Spurs Lead the West

No one thought the Clippers would have lead the NBA's Western Conference for as long as they did, but their reign is now over. Long live the new kings: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, Bruce Bowen, Rasho Nesterovic and the rest of the 10-3 San Antonio Spurs.

Only the Detroit Pistons have a better record so far, at 10-2. (Mark your calendar: the Spurs play the Pistons in Detroit on Christmas Day.)

Cleveland and Dallas are also playing well, having won eight of their last 10.

Next up for the Spurs: the Lakers tomorrow night in San Antonio and the Mavericks on Thursday night in Dallas. Look for the Spurs to play much better than they did three weeks ago against the Mavericks.

Mavericks Destroy Pistons

The Mavericks beat the Pistons by 37 points! And they led by as many in 26 in the first quarter. Still more surprising was their defensive play -- the Pistons were just 5-for-19 in their lowest-scoring first quarter of the season.

The Mavs have now beaten the two best teams in the league, the Pistons and Spurs, so they have to be taken seriously.

Interesting sidenote: Bruce Bowen leads the league in 3-point shooting at 67 percent (14-of-21).

"Spurs Looking Strong Despite Hiccup in D.C."

This is according to Washington Post Staff Writer Michael Lee:

Two weeks into the season, Duncan's new 'do and his off night are minor concerns for the defending champion Spurs, who remain an overwhelming favorite to win their fourth title in eight seasons. After all, Duncan, a two-time regular season most valuable player and three-time NBA Finals MVP, is still averaging a steady 21.6 points and 12 rebounds. "Nights like this you see once every, three, four years," Ginobili said following Duncan's performance against the Wizards.

The Spurs are also waiting for Michael Finley (left groin) and Brent Barry (low back strain) to return to full strength so that they can have more depth and develop the chemistry needed for a dominant run. "It's going to be tough every night. Every time people play the Spurs, they're going to play their best games because we're the champions," said Parker, who is off to a surprisingly fast start, leading the team with 22.6 points and 5.9 assists per game. "We just have to be ready and match their energy. We just have to be ready every night."

The Spurs (5-2) have followed up their past two championship seasons with disappointing second-round losses to the Los Angeles Lakers. They likely won't have to worry about seeing the Lakers that deep in the playoffs this season, but the challenge of winning back-to-back titles remains. "If we win, it will happen to be back-to-back, but we're not trying win back-to-back," Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich said. "It's another season, it's another challenge, a couple of different pieces and we either will or we won't. But back-to-back doesn't enter my head. It never has either -- maybe that's why we never did it. Maybe I should've thought of that."

Instead, Popovich thought about strengthening his team with the additions of Finley, Nick Van Exel and Argentine Olympic gold medalist Fabricio Oberto in the offseason. Finley, an amnesty cut from the Dallas Mavericks, has already led the Spurs with an impressive fourth-quarter comeback win against Denver, but he has missed the past three games. Van Exel celebrated with his family in Houston after signing with Spurs, knowing that he has his "best chance in 13 years" to win an NBA title. Oberto has yet to find his way into the Spurs regular rotation, but Popovich said he wasn't worried about getting his talented roster to mesh.

"Well, to some degree, it's always a challenge because all players want minutes. But the more character with each player, the less of a challenge it is for a coach," Popovich said. "If you have players that understand the whole, rather than just themselves, they can probably see the big picture better than some that are more self-absorbed. With the guys that we have and the ones we brought in, they're going to see the big picture and it's not going to be a problem."

Popovich would rather lead a loaded team anyway. He said he has no intention of being like his friend, New York Knicks Coach Larry Brown, and attempt a rebuilding process elsewhere. "I'm smart enough not to ever get into that situation," Popovich said. "My moon is aligned very closely with Timmy's. I'm waiting for his retirement announcement because mine will be 30 seconds after it. I have no need to prove this, that or the other by going to this, that or the other city: 'Oh, he did it again, so he's for real.' For real can kiss my [butt]."

No Surprises in Win #6

The Spurs beat the Hawks last night - no surprise there, as the Hawks have yet to win a single game this season.

Tim had 23 points and 7 rebounds - no surprise there, except that you might have expected him to get more boards. Manu and Tony had 24 and 18 points, respectively. Tony still leads the team in scoring and continues to impress with his play on both ends of the court, while Manu is looking better and better each game, scoring 52 in the last two games after scoring just 33 in the previous three games.

Everyone got minutes last night - no surprise there, either, since the Spurs pulled away for good in the third quarter. Frabricio Oberto, Van Exel and Melvin Sanders all had significant time on the court, with Oberto pulling down 8 rebounds to go along with his 8 points in 21 minutes. He's overdue for a big game, it's just a matter of time.

