One of the more glaring areas of concern for the San Antonio Spurs is having reliable shooters on the team to spread the floor.  This was exposed during the playoffs. Especially in the series against the Phoenix Suns.

You might be reading this and thinking to yourself, "We have Matt Bonner and Roger Mason." Well there is your problem. Bonner and Mason have been "no shows" when it really matters -- the playoffs.

Bonner, for as much as he has great games during the regular season, when it has come to the playoffs, he tends to be a non-factor. In the 2008-2009 playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks and even in this past playoff run against the Mavericks and Suns, Bonner was a "no-show." Though I will give him his due.  He did have two good games against the Suns in game two and three contributing 14 and 11 points.

Still, his stats show a drop off. Take this season for example. During the regular season, Bonner shot 44% from the floor and 39% from the three-point line. Come playoff time, his percentages dropped to 43% from inside the arch and 37% from the three-point line. This resulted in five points per game in the playoffs as opposed to the seven points he averaged in the regular season. His career playoff averages are 36%  from the field and 31% from the three-point line.

You might think it's not that much of a drop off but this is the playoffs! Every player has to step it up.  And with Bonner's reputation as a "reliable" shooter, the Spurs sure could have used a bit more consistency from him in this season's playoffs.

Mason on the other hand, well, all season long he demanded to be traded, wanted more minutes, and just wasn't the "Mason" Spurs fans saw last season.  His shooting touch was, in a word, unreliable. In his first season with the Spurs he shot 42% and this season he dropped to 38%. From the three-point line, last season he shot 42% and this past season he shot 33%. During this past playoff run, he averaged 0.5 points. For his playoff career, he has averaged 36% from the field and 31% from behind the arch.  Granted his minutes were down this season but when given time on the floor, he did not make a strong case for continued minutes. Mason, who was a complete non-factor for the 2009-2010 season, will more than likely not be in a Spurs uniform next season.

Bottom line, these two players were not reliable when the Spurs needed them and with both being free-agents, why not look at three available free agents in this summer's crop who are reliable shooters.

Jason Kapono, Philadelphia 76ers. Though he has a player option, Kapono is a deadly shooter especially when it comes to the three-point shot. He averaged 36% from the three-line and 41% from the floor last season. His career playoff shooting averages are 55% from the field and 53% from the three-point line.

Kyle Korver, Utah Jazz. Known for his outside shooting touch, Korver can definitely hit a timely shot form the floor when needed. Ask the Los Angeles Lakers in their series match-up with the Jazz.  For his playoff career, he has averaged 42% from the field and 36% from the three-point line.

Eddie House, New York Knicks. Put the ball in his hands and he will be ready to knock down the shot. For his playoff career, House has averaged 40% from the field and 38% from the three-point line.

Expect the Spurs will be financially conscious as they tweak the team this off-season. Also, chances of them getting players like Korver or Kapono are low (mainly because of financial reasons) but if they intend to make another push for a title, why not find a shooter who might not pull a disappearing act in the playoffs.

The Spurs will probably resign Bonner but with the above mentioned free-agents available, and if the team is willing to remain over the salary-cap, the Spurs should at least entertain the thought of finding better and more reliable shooters.

For those Spurs fans who have not visited Tony Parker's website site, you are missing some great videos.

Though the videos are in French, (note: Parker says "Let's shoot this f&$ker" in one of the videos as he was ready to start filming so NSFW) they are nonetheless entertaining to watch.

Take for example this video as he is preparing to shoot a commercial.  Click HERE to watch Parker's videos.

 
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According to the NY Daily News (via Yahoo! Sports), Spurs' guard Tony Parker is interested in playing for the NY Knicks despite Parker stating his desire to remain with the Spurs. 

Parker has denied his interest, but sources tell the Daily News he's interested.

Sure Spurs fans have seen the other Parker/Knicks trade rumors but this time, the report mentions Parker is "interested."

Is this just another empty Parker trade rumor or is this becoming a case of "where there is smoke, there is fire?"

Hola amigos y fieles seguidores de los San Antonio Spurs. Bienvenidos una vez más a Project Spurs.

De antemano les pido disculpas por haberme ausentado unas semanas. Pero hoy estaré repasando con ustedes el último juego de nuestra temporada 2009-2010.

Sabes que de hecho yo hubiera sido feliz, aunque hubiéramos perdido. Con el simplehecho de que hubiera sido en 5-6. Pero en 4? Eso fue una vergüenza para un equipo que ha ganado 4 campeonatos.

