San Antonio Spurs Dynasty

Spurs Draft Preview

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 21:36:00 +0000

The 2008 NBA Draft is tomorrow, and as a consequence of their continued success, the Spurs find themselves, once again, with dim prospects. The Spurs have three picks -- 26th, 45th and 57th overall -- and history tells us that there won't be much talent available this deep in the draft.

Or maybe there will be.

Consider these recent picks. In 2006, Jordan Farmar was picked 26th, Daniel Gibson 42nd, Paul Millsap 47th, and Leon Powe 49th. In 2005, Jason Maxiell was picked 26th, Linas Kleiza 27th, Salim Stoudamire 31st, Brandon Bass 33rd, C.J. Miles 34th, Ronny Turiaf 37th, Travis Diener 38th, Monta Ellis 40th, Andray Blatche 49th, and Ryan Gomes 50th. In 2004, Kevin Martin was picked 26th, Sasha Vujacic 27th, Beno Udrih 28th, Anderson Varejao 30th, Royal Ivey 37th, and Chris Duhon 38th. In 2003, Kendrick Perkins was picked 27th, Leandro Barbosa 28th, Josh Howard 29th, Jason Kopono 31st, Luke Walton 32nd, Steve Blake 38th, Keith Bogans 43rd, Matt Bonner 45th, and Kyle Korver 51st.

Ross Siler writes for The Salt Lake Tribune:

What does history say about late first-round picks? Over the last 10 years, 101 players have been drafted No. 20 or later. Sixty-seven were still in the NBA at season's end while four were playing overseas still waiting to arrive. Only three have become All-Stars - Parker, Howard and Kirilenko - while 17 were regular starters for their teams this season. Two of the starters on Boston's championship team - Kendrick Perkins and Rajon Rondo - were drafted in the late first round.

At the same time, 19 of the late first-round picks in the past decade played three years or less in the NBA. The where-are-they-now list includes Frank Williams and Sam Jacobson, Roshown McLeod and Chris Jefferies.

But as jdenquist points out, Siler misses some noteworthy second round picks, including six All-Stars.

In fact, over the last 20 years, including all draft picks 23rd or later (including 2nd rounders), there have actually been 9 all-stars. Yes, AK-47, Tony Parker, and Josh Howard are in that group. But taken 23rd or later also includes Rashard Lewis (32nd pick), Gilbert Arenas (31st pick), current Jazz men Carlos Boozer (35th pick) and Memo Okur (38th pick), and the two real superstar gems, Michael Redd (43rd pick) and Manu Ginobili (57th pick). In fact, Manu Ginobili was nearly the equivalent of the NFL's Mr. Irrelevant who turned out to win multiple rings, a Sixth Man award, an Olympic gold medal, and multiple all-star teams.

The bottom line is that the draft matters. The Spurs have an opportunity to get some immediate help, whether its a rebounder, a defensive specialist to take the reins from Bruce Bowen, or a backup point guard...

Could one of these prospects fit the bill?

Serge Ibaka PF
19 years old
6-10, 228 lbs.
C.B. L’Hospitalet, Spain

Alexis Ajinca PF/C
20 years old
7-0, 220 lbs.
Hyeres-Toulon, France

Ryan Anderson PF
20 years old
6-10, 240 lbs.
California, Sophomore

Omer Asik C
21 years old
7-0, 255 lbs.
Fenerbache Ulker, Turkey

DeVon Hardin PF
21 years old
6-11, 235 lbs.
California, Senior

Darnell Jackson PF/C
22 years old
6-11, 250 lbs.
Kansas, Senior

Malik Hairston SF
21 years old
6-6, 200 lbs.
Oregon, Senior

Thank you

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 00:04:00 +0000

It's hard to believe that the San Antonio Spurs 2007-2008 season ended just six days ago. It didn't end where we thought it would, but it sure was one helluva ride. I'd like to thank my fellow contributors -- Michael, Brantley, Jake, Kevin and Rene -- for making this site a reality. More importantly, I'd like to thank you for reading and for joining us. We had over 100,000 readers this season, which is both amazing and humbling. Thank you. Muchas gracias.

The journey started October 30 in San Antonio with a ring ceremony and a win against Portland. It was obvious within a week's time that the team was firing on all cylinders. Manu Ginobili looked to be having an All-Star caliber season. By early December the Spurs were 17-3, in first place in the West and looked unstoppable on their quest for a fifth NBA title.

There were setbacks, of course. Tim missed four games in December. Without him, the team still managed to beat the Mavericks and the Jazz. Manu missed five games around New Years and three more in April. Tony Parker missed 13 games total in December and February due to a bone spur in his left heel.

The Spurs 17-3 start was followed by a tough 11-13 stretch in December and January that included losses to the two worst teams in the league -- Memphis and Seattle. After six weeks of .500 basketball, the Spurs didn't look destined to repeat.

In February, the Spurs made some changes to try and turn things around. Damon Stoudamire joined the team. We traded Francisco Elson and Brent Barry to Seattle for Kurt Thomas. The Spurs seemed rejuvenated and won 15 out of 16. In March, Brent Barry rejoined the team and while he recuperated the Spurs closed out the season on a 13-9 roll, including eight straight wins.

It didn't seem to matter too much at the time, but the Spurs finished third in the West. Just one game separated the Spurs from the Lakers, from having home court advantage in the Conference Semifinals against the Hornets or the Conference Finals against the Lakers. If the Spurs had only won two more games during the regular season...

Last Thursday's game five loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles felt a lot like the season as a whole -- an emotional rollercoaster that started with a bang and ended with a dull thud. The Spurs raced off to an early 17 point lead and then collapsed in the second half. As was true in the regular season, the Lakers ultimately won the West.

After having had a few days to let things sink in, I recall losing faith in this team gradually as the season progressed. Part of me lost faith back in December after that 11-13 stretch. Part of me lost faith when we finished third in the West. Part of me lost faith when we lost game one in New Orleans. And seeing the Spurs squander 20 and 17 points against the Lakers eliminated what little hope I had left. This just wasn't our year.

That being said, I'm optimistic about the team's prospects for next season. I don't believe that time has run out for the Duncan-era Spurs. The Spurs will make changes. The Spurs will have three picks in this month's draft. Maybe they'll add a solid backup point guard like Mario Chalmers (Kansas) or an extremely versatile defender like Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky). We have Ian Mahinmi to look forward to, who averaged 17 points and 8 rebounds for the Toros last year. Tim, Tony and Manu will get some well-deserved rest. And Robert Horry will finally retire.

We'll be here this summer and again in the fall, to praise and critique our favorite team. We hope you'll join us. Thanks for reading.

