Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, loyal SpursDynasty reader.

I feel terrible. Not because I'm sick, although I'm pretty sure I picked up something from my nephews last week, but because I've been silent for the past 12 days. And since we're averaging just under 500 unique visitors a day to the site, more than 5,000 visitors have come here to find nothing new. Nada. Zilch.

Michael can usually be counted on to recap the even games here and the odd games at PtR, but as you may know he's had some technical difficulties. What's kept me busy? Christmas shopping, celebrating my wife's birthday, spending Christmas with my father's side of the family just outside of Atlanta, eating and drinking way too much, following the news in Iowa, New Hampshire, San Francisco and Pakistan, catching Cracker and Camper van Beethoven in concert ... did I mention that I ran into a former Spur in Atlanta?

My wife and I were shopping at Lenox Square in Buckhead, Atlanta's old money neighborhood, when I spotted a very tall black man wearing a black leather jacket. My eyes were drawn to the Spurs logo on his sleeve, and I looked up to see that it was none other than Kevin Willis.

I approached him and, even though I could see that he was talking to someone else, loudly said, "Hey, Kevin Willis!" He turned to look at me and then I said, "Go Spurs!" He reached out to shake my hand and said, "Spurs forever." Isn't it funny: he spent 11 seasons playing for the Hawks and lives in Atlanta, but wears a Spurs jacket while out shopping, even though he played just two seasons in San Antonio at the tail end of his career. Must be that the ring we gave him.

* * *
With one day left in 2007, our site has had over 150,000 unique visitors and nearly a quarter million pages viewed. Not bad for a bunch of amateurs. In a few days I'll be recapping some of the highlights of 2007 here at SpursDynasty.com.

In the meantime here are, with a little more than one third of the 2007-2008 regular season completed, my candidates for biggest surprises so far in the Western Conference.

#5. The Spurs are playing better than expected -- especially given the DNPs from injuries to Tim (5), Tony (5) and Manu (3) -- leading the West with a 21-8 record. Eight weeks ago we were arguing about whether the Spurs would win more or less than 58 games this season. So far they're on course to win 59.

#4. The Mavericks are struggling, currently in fifth place, and have yet to find the right rotations. Our win over them without Tim was telling.

#3. The New Orleans Hornets are in fourth, just 1.5 games behind the Spurs, thanks to the All-Star play of Chris Paul (22-4-10) and David West (18-9-2).

#2. The Jazz and Rockets are lingering out of the hunt in the ninth and tenth spots, with both teams hobbled by injuries to key players. Mehmet Okur missed eight games with a strained left trapezius muscle and will take some time to get back into shape. Tracy McGrady has had knee problems, while the rest of the team seems to have problems with Rick Adelman, except for Bonzi Wells. Chances are pretty good that one of these teams doesn't make the playoffs, and I'm betting it's Houston.

#1. The Portland Trailblazers are now in third place and have the best active streak in the league with 13 wins and counting. Their win tonight came with a 21-0 run in the fourth quarter. We knew this team was talented, especially after signing first round draft pick Greg Oden, but it is the youngest in the league. They weren't supposed to be this good this fast. The rapid development of second year players Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, with Oden looming, should strike fear in the hearts of the Western stalwarts, including the Spurs.

Which NBA Players Have The Most Trade Value?

According to Bill Simmons, three of our favorite players rank in the top 50:

17. Tony Parker
16. Manu Ginobili

We're sticking them in such high circles partly out of respect (six rings combined) and partly because San Antonio's organization, to its never-ending credit, values chemistry and goodguymanship (I just made that word up) over everything else.

Here's the defining why-the-Spurs-win-and-keep-winning story: They gave away Luis Scola this summer not just for luxury tax reasons, but because they were afraid that Scola, a No. 1 scoring option for Argentina's national team as well as the Euro leagues, wouldn't be able to adjust to playing 20-25 minutes a game as a supporting guy on a great team. They didn't even want to take the chance that he'd mess them up. So they shipped him out. What's even more fascinating is the Spurs have won four titles (and counting) with a specific strategy that nobody else emulated until Boston voyaged down the same defense-character-chemistry path this season. And the Celtics are 20-2 right now. Hmmmm.



