San Antonio Spurs

[skyblue_lord]

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oy............ piti nasad........... lagi...........

[tackielarla]

^^^

[tackielarla]

Early in the game, the Spurs had a great flow. Their offense was clicking on one end, while their defense was exposing the youth of the Thunder on the other end. However, after leading 29-14 after the first quarter, San Antonio started to sputter and could never regain their rhythm. When it was all said and done, Oklahoma City had stolen a 78-76 victory.

Spurs fans who tuned in have to be disappointed with what they saw. The offense after the first quarter lacked any type of cohesiveness and many of the individual performances weren't up to par. With the Western Conference as tight as it is, this loss definitely stings.

The Thunder deserve a healthy amount of credit. They were very active on the defensive end and made the Spurs work for everything. Offensively, while it was a struggle at times, their talent on that end was obvious. Kevin Durant is becoming one of the most difficult players in the league to defend and the team's complementary players fit well around him.

The Spurs loss was reminiscent of a few of the losses from last season in which the offense stalled and never recovered. With the team unable to hit three-pointers or get to the line, not enough O could be generated. Tough loss.

-After looking a bit better against the Rockets, Duncan seemed to regress against the Thunder. Oklahoma City rarely threw hard double-teams at him and with Duncan unable to exploit one-on-one situations, the usual spacing on the offense end was non-existent. If opponents are able to get away with not doubling Duncan, the Spurs will have many more nights like tonight.

-Tony Parker played very well in the first quarter. In the second quarter, he got lackadaisical with the ball and his turnovers fueled the Thunder's comeback. Parker got hot in the second half once again but right when he cooled off for just a second, Oklahoma City got right back into the game. The five turnovers hurt his team but it's tough to complain about much else because he was the best thing the Spurs had going.

-Roger Mason, Jr. was quiet for the second straight games. With the Thunder not doubling Duncan and trapping his pick-and-rolls, Mason wasn't able to find many open looks. His four turnovers seemed to take away his confidence and he started to not want to bring the ball up the court in his backup point guard role. The league has adjusted to Mason, now Mason needs to make another adjustment to find ways to help the team.

-Following two quality outing, Michael Finley didn't deliver on Monday night. He didn't shoot well and his shot selection was extremely shaky -- especially in crucial situations. Defensively, he had the task to try to slow down Durant and actually did a decent job. Durant got loose a few times but Finley's effort and execution was mostly good.

-Matt Bonner wasn't the problem on this night. He shot with much more confidence, rebounded well once again and his perimeter defense was a bright spot. Spending a lot of time chasing around Jeff Green, Bonner more than held his own. He did miss a late three-pointer that would have been a momentum-changer but at least he had his first positive performance since the news of the Drew Gooden signing.

-Ime Udoka once again led the bench in minutes but he hurt the team more than he helped. His perimeter defense was poor, as the athletes on the Thunder exploited his lack of quickness. On the offensive end, he struggled to figure out which shots to take and which to pass up. On both ends of the court, Udoka was a liability against Oklahoma City.

-Drew Gooden had his third straight intriguing game for the Spurs. In 15 minutes, he once again scored and rebounded at a quality clip. He showed nice range on his jumper and his ballhandling and passing continue to be better than advertised. The defensive mistakes were plenty but they weren't for a lack of effort.

-George Hill had been shooting the ball well since his point guard duties were relinquished, however he struggled to convert on this night. In the second quarter, his bobbling and mishandling of the ball played a part in the offensive losing its cohesiveness. Defensively, Hill was again good but his energy wasn't as boundless as usual on that end.

-Kurt Thomas only played 11 minutes and wasn't a good answer to the athleticism at the power forward position utilized by the Thunder. He played decently but he didn't use his strength advantage enough to offset his lack of mobility.

-Playing limited minutes for the second straight game, Bruce Bowen never seemed to ease himself into the action. His defense was decent but nothing to write home about. On offense, he uncharacteristically got in the way a few times.

-Pop has a few questions to answer. First of all, who is his backup point guard? At times Mason would play that role. At other times, Hill would switch to that position. For the sake of the offense when Parker is resting, Pop has to figure out who he wants to be in charge of initiating the offense if he expects the bench unit to have any rhythm. I'm also not sure what he sees in Udoka to make him the sixth man. Udoka has played better as of late but he's still far from being a dependable asset. And if teams aren't going to double Duncan, it'd be nice to run a play other than a top pick-and-roll.

