San Antonio Spurs Insight

2011-09-08T16:16:00.000-05:00

2011-09-08T16:06:00.001-05:00

2011-09-08T14:55:00.000-05:00

My New Blog

2011-04-20T15:21:00.002-05:00

Just in case anyone still looks at this old blog, I started a new one at www.SpursInsight.wordpress.com

It's pretty sweet. Its format works extremely well with smart phones. Fits to your screen. Anyways, cheers and check it out.

Fred Silva's Articles: Updated

2010-01-05T10:24:00.004-06:00

From newest to oldest....

The 1-2-1 Zone: Fun With the BS Report

Growing Pains Are "The Situation"

The Red Rant

Examining Antonio McDyess

Shutting Down Brandon Jennings

Matt Bonner Makes My Head Hurt

Spurs vs. Thunder: Stats of the Game

Spurs vs. Raptors: Stats of the Game

Spurs vs. Jazz: Stat of the Game

Zero ACLs: DeJuan Blair

Spurs vs. Bulls: Stat of the Game

Spurs vs. Thunder: Stat of the Game

Spurs vs. Cavs: Stat of the Game

Is Age a Problem for the Spurs?

Fred Silva's Articles

2009-09-25T16:54:00.004-05:00

Since I am now writing for Pounding the Rock, I thought I should compile everything I have written in one place. The following is a collection of all the articles that I have written thus far. Check Pounding the Rock for my new stuff. Also, follow me on Twitter @DartFred for updates.

The Immortalized Spurs

In this series I wrote an article about each retired Spur.

A Tribute to Bruce Bowen

My take on the Western Conference

My take on the Spurs' Roster

Fictional pieces that pit the current Spurs team against the championship Spurs of 1999.

Game 6

Game 7

An analysis on the supposedly deadly back to back games.

Pounding the Rock

2009-09-09T19:59:00.001-05:00

I am going to begin writing for Pounding the Rock soon. I should make my first post later this week or early next week. Follow me to www.PoundingTheRock.com for all your Manu loving Spurs news.

No Longer @ Project Spurs

2009-07-06T11:28:00.004-05:00

I am no longer writing for Project Spurs. I am going to take a short break from writing while I consider my next move. I have an article presently headlining on Pounding the Rock, if you're bored.... http://www.poundingtherock.com/2009/9/4/1016303/back-to-backs-analysis-should

Montana, The Rock Game

2009-07-03T18:43:00.002-05:00

Montana is fairly spectacular. I visited with five of my fraternity brothers from Dartmouth this past week. No one lives there. It is as unpopulated as Alaska, and just as beautiful. It has been called the last frontier. We flew into Bozeman and drove an hour to our condo in Big Sky. While driving we nearly ran into a mountain goat, which we thought was either a bear or a mountain lion until we got close enough to identify it. This goat was freaking huge. We hiked eight miles up a mountain the first day. It was beautiful, but about as bad of an idea as signing Turkoglu. Four miles straight up a mountain? I'm 6'3 and weigh 200 pounds; the hike was made for smaller people. But the views from up there were amazing. We fly fished the next day, the entire next day. We were on the Madison River from 9am till 6pm. Everywhere you looked basically was a postcard. We were up in the mountains fly fishing, catching the most beautiful rainbow trouts I have ever seen.

The third day we played The Rock Game. Now this is a fantastic idea. Basically, you put a rock on top of an empty beer can and stand about 20 yards away. Everyone throws rocks at the can and the first to hit the target gets to choose who shotguns the next beer. The big winner then sets up the next target. It's brilliant in its simplicity. As the game progresses, the targets become more intricate and the rules can be tweaked. The last formation of The Rock Game involved three cans, and if you knocked over one of the cans but failed to knock over all three, you had to shotgun a beer. J-Rad made the first connection but only knocked over two of the three cans, so he was forced to shotgun. We killed a 30 within an hour. You have to be sure to pace yourself because you can easily throw out your arm if you are too aggressive or throw big rocks. As one of my friends put it, "Professional baseball players throw 100 'rocks' in a day and then get five days off. So we need to be careful." The best thing about the rock game is its prerequisites. All you need is beer and rocks. And all too often, nature will provide you with half of the supplies. If swimming backwards can be an olympic sport, I think The Rock Game should be one too. It involves accuracy, endurance, and tolerance. What a game. I challenge each of you to play The Rock Game in the near future. You're welcome.

Hedo Turkoglu

2009-07-03T18:09:00.003-05:00

Here is the thing about Hedo, he really is not that good. In fact, I am relieved that the Blazers are going to sign him. To me, this cements their fate of losing in the first round next year. Now, I realize Hedo made the finals, but I would argue this is a function of every good team missing a player to injury which led to Hedo overachieving on the big stage. Think about it. This was really a mediocre finals. The Celtics were missing Garnett. We were missing Manu. Houston was missing half their team and still pushed the eventual champion LA Lakers to seven games. That's our champion this year? A team that was pushed to the limit by Brooks, Battier, Artest, Hayes, and Scola? Seriously? It sounds like a D-League team. This year, the healthiest team won the championship, not the best team. That's why Denver made it to the conference finals. They really were not that great. They overachieved because they ran into a Dallas team that was essentially missing Josh Howard. The healthiest team won.

Hedo was once a Spur. We chose not to resign him because it became apparent that the guy was just not that good. Take a look at his stats. This past season, arguably his best, he shot 42.8% from the field and 38% from distance. When you factor in that he is a horrible defender and needs the ball to be effective offensively, he does not help, he hurts. If Michael Lewis studied him, he would be the anti-Battier. As a 6'10" two guard, shouldn't he be shooting just under 50% from the field and getting around 8 boards a game? He plays against guys half a foot shorter than him. The problem is that Hedo is too slow. He cannot blow by shorter players because he lacks speed. This means that he shoots that funky midrange step-back jumper all too often and makes it 40% of the time. If Dwight Howard had any kind of offensive game or if Rashard Lewis learned how to drive, Hedo takes 5 to 8 fewer shots a game. Now he is scoring around 12 ppg and that is about where he should be.

So congratulations on winning the Hedo sweepstakes, Portland. You just shot yourself in the foot.

Zach Randolph to THE GRIZ!

2009-07-02T11:57:00.002-05:00

Yeah, just kidding, who cares? Zach Randolph is a waste of my time, he belongs on the Griz. In other news, Mark Cuban and Mike D'Antoni are duking it out for Jason Kidd. This is fantastic. Fighting for a 36 year old point guard that could not stay in front of a chair if it had wheels may seem a little strange, because it is a little strange. I realize that Cuban had his interns skew stats to make Jason Kidd the best player in the league, but even he can't believe that, right? Cuban's problem is that if Jason Kidd bolts for NYC, he essentially gave away Devin Harris for nothing. Apparently both teams are offering 3 year deals to Kidd. So you want to lock this guy down until he hits 39? Ouch. What a terrible idea. That three year deal is three years too long. Oh, and let us not forget that Jason Kidd is a bad guy. If you watch enough of those "The NBA Cares" promos you tend to forget that Kidd was arrested for domestic violence in 2001. His wife called him "A serial abuser and adulterer." But he's a great leader, no really. Where are you going?

In Spurs news, Pitt's DeJuan Blair fell to the second round where we quickly snagged him. His knees are definitely suspect but he was a steal in the second round. Think of him as a new-school Malik Rose. He is undersized at 6'6" but his freakishly long wingspan at 7'1" should allow him to be an effective rebounder for the Spurs. Currently, we only have Duncan, Bonner, and Mahinmi underneath, so snagging Blair was crucial. He is exactly what we needed. In fact, this is what Bill Simmons tweeted right after we drafted Blair. "DeJuan Blair to the Spurs at 37? How does shit like this happen? You're damn right I just swore. Unbelievable." I assume the Spurs will sign one more big guy before the season commences, but if we do not I could see Blair starting over Bonner. That's how crazy this second round draft pick was. The pieces continue to fall in place for the Spurs, it is looking very good. As of right now, we arguably have one of the top rosters in the League. Here is the current circle: Spurs, Celtics, Magic, and the Lakers with the Cavs and Nuggets losing ground.

I just got back from a week in Montana with some of my fraternity brothers. It was fantastic. Best line of the trip: My 6'5" Hindu friend was sporting a gold chain. I was like, "Really, a gold chain, man?" His response, "Chicks dig it. I'm a walking hedge against inflation." I might have to start wearing gold just so I can use that line.

Richard Jefferson

2009-06-23T18:04:00.003-05:00

The Spurs traded Bruce Bowen, Kurt Thomas, and Fabricio Oberto for Richard Jefferson. I just listened to and read everything that ESPN is saying about this trade. The consensus seems to be that it helps the Spurs, but does not get them over the hump. The thought is that the Lakers are still, by far, the best team in the West. This is absurd and here is why.

Richard Jefferson is exactly the type of player that the Spurs lacked last year. He's athletic, a slasher, a competent defender, and hits close to 40% of his threes. Last season he averaged 19.6 ppg, 4.6 rpg with 2.4 apg and only 2 turnovers. He played for the miserable Bucks so one would have to assume that he was not going all out. He has great size at 6'7", 225 pounds. He is the missing piece to the Spurs' puzzle.

Yet ESPN analysts claim that the Spurs still do not have enough. Ridiculous. Check out our '07 championship winning roster. We played seven over 20 mpg in the playoffs. Parker (37.5), Duncan (36.8), Bowen (34.4), Ginobili (30.1), Finley (26.9), Oberto (20.8), and Horry (20). Now, compare that lineup to the Spurs' '09 lineup. Parker, Duncan, Ginobili, Jefferson, Mason Jr., Hill, Finley, Big Guy X. Now answer this question; if that '07 lineup can go all the way why can't this '09 lineup? Remember, in '07 Finley, Oberto, and Horry were all shadows of the players they once were. This '09 squad is arguably the best roster the Spurs have ever had. I'm ecstatic. All we are lacking is Big Guy X. Let's just assume the Spurs pick Gooden back up. Imagine this lineup to close out a game. Parker, Ginobili, Jefferson, Gooden and Duncan. Wow, that's an offensive explosion. Or, what if the opposition goes small? Not a good idea. Parker, Mason, Ginobili, Jefferson, and Duncan. We would have five weapons on the floor. If you are the opposition, who do you help off of? What team has five competent defenders that they can put on the floor? No one can stay in front of Tony. Duncan will kill single coverage. Mason, Jefferson, and Ginobili will be deadly from the outside. My head is spinning. Spurs fans, we can wave goodbye to all those, "The Spurs have gone 8 minutes without scoring a single field goal" nights. There will be two prolific scorers on the floor at all times. The hell with Big Guy X. We could play 4 on 5 and win with Duncan, Parker, Ginobili, and Jefferson. No box and one, just box.

And it sounds like the Spurs are not done trading yet. I hope they do not touch the big four, Mason, or Hill. Please let them use Bonner and Finley as trading chips for a big guy. All we need is a big competent body next to Tim and we have to be considered favorites. What a day! (I used an exclamation point, which I generally do not believe in, just to show how exciting this is.)

NBA Notes

2009-05-12T15:31:00.003-05:00

The Lakers are soft. Last year they lost to the Celtics and in Game 6 they were pushed around and humiliated. That was supposed to be their motivation to take every game seriously this year. Well, in Game 4 against the Rockets we saw the same performance. The Rockets punched the Lakers in the stomach to begin the game and the Lakers were never competitive. It really comes down to a personnel issue. As much as I dislike Kobe, he does not lack the killer instinct. However, he has aged and cannot completely take over a game as he once did. These days he is capable of taking over a quarter, but only at the expense of the previous one. In other words, if he is going to have a huge fourth quarter, he cannot be aggressive in the third. If he wants to have a huge second half, he has to take it easy in the first half. In this way he is greatly dependent upon his teammates. Unfortunately for him, his teammates lack the killer instinct. No matter how many times you preach toughness, if your players are not tough it will not carry over into a series. The Phoenix Suns preached defense all year, and yet they were one of the worst defensive teams in the league. The Suns personnel were not equipped to defend, just as the Lakers personnel are not equipped to be physical. Pau Gasol is a finesse player out of Spain. Vujachic is a European metro that is at best a pest, not a physical presence. Lamar Odom has had his heart questioned since he came into the league. Dereck Fisher is really the only other Laker that is tough, but age has taken a toll on his ability to impact the game. The interesting question that comes up is, if the Lakers are unable to win a championship this year, is it time to retool? They are arguably the most talented team in the NBA, but if they are not tough enough to win a physical series, then a championship will never be a possibility. With Kobe’s championship window closing, they may be forced to make some serious personnel changes this off-season.

Mark Cuban is the punk. He is reminiscent of a 5-year-old throwing a tantrum. Nothing would make me happier than witnessing Kenyon Martin “take care of him.”

And the Dallas fans made me look bad. I wrote that the Lakers had the most obnoxious fans and then the Dallas fans berate and pour a beer on Kenyon Martin’s mother. You stay classy, Dallas.

Lebron is great, but the East is awful. Detroit had no business making the playoffs. Atlanta had trouble putting away the Heat. The Heat has a hobbled Dwayne Wade surrounded by bush- league rookies. Let’s wait until the Cavs face a real opponent to crown them champions. Unfortunately, we will have to wait for the NBA finals for that to happen. The Magic and Celtics are not much better than the Hawks.

Five Hour Energy drinks are a scam. I’m pretty sure they are successful due to the placebo effect. The real Five Hour Energy drinks are Emergen-C’s. Those little packets rock.

If I had more free time I would create my own basketball statistics, watch every game, and put a number on each player. I realize that there are many subjective variables that can pollute the data, but if this were your fulltime job, I see no reason that you could not come up with a formula that took everything into consideration. Seriously, let’s think specifically about steals. Let’s say that it was asked of us to decide who the best player was in the NBA in terms of steals. If you sat down and tracked every variable, you could give an educated answer, couldn’t you? For example, some stats to take into consideration would be: home vs away (more points for good steals away since it’s more difficult), the height and size of the players on the court, the offensive ratings of the players on the court (if a player is able to steal the ball from a player that rarely turns the ball over, more points), the number of turnovers committed per game by that team (teams that give up more turnovers result in less of a steal,) the number of steals given up by that team, deflections (count as half a steal,) good defensive steals (steals that do not put the team at risk if missed, to be worth more), bad defensive steals (steals that would have placed your team in a quandary if missed, to be worth less), good missed steals (steal attempts that indirectly resulted in a turnover)….etc. If it was your fulltime job to define everything that happened on the basketball court and put a number to it, you could do it, right? These notes took me about five minutes to come up with. It just bothers me when I hear the Rocket’s GM claim that it is so difficult. I bet he’s just playing coy.

Party Planning Committee

2009-05-11T16:12:00.003-05:00

So, I am throwing a little birthday party for one of my friends. I have an idea of how I want this thing to run. The thing is, one of my friends wants to throw a wrench into my party by demanding that he cook for everyone. Now, I admit that there is a lot that I am not good at. For example, I know little to nothing about hockey. Since I do not know anything about hockey, I’m not going to give hockey advice to someone that knows a great deal about the sport. In the same way, I know a lot about throwing parties and take offense when someone with a lesser party pedigree attempts to take control of the party. There is an art to throwing parties and subtle decisions can make the difference between a party you can do without, and one that everyone remembers and will be talking about for months.

Here is the thing about serving dinner at a party; nothing good can come of it. Serving dinner means that your party will have to start early, let’s say 6pm. Three things always happen when you start a party early with a meal. Half the guests gorge themselves and are worn out by the time the real party begins. These guests will leave early and this is one of the worst things that can happen to a party. All it takes is one guest to leave early and suddenly it becomes okay for anybody to leave. It’s contagious and can easily snowball into an empty party. The second thing that happens when you start a party early is everyone begins drinking early. The problem here is that some people are lightweights and some people are heavyweights. When lightweights begin drinking at 6, they are useless by 9. Here again, these guests will want to leave early and we have the same problem of the party emptying. There is a third issue that presents itself if you start early. Inevitably, there will be guests that are not free early. These guests will skip the dinner portion of the party and show up later. So when these latecomers arrive, they are met by the useless lightweights and the worn out overeaters.

There are three things that can bring a party to a screeching halt. One, everyone drinks too much too early and when the party should be picking up, it dies down. Two, people are tired and the party never reaches an apex, it simply plateaus and then trails off. Three, the guests' arrival times are varied so the party can never develop a rhythm. This is similar to Gregg Popovich’s horrendous substitution patterns. How many games did Tony make three shots in a row and then get pulled because there were three minutes left in the quarter? The following quarter Pop would finally put Tony back in at the 8 minute mark, but Tony lost his groove and it takes him 4 minutes to get his rhythm back. At this point the Spurs are down by 8 with 4 minutes remaining in the half, and you know how this story ends. Parties are like games. You need the right mix of people, and just as importantly, you need to set the team up to win. The timing of the party needs to be flawless, and this does not happen by accident. By serving a meal to begin a party you are inviting a disaster. I, for one, will not throw a party if food is to be served. It will kill my street cred. And if I lose my street cred, I may have to do something drastic to regain it. Maybe I’ll rob a convenience store and shoot the employee with a BB gun like this guy.

5 Rule Changes

2009-05-06T16:48:00.002-05:00

1.) If you are taller than the offensive player, you cannot take a charge.

2. ) If you are going to take a charge, you must be set before the offensive player is airborne.

3.) Foreigners cannot take charges, ever. If they do a technical is immediately administered.

4.) The “Egregious Flop” is a new violation. The Egregious Flop is to be defined as an overtly obvious flop. If two Egregious Flops are committed by a player in a single game, he is ejected and suspended for the following game.

5.) Head coaches can administer “strikes” to referees after horribly officiated games. Each head coach can give 3 strikes during the regular season and 1 strike during the playoffs. These strikes are to be counted throughout the season. The referee that has accumulated the most strikes at the season's end is to be fired. If a referee gets a strike from both coaches for the same game, he is suspended for 30 days without pay and must wear a scarlet S for the rest of the season, which obviously stands for “SUCKS.”

Houston Rockets

2009-05-05T14:43:00.008-05:00

I have to admit, I like this team. However, I do not like their d-bag fans. I realize every team has these fans. It’s the guy that goes to the game more to make your experience miserable than to watch the game. It’s the guy that sits one row in front of 10-year-old kids and still drops the f-bomb over and over. It’s the guy that stands up and claps after every point his team scores. It’s the guy dressed like a gay rainbow wearing shades inside the arena. These fans are almost always brand new NBA fans. If you quiz one of them to name their starting five, they will be stumped. I promise. Regardless, I hate the d-bag fans.

As far as d-bag fans go though, the Lakers definitely have the most, followed by Dallas and then the Rockets. So, from the perspective of a Spurs fan, the Rockets fans are by no means the worst. Once the Spurs are out of the playoffs, you need to root for an underdog to keep things interesting. This is especially true if they lose in the first round. If they lost in the conference finals, you are not allowed to root for another team, unless it is out of spite. For example, in 2006 I was rooting for the Heat because Dallas somehow beat us in the Conference Finals. When picking a substitute team, you cannot root for a favorite, cause then you are no better than a d-bag fan. So, I have decided the Rockets are my substitute team. The following explains why Houston makes a good substitute for me, as a diehard Spurs fan, and would make a good substitute for you.

