When the San Antonio Spurs beat the New York Knicks in the 1999 NBA Finals, it was considered a championship coronation for long-time Spurs center David Robinson. With plenty of help from second-year power forward Tim Duncan, that title validated Robinson’s career. But more importantly, it spawned a run of sustained success that is incredibly unique in the NBA, especially for a small-market franchise like the Spurs. [Read more…]
If you’re the general manager of the Golden State Warriors, how should you feel about the state of the team now that they have been removed from postseason action? Pretty damn confident, if you ask me. Lets put things into perspective here: The Bad: They were 23-43 just a season ago, good for third worst in the Western Conference. Brandon Rush, arguably the team’s best perimeter defender and slasher, was lost for the season two games into the season. Andrew Bogut missed 50 games and
While most of the national media attention continues to go to the Chicago Bulls and Derrick Rose, whether or not he will play against the defending champion Miami Heat, quietly the San Antonio Spurs are preparing for their second round series against the upstart Golden State Warriors. Granted, the Spurs have never needed fanfare to get up for a playoff series. And, considering that they boast an impressive 29-0 home record against the Warriors in the Tim Duncan era, internally they
The San Antonio Spurs are in the second round of the playoffs. That’s pretty much the biggest non-story of the postseason, given that they’ve failed to move past the first round just three times in the Tim Duncan era. For the Golden State Warriors, it’s nearly uncharted territory – they’ve made it to the conference semifinals only twice in the last 22 years: once back in 2007, when they upset the Dallas Mavericks as an 8th seed, and once back in 1991,
SAN ANTONIO – After each Spurs practice, the media assembles in a corner of the facility and prepares for an encounter with famously gruff San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich. Other teams call it an interview session. With Pop, it’s more like a duel at 10 paces. Pop is the only one armed. Verbally. Within the word “intimidate” is the word “timid,” and that combination exists at each get-together. Pop has a naturally irritated look that has been refined by years of repetition.
All season, San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich has rested his players during tough stretches of the schedule to have them healthy for the postseason. A sound strategy, no doubt. But it may not be working. The Spurs announced Monday that do-it-all guard Manu Ginobili – who already has missed most of the last two games with a hamstring injury – will be out three to four weeks with a strained right hamstring. [Read more…]
Note to coaches who wish to employ the Hack-A-Dwight strategy: if the man starts making his free throws – and he is capable of making them if you send him there frequently enough – ditch the stubborn tactic and go to something else. For some reason, Orlando Magic coach Jacque Vaughn kept going to this play, despite Howard’s gradual increase in success rate. The Los Angeles Lakers center eventually made 16 of his final 20 attempts at the line, finishing 25-of-39
It’s that time of year in fantasy hoops. When a player gets injured, there’s a risk of them being shut down entirely. I happened to be at the game where Kyrie Irving got hurt, and after he shot two free throws — using only his ‘wrong’ hand — stood to applaud his exit without knowing that a sprained left shoulder will keep him out for the next month, if not the rest of the year. [Read more…]