San Antonio Spurs

[tackielarla]

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RICHARD JEFFERSON LEAVES BRIDE AT THE ALTAR

By NEEL SHAH and JEANE MacINTOSH


Now that's a flagrant foul.

Former New Jersey Net star Richard Jefferson bailed on his stunning fiancée -- pulling the plug on his posh Manhattan wedding at the 11th hour without even alerting some of the guests, The Post has learned.

The cold-footed forward's decision to ditch onetime Net dancer Kesha Ni'Cole Nichols was so last-minute that some of his oblivious friends had already shown up last Saturday at the swank Mandarin Oriental in Columbus Circle for the $2 million wedding that never happened.

Jefferson -- who was traded in June to the San Antonio Spurs -- dumped Nichols just before the weekend, according to sources.

She immediately called her family and friends to say the ceremony was off.
But Jefferson waited much longer, his friends told The Post.

"He called about two hours before the wedding. It was nuts," said one Jefferson pal.

He never showed up at the hotel, but "all his boys were there," the friend said. "He gave his best friend the Black Amex [credit card] for the night."

Jefferson's guests made good use of the credit card to party on their pal's dime.

Nichols did check in to the hotel on what was to have been her wedding day, and was upgraded to a suite on the 45th floor with a king-sized bed and a Central Park view, according to a source at the Mandarin.

The would-be bride was stunned, but "not entirely caught off-guard," by Jefferson's unsportsmanlike conduct, according to a family friend.

"She just wants to keep this as quiet as possible and move on. She's doing just fine," a Nichols family insider said.

[tackielarla]

Summer League Game 2 - Game Thoughts (LJ of Spurstalk)

While the Spurs summer league team struggled offensively for much of the night, they once again came up clutch to close out the game and win by a final count of 78-76. Even more importantly, San Antonio got a couple of promising individual performances.

For the Denver Nuggets, their best performers came off the bench. Coby Karl played an impressive all-around game and Ronald Dupree's veteran savvy was apparent against the younger players on San Antonio's roster.

To get the win, the D was key. The Spurs defense held the Nuggets to 34.3% shooting from the floor. Ty Lawson and Sonny Weems, arguably the two best players on the Nuggets summer league roster, shot a combined 2-for-23 from the field.

George Hill

34 minutes, 16 points, two assists, two rebounds, two steals, two turnovers
5-for-12 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers, 6-for-7 at the line

George Hill had an interesting game. With the Nuggets throwing fullcourt traps, halfcourt traps and pick-and-roll traps at him, Hill spent a lot of his night trying to figure out how to deal with the various traps. While he had some success in that regard, the Nuggets' gameplan definitely rattled him -- which isn't great news for a point guard prospect.

The aspect of Hill's game I liked the most was his defense. Lawson missed all seven of his field goal attempts and finished with more turnovers (4) than assists (3). Hill's length and quickness took Lawson out of his game and didn't allow the 2009 first round pick get many open looks.

Scoring-wise, Hill continues to look solid. He finished well when attacking the rim. His outside shot looks much improved, although he's yet to hit a three-pointer in summer league. We didn't get a chance to see Hill's playmaking ability in this game due to the plethora of traps, so that's definitely something to keep an eye on going forward.

Overall, Hill looks like he's made a lot of strides -- especially compared to last year in summer league. He's confident and he plays like he knows exactly what he's doing. He needs to work on beating traps and he needs to show he can consistently make plays, but summer league has been a success for Hill so far.

DeJuan Blair


DeJuan Blair didn't play against the Nuggets. After his big first game against the Hornets, word is that Blair's agent is working with the Spurs to finalize a contract and both sides agreed it would be best for Blair to sit. How much more we see of Blair in summer league could depend on how contract negotiations proceed.

Ian Mahinmi

28 minutes, 12 points, 16 rebounds, two blocked shots, ten fouls, three turnovers
4-for-9 from the field, 4-for-6 at the line

The star of the game for the Spurs was undoubtedly Ian Mahinmi. After a shaky debut in summer league, Mahinmi looked much better his second time out.

Running the court was where Mahinmi really shined. Despite being the biggest player on the court at all times, Mahinmi oftentimes beat guards up and down the floor. He blocked shots, he altered shots and he hit the glass with authority.

