Official San Antonio Spurs Thread

[Biggems]

Ideally what I would want to happen....and I don't think we have enough money to get a top tier FA....

Sign
F/C Tiago Splitter
F/C Ian Mahimni
G/F James Jones - FA
PG Roger Mason - FA

Draft
1 (26) - G/F Brandon Rush Kansas
2 (45) - F/C DeVon Hardin California
2 (57) - G/F Keith Brumbaugh HCC

2008-09 Roster
C - Splitter, Oberto, Bonner
PF - Duncan, Mahimni, Hardin
SF - Bowen, Udoka, Brumbaugh
SG - Manu, Jones, Rush
PG - Parker, Barry, Mason

Splitter and Mahimni give us youth and athleticism along the frontline. Splitter has a better skill set offensively, but Mahimni is steadily improving. Both should help our rebounding, shot blocking, and interior defense.

Hardin would give us a young, raw, athletic specimen down low. He would be a very nice defensive force. I have a feeling we would sign him and give him time in Austin the way we did Mahimni.

Brumbaugh gives us a young and very athletic SF with height and length. From everything I read about him, he has potential through the roof. He is a highlight reel waiting to happen. The reason he is so low in the draft is because of some character issues, but he has supposedly matured. I can see the Spurs signing him and giving him time in Austin to allow his game to mature to the Spurs system.

Rush is a complete guard. He can play offense (has a nice jumpshot with range beyond the arc and can shoot FTs, he can handle the rock, he is a solid passer) and he can play defense (man or zone).

Mason is a young, but big and physical PG. I am not sure if he would be willing to share backup minutes with Barry, but it would only be for 1 year. Barry would then retire, and Mason would be the full-time backup to TP. He would definitely allow us to go big and physical against PGs like Baron Davis and Deron Williams.

Jones would be a nice addition. He has 3pt range. He is a solid FT shooter. He has the size to defend SG and SF.


I know this is a lot of change in 1 year.....but this team needs a major overhaul of age, size, and athleticism. This would cover all of that. It would also give us a nice chance to have a future once Duncan, Manu, and Bowen call it quits.

 

[gazmc_06]

I know this wont make any difference to how you guy's are feeling right about now but tough break, that was a hell of an ending to that game. I was worried closing that game out, thankfully we held on but that was a hell of an effort from the Spurs.

 

[cowheel]

BTW....as a Spurs fan, I am glad Duncan gets away with a lot of calls....cause he plays for the Spurs.

However, I have never cared for the Superstar treatment of the NBA. I have never liked how the great players get away with murder, but the lesser players get called for so many crap fouls. But, this is how the NBA has always been, at least since the early 80s. So I grew up seeing the Stars get all the calls.

I would prefer a foul be a foul, no matter who is committing it.....or who is being fouled. I wish everyone would get called for traveling when they travel. I wish everyone would get called for palming or carrying when they commit the violation. I wish everyone would get called for over the back when they do it. I wish that the defensive player would not be penalized for staying vertical in his space and having the offensive player jump into, kick, or throw himself into that defender. I wish there were a lot of things different about the way the game is officiated. However, it will never happen.

The Superstars put butts in the seats, sell jerseys, sell sneakers, and sell the league. TV ratings drop when Superstars aren't playing. TV ratings are important for revenue, huge revenue. So the Superstars will continue to get the calls. The lower tier players will continue to get hosed on the calls.

This is David Sterns NBA. It is also probably the main reason why we suck so bad in International competition in the last decade. FIBA doesn't give our stars the STAR treatment they are used to. They don't get away with traveling, carrying, palming, etc.

I agree... the superstar treatment in the NBA is something I'd like to see them do away with.

A foul is a foul and a walk is a walk - no matter who does it.


But thats theNBA. Always has been for long as I can remember...

The Celtics & Lakers were got MAAAAD calls in the 80s.

The Bad Boy Pistons got away with stuff other teams just did not get away with because that was their "identity".

Ewing got away with that patented travel.
Jordan got away with everything!

Thats the NBA! Great teams just know how to overcome the calls.



That said...
Kobe didn't shoot a single free throw in that game.
Let that sink in...

 

[ajk23az]

^That is kind of crazy. Kobe averaged 9 a game in the regular season, and has only shot like 6 this whole series..

 

[gazmc_06]

Yep, Kobe hasn't been going to the line much. I'm glad though cause it kinda prevents the "Kobe getting every call" complaint from opposing fans. Wade got the Jordan treatment in the finals a few years back, Paul Pierce got it last series...Kobe hasn't needed it.

