San Antonio Spurs LockerPulse

Project Spurs: Spurs no strangers to closing out on the road

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:10:58 -0400

Through four playoffs series this postseason, the San Antonio Spurs have now only lost four games total. Sweeps in the opening round and Western Conference Finals mean the Spurs’ only losses have come at the hands of the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat.

4 losses.

The Spurs will look to end the playoffs tonight with that same number as they enter a crucial Game 6 in Miami.

There’s nothing easy about closing out a series on the road, but the Spurs have been here before and have a 100 percent success rate in closeout games on the road.

Back on April 28, behind 23 points from Tony Parker, the Spurs ended their first round series with the Lakers in the Staples Center in a 103-82

Pounding The Rock: LeBron's chagrin is Spurs fans' delight

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:10:57 -0400

It's Game 5 of the Finals. LeBron James shoots a free throw, misses, slaps his hands against each other in consternation and steps back up to the line, ready to shoot his second. Then the buzzer sounds, announcing a player's entering the game. LeBron quickly swings his head around to see who it is and his expression immediately changes to one of disgust and disappointment. He shakes his head and drops an F-bomb while popping out his mouthpiece and stepping away from the free throw line. Mike Breen says the works "Leonard comes in and Green will sit."

It has to be seen to be believed, and yet the more I watch it, the more the impossible seems to be as obvious as the grimace on LeBron's face: The league's best basketball player

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San Antonio Express-News: Slideshow: Spurs vs. Heat Game 6

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:41:17 -0400

We’ll keep adding photos all night.

Spurs vs. Heat Game 6

San Antonio Express-News: Game 6 live interactive: Spurs vs. Heat

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:10:42 -0400

Check out our interactive coverage of tonight’s Spurs vs. Heat Game 6 of the NBA Finals. Share your thoughts beginning at 7 p.m. and throughout the game.

Yahoo! Sports: Heat-Spurs NBA Finals Game 6: 5 big questions (Ball Don't Lie)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:10:39 -0400

The San Antonio Spurs are 48 minutes away from the fifth NBA championship of the Gregg Popovich-Tim Duncan era. The Miami Heat are 48 minutes away from either hosting a Game 7 for back-to-back titles on their home court or facing an offseason of blistering criticism for what will be perceived as its Big Three once again shrinking on the grandest possible stage. The stakes of an NBA game don't get much higher than this. Tuesday's Game 6 is going to answer a lot of questions — here are five that've been rattling around my head for the past two days. Feel free to weigh in on them or share your own big questions in the comments below. 1. Will LeBron James silence his critics? Nope! That'll never happen. Never. Ever. Not in a million

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Yahoo! Sports: Win or lose, coaches Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra have been up to their Finals task (Ball Don't Lie)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:55:54 -0400

It may not strike you at first, what with Manu Ginobili needing until Game 5 to get going and Miami’s Big Three taking turns at being stuck in the mud – but the best thing about these 2013 NBA Finals may very well be the coaching on both sides. In a quick turnaround series that started just days after the Miami Heat finished off the Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference finals, running the complete opposite to San Antonio’s extended break after being the Memphis Grizzlies on their end, Gregg Popovich and Erik Spoelstra have put together two masterful efforts on their teams’ behalf. The question for Spoelstra, who is currently facing a 3-2 deficit in these Finals, is if this is even enough. He’s done his part, as a tactician, to get LeBron James and crew going on both ends. And yet, as it has been since 2010, it may not be enough. Gregg Popovich doesn’t have nearly the same-sized obstacle. Bit of a self-starter, these Spurs are.

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Yardbarker: Danny Green's Finals three-point shot chart

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:40:52 -0400

San Antonio Spurs’ sharpshooter Danny Green has been the talk of the NBA Finals. He has pushed the Miami Heat and LeBron James to the brink of elimination with his dagger three-point shot. We all know he’s been very good, but I didn’t realize how good until I got a look at his shot chart. It looks like someone is controlling Green on the easiest level of a video game. See his ridiculous shot chart below, courtesy of our friends at The Big Lead:

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Project Spurs: Five players in play for Finals MVP, Green the lone standout

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:40:50 -0400

With the San Antonio Spurs ahead 3-2 in the NBA Finals over the Miami Heat, it’s safe to begin looking at who a potential Finals MVP for the series could be if the Spurs win the title in six or seven games, or the Heat force a seventh game and win the championship.

The numbers provided below come from NBA.com/stats are only taken from the averages through the five NBA Finals games.