Former Spur New Stanford Coach

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 16:05:00 +0000

Johnny Dawkins spent three seasons in San Antonio, from the fall of 1986 to the spring of 1989. Those were dark days for Spurs fans. Alvin Robertson couldn't carry the weight of being a franchise player. Mike Mitchell, Artis Gilmore and Johnny Moore were headed towards retirement, and there wasn't a lot of promise for the future to be found in players like Frank Brickowski and Kevin Duckworth. The Spurs finished 6th in the '86-'87 season and 5th in '88 under Bob Weiss and 5th in '89 under Larry Brown.

But Dawkins showed tremendous promise. He was averaging 16 points and 7 assists per game when an injury hampered him in his second season. He spent most of his third season in rehab before being traded away to the 76ers, the season before the Spurs acquired David Robinson in the draft.

I always liked Johnny Dawkins as a player and often thought the Spurs might have beaten the Blazers in the 1990 playoffs had Dawkins been in the backcourt with Rod Strickland, instead of Maurice Cheeks or Vernon Maxwell. He was a disciplined player, the kind of player that would fit in well with Pop's system today. I'm sure he'll bring that same discipline to Stanford as their new head coach.

Johnny Dawkins has taken a precise, if not speedy, route to his new appointment: head coach of Stanford basketball. It is his first head-coaching job, after 11 years on the staff at Duke, where he is in the Hall of Fame as a player.

When Dawkins was an NBA rookie with the San Antonio Spurs, he and crusty Spurs veteran Johnnie Moore were shooting around in preseason camp when Moore inexplicably took Dawkins' ball and flung it into the stands. The annoyed Dawkins knew nothing about Moore other than his old-school reputation but decided the best course of action was to grab Moore's ball and throw it out the door of the arena.

"He looked at me," Dawkins said, "and I thought, 'OK, it's going to be on now, one way or the other,' and then he goes, 'You're a crazy rookie.' And laughed. He took me under his wing after that."

At Least There Wasn't A Plane Crash

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sat, 31 May 2008 22:27:00 +0000

What the fuck is wrong with my diseased brain?

Anyway, here's the last Spurs post of the season. It's uh... long. Shocking, I know. Thanks for everything guys and I hope, time permitting, you all make it out to the bar to watch some soccer with me. I promise I won't judge any of you for drinking gallons of awful tasting beer at 9 a.m. Well, not judge you out loud anyway.

Don't be strangers, k?

We Still Believe

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Thu, 29 May 2008 23:11:00 +0000

"Down 3-1, we know it’s really hard to come back. But we’re going to try. Of course, we still believe in ourselves. We’re going to have a shot. As always the next game is THE game."
--Manu Ginobili

A lot of Spurs fans have given up on the chances of the Spurs winning tonight in Los Angeles, let alone winning three straight against the Lakers. Blogger Matthew Powell has thrown in the towel over at PtR, and frankly, I don't blame him. He writes, "This has been a long season for me, for you, for the Spurs. It's not over. But it's time to say goodbye."

Matthew, it's not time to say goodbye. Not yet. Even if the Spurs lose tonight, and I don't think that they will, it won't be time to say goodbye. Not yet.

I know it's unlikely that the Spurs will win the next three games, but it's not impossible. It can be done.

We still believe.

Unorganized and All Over the Place, Like the Spurs Final Play in Game 4

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 29 May 2008 19:48:00 +0000

Western Conference Finals Game 4 vs. Los Angeles: Lakers 93, Spurs 91 (3-1)

I'm angry.

I'm angry that the NBA gave this bullshit apology about the no-call the day after the game. Our coaches and players already said it wasn't a foul. Why couldn't we just move on? I'm angry that some of our fans think we were robbed and justified in winning a game we had absolutely no business being competitive in. I'm angry that there's this "they're out to get us" mentality out there by some idiots we got every call in that game for the first 47:57. I'm angry about the way so-called Spurs fans are treating Manu Ginobili. I'm angry I have to pretend to be some stupid over-caffeinated cretin on the radio in an hour, sound and fury signifying nothing, so I can be some gimmicky villain for a LA sportstalk show. I'm angry that this is the way the media world works.

I'm angry that I have to be angry.

Was it a foul? Yeah, probably, I guess.

I don't care. We didn't deserve it. It shouldn't have been our ball in the first place. It shouldn't have been a close game in the first place. How do we fuck up a sideline out of bounds play so badly that Brent Barry winds up with the ball, with Derek Fisher all over him, some 35 feet from the hoop. We couldn't get it any closer? Really?

We didn't deserve to win a game when two of the guys our coach had on the floor for that fateful play - Fin and RoHo - have been our two worst shooters all season long and had been our two worst players in that game. You know who wasn't on the floor for the last play? Tony Freakin' Parker, only one of our three best players. Coach Pop, ladies and gentlemen.

The team lost for a multitude of reasons. The defense was okay, but the rebounding, especially in the first half, was piss poor. Nobody could hit an outside shot, no matter how open. Finley went a jaw dropping -18 in just over eight minutes of floor time. You or me or Brantley or Jake or Dan or Rene or Matthew or Wayne or Manolis could've played instead and not fared much worse. Finley's older than almost everyone I just named. No one played worth a damn really, outside of Tim, Tony, Brent and Bruce.

And yes, we lost because of Manu.

Again, he didn't have it. No energy, no ability to drive, no stubbornness or selfishness or churlishness that stars need to have at times this time of year. He's just not that guy, the asshole star that demands the ball regardless of how he's playing or who's hot on his team.

I'm not defending Manu's play. I'm not.

But the guy took eight shots all game. Kobe takes that many in a quarter. Manu has never been a volume scorer. He's always been an efficient scorer. Remember Game 2 of the '05 Finals vs. the Pistons? Dude took eight shots in that one too. Had 27 points though.

The more shots you take in a game, the more 2-for-8 stretches mean nothing. How many times this season do you suppose Kobe missed six of eight shots? 50? 60? Maybe sometimes two separate times in one game. The more shots you take, the more your percentages even out to their normal levels. Kobe needed 29 shots the other night to get 28 points. Manu need eight to get seven. Everyone is praising Bryant for his game, everyone is bashing Manu for his. Is one really all that different than the other?

The Spurs missed 45 shots as a team. Tim missed over a third of those, 16. Tony missed 20% with nine. Manu missed 13% with six. I'm just sayin'.

I think Gino's biggest problem, aside from his health and his confidence, is that ever since he came into the NBA, Pop has always used him as a problem solver, not a scorer. Get out there Manu, we need some hustle. Some energy. Steals. Rebounds. Passing. Scoring, but only with the second unit really. Pop never has (and I doubt he ever will) told Manu, "We need you to take [x number of] shots tonight."