First, let’s bring it back to the ‘93-’94 season for one of my earliest NBA basketball memories. This was one of the two years that Michael Jordan decided to take off so that he could pursue his baseball career, as least that was what we were led to believe. Michael Jordan’s exit suddenly made the championship a possibility for all playoff contenders. The Spurs lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz. This was before the David Robinson era when our starting lineup consisted of Terry Cummings, Antoine Carr, Willie Anderson, Lloyd Daniels, and Vinny Del Negro. We were decent, but no where close to thinking we had a chance to win it all. At that time, making the playoffs was a big deal, forget about winning a championship. It’s funny how today, making the playoffs is an afterthought for Spurs fans. But regardless, with the Spurs out early, I began rooting for my substitute team, the Houston Rockets. At this time, Spurs fans were jealous of the Rockets. Check out this lineup: Hakeem “The Dream” Olajuwon, Vernon “Mad Max” Maxwell, Kenny “The Jet” Smith, Robert “Big Shot Rob” Horry, Mario “Junkyard Dog” Ellie and Sam “Sam I Am” / “The Alien” Cassell. When you have six players that all have well-known nicknames, things are going well. I remember this series specifically because I was on a family vacation in Aspen, Colorado when the finals took place. I remember being dragged to a dinner function and escaping with my dad to catch the Rockets, Knicks game. I was 12, but had a decent understanding of the game and loved the team chemistry that the Rockets possessed. They seemed to all be friends and loved playing with each other, and at the age of 12 that meant something to me. Today, I can see those same traits in this Rockets team. By trading away Rafer Alston and losing Tracy McGrady for the season, suddenly this Rockets team seems like a group of friends. It’s refreshing.

Second, I really hate the Lakers. No, really. Kobe Bryant is a horrible person. No one on his team likes him, they tolerate him. He was accused of raping a girl, which was admittedly dropped, but regardless he still committed adultery. And to make it up to his wife, he bought her a huge diamond ring the day after the story broke. How classy is that? Quick tangent, if Kobe was in Iran, he would have been stoned to death. Seriously, they still stone people. How backwards is that country? A man was recently convicted of adultery and sentenced to stoning. To stone a person, the victim is buried waste deep, and then pelted with rocks, not big enough to kill him immediately, until he is dead. Can someone drop a bomb on that country already? But back to the Lakers, I cannot stand Dereck Fisher, especially after the .4 second shot he made that destroyed one of the Spurs’ championship runs. That shot still bothers me. There is no way that he caught the ball fading away, squared up, jumped, hesitated, and released the ball in .4 seconds. It’s simply impossible. The referees were spineless and gave that game to the Lakers. During the subsequent offseason, the League created the rule that you can catch a shoot the ball in .4 seconds, but could only tap the ball in .3 seconds. What? So .1 seconds is the difference between a catch and shoot and a tap? The League created that rule in order to justify the absurd ruling of that game. Lamar Odom is just weak. He has the talent and the body to be a number one option for a good team, but lacks the heart and mental toughness. This is why he consistently disappears in big games. Pau Gasol was stolen from the Grizzlies. The League should have never approved that “trade.” The Lakers traded Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenon, and Aaron Mckie’s corpse for Pau Gasol. People wonder why the Lakers have more talent than every other team in the West. Here is your answer; they acquired a seven foot allstar and gave up nothing. If Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic were not basketball players, they would definitely be the d-bag fans I described earlier. So, reason number two for rooting for the Rockets is that they are playing the Lakers.

Reason three, the Rockets have a chance at winning the championship. Yes, I said it. And do you know why they have a chance? It’s because they are freaking huge and built to get stops. Charles Barkley said something very insightful last night; he said, “The only thing consistent in basketball is defense.” What Charles meant was that a team can execute perfectly on the offensive end, but that is no guarantee that the ball is going in the basket. A team cannot control the way in which the ball decides to bounce. However, a team can consistently control their defensive intensity and make it extremely difficult for their opponents to score during the course of a game. While offense is variable, you can fix your defensive intensity. Defense was the key to the Spurs’ four championships and the Rockets are built to play defense. Check out the Rockets starters: they have a pesky, lightning-quick guard in Brooks, Shane Battier plays shooting guard and is 6’8”, 220, Ron Artest plays forward at 6’7”, 240, Luis Scola plays power forward at 6’9”, 245, and Yao Ming is the center at a listed 7’6”, 310, (more like 350.) The Rockets physically take up a ton of space and play rough. They do not back off of anyone. If a Laker has the ball, there will be a Rocket sweating on him. Driving into the Rockets defense turns the offensive player to a crash-test dummy. There is a reason that Kobe took so many jump shots in Game 1. He does not like getting hit, and who does?

The fourth reason to root for the Rockets, and quite possibly the best reason, is that they are playing their best basketball in ten years without Tracy McGrady. In case you missed it, here is a quick recap of McGrady and the Houston Rockets. Tracy McGrady basically represents everything wrong with the NBA. The guy has all the potential in the world, but at some point decided to quit on his team. He made $20 million this year and will make another $21 million next year. If a team wants to fire a player that has obviously quit on them, then they should have the power to do it. This is not France. We are not socialists, not yet anyway. This is capitalism. If an employee is not performing, then the employer should have every right to stop paying him. This season, McGrady showed up overweight and out of shape to the Rockets' preseason camp. Because he was overweight and out of shape, he quickly sustained an injury. When he was cleared by the team doctors, he refused to play claiming that he was still in pain. Most agree that he simply was disillusioned with the franchise and basically wanted to pout. Well, Houston had had enough of Tracy and decided to trade him. As soon as it got out that the Rockets were shopping McGrady, he announced that he was going to have micro-fracture knee surgery to eliminate any chance that the Rockets had of trading him. McGrady thought that the Rockets were going to trade him to a subpar team and obviously, did not want that to happen. Now, he did not discuss this knee surgery with his coach or anyone in the organization. He made the announcement without their knowledge on some radio station. Today, McGrady is watching the Rockets rally around him not being a part of the team. He still has not made it out of the first round, and if there is any justice in this world, he never will make it out of the first round.

[Correction: Roceketsfan pointed out that Tracy called ESPN’s Stephen A Smith to announce his knee surgery. I suppose Tracy thought IT WAS THE SENSIBLE THING TO DO. Stephen A. Smith is atrocious. So is Stuart Scott, but at least Stuart has calmed down his gimmicks in recent years. He used to throw a BOO-YAH out every other minute. And I feel bad for Stuart Scott because his eye is all messed up. If you are wondering how it happened, in his early years of sports reporting he was struck in the eye by a football. I am grateful that ESPN has not made Stephen A Smith an NBA commentator. That would be unbearable, like Bill Walton commentating to the infinity power.]

So, let’s root for the Rockets for the good old days, because they resemble the Spurs, because we hate the Lakers, because they are the underdog with a shot at winning it all, or because Tracy sucks at life. Any of these reasons will do, Go Rockets.

A Not so Disappointing Finale

2009-04-29T11:28:00.004-05:00

The Spurs’ season has ended in a first round defeat to the Dallas Mavericks. Oh, the agony. Make no mistake, Dallas was the better team. However, the absence of Manu clearly played a vital role in this series. I just have one thing to say to Dallas fans. How can you root for Dirk? The guy is seven feet tall and chooses to post up 20 feet away from the basket on defenders that are a foot shorter and are outweighed by 50+ pounds. This undersized defender will proceed to push Dirk 3 to 5 more feet away from the basket. If Dirk finally manages to secure the ball, he turns into the defense, makes a face, pretends to get hit, and then shoots a fade away. Wow. Just wow. How does that guy live with himself? He’s essentially a WNBA all-star. People like to be nice, they say he is a finesse player. “Finesse player” is a label that gets attached to players that have no guts and do not like contact. They like to stand at the three point line and shoot fade-aways over points guards while pretending to get fouled. It’s just atrocious. How do you look at yourself in the mirror? Can you even make eye contact? “Great game Dirk. It was awesome when you posted up Tony Parker 22 feet away from the basket, missed a fade-away over him, but with your solid acting skills sold the foul. Way to go, man.”

But I digress, without Manu, the Spurs were a .500 ball-club. .500 teams do not make it out of the first round. Even though the Spurs managed to lock up the 3 seed, their record was not indicative of the team that took the floor.

Due to the missing Manu, the Spurs were forced to ask their role players to produce much more than they were acquired to produce. It also forced the Spurs to play many players out of position. In the perfect world, Manu would have played backup point guard and Roger Mason would have spotted up for wide open threes. Instead, Roger Mason was forced to play out of position and handle the ball, which took him away from his strengths.

The ESPN/TNT analysts blamed the Spurs’ role players for not stepping up in the playoffs. I would argue that due to Manu's injury, the role players were not put in the position to succeed in the playoffs. Mason, Bonner, Thomas, Udoka, and Finley are not creators. We did not acquire them to run the offense or create shots for others. We acquired them to hit the wide open open jump shot that Tim, Tony, and Manu create. Without Manu, the Spurs were ultimately predictable and were not able to create the open shots that our role players were acquired to make. Instead of spotting up for a wide open three, Mason would have to run the pick and roll several times to get a contested pull-up three pointer. Bonner, Udoka, and Finley would often have to give a pump fake and drive into the lane instead of taking the shot because they were not open. So let’s not place all the blame on the Spurs’ role players, they were not hired to perform the job that they were forced to execute.

On the bright side, how good did Tony Parker and Tim Duncan look? Tony could not be stopped and Tim looked like he turned the clock back five years. If you throw out Game 3’s stats, the game in which the Spurs were blown out and Tim and Tony barely played in the second half, Tony averaged 33 ppg, 4 rpg, and 8 apg, while Tim averaged 24 ppg, 9.5 rpg, and 4 apg for the series. The last two games of the season, Tim averaged 27.5 ppg and 9 rpg.

Clearly, some roster work needs to happen during this off-season. However, I hope the Spurs do not do anything too drastic. I think Tim and Tony proved that they still have a lot left in the tank, and if Manu can get healthy, this team’s championship window has not closed. We need our role players to get younger and more athletic. I expect to see the Spurs shed players like Finley, Udoka, Vaughn (Fingers Crossed), Oberto, and Bowen in exchange for youth and athleticism. Hopefully the big three, Roger Mason, and George Hill will still be wearing the silver and black next year, but everyone else is dispensable.

In retrospect, it was probably better that the Spurs lost to Dallas. Denver would have been next up to bat. Have you been watching the Denver/New Orleans series? Denver is playing the most physical brand of basketball in the playoffs. They are doing what Erica Dampier threatened. They will physically beat the Hell out of the Mavericks. I’m not guaranteeing a series victory, but I am guaranteeing that Barea will get thrown to the floor many, many times. And it will make me happy. Even if the Spurs were able to beat Denver, the Lakers would be waiting. And the Lakers are exceptional. If Kobe broke his foot in Game 1 and Gasol decided to leave Earth in favor of his home planet, and the Spurs somehow pulled out that series, the Cavs would be waiting in the Finals. A championship was pretty much impossible this year. I couldn’t even talk myself into it. Well, at least once I found out Manu was officially done for the season.

Well, that’s all I have for now. As far as this blog in concerned, I will continue posting. NBA playoffs will be a central topic for the coming months as well as more funny additions similar to the Pirates piece.

Cheers and Jeers,

Popovich's Main Adjustment: Bruce Bowen

2009-04-21T16:29:00.002-05:00

ESPN analysts have pointed out many differences between Game 1 and Game 2, mostly focusing on defense in general, defensive rebounding, and Tony Parker’s offensive explosion. What no one has mentioned, and I thought was the biggest adjustment from Game 1 to Game 2, was the utilization of Bruce Bowen. Bruce spent most of the season in Popovich’s doghouse for reasons that have not been publicized. Bruce averaged 18.9 minutes per game this season, his lowest average since 1999 when he played sparingly for the Philadelphia 76ers. Bowen started for the Spurs during their championship runs in ’03, ’05, and ’07. He was a main contributor to those teams as he often shut down the best offensive weapon that the opposition had to offer. In Game 2, Popovich went with what wins and played Bowen a season high 29 minutes. During his time in the game he harassed Dirk, corralled Barea, mauled Howard, and shut down Terry. Do yourself a favor and watch the game a second time, as I did. You will be amazed with Bruce’s defensive performance.

Bruce played so well that Popovich started him in the second half with Parker, Duncan, Bonner, and Finley. As I mentioned before in WTF #9, starting a defensive lineup is the best move the Spurs can make. They are not going to outscore a team, so why should they start their best offensive lineup at the expense of their defense? If the Spurs are going to win, it will be because of their defense, not offense. Even with the Spurs shooting 53% and Tony pouring in 38, they still only managed to score 105 points. The Spurs won the game because they held Dallas to 84 points, not because they scored 105.

Bruce allows limitless flexibility on the defensive end. As I mentioned, Bruce defended Dallas’ power forward, forward, shooting guard, and point guard. Popovich can assign Bruce to whoever is hot to take them out of the offense. Bruce is also a great help defender. Many times he showed a double to force Dirk to pass the ball, then recovered to his man in time to deter the three point shot but still not allow him to drive to the basket. This is an incredibly difficult thing to do. If you recover from helping too slowly, you will allow a three point shot. If you are too fast, the offensive player will give a pump fake and drive right by. The ability to approach at just the right speed in order to deter the three point shot and still not allow the drive is incredibly challenging. The Mavs' shooters only need a second of daylight to get off their three point shots, but this second was not available with Bruce scrambling. When Bruce guarded Barea, he gave him a cushion on the pick and roll and dared him to shoot. Barea is so short that he needs an extended amount of space to get up his shot. Bruce’s length deterred him from shooting even when Bruce went under the pick. The few times that Barea was able to drive into the lane, Bruce guided him to Duncan or Thomas who promptly blocked his shot. When guarding Dirk, Bruce is simply a pest. He fronts Dirk, even when Dirk is 25 feet away from the basket. If Dirk manages to receive the ball, Bruce gets into his chest and dares Dirk to put the ball on the floor. Bruce is quick enough to make contact with Dirk and still recover if Dirk attempts to drive past him. Bruce shadowed Terry all over the court. Terry likes to use screens to find an opening. Bruce masterfully avoided the screens and played the passing lanes limiting Terry’s touches and wasting Dallas’ shot clock. Bruce played Howard somewhat soft. He knew that Howard was not healthy so he played a little off and dared him to shoot. In Game 1, Howard did most of his damage off of cuts and drives, so Bruce took that away and made him a jump shooter. If you like defense, watch Game 2 over again and study Bruce Bowen’s performance. It was truly a masterpiece.

Thoughts on Game 1's

2009-04-20T15:33:00.001-05:00

Portland looked awful. Houston delivered a stomach punch in the first quarter and the Blazers never recovered. Their youth was the story of the game. Houston looked good, but I am still convinced that their lack of elite players will be their undoing. They just do not have enough guys that you can count on scoring 20+ points every night. When they win, it is because of an unexpected contribution. Does 'unexpected contributions' sound like a winning playoff recipe? I think not.

The Spurs looked confused. Confused on the defensive end with Barea getting into the paint at will. Confused on the offensive end with Popovich obviously still trying to figure out his rotation. The silver lining is that the Spurs could have, and probably should have, won the game. They lost because Dampier, Barea and Bass combined for 37 points. If those three can average a combined 37 points for the series, then bless them. I do not see it happening and still think the Spurs win in 6.

The Jazz did not look horrible against the Lakers. I expect the Jazz to lose the series, but I am not sure if the Lakers win a game in Utah. Home-court fuels Utah’s defensive intensity and that is all it will take for the Jazz to get a few W’s.

The Orlando, Phlliy Game 1 was atrocious. The fact it was close made it somewhat entertaining, but the level of basketball being played was far lower than any other series. If Orlando cannot get healthy, whichever team wins this series is definitely going to get swept in the second round.

Dwayne Wade is playing 1 on 5. As I mentioned before, his team is nonexistent. If I were him, I would demand a trade, like now.

The Cavs looked okay. They did not impress but got the W without too much trouble. Detroit has a few players that want to win, but most of that team is already on vacation.

Derick Rose had an amazing Game 1. The scary part is that he does not have that Kobe, “I am going to take every shot for the next five minutes” mode and still scored 36 points with 10 assists. If he decided to drive every time he got the ball in the fourth, he probably would have scored upwards of 50. The Celts looked like the Spurs. They came out a little flat and it seemed that they expected the Bulls to fold at some point; that never happened.

Denver was impressive in their win. Eight threes by Chauncey definitely helped them out. If the Hornets can take Game 2, look for the Nuggets to implode. Their ‘crazy’ is going to catch up with them sooner or later.

I Lost my Voice Screaming, "COME ON, POP!"

2009-04-20T12:30:00.001-05:00

Without Manu Ginobili to mask mistakes, coaching errors are amplified. Below are my top ten What the F's from Game 1 on Saturday.

1.) Why is George Hill riding the pine?
With about a month remaining in the season, I was listening to WOAI’s ‘Ask the Coach’ segment and the question posed was, “Why is George Hill no longer playing backup point guard?” The answer was that historically speaking, rookie point guards never produce in the playoffs. The coaching staff wanted to use George Hill in the playoffs, so they thought that moving him to the 2 guard position would be best. Clearly, this was a horrible mistake. Hill is a point guard, not a shooting guard. Hill has a mediocre to poor outside shot. He is most effective when the ball is in his hands and he has the option to drive and create. By moving him to the 2 guard, the coaching staff took away his strength and amplified his poor shooting ability. In addition, Roger Mason is not a point guard, he is a shooting guard. He is most effective when someone creates for him and he can get an open look. The coaching staff did Mason a disservice by moving him to the backup point guard position. George Hill should be reinstated as the backup point guard and Roger Mason should play his natural shooting guard position.

2.) Why is Matt Bonner not riding the pine?
Matt Bonner is a terrible defender. Watching him attempt to play post defense is reminiscent of a big brother backing down his little brother in the back yard. Bonner is clearly the little brother. The Mavs smartly fed the ball to whomever Bonner was guarding, and they beat him like a red-headed step child. When Bonner is making his outside shot, he negates some of his defensive mistakes. However, when he is missing, he has a huge negative impact on the Spurs. Please bench him.

3.) Why does Popovich refuse to start Gooden?
If we bench Bonner, that opens up a starting position. Gooden should be our starter. Granted, Gooden makes a lot of dumb mistakes on the defensive end, but he commands attention on the offensive end clearing the lane for Tim and Tony. Gooden is a better rebounder, a better defender, quicker and more athletic than Bonner. He should be our starter.

4.) Why does Popovich not play Gooden with Duncan more?
Elaborating a little more on WTF #3, Duncan and Gooden play great with each other. In Game 1 against the Mavs, we got a look at their chemistry on the court together. The Spurs built their biggest lead of 13 when Tim and Drew were playing together. For some reason, this lineup was short lived and Popovich chose not to play them together for the rest of the game. But the production was there when they were in. Drew’s ability to post up is huge. If we play Drew and Tim together, then we could post up which ever player had the weaker defender. If the weaker defender is Dirk, we could get him in foul trouble and it could be the difference in the game.

5.) Why in God’s name is Mason guarding Dirk during crunch time?
This was one of the reasons I lost my voice at the Spurs game Saturday night. Is Popovich trying to lose? I just do not understand the logic. Mason is one of the weakest defenders on the Spurs’ roster. Why would we ask a weak defender to guard the Mav’s best player during crunch time? Thomas, Bonner, Udoka, Bowen, Hill, Duncan, and Finley all are better defenders than Mason. I just don’t get it.

