Kobe Bryant is a Lying Bitch

Kobe Bryant was shocked that he got caught for his hit on Ginobili during Sunday's game in Los Angeles, with just 2.7 seconds remaining. The Spurs won 96-94 in overtime and Bryant was suspended for one game without pay.

A lot of Lakers fans are up in arms about this, believing what they want to believe. It doesn't help that Kobe lied repeatedly to the press about his intentions. (Watch the video for yourself. His tells are shrugging his shoulders and licking his lips.)

"Unintentional elbows take place all the time," Bryant said. "I'm blown away by it. It makes no sense."

"The determining factors were the fact that there was contact made with Ginobili above the shoulders and the fact that this particular reaction by Kobe was an unnatural basketball act. Following the shot, he drove a stiff-arm backward in a hard motion and struck Ginobili in the head," Stu Jackson (executive vice president of basketball operations) said. "We do not view this as an inadvertent action."

Bryant used the word "unintentional" at least 10 times during his five-minute session with reporters and said he even sought out Ginobili to check on him. "I said: 'I'm sorry, bro. I didn't mean to,' " Bryant said. "I love Manu's game, he's always been a favorite player of mine."

It's clear from the video that Kobe intentionally smacked Ginobili. Yet again, Kobe got off easy, just like he did in Eagle, Colorado.

Suns Match Spurs 17-Game Streak

Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns made it 17 wins in a row by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers yesterday 115-100. That matches streaks by the Washington Capitols (1946-47), Boston Celtics (1959-60) and San Antonio Spurs (1995-96).

Of course 17 wins is a long way away from the 33-game streak that Wilt Chamberlain's Los Angeles Lakers managed in 1971-72. But had it not been for some bad weather and two close losses, the Suns might have won 34 by now.

So can the Suns beat the Spurs in the playoffs? Steve Kerr is skeptical:

The Suns are a combined 0-6 against the Mavericks, Lakers, Spurs and Jazz. They'll get their chance to change that this week with games against Utah and San Antonio as Phoenix tries to continue its fantastic stretch.

Incidentally, the Spurs are 4-5 against that same group, and 6-8 when you include the Rockets and T'wolves.

Who Will Spurs Trade?

Last week we asked, "Who should the Spurs trade?"

The responses were interesting. Everyone on the roster got at least one vote, except Manu Ginobili. Out of 78 votes cast, the leading vote getters were: Michael Finley (11), Beno Udrih (10), Eric Williams, Robert Horry and Jackie Butler (9).

Apparently the Spurs won't be trading anyone, given the latest rumours from San Antonio.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who has the final say on his team's personnel decisions, recently told his players there won't be a trade involving his rotation before the February 22 deadline. With such a glaring need for athleticism in San Antonio's effort to keep up with the Suns and Mavericks in the West, it is difficult to believe the Spurs would bypass an opportunity to upgrade.

I'm surprised by this news, and left wondering, what does Pop know about his team, or the Mavericks and Suns, that no one else knows? Don't be surprised if the Spurs make a trade anyway. Stay tuned.

A Game Only A Spurs Fan Could Love

Game 46 @ Los Angeles: Spurs 96, Lakers 94 OT


Nice shot. Never do that again.

That amigos was old school Spurs basketball. On the road, hostile environment, nobody could shoot, the Lakeshow was threatening to run away with it during the entire third quarter, but we just wouldn't fold. I fucking guarantee you this was Pop's favorite win of the year because not only did the guys play hard and play together, but for once they seemed to figure out that they're not the Phoenix Suns and they didn't win three rings by playing like the Phoenix Suns.

I mean this was a game where we we shot so poorly that we should have lost by 25, but we played so well that we should have won by 25, if that makes sense. When you think about it, the physical act of shooting the ball is a very small part of the game. There's all the dribbling, passing, cutting, screening, rebounding, guarding, switching, etc., etc. And except for shooting the ball we played about as well as we possibly could. We rebounded it great from both ends, (god knows we had enough shots to go after on the offensive end) gobbling up 16 offensive rebounds while allowing only five to the Lakers. We played great defense the entire game, held everybody but Kobe in check and some of the shots he was making were absolutely insane. Give him credit, the guy was in the zone all afternoon and both Bruce and Manu played him as well as anybody could, but it was useless. Really we were very fortunate Kobe is trying to be Mr. Leader now and passing the ball to get everyone else involved because the old Bryant would have killed us today. Anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, we played really well. Even took care of the ball all game, turning it over just eleven times. Vintage rodeo road trip stuff.


Shooting the ball without being able to see the basket is just classless taunting in my opinion.

Of course, the win wasn't without its faults. First off, our innovative taskmaster decided to start the road trip with that timeless tactical classic - bringing Manu off the bench. On its face, it's not the worst move in the world, but when we did it with Barry in the playoffs two years ago it was because he was struggling so badly that we tried it as a desperate tactic to get him going. Now Brent is our only reserve who's been worth half a damn this year, so changing what's working with him makes no sense. With Finley, who's been a starter just about his whole career anyway, it'd be a wee bit more logical. Of course if it were up to me Fin AND Manu would be starting, but coach has a man crush on Bruce. In what I'm sure was a total coincidence, Brent went 0 for 4 today and was a total non-factor.

Secondly, Pop resorted to putting Vaughn in the game after Beno bricked three shots in seven first half minutes. So Jacque got his chance... and clanked three of his own in four minutes and fell down while executing a spin move with nobody guarding him. I swear to God, for the good of the team we need to put Vaughn in the sports coat and dress Butler or Williams or even White, (although I know that maneuver might cause the internets to crash it would cause such a fuss) because the temptation to keep Beno glued to the bench is too much of a cruel mistress for the head honcho.

I will concede however that he did a good job of not going to smallball today (LA playing Bynum 44 minutes might have had something to do with it). Add up Tim's, Fab's, Elson's and RoHo's minutes and you get an even 100. That means only six minutes of the Oompa Loompa shit and -ta da!- we rebounded well.

Finally, the real reason the game was such an eyesore and that we were down by nine with a little over five minutes to go was that nobody could throw it into the ocean for us. Not only did the two backup points and Bones combine to go 0 for 10 from the field, but the quartet of Tim, Manu, Tony and Fin each shot significantly below 50%, all of them missing at least ten shots. In fact, our field goal % of 33.7 was the second lowest figure of Pop's tenure in a game we wound up winning. U-G-L-Y. But somehow, down 75-66 with five minutes to go, we went on a 14-2 run with Manu hitting two threes and a free throw, Tony hitting a pair from the line, Tim laying one in and Bruce nailing a huge bomb from the corner. We would've won the game in regulation in all likelihood, but Manu missed a free throw that would have made it a two possession game. A Radmanovic three off a crazy offensive rebound tied the game at 80 (the refs should have called Duncan for his 6th foul on Kobe's attempted dunk) .

After an Horry airball where he was hacked pretty good by the Colorado Casanova, the Lakers had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but the Hustlemaker made a hell of a block (or was it a steal?) on Kobe after he had pump faked Bowen out of his jock. For his trouble Manu got slugged in the face by a flailing Bryant (punk bitch) and had to miss the first three minutes of OT. His absence looked like it would prove costly as the Spurs went down by four quickly in overtime, but Tony caught fire when we really needed somebody to step up and scored seven straight Spurs points to keep us in it, even though the Lakers scored on five of their first six possessions.

The last 1:13 was crazy. Manu drove down the lane on Radmanovic and got perhaps a sympathy call from the refs, but he hit two from the stripe to make it 91-90 us. Kobe came right back and drilled a ridiculous jumper with Bowen all over him to give the Lakers a 92-91 lead with a minute to go. Finley missed a three from the top of the key and Kobe missed an awkward runner from four feet away when Manu got in his way at the last second and made him alter the shot. Spurs ball, down one, 30 seconds to go. We get it to Duncan facing the basket at the free throw line and he faked Bynum right before driving left and laying it in to put us ahead once more. 93-92 Spurs, 20 seconds to go. We had a foul to give and Bruce used it, but was damn lucky the refs didn't give Kobe continuation as he proceeded to dunk over Duncan's head. It mattered not, however, as he canned another 20-footer over Bowen soon after. 94-93 Lakers, seven seconds to go and it looked like our valiant effort would be wasted.

I guess the basketball Gods wouldn't let us lose for playing so hard or maybe it was karma for Bryant busting Gonzo's mug, but somehow, inexplicably, incredulously and miraculously Finley a three from damn near 30 feet away after Tim, running out of both time and options, kicked it out to him and the ball hit nothing but net. One hopeless heave by Radmanovic, after Bruce did a great job of denying Kobe the ball on the inbounds and it was all over. A hell of a character win to start our long journey in style and hopefully a sign of things to come in every aspect but the shooting.