3. Tim Duncan

His finishes in the Trade Value column: No. 2 (2001), No. 3 (2002), No. 1 (2003), No. 2 (2004), No. 1 (2005), No. 3 (2006), No. 3 (2007). Now that's impressive.

I wonder what makes Simmons so sure that Scola would have played 20-25 minutes a game as a Spur. He's averaging less than 19 for the Rockets. When you exclude his three 20-point performances around Thanksgiving, Scola is averaging just 4.3 points and 4.1 boards in less than 17 minutes a game. Scola has been struggling lately, scoring just 13 points in the last five games.

By the way, is it just me, or is Houston looking less and less like a contender, let alone a playoff team? Who would have thought that they would be in the #10 spot after 24 games, trailing Portland, Golden State and New Orleans?

Don't bother reading the rest of the article. Bill Simmons is a hack.

Manu Hates California More Than Dick Cheney

Game 22: Lakers 102, Spurs 97

"Brent, have you seen my magnets?" "I saw Bruce playing with them on the plane." "Hey man, I gave them to Bonner at the hotel in San Francisco..."
(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
I know pretty much everyone who reads me or likes me wishes I could do these blogs sooner, but sometimes, it really is a good thing that I sit back, wait, and have time to gain proper perspective before I sit down and type. For instance, if I were to write what I was feeling around 11 p.m. Thursday night, I probably would've lashed out at Pop, lashed out at Elson or Vaughn or the refs or whoever, and tried to make every excuse in the world I could think of for the struggles of one Manu Ginobili.

I would've sworn enough to make the whoremongers among you blush, I would've ruined whatever microscopic chance of a sports media career I'm aspiring to, and I would've alienated pretty much everyone who knows and likes me, both working for SpursDynasty and PtR or just reading them. In short, I would've been one huge fucking idiot.

That's not good for me, not good for you, not good for any of us. We need me to be sharp since so many of you, for a wide variety of reasons, cannot watch all the games. You depend on me to be your eyes, ears, and mouth, and it's a responsibility I take very seriously when I'm not working, sleeping, eating, playing video games, going to the bathroom, or masturbating.

So yeah, Manu all kinds of sucked on Thursday. I mean, he was really, really bad. He couldn't shoot, couldn't make lay-ups, couldn't pass, couldn't dribble the ball, and wasn't much of a defender and certainly not any kind of playmaker. It was as poor a performance as I've ever seen from him as a Spur, and that's saying something because as is the case with any noteworthy player laboring away through an 82-game slog year after year, there are going to be some real stinkers.

It's gotten so bad for Opus that he's getting knocked ass over teakettle by imaginary defenders.
(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
In a way, I blame myself. I jinxed Manu during the Warriors blog when I wrote something to the effect of, "Surely this will be the worst game he'll play this season." It's like the basketball gods looked down on my arrogance and responded, "Au contraire, mon frère." Obviously, if Gino is going to play this poorly, the basketball gods must be French.

See? Here I go, making excuses again. Oh it's my fault for jinxing him. Oh, it's those jealous French basketball gods. Oh NOTHING! It's not anyone's fault but Manu's. I don't know how bad his hand is hurt and I don't care. Nobody cares! Just fucking play.

With the Warriors game, at least there were some excuses. Tony was just as crappy as Opus, if not more. Nobody really played well except for the Red Rocket, JV, and maybe Ime Udoka. Ime Udoka for crying out loud! The whole team had too many turnovers, the transition defense was terrible, and nobody could shoot. It was an out and out team loss, with many culprits.

Thursday at Los Angeles though, this just wasn't the case. It had been obvious for a couple of weeks that Parker just wasn't right, so Pop finally did the sensible thing and pulled him out. Really it was a move he should have made before the Warriors game, and he admitted as much. The point is that I didn't have Tony available to be a whipping boy in L.A.

Was it asking a lot of Manu to come up with a big night against the Lakers without Tim or Tony? Maybe on paper it was, but not as it turned out, in reality. If he just played average we would've won the damned game going away. That's the really disappointing aspect of it. We didn't need him to be Supermanu. Just Manu would've been plenty.

