Sports News and Trade Rumors: Pro Sports Daily

Comment

November 7

Portland Tribune

"A first-half injury to San Antonio guard Tony Parker and a better overall performance by Portland enabled the Trail Blazers to end a two-game home losing streak. Brandon Roy (game-high 24 points) and Greg Oden (14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks in 25 minutes) led the way as Portland won 96-84 and improved to 3-3 and the Spurs fell to 2-3. Roy hit 9 of 15 from the field, while Oden made 6 of 9. Steve Blake (15 points) and Andre Miller (10) added to the Blazer attack, while Joel Przybilla came off the bench for a game-best 13 rebounds. Portland jumped on the Spurs, leading 29-14 after one quarter. Then Parker went down with a sprained ankle, after scoring just four points in 11 minutes. ..."

Portland 96, San Antonio 84: McMillan shakes up starting lineup

Comment

November 7

Oregonian

"Spurs guard Tony Parker reaches for the ball knocked out of his hand as Blazer Andre Miller stands over him. Martell Webster recovered the loose ball for the Blazers. Have to hand it to the Trail Blazers in this early season: There is never a dull moment. On Friday night, the drama and intrigue surrounding the team continued as Andre Miller made a surprising debut in the starting lineup, which was followed by a blistering performance by the Blazers that was nearly ruined by some shaky fourth-quarter play that produced more than a few uneasy stomachs. But when it was all said and done, the Blazers escaped with a much-needed 96-84 win over San Antonio in front of the 75th consecutive ..."

Parker expects to be out a week

Comment

November 7

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs point guard Tony Parker says the sprained ankle that knocked him from Friday night's 96-84 loss against the Trail Blazers isn't as severe as others he's suffered in his career. Parker missed nine games early last season after spraining the same ankle, and missed a month with the French national team during the summer with a similar injury to his right ankle. "This one is not even close," Parker said late Friday night. "It will be a week, maybe." Parker was injured on a drive late in the second quarter against Portland and did not return. "I went to do an 'in-and-out' move," Parker said. "I went one way and my ankle went the other." X-rays taken at the Rose Garden were negative, and ..."

Second verse for Spurs in Portland

Comment

November 7

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs awoke here Friday morning, greeted with familiar headlines about that night's opponent. The team was struggling. The coach was furious. The natives were restless. This was the feeling in Portland about the underachieving Trail Blazers, but it could have been the sentiment about the Jazz in Salt Lake City 24 hours earlier, right before they smacked the Spurs. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, for one, noticed the pattern. "We caught both teams at a bad time, that's for sure," Popovich said. "They both needed to pick it up. In past years, I've said the same things about my team that those coaches said about their teams. Teams respond to that." At 2-3 after a winless road trip, now would ..."

Boozer finally breaks loose as Jazz roll

Comment

November 6

The Deseret News

"Carlos Boozer missed his first shot of the game Thursday night against the San Antonio Spurs — a 15-footer that barely grazed the front of the rim with just under nine minutes to play in the opening quarter. And Boozer was booed by some folks in the hometown crowd at EnergySolutions Arena as a result. But Boozer would quickly turn those jeers into cheers — the boos into chants of "Booz" — as the power forward played his best overall game of the young season in leading the Jazz to a late-night 113-99 victory in front of a sellout crowd and a national TNT audience. "Tonight we had a great effort by everybody out there — especially on the defensive end," Boozer said in a TNT interview ..."

No need for to hit panic button yet

Comment

November 6

The Deseret News

"Even after a 1-3 start that included devastating losses Monday night to Houston and Tuesday night at Dallas, the Jazz weren't quite ready to reach for something red and round. "It's too early for panic," center Mehmet Okur said after Thursday's morning shootaround. Turned out he was right and — by the time Utah was done beating San Antonio 113-99 in a late-starting, TNT-televised game Thursday night at EnergySolutions Arena — it might have been more appropriate for the Jazz to be pressing the easy button. Because they sure did have their way with a 2-2 Spurs team featuring not only mainstays Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, but also new addition Richard Jefferson. "That was a ..."