I do have one favor though. Please God, no more Mark Jackson assignments for us. I am hopeful that this game was so hard to watch for casual fans that ABC won't show us again unless we make the Finals. Jackson is so bad as a color man that I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He answers his own rhetorical questions, he makes twenty year old musical references to Michael Jackson like some black Chris Berman and he feels the need to remind the audience over and over and over again that a) he's from New York b) Kobe Bryant is a better athlete than he ever was and c) he couldn't guard anybody.

My three favorite Jacksonisms of the game.

3) Comparing Manu to Earl Campbell (because their physiques are so similar)

2) "You can catch more flies with sugar than you can with honey" (after Bynum got a T for bitching out the refs).

1) "Manu with the dagger to give the Spurs hope." That's right, it was the first time in history where a three pointer to bring a team from a seven point deficit to a four point deficit was classified as a "dagger." As Matthew (who I was IMing during the game) put it, "Because when you need hope, you knife somebody."


Please get mouth herpes, immediately.


Anyway, this is the toughest 3 stars of the year. We have four legitimate candidates, and I just can't decide. It's too hard I tell you. I can't even include Horry, but he deserves an honorable mention.

3a) Manu Ginobili - Pretty awful most of the day shooting it, but he hit a couple of bombs late in the fourth and made the defensive play of the year so far for us on Kobe (you know that shit was going in) to send the game to OT.

3b) Tony Parker - Also miserable all day, but he kicked ass in OT, breaking Smush's ankles repeatedly and was very clutch when we absolutely needed it.

2) Tim Duncan - Just missed a triple double for the second straight game and was our one steady rock from beginning to end, really playing MVP level basketball in all facets of the game. I'm a bit concerned though that we're running our offense through him as much as we ever have with Manu and Tony on board and I don't know he'll hold up for the long haul. Some drive and kick games from those two might ease the load from Timmy a bit, but we need the other guys to hit shots.

1) Michael Finley - 6 of 16 is by no means great, especially when he never went to the line once (hell he didn't even set foot in the paint) but give Fin this much: Every time the Lakers threatened to pull away, he hit a three to keep us within striking distance for a couple more minutes. For once he was a lot better from downtown (5 of 10) than from two (1 of 6). Pop's face not changing expression at all as Findog's prayer went in was hilarious. It's like he was thinking, "Shit, now he's going to shoot from everywhere for the next two months." Matthew called the make "bittersweet" for this very reason. Oh well.

Yes I'm aware I just wrote back-to-back-to-back top 3 lists. It's three AM and I'm not getting paid, so fuck off.

Record: 32-14 Streak: W-2
Up Next: @ Utah Jazz
Already lost once in Mormonville, but we didn't have Ginobili the last time and the Jizz (cos they're mostly white) haven't been playing very well of late. Plus AK-47 might not play because of a sprained ankle or at best he'll be gimpy. If we can shoot it over 45% and maintain all the other things we're doing well, we've got a good chance.

Pop Goes the Weasel

Game 44 Vs. Houston: Rockets 90, Spurs 85

Happy Wayne Gretzky's birthday everybody. The best there ever was turned 46 today and I'm guessing he doesn't care a whole hell of a lot about it since he's trying to guide the middling Phoenix Coyotes (who?) to respectability. Contrary to popular belief, no, Manu is not my favorite athlete of all time. I don't even know when his b-day is (it's July something, right?). I've liked basketball way before Gino came along and I'll continue to like it way after. The Great One on the other hand is pretty much solely responsible for that dozen year infatuation I had with hockey between 1992 and 2004. Well him and the EA video games on Sega Genesis, which were usually phenomenal. Unfortunately, I was only able to bear witness to the second half of Gretz's career as I was too young, too dumb, and too Californian to appreciate his Edmonton dynasty days. Four cups in six years, five in eight years. That my friends is a real dynasty. Not this weak three in seven crap Spurs fans love to boast about.


Oh how lovely it must have been to watch a real dynasty.


But I'm not here to talk about Wayne Fucking Gretzky my peeps. Another head coach, presiding over a ragtag bunch a lot nearer and dearer to my heart (seriously I can name maybe two Coyotes) is the subject of today's rant.

Of course I'm referring to one Gregg Popovich.

What has Pop done to get on my shit list? Well it's a culmination of things, slowly building up over time. For one, it's that superfluous "g" in his first name. I've always found it annoying and pretentious. But mainly my ire has been raised based on a series of events that started last May.

Apparently coach Pop has his acne scar riddled head so far up his own ass that he thinks that all the fault for the team's struggles lie with the players themselves. Okay, technically he hasn't come out and said those words, but after every loss it's "the bench has to play better" or "we gotta play defense better" or "we need ___________ to step up."

You know what you'll never hear from Pop? "I coached like total ass tonight."

And perhaps we should, just to keep it real every once in a while.

For example, Pop played Jacque Vaughn the other day. As I've explained before, in copious, exhaustive detail, Vaughn should never be on the court for us in a meaningful situation unless both Beno and Brent are injured. The level of horrific carnage Vaughn's insertion brought into the game would be almost historic if it wasn't for the fact that we had Nick Van Exel on the team last season.

In just five minutes of floor time Vaughn contributed mightily to turning a 54-52 lead into a 69-59 deficit, from which we never totally recovered. A 17-5 run amigos and I don't think it was a coincidence. Not only was the offensive albatross that is Jacque Vaughn on the floor, but for most of the five minutes the four guys with him were Horry, Finley, Barry and Manu (sorry dude). Not just a small ball lineup, but the one "big" is a stiff 37 year old weenie! Fabulous! I can't imagine why they worked out so poorly because it looked solid on paper, let me tell ya.

What's so annoying about Pop's repeated yo-yoing of Beno is that he even admitted in the offseason that he made a mistake last year. He admitted that if he had to do it all over again, they would never have signed Van Exel. Wrong, wrong, wrong! Signing Nick the Brick wasn't the mistake. In fact, it kinda worked out for us because we needed him to sign Finley (it was NVE who convinced Fin to sign here, don't forget) and Fin played rather well for us down the stretch. The mistake was in playing Van Excrement when we had a perfectly good reason not to sitting on the bench in Udrih, who was actually quite effective last year when he did play.

But now the coach needs a scapegoat for the team's struggles because God knows we can't single out "experienced veterans" Finley and Horry, so let's just pick on the Slovenian guy in the # 14 jersey. In his eight minutes on the floor, the Spurs were outscored only 11-9. He had one assist and no turnovers. His only negative it seems was not hitting either of his two shots and *Newsflash* that's hardly been a new development for anybody on the bench.

So apparently Pop hasn't learned his lesson with Beno at all. I'm not about to defend Udrih's play this year, I'm really not. By any conceivable measure, he's regressed. But even at his worst, he's a better option than Vaughn so it's up to coach to find a way to find a way to get Beno to play better. Yelling at him a la Tony isn't working and neither has benching him or threatening to trade him. Might I suggest some positive reinforcement? Or at the very least just surrounding him with better people? In 210 minutes where he's shared the floor with Manu he's been a + 69 and in 189 minutes with Duncan he's been a + 59. Don't go nuts on Beno when three of his four passing options are Fin, RoHo and Oberto, okay?

But what's really fucking bothering me is Pop's complete denial about this roster and his revisionist history about last year's team. When last season ended Popovich was the guy defending Manu to anyone and everyone, calling him a "stud of the world" and saying that without him the Spurs would have two less championships and yadda yadda yadda.

But now, eight months later Pop is repeatedly throwing Ginobili under the bus every time the team has a nationally televised game on ESPN or TNT, feeding the announcers the same tired bull about not conceding anything this season to Dallas or Phoenix and that they were "one stupid foul" from beating Dallas last year.

One stupid foul huh? So the first 47:30 of the game didn't matter? So being outrebounded by seven didn't matter? Letting Dallas shoot 52% didn't matter? Getting two whole points from the bench didn't matter? I thought the whole foundation of this team was supposed to be defense and depth. Then how come 'Sho, T-Rex and Fab were all DNPs and Horry got just nine minutes?

You played Van Exel the whole series, repeatedly put us at a defensive and rebounding disadvantage and your "genius coaching move" was to play the big three in Game 7 until they collectively dropped. Brilliant! Just because they all played heroically the last few games, it doesn't excuse one iota that you put them in a horrible position by not giving them any help last year and an even worse situation this year. But because the big three played so well in coming back from a twenty point deficit, you get to toot your horn and say that your team "should have won last year" but for one stupid foul.

As if you had anything to do with it. They should have beaten us in five games, our team was so flawed. The sheer will of the big three (and possibly Fin) were all that kept us from getting embarrassed Pop, because tactically and personnel wise, you screwed us.

And it's gotten even worse this year. Oberto and Elson haven't shown they can outproduce the Nazr/Rasho combo, especially on defense. Horry and Fin are another year older and slower. Barry's play will always be up and down and Beno's confidence is tissue fragile. Don't even get me started on Bruce Bowen. Pop's failure to get any youth and athleticism in the offseason, especially at small forward, is killing this team. They're too old and worn down to bring it for more than half a game and often the runs they do make aren't enough to offset the ones they give up. But Pop, living in complete denial, continues to insist that this roster is good enough, in defiance of all the available evidence. I suppose he's figuring the team just has to make the playoffs and then he'll simply play the big three 45 minutes a night, with the trio of Barry, Finley and Bowen splitting the time at the other two spots. Good luck with that.