I mean, look at the box score. Whose performance there really disappointed you? Elson and Vaughn sucked, but they're supposed to suck. Bonner didn't do anything, taking only two shots, but you never know what you're gonna get out of Rocket anyway. Bruce and Brent both stepped up huge so the no help excuse just isn't there for Gino. The loss is on his shoulders, plain and simple. Lord knows he's won plenty of games for us singlehandledly; games far more significant than a roadie against the Lakers in December to boot. It just goes to show, even with Gonzo, one has to take the bad with the good. Hell, the guy tried to warn us all year that he wouldn't be playing as well as he had been forever. We, as parishioners to the Church of Manu, just have to ride out this slump, secure in the knowledge that like everything else, this too shall pass.

(Just don't ask me who the pass will be intended for.)

No Bruce, we can't figure out why you were the team's leading scorer either.
(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
Anyway, like I said in the introduction, I'm glad I waited to write this because looking back on it, I see that more good things than bad came out of this game. The Lakers are an above average squad, probably a playoff bound club, and it was pleasing to see us hang with them right until the end without two of our three best players and the other one doing his best 'Toine impression.

Why were we able to be so competitive, you ask?

Two reasons.

Okay, maybe three reasons; Andrew's ejection certainly helped. You can't let Oberto take you out of your game, young fella. I'm not sure what Bynum said to the ref, but I'm guessing it ended with "-ucker."
(Photo by Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images)
First, I think that slowly but surely our half court defense is coming back. Don't be fooled by the point totals that the Warriors and Lakers put up on us. In both cases it was almost entirely the by product of turnovers and giving up too many offensive rebounds. But when it came to forcing a miss playing five-on-five basketball in the half court, we've been stellar these past two games against two good offensive clubs. The rotations and closeouts are better, Bowen's really on his game, and the bigs are doing a pretty good job of clogging the lane. The defense has been the main reason we didn't get boatraced these past two games.

What will be interesting to see is what happens to the defense when Tim returns. If everything goes according to plan, his transition back into the lineup will be seamless and he'll turn a good defense into a dominant one with his rebounding, shot blocking, and shot altering. Of course, the complete opposite can also happen, with him being rusty and tentative and everyone else going to pot expecting old reliable to save them once again. This past week the Spurs have been playing playoff level defense in the half court. With Duncan it has the potential to get to championship level, assuming he can regain his old form and stay healthy and everyone else can keep pace.

The other reason we kept it close was because it seems that the guys are settling into their roles and what's expected of them a little ahead of schedule. Obviously everyone knows that the Spurs have a big three. But I like to think there's a second tier there in the foursome of Bowen, Oberto, Finley, and Barry. All of these guys are veterans, they all have various skills and high basketball I.Q.s, and they're all very familiar with the system and each other. Repeating or not is basically going to come down to these seven guys. Everyone else is pretty much just roster filler, perfectly interchangeable with the 8-14 of any other team you care to mention. I will concede that Bonner has made inroads into cracking the rotation, but I'm not at all convinced that Pop won't bench him in May in favor of RoHo again since coach is in love with the Big Hip Check. And don't talk to me about the potential of Darius Washington and Ian Mahinmi. Every team has youngsters with potential. Until further notice they're just bodies.

The second tier though, all seem to have found their games at once. I guess it's only natural for veterans in their mid 30's to take a month or so to warm up. Whatever the reason, we actually look like a team out there now whereas in November the big three was carrying an inordinate amount of the load. What I'm happy about now is that nobody in that second tier looks "done" and I was afraid that was the case with Fin earlier in the season. He's starting to figure it out on offense. With him, it's not the shot as much as it's shot selection. He far and away leads the club in shots that you know have no chance as soon as he puts them up. But he had been taking less of those in the week before Duncan's injury. Plus, all the other areas of his game -the defense, rebounding and passing- have been markedly improved this season, which I'm guessing is the main reason he wasn't dropped out of the rotation entirely.

Anyway, we all know Pop will have a nine man rotation in the playoffs. Vaughn will get a sprinkling of minutes as will Horry/Bonner. But the games will be won and lost on the backs of our top seven, and right now I like our odds. I know this is going to sound incredibly stupid, but already I can't help but look forward to the Finals against Boston or Detroit (Orlando needs another year or two). I mean, am I crazy, or is this the least daunting the Western Conference has looked since 2003? Who exactly are we supposed to be afraid of right now?

Dallas is the toughest match-up for us physically, but they're too soft mentally, their offense is out of sync more often than not without a real point guard leading the way, and they're losing way too many regular season games to have home court advantage. Without that, they don't have much of a chance on us or anyone else.

