Preseason is in full gear and by now every major team publication or basketball website has had their season previews out for some time. Without much to add to the offseason (ESPN’s John Hollinger beat me to noting Matt Bonner’s new teardrop, which will only add to his +/- greatness), I thought I’d change things [...]
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.
ESPN.com’s Marc Stein tweeted on Monday with news that the Spurs released Michael Finley. Finley was released in time to allow him to find a spot on another playoff roster. Finley had fallen out of the Spurs rotation and not played well when he was in it. With the flashes Malik Hairston showed in his [...]
Wayne Winston, who served as a statistical consultant to the Dallas Mavericks for the last nine years, and is the author of Mathletics, was kind enough to explore a handful of Spurs-related questions with me. Over the next few days I’ll put up a series of short posts detailing the more salient moments of our [...]
Leaving the All-Star weekend, perhaps no theme encapsulated the Spurs more perfectly nor enemy loomed so big-well, maybe the Laker’s frontline-as time. And not just time, as in the amount of time left in their stars’ careers, but timing. Timing is everything.
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 [...]
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 [...]
You know what they say about a team’s final five being more important than its starting five. Well, that’s all true. In a perfect world, one free of foul trouble and injury concerns, a coach finishes the game with his best five players on the floor. Through 8 games, George Hill is unquestionably the Spurs’ [...]
An under-reported Spurs story through six games is their three point shooting slump. Have a look: Season Three Point% Career Three Point% Roger Mason Jr. .238 .392 Matt Bonner .345 .407 Richard Jefferson .294 .352 Manu Ginobili .387* .376 Quick Thoughts: I’ve included Manu Ginobili in the slump chart because his 6-8 performance against the [...]
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 [...]
The Spurs tipped off their 2009-10 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating the New Orleans Hornets 113-96 in the season opener at home this evening. It’s hard to imagine an opening game that inspires more confidence moving forward. I think the overwhelming truth that must be taken from tonight’s game is how deep this squad is. [...]
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 [...]
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:
Sham Sports has potheads. Sham has lookalikes. Sham has the best collection of quotes on the internet-quick, someone ask Antoine Walker why he shoots so many three pointers. And did you ever want to know what became of Hollinger wonder-crush Jackie Butler? Sham has that too. But it’s all for kicks and giggles. Shamsports.com is [...]
On his latest podcast, Bill Simmons talks offseason with Marc Stein and Ric Bucher. It gets a little catty, and each man wins points here and there. When the talk turned to the obligatory “Who will win the title?” question, I was surprised to hear each man offer support for the Spurs (Bucher throws Boston [...]
