Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

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Dirk Nowitzki hurts left leg and ankle

The Spurs and Mavericks are playing in Dallas on national ABC television and just as I flipped it on, Ime Udoka (not Tony Parker) went up for a layup from the right side, Dirk Nowitzki jumped trying to block it, landed strangely and appeared to be in serious pain while lying on the floor, clutching the lower part of his left leg, either the ankle or possibly just above it.

And now he’s being helped off the court into the locker room area by two teammates.

Update: ABC says it’s a ‘leg and ankle’ injury, and an X-Ray has been taken but the results aren’t in yet.

4:26 p.m. ET update from the Mavericks: In today’s game against the San Antonio Spurs, Dirk Nowitzki suffered an injury to his lower left leg at the 3:19 mark in the third period. The injury occurred when Nowitzki got tangled up with the Spurs’ Ime Udoka after blocking his shot. He did not return to the game. Nowitzki will be reevaluated on Monday, March 24.   “I fell awkwardly and my left leg got caught underneath of me,” Nowitzki said. “I am going to get reevaluated in the morning and I hope to have more information then.”

Bruce Bowen suspended for kicking Chris Paul

Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs has been suspended one game without pay for striking Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets with his leg, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident occurred following a foul call on Paul with 5:15 remaining in the third period of the Spurs’ 100-75 loss to the Hornets on Wednesday, March 12 at New Orleans Arena.

Bowen will serve his suspension tonight when the Spurs visit the Detroit Pistons at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Discuss this with other fans in this forum thread.

Ime Udoka out until March 17

The San Antonio Spurs today announced that Ime Udoka returned to San Antonio this morning due to tarsal tunnel syndrome in his right ankle.  Udoka received anti-inflammatory shots today which are designed to decrease the inflammation in the ankle.

Udoka will miss the remaining two games on the Spurs current three-game road trip.  He is expected to be available when the Spurs return home to take on the Boston Celtics on Monday, March 17.

Suns may want Brent Barry from Sonics

The East Valley Tribune (Scott Bordow) reports: The Suns may not be done wheeling and dealing. A team source said that Phoenix would like to find a way to acquire veteran sharpshooter Brent Barry, who was traded Wednesday from the San Antonio Spurs to the Seattle SuperSonics. For Barry to become a Sun, the Sonics would have to buy out his contract, the source said.

Ron Artest may stay

New York Newsday (Ken Berger) reports: So much for the Spurs’ interest in Ron Artest, which created some buzz this afternoon but fizzled with the Thomas deal. Artest had been rumored to be going to San Antonio for Elson and Barry. No dice. Other than that, a person close to Artest says things are quiet. Clearly, though, he has to get out of Sacramento and the Kings have to get him out of there.

Sonics trade Kurt Thomas to Spurs

The San Antonio Spurs announced today that they have obtained Kurt Thomas from the Seattle SuperSonics in exchange for Francisco Elson, Brent Barry and the team’s 2009 first round draft pick.

“Kurt Thomas is a tough, physical player who can defend, score and rebound,” said Spurs General Manager RC Buford. “We feel he will be a great addition to our roster and will add depth to our frontcourt.”

“We feel very good about the trade that brings us the Spurs 2009 first round draft pick, Francisco Elson and Brent Barry,” said Sonics General Manager Sam Presti. “In particular, looking at the first round pick, in combination with our other future picks, we have great flexibility to add to our core or acquire another impact player in the future. At the same time, Kurt is a tremendous person and player, and I appreciate his contributions this season and wish him success.”

The 6-9, 235-pound Thomas has appeared in 789 regular season games in his 13-year NBA career. He has career averages of 9.9 points and 7.5 rebounds in 27.6 minutes per contest. He has also seen action in 60 playoff games, averaging 6.6 points and 5.6 rebounds in 21.2 minutes in postseason action.

Thomas, who is 35-years-old, was acquired by the Sonics from the Suns on 7/20/07. During the 2007-08 season he is averaging 7.5 points and 8.8 rebounds in 25.2 minutes while shooting .513 (139-271) from the field. He earned 39 starts in 42 games with Seattle.

A Dallas native, Thomas was selected by the Miami Heat in the first round of the 1995 NBA Draft, with the 10th overall pick. During his NBA career he has played for Miami, Dallas, New York, Phoenix and Seattle. For five straight seasons with the Knicks – from ’00-01 to ’04-05 – Thomas averaged over 10 points per game. He averaged a career-best 14.0 points – along with 7.9 rebounds – in 81 games in 2002-03. During the 2004-05 season he averaged a double-double, with 11.5 points and 10.4 rebounds, in 80 games.

During the 1994-95 season, as a senior at Texas Christian University, Thomas led the nation in both scoring (28.9 ppg) and rebounding (14.6 rpg).

Bobcats shoot 28.2 percent vs Spurs

The Charlotte Observer (Rick Bonnell) reports: One bad foot and 11 bad shooters. That sums up the Charlotte Bobcats Tuesday. Their marksmanship was off by record proportions. They shot an all-time low 28.2 percent, leading to an 85-65 loss to the reigning-champion San Antonio Spurs. Forward Gerald Wallace was worst of the worst, missing all nine of his shots, but at least there were circumstances; Wallace was just back from missing five of the previous six games with a strained right foot. He said the injury didn’t affect him physically, but it clearly infested his head.

Spurs to honor Bob Bass Tuesday

The San Antonio Spurs celebration of their 35th Anniversary of the franchise continues Tuesday, February 19, with the third of four special tribute games.

The Spurs played their first ABA regular season game against the San Diego Conquistadors at the HemisFair Arena on October 10, 1973. San Antonio made the transition to the NBA during the 1976-77 season and have gone on to win four NBA Championships (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007).

At halftime the Spurs will honor Bob Bass who played an integral part in the Spurs success in the franchise’s first 20 years of existence. Bass served the Spurs in a variety of capacities, including five seasons as head coach (1974-76, 1979-80, 1983-84 and 1991-92), where he compiled a 144-108 (.571) record and led the team to the playoffs four times. Bass made his mark during his 18 years in the Spurs’ front office, where he was responsible for the acquisition of Spurs legends Sean Elliott, Avery Johnson, John Lucas, Johnny Moore, Alvin Robertson and David Robinson. He was named NBA Executive of the Year for the 1989-90 season after the Spurs posted a 56-26 record.

Joining Bass for this special presentation will be former players that wore the Silver and Black during Bass’ time with the Spurs including: Gene Banks, Sean Elliott, Mike Gale, George “Iceman” Gervin, Paul Griffin, Mike Mitchell, Johnny Moore and James Silas.

There are a total of four Spurs “35th Anniversary” tribute games scheduled throughout the season. Back on November 11, the Spurs honored Red McCombs for his contributions he made to the Spurs during his ownership. On January 14, the Spurs celebrated Angelo Drossos’ ownership of the Spurs. The final tribute game will take place on March 26 vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

San Antonio wins Shooting Stars competition

Team San Antonio, with Tim Duncan, David Robinson and Becky Hammon, won the 2008 NBA All-Star Weekend Shooting Stars competition Saturday night. After the team got through the regular shots, Tim Duncan quickly hit the half-court shot.

The other team in the Shooting Stars second and final round was Team Chicago, with Chris Duhon, Candice Dupree and B.J. Armstrong. They did well with the regular shots and easily could have won, but took forever to hit the half-court shot, losing it for that reason.

Team Los Angeles wasn’t too hot. And Team Phoenix had potential, but Eddie Johnson struggled.