San Antonio Spurs

[tackielarla]

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Spurs - Magic ongoing right now.

[jcatruman]

CELTICS WILL CRUMBLE.
LAKERS WILL FAIL.
CAVS DO STUMBLE.
NEW ORLEANS DERAIL.

SPURS GO SPURS
GO SPURS GO. headlines and noises doesn't guarantee championships.

[tackielarla]

^ ^ Yeah, but we just lost to the Magic.

Anyways, I'm not putting too much stock on a December loss.

[lunateec22]

Jameer Nelson and Dwight Howard did their job. This win sent them into becoming a title-contending team for this season.

[kamikaze426]

nigawas ang edad sa spurs ganina da. effects of a back to back game

[lunateec22]

nigawas ang edad sa spurs ganina da. effects of a back to back game

Bisag kinsa man siguro an team, basta back-to-back games lisud jud, especially a Spurs.

[tackielarla]

^ ^ Yep yep, especially on a team where the average age is 29 and you come in at 3AM in the morning. But no excuses; we were beat by a better team that night.

[skyblue_lord]

wa jud ka da ug ang spurs... sugud na ilang kalbaryo.....

[tackielarla]

Spurs break shooting slump

Spurs break shooting slump in win over Raptors
By Jeff McDonald

Even before he set foot on the AT&T Center floor Saturday night against Toronto, Spurs point guard Tony Parker figured this game would go better than his last.

“Couldn't be worse,” Parker said.

No, it couldn't. Two nights earlier, in the Spurs' nationally televised pratfall at Orlando, Parker had struggled through his rockiest outing of the season, going 3 of 17 from the field.

Against the Raptors, Parker reminded everyone — his fans, his teammates, his coaches and himself — how much better he can be when he's at his best.

Directing the script from start to finish, Parker totaled 24 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, guiding the Spurs to a 107-97 victory that erased the sour aftertaste of their recent 0-for-2 road swing.

“Tony orchestrated a wonderful game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It can be tough for a point guard, between scoring and getting others involved. He made great decisions and spearheaded the win for us.”

The Spurs (16-10) were historically prolific from 3-point range, matching franchise records for makes (16) and attempts (35). Three Spurs starters — Michael Finley, Roger Mason Jr. and Matt Bonner — each made four 3-pointers. Manu Ginobili chipped in three.

Because of that, the assists came easy for Parker.

“It's always easy to get assists when everybody makes shots,” Parker said.

Parker came just two rebounds shy of collecting his first career triple double. He blames Tim Duncan — he of the 9-inch height advantage — for depriving him of them.

However, Kurt Thomas was the more likely culprit. Thomas, playing his most extended minutes since the opener, grabbed 12 rebounds.

Duncan piled up 19 points, seven rebounds and four blocks for the Spurs, who had six players score in double figures. Jermaine O'Neal had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Raptors, who lost for the 10th time in the past 12 games to fall to 10-17.

The night did not start so swimmingly for the Spurs. They were coming off a two-loss road trip to New Orleans and Orlando in which they could manage no more than 83 points nor shoot better than 39 percent from the field.

For the first quarter Saturday, it seemed as if the Spurs' shooting woes had followed them home. They missed 18 of their 26 shots in the first quarter, including 10 of 12 3-pointers.

“I think everybody was still in (Christmas)-shopping mode,” Parker said.

Unable to buy a bucket — via debit or credit — and with the Raptors daring them to fire away, the Spurs did the only thing they could. They kept shooting. They kept shooting as if it were the NBA 3-point shootout, and they had a never-ending rack of basketballs.

By intermission, the Spurs had launched 23 3-pointers, matching a club record for attempts in a half.

“If they're open, good shots, you've got to take them with confidence,” Mason said. “It doesn't matter if you're 0 for 80, if you're open, take the shot.”

Luckily for the Spurs, the situation never got that dire.

Behind a 14-2 run in the second quarter, which included two 3-pointers from Mason and one from Bonner, the Spurs grabbed a 14-point lead and never looked back.

“Things are always easier when you make shots,” Popovich said. “One or two of those in New Orleans would have been great.”

Few enjoyed the victory more thoroughly than Parker. He took the winless road trip hard, claiming personal responsibility for the loss to the Magic.