 

[Biggems]

The main reason Kobe isnt getting a lot of FTs is because when he does drive, the Spurs aren't fouling him. He is getting wide open dunks (not even layups)...i mean sick throwdowns. It is like the Spurs would rather him get the dunk than have him shoot 2 FTs.

I can see there were about 2-3 instances in game 4 where he could have gotten the call and gone to the line...but the refs didn't call it.

I know the Spurs shot a lot of FTs last night....but all in all, the refs have done a nice job in this series of letting the players decide the game. When it comes down to a critical moment, the refs have let the players decide the outcome instead of making it a complete whistlefest. I can live with that.

 

[MC KAos]

we've done a good job of not fouling him, he's done a good job of abusing our defenders

 

[Biggems]

I know this wont make any difference to how you guy's are feeling right about now but tough break, that was a hell of an ending to that game. I was worried closing that game out, thankfully we held on but that was a hell of an effort from the Spurs.

i totally disagree.....it was a bullcrap effort from the Spurs, we except for Duncan, Bowen and Barry. They should have never been in that position to have the game come down to that call. 11 offensive rebounds and a 20-2 second chance pts advantage for the Lakers in the first half, in basically a must win game for SA in SA, is absolutely and inexplicably unexceptable. The Spurs were completely outhustled on the glass in the first half, and because of it, they were down 6, instead of possibly having the lead. Also, the Spurs had way too many turnovers in the first half.

In the second half, the Spurs did a much better job on the glass. However, late in the 4th, the Lakers got 3 crucial offensive rebounds, and converted all of them. Those were killers. Also, in the second half, everytime the Spurs got within 2, they would force up a contested 3, only to miss. They could have set up some better offense and gotten a quality 2, maybe even a 3pt play. They were chucking up 3s like it was going out of style and it was killing them.

Is Finley even playing in this series? Manu has only shown up for 1 game. Horry has turned into "Wont take the Shot Bob", Parker is missing tons of layups in this series, and Udoka is completely useless in this series.

Rad did a great job of guarding Manu in game 4. The Lakers are doing a much better job than the Spurs at crashing the glass.

So no the effort isnt what I was hoping for from the Champs.

GO SPURS GO

 

[MC KAos]

rebounding is all about effort, wanting it more than the oppenent, so clearly the lakers wanted the game more and deserved to win. i hope we can somehow pull out game five out of nowhere, cuz i think we would have a great chance to win game 6 at home, but im not holding my breath on that one.

 

[Walker]

I am glad to hear that Popovich said he believes it shouldn't have been called. Those who play sports know that if you set yourself mentally believing you should have tied that game and possibly win it in overtime that it would be 2-2. By having that mentality it will make you believe that it is 2-2 when in fact reality says its 3-1. The Spurs need to come out knowing that what happened in the other 4 games doesn't matter just what happens in game 5.


NBA: Foul should have been called at end of Game 4


NEW YORK - The NBA acknowledged Wednesday that a foul should have been called on the final possession of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals, which would have given the San Antonio Spurs a chance to even the series.

Trailing 93-91 on Tuesday night, the Spurs inbounded the ball with 2.1 seconds left to Brent Barry, who was bumped by Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher on the floor. No foul was called, and Barry missed badly on a 3-pointer before time expired.


Spurs players and coach Gregg Popovich said a foul should not have been called, but the NBA disagreed with them after reviewing the play.
"With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul should have been called," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.


Had that happened, Barry would have gone to the line for two free throws and a chance to tie the game. Instead, the defending champion Spurs trail the series 3-1 and face elimination Thursday in Los Angeles.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_nba_no_foul

 

[MC KAos]

of course they are gonna say that, the spurs organization doesnt complain publicly about calls and such. But i know that privately they think it was a foul and it should have been called. But the lakers deserved to win and have so far been the better team, if they win tonight it could be interesting though, hopefully they focus

 

[gazmc_06]

i totally disagree.....it was a bullcrap effort from the Spurs, we except for Duncan, Bowen and Barry. They should have never been in that position to have the game come down to that call. 11 offensive rebounds and a 20-2 second chance pts advantage for the Lakers in the first half, in basically a must win game for SA in SA, is absolutely and inexplicably unexceptable. The Spurs were completely outhustled on the glass in the first half, and because of it, they were down 6, instead of possibly having the lead. Also, the Spurs had way too many turnovers in the first half.

In the second half, the Spurs did a much better job on the glass. However, late in the 4th, the Lakers got 3 crucial offensive rebounds, and converted all of them. Those were killers. Also, in the second half, everytime the Spurs got within 2, they would force up a contested 3, only to miss. They could have set up some better offense and gotten a quality 2, maybe even a 3pt play. They were chucking up 3s like it was going out of style and it was killing them.