The only surprise about last night is that Atlanta leads the all-time series with San Antonio 34-33. That won't last long.

Next up: Yao, McGreedy and the Rockets.

Back to Business

I'm glad to see the sports press gradually lose interest in the Spurs. During the weeks leading up to the season, the Spurs were getting lots of coverage, either because they were being picked to defend their title, or because people just couldn't figure out why they were losing their preseason games. And the question on everyone's mind seemed to be, are the Spurs a dynasty in the making, or not?

All it took was two losses to change all that. First the Spurs lost to the Mavericks, and Steve Kerr, one of the less surprising Spurs cheerleaders, tried to make it newsworthy by calling it a "bludgeoning."

Then the Spurs lost to the suprisingly good Washington Wizards, thanks to a huge game by Gilbert Arenas, and the press again tried to make it a story. This time Steve Kerr said that the Spurs were "spanked," and even ranked the Wizards 2nd in his weekly power rankings.

What's the headline on Yahoo! Sports at this moment? "Who can beat the Wiz? Not the defending champs."

What the press hasn't noticed, or at least reported much, is that the Spurs starting center, Nazr Mohammed, missed most of the preseason and is still adjusting, and our star forward, Manu Ginobili, is recovering from an injury. Barry and Finley are out now with injuries, too, however minor. The Spurs aren't 100 percent, and yet they've still won 5 out of 7 games.

How early in the season is it? Consider this: the Spurs are tied for first place in the Western Conference with the Los Angeles Clippers, and just a game ahead of the Utah Jazz in third place!?

Ok, we've been as guilty as anyone of touting the strengths of this team, but here at SpursDynasty.com we know that it's a long season -- 82 games followed by 16 to 20-odd playoff games. And we know that Coach Popovich is less concerned about winning every game now than he is about working with what he has, figuring out the best rotations, and keeping his men healthy.

So all you sports hacks out there -- Kerr, this means you, too -- get back to business, reporting on Kobe Bryant's every move, asking whether the New York Knicks will be any better under Larry Brown, and talking about the Sacramento Kings showing videos of Detroit burning, while our San Antonio Spurs get back to business.

You have advertising to sell, and the Spurs have a title to defend.

Changing my name

This whole "Notorious ___" nickname thing is played out. Therefore, I will now be referred to as "Bramlet Abercrombie" (thanks, Stephen Colbert) or "God," whichever you prefer.

That is all.

You're only asking for MORE WRATH

The Dallas Mavericks, in catching the Spurs by surprise early, have merely angered the mighty bear they caught napping.

The Jack-You-Weather Forecast calls for "Deep Hurting, with a 40% chance of Heavy Deep Hurting."

Also, Mork Cuban picked the wrong fight with huge GINOOOOOOBILI fan Chuck Barkley...

from The Detroit News

Mavericks owner Mark Cuban routinely rips on the media in his daily Internet chats. Most of the time, we just shrug it off, amused, really, that a man so filthy rich and otherwise intelligent could have the petulance of a 15-year-old. But Cuban fired on the wrong target last week when he went after TNT's Kenny Smith and Charles Barkley.

Cuban didn't like some of the criticism leveled by Barkley and Smith at his team's defense and voiced his objections on his blog (blogmaverick.com). Cuban referred to the duo as the "idiots on TNT," adding there is "a reason why Kenny and Charles haven't gotten head-coaching jobs."

So, on national cable television last Thursday night, with no chance for Cuban to rebut, the idiots let him have it. The best line, as always, came from Barkley.

"I'll never have as much money as (Cuban)," he said. "I'll never know as much about computers, but if he lives to be 1,000, he will never know more about basketball than (Smith and I). If he knew something, he wouldn't have put that little soft cake team together."

Spurs Fall 2 Spots on Kerr's Rankings

It's amazing what a single loss can do to change expectations -- Steve Kerr dropped the Spurs from 1st to 3rd in his latest power rankings.

I think he was being a tad melodramatic by calling the Mavericks victory over the Spurs last Saturday a "bludgeoning," and that it "silenced the dynasty chatter in San Antonio for the time being."

Fear not, the dynasty chatter continues here at SpursDynasty.com, and very soon we'll be launching our podcast, so stay tuned.

Spurs Lose Earlier Than Expected

After two decisive wins to open the season, first against the Nuggets then the Cavaliers, we at SpursDynasty.com were taking bets as to how many wins the Spurs would get before a loss. I was the low guess with five wins. No one imagined that it would be just two wins, but sure enough, the Spurs lost in Dallas Saturday night.

