Category: San Antonio Spurs Blog

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Spurs bench continues doing big things

Here’s the San Antonio Express-News reporting on the Spurs, who use their bench in a big way and usually get great results:

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The bench was once again a massive advantage for the Spurs, who outscored Portland’s reserves 50-19 for the second straight game as they took a commanding 2-0 series lead in the Western Conference semifinals.

The backups also enjoyed edges of 12-4 on the boards and 8-1 in assists, providing a boost Portland simply had no answer for.

“Our bench has been very important for us all year,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “We would not have this home-court advantage right now if it had not been for the play of those guys. They have done a wonderful job all season long, and they are continuing to do it.”

They didn’t during most of their first-round series with Dallas. But even though it only ended on Sunday, that matchup seemed like a distant memory as the usual suspects all thrived.

Damian Lillard says the Spurs set painful screens

Here’s CSNNW reporting on the Spurs and Trail Blazers second round NBA playoff series:

The San Antonio Spurs proved why they are a fascinating, well-oiled, attention to detail running machine. Their execution is clean and crisp. They run their sets and get into them with plenty of time to go through their options.

But what was blatantly noticeable during their 114-97 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers to go up 2-0 in the series is how they got their guys open shots and quality paths to the basket. It’s not rocket science. In order to free someone up, there has to be one of those body-to-body clashes that you seldom see anymore.

Damian Lillard explains exactly what that annoying contact is termed in the game of basketball. It’s a tactic the Spurs do often and so well.

“Their screens hurt. They actually set real screens,” Lillard told CSNNW.com. “They do a great job of setting and holding screens. It wears you down. Chasing Tony Parker is one thing. Getting hit every single time is another thing. It takes a toll on you.”

Spurs take 2-0 series lead against Blazers

Here’s the Oregonian reporting on the San Antonio Spurs, who have taken a 2-0 series lead in their second round NBA playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers:

kawhi leonard

Maybe it was being pushed to seven games by Dallas, or the re-emergence of the bench, or meeting an opponent with nowhere near the playoff experience they have.

Or maybe it doesn’t matter why the San Antonio Spurs look once again like the class of the Western Conference, like the team that went 12-2 in the West playoffs last season, won a league-best 62 games and won 19 games in a row this season.

Whatever the reason, the Spurs are on a dominant run that started with a 23-point win in Game 7 against Dallas and continued Thursday with their second consecutive shellacking of the Trail Blazers, this time 114-97 in Game 2 of their Western Conference semifinal series at the AT&T Center.

The victory came two nights after a 24-point win in Game 1.

“The aggressiveness, the concentration for 48 minutes — off the charts,” guard Manu Ginobili said. “So we are very happy with that, and hopefully, we maintain this.”

Photo: Portland Trail Blazers find a snake in their locker room

The Portland Trail Blazers are in San Antonio tonight to play Game 2 of their second round NBA playoff series against the Spurs. A friend was waiting for the visiting team in the locker room: An actual snake, found in Thomas Robinson’s locker according to the Blazers’ team blog. Here’s a photo that Mo Williams posted:

This is from the Train Blazers’ team blog: “Man, me and Thomas [Robinson] at our lockers as usual,” explained Trail Blazers guard Will Barton. “We’re changing and he goes to put his shoes down and he’s like ‘What the …?’ You know what he said. He’s like ‘There’s a snake under my locker dog!’ And I’m like ‘Stop playing.’ He’s like ‘No for real! A real snake!’ And we just looked under there and there was a snake. I was scared!”

R.C. Buford wins 2013-14 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award

R.C. Buford wins 2013-14 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award

San Antonio Spurs General Manager R.C. Buford is the recipient of the 2013-14 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year award, the NBA announced today.

Buford assembled a roster this season that featured six players averaging double figures in scoring and eight players averaging 20 or more minutes. The Spurs clinched homecourt advantage for the 2014 postseason by virtue of having posted the league’s best record at 62-20 (.756). San Antonio was the only team to record 30-plus wins both at home (32-9, .780) and on the road (30-11, .732), and the 2013-14 campaign marked the 15th consecutive season that the Spurs posted 50-plus wins – an NBA record.

The longstanding trio of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker has been fortified in recent years with the additions of Boris Diaw, Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills (third seasons with the team), as well as Danny Green and Tiago Splitter (fourth seasons with the team). Buford added Marco Belinelli this past offseason, who fit seamlessly into the rotation, with averages of 11.4 ppg (fifth on the team) and 25.2 mpg (fourth on the team).