Boozer delivers first solid game

Comment

November 6

Salt Lake Tribune

"Just when the Utah Jazz needed it, Carlos Boozer put together his best performance of the season. During the Jazz's 113-99 win over San Antonio on Thursday night, Boozer finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. He was also active defensively, helping Utah hold the Spurs to 41 percent shooting. Boozer started quickly. He played the first 7:21 of the opening quarter and scored four points while assisting on another field goal. Defensively, Boozer opened on three-point specialist Matt Bonner but quickly switched onto Tim Duncan. Almost immediately, he tied up Duncan on a move across the lane. Less than two minutes later, Boozer blocked one of Duncan's shots. By the end ..."

Williams, Boozer have big nights to help Jazz win big over Spurs

Comment

November 6

Salt Lake Tribune

"For all the emphasis on defensive accountability this season, the Jazz issued a reminder Thursday night that they still can outgun a team at EnergySolutions Arena, even a Western Conference favorite like the San Antonio Spurs. The Jazz scored 60 points in the first half, had all five starters in double figures by the end of the third quarter and rolled to a 113-99 victory, a shocking score against one of the NBA's perennially top defensive teams. It was the most points the Jazz have scored against the Spurs in a regular-season game in the Tim Duncan era, eclipsing a 103-74 victory on Nov. 22, 1997. The Jazz did score 109 points against San Antonio in Game 3 of the 2007 Western Conference ..."

Team unfazed by new rims

Comment

November 6

San Antonio Express-News

"If the new, more collapsible rims introduced before the start of the season are really creating more so-called "shooter's rolls," the Spurs haven't noticed. Quietly, the NBA switched manufacturers to bring about the most significant change in that piece of equipment since the advent of breakaway rims in 1981. The new basket system, made by Spalding and called the "Arena Pro 180 Goal," collapse from both the front and sides. In the past, breakaway rims have collapsed only from the front. Some shooters report the change has made the rims more forgiving for shooters, deadening shots that used to bounce out. And scoring is up early across the league. Asked about the change before Thursday's ..."

Trend reversed in Spurs' loss to Jazz

Comment

November 6

San Antonio Express-News

"For the Spurs, Thursday began with a change in routine. With no morning shootaround scheduled, as part of the team's new afternoon-only practice routine, players were left with an entire morning and afternoon to kill in the middle of Utah. By noon, some were going stir crazy. "Me and TD (Tim Duncan) had to go to lunch," guard Roger Mason Jr. "Just to get out of the hotel room." By night's end, and much to their opponent's relief, the Spurs had changed a different routine as well. Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer highlighted a list of six Utah players in double figures, as the Jazz broke their curse against the Spurs with a dominating 113-99 victory at EnergySolutions Arena. Williams had 27 ..."

Spurs come out of break bittersweet

Comment

November 5

San Antonio Express-News

"Fresh off a four-day break without a game, the Spurs boarded their plane for Utah on Wednesday with mixed feelings about the rare early-season respite they had just received. Sure, it was nice to have a couple of practices, but the downtime might have ruined any momentum the Spurs were building since the season began a week earlier. "Every year, there are a couple times in the schedule where everybody gets those breaks," coach Gregg Popovich said. "The time you don't want those breaks is now. It's too darn early in the season." Compounding the Spurs' perplexity with the false start of a schedule is the price they will now pay for the layoff. Four days off gives way to a rugged road ..."

Bryant, Artest daunting pair for Lakers

Comment

November 5

San Antonio Express-News

"His back ached, and his throat was sore, but as he trudged off to a hot shower after the Lakers' overtime road victory over the Thunder on Tuesday night, Kobe Bryant turned and offered some advice to the Spurs' Manu Ginobili. "If he sees another bat flying around the arena," he said, "he needs to swat that one out of the air, just like last time." Those rabies shots Ginobili now must endure were the price of sending a message to anyone, or anything, posing a threat to the game. "We're trying to play basketball out there," Bryant said. "You just can't let anything interrupt that." Not even a high fever that temporarily triggered swine flu fears kept Bryant from playing 46 minutes and ..."