For now he's content to have our flaws exposed against every good team and most of the poor ones as well, blissfully harrumphing away reality and spouting off that "this same group would have won last year if it wasn't for Ginobili's stupid foul." And all those creepy old men would have gotten away with their capers if it wasn't for that damn Scooby Doo and those meddling kids. Last year was last year so please quit using it as an excuse for this squad's crappy play. You're better than that Pop.

Or at least I thought you were.


It's all Manu and Beno's fault. I love smallball. Fetch me some wine!

Your 3 Stars...

3. Tony Parker - I can't really think of anybody else and he led the guys in +/- for the game, so he must have done something else.

2. Brent Barry - 8 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds. Not too shabby. I'd rather he be the backup PG than Vaughn, in case I haven't made this clear yet.

1. Tim Duncan - God what else can he do? Pop is very fucking lucky that Tim is too classy to ever spout off in the media about what a crummy job the front office has done of adding the proper supporting cast the past couple of years. He's somehow supposed to be the team's sole rebounder, sole shot blocker, sole inside scorer and the guy who initiates the whole offense (hence all the extra turnovers this year). And if he does all those things magnificently, the team has a chance to win IF the other guys knock down jumpers. Ridiculous.

Record: 30-14 Streak: L-1
Up Next: Vs. Memphis Grizzlies
One more pitiful pick me up against a patsy before embarking on the nine game rodeo road trip that will define this team for better or for worse. Gasol will miss this one with a bruised cervix I believe, so win day. Wheeee!

Timmy is an All-Star (again)

The NBA All-Star Game starters were announced today, and it should come as a surprise to no one that Tim Duncan will be a starter.

Duncan received about 10% fewer votes than Kevin Garnett, but about 10% more than Carmelo Anthony and almost 13% more than Dirk Nowitzki.

I was a bit surprised that Tracy McGrady was picked over Allen Iverson to join Kobe Bryant as starting Guard. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker were both in the hunt, finishing 5th and 6th respectively, after Steve Nash.

Francisco Elson finished 6th in voting for Center!

This reminds me of when I was a kid, watching Spurs games at the HemisFair Arena, sitting in the stands and literally punching out a hundred or more All Star ballots for George Gervin and Larry Kenon. Do Spurs fans still stuff the ballot boxes? How else would you explain Elson's votes?

Snoozing and Swatting (But Not Stealing) Vs. the Sixers

Game 42 @ Philadelphia: Spurs 99, 76ers 85

I haven't written in a bit because I was mentally recuperating (re: lazy) after spending the whole weekend on an exhaustively long Spurs' mid-season review for PtR that perhaps two dozen people have skimmed through at best. So you'll forgive me if I keep these ensuing ballgames against Eastern scrubs short.

The most interesting development of the game? Coach is gonna try this new fangled concept called a "passing point guard" for a few games and see how it works out. And I'm not hatin' on the guy either, because he said it himself, according to Ludden's article after the Celtics game.

Parker, who was averaging a team-high 14.9 shots per game entering Monday, said Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has asked him to focus more on distributing the ball and helping his teammates get in rhythm."He wants me to try to do a better job of getting everybody involved and try to take less shots," Parker said. "I try to get more shots for Michael Finley and Brent Barry and to get their confidence going."

So maybe I'm not that stupid, huh? The eight dimes Tony recorded on Sunday was his highest single game total since... December 26 vs. the Bucks it says here. And I'm not even sure this "alleged" game even happened since I haven't seen it. And just so we're clear on my priorities, it's not that I didn't watch because we lost and played terrible post defense, it's because Manu didn't play. All I care about is Manu, the other thirteen guys can take a long walk off a short pier. I don't even know half the guys' names on this team. Do we really have somebody named Jackie Butler? Jackie's a girl's name. No wonder he sucks. Is this like a reverse "Juwanna Mann" situation?


Underachieving fatty or
overachieving WNBA superduperstar?

Anywho, thanks to all that nifty passing (well, at least in the first half) we built a 61-41 lead through the first 24 minutes with the usual suspects all playing rather well. Timmy had 14, Manu had 9, (on just five shots) Tony had six helpers and Bones Barry scorched to the tune of 18 points. Best of all, we may have finally discovered a solution to the Beno Udrih problem: Let him play, but don't give him the ball. On consecutive plays in the 2nd quarter Tim grabbed the board and fired a full-court pass to a streaking Barry for a lay-in. Just elimanate the middle man altogether, y'know? Sadly, the Sixers eventually caught on to this '98 Vikings offense and points were a bit harder to come by in the second half. Tim and Manu combined for six points on 2 of 12 shooting, Barry only came up with five more and Tony had six and two assists.

The bottom line is a win's a win, no matter how dicey it got there in the end and at least we rediscovered the bench, right? The reserves actually outscored the starters 52-47 in this one and believe it or not, the last time that happened was way back on December 8, a 111-82 rout of the Clips (Manu was on the bench back then). Not only was the bench the primary reason we got off to such a big lead, but they also had a lot to do with putting the scruffy Sixers down for good, with both Fin and RoHo nailing threes at the end to snuff a late Philly comeback. So please, by all means, Tony - and Manu - let's keep this drive and kick motif going, huh?


Behold! A bench with no freeloaders on it.

Also, one other thing. That play by Manu in the 1st quarter against high-flyin' Andre Iguodala? That was a block dammit, not a steal! A snuff, a swat, a pack, a jack, an obvious rejection and a pointed objection, a righteous punkin' of a dunkin' bumpkin, etc. Just because Gino didn't throw it into the fourth row, they shouldn't call it a steal. It was a block the way Bill Russell used to do it, just get enough of it to get control of the ball and run the other way. You could even see Beno point it out to Manu on the bench shortly after.

Beno: "Dude did you see they called your block a steal?"
Manu: "What bullshit! The guy even had both hands on the ball and cocked his arms back ready to dunk it (Manu pantamimes the motion on TV)..."
Beno: "At least Pop isn't about to scream at you in two minutes."
Manu: "You're going in? Dammit now Tony's going to sit here. He doesn't even use deoderant!"
Beno: "It's just not your day."

So to recap...

Are we clear?

Your 3 Stars

3. Robert Horry - 12, 5 and 3. Not bad, not bad. Too bad you'll have nothing left for tomorrow old man. He did hit the dagger in this one though, because that's how he rolls.

2. Tim Duncan - 15 rebounds! 5 assists! 4 blocks! Didn't really shoot that well! I can't stop using exclamation points! Luckily for him neither Dalembert or Hunter could hit the side of a barn...

1. Brent Barry - That stroke is pretty. So damn pretty. P lease sir, I want summore.

Record: 29-13 Streak: W-2
Up Next: @ Boston Celtics
Another thrilling segababacrappaoppa against this time the Pierceless, Wallyless, hopeless Celts. As you may know we haven't lost to them in the Duncan era and pretty much the only reason Pitino took the Boston job was because he thought they'd be landing Timmy in the lottery. Oops. This is always my favorite road game of the year because Celtics color man and noted homer Tommy Heinsohn will be openly sobbing by the third quarter about what might have been.

Poll: Who Should Spurs Trade?

Rumor has is that the Spurs "continue to look for a trade to upgrade their athleticism on the perimeter."

Pop definitely understands that things need to change.

"At this point, Dallas is the best team in the league, without a doubt. Phoenix is playing great basketball. Those two teams may never lose again the way they're playing.

The idea is to try to be as good as those teams are come playoff time. We'll see what happens."

Which brings us to the latest SpursDynasty poll.

Who should the Spurs trade? (Current salary* in parentheses)
Tim Duncan ($17,429,671)
Tony Parker ($9,450,000)
Emanuel Ginobili ($8,250,000)
Brent Barry ($5,117,880)
Eric Williams ($4,296,000)
Bruce Bowen ($3,750,000)
Robert Horry ($3,315,000)
Francisco Elson ($3,000,000)
Michael Finley ($2,889,000)
Fabricio Oberto ($2,500,000)
Jackie Butler ($2,200,000)
Matt Bonner ($2,000,000)
Jacque Vaughn ($1,071,225)
Beno Udrih ($967,920)
James White ($412,718)
See Results

* Salary data from hoopshype.com.

Nazr Headed to Oakland?

Goodbye, Troy Murphy and Mike Dunleavy. Hello, Nazr Mohammed?

Yes, that's right, the Contra Costa Times reports that the big man who has been a big disappointment to two world championship teams may now be headed to Golden State.