Manu has this problem solver, x-factor mentality. So when he sees that he himself is the problem, that his shot is off, that his legs aren't there, he solves the problem by not shooting. He looks to pass or, other times, just kind of retreats into a shell and floats along, going five possessions at a time perhaps without touching the ball.

He's hard on himself, unreasonably so. You might see him ignore an open teammate if he has it going, sometimes, but a cold Manu Ginobili just doesn't force shots. He does not. It is virtually impossible to convince him that a contested shot for him, even when he's off, is a higher percentage play than an open shot for a teammate, even if that teammate is Horry or Vaughn or Finley. Manu has more faith in those guys sometimes than they have in themselves, and certainly more than he has in himself.

Does not compute.

____________________

I ruined everything on Tuesday. The day started off well enough, I think I wrote a pretty good post after Game 3. But after that everything just disintegrated, I can't explain why. First I did the radio show and for the first time the producer guy and the host sincerely disliked me, said I was "boring" and "too nice." I was being just honest for saying I didn't dislike the Lakes all that much. I was trying to set up this big Shaq joke I thought of, but they never really played along, so I couldn't get to it. So the show sucked and I was in a funk and I'm in this spiritual dilemma about playing the asshole.

I remember reading this article in Sports Illustrated like fifteen years ago. It was about this goon on the Washington Capitals of the NHL. He apparently blew up at his coach on the bench because the coach told him to go into the game and get in a fight. He refused to do it.

See, hockey enforcers or "goons" know what their role is. They know why they're on the team. They know what is implied when a coach taps them on the shoulder and tells them to take a shift. But it's the biggest taboo in hockey for a coach to tell a guy to fight. It means you think of him as a goon and not as a hockey player. You just don't do it. This coach broke the rule and it just ruined this player psychologically and he flipped out.

I'm kind of going through that right now. I know I'm an asshole. I've been called an asshole my whole life and it comes very naturally to me. But to be told to act like an asshole? When I don't feel like being one? I feel like I'm dying inside. Is this what I have to do to have a career in this business?

Anyway, like I said, I was in a funk. I forgot to shave before playing basketball, even though I shaved before Game 3 and we won. I forgot to bring the shirt I wore during Game 3, this one that had the front page of the San Antonio Express News on it the day after the Spurs beat Utah in Game 5 last year to advance to the Finals.

I played mostly crappy basketball for three hours that night and missed the first half of Game 1.

Honestly I'm more depressed than angry. But the radio people don't want depressed and they certainly don't want resignation.

I'm depressed more than anything about how Manu is being slung through the mud on Spurstalk. There is no lifetime immunity there. There isn't. I said it before and I'll say it again, the Spurs have a lot of awful fans.

I remember watching the Boston Red Sox in the World Series in 2004. All these happy, delirious people yelling and screaming and holding signs that read, "Now I can die in peace."

A few months later, next season these very same people were booing Kevin Millar and Keith Foulke and Mark Bellhorn. Calling them bums and demanding their trades. These guys were playoff heroes who helped end 86 years of futility and already they were forgotten. It depressed the hell out of me at the time and I can't ever quite look at the Red Sox the same way now, and definitely not their fans, who as far as I'm concerned are no different than Yankees fans.

I want to think that Spurs fans are different, but I don't believe they are. Tim and Manu should have lifetime immunity, even if they were to miss every shot they took the rest of their careers. Tony should be right on the precipice of that status.

But looking on Spurstalk.com, it seems I am in the minority for feeling this way. Tim and Manu deserve better fans. I want to think that most of the regulars at SpursDynasty and PtR are with me on this one. I want to think they believe in the concept of lifetime immunity and the big picture. I want to think that for some guys, there's more to our opinions of them than how they played their last game. I want to think we're bigger, better than that. Let me know that we are.

Please.

Postscript:

As you can tell, I'm having a crisis of faith. Not in the Spurs as much as everything surrounding them. The media, the coaching, the fans, all of it. I just finished my radio spot and I didn't give in. I didn't give them what they wanted. I think the producer could tell in the pre-interview I wasn't going to, so they didn't go there with the non-call.

But still, I had some pluck. And I told them I think the Spurs would win tonight. I told them the series isn't over and that we've lost two games by four points and it could very easily be 3-1 the other way. I was still their villain, but not their jester.

I have faith that the guys could pull off a miracle. I think Manu can still string three good performances together, as can Tim and Tony and Bruce. I think they could catch the Lakers overconfident tonight. I think the Spurs won't go quietly into the cold night.

Here's my point though: It won't change my feelings about the principals either way. After all they've accomplished, if this one game affects your opinions, perceptions and thoughts about our big three or Bruce or Pop or Brent more than .01%, well then you're a clod and the worst kind of fan and I don't really want to know you.

This post was just a rambling mess. It has two beginnings, no real ending, and no discernible middle. Obviously, I'm submitting my application to fill Bill Simmons' slot at ESPN.com. My mind is all over the place and again, the Spurs could be playing their last game of the season, their third elimination game already these playoffs. Getting to a fourth would be a godsend.

But with these guys, it wouldn't be a surprise.

The Call That Wasn't

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:27:00 +0000

Brent Barry's days in the NBA are numbered, as they are for all players, of course. But Barry is 36 years old and his career will be over soon -- maybe next week, maybe next year. Years from now, if anyone remembers last night's game, it will not be for Barry's heroic efforts on offense, scoring a career playoff high 23 points, but instead for Derek Fisher's foul on Barry that was not called by Joey Crawford.

Derek Fisher already has a place in Spurs lore as the Lakers villain who made an improbable shot in an improbable time span in 2005. Joey Crawford is the embodiment of fans antipathy towards the Spurs, a veteran referee who was suspended for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs last year after making a bogus call against the greatest power forward who has ever played the game. Crawford was back to his old anti-Spurs ways in the Spurs-Hornets series this season, even going so far as to poke Gregg Popovich's chest twice to make a point during a heated exchange. Last night, Crawford was the referee who should have made the call, but did not.

Johhny Ludden writes:

Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant and Gregg Popovich all agreed that Fisher didn’t foul Brent Barry. They’re also all wrong. Fisher landed on Barry’s shoulder, and that was revealing for more than one reason.

Joey Crawford naturally played a role in this story, too. When Fisher went up and Barry stayed down, the one ref staring directly at the play was the same ref who didn’t work last year’s playoffs because he ejected Tim Duncan for laughing. This time Crawford stayed silent, and this time the Spurs weren’t laughing. At least one Spur privately saw this as yet another chapter in the NBA’s Crawford Conspiracy.