Spurs go west for season's first test

Comment

November 5

San Antonio Express-News

"There are times when Spurs coach Gregg Popovich can't help but feel overwhelmed by the crush of modernity. He is an old-school coach and an older-school guy, the type who would rather get his news from CNN than a PDA, doesn't care to know how to check his cell phone voice mail, and still thinks of a "tweet" only in terms of avian communication. That's why it is comforting, a handful of times each year, when Popovich can look down an NBA sideline and see one time-worn face that seemingly never changes, crooked nose and all. In a fleeting world, thank goodness for death, taxes and Jerry Sloan. "You know exactly what you're going to get," Popovich said. "Every single game, every single year." ..."

Spurs and Jazz on the same side

Comment

November 5

San Antonio Express-News

"This isn't baseball, and the Lakers don't have a pinstriped edge. They have spent more this season than any NBA team, but the difference isn't substantial. The Yankees, meanwhile, are proudly triumphant today with a payroll that is more than double that of the league average. Still, even the best NBA small-market teams are suffering. Owners are bleeding money, with a lockout looming in 2011, and those with the biggest gripe will meet tonight. The Spurs and Jazz - similar coaches, systems, cities and books. The Spurs got a lot of publicity this past summer by becoming a luxury-tax payer. Peter Holt tossed in his chips for the final years of Tim Duncan's career, and thus far, the franchise ..."

Blowouts allowing Duncan more rest

Comment

November 4

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs' two victories this season, both blowouts, ended with a scene sure to warm Gregg Popovich's heart: Tim Duncan, already sweat-free and already decked in his warm-ups, leaning back in his chair long since done for the night. In the Spurs' 113-96 win over New Orleans and their 113-94 trouncing of Sacramento, Duncan's third-quarter retreat to the bench has been the equivalent of a silver-and-black victory cigar. "Whenever there's a game when you're getting your fanny kicked, or you're kicking someone else's fanny, you can rest some players in the fourth quarter," Popovich said. "That's usually a good thing." When it comes to the 33-year-old Duncan, whose knees betrayed him down the ..."

Blowouts allowing Duncan more rest

Comment

November 4

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs' two victories this season, both blowouts, ended with a scene sure to warm Gregg Popovich's heart: Tim Duncan, already sweat-free and already decked in his warm-ups, leaning back in his chair long since done for the night. In the Spurs' 113-96 win over New Orleans and their 113-94 trouncing of Sacramento, Duncan's third-quarter retreat to the bench has been the equivalent of a silver-and-black victory cigar. "Whenever there's a game when you're getting your fanny kicked, or you're kicking someone else's fanny, you can rest some players in the fourth quarter," Popovich said. "That's usually a good thing." When it comes to the 33-year-old Duncan, whose knees betrayed him down the ..."

Pop to Spurs: Leave bats to the pros

Comment

November 4

San Antonio Express-News

"In the aftermath of the Manu Ginobili bat incident, there will be no official change to the Spurs' team policy when it comes to the removal of wild animals from the AT&T Center. Just the same, coach Gregg Popovich says, in the future, he would prefer his players leave that job to professionals. “Animals are animals,” Popovich said before practice Tuesday. “You always have to be a little bit wary about what's going on.” Faced with the second of two bat delays during Saturday's win over Sacramento, Ginobili disposed of the flying animal with his bare hands. “I think it happened so quickly, Manu didn't think about it,” Popovich said. “If he'd had more time, he probably would have thought ..."

After bat, shots for Ginobili aren't just aimed at hoop

Comment

November 3

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs guard Manu Ginobili has been placed on a precautionary regimen of rabies vaccinations after his now-famous run-in with a flying bat during a game Halloween night. The shots are purely preventative. Because the bat could not be found after the game for testing — team officials say it survived and flew away — doctors recommended that anyone who came in contact with it be vaccinated. Ginobili took four shots Monday in the hip and arm, and he is scheduled for four more such sessions over the next month. "It was pretty funny at the time," Ginobili said Monday, two days after his bat encounter. "Now it's not. I got like a million shots for rabies." According to the federal Centers for ..."

