Category Archives: Spurs

2010-11 NBA Playoffs Recap, Day 13: Eliminations

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Three teams were eliminated last night, but there are still more questions then there are answers. Is Atlanta a fluke? Can Dirk out-shoot the Lakers? How’s Kobe’s ankle? Does Dwight Howard stay in Orlando? That’s actually a good place to start.

Orlando Magic 81 – Atlanta Hawks 84

It’s kind of pathetic that the Orlando Magic couldn’t muster up a way to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, even when the Hawks did everything in their power to try and lose the game. Hawks advance to the 2nd round to face the overall #1 seeded Chicago Bulls while the Magic will go home and try to figure out what’s going to happen with Dwight Howard. If you thought #MeloDrama was annoying, welcome to #PlightHoward.

And it’s not just Dwight Howard that Orlando has to think about. There are questions surrounding the future of head coach Stan Van Gundy and general manager Otis Smith. It’s going to be one long summer in Orlando.

Los Angeles Lakers 98 – New Orleans Hornets 80

The Hornets hit a wall. Not in this game, it actually happened in the second half of Game 5. That crucial run by the Lakers sent a message that was heard loud and clear by the Hornets. The Lakers were a better team and for the first time in this series, New Orleans believed that. Momentum might not carry over from game to game but mental anguish does. New Orleans was crushed by LA’s size for the final 6 quarters of this series and they no longer believed they could defeat the 2-time defending Champs. With that said, the LA-Dallas series should be an incredible match-up. In the words of soon-to-be-unemployed  Saints running back, Reggie Bush, “It’s been fun New Orleans.”

Dallas Mavericks 103 – Portland Trailblazers 96

Too little, too late. Despite Gerald Wallace’s best game in a Blazers uniform, the Mavs were able to cling on to a lead on the road in a hostile Rose Garden. I really didn’t think the Mavs had that in them. Not after the collapse in game 4 and not when they nearly gave this one away, too. But they stayed resilient and closed this one out in style.  Dirk Nowitzki was brilliant in this game, going off for 33 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists on 10 of 17 shooting. I’m excited to see if Pau can limit Nowitzki or are the Lakers going to have to sit either Pau or Bynum in order to have Lamar Odom match-up with Dirk. The series will LA should be fun considering these are two of the largest teams in the NBA with a combined 11 players over 6’10″ on their rosters.

Tonight’s Game:

San Antonio Spurs @ Memphis Grizzlies – 9:00 PM EST on ESPN: Is this the last hurrah? It’s the only game of the night and the last game until Sunday’s second round match-ups tip off. It might also be the final game of the 61-win Spurs season. It’s still April, people. Who saw this coming? i can’t believe I’m going to say this but the Spurs might get crushed by double-digits tonight.

Enjoy the game and the weekend, folks!

Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.

 

2010-11 NBA Playoffs Recap: Day 11, Black Socks And Beatdowns.

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Last night was, in a way, disappointing. Maybe I’m a bit spoiled from the incredible action the playoffs has given us already? As Sebastian Pruiti pointed out to me on twitter, last night was the first time in 9 straight days that we didn’t experience wire-to-wire excitement, and that’s something we should all be willing to live with. He’s right, it could be August already and we’d have to suffer through 2 hours of MLB highlights.

I’ll leave our supposed national past time alone for now and get on with business; most of the games turned into blowouts late but there was some substance there. My favorite result of last night’s action was everyone tweeting vintage Kobe dunks. That dude used to merk everyone.

Atlanta Hawks 86 – Orlando Magic 101

I mentioned yesterday that Orlando’s shooters will eventually get hot and it happened in this game. Atlanta just had to hope it would come on a night where their own shooters also caught a flame. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen and the result was a 15-point loss that wasn’t even as close as the final score indicates. The highlight of this game was J.J. Reddick’s hilarious post-game interview on the podium, which happened to be the first of his playoff career. Outside of that, this game was insufferable.

Atlanta still leads the series 3-2 and Game 6 is a home game at Phillip’s. For their sake, I hope this game was just them packing it in and trying to close out at home because if it wasn’t, things could get interesting.