Mahinmi also did a lot of things that don't show up on the stat sheet. He rotated very well, he took charges and played a physical brand of basketball.

While there were bright spots, Mahinmi still has room to grow. Offensively, he still looks rusty and his overall clumsiness is still rather high (which played a part in his ten fouls) -- but the progression from Game 1 to Game 2 was great to see. Hopefully Mahinmi can get better and better as the summer league goes along.

Malik Hairston

31 minutes, 17 points, two rebounds, one assist, one blocked shot
7-for-11 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line

For the second straight game, Malik Hairston was 7-for-11 from the floor. His outside shot looks much better and his confidence is through the roof. Last year he hesitated a lot even when he was open. Right now, he's letting it fly.

When he drives in a straight line to the rim, he's a deceptively explosive athlete who can finish various ways at the rim. Not only can he use his bulky frame to create contact, he's also crafty enough to score with finesse.

On defense, Hairston had a really nice game. He spent a lot of time on Weems and helped limit him to 2-for-16 shooting from the field while helping force Weems into six turnovers.

A couple of areas still need work. In 60 minutes so far in summer league, Hairston only has three rebounds -- a stunningly low number for a guy who rebounded very well at all levels last year. Additionally, his perimeter skills are somewhat of a question mark. He's not good when dribbling in a crowd and his passing is sub par for a small forward.

That said, Hairston is doing a good job of giving himself a fighting chance to make the roster next season. If he can tie up the loose ends, he could make it next to impossible for the Spurs to let him go.

James Gist

19 minutes, five points, four rebounds, three turnovers
2-for-4 from the field, 1-for-2 at the line

After getting off to a fast start that included two and-1s in the first four minutes of the contest, James Gist didn't do much else. It was an improvement on his first game of summer league but his production isn't anywhere near what we saw last year at this time.

The main problem is that Gist is attempting to play more of a face-up game and he's simply not ready for that yet. He may be on the road to transitioning from small forward to power forward but he has a long way to go. He doesn't look comfortable dribbling, passing or shooting out on the perimeter.

Gist has some glimpses of solid play when he goes back to his power game but we aren't seeing much of that. Unless he has some sort of drastic improvement, Gist appears destined for another year in Europe. Or, if the Spurs decide to bring him over this year, a year or two in Austin.

Jack McClinton

11 minutes, four assists
0-for-2 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers

In summer league, some guys look like NBA players. Some guys don't. Unfortunately, McClinton falls into that latter group. He's billed as a shooter and scorer but he hasn't been able to create space or make the adjustment of shooting over larger opponents so far.

Interestingly, McClinton actually looked best when in a playmaking role. To start the game, he had the ball in his hands a lot and dished out all four of his assists within the first four and a half minutes of the first quarter.

On defense, McClinton spent time on both point guards and shooting guards. He looked decent on defense but nothing to write home about.

McClinton still has time to turn it around but it appears as if he is to make the NBA, it will require a major readjustment to compete against the bigger and faster players he's now going against.

Romel Beck

27 minutes, 14 points, two rebounds, two turnovers
6-for-11 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 1-for-2 at the line

Romel Beck once again showed off his good and his bad. On one hand, his jumper is picture perfect and he has a wicked crossover move that allows him to create space. He also had a key three-point play near the end of the contest to give the Spurs a lead of three.

However, Beck is an extremely poor ballhandler -- especially when using his left hand. His footspeed out on the perimeter, or lack thereof, really hurts him on the defensive end. As a shooting specialist, he's useful on the summer league level. But his overall package likely won't translate to the NBA.

Stephane Lasme

21 minutes, seven points, eight rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, two turnovers
3-for-7 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers, 1-for-2 at the line

I thought Stephane Lasme was quietly very good -- much better than his first game. His perimeter game was the aspect of his performance that surprised me the most. Lasme had a couple of great passes and smart plays.

Defensively, he did a lot better job of not always going for blocks and instead he pulled down a healthy amount of boards. Lasme worked hard, played physical and overall just showed an interesting array of skills.

He's probably a couple of inches too short for the NBA but he has a chance if he can become a legit perimeter threat.