Can practice schedule make Spurs dream team?

Comment

November 3

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs coach Gregg Popovich announced to his team after its final preseason game that he was implementing a new practice schedule. Until further notice, he told his players, practices would begin at 4 o'clock in the afternoon, rather than 10 or 11 in the morning. That very night, All-Star guard Manu Ginobili did something he hadn't done in years: sleep for 12 hours straight, uninterrupted. "I couldn't believe it," he said. "Even the days we have off, I usually wake up at 8 or 9. That day, it just happened. That first day was great. I felt really good, and my legs were fresh." If sleeping in is what it takes for Ginobili to return to being the player who energizes the Spurs after a 2008-09 ..."

Defense keys Blazer victory over Thunder

Comment

November 2

Portland Tribune

"It was an ugly, sloppy game Sunday night at Ford Center. The verdict - an 83-74 Portland victory over Oklahoma City - still looked good to the Trail Blazers. Coach Nate McMillan demanded better defense after the Blazers' 111-107 loss at Houston Saturday night, and the numbers were much better against the Thunder, who had opened the season with a pair of wins. "It was a gut check for us coming off last night's loss," McMillan said. "We played better basketball." Oklahoma City shot .343 from the field and 3 of 14 from 3-point range. "We all took it personally that Houston scored that many points on us," said Portland point guard Steve Blake, who scored a team-high 18 points. "Everybody ..."

Ginobili drives 'em batty in San Antonio

Comment

November 2

Chicago Tribune

"For Spurs fans, Halloween 2009 will be remembered for Manu Ginobili's heroic and hilarious bat slap. The flying mammal that had interrupted play twice and spooked players, coaches and officials at the AT&T Center in San Antonio learned the hard way that the Argentine exterminator takes no guano. Late in the first quarter of an eventual 113-94 rout of the Kings, Ginobili tracked the bat with his eyes and let loose an open-palmed left hook that netted the creature and slammed it to the floor. "That was amazing," teammate Tony Parker said. "The legend continues with Manu. Unbelievable. ... He's always doing crazy stuff.""

Jefferson's breakout is bat-obscured

Comment

November 2

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs' new small forward finally enjoyed a prime shooting night for his new team - and it was obscured by a bat. After starting the season 4 of 16 from the field, Jefferson enjoyed a breakout performance in the Spurs' 113-94 victory over Sacramento on Saturday night, hitting 7 of 8 shots en route to a 21-point performance that surpassed what he had scored in the first two games. Afterward, however, all anybody wanted to talk about was Manu Ginobili's takedown of a wayward bat at the AT"

Bat makes Ginobili a Web hit

Comment

November 2

San Antonio Express-News

"By now, the video has flown around the world, which is more than can be said of one of its stars. The bat that Spurs guard Manu Ginobili swatted from midair during Saturday's game at the AT"

No extension for Spurs' Mahinmi

Comment

November 1

San Antonio Express-News

"Though the Oct. 31 deadline for extending rookie scale contracts for first-round draft picks has been extended to Monday because the NBA offices were closed on the weekend, the Spurs have elected not to extend the contract of third-year forward-center Ian Mahinmi. The 28th overall selection in the 2005 draft and signed by the Spurs on Aug. 23, 2007, Mahinmi has been limited by injuries and inexperience to six regular season games. He missed the 2008-09 season with a right ankle injury and had surgery on the ankle on Feb. 1. He played on the Spurs' summer league team in July, then played in six of the seven preseason games. He has been on the inactive list for the first three games of the ..."

Ginobili's swat steals the show

Comment

November 1

San Antonio Express-News

"Manu Ginobili's career has been marked by the big moment on the big stage. He's played in Game 7s, and he's played for Olympic gold. Perhaps his greatest athletic achievement, however, came on an otherwise non-descript Saturday night at the AT"

Spurs secure Hill for another season

Comment

November 1

San Antonio Express-News

"In what qualifies as the least surprising move of the season for the Spurs' player personnel department, the team on Wednesday exercised its option to keep guard George Hill on the roster for the 2010-11 season. Hill led the Spurs in scoring in the preseason, averaging 15.3 points and emerging as a solid backup for All-Star point guard Tony Parker. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it was an easy decision to pick up the third year of Hill's rookie-scale contract at $1.13 million. "Yeah, that's a no-brainer," Popovich said. "If someone is your favorite player, you ought to extend him, whether he can play or not." Popovich declared Hill his favorite Spur early in the preseason. He has reminded ..."

