Congratulations, Roger Federer

I stayed up until 4am last night watching Roger Federer win his 4th Australian Open Title, and 16th overall major title. I love Federer. I love his grace, his stoicism, his ability to continually rise to every occasion and leave the rest of the tennis world baffled. At last year's Australian Open, after losing a heartbreaking 5-set final to Nadal (his only true peer in the game), he broke down on the podium, sobbing uncontrollably and letting his emotions spill forth. It was a rare show of vulnerability from a man who is often seen as preternaturally confident and private. Many fans and critics saw it as a crack, a sign of weakness. But this show of humanity made me love him even more. This is why we love sports, not just for the glory in victory, but for the pain in defeat, the humanity, the indomitable human spirit.

Many people wrote him off that day, saying he would never win another major. Exactly one year later he has won 3 more majors and was one set away from winning a 4th. He broke the all-time Major Titles record previously held by Pete Sampras, cementing his place in Tennis History. He is a living legend, and we are blessed to be able to see him play live, to say we were there when it happened. Who knows how much time we have left with him; but I know that I will be there for every Major, for every title, for every collapse of joy and tear of defeat, until the end.

5 hours later I woke up to watch my other sports love. It was a game like so many other this season. We played from behind most of the game, never letting the Nuggets pull away, yet never getting over the hump. I have a lot of thoughts on this game, but CapHill over at PtR summed up most of my thoughts in his post, and I recommend you read it. To me the biggest points of the game were the 3-Point shooting disparity (and the woeful shooting by the Spurs, particularly Duncan, who is clearly in a shooting funk, in general), and the continued excellent play of George Hill and Antonio McDyess. A dispiriting loss, but still room for hope.

For today, however, I'm going to revel in the joy of Federer's latest triumph; I'll get back to worrying about the Spurs tomorrow.

Hill Tries to Steal Parker's Wife; Instead, Steals His Game

Tonight's game was quite odd. In so many ways, we played poorly. There were more careless turnovers than I care to remember, often leading to easy transition baskets for the Grizzlies (and often leading to their own ridiculous turnovers). We were unable to get a convincing stop down the stretch. Despite the nice numbers, Duncan really had a poor game, getting blocked on consecutive trips down into the low block and more or less getting owned by the Memphis bigs' defense. And yet we led the whole game anywhere from 2 to 11 points. Despite the Grizzlies best efforts, it never felt like we were going to lose. It was a good win, but not a spectacular one.

George Hill and Roger Mason, Jr. carried the team for important stretches. Hill came out aggressive, attacking the rim with ferocity and zeal. Mason, Jr. shot the Grizzlies out of the game in the 4th, hitting clutch basket after clutch basket. It was nice to see these two players come up big for us.

It was also nice to see McDyess have a third consecutive solid game. Rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated it would appear. Right now he's averaging about a 5/5 (points/rebounds). It'd be nice to see his average sitting somewhere closer to 10/10. Then, if we can get something similar from Blair off the bench, that would give us 20 points and 20 rebounds from our "other" big. That would be incredible.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about this game was how unremarkable it was. It just felt like another mid-season win for a Spurs team poised to make a second half surge, the type of win we've seen a hundred times in the past. No glaring holes or weaknesses, nothing to set off the alarm bells. Just a nice, normal game to enjoy.

Looking Forward:

Looks like the voodoo worked. That makes us 2 for 2 with ritualistic voodoo sacrifice to compensate for our lack of lock down defense, team chemistry, and offensive consistency.

So what do we do for nuggets?

Stick a fork in 'em

The Grizzlies, that is. Allow me to explain.

Before the Spurs-Hawks game the other night, I sacrificed a hawk. Ok, it was actually a pigeon. And I didn’t exactly sacrifice it; my wife ate it for lunch at a Cantonese restaurant. I made sure to hex it and hurl a few profanities its way before she ate it, though. And the result revealed something that should have been obvious all along: What the 2009-2010 Spurs have been missing is not chemistry, or commitment to team defensive principles, or height, or PT for Ian “the D-League Dominator” Mahinmi, or a player on the roster who doesn’t look foolish trying to guard Dirk “Deutschebag” Nowitski, or a roster with fewer creaky vets and more youthful athleticism. Please. They’re right on the cusp of being a great team. All they need now is a little heartfelt voodoo.

I remain convinced that the heroic action I took against Lindsey “Lohan” Hunter in the fourth quarter of Game 7 of the 2005 Finals pushed the Spurs over the top and gave them their third championship. Don’t recall my heroism? Let me engage in a brief bit of verbal onanism. Until that point, Hunter had been eating the Spurs alive (along with Beno Udrih’s career), so in my desperation I did the only logical thing: amidst a turbulent sea of cocky Pistons fans at a San Francisco sports bar, I ate him. The rest is history. You’re welcome, Spurs fans.

By 2007 a combination of complacency, confidence that the Spurs had outgrown their need for my supernatural support, and actually having better things to do with my time conspired to retire me from the voodoo business. Their 2007 voodoo-free ’ship appeared to vindicate my belief that such self-absorption and o’erweening hubris (i.e. that the Spurs were good enough to win championships without my voodoo) were acceptable.

But now, as if raised by a voodoo ritual myself, I have returned from the Hades of my own complacency. My wife will be thrilled.

For tonight’s game, I have concocted a simple voodoo strategy: panda vandalism. If you’re a real Spurs fan and not merely a self-deceiving poseur, you will download these PDF instructions and execute them as faithfully and maliciously as possible.


(A note to my daughter, if somehow you happen to read this at some point in the future when you can read: No, of course I didn’t actually hurt your precious pandas. I’m well aware that daddies who do such things go to hell. I only took their photo and then returned them, unmolested, to your pile of stuffed animals. Then I hurt someone else's pandas instead.)

The Spurs are struggling with a number of obstacles this season: age, Tony’s injuries, new players still learning the defensive system, RJ’s difficulty fitting in on both ends of the court, one of the toughest Western Conference races ever, and Manu’s being weighed down by that enormous chip he’s obviously carrying around on his shoulder. They need your help. I may or may not be at leisure to sully this blog with an occasional demented rant as the regular season goes on, but either way, I expect you loyal SpursDynasty readers to build on the foundation I have laid today. With voodoo, the Spurs are 1-0 against good teams this year (100%, folks!) and look focused, energetic, and resilient. Without it, they flop around like a 25-18 fish out of water on its last legs.*

Statistically, it’s a no-brainer: Stick a fork in those Grizzlies, or impale ’em with whatever pointy implement is lying around. Make the enemy mascot your lunch on every game day. (Unfortunately, the Lakers present a certain logistical challenge in that regard, but I’m sure you resourceful Spurs fans can find a way.) It’s your voo-duty.

*Yes, perhaps the most brilliant sentence I have ever written.

When You Eat With the Devil Use A Long Spoon

I watched the second half of the Suns 112-106 win over the Mavs tonight. I wanted to get a better handle on Amar'e and what he could bring to the Spurs; plus, Mavs-Suns always seems to produce entertaining basketball. It's also about the only time I'll end up rooting for the Suns.

Three things of interest:

1. He only had one rebound for the entire game.

2. On the season, he has 48 assists and 121 turnovers. That's an average of 1 assist/game and 2.57 TOs / game, for a horrible 0.39 assist:TO ratio. Ouch. For his career, his A:TO is 0.52. Basically, he turns the ball over twice for every assist. I know assist numbers can be deceiving for the player on the receiving end of most Pick and Rolls...but still.