Ludden argues that the Spurs didn't deserve to win last night's game, but he's wrong about that. Ludden also argues that the coaches and players who believe that Barry wasn't fouled by Fisher, or that Crawford was right for not making the call, are mistaken. He's right on that point.

“If I was the official,” Popovich said, “I wouldn’t have called that a foul.”

Said Barry: “That shouldn’t be called in the Western Conference finals.”

Barry’s wrong. Crawford should have called it.

Fans agree. Check out the poll on Yahoo. With over 23,000 votes cast so far, 63% believe that Derek Fisher fouled Brent Barry. The only question is whether it was on the floor (45%) or with continuation (18%).

The NBA settled that question today by acknowledging its mistake. The foul should have been called on the floor.

The league office on Wednesday reviewed the final play of the San Antonio Spurs' 93-91 home loss to the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals and acknowledged that a two-shot foul should have been called on Derek Fisher for impeding Brent Barry.

Can you remember the last time that the league actually admitted an officiating mistake, especially a game-changer like this one? I can't.

It's unfortunate that Brent Barry's performance last night came in the Spurs first playoff loss at home since May 14, 2007. You may recall, that game was memorable, too, but less for the outcome than for a foul.

Magic Numbers

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Tue, 27 May 2008 23:34:00 +0000

We love numbers at SpursDynasty.com and we tend toward the superstitious side, so its no coincidence that our conversations often revolve around numbers.

What numbers will matter most tonight?

4: points that the oddsmakers favor the Spurs by tonight. That's pretty much a draw in my book, since home teams are usually favored by three or four as the default. In other words, the sports books expect a close game tonight and so do betters.

7: consecutive games won by the Spurs at home in the 2008 playoffs.

9: the margin by which the Spurs exceeded the Lakers in assists last game, 22-13. In game one, the Spurs lost the assists battle 16-18, and in game two played to a 20-20 draw. A better passing Spurs team beats the Lakers tonight.

13: consecutive games won by the Spurs at home going back to the 2007 playoffs.

22: points scored by Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol combined in game three. They combined for 27 and 30 in the first two games, both Lakers wins. If the Spurs can keep the Lakers big men off track, they'll even the series at two tonight.

24.5: points averaged by Kobe in games one and two. He scored 30 in game three and the Lakers lost, ie more points for Kobe doesn't necessarily bode well for the Lakers.

30: points scored by Manu Ginobili in game three. I listened to the Steve Mason show today and Steve and his Lakers fans seem to think that they'll win if Manu doesn't have another big game tonight. It would help if Manu scored 30, but its not absolutely necessary. The Spurs were up by 20 midway into the third quarter of game one and Manu had just 5. He finished that game with just 10 and the Spurs still only lost by 4.

36, 37: the ages of Brent Barry and Robert Horry, respectively. Barry had a big impact coming off the bench Sunday night, even though he had just 6 points and 4 assists. The Spurs were +11 when Barry and Horry were on the court. We'll need more of the same out of them both tonight.

Incidentally, I thought Tony Played Very Well...

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Tue, 27 May 2008 19:16:00 +0000

We win Game 3! So of course I rant. I destroy everything that I love. Such is my relationship with the world.

Harvey: Lakers Lack Muscle

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:22:00 +0000

Last Friday before game two in Los Angeles, I wrote that the Lakers are the team that should really be nervous. Now its the Spurs turn, down 1-2, going into tonight's game four.

But there is plenty of anxiety to go around for both teams. Buck Harvey writes ("Lakers lack of muscle only historic"):

Manu Ginobili can’t be any better than he was Sunday. Kobe Bryant can be. And the Spurs should be very, very nervous tonight.

Game 4 will be tight and telling.

But there’s something about the Lakers that isn’t right, even with their 2-1 series lead, even with reason to believe they can fix what went wrong Sunday.

They lack the physical toughness that plays well in June, and they’ve shown that even while taking a lead on the Spurs. Duncan is averaging 18 rebounds a game.

This is why the Lakers should also be very, very nervous. Do they want to face this Duncan in a Game 7?

Hey Look, It's Jack Nicholson!

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Sun, 25 May 2008 17:53:00 +0000

Game 2 recap and last Friday's Steve Mason show. Blarg.

"I blame myself"

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Sat, 24 May 2008 16:34:00 +0000

"I blame myself for these two losses. It should be 1-1. My mind is not fatigued. I need to step up. It will be different in Game 3."
--Manu Ginobili

"I think being out of gas had somewhat of an effect, but not as much as the good play of the Lakers. We definitely have to have more people playing better to get this done. We thought our last game was our best shot to get something here and just dig down and do it after the seven games (against the Hornets)."
--Gregg Popovich

"We’re confident we’re a very good home team, but you hate to put yourself in a position where you’re down 0-2. One of two things is going to happen -- either we’re going to turn it around and make this thing into a series or we’re not. We are going to go home and try and change the tide of it."
--Tim Duncan

Lakers Should Be Nervous

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 21:36:00 +0000

During TNT's "Inside the NBA," at the end of game one between the Spurs and Lakers, Reggie Miller was ready to call the series.

"This is very reminiscent of when the Spurs beat the Suns in game one in the first round series. Emotionally it took everything out of Phoenix and they could not regroup in that series. I don't think the Spurs can regroup, being up 20 points in the second half, and come back to win the series."

"In playoff basketball, you can't afford to give away games. This is a game that the Spurs should have won."

Frankly, it was a disappointing loss, but the Spurs were not favored to win. They were just coming off an emotional, exhausting seven-game series against the Hornets, had spent Monday night on their broken down charter plane, and were playing a well-rested Lakers team at home. And yet, they were leading 65-45 with just six minutes left in the third quarter. The game was tied 85-85 with 41 seconds left. They almost stole one at Staples.

As Michael has already mentioned, the Spurs didn't need to win game one and they don't need to win game two tonight. They have four chances to win in LA, and they've used up just one. Wednesday night was just one game, like tonight is just one game.

Tim Duncan was leaning against the wall of a conference room in his hotel, fielding media questions, when someone asked him if Game 1 had created “doubt.”

He rolled his eyes. “It was ONE game,” he said.

Despite the fact that Reggie Miller is ready to write off the defending champs, the Lakers are the team that should really be nervous, for three simple reasons:

1. The Spurs have slept three nights in a bed, as opposed to on an aircraft.
2. Pop will make adjustments. He always does. Expect the Spurs to be more aggressive, more physical tonight. Expect more minutes for Oberto and Horry. Expect the Spurs to widen their advantage on the boards. Expect Kobe to play better, but Gasol, Radmanovic and Vujacic to play worse.
3. The Lakers didn't win game one as much as the Spurs lost it. And the Spurs know what they need to do tonight.