“I had trouble sleeping after our loss to Orlando,” Parker said. “That's the beauty of the NBA. The next game always comes quick.”

[tackielarla]

After a pair of demoralizing losses, the San Antonio Spurs needed to bounce back with a solid victory. Against the Toronto Raptors on Saturday night in the AT&T Center, the Spurs successfully ended their losing streak. Using long range bombs, San Antonio came out victorious by a final score of 107-97.

Although the Spurs lead for the final 31 minutes of the game, the Raptors were able to close the gap to six points with approximately three minutes to go in the fourth quarter. Tim Duncan responded with two straight buckets and Tony Parker hit a jumper to close out any hopes for Toronto.

I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw out of Toronto. They looked substantially worse than they did last season. Their interim head coach Jay Triano had one of the worst game plans I’ve ever witnessed. He basically dared the Spurs to win by hitting wide open three-pointers. When the Spurs got figured it out and got hot from the outside, Toronto's game plan remained exactly the same. It’s rare when the opposing team never even attempts to make an adjustment during a game.

As for the Spurs, they have now won 14 straight games in which they’ve scored at least 90 points. In their last 11 wins, they have averaged 108.5 points per game. While it’s good that the Spurs have been so dominant when their offense shows up, this is not exactly the championship formula the Spurs have used in the past. Over the years, the Spurs have made a living of winning low scoring affairs. This year’s version of the Spurs may have to rely on their offense to come through like it did against Toronto.

Tim Duncan

34 minutes, 19 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four blocks, four turnovers
8-for-14 from the field, 3-for-7 at the line

Tim Duncan had a good yet unspectacular game. He wasn’t as involved as he typically is offensively, although he stepped up at the end of the game when the Raptors made a run. Defensively, he was above average – especially in the first half. His one-on-one defense slipped a bit in the second half and he didn’t rebound well the entire night. Overall, considering how much the Raptors were packing the paint on defense and going to their bigmen on offense, Duncan did enough to rise to the challenge.
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Manu Ginobili

25 minutes, 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four turnovers
4-for-8 from the field, 3-for-5 on three-pointers

Manu Ginobili didn’t have a loud game but he chose his spots well. With the Raptors giving up the three-pointer, Ginobili spent most of his time on the perimeter on offense. Defensively, he played hard and crashed the boards extremely well for the third consecutive game. Turnovers, however, were again a problem for Ginobili – who now has 12 turnovers in the last three games. The best news is that his athletic ability seems to be improving slowly but surely.
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Tony Parker

39 minutes, 24 points, ten assists, eight rebounds
11-for-19 from the field, 2-for-2 at the line

Tony Parker rebounded from his worst game of the season by having one of his best performances of the year. He repeatedly sliced Toronto’s defense by getting into the paint and finding open shooters. When he wasn’t setting up his teammates, he was scoring a team-high 24 points. Parker also had eight rebounds – falling two rebounds shy of his first career triple-double. Perhaps most impressively, in his 39 minutes of creating shots almost every time up the court, he had only one turnover to go with his ten assists. If Parker can continue to play at this level, the Spurs would become an extremely tough team to defeat.
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Michael Finley

33 minutes, 14 points, three rebounds, two assists
5-for-10 from the field, 4-for-8 on three-pointers

After three straight sub par games, Michael Finley had a good outing against the Raptors. His four three-pointers made and eight three-pointers attempted with both season-high marks. The three-pointers were especially nice to see considering that he was two for his last 12 from deep. On defense, he actually did a good job against Jamario Moon – even though Moon had a substantial athleticism advantage.
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Matt Bonner

29 minutes, 14 points, three rebounds, three assists
5-for-8 from the field, 4-for-7 on three-pointers

Matt Bonner’s shooting disaster against the Hornets is now all but forgotten. Against Toronto, he shot the ball with confidence and drained four of his seven three-point attempts. He’s once again leading the NBA in three-point percentage at 49.3%. Additionally, his two-point percentage of 56.6% leads the Spurs. Bonner played well on defense on Saturday night, however he struggled on the boards for the second straight game.
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Roger Mason, Jr.