Indiana Pacers 89 – Chicago Bulls 116

Real quick on the Pacers; this game was ugly but it wasn’t indicative of how your season went. Interim head coach Frank Vogel went 20-18 during his tenure and absolutely needs to be hired as the head coach for next year. He showed us a lot of value whether it was in guiding this team with leadership or drawing up situational plays.  This team still needs one more key piece but their cogs are all legit. Granger can be a great #2, Collison is a good point and Paul George might be an All-Star in the making. Keep your heads up, Pacer fans, and make sure you keep your team in town, too!

This was a close out game and that’s exactly what Chicago did. I’ll save you the Rose rhetoric and point you at my key players: Noah, Deng & Gibson. Those three men are as important to this team as is MVP favorite, Derrick Rose. The way they lock down the wing and the middle of the court allows Chicago to get crucial stops which lead to those magnificent Derrick Rose finishes at the other end of the court. Most of these Bulls have elevated their games in the post season and that’s scary for opponents considering this team lead the NBA in wins. What’s scary for the Bulls is that Carlos Boozer has disappeared. If anyone has seen him, please notify the proper authorities.

Overall, these Bulls are lovable. They play hard and they play the right way, every single night. It’s displayed in Deng’s demeanor, it’s voiced in Rose’s humble interviews and it’s strung up in Noah’s smile. When Joakim went into the stands after the game to hug his grandfather it made you realize that these guys are the real deal. They love what they do and they are proud of the work they have accomplished. And they aren’t done yet.

New Orleans Hornets 90 – Los Angeles Lakers 106

I just want to point out that the Lakers wore black socks and black shoes at home today. If you aren’t entirely familiar with NBA on-court fashion, home teams typically wear white shoes and socks to coordinate with their lighter colored home uniforms. But the Lakers wanted to send a message to themselves as well as the Hornets and it worked. The NBA should make everyone wear black on black attire, it just looks meaner.

Chris Paul started out the game with 8 assists in the first quarter but finished the game with 12 and the Hornets got blown out by the end of it. A few things contributed to this. First of all, the Lakers played their first complete game of the series. And when I say complete, I mean that even Derek Fisher scored 13 points. The Lakers five starters and Lamar Odom all scored in double digits. And when the better roster is playing better basketball, you just have to sit there and take their punches, not much New Orleans can do to counter that. One thing that I can fault the Hornets with is sitting Chris Paul for two extended stretches that probably cost them a chance to win this game. First one came in the second quarter as N.O. let a 9-point lead slip as Paul rested. The second came in the 4th where L.A. blew the game wide open as CP3 got his usual rest. Chris ended up playing 41 minutes in the game but it’s how and when those 41 minutes came that hurt the team.

One thing that should be worry some for LA should be Kobe’s ankle. I know he had two throwback throw downs, including decapitating Emeka Okafor (twice!), but he wasn’t he usual self. I’m guessing he had a healthy Cortisone shot before the game and that relieved enough pain for him to actually participate, but his defense and play-making wasn’t there.  He finished the game with 19 points, 2 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 turnovers and got outscored by Trevor Ariza (22 points) on the other end. Hopefully, this is nothing serious as Lakers haven’t put away this series just yet, leading 3-2 and headed back to the Big Easy.

Tonight’s Games:

Philadelphia 76ers @ Miami Heat – 7:00 PM EST on TNT: If the Heat, who lead the series 3-1, can’t close this out tonight, I’m going to have to seriously discount them as a contender going forward.

Memphis Grizzlies @ San Antonio Spurs – 8:30 PM EST NBAtv: This game is going to be too good to be stashed away on NBAtv. Memphis might shock the world tonight and close this series out. On the road. Against the Spurs. A 61-win Spurs. Can you fathom all of that? Mike Conley, Tony Allen, Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol could actually beat the 4-time NBA Champion Spurs in 5 games in the opening round of the playoffs. It could happen tonight!

Denver Nuggets @ Oklahoma City Thunder – 10:30 PM EST on TNT: I honestly don’t think this game will be close. The Thunder messed around last game and still nearly pulled off the win. Game 5, at home with a chance to clinch the series and advance, you have to bet on Durant.