Phoenix is even in worse shape, soft mentally and physically. Unless they pull a Nancy Kerrigan on Timmy (or the refs intervene) they have no shot against us. I'm really looking forward to Monday night where we'll just beat the hell out of them.

Utah and Denver are in the same boat. You let their two stars score and take away everyone else. Neither one has a swingman who can guard Manu or a point who can keep up with Tony and both sag in like crazy on defense, giving us three pointers all day.

Houston I thought would be a legitimate contender, but their offense looks like a mess and the Adelman hiring has been a disaster. They can't find a consistent third scorer or any stable play from their point guards.

Who else is out there? The Warriors? Let them face Duncan and see what happens. The Hornets or Lakers? Please.

I still can't believe Kobe went all the way to Colorado in search of anal sex. Dude you live miles away from where 99% of America's porn is filmed. Certainly somebody in Van Nuys or in greater San Fernando County could've accommodated your needs. And they'd have been prettier too.
(AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian)
Face it gang, the second and third best teams in the NBA might very well be in that other conference. The Finals will assuredly not be a runaway this year and I'm pleased. Of our four rings the most memorable Finals for me was 2005, and that's because it was the only one that wasn't a formality.

Is it foolish to look that far ahead? Absolutely. But the less I think about the Lakers game, the better.

Your 3 Stars

3. Brent Barry - Clearly our best guard against the Lakers on this evening. Bones hit six shots, three from downtown, and had four helpers and four rebounds. Pop should've played him more than 28 minutes.

2. Fabricio Oberto - Nine points and a career high 16 rebounds for the Fabulous One, and we needed it out of him because none of the other bigs were worth a crap. You look at his physical skills and then look at Elson's, and it frustrates the hell out of you. If we could put Oberto's mind in Frankie's body, we'd have an All-Star center.

1. Bruce Bowen - What's with him and the Lakers? He can't shoot a lick against anybody else and against L.A. he can't miss. He's basically played Kobe to a draw in their two meetings this season. Very solid night out of him.

Record: 17-5
Up Next: Vs. Denver Nuggets
Timmeh will probably return and Bruce will once again have to be on his game against 'Melo and AI. Tony's going to be out but I think we'll be OK here since (everybody cross your fingers) Manu can't possibly play that badly again...

Tony Cheated on Eva? Again?

WWTPD?
French model Alexandra Paressant claims she met Tony Parker "at his wedding to Longoria earlier in the year, exchanged numbers, and embarked on a steamy two-month affair."

Longoria's representative Liza Anderson, refuted the claims in a statement: "These allegations are completely, 100 per cent false and untrue. All high-profile couples fall victim to these sorts of things in the course of their relationships.

"It appears this is not the first time this woman has used an athlete to gain public notoriety."

But it seems the official comment from the actual people involved, Tony and Eva, was very vague and not as direct, falling short of actually denying the affair outright.

Parker said: "I love my wife. She's the best thing in my life, and I have never been happier."

Longoria added: "Tony has been nothing short of the perfect husband."

I read this bit of gossip while waiting for the bus this morning. Strange coincidence: over dinner last night my wife and I were talking about NBA players of the past and their reported sexual indiscretions/exploits, eg James Worthy, Magic Johnson, Wilt Chamberlain. (Honestly I can't recall why this came up.)

Although neither of us had yet heard the rumors about Tony and Eva, she said: "If I were Eva Longoria, I would follow Tony around everywhere. After all, he is French."

This isn't the first time that Tony Parker was rumored to be cheating on Eva. You may recall when they broke up in October 2006, Tony supposedly hooked up with a former girlfriend in New York. Eva may have found comfort in the arms of Mario Lopez at that time.

All I know is, this better not interfere with Tony's game. The Spurs desperately needed him in the lineup last night.

Manu the Sex Fiend Gets Shut Down in Oakland

A magical Greek leprechaun recaps Tuesday evening.

Duncan, Ginobili and Parker Trail in Early All-Star Voting

Come on, Spurs fans!

The NBA released early All-Star returns today and with five weeks to go Tim Duncan is third among Western Conference Forwards, while Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are fifth and seventh, respectively, among Western Conference Guards.