6.) How is it possible that a hobbit single-handedly took Game 1 from us?
That little troll, also known as Barea, epitomizes what is wrong with NBA officiating. This little hobbit mauls everyone in his vicinity and never gets called for a foul because he is missing a chromosome. Not only do the refs not call fouls on him, but they give him the call every time he flops. And these are not offensive fouls that could go either way, these are EGREGIOUS flops. Someone needs to knock the hell out of him. If I were coaching, I’d let Thomas know that the first time Barea took it to the rim I wanted him laid out. All it takes is one good hit and that little troll will think twice before driving recklessly to the basket.

7.) Why do we not post Tim Duncan every possession?
Tim looked great in Game 1, unfortunately he did not get enough touches. If Tim is in the game, he should touch the ball every offensive possession. There is no reason for Bonner or Udoka to take a shot early in the shot clock when Tim is on the floor. We should force feed him the ball on the block. I promise, good things will happen.

8.) Why doesn’t Popovich yell at the officials?
The second time that little troll made an egregious flop, I looked over at our bench expecting to see Popovich enraged and saw no passion. It was as if he did not see it happen. Popovich needs to YELL. He needs to get in people’s faces. He needs to turn red and lose his voice. If the momentum starts to shift, Pop needs to stop it. It’s like he doesn’t care anymore.

9.) Why does our starting lineup not consist of Tony Parker, Tim Duncan, Bruce Bowen, Roger Mason, and Drew Gooden?
Here is the problem with our current starting lineup; Finley and Bonner are horrible defenders. Using horrible defenders in the starting lineup guarantees that your opposition is going to get off to a good offensive start. In addition, if Finley and Bonner are missing, it guarantees that the Spurs will be down after the first quarter. How many times have you thought, “Wow, the Spurs really crushed that team in the first quarter.” Once, never? This is because our starting lineup cannot get stops. If we are lucky, Finley or Bonner will hit a few threes and we will keep pace with the other team. However, most of the time we will be down a few points when our subs come into the game. By inserting Bowen and Gooden into the starting lineup, suddenly our guys can get stops. Furthermore, bringing Finley and Bonner in off the bench means that they will be matched up against other bench players. Their poor defense will not be as obvious against the second unit of a team. With a defensive starting lineup, suddenly it’s not about outscoring the opposition, it’s about shutting them down. Isn’t that the philosophy that won the Spurs four championships? Why did we stray from it?

10.) Why do we not make defensive adjustments during a game when it is clear that our schemes are not effective?
Back to the little troll who is missing a chromosome, the only reason he was effective was because our defensive scheme was flawed. He consistently drove into the paint because our pick and roll defense allowed him to. Normally when guarding a pick and roll, the big man shows on the pick to pause the guard so that his guard can recover and play defense. For some reason, when Barea ran the pick and roll, our big guy did not show so he had an open path to the basket. I assume the thought was that we wanted our big guy to stay close to the guy setting the pick, because it was normally Dirk, but allowing Barea to reach the rim causes a plethora of problems. It puts our help defenders in a bad spot. If they help, Barea can kick the ball out for a three, and if they do not he has a layup. In addition, if our big guy shows late, it frees up Dampier for the offensive board. I believe this same thing happened three times, resulting in three easy put backs for Dampier. The way to prevent this is to simply have our big guy show hard on the pick, and have our guard recover. Why did this adjustment never take place during the game? I have no idea.

Playoffs Preview

2009-04-17T17:57:00.004-05:00

1 Cavs vs 8 Pistons

Fred's Pick: Cavs in 5

The Cavs are really good. I mean really, really good. Lebron is finally reaching his potential and he is surrounded by the best role players he has ever had. The one troubling thing about the Cavs is that they really only have one elite player. Mo Williams is not elite as he cannot create for himself or his teammates. This means that if a team figures out how to effectively contain Lebron, the Cavs are beatable. This, however, will not happen when they face Detroit. The Pistons have been in a tailspin ever since they traded Chauncey "Team Glue" Billups away for Allen "Me First" Iverson. The only reason I gave the Pistons a game is because Detroit is a tough place to win at, especially in the playoffs.

2 Celtics vs 7 Bulls

Fred's Pick: Celts in 5

The Bulls have acquired "cool pick" status, somehow. Everyone seems to think they will give the Celtics a run for their money since the Garnet news came out. The Bulls are a young team and if a young team is going to make a splash in the playoffs they need a great coach. Last time I checked, Vinny Del Negro was coaching the Bulls. Sorry Chicago, not going to happen.

3 Magic vs 76ers

Fred's Pick: Magic in 5

Yuck. This is exactly why the East sucks. What a horrible series. I am a basketball junkie and if this came on I'm flipping the channel to watch a King of Queens rerun. If Rashard and Hedo were both healthy, it's definitely a sweep. As it is, it's going to be a sloppy win for the Magic.

4 Hawks vs 5 Heat

Fred's Pick: Hawks in 6

This series has also become an analyst favorite. Why? I still do not know what the Hawks are trying to do. Are they going to outrun you? Will they out-execute you? Will they control the pace of the game? What are they good at? And as far as the Heat are concerned, it's one fabulous player surrounded by some of the worst talent ever assembled. This team will be alright in two years because they are so young, but the fact they are a 5 seed this year illustrates just how much the East sucks.

1 Lakers vs 8 Jazz

Fred's Pick: Lakers in 6

The Jazz are not your typical 8 seed. They would be a 3 or 4 seed if they had not suffered so many injuries during the course of the season. They have one of the best point guards in the league and two great low post presences in Boozer and Millsap. The Lakers should not take this team lightly, or it could go to 7 games. However, the Lakers are the most complete team in the league. They have two elite players in Kobe and Gasol. They have elite role players in Odom and Bynum. And they have veteran experience. Their only weak spot is at the point guard position. Fisher has been awful this year and Farmar did not improve from last year. The fact that Utah has a great point guard and the Lakers are below average at that position is another reason to like the Jazz in this series. I still am picking the Lakers, but I will definitely keep my eye on this series.

2 Nuggets vs 7 Hornets

Fred's Pick: Hornets in 6

What do Carmelo, Kenyon, and JR Smith all have in common? They are crazy. Billups has done a masterful job of keeping this team together, greatly without the help of George Karl. This is a front running team. Things are great when they are winning, but as soon as they are losing they all start pointing fingers at each other. I get the feeling that if the Hornets can deliver one good stomach punch, the wheels will fall off for Denver.

3 Spurs vs 6 Mavs

Fred's Pick: Spurs in 6

Here is the thing about the Spurs. At this point, they only have two elite players and a bunch of mediocre role players. Therefore the Spurs will need their two elite players to have great games. Dallas cannot defend Tim or Tony. Tony scored 37 in the last two games they played, the second of which Tim and Manu did not play and the Spurs still won by 18. On the flip side, the Spurs have trouble guarding Dirk. However, the Spurs have a plethora of defenders to throw at him, while the Mavs have no one that can stay in front of Tony. The edge goes to San Antonio.

4 Blazers vs 5 Rockets

Fred's Pick: Blazers in 5

Do the Rockets have an elite player? Yao is alright, but how can you be 7'6" 310 pounds and not average more than 10 rebounds a game? Shouldn't he get around 10 boards a game by accident? Is he even trying? Artest is well past his prime, although he is still effective. Teams that win in the playoffs have to have a go-to guy. The Rockets are a great team, but lack a star. The Blazers have Brandon Roy. I really think this guy is great. He reminds me of Tim in that he never loses control of his emotions, but still has that undeniable passion to win. The Blazers are more athletic and have an elite player. I do not think they will have a problem taking out the Rockets.

For the Love of God, Popovich

2009-04-16T12:02:00.003-05:00

The Spurs landed in the three spot. Previously, I said that I would prefer the Spurs to be the four or five seed rather than the three. However, at that time it looked like the sixth seed would either be the Hornets or the Jazz, both of which would provide difficult matchups for the Spurs. Turns out the Spurs will play the Mavericks. This is the best case scenario for the Spurs. At this point, we basically are comprised of two stars. We need Tim and Tony to have great games in order to win. Tim always crushes Dallas and the Mavs have no one to defend Tony. For this reason, the Mavs are the best possible matchup for the short-handed Spurs.

There is one area of concern. We need Tim and Tony to play. It’s as simple as that. I attended the Hornets, Spurs game last night and was extremely frustrated for about 47 minutes. I kept asking, “How are we supposed to win if our two best players are not playing?” Luckily, the Spurs won a game that they should not have and earned the three seed. However, the Spurs cannot count on luck to win a playoff series. We need Tim and Tony in the game. Last night Tim had a +/- of +21 and Tony had +15. This means that when Tim was in the game, the Spurs outscored the Hornets by 21 points. We won by seven. Therefore, when Tim was on the bench the Hornets outscored the Spurs by 14 points. How easy is this to see? Can someone forward this to Popovich? When Tim is in the game, we are infinitely better than when he sits on the bench. Tim and Tony played a combined 77 minutes last night. Chris Paul and David West combined for 95 minutes. If you were wondering why the Spurs almost lost, you can stop studying the box score. Here is your answer. Their best two players played 18 more minutes than our two best players. It’s as easy as that. If we are going to fare well in the playoffs, this trend must end here. Tim and Tony must play more minutes than they have averaged during the regular season. Popovich needs to go for broke. There are no back to backs in the playoffs, so playing Tim extended minutes should not be a concern. In addition, Tony Parker is 26. 26! Are you telling me he can’t play more than 34 minutes a game? He is a world-class athlete.

Keep an eye on the minutes column. If Dirk and Howard/Terry play substantially more minutes than Tim and Tony, this could translate into an extended vacation for the Spurs.

Navy Seals > Pirates

2009-04-13T16:35:00.002-05:00

Seriously? How incompetent are these “pirates?” It is really quite baffling when you think about it. In 2003 I made it a point to read any article about pirates that I came across. In the summer of ’03 I attended Semester at Sea. Basically, you sail around the world for a semester and take classes while at sea for college credit. The ship docks at different locations around the world and while docked classes stop and you basically are on your own to explore the country. It was really quite fantastic. My year we sailed to Vancouver, Alaska, Japan, Russia, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii. While at sea, we would often have pirate drills, similar to fire drills at school, so we knew what to do in case of a pirate attack. The students all had a safe location on the ship to hide and the crew would man water cannons that were located all around the ship for defense. This spiked my curiosity of ‘pirates’ as I was previously unaware that they still existed. So I have kept up with the pirates since ’03 and was hooked when they took over an American ship this past week. The following is a recap of what took place along with my thoughts. The recap will be a summary from the articles I have read from WSJ, NYT, Reuters, Bloomberg, and Breitbart.

About a week ago four pirates armed with pistols and AK-47’s attempted to capture an American vessel. They maneuvered their tiny boat next to the enormous vessel and straight pirate style used ropes with hooks to climb onboard. Once onboard, the pirates realized they were greatly outnumbered by the crew. However, the crew did not possess guns, so advantage pirates. Apparently, there was a scuffle between a few crew members and the Pirate Captain. During this brouhaha, a crew member stabbed the Captain in the hand with an ice pick. The crew members tied the Captain to a chair and thus had a hostage. The American Captain realized that this situation could easily escalate with the three remaining armed pirates still onboard. He decided to give himself to the pirates to avoid violence. So now the pirates have the American Captain and the Americans have the Pirate Captain. The pirates then demanded that the Americans give them one of their life boats. The Americans agreed so now the three pirates and the American Captain were off the main vessel. It was negotiated that the Americans would give the pirates the Pirate Captain back and then the pirates would release the American Captain. So the Americans released the Pirate Captain who rejoined his crew on the life boat. The Americans asked for their captain back and I assume the response from the pirates was something like, “Um, we’re pirates. Lying is a big part of what we do.”

So now the four pirates are on this life boat with the American Captain. The pirates attempted to demand that the crew follow them to the coast of Somalia, but the crew decided that was a bad idea and took off. In this time, the first American Warship arrived on scene and negotiations commenced. The pirates wanted ransom, something in the range of 2 million dollars, for the American Captain. Negotiations carried on for the next several days. During this time, the Captain saw an opportunity to escape and took it. He dove into the ocean and attempted to swim to one of the nearby American Warships. The pirates fired several shots, (it is unclear whether they shot at the Captain or in the air,) at which point the Captain surrendered and was recaptured. This was enough for Barack Obama. He had had it. When this happened, he gave the order for the Navy Seals to intervene if the captain was in “imminent danger.”

During the next four days, two more American War Ships arrived along with War Helicopters. This must have been quite the spectacle. Picture it. Four pirates on a life boat surrounded by three American Warships with War Helicopters buzzing around. So negotiations did not go well for the pirates because apparently they have never seen an American movie. “WE DON”T NEGOTIATE WITH TERRORISTS.” We kill terrorists. Yesterday, one of the pirates boarded an American Warship to make their demands clear. Their demands were rejected by the Navy and the pirate became irate. 100 feet away on the life boat, one of the pirates made the unfortunate mistake of pointing his gun at the head of the Captain. This qualified as “imminent danger” so the Navy Seals opened fire. Three shots, three head wounds, game over. The fourth pirate is now in custody. The captain was unharmed.

Now, what were these pirates thinking? That our Navy was going to have 2 million in cash, hand it over to them, and they would be on their merry way? Never to be seen again? Living like kings? What??? What was their best case scenario? Life in prison, most likely. If negotiations had succeeded, this is how it would have played out. The pirates get some money and release the Captain. Once the Captain was safe, the pirates are captured and sent to an American jail. The end. Worst case was they piss our new president off, and he gives the order to take them out. Obama was not about to allow four “pirates” to make a fool out of him in front of the entire world. At some point, one of the four pirates had to have second thoughts, right? Like when the third Warship arrived and there were freaking War Helicopters buzzing all around, he had to start thinking, “Um, maybe this wasn’t such a good idea and we should get the hell off this tiny life boat.”

The other confounding part of this was that they chose the life boat over land. They were docked right off the coast of Somalia. It is well documented that we are not good at finding people in caves. Doesn’t Somalia have caves? Wouldn’t that be your go-to move? Either the four of us can sit in this tiny lifeboat surrounded by three Warships and helicopters, or we can go on land and meet up with our pirate buddies and negotiate from a hard-to-find cave.

I feel like these pirates were just some dudes trying to make a quick buck, and before they knew it they were surrounded by Warships and really had no idea what to do. Somalia is not a place you want to visit. Since the late 80’s, Somalia has been in a civil war. There is no government, no economy, no nothing. If you are in Somalia, and you see these ships passing by constantly, it may make sense to take a chance for some money. Here is where they made the mistake. Stay away from ships flying the American flag. Pick on the French. You know they won’t retaliate. The Americans have been kicking the crap out of Iraq for a decade now because they basically called us names. America is not the nation you want to pick a fight with, especially if you do not have any allies that will have your back. Today the pirates were quoted as saying America is their new number one target. Really? Pirates, you have no chance. We will send a few ships over, a few troops, a few helicopters, and dominate your existence for the next decade. Here is some advice. Forget this happened. Apologize to the U.S. and then continue picking on the French. That’s what I’d do, anyway. You got a good thing going with your throwback pirate business. Don’t mess it up by picking a fight you do not have a chance at winning.

Quick Spurs Update
We can beat the Blazers in a series. We want the four or five spot. Four would obviously be preferable, but five would be better than the three spot. It looks like New Orleans will be in the sixth spot, and we do not match up well with them. Also, I really hope we play the Lakers in the second round. If we win, fantastic. If we lose, well that’s the best team in the West and we are injured. Worst case scenario would be meeting the Lakers in the Conference Finals and getting stomped. If we are going to get stomped, let’s hope it’s in the second round so our guys get an extended off-season to recuperate.

Optimistic Spurs Outlook

2009-04-02T15:44:00.002-05:00

I realize my last few posts have been fairly pessimistic. Most of it was skewed by my emotions following the recent upsetting losses. I thought I should make it known that I expect the Spurs to finish the rest of the season 6-2 and make a run at the championship. At first glance, this might seem uber-optimistic considering that five of the remaining eight games are on the road, and four of the remaining eight are against playoff teams. However, if one takes a closer look at the Spurs’ rough month of March, there is reason for optimism.

The Spurs record for March was 9-8. It looks bad until one realizes that seven of the eight losses were by 7 or fewer points, five were by fewer than 4 points. Clearly, many of these games could have gone either way. If the ball had taken a different bounce, if the officiating had been slightly less than horrific, if Popovich had not played Jacque Vaughn, many of these games would have been wins.

The opponents that the Spurs lost to were respectable, for the most part. The only “bad” losses occurred against the Oklahoma City Thunder, to which the Spurs dropped two games. The rest of their losses were to playoff teams.

The Spurs were playing with incomplete lineups for the majority of the month. Tim Duncan sat out for most of the back to backs and missed a string of games due to knee soreness. Manu Ginobili only played in the last three games averaging only 25 minutes per, and as expected struggled to shake the rust off.

These reasons serve to explain why the Spurs were out of sync in March. In my eyes, these untimely injuries resulted in the Spurs woeful three point shooting slump. March was the Spurs worst three point shooting month of the season at 37.1%. In their eight losses, the Spurs shot a putrid 32%. Given how close these games were, if the Spurs shot 35% suddenly they are viewed in a completely different light. Instead of, “The Spurs Limp into the Playoffs,” headlines would read “The Spurs Sprint Towards the Finish Line.” It’s interesting how a single percent can completely shift the public’s perception of a team.

Injuries kept the Spurs from developing a rhythm during the month of March. Players were attempting to get Drew Gooden acclimated while not knowing which of the Big Three may be playing in the next game. The Spurs ball movement became less fluid and the league’s leading three point shooting team struggled to connect from range.

All this can be turned around within a week. If the Spurs can take a step back and play through this rough patch, they will regain form and steady the ship. I am hoping that this last week was enough for the Spurs to find themselves. So, I am still optimistic that the Spurs can make a run at the title this year. Everyone seems to forget the most important factor heading into the playoffs; it’s an odd year, and the Spurs own odd years like they own the Suns.

Popovich Makes My Head Hurt

2009-04-01T12:40:00.006-05:00

Well, the precedent has been set. There is nothing we can do about it now. The Thunder officially believe they can beat the Spurs regardless of the circumstances. This is the same thing that happened with the Milwaukee Bucks. At some point, the Bucks won a fluky game against the Spurs, followed that with a close win, and now the Spurs have trouble beating the Bucks twice a season. The Bucks could be 10-42, it does not matter. The Bucks will always play the Spurs close because they show up with impenetrable confidence. And now we have this to look forward to for the next decade every time we play the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Nearly every good team has one of these annoying match-ups. The Lakers like to lose to the Bobcats. The Magic like to lose to the Pistons. It’s not necessarily a guaranteed loss, it will just be a closer game than it should be and the lesser team will always have a shot at winning in the closing minutes.

Popovich is really to blame for last night’s loss and a decades worth of close losses to the Thunder. First, the lineups he played were horrendous. If Tim, Tony, and Manu are healthy, there is absolutely no reason that the Spurs should play a lineup that excludes all three. It makes no sense. A lineup without the big three will never happen in the playoffs, so why play it now? All it does is serve to destroy the Spurs' rhythm and give the opposition confidence.

