Briefing Session
The San Antonio Spurs (13-9) return home after a week on the road in which the team went 1-2. The Spurs last home game resulted in a 22-point demolition of the Atlanta Hawks, and the Spurs’ 10-1 home record shows the significance of playing in the AT&T Center.
Tonight marks the final game between the Spurs and division rival Houston Rockets. The Rockets hold the season series lead at 2-1, but the Spurs can tie the Rockets with a win tonight.
Case No. 23: Houston Rockets
Record: 12-9, Road: 3-6, Last 10 games: 8-2
Commendable areas for the Rockets
- Shooting and Scoring the basketball: The Rockets are ranked 4thin the league in scoring with 98.7 points per game. The Rockets shoot a league high 85.3 shots per game. Of those 85 shots, the Rockets usually connect on 38.4 of them (45% field goal shooting). The Rockets are also ranked 6th in the league in three point attempts, as the Rockets shoot 20.7 three pointers per game.
- Rebounding: The Rockets crash the boards as they’re ranked 3rd in rebounding by grabbing 44.3 rebounds per game. The Spurs must also watch the Rockets’ activity in the paint, as the Rockets are ranked 4th in the NBA in offensive rebounding with 12.5 boards game.
- Block party: Behind Dalembert’s 2.24 blocks per game, the Rockets as a whole block 5.1 blocks per game which is ranked 10th in the league.
Deficient areas for the Rockets no comments
The San Antonio Spurs won their third road game Monday thanks to, as Coach Pop and Tim 
Duncan called it, lots of energy. Good thing the Spurs got that win in Memphis, because the memory of that win will be fresh for the next time they play the Grizz will be in Memphis for the start of the Rodeo Road Trip.
Before the season started I looked at the Rodeo Road Trip and thought well there's only about six games there I'd bet on them winning. Then the Clippers traded for Chris Paul, the Jazz have over performed and the Sixers are close to unbeatable at home. I think I'd still bet on them winning that Jazz game, but the point is a tough schedule is going to be even tougher. Here's the full Rodeo Road Trip schedule:
- Mon, 2/6 at Memphis
- Wed, 2/8 at Philadelphia
- Sat, 2/11 at New Jersey
- Tue, 2/14 at Detroit
- Wed, 2/15 at Toronto
- Sat, 2/18 at L.A. Clippers
- Mon, 2/20 at Utah
- Tue, 2/21 at Portland
- Thur, 2/23 at Denver
Here's the awful news about that schedule. As of Tuesday, 1/31, the combined record of those teams are 93-84. The only reason that combined record is only nine games over .500 because of how bad New Jersey, Detroit and Toronto are. Memphis, Philadelphia, the Clippers, Portland and Denver are all frightening games. Even Utah isn't a slam dunk (pardon the pun). no comments
Ask San Antonio Spurs fans which current or former players they hate the most, and there's no
doubt Karl Malone is very high on that list.
Aside from being a Western Conference rival and playoffs roadblock, it took little more than one swift elbow to David Robinson's head to keep him on their "hated" list.
With that in mind, Spurs fans would be interested to know that Malone almost joined the Spurs. There were several rumors years ago about Malone visiting San Antonio and even a rumor that someone spotted Malone and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich at a local fast food seafood restaurant.
Malone confirmed mutual interest between both teams and even though he chose to join the Lakers, his first choice would have been the Spurs, according to an interview he had with 97.5 The Zone in Salt Lake City.
"I was in Arkansas [in 2003], and I said, whatever team wins [between the Lakers and Spurs], I'm going to the opposite. And I wanted the Spurs to lose, so I could go to them. But the [Spurs] won, but I had made up my mind 'cause I didn’t want people sittin' there sayin', 'Oh he went there [because] they won it last year.' I wanted to go help 'em."
While there's no doubt it would have been a hard sell to Spurs fans, Malone joining the Spurs in 2003-04 would have been a nice transition into the post-Robinson era. no comments
San Antonio Spurs fans should note that the 
When the Mavs lost
“People talked a lot about Tyson leaving,”
Mavs coach
In case you haven't heard, the fellas out at Basket-Ball Reference undertook a huge project of finding each and every NBA box score since the league's formation in 1946.
From Wilt's 100-point game to San Antonio Spurs legend David Robinson's quadruple-double against the Detroit Pistons, if there was an NBA game, they will definitely have the box score.
“A few years ago, someone had pointed us in the direction of this guy named Dick Pfander, who lives in Michigan,” Kubatko said. “They said, ‘You’ve got to get in touch with him. He’s undertaking a personal project going through old microfilm and making scans of every box score in NBA history.’ Of course, we were intrigued by that.”
So if you are like me Spurs fans, you got to be wondering what was Spurs' first box score once they made their debut in the NBA after being merged from the ABA. Well, here you go.
San Antonio and George "Iceman" Gervin made their NBA debut on October 22, 1976 against the Philadelphia 76ers and Julius "Dr. J" Erving with a 121-118. Interesting to note, in the franchise's NBA debut, Gervin didn't lead the team in scoring but were led by "The Whopper" Billy Paultz with 27 points and Gervin fouled out with 19 points.
Another interesting fact is even when the Spurs entered into the NBA, San Antonio had to deal with Kobe Bryant's father, Joe "Jellybean" Bryant and the 76ers were led by Doug Collins with 30 points.
Box Score | Gameflow | Advanced Stats
One point.
That pretty much sums up the kind of night the Memphis Grizzlies had, losing at home to the San Antonio Spurs, who were playing their third game in four nights and were just one day removed from a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
For the Spurs, it was a throwback to the dynasty era that was heavily based on defense. Going into tonight's game, it was easy to paint a target on one player's back who the Spurs needed to stop. Since Zach Randolph has been out, Gay has stepped up and before last night's game was putting up all-star numbers.
