Spurs of the Moment

The complete rosters for the 2011 NBA All-Star game were released on Thursday and the Spurs have two players who were chosen as reservers – Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. Duncan is averaging 13.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks per game this season. Manu Ginobili is averaging 18.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.8 steals per game this season. Tony Parker (17.3 points, 6.7 assists) missed the cut. While there is going to be another player selected to take Yao Ming’s place on the team (he’s been injured for basically two years, how the !@#% did he get voted in?!) I wouldn’t hold out much hope for Parker. I expect the slot to go to LaMarcus Aldridge… at least it should. The Celctics lead all teams with four players (Rondo, Garnett, Allen, Pierce).

Spurs vs Lakers

The Spurs topped the Lakers last night 89-88 on a McDyess tip-in off a Duncan miss just before the buzzer. And this is why the Spurs are the best. Parker misses, no problem. Ginobili misses, no problem. Duncan misses, no problem. The Spurs don’t stand around and hope one guy will save them (*COUlakersGH*), or have three stars and a bunch of scrubs (COheatGH*). Honestly this year should be the Boston Celtics vs the Spurs in the Finals. You can’t tell me that wouldn’t be a great match-up. Anyway, the main problem the Spurs had last night was poor shooting, only 41% from the field. Tim Duncan was only 3-of-12 for eight points points plus eight rebounds. Parker led the team with 21 points, Jefferson had 18, and Ginobili had 14 along with eight assists. McDyess finished with eight points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Kobe was one rebound short of a triple-double. Guess which rebound he wishes he got. Mwahahaha.

Highlights Below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KgjuG_GhHw

There are only three games tonight, and none of them Spurs games, but I just feel like commenting and making predictions.

Miami’s Dwyane Wade and Friends vs Boston Celtics
This is the most eagerly anticipated game of the year and I hope Boston slaps these cats silly.
Prediction: Boston wins 95-87

LA Lakers vs Houston Rockets
The Lake Show begins their quest for another ‘ship. Yao Ming returns. All of the Kobe fanatics and all of China will be watching this game.
Prediction: Lakers win 110-98

Phoenix Suns vs Portland Trailblazers
The game no one will be watching. Who will step up in place of Amare? This might actually be the closest game, who knows? And maybe if the Lakers blow out the Rockets more people will switch over to watch this one.
Prediction: Phoenix wins 112-109

 I know we’ve all been anxious to see Tiago Splitter play for the Spurs, but it looks it will have to wait a little bit longer. Popovich has already named DeJuan Blair the starting center for the opener, and Splitter’s foot injury will likely keep him from suiting up at all right away. It makes sense to not rush him into action, but it is definitely frustrating to wait a few years for a draft pick to finally make his way to the league only to be sidelined almost immediately. This is good news for fantasy drafts though, since most people will not want to take a flier on a Euro-league import who hasn’t made any noise in pre-season due to injury. That will leave him available for late round draft picks for the more savvy among us.

To get a good idea of how likely it is that Splitter will play in the opener, here is what Popovich had to say: “Sure, it’s definitely in the realm of possibility,” he said. “It’s also possible I might play.”

I don’t take that as much of an endorsement that we should count on seeing either of them in a jersey until maybe a few games into the season, and then only Splitter. Although, Pop probably couldn’t shoot any worse than Roger Mason did last season.

McDyess did have some nice words to get fans excited about Splitter’s eventual court time.

“Today was the first day I saw him get out there and shoot the ball,” forward Antonio McDyess said. “He’s got a nice little touch to him. He picks up on the plays very easy and very quick. That’s very impressive, for a guy to come in and learn this system.

“I’m just as eager as the fans are, just to see what he has. He looks like a guy who can really play. It’s going to be exciting for him to get on the court, and I can’t wait for it to happen.”

I guess we’ll have to live with that for now, but I am sure the Spurs can handle the Pacers in their first game of the season. I just hope Tony Parker doesn’t roll his ankle in the first quarter.

Oh yeah, I also got the NBA preview magazine from Sports Illustrated (finally). They have the Spurs ranked 3rd in the West behind the Lakers (1) and Thunder (2). That means, of course, that the Spurs are ranked #1 in the division. I’ve seen a few writers who rank the Mavs higher, and I’ll at least concede that that”s debatable based on talent. What I don’t get is how a writer or two have Houston ranked higher than the Spurs. If you see this anywhere, immediately write that person’s opinion off. They know not of what they speak. There is no way Houston outperforms San Antonio this season. Yao won’t play but 20-something minutes a game, Ariza – their best perimeter defender who they signed when they let go of Artest – is long gone, and Aaron Brooks and Kevin Martin can score, but can’t guard me. Yeah, I said it.

But aaaanyway… go Spurs.. and Texas Rangers.

Malik Hairston was recently assigned to the D-League’s Austin Toros, but it’s become obvious why the Spurs are intent on keeping him close by. He won Player of the Week honors after averaging 35.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and shooting 49 percent from the field. The Toros were 4-0 in those games.

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During the pre-season, I did a short interview for Brian Cashiola from RocketDunks.com as part of his Division Previews. Well, naturally I got to thinking that I may have a few questions for him about the Rockets and Spurs. Check it out:

SpursoftheMoment: With Yao’s latest injury, and the reports that he could miss the whole season, how optimistic are Rockets fans about Yao playing at all this year?
Brian Cashiola: I would say we are hopeful but not optimistic if that makes sense. Most projections have him being out until around playoff time. And if the Rockets are fortunate enough to make the playoffs with this roster it will be with a very different style of basketball than what Yao is used to so I can’t see us throwing him out there in that situation and risk further injury as well as throwing off what got us there. 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:

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