Duncan has 95.6% as many votes as Dirk Nowitzki, trailing him by less than 20,000 votes. That's a lead that can be cut into pretty quickly. Ginobili and Parker are so far back in the pack, trailing Kobe Bryant and Tracy McGrady by several hundred thousand votes, that it's unlikely they'll be starters. But a strong showing might get one or both of them on the final roster.

Voting continues through Jan. 20. Vote daily by visiting SpursDynasty.com and clicking on the banner at right.

Matt Bonner Kicks Utah's Ass Singlehandedly

Game 20: Spurs 104, Jazz 98

Alright, you can now consider me officially spooked. Beating the mentally soft Mavericks without Timmy is one thing, but the rough and tumble interior-dominating Jazz? That, my friends is a whole 'nother batch of biscuits. They got Carlos Booooooooozer, probably the best scoring four in the Association. They got his back-up Paul Millsap who was a holy terror last year as a rook and could probably be starting on a dozen teams right now. AK-47 has some serious length to him and has been playing much better this season than last and even Okur, the big dumpy Turk is skilled and crafty to get some stuff done inside against the likes of Frankie Van Hoojdunk and the Red Rocket.

And those are just the bigs! Don't forget they also have Deron Williams, who has the speed to blow by most opposing points and the size to squash the puny Frenchman, and a young, athletic (black) two guard in Ronnie Brewer who showed - repeatedly - that he knows how to get to the cup and finish strong. Oh and if that's not enough, they have a drill sergeant coach who's as stubborn as a menstruating mule about offensive execution, the pick-and-roll, and pounding that son-of-a-bitch inside.

Animal Planet farm boy Manolis just informed me that mules are infertile and can't produce offspring. So you can only imagine how grumpy a female mule must get, being on the rag for no reason, right?

Anywho, for the most part, the Jazz "were who we thought they were." Did I just type that? Yeah, I typed that. Excuse me for a minute.

::Goes to bathroom, looks himself in the mirror, slaps himself in the face repeatedly, lays on the bed and has a good cry, rubs one out, disgustedly punches himself in the groin, involuntarily cries some more, returns to bathroom to wash the past half hour off of him, returns to computer::

Oh!

::puts clothes back on before returning to the computer::

I never write these naked, as far as you know.

Where was I? Oh right, I think I have to go to the post office and mail Denny Green a nickel now because he went and copyrighted that phrase. Anyway, the Jazz had something like 60 points in the paint to our 20 and they shot 54.2% for the game. It might look impressive, holding them to only eight offensive rebounds, but they only missed 33 shots total, so they still managed to collect nearly one of every four of their own misses. Boozer was very much a beast, finishing with 28 and 17 and Williams had 28 of his own to go with 10 dimes, and well none of this looks very good for the good guys now, does it?

Except that the two of them had 12 turnovers between them. Except that we hit seven more bombs than the Jazz and 13 more free throws. Except that we held Kirilenko and Okur in check like we always do because we're not foolish enough to double Boozer, no matter how many "I'm a badass motherfucker" faces he makes. Except we've got one Manu Coconut Balls Ginobili, who wasn't about to let our 17 game home winning streak against Utah come to an end with the measly inconsequential excuse of our franchise player sitting in jeans and a sports coat, clapping like a gimp like he always does.

I've noticed this for a while now but didn't want to say anything because I thought it was just me. Then the other day somebody else brought it up at Spurstalk, so I know I'm not alone. Why can't Timmeh clap properly? Was he never taught how? I mean we all do things uniquely. For example, I shoot pool weird. But does anyone here know a guy who claps by making a claw out of his middle and index fingers? Me neither.
(Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
How did The Sickness score another 37 points? Beats me. The Dallas game left him too pooped and beat up to drive inside much. And he took more step back perimeter shots than I've ever seen, with predictable cringe-inducing results. So how does one score if he doesn't drive and can't shoot? By being a superduperstar and going to the line 19 times, I guess. Still, with the 17 charity makes, that still leaves 20 whole points - Gino's average coming into the game - unaccounted for.