Pop tinkering with Spurs' chemistry

Comment

October 31

San Antonio Express-News

"The Spurs went into their first road game of the season Thursday with a plan that featured two-time MVP Tim Duncan in a more prominent scoring role than he had played in a season-opening victory over the Hornets the previous night. Duncan had played only 21 minutes in Wednesday's home opener, none of which were logged in the fourth quarter, when the Spurs' bench put the finishing touches on a convincing blowout. He was rested and ready and facing a Bulls front line without a recognized defensive menace. With 5:29 left in the first half at Chicago's United Center, Duncan had scored 10 points, but his teammates were struggling, so coach Gregg Popovich went with a small lineup that featured ..."

Bulls kick it off, get a nice return

Comment

October 30

Chicago Sun-Times

"Like most coaches, Vinny Del Negro wanted a little more time to prepare before beginning to play for real, but the NBA doesn't have a flex schedule, so -- ready or not -- the Bulls had to battle the San Antonio Spurs on Thursday night. ''The guys have worked hard,'' Del Negro said before the game. ''I'm pleased with their effort, and now it's a matter of taking what we've done in practice and start off this difficult early schedule.'' That's precisely what the Bulls did as they shrugged off a slow start and controlled the second half en route to a 92-85 victory over the Spurs, who are considered one of the elite teams in the league. ''I thought we played harder than them,'' forward Luol ..."

Derrick Rose looked like himself, Chicago Bulls looked like winners

Comment

October 30

Chicago Tribune

columnist Rich Morrissey

"There was a black curtain covering the marker board inside the Bulls' locker room Thursday night. This was something new, and if the idea was to keep reporters from seeing top secret strategy, it could mean only one thing: The team had hired Bears coach Lovie Smith as a consultant. What were the Bulls hiding going into their regular season opener against the Spurs? The shocking true story behind Derrick Rose's wobbly ankle? Something that would help Joakim Noah stop perennial All-Star Tim Duncan? A reminder to Tyrus Thomas, under penalty of death, not to shoot from outside of 15 feet? Photos of Lindsey Hunter as a teenager from the 1950s? What most everybody came for Thursday was to see ..."

Chicago Bulls win opener 92-85

Comment

October 30

Chicago Tribune

"Season openers are all about possibility. Before the first jump ball is tossed, the mind can dream. Joakim Noah can be bulked up and stuffing the box score with a double-double. An active Tyrus Thomas can hit jumpers consistently. A healthy Luol Deng can run the floor and drain midrange jumpers. Derrick Rose's ankle can heal so he can deal. And the best part about the 44th opener in Bulls franchise history Thursday night at the United Center is that, for at least one night, those dreams turned to reality. Hustling after offensive rebounds and sharing the ball, the Bulls dropped a 92-85 surprise on the Western Conference powerhouse Spurs, jazzing the sellout crowd of 21,412. Deng's 17 ..."

Spurs' Blair returns to scene of 'crime'

Comment

October 30

San Antonio Express-News

"This is the scene of what someday may be regarded as a basketball scouting crime. It was here, at the NBA's predraft camp, that a physical examination of potential draftees revealed the absence of anterior cruciate ligaments in both of DeJuan Blair's knees. The resulting medical panic by nearly every team took Blair out of the first round, its guaranteed two-year contracts considered too great a risk. Blair, snatched in the second round by the Spurs, had visited the Bulls twice in the weeks leading up to the draft. He believed he would not fall past their 16th pick in the first round; certainly not past their second pick of the first round, the 26th. Sitting at his locker stall in United ..."

