A Day in the D-League

Written by Mikkayla Guillett on .

For those of you who have ever wondered what a day in the D-League is like, Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson of the Austin Toros (the San Antonio Spurs D-League affiliate) takes you behind the scenes and provides you with all the answers you’ve been looking for. In his first episode of Toros TV Squeaky shows fans what the team has been up to while in South Padre Island, Texas for the NBA D-League Showcase.

Earlier today the Toros snapped their six-game losing streak with a Texas-sized win over the Dakota Wizards, 119-97.

no comments

Be a part of the Spurs-Mavericks action this Friday

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

This Friday the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks will face off in San Antonio as this Texas rivalry continues. Though there is no definitive word if Mavericks' star Dirk Nowitzki will play due to a knee injury, this game should still be hotly contested.

Currently, the Spurs have a five-game lead over the Mavericks in the Southwest Division so the Mavericks will want to pick up a full game on the Spurs while the Spurs hope to extend their division lead.

With that being said, if you are in San Antonio and watch to catch the game at the AT&T Center, tickets prices are down 36% this week, so now is the time to buy. Click HERE to grab some great seats and be a part of the Spurs-Mavericks rivalry this Friday in San Antonio!

Texasshowdown

 

Still no word on Nowitzki

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

After tonight's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, the San Antonio Spurs will host the Dallas Mavericks this Friday who may not be with their super-star Dirk Nowitzki. Nowitzki is still recovering from a knee injury and will sit out tonight's contest against the Indiana Pacers:

Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle wasn't talking about Dirk Nowitzki and his chances of playing tonight as the Mavs try to snap a two-game skid at the Indiana Pacers.

It is expected that Nowitzki will miss his eighth consecutive game tonight since spraining his right knee on Dec. 27. (source espn.com)

Currently, the Spurs (32-6) sit atop the Southwest Division and have a five-game lead on the second place Mavericks (26-10). Though Friday's showdown is important for Dallas to close the gap with the Spurs, I'm sure the Mavericks will not risk further injury to Nowitzki and sit him out of the game.

Stay tuned!

Spurs vs. Timberwolves: The Morning-ish After

Written by Michael A. De Leon on .

Manu GinobiliBox Score | Advanced Stats | Gameflow

The San Antonio Spurs continued their winning ways on Tuesday night and extended their win streak over the Minnesota Timberwolves to 16 games.

While 16 wins may make the Timberwolves seem like the Spurs' punching bag, someone forgot to tell them, as they've taken the Spurs down the stretch in all four games this season, Tuesday night's being no different.

A first quarter lead kept the Spurs ahead all game, but Kevin Love and company would not go down without a fight.

Love finished the game with 20 points and 20 rebounds, continuing his rebounding dominance over the rest of the NBA.

Martell Webster and Luke Ridnour also scored 20 points apiece for the Wolves, while six players paced the Spurs with double figures.

Manu Ginobili led all Spurs in scoring with 19 points, Richard Jefferson had 17, Tim Duncan had 16, George Hill had 13 and Tony Parker finished with 12 points and 13 assists.

Quoteable

"Man, I'm tired of playing these guys. These dudes cause fits for us." - Richard Jefferson.

In Retrospect

Jeff Garcia talked to fellow bloguin-ite Dave Kelsey from TwolvesBlog before last night's game and got his thoughts on the Wolves game plan against the Spurs.

"Give the ball to Darko and Love, and let them shoot it 40+ times combined. Our guards are terrible, and I'd personally sit out Beasley anyways. No one else on our team can really create their own shot, and Darko and Love have already had a ton of success against the Spurs already this season. It would appear they are our best option for victory."

Fantasy Focus

Martell Webster has been playing a consistent role with the Wolves this year and that's translated well to the stat sheet. He's averaging 13 points and 3.5 rebounds per game this season and has scored in double figures in 11 of his last 15 games, definitely worthy of your watch list.

If you took a chance on Tiago Splitter at any time this season, he continues to get little to no time on the floor and his spot might be better utilized with another player. Splitter has played a combined 36 minutes in his last five games and has only scored in two of those games.

In Black & White

Spurs drop T'wolves by technical knockout (San Antonio Express-News

Technically speaking, Spurs whistle past Wolves (StarTribune.com)

Tweeting the game

@NBA Mauer made a mockery of the #Spurs #Wolves game last night. 5 Ts in 10 secs with Wolves coming back makes fans say bleh...Fix It! #NBA - @donedam.

Spurs given a slim chance to win it all

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Despite owning the NBA's best record (32-6), the San Antonio Spurs were only given a 1% chance to win their fifth NBA title according to 157 NBA players in a poll conducted by Sports Illustrated.