Links of the Day:

NBAPlaybook.com – This play sums up the Spurs’ woes this series.
HoopSpeak.com – Let’s take a look at the New Orleans Pick’n'Roll sets.
SB Nation’s Bay Area Blog – The latest news on the Anaheim/Sacramento/Rochester Kings/Royals
DailyThunder.com - Royce explains Russ.

That’s it for today and as always, don’t forget to join the party on twitter tonight!

Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.

 

 

2010-11 NBA Playoffs Recap: Day 10, Where The Spurs Look Spent.

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San Antonio Spurs 86 – Memphis Grizzlies 104

Lionel Hollins tanking at the end of the season so the Grizzlies can drop down to the 8th seed and play a 61-win team now looks borderline genius. Memphis beat San Antonio to take a 3-1 series lead. Only person I know that called the Memphis upset was Zach Lowe on The Basketball Jones’ Overdose and he probably can’t believe how things have transpired either. Last night’s game saw the 4-time champion Spurs team get out-classed by Darrell Arthur and Tony Allen. The best part about this series is watching Marc Gasol adding zeros to his inevitable off-season payday. Marc has the confidence of a 2-time world champion as if his name was Pau. Swag him the f*** out.

Andrew McNeill of 48 Minutes Of Hell tweeted during the game, “Just got a text from a friend. The Spurs window as contenders might run lockout-to-lockout, and that’s it. ” It’s remarkable that this is how things could end. Then again, would anyone be shocked if the Spurs came back and won this series? Game 5 is on Wednesday in San Antonio.

Portland Trailblazers 82 – Dallas Mavericks 93

At this point I don’t know what to think of Brandon Roy. He went just 2 for 7 in nearly 30 minutes of action last night but I can’t just throw him under the bus, none of the Blazers decided to show up last night. LaMarcus went for 12 and 9 and Wes Matthews had 8 points in 36 minutes. If it weren’t for Wallace and Miller, this game would have turned uglier, sooner. No one really checked Dirk all night and no one could keep Tyson Chandler off the glass, specifically the offensive rebounds. Tyson grabbed 20 boards including 13 offensive rebounds, a team record. Those second chance points killed Portland, who had held Dallas to just 41% shooting for the night. Dallas now has a 3-2 series advantage and I think they close it out in Portland on Thursday.

Oklahoma City Thunder 101 – Denver Nuggets 104

I didn’t see this game but I got home just in time to see the post-game interviews and read all the tweets. Russell Westbrook was a trending topic in my timeline. The tweets were hilarious but the context wasn’t and that was deserved. I check the box score and I see that the Thunder point guard put up 30 shots and missed 18 of them including a few crucial baskets at the end of the game. Yesterday I said that this game would be indicative of exactly what the Thunder are capable of. If they close out this game strong and sweep the Nuggets, we should all be very scared. I’m scared, but not for other teams, I’m scared for Oklahoma. What transpired is what I’ve always been afraid of for this team, selfish, inefficient play. Hopefully this isn’t a sign of things to come and Westbrook will soon realize that Durant is the closer, not him. Oklahoma has a chance to close the series out at home on Wednesday.

Tonight’s Games:

Atlanta Hawks @ Orlando Magic – 7:30 PM EST on NBAtv: Atlanta leads this series 3-1. This means the  Hawks have three chances to win one game, starting with tonight. Which most likely means that Atlanta won’t win tonight because they are Atlanta. Orlando wins this one if their 3-point shooters actually make some 3-point shots. The strange part of this series is that Atlanta’s shooters haven’t been shooting well, either. Orlando might get unlucky and find their stroke on the same night Atlanta does.

Indiana Pacers @ Chicago Bulls – 8:00 PM EST on TNT: The Pacers did some good things in games 3 & 4. They went to a trap defense and saw some results. Good enough results that they limited Derrick Rose — even before he sprained his ankle — and forced a Game 5.  Although Chicago leads this series 3-1 and many thought this would be a sweep or at worst 5-games, Indiana has been right there. This could easily be a 2-2 series or even a 3-1 series in favor of Indy. That last bit might be a stretch but don’t forget the Pacer held a significant 4th quarter lead in every single game. If this team figures out how to actually close a game out — they almost blew a double digit lead in game 4  as well — they might steal at least one more game in these playoffs. Still, even with Rose’s bum ankle, I see Chicago closing it out tonight.

