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 greatest seventh seed in NBA history? Not exactly a compliment in the eyes of Tim Duncan. Certainly the San Antonio Spurs are the first seventh seed to eliminate a second seed since the NBA Playoffs switched formats to a first round best-of-seven series. But Duncan and the rest of the world will have to [...]
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.
Via Forbes.com: After a 1999 NBA championship, San Antonio has gone on to win more than 70% of its games since 2000, while capturing three more titles. Financially, the club’s value has grown 146% since then to $415 million, helped along by a move into the lucrative AT&T Center in 2002. Their criteria included not [...]
Even though San Antonio and Dallas played one another just last week, that game is already ancient history. The Spurs were without Tim Duncan and Tony Parker in their first go-round with the Mavs, and Richard Jefferson led the team with 29 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. With Parker and Duncan back in the [...]
Although the tactical details of basketball can be rather complicated, the underlying strategy is surprisingly simple. At a certain point, it is merely a question of number and proximity.
NBA Stats As the “L” emerged from underground somewhere between North/Clybourn and Fullerton, I hurriedly checked my phone to learn the score of the game. Typically I am not that anxious when I miss the first half of a game; I’ve missed plenty before. But when I checked the score before I left the newsroom, [...]
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 [...]
The Spurs were defeated by the Mavericks in Dallas this evening, 107-102. After allowing the Mavericks to open a 10 point gap with under 4 left to play, the Spurs nearly pulled off the comeback but were stopped short by the same underwhelming defensive performance that plagued us the entire game. “The Notebook” often serves [...]
The Spurs and the Mavs play this evening in Dallas for the fourth and final time this season. The Spurs currently lead the season series 2-1, with our only loss coming at home during our early season malaise. I don’t have a ton to say about this game other than in all likelihood it will [...]
For most media outlets, the story of this evening’s 93-76 victory over the Mavericks will be the inspired offensive play of Tony Parker. He ended the game with 37 points, 18 of which came in the first quarter (during which I believe he missed only a single shot). His 12 assists weren’t an insignificant contribution [...]
I was sitting on a couch in “the SoCos,” a housing complex at Vassar College, with my friends Erik and Eric, neither of whom are big basketball fans. They seemed a bit startled by the levels of my emotion: Make no mistake, I’ve always been an excitable guy but in this instance I seemed unexpectedly [...]
