Debating the Spurs' MVP

Written by Trevor Zickgraf & Jesse Blanchard on .

As the NBA season enters its final full week, writers across the country will begin to fill out their award ballots.  This morning, CBS’ Matt Moore was trying to figure out his MVP top five.  Moore has LeBron James and Kevin Durant, but after that it’s chaos.

Here, Jesse Blanchard and I debate the merits of Duncan and Parker as the Spurs' MVP.  Here's me on Duncan:

Two months ago, Duncan wasn’t even in the discussion about being the Spurs MVP much less a top league MVP contender in part because Tony Parker was on an absolute tear.  Now?  It’s so close I don’t think there’s a wrong answer.  March was Duncan’s best statistical month of the season as he averaged close to 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks a game while shooting 54 percent from the field.  A lot of that damage was done when Parker went down with his sprained ankle.  Meanwhile, Parker’s best month was February, when he averaged 26 points, eight assists and four rebounds a game.  Again, a large chunk of that production came when Duncan missed time with a knee injury.  Duncan and Parker have both been so important to the Spurs, stepping up when each had been struggling or injured.

no comments

Nuggets Coach Karl on Spurs’ Leonard: We’re big fans

Written by Paul Garcia on .

After the San Antonio Spurs’ victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, from a numbers perspective, a change occurred.USA Today

Spurs sophomore Kawhi Leonard’s 23 points in the victory over the Hawks put him as the third leading scorer on the Spurs team with 12.1 points per game. For one night, Manu Ginobili (11.9 points) was no longer the third leading scorer in San Antonio.

With Ginobili only playing 59 of 75 games this season thus far due to countless injuries, Leonard has started to initiate himself more in the offense. Two weeks ago, Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl said his staff had taken notice of Leonard, though Karl felt Leonard’s breakout season will be coming next season.

 “We’re big fans,” said Karl of Leonard before the Spurs defeated the Nuggets 100-99 on March 27.

no comments

Parker: Manu's goal is to play before playoffs

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs have been without one-third of their "Big 3" as Manu Ginobili has been dealing with a hamstring injury which has him Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sportsshelved for four weeks which has him making his return the the court until the playoffs.

During his radio show in France, his teammate, Tony Parker, stated (via French site RMC Sport) that Ginobili's goal is to come back before the playoffs begin.

"If all goes well, Manu Ginobili will be back for the playoffs. His goal is to play the last two games of the regular season to regain his rhythm by then."

no comments

Parker finding it hard to recover from ankle injury

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs are limping into the playoffs. Boris Diaw suffered back spasms, Kawhi Leonard has dealt with knee issues, Manu Ginobili Thomas Campbell-USA TODAY Sportsis out until the playoffs with a hamstring injury and the list goes on-and-on.

Tony Parker is no stranger to a few bumps and bruises late in the season. He has injured his left ankle, finger and neck and is questionable for tomorrow's game versus the Nuggets.

During his radio show, Parker spoke about his injuries (via French Site RMC Sport) and says while he will be 100% heading into the playoffs, he does admit he is finding it hard to fully recover from the ankle injury.

"I have nothing serious, just several small injuries that have accumulated. The most important thing is to rest under the best conditions. That said, I find it hard to recover from my ankle injury because I have a bruise on my bone. Furthermore, I am dealing with my knee, neck and I have a sprained finger. My neck is a little blocked."

no comments

Project Spurs on K101 in Oklahoma

Written by Michael A. De Leon on .

K101Project Spurs lead writer Paul Garcia was a guest on the Oklahoma radio station, K101(KWOX FM 101.1) last week to talk about last week's matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Aside from assessing the matchup, Paul talked about the San Antonio Spurs keeping the number one seed and what the team needs to get to the next level again among other topics.

Listen to Paul's full interview below.

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download

no comments

Jackson, Bonner join the Channel 4 News team

Written by Kyle Boenitz on .

For their birthday this year, San Antonio Spurs Matt Bonner and Stephen Jackson got a special Photoshop treatment.

Jackson posted a picture to Instagram of himself and Bonner as members of the Channel 4 Evening News team alongside Ron Burgundy with the caption, “This how me and Matt walk in our party. Wow.” Bonner and Jackson both celebrated their birthday on April 5th and I guess this was something that an admirer did especially for them to help commemorate the big day.

Jackson took the place of Champ Kind covering sports and Bonner will be filling in for Brian Fantana as lead field reporter. I guess nobody on the Spurs had good enough hair to replace the legendary Ron Burgundy.

no comments

Baynes recalled, Diaw and Parker injury update

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

The San Antonio Spurs have recalled Aron Baynes from the Austin Toros.

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Spurs today announced that they have recalled center Aron Baynes from the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. (Spurs.com)

The Australian native has played in 12 games with the Spurs this season since being signed on Jan. 23, averaging 2.8 points and 1.7 rebounds in 7.6 minutes.

This is after the team got some bad news on Boris Diaw's injury from Saturday's game against the Atlanta Hawks.

no comments

Video: Boris Diaw does the 'Lego Shake'

Written by Jose Grijalva on .

The Harlem Shake craze took over the NBA this season with teams doing their versions of the craze and it appears San Antonio Spurs' Boris Diaw got in the act. However, Diaw's version of the Harlem Shake was quite different.

Diaw got creative with his video skills and made the "Lego Shake." The great news for San Antonio Spurs is that he's not trying trying the actual dance with his recent back injury.

Check out the zany video below. Seems Diaw had lots of time on his hands.

no comments

Spurs Roundtable: Health vs. Playoff Seeding (Video)

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs are limping into the playoffs which begs the question: Should the Spurs sacrifice the top seed in the West over a fully healthy squad?

On this new episode of the Project Spurs-News 4 San Antonio, Spurs Roundtable, Jeff Garcia, Paul Garcia and Jesse Blanchard discuss the implications of the Spurs sacrificing the top seed in the West to the Thunder and if the No. 1 spot really matters in the end.

The panel also discusses the Spurs bench and if it really as deep as many claim it is.

All this and much more on this episode of the Spurs Roundtable.

no comments

Splitter already eyeing 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs regular season may be coming to a fast close and the playoffs set to begin but that hasn't stopped Tiago Splitter from Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sportseyeing the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the Brazilian national team.

Splitter already has met with Brazil's coach Rueben Magnano (via Brazilian site Gaz.com) on the make up of the team and plans for the World Cup in Spain.

"It was a very fruitful discussion and as always Tiago showed up ready to defend the Brazilian national team. The important thing is that we already have all the detailed planning for the men's team, main players and the new one," said Magnano.

Splitter and Brazil qualified for the 2012 Olympics but fell to Manu Ginobili and Argentina in the opening round 77-82.

no comments