For the first time this season, the Spurs look like a team that can consistently beat quality opponents.  Last night’s advanced box score tells the story in numbers, but the game also gave rise to a few developing trends. I’d like to use this recap to highlight this game’s place in that context.

With around 7 minutes left in the 3rd quarter, the Spurs found themselves ahead by 12. The previous play had featured a nice back-to-the-basket move by DeJuan Blair, and after Peja Stojakovic dribbled into a 16-foot spin-around fadeaway miss (not the shot the Hornets want Peja taking), Duncan secured the rebound and San Antonio was [...]

In today’s Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, there’s a lengthy piece on hometown kid DeJuan Blair’s first few months in the NBA. It’s a good read and there are some fun details about Blair’s life outside basketball, like how he’s renting out Tony Parker’s old house and is a recurring dinner guest of the Parkers.

Well before the 2009 draft, I was talking on the phone with my brother from another mother, whose sensual voice you hear narrating the above video. At the time we both agreed that, behind Griffin, DeJuan Blair would be the second best big man in the entering rookie class. As of right now I’m feeling [...]

Ah yes, the second night of a back-to-back. In previous years, tonight would treat us to a game where the Spurs would show their age and wear down late in the contest. Sloppy plays would occur and fans would thank their lucky stars that there are no back-to-backs in the playoffs.
But since infusing some young [...]

DeJuan Blair started for the Spurs last night against the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished it too. In between? Nada.
Blair played the first five minutes of the game before being substituted for Antonio McDyess. He didn’t step on the floor again until there were just a couple of minutes remaining in the fourth quarter and [...]

Rob Mahoney of Two Man Game has written a piece for Hardwood Paroxysm about the difficultly of assigning positions to some players. Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair play prominently in the discussion.
I’m not saying that Duncan is a power forward, and I’m sure as hell not saying he’s a center. What I am saying is [...]

Yesterday I ran a piece that attempted to point out an obvious development that some have missed: Tim Duncan is playing very well this season. Some want to qualify this by saying Duncan is receiving less double-teams, to which my response is “so what?” and “is he really?” Honestly, I’m not sure that assertion is [...]

Thanks to the magic of Twitter, we needn’t worry about the condition of DeJuan Blair, who took a nasty fall in last night’s game. He tweets he’s fine.

The Spurs beat the Celtics on the boards 55-32. A plus 23 rebounding edge is usually enough to secure a victory, but not last night, and not against the Celtics.
The Spurs may have won the rebounding battle, but they lost in every other phase of play. The Celtics controlled the game from the outset.
“It’s a [...]

The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Philadelphia 76es 97-89 last night, extending their winning streak to 5. The Spurs are now 9-6.
So far as winning streaks go, the current run is nothing to brag about. The Spurs have played 4 of 5 at home, beating Washington, Milwaukee, Golden State, Houston and Philadelphia. Prior to those [...]

Even though San Antonio and Dallas played one another just last week, that game is already ancient history. The Spurs were without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in their first go-round with the Mavs, and Richard Jefferson led the team with 29 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. With Parker and Duncan back in the [...]

During the offseason, I suggested that the Lakers had begun a movement of super-contenders by changing the model for winning an NBA championship from 3 stars and a bunch of role players to a 5 star, get-out-our-way template.  To make this thesis work, I considered Andrew Bynum a star player. Many readers took exception. “Andrew [...]

NBA Stats

As the “L” emerged from underground somewhere between North/Clybourn and Fullerton, I hurriedly checked my phone to learn the score of the game. Typically I am not that anxious when I miss the first half of a game; I’ve missed plenty before. But when I checked the score before I left the newsroom, I [...]

Through five games, the San Antonio Spurs are consistently getting beat on the boards. They currently rank 25th out of 30 teams in rebound rate. The Spurs are the 18th worst offensive rebounding team in the league; they’re ranked 27th in defensive rebounding rate. In terms of raw numbers, San Antonio is losing on the [...]