30 minutes, 16 points, five rebounds, three assists
6-for-11 from the field, 4-for-6 on three-pointers

Roger Mason, Jr. had one of his better games of the last month. He shot the ball well, especially from beyond the three-point line. He helped out on the boards and made some good passes. Defensively, he played better than usual and did a much better job of fighting around screens. In his 30 minutes, Mason finished with a team-best plus/minus of +12. His minutes played were the most he’s seen since Dec. 2 against the Pistons.
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Kurt Thomas

25 minutes, four points, 12 rebounds, three blocks
2-for-6 from the field

Off the bench, Kurt Thomas played fantastic basketball. He had a season-high 12 rebounds and tied his season-high with three blocked shots. His defense on the low block was really good and he did a fine job of protecting the rim. Although he missed a few easy shots offensively, he showed good effort and kept balls alive on the offensive glass. If he keeps playing well, he could carve out a substantial role that sees him playing around 20 minutes per game.
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George Hill

9 minutes, one turnover

With the way Parker was playing, the Spurs needed him out on the court as much as possible. As a result, George Hill only played nine minutes. It also didn’t help that with the Raptors packing the lane, Hill was unable to penetrate and kick to disrupt their strategy. Although his defense was solid, the Spurs need Hill to make more of an impact – even if his minutes are limited.
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Anthony Tolliver

8 minutes, two rebounds, one assist
0-for-5 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers, 0-for-2 at the line

It’s tough to figure out Anthony Tolliver. He shot lights out during summer league. In his recent stint with the Austin Toros, he shot 48.8% from three-point territory. Against the Raptors, Tolliver missed three more three-pointers and is now just 6-for-31 (19.4%) on the season for the Spurs. A couple of his latest misses weren’t even close. Outside of his inability to shoot from downtown, Tolliver actually played pretty well. He hustled, he ran the court extremely well, he defended with aggression and he was strong on the glass. That said, he’s going to have to find his three-point stroke to stick on the NBA level.
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Ime Udoka

four minutes, one steal
0-for-3 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers

Ime Udoka got some first quarter minutes for the second straight game. However, for the second straight game, Udoka didn’t play well in his first quarter stint. This time he missed all three of his three-pointers and wasn’t a factor on the defensive end of the court. It seems like every time Pop gives Udoka a chance to get back into the rotation he responds with a clunker.
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Bruce Bowen

four minutes, three points, one rebound
1-for-2 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers

Bruce Bowen was the first player off the bench for San Antonio. After playing four minutes, he never saw the court again. Bowen’s lack of minutes somewhat made sense considering that the Raptors don’t have a perimeter scoring threat to warrant his attention. Plus, with all the room the Spurs had out on the perimeter, getting the most scorers out on the court was the right way to go.
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Gregg Popovich


Pop coached a pretty good ballgame. He put a lot of responsibility (and playing time) on Parker’s shoulders and Parker responded very well. He also juggled the lineup until he could find the three-point shooting combination that could take advantage of Toronto’s defensive strategy. I’m glad that he gave Mason more minutes than usual and even ran a few plays for him. Going forward, hopefully Pop continues to realize Mason is an important part of the team who needs to stay involved.

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Offense

Usually when the Spurs rely too much on three-point shooting it’s a bad thing. But on Saturday night, San Antonio was just taking what Toronto was offering. As a result, the Spurs tied their franchise records in three-pointers (16) made and attempted (35). Overall, the Spurs shot 48.8% from the field and had 26 assists to only ten turnovers. The 13 free throw attempts were low but not at all surprising considering the number of threes they shot.

Defense

The defense on the night was adequate. The Raptors shot 45.5% from the field, 33.3% on three-pointers and shot only 15 free throws. The Spurs also did a very good job on the boards – outrebounding the Raptors 48-38. The bad news is that the defense got progressively worse as the game went on and the Spurs were only able to force four turnovers. Truth be told, the Spurs haven’t had a really good defensive showing for a few weeks now.

Drive to Five

The win against the Raptors improved the Spurs’ record to 16-10. They now have a back-to-back at home against two teams they should beat. First comes the Sacramento Kings on Monday, followed by the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. The Spurs need to get both of these games.

Believe.