Is Finley even playing in this series? Manu has only shown up for 1 game. Horry has turned into "Wont take the Shot Bob", Parker is missing tons of layups in this series, and Udoka is completely useless in this series.

Rad did a great job of guarding Manu in game 4. The Lakers are doing a much better job than the Spurs at crashing the glass.

So no the effort isnt what I was hoping for from the Champs.

GO SPURS GO

I didn't mean the effort was great for the entire game, I meant the push they made at the end. Down by 8 with just over a minute to go and having a shot to win the game, it was a very good last ditch effort, but over the course of the entire game LA played better and wanted it more.

I said before this series that I just felt the Lakers were the best team left. San Antonio are a great team, but the Lakers are faster, more athletic, have the best player and closer in the league, have a great coach and have a great bench...that is hard to overcome.

As for the foul, the Lakers should have been given the full 24 seconds on the shot clock after Fishers miss anyway, but I don't think it was a foul because he didn't interfere with Barry's shot. Barry pump-faked to get Fisher out of the way for his shot, he still got his shot the way he wanted, he should have jumped into Fisher and got the call but he didn't.

 

[thekavorka]

I am glad to hear that Popovich said he believes it shouldn't have been called. Those who play sports know that if you set yourself mentally believing you should have tied that game and possibly win it in overtime that it would be 2-2. By having that mentality it will make you believe that it is 2-2 when in fact reality says its 3-1. The Spurs need to come out knowing that what happened in the other 4 games doesn't matter just what happens in game 5.


NBA: Foul should have been called at end of Game 4


NEW YORK - The NBA acknowledged Wednesday that a foul should have been called on the final possession of Game 4 in the Western Conference finals, which would have given the San Antonio Spurs a chance to even the series.

Trailing 93-91 on Tuesday night, the Spurs inbounded the ball with 2.1 seconds left to Brent Barry, who was bumped by Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher on the floor. No foul was called, and Barry missed badly on a 3-pointer before time expired.


Spurs players and coach Gregg Popovich said a foul should not have been called, but the NBA disagreed with them after reviewing the play.
"With the benefit of instant replay, it appears a foul should have been called," NBA spokesman Tim Frank said.


Had that happened, Barry would have gone to the line for two free throws and a chance to tie the game. Instead, the defending champion Spurs trail the series 3-1 and face elimination Thursday in Los Angeles.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080529/ap_on_sp_bk_ne/bkn_nba_no_foul

im wondering why the nba didn't comment on fisher's shot hitting the rim. the refs have to do a better job with that kind of stuff. this includes the game clock on the pistons/magic game

 

[ajk23az]

Wow Kobe....

 

[trickblue]

Stick a fork in the Spurs... they're done...

 

[ajk23az]

Stick a fork in the Spurs... they're done...

Thank baby Jesus.

Kobe is too much, he is honestly just UNREAL.

 

[trickblue]

Thank baby Jesus.

Kobe is too much, he is honestly just UNREAL.

Kobe is a great player... but this season has proven that he DOES need the dominant big man to achieve playoff success...

Shaq was right...

Go Celts...

 

[Biggems]

Well we lost...we choked away another big lead and the series.

You know, I was thinking about all of our offensive woes this year and in this series.....it reminded me of when the Lakers were 3peating....our offense was crappy. Well when we won 3 out of 5 Championships, we had a certain offensive coach as one of our assistants.....he left this past year to coach Seattle. I just as heck miss PJ. We hardly ever had these kinds of scoring droughts over the last several years......

Our defense kept us in all but one game.....our offense and rebounding was putrid.

One thing did bug me though.....Manu was injured, cant really shoot with any consistency.....so why did Pop have him at the top of the circle instead of on the wing.....cause when Duncan would pass out it would go to the wing, then to Manu at the top who would be wide open, but his shots wouldn't fall. Barry was on fire. Why not put Barry at the top and when the ball cycles to him, he has a wide open 3 all night long....Just little things like that that were irking me.

BTW, Splitter is going to stay in Europe...that blows. What a wasted draft pick. I dont blame him for taking the money, but I sure wish he would have came over.

It was a good season, It was a good run this year.....We will be back with avengance next year....and we will have a more youthful group.....and we will win it in 2009...

GO SPURS GO

 

[MC KAos]

oh well, it was a good year guys, and at least we got as far as we ever have in defending our championship. i have enjoyed discussing the spurs and basketball in general with all you guys. good luck to the lakers, they wont need it though.

 

[Nors]

I tip my Hat to Lakers,
They must be prohibitive favorites against East now.