The NBA playoffs open up with the San Antonio Spurs in their lowest playoff seeding of the Tim Duncan Era. But to understand why the Spurs are not discouraged about opening on the road in Dallas, instead of the friendly confines of the AT&T Center, there must first be an understanding of their philosophy. San [...]

AT&T CENTER-George Hill made his triumphant return to the starting lineup. Tony Parker, starting on the bench, followed shortly after in reaffirming that the Spurs backcourt rotation is more than Manu Ginobili and company. Playing together for the first time since March 6, Parker and Hill managed to sidestep any questions as to who should [...]

AT&T CENTER-Having been quick to pick up the nuances of running point guard for the first time on the NBA level, second year guard George Hill has also proven himself to be a quick healer. Gregg Popovich confirmed Hill will be the starter tonight in the pre-game media session. “They told me, ‘Pop, while you [...]

European basketball site In the Game is running a long list of APM observations regarding some of Europe’s best players. Regarding San Antonio Spurs draftee Tiago Splitter, they write:

The San Antonio Spurs and Gregg Popovich didn’t provide the Los Angeles Lakers a full-on beating, but their 100-81 victory was impressive. And it looked like it hurt, if only a little. The Spurs’ usual late season surge has come fashionably late this season, but here it is, roughly a month behind schedule. And I [...]

On February 8th, 2009, the San Antonio Spurs played one of my favorite regular season games of the past few years. The Boston Celtics were hosting the Spurs that particular Sunday afternoon. Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker were all well rested; Gregg Popovich had chosen to bench all three in the previous game, [...]

For those of you who missed it, here’s the set up. The Spurs are down 3 with 9 seconds remaining. Popovich has the clipboard, which usually means a clean look out of the timeout. At this point in the game, Roger Mason Jr. was 0-7 from distance. Manu Ginobili was 6-10, but he had also [...]

According to Adrian Wojnarowski, the Spurs plan to fill their 13th roster spot with Cedric Jackson of the Erie Bayhawks. Gregg Popovich spoke to the roster vacancy prior to the Cavs game, although he didn’t speak specifically to the Jackson rumor. “Anyone we sign isn’t going to help us this season,” Pop said somewhat expectedly. [...]

One thought I can’t chase away, no matter how remote the possibility, is the thought of LeBron James coming west this summer. Imagine a conference featuring Carmelo Anthony, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Brandon Roy and LeBron James. Killer, right?

Or maybe he will. Reversing course on an earlier statement, Tony Parker is apparently reconsidering whether he will play for the French national team this summer. Before it was yes, now it’s no-ish. Jeff McDonald has the scoop. Elsewhere, Spurs.com has a helpful mailbag with Gregg Popovich. Coach Pop addresses many of our recent talking [...]

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve noticed an interesting trend in the comments section here at 48 Minutes of Hell. A small but vocal minority has been increasingly critical of Gregg Popovich and has even called for the coach that helped bring this franchise four NBA titles to be fired. I’ll admit, I find [...]

Over the last two games, the Spurs floored more traditional lineups, eschewing small-ball combinations for the better part of each contest. This has something to do with Gregg Popovich’s efforts to keep Richard Jefferson at small forward rather than power forward, where he languishes. Coach Popovich has not shown a complete aversion to small-ball, nor [...]

The weeks immediately following the trade deadline are usually kind to San Antonio. It’s typical for veteran buyouts to angle for a spot on San Antonio’s roster, hoping to hitch a ride to a championship. But the times have changed.

San Antonio began the fourth quarter of this afternoon’s game against Phoenix with a three point lead. Over the next 12 minutes, the Spurs did not make too many defensive stops; Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, and Jason Richardson all scored with ease. Luckily the Suns aren’t exactly known for their lockdown defense either, and the [...]

One of my favorite pieces of blogging this season is Rahat Huq’s ongoing series Discerning Morey’s Philosophy. The Spurs’ front office success over the last decade-arguably the best front office in sports over that span-has given rise to a constant curiosity: what makes a great front office? There is no right answer to the question, [...]