Entries Tagged as 'Mavericks-Spurs Round 1'

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

All Things Old Are New Again

It wasn’t that long ago. May 22, 2006. The Spurs were facing an elimination game against the Mavericks. Game 7. Western Conference Semifinals. You remember it, I’m sure. They lost. Tonight the Mavericks have the Spurs on the brink of elimination once again. The national press, with a few exceptions here and there, are writing [...]

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Smelly Old Men in Gym Socks

One of the things I’ve loved about this season is the work Spurs.com and the Express News beat writers have done keeping us close to the team. Spurs.com introduced practice and shootaround video, which was always must-watch viewing. And they’ve done a bang up job this postseason. The E-N writers have kept a pulse on [...]

Tuesday, April 28th, 2009

Buck Harvey Marks the Time

The Express-News’ Buck Harvey has written a timely column that deserves your attention. The cliff notes version goes like this: tonight might be Bruce Bowen’s last game as a Spur. Yes, Bowen is under contract. But if you read the column you’ll see that Harvey’s rationale runs down a coherent line. I’m not going to [...]

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Monday Morning Conversation

Tim Duncan gets a holiday. No, really: Governor John de Jongh has proclaimed April 25, 2009, as “Timothy Theodore Duncan Day” in the US Virgin Islands. World famous basketball player Timothy Theodore Duncan was born on the island of St Croix to the late William and Delysia Duncan…. (HT: 228) “Financially, we’re in as good [...]

Thursday, April 23rd, 2009

Is Tony Parker the Man?

One of the trends of this postseason is a new found suggestion that Tony Parker is the lead dog in San Antonio. In one article, Parker is referred to as a superstar. I want to take a minute to respond to this perspective. To start, Tony Parker has elevated his game this season. He’s clearly [...]

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Erick Dampier Begs for a Whistle

After last night’s game, Erick Dampier let his frustration show. “Parker got into the teeth of our defense and caused problems,” he said. “Every time he drives the lane, we have to put him on his back. The first foul has to tell him he’s in for a long night. “My first foul Thursday night [...]

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Other People: Kevin Arnovitz on Defending TP

ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz has written a top shelf breakdown of Dallas’ defense of Tony Parker. It’s simply excellent. Dallas Runs Under the Screen [1st Quarter, 10:14; 1st Quarter, 5:43; 1st Quarter, 4:48; 3rd Quarter, 7:35] Parker hits his two-point jumpers at a 42.2 percent clip — not terrible, but not Jason Terry’s 49.2 percent mark [...]

Monday, April 20th, 2009

A Few Thoughts Prior to Game Two

In a grim article, Buck Harvey quotes a former NBA coach’s game two suggestion: He recommends to Popovich what most recommend today. At best, use Matt Bonner in a Steve Kerr role; bring him off the bench to shoot a couple of threes in short stretches. Otherwise alternate Drew Gooden and Kurt Thomas, and bang [...]

Monday, April 20th, 2009

Other People: Game Two Bullets

Spurs.com has video of Pop saying that there will adjustments tonight, J.J. Barea burned them, and the Spurs need to rebound. LatinD, PtR: Tony’s The Man right now, and while he wasn’t chopped liver, we really need him to play at a higher level. Grand Prince Rob Mahoney, Two Man Game: I will say this: [...]

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Going Small?

One of the most important coaching decisions facing Popovich this series is whether or not to play small. Coach Popovich was forced to play small in ’06 because the Mavericks were too fast for that season’s Spurs roster. If you remember, Avery Johnson had Devin Harris, Jason Terry and Josh Howard running down the Spurs’ [...]

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Go Get ‘Em, Fin

Mike Monroe quotes Michael Finley: “I don’t know about the other guys,” he said, “but I’m a little up in age, so I know my window of opportunity — not only for advancing in the playoffs, but being in the league — is closing. So I, myself, want to take advantage of these opportunities that [...]

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

Double the Dribble; Or, Learning Defense from Don Nelson

In a recent comment thread, NickyDubs asked, “So I don’t recall what we tried earlier in the season, but who do you think we’ll send at Dirk?” The short answer is Matt Bonner and Ime Udoka, but that doesn’t say much. The Spurs have some personnel problems, one of which has been there since preseason. [...]

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

“You don’t have to score all 16.”

Mike Finger, Express News columnist and Ian Curtis dead ringer, has written a worthwhile article about Drew Gooden’s possible impact this postseason. Gooden, we’re told, has been given wings to fly in the offense-Pop wants him score. Towards the end of the article, Finger asks how the Spurs are going to make up for the [...]