Since 29-year old Mohammed lost his starting job to 37-year old Dale Davis, he has scored just four points in 31 minutes, and has scored just nine points with 15 rebounds in the last five games. He spent Wednesday night's loss to Utah on the bench.

Now that Chris Webber has joined the Pistons, Joe Dumars is looking to trade, and Nazr appears to be a prime candidate. Too bad he just bought a house in Detroit.

"I don't want to be traded," Mohammed said on Thursday. "Nobody wants to be traded. I choose to come here. I want to win a championship with this team. I don't want to start over with my family somewhere else."

And a trade now means he would have to sell his recently purchased home.

"I didn't buy to sell in three months," he said.

Incidentally, Nazr's stat line looks awfully similar to that of this Spur lately.

How Low Can We Go? (Michael flips out).

Game 40 Vs. Los Angeles: Lakers 100, Spurs 96

Okay. I've tried to be nice. I've tried to be patient. I've tried to be understanding. But how much more of this sloppy stinky crap are we supposed to take? How many more times will a slightly above average team bitchslap us across our proverbial faces while we just smile and reply, "Thank you kind sirs, may we have another?"

Is there anyone on this team anymore who can play two consecutive games without letting you down in some fashion? I submit that there is not. If you don't believe me, let's run down the list, just to twist the knife a bit more. What can I say, I'm a masochist.

We'll start right at the top with Coach Wino Zitface. Once again he had his ass tactically handed to him by Big Chief Triangle. If you add up Tim's, Fab's and RoHo's minutes, it comes out to 69. My math skillz tell me that comes out to 27 minutes out of 48 where we were in full Tinyball mode (48 x 2 - 69 = 27). I can understand this strategy if perhaps Fin and Bones and Bruce were all playing fabulously well, but that was simply not the case. Hell for a stretch there in the 2nd half we played Beno and Tony together, and after that JACQUE FREAKIN' VAUGHN and Tony when the Lakers knew there was no way the former would ever touch the ball. Mayhaps it is time the Coach checks himself into AA, hmmm?

Duncan. You heard of Jimmy the Greek? I give you Timmy the Meek. The crappy free throws you can handle. He's done it for years and years and that just how he rolls. But what's with this new fangled passivity on defense? It's one thing for Kobe to cram it in his grill repeatedly, but when Rony Turiaf can go in there without fear, something is seriously wrong with the big fella. Where is his aggression on defense? Is it a subtle protest on his part to Pop that he can't block shots AND be expected to gobble up every rebound? Is he nursing an undisclosed injury? Is he simply getting old? I wish I knew what the deal was because right now Richard Simmons could take it to the hole against us. No, not that way you pervs.


Timmy can't handle this.
Tony. Okay, how can I say this diplomatically? I despise Tony. I can't watch one stinkin' game without him doing something to make me scream at him. I can't stand the fact that every year the only part of his game that ever improves is his scoring, but that as a point guard he's still basically the same guy that he was as a rookie. How he can't average six dimes a game with the plethora of scoring options around him is a joke.

The guy can't stand that Manu is more popular with the fans than he is. It doesn't sink in for him that he is playing in San Fucking Antonio and that the people will naturally gravitate more for the guy who can speak the espanol. Also, fans tend to like players who come up huge in playoffs and 4th quarters and things like that. People who know the game tend to like players who can come up with clutch plays on both ends of the court, maybe take the occasional charge for the good of the team, make good unselfish yet crowd-pleasing decisions on the open floor and generally look like the "W" is their only priority.

Does that sound like Tony to you? We all knew he'd come out of the gates aggressively after the garbage Chicago game, but of course as the game got tighter and later, Tony's play and decision making deteorated like it always does. On one 3 on 1 break in the third quarter he had Brent to one side of him and Bowen to the other side and does he pass it to the more athletic guy, the more natural finisher who also happens to be leading the league in free throw shooting? No. He passes it to Bruce. Brilliant!

Then in the fourth, we're in the middle of a 10-2 run and up one with 2:35 left when Bowen comes up with another steal. A 2-on-1 break with Tony and Manu, the guy who's triggered the comeback with eight fourth quarter points, including the last six. All Tony has to do is pass the ball and we're going to get at minimum two more free throw attempts out of it from a guy who's nailed his last seven. We'd have a 3 point lead and the crowd would be going bonkers. Or imagine if we got an and-1 out of it? Game fucking over my friends. But Tony doesn't pass it to Manu and instead gets it stolen from behind when he tries to slow it up. The Lakers score on the other end and the Spurs never lead again. This was the last of at least a half dozen times where Tony had a wide open Manu on a break and refused to pass the ball.

It would be one thing if his selfishness or insecurities ever led to a positive result, but inevitably when Tony takes it inside against multiple defenders the result is a blocked lay-up, a missed lay-up, or most often a turnover. If guys are open in the perimeter, they're open for a reason, because the defenders are IN THE PAINT. I am sick and tired of "attack mode" Tony. You are not a fucking Go-Bot, you're a point guard. Would it kill him to watch some tapes of Steve Nash? Is there another point guard in the league that pouts when being told to pass the ball to the shooting guard?

And I'm getting VERY tired of hearing the same old crap about "Manu doing nothing for the first three quarters." Manu cannot pass himself the ball. And Manu surely doesn't call the plays. How many shots Manu gets is largely a result of the decision making of Pop and Tony. I don't think it's a coincedence that Manu took five of his six 1st half attempts when Tony was on the bench. All this stuff about Pop conserving Manu's energy for the fourth is a bunch of hogwash. The guy can score whenever he wants to. Manu's had a bunch of games this season where he's scored the bulk of his points early. But what happens is that Tony's ego is so fragile that much like Josh Howard of the Mavs, we have to get him going early or he's worthless for the rest of the game.

Something has to be done about this. I know it'll never be public because Pop is too smart for that, but one of these days he has to pull Tony aside and ask him what his deal is with Manu. He'll pass the ball to Fin or Barry or even Bowen, but not to the one guy who can do something with it. Is he afraid if Gino scores a lot he'll get to the All-Star game and he won't? All I know is that it's becoming more noticable than ever that the two of them cannot play together. We might as well bring Manu off the bench right now because he's nothing but a decoy when both Tim and Tony are on the floor with him to start the game. The sad thing is Beno is playing so terrible that we can't have him on the floor for more than 10 minutes either. I don't know what the solution is. Maybe Brent at backup PG. Hell, maybe Manu at backup PG. But I'm not crazy. Even my friend Manolis, who is not a Spurs fan by any stretch noticed it yesterday watching the game. It's painfully obvious to anyone who's watching that Tony has problems passing the ball in general and passing it to Manu in particular.

As far as I'm concerned that botched fast break cost us the game and his ongoing selfishness is hurting the team's chances in the big picture. The one game where Tony "tried to make a point" Kobe-style about how valuable his scoring is by not taking a shot in the entire first half against the Clips, we had 65 points in the first 24 minutes and he had 12 dimes. And since that object lesson worked so well, he decided to shoot it 9 times in the 3rd quarter of that game and we only scored 25 that quarter, so there you are. This selfishness will undermine the team but Pop doesn't see it. I think he gives Tony credit for being more mature than he really is. If he thinks he can ride Parker to carry the team in the regular season to save Tim and Manu and than have Tony gracefully and seamlessly slide over to the 3rd banana role come May, he's in for a rude awakening.

For one, Tony proved last year he has no intention of taking a back seat to Manu in May (until the 4th quarter of course) and forced the issue to the point that he played like complete crap against the Mavs, trying to make things happen (or perhaps you all forget the dazzling statline of 25 assists, 25 turnovers in the 7 games). For another, our team is no longer good enough to cruise through the regular season without Manu and Tim busting their ass every night. We're so weak right now 4 through 12, that we need the big three all playing well to win unless we play crappy-ass teams.

But whatever. Enjoy your scoring obsessed point guard folks. Enjoy 14 assists on 34 made baskets. Enjoy watching a team that used to take pride in outsmarting its opponents and would be above petty narcissistic "I'm the Man" quarrels spiral toward oblivion thanks mainly to a stubborn front office and a diva at quarterback with a Hollywood starlet at his side, always reminding him that she's not about to brag to her friends that her man is only the 3rd best player on a championship team. Fucking Yoko Ono.


You, yeah you. Why don't you set me a screen or something?
Manu. Just because I spent 2,000 words ripping Tony, don't think you're blameless in all of this, Schnozzo. A part of why you don't get the ball until the fourth is because you're too damn nice. Unselfish. The perfect teammate. Oh you'll scream at Nazr or Elson or somebody if they miss a defensive rotation or don't screen when they're supposed to, but you'll never tell the coaches or Tony to pass you the fucking ball.

Mayhaps if you made them aware of the fact that you're getting a bit ticked at having to be "Mr. Savior" all the time they wouldn't use you that way. Or maybe you get off on it, I don't know. All you have to do is play hard for one quarter and everybody loves you.