After this loss, the Timberwolves contest on Tuesday night is now basically a must-win. If the Spurs lose that game, their grip on the second seed in the West will really be in jeopardy.

[menderouv]

Spurs right where they should be


Prior to this season, no one was talking of the Spurs as a legit contender for the NBA title.

The sexiest pick was the Lakers, fresh off last year's ouster to the Celtics in the Finals, and their depth and youth, not to mention Kobe Bryant.

And if not L.A., for some reason, then it was Chris Paul and his New Orleans Hornets, the retooled Rockets, or the always-steady Utah Jazz.

Heck, even the Portland TrailBlazers were in the limelight more than the Spurs, who quietly sat back and made a key addition - obscure sharpshooter Roger Mason - and draft pick (George Hill).

It was supposed to be anybody's year, except for San Antonio's.

"Too old!" critics cried. "Their time is over; Duncan's done!" they insisted.

The Spurs were even relatively forgotten amongst their peers, as players talked about how tough the Lakers would make the West, and how the Celtics were surely destined to dominate the East.

But San Antonio never lost pace. Even through a rough beginning that seemed to bring truth to others' preseason sentiments, it never lost focus and stayed true to its origin.

And now, with 18 games left in the season, it is in second place in the West, 2 1/2 games ahead of the Rockets, and 3 1/2 ahead of the Jazz and Blazers, heading into Saturday's games.

Yes, those Spurs that everyone had dismissed prior to the season are back amongst the elite of the league, through the only ways they know how.

Strong, aggressive defense.

Smart ball rotation, spacing and perimeter shooting on offense.

And an affinity for teamwork and role-playing that is unheard of in today's world of professional sports.

Sound familiar? It's the same recipe the Spurs used when they won four titles in seven years earlier this decade.

If anything, San Antonio's success this season shows that consistency pays.

While all the other teams - aside from the Lakers - were reinventing their respective rosters, the Spurs added a few unheralded parts and tightened their understanding of the foundation they were built upon.

Under the best coach in the NBA, Greg Popovich, San Antonio has been the benefit of superb years from Tim Duncan (20 points per game, 10.7 rebounds per game, 3.7 assists per game) and Tony Parker (21.1 ppg, 6.7

apg), and is 22 games over .500 even through a rocky year for Manu Ginobili, who has been sidelined due to injury for most of the season and has missed 26 games.

Taking up the slack for his production has been Mason (12 ppg, 3.2 rpg), shooting big Matt Bonner - who leads the league in 3-point percentage - and timely play from Hill, who figures to be the perfect solution at point guard once Parker decides to hang it up.

More importantly, the Spurs are the definition of "balance."

They're sixth in the league in field-goal percentage, first in 3-point percentage, third in opponents' points per game, and ninth in field-goal percentage defense.

It was only a matter of "when" before the Spurs started purring at exactly the right time.

Los Angeles is seeing if it can regain the form it had without center Andrew Bynum, who was declared out for a few months in January and was also absent during its playoff run to the Finals, last season.

The Hornets are clicking, but a slow start will likely doom them if they wish to gain homecourt advantage in the playoffs.

The Rockets and Jazz are coming on strong, but have are just now finding their identities after key players (Tracy McGrady for the Rockets; Carlos Boozer for the Jazz) missed a significant amount of time early in the season.

McGrady has been declared out for the season due to injury.

But here are the Spurs, even somewhat boosted by the signing of veteran forward Drew Gooden, a smart, heady pickup (what else is new?) that will pay dividends against the trees of the West come playoff time.

They're right back where they're supposed to be.

But not where everyone thought they would.

[tackielarla]

5th seed here we come!!!

[aykiman]

^^ paytir imong avatar bro..hehehehe..

mao mana katong gi hack a shaq og sayo si shaq noh??eheheh

[ju-Luis]

bsan asa na seed ang spurs, ang mo-sugat kay tak-tak ghapon na padung...

[Nutley]

^^^

serve for tomorrows breakfast for the Spurs.
they need it badly.
"NBA where sh*t happens"

[MalditohoN]

well lets just all wait and see what will happen in their playoffs...

[jasonrey]

this one's funny: YouTube - H-E-B Commercial - Yoga (Timmy, Manu, & Bruce of the San Antonio Spurs)