Pero bueno, deja comienzo por repasar ese último juego que no solo nos frustro si no que también trajo una gran decepción a muchos de los seguidores. Tengo que aceptar que el juego si fue bastante emocionante ya que estuvimos muy cerca de ganarlo pero también me toca reconocer que fue un juego de lo mas mediocre en mi opinión.

Los Spurs tuvimos demasiadas oportunidades para triunfar durante la serie completa y en  los cuatro juegos nos fallaron.

En fin para este juego final de los Spurs nuestro mas grande contribuidor fue Tony Parker con 22 puntos y 5 asistencias, de ahí le siguieron Tim Duncan y Hill ya que ambos contribuyeron con 17 puntos cada uno y Manu Ginobili con 15 para este juego.

En total el puntuaje para los Spurs fue de 25 puntos en el primer cuarto vs. los Soles de Phoenix que solo 19 puntos. Para el segundo cuarto los Soles comenzaron a recuperarse ya que sobre pasaron a los Spurs terminando el medio tiempo con un puntuaje de 50 a 47, los soles llevando la delantera.

Durante el tercer cuarto fue cuando Tim Duncan le da un codazo a Nash ocasionandole así una muy dolorosa lesión a su ojo derecho. No obstante el jugador no se dio por vencido. Solo lo sacaron de la cancha por el resto del cuarto tiempo de juego para que descansara su ojo y mientras pasaba el tiempo solo se le hinchaba mas.

Aunque para este tercer cuarto los Spurs anotaron 2 puntos mas que lo que anotaron los soles, ellos aun llevaron la delantera por tan solo un punto ya que terminaron el tercer cuarto 72 a 71.

Para el ultimo cuarto la tensión se sentía, y de hecho fue cuando ambos equipos anotaron mas puntos en comparación a los primeros cuartos. Los Spurs lograron anotar 30 puntos, Hill de los Spurs anotando una canasta de tres puntos justo al final logrando que llegáramos a estar a solo 3 puntos de un empate con los soles de phoenix. Pero los soles no se dejaron vencer anotando ellos 35 puntos durante este ultimo cuarto para su equipo logrando así la final y vergonzosa eliminación de

Los Spurs terminando el juego con un puntuaje de 107 a 101.  Con mucha pena por tercera vez en la historia de la franquicia fuimos derrotados en tan solo cuatro juegos.

Ese fue el dia de las madres (por cierto felicidades a todas las madrecitas lindas y luchadoras que no seriamos nadie sin ustedes) y yo le dije a mi hijo Alec que tiene 8 años “All I want for Mother’s Day is for the Spurs to win tonights’ game.” Lo unico que yo quiero para el dia de las madres es que los Spurs ganen el juego de esta noche, esta bien que los eliminen pero que por lo menos hoy ganemos y cuando estaba por terminarse el juego me dijo mi hijo, “I guess you’re not getting your gift then."

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With the Phoenix Suns facing the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2010 Western Conference Finals, it didn't take long for Lakers' coach, Phil Jackson, to take a verbal shot at Phoenix Suns' point-guard Steve Nash.

Jackson insinuated Nash carries the ball during games.  After hearing about Jackson's comment, Nash said he doesn't carry the ball and had this verbal shot right back at Phil in an interview with the Los Angeles Times:

“The best coach in the league, Gregg Popovich, didn’t have a problem with it last week,” Nash said.

As much as I hate seeing the Lakers and Suns in the Western Conference Finals, as a Spurs fan I rather did enjoy Nash hitting back at Phil.

Congratulations to Tiago Splitter, as he was named to the All-Regular Season Team by ACB.  He averaged 16 points and 6.7 rebounds for Caja Laboral.

Splitter is considered one of the best centers of European basketball and his rights are held by the San Antonio Spurs when they drafted him 28th overall in the 2007 NBA Draft.

Spurs fans are anxiously waiting his arrival to the Spurs to help address the glaring need for a legitimate big man in the paint to play along side Tim Duncan

However, there was a report that Real Madrid will make a run at Splitter for his services.  Of course Spurs fans know the team is financially stretched and can only pay up to $500, 000.00 towards any contract buyout.

While European teams have no salary cap, thus making it tempting for Splitter not come to the NBA, all Spurs fans are crossing their fingers in the hopes he decides to forgo a payday and play with the Spurs.

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The off-season is off to a flying start for the San Antonio Spurs as they continue to look at new players for the upcoming season. 

Recently the Spurs worked out Xavier Henry and Paul George.  This time, the Spurs will be looking at Jeremy Wise and Dominique Jones according to Ridiculous Upside.
 
