Tony Parker to return to Spurs tonight
The San Antonio Spurs have solved their George Hill injury problem. Tonight some guy named Tony Parker will assume Hill’s minutes for the Spurs.
Not a bad fix.
Parker broke the news of his return via his Facebook page.
Good news, i’m back !!! I play tonight to Sacramento !!!!
That’s three and four exclamation points.
We’re excited to.
This just made my day.Double exclamation point.
I hope they are not trying to rush him.
I know he’ll be rusty but the more games he gets in before the playoffs the better.
If he doesn’t have those ankle problems that have plagued him all season we’re getting back a top 5 PG.
Niiice.
Watch how he goes for 20-10 and all the fears about him & Manu not being able to share the ball are totally unfounded.
Tony who?
No seriously it’s great that he’s back. Now to figure out how to reincorporate him with a Manu/rj duo that has been working. Glad we have even more games to figure it out than expected!
Go Spurs GO!!
Now Pummel them Kings!!
Woah! And I had decided to not go to the game because I figured one or more stars wouldn’t play (given back-to-back and sorry Sacramento)…I may have just changed my plans.
Garett Temple to start! I predict that Temple will be our savior and will be crowned the MVP of the NBA finals!
Nadeem – no more drugs, seriously.
Great to hear that Tony is back. I think we should let him and Manu start, like we did back in the day. Manu gets RJ going and then Tony gets Timmy going… Manu and Tony create for themselves… watch out west! We could go undefeated to close out the year!
Welcome back. Don’t push it too hard tonight, just get back into rhthym, get your game legs and keep getting better for the playoffs.
I hope he is fully healed and well rested. I also hope
Temple gets some PT so we can see what he’s got. Never know.
YES YES YES!!! 4 in a row here we come! back to the good ol days where Manu Timmy and PArker all start!! FACE!
This is becoming the best week of my entire life, and for more reasons than just this!!!
This is great news. That’s a solid number of games to get in before the playoffs.
I know this is completely off base, but worth sharing. It’s Don Nelson’s interview with Marc Stein, where he says he was almost the spurs coach.
“And then the second one was when I was in Golden State and I was having all the [Chris] Webber problems and Gregg Popovich was the GM in San Antonio and wanted to make a change. He called me up and said, ‘Can you get out of your contract and come here and be my coach?’
“It was a great idea, because the way we were looking at it, one of us [Webber or Nelson] had to go and if I leave they can keep Webber and get a good coach and everything would be great. So I begged Fitz [Jim Fitzgerald had since bought the Warriors] to let me out of my contract, but he refused, so he and I got into a big argument.
“But he was going to sell the team and I had to be part of the sale because I guess [new owner] Chris Cohan wanted me in place. I’ve often thought, if Pop would have been the GM and I would have been the coach, that would have been a happy, happy time for me. But I ended up staying and we probably ended up making a bad decision on Webber [by trading him to Washington].”
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&page=Nellie-100406
No more plantar fasciitis, no more hip flexor issues, a rolling RJ, a healthy Timmy, and an other-worldly Ginobili—things could be good.
i hope he is AT LEAST 90%
anything less is an issue but on the bright side, the spursw have a real chance to get to the top 4 spots and with some basketball gods help (read dallas losses) we even have the unlikely but not impossible chance to get to the 2 seed and home court!
i actually saw it more like this on facebook
“Bonne nouvelle, j’effectue mon retour ce soir face à Sacramento. Les médecins m’ont donné le feu vert !!!!”
thats 4 ex points
Can’t wait to see him play to Sacto.
The silver lining of Tony’s injury has been more size in the backcourt, which definitely helps on defense. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when Hill comes back.
“How much will Kyle Singler’s draft stock go up after he was great in the final four?
Jonathan Givony:
I have to think that he worked himself into the first round with the way he played over the last 6 weeks or so of the season.
The guy is tough as nails, a superb competitor, and has a very nice skill level on top of that. He’s 6-9 and can play either the 3 or the 4 depending on the situation. He started off the year very poorly, but finished off as a 40% shooter from beyond the arc, which means he was really hot in the second half of the season.
