Carmelo Anthony is always a hot ticket. As the Nuggets struggle with injuries, he will shoulder a greater offensive burden. How should the Spurs defend him?

Richard Jefferson bottled up Kevin Durant? Can it be true? The Spurs are morphing into a defensive force.

By most accounts Richard Jefferson disappointed in his first year with the Spurs. Do similar historical examples suggest he is due to improve in 2011?

Providing compelling visual evidence supporting the legitimacy of +/- statistics, guard Gary Neal stepped in for an injured George HIll and posted a very sound +14. More than just empty numbers, Neal filled up the box score with 16 points, connecting on half of his eight 3-pointers and 6-for-10 overall. Part of the unit that [...]

AT&T CENTER — Having whittled an 18-point lead to three, Richard Jefferson lined up a open 3-pointer from the baseline with a little over a minute left — it was his only missed shot of the fourth quarter, and one that would have completed a furious comeback. “It looked good, I was already on my [...]

Richard Jefferson spent months preparing for this moment, working through weeks and weeks of repetition until it became second nature, muscle memory taking over. So with eyes on him, and with an assist from Manu Ginobili, the Spurs small forward locked in, squared up, and….laughed? Surrounded by a few remaining beat writers , Jefferson, standing in [...]

In the past decade the NBA has dramatically tilted its rules in favor of quicker, more diminutive floor leaders. But while the NBA became a “quarterbacks” league, its greatest point guards have had surprisingly little say in the ultimate prize. In discussing the positional revolution, I stated under the current NBA rules defending quality point [...]

Henry Abbott has a pet theory. Henry thinks the “boring” basketball that followed the Bulls’ championship era was an ugly, unwitting response to the athletic splendor of Michael Jordan. “Muscled-up wing players” like Doug Christie weren’t capable of reproducing Michael Jordan’s offensive genius, but they were capable of shoving people around on defense. Chippy, physical [...]

There’s a common saying in football that the best defense is a good offense. In basketball, it might be more appropriate to say that a good defense can create good offense. Great ball pressure or playing the passing lanes can often lead to turnovers that can, in turn, lead to fast breaks and easy buckets. [...]

Much of the offseason player movement has trickled to a halt, so barring another point guard that David Kahn just has to have, a final destination for Shaq, or another scathing LeBron column from Adrian Wojnarowski, the majority of the summer’s story lines have played out to their finish. For the most part, as has [...]

During a recent press conference, R.C. Buford said that Richard Jefferson was more efficient last season than basketball observers realize. You can hear those comments in the video below, as well as R.C.’s thoughts on the Spurs’ front office turnover this offseason. If Buford’s comments fill you with a little “huh?” and a lotta “say [...]

When Manu Ginobili plays basketball, he plays with a rose between his teeth. His game is all skill and charm and sizzle. Falling in love with Manu Ginobili’s game really means falling in love.

Amusing as it is was to watch Isiah Thomas sign Jerome James to a contract more loaded than his waist line while teaming Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis with Larry Brown, and thankful as San Antonio is for the finest stretch of basketball in Nazr Mohammed’s career, these general managers have to stop. Because funny [...]

If the NBA off-season were a game of poker, the San Antonio Spurs just lost a big stack of chips when Richard Jefferson opted out of his contract. For all the financial relief it provides Peter Holt and Spurs ownership, it comes at the cost of R.C. Buford’s biggest trade asset. With the NBA draft [...]

Adrian Wojnarowski reported last night that, although Richard Jefferson opted out, that does not necessarily mean he is leaving town.