The Spurs shot 3-for-21 and committed five turnovers while being outscored 24-13 in the fourth quarter.

“We’re very pleased overall with what we did defensively,” Popovich said. “Our problem was we have to keep scoring, and we didn’t last night.”

“Poor decision-making,” Duncan said. “We turned the ball over, got shots late in the clock, things we can clean up.”

Tim Duncan and the Spurs have got some cleaning up to do tonight. It's going to be a great game.

Lakers Voodoo Ritual

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:49:00 +0000

Long time readers of SpursDynasty know that Bramlet Abercrombie is a big believer in voodoo. In keeping with his ritual of bringing down the wrath of the vodun on the opponent, Bramlet has supplied us this downloadable PDF.

Click here to download
What you do with this is, of course, up to you, but Bramlet recommends that you:

Cast Pop-Pops (or some variant such as "Party Snaps" or "Snap Dragons") upon the photos. This is most effective if done while muttering obscenities about the players' ancestors. If you do this properly, the players should be covered with gunpowder residue by the time you're finished.
Burn the photos. The best way to do this is to hold the flame under each player to create an expanding circle of black ash where his face used to be, until the paper catches fire. There's something vicious enough about this method that one has the feeling that the player senses a disturbance in the force from afar.
Toss the remains of the photos into the toilet as they burn, and flush them down. This way of adding insult to injury is the ultimate indignity for a bling-sporting NBA stud.

Poll: Who will win the Eastern Conference Finals?

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Fri, 23 May 2008 08:07:00 +0000

Celtics or Pistons? How many games?
Pistons in 5
Pistons in 6
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Well That Just Happened

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:13:00 +0000

I know this will come off immature, but all in all yesterday might have been one of the 50 worst days of my life. Probably 30 of those involve sports, in one way or another.

The whole day was filled with bad omens. I was scheduled to do this radio interview with some LA Times Lakers blog, I think, and it was supposed to be like 20 minutes long and start at 11:15 a.m. my time. But because I procrastinated and got distracted and took too long to finish a soccer article for the newspaper I work for, I couldn't leave my place until like 11. Right before I left I checked my phone's battery and it had two out of three bars. I contemplated taking my charger along, just in case, and decided it wouldn't be necessary.

The plan all along would be to do the interview at a parking lot of the Chili's in San Bruno so I could watch the Champions League final between Manchester United and Chelsea afterward before rushing through the usual Wednesday drudgery of collecting police blotters around the peninsula. But because I was late I was driving around some low reception areas and I had a hell of a time getting connected to those guys. I think I hung up on them accidentally once.

When I finally got through, we did chat, and for a long time, but the whole conversation just didn't feel right. I mean, I know it was only my third radio spot, so it's not like I've had a lot of experience to know what I'm talking about, but the thing just didn't have any flow at all. We kept interrupting each other, talking over each other, and at other times there was just dead air. A couple of my jokes landed with a sickening thud. I think a part of the problem was that the guys probably weren't radio pros like Steve Mason is - they were writers first, like me - but obviously a huge share of the blame falls on me as well. When my segment was over they couldn't say good bye to me fast enough and I highly doubt they'll have me back.

When that spot ended I noticed a persistent beeping on my phone, and wouldn't you know it, it's out of juice. It was way too far to go back home and get my charger but I needed to do something, as I had another interview scheduled for 2:25 (with Mason). So I went to the nearby mall and blew $32 on another charger. By the time I got to Chili's, the soccer game was 20 minutes in.

The game was going decent enough, both sides had some chances, but I just couldn't get into it. I was too bummed about how the radio thing went and at the money I wasted. I felt a little better when Chelsea tied it up right before half (I love Manu, I despise Man U). Both teams squandered some chances in the second half and when overtime started I realized there was a good chance I'd miss the ending of the game if it went to penalty kicks. My second spot was scheduled for 2:25 p.m.

Wouldn't you know it, penalty kicks came. I don't know why but for some god forsaken morbid reason the team I root for never wins penalty kicks. I think my lifetime record is something like 2-57 or something. Probably because I root for Team England against everyone but Turkey ~~and the U.S.~~ Obviously when that Portuguese ponce Ronaldo (the A-Rod of international soccer) missed his kick, I was elated. I hate that guy. When the phone rang the fourth round of kicks had ended and it was 4-3 Chelsea. All they had to do was make their last one or Man U had to miss theirs and Chelsea would win.

But I left the restaurant and did the interview.

It went okay, but not great. I didn't feel that I had near the chemistry with the guys as I did before. The last time I was on the producer said I was great, made smalltalk with me and was very enthusiastic about having me back. This time he just mumbled "Thanks" and hung up. My friend Jeremy said I came off as arrogant. Wonderful. I suck at radio.

Anyway, I went back inside to Chili's to see what I missed, and of course I see Man U celebrating. Apparently John Terry, the Chelsea captain, missed his kick, Man U made theirs, and two rounds later some French guy had his kick saved and that was that. Right about then I was officially worried about the Spurs game.

No matter how well the Spurs were playing, no matter how big their lead was, I kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. A large part of it was Kobe. He was so passive and willing to give the ball up in the first half, it didn't feel like he was even in the game. It's not like we were shutting him down, he was shutting himself down. A bigger reason I was concerned though was Manu. He was playing terribly. In the 1st quarter Vladimir Rodmanovic, of all people, had scored on him repeatedly, to the point of the Lakers running plays for him and isolating him and everything. Offensively it wasn't going any better. Manu still couldn't get to the rim, he looked stuck in quicksand, and his vertical looked about as impressive as mine. Worse still, he had some bandage on the tip of his middle shooting finger and it was probably affecting his jumper. At least that's what I was telling myself.

The Spurs were still winning though, and at times, winning big. Tim was magnificent and thoroughly running roughshod over Gasol, as I figured he would if Phil Jackson foolishly single covered him. That theory about "length" bothering Duncan more than size is so much bunk. Nothing bothers Timmy except inconsistency. Dealing with different defenses, different guys, different refs, that's what causes him problems. A foul in Game 3 isn't a foul in Game 5. A foul in the 2nd quarter isn't a foul in the 4th. That drives Duncan crazy. I don't care if Bill Russell in his prime guards him, if it's single coverage and the refereeing is consistent, Timmy will figure him out before long.

Tony was also playing amazingly well. He had 12 points and five dimes at the half, he was running the offense smoothly, and like I expected, Fisher couldn't do anything at the other end if Parker stayed at home on him. Bruce was doing a good job of not giving Kobe anything easy and other guys like Fab and Ime were chipping in, playing very solidly. By the middle of the third quarter we were up 20, 65-45, and the game looked all but over. The series was going to be on our racket, all we'd have to do was win the three home games. I couldn't believe it was going to be this easy, even with Manu playing like crap.