Buford becomes the third Spurs Executive to win the award, joining Angelo Drossos (1977-78 season) and Bob Bass (1989-90 season). The Spurs tied the fifth-longest winning streak in NBA history this season, when they peeled off 19 consecutive victories between Feb. 26-April 2.

In his 23rd year with the franchise, Buford has previously held the positions of Assistant Coach, Head Scout, Director of Scouting and Vice President/Assistant General Manager before being tabbed with his current title as Spurs General Manager in July, 2002. Buford also holds the overarching title of President of Sports Franchises for Spurs Sports & Entertainment, presiding over the WNBA’s San Antonio Stars, the NBA Development League’s Austin Toros and the San Antonio Rampage of the American Hockey League, in addition to the Spurs.

Buford totaled 58 points and received nine first-place votes from a panel of his fellow team basketball executives throughout the NBA. The Phoenix Suns’ Ryan McDonough finished second with 47 points (five first-place votes) votes and the Portland Trail Blazers’ Neil Olshey finished third with 34 points (five first-place votes). Executives were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote.

Mavs beat Spurs 113-111, force Game 7

Monta Ellis is headed to his first Game 7, and DeJuan Blair gets a chance to play his old team in San Antonio one more time after all.

Dallas star Dirk Nowitzki will return to the site of one of the best moments of his stellar career.

Ellis scored 12 of his 29 points to lead a fourth-quarter comeback that also got an energetic boost from Blair in his return after getting suspended, and the Mavericks forced a deciding game in their first-round series with top-seeded San Antonio, beating the Spurs 113-111 on Friday night.

“Put all of our chips on the table and see what happens,” said Ellis, whose 3-pointer put eighth-seeded Dallas ahead for a good at 94-92 with 5 minutes to go.

Tony Parker matched Nowitzki with 22 points to lead the heavily favored Spurs, who are stuck in a tossup series after they won all four games against the Mavericks during the regular season and had a 10-game winning streak against them after taking the opener.

— Associated Press

Spurs beat Mavs for 3-2 series lead

Tony Parker was nursing a sprained left ankle and playing a critical playoff game on no sleep only hours after the birth of his first child.

It was the perfect formula for a resurgent performance from the San Antonio Spurs point guard.

Parker had 23 points and five assists and San Antonio never trailed in a 109-103 victory over the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday night, taking a 3-2 lead in the first-round series.

“Coming into the game I told him this is perfect for you,” Spurs forward Tim Duncan said. “This is what he does in situations like this where he doesn’t get a lot of sleep or is in a stressful situation. He always seems to play better. I somewhat expected it from him.

“He was really excited before the game. Obviously, he was really excited to have his son here and wanted to get this game really badly not only for his son but for the situation and the timing of it. He was really focused and it was good for us.”

Parker’s rebirth put San Antonio on the verge of closing out a tense series against its intrastate rival with Game 6 set for Friday in Dallas.

Vince Carter scored 28 points on 10-for-16 shooting for the Mavericks.

— Associated Press

Gregg Popovich wins 2013-14 NBA Coach of the Year award

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is the recipient of the Red Auerbach Trophy as the 2013-14 NBA Coach of the Year, the NBA announced today. Popovich’s Spurs posted the league’s best record at 62-20 (.756), which provides them with homecourt advantage throughout the postseason.

Popovich, who wins his second NBA Coach of the Year award in the past three seasons and third of his career, joins Don Nelson and Pat Riley as the only coaches to receive the honor three times. He totaled 380 points, including 59 first-place votes, from a panel of 124 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Coaches were awarded five points for each first-place vote, three points for each second-place vote and one point for each third-place vote. The award voting was tabulated by the independent accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP.

The Spurs were the only team to record 30-plus wins both at home (32-9, .780) and on the road (30-11, .732), and their 38-14 record against conference opponents tied for the best mark in the league (Indiana Pacers). San Antonio led the NBA in points per game differential at +7.8, having averaged 105.4 ppg while giving up just 97.6 ppg.

2013-14 marked the 15th consecutive season that Popovich’s Spurs posted 50 or more wins, and the fourth time in that span that the team tallied 60-plus victories. San Antonio recorded a 19-game winning streak – tied for fifth-longest in NBA history – between Feb. 26-April 2.

Popovich presided over a balanced roster which featured no player who averaged 20-plus points, nor 30-plus minutes, with Tony Parker’s 16.7 ppg and 29.4 mpg leading both categories. He ended the 2013-14 campaign with 967 regular season wins, good for ninth on the all-time list.

The Coach of the Year Award is named after legendary coach and Hall of Famer Red Auerbach who guided the Celtics to nine NBA Championships. In 1996, Auerbach was honored as one of the Top 10 Coaches in NBA History as the NBA celebrated its 50th anniversary.