Entries Tagged as 'Ian Mahinmi'

Sunday, February 28th, 2010

A Look at the Austin Experiment in Houston

Over the course of the season Gregg Popovich has shuffled through 20 different lineups with varying degrees of success, or in the case of Friday night’s lineup, lack thereof.
A degree in advanced NBA statistics or a talk with Wayne Winston isn’t necessary to conclude a box score in which three of the five starters read [...]

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

Closing One Window, Cracking Open Another

Last week we ran a series of features exploring three options for the Spurs: Make no move; make a minor roster move; and make a major roster move. There was supposed to be one more- a post arguing that we should make moves focused on future seasons- that for various reasons was never published. After [...]

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

How Do You Solve a Problem Like Mahinmi?

As a bench player in basketball, you’re told the best way to earn playing time is to play hard in practice and make the most of the minutes you’re given during the game. If this is the mantra that Coach Popovich subscribes to, on Sunday night Ian Mahinmi earned himself some more minutes, somewhere down [...]

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Ian Mahinmi is Easy to Like

Some of you may have seen this already, but who cares? You can watch it again. Isn’t Ian easy to like? So stinkin’ happy, and all for a little burn.

Monday, January 11th, 2010

New Jersey Nets 85, San Antonio Spurs 97

The Spurs beat the Nets in a game that many saw as a yawn in between contests against the Mavericks and Lakers. And the 97-85 victory certainly reads that way: playoff bound Spurs cruise past the woeful Nets; Tim Duncan plays an easy 27 minutes.
If you’re looking at the big picture stuff, this game provides [...]

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2009

Christmas Wish: Play Ian Mahinmi

Okay. This one has taken me by surprise.
When the Spurs declined Ian Mahinmi’s contract option, I didn’t expect it to mean he wouldn’t play. You know, as in not at all. Zero minutes through 25 games.

Sunday, November 15th, 2009

Andrew Bynum is a Game-Changer

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 [...]

Monday, November 9th, 2009

An Early Assessment of Team Defense

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 [...]

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

Spurs Will Not Pick Up Option on Ian Mahinmi

Ian Mahinmi’s career continues down a challenging path.  French language sources are reporting that the Spurs will not exercise their option on Mahinmi.  I spoke with Bouna Ndaiye, Ian Mahinmi’s agent, and confirmed the French language reports.
What does this mean for Ian Mahinmi and the Spurs moving forward?

Monday, October 19th, 2009

Theo Ratliff by the Numbers

There are two things to know about Theo Ratliff. The first is that he’s not durable. He’s played a (near) full season of basketball only once this decade. In the most recent two seasons, he played 26 and and 46 games, respectively.
This first set of numbers should give fans a sense of how the Spurs [...]

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

The End of the Roster

Richard Jefferson asserted himself as a full-fledged member of the Spurs last night.  He gave Spurs fans a taste of the exotic during last night’s game by receiving a pass in the corner and blowing past his man for an at-the-rim finish. It’s been awhile since San Antonio crowds have witnessed such athleticism from their [...]

Sunday, October 4th, 2009

Spurs vs. Spurs, Training Camp Scrimmage

San Antonio Spurs fans were treated to a deliciously entertaining intersquad scrimmage this afternoon.  A note of caution before proceeding to a list of takeaways: this was merely a practice.  Don’t read too deeply into the tea leaves. It was helpful to see the Spurs play, but far from definitive. My thoughts:

Monday, September 21st, 2009

Report: Spurs to Sign Keith Bogans

According to AOL Fanhouse’s Chris Tomasson, the Spurs intend to sign swignman Keith Bogans to a one-year, $1.03 million guaranteed deal. The 29-year-old, 6′5″ SG began last season with the Orlando Magic but was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in February.
Signing Bogans, who is considered a solid defender, speaks to the front office’s concerns about [...]

Thursday, September 17th, 2009

France vs. Spain on ESPN360

If you have the time, I suggest you take in this afternoon’s contest between France and Spain in the EuroBasket Quarterfinals, available live on ESPN360. France is undefeated so far but the tournament holds no tougher opponent than Spain. A victory today by France could make Les Bleus the new frontrunner.
The key to that victory [...]

Wednesday, September 9th, 2009

Update on Ian Mahinmi

Rest easy, dear friends.
According to the Spurs, Ian Mahinmi has a left hip contusion. But it’s nothing serious. In fact, he might already be cleared to play.