If the Spurs win the Championship

Danny Green: 18 points (10.6 FGA), 66% shooting from 3-point range, 1.6 blocks

“Danny Shoot Ball” is what Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich

Project Spurs: It's now or never for the Spurs

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:40:50 -0400

During the San Antonio Spurs' title chase, John Karalis of Red's Army will be contributing to Project Spurs. There’s an amazing statistic that’s been floating out there for a little while. It’s truly indicative of the San Antonio Spurs’ dominance in the Tim Duncan era. You’ve heard it before, but it’s still breathtaking every time you hear it again. The Spurs have never trailed in the NBA Finals. Ever. EVER!! That’s insanity. But it could also be history if the Spurs don’t win tonight. That’s right. No matter what ridiculous debates you might have seen today, tonight is the most must-win game of the

Air Alamo: 2013 NBA Finals Game 6: What Spurs Can Do To Clinch Their 5th Title

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:26:31 -0400

Jun 16, 2013; San Antonio, TX, USA; Miami Heat shooting guard Dwyane Wade (right) and small forward LeBron James addresses the media after game five in the 2013 NBA Finals against the San Antonio Spurs at the AT

Game six, NBA Finals, Spurs are just one game away from notching their fifth title in the teams history. Listening to sports talk radio on the way home this morning from my job, everyone was pretty much stating that the pressure is not on San Antonio but on the Miami Heat. I still am trying to figure out the way these finals have gone. I can’t recall teams going back and forth with winning a game, then losing

Bleacher Report: Why Danny Green Can Keep Up This Torrid Shooting Pace

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:26:30 -0400

One of the more compelling stories in the 2013 NBA Finals is Danny Green having the series of his life.

Green, who came in as a role player, is currently the leading scorer in the series and recently broke the Finals' record for three-point field goals made with 25 (per Basketball Reference), which surpassed Ray Allen's 22 in 2008.

After five straight games of spectacular shooting displays, Green has yet to show any signs of slowing down. He finished Game 5 with 24 points, going 6-for-10 from beyond the arc and registering yet another amazing shooting

San Antonio Express-News: Jackson: Pop only cares about three guys

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:55:50 -0400

The second half of Stephen Jackson’s interview on ESPN’s Highly Questionable aired today, hours before the Spurs attempt to secure their fifth championship in Game 6 of the Finals. (You can catch the first part here.)

Thanks to a delectable lunch of Haitian stewed beef in South Beach, I was unable to view the interview live. Oh, who am I kidding? Even if I’d been glued to the tube, I would have skipped it anyway. There are a few more important things going on in Spurs World today than the rumblings of a disgruntled ex-player.

At any rate, here’s the clip, in which Jackson alleges his relentless competitiveness in practice was intimidating to

Yardbarker: By the numbers: Green's hot three point shooting vs. Heat

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:56:05 -0400

San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green has been putting on one of the best three point shooting displays in recent history of the NBA Finals. From breaking Miami's Ray Allen's Finals record by connecting on 25 three points to currently shooting a whopping 65% from the three point line, Green is definitely leaving his mark on these Finals and quite possibly, garner some votes for NBA Finals MVP. Here are some eye popping stats (via Basketball-Reference) on Green's three point shooting performance through five games: • Green has connected on 25 out of 38 three point shots which has him shooting 65% from behind the arc • In San Antonio, Green went 16-24 from the three point line (66%) and in two games in Miami, has made 9-14 (64%) • In the Spurs' three wins, Green has made 17-28 from the three point line (60%) and in the team's two losses has made 8-10 (80%) • Through five games versus the Heat, in the first quarter Green has made 6-9 (66%), in...

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Project Spurs: The 'Effort' Narrative

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:55:50 -0400

Sports media is the most polarizing, glorified, and over-valued arm of all the journalistic outlets.

Yet, it only exists in this nature because you (and I), the fan, continually create an overwhelming demand of all things sports-related. Think about where media coverage was in both 1993 and 2003. Journalists dominated in both decades with the only difference being the Naughts-era expansion of virtual data and small-scale blogging. Now fast-forward to the sports world of 2013 - instant access to a tremendous amount of resources on almost everything a fan could ever care about.

Need to know advanced metrics concerning San Antonio Spurs' Tim Duncan’s work in the right block? You got it. The Miami Heat’s average

Pounding The Rock: Ginobili's Return: How Game 5 of the NBA Finals was won in two short minutes

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:41:02 -0400

Manu Ginobili, future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer, has rarely been the best player on the San Antonio Spurs over his 11-year NBA career save for a playoffs here, a two-month hot-streak there, maybe a half-season at the absolute height of his powers in 2008, when the arcs of his athleticism and his three-point stroke converged at their apex. What he's always been though, in stark contrast to the stoic and steady excellence of Tim Duncan and the Mercury-in-high-tops fleet-footed brilliance of

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Yardbarker: Chris Bosh: Danny Green ‘won’t be open tonight’