Second, why in God’s name is Jacque Vaughn playing? We have George Hill! What the HELL?!?! Jacque Vaughn entered the game when the Thunder had two seconds on the shot clock. Jacque somehow lost sight of his man, who cut backdoor and received the pass for a lay-up. Jacque fouled the guy and he made both free throws. Two seconds in the game, two points for the Thunder. He played 13 minutes, scored 0 points missing two wide open shots, and had as many turnovers as he had assists, 1. His plus minus was -2. Could George Hill have performed worse? Is it even possible? What Jacque’s stats do not display is that when he is in the game, the other team is essentially playing five on four on the defensive end. They do not guard Jacque Vaughn. This kills Manu’s impact because whenever Manu drives, Jacque’s man is right there to stop him. Also, the guy that Jacque Vaughn guards always has a free pass into the lane. The backup point guard on one of the worst teams in the NBA looked like an All Star because he was matched-up against Jacque. 34 year old Chucky Atkins has averaged 2.9 points, 1.8 assists, and .8 rebounds this season. Against Vaughn, he nearly doubled his production and apparently was EVERYWHERE, 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal, 0 turnovers, making both of his free throws. Tell me that he is that effective against George Hill, who is 22 and 6’3” with a 6’7” wingspan. Again, Jacque Vaughn is playing??? I feel like putting my head through a wall.

Third, how many times have you heard a commentator say this? “Wow, what a great decision by the coach. Instead of calling a time out, they decided to push the ball down by one. They completely caught the defense off-guard and got the easy layup for the win!” Maybe once, when the Suns were under D’Antoni? The vast majority of the time you hear, “Well, they had a timeout but chose not to use it because they thought they could catch the defense sleeping. Unfortunately, they got off a horrible shot and lost the game.” Let me go Hubie Brown on you for a second. “If I’m Gregg Popovich, I KNOW that my team is not as athletic as the Thunder. I also KNOW that if I call a timeout, I can advance the ball to halfcourt and draw up a play that could take advantage of the Thunder’s inexperience. If I’m Gregg Popovich, there is NO WAY that I don’t call a timeout here.” Well, he didn’t call a timeout. The play was broken from the start when Tony failed to bring the ball up the court. Passes were deflected, Tim ended up with the ball 20 feet from the basket with three seconds on the shot clock. He threw it to Finley who missed a contested fade-away from 25 feet at the buzzer. Ouch. If Popovich calls a timeout, what are the odds the Spurs take a worse shot? 10%? 5%? I completely do not understand his logic.

Fourth, Kevin Durant absolutely tore the Spurs apart for the first three quarters. Finley, Udoka, and Manu all had their shot to defend him, and all were torched. Guess which two players did not get any playing time last night? Arguably the Spurs’ best two perimeter defenders, Bruce Bowen and George Hill. How does that make any sense at all? I feel like I am taking CRAZY PILLS.

The loss obviously falls on Popovich. Why was he so bad? Did he chug a bottle of Nyquil before the game? Did he total his car? Did he take a look in the mirror for the first time in 20 years? What the Hell was he thinking? Obviously, I’m still irate. I may have to bring back my old website, http://www.heypoppleasestopkillingmyteam.com/

West vs. East Which Confernce is Better?

2009-03-27T14:23:00.002-05:00

You may have heard ESPN analysts claim that the Eastern and Western Conferences are as close in talent as they have ever been. They like to point out that while the West has nine above average teams, they also have six of the worst teams in the NBA. They claim that the Eastern Conference, while not as top heavy, does not have many terrible teams, so the conferences are fairly even this year. This bothers me to no end. The Western Conference is much better that the Eastern conference and this is why three teams from the Eastern Conference, the Cavs, Celtics, and Magic, have ridiculous records.

The NBA schedule is created by following a few rules. First, each team will play each team from the other conference twice, 30 games. Each team will play ten teams from their own conference 4 times, with teams within their division always being one of these, 40 games. The four remaining teams from the conference will be played three times each, 12 games. These games add up to the 82 that make up the regular season. As you can see, a team from the West will play 52 out of their 82 games against other teams from the West.

Now, let’s take a look at the makeup of each conference. In the West, you have nine superior teams and six inferior teams. The superior teams are the Lakers, Spurs, Rockets, Nuggets, Hornets, Trailblazers, Jazz, Mavericks, and Suns. The inferior teams are the Warriors, Thunder, Timber Wolves, Clippers, Grizzlies and Kings. For argument’s sake, let us assume that every time an inferior team played a superior team, they lost. And when an inferior team played an inferior team or when a superior team played a superior team, they split games. What you would have is exactly what the Western Conference records reflect. The nine superior teams have good records, but nothing extraordinary, because there are nine superior teams all splitting games with each other. The six inferior team’s records are horrible because they cannot beat the nine superior teams, and only have five other inferior teams to split games with. (Note, the Lakers are an anomaly because they stole an All Star, Pau Gasol, from the Grizzlies and gave nothing in return. Their team is loaded with talent.)

In the East, you have three superior teams, and twelve inferior teams. Using the same logic, how would this play out? Well, the three superior teams would have outstanding records, since there are only two other teams they face that they split games with, and twelve inferior teams that they can beat consistently. The twelve inferior teams would have mediocre records, because they spilt with each other, and only face three superior teams that they cannot beat.

Given this logic, it is ridiculous to say that the Western and Eastern conferences are equal. The true measure a conference is the number of superior teams in the conference. The West has nine, while the East has three. It would be more correct to say the West is three times better than the East, than it would be to say the conferences are equal.

Let's talk Michael Finley

2009-03-26T16:11:00.003-05:00

Below is a conversation I had with one of my coworkers concerning Michael Finley. He cannot stand Finley while I have grown to respect his game. Ryan had put together a table demonstrating that Finley plays better against weak opponents.

From: Ryan
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 10:47 AM
To: Fred
Subject: Can't stand Finley stats

I had a minute so I put this info together about the horrible M. Finley….

I don’t know how this guy even averages 9.6 pts per game, but my thoughts were that he has his best games against the worst teams (which looks to be accurate in the table below). The only bright spot is that he has seemed to do okay against the Lakers, Cavs, and the Hornets somehow.

I still can’t believe the amount of minutes he gets and WHEN he gets his minutes, like at the end of games! Horrendous. I don’t know what Pop’s love affair is with this guy.

From: Fred
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 11:08 AM
To: Ryan
Subject: RE: Can't stand Finley stats

I don’t mind Finley. He’s a role player. He’s out there to hit the open three and he is shooting a career best 42% from beyond the arc. And who is Pop going to play over him? Pop screwed up by moving George Hill to the two guard; he has been horrible since they made the change. And I have no confidence in Udoka. He’s been playing alright recently, but he is undersized, can't jump, and slow. He’s also a much more inconsistent shooter than Finley. With Manu out, I don’t know who would be better with Finley’s minutes. Mason can only play so many minutes, especially if he has to run the team when Tony takes a break. And it kills me to admit this, but Bruce has lost a step. And he seems even more lost on the offensive end than normal.

From: Ryan
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 12:15 PM
To: Fred
Subject: RE: Can't stand Finley stats

If you look at him and when he really has an opportunity to affect something in the game, he really doesn’t hit those open threes. George Hill needs to play the backup point and Finley should play about 15 minutes a game. I have much more confidence in Mason’s shot than Finley when he’s not running the backup point and someone else is setting him up for shots. Hopefully Finley will be the one to lose minutes now that Manu is back and not Mason.

I closely watch Finley for his productivity and timeliness of his shots, so this is why I’ve got issues with him.

From: Fred
Sent: Thursday, March 26, 2009 2:14 PM
To: Ryan
Subject: RE: Can't stand Finley stats

I don’t think his job is to affect the game. He needs to hit the open shot, and more importantly, not make a mistake. I cannot think of a single mental error that Finley has made in the closing minutes of a tight game. He is solid defendively, his turnovers are very low, and most impressively, he has the highest +/- of any Spur in crunch time. Check out the Clutch Stats from 82games.com. 82games takes the clutch stats and expands them over 48 minutes so you can get an idea of which players step up in close games. As you can see, Finley commits the fewest turnovers of any Spur during crunch time, and ranks third in rebounds. I think that’s what you want from your fourth option. He’s probably not going to win the game with his individual heroics, but he will not lose it for you and the team seems to perform best when he is on the court. He has a high basketball IQ and this cannot be argued when you consider he has the best +/- of any Spur during crunch time.

Here are the tables that we were referencing.

Tim Playing Hurt? Manu Should be Suspended

2009-03-24T10:10:00.004-05:00

I was present for the Celtics game, and watched the losses to the Thunder and Rockets. The Spurs probably should have won all three, but a combination of mental lapses and horrific officiating resulted in three losses for the Spurs. The Spurs now sit ½ a game behind the Rockets for second place in the Midwest Division, third place in the Western Conference.

I could spend the next thirty minutes describing each horrific call that doomed the Spurs. The no-call on Yao Ming's putback immediately comes to mind. What drove me crazy about that game was reading Shane Battier's comments that if Bonner had made the last second three for the win, the Rockets would have locked arms and not left the court till they were given the win. As if the game was called perfectly up until that point and it would have been thievery to count that shot. Not only did the Rockets get the go ahead bucket off of a horrendous no-call, but moments later the Spurs were called for a ghost foul that cemented the Rockets' victory. The Spurs should have locked arms after Ming's offensive goal tending and not played until the refs made the more than obvious call.

While the officiating is nothing short of disgraceful, the most upsetting thing I saw was Tim Duncan playing on one leg. The guy is clearly playing hurt. It pains me to think about, but he is playing 50 to 60% right now. He seems to lack his normal explosiveness off his drive. This is forcing him to take more contested outside jump shots, and since he does not have the lift from his legs, he shoots short in the second half. When healthy, Yao cannot get close enough to Tim to challenge his jumper. If Yao gets close, Tim would normally put the ball on the floor, take his two steps in the lane, draw contact and make his patented running hook. In his current state, this shot is not an option for Tim. Against Perkins and Yao, Tim could not get the separation from the defender on his drive, and they would get a piece of the ball. Yes, he gets fouled the majority of the time, but the referees are awful and have not made this call since the All-Star break. The referees seem to not understand that if you hold a player down with one arm, it’s very easy to get a piece of the ball when the shot is taken. Apparently holding is no longer a foul in the NBA, unless it’s a point guard 35 feet away from the basket.

So, what are the Spurs chances with Tim playing at 50% and Manu playing at 75%? I don’t want to think about it. Imagine how good this team would be with all three of its stars playing at 100%. They should have beat the Celtics and Rockets with a hurt Tim and absent Manu.

What really killed the Spurs this year was Argentina. If Manu does not play on his already injured ankle during the off-season with the Argentine national team, he probably gets enough rest for it to heal and does not require surgery. If Manu does not miss any time, Tim does not have to carry the load for 50 games this season and is fresh coming into the playoffs, rather than playing on one leg.

This has to be addressed in the much talked about mediations between the Players’ Union and David Stern, right? Players that are being paid millions of dollars should not be allowed to play during the off-season without the consent of their employer. To me, it’s similar to what happened in Golden State this off-season with Monta Ellis. During the offseason, Monta rode a scooter, which was specifically forbidden in his contract, and injured himself. He was suspended by the team without pay for most of the season. Manu should also be suspended for his poor decision making. He knew he was hurt. He knew the Spurs were counting on him this year. He knew how much money they were paying him. And he still chose to play hurt during the off-season, perhaps costing the Spurs a chance to win the championship this year. He should give half his salary to Tim for forcing him to carry the team in his absence. Who knows how this will affect the rest of Tim’s career. Did Manu just shave two productive years off the end of Tim’s career? No one is talking about this, but I promise it’s on Pop’s mind, Tim’s mind, the Spurs’ minds. If a player decides it’s more important to him to play for his nation than it is to make millions of dollars playing a game, then that’s his decision. But he should not have the option to play hurt, costing his employer millions in the process, and fans like you and me a season during an ever-closing championship window.

Defining Sports

2009-03-17T10:42:00.002-05:00

Ever since high school I often found myself debating what exactly constituted a sport. I would argue with participants of the less popular activities over why basketball and football were superior. In order to validate my feelings toward the lesser activities, I developed criteria that an activity must meet in order to be considered a sport, and not just a leisure activity. Below I will list my criteria and discuss.

1.) There has to be defense.

When I say defense, I am not talking about simple physical constraints such as water or the lack of oxygen. I am referring to opponents whose objective is to beat you. Defense is a key to any popular sport. It brings the best out in everyone by injecting competitiveness. Without defense, you often here, “He really is battling inner demons,” or “It’s about self-discipline and concentration.” That is fantastic, but when you have defense not only do you have to battle yourself, you also have to battle someone who will do anything they can to prevent you from succeeding.

So with our first requirement, we have defined swimming, track, car racing or any of its derivatives, and golf as leisure activities. While we are on swimming, how can a guy who only swims win 6 different gold medals? I know this has been brought up before, but it upsets me every four years. Shouldn’t swimming get a single gold medal? Since a great swimmer can win so many gold medals, I think that next year there should be a medal awarded to the best freethrow shooter, the best three point shooter, the best rebounder, the best dunker, the best team, the MVP of the league, and the best defender. That way the best basketball athlete could also win 6 gold medals. When a guy as goofy as Michael Phelps can be the greatest Olympic champion of all time, it’s time to reevaluate the system. Clearly, something is not right.

2.) The sport requires top physical condition and its players peak in their 20’s, and decline in their 30’s.

At first look, this rule would seem to invalidate baseball. We’ve all seen fat pitchers on the mound who clearly are not in top condition. However, the other positions require conditioning so I will not let the pitchers destroy the entire sport, although they do not help baseball’s case. In addition, recently players have been peaking in their 30’s, but it has become obvious that this was due to steroids, so baseball gets a pass here also.

Top physical condition is important because it implies that the sport is extremely challenging and players must be in their prime as human beings to compete at the highest level. So, we can define bowling, darts, and golf as leisure activities. You should notice that many of the leisure activities violate more than one of the requirements. This only further condemns them.

3.) The sport must draw paying spectators.

If people do not want to watch the sport, it is not a sport. So, this pretty much encompasses all sports played by women with the sole exception of tennis. This requirement is also interesting because you can apply it at the national and international level. This requirement can be used to rank sports in your local area.

For example, in Texas the hierarchy would consist of football and basketball on top, then baseball, soccer, lacrosse, hockey, and finally rugby. Another way to look at this is that the best athletes will play football and basketball first, then baseball, then soccer, etc. So, if you are playing lacrosse in Texas, you probably got cut by the football team. However, in the Northeast, lacrosse and hockey may be on the same plateau as basketball and football. At the international level, football may be last and soccer or rugby would come in first.

Regardless, this requirement identifies leisure activities such as water polo, dodge ball, and other activities of that nature that no one cares about. One could argue that activities can switch from ‘sport’ to ‘leisure activity’ depending on the location. For example, in Texas nobody wants to watch lacrosse or rugby, so these could be considered leisure activities. In Mexico, no one wants to watch football.

So swimming, golf, track, water polo, cheerleading, dancing, dodge ball, car racing, gymnastics, cycling, and every sport played by women aside from tennis are all leisure activities. Okay? Glad we got that cleared up.

Fantasy Baseball

2009-03-16T11:06:00.004-05:00

As we approach the end of our NBA fantasy basketball season, my friend asked me if I wanted to organize a fantasy baseball league. Fantasy baseball is apparently the best fantasy experience because this is where fantasy began and the statistics are much more developed than those of basketball.

However, I have many issues with baseball and shot his thought down without hesitation. First, I’m not in the best shape of my life. I do not work out religiously and do not watch what I eat. I’m not fat, but I’m not cut either. And here resides my first issue. Why am I going to watch a sport that pays “athletes” who are in worse shape than I am? So, you are a professional athlete being paid millions of dollars and cannot keep yourself in shape? I don’t get it. And do not kid yourself. These guys have bellies. They are definitely not in their best physical condition. And the other thing I cannot make sense of is that apparently, all these guys were using steroids. Roger Clemens, I’m looking at you. How can you use steroids and still be fat? It’s ridiculous. This is how un-athletic baseball is, it has players on steroids that still cannot keep themselves in shape. Hey Roger, when is the last time you ran a mile? College? High School? It was a long time ago, I can promise you this much.

Have you ever thought about heaven and hell? My heaven would consist of an infinite number of HD TV’s, half constantly playing March Madness games and half playing NBA playoff games. Hell would consist of TV’s playing WNBA games. Seriously, it’s time to put the WNBA to sleep. When I think of women’s basketball, I think turnovers, missed layups, and an inability to jump. It’s basically like watching 20 Jacque Vaughn’s square off. And this is on TV? It’s dumbfounding. But I digress, purgatory would definitely have baseball on the TV’s. Think about it. If you arrived to purgatory and all that was on was baseball, would it even surprise you? I would think, ‘Yup, that’s about right.’

If someone told you the score to a baseball game, would you still watch it? Unless you are completely obsessed with baseball, the answer is 'no.' If someone told me that the final score of a baseball game was 3-2, I can guarantee you that there is no way I would watch this game. However, if someone told me the Celtics beat the Lakers 99-98, the likelihood of me watching the game just increased. If I found out the Cardinals beat the Steelers 35-33, I would want to see this game. This is because basketball and football are just more exciting than baseball. There is more action, more points scored, and better athletes. I know I could not play basketball or football professionally, but whenever I see a baseball pitcher I think I have a chance at the MLB. If I injected the steroids directly into my throwing arm, could I get my fastball into the 90’s? If so, I’d get a contract.

Baseball homers like to tell themselves that people who do not like baseball just don’t understand the intricacies of the game. They say, “Well, you never played so you just cannot appreciate it.” This is absurd. Baseball is not as complicated as baseball homers like to believe. It’s similar to how counting cards was portrayed in the movie 21. Counting cards does not require a gifted mind from MIT. All you do is add 1 and -1 over and over again. Similarly, just because people like to say baseball is overly complicated does not make it true.

My final thought on baseball is, how will it survive the recession? I’ve seen the stands while watching Sports Center. Does anyone go to the games? Whenever a homerun is hit, they zoom into the stands to show a fat guy leaping over 3 empty rows of seats to secure the ball. How are they going to pay CC Sabathia millions this year and survive? By the way, CC gets a $161 million contract and McDonald’s sales increase by 5% during the worst recession in decades…. Coincidence? I think not.

Spurs, Lakers Preview

2009-03-12T16:16:00.002-05:00

As we get closer and closer to the playoffs, games against possible playoff opponents carry more meaning. In these games it’s important to ask, “Who needs this game more?”

In this case, the answer is clearly the Lakers. Before beating the Rockets in Houston yesterday, the Lakers lost to three Western Conference teams on the road in a row: Denver, Phoenix and Portland. If the Lakers want to feel confident on the road come playoff time, they will need to start playing much better away from LA.

In addition, the Spurs team that the Lakers will face in the playoffs will be much improved from the team they face tonight. In the playoffs, (crossing my fingers,) we will have a healthy Manu Ginobili and Drew Gooden. These players allow the Spurs to give opponents different looks on both ends of the floor. Basically, this means that the Spurs will play tonight’s game with half their playoff playbook. If the Lakers cannot beat this shorthanded Spurs team, they surely will have doubts about beating a much improved Spurs team in the playoffs, regardless of what the national media has to say. And on the other side, the Spurs will beam with confidence if they can secure the win. In fact, I would argue that if the Spurs keep this game close, they will have the mental edge if they meet the Lakers in the playoffs.

Some may point out that the Lakers are also shorthanded, as Andrew Bynum is out. However, it is much more likely that the Spurs will have a healthy Ginobili and Gooden than the Lakers will have a healthy Bynum. Remember, this same scenario played itself out at this time last year. Bynum was playing great and suffered a knee injury. It required surgery and the Lakers continuously said he would be ready by the playoffs. But this did not happen and he missed the entire season. He had knee surgery again, the Lakers claim he will be healthy again, so do not be surprised if he misses the playoffs, again.