New Orleans Hornets @ Los Angeles Lakers – 10:30 PM EST on TNT: I’m not sure what to expect anymore. I never thought one man could beat the 2-time defending world champs, let alone do it twice in four games. The thing that gets me is that Chris Paul has been stellar, but it hasn’t been inconceivable. It’s not like he had to score 60 points for the hornets to win. He simply had to have a great Chris-Paulian type game of 20+/15+/5+. That might sound out of this world, but Chris nearly averaged that a few seasons ago, so asking for him to do it two more times in the three games left in this series is not that far fetched. Especially with Kobe playing on a sprained ankle which he refuses to get an MRI on, there might be no one on this Lakers roster than can defend Chris Paul. Lakers are going to have to simply outsize New Orleans, something which they are inexplicably having trouble doing.

Links Of The Day:

The No-Look Pass: Check out Rey-Rey’s daily recaps of playoff action!
The Basketball Jones: Holly MacKenzie with two pieces just as good as the performances that inspired them: Chris Paul & Brandon Roy
Negative Dunkalectics: The joys of gambling on the NBA.
John Schuhmann of NBA.com: Chris Paul is red-hot, via StatsCube.

Join me on twitter tonight for a ridiculously good time.

Shane is a contributor to Stacheketball.com, LarryBrownSports.com & NBAoffseason.com. You can find him babbling about basketball all over the net or tune in as he tweets nonsense on twitter @Suga_Shane.

 


Double Dribble Podcast Ep.002 – FINALLY!

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The playoffs are FINALLY here. Listen in on the Double Dribble Podcast as Ben Swanson joins Erroll and Shane as they breakdown playoff match ups, highlight advantages and give you their first round series predictions. A lot of interesting takes including some shocking upset predictions. Who? Tune in to find out!

 

Ep 002 – FINALLY! 2011 First Round Playoffs Review by Shane Baker

Steve Blake out with chicken pox

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Lakers bench guard Steve Blake missed the team’s shootaround Tuesday with an illness. The team announced Blake was diagnosed with chicken pox. Out of all things, Blake has to suffer from a classic childhood disease in chicken pox and is out indefinitely for the rest of the regular season.

The Lakers might also be without Matt Barnes for Tuesday’s game against San Antonio. Barnes is having soreness in his right knee, the same one he had surgery on three months ago, and is listed as a game-time decision.

Blake and Barnes are key bench players and their absence might cost the Lakers the second seed in the Western Conference. The Lakers have lost five consecutive games and are half a game back of Dallas for the second seed, and half a game in front of the Thunder for the third-seed.

Jeffrey Gomez is a lover of all things basketball and baseball. He has been to hundreds of Dodger games but never to an NBA game. Feel free to criticize him for that. You can follow him on Twitter:@Jeffco3

Two Contenders Trending in Opposite Directions

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San Antonio Spurs center Tim Duncan, left, gets a hand on the ball as Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom, right, goes to the basket in the first half of an NBA basketball game, Monday, Feb. 8, 2010, in Los Angeles.(AP Photo/Gus Ruelas)

AP Photo/Gus Ruelas

Eighty-two games, the amount played in a full NBA season spanning six months of the year, provide a long course over which trends, tendencies, and momentum can shift . For the better part of this season the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers – manned with rosters fit to be called contenders – have seemed to be on a collision course that would likely end with the two meeting in the Western Conference Finals. While the Spurs (57-19) and the Lakers (55-20) are the top two teams in the West by record, they have arrived at their respective places atop the conference with opposite momentum.
Entering Feburary’s All-Star break, the Spurs were easily leading the entire league with a record of 46-10. The Lakers on the other hand were 38-19 at the time, stumbling into the break on a three-game losing streak, the last of which was a humiliating 104-99 home-loss to the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers. Since that time, however, the Lakers have gone a record 17-1 tear, while the Spurs have barely teetered above .500 since, going 11-9, and dropping their last six.
Today, both teams play in front of National TV audiences – the Spurs host the Phoenix Suns at 1:00 PM EST, and the Lakers host the Denver Nuggets 3:30 PM. Another loss by the Spurs could bring them closer to the reality of, their early-season dominance notwithstanding, falling to the 2nd seed in the West, surrendering home-court advantage to the Lakers in any eventual playoff match-up.
So then, although the two teams do not face one another this afternoon, their outcomes are largely intertwined. Still, the Lakers can attest to the fact that contenders don’t need to be playing their best ball entering the playoffs; their swoon at the end of last season had many doubting their status as possible champions before they turned it on in the post-season to reach the Finals and triumph over the Boston Celtics in seven games. The Spurs can take comfort in the fact that their three leaders, Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobli, and Tony Parker, have the requisite experience to overcome their recent skid to present a worthy playoff performance. But the evidence is building against them of late that they may not be the team that not so long ago seemed to dominate so effortlessly.
On April 12 the teams will engage in their final match-up of the season. Starting with today’s contest against the Suns, the Spurs have four games to swing their momentum upward. On this day, each team, and the basketball-watching world, will be watching the other. Despite the outcome, however, it will be the momentum established and carried throughout the playoffs that determines any possible playoff encounter.