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:26:18 -0400

After allowing San Antonio Spurs guard Danny Green to set a Finals record with 25 3-pointers in just five games, the Miami Heat and center Chris Bosh are not going to let the 25-year-old have his way in Game 6 Tuesday night. “He has a knack for shooting, but he

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Yardbarker: CC video of the day: LeBron rather not have Kawhi Leonard check in the game

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:26:18 -0400

The Spurs got the pivotal Game 5 win in San Antonio to go up 3-2 in the 2013 NBA Finals over the Heat. Large part of the Spurs' lead in the series has obviously been the torrid shooting of Danny Green from long range but also the Spurs' solid defense on the NBA MVP, LeBron James. Built like an NFL tight end and with the speed of a gazelle, James is a handful for all NBA teams and whichever player has the assignment of guarding him needs much luck. But the Spurs have done a decent job at containing James thanks to their first line of defense -- Kawhi Leonard. Leonard has had the main job of trying to slow James down and from the looks of this video, it seems that Leonard may be giving James some issues. Check out LeBron's reaction when Kawhi checks back into the game during Game 5 in San Antonio. Needless to say, you know what he is thinking since it is written all over his face. [follow]

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San Antonio Express-News: Notes on a shootaround: Calm before the storm

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:26:16 -0400

MIAMI — Chris Bosh issued a bold declaration in the hours before tonight’s Game 6 of the NBA Finals, in which the Spurs will attempt to close out the defending champion Heat for the fifth title in franchise history.

Danny Green, he promised, will not be open.

Which begs the question: It only took five games and a Finals-record 25 3-pointers to figure out he should probably be defended?

Gregg Popovich said he will not broach that topic with Green, nor many others as the Spurs while away the anxious hours leading up to one of the biggest games they’ll ever play. The trick is to treat it like just another road game in February, a task at which the team’s veteran core has an abundance of

Yahoo! Sports: 5 things to watch in Game 6 of NBA Finals (Comcast SportsNet Houston)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:26:04 -0400

Five things to watch for in Game 6 of the NBA Finals, as the San Antonio Spurs try to clinch their fifth title and end the Miami Heat's reign on Tuesday night.

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Yardbarker: Tim Duncan is a Wizard for his Teammates

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:55:44 -0400

I’ll fix LeBron’s next T… Tonight is night. It’s the clinching game for the San Antonio Spurs. They’re in Miami for Game 6, so what better time to show off just how well Tim Duncan’s touch can rub off on his teammates. Manu needs a little more of that if the Spurs are going to walk away with their 5th Crown.-TO Ginobili Back to His Old Flopping Tricks Ginobili Missing From NBA Finals?

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Yahoo! Sports: Spurs' coach puts Pop into news conferences (The Associated Press)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:55:38 -0400

MIAMI (AP) -- During his team's Game 3 rout of the Heat, Gregg Popovich was shown on TV talking to his players while they were in the process of burying Miami with a stirring offensive display.

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Yahoo! Sports: PBT Extra: Talking Duncan, LeBron legacies; plus Game 6 (NBC Sports)

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:55:38 -0400

Legacies are always on the line in the NBA Finals. I wrote about that earlier and Kay Adams and I talk about the impact of legacy if the San Antonio Spurs win Game 6 Tuesday night. She also calls me out for that Heat is 6 prediction. As she should.

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Project Spurs: By the numbers: Green's hot three point shooting vs. Heat

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:25:52 -0400

San Antonio Spurs' Danny Green has been putting on one of the best three point shooting displays in recent history of the NBA Finals.

From breaking Miami's Ray Allen's Finals record by connecting on 25 three points to currently shooting a whopping 65% from the three point line, Green is definitely leaving his mark on these Finals and quite possibly, garner some votes for NBA Finals MVP.

Here are some eye popping stats (via Basketball-Reference) on Green's three point shooting performance through five games:

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ESPN YouTube: Harder To Win: Game 6 Or 7?

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:20:02 -0400

Chris Broussard, Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless discuss which game is harder for the Spurs to win in a 2-3-2 format, Game 6 or 7?

Pounding The Rock: An open letter of apology to Manu Ginobili from a fan

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:10:53 -0400

I owe you an apology. You don't know me any better than Gary Neal would know a shot he doesn't like, which is to say, not at all. I have loved you for many years now, in the way that fans develop love toward the athletes who capture their imagination. Suffice to say that there's a pretty serious man-crush going on and we'll leave it at that.

You have been a part of my life for 11 years now and we've been through a lot of ups and downs together. There was that ridiculous baseline dunk you threw down over the Lakers during the conference semi-finals in 2003; a dunk that told all Spurs fans, if not the basketball-loving world, "things are going to be different

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