Tony Parker scored 22 points, dished out 7 assists and had 3 rebounds. Tim Duncan added 13 points, 9 boards and 1 block, all in the first half. And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Cavaliers 105-98.
LeBron James who isn’t quite over the flu, scored 22 points in his return to the Cleveland lineup after staying home sick for the last game. Though not completely healthy, James said he still felt pretty good after going 7 of 14 from the field and grabbed 6 rebounds.
He and two teammates was tested positive this week for Influenza A. James spent two days this week just lying in bed.
“I’m down probably 20 percent of what I know I’m capable of playing at,” James said.
After four preseason games, the new look Spurs have shown us a glimpse of what to expect. DeJuan Blair is quickly learning the system and has been impressive, George Hill is proving to be a capable backup point. Ian Mahinmi has finally found a little rhythm, McDyess has been steady and looked like a Spur for years, Jefferson is getting to his comfort zone, and Hairston and Williams is battling it out for the final spot.
More importantly, Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili looked healthy. Coach Pop mentioned before that he will use these preseason games to evaluate the new comers and camp hopefuls. But as the start of the NBA season approaches, Popovich will turn his focus on getting the team ready for the regular season, beginning tonight with the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
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While Blake Griffin took care of business on the offensive end, scoring 23 points and grabbing 7 rebounds to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 93-90 preseason victory over the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday night.
Griffin scored 10 points in the first quarter and had 13 in the third. The Clippers outscored the Spurs 29-26 in the fourth quarter behind 13 points from Al Thornton.
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What about this pic? For sure you were not expecting it, neither was I… One of the best sportsmen of the world, Mr. Tiger Woods!
— Manu Ginobili
Spurs fans, Tell me what you think? please leave your messages at the comment section thanks!
The Spurs will hosts the Clippers at the AT&T center in their fourth preseason game tomorrow, game time is at 7:30 Spurs time! I’m not really good at pre-game previews so I’m leaving that to my friends at Pounding the Rock!.
Interesting matchups that I’d like to see is Blair vs. Griffin, Hill going up against Gordon and Ian Mahinmi and DeAndre Jordan battling it out in the middle.
This should be fun to watch, the Clippers have a young core of Blake-Gordon-Thornton-Jordan while the Spurs would certainly go with their new additions and their young guns. I hope Haislip plays this time and Ian, Hairston and Bogans gets extended minutes.
As of this writing, I read a news that Dwayne Jones was waived by the Spurs, that makes our roster count, down to 17. Two more cuts and we have our final roster, but here is an article by Mike Monroe that suggests the Spurs will probably leave the final spot vacant.
Popovich said, “The way we look at it, (not filling the final spots) is most likely, unless somebody shows you that you are crazy to cut them because they have played so damn well.”
“There’s got to be one or two guys show us we’re crazy to cut them. If they play that well, we’re going to have to keep one or two more bodies than we probably had planned on.”
Rookie DeJuan Blair is slowly putting the league on notice. First he showed that he can rebound (actually he can grab those boards!); next he proved that he can be effective in limited minutes. Today, he just displayed his offensive repertoire. No it’s not a statement game; far from it. But if you’re a Spurs fan, it’s another reason to get excited.
Remember, most teams past on Blair on draft night. Then he said this “All the teams that didn’t pick me I’m gonna make you regret it”. This is just a preseason game, but it’s now clear that Blair is for real. (Click here for Game highlights!)
It’s their third preseason game. This time the Spurs will travel to Miami to visit Dwayne Wade and the Miami Heat. Game time is Tomorrow October 11 at 6:00 PM ET. This game should be nice to watch even for a preseason game, there are interesting matchups to look forward to:
Shooting Guards
Dwayne Wade
Will he dominate? And once again carry the offensive load for the Heat? It will be interesting to see how he reacts against the new look Spurs defense.
Richard Jefferson
Although he’s a Small Forward, he actually starts at the 2 spot (at least in these preseason games) so he will have to guard Dwayne Wade. Does he have the athletic ability and strength to keep D-Wade in check? I guess we have to find that out.
Small Forwards
James Jones
A deadly spot-shooter from downtown, he could emerge with some value as a 3-point specialist if he’s fully healthy this season.
Keith Bogans
Has not been impressive so far, but he can also shoot the 3 and play some tough D. Playing against Jones is something to look forward to.
In their second preseason game, the Spurs looked sharp early as they routed a visiting Olympiacos team 107-89. As expected, Tim Duncan and Tony Parker made their pre-season debut. It’s the first time the Big three played together since Ginobili’s season-ending ankle injury last April.Read more…
I was thinking of writing a preview of the Spurs preseason game against the Olympiacos Piraeus of Greece, but I don’t really know much about the Spurs’ next opponent. I’m expecting the Spurs rotation to be similar with the previous game. After all, Coach Pop himself told us that the first few games will be all about evaluation.