As for my pre-game prediction, this one is a tough call. This game means more to the Lakers so expect them to come out with something to prove. Lamar Odom will play with a chip on his shoulder because he was suspended for leaving the Lakers’ bench during an altercation in Portland, and this is the game after the suspension. The Lakers lost a great game to the Spurs last time they were in San Antonio, even though Kobe Bryant did everything humanly possible to win the game, so will be motivated by the memory. As for the Spurs, they have won three in a row in impressive fashion. Tony Parker has been playing fantastic, averaging 26 ppg since Manu went down with the injury. Roger Mason has averaged 16 over the last several games as he too has stepped up in the absence of Manu. And most importantly, the Lakers played Houston last night and it was close. If the Spurs can keep the game close, keep an eye on the fatigue factor. It could have a big influence in the final 3 minutes. Bottom line, Spurs by 6. I could see the Spurs with the ball up by 4 points with 30 seconds left. The Lakers foul, Spurs make both pushing the lead to 6. Lakers make an uncontested layup to cut it back to 4. Lakers foul again, Spurs make both and are up by 6 as time expires. It feels like that kind of game.

Manu Ginobili Impact

2009-03-11T17:01:00.000-05:00

I realize this is scary to read. It was at least equally unfortunate for me as I uncovered the numbers I am about to share with you. We all know that Manu is important to the Spurs. He is our third leading scorer. He is our spark off the bench. He always seems to make a momentum changing play when we most need it. He can score off the drive just as well as he can score from distance. In his article about Shane Battier, Michael Lewis referred to Manu Ginobili as a “Statistical Anomaly” because his game is so consistent that he has no statistcal weaknesses. He’s athletic, a great defender, and one of a kind.

The Spurs are 14-11 in games that Manu has missed and 29-9 when Manu plays. In other words, the Spurs win 76% of the time when Manu is on the court and only 56% of the time when he sits out. Overall, the Spurs’ record is 43-20, 68%. Extended to a full 82 games, the Spurs are 62-20 with Manu and 46-36 without him. Basically, we are on the Dallas Mavericks’ level when Manu is out and one of the best in the NBA when he is healthy.

Statistically, it becomes a little more depressing. Without Manu, we score fewer points, attempt and make fewer field goals, attempt and convert fewer free throws, assist less, force fewer steals, block fewer shots, and commit more fouls. Most telling, the Spurs score 4.6 fewer ppg and attempt 4.2 fewer free throws.

As horrible as that just felt to type, these statistics do not even do Manu justice. His impact is felt far beyond what is captured on the stat sheet. His hustle, competiveness, and leadership cannot be measured. I need not remind you, but last year we lost to the Lakers in five games greatly because Manu was hobbled and could not perform. Without Manu, we lack that extra punch to beat the elite teams in the NBA. Sure, we can still get by Phoenix and hammer a team like the Clippers, (but seriously, who doesn’t?) but we struggle against the elite teams, most recently the Cavaliers.

The Spurs have 19 games remaining in the regular season. Manu needs to get on the court soon so he can find his rhythm before the playoffs begin. Of course, this is assuming that he comes back healthy. If he comes back and plays on one leg again, unfortunately, we know how that story ends.

Thoughts on the Ariza, Odom Foul and Scrum

2009-03-10T16:49:00.006-05:00

I was waiting for an email and got a little too involved while commenting on ESPN's article about Lamar Odom's possible suspension. The following is what I wrote in the comments. Realize that a lot of this was in response to inane things that Lakers fans were posting, but I stand by my arguments.

If you've ever played organized basketball, it would be obvious to you that Ariza deserved a suspension. His team was down by 30 and he was playing awful, he went for a hard frustration foul. Did he mean to hurt Fernandez? Maybe not. But he did mean to deliver a hard foul. These hard fouls in blow out games should be punished so that it stops happening. If players continue to make these intentional statement fouls, players will get hurt and fights will occur. People argue that he 'clearly went for the ball,' but what is also clear is that Ariza was going to knock the hell out of Fernandez regardless of whether he got the ball or not, and this should be punished.

Hold on, you are arguing that it was not a hard foul? As soon as Fernandez caught the ball with Ariza chasing him, did anyone not see that foul coming? Ariza wound up and swung at the ball. If you hit a player with that amount of force from behind when he is in the air, it's not going to end well. Ariza swung with full force at a defenseless player at his most vulnerable point. Ariza knew that Fernandez was going to hit the ground hard. He also knew exactly what he was doing. People seem to assume that since the game is so fast, players have no control over their bodies. If you've ever played the game, you know this is not true. Ariza should be punished because his team was being run off the court and he took it out on Fernandez. Just because he made an attempt at the ball does not mean he wasn't trying to make an obvious statement foul. It's completely an unsafe play and the NBA should not look the other way.

And this going off of one leg versus two is a ridiculous argument. When you are in the open court on a fast break and being chased, you always go off of one foot. If you go off of two it slows you down and gives the defensive player a chance to get back into the play. As the offensive player, you just assume that the guy chasing you is not going to take a cheap shot, which unfortunately is exactly what took place.

I think Odom will get the 1 day mandatory suspension, but would not be surprised if it was more severe. Not only did he leave the bench, but he got involved with Brandon Roy. This is very different from the Spurs/Suns debacle in that Stoudemire and Diaw never got close to the action. Odom stuck himself right in the middle of it and had to be pulled back by his coaches. I bet this is what the NBA is discussing right now, not whether or not he left the bench, but if his punishment should be more severe since he put himself in the middle of the scrum.

Exactly, I guess most of these commenters have never played. I've been in that situation before. Getting blown out, things not going my way, so I lay a guy out. I would almost always get a piece of the ball, but that does not mean I wasn't trying to knock the hell out of the guy and send a message. It's a good way to instigate a fight or injure a player. He should be punished.

On paper, the Laker's path to the championship did look difficult. But what everyone seems to forget is that the Spurs had Manu playing on one leg. The team the Spurs had on the court against the Lakers was not their full team, and were not the team that earned a great record. Look at the Spurs record this year without Manu, 12 and 12. They are a .500 team without Manu, and exceptional with him.

Flopping Proposal

2009-03-10T14:17:00.002-05:00

Recently there has been some talk about flopping and what to do about it. Most would agree that it degrades the game, but it is difficult to come up with a fair solution to the problem. The argument against enacting a rule that penalizes flopping is that differentiating between a flop and an offensive foul is very difficult. The call would be too subjective and the last thing the NBA needs is another subjective call for the referees to mess up.

The officiating is really awful this year. I do not know what the deal is but the refs are incredibly inconsistent, which is really bad when you consider that the only thing you want from referees is consistency. If the referees are going to call a game tight, then players can adjust accordingly. If the referees are going to allow a lot of physical play, the players can also adjust. The problem exists when the referees call it both ways during a game. Players do not know what they can and cannot do, and then they get frustrated. The players begin to argue every call and this really brings the game down as much as the flop. The two things that I cannot stand are flops and players whining to the referees.

But I digress, I have a solution to the flopping problem. I have not heard my idea articulated, but it someone came up with this first I apologize. While it is extremely difficult to distinguish between most flops and legitimate charges, it is extremely easy to identify the egregious flop. We all know it when we see it. Shaq acting like he was shot by a sniper in the rafters comes to mind, since it’s been on ESPN nonstop. But there are many instances where you sit back and say, “Wow, that was an obvious flop.”

These flops are often called as either blocks or they are non-calls. I propose that these egregious flops should be penalized with a technical foul. And not a defensive technical, a personal technical foul. As in, if a player commits two egregious flops in a game, they will be ejected. Tell me this would not stop the flopping culture in the NBA. Can you imagine the shame of the first player to get ejected because he flopped? Wouldn’t that send a shockwave felt throughout the NBA? Imagine, “Tonight on Sports Center. Shane Battier does all the little things, but sometimes does partakes in the big things, like being the first player ever to be ejected for committing two Egregious Flops in a single game. Tune in tonight to watch Battier and his walk of shame into the locker room.”

Will a player ever be able to live that down? I guarantee this would be a great stride towards eliminating flopping from the game. And this would not be as subjective as let’s say traveling. Egregious flops are more than obvious and should be easy for referees to identify. So, if you want to eliminate the flop from the great game of basketball, let’s start handing technicals out.

Drew Gooden Acquisition

2009-03-09T16:29:00.000-05:00

Gooden is clearly a player that can have an impact on the Spurs’ playoff run, if he can get healthy. And let me first warn you, this is a big ‘if.’ Groin injuries are treacherous because it is very difficult to know when the injury has healed. You can rest it, it can feel great, but the true test is playing basketball at game speed. While playing, one moves and contorts their body in ways that are difficult to replicate off the court. The problem with groin injuries is that if you come back too soon, you will re-injure it and be out another 2 to 3 weeks. This is why Gooden has not played since January 19th. The Spurs’ problem is that they need to get Gooden on the court so he has time to mesh with the team before the playoffs arrive. So this time crunch might result in a re-injury. I’m sure the Spurs will rest him till the last possible moment, but will it be enough time for him to heal? And if he is healthy, will the Spurs have enough games left to get him acclimated to their offense and defense?

That being said, Drew Gooden will allow the Spurs to give the opposition different looks than they are capable of with the present roster. Drew Gooden is a consistent shooter from 20 feet out and has a knack for rebounding. His defense is questionable, and it is said that he forgets plays and defensive rotations. He will probably cost the Spurs a good amount of 20 second timeouts where Pop screams at him about his lack of focus. But historically, players that have been questionable defenders always play better defense for the Spurs. Look no further than Matt Bonner and Roger Mason Jr. Matt Bonner was a notoriously bad defender and now is somewhat respectable. Roger Mason Jr. had been very weak on the defensive end, and now is competent. Drew Gooden can basically bring to the Spurs what Robert Horry brought back in the day. His range is slightly less, but his outside shot will command the respect of the defense and the opposition will not be able to double Tim off of him, as they do when we play Fabricio Oberto.

So, we hope he can get healthy, we hope he can stay healthy, we hope he quickly understands our offense, and we hope he can learn our defensive schemes. It’s a lot of hoping, but if it works out he could be a difference maker when we play the Lakers in the conference finals. Regardless, let us not overlook the most critical injury suffered by the Spurs. We hope Manu can come back healthy, else this is all moot.

Stress Reaction and Right Quad Tendonisis

2009-02-25T16:18:00.000-06:00

I really feel that the Spurs are inventing injuries so that they can give Manu and Tim some much needed rest. The Spurs know that there is only one team in the West that can give them trouble, the Lakers. They also know that if they are missing one of their big three due to injury, they will not have a chance at winning the title. The Spurs are currently 8 games behind the Lakers, so home court advantage is an impossibility at this point. So what is the motivation to win games right now? The honest answer is that there really is no motivation, and the Gregg Popovich knows this. So the Spurs are diagnosing Tim and Manu with these extremely vague injuries so that they can rest up and be 100% come playoff time. Whether the Spurs finish second in the West or fifth, it really does not matter. Eventually they will have to beat LA without home court advantage, and having Manu and Tim at 100% when this match up occurs is, and should be, their number one priority.

My Email to a Houston Rockets Fan

2009-02-19T14:35:00.001-06:00

So, your point guard situation now consists of Luther Head, Aaron Brooks and Kyle Lowry. And Tracy decided to tell ESPN about his season ending injury before his coach. And Yao is Yao and Ron Artest is a thug. Ladies and Gentlemen, Your 2009 Houston Rockets!

Vince Carter to the Spurs?

2009-02-17T16:48:00.001-06:00

Rumor has it that the Spurs have been in contact with the New Jersey Nets concerning a trade that would send Vince to San Antonio for George Hill, Roger Mason, Fab Oberto, and Bruce Bowen. The thought is that the Nets would waive Fab and Bowen, and that they would resign with the Spurs after the mandatory 30 days. So in actuality, the Spurs would trade George Hill and Roger Mason for Vince Carter.

I think this is a horrible idea. As is, most would give the Spurs about a 20% chance of winning the championship. Quickly, the final four will most likely include the Spurs, Lakers, Celtics and Cavs. The Spurs, Lakers series will be very close, if both squads are fully healthy. If the Spurs can win that coin flip, I think they match up very well with the Cavs, and the Celtics would cause some problems. But again, I think it would be a coin flip scenario against the Celtics. So basically, the Spurs are right there with their current roster. Losing Roger Mason and George Hill would devastate the Spurs, long and short term, even if they get Vince in return. Enough cannot be said about Roger Mason’s confidence down the stretch. I have written about this previously, he is the ‘Big Shot’ guy that they Spurs sorely lacked last season. And George Hill is a huge upgrade over Jacque Vaughn. Hill does not just waste minutes to give Tony a rest, he hits critical shots and sustains the Spurs’ leads. If the Spurs trade Hill leaving Jacque to backup Tony, the Spurs will lose during those minutes.

All that being said, I cannot stand Vince Carter. He is one of the more notorious players in the league. Remember when he gave up on the Toronto Raptors? He admitted to quitting on his team. He admitted that he faked injuries and purposefully did not play hard when he was in the game. This guy should be banned from the NBA. So, why would the Spurs want to roll the dice on this nut job?

Well, the Spurs are in a position in which they could buy the championship this year, at the expense of the future. If the Spurs add one more piece, it is very conceivable that they will reach a level of play that cannot be matched by the Cavs, Celtics or Lakers. And that has to be extremely tempting. However, to lose Roger Mason and George Hill just as the Spurs are beginning to tap their potential would be criminal. Trading away Mason and Hill would be very comparable to what the Miami Heat did when they put together their team of washed up all stars that won in ’06, but have been miserable ever since. Basically, the deal with the devil consists of selling the Spurs' future for an immediate championship. Short term it’s great, long term I do not even want to think about it.

It seems that Houston is also speaking with the Nets. Please, let Houston trade for him. Apparently the Nets rejected an offer that included Tracy McGrady, good for them, but have come back with a proposal in which the Nets would acquire Ron Artest, Shane Battier, Luther Head and Carl Landry. Their counter seems a little steep, but as a Spurs fan, I really hope they take Vince off the trading block.

Kobe, Shaq….AWKWARD

2009-02-17T15:09:00.002-06:00

Something very intriguing materialized during the All Star Weekend. The Shaq, Kobe dynamic was as entertaining as it was painful. It was like watching an early Office episode when Michael Scott made your skin crawl with his inappropriate behavior. You just felt uncomfortable with the whole situation, but you could not look away. You felt awkward and tense for Michael, just as you did for Shaq Sunday night.

TNT kept pairing the two together for interviews, which made it all the more painful. They kept prodding the open wound. During the third quarter, ridiculously dressed Craig Sager went down to the West’s bench and interviewed Shaq and Kobe. Kobe had a look on his face like he’d rather be anywhere else in the world. He seemed to be asking himself, “Why am I sitting next to Shaq?” over and over again. At one point, Shaq claimed there had never been bad blood between the two of them, to which I swear you can see Kobe roll his eyes.

Kobe and Shaq ended up winning the MVP award for the game, and so had to be interviewed together once again. This was truly spectacular. Kobe was asked if he could envision him and Shaq playing for the same team, and quicker than I can type the word, he responded with “No.” If you watch Shaq, the look on his face is priceless. It really sums up the night for Shaq. The whole game he seemed to be doing his best to impress Kobe, and Kobe continuously seemed to be saying, “No.”

I liken it to Elementary school kids that had a tree house. Shaq and Kobe were the two leaders of the group, and it worked well for a while. But then they got older and their personalities grew too strong for one tree house. So Kobe gets support from the club and kicks Shaq out. Well, years later in middle school, Shaq gets tired of his new friends and wants to go back to his old crew. So he starts trying to impress Kobe, jokes around with him, sucks up, smokes some cigs, but it’s not working. Kobe will not let Shaq back into the crew. And when this all plays out on national television, it’s as entertaining as any reality TV show airing.

San Antonio Spurs Statistics; Winning Trends

2009-02-13T09:34:00.008-06:00

The question I was asked most on the 12th was, “What happened last night?” My response was, “The refs hurt us, the wrong guy took the last shot, but overall, sometimes you just don’t shoot well and you lose because of it.” I felt like people were looking for insight, and I handed them a John Madden quote. “If your team doesn’t score points, they are going to lose more often than not.” But I really felt like it was the best summary of the game. The Raptors did not play great defense. The Spurs got every shot they wanted, they just missed. And sometimes that happens. Anyway, this got me thinking about other stats that might be key to a game, other than FG%. I am a senior analyst for a food distribution company, so identifying trends is big part of what I do. I created an analytical spreadsheet that contains 2,993 cells in order to dissect the Spurs’ season thus far and to create a barometer for a Spurs game. Below are the trends that I have identified along with my thoughts. I will also note whether Wednesday's game against the Raptors followed the identified trend or broke it.

Field Goals

1. When the Spurs shoot less than 44.4% from the field, they are 5-12. When they shoot better than 44.4%, they are 30-4. When they shoot less than 39.4%, they are 0-8.

This basically was my response to the game. The Spurs shot 41.9% against the Raptors and lost. The cutoff for the Spurs is 40%. If the Spurs do not shoot better than 40%, it’s not looking good.
Trend: Followed

2. If the Spurs shoot worse than their opponent, 12-11.

This is noteworthy because I would expect this to be a worse record. So, if the Spurs shoot a worse field goal percentage, it’s basically a coin flip as to whether they win or not. Those are not bad odds considering.
Trend: Followed

3. Hold opponent to less than 44.7% FG, 18-4
Trend: Followed (The Raptors shot 44.9% from the field.)

4. The Spurs score more than 90 points, 32-5.

The stat that Spurs’ commentators love to bring up is that when the Spurs score 100 or more points, they are 32-0 dating back to last season. However, the more telling stat is what happens when the Spurs manage to score 90 or more; they are 32-5 this season. And 90 points is far more feasible for the Spurs than 100.

This is interesting in that last night, if the Spurs score 91 or more, the game either goes into overtime or is a win, just as the identified trend suggests.
Trend: Followed (Spurs 89, Raptors 91)

5. Opponents score fewer than 90 points, 16-2
Opponents score fewer than 100 points, 25-9
Opponents score more than 100 points, 10-7

Again, the most relevant stat is the one least talked about. 100 points is what should be in focus. It’s not difficult to keep a team from scoring fewer than 100 points, whereas 90 can be extremely challenging and does not happen with great frequency.
Trend: Broken

3 Point Shooting

1. When the Spurs shoot 40% or better from the three point line, they are 20-4. When they shoot less than 40%, they are 15-13.

If the Spurs are making their three pointers with consistency, they are a very difficult team to beat. If the opponent chooses to double Tim Duncan, he will find the open man for a three. And if they do not, Duncan will go to work on the block. It’s a conundrum for the opposing team. However, if the Spurs are missing their three pointers, the opposition is able to pack the paint with defenders. The lanes that Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili thrive on disappear and Tim Duncan will be double teamed constantly.
Trend: Followed

2. When opponents shoot 16 or more threes, 11-9

If an opponent shoots a lot of threes, it implies that the Spurs are struggling defensively. Most likely, opposing players are wreaking havoc in the paint, which forces the Spurs to play help defense and leave players open for three pointers.
Trend: Broken (But not by much. The Raptors took 15 threes, an ominous sign.