Duncan not enough against Bulls

Comment

October 30

San Antonio Express-News

"As he walked towards the bench in the minutes before tipoff for the Spurs' game against the Chicago Bulls at the United Center, coach Gregg Popovich made a promise: Win or lose, he was going to enjoy some bratwurst and sausage before heading back to San Antonio. When he emerged from his team's locker room after the Spurs absorbed a 92-85 loss, he wiped at the corners of his mouth. "I had to throw one down quick," he said. "It was pretty good. I had the Italian sausage. I'll have the bratwurst when I go back in." Just as conventional wisdom allows that everyone is better off not watching how sausage gets made, Popovich didn't really feel like overanalyzing a performance that was the polar ..."

Derrick Rose faces big challenge right away

Comment

October 29

Chicago Tribune

"If it seems like there have been 27 days of Derrick Rose ankle updates, it's because that's true. Thursday, Rose finally will take the court for the first time since injuring the posterior tibialis tendon in his right ankle Oct. 2 in Indiana. "I can't wait," Rose said. "I'm about 80 percent. Hopefully by the end of the month, I should be back to my regular self. My explosiveness isn't all the way there." Tony Parker's is. Rose knows what that means for his defensive assignment against the Spurs. "His game is running, and I'm going to have to chase him around," Rose said. "He's a very quick and smart player." Coach Vinny Del Negro said Rose's minutes would be determined by how his ankle ..."

Spurs show off deep rotation in opener

Comment

October 29

San Antonio Express-News

"Nearly 30 years removed from his days at the U.S. Air Force Academy, Gregg Popovich finds he still has to fly by the seat of his pants. With an abundance of riches on the deepest roster he has had in 13 seasons as Spurs coach, Popovich approached Wednesday night's regular season opener against the New Orleans Hornets with a barnstormer's attitude. Which players would he put together on the court, and when? "It's right by the seat of the pants," he said. "You've got to let it go, let them play and make your decisions as time goes on." By the time the Spurs had delivered a 113-96 victory before an announced crowd of 18,581, he was no closer to a clue about how his rotations are going to ..."

Spurs secure Hill for another season

Comment

October 29

San Antonio Express-News

"In what qualifies as the least surprising move of the season for the Spurs' player personnel department, the team on Wednesday exercised its option to keep guard George Hill on the roster for the 2010-11 season. Hill led the Spurs in scoring in the preseason, averaging 15.3 points and emerging as a solid backup for All-Star point guard Tony Parker. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said it was an easy decision to pick up the third year of Hill's rookie-scale contract at $1.13 million. "Yeah, that's a no-brainer," Popovich said. "If someone is your favorite player, you ought to extend him, whether he can play or not." Popovich declared Hill his favorite Spur early in the preseason. He has reminded ..."

For Spurs, it's a two-man game

Comment

October 28

San Antonio Express-News

"For all the changes the Spurs made in the offseason - the trades executed, the veteran free agents signed and the rookies drafted - everyone in the organization understands a simple truth. To have a legitimate chance to win the franchise's fifth NBA championship, power forward Tim Duncan and shooting guard Manu Ginobili must be their All-Star-caliber selves if the Spurs are to maximize success with a roster that may be the deepest in franchise history. The long grind toward a postseason Spurs fans already anticipate eagerly begins tonight at the AT"

Opening night excitement has no age limit for Spurs

Comment

October 28

San Antonio Express-News

"They may be veterans of nine and 14 previous NBA seasons, but Richard Jefferson and Antonio McDyess say tonight's first regular season game with the Spurs has them as nervous and excited as when they were NBA rookies. "I'd have to rate this in my top three," said Jefferson of tonight's regular season opener at the AT"

Thanks to work on defense, Hairston sticking with Spurs

Comment

October 27

San Antonio Express-News

"With a roster filled with guaranteed contracts and a payroll already bulging well beyond the NBA's luxury tax threshold, there was only one way for a player with a non-guaranteed deal to secure a place on the Spurs' roster. "Someone is going to have to play so well we'd be crazy not to keep him," Gregg Popovich said a few weeks ago. Malik Hairston's presence on the official opening-night roster the Spurs submitted to the NBA office Monday is proof the coaching staff hasn't lost its collective mind. The 6-foot-6 guard-forward from Oregon made no effort to suppress a wide smile as he met the media after Monday's practice session. "How do I feel?" Hairston responded to the first question from ..."