Well guess what? I know you can't jump like you used to. After yesterday, I know that old Manu will never return for sure. There was this play in the 2nd quarter where you put this move on the right side of the lane and planted your left foot hard on the floor, I mean really drove it down hard trying to explode off the floor as high as possible because you were going to cram it on two Lakers, risk of sprained ankle be damned. I've seen this foot plant before countless times, but not too much lately. This time you meant it though.

Except you couldn't do it. As high as you got, it wasn't high enough, and you sensed you were about to get swatted at the rim so at the last moment you kind of faded back and tried to float a lay-up from three feet away, like that's what you were going for the whole time. It rimmed out, but even if it went in, it'd be irrelevant. I knew you were trying to dunk on them and you couldn't.

You're my favorite player of all time dude, but we both know you only have two, maybe three years left as a star. If you don't press the issue with your teammates now and take the reins of this flawed team, you're going to regret it when your career is all said and done. Sure you'll be remembered as a hell of a nice guy by everyone, but you'll also be known as a guy who won his last ring in 2005. You need to start being an active leader on this team and kicking some ass in the locker room. Let people know you want the ball. Take it to the press if you have to. Something on this team has to change because neither you or the team is good enough to win when you're just playing for one quarter.

Also, six turnovers is fucking ridiculous and your 3 pointer attempt at the end was pathetic. You barely hit the rim. It'd be nice if you could make one of these in the last two minutes of a game.


You know your humble author is upset when even Manu cannot escape my wrath.
Bruce. God, what more needs to be said about this? Kobe had him for a between meal protein snack and none of us were surprised in the slightest. Remember when he used to deny penetration and make people take contested jump shots? What happened to that guy? Now he's... well you know.


I don't understand why Pop hasn't tried to bring him off the bench with Finley as a starter. In my mind it would kill two birds with one stone. Findog is more used to starting anyway and is obviously uncomfortable in a bench role. We can start him without having to bench Manu, necessarily and this way it doesn't affect Brent's role. Plus if Bowen plays only 20 minutes, we can use him in crunch-time in the 2nd and 4th quarters where the other team's stars really try to take over and he doesn't have to worry about pacing himself. I'm amazed Pop hasn't tried this. How long will it take before he realizes that Fin and Bruce cannot play together in a small-ball alignment or otherwise?

And finally...

Beno. You suck. You suck. You suck. You suck. You really, really, really, really, really, really suck. As much as I dislike Tony - and I dislike him probably more than any non-Argentinian Spurs fan on the planet - I don't want him to ever be off the floor because of how much you fucking suck.

I can't defend you anymore. I just can't. Even Hollinger refuses to, so that should tell you something. It is impossible for you to play one five minute stretch without either passing, shooting, ballhandling, or defending like a complete fucktard. I can't stand that our point guard position is like the Atlanta Falcons quarterbacks where one guy can run fast and do nothing else and the other guy just freaking sucks. Thanks to you, not only does Tony look like the better option at all times, but I'm actually daydreaming of how the team would do with Barry as the backup point - and he can't guard me right now.

In summation, you suck and I no longer care if you get traded or what you get traded for. I'm fed up with you. I'm fed up with pretty much anybody who plays for us right now.

P.S. No really, you suck.

3 Stars.... No 3 Stars today. Everyone who played yesterday was garbage in some form or another except for Brent, and he was terrible against the Bulls. Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaargh.

Record: 27-13 Streak: L-2
Up Next: Vs. New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets
The beat-up Nooch have been our patsies twice already this year and I suppose the third is around the corner. Why, we might win by as many as six, even seven points. It changes nothing. Wake me up when we beat somebody decent again. I shudder to think of what the rodeo road trip will be like. Have you SEEN that schedule? Oy vey.

Jason and Joumanna Kidd

No doubt you've heard the news about Jason and Joumanna Kidd. Would their marriage have turned out differently if Jason had ended up in San Antonio, as some had hoped? Who knows.

He may be dumb as a rock and she may be crazy, but damn, she looks great in a bikini. Is it just me, or does Jason has a smile in this photo that is similar to the one that Tony Parker often has with Eva Longoria, that knowing look of having something that most men can only dream about?

Bramlet lives. And he pronounces his opinions on the Spurs' season so far.

Profuse apologies to the gentle readers who have been longing for a post from their beloved Bramlet these last two months, but it’s difficult to blog when you’re engaged in marathon transcendental meditation sessions high in the Himalayas. Nothing like some good ol’ annihilation of the Self to give a little perspective on the Spurs’ only mildly disappointing, yet somehow still stroke-inspiring, season. My therapist recommended this approach after I burst yet another major cerebral artery trying to throw my couch at the TV. But don’t worry—they managed to patch me up, as always, and it doesn’t seem to have affected my writing skills. And my TV survived.

Fortunately I’ve been able to return to the material plane often enough to keep up with the Spurs, and I’ve been alternately frustrated and excited by what I’ve seen.

Tim: He’s slowed down a bit since the beginning of the season but is still quietly cranking out good games. He doesn’t exactly look physically compromised, but he also doesn’t yet look as physically dynamic as I expect him to be in the playoffs. That’s inevitable for a guy who’s been through as many 82-game slogs as Mr. 3-Time NBA Finals MVP has.

Manu: While some have lamented the lack of obvious explosiveness (and dunks over three Suns or four Lakers) that has continued to characterize his game this season, I think he’s playing brilliantly while managing not to put himself at too much risk physically. He’s made great adjustments to his game that will extend his career and make him a more durable and dependable player, and even without the dunks he’s still as much fun to watch as ever. Massive props to him of the huevos grandes. And when he gets back to his reckless, heedless self in the playoffs, he’ll be even better.

Tony: For all the abuse he takes from certain people, he’s continued to make strides in his game. Michael and I have shared a few laughs about the Argentine “Tony Parker is the Antichrist” League, because the interplay between these two guys has been frequently beautiful to watch. Tony will probably always take a shot here and there when he should pass (and, specifically, pass to Manu), but overall he’s had a good and at times very impressive season. Hopefully his defense on Arenas (who admittedly didn’t seem to have it that night) was a sign of things to come. He needs to have a big game tonight to redeem himself for his no-show against the Bulls, however. Let’s hope Eva will be in attendance to crack the whip. Better yet, let’s hope she gets heckled so TP will completely go off on those La-La-Land bitches.

In short, our Big 3 have been great for us, as usual, and when they’re all on, or when they get some substantial help from their supporting cast, the Spurs dominate. Unfortunately, the help from that supporting cast has been horribly inconsistent, even though we’ve been relatively fortunate in terms of injuries. My thoughts on most of the guys:

Bruce: Yes, Bruce is slowing down a bit. Yes, he has sometimes shot poorly. But I think for many matchups he still has it, and I have nothing but admiration for this Iron Man. And I’d still trust him to take that 3 from the corner at the end of a big game.

Fabri: He’s a limited player, and he hurts us in some matchups. But I love what he does, and he’s always been a big-game player.

Brent: Is it too late to bring back the old ball? At least he still moves well and doesn’t really seem to be showing his age.

Beno: He continues to show flashes of his talent and sometimes surprises with defensive plays and strong drives to the hoop. But dude, we need to put out an Amber Alert for this guy’s J. It must be bound and gagged in a grimy basement prison in some suburban San Antonio neighborhood. I have faith that it’s still alive, but I just hope it hasn’t been sodomized beyond all hope of complete recovery, ’cause this guy used to be able to stroke it.

Findog: Again, I’m still optimistic, given that he went through a similar slump for much of last season before turning it on down the stretch, but that hope fades further with every 2-11 shooting night.

Big Shot: Sometimes it feels like he has nuts; sometimes it don’t. As a fan, the best approach to watching Robert Horry is to lower your standards and be pleasantly surprised when he turns in a nice performance. I think he’ll be more consistent about that in the playoffs, but who knows whether he’s still physically capable of that? Even Rob himself admits that his body doesn’t consistently feel good.

Red Rocket: It’s a shame that he got injured when he did. The Rocket is one of my favorite guys on the team to watch with his hustle and shooting. I just hope that when he comes back, he’ll be able to get back into a rhythm and a regular role very quickly.

Frankie Elson: He hasn’t picked up the defense quite as well as it seemed he would early in the season, and he has costly moments in which he loses focus, but I still think this guy may well be the difference for us against the Mavs, and I’m excited about his return.

Vulnerable Venerability: The Spurs’ bottom line this year, and I know it’s been said a million times, is that they have an old roster whose age sometimes gets exposed. In the playoffs, that will probably not be as much of a problem, but it would sure be nice to have an injection of youth and athleticism. I’m a sentimental bastard, and I’d have no problem with trying to win this season with the guys we have, most of whom I’m attached to. But it may well be time to pull the trigger on a trade like the rumored Maggette trade, if that’s possible. On the other hand, if guys like Beno, Frankie, and Red Rocket stay healthy down the stretch and produce consistently, they may provide enough of an energy and youth boost for this season. But for next season, let’s hope that some of the Spurs’ irons in the fire (Butler, Scola, White, Mahinmi, Javtokas, and Sanikidze) start to work out for us in one way or another (i.e. as trade fodder, in Scola’s case). The prospects don’t look great at the moment for most of them, but if a couple of them can become significant contributors, and if the Spurs front office can pull off some kind of trade and make a nice pick in the draft, the Spurs should be just fine for the rest of the TD era. Let’s just hope some of our veterans stick around to pass on some corporate knowledge, as Pop calls it, to the young pups.