3. When the Spurs take between 18 and 23 threes, they are 18-5, else 17-11.

The Spurs seem to have a range for three point attempts. If they are not taking enough threes, their ball movement is probably struggling. And if they are taking too many threes, they probably are being too satisfied with the three pointer, and should drive to the basket more often. Against the Raptors, I thought our ball movement was poor. The Spurs only took 13 threes last night.
Trend: Followed

4. 13-11 when the opponent has a better 3 pt % than the Spurs. If the opponent makes more 3 pointers, 5-8

Clearly, three pointers are vital to the Spurs’ winning recipe. The Spurs are second in the league in 3 point shooting percentage. Matt Bonner is 2nd at 49% and Roger Mason is 7th at 45%. The Spurs rely on the three pointer to keep their opposition’s defense honest. When the Spurs have a bad shooting night from beyond the arc, they really have to work hard for every point.
Trend: Followed (Spurs shot 38.5%, Raptors shot 40%.)

Free Throws Matter

1. When the Spurs take 21 or more free throws, they are 21-3.

Free throws indicate aggression. If the Spurs are shooting a good number of free throws, it means that they were attacking the rim. While the Spurs rely on the three pointer, it is also important that they establish a presence in the paint. The Spurs are at their best when they are attacking the rim, as the 21-3 record indicates.
Trend: Followed (Spurs had 15 free throw attempts.)

Rebounds

1. When the Spurs have 33 or more defensive rebounds, they are 19-1.

Defensive rebounding is very important to the Spurs. They rebound 77.9% of their opposition’s missed shots; this ranks first in the NBA. When the Spurs are focused on the boards, they are 19-1.
Trend: Broken (Spurs had 37 rebounds; this was the one loss.)

2. If the Spurs tie or out rebound their opponent, 21-4
Trend: Broken (Spurs had 7 more boards than the Raptors.)

Assists

1. When the Spurs have 25 or more assists, 11-2.

Assists are the product of good ball movement. Good ball movement is the product of aggressive offensive play.
Trend: Followed (Spurs had 21 assists.)

2. When the opposition has more assists, 8-8
When the Spurs have more, 26-7
Trend: Broken

Steals and Blocks

1. Between 5 and 9 steals, 26-6. More than 9 steals, 1-3.

This surprised me. Steals and blocks, while they seem more lucky and random than anything, very much add up in victories and are lacking in defeats. Steals seem to have a range, just as three point attempts did. If the Spurs have a good amount of steals, it implies that the Spurs were playing sound, aggressive defense. However, when they have too many steals, it probably means that the Spurs were gambling on the defensive end too much, which is why their record is 1-3 when they have 9 or more steals.
Trend: Broken (The Spurs had 8 steals so this one was close. They did gamble a good amount, so that part of the analysis holds up. When the Spurs gamble, they force a good number of turnovers, but also give up easy baskets. This can be very dangerous against a sub-par team such as the Raptors. Every easy basket that the Raptors receive builds their confidence and allows them to establish a rhythm.)

2. When the Spurs have more than 5 team blocks, 15-3
When the Spurs have more blocks than their opposition, 19-4
When the opposition has more, 11-10

The blocks make sense. When the Spurs control the paint, and their help defense is on point, the result are team blocks. If Tim Duncan is blocking with regularity, opposing players will think twice before driving and if they do, will alter their shots to avoid getting blocked, reducing their FG%.
Trend: Followed

Personal Fouls and Turnovers

1. When the Spurs commit 18 or less fouls, 20-4.
When their opponents have 20 or more fouls, 20-4
When the Spurs commit more fouls than their opponents, 11-9
When the Spurs commit fewer fouls than their opponents, 22-5
Trend: Followed

2. When the opponent has more turnovers than the Spurs, 22-6
When the Spurs commit more turnovers than their opponents, 9-8
Trend: Broken (But close, Spurs 11, Raptors 12)

The fouls’ trend is interesting. If the Spurs foul a lot, they tend to lose the game. Fouling is a symptom of bad defense. Players tend to foul when they are in bad defensive position. If the help defense arrives late, the defender is still moving and a foul is called. If a wing defender closes out poorly, they reach to slow the offensive player and a foul is called. If a defensive player is out of position for a rebound, an over the back foul is called. When the Spurs play poor defensively, they lose.

I think the most interesting trends are ones that imply offensive aggressiveness and defensive soundness. When the Spurs draw fouls, shoot more threes, and shoot more free throws, they tend to win. When the Spurs out-rebound, out-block, and out-steal their opponent, they win. Three point shooting is also critical to the Spurs. The stats show that when our three point percentage is high, and we take a good amount of threes, we win the vast majority of the games. Next time the Spurs play, compare these bench marks with the halftime stats and you should get a good indication of how the Spurs are playing on both ends of the floor, and whether or not the Spurs have a good chance of winning.

Against the Raptors, 11 of the trends I identified were consistent with defeat, while 6 were not. It’s interesting because it was such a close game if you just look at the score, 89-91. However, once the stats are broken down, 11-6 is not very close. The Spurs were lucky to only lose by 2 points.

Hold'em at the Wynn

2009-02-12T10:13:00.004-06:00

3:15am; The Wynn
I find the poker room and sit down at a $1, $2 No Limit Table, $300 buyin. At this point, I’m definitely feeling the buzz but not tired or miserable. So I convince myself that I’m not breaking Bill Simmons rule of “No DTM gambling (any gambling after 2am when you’re Drunk, Tired, and Miserable.)” I end up playing from 3:15am till 10:00am without a break. I’d say around 9:15am, I entered the DTM range. But I kept playing till I lost all of my chips. The seven hours of gambling really came down to 4 crucial hands. The first doubled my stack from $400 to $800. The last three had me lose my $800 and the $200 I had re-bought in for.

4:45am
The Big Hand I won: My Stack = $400
In position, I received a AD 10C and called the big blind. The small blind with a $200 stack called and the big blind with a $400 stack checked. The flop came up AH 5C 4C. I led with an aggressive bet of $20, given the pot was only $6. The small blind immediately folds and the big blind sits for a minute to think it over. As soon as I see him hesitate, I immediately put him on a draw, as in he either is looking for the third club or has a straight possibility. He ends up calling and the turn is a JD. The pot now has $46 and I think he missed his flush/straight. I want to either win the pot right now or make him seriously pay for the river card. I bet $75. He immediately calls. The fact that he quickly called tells me that he does not think he has this hand won. The call, as opposed to a raise, implies that he wants to see the river card, so it further confirms my thought that he is on the draw. The river comes and it’s a blank, 9D. I’m convinced that he missed his draw, but my fear is that if I do not bet enough, he may come over the top of me in an attempt to bluff me off the pot. The pot is now a respectable $196, which leaves me with about $300. I bet $100, which means that if he wants to bluff me he’ll have to go all in. Because if he raises by $100, pot odds will force me to call. If he missed his draw there’s no way he goes all in.

Well, he goes all in. Now I have a fairly difficult decision. The pot is $600, and I have $200 to call. I’m getting 3-1 odds on my money, but throw the math out, this is about feel. I was pretty sure this entire time that he was on a draw. His bets and hesitations all signaled a draw. The only thing that didn’t was his last bet, which means it has high bluff potential. However, what if he was sitting on pocket 9’s? Would he have bet them any differently? The hesitation on the initial bet would make sense, because the ace is a scary card and he would have to decide whether I have an ace or not. The second bet is suspect. The Jack hits, which is yet another card that could beat him. He did not hesitate to call my second bet, so the Jack didn’t scare him. Hmm, I make my decision and push all in. Immediately, his calm face changes into a pained expression and I know the pot is mine. He turns over 6D 7C, which made me feel great. He was on the draw. The affable fat guy next to me yells, “Holy sh*t! My balls are definitely not that big!” The dealer gives him a dirty look and the affable fat guy says, “What? Balls isn’t a swear word.” “I think you said sh*t.” “F*** it.” I really wanted to bust out the Sam Cassel ball dance, but self-control got the better of me.
Well unfortunately, this was my high point. I end up losing three big hands after, two of which I had three of a kind with a weaker kicker than my opponent, and the final big hand I lost I called an all-in bet with JJ, he had 10 10, Of course, a 10 hit the flop.

Spurs Beat the Best, Spurring Recent Confidence Surge

2009-02-11T10:38:00.003-06:00

The Spurs are playing their best basketball of the season, and it’s because of their two convincing wins against the Lakers and the Celtics. Beating these two teams that are constantly referred to as the best in the league proved to the Spurs that they are capable of going all the way this year. Popovich has been quoted saying that the Spurs are one or two pieces away from the Laker’s level. Popovich always puts his team down, in order to fire them up. These recent two wins filled the Spurs with confidence, which overflowed onto the New Jersey Nets last night.

ESPN analysts have made excuses for the Lakers and Celtics. For the Lakers, they were on the second game of a back to back and were missing several bench players. For the Celtics, they were emotionally distraught from the loss to the Lakers two games before the Spurs beat them. Forget about these excuses for a moment as we examine these games. I will attempt to prove that both teams played as close to perfect in these games as possible, and the Spurs still beat them. I wrote about the Spurs winning the vast majority of close games this season. If the Spurs can keep a game close, they win most of the time. The Spurs are adept to getting stops in the closing minutes, and executing flawlessly for critical scores.

First, let us take a look at the Spurs 112-111 victory over the Lakers. The Lakers shot 57% from the field and 56% from three point land while committing only 11 turnovers. Because their bench was unavailable, the Lakers were forced to play their starters playoff minutes. This is greatly responsible for their absurd shooting percentages. Kobe played 42 minutes, Fisher 36, Bynum 35, Gasol 32, and Odom 29. One could argue that the Lakers must have been fatigued in the fourth, and that is why they came up short. However, I was present at this game and let me tell you, the Lakers did not slow down at all. They were playing top notch all the way down the stretch. Basically, two of the NBA’s top teams played at an extremely elite level for 48 minutes, and the Spurs came out on top due to their superior play in the closing minutes.

Now for the recent 105-99 victory over the Defending Champion Boston Celtics in the Garden. In this game, the Celtics shot 51% from the field with 11 turnovers. The Celtics made 3 three pointers, but only took 11 so the 27% shooting looks worse than it was. The Spurs did a fantastic job of chasing the Celtics off the three point line. The Celtics clearly wanted to win this game, as was shown by Doc River’s choice to not play the bench. Tony Allen, at 18 minutes, was the only bench player to play more than 13 minutes. The five Boston starters all played 34 minutes or more. The Spurs matched the Celtics’ elite play and the game came down to the wire. The Spurs are great at finishing close games and came out victorious with a key shot by Roger Mason and a great defensive play by Bruce Bowen and Manu Ginobili.

Two of the best teams in the NBA played arguably as well as possible and the Spurs took the punches and won in the closing minutes. These two games have injected the Spurs with confidence and look for them to build a decent win streak in the coming weeks. The only upcoming game that makes me nervous is the game against Cleveland on the 27th. However, the Spurs match up very well with Cleveland and if the Spurs recent play is any indication, Cleveland better show up ready for a battle.

Barring Review, a Bar Review – Faulker’s Pub

2009-02-09T18:11:00.003-06:00

I recently moved from the Northwest side of San Antonio to the Northeast side. As I was perusing the neighborhood, getting acquainted with my new surroundings, I stumbled upon Faulker's Pub. My girlfriend and I spent Friday and Saturday investigating.

Faulker's Pub is only a few months old, and when one walks into the bar, its age is very evident. The bar is clean and attractive, with a neighborhood feel to it. The Pub does not permit smoking inside, but has a patio to compensate the smoking community. This serves to keep the bar affable to the nonsmokers. The drinks are moderately priced and the bartenders are extremely friendly. When I told the bartend that we were new to the neighborhood, he immediately offered two free shots. The clientele consists of a slightly older group mixed with young adults. I estimate the average age to be around 30, although there were a decent number of 22-25 year olds present both nights. The Pub offers a Super Search JukeBox, two Bar Gaming units, two modern electronic dartboards, and a pool table to help pass the time. The Pub's maximum capacity is 76, obviously a smaller bar, but the mood it exudes is quaint and modern. On Wednesday nights the Pub offers live entertaiment as an acoustic guitar performer covers any song the crowd wishes. Overall, Faulker's is a great place to imbibe with a few friends.

Drink Cost: Cheap to Moderate

Clientle: Friendly

Sketchiness Factor: Low

Cleanliness: Spotless

Staff: Friendly

Grade: A-

Spurs, Celtics Reaction: Roger Mason Jr. is Clutch

2009-02-09T09:19:00.007-06:00

In my previous post, I made the argument that the Spurs are much improved from last year because of the additions of Matt Bonner, George Hill, and Roger Mason Jr. I think the victory over the Celtics proved my point. In this game, Matt Bonner scored 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, George Hill scored all seven of his points at a critical juncture of the game, and Roger Mason hit yet another game winning shot on national television.

As I wrote, Matt Bonner is an excellent complement to Tim Duncan because Bonner can spread the floor with his shooting ability. When Bonner is playing the 4 position, Tim Duncan can sit on the block surrounded by 4 great shooters. This makes it very difficult on the opponent. If they double Tim Duncan, the Spurs will get a wide open shot, and if they do not Tim Duncan will go to work. Bonner is also adept at catching the ball, giving a fake, and driving into the lane for an easier look. This move confounds teams because now it’s not enough to just chase Bonner off the three point line, they must close out on him knowing that if they are overaggressive, Bonner will drive right by.

Looking at the stat sheet, it might appear that George Hill did not have an impact on the game. However, this is far from the case. In previous years, if Tony Parker had a bad game, there would be no way that the Spurs could pull out a victory. Our backup point guards were used to buy some rest for Tony Parker, rather than help to build a lead. George Hill is different. With 2:47 remaining in the third, George Hill entered the game for Tony Parker. At this point, the Spurs had foiled their halftime lead of 8 points and were struggling with the momentum of the game; the score was 74-72. George Hill played so well that Popovich chose to ride him deep into the fourth. From the 10:08 minute mark to the 8:36 mark in the fourth, George Hill scored 7 points and grabbed one rebound. Tony Parker is finally put in to replace Hill with 5 minutes remaining, at which point the Spurs were up 87-83. I would argue that the minutes that Hill played were the most critical of the game. If the Spurs had gone down by 10, which easily could have happened, the Spurs lose and Tim, Tony and Manu probably do not get off the bench in the fourth. George Hill changed the momentum when he took that hard hit from Big “Fat” Baby, which served to wake the Spurs up.

Roger Mason Jr. has no conscience. He doesn’t. With 20 seconds remaining, down by one, you run a play in which Tim, Tony, or Manu can drive to the basket to draw contact. You do not take an off-balance three point shot. That is, unless you are Roger Mason Jr. We’ve seen this before. Against Phoenix and then LA, the guy likes the big shot. He is reminiscent of a loose cannon that the Spurs employed during the ‘02/’03 championship campaign. Does he not remind you of Stephen Jackson? Jackson was our big shot guy back then. When everyone else appeared nervous, Jackson wanted the ball to jack up a shot, and he definitely did that. He saved the ’03 season on many occasions with his fourth quarter heroics. In ’05, Robert Horry was our big shot guy. Obviously, he loved that time of the year when he could come in and single-handedly win big games. And let us not forget about Steve Kerr. In ’99, he and Sean Elliot took the big shots. The Spurs were missing that big shot guy last year. The guy that everyone forgets about until it is too late. Manu is too well respected to fill that role. Everyone sees Manu coming a mile away; they do not see Roger Mason. Opponents concentrate on Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker at critical moments, as they should. But this is when Roger Mason Jr. flourishes. Every championship season we have had a guy with ice running through his veins. A guy who wants the big shot, takes the big shot, and consistently makes the big shot. This year, Roger Mason Jr. is that guy.

The Andrew Bynum Impact

2009-02-05T15:25:00.001-06:00

The general thought given by ESPN analysts is that the loss of Bynum hurts the Lakers’ chances of winning a championship, but does not affect their odds of winning the West. Most analysts agree that the Spurs are the second best team in the West, but still are no match for the Lakers, even a Bynum-less Lakers. The logic is that the Lakers beat the Spurs in five games last year without Bynum. If all things were equal, great argument. However, they are not.

Last year, Manu Ginobili was hobbled by the time we faced the Lakers. It was obvious and acknowledged, so I will not waste time making that case. In last year’s playoffs, Manu Ginobili averaged 23.1 ppg in wins and 11.9 ppg in losses. You could say he was the Spurs’ barometer. When he played well, we won, and when he did not, we lost. Well, against the Lakers, Manu Ginobili was playing hurt. So, those that argue “The Lakers beat the Spurs in 5 games without Bynum, so they will have no trouble without Bynum this year,” would only be correct if Manu Ginobili is hurt during the playoffs and the Spurs had the same exact team as last year. However, this is not the case.

The Spurs vastly improved their team over the off-season. I would argue that the Spurs of ’09 would beat the Spurs of ’08 by 15 points. It’s that big of a difference. The upgrades that the Spurs have made are greatly overlooked, so I will shed some light on them.

Tim Duncan showed up this season in incredible shape. The rumor is that he knew he’d have to carry the load with Manu out due to surgery, so he worked out harder during the off-season than he ever has. He apparently used boxing training techniques and was even throwing tires to improve his physique. The payoff was obvious. Over the first 20 games, Tim Duncan single-handedly carried the Spurs and probably saved the season. How he is constantly overlooked in the MVP discussion is beyond me.

Tony Parker showed up playing the best basketball of his career. His ankle injury set him back, but he still is having a career year in points and assists; and he added the three point shot to his repertoire. No one has really addressed this, but I expect him to hit a few big threes in the playoffs when teams attempt to pack the paint. Tony Parker has made 12 of 33 three pointers this season for a respectable 36%. Previous years, he only took the three pointer if the shot clock gave him no other option. This year, if he is wide open, he is taking the shot rather than taking a dribble for a closer one.

Because of the off-season ankle surgery, Manu Ginobili was forced to take more time off than he has in his entire career. Normally, basketball does not stop for this guy. There is no off-season for Manu Ginobili. When he’s not playing for the Spurs, he is on the court representing his country, Argentina. So Manu is more rested than ever. Now that he is getting his game shape and rhythm back, his freshness is evident.

The Big Three are impressive, but the biggest improvement resides with the rest of the team. The additions of Matt Bonner, George Hill and Roger Mason cannot be overstated, although I’ll give it a shot. I consider Matt Bonner an addition even though he’s been on the squad for two years because he clearly is a different player this season. He is basically a poor man’s Robert Horry, or a rich man’s Robert Horry if you are talking about the ‘07/’08 Horry. Matt Bonner can hit the three, rebound, and is a competent defender. He is a great compliment to Tim Duncan because of Bonner’s ability to spread the floor with his shooting ability. George Hill is the Spurs most competent backup point guard in recent memory. Our recent backup point guards have included Jacque “Turnover, Wide Open Missed Shot, Airballed Layup” Vaughn, Beno “No Confidence” Udrih, Nick “Two Feet in the Grave” Van Exel, and Jason “White Guy Ups” Hart. Ouch. George “Freakishly Long Arms” Hill was the steal of the draft. He is an excellent defender, competent shooter, and fearless driver. We lose very little when he enters the game to give Tony Parker a rest. And finally, Roger Mason gives us an offensive weapon that we have previously lacked. In past seasons, Bruce Bowen was our starter. While Bruce is a superb defender, his offensive limitations were obvious. Bruce Bowen’s only offensive contribution is the wide open three pointer from the corner that he can hit with consistency. He is a miserable free throw shooter, and struggles with every shot aside from the wide-open corner three. Roger Mason, on the other hand, is an underrated defender and excellent offensive weapon. He can knock the three down from anywhere on the court, can hit his jumper off the dribble, is not afraid of driving, and is an excellent free throw shooter. In addition, he has the innate ability to knock down the big shot. Roger Mason Jr. is fearless in his clutchness. (Yes, I made up a word.) Twice this season he has hit the game winner against the best in the NBA on national television. Suffice it to say, the Spurs’ additions have vastly improved the team.