The Los Angeles Lakers garnered 69% of the votes.

The poll was conducted during the month of December where the Spurs went 13-2 while the Lakers were 10-5 which included a loss to the Spurs.

Look, I get the Lakers are the reigning NBA champions but this Lakers team has been dealing with internal turmoil, dealing with injuries, Kobe Bryant dealing with a bothersome knee, and have the huge task at making it back to the Finals for a third straight season. It will not be easy for them.

But you know what? This is fine. Let the Spurs continue to remain under-the-radar. This is just more locker-room material for the team. Come playoff time and the Spurs are marching their way to the NBA Finals, I'm sure the 157 players who voted might ask for a re-vote.

What are your thoughts Spurs fans? I know you want to sound off on this.

(image blogs.orlandosentinel.com)

Stats of the Game: Spurs vs. Wolves

Written by Robby Lim on .

statofgame10

The San Antonio Spurs showed a lot of poise down the stretch beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 107-96 and swept their season series against the Wolves 4-0. The Spurs beat the Timberwolves for the 16th consecutive time.

It's time to look at the numbers that stood out in this Spurs' recent victory.

83.3- The Timberwolves did a great job from the foul line making 20-24 (83.3%) of their free throws. The Spurs weren't that bad either hitting 22-28 (78.6%) of the foul shots.

50
- The Spurs connected from the outside, going 11-22 (50%) from behind the arc, including 3-4 (75%) from Richard Jefferson. The Timberwolves shot a woeful 8-23 (34.8%) from the three-point area.

38- The Timberwolves pounded the ball inside and outscored the Spurs 38-28 on inside points.

37.8
- For the third straight game, the Spurs has held their opponents to less than 40% shooting from the field. They held the Wolves to just 34-90 (37.8%) field goal shooting while making 37-79 (46.8%) of their own shots.

36 - The Spurs led 36-25 after the first period and never relinquish the lead.

20 - Kevin Love had another dominant performance scoring 20 points and 20 reboundsfor his sixth 20-20 game of the season.

19
- Manu Ginobili had a great all-around game as he led the Spurs with 19 points, nine rebounds, six assists and two steals.

18 - Luke Ridnour and Martel Websterscored 18 points a piece for the Timberwolves.

16
- Tim Duncan had 16 points
, eight boards, three blocks, two assists and two steals in 30 minutes of action. Matt Bonner added 16 points and four rebounds off the Spurs' bench. The biggest lead of the game was 16 points.

13 -
Tony Parker scored 12 points and dished out 13 assists for the Spurs. George Hill provided a solid boost from the bench with 13 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals. The Wolves had 13 steals for the game.

7- Darko Milicic and Michael Beasley scored just seven points each for Minnesota.

0 -
Duncan and Gary Neal did not commit a single turnover for the entire game.

Rookie Watch: Neal scored three points in 17 minutes. Tiago Splitter was scoreless in two minutes of playing time.

What's Next?
The Spurs will visit the Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on their second night of back-to-backs.

Follow Robby Lim on Twitter @RobbyLim21

All-Star third returns are in

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The NBA All-Star Game is fast approaching and the San Antonio Spurs have three players on the ballot: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker.

The NBA has released the third returns of fan voting and let's see how things are shaping up for the Spurs "Big 3."

Tim Duncan is curently in fourth place in fan voting for the forward position:

Kevin Durant  (Thunder)  945,944
Carmelo Anthony  (Nuggets)  742,284
Pau Gasol  (Lakers)  702,859
Tim Duncan  (Spurs)  551,226

Manu Ginobili is in third place and Tony Parker is in seventh place in fan voting for the guards:

Kobe Bryant  (Lakers)  1,391,597
Chris Paul  (Hornets)  724,605
Manu Ginobili  (Spurs)  504,123
Steve Nash  (Suns)  397,975
Deron Williams  (Jazz)  384,515
Russell Westbrook  (Thunder)  327,453
Tony Parker  (Spurs)  298,771

There is still time for Spurs fans to get all three players into the starting line up in Los Angeles by clicking HERE to vote.

San Antonio Spurs vs. Minnesota Timberwolves Gameday Q&A with TWolves Blog

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

The San Antonio Spurs (31-6) look to continue their winning ways against the Minnesota Timberwolves (9-29) tonight in Minnesota.

Theses two teams will be facing each other in a span of three days and should the Spurs win, they would sweep the Timberwolves for four straight seasons. However, the Spurs have their troubles against Minnesota. The Spurs have had to fight from double-digit deficits to pick up wins against the Timberwolves and to beat the same team in a matter of days will prove difficult.