In the meantime, I’m going to do my best to enjoy the sometimes rocky road to the Spurs’ fourth title. Of course, now it’s merely an indulgence that I laugh at myself for...you know, because I’ve become one with the universe and everything.

But I’m still not above screaming “Die, Laker bitches!” at my TV, as I will be doing tonight. So please, Laker bitches, die.

A Whole Lot 0f Nothin' From Agent Zero

Greetings from San Diego! Yeah, I'm back here in this Republican Aryan paradise for yet another semester of skoolin'. If I don't graduate this semester my whole family will disown me, so I've got to start cracking down on my Espanol. I think I need to put an accent on the "o" or something but I'm too lazy to figure out the keyboard code to do that right now.

What was this supposed to be about again? Oh right...

Game 38 Vs. Washington: Spurs 93, Wizards 80

Hey guess what? This was another Spurs game I only kinda sorta paid attention to. I don't think I've been able to concentrate exclusively on our lovable bunch of dogooding hoopsters since early December thanks to school, exercise, gambling jaunts to Vegas and the NFL, but cut me a break will ya? My Iggles were playing in the 2nd round of the playoffs at New Orleans simultaneous to this game. And since the Spurs seemed to have things well in hand at around the six minute mark of the 1st quarter, there really wasn't much going on the hardwood to avert my gaze from the big screen at my best friend's bar, you feel me?

Here are a couple of observations based on the bits I did see...

- Our defense might have had their best game of the season. The Wiz have one superduperstar in Agent Zero (witness his recent destruction of the Jazz) and two other great scorers in Antawn Jamison and Caron Butler and our boys held them to a combined 38 points on 15-of-52 shooting (29%). Sure, they had lost to the NOOCH the previous night, but fatigue couldn't have been that much of an issue for a young club such as Washington, could it?


You know it's your night when Horry's playing defense.
- Just so we're clear, the defense was great only up to the point of the ball being released from the fingertips of the Wizards' players. Our defensive rebounding was pretty freakin' atrocious. 19 ORebs given up? Sure, that number is a little inflated because there were so many rebounds to be had, but our weak performance on the glass could have hurt us if Washington wasn't just as incompetent with their second and third chances as they were with their first.

- According to my failsafe memory, this is the third contest of the season where both members of our starting backcourt had at least five turnovers each. Not surprisingly, we had lost the previous two, at home to Dallas (in the game Manu hurt his back) and at the Lakers.

- The Hustlemaker recorded his 3rd dunk of the season, a breakaway deal where the entire Washington club stopped playing because they assumed a ref was going to call a foul on Bowen's "strip" of Agent Zero. Coach Eddie Jordan of the Wiz subsequently got ejected for flipping out on the non-call and Manu got a couple of free throws to go with the slammajamma. Said Jordan of the incident, "I lost my composure." Ya think?

- Good move from Pop putting Tony on Gilbert. Parker is our only guy remotely quick enough laterally to bother Arenas. He would have humiliated Bruce like most of the other elite scorers have done this year. To his credit, Bowen did a solid job on his guy, mostly Butler, sometimes Jamison.

- The only downer for the game was seeing The Red Rocket get hurt in a scrum under the rim. He tore his MCL and is going to miss probably six weeks. The bad news is that this happened just when he was playing well and establishing himself as a part of the rotation. The good news is that Elson is close to returning and we can simply give him Bonner's minutes (and hopefully some of Horry's as well). I don't want to sound too cold and heartless about the injury, but since it's not a season-ender, I'm just going to pretend it won't impact our record for the next two months. If Matt Bonner is the difference between winning or losing for this team, we're in bigger trouble than I thought. At the very least Rocket's injury will put the onus on Horry to give a shit out there.


Finally Eric Williams gets off the bench to do something meaningful.
All in all a decent win, but still somewhat bothersome in that once again our best three players were our best three players. The other guys haven't really stepped up in a while (not since Oberto's first half vs the Mavs) and I'm starting to worry that the big three will wear themselves out before May. We need Fab, RoHo, Findog and Bones to step it up in a big way. Now if you excuse me, I have to get back to hitting my head against the desk repeatedly until I block out all memories about the Eagles game.

Your 3 Stars..

3. Manu Ginobili - Was having only a so-so night with 11 points through three quarters, but he hit two threes in a span of 28 seconds midway through the fourth to squash any hopes of a Washington comeback. Had a good all around day with six boards, five dimes and three thefts as well.

2. Tim Duncan - His presence inside was a big reason Les Bullé struggled so much from the field and he was also able to have his way in the paint on offense with 18 points and five assists. Rinse, lather, repeat. Best of all, mercifully we weren't subjected to seeing him shoot free throws but for three attempts.

1. Tony Parker - Limited an out of it Arenas on one end of the floor and was efficient enough on the other end with 13 and 6. Pulled down a season high ten rebounds to help out Timmy against the misfiring Warlocks or Fairies or whatever they call themselves these days so it doesn't sound so thuggy.

Record: 27-11 Streak: W-4
Up Next: @ Chicago Bulls
If you didn't see a "L" coming for this one, you were a fool, to paraphrase those silly Reebok commercials. The 2 pm start is waaaay to early for this veteran bunch to handle and an energetic youthful Bulls team will jump all over us on MLK day. There's a reason I picked them to make it out of the East y'know.

Barkley: Spurs Missing Something

“(The Spurs) are not the same team. I look for them to make a trade because they are missing something. They need to make a trade to get more speed and athleticism. Dallas has definitely overtaken San Antonio as the team to beat in the West.”
--Charles Barkley on TNT, January 15, 2007

I usually agree with Sir Charles, and I think he's right on both points. The Spurs are missing something and the Mavericks are a better team right now. In fact, Dallas, Phoenix, Houston, and even Minnesota are playing better than San Antonio.

Here is another way of looking at it: the Spurs have lost 12 games this season and 8 were against possible playoff opponents. If the playoffs were held today, the Spurs would have to get past Houston, Phoenix and Utah or Dallas to face Detroit or maybe Cleveland in the Finals. Of course a lot can happen between now and May, but something has got to change.

The games to watch in the coming weeks, to see if San Antonio can get that something that Charles is talking about:

• 1/24 vs Houston
• 2/1 at Phoenix
• 2/14 at Detroit

Horry's Highlight Dunk

Thanks to the guys over at FanHouse for this video.

"Robinson Continues to Make an Impact"

Spurs legend David Robinson was awarded the National Civil Rights Museum’s Sports Legacy Award this evening for his philanthropy. David had this to say:

"This is truly a blessing. To even be mentioned in the same phrase as Martin Luther King is a humbling experience. But we are trying. We are at the beginning stages of our efforts to really make a change and make an impact in our society."

Way back in 2000, David had this to say about why he's given so much to charity in his lifetime.

"Winning a championship is so temporary. It's fantastic for the moment, don't get me wrong. You climb the hill. There's no greater feeling than standing there on the podium. But eventually, there's another hill to climb. It's fleeting glory, but intense. Giving is solid. It lasts a lifetime. You become linked with others. It's something that lasts forever. To be blessed enough to have something to give is unreal. It's amazing to me that God has entrusted me with this."

This story about David appeared in yesterday's New York Times.

David Robinson spent a lot of time away from his children during a 14-year career with the San Antonio Spurs. But these days, Robinson can pick them up from school without leaving work.

Two of Robinson’s three sons attend the Carver Academy, an independent, faith-based school in San Antonio. Robinson not only works at the school, but he and his wife, Valerie, also founded it in 1997.

Most of Carver’s 117 students are African-American or Hispanic, and nearly all of them come from low-income families and receive scholarships. So the school must raise money, and the 7-foot-1 Robinson is its biggest selling point. About three days each week, he settles into his office around 7:30 a.m. and reaches out to all corners of the country.

“Our fund-raising, it’s so comprehensive because we’re not like any typical school,” Robinson, who retired from the N.B.A. in 2003, said by telephone from his home Friday. “Tuition is not a significant part of our income. Our parents can’t support us.”

Robinson and his wife donated $9 million to establish the school, which has helped transform a struggling neighborhood that stands in the shadows of the Alamodome, where the Spurs used to play. The school’s endowment goal is $40 million to $45 million. So far, about $6 million has been raised.

The curriculum at Carver, which has grades from pre-kindergarten to sixth, is another selling point. Each student is taught three languages, Japanese, German and Spanish. Attending chapel is a ritual, and so is learning to read music. “Just basic things that make them more of a renaissance person,” Robinson said.