So of course I looked it up. El Gimpo was 3-of-9 with the jumper (which is why I don't like him, or anyone else in particular, shooting them), and 2-of-7 from downtown. That's a yucky 'Toine-like 5-0f-16 castaways with the sprained finger. He was 4-of-5 on lay-ups/offensive rebound putbacks though and took advantage of Sloan being arrogant enough to put youngsters like Brewer or C.J. Miles on him (instead of AK-47, which might have made things a bit more difficult) and Gino just pump-faked them to death, leading to charity line trips, again and again.
Throw in the eight boards, the six dimes, the three thefts and one hellacious swat of a would-be Boozer lay-up, and Opus had himself quite an eventful evening for a bench scrub that couldn't shoot.

Believe it or not, it is possible to foul The Sickness without punching him in the face. However, and this is hardly sporting of Gino, he tends to make more And-1's when he isn't violently assaulted. Manu won't even take the bait from reporters after games whenever he takes a good lick, he's like some trailer trash wife on COPS that way, "Oh he didn't mean it, he didn't mean it. He's a good man. I know better than to be bothering him after work. Don't take him away, he's a good man..."
(Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)
And guess what ladies and germs! We needed every precious drop of that Ginobili goodness to wash over us because once again Mr. Parker was quite the spaz. I don't even know where to begin. Should I go with the crappy shooting (5-of-14), the Bowenesque performance from the line (6-of-10), the Bibbyish defense on DW (Williams had 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting and 5 assists in the 1st), or the five selfish turnovers?

I swear to God, you wouldn't think it'd be possible, in back-to-back games, but here we are. Manu's three turnovers: Bad pass, bad pass, bad pass. Tony's five turnovers: Travel, travel, charge, lost ball, lost ball. I don't know whether to laugh or cry with him anymore. I guess the moral there is that on the rare occasion the dude does decide to pass, he's not nearly as reckless with it as Gino is. But yeah, I think we can all agree that Tony played as miserably as he possibly could for the first 44 minutes of the game. To his credit, he did hit two big jumpers at the end and he gutted out the game on a bad ankle. Still, methinks that the little guy needs Teemy back, and quickly.

For a guy who got named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" Tony sure does have a habit of breaking out the Mr. Bean Face when taking the ball to the hole in traffic.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
So, uh, what else happened? Pop tinkered with some weird line-ups, starting both Frankie Elson and Matt Bonner and leaving the two Argentines on the bench. I don't know what the ol' coach was smoking with that one. I can't think of a worse combination to play pick-and-roll defense on Boozer and Williams than putting Elson on the former and Parker on the latter. And poor Matty got beaten off the dribble by a pudgy Turk, which sounds almost impossible. Bonner recovered enough to have a decent game, with 13 points and a +7, but the Flying Dutchman was crap. We can't really play him against any team that has a coherent offensive game plan involving a big and more and more it seems as the opposition has made it a point to get back in transition when he's in there since it's the only way Frankie ever scores. No matter how much time passes Frankie keeps making the same dumb mistakes, over and over. He has no basketball I.Q. It's just god damn mind bottling, is what it is.

I know what you're thinking, but no, Elson did not block this shot.
(Photo by D. Clarke Evans/NBAE via Getty Images)
Finally, this was the first national game for the Spurs since David Stern's media-friendly directive to put a microphone on the coaches for the games. We were treated to an early emphatic "Bullshit!" from Pop arguing some non-call, but predictably, none of the in-game stuff suitable for air was interesting at all. Some lady named Stacey kept asking him about the offensive plan, since we were down four going into the fourth and all, and Pop shrewdly cut her off and just focused his answers on getting defensive stops. Meanwhile, I thought it was nice of Jerry Sloan to avoid using "faggot," "cunt," and "cocksucker" for a whole two minutes while she was interviewing him. That had to have been a personal record. I didn't think you had it in you, Jerry.

Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.
(AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Oh and they got really juicy sound of RoHo telling some ref "Good block, good block. That was a good block," after a goaltending call was made against him. Provocative!
That'll really help our break that stereotype about us being boring, Bobby.

This was a lame entry, I apologize. The next one will be better as I'm going to the game. It'll be my first time at a luxury box. I'll try to take pictures an' stuff.

Your 3 Stars... (with apologies to Rocket and Fin... Actually, fuck Michael Finley. Fuck him in the ear. He sucks).