Michael Finley, Bruce Bowen, Ime Udoka, Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto are all competent role players. Obviously, age has slowed them down. But all that is asked from them is 15 competitive minutes a game, which they are obviously capable of delivering.

So, whenever you hear a guy on ESPN talk about the Lakers as if they are already in the Finals, just remember that their logic is flawed. The Spurs are for real this year. And if nothing else, Lady Luck will be on our side, as it is an odd year.

Hate, Love Gregg Popovich

2009-02-04T10:18:00.003-06:00

At 7:55pm I switched the channel to the Spurs, Nuggets game. I was finishing up a game of Madden, so I was not really paying attention. But as I was running my favorite edited version of the “Four Verticals” play, I thought I heard the commentator say that Manu was not going to play. I quickly paused the game and rewound the TV. Sure enough, Popovich decided to sit Manu because of a contusion he suffered the night before against Golden State. This was upsetting, but it’s always better to give Manu a rest after a game like the one against the Warriors. Manu continuously sacrificed his body in that game and it was understandable that he might need the next night off.

So, I continued playing Madden. I’m a big fan of running the hurry up offense throughout the entire game. I enjoy it because my opponent tends to get frustrated, and then takes chances, which is when I can go for the big play. Still not paying attention to the TV, I thought I heard him say that Michael Finley, Tim Duncan, and Tony Parker would sit this one out. I thought I must have misheard. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Our next game is Sunday at Boston, obviously a huge game. But that’s in 4 days. 4 days of rest in unheard of in the regular season. In fact, after that long of a break teams tend to come back a little rusty. So why would we sit four of our starters seemingly needlessly. I was irate. The Xbox controller may have been chucked across the room. Clearly, this is the “Hate Popovich” section.

After the game, I began to think through what went on, and I made some sense of it. Basketball players are generally superstitious. I remember in my all-state days, I became very superstitious. Previously, I thought it was silly. But in a game where the bounce of the ball can be the difference between a win and a loss, advancing in the playoffs and going home, superstition because important. Confidence in basketball is vital. Even the bench players on the team think they are God’s gift. They should be the one’s starting. It’s just the way a basketball player’s mind has to be wired. If there is any doubt in your mind, you will miss, you will get beaten up, you will get benched. Superstitions serve to strengthen confidence, falsely or not. One game I forgot to bring my right socks with me on the road. It completely affected my game. Maybe it was a subconscious thing, but it had a dramatic affect on the way I played that night.

What happens when you are at a blackjack table, there is a dealer change, and the momentum swings? Suddenly, you are losing every hand and getting more 15’s and 16’s than R Kelly. Superstitious players will immediately get up, and find the dealer that they were winning with. I would argue that Popovich saw the NBA’s momentum change, did not like it, and decided to cash out. Andrew Bynum, Jameer Nelson, Chris Paul, and Chauncey Billups have all sustained injuries in the past 3 days. Were they fluky injuries? Yes, but why take the chance? Clearly, the Spurs were forced to overextend themselves in the game against the Warriors. In the second game of back to backs, injuries are more likely. The players are fatigued and not as quick as normal. Their legs are sore, they are jet lagged, if the Spurs were going to sustain an injury it would have been last night. Chauncey turned his ankle in the first half. Are we not extremely grateful that it was not Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili that stepped on a foot? Also, this move is a complete slap in the face to the Denver Nuggets. Popovich is basically saying, "You know what, I know your record is good and everything, but we own you in the playoffs. Here, take this game. Your team isn't even worth showing up for." I think the decision to bench our players was interesting. And as a superstitious basketball fan, it makes me laugh.

Kobe's 61 Really not that Impressive

2009-02-03T11:22:00.009-06:00

So, Kobe scores 61 against the Knicks. I respond with, “So what?”

First, the Knicks are a terrible defensive team. Coach Mike D’Antoni’s system of seven seconds or less turns a blind eye to defense. We saw it in Phoenix, and now we see it at New York. 61 against a team like the Spurs would be incredible, but it’s not going to happen because the Spurs play defense. When Kobe gets hot against the Spurs, Bruce Bowen is immediately brought in to the game to face guard Kobe. If Kobe manages to free himself long enough to receive a pass, a double team is immediately thrown his way to force him to pass the ball. Players do not score ridiculous amounts of points on teams that care about defense.

According to Basketball Reference, the Knicks’ defensive rating ranks 22nd out of the 30 teams in the league. In addition, the Knicks' pace is second in the league. In other words, the Knicks play an extremely fast game, 7 seconds or less, and play horrible defense. Is it really that hard to imagine a player of Kobe’s stature scoring 61 points against that defense? Of course not.

"We tried to do the rope-a-dope a little bit where he might shoot himself out, but he didn't. He just kept on going."
-- Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni

Are you serious? You tried to let Kobe shoot himself out? What does that even mean? If a player is hot, you force him to pass the ball. You definitely do not allow him to drop 61 points. Did no one learn from Lebron’s fourth quarter against Detroit last year? This is truly flabbergasting. Kobe should send D’Antoni some flowers for Valentine’s day. He should take him out to a nice dinner. Maybe they could have a few drinks at Kobe’s place and then Kobe could ask him to bend over a chair and….
Yeah, next time, how about you triple team Kobe, throw a box and 1 at him, have Nate Robinson face guard Kobe and as soon as a pass is made have a two defenders running at him. I mean, do anything aside from allowing one of the best players in the league to “shoot himself out.” Alright, I’m done.

Spurs, Nuggets Preview

2009-02-03T10:02:00.001-06:00

Clearly, the Spurs will feel a bit of fatigue in tonight’s game. The Spurs beat the Warriors last night in overtime, and subsequently jumped on a plane to Denver. In order to secure the win, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker played 42 and 43 minutes, respectively. The Nuggets last played on Friday, so they will be very well rested. Carmelo Anthony returned from injury in their last game to score 19 points in 30 minutes. The rust was evident in the 5 turnovers he committed, but he looked fresh and healthy.

The Nuggets are a team that does not match up well with the Spurs. Tim Duncan generally has his way with the Nuggets defenders. Nene is slow and undersized, while Chris “Birdman” Anderson needs to hit a weight room. In addition, they lack a defensive stopper to handle Manu Ginobili. JR Smith will come off the bench for Denver but see substantial minutes. While he is a very skilled offensive player, he lacks the passion for defense. Since both Ginobili and Smith will come off the bench, it is likely that they will guard one another. Ginobili should win this match up as he is skilled both offensively and defensively.

The advantage that the Nuggets have over the Spurs resides in their newly acquired point guard, Chancey Billups. Though Tony Parker has much improved his game when facing the bigger, stronger point guards of the league, they still pose problems. Also, surprisingly Tony shows fatigue in the tail end of back to backs, even though he is relatively young. I think this will be the critical match up of the game. If Tony can neutralize the Chancey affect, the Spurs should roll. But if Tony looks fatigued and is dominated, it could be a long night. Bottom line, Spurs by 8.

Bad Memories Super Bowl XLIII

2009-02-02T16:25:00.000-06:00

After watching Arizona give away the Super Bowl to Pittsburgh, I could not help but feel for the five or six Cardinals fans out there. With 10 seconds left, Kurt Warner goes back to launch a Hail Marry, is hit, and loses the ball. The referees rule it a fumble and the Steelers immediately down the ball, game over. Was it a fumble? Was it an incomplete pass? Doesn’t matter, the “right” team won. How did the referees review every questionable play, and there were a lot of them, except the one that decided the game? Unfortunately, to beat the team that ‘should win,’ a smaller market team cannot leave anything to chance.

Game 5, Western Conference Finals, Los Angeles Lakers at San Antonio Spurs, May 13, 2004
.4 seconds remaining, Tim Duncan just hit an unbelievable shot with lots of contact but no call to put the Spurs up 73-72. The Lakers call a timeout to advance the ball. Gary Payton is throwing the ball in. The Spurs do a good job of covering Shaq and Kobe, but Derek Fisher streaks free. Gary passes the ball, Derek catches it running away from the basket, turns his body towards the hoop, jumps backwards and sinks the shot. Clearly, there is no way he was able to catch, contort, jump, and shoot in .4 seconds. But the game clock did not start on time, it went in, and the “right” team won. I maintain that if a smaller market team wins by 5, it means that they were 10-15 points better that night. The refs will influence the game so that the bigger market team will gain 5-10 points through missed calls and bad calls. As a Spurs fan, I’ve witnessed it over and over again. I have come to accept it. If you are going after the champ, you better knock him out, because if you don’t the score cards are not going to be in your favor. So, to the five or six Cardinal fans out there, this Spurs fan feels your pain.

Spurs, Suns Preview: Flip a Coin

2009-01-29T11:34:00.005-06:00

Games against the Suns always make me nervous. Dating back to the ‘06/’07 season, the Spurs have played the Suns 20 times, including the two times they met in the playoffs. The Spurs have won 12 of these contests and lost 8. In victories, the Spurs won by an average of 5.6 points. In defeats, the Spurs have lost by an average of 11.9 points. So basically, it’s either a nail biter or the Spurs lose. Of the past 20 meetings, 14 have been decided by 7 points or less.

This year, the Suns match up well with the Spurs. In the past, under the D’Antoni 7 seconds or less system, the Suns simply would try to outscore the Spurs and did not worry about defense. After consistently losing to the Spurs in the playoffs, the Suns made a change. They hired Steve Kerr as their General Manager and lost coach D’Antoni to the Knicks’ wallet. Kerr hired the defensive oriented Terry Porter to coach his club and then made a trade in which he acquired Shaquile O’Neal. This move was made specifically with the Spurs in mind. They hoped that Shaq would give them a competent defender to throw at Tim Duncan, and also give the Suns more options in the playoffs when the game slowed down.

Through the magic of the Suns’ outstanding medical staff, Shaq is playing as he did in the ‘05/’06 season when he helped the Miami Heat win a championship. Shaq is a scary defender for Tim Duncan. Although Tim is much quicker than Shaq, Shaq gets the All Star treatment from the refs and is able to use his body and arms to not let Tim by, which is a foul if it’s anyone else doing the pushing. Because of this, Tim needs his outside shot to drop in order to have a good game against Shaq.

Honestly, I feel this game is a coin flip. I think it will be decided in the final minute of the game, and given the stars that the Suns have and that the game is in Phoenix, I think they are going to get the critical calls. At the same time, the Spurs have been extremely clutch this season, so they have an edge there. Also, the Suns do not have anyone to guard Manu. In the past, Raja Bell would get that assignment, but they recently traded him. Look for Manu to have a big night. Bottom line, Spurs by 5.

CAUTION: Bumpy Road Ahead

2009-01-28T14:36:00.010-06:00

First, let me apologise for the crudeness of the chart posted below. Funny enough, I spent all of yesterday in Austin listening to Edward Tufte's lecture on "Presenting Data and Information." I had the data set up perfectly in Excel, and then in Word, but could not figure out how to transfer it to this blog. If you click on the data, it will take you to a cleaner version of the same chart, still imperfect though.

Before the season began, I printed out the Spurs' schedule and went through predicting whether we would win or lose each game. In the post below, I listed my results thus far. Overall, I am 32-12 in my predictions, which means I have guessed correctly 72% of the games. However, when I filled out my predictions, I was expecting to have a healthy Tony Parker. If I do not count the games in which we were missing Tony, my record improves to 23-5, or 82%.

Regardless of how you look at it, my predictions are normally pretty accurate. Now for the scary news, I have the Spurs going 7-6 over their next 13 games, and that is very optimistic. 9 of these games are on the road, thanks to the Rodeo Road Trip, and 10 are against teams competing for a playoff spot, 8 of which have winning records. Looking at it now, I would say we beat the Warriors and lose to the Nuggets, and we drop a game either to Dallas or Portland in that back to back, reducing the record to 6-7 over the next 13 games. After this stretch, get ready to hear the, "They're too old" talk for a while. Age has nothing to do with this extremely difficult schedule. If the Spurs can get through this with a winning record, it's looking good for the playoffs. If not, there is no need to panic. This stretch is absurdly difficult.

45 Thu, Jan 29, 2009 Phoenix Suns L
46 Sat, Jan 31, 2009 New Orleans Hornets L
47 Mon, Feb 2, 2009 Golden State Warriors L
48 Tue, Feb 3, 2009 Denver Nuggets W
49 Sun, Feb 8, 2009 Boston Celtics L
50 Tue, Feb 10, 2009 New Jersey Nets W
51 Wed, Feb 11, 2009 Toronto Raptors W
52 Tue, Feb 17, 2009 New York Knick W
53 Thu, Feb 19, 2009 Detroit Pistons L
54 Sat, Feb 21, 2009 Washington Wizards W
55 Tue, Feb 24, 2009 Dallas Mavericks W
56 Wed, Feb 25, 2009 Portland Trail Blazers W
57 Fri, Feb 27, 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers L

My Spurs Predictions

2009-01-28T10:47:00.006-06:00

Click on the data below for a cleaner chart. The Column Headers are as follows:
Game #,
Date,
Opponent,
My Prediction,
My predicted W's,
My predicted L's,
Actual Result,
Actual W's,
Actual L's,
If I guessed Wrong

G Date Opponent Preseason Actual Result
Prediction
1 Wed, Oct 29, 2008 Phoenix Suns W L Miss **
2 Fri, Oct 31, 2008 Portland Trail Blazers L L
3 Tue, Nov 4, 2008 Dallas Mavericks W L Miss **
4 Wed, Nov 5, 2008 Minnesota Timbe W W
5 Fri, Nov 7, 2008 Miami Heat W L Miss **
6 Tue, Nov 11, 2008 New York Knick W W
7 Wed, Nov 12, 2008 Milwaukee Bucks W L Miss **
8 Fri, Nov 14, 2008 Houston Rockets L W Miss **
9 Sun, Nov 16, 2008 Sacramento Kings W W
10 Mon, Nov 17, 2008 Los Angeles Clippers W W
11 Wed, Nov 19, 2008 Denver Nuggets W L Miss **
12 Fri, Nov 21, 2008 Utah Jazz L W Miss **
13 Mon, Nov 24, 2008 Memphis Grizzlies W W
14 Wed, Nov 26, 2008 Chicago Bulls W W
15 Fri, Nov 28, 2008 Memphis Grizzlies W W
16 Sat, Nov 29, 2008 Houston Rockets L L
17 Tue, Dec 2, 2008 Detroit Pistons L L
18 Thu, Dec 4, 2008 Denver Nuggets W W
19 Sat, Dec 6, 2008 Golden State Warr W W
20 Tue, Dec 9, 2008 Dallas Mavericks L W Miss
21 Wed, Dec 10, 2008 Atlanta Hawks W W
22 Fri, Dec 12, 2008 Minnesota Timber W W
23 Sun, Dec 14, 2008 Oklahoma City Thu W W
24 Wed, Dec 17, 2008 New Orleans Hornets L L
25 Thu, Dec 18, 2008 Orlando Magic L L
26 Sat, Dec 20, 2008 Toronto Raptors W W
27 Mon, Dec 22, 2008 Sacramento Kings W W
28 Tue, Dec 23, 2008 Minnesota Timber W W
29 Thu, Dec 25, 2008 Phoenix Suns W W
30 Sat, Dec 27, 2008 Memphis Grizzlies W W
31 Tue, Dec 30, 2008 Milwaukee Bucks W L Miss
32 Fri, Jan 2, 2009 Memphis Grizzlies W W
33 Sat, Jan 3, 2009 Philadelphia 76ers W W
34 Mon, Jan 5, 2009 Miami Heat W W
35 Thu, Jan 8, 2009 Los Angeles Clippers W W
36 Sun, Jan 11, 2009 Orlando Magic W L Miss
37 Wed, Jan 14, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers L W Miss
38 Fri, Jan 16, 2009 Philadelphia 76ers L L
39 Sat, Jan 17, 2009 Chicago Bulls W W
40 Mon, Jan 19, 2009 Charlotte Bobcats W W
41 Tue, Jan 20, 2009 Indiana Pacers W W
42 Fri, Jan 23, 2009 New Jersey Nets W W
43 Sun, Jan 25, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers W L Miss
44 Tue, Jan 27, 2009 Utah Jazz W W
45 Thu, Jan 29, 2009 Phoenix Suns L
46 Sat, Jan 31, 2009 New Orleans Hornets L
47 Mon, Feb 2, 2009 Golden State Warriors L
48 Tue, Feb 3, 2009 Denver Nuggets W
49 Sun, Feb 8, 2009 Boston Celtics L
50 Tue, Feb 10, 2009 New Jersey Nets W
51 Wed, Feb 11, 2009 Toronto Raptors W
52 Tue, Feb 17, 2009 New York Knick W
53 Thu, Feb 19, 2009 Detroit Pistons L
54 Sat, Feb 21, 2009 Washington Wizards W
55 Tue, Feb 24, 2009 Dallas Mavericks W
56 Wed, Feb 25, 2009 Portland Trail Blazers W
57 Fri, Feb 27, 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers L
58 Sun, Mar 1, 2009 Portland Trail Blazers W
59 Mon, Mar 2, 2009 Los Angeles Clippers W
60 Wed, Mar 4, 2009 Dallas Mavericks W
61 Fri, Mar 6, 2009 Washington Wizards W
62 Sun, Mar 8, 2009 Phoenix Suns W
63 Tue, Mar 10, 2009 Charlotte Bobcats W
64 Thu, Mar 12, 2009 Los Angeles Lakers L
65 Sat, Mar 14, 2009 Houston Rockets L
66 Mon, Mar 16, 2009 Oklahoma City Thu W
67 Tue, Mar 17, 2009 Minnesota Timber W
68 Fri, Mar 20, 2009 Boston Celtics W
69 Sun, Mar 22, 2009 Houston Rockets W
70 Tue, Mar 24, 2009 Golden State Warriors L
71 Wed, Mar 25, 2009 Atlanta Hawks W
72 Fri, Mar 27, 2009 Los Angeles Clippers W
73 Sun, Mar 29, 2009 New Orleans Hornets L
74 Tue, Mar 31, 2009 Oklahoma City Thu W
75 Fri, Apr 3, 2009 Indiana Pacers W
76 Sun, Apr 5, 2009 Cleveland Cavaliers W
77 Tue, Apr 7, 2009 Oklahoma City Thu W
78 Wed, Apr 8, 2009 Portland Trail Blazers W
79 Fri, Apr 10, 2009 Utah Jazz W
80 Sun, Apr 12, 2009 Sacramento Kings W
81 Mon, Apr 13, 2009 Golden State Warriors L
82 Wed, Apr 15, 2009 New Orleans Hornets W

Spurs, Jazz Preview

2009-01-27T19:22:00.003-06:00

Quickly, I expect the Spurs to win this game by 12. The Jazz have been inconsistent all season, mainly due to injuries. But this means that they have not found their rhythm yet. The Spurs were destroyed by the Lakers in their last outing and had a few days to let it fester. They will come out tonight very focused. Manu was off against the Lakers, so look for him to pour in around 20. Bottom line, Spurs by 12.

Spurs, Lakers Preview

2009-01-23T10:55:00.002-06:00

If we beat the Nets tonight, I have a really bad feeling for the rematch with the Lakers. First, the Lakers are going to want revenge. The Lakers probably played their best game of the year against the Spurs and still lost.