“My 10-year-old takes this ballet class there that is incredible,” he added. “It’s funny seeing these little black kids dancing around in their little leotards. But they love it. It’s things that they never would be exposed to.”

Robinson says the school tries to instill six basic principles: leadership, discipline, initiative, integrity, faith and service.

Robinson has been devoted to service since his days as an officer in the Navy. “The measure of your success is going to be how you serve other people,” he said.

For his contributions to human and civil rights, Robinson will receive the National Civil Rights Museum’s Sports Legacy Award tomorrow during halftime of the Grizzlies-Suns game in Memphis. The award is presented in conjunction with the Grizzlies and the N.B.A.

“Awards, it’s nice,” Robinson said. “What does it mean, though? I’m 41 years old. I haven’t done anything.”

David is being modest, as always. A little known fact about his generosity: no other professional athlete in history has given more money to charity. His secret? He always gave at least 10% of everything he made.

Nothing to see here, move on...

Game 37 @ Denver: Spurs 92, Nuggets 83

I usually don't write about the odd numbered games here, but since my posting schedule has gotten all out of whack, I'll add a couple of quick notes about this one just so y'all don't think I've up and quit on you. I'll write more extensively after the Wizards game on Saturday and get back to my regular routine. I swear to your God that I don't believe in.

This was only the second Spurs game I've been able to watch live of their past six, and the first didn't count because it was in a Vegas sportsbook with no volume and sitting next to a total idiot. Going in I expected to win handily since the Nuggets were without 'Melo, but who can tell lately with our boys, where we spent the first week of 2007 in full-fledged pansy mode?

It was a tight contest the whole way, mainly thanks to a brilliant shooting night from The Answer and an awful one from our bench, but the Spurs managed to pull away late with typical Ginobilistic flair. Really, I'd love to find a wacky fun angle for this one, but what's there to say? Everybody played EXACTLY like you'd expect them to play. It's like the box score was a computer simulation.

Consider...

1) Tim finishes with 19-13-3-3 and is an embarrassing 3 of 10 from the line.

2) Tony slices and dices Denver's tiny guards to a tune of 26 points and 7 dimes, but most of his damage is done in the first half.

3) On the other hand, Manu plays like total ass for the first half and winds up with more points in the fourth (10) than he had in the preceeding three quarters (6). Seen that movie before, eh?

4) We get a combined 0 points from the twin unarmed bandits, Finley and Horry.

5) Bruce once again couldn't guard the guy he was supposed to shut down, as A.I. went off for 33 points on 15-25 shooting. But you know, Bowen "made him work for it." The best that can be said of his defense on Iverson was that he didn't get close enough to him to send him to the line repeatedly.

6) Speaking of the line, thanks mainly to Duncan's ineptitude from the charity stripe (though Tony and Horry chipped in a little) we shot a glorious 42.9% from there for the game. Our entire wussy bench went the whole 48 minutes without an attempt.

7) Oberto and Bonner hustle and rebound and bring energy and stuff. And they look like awkward YMCA dorks the whole time.

8) Beno still can't hit open jumpers. They're not even coming close.

9) Brent refuses to take it strong to the basket and three of his four attempts are from three.

10) In a game the Spurs shot a higher % from the field, had more threes, had more free throw attempts, had more rebounds both offensive and total, way more assists, way more steals and blocks and way less turnovers, despite being on the winning side of every worthwhile statistical category, they needed a late run to win the game.

Like I said, typical Spurs basketball. Three stars, one of the megasuperduper variety, and nine guys who have no clue what their role will be on any given night. Who starts? Who plays? How long do they play? Who do they play with? Nobody knows. All I've managed to figure out thus far is that it's very rare (thankfully so) to see Tony and Beno together and even rarer for Bonner and Horry to share the floor. Beyond that, anything's game. Not that I'm blaming anyone for this...


Tactical mastermind at work.

Beyond that, the only other curiosity that I thought was worth sharing was the recent stretch of ungodly efficient play by our very own Emmanuel David Ginobili. Believe it or not fellas, but right now, this season, is the best he's ever played for the Spurs, outside of the months that end in -ay and -une. No member of the basketball media is saying anything, either because they simply don't notice or they're just afraid that the mere mentioning of his sensational play will be enough to cripple the starcrossed Argentine once more, but the fact that's he's not cramming it on people's heads anymore has not seemed to hurt Gino's numbers in the box score any.

According to ESPN.com's John Hollinger, Manu is the 9th most efficient player in the NBA. Does efficient mean best? Of course not, what are you a fucktard? Still, I think it's pretty neat, and it can't be too flukey if the only guys above him are, in order, Flash, Diggler, Yao, Tim, KG, Arenas, Randolph and Bronnie and the two immediately below him are Kobe and Nash. Also, you may have noticed that Tony is 20th. One would think a team with three guys in the top 20 would be pretty damn good, huh? One would think.


If anyone asks, he's in a slump. He doesn't dunk anymore, so he must be slumping, right?

Your 3 Stars...

3. Tim Duncan - It's horrifying to admit this, but we've crossed over into Diesel territory with him. It's gotten to the point where if he makes one of two at the line you're relieved.

2. Manu Ginobili - Looked totally lost for the first half and had only six points after three quarters, so naturally he accounts for 14 of our last 16 with 10 points and two assists, and he had two thefts in the sequence for good measure. Sneaky bastard.

1. Tony Parker - For a guy who blew four gimme lay-ups and played no defense whatsoever, he had a pretty good night. If only every guy on the team I picked on could be so good.

Record: 26-11 Streak: W-3
Up Next: Vs. Washington Wizards
Our first look in the 06-07 season at Lez Bullez the notorious Agent Zero. I'm a bit concerned that he had a crummy night vs. the Nooch, because now he'll be all angry against innocent ol' us. Does Bruce have a chance in hell of guarding him? Of course not, the guy can shoot them from damn near half court for Christ sake. Hopefully our bench will come alive and we'll sink some threes, because I think we're gonna have to be in triple digits to pull this out. And it'll be on at the same time as the Eagles game. Dammit.

Spurs Win With Balanced Attack

Game 36 vs. Portland: Spurs 98, Blazers 84
Record: 25-11 Last 10: 5-5

Call it however you like: "Spurs cruise past Blazers." "Spurs Get Back to Winning Ways at Home." "Duncan leads balanced attack as San Antonio Spurs defeat Blazers 98-84." I call it a win.



The "winning ways at home" headline will likely get the most traction in tomorrow's papers, but I'll go with the "balanced attack" headline as my favorite. It was an extremely balanced attack. Minutes were shared pretty evenly by nine Spurs: Bowen (36), Duncan (33), Bonner (27!?), Barry (25), Ginobili and Udrih (23), Oberto (22), Parker (21) and Finley (19). Oddly enough, Robert Horry didn't play at all after scoring 18 against the Grizzlies Sunday night. Maybe Pop is saving him for tomorrow's game at Denver?

Spurs scoring was nearly as balanced as their minutes, with five players in double figures: Duncan (16), Ginobili and Parker (14), Barry (13) and Bowen (12). Finley, Bonner and Udrih chipped in with 9, 8 and 8 respectively.

Just imagine, the Spurs could have had eight players in double figures. That would have been sweet. I wonder, when was the last time the Spurs were that balanced? Good, but not quite. Ah, I should have known it would be against them.

Elson-less Spurs Halt Skid

The SpursDynasty staff had a rare opportunity to watch a game together Wednesday night, game 33 against the Timberwolves, and the Spurs lost. It was their second consecutive loss, and they went on to lose a third against the Mavericks on Friday night.

The Spurs led by three going into the fourth, and then things unravelled. I'll leave the post-game analysis to Michael, but it was hard to watch the game without recalling the Spurs-Mavs playoff series last May. That was the last time the Spurs lost three straight.

The Mavs lead the series 2-1 this season, and while it's easy to make excuses for the two Spurs losses, it's not satisfying. Yes, Elson was sorely missed Friday night, but the Mavs beat the Spurs in November when Elson was healthy. Elson had a big game in the season opener, and the Spurs won.

How important can Francisco Elson possibly be? After all, he's averaging just 5.3 points and 5.1 rebounds a game this season. Well, those 5 points might have made the difference against the Mavericks Friday night -- the Spurs lost by 5. When Elson scored just 2 points against Dallas on Nov 24, the Spurs lost by 3. When he scored 12 to go along with 6 boards and 2 blocks on Nov 2, the Spurs won by 6.

Bottom line: the Spurs will need Elson back in the lineup if they're going to get past the Mavs and have a chance at another ring this year. The bad news is that the Mavericks are the best team in the league right now. The Spurs don't match up as well against the Mavs as many of us had hoped they would with Elson, and the Spurs will be without Elson for at least two, and as many as six more games.