3. He didn't play the entire 4th quarter. A quarter in which the Suns outscored the Mavs 28-16, played really good defense, and seized control of the game. As the team dug in their heels, got stops, and took the game, Gentry saw fit to keep their marquee player and best point maker on the bench. I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

All of these things point to a player that the Spurs probably don't need or want. Take away the baggage and the name recognition, and just look at the strengths and weaknesses and the production, and it's probably not a good fit for what the Spurs need.

One other point of contention that I haven't seen mentioned yet other than Kelly Dwyer's great article today: Amar'e has a player option for next season. Most people assume that he'll opt out and join free agency. But with his stock dropping every so slightly, and the market being what it is, who's to say he wouldn't pick up the option and get the $18 million he has coming to him. If he were on the Spurs and picked up the option, that could completely cripple the franchise.

You know who would be a good fit from that team? Grant Hill. Fits the Spurs mold perfectly, too. Cagey veteran, smart as hell, and leaves it all on the floor.

Other names that we've been linked to are Tayshaun Prince from Detroit, Marvin Williams from Atlanta, and Marcus Camby from The Clippers (that was last season, but I'm sure the interest is still there). I actually like all three players and how they could fit in with the Spurs. There are two glaring needs for the team right now: another legitimate big, preferably an honest-to-God center; and a versatile small forward that can play slightly bigger or slightly smaller if needed.

Camby would fit the bill on the first, and would be a pretty good running mate with Duncan. Prince, when healthy, is exactly what we need on the second. He could be a legitimate PF when we play small with Duncan. His defensive versatility is great. A line-up with Duncan, Prince, Hill, and Manu would be quite the defensive team. Prince is having a down year this season, but he's always been one of my favorite players in the league, and a player I've always wanted to see in a Spurs' uniform. I don't know much about Williams, other than he's been a tad disappointing, especially considering the talent that followed him in the draft (Chris Paul and Deron Williams). But he seems like a good Spurs fit: a hard worker with defensive leanings and tremendous athletic ability who can hit the corner 3.

It feels like the Spurs will be making a move this season. The writing is on the wall, and we're still a piece or two short. What can we get? And, more importantly, what will we have to give up to get it? Ginobili and his contract is very appealing and is probably our strongest asset and trading chip. Is that a move that the Front Office is willing to make? Can you trade the heart of your team and make it better?

Can you make a deal with the devil and come out the victor?

The Battle and The War

We beat the Atlanta Hawks 105-90 tonight. It was a well-played and (perhaps more importantly) hard-fought win for our beleaguered team. Antonio McDyess was reinserted back into the starting line-up and responded with his best overall game as a Spur. He had 17 points on 8-9 shooting. More importantly, he was active on both ends of the floor. Let's hope this is a sign of McDyess rounding into his usually excellent second half form. I love Blair; but McDyess's best is better than Blair's best, and McDyess, not Blair, gives us the best chance of making some noise in the post-season.

George Hill also had a marvelous game. He got us going in the first, scoring on jumpers and Parker-esque drives to the hoop. He has a confidence and coolness that belies his age. Although I am a fan of Bogans, I am very pleased with Hill and his promotion to the starting line-up. Plus, I think Bogans is better served as a defensive specialist off the bench.

But the game belonged to Tim Duncan. 21 points, 26 rebounds, 6 assists in 35 minutes. He was a beast, and his defensive effort was clearly raised a notch or two. More than anything, that is this team's barometer. When Duncan starts raising his intensity and focus on the defensive end, that's when the Spurs start to make their surge. Let's hope it's here to stay and not just a reaction to losing 3 home games in a row.

Despite Atlanta's 30 point 3rd quarter, our defense was actually quite good tonight. We controlled the paint and the glass for the most part, and we forced Atlanta to take the shots we wanted them to take. It just so happens that Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford were making those shots. That's not bad defense; that's spectacular (and a little lucky) offense. Almost all of their shots were contested mid-to-long 2 point jump shots, precisely the shot defenses want to give up. If the other team makes them, you tip your hat and play on. Outside of those two players, the rest of the team scored 34 points (24 of which came from Marvin Williams and Josh Smith) and shot 10-43, a baffling 23% from the field. I would say that's good defense.

Finally, I was quite pleased with the rotation tonight. If McDyess continues to play this way, I like him back in the starting line-up with Jefferson, Parker, Hill and Duncan. Ginobili and Blair will be our first off the bench with Bogans used situationally (more defense, or, like tonight, to spell Hill with foul trouble). I like Blair off the bench for two reasons: One, he is a high energy player who can change the feel and complexion of a game instantaneously (much like Ginobili); two, he plays really well with Ginobili. The two have a natural rapport with each other on the court. Bonner and Mason, Jr. round out the rotation, as our best shooters off the bench. (Bonner is clearly out of sync and struggling, but once he gets that first 3 to fall, I think he'll start settling back in). It will be interesting to see what the return of Finley does to the rotation.

Of course, this could all be moot, as Parker left the game in the 3rd quarter with a sprained left ankle. Winning the battle, losing the war.

We won't know how serious the injury is for at least a day or two, but it seems certain with the way that he was carried off the court that he'll miss playing time. The Spurs have shown great resilience in playing with star players down. Hill is more than capable to fill in for Parker. The real concern is who then fills in for Hill? Will Ginobili be used as our other PG? Will Mason, Jr. get some more run as a PG?

The other concern is exactly how many games he will miss. An ankle sprain can mean missing anywhere from a game or two to missing several weeks. Couple in Parker's history of ankle injuries, and there's just no way to tell. In a crowded Western Conference, a key injury can mean the difference between the 2 seed or missing the playoffs entirely. With an impossibly tough schedule coming up over the next month, it is not a good time to lose your starting PG and motor of the offense.

But there could be a silver lining to all of this: rest for Tony Parker. Perhaps now he'll be forced to sit out. And while his ankle heals, he can get some much needed rest. His plantar fasciitis can not heal completely, but rest and inactivity can help it. And when we get him back, maybe he'll be a bit refreshed, and we'll see more of the Tony Parker we've grown accustomed to seeing, zipping past players into the paint and dropping his teardrops and layups into the basket. In which case, we'll be better positioned to fight well in the war as well.

Looking Forward:

Everybody knows about the rumor that came out today about the Spurs' interest in Amar'e Stoudemire. To most Spurs fans this must seem like a cruel joke. There is perhaps no player more antithetical to the Spurs' Culture than Mr. Stoudemire, who is perceived as an all-offense/ no-defense chemistry-killing loser who can score lots of points but does nothing to help teams win games. Whether accurate or not, I can't imagine a player being less accepted by Spurs' faithful than Amar'e.

But there's still reason to consider the trade. Players of his size and athleticism are extremely rare, and he has proven his ability to score big-time points in big-time situations. Is it too crazy to think that if he were to be paired with Tim Duncan Coach Popovich that his defensive effort and intensity might increase? And that he might rebound more? Could the Spurs' all-encompassing and winning culture make even Stoudemire happy?

I doubt the trade will happen; big ones rarely do. But it does seem like a move is coming for the Spurs. The real question is: of what magnitude? And who is leaving?