After scoring 24 points against the Clippers and 18 against the Suns, Gay accounted for, that's right, just one of the Grizzlies' 73 points. The Spurs beat the Grizzlies in just about every aspect and stopping Gay seemed to be the icing on the cake.
After shouldering the blame for LeBron James' 33 point outburst a few weeks ago, Leonard deserves the majority of the credit for the defensive effort on Gay. Aside from hounding and frustrating Gay, he jumped into passing lanes for a few steals and managed a double-double.
While the Grizzlies tried to fight back in the fourth quarter, the only quarter they outscored the Spurs, it wasn't enough to dig themselves out of the whole they dug themselves all night.
The win gave the Spurs their third road win and they are now 13-9 on the season. no comments
Last night the San Antonio Spurs almost pulled off their most impressive win in recent regular 
season memory. Down 18 with about three minutes left in the third quarter, a Spurs roster that consisted of Gary Neal, Danny Green, James Anderson, Matt Bonner and Tiago Splitter roared back to give the Spurs the lead late in the fourth, only to eventually lost by one in overtime.
It was an incredible showing of poise and knowledge of a system. While many were suprised by this comeback, one guy, Mavs head coach Rick Carlisle wasn't. Carlisle told the media after the game he wasn't entirely surprised by the comeback because of Coach Pop.
"I think he's the greatest coach, really ever in this game, because all their guys function within their system at a high level," Carlisle said.
That's high praise for a guy who just led his team to an NBA title. ESPN's Henry Abbott added this about Pop's ability to turn a no win situation like last night's game was shaping up to be in to a situation that instilled confidence in a group of guys who are a little further down on the Spurs' totem pole. It's something termed as "Royal Jelly". no comments
On this episode of the Spurscast, Project Spurs staff writer Trevor Zickgraf joins us to talk about last night's overtime loss to the Dallas Mavericks.
Aside from breaking down the game, we all had issue with Matt Bonner receiving the inbounds pass on the possession that could've lead to a San Antonio Spurs win.
After giving the game a thorough review, we talked about the Spurs' second unit, mostly consisting of Danny Green, Gary Neal and Tiago Splitter with a few other pieces moving in and out. Last night's second unit, which also included James Anderson and Bonner, was the reason for the Spurs' comeback and also the group Spurs coach Gregg Popovich elected to keep on the floor throughout the overtime period.
After taking a quick look at some of the above-mentioned players, we finished the show out talking about two bigs that could possibly come to the Spurs and help them where they need it the most. As we reported last week, the Spurs are pursuing Kenyon Martin and are interested in Chris Kaman, who the Hornets are looking to move.
Once you hear our opinions on this episode, be sure to leave yours in the comments below.
The Spurscast. The original Spurs podcast.
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After a loss in overtime to the Dallas Mavericks, the San Antonio Spurs (12-9) will face the 
Memphis Grizzlies (10-9) tonight in Memphis as the Spurs hope to snap their two-game losing streak and find some success on the road.
The last time these two team met was earlier this season as San Antonio won 95-82 in San Antonio. Manu Ginobili paced the Spurs with 24 points while Rudy Gay posted a double-double (19 points, 10 rebounds) for the Grizzlies.
However, tonight Memphis will be without the services of Zach Randolph who is nursing a torn right MCL and San Antonio will still be without guards Ginobili (fractured hand) and T.J. Ford (hamstring). Not to mention both teams are entering tonight's content losing their previous game (Memphis lost to Phoenix).
But as the Spurs get ready to face their division foe, here are five things to watch for in tonight's matchup.
- It's a good thing the Spurs' record is above .500. Memphis is 3-7 against teams with winning records.
- Memphis is holding their heads above water while Randolph is out of action. The Grizzlies are 9-6 since Randolph has been nursing a torn right MCL.
- Might not want to let O.J. Mayo get hot from behind the arch. Mayo is shooting a career-high 41% from downtown.
- So Marc Gasol might be a problem as usual. Gasol won his first career NBA Player of the Week Award for the week of January 16 averaging 19.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 2.5 blocks on .673 shooting in 36.3 minutes helping Memphis to a 4-0 stretch.
- Memphis can get hot early. Memphis shot above .600 in the first half in three-straight games from January 16-20 becoming the first NBA team to has such a streak since the Clippers did so last season.
I was watching the Bulls-Heat game yesterday when I muted it for a moment to watch a video 
on my computer. After the video was over, I looked up and on the screen was a quote from
Because here was the response:
“Are you married? How does your wife put up with you? She has to. She has no choice for now. It's the same thing here. You've got no choice. Quit your crying and just deal with it. Just deal with it and shut up. That's the best way," Pop said.
Since I’m at my in-law’s house and they don’t have DVR, it wasn’t until today that I found out he said that in response to a question about the lockout. We all know that the condensed schedule is taking its toll on players as well as coaches, but since it ‘s the same for everyone Pop just decided to make a joke about it. He did follow up with a serious answer though, talking about how this year is different than what he’s used to.
"My daily schedule is different," he said. "Our staff meetings and approach and when we do things is different now because of the rapidity of games. The teaching logistics have changed. We're cramming in less than normal. The time is so short. With those young kids you need to keep repeating some things before you put new things in. Think back to your algebra class. If you went too quickly, and it's the fourth week and you didn't know (what was taught) the second week, you're screwed for the whole year."
As usual, you never know what you’re going to get when you ask Pop a question, but that’s the (terrifying) life of a reporter covering the San Antonio Spurs. As the season rolls on, we can only hope that the grueling schedule doesn’t put the Spurs head coach in a permanent bad mood.
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