As the game will only be available on Fox Sports Houston, I imagine more than a few 48MoH readers won’t be able to catch it. If you do happen to see the game, feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section.

And, as always, Go Spurs.

One of the more interesting tactical developments of ’08-09 was our slow and steady movement away from a 3-out, 2-in motion offense to more 4-out, 1-in sets. During the days of Fransisco Elson, Fabricio Oberto, and Robert Horry, you were far more likely to see both bigs line up in or near the paint, whether it be in the high and low post or on either block. But once Matt Bonner was inserted into the starting lineup, you nearly always had all four players aside from Tim Duncan perching themselves along the perimeter. (Horry could be found setting up along the perimeter as well, but his spatial intelligence and passing ability made him a far more flexible tool than Bonner.)

It got to the point where Gregg Popovich was infrequently playing our two traditional bigs (Duncan, Thomas) alongside one another, and oftentimes deploying units with only one true big. Because of Pop’s growing fascination with small ball, we saw Bruce Bowen or Michael Finley at the four a startling amount of the time.

With the additions of Antonio McDyess, DeJuan Blair, and Theo Ratliff, I imagine we’ll see more offensive sets that resemble the pre-2008 Spurs. In both Matt Bonner and Marcus Haislip we have two forwards who will head for the corner reflexively. But Ratliff and Blair are most comfortable on the block, while McDyess and Duncan can execute consistently from either the high or low post. When any two of those four are on the floor simultaneously, 3-2 motion schemes will be the norm.

I’m a much bigger proponent of the 3-2 than I am of the 4-1, and for a number of reasons. In 3-2 sets, our offensive rebounding rate will increase significantly (whether DeJuan Blair is on the floor or not). People always blame our poor offensive rebounding rate on Pop’s commitment to stopping transition baskets but having only one player positioned in the paint is just as much a cause.

It’s not just a question of how much we value second-chance shots, but how much we value high-percentage shots: shot attempts off of offensive rebounds are nearly always taken by players well-positioned near the rim. The Spurs were not only one of the worst offensive rebounding teams in the league last year; we also ranked near the bottom for points in the paint. The two are not unrelated.

In my opinion improved offensive rebounding is just a small part of what makes the 3-2 superior to the 4-1. By the end of last season, our offense had devolved into nothing more than the low-post iso, the high pick-and-roll and 3-pointers off of the inside-outside game.

In theory there is nothing wrong with that, particularly when you have Tim Duncan anchoring the operation. But Tim’s knee issues emboldened opposing teams, and they began doubling him less and less. By staying home on our shooters or more confidently switching onto Parker after Duncan set the high screen, opposing teams forced players ill-equipped to score off the dribble, such as Mason, Finley and Bonner, to improvise. They also put increasing amounts of pressure on Duncan’s worn down body to execute.

By operating out of a 3-2, you don’t necessarily complicate the offense substantially (in fact, Pop has made it clear he wants to keep the playbook relatively minimal) but you create more opportunities for players to instinctively execute simple yet effective plays. For instance, by having a man at both the high and low post, the team is prepared to pick for a man driving from the top of the arc, or cutting along the baseline from the corner. In a 4-1, the team is only setup for one such pick, making the entire play easier to predict and derail.

Similarly, both bigs are well positioned to set screens for one another. When coupled with a cut from either the corner or the top of the arc, the offense forces the defense to confront a confusing amount of movement that is deceptively easy to execute. In February, 2008, the X’s and O’s of Basketball wrote an excellent post breaking down a similar, highly effective play that the Spurs used to run.

Over the course of the offseason, I’ve gotten the impression that this is the direction the offense is headed. When we traded for Jefferson, Popovich remarked that he was glad we finally had a small forward we could “post up,” suggesting that Pop is more committed to scoring in the paint than he was last season. And in Sunday’s open practice, Duncan and Blair played an extended stint at the 4-5. Duncan may have won the post-practice 3-point contest, but I don’t imagine Pop wants either of them setting up beyond the 3-point line all that often.

As much of the footage comes from training camp, it also provides an interesting look into what the guys have been up to this past week. Oddly enough, I actually thought of posting this a few days ago but decided not to for no particular reason. Now that Henry has, I can’t resist. Enjoy.

The offseason’s tempered pace is manageable, but once the regular season arrives the nearly ceaseless flow of Spurs-related news makes it difficult to breathe and stop. I often found myself wondering how I would fulfill both commitments: I love both this blog and the Spurs deeply, but school comes first.

Yesterday was no different. I woke up, a little tired from having spent all day Sunday writing and reporting for the upcoming week’s classes. As I stumbled through the early part of my day, gnawing on bagels and combing through a Chicago-area company’s quarterly earnings report in search of unexpected figures, Media Day, with it’s pre-rehearsed answers and brilliantly lit photo sessions, was an afterthought at best.

And then I tuned into yesterday’s live feed. Nothing out-of-the-ordinary occurred: The Spurs are far too disciplined to drop the media bombs that afflict, say, the Warriors.

And yet as I watched Spurs, both old and new, smile and nod, I got excited. Not just excited. Ecstatic. The season is approaching. Do you realize that? The 2009-10 season. Richard Jefferson. DeJuan Blair. Manu Ginobili. Those are just a few of the guys who are gonna be dressed in silver and black with a ball in their hand, a hoop in either direction and glistening hardwood beneath their feet.

As these thoughts ran through my head, I began pacing around my apartment, hardly able to control myself. And suddenly I realized: I haven’t been bogged down by too much work. I’ve been uninspired by a lack of basketball.

I’m ready to fall in love with this team, and this league, all over again. October 28th can’t come soon enough.

Live TV : Ustream

After a poor summer league performance, McClinton’s chances of making the team did not look good. We here at 48 Minutes of Hell wish him well, and hope that one day he can find a home in the NBA.

Last season Jones was quite the nomad: He began in Orlando’s training camp, played two games for Efes Pilsen, and then signed with the Bobcats. After appearing in six games for Charlotte, Jones moved onto the D-league, where he spent time with the Iowa Energy, Idaho Stampede and finally the Austin Toros. He played 20 games with the Toros, including one notable performance in which he nearly dropped a 30-30.

At 6-11, Jones is a serviceable, NBA-ready deep reserve who very well may give Ian Mahinmi a run for his money during camp. But it seems most likely that he’ll end up back in Austin, where some combination of Jerrells, Hairston, Gist and Jones could be a force in the D-League.

After today’s events, the Spurs have filled 18 roster spots, with two training camp invites still available.

Signing Bogans, who is considered a solid defender, speaks to the front office’s concerns about our depth on the wing, and puts increased pressure on former Toros such as Marcus Williams, Malik Hairston, and Ian Mahinmi, whose chances of making the team dwindle with each veteran signing.

Between Bogans and last week’s Curtis Jerrells signing, the make-up of the Spurs training camp is nearly complete. The Spurs currently have at least 19 players under some form of contract (don’t forget about James Gist and Jack McClinton), and only twenty players can attend training camp. With Gist, McClinton, Jerrells, Hairston, Williams, and Mahinmi fighting for just two spots, it’s clear the Spurs are committed to having a competitive, high-quality training camp.