The Memphis Grizzlies come to town Friday night. They are playing absolutely great right now, and have played themselves into the thick of the playoff hunt. We lost a close one to them in Memphis about 10 days ago; it would be nice to exact some revenge. It would also be nice to start a little winning streak and build some momentum while playing winning basketball, something we seemingly haven't done in almost 2 years.

At Least I Won't Have to Worry About Making Plans in June...Or May

Another night, another soul-crushing loss. I must plead ignorance because I only watched the last 5 minutes of the game; but I feel like I saw enough in that 5 minutes, which is the same thing we saw in the last 5 minutes of the last game, and the game before that, and many times this season: we can not get defensive stops.

But I saw something else in these 5 minutes as well: our offense is horrid in the end of close games. Gone are the days of superb execution and getting exactly the shot we want. Now it seems as if we're settling for one on one, driving into multiple defenders, hoping for bail out foul calls from the refs and hoisting up bad shots. (To be fair, Parker looked good in the end game. But that's it. And only when he really did it all himself, usually in early offense.) Our players are trying to win the games themselves, rather than trusting the team and the system and working to get the perfect shot. It reminds me of the old Lost adage: live together; die alone. Hey, at least I have Lost coming back to me next week since the Spurs seem dead set on ending the season as early as possible and making every moment until then as painful as possible.

Maybe I missed something in the previous 43 minutes that would help explain the game better. Is there a reason we went to an 8-man rotation? Is there a reason that Manu was our PF down the stretch? I'm sure there's reasonable explanations for these things. But there's no good explanation for this: in the last 5 minutes, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker were outplayed by Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah. And it wasn't even close.

Looking Forward:

Atlanta comes to town Wednesday night. This could get ugly.

Pop Listened to Me, So We Should Listen To Him

Way back when, I wrote this:

I wouldn't be surprised to see Hill get a start in one of these games. A starting line-up of Duncan, Parker, Hill, Jefferson, and McDyess/Blair would be interesting. With his long arms, Hill can guard PGs all the way up to finesse PFs. Having him on the floor with Parker gives us another ball handler, and allows both to handle and play off the ball (remember, George was a 2 guard in college, and Parker plays very well off the ball). Manu could check in for Geoge about the 7-minute mark, then Hill could come back in for Parker near the end of the 1st/beginning of the 2nd.Just a thought, if you're reading, Pop.

It seems as if Pop is reading, because that's exactly what he did to start the game. And it seemed to be working beautifully, as we got off to a great start, jumping on them early and building a double-digit lead just minutes into the game.

Then it all started to unravel as the Rockets started chipping away at the lead. By halftime it was tied, and by the 4th quarter they had built a double-digit lead. Unfortunately, we were never able to get all the way back into the ball game.

I watched the second half of the game at a bar waiting to play a show. There were 40 TVs playing the Blazers-Celtics game (which the Blazers lost in heartbreaking fashion in OT), and one playing the Spurs game. I was shocked to see that the Spurs game was on; by the end of the game, I was pissed that it was on. I would have rather not seen that pathetic performance right before going on stage.

Since I watched the second half in a crowded, loud bar with no sound and plenty of interruptions, I'll leave the recapping to Pop:

You got to play a lick of defense if you want to win in this league. Our defense against Utah and against Houston was very poor. 60 points in the second half against Utah and 61 in the second half tonight. That’s not going to win basketball games. It looks like the effort and all that sort of thing is great, but way too many mistakes…not enough focus…not enough execution. We’re scoring enough points to win games. We’re scoring more points than we’ve ever scored in our lives, but our defense is really sub-par and it’s killing us.

Timothy Varner over at 48MoH has written a great recap of the game that addresses several of the issues I was going to talk about. There seems to be an obvious correlation between our lack of defensive power and our over reliance on small ball, especially to close out games. It's hard to protect the rim when Richard Jefferson is your PF. But it's also obvious that outside of Duncan (and sometimes Blair, who really isn't that big to begin with), we have no other big who really deserves crunch time minutes. McDyess isn't getting it done; Bonner is still injured and not a great defender as it is; Ratliff, while a great defender, essentially handicaps us on offense. So what's the answer? I don't know. A trade? But is that even our biggest glaring hole? It seems like what we need more is a SF to back up Jefferson a bit more. I have more thoughts on this for a later post.

The other issue is Tony Parker, and more importantly his bum foot. With Plantar Fasciitis, there are no easy answers. We can try resting Parker for a game here or there, or maybe even a week or two. But for total recovery, he's probably going to need at least 2-3 months rest. It took me(granted, not an elite athlete with a world-class trainer at my disposal) 3-4 months of complete rest with absolutely no activity to finally get over it. If 3 months rest isn't in the cards for Parker (that would take us right to the start of the playoffs, if we'd even make it without TP), then what he is doing is all he can do: wearing the straussburg sock at night. I had to wear this damned thing every night for months.

It feels like something is broken, doesn't it? We're just not the team we've been nor the team we thought we'd be. Nothing seems to be working, and the mystique is quickly evaporating. No longer can we be counted on to pull out the crucial win down the stretch. Something needs to change, but I don't know what it is. I hope to God that Pop and Buford do.

Looking Forward:

The home stand continues on Monday night as Chicago comes to town. The Bulls have been playing much better of late, posting an impressive win over the Suns in Phoenix last night (I also got to watch that game in the bar). You might remember that they kicked our butts in the second game of the year, as well. I would say a little payback is in order, but the way this team is playing, I have my doubts. At this point, I just want to see us win a game.

Mid-Season Report

41 games in the books, 41 more to go. We're sitting at 25-16, projecting us to 50-32. While respectable, 50 wins is below the Spurs usual expectations of excellence; and in the overcrowded and competitive Western Conference, 50 wins will most likely get you into the bottom half of the playoff bracket. Not where Champions usually come from.

Clearly, we have some work to do. Let's review, shall we...

1. Health. The concerns coming into the season were Duncan's knees, and Ginobili's overall health. So far, both seem to be holding up quite well. Duncan, especially, looks great. He is moving as well as I've seen him move in the last few years. But that was the case last year. His knees did not start failing him until after the All-Star break, and it seemed to come on rather quickly. So I reserve assessment of this until the 4th quarter of the season.

Ginobili, while healthy, does look a step slow. Perhaps it's age and years of reckless playing catching up to him; perhaps he's still coming back from 2 years of frustration and inactivity. Either way, he seems to lack the explosion that defined his game for years. He's still great, getting by on intelligence and craftiness. But it is sad to see him unable to finish at the rim consistently and missing the acrobatic lay-ups he used to make with alarming consistency. Still, he's been on an upward trajectory the whole season; continuing that trend will go a long way in defining the team.

2. Tony. The real concern with health, as it turns out, is Tony Parker. Plantar Fasciitis is painful as hell and cripples quickness in a player. Parker is still playing well, but not nearly as well as we need. He can still get to the rim, but he's not finishing. How many easy buckets has he missed this year? Where is the tear drop?

The thought at the beginning of the season was that Tony was going to be the engine of the offense. It's clear now that that can not happen. He is not going to heal until the off-season, and he will continue to be inconsistent for the remainder. We can expect some great games from him, but we can also expect some lemons, especially in back-to-backs and short turnarounds. This is my biggest concern moving forward. I think it would be wise to limit Parker's minutes and even sit him out some games down the stretch.