It all changed when Bruce picked up his 3rd foul, with 5:40 to go in the 3rd. Pop panicked and took Bowen out of the game. Ime would have to guard Kobe. The MVP's eyes opened, his ears perked up and he went to work. The way the Kobester treated Blotch was illegal in 22 states, but not, unfortunately, California. It bordered on cruel, really. Udoka quickly picked up a bunch of fouls and to the surprise of absolutely no one, Ginobili fared only a fraction better against Bryant. Nobody on our team outside of Bowen has a prayer against him. I think Pop screwed up big time removing Bowen from the game at that stage, but even taking him out, the substitution would be explainable if he trapped Kobe for the rest of the quarter. Make somebody else beat you. You can't guard him the same way without Bruce that you do with Bruce. You just can't. You think the refs will give Ime Freakin' Udoka a break in Los Angeles against Kobe? That's retarded, Pop.

Things got even worse in the 4th quarter. Duncan started to get doubled and stopped scoring. At times he had open jumpers and refused to take them, passing out to Udoka instead. Our three point shooters - Manu included - were ice cold, going 1 for 9. The paint was closed off for Tony, but he wasn't getting as much room for his jumper either. The whole offense crumpled in a corner and died. The team shot 3 of 21 and committed seven turnovers. Nothing worked. It felt like what being trapped in a small room and realizing that the oxygen is running out must feel like. I was beside myself. I haven't felt like this since the last three innings of Game 6 of the '02 World Series.

The refs were doing us no favors in the fourth, for sure. One critical ball, clearly poked out of bounds by Lamar Odom, was ruled to be off Timmy. Our big three couldn't buy a call on offense. Kobe pushed off on Bruce for the winning jumper and there was no call. At the end, after Manu missed his last three, he looked like he was going to collect the rebound off a deflection, but all of a sudden Odom yanked him down violently and there was no call. A whistle there and it'd have been a loose ball foul, two free throws, and probably a tie game.

But when you're up 20 halfway through the 3rd and lose, you can't blame the refs. You just can't. We blew this game. We blew a really big opportunity, simple as that. These playoffs are a gauntlet the likes of which our guys have never faced before and it's not going to be easy no matter how much we wish it so. We already have five playoff losses. We had four all of last year. Last year was cake.

Where we go from here is the question. The positive - the ONLY positive - is that we know we can play with these guys, even in their building. They're not going to run us out of there like the Hornets did. We respect them too much for that to happen. And this time Pop knew from the beginning to put Bowen on the right guy, so that helps.

I don't know how much of a factor fatigue and having to sleep on the plane was. The team looked dead tired in the fourth. But every game the rest of the way will be played with just one day off, even the ones where the teams have to travel in between. It remains to be seen if the Spurs, collectively, have the legs to pull this off.

As Buck Harvey pointed out, Manu will have one day to sleep in a comfortable bed and spend time in the whirlpool, but I don't know how much he'll be able to relax after his Game 1. I don't think he's ever played a worse game in the NBA. Offensively, shooting, driving, the turnovers, the defense, the intangibles, clutch time, there wasn't a single facet of the game where he wasn't awful. He was 2nd worst on the team with a -19 and truthfully they looked better with him off the floor.

Manu cannot go out like this. He simply cannot. He wasn't even being guarded by Kobe. Instead it was Sasha Vujacic, a shrimpy, goofy-looking Slovenian who has dubbed himself "The Machine." Can you imagine Beno Udrih calling himself "The Machine?" Maybe on the dance floor. Manu has to put this guy in his place and play much, much better the rest of the way. The finger is not an excuse. The ankle is not an excuse. Whatever his injury issues are, they're not causing him to make turnovers, dumb decisions, or playing passive defense. They're not making him take contested shots. Take Vujacic off the dribble, with no help, barrel down the lane and either shoot your floater or draw the damn foul. If you can't move then pass well and make your threes. Be an asset instead of an asshead. You're too good not to be.

To his credit Manu was a stand-up guy in the interview room, as you knew he would be. He blamed himself for playing poorly and not his teammates or his injuries. Still, Pop wasn't helping him any. Again, the play calls are ridiculously predictable. Pop willfully makes the team easy to play against. Every single time Manu gets the ball, it's at the top of the key with a screener coming over. There's never a give and go. There's never a back cut. No isolation play or baseline pick and roll. He's about as inventive with Manu as Mike Brown is with LeBron. I don't know why Pop doesn't trust himself to call plays in half court the way he does in sideline out of bounds situations. He can be a good playcaller when he wants to be, but in open play it's the same sets over and over.

Also, Pop blew it big time not playing Oberto more. Fab is playing well these days and I don't understand why he only got 12 minutes. As long as both Gasol and Odom are in the game, we have no excuse to not stay big. It was working fine. I don't understand the pressing need Pop had to have Michael Finley in the game. At this stage he's a spot player at best. If Udoka is the team's sixth man, then Finley should be like tenth. I'd rather see Barry out there, I'd rather see Kurt Thomas. Finley killed us last night. Also, seriously, never play Jacque Vaughn again. He can't guard anybody, he can't score on anybody, just please spare us already.

Game 2 will be here before we know it. I have no idea how much this team has left in the tank emotionally or physically. We can't afford to go down 2-0 to these guys because coming back from that hole, twice in a row, is too much to ask, even for the Spurs. We have to somehow play better in the second halves of these road games, especially offensively. We have to find a way to score in the paint consistently. We have to get to the line more, we have to make more threes, more easy baskets. 85 points will not be enough.

Again, the goal remains the same. Win all the home games, win one out of four road games. We still have three more chances, theoretically. It was only one loss.

So why does it feel like more than that?

P.S. Tomorrow I'm gonna be on sometime in the 1 o'clock hour pacific time with Mason and J.A. Adande. I've actually heard of him. They're going to be merciless. Game 2 cannot come here fast enough.

"Hurts Like Hell"

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Thu, 22 May 2008 17:09:00 +0000

That's what Gregg Popovich said, referring to last night's loss to the Lakers, but he might as well have been talking about Manu Ginobili.

Johnny Ludden writes:

[Manu Ginobili] had a long red scratch on his left shoulder, another on his waist, and one of the fingernails from his trusted shooting hand was missing, battle scars all. Each step toward the shower seemed to bring only more pain.

Brent Barry nicknamed Ginobili El Contusión because of nights like this, and that’s what has to concern the Spurs most about Wednesday. They’re strong enough to stomach wasting a 20-point lead in 18 minutes, but they won’t catch these Los Angeles Lakers if Ginobili’s body won’t let them.

