Tiago Splitter played an effective 9:19 seconds for the Spurs. Tim Varner looks at what went right and what went wrong.

Fabricio Oberto’s retirement gave Spurs fans an opportunity to voice appreciation for a basketball player who made his career by simply “knowing how to play.” Tiago Splitter possesses more raw talent than Fabricio Oberto, but it’s his intuitive, Oberto-like feel for the game that makes him a meaningful player for the Spurs. Splitter is also [...]

You know that silly debate whether Tim Duncan is a power forward or center? It kind of matters now. The Spurs are 2-1, but through three games they’re a below average defensive team. Tim Duncan and DeJuan Blair are playing relatively poorly. This is not a statistical judgment. It’s one of those we-watch-the-games judgments. During the [...]

I stole the title of this post from last night’s Daily Dime Live. DDLer Anthony asked, “…if the Spurs keep playing defence (sic) like this, will your blog be renamed ’48 Minutes of What the Hell?’” It’s a good line, and befitting of the first 24 minutes of action between the Indiana Pacers and the [...]

Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said before San Antonio’s opening game against the Indiana Pacers that Tiago Splitter could be ready to play in time for the team’s game against the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday. “I think after New Orleans, he’s got a good shot to be ready,” Popovich said. Popovich added that Splitter [...]

New season, new narrative. And with this season, there is that monster metanarrative creeping around the league: the Miami Heat. The Heat, as a story, are more imperial than meta. That story has one of those manifest destiny, send small pox to the Indians agendas going on. The Thing has a bloodlust, I tell you. [...]

The San Antonio Spurs have announced that Tiago Splitter “suffered a strained right plantaris muscle” during today’s practice. Splitter will begin a seven to ten day rehab program before the Spurs announce a timetable for his return. This is discouraging news a mere three days into training camp. The Spurs stacked their training camp roster [...]

There is a hungry growl coming from the gut of the AT&T Center. San Antonio GM R.C. Buford says the Spurs, or at least their core, are pounding their forks and knives on the dining room table. And the noise is encouraging. All three [Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker] came to Coach Pop at [...]

I watched and TiVo’d yesterday’s Brazil vs. Argentina game looking to write another Tiago Splitter post for those who might not have had the opportunity to watch it. Shortly after the game I deleted the program with almost nothing of note on Splitter, mostly because Luis Scola was too depressingly dominant to pay attention to anything [...]

Fair or not, San Antonio Spurs fans have been awaiting the arrival of Tiago Splitter since the team first drafted Luis Scola. Since 2002 (the year Scola was drafted) each FIBA tournament has served as a tease of sorts for Spurs faithful. And with each passing tournament the concept of foreign big man savior grew [...]

Empires fall. The history books are littered with them. The Greeks. The Romans. Spain. Britain. Maybe someday even America. The same holds true for nearly every major power that’s ever risen to the top, be it nation, corporation, or basketball team. Especially basketball teams. After all, unlike nations or corporations, basketball teams rely solely on [...]

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 [...]

Next summer, when the league is in the midst of a lockout and we struggle to find topics to write about, there should be a wealth of information to look back on from this summer as to why the NBA is in such dire financial difficulties. Cap space may have been in abundance, but common [...]

Newly wed and now newly signed, Tiago Splitter interrupted his honeymoon long enough to stop in San Antonio and make his long awaited arrival official. Having forged his game overseas against the best competition not in the NBA, Splitter is no ordinary rookie, joining Arvydas Sabonis as one of only two players to win the [...]

If there is an advantage to being a perennial lottery team, it’s the opportunity to piece together a talented core through the draft. GMs who have the luxury of compounding high draft picks over multiple seasons place themselves in the enviable position of acquiring the league’s best young talent. It sucks to lose, but the long term [...]