3. Return To Defense. The defense has steadily improved throughout the season, but it's not where it needs to be. What's missing is the crunch-time defense of Championship years past. When we need stops, we're not getting them. Did you watch the end of the Jazz game? We were able to make some baskets and crawl back into the game; but we were never able to get that critical stop that might have turned the game or allowed us over the hump. To me, that's all about desire and intensity. Will we bring it in the second half of the season?

4. Roster Overhaul. This is probably the most disappointing aspect of the season thus far. We made all these moves in the offseason to match up with the league powers, and we're really getting nothing from them. Jefferson is struggling to find his role and often disappears for long stretches. We've seen glimpses of his athleticism on both ends of the floor, but he has yet to be a game changing force. McDyess is virtually a non-factor, being so impactless that he is losing his playing time to a rookie and small ball. The scouting report on him is that he is a second half player; I hope he gets the memo. Bogans has regressed to the mean and should get his playing time curtailed. Haislip has yet to play a meaningful minute. Ratliff has been solid and productive in his minutes, but we brought him here more as insurance, not to be a vital cog in the system.

All of those moves, and we're right back where we were the last two seasons: relying on the Big 3 and an increasingly ineffective spat of role players. With the trade deadline looming, it begs the question: do we have another move in us? Should we make another move?

5. The Youth Movement. In fact, our two most productive players outside of the Big 3 have probably been two of our youngest--George Hill (more on him later) and DeJuan Blair. Blair has been a revelation. He's still working through his rookie mistakes, and still learning the game and the system. But the man just understands basketball and the court in a way that can not be taught. He is a high-impact player; he makes things happen. He's no franchise centerpiece, but if he's your second big alongside Tim Duncan, you're doing alright.

Hairston didn't have the impact I had hoped, but we still have high hopes for him in the future.

6. George Hill. What's most impressive about George is his poise. He carries himself with the demeanor of a seasoned veteran who has been through hundreds of playoff battles. He is unflappable. He still has a lot to learn and improve upon, but with his athleticism, poise, defense, and intense will to compete and win, I trust him on the court in the endgame. Right now I would say he is our 4th most important player.

7. Chemistry/Rotation. Again, a bit of a disappointment. Our two big acquisitions seem to be having trouble fitting in. I fear that in trying to get more talented, we have sacrificed that thing that has made us so good for so many years, what Pop calls "corporate knowledge", that ability to play with each other and off each other with trust and precision, to orchestrate our offense and defense with a maestro's touch, all the pieces moving independently from each other but in perfect harmony, creating beauty from apparent randomness. How's that metaphor for you? We still have 41 more games to find it.

The rotation seems to be settling in nicely, though. It will be interesting to see how things shake out once Finley and Bonner return from their injuries.

8. Finley/Bonner/Mason, Jr. Bonner was having a productive year coming off the bench (a role better suited to him) until he got hurt. I think he still has value as a floor-stretching big off the bench, but only if he can knock down the three at a 40% clip. I feel like I haven't seen Finley in forever, but I don't know what his role will be. He can still shoot the lights out, but seems to be able to do much else at a championship level. Still, Pop trusts him. But does he trust him more that Hill now that Hill is playing so well? And I think Roger has fallen into our "microwave" role, instant offense off the bench. He is a fearless gunner, and you see Pop put him in when we need to score points in a hurry. I think his game is more well-rounded this year, but I also think more than anyone else, his minutes and spot in the rotation will be more dictated by needs than anything else.

9. The Rest of the West. We're in a dog fight. 11 teams are over .500 in the West. After the Lakers, there is a mess. There's really no telling how things will shake out. Hell, even the Lakers are vulnerable, if anybody in the West cares to step up. Dallas is playing quite well, but seem to be wildly inconsistent. Denver is playing well, but are one key injury or meltdown away from irrelevance. The Blazers are injured, but still competitive and scary. The Jazz own us. Phoenix seems to have fallen back to Earth, but are always dangerous with Nash and Stoudemire. New Orleans still has Chris Paul. The Thunder are good, young, and hungry. And even the Clippers and the Grizzlies are playing inspired basketball of late. No team is guaranteed into the playoffs yet. It's going to be a battle.

10. Road / Home. I feel like we let a great opportunity slip away from us by not winning more home games over the first half of the season. We had a very easy, front-loaded home schedule. And while we are a good 17-7 at home so far, I think we could have been better. We are in the midst of our last meaningful home stand, with games still left against Houston, Chicago, Atlanta, Memphis and Denver. Every single one of these is a big game, and these next 5 home games will help set the tone for the second half of the season.

At 8-9 on the road, we're just not very good right now. And we need to get better in a hurry, because we have a tough road schedule ahead of us.

At the beginning of the year, I mentioned the ratio of road wins:home losses as a indicator of future success. Right now, we're +1 (8 road wins, 7 home losses). Of the 11 winning teams in the West, that is second worst, better only than the Clippers (-4). Dallas is +8, while the Lakers and Denver are both +6. In the East, Cleveland is a sizzling +14, Boston is +9, and Orlando is +8.

We have a lot of work to do. And the second half of the season gives us a lot of chances.

11. Finishing Strong. We're playing good, but not great. The schedule has been favorable for us, and we haven't fully taken advantage of it. From here on out, the competition gets tougher, and the schedule gets more demanding. We have to rise and meet the challenge head on. Playing the way we've been playing over the first half of the season will not net us another 25 wins in the second half of the season. It's time for our usual surge, our kick at the end of the race.

Can we do it? I don't know. As the cliche goes, that's why they play the games. As dispiriting as the first half of the season has been, there have been positive signs in the last few weeks, signs that we're starting to come together, starting to figure it out, and starting to trust each other and play winning basketball.

Regardless of outcome, I know where I'll be for the rest of the season: watching each game and cheering my ass off. Win or lose, the Spurs are my team, which makes them almost like family.

Go Spurs Go.

The Good News: We Don't Have to Play the Jazz Again This Year**

**Except maybe in the playoffs. Please God, no.

Aaaaarrrrrrrggggggggggghhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Ok. Deep breath. Let's just get that out of the way up top.

I hate playing the Jazz. Boozer always seems to have a career night against us; they are tough and physical, fouling hard and often, so that as the game wears on, the refs adjust to their physicality and stop calling them for fouls (though apparently Tim Duncan is no longer allowed to touch other players); and they execute flawlessly. The thing us, up until this year, even though I hated playing them, the Spurs had them figured out. We all know the stat: they hadn't won a game in San Antonio since 1999. But this year something changed, and they have our number. We just can't get it done. We went on a 25-0 (25 to zero!!) run and still lost by 7 points. The Jazz have had a pretty hot and cold season, but against us, they are a scorching 4-0. To put it another way, the Jazz account for 25% of our losses.

I'm sure most readers by now are aware of the article published in Argentina in which Ginobili says he does not expect a contract extension, and that he's quite sure he'll be a free agent. At the two sites linked, there are quite boisterous conversations being had about what this means, what we should do, and the fate of Ginobili and the franchise. (Updates here and here.) My feelings on Ginobili are well documented, and it would kill me to see him go. But I'm going to refrain from overreacting; this could really mean a number of things, including nothing. We know what we have with Ginobili, and we know he'll play his ass off for the Spurs, regardless of any extenuating circumstances. You need look no further than tonight's game to measure his value to our team. He sparked the team in the first quarter when we literally could not score, and he was by far our best player on the court.