To discuss tonight's contest, I once again turn to Dave from Bloguin's own TWolves Blog. Aside from keeping things light-hearted with the ways things are going for Minnesota this season, the site is a wealth of information and your one-stop site for all things Timberwolves. To read my Q&A I did with Dave click HERE.

Jeff: The Timberwolves seem to present issues for the Spurs as we've seen this season. What is it about Minnesota which gives the Spurs issues?

Dave: As I responded in our first Q&A together this season (I believe), it's our big men. To be honest, our guards are pretty atrocious all things considered, so the need for production falls on our bigs kinda by default.  Add in the fact that KLove is an all world rebounder and Darko is quite versatile himself; the Spurs can be taken advantage of from that facet.  Otherwise, I think our guys play hard for the most part, and really don't ever give up, so we're just going to just lay down and give up against any team.

Coach Rambis is going to continue to go with Corey Brewer in the starting lineup in hopes of containing Manu Ginobili. Is that move really going to slow down Manu?

No. Brewer has somehow acquired a reputation of being a defensive stopper of sorts.  He's OK at times, but he gambles too much and is way undersized.  He has nice energy/effort, but he can't control that said energy while out on the court.  Manu is potentially the MVP of the Spurs this season, so no one is slowing him down anyways.  If I were you guys, I wouldn't worry one iota about who's guarding Manu Tuesday night.  He'll get his.

Minnesota blew two double-digit leads on the Spurs this season. Simple question -- why?

I don't know.  I honestly don't.  We've beat good teams and gotten blown out by bad teams.  There's no rhyme nor reason to the TWolves this season.  Rather, I'm more surprised that we ever had double-digit leads against the Spurs multiple times in the same season.  Our bigs are a tough matchup for you guys, and maybe you overlooked us a little the first two games.  That's about all I can come up with.  There's no reason the Spurs should fall behind by 15+ points to the TWolves this season.  To your credit, you guys came back and won those games.

Beasley recently injured his ankle yet is probable to start for Minnesota. Think it's wise to risk further injury?

If I were coach, and sadly I'm not (couldn't be worse than Coach Darrell Rhombus!), I'd sit Beasley out.  He got hurt Sunday by re-aggregating that same ankle injury from Friday night.  He also hurt it earlier this year as well.  No reason to rush him back in a lost season, especially when ankle injuries can be such fickle and troublesome injuries.  If you don't let them heal up completely, it can hinder a player all season long.

Should the Spurs win, they would sweep Minnesota four straight seasons. What does Minnesota have to do to avoid this tonight against the Spurs?

Give the ball to Darko and Love, and let them shoot it 40+ times combined.  Our guards are terrible, and I'd personally sit out Beasley anyways.  No one else on our team can really create their own shot, and Darko and Love have already had a ton of success against the Spurs already this season.  It would appear they are our best option for victory.  We certainly can't run with you guys or score enough if you push the tempo.  If the Wolves simply play along without attempting to counter the increased pace, we're doomed.

Spurs news and notes: Beasley questionable, Duncan walks on water, and more

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

• The San Antonio Spurs will take on the Minnesota Timberwolves tomorrow but might face Minnesota sans Michael Beasley:

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Michael Beasley did not practice on Monday with an ankle injury and is questionable for the game against San Antonio on Tuesday.

Beasley was hurt on Sunday night against the Spurs in San Antonio. He rolled his ankle and was limited to 11 minutes while scoring just two points in the 94-91 loss.

The Timberwolves say Beasley will be evaluated again on Tuesday before the game.

Beasley leads the team in scoring at 21.9 points per game. (source usatoday.com)

• Spurs' rookie Gary Neal has been having a sensational season and Draft Express did a retrospective on Neal. Here is an excerpt:

One of the more interesting rookies in this year's class, Gary Neal has taken a roundabout route in getting to the NBA, last playing college ball in 2007 when he graduated from Towson. A player we covered in great depth in college, Europe and after his latest summer league stint, Neal has spent time in Turkey, Spain, and Italy with varying success before getting his first crack at NBA Summer League ball prior to this season, which he promptly turned into a three-year guaranteed deal with the Spurs. Thus far, Neal has been settling in quite well, and this in spite of his role changing dramatically from his time in college and Europe.

• Bloguin's own Hoops Manifesto had its weekly NBA questions of the week and one of the questions revolved around which NBA division was the toughest. Here is what one of the panelist had to say about the Southwest Division:

"I have to go with the Southwest at the moment.  The Atlantic's close - with Philly playing some inspired basketball of late... but a division where Memphis is your worst team?  With San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans and Houston... Memphis is going to have a tough time of making the playoffs.  And they're a good team!"