Wise is from the NBDL's Bakersfield Jam.  He is a 6'1" guard and averaged 16.6 points per game, 3.2 rebounds and 5.1 assists.

Jones is from South Florida. A 6'4" guard, last season with South Florida he averaged 21.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists.

It should be noted, Jones' workout with the Spurs is not yet set according to TBO.com (via Ridiculous Upside).

Jones reaffirmed his decision Friday to remain in the draft, and he has personal workouts scheduled this week with the Washington Wizards and San Antonio Spurs.

Hopefully the team will be working out some big men very soon. Just saying.

After 82 games and advancing to the Western Conference semifinals before being swept out of the playoffs by the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs season began with high expectations and ended with the team falling flat on their faces.

But overall, how would you sum up the 2009-2010 Spurs NBA season?

Well our staff here at Project Spurs decided to sum up their thoughts on the Spurs season.  Enjoy!

Michael De Leon, Founder:

This season was full of surprises and disappointments. After getting booted out of the first round of the playoffs last season, this past summer gave us some hope. George Hill showed veteran poise in the summer league, the Spurs got the steal of the draft in DeJuan Blair and Peter Holt made a big dent in his pocketbook to be able to get Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess. After opening the season with seven new players on the roster, the Spurs just couldn't seem to put it together and Jefferson looked like the bust of offseason signings. Just when things started to come together, an injury killed the momentum. Towards the end of the season, it looked like this team was starting to put the pieces together with big wins over the Celtics, Cavs, Lakers and Magic. But as the Suns exposed, this team still needs some work and changes before they will be a contender again.

Jeff Garcia, Co-Founder:

From the excitement in the preseason on the news of the Spurs acquiring Richard Jefferson, to being swept in the playoffs by the Suns, the Spurs season can be summed up in one word -- inconsistency.  We saw the end of the once mighty Spurs' defense, frustrating games where they turned the ball over, Jefferson becoming a failed trade, the high of beating the Boston Celtics in Boston, the low of losing to the New Jersey Nets, and beating the Dallas Mavericks in the first-round of the playoffs.  But for as much as inconsistency seemed to be the norm, there were bright spots for Spurs fans to take away. The emergence of George Hill, the immense potential of DeJuan Blair, Manu Ginobili resigning with the team making him a Spur for life, and Tim Duncan still putting up numbers even at the end of his great career.  With a few tweaks, namely getting a legit big man, the Spurs should be back in contention in the Western Conference next season.

Emily Allen, Staff Writer:

The 2009-2010 season was most definitely a transitional one for the men in Silver and Black. While the San Antonio Spurs did not have their best team in recent years, they were able to overcome their place as a seventh-seed in the playoffs and survive the Dallas Mavericks to see the second round. This year gave the team an opportunity to learn about its strengths and weaknesses, lessons that could potentially prove vital as they work over the summer to prepare for the new season. Regardless of the insane losses (see New Jersey in April) and sometime-inability to maintain a rhythm in games, the Spurs proved they are still a top-caliber team in the NBA - one that still has the ability to give other teams a tough game on the court.

Jeff Cerda, Staff Writer:

When the news broke about the Spurs trading for Richard Jefferson, I think I was the only Spurs fan in my area that was highly disappointed. With that said, I still had just as high expectations for them as any other person in the country did. I felt like they lost a few games that could have and should have been won(see Nets, Bobcats, Grizzlies twice and Raptors games), but still expected them to at least reach the western conference finals. Overall, in my opinion, it was still a successful season and I was pleased with the performance of the big 3 as well as some surprise contributions from George Hill and DeJuan Blair. This off season should be interesting to see what moves the Spurs will make to address their needs and last but not least, GO SPURS GO!

Lance Fell, Staff Writer:

The 2009-2010 season for most Spurs fans will be remembered as a disappointment. The Spurs spent more money than Fort Knox for a team that barely won 50 games and then not only lost to the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs, but got swept. None the less, we still did win 50 games, which is an extraordinary feat, considering we play in the highly competitive Western Conference. Not only that, but as a seventh seed, we knocked out our bitter rivals, the second seeded Dallas Mavericks, whom some picked to win it all. So while many of you will look back on this season and think of it as wash, remember this season was filled with many great things, such as the emergence of George Hill, the arrival of DeJuan Blair and the return of Manu Ginobili. And no matter what anybody says about this season, we stilled whooped the Dallas Mavericks.

OK Spurs fans it's your turn. How would you sum up this past season?