That means he will probably give more time playing to the Spurs’ new comers and camp hopefuls. But surprise! Mike Monroe of San Antonio Express writes this nice piece about the Big three all playing in the Spurs next preseason game to be played at the AT&T center arena at 7:30 PM CT versus the Olympiacos Greek Team. Here is a great pre-game preview from my friends @ Pounding the Rock! (Thanks Tim C. & silverandblack_davis)
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He’s a young and athletic player with good size and length. Has great mobility and gets off the floor quickly. His physical gifts along with rebounding and shot blocking instincts are intriguing. But for three seasons with the Spurs, he’s been unproductive. I think he’s a great guy and in this season he might be able to help and prove himself once and for all.
I would say he’s a bit unlucky the past years, I mean how would you explain the series of injuries that happened to this guy? Remember the ankle injury he sustained that required exploratory surgery because a tiny bone chip won’t show up on MRI results? Then just this September, he got a little scare when he strained a hamstring while playing for the French national team in the Eurobasket. But that’s all in the past.
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The wait is over, the Spurs finally played. But they dropped their pre-season opener 99-85 against the Rockets. It’s important to note that the Spurs played without Duncan, Parker, Finley, McDyess and Ratliff. While the Rockets played with Scola, Landry, Brooks and Ariza.
Matt Bonner played pretty well pumping in 14 points and 3 rebounds; George Hill was solid with 15 points, 4 assist and 3 rebounds as he played the most minutes for the Spurs (30 mins 26 secs. to be exact) and DeJuan Blair was great scoring 16 points, grabbing 19 rebounds (8 offensive) and handed out 2 assist. If this is a sign of things to come, then the Spurs will be very tough to beat when the games begin to count. (Video highlights at the bottom of this post!)
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Manu, steal and dunk….Very nice! Seems like he has his bounce back. Tim Duncan video after the jump.
The Spurs made a major roster overhaul this summer. George Hill felt like he was ‘traded’ to another team. Why? during his rookie year, he was providing backup duties at the point and also trying his best to be a better defender.
His mentor at the time was Bruce Bowen, in fact he has these collection of CD’s he calls “Brucie’s greatest hits”. Now Bruce is gone, so as Fabricio and Kurt Thomas. The lineup changed dramatically during his stay.
The Spurs just had the most busy summer in recent memory, acquring new pieces to make them a strong contender in the hope’s of winning this year’s title.
But admit it, none of those moves will matter if Duncan and Ginobili are not healthy (with all due respect to Tony). Heading into the camp, it’s great to know that both of them are in ‘good shape’.
Duncan’s knees are ‘pain free’ and according to Jeff McDonald of Express News Manu is healthy once again.
Adding RJ, Dice or Blair is nice, but for the Spurs to win their 5th title they need their leader and their super sub. Remember Duncan is the base, the foundation, the cornerstone while Manu is the X-Factor, the power punch, and the hot sauce of the Spurs’ Jalapeño…
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I’ve watched and read about some sad stories in the Philippines because of Typhoon ‘Ondoy’, I do hope that the Filipinos will recover from this tragedy… They are one of the most nicest persons in the world, always have a ready smile, hospitable, helpful and kind, it’s their nature.
If you have read the news, a lot of people are lending a helping hand to the victims from aspiring politicians to multi-national companies. This kind of calamities seem to bring the Filipino people closer and thus stronger…
My heart goes to the victims, many people have died and lost their homes let’s pray for them. Meanwhile, it’s really good to know that people from all over the world are pouring aid to the Philippines. If you can help, please do…
For once, this is not about the Spurs; it’s about saving lives, it’s about friends, it’s about family. I’m lucky enough to know that my relatives back in the Philippines (I’m half Filipino) are safe and sound. But that doesn’t mean I just sit here and stay happy. Friends; prayers can help… Please kindly offer some of your time praying for the victims it can go along way…
The Spurs had an unsual offseason, they rolled the dice early getting Richard Jefferson in the process. Then they got lucky on draft night and snatched DeJuan Blair. They didn’t stop there; they tried to steal Rasheed Wallace albeit with no success. But they moved on and added Haislip and McDyess respectively.
Just when everyone think they are done with their offseason makeover, they acquired the services of Ratliff and if that’s not enough just last week they shored up their backcourt with Keith Bogans for good measure. After all those moves, you would think the Spurs are building a roster of 20. But they do this for a purpose.
Here we go again, with training camp within reach and the season about to start, it’s always nice to rank our favorite NBA teams. ESPN’s Marc Stein as usual has his complete Power Rankings. I almost agree with his Top 5, but we’re a little different the rest of the way. And my ranking is limited to the Top 15 teams (although, I added an OLI section at the bottom of this post). You can also submit your own rankings here.
Here’s my take…
(1) Los Angeles Lakers
If Ron Artest fit in nicely to a team that already includes Kobe, Gasol, Odom and a healthy Bynum they are favored to repeat. But if he starts acting up that’s an entirely different story; loosing Ariza may prove too costly.
(2) Orlando Magic
Last year’s runner-up just added Vince Carter, Bass and Barnes. Although they lose Hedo and Lee; Rashard can now play his natural position and they should be better on offense and solid upfront. How about developing some post moves Dwight?
(3) San Antonio Spurs
They are right back in the title hunt after getting Jefferson and adding McDyess, DeJuan Blair, Ratliff and to a lesser extent Haislip … But then again they need Timmy, Manu and Tony healthy to win the crown.
Spurs Basketball 