Popovich trims beard, lengthens practice time

Comment

October 27

San Antonio Express-News

"Spurs coach Gregg Popovich threw a couple of changes at his club Monday, starting practice at 4p.m. and showing up clean-shaven after sporting a full beard for more than a year. It was the first afternoon practice any of the Spurs could recall, but Popovich shrugged off any significance, other than changing the routine a bit as the regular-season opener approaches. "Probably for most of the guys, it is different, but I like it," said Manu Ginobili, who explained that most practice sessions during his seven pro seasons in Argentina and Europe were held in the afternoon. "Actually, I think I'm more awake, so I get a better workout." Monday's session lasted three hours. By unofficial timing, ..."

With upgraded cast, Duncan poised for final act

Comment

October 26

San Antonio Express-News

"The second-longest offseason of Tim Duncan's career began with basketball out of sight, if not out of mind. For three months after the Spurs' first-round playoff ouster against Dallas, he stayed away from the court. In an attempt to save some wear on his knees, Duncan returned to his first sporting love, the swimming pool. He worked out on the Spurs' new space-age anti-gravity treadmill. He even took up boxing, sparring regularly with former prizefighting champion "Jesse" James Leija. Instead of readying himself for his 13th NBA season, Duncan appeared to be training for some sort of bizarre triathlon. "He wanted to do some cage fighting," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said jokingly, "but we ..."

New Spurs' tutorials will finish on the fly

Comment

October 26

San Antonio Express-News

"Veteran players acquired by the Spurs in the offseason remain weeks away from being completely ingrained in the team's offensive and defensive schemes, but they are about to get some serious on-the-job training, beginning with Wednesday's regular-season opener against the New Orleans Hornets at the AT"

Williams cut as team reaches 15-man limit

Comment

October 26

San Antonio Express-News

"There's not much an NBA coach dislikes more than having to tell players they're being cut, especially when a player has established he is good enough to be on an NBA roster. That made Sunday a rotten day for Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, who gave the bad news to guard Marcus Williams, the team's second-round draft pick in 2007 who had played most of the previous two seasons for the Austin Toros, the NBA Development League team the Spurs own. Williams and Malik Hairston - the guard-forward from Oregon whom the Spurs acquired in a swap of second-round picks with the Phoenix Suns on draft night in 2008 - waged a battle throughout training camp for a potential 15th spot on the roster. Hairston ..."

With upgraded cast, Duncan poised for final act

Comment

October 25

San Antonio Express-News

"The second-longest offseason of Tim Duncan's career began with basketball out of sight, if not out of mind. For three months after the Spurs' first-round playoff ouster against Dallas, he stayed away from the court. In an attempt to save some wear on his knees, Duncan returned to his first sporting love, the swimming pool. He worked out on the Spurs' new space-age anti-gravity treadmill. He even took up boxing, sparring regularly with former prizefighting champion "Jesse" James Leija. Instead of readying himself for his 13th NBA season, Duncan appeared to be training for some sort of bizarre triathlon. "He wanted to do some cage fighting," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said jokingly, "but we ..."

They couldn't beat Spurs, so they joined them

Comment

October 25

San Antonio Express-News

"Dinner was over, dessert had been served, and now Tony Parker was ready to have a little fun with his new teammate. Parker rummaged through his things and emerged with one of his most cherished possessions: a 2005 NBA championship ring, one of three won during his tenure with the Spurs. Parker's dinner guest was not amused. "I about cried when I saw that ring," Antonio McDyess said. The particular ring in question, of course, was the one Parker earned at the expense of McDyess' Detroit Pistons. Still ring-less entering his 14th season, and his first since signing a free-agent deal with the Spurs, McDyess has a plan for remedying that career deficiency. "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he ..."

