Tag: Chicago Bulls

Spurs look forward to a tough weekend schedule

It wasn’t flashy nor pretty but the San Antonio Spurs victory over the Denver Nuggets set the tone for the rest of the weekend which features NBA heavyweights the LA Clippers and the Miami Heat.

The clock continues to turn back for Spurs PF Tim Duncan who finished the game with 23 points, 14 rebounds, 5 blocks and a steal.

“It’s a great win to start this homestand here,” Duncan said. “We’ve got some really tough games this part of the schedule down the stretch here. It’s going to be tough for us, so we need to win everyone we can get.”

The Clippers come to the AT&T Center tonight and are coming off a 105-91 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.  The extra emphasis for the Clippers (if one is needed against the top seeded Spurs) it’s that with a victory over the Spurs, the Clippers can clinch the best season in franchise history.

“At the beginning of the season, we set some goals for the team,” coach Vinny Del Negro told the team’s official website Tuesday. “Obviously, to win the division. It’s all about improving throughout the season. I expect a lot from this team, but more importantly they expect a lot from themselves. We just want to play as consistently as possible, count them up at the end and hopefully be healthy going into the playoffs.”

The Miami Heat are coming off a 97-101 loss to the Chicago Bulls and face the New Orleans Hornets Friday night and the Spurs on Sunday.

Be sure to get your tickets and support your San Antonio Spurs!

Spurs rocking the Rodeo Road Trip

Team has posted a 13-1 record in their last 14 games.

The San Antonio Spurs pounded the Chicago Bulls 103-89 en-route to their 2nd consecutive victory and four of their last five contests.  The more impressive thing about this victory is that they took out the Bulls without the Big 3 – Tim, Tony and Manu.

“One would hope that you could play with anybody in your system, but it was a tough challenge for them tonight,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “And I couldn’t be more proud of what they did.”

The team was sparked by Kawhi Leonard who led the team with a career high 26-points.  he was aided by Danny Green’s 18 points.

“The approach is still the same, you know, every game,” Green said. “It starts with Pop. He does a great job of preparing us, tells us what we need to do. We listen to him.”

The Spurs next face the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

Ginobili: Contract no cause for worry

By Mike Monroe

Just as Spurs captain Tim Duncan angered his agent when he declared himself a Spur for life weeks before hitting the free-agent market in June, veteran guard Manu Ginobili on Monday undercut what bargaining power he may have had when his contract expires in July.

Saying that he plays for the love of the game, Ginobili asserted that being in the final season of a three-year, $38.8 million contract won’t change his approach this season.

“I don’t even think like this,” he said. “I don’t care. If it’s for a lot of money, a huge amount of money, I don’t care. I’m fine with what I’ve earned in my career. That is not a point of emphasis this year. I just want to play well and help my team make it as far as last year.”

Ginobili, 35, gave no hint if he will play beyond this season, but stressed his preference to stay with the Spurs if he does.

“If I’m going to play next year, it’s highly likely it’s going to be here,” he said. “So I really don’t care (about this being a contract season).”

Big addition: It was hard to miss the surprise addition to the training camp roster during Monday’s media day session. Seven-foot, 295-pound center Eddy Curry always has been a magnet for attention, starting with his selection at the No. 4 overall pick in the 2001 draft.

Curry, with career averages of 13.0 points and 5.2 rebounds over 10 seasons with the Bulls, Knicks and Heat, was signed to a non-guaranteed contract after participating in open gym sessions last week. He says he lost 15 to 20 pounds over the summer.

“I came here last week, and I like how they play,” Curry said. “I think I showed them I can get up and down the court when I came here. I think Pop knows what I can do. The main thing now is just to build on that and have a good camp.”

After playing pickup games with Curry, Duncan said he was encouraged by his conditioning.

“I see potential, potential, potential,” Duncan said. “He does seem fit, and I think he’s anxious. I hope that translates into something. He’s a heck of a body, a heck of a talent, and I hope we can turn that into something and give us another huge piece. It would be great.”

Curry is one of six non-roster players invited to camp and one of three with NBA experience. Other former NBA players are 6-8 forward Derrick Brown and 6-9 forward Josh Powell.

Also invited to camp: 5-11 guard Sherron Collins, 6-8 forward Tyler Wilkerson and 6-9 forward Wesley Witherspoon.

mikemonroe@express-news.net
Twitter: @Monroe_SA