Tag: DENVER

Spurs’ preseason schedule released

The Spurs will open their seven-game preseason schedule with a home game against Montepaschi Sienna of the Italian league on Oct. 6. The slate includes three other home games and a visit to the defending champion Miami Heat on Oct. 20.

The complete schedule:

Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., Montepaschi Siena, ATT Center

Oct. 10, 7:30 p.m., Atlanta, ATT Center

Oct. 12, 7:30 p.m., Denver, ATT Center

Oct. 14, 1 p.m., Houston, Toyota Center

Oct. 20, 6:30 p.m., Miami, American Airlines Arena

Oct. 21, 5 p.m., Orlando, Amway Center

Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m., Washington, ATT Center

NOTE — All times Central

The Spurs will open the regular season on Oct. 31 with a road game at New Orleans.

Mike Monroe: It’s business as usual with Howard to Lakers

Friday couldn’t have been any worse for Spurs fans unless Manu Ginobili had blown out both knees in Argentina’s Olympic semifinal loss to Team USA.

The team they most love to hate landed the NBA’s most dominant big man.

By adding Dwight Howard to a starting lineup that already includes Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the Lakers zoomed past the Spurs and Thunder to become the best team in the Western Conference.

Andrew Bynum may well have been the best center in the West last season, but he is both injury-prone and churlish. He missed only six out of 66 games last season, but in the previous four seasons he played in only 204 out of a possible 328 games.

In contrast, Howard is a veritable iron man. He missed only seven games in his first seven seasons before missing 12 last season.

Indeed, he had back surgery in April to repair a herniated disk and may not be at full strength when training camp begins in October, but hoping for a slow recovery is a measure of how impactful the deal was.

“Who knows how injured he is,” said one NBA general manager. “He has a back injury. There’s always risk even if you are perceived to win the trade.”

Can Howard really be a major upgrade over a player who scored 16 points and grabbed 30 rebounds when the Lakers handed the Spurs one of their two losses in 17 games in April?

“Bynum is a very good player,” said a Western Conference GM. “He just doesn’t have the explosive qualities Howard has.

“Clearly, the Lakers have been able to get the most physically dominant big man in the league. They had that in Shaq and now it seems as though they have the next legacy and transfer of power.”

The scariest part of the deal for the rest of the West?

Howard will have to prove himself worthy of his new team and teammates. That means a more serious approach — less clowning.

He may call himself Superman, but Howard won’t be the alpha dog on the Lakers. Bryant runs that team, and he’s already made it clear Howard must wait his turn before calling himself “the man” in L.A.

Remember what happened to the last Lakers All-NBA center who called himself Superman and clashed with Bryant?

Shaquille O’Neal had been an MVP and helped the Lakers win three championships, but Bryant saw to it he was traded away.

Howard’s Magic teammates wouldn’t stand up to him when he was being a diva in Orlando. Bryant won’t go along with that, and neither will Nash. Between them, they own three MVP trophies. Howard will have no choice but to fall in line, and a more focused Howard should frighten the entire league.

“Let’s be honest,” said another West GM. “Dwight hasn’t done anything in Orlando. Of course, (Pau) Gasol hadn’t done anything in Memphis when he was traded to L.A. You think wearing that purple and gold uniform made him feel more like a winner?”

Denver also became a tougher stop for every team in the West with Friday’s trade, but that hardly matters to franchises like the Spurs and Thunder that measure success by whether or not they are playing in June.

The Western Conference power structure starts at the top again with the Lakers and threatens what many of us believed had the makings of a new NBA dynasty in Miami.

Don’t doubt for a nanosecond that commissioner David Stern hasn’t already begun to consider the ratings bonanza a Lakers-Heat NBA Finals could produce next June. For all his talk about structuring a collective bargaining agreement that makes it possible for small-market teams to compete with mega markets like New York and L.A., Stern knows the benefits of having his best teams in his glamour markets.

Didn’t he famously declare some years ago that his ideal Finals would be Lakers against Lakers?

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Twitter: @Monroe_SA

Potent picks past No. 50

Owning only the No. 59 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft, the Spurs aren’t expecting to add an immediate impact rookie. In reality, odds are good whoever’s name deputy commissioner Adam Silver calls second-to-last in Newark, N.J., will struggle simply to make the Spurs’ roster.

Yet the late second round is not always fallow ground, and the Spurs need only to look at their own draft history for proof. In 1999, they drafted an unknown Argentine guard named Emanuel Ginobili at No. 57. Express-News staff writer Jeff McDonald combs the archives for other “50-and-over” players who might offer the Spurs a bit of draft-night hope:

Anthony Mason

Selected: 53rd overall (third round) by Portland in 1988

The payoff: Bruising forward eventually developed into a key component of playoff teams in New York, Charlotte and Miami, winning NBA Sixth Man of the Year in 1993-94, making the All-Star team in 