Ginobili only would say he had “a couple of issues.” Among those issues: 10 missed shots and four turnovers. But Issue No. 1? Ginobili gave that away an hour before tip-off as he tried to stand on a rubber ball.

“What’s that for?” asked a foreign reporter.

“This is what you do,” Ginobili said, “when you have problems with your ankle.”

Ginobili jammed his left ankle in the opening game of the playoffs against the Phoenix Suns, and he hasn’t been the same since. Compensating for the injury also stressed his groin, but the sore ankle is what has lingered the most. Ginobili still has played brilliantly at times in these playoffs, scoring 29 and 31 points in separate games against the Suns and New Orleans Hornets. But each of those performances was preceded by two days of rest. Given only one day off between games, he’s averaging 14.4 points while shooting worse than 38 percent.

The bad news for Spurs fans is that every game in these Western Conference Finals will be separated by just one day off. Leave it to Manu Ginobili to defy the odds and have a few great games in this series, even if he hurts like hell.

Spurs in 6

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:40:00 +0000

Yesterday I posed the question to SpursDynasty readers, "Spurs or Lakers? How many games?" So far 82 have answered, and more than half say, "Spurs in 6."

TheLakersNation.com posted the same question and got the same answer, only in reverse - Lakers in 6.

No serious fan would believe that either of these teams could sweep this series, and no fans of either team should want to see this series go to seven games, for obvious reasons. Based on the importance of homecourt advantage in the first two rounds, its unlikely that either team will lose twice at home, so that rules out five games.

Which leaves "[My team] in six" as the safe bet. Spurs in 6 is my prediction. David Thorpe, an NBA analyst for ESPN.com, scouts the Spurs-Lakers series and comes to the same conclusion.

The Lakers are probably the best team in basketball: They combine outstanding offensive talents with an excellent system, and feature long, aggressive and smart defenders who are very well coached by Phil Jackson & Co. But the Spurs are also expertly coached, and they play with no fear of losing their crown. Little bothers them, including starting out in a 2-0 series hole. Sometimes we have to look past the records, past the stars, and notice when a team seems to be "destined" for a title. Starting with Duncan's clutch 3-point prayer in Game 1 of Round 1, this team has had that look.

Prediction: San Antonio 4, Los Angeles 2

Lakers Fans Are Saying...

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:44:00 +0000

Granted, some of us really don't care what Lakers fans think. I'm a lifelong Spurs fan, first and foremost, but I am also an NBA fan. If the Spurs weren't marching towards their fifth title, I would still be watching these playoffs. I appreciate that some other fans are just as fanatical about their team as I am about mine. So with that in mind, here are what Lakers fans are saying about the series that kicks off tonight.

Matt Moore writes a solid preview of the series at FanHouse. Here is an excerpt, but do yourself a favor and read this one in its entirety.

This is a pretty fantastic matchup between the two best teams in the league right now.

Greg Popovich (sic) has seen the triangle enough to make him throw up at the site of it. He's going to have a very nauseating series. The modified triangle the Lakers have implemented with Kobe, Gasol, and Lamar Odom, with Odom as the lynch pin is absolutely devastating unless your defense is primed for it. Luckily, the Spurs have never met an offense they weren't primed for.

Forum Blue and Gold previews the series by looking at the Spurs and Lakers regular season matches.

This series is going to be an interesting chess match, as both teams have some very powerful offensive weapons and both play impressive defense (although the Lakers tend to be more spotty on that end).

Some will say you can’t take much from the Lakers/Spurs meetings this past season (the Lakers only had Gasol for one of the games, the Spurs were without key players in both losses), but I think when you look back you see some things that will be trends in this series.

(The best thing about this post is the comments thread... it dispels the notion that Lakers fans don't really know basketball. Apparently some do.)

The Kamenetzky brothers give appropriate props to our Spurs on the LA Times Lakers blog:

After a weekend of kicking it and around 48-ish hours to debate their San Antonio Spurs opponents, tonight's Game 1 (6:00 pm PST, TNT) will finally grace roundball enthusiasts with its presence. Their WCF foes are a familiar bunch, a crew that's essentially turned itself into the NBA's version of old (but not too old) faithful. The proverbial "mix" typically has them in it, with a championship never out of the question (and lest we forget, these cats are in fact defending a title). In fact, this decade will likely be regarded as having belonged to one of these squads. In many ways, it's only fitting (if not necessarily ideal) that the purple and gold's championship dreams will require a besting of a team that can arguably be labeled the best.

Incidentally, Andrew Kamenetzky's live-in girlfriend is a Spurs fan originally from McAllen.

Varsityoptimism previews the series at TheLakersNation.com:

The crusty, wily, angry, scowling San Antonio Spurs, full of pride and gusto, exposed the young Hurrrnets and dashed their hopes of an inaugural voyage the Conference Finals and subsequently earned a trip to Los Angeles. A trip they had already packed for. The defending champion’s presumption and revelatory attitude reportedly yielded a night sleeping on the team charter plane rather than a Five Diamond Los Angeles hotel.

So bring on the bird-like face of Manu Ginobili, the blank expression of Tim Duncan, the pockmarked face of Gregg Popovich and the crazy purple arm of Ime Udoka because as my friend B-Will says “You gotta beat the champs to be the champs.” Damn. That should go on a T-Shirt.

Over at LAKERS4LIFE, restrictedfreedom is reliving Derek Fisher's 2004 Game 5 .4 second shot.

Everyone in the arena would have guaranteed that the basketball would end up in Kobe Bryant's hands for the last shot, but that was far from the truth as the Spurs defense was tight as a drum trying to avoid one of the biggest clutch shots in NBA history, as a result, Derek Fisher was able to get just enough room to make a catch and shoot fadaway about a foot or so away from the three point line and all you saw was one of the prettiest swishes in a Lakers fan's memory!

Oh how things have changed since that game 5 in 2004, the Spurs proved that they have become a dynasty by winning to more championships in 2005 and 2007 and the Lakers franchise went straight down the tubes with Shaq and Gary Payton headed to Miami, Karl Malone retiring and the whole Lakers franchise basically going to shit and everyone pointing the finger at Kobe Bryant.

I can't wait to see what Lakers fans are saying to each other after the Spurs steal one tonight at Staples.

Marco Materazzi Is My Homeboy

noreply@blogger.com (Michael) — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:43:00 +0000

Here's the Game 7 recap and Game 1 preview, and the link is there for my radio spot on The Steve Mason Show on ESPN Radio 710 AM in LA. It was recorded the day of Game 7. I'll also be on the show this Wednesday and Friday at 2:25 p.m. I believe.