Game 35 vs. Memphis: Spurs 110, Grizzlies 96
Record: 24-11 Last 10: 5-5

Bowen was back tonight against the Grizzlies, after having been missing in action for the past two weeks. Horry and Finley also had breakout games. But against the league's doormat? And without Tony Parker in the lineup? I'm not enthusiastic about this win, but at least the Elson-less Spurs ended their three-game skid.

The rest of January will speak volumes about the Spurs capabilities, with or without Elson. Seven out of 12 games will be against likely playoff teams, including the Lakers twice, the Jazz and the Rockets. The Spurs won't play the Mavs again until April 15. Here's hoping for Francisco's speedy recovery.

Winning a Championship MIGHT make it up to me.

Game 32 @ Cleveland: Cavaliers 82, Spurs 78

Dammit. Only 32 games, and already the dream is dead. As you may know, it was my very ambitious goal for this club to beat everybody in the regular season at least once, but now it's not going to happen. One would think that the feat wouldn't be that hard for a team of the Spurs caliber, especially since everyone in the Eastern conference sucks out loud.

Yet somehow, someway, the freakin’ wine and gold uniformed Cavs have gotten the better of us not once but twice this year. How a team as talented offensively as the Spurs can only score 50 points in three quarters is mind boggling, is it not? The main problem, as I saw it was Tony was the only person who was mentally into the game last night. Maybe everyone else partied too much during New Year’s, maybe a road game against a crummy Eastern team didn’t sufficiently get their dander up, or maybe it was the new (old) ball.

Maybe Tony just gave a shit because he wanted to play well for Eva. Perhaps for future road trips the front office should insist on all the significant others coming to the games. Just gonna throw that idea out there. (It wouldn’t make everyone a turnover prone ballhog would it? Nah, nobody else’s wife is a Hollywood diva floozy.)

I know three things hurt the Spurs for sure.

1. If the team got anything from Bruce or Manu, they would have won.

2. Pop’s over the top antics to defend Tim’s incessant whining cost the team big time. Three technical free throws are kind of a big deal when you go on to lose by a mere four points. I love Duncan, he’s the best player in Spurs history and the best power forward in NBA history, but his antics are getting embarrassing. If he wanted the refs to respect him more he should have made more rap albums and movies and Nike and Gatorade commercials instead of hiding at his house and spending time with the wife.

3. Drew Gooden’s ridiculous “hairstyle” had to distract the guys a little bit. He’s completely shaved except for a square patch ON THE BACK OF HIS HEAD RIGHT ABOVE THE NECK. This thing has to be seen to be believed. It’s amazing we ever made a basket when he was on the court. Have you ever tried shooting a basketball while laughing? Not easy.

Anyway, believe it or not, overall I’m not that upset about the game. I think it’s important to note that our defense was quite good and that’s the most important thing. Sure, the Cavs went off in the fourth, but they hit an awful lot of tough shots to do it. I think the defense has been pretty strong since the Bucks game. I’m not quite sure if it’s at championship level, but it’s a lot better and more consistent than it had been. And Elson is still out (hopefully this is just a coincidence).

Offense on the other hand was a complete nightmare. Pop had his hat handed to him by a guy who looks like Al Roker.




Somehow the Cavs, an ordinary defensive club any other night completely shut us down because their coach knows us so well and we're so damn predictable. Has Manu ever been guarded so well before in his career? They always trapped him with a second guy no matter where he was on the key with the ball. They harassed Timmy just as well and somehow still found the manpower to limit Bones Barry to just four shot attempts in 24 minutes. The ball movement just wasn't there. Only 14 assists in 28 field goals? Weak.

In the Hawks game we had an excuse in that their interior defense was garbage so we could just drive to the hole all game long, but that wasn't the case here. Sorry, but Tony has to bear some of the responsibility for this trainwreck. Three assists in 36 minutes for an NBA point guard is pretty pathetic. I don't care how bad his teammates were shooting it, Tony should be able to get five dimes a night playing with four streetlamps. And no matter how awful Manu was out there, something must be wrong with the offense and the point guard's execution of said offense if the starting two guard only gets eight shot attempts in 29 minutes, and five of those were jacks from way out.

That brings me to my next point. Manu sucked, okay? Not even a little bit either. This was a "suckiest suck who ever sucked" kinda peformance. Happy? I said it, so there. For whatever reason he just wasn't into the game mentally from the beginning and was content to drift from one end of the floor to the other without ever touching the ball or wanting to do anything with it if it happened to come his way. However, everyone is entitled to one terrible game now and then, so I think all this "Manu has been crap" this year that I've been seeing on Spurstalk is totally unfair and shortsighted. Gino had an absolute kick ass December, in limited minutes, and his Hollinger PER rating before the Cleveland game was a career high 23.60. That placed him 3rd in the NBA for shooting guards, behind only Wade and Kobe and a tick behind Redd. See? Ginobili isn't listed in Hollinger's listings with the other players, because he missed a couple games, but trust me, his rating does exist, and even after the Cleveland debacle, it's still his career best. I'm not lying dammit!

What I don't understand is why when Manu's playing well Coach Wino Zitface
plays him only 25 minutes, but when he's playing like total ass he gets 29. Pop needed 29 minutes of evidence to see that Manu didn't have it on this night? He should have never gotten more than 15. And if Pop was looking to get him going, why not run some actual plays for him instead of having him camp out in Dayton every play and shooting only eight times? Why not chew his ass out on the bench about taking it to the rim or calling a pick and roll or give and go or some such shit? It blows my mind that Finley can shoot 2 of 3 in 8 minutes in the first half but not see any floor time in the 2nd half but Manu can practically beg to be benched and he's left on the floor. THE COMPLETE OPPOSITE OF THIS HAS HAPPENED THE WHOLE FUCKING SEASON!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!

AAAAAAARGH!!!! WOMWNWCNW0CNCWOMVWOVNWNVWO!!!!!!

Um... sorry. Lost it there for a second. Good thing I said this game didn't upset me much.

The Pop-Manu rant has kind of taken all the wind out of me for the Bowen bitching I had planned on doing, but fear not, I predict I will get the opportunity for that in the extreme near future. Let's just say I wasn't overly impressed with Bruce "holding" LeBron to 19 points, since he had double team help every single time James had the ball in a half court situation. Kind of a waste of a defensive specialist if he needs help on the perimeter AND a tall dude to protect the rim, no? Couple that with Bowen's outstanding 0 for 6 performance from the field, and you can imagine how I felt with him getting 33 minutes against Cleveland.

God. Whatev.

Your 3 Stars (Such as they were).

3. Michael Finley- Shoulda played more. I can't wait til he gets 32 minutes in a game he shoots 1 of 13.

2. Tim Duncan- Quit being such a weenie and just play. It's unbecoming. You're not playing for Mark Cuban, you big dork.

1. Tony Parker- Had more field goals than the rest of the starters combined. This works about as well as Vick leading the Falcons in rushing. (Sigh).

Record: 23-9 Up Next: @ Minnesota Timberwolves
I don't think we'll have to worry about Tim being excited for this one. I expect the team to play a lot faster on offense and with much crisper ball movement. The question will be whether they can do that and still maintain their defensive effort. I would think we'll see a much better game out of Manu too since he gets a little thrill of driving Garnett batshit every time he scores. I actually read Garnett's lips when he screamed "I HATE THAT MOTHERFUCKER!!!!" in a game on TV last year when Manu got an and-1. And we all know how he feels about Wally. What's with KG and white ballers? If you put him on the floor with Oberto, Barry, Manu, and Udrih, would he punch somebody? At least then he'd be in the playoffs again.

Lascivious LeBron

Michael will have more to say about Game 32 -- last night's loss to the Cavaliers -- but I've been wondering if its a coincidence that these pictures of LeBron and a topless poolside hottie surfaced yesterday, right before the game.

No Bachelor Party for Tony?!

This from the National Ledger:

NBA star Tony Parker must feel as he just drove the lane on Shaq. The handsome San Antonio Spurs guard has been rejected by his pint-sized wife to be, according to a published report. Eva Longoria, the same gal that struts in high-definition in skimpy outfits on ABC has reportedly called for a nude shut down.

No strippers, no cigars and no alcohol.

The 24-year-old San Antonio Spurs star's teammates and close friends began to plan an extravagant weekend for Tony, but when Eva, 31, got wind of it, she put her foot down. "Eva thinks letting men have bachelor parties is just asking for trouble," a pal tells the weekly entertainment magazine.

"Letting men have bachelor parties?!" Since when did a man need permission to have a bachelor party? Besides, this party is traditionally thrown by the groom-to-be's friends, not the groom himself.

Tony, if Eva is as controlling as this seems, what are you getting yourself into? Oh, nevermind, this photo of Eva answers my question.

Quote of the Week

"This is the worst defensive team we've had here in the last seven to eight years. Our players need to make up their minds … that (defense) is what wins games for us, or if they want to make summer plans."
--Gregg Popovich after the Spurs' 114-107 loss to Milwaukee