3. Bruce Bowen - Maybe an odd choice, but he totally changed the momentum of the game in the 2nd quarter. Williams was on pace for 44 points (on 20-of-20 shooting) and 20 assists after 12 minutes, but he got shut down in the 2nd. What was the difference, Deron? "They put Bruce Bowen on me." Oh.
2. Fabricio Oberto - He battled Boozer all night long, forced him into several turnovers and finished with 4 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a team best +12. He's officially "The 5th banana" now. You can't argue otherwise. You just can't. I mean you can, but I'll make fun of you on this blog if you do.
1. Manu Ginobili - The best "ugly" game he's ever had, right? Although Game 4 at Utah from last year comes to mind.

Record: 17-3
Up Next: @ Golden State Warriors
Points and points and points aplenty. Expect to see a lot of "midgets" as Charles Barkley would refer to them, on the floor. Is Timmy playing? Doesn't appear to be the case. We're gonna need Tony to step up and some bombs from Brent.

Early Christmas for Spurs Fans

Christmas is still two weeks away, but the Spurs gave their fans two early gifts last week: wins over Dallas and Utah without Tim Duncan in uniform.

The gifts don't stop there. With 20 games in the can, the Spurs are off to a franchise-best start and lead the Western Conference. Early on, we were debating whether the Spurs would win more than 55 games. Now they're on their way to winning 70. (No, I don't think they'll win that many.)

More things to be happy about: we could get that rematch that fans in San Antonio and Phoenix would both welcome. The Suns are in second place, just a game and a half behind the Spurs, followed by New Orleans, Denver, Dallas, Utah, the Lakers and Oakland. The news here, besides the fact that New Orleans looks like a legitimate playoff contender and that Dallas and Utah are struggling (see above), is the Warriors. After losing their first six games without Stephen Jackson, the Warriors have gone on a tear with Jackson back in the lineup -- winning 11 of their last 14 games.

So here we are, just 11 shopping days left until Christmas, and the two hottest teams in the West -- the Spurs and the Warriors -- face off tonight. SpursDynasty will be there in force. Oddsmakers favor the Spurs by only three. Hmm. These teams played twice around this time last year and the scores weren't that close. In late November, the Warriors beat the Spurs at home, 111-102. Parker and Duncan played well, but Ginobili was out and Finley shot poorly. With the big three back in the lineup a week later, the Spurs won 129-89.

Will tonight be another blowout, another gift from the Spurs?

Whatever Happens, Happens

Geez, it's been a long time since I've recapped a game, if you would call it that. Michael coaxed me out of semi-retirement and asked me to handle the duties for Game 18, and, following his lead, I'm only four days late. So here goes nothing.

Game 18: Spurs 100, Trailblazers 79

Tim Duncan was injured. (But not seriously, thank god.) Robert Horry made his season debut. The Spurs won.

Want more? Read Matthew's recap at PtR. Or the AP recap. Or video highlights here.

Games like these say a lot about a team. We know that the Spurs are capable of playing well even without their franchise player. But could the Spurs without Duncan hold on to a small lead and win this game?

"It looked bad at first," said Parker, who scored 27 points and dished out eight assists. "There were still like eight minutes left in the second quarter, so we just had to keep playing, keep playing and then whatever happens, happens."

The answer was a resounding "YES."

When Duncan fell to the court clutching his knee, the Spurs were up by six, 34-28. Without Duncan, the Spurs outscored the Blazers 66-51. Impressive. But what does beating up on the Blazers prove?

While the Blazers may be better than their 5-11 record, they're a very young team and were winless on the road going into San Antonio. By contrast, the Spurs have the oldest roster in the league, are undefeated at home and have tied the best start in franchise history, even with Duncan "putting up relatively modest numbers." So if this win proved anything, it proved that the Spurs, without Duncan, are still the better team.

I haven't a doubt that Tim, and others, will miss games this season. Duncan missed two games last season and missed 16 games when the Spurs won their third title in 2005. Manu Ginobili missed seven and eight games in those seasons, while Tony Parker missed five and two.

What concerns me more than injuries is how the Spurs play when they happen. Playing without Tim, Manu or Tony gives Pop a chance to play his bench, tweak rotations and in the case of this game, still win. To prove, I guess, that game 18 wasn't a fluke, the Spurs beat the Mavericks three nights later. Hell, our Spurs may even beat the Jazz tonight. With or without Duncan.

Whatever happens, happens.

It Wasn't the Cheapshots That Pissed Him Off, It Was the Haircut

Just a tiny winy itty bitty recap of only the neatest game ever.

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