Spurs Charter Airline To Be Grounded

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Wed, 21 May 2008 03:26:00 +0000

By now most Spurs fans have heard that "mechanical problems kept the Spurs' plane on the runway in New Orleans for seven hours" last night.

But how many fans realize that the Spurs charter airline, Champion Air, which boasts of "providing a superior travel experience built around safety and reliability" on its website, has a track record which is far from safe and reliable? In fact, Champion Air is going out of business at the end of the month.

Why in the world would Peter Holt have his employees, let alone our defending world champions, flying on such a dubious airline?

Last month the Express-News ran a story on the troubled airline, "Concern rises over Spurs' safety":

The charter carrier has been running its aged jets on a taut financial shoestring while racking up hundreds of safety and maintenance incidents, according to an examination of Federal Aviation Administration records.

Now, the carrier has announced it will ground its 16-plane fleet for good May 31, a casualty of financial duress and inefficient, fuel-guzzling 30-year-old planes that compete poorly against newer planes.

League and airline officials said the Spurs will continue flying the airline through the playoffs, which begin April 19, or until further notice.

If the airline is financially barren and shutting down, how safe are the Spurs going to be in the air?

The airline has had no accidents or crashes in the five years since it began and the Spurs became a customer. But the airline's planes have accrued what one aviation expert considered to be an unusually large number of "service difficulty" reports.

Of 598 such reports to the FAA of mechanical problems, 169 occurred while Champion planes were preparing for flight or already in the air.

Among these were 63 unscheduled landings, such as one in January 2006 when an engine failed in flight. In six other incidents, engines stalled or failed, causing two aborted takeoffs and another unscheduled landing.

Obviously, Spurs fans are not happy about this news.

Poll: Who will win the Western Conference Finals?

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Tue, 20 May 2008 22:48:00 +0000

Spurs or Lakers? How many games?
Spurs in 4
Spurs in 5
Spurs in 6
Spurs in 7
Lakers in 7
Lakers in 6
Lakers in 5
Lakers in 4

See Results

Spurs Spend Night on Tarmac

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:56:00 +0000

In an interview after last night's game seven win in New Orleans, Tony Parker revealed a little secret to Charles Barkley. The team hadn't planned on going back home to San Antonio after the game. They had packed for Los Angeles.

I thought it was an inspired move. But it would seem that New Orleans got the last laugh. Johnny Ludden reports:

When the San Antonio Spurs eliminated the New Orleans Hornets from the playoffs Monday night, they figured the hard part of their journey to the Western Conference finals was over.

Turns out it was only beginning.

In one of the more bizarre travel stories, the Spurs ended up spending the night on the tarmac at New Orleans airport.

The team had planned to fly to Los Angeles after the game, but arrived at the airport to find their flight had mechanical problems. With a cable convention crowding the city’s hotel rooms, the team couldn’t any place to spend the night.

Some of the players slept on the plane while others moved to buses on the tarmac.

The team left New Orleans around 6:30 a.m. And arrived in Los Angeles a few hours later. The Spurs will have only a brief shootaround on Wednesday morning before opening the conference finals against the Los Angeles Lakers that night.

Time to Do That Voodoo That You Do, Spurs Fans

noreply@blogger.com (Bramlet Abercrombie) — Mon, 19 May 2008 22:16:00 +0000

Game 7 tips off in the Big Queasy in just a few hours, and it's time to stop dicking around.

I'll freely admit, in the last couple of years I haven't been the same righteous Spurs fan that I once was, as the complacence of the Spurs' four championships (and perennially competitive teams) and the weight of life's responsibilities have set in. But just for tonight, I'm letting that mad, hyperactive, superstitious Bramlet out of the confines of the gimp's basement I keep him locked in, so he can represent properly and once again take part in influencing the course of Spurs history.

With copious amounts of voodoo undoubtedly being performed upon crude likenesses of the Spurs throughout the city of New Orleans at this moment, and with the enormous odds already stacked against the Spurs in trying to win a Game 7 on the road (and in a place where they've had the shit kicked out of them quite frequently in the recent past), our boys are going to need a little help in the form of some dynamic 'doo. Therefore, I'm providing you so-called fans who, like me, have basically sat on your fat South Texas asses for the last few weeks, with an opportunity to do God's work by helping the good guys win. God might not approve of the method, but when David West's perpetual scowl slowly morphs into the infantile whimper of a loser confronting his fate, it will be clear that the end has justified the means.

I know it's pitiful to pimp my own old post yet again just because I'm a shell of my former Spurs fan self who hardly ever produces new material, but please read this old post for detailed instructions on how to help humiliate the hated Hornets tonight.

Then you can right click on the links below, choose "save target as..." to save photos of the Hornet's players, print them out, and commence Operation: Suck It, Spurs Haters.
Chris Paul
David West
Byron Scott and Bonzi Wells
Peja Stojakovic
Tyson Chandler
Jannero Pargo
Morris Peterson
Julian Wright
Hilton Armstrong

(Of the players more or less in the Hornets' current rotation, I've left out Melvin Ely in weak-ass deference to his brief tenure on God's Team.)

Won't you join me for some good old-fashioned voodoo? I beseech you, Spurs fans, do not go gently into that New Orleans night.

Players and Coaches are Saying

noreply@blogger.com (Dingo) — Mon, 19 May 2008 20:11:00 +0000

"You've just got to be very focused, knowing that you can't blink, that you can't let the other team get on a run, get confident on a run. It's going to be a really tense game with a lot of adrenaline. Fans are going to be going nuts. So it's going to be a very fun game to play."

"We'll see if we thrive on pressure after Monday's game. We still don't know. It's a great test for both teams. A lot of pressure, as I said before, and we're going to try to be the ones that respond to that pressure the best way."
--Manu Ginobili

"I don't want today to be our last practice. I don't want tomorrow to be our last shootaround. I just felt I needed to let them know and hopefully they feel the same way."
--Byron Scott

"We can forget about what's in the stands. Inside the court, we are going to be 5-on-5. We've got to make the shots. We've got to guard better than them. That's it."
--Manu Ginobili

"If we can't keep it close, experience can't help us."
--Tony Parker

"We need a good beginning, good middle and good end."
--Michael Finley

"As trite as it sounds, it's about playing well for 48 minutes. It's about keeping composure, continuing to be aggressive. At that point, players play well or they don't, or you make shots or you don't, and you live with the outcome."
--Gregg Popovich

"Walking around the city, everybody's talking about how much they want to win and how nervous they are. But I'm not nervous, to tell you the truth. I have the ultimate confidence."
--Chris Paul

"It's intense. One game. One of the teams gets to play (on). Loser goes home. It's going to be very intense, a hostile environment down there in New Orleans, but it's going to be a lot of fun."
--Kurt Thomas