Donnell Taylor

21 minutes, six points, eight rebounds, three assists, three turnovers
3-for-8 from the floor

I'm not really sure why Donnell Taylor is playing the backup point guard role. He's not a very good ballhandler, he's a hesitant passer and he doesn't make up for it at the defensive end.

His best play of the game was when he converted a tip-in on an offensive rebound near the end of the ballgame. Other than that, he didn't look very good -- to say the least.

Carldell Johnson

Four minutes, two turnovers

Perhaps the reason why Taylor is the backup point guard is due to Cardell "Squeaky" Johnson. In his time on the court, he was a disaster. His only dents on the scorecard were a pair of turnovers.

To his credit, he came into the game when the Nuggets were swarming and playing fullcourt pressure defense. But in his four minutes of action, Johnson proved that his ceiling is likely the NBA D-League level.

[Silver_Surfer]

hahaha, ikaw akong ka hadlokan DanDavid... pweee... kinsa gud tawn ka nga kahadlokan... hahaha, pauli sa planet nemic oi... pang guna didto... hahaha... wa ko mag apil2x bai, mura man gud ka ug nang hasik lagim diri... ako pa nimo bai, di ka mag apil2x diri... pwede sad bai, mag kita tah para makita ang katag kung unsa jud ka bah...

plsss mute this DanDavid username... wala ni siyay na buhat nga tarong diri nga thread... maka samok rani siya sa mga istoryan members diri... pls remove this guy, most of the istoryans of this thread got annoyed by his presence... ang IP add gyud ang angay i block ani niya kay maka register ghapon ni ug balik... diba mga istoryan friends? agree mo... kung g samokan namo ani niya kay i report ni siya sa admin mga bro...

[Silver_Surfer]

again, advice lang namo nimo bro, don't be harsh here or else ma papas ka ani nga website... ayaw ipakita imong ka hambugero diri sa forum bai... ikaw bai, maka dare ka ug kulata nako... we'll let's see...

[tackielarla]

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/s...und_picks.html

The Spurs expected Gist to rebound and defend, and have been happy to see his willingness to shoot from the perimeter. He has made 13 of 23 shots in three games, and 11 of his shots have come outside 15 feet.

“Today, James wasn’t quite as good,” Budenholzer said, “but the first two games he was just outstanding, as far as activity and effort. He has a knack about him. He’s competitive and energetic and his teammates love playing with him. He’s one of those guys who can really help his team change a game in summer league with his energy and activity. He’s been phenomenal."

“I thought, coming in, he was a decent shooter, but I’ve been a little surprised he’s shot it as well as he has. He’s had a few good days of it. He’s got a chance to be a decent shooter. We want him to shoot. I do think he needs to mix in driving and attacking a little bit more. He may be shooting a few too many jump shots, but I’m happy he’s got the confidence to take them. He knows what he has to do that to make it in the league.”

[tackielarla]

^^^ Ooops. Didn't see that the article is 1 year old.

[nab_uang]

Now that's a flagrant foul.

she was a gold-digger man kuno... nice foul!

[juan penduko]

hahaha, ikaw akong ka hadlokan DanDavid... pweee... kinsa gud tawn ka nga kahadlokan... hahaha, pauli sa planet nemic oi... pang guna didto... hahaha... wa ko mag apil2x bai, mura man gud ka ug nang hasik lagim diri... ako pa nimo bai, di ka mag apil2x diri... pwede sad bai, mag kita tah para makita ang katag kung unsa jud ka bah...

plsss mute this DanDavid username... wala ni siyay na buhat nga tarong diri nga thread... maka samok rani siya sa mga istoryan members diri... pls remove this guy, most of the istoryans of this thread got annoyed by his presence... ang IP add gyud ang angay i block ani niya kay maka register ghapon ni ug balik... diba mga istoryan friends? agree mo... kung g samokan namo ani niya kay i report ni siya sa admin mga bro...

OT: relax lang bro. banned na naman ang ukoy.

[tackielarla]

she was a gold-digger man kuno... nice foul!

That's what I heard din. She didn't want to sign a prenup, and that is very important for rich people to protect their money.

OT: relax lang bro. banned na naman ang ukoy.

Onga noh...

[tackielarla]

A few more videos on what Marcus Haislip can potentialy bring to our team:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zyiK5nf95Cs&feature=fvsr

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STk02KKVksk