Tony had a big game while Tim's numbers were workman like, but the Mavs pulled away in the second quarter and never looked back. Dirk Nowitzki, in particular, was unstoppable. Tim said:

"Dirk was unbelievable. I thought that we contested him pretty well. He took some tough looks and he just kept knocking them out.''

Before the season started, Yahoo's NBA experts predicted that the Spurs would win the Western Conference, with the lone exception being Brandon Funston, who predicted the Mavericks would beat the Spurs. Personally, I thought he was nuts. Even after Saturday night's loss, I still think he's smoking crack.

Spurs Draft Pick Barbosa Puts Up Big Numbers for Suns

Phoenix Suns point guard Steve Nash had this to say about Leandro Barbosa after tonight's nail-biter loss against the Kings:

"I think the bottom line is that we showed some heart, fought back, and I thought the second unit was great. Leandro had an amazing game."

Barbosa was a first round draft pick for the Spurs in 2003, and is off to one hell of a start this season.

Spurs get their bling...and you can, too.

Pardon my sentimentality, but what's a lot more beautiful than those diamonds is what the rings represent: the blood and brotherhood of champions.

Now if only there were some way to be sure they don't literally represent blood.

I guess right after posting that link is not the best time to mention this, but if you live in Texas, you can register to win one of two championship rings being raffled off by H.E.B.

K-Mart bankrupt again down the stretch

Ricky Mar - I mean Kenyon Martin is one of those guys in the NBA I love to hate. He always acts like a punk in games against the Spurs and talks trash before and after. Sure, he puts on a nice, athletic show for a while, but when it really counts, you can count on his sorry ass to fade.

This punk and his Nougats have now lost five in a row to us.



(I know this pic is from last year, but check out the tattoo on his right shoulder. That ink ain't never gonna fade. Thanks to whoever did this - apparently a poster on SpursReport or SpursTalk.)

SA fans should start a campaign to chant "3-for-23!" at him every time he comes to town. (For those who aren't as awash in useless, esoteric Spurs trivia as I unfortunately am, Mr. Blue Light Special missed 20 of the 23 shots he took in Game 6 of the 2003 NBA Finals and watched as TD almost posted a quadruple-double on him in the process of wrapping up the championship.)

I must admit, however, that Carmelo Anthony looked really good the other night. I'm still not sold on him as a winner and a leader in the NBA, but he's a hellacious scorer. His work in the offseason and his weight loss seem to have paid off.

T.J. Ford still looking good

One rebound shy of a triple-double in his first regular-season game...21 points and 6 boards in his second. Gotta love it. The Bucks have suddenly turned into a good team, with Ford, Michael Redd, Jamaal Magloire, Andrew Bogut, and Bobby Simmons all playing well, along with some other decent talent.

Ali G in NBA commercials

Check out the new NBA on TNT spots featuring Ali G. They can't match the brilliance of the show in just a few seconds, but they're still funny.

"Opening Statement"

Notice that this image and headline were posted before tip-off last night:

Are Yahoo! Sports readers convinced? Not so much. Oh well, they will be.

Spurs 9 Opponents 0

Wow, what an awesome game last night! First, the Spurs were awarded their rings for winning the 2005 NBA Championship.

During the ring ceremony, Michael Finley saw clearly why he wanted to come to San Antonio.

"I was like a kid again when one of your friends on the block has something and you told your mom, 'I want one of those,''' he said of the jewelry that has so far eluded him during his career. "It was a little bit emotional for me, so I played like that was what I was playing for.''

San Antonio is 9-0 on opening night since Duncan has been with the team.

After trailing by as many as 9 in the first quarter, and being down by 3 at the end of the third quarter, the "struggling" Spurs outscored the Nuggets 33-19 in the fourth, with Finley accounting for 11 of the 33.

Odd Men Out in San Antonio?

Sports Illustrated writer Jack McCallum asks:

Who is the odd man -- make it odd men -- out in San Antonio?

As I look at the 13-man roster the defending champion Spurs take into the opener against Denver Tuesday night, I see guys who can play. Even the rookie forward from Argentina, Fabricio Oberto, and the probable inactive-list candidate, center Sean Rooks.

But most coaches like a rotation of nine, tops. Eight is even better. Count these mainstays as locks for playing time: Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Bruce Bowen, Manu Ginobili and Robert Horry. Add a center, probably a time-share between Nazr Mohammed (who had a mediocre preseason) and Rasho Nesterovic. That's seven.

So which players among returnees Brent Barry and Beno Udrih and newcomers Nick Van Exel and Michael Finley will be picking splinters out of their butts?

That question may not be answered until the playoffs. Chances are, Gregg Popovich will moderate the minutes of all the regulars, while figuring out his best rotations when it counts the most.