Duncan, on the other hand, was not our best player on the court. He may have been one of the worst, in all honesty. I really think the pressure of getting to 20,000 points was affecting him, as he was pressing the whole game, missing shots he always makes, and just not playing his usual brand of smart, efficient basketball. Of course, in the great ironies of ironies, Duncan fouled out of the game (how often does Duncan foul out?) stuck at 19,999. I'd laugh if I wasn't so pissed about the game. I guess we'll have to wait until Friday night at Houston; I don't think the Rockets are going to hold him scoreless.

Looking Forward:

One half of the season behind us; the important half in front of us. I hope to be back early Friday with a mid-season report. Right now we sit at 25-16, projecting us to a 50-win team...barely. Luckily, we don't have to play the Jazz anymore, so that should help the win column. Sadly, while 50 wins will most certainly get a team into the playoffs, in the Western Conference a 50-win team could be as low as a 6 or even 7 seed. We definitely need to play better.

In the short term, the Rockets come to town Friday night. Playing the Rockets is always a low-scoring, defensive slog. I expect the same Friday...and I expect a win to kick off the second half of the season in proper form.

Hornets No Longer Scary; Posey Still Dirty

I'm with Sean Elliott; I hate getting big leads early in games. It's just a matter of time before the other team makes their run. Talent and player quality aside (that's a big aside, I know), early leads are usually generated by a higher energy level by the winning team. When the losing team invariably raises their energy and makes their run, it is then incumbent on the team with the lead to raise their level to match. But when you race out to a big lead, you usually settle in to an energy level and a rhythm, and you start coasting. When the other team makes it's run at you, it can be very hard to shake out of that complacency. Before you know it, a 17 point lead is now a 5 point lead, all momentum has swung in the other team's favor, and suddenly your gasping to keep up. This usually isn't an indictment of the winning team's play; it's just a function of the opposing team's (and hence, the game's) rise in energy level.

In that light, I found the Spurs' victory over New Orleans more impressive than a blow out win. We got big leads on them several times and we were effectively able to take their best shot on the chin, raise our level of play, and beat them. That's good practice for the playoffs. If everything is in preparation for the playoffs, then a game like this is much more valuable than a blowout.

Looking Forward:

Utah is in town Wednesday night for the 41st game of the season, which for you math majors, marks the midway point of the season. After the game I'll have a more thorough mid-season analysis, but several weeks ago my projected (ie, hoped for) win total after the 41st game was 26 wins. So if we can get the win, we're right on pace. This is also our last game against the Jazz this year, who have spanked us three times prior, so a bit of revenge/pride will be in play. Also, there is a high probability that Tim Duncan will pass the 20,000 point milestone during the game, which probably means very little to him, but should mean a lot to those of us that follow and love him. And the game is on ESPN.

Should be a fun night.

DNP-Tired and Lifeless

Game 39: Memphis 92, San Antonio 86

The nice thing about NBA League Pass is that I can go back and watch games later if my schedule doesn't allow me to do so live. Yesterday I opted to watch the NFL Playoffs live and catch the Spurs game later.

The football games, however, sucked. Really just a bad day of football. I was keeping my eye on the Spurs game, and was shocked to see that we were all of a sudden down by just one point with 2 minutes left (after trailing by as many as 14 in the 2nd half). So I jumped away from the football and watched the last 2 minutes of the Spurs game live. Here is what I saw:


"Fat" Zach Mugs Timmy
Photo by Mark Weber
--Spurs get a stop; Duncan misses a bunny on the other end.
--Spurs get a stop, somehow have Keith Bogans guarding Zach Randolph. Bogans is unable to box out "fat" Zach, who gets offensive board, gets fouled, and makes both free throws. 87-84, Grizzlies.
--Mason, Jr. badly misses 3, Ginobili gets rebound, gets it back to Mason, Jr., who steps just inside the arc and makes a 2. 87-86, Grizzlies.
--Spurs get stop, Duncan gets rebound; Randolph "steals" ball as Duncan tries to outlet to Hill. Randolph is fouled, sinks both free throws. 89-86, Grizzlies.
--Spurs run good out of bounds play for Mason, Jr. who badly misses the 3. Grizzlies get rebound, get fouled, sink both free throws. 91-86, Grizzlies. Game (essentially) over.

Three things I noticed:

1. We got the three defensive stops in a row that we needed, but we were unable to convert any of them to take the lead or tie the game. We gave up one offensive rebound and had one ball "stolen" (Randolph blindly stuck his hand out, and Duncan threw the ball right into it).

2. If there's one knock on Duncan, it's that he is often careless with the ball post-rebound. How many times has he thrown the ball away trying to get a quick outlet pass up the court, only to have it picked off? When it works, it's beautiful. But sometimes I wish he'd just hold the ball for an extra second and secure the possession. Randolph was very lucky to get that steal, and it's hard to fault Duncan. But there was no need to get the ball to George Hill that quickly. There was plenty of time left on the clock; we probably should have called a timeout, anyway. If he'd just held the ball, the Grizzlies would have retreated to defense, and we would have had a chance.

3. I have no problems giving Roger the big shots in the end of games. He has proven that he can make them. But when we were down 89-86, I feel like he took that 3-pointer too quickly. The play was drawn up the way it played out, but it felt like he rushed the shot, turning around, setting his feet, and shooting all in one motion. It didn't feel like our best option the way it played out.

It was a tough loss. From what I can gather, the team was listless and lifeless. Duncan kept us in the game for the majority of the time, and Roger shot us back into it late. But again, it was too little, too late. The Grizzlies are a good team, and we were playing our 5th game in 7 nights. We didn't play with the energy necessary to beat a good team. It happens. It sucks to lose, but it happens.

Looking Forward

We have a Monday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) matinee in New Orleans. The Hornets are playing better as of late. We need a win. 3 losses in a row would erase all of the positive strides we had made in the week prior.

For those interested, 48MoH has linked to a great article on DeJuan Blair. A very enjoyable read.

Kitty's Got Claws

Game 38: Charlotte 92, San Antonio 76

We were bound (and perhaps, due) for a game like this.

The first half was a slow, grind-it-out affair. Neither team was shooting particularly well. We were playing loose and with no energy. We were turning the ball over with careless passing and ball-handling. We were sluggish. We were able to stay in the game with decent defense, and some good offensive board work from Blair.

In the second half we played the same and the Bobcats played better. They increased their energy and we didn't. Suddenly they were out and running on stops and TOs, getting easy baskets in transition. And they started making shots. And making shots. And making shots. And we kept missing, and missing, and missing.... This is a game where we could have used Bonner or Finley coming off the bench and giving us a spark with some timely made shots.


Photo by Jeff Siner
It was an ugly game. The Bobcats played tremendous defense, racking up 11 steals and 10 blocks. We helped them out by playing with zero energy and treating the ball like a red-headed stepchild.

Like I said, this was bound to happen. This was our 4th game in 6 nights, with another one looming tomorrow. Some nights you just don't have it, and we didn't tonight.

Did you see that line-up that closed the game in garbage time? 2 PFs, 2 centers, and a shooting guard. Gotta love Pop.

Looking Forward:

And we get to do it again tomorrow night. We head into Memphis to take on the streaking Grizzlies. Of the two games, this is the more important, as they are a division rival (I use that word loosely).