• Tim Duncan was named in the "Popular Athletes Who Walk on Water" list by the torontosun.com:

Who: Tim Duncan Success on the court: The captain of the San Antonio Spurs is a four-time NBA champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP, and has been awarded the NBA’s MVP award twice. Why he walks on water: Sporting News named Tim Duncan as one of the ‘good guys’ in sports for a reason. His foundation – the Tim Duncan Foundation, holds two major fundraisers a year – the Tim Duncan Bowling for Dollar$ Charity Bowl-A-Thon and the annual Slam Duncan Charity Golf Classic. Between 2001-02 his foundation raised more than $350,000 to help fight breast and prostate cancer. 

• Express News' Tim Griffin talks about ugly wins and the Spurs.

• Do you play in an NBA Fantasy League? Is so, you might want to look at adding George Hill if he is available in your league:

George Hill, G, San Antonio Spurs: Hill has been effective this season in the old Manu Ginobili role as the first guard off the Spurs' bench. While he hasn't been quite as consistent as he was last season as a starter, Hill has put up solid lines as a reserve and actually had his first solid three-game stretch in November. His production from late December through January has been above his season averages and he's shooting a fantasy-friendly 47 percent from the field this season. (source sportsillustrated.cnn.com)

• The Spurs have only 14 home games left in the season and the Spurs are offering a nice ticket package for fans to catch any remaining home game:

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that individual game tickets for the final 14 games of the 2010-11 regular season (February 23 – April 9) will go on sale this Friday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m.

The month of March boasts exciting matchups including the Mar. 4 game vs. the Miami Heat, a Sunday, March 6 matinee against the Los Angeles Lakers and the March 31 game against the Boston Celtics at the AT&T Center. In April, the Spurs will wrap-up their 2010-11 regular season with three games against Phoenix (April 3), Sacramento (April 6) and Utah (April 9). (source spurs.com)

• If any Spurs fans were worried about the dispute between Time Warner Cable and Sinclair Broadcasting Group and its impact on Spurs games on the CW, they can relax. Seems they will still be able to catch a couple of Spurs games but on another local channel:

No matter what, Time Warner Cable subscribers will be able to watch the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets battle on the court Sunday, but a potential blackout of the local CW affiliate still could impact seven other games down the road.

As Time Warner and Sinclair Broadcast Group continue their dispute over programming fees, the Spurs decided to move the game between the conference rivals to Kens 5. It originally was scheduled to air on the CW. (source Express News)

• Do not forget! If you want free tickets to this Friday's Spurs-Dallas Mavericks game all you have to do is follow ProjectSpursTiq on Twitter for a chance to win. It's that easy. Click HERE to follow.

Catching up with Roger Mason

Written by Jeff Garcia on .

Last week I was able to cover the San Antonio Spurs-New York Knicks matchup in Madison Square Garden. After the game, I headed to the Spurs' locker room to join the rest of the media as we awaited word to enter the Spurs' locker-room.

I had just finished interviewing Spurs' rookie Tiago Splitter and as I exited the locker room I ran into a familiar face walking the hallways -- former Spur Roger Mason.

Although the game has passed, I thought I'd share with you the interview I did with Mason. Needless to say he misses the Spurs.

As I caught up with him, he was catching up with George Hill:

Jeff: Huge win against your former team. Did you ever think you'd see a Spurs team allow 128 points?

Roger: You know you never know. We got them on a good night. They're the best team in the league right now so it's a big win for us. They're putting points on the board this year too, they're playing really well and you know we got a good one tonight.

This was probably a good win for the Knicks as they head on the road. I take it this is a great launching-point for the Knicks as you head into this road-trip.

Yeah it is. It gives us more confidence to know we can play with anybody. Huge win for us so yeah definitely.

How has your role changed since joining the Knicks?

Well right now I'm not playing but I'm bringing veteran leadership. I haven't had an opportunity yet. You know it's a long season and I got a lot to offer the team and we will see what happens.

You miss the folks back in San Antonio?

(smiles) I do! I miss them everyday. I haven't been to a place like it.

What is it about the San Antonio Spurs? I hear that a lot from ex-players I speak to.

Professional. Family atmosphere. You know, you grow to love it.

What were the lessons you brought from San Antonio to New York?

You know character matters. Team work and toughness. You know you got to be tough to play for Pop and I'll have that with me for the rest of my career.

Your thoughts on the Knicks progress this season. Pushing for a playoff spot?

Yeah I see this team in the playoffs for sure.

Top Stories