitter struggled with his free throws and overall play. Dejuan Blair could barely get playing time, and all this left too much on Duncan’s plate. Most notable however, was the decline of Danny Green and Matt Bonner. Green is a streaky shooter, but he was also hesitant and unsure of himself. His minutes were starting to dwindle after game 2 and by game 5 he was out of the starting lineup seeing spot minutes off the bench. His defense wasn’t bad, but his indecisive play on offense cost him. As for Matt Bonner who was key in this series because of his ability to draw out the Thunder’s big men once again came up short in pressure situations. For Matt Bonner its been four straight years of solid regular season play and in those same four seasons, terrible outings in the playoffs. Pop usually allows Bonner to work himself out of funks, but this time he pulled the string. Bonner played 2 minutes in game 4, 50 seconds in game 5 and was benched in game 6. The Spurs may try to part ways with the red rocket for a more reliable playoff shooter.

It was a succesful season, but the Spurs have many big decisions to make. It starts with who to keep and who to get rid of. Duncan will most likely resign for cheaper allowing the Spurs to get a quality playoff performer. Is there another draft day trade in the works for San Antonio? Will Danny Green be resigned? Will Matt Bonner be dealt? Time will tell.

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.

Read more »

Aaron Brooks wins Most Improved Player, George Hill and Kevin Durant finish tied for second.

Brooks earned 403 of a possible 615 points, including 62 first-place votes, from a panel of 123 sports writers and broadcasters. Kevin Durant of Oklahoma City and George Hill of San Antonio tied for second with 101 total points.

So for those of you who still don’t know who this George Hill guy is, well you should know after Game 4. Still, he was creating a stir around the league before now and this is just further evidence that the Spurs know how to draft talent and will not fade into obscurity as the Big Three get older.

Spurs’ edge over Mavs: Fear not

Blair celebrated his 21st birthday just three days earlier. Hill will turn 24 in another week. The Spurs don’t usually win with players so young and with their stars contributing so little. Still, all of their championship teams owned the same trait: From Mario Elie to Stephen Jackson, from Steve Kerr to Bruce Bowen, from Malik Rose to Fabricio Oberto, the Spurs’ supporting casts were cut from the same sturdy fiber that Hill and Blair now share. There’s a reason why Jaren Jackson left the Spurs with a championship ring and Hedo Turkoglu didn’t. To survive in San Antonio, one must not only withstand the heat of the playoffs, but also Popovich’s personal fire.

More props given to Hill and Blair. It seems that finally more people are noticing that the Spurs have not just stood around and waited for their stars to get old while adding on a vet here and there (McDyess, Jefferson). In fact, the Spurs have been developing other talented players too like Malik Hairston and maybe even Ian Mahinmi, not to mention other players they picked up during the season such as point guard Garrett Temple.

Spurs’ Blair keeps his head in game

Knowing that the slightest hint of bravado might have given referees an excuse to call a double technical — the better to clean up some of the chippiness that characterized the second half of the Spurs’ 92-89 victory — Blair beat a hasty retreat toward the Spurs’ bench.

One more reason we have come to like Blair so much. Not only is he a maniac on the glass, prone to ripping off the arms of future-draft busts, and a beacon of hope to ACL-less people the world over, but he has a rare trait known as “common sense” that keeps him from getting into trouble with the refs during big games.

Dallas Morning News columnist: Spurs know how to win, Mavs don’t

This isn’t about effort or desire or any other intangible. This is about the Spurs, a franchise with championship pedigree, finding ways to win, while the Mavs, a franchise with a history of choking in the playoffs, finds ways to lose.

Uh oh, don’t look now but it sounds like trouble in paradise. The home team is getting berated by their own newspaper, but it’s not like they don’t deserve it. You can only rip out a city’s heart with uninspired play for so long before they show up with pitchforks and torches.

Ginobili will sit out World Championships

“My body kind of needs it, and I want to play the (2012) Olympics, so I decided to pass on this one.

“Besides, there’s another little factor here: My wife is going to have twins in a month. Those are the times you don’t want to miss. Both, one next to the other, makes me take this tough decision.”

 Thank goodness. I figured his better sense would prevail over his competitive side this summer. Plus it looks like the Spurs have a chance of going deep in the playoffs this year so he will need the rest.

The Spurs lost their last two games to a couple of perennial losers. Not good. The only solace I can take from this ordeal is that both games were on the road. Still, you like to think the Spurs can beat Charlotte and Memphis regardless of where the game is.

Read more »

Game Recap – Short & Sweet Version
The Spurs held rookie Brandon Jennings in check and beat the Milwaukee Bucks 112-98 last night. Jennings entered the game averaging 25 points per game, but was held to just 12 points. At least I like to think the Spurs held him to 12, but he may have just had an off night – whatever, I’ll take it. The Spurs still out-rebounded the Bucks 46-29, and were able to secure the victory despite committing 16 turnovers. They also shot 10-of-21 from downtown for the second consecutive game, and made 22-of-26 from the free throw line. Theo Ratliff only played 3 minutes, which may (partially) account for the Spurs allowing 40 points in the paint again. Malik Hairston made another appearance playing 3 minutes and committing a turnover. That was the extent of his contribution last night. Matt Bonner is on fire right now and hit 6-of-8 from downtown and finished with 23 points. The Spurs were down by one at the half, but they dominated the 3rd quarter behind Tim Duncan’s 15 points and five rebounds. Check the highlights: Read more »

In case you missed my draft diary for the Writers League, check it out here.  It’s been three weeks since the season started and I gotta tell you, my team is struggling. We were able to pull out a much needed TIE last week. That’s right, I was settling for “not losing”. I don’t get it, my teams are great in my other leagues, but I am getting pummeled in this one. I’m going to try and figure out why and chronicle it right here.  Read more »

So, some of the Fanball Writers decided to form a Fantasy Basketball League. The league settings are as follows:
16 Teams, Head-to-Head, 2 Divisions
Roster Positions: PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, Util, Util, BN, BN, BN
Scoring Catagories: Field Goal Percentage (FG%), Free Throw Percentage (FT%), 3-point Shots Made (3PTM), Points Scored (PTS), Total Rebounds (REB), Assists (AST), Steals (ST), Blocked Shots (BLK)
My Team: Prestige Worldwide (Yeah, like the movie “Step Brothers”)

Here is my breakdown of the draft:

Read more »