Quick thought: why do we always sit players on the back end of back-to-backs? Wouldn't it make just as much sense to rest them on the front end, if the goal is just an extra night off? If we're going to sit Duncan one of these two games, wouldn't it have made just as much sense to rest him for tonight's game against the Bobcats and have him available for the Grizzlies big front line of Randolph and (the other) Gasol? I feel like playing a more open, free-wheeling offense (without Duncan) against the Bobcats would have played less to their strength (half-court defense), while playing a more Duncan-centric offense would be better against Memphis.

I don't know if we're resting Duncan. But it just seems that it makes sense to look at match-ups and pick the best game to rest him in a back-to-back, rather than it just arbitrarily always being the second game.

Plantar Fasciitis Sucks Balls

Game 37: San Antonio 109, Oklahoma City 108 OT

The two biggest story lines coming out of last night's game were Ginobili's out of bounds dive to save the ball and the game and DeJuan Blair.


Lots to smile about tonight
Photo by Bryan Terry
What can you say about Blair's game? It was stupendous. The last rookie to post a 20-20 game? One Mr. Tim Duncan.

Ginobili's play perfectly personifies why he's such an amazing basketball player (and athlete), and why we love him so. He can play a perfectly mediocre to horrible game for 52 1/2 minutes, failing to even record a field goal; but then with one leap out of bounds and amazing pass to an open teammate in the corner, he can make the play of the game. He's all hustle, heart, and head. His devotion to winning is second to none.

But the story of the game for me was Tony Parker. After Tuesday's win over Los Angeles, Parker casually let it slip that he has plantar fasciitis . This is no little thing. Plantar fasciitis hurts and severely limits mobility. All season we've been wondering if something was wrong with Parker, as he seemed to lack his usual quickness and explosiveness. Now I'm shocked that he's even playing at 75% capacity.

I've had plantar fasciitis. It effectively ruined my ultimate frisbee "career" (don't laugh; at the highest level of competition, ultimate frisbee is filled with superb athletes and ruthless competitors). It's hard to describe the pain; it's like a needle being pushed into the bottom of your foot and heel with every step. It just fucking hurts. What it limits the most is quickness and change of direction. Sound like somebody we know? And even more than the pain is the thought of the pain, and the chance of the pain, causing just the slightest of hesitation before making any sudden movements. That momentary pause is enough to completely destroy the effectiveness of a player who relies on quickness and movement.

The other major downside of plantar fasciitis? There's really no cure, no way to heal it, save for rest. Lots and lots of rest. Without taking some serious time off, Parker ain't getting that anytime soon. A game off here or there probably won't help much. So this is the Parker we will probably have for the rest of the season.

With that in mind, I was very happy with the game he played against the Thunder, especially in the first half. Parker came out firing, scoring at will, and orchestrating the offense with a maestro's touch. It was vintage Parker. He carried the Spurs out to a 19 point lead, which settled at 12 at the half. He was unguardable.

The second half was a different story, as he seemed to grow cold and lost his will and/or ability to drive to the net. A lot of this must be attributed to the Thunder defense. But this should also be expected from someone suffering from plantar fasciitis. Once you get warmed up and start moving, the pain can start to dissipate, as the tendon loosens up. But with prolonged rest or inactivity, the tendon will tighten up and begin hurting again. It makes perfect sense that Parker would start the second half in pain. This is also something to watch going forward: can Parker stay warm and loose into the second half?

This is a development with season-long implications, and is something we should keep an eye on from here on out. If last night's game is any indication, it may be manageable, and we still may be able to get enough of Parker to seriously compete at the level we want.

Looking Forward:

We have another tough back-to-back looming with a game Friday against Charlotte and Saturday against Memphis, both on the road. Both teams have been playing very well of late and will present great tests for us. Charlotte is a great defensive team, and this could be a classic grind it out/wear them down game. Memphis is, in my mind, probably the biggest surprise of the season. They're over .500, Zach Randolph of all people is having an all-star caliber season, and they just seem to be getting it. They've put together some pretty impressive wins over the last month. Neither of these games is to be taken lightly. It will be interesting to see what Pop does with the rotation. Will he sit some veterans for either of the games? Will he give some lesser used players some more chances? Both game are immensely winnable, yet very losable.

The win against the Lakers coupled with the win against the Thunder feels like the beginning of a turning point in the season. We're starting to get it; we're starting to trust each other; we're starting to play Spurs basketball, which is winning basketball. It's a long corner to turn, but we're starting to see the other side.

Welcome Back, Old Friend; Or, Remembering What It Feels Like to Win a Big Game

Let's get the disclaimers out of the way up front: Pau Gasol did not play. Kobe Bryant left the game in the 3rd quarter with back spasms. Although he played into the third quarter, essentially he only played a half as he was a complete non-factor in the 3rd quarter, failing to even register a shot. So we played (arguably) the best team in the league without the 2 players that make them the best team in the league.

Now that that's out of the way...what a game. That was the most fun I've had watching the Spurs this year. More than the win--which was nice, of course--it was the way the Spurs played. The energy, the hustle, the execution, the flow. Outside of some missed free throws and some careless turnovers that allowed the Lakers to claw their way back into the game late in the third and early in the fourth, there wasn't much to be disappointed about in this game. In fact, most players had their best attributes on full display in this game:

Richard Jefferson made some jump shots, drove to the net, and put his body into his defensive work.

Antonio McDyess played tough interior D and sank a good portion of his jump shots.

Keith Bogans played tenacious D and snuck to the hoop for a crucial layup with the game still in the balance.

Theo Ratliff only played a few minutes, but had a big block that led to a fast break lay-up. 4 point swing. This is why we brought him here.

Roger Mason, Jr.'s shooting opened up the game in the 2nd quarter.

George Hill was a complete stud, hounding Kobe into 2 turnovers, playing excellent D on Artest, out-rebounding players taller and stronger than him, and filling the lane on the fast break for some great dunks and lay-ups. He was easily the swing player of the game, and I could not be more proud of him.

Tony Parker came alive in the 3rd quarter after a sluggish first half and almost single-handedly pushed our lead to 22 points with hot shooting from mid-range and his usual excellent drives to the basket. More importantly, he played very good D, closing out on shooters very well.

Manu was Manu, creating havoc all over the court and making all the winning plays. It was the insertion of Manu and McDyess in the first quarter that turned an 8 point deficit into a 12 point lead. He is the heart of the team, and when he is playing fearless basketball, we are very hard to beat.

Tim Duncan. What can you say that hasn't been said a million times before? He anchored our offense and our defense. It was his work on the defensive end that was particularly great. He guarded Bynum straight up almost the whole game. And despite Bynum's good numbers, Duncan clearly won the battle. He forced him into bad shots, and blocked several. More importantly, though, was his help defense. This has always been his true gift. He anchored the middle and made it very hard for the Lakers to get anything easy at the rim. More than anything, it's this defensive effort that will take this team where we want to go.

(DeJuan Blair was the only real disappointment in this game. Right now, he's just a bit too inexperienced to overcome his lack of size against the really talented, tall players in this league. He'll figure it out. For now, his value against the lesser teams can not be underestimated, as it allows us to save Duncan's minutes for the bigger games. At his rate of learning, he'll be dominating Odom by the next time these teams meet.)

The best part of the game: Pop pulling the Big 3 with 1:37 left in the game and only up 12. To me, this was a very subtle and deftly delivered "f you" to the Lakers and Phil Jackson. And then to add insult to injury, the "scrubs" add on 8 more points (a Hill jump shot, and back-to-back Jefferson and Haislip 3s), pushing the final margin to 20. I loved it.