 

Jason Frazier is the founder of NBAWiz.com, the editor of the FanSided blog, Wiz of Awes, and a regular contributor to Stacheketball. Follow him on Twitter @NBA_Wiz.

Coach of the Year

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While everyone is wrapped up in MVP discussions/arguments/death matches, I wanted to do a small piece on the Coach of the Year Candidates.

 

Doug Collins: The Philadelphia 76ers finished last season 27-55, tied with the Pistons for the 3rd to last spot in the Eastern Conference.  At this point in the season, they are 39-36, and are the 6th seed, despite beginning the season 3-13.  Collins, who claims to be a teacher first, focuses on defense and wants his players to be “make guys accountable and responsible.”  This season the team has had big wins vs. Chicago, Houston, and the Spurs.  If the Eastern Conference playoff spots stay as is, they’ll play the Miami Heat.

 

George Karl: George Karl ended his 2009-10 coaching season early to deal with a bout of cancer.  He returned, cancer-free, to overwhelming and exhausting discussions about Carmelo Anthony’s hope to be traded.  Despite all the drama, the Denver Nuggets, and the coach, especially, have held together.  Since the trade, the Nuggets are 11-4.  Coach Karl also recently signed a 3-year extension, and reached 1,000 wins.

 

 

(Zuma Press)

Gregg Popovich: The San Antonio Spurs are finishing yet another 50+ lead season.  Although they have lost 5 straight games (longest losing streak since 1997), they still hold the best record in the Western Conference.  The team is full of great players, mainly Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, but where would they be without Coach Pop?

 

Tom Thibodeau: The Chicago Bulls finished last season 41-41, and barely made the 8th seed (they were in an end-of-the-season battle with the Raptors).  They have come back this season to take the top spot in the East, and are a top 5 team in the league.  One of the main reasons is the changes made to the defense.  Thibodeau did what all coaches should do the next year: Look at the team’s weaknesses from the previous season, and strengthen them.

 

Personally, I think Tom Thibodeau should win Coach of the Year.  I expect nothing more and nothing less from Coach Pop, and it is well-known that George Karl is a great coach that can work under pressure (especially with what he had to deal with in the offseason).  Second place should go to Collins because I’m not sure if many people realize yet that the Sixers are in the playoffs.

 

Honorable Mentions

Jerry Sloan: A season ending injury didn’t stop Yao Ming from being voted an All-Star starter; therefore resignation shouldn’t stop Jerry Sloan from earning Coach of the Year.  It is an award he never received in his 22 year tenure.  Also, the man did give us the phrase “jackpotting.” It’s only fair.

 

 

John Kuester: How many coaches can say he had 7 players protest his shootaround, and also laugh at him upon his ejection in a game? Some of those players have also given him the nickname “Sean Penn.”  Not only does Sean Penn rescue people after natural disasters, but he is also reportedly dating Scarlett Johansson.  How many men want to date Scarlett Johansson? Exactly.  The love and respect he gets from his players is tremendous!  Also, how great has this team been this season under his reign?

 

Kidding.

 

 

 

Photos via Getty Images/NBA

 

Kateasa is a part-time contributor of Stacheketball.  She put a bunch of names in a hat, and pulled Robin Lopez.  There’s your  new MVP.  Find her on Twitter: @Simply_Kateasa