I was upset with all of the excuses ESPN came up with for the Lakers after the game. They claimed that the Lakers should feel great about the game because they nearly won with an injured bench on the backend of a back to back. First, the fact that their bench was injured helped the Lakers. It forced them to play their starters playoff minutes. Kobe only sat out for 6 minutes the entire game. So if Walton was in there, the Lakers would have won? Would you bet your life on that? Absolutely not. And although it was their second game in two nights, they were not fatigued at all. The Lakers were pushing it until the very end. I was there and kept telling myself, eventually they will run out of gas. That never happened. You cannot tell me that the Lakers could have played better. They shot 56% from the field and 56% from the three point line with only 11 turnovers. Gasol and Bynum were on fire and Fisher could not miss from three point land. Even some guy named Josh Powell could not miss. And Kobe was Kobe in the fourth. Hitting big shots, playing great defense, and keeping his team’s concentration peaked. And the Lakers still could not get the W.

Back to Sunday’s game, it really feels like one of those games where the Spurs forget to show up in the first quarter and Pop accepts the loss before halftime. The Lakers will be looking for revenge. The Spurs will be looking ahead to this brutal stretch of games coming up. (I have the Spurs going 8-7 over the next 15.) And the game is at 2:30pm. The Spurs never play well in these early afternoon games. I guess it takes a while for our old guys to wake up.

Plus, if the Spurs lose, it will give Pop an excuse to berate the team to get them ready for the rodeo road trip. I know he just did this, but I think it was a little early. He needs to yell at them one more time before the rodeo road trip begins.

Don’t get me wrong here. Nothing would make me happier than the Spurs beating the Lakers in LA. I just have a bad feeling about this one, and my bad feelings are normally spot on.

"Vegas, Baby, Vegas" -- Bill Simmons

2009-01-23T10:18:00.003-06:00

I'm hitting up Las Vegas this weekend. Recap to come Monday. All in.

Also, I know a lot of you are reading this. And I know you have a Gmail account. So click 'follow this blog.' I promise not to raid your inboxes.

'09 Spurs are Most Clutch Spurs Team in Recent Memory

2009-01-22T13:29:00.008-06:00

Anyone else notice that the Spurs have had many games come down to the wire this year? Well, I took a closer look at the numbers and the ’09 Spurs are the most clutch Spurs team since at least the 2003 championship season. They are more clutch than the ’03, ’05, and ’07 championship teams and all the teams in between.

This season, the Spurs have played in 16 games that have been decided by 5 points or less. The Spurs’ record in these games is 12-4. If you only look at the games in which the Big Three played in, the record improves to a stunning 8-1. You can chalk this up to many different things, but I like to think that this means when Pop stops messing around with the rotation, and plays the lineups that are going to win, the Spurs take care of business. When the playoffs come around, and the good lineups that consist of Manu, Tony, and Tim spend the majority of the game on the floor, watch out.

Now, let’s take a look at the numbers I just derived to see how this team compares to those of the past. Up to this point in the season in previous years, the following are the Spurs records in games decided by 5 points or less:
Year W-L
’03 9-7
’04 4-6
’05 5-5
’06 8-2
’07 3-6
’08 3-5
’09 8-1 with full roster. 12-4 including games without Tony or Manu.

In the championship seasons, here is a complete record of games decided by 5 points or less including playoffs:

Year W-L
‘03 23-14
’05 13-12
’07 13-11
'08 12-4

Retrieved from 82games.com, here are our most clutch players. These points are based on how productive a player is in a game with five minutes remaining and neither team leading by more than 5 points, extending the 5 minutes of production to a 48 minute average. In other words, if Tony played as aggresivley as he does in the last 5 minutes of a close game, he would average 40.3 points over 48 minutes of playing time.

Tony Parker 40.3 Points
Manu Ginobili 28.0 Points
Tim Duncan 27.4 Points
Roger Mason 20.4 Points

So, now you can see why the Spurs are 8-1 with Tony, Manu, and Tim on the floor in close games. As the season progresses, expect to see Tony’s clutch points drop and Manu’s to increase. Manu’s are lower because he had been struggling to find his rhythm since returning from injury. But Manu has played much better recently and expect him to have the ball more often than not in tight games. Clearly, the addition of Roger Mason cannot be overstated. Two of those 8 victories can be credited to him. And in years past, we have not had a consistent fourth clutch player in the closing minutes of tight games.

Side note: The $100 I put on the Spurs to win it all is looking like a better and better bet as the season progresses.

Timothy Varner of "48 Minutes of Hell" Reacts?

2009-01-22T10:29:00.009-06:00

I randomly checked my Dartmouth email account this morning and while scanning over all the spam I noticed the name, “Timothy Varner.” So, against my better judgment I opened the email and low and behold, Timothy rebuts. I was under the assumption that I was typing and nobody was reading. Like in that "Office" episode where Creed thinks that Toby set up a blog for him but in actuality it’s just a blank Word document. So Creed types and types and it goes nowhere. That’s what I figured was happening here. But apparently, at least one person reads this aside from my friends. So sweet? I’m not sure how I feel about this yet. Regardless, below I will respond to the email’s contents because it seems more entertaining than simply replying to his email.

Timothy writes, “To start, you should know that I'm consistently criticized for being too bullish on San Antonio. So, your criticism of pessimism really strikes an odd chord. In short, it was a first. My guess is that this is simply a matter of sample size. Much of my stuff goes against the cliched grain of "too old, window is passing." But even a recent post, such as Gagging the Tired Old Nag would demonstrate this.”

I was unaware of your blog’s existence until two days ago when I was reading TrueHoop on ESPN.com. For those of you in the dark, ESPN recently decided to publish local blogs from the NBA cities around the nation so that if you follow a small market team, as we do, you no longer have to read about the Boston Celtics or the LA Lakers. But I digress, as I was reading TrueHoop I scanned to see if San Antonio had a blog. And thus I came across this article on 48MinutesofHell. I read it, completely disagreed, and left the site in disgust. I then wrote the post entitled, “48 Minutes of Hell = 3 Minutes in Purgatory.” After being disgusted by the first post I read at your site, I stopped. So I suppose you are correct here, my sample size is small. But my points are valid.

Timothy continues, “Second, I'm not really concerned about pandering to an audience, so I may be pessimistic, I may be optimistic, but I'm certain not to care either way. I try to be honest, and that's the best I can do for you.”

This cracked me up. Let’s start over. ESPN picked your blog so that people from San Antonio could read more about their favorite team. Fans do not want to read that their favorite team is worse than their mediocre record. You should be biased; straight Bill Simmons style. You should be feeding Spurs fans lines that they can scream at the horrible Lakers fan that is unfortunately sitting right behind them at the game. As a Spurs fan, I really could care less about the moral obligation you feel to be an honest blogger. Again, if I wanted to read about how bad the Spurs are, I would simply read what Marc Stein has to say.

Timothy continues, “Third, your stuff about the post being inaccurate also rings hollow. If the model that you suggest was viable, I'd have to adjust for every team in the league. In other words, every team has injuries. Every team goes through slumps. You can't woulda, coulda, shoulda your way through. That's all make believe. Nobody does statistical analysis like that. I would simply say that I've lauded the Spurs for overachieving despite injury. I could go on...”

First, you are attempting to use statistics to grade the Spurs currently and forecast how they will fare as the season progresses. Therefore, the statistics that you use should, at the very least, be those that represent our current team. Our current team consists of a healthy Manu and Tony. So, logically, it would make sense to throw out the games in which we did not have Manu or Tony on the court.
Second, you would not have to adjust for every team in the league. You are not writing about every team in the league. Your scope is the San Antonio Spurs. And you should go the extra mile to come up with statistics that are viable.
Third, I agree that every team goes through slumps, obviously. But slumps like the one Boston went through are very different than the one the Spurs experienced. The Spurs slump was solely caused by injuries to two of their three best players. Boston’s slump occurred with all their key players healthy. If the Spurs started the season 9-8 with a healthy roster, then it’s a completely different story.
And finally, ESPN uses statistical analysis like this all the time. All of the “During their 10 game winning streak, Team X has held opponents to 85 PPG while scoring 94.” Or, “During the month of January, Team Y shot 48% from the 3 point line.” Why not, “With a healthy team, the Spurs are 19-6, shot 48% from the field while holding opponents to just 88 PPG?” The 19-6 record is true, by the way. I made up the FG and PPG. If you expand 19-6 to make it comparable to team’s current records, the Spurs would be 32-10. The Lakers are 33-8. Look, I didn’t even have to manipulate the stats very much at all and came up with a favorable way of looking at the Spurs' record. Timothy, it’s really not that difficult.

Timothy finishes, “Please forgive any typos. I'm bed-ridden with the flu and writing in haste.”

The flu is going around. My girlfriend has it right now. Feel better and hope you do not mind this post. Oh, and forgive my typos; I do not proof read.

48 Minutes of Hell = 3 Minutes in Purgatory

2009-01-21T14:38:00.005-06:00

In a recent article published by 48 Minutes of Hell, Timothy Varner argues that the Spurs are not as good as their record indicates because the they were 21st in field goal defense and first in PPG allowed. He ties these two stats together to conclude that the Spurs are not solid defensively and are lucky to have the record that they do.

My main issue with this article is that it is pessimistic. 48 Minutes of Hell was recently chosen by ESPN as its local Spurs blog. (ESPN is selecting local blogs that focus on a single team so readers can enjoy more articles about their favorite NBA teams.) If I wanted to read something pessimistic about the Spurs, I would simply read what the ESPN analysts have to say. Shouldn’t a local blog about the Spurs be optimistic? It’s the first rule of writing; know you audience.

In addition, this article is inaccurate. The Spurs were without two of their three best players for long stretches early in the season. During this time, the Spurs lost a lot of games that they would have won if Tony and Manu had been healthy. So, in fact, the Spurs' record is actually understated.

Furthermore, with Tony and Manu out, of course the Spurs played worse on both ends of the floor and slowed the game down. I would argue that the games that Manu and Tony missed have skewed the data. This is why the Spurs were 21st in opposing field goal percentage and first in PPG. They slowed the game down and were playing with an inferior lineup. If Timothy Varner wanted to use accurate stats, he should have thrown out the games that Manu and Tony did not suit up for. He also should have thrown out the second game of back to backs, since there are no back to backs in the playoffs. And if he wanted to skew the data in the other direction, he should have ignored the first several games that Manu and Tony played in, since they were not playing their normal minutes and were rusty from the time off.

The article also references quotes from Popovich after a game in which they played poorly. Popovich tells the Spurs off at least once a year. It’s cyclical, seasonal, you could set your watch by it. He does this to fire up the team and get them to concentrate harder on the defensive end of the floor. It’s definitely not a reason to sound the alarm or something that should be used to support an argument.

So, why didn’t 48 minutes of Hell think of this? Maybe it’s because the author really doesn’t follow the Spurs all that closely.

Beer Pong: Dartmouth

2009-01-21T10:27:00.005-06:00

Rick Reilly recently wrote an article for ESPN about what he calls ‘Beer Pong.’ I do not understand how you can write an article about pong and get it completely wrong. He should have begun his article with the history of pong. Pong was invented in the 1950’s at a small college in Hanover, New Hampshire. Legend has it that two fraternity brothers were playing an afternoon game of ping pong, while simultaneously drinking beers. One player put his beer down on the table to serve, the opposing player accidentally returned the shot into his beer and said, “Drink it.” And thus pong was born.

The game of pong with paddles is fairly simple. It’s basically ping pong, but instead of trying to get your opponent to miss, you are trying to sink his cups. The game consists of a series of rallies in which players hit the ball back and forth high into the air to give the ball a better chance of sinking the cup. Pong is played on a table the same size, or slightly bigger than a regulation ping pong table. Beruit is generally played on smaller, shorter tables. The standard small game of pong is played with 14 10 oz. cups of beer, 7 on each side of the table in a shrub formation. The larger standard game is played with 22 cups of beer, 11 on each side of the table in a shrub formation. Beer is never thrown out. If you cannot finish your beer, you must grab the nearest trashcan, pull the trigger and then consume the beer. The inevitable ‘boot and rally.’ If you think throwing a ball into a cup is difficult, try returning a spin serve high into the air so it lands in a cup that is 10 feet away while you are drunk. Pong requires good footwork and finesse. Athletes are generally pretty good at pong because of their superior hand-eye coordination.

Over time, Pong traveled to colleges across the United States and at some point lost the paddles. The game that does not involve paddles is called Beruit and requires far less skill and stamina. If you venture to Dartmouth for a weekend of fun, you will find that paddles are required if you want to play Pong. In fact, I’ve seen fights break out in fraternity basements at Dartmouth when unknowing visitors attempt to throw the ball. Pong is not just something to do at Dartmouth, it is the thing to do. If you walk into any fraternity or sorority basement at Dartmouth, you will find between four and ten pong tables, depending on the size of the basement. The Greek culture revolves around the world of Pong. Many house traditions were created based on Pong. For example, each house has their own rules for pong. The general rules are the same, but each house has subtle differences that they enforce and take immense pride in. At Psi U, you can bounce the ball off your chest to give yourself an easier shot. At Chi Gam, if the ball hits a cup you can ‘slam’ it back. At some houses the ball is playable off the ceiling, at others off the wall. If you get skunked, some houses will make you chug a large ladle of liquor.

Reilly attempts to make it seem tolerable that people sometimes play with water. Again, I’ve seen fights break out when people attempted to play with water instead of beer. That is not allowed. The only time Pong with water is acceptable is if it is played by underage freshman at a substance free dorm. Freshman have not logged the hours necessary to compete with the upper class men, so even if they somehow managed to get on a table, it is very unlikely that they will win to continue playing. This means that they cannot get drunk while playing Pong and will be reduced to playing dice with upper class men that are too drunk to play Pong competitively. For this reason, some freshmen choose to improve their skills during off time in their dorms with water. However, when I was a freshman, we had water on the tables just in case campus security showed up, and had the beer on the side where it would be chugged at the appropriate times. I suspect most freshman still do this. Because, it is a drinking game after all. And by definition, the point of a drinking game is to get drunk.

I could go on and on about Pong, but for now this will do. I just had to clarify Reilly’s inadequate description of Pong. To insult the game of Pong is to insult the life of a Dartmouth student.

Spurs 92 @ Bulls 87 (I was there)

2009-01-20T16:23:00.003-06:00

I spent the weekend in Chicago and attended this game. Going in, I had my doubts. The Spurs are never good in the tail end of back to back games and they were trounced the previous night in Philadelphia. Tony Parker, specifically, has looked awful in the back to backs, (which really doesn’t make any sense given that he is one of the youngest players on the team.) The 78-90 loss in Orlando after losing 83-90 to New Orleans comes to mind. Tony was 3-17 from the field for 9 points with 4 turnovers and only 4 assists. So, having to chase the standout rookie Derrick Rose seemed like a recipe for disaster. Also, after beating the Lakers in a truly fantastic 112-111 battle, the Spurs were due for an emotional letdown. My hope was that the loss to the Sixers would serve as a brief letdown and that the Spurs would rebound against the Bulls. Historically, the Spurs rebound very well after a loss, especially to one of that magnitude.
The United Center is substantially bigger than the AT&T Center. The United Center was not sold out and still posted an attendance upwards of 22,000, compared to a sold out AT&T center crowd of 18,675. Even so, I swear you could hear a pin drop for most of the game. Several times during the game I asked aloud, “Why is it so quiet in here?” but did not receive a response. By far the loudest spectator was the ice cream peddler whom you could hear from 4 sections over, “ICE CREAM!” It became the running joke of the night. If you were in a Chicago bar later that night and heard people randomly screaming, “ICE CREAM!” That was us.
The game was, as expected, an ugly one. The Spurs led for most of the game, but seemed to be half awake and could never maintain a lead. However, the Spurs managed to grind out a win. This is a game that gives me confidence. In ’99, ’03, ’05, and ’07, these are the kind of games the Spurs seemed to always win. It would be ugly, low scoring, and frustrating in that you knew the Spurs were the superior team, but they could never get any separation. But with the score close and two minutes remaining, the Spurs would always make a few big shots and get a few big stops for the win. They have won many of these types of games this season.
Chicago is a great city. If you have never been, you should definitely give it a try. Chicago is incredible because it is the third biggest city in the US, but still has that Midwestern, Southern mellow feel to it. People are not as crazy or hurried as they are in other big cities, like NYC. My good friend from Dartmouth, The Big Talc, currently resides in Chicago, which is why I made the trip. He basically took me on a tour of his favorite bars, (we hit 12 different bars in two nights.) My favorite was a place called the Hidden Sham. It was a multi-story bar that offered a great drink special in the basement. $3 Jameson Shots. Seriously? Any place that gets people to drink straight whiskey is cool in my book. (I am Texan, remember?)

PLAYERS: Jacque Vaughn

2009-01-20T13:07:00.001-06:00

(Editor’s Note: I wrote this mid-season of the ‘07-‘08 campaign. Everyone take a moment to thank the Basketball Gods for George Hill.)

Alright, let’s get this party started. Jacque Vaughn is an abomination on the basketball court. Jacque Vaughn is averaging 4.1 PPG, 1 RPG, 2.2 APG, and .72 TPG in 15 minutes. He is shooting 42.4% from the field. His numbers look horrible, but what they do not capture is how the opposing point guards fare when going head to head against Vaughn. (They destroy him.) They also do not reflect his momentum killing contributions. When Jacque enters a game, you can expect a turnover, two wide open missed shots, and Vaughn’s go-to move which consists of driving into the lane, realizing he’s a midget, and circling back out, thereby wasting 5-10 seconds off the shot clock. He is also prone to air-balling lay-ups. This is due to the fact that he is tiny, can’t jump, and is not quick. If he gets a step on a defender, the defender can recover in plenty of time to alter his shot. So why does Popovich insist upon playing Jacque? He has the wily veteran Damon Stoudemire rusting on the bench while Vaughn handicaps the team. I am of the opinion that when Popovich looks at Jacque Vaughn, he sees Avery Johnson. Jacque Vaughn is a poor man’s Avery Johnson. For his career, Avery averaged 8.4 PPG, 1.7 RPG, 5.5 APG and 1.6 TPG in 25 minutes. Compare those numbers to Jacque's listed above. If you take into consideration that Avery averaged 10 more minutes per game, their numbers are nearly identical. Seriously, it’s almost spooky. Both players are short, slow, and they can’t jump. Avery had a knack for finding the open man, which is why Jacque is a step below him. Jacque should be playing golf, not playing backup point guard for the defending champs. Jacque Vaughn makes my head hurt.

San Antonio Spurs Insight

2009-01-20T12:52:00.002-06:00

This blog will consist of four different sections all of which will be periodically maintained: Players, Games, “48MinutesofHell” Rebuttals, and Random Insight. “Players” will provide insight upon the individual players of the Spurs. I will provide analysis and thoughts that you will not find anywhere else. “Games” will consist of recaps from Spurs games and if something noteworthy happens outside of a Spurs game, you will find it here. “48MinutesofHell” is the blog that ESPN’s TrueHoop has chosen to represent San Antonio. I find most of their posts inaccurate and will prove their pessimistic arguments inadequate in this section. “Random Insight” will contain general analysis of the Spurs and whatever else I feel like writing about. The ideas and analysis that you find on this blog will be highly original, at least that is the goal.

2008-09-02T16:12:00.002-05:00

2008-08-31T16:00:00.000-05:00

For Fantasy Football Purposes

2008-01-27T17:45:00.000-06:00

2008-01-26T18:05:00.000-06:00

2007-12-24T16:37:00.000-06:00

2007-11-23T20:45:00.001-06:00

2007-09-13T16:54:00.000-05:00