It's our nature in this day and age of constant media availability to completely over-analyze every game and see it as a microcosm into an entire season. Obviously, this is foolish. Just as we shouldn't get carried away after bad losses (and I'm as guilty as any of that), we shouldn't get carried away after good wins. Yes, it felt good to get this win against the Lakers, regardless of who was wearing the Purple and Gold. But it was just one game and one tick in the "win" column. It means nothing if we can't build on it and continue to win games. Ultimately, this game represents the best of us, a reminder of where we've been and where we can be again. It feels good to see that old friend again, and I hope to see him around a lot more in the months to come.

Looking Forward:

This game marks the first game of four games in five nights. Wednesday night we travel to Oklahoma City, a place that has not been kind to us. This is a classic trap/let down game. A loss would not be shocking to see. More important than "win" or "lose", we should pay attention to how we play. Do we bring the same energy and effort as tonight? Do we show a sense of urgency and desire to get the win? If we do, I'll be happy with the game, regardless of outcome.

I Really Feel Like I've Missed Out on a Cultural Watershed By Not Watching "Jersey Shore"

The results of tonight's game should shock no one. The Nets are not only the worst team in the league, they are flirting with historical badness. The Spurs, despite their problems beating good teams, almost never lose to poor teams. A win for the Spurs should be no surprise.

Nor should the manner in which the win occurred. Coming off a tough loss on Friday to the Mavs, and with a huge game looming Tuesday against the Lakers, it seemed inevitable that the Spurs, despite their own protestations, would come out flat against such a weak opponent. We played them even for a half, then overwhelmed them with our depth and talent in the third quarter, eventually pulling away and securing the win. No more significance should really be drawn from this game.

The most notable aspect of this game, and a huge surprise, is the appearance of Ian Mahinmi. Most Spurs faithful know the somewhat sad story of Ian, and most probably never expected to see him on the court for the Spurs again. After not picking up the last year on his contract this fall, the Spurs front office was more or less giving up on Ian. He has been on the inactive list for every single game this year. And yet there he was, playing meaningful minutes in a regular season game. He played well, scoring 15 points, securing 9 rebounds, and making all 6 of his shots in 21 minutes. He was active and looked very good out there.

The real question is why did he play? There are a few possible reasons. One is that Pop wants to see what he can get out of him and if he would have any use to us this season. We've had a pretty solid and productive big man rotation this year. But when looking at going up against the Lakers, you can never have enough big bodies. And you can never know about injuries, as Bonner has been out almost a month. Haislip has been underwhelming in his court time, so maybe he wanted to see what Ian could give us.

That's the optimist's point of view. The cynic's point of view is that we are showcasing him for a possible trade. There's no doubt that Ian has talent and athleticism and size (you can't coach size). But right now he has absolutely zero trade value because nobody outside of San Antonio has really seen him play in a good long while. With the trade deadline looming, and the fact that the Spurs are still a step or two behind in the West becoming clearer and clearer each day, Ian may be one of our best assets in a potential trade. Lots of struggling or rebuilding teams would probably be more than happy to trade for a player with Ian's potential and hope that they might hit the jackpot. And in return we might be able to get a missing piece that can help us on a title run this year.

Maybe the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Whatever the reason, no doubt the happiest person of all tonight is Ian. Good for him.

Looking Forward

The Lakers come to San Antonio on Tuesday. I don't really need to tell you how important this game is. A win against the Lakers would be immeasurably big for us. After Friday's loss to the Mavs, a win certainly seems unlikely, as we have shown no ability to win against even good teams. But the Lakers are ripe for the taking. They've lost 4 of their last 10, Gasol has been injured, and they've shown vulnerabilities. They are relying heavily on Kobe (much like they did several year ago), Artest is having trouble fitting in to the offense, and their bench is pretty mediocre, which is a decided advantage for us. Winning this game could go a long way to easing many of our woes. Of course, another loss would just be more evidence to our continued mediocrity.

Either way, it's a big game, and everybody in the Spurs' locker room knows it. I expect to see the corresponding effort and energy.

Deep Down In My Stomach, With Every Inch of Me, I Pure Straight Hate You...But God Damn It, Do I Respect You

Tonight's dispiriting loss to the Mavs was a game of back and forth runs. Unfortunately, they made theirs last and they made it last, outscoring us 42-23 in the dismal 4th quarter. Everything positive that we had seemingly built over 3 quarters was destroyed in a flurry of Nowitzki fade aways and back-breaking 3s from Kidd and Terry. While they heated up, we cooled down, settling for (missed) jump shots rather than attacking the basket. We finally got some offense going in the end, but it was too late. Our defense could never get the stops necessary to let us back into the game. In the end, the better team won tonight, and our futility against teams of quality continued unabated.

The days of us owing the Mavs are long gone. I know this seems like a silly thing to say because it's so obvious. But I don't think it's really dawned on most Spurs fans until this year. Even heading into our first round match-up last year, so many of us thought we'd win the series simply because we were the Spurs, they were the Mavs, and that's just how it was going to work. When they did win, it was because we were a broken team running on one and a half good wheels and almost no gas.

But it's hard to ignore the obvious truth staring us in the face: the Mavs are a better team than us. We got really good games out of all four of our supposed stars. Duncan was his usual brilliant self. Tony was playing like the Tony of last year, driving and spinning to the basket and draining his jump shot. Manu was vintage, a whirling dervish doing everything necessary to win. And Richard Jefferson played superb D on Dirk (holding him to 3 for 16 shooting through 3 quarters) and had a pretty good offensive night. I don't know what more we could have asked for from them. Our bench got outplayed by theirs, and we didn't have any other role player step up. But when we get good games from our 4 best players, we should win, shouldn't we?

I also don't understand what happened to our defense in the 4th quarter. Through three quarters we played good if not spectacular defense, bottling up Dirk, contesting most shots, and not letting them really get anything easy at the rim. Yes, we gave up way too many offensive boards and 2nd chance points, and we sent them to the line too easily (I don't like to engage in ref-blaming, so I'll just leave it at that). But they were mostly held in check, and we had a 10 point lead going into the fourth.

But everything changed in the 4th. All of a sudden we were switching on every pick, and we ended up with disastrous mismatches that greatly favored the Mavs. Duncan ended up on Terry numerous times which, despite great effort from Duncan, is usually going to end badly for the Spurs. Also, Dirk often found himself with much shorter players on him, allowing him to easily shoot over the top without any pressure. Once he found his rhythm, it was game over. I don't understand why we were switching everything, and why our defense suddenly fell apart in the 4th quarter. Is this the defense that we wanted to play?

Our offense also fell apart in the last frame. We either got complacent, lazy, tired, or all three. Over the first 6 minutes of the quarter, we stopped attacking the rim, settling for quick jump shots that weren't necessarily good shots. We stopped moving the ball and doing all of the things that had allowed us to build the lead. In the blink of an eye, the lead had evaporated, we were back in a tight ballgame, and all semblance of "Spurs Basketball" had disappeared.

Which gets us back to our original point: the Mavs are the better team, probably the second best team in the West right now. We are unable to compete with them or any other elite team right now. We are pretenders to the throne, and until we can prove otherwise, should not be considered a viable threat to do anything of substance in the playoffs.

The good news? There's a lot of basketball left to be played, and anything can happen. Or so we hope.