Spurs aren't only team that got better

Comment

October 25

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Mike Monroe

"Hornets coach Byron Scott was in a courtside seat at a summer league game in Las Vegas in July, but paying scant attention to the action on the court while renewing acquaintances with credentialed friends. Then, Spurs rookie forward DeJuan Blair muscled his way over and through two opponents, snatched an offensive rebound, pump-faked both foes off their feet and went to the far side of the basket for a soft reverse layup. Scott's eyes opened wide, and then his jaws tightened just a bit. "Those SOBs did it again, didn't they?" he said, shaking his head. The SOBs referenced by Scott are R.C. Buford, Dennis Lindsey and Dell Demps, the Spurs' player personnel crew that has made a habit of ..."

Spurs weigh Mahinmi's fate

Comment

October 25

San Antonio Express-News

"Sometime before Monday's NBA roster deadline, the Spurs must determine whether Malik Hairston or Marcus Williams will still have a job in San Antonio when the season starts. Elsewhere on the roster, center Ian Mahinmi is battling a different, delayed sort of job insecurity. The Spurs have until Halloween to determine whether he will still have a job here next year. Mahinmi, the 28th pick in the 2005 draft, is in the third season of his standard rookie contract, which comes with a team option for a fourth season. As the deadline to extend Mahinmi's deal approaches, the Spurs' decision-makers still don't seem to know what to make of the enigmatic 22-year-old Frenchman, whose career to date ..."

McDyess as Horry: Different ring tones

Comment

October 25

San Antonio Express-News

"They are about the same height. Both went to the University of Alabama. Both reside in the offseason in Houston. But Robert Horry and Antonio McDyess are as different as their ring collections. One would give a hip to Steve Nash, and the other a hand to help him up. Which is a reason they will never be the same. Even if McDyess wins here as Horry once did. They appear to be alike. Horry grew up in Andalusia, Ala, and that's not far from Quitman, Miss., where McDyess is from. But Horry adds a technicality. He was born in Maryland, and he says that's a substantial difference. "There's something about those guys from the south," he said. "They can eat anything, and do anything, and their ..."

Pacers go small, and move pays off

Comment

October 24

Indianapolis Star

"A shortage of healthy bodies forced Indiana Pacers coach Jim O'Brien to go with a small lineup to start the second half of Friday's preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs. The move paid off. Using a lineup that had All-Star Danny Granger playing power forward, the Pacers outscored the Spurs by 13 points in the third quarter to help them beat San Antonio 114-112 before 8,029 fans at Indiana University's Assembly Hall. "I thought we competed well and had a great third quarter," O'Brien said. "We went small because (Troy Murphy) only had seven more minutes he could play. I wanted to be able to start small and it seemed to work out." The Pacers wrapped up the preseason with a 3-4 record. ..."

The Beast' is human after all

Comment

October 24

San Antonio Express-News

columnist Jeff McDonald

"For the first time in his young NBA career, Spurs rookie DeJuan Blair looked human Friday night. He fell on his backside while jumping for a rebound in the fourth quarter of Indiana's 114-112 victory and actually felt pain. Blair grimaced as he came off the floor with what coach Gregg Popovich later called a bruised tailbone and didn't finish the fourth quarter for precautionary reasons. "I'm going to be fine," Blair said. "I'll live." Before his exit, Blair filled up the box score again against the Pacers, logging nine points, six rebounds and three steals in 15 minutes, 47 seconds. In between, he also showed he can't guard Danny Granger. Granger, the Pacers small forward, ranked fifth in ..."

Spurs fall in final preseason tuneup

Comment

October 24

San Antonio Express-News

"There are myriad reasons why the NBA preseason can quickly begin to wear on many veteran players. For Spurs center Matt Bonner, disenchantment with this exhibition season boils down to just one thing. He's tired of hanging out in the women's locker room. For the second game in a row Friday night, the Spurs occupied a dressing room typically inhabited by a women's college team. This time, they dressed for a 114-112 loss to the Indiana Pacers in the Assembly Hall locker room usually assigned to the Indiana University women's softball team. "These are the only two times I've been in the women's locker room," Bonner said, changing in a stall belonging to a senior outfielder named Jennifer ..."

Spurs News