To me he’s going to be a very nice role player in the NBA, similar to a Matt Harpring type. Put him on a team like Utah with Jerry Sloan and he’ll be awesome.
I heard the Spurs like him a lot.”
I wouldn’t have any problems with this. Tough guy, can hit the three. Sounds like a Spurs guy
You’re excited to what? JK.
I hope he was able to rest his legs between all that conditioning.
Rock ‘em Spurs!! (my attempt to change the uber weak-sauce “Go Spurs Go”)
This is great news!! But i am concerned that Tony won’t be incorporated great along R.J. They had to learn how to run the floor without Tony, do you all think this effects the chemistry this team build while Tony was gone. I love the big three, but if Tony can’t get it figured out, then who runnin the ball? Parker or Giniobli? I loved how Manu was running the team and gettin players in transition. Will this effect the team? Well i hope not, and tony better be passing the ball more to find open shots for others. But all in all, good news, lets climb that ladder to make a run for that championship!! GO Spurs!!
Excelente noticia Tony!!!
Por que se que contigo, el nuevo gran nivel de Manu, el regreso de Hill y los espiritus renovados serán un equipo invatible.
Ohh no… Lakers, Cavs & Celtics?
Y preparence los demás Playoffs Teames!!!
Let’s talk about the game tonight. Are we overlooking the Kings? How do we match-up? Who/what could give us problems? How do we have to compensate for Hill’s absence? Does everybody know that their tall, young center, Hawes is out? Does anybody remember that we almost blew a 13 point lead in the last 3 minutes against the Kings last time? Do we remember the Net’s loss from about a week ago? This is a must game tonight, is it not? Are we complacent here? Are there any concerns? What are your thoughts about the game tonight against the young, nothing to lose Kings on the road?
I realize that we are all becoming hysterically optimistic, but Hollinger’s playoff odds give us just as good of a chance at winning the title as anyone else in the West, and much better odds than the Lakers.
Just a little bit of empirical support for all these potential championship warm fuzzies…
http://espn.go.com/nba/hollinger/playoffodds
Great News,
I felt pretty positive 1. When the hand didn’t require surgery that was great news 2. When Tony stated he wasn’t feeling pain or discomfort during workouts.
“Laissez Les Bon Temps Roulez” and Go Spurs Go!
even a rusty tp (lol i made a funny) will torch beno.
omri casspi is a threat. i would like to see hairston matched up with him. im sure he and keith will get the job of defending tyreke evans.
can’t think of any other concerns. hopefully tp plays well.
UNLEASH MAHINMI!!!! BWHAHAHAHAHAHAH
you is right, jim. we may overlook this one.
Speaking of Mahinmi, he ended up on the NBA fan house top 50 free agents list. He is according to them the 2nd best Spurs free agent.
http://nba.fanhouse.com/2010/04/06/top-50-2010-nba-free-agents/
Manu was listed 12 which is a joke. Other spurs include RMJ (#41) and Bonner (#44)
@ Optimistic Spurs fans,
The team has put a great run together beating the TOP teams in the league.
But you know what? If we don’t finish this season strong, we could end up in the 7 or 8 eight seed (which might happen even if we do keep winning).
Every game is getting more and more important so I hope there’s no let down because we all know if they lose to the Kings everything the Spurs accomplished the last 2 weeks will lose its luster (check Nets game).
So… no let up.
C’,mon you Spurs!!
@Jim Henderson
At this point, every game is a must win win game. Who knows if any of these games down the stretch will matter (if the teams at the top will lose or not)? But it’s such a tight race if anyone slips at the top the SPurs need to be ready to take advantage. Contrary to popular belief on this board, the Lakers are the not team we want to face in the first round. I don’t even like Dallas either becuase of their length. This is a trap game with Phoenix waiting in the wings tomorrow. SHould be very interesting to see how Pop uses TP (hom many minutes he gets and what rotations he plays with).
In a 7 game series, we’ve got as much a chance of winning as any team we go against. I no longer care about seeding. No one team in the west is going to be any easier than another, with maybe the exception of Portland. I think we’ve got as good a chance of knocking off the lakers in round 1 as we do the mavs, nuggets, or suns. We also have as good of a chance of being knocked out by any of them. So to say any of the remaining games are must win i think is wrong. Since we’ve clinched our playoff spot, it’s much more important that we just stay/get healthy and get TP reintegrated into the lineup.
Mahinmni will be another great athlete, with super upside, that the Spurs will just let walk away. This type of ridiculous decision making has been going on for some time with these guys.. Sad for Spur fans and for the team. However, its great for Mahinmi. He will get paid and he will get his opportunity to shine elsewhere.
Same probably goes for Hairston. If he gets a decent offer to play for a team that will allow him to contribute, hes gone as well.
Then there is TP….If he is mishandled, hes gone and will probably end up a Laker.
Finally, The G-Man….Coach Flopovich and this extra strange FO better cut the BS and do everything they can to resign Ginnobli. If not, over 20 teams will line up to offer him a new home. Not to mention, he is the FAN FAVORITE here in the city.
I doubt if the Spurs will get it done for one simple reason. Ginnobli has all of the leverage. This coach and FO will not fair well in dealing with Ginnobli without that leverage. Awsome position to be in for Ginnobli….
That doesnt include the big money overseas offers that will come his way as well….
There was no basketball reasoning for not playing Mahinmi or Hairston and getting rid of Ratliff and Haislip. Having those players seasoned and ready, by actually playing them all season, would have made us absolute beasts in these playoffs. It was horrible planning and will bite Pop in the #^%$^& now, during the playoffs and in the future.
Pathetic indeed….
@ nadeem
they included great shot blocker and rebounder in his “skinny”
this guy isn’t paying attention.
@ ballhog
you can’t even spell giNobili properly.
so why should anyone listen to you?
I know we needed another pg but having ballhog back on the floor makes me sick
Let Tim rest tonight!
It’s frustrating to know that the Spurs may have the best guard rotation in the league in Parker Ginobili and Hill but this strength immediately becomes a weakness if you take just one out with injury.
George has been taking on such a heavy load recently – he played 37 minutes a night in Feb. and March. Ideally Tony Manu and Hill would account for all 96 guard minutes between them. Tonight Tony and Manu can give you 60 at most.
All signs point to a big role for Roger Mason Jr. This is scary to some people, but there’s no other way. You can’t play Bogans in Hill’s minutes because that means playing alongside RJ for the most part and he’s the only person who can spell RJ reliably.
The spurs rotations are a mess until Hill comes back and Tony gets established. It’s compounded by this awkward time of year, where we both need to rest and finish strong. Tim and Manu are again the players who make the Spurs great, so much so that we can hardly afford to keep them on the bench long. If Tony relieves stress anywhere, it will be here. There’s still a huge void at guard no matter how well he plays tonight.
Even if there’s not much room for Roger Mason in the playoffs he can help his team here in the regular season. Until Hill comes back he’s a key role player just like Bonner or Bogans, like it or not.
ballhog asumes that every player on the team is desperate to leave, also, if ginobili wanted to play for money he would be playin elsewhere a long time ago
Call me crazy, given the continuity issues RJ and TP appeared to have prior to his injury (I believe RJ is on record stating he prefers he is paired with Manu on court) and how well our rotations have performed during his absence, what is the possibility TP runs the second team for awhile?
Ballhog you say things that make no sense.
“There was no basketball reasoning for not playing Mahinmi or Hairston and getting rid of Ratliff and Haislip. Having those players seasoned and ready, by actually playing them all season, would have made us absolute beasts in these playoffs. It was horrible planning and will bite Pop in the #^%$^& now, during the playoffs and in the future.”
At what point in the season did Pop give Haislip and Ratliff big minutes at the the expense of Mahinmi & Hairston?
For what reason do you think Mahinmi is worth big playoff minutes? Or any minutes? Please point out your insider info. Because one of the leagues most successful front offices has had him for 3 years and has not seen him become whats needed on the court. His national programme doesn’t see the value in him, and it’s not like the French national team has the best frontline in Euro ball….
Where is your evidence apart from and I repeat this ad nauseam, he is tall, and he is athletic? Do you realise how many tall athletic but hopeless players there are who never make it in the NBA? Being tall and athletic is not enough.
I’m in the minority but I’d rather have Tony in the starting lineup. Even more than Manu he needs to play with Duncan Dice and RJ to be effective and get ready for the playoffs. That lineup has been great for us this year as has the second unit when Manu leads them.
Having Manu start and run the high screen with Duncan until they keel over seems like the safe, proven move but there’s less certainty that your lead is safe when the second quarter starts and Tim and Manu are sitting. The safer (albeit more boring) thing to do might be to hide Manu behind a beard like Bogans like always and only have him share the court with Tim in the fourth.
Transformation completed.
He grew wings, and his mouth is a flame thrower now… im so glad we have a gargoyle in our team
Ballhog –
It’s amazing how you can keep calling the releasing of Haislip as a folly on the FO’s part. The guy isn’t young, has had many years and many teams in which to prove he’s an NBA player and guess what? He has shown nothing. No NBA team even entertained the idea of signing him after we released him. And this is the guy you want playing vital minutes for us in the playoffs? Seriously, the guy has NEVER been more than a 12th man on any NBA team.
You’re flat out wrong in regard to Hairston. We have a team option on him for next year, so no other team can make an offer till we renounce his rights, and that’s not happening.
And finally, I don’t know where your freakish man crush on Ian comes from, but give it a rest, that horse is dead my friend.
we might loose 2night guyz, just like we did we the nets. and plus guyz need 2 adjust to TP
@ Bushka and Tyler
You guys are always trying to keep the 48 from knowing how much you love the Hog..
Always crying…I thought we would be doing better by now. Tell ya what….By the end of the season, all will be clear. At that point, I will look you up to talk even more shyt to ya…Oh yeah….Its not over yet….
In the mean time, just realize that your half azzed stabs dont mean jack to me. I go along with it for the sake of the 48….and to avoid mucking up the site with a bunch of stab and jab nonsense…
Besides, your excitement about this current team, “This Team”, with these role players…its hillarious…..and says it all…
Now, the Coors Light is on me!
Great game by Temple. I was glad to see TP get limited playing time. Too bad the score was not more lopsided so that Tim and Manu could get more rest.
2 more to 50!
lobster face
Wow, I now remember what it feels like to get a win when we should get a win. Not a blowout, but not a Nets performance or some other blunders that we’ve had along the way. That with an OKC loss moves us up one in the standings…for now.
Temple was a pleasant surprise (according to the boxscore – didn’t have access to the game). I am looking forward to going up against Phoenix.
Duncan has been getting rest by not playing entire games, which hopefully will translate to playoff excellence in his game. Duncan, Parker, Manu, and Hill will all need to have big games to win playoffs. Dice, RJ, and Blair need to provide quality minutes and find ways to contribute. This leaves Bonner and Mason to make 3Pt shots when they get in the game. This team is turning heads and causing fear in the hearts of the Western Conference, which can only be good. We also managed to get to #6 position. We have an outside chance to gain even more ground with some luck.
@DieHardSpur,
Did I not tell u about Temple? Will u now agree that he will be the finals Mvp?
Great game by Temple, this kid looked REALLY fast out there. Pop even let him play in crunch time. He could be molded into another George Hill type with more playing time. He’s long, athletic, and seemed pretty damn fast on breaks and drives to the basket.
But then again, it WAS against the kings. Maybe Pop will start him again at point against PHO, I would rather see that than RMJ at point.
Ballhog i just asked you why you made a statement that makes no sense?
Haislip and Ratliff never took minutes from Mahinmi & Hairston…
Mahinmi has never done anything at any level of basketball to show he needs to be involved to a greater degree and Hairston is getting more run as the season reachs it’s conclusion.
I’m not hating, you just keep making these statements with no substance.
My excitement for the team is pretty tempered overall. I don’t rate us as true contenders, but I do see some great building blocks and optimism for the next few years if we can grab Splitter and hang onto Manu.