Our next chance to prove something is Tuesday, when the Lakers come to town. Before that we play the lowly Nets on Sunday, a classic trap game. Luckily for us, we win the games we should.

Now if we could only win some of the other ones.

On Second Thought, Perhaps There Is A Magic Button

One of the nice things about being on vacation and only being able to watch Spurs games after the fact is that, unless I'm really disciplined, I already know the outcome of the game before I start to watch. So rather then fretting over a perilous lead, or sweating a hopeful comeback, I can watch the game unfold, and see the individual parts as pieces of a whole and marvel at how they piece together to form the unified picture of the game.

It also makes the games slightly less enjoyable to watch. Part of the pleasure of live sporting events is the not knowing. We scream and we yell and we jump and we swear at the players on the court and we do whatever idiosyncratic tics we've picked up over the years, and we believe that in some small way we hold sway over the final outcome of the game. And that rush of excitement gives the games and the viewing a purpose, and connects us to the larger picture of the the event; we are an integral part of the game, the sport.

Of course, with tonight's game tied 77-77 early in the 4th quarter, a part of me definitely wished I already knew the answer and could just sit back and watch the Spurs inevitable "turning it on" to run the Pistons out of the building, rather than sweating the results with the rest of the Spurs faithful. We certainly didn't look like we could or should win this game, but surely we weren't going to lose at home to a toothless Pistons team coming off their 10th straight loss the night before?

Luckily, we did turn it on, and proceeded to outscore Detroit 35 to 15 the rest of the way, turning a tense, closely contested game into somewhat of a rout. We played fairly well throughout the whole game, and perhaps Detroit played a bit over their heads. But in the fourth we came alive both offensively and defensively, and asserted our will unto the game.

Tonight's game was less remarkable to me for the actual game and more for what it ended: our slate of "We Should Win" games. On the year, we've been remarkably consistent at winning these games, and have helped greatly in our current record and seeding in the West. These wins are a mixed bag of sorts. Most devoted Spurs observers know that the team is not playing its best (though certainly much better lately), and that the record is a bit of a paper tiger. However, despite our cupcake schedule, most of the metrics out there still have us in the top of the league in most meaningful statistics, implying in a way that we're actually undervalued.

Starting with Friday's game against Dallas, the rest of January presents an opportunity to see who we really are. Take a look at our upcoming schedule: we play Dallas, the Lakers, a really good Thunder team that always gives us fits, a surprisingly good Memphis team twice, New Orleans, Utah (who has already beaten us 3 times this year!), Houston, Atlanta, Chicago (I know they're struggling, but we owe them some revenge), and Denver. That's quite a slate of good teams. By the end of January, we should have a much clearer picture of the Spurs.

To me, the 3 biggest games are the ones against Dallas, LA, and Denver. Right now, these are probably the three best teams in the West, and teams we're very likely to meet in the playoffs. We've split two early games with Dallas (with the 4th and final game coming on the last day of the regular season), lost our first meeting with Denver, and have yet to play the Lakers. All 3 games are at home (of note: the Denver game is our last home game before embarking on the Rodeo Road trip, another important marker in the Spurs season).

The season is a gradual build toward the playoffs. And wins and losses don't necessarily matter as much as how the team is playing and competing. Blah blah blah, I know the rhetoric and I believe it. But we need some good wins. We all know the other storyline--only 2 wins against plus-.500 teams. That needs to change. We need to beat some Western Conference rivals and announce to the rest of the NBA that reports of our demise have been greatly exaggerated.

I want at least 2 of those 3 games. And I want to have at least 25 wins after the Utah game (the exact midpoint of the regular season). And I want at least 8 or 9 of the next 13 games (getting us through January). I want to see the next gear; I want to see the Spurs.

The ride starts Friday with an old nemesis.

There Is No Magic Button

There's not much to say about this game. It was coming, and we all knew it. We always throw a giant stinkbomb in the middle of a win streak, just so the streak doesn't get too long and the rest of the league doesn't start to notice. Hell, I think Pop even sometimes tries to throw these games a bit (or at least make us play with a handicap). He didn't start Duncan. His logic was sound, but by the time he came into the game, we were dug into a hole that we never got out of.

In all honesty, we didn't play that poorly. Our defense actually played quite well, holding a potent offensive team to 43% shooting and just 91 points. The real problem was our offense. Putrid would be a good word for it. We weren't attacking, we weren't sharing, our passing was weak and ineffectual, we passed up open shots to dribble into traffic. And when we did put up shots, they were flat.

In the fourth quarter we were in striking distance, and we turned it up. But there is no magic button to push that can suddenly make you play better and smarter. We gave a great effort, but we were too far behind and too mediocre to win tonight.

Pop is quoted as saying that "not much happens in the first quarter of a game". Knowing Pop, this could just be sarcasm. But a lot does happen in the first quarter. Things like missing 5 free throws (sure would like those back in a 5 point loss), or failing to score a point in the last 5 minutes of the quarter and allowing the other team to push out to an 8 point lead--3 more than the final margin.

For whatever reason, we didn't come to play tonight, and we still almost won the game just on the force of our natural talent and schemes. Don't worry too much about the loss, and don't read too much into it. It was a tough back to back on the road. Every team has these games.

This Year's Love Had Better Last

Did I slip through some wormhole at midnight and fall back to 2005? Last night's win was a downright throwback. All of the big 3 dominated, our role players played their roles to perfection, and our defense was fierce. And I know that The Heat are not an elite team (though over .500 for now), and they were playing the second game of a back to back, and blah blah blah, but anytime you beat a team by 30 and completely shut them down like that, it's a good win.

A win like that sort of makes the heart warm and reminds us why we love the Spurs so much. So with that in mind, here's a list of why I love the Spurs, subject to change at a moment's notice:

--I love Duncan's continued dominance and his refusal to go quietly into the night as he quietly has one of the better seasons of his career.

--I love Ginobili rediscovering his mastery. Ginobili's importance to us can not be defined by one thing (scoring, playmaking, defense), but rather by the collection of his skills executed with an artist's touch.

--I love that Parker is starting to find his groove and learning how to run the team with balance and power.

--I love that we're running a bit more on offense, opening up easy scoring options for our suddenly athletic squad.

--I love watching Richard Jefferson dunk. I also love that he's slowly finding his role on the team and starting to play some aggressive defense.

--I love Blair's steep learning curve. You can see tangible improvement in his game week to week, game to game.

--I love Mason, Jr.'s jump shot and the continued expansion of his game.

--I love McDyess's 18 foot jump shot.

--I love George Hill's long armed, sticky defense.

--I love Bogans defensive tenacity and his stealthy offensive game.

--I love Bonner's unorthodox 3-ball and his love of sandwiches.

--I love that Theo Ratliff can still block just about anybody's shot.

--I love Michael Finley's jumpshot coming off a screen and curl. It's our go-to out of bounds play, and seems to work about 90% of the time.

--Finally, I love just about everything about Pop. More than just a great coach, I wish I could be his friend.

Now, if we lose in Washington or Toronto, this love can all disappear. But really, it never will. There's a certain line you cross with fandom, and once you cross that line, the team and the players become more like family, and you almost have to love them unconditionally. So in the spirit of the holiday season and the New Year and new decade, let's give thanks that we all root for a very lovable and very good team, and remember exactly why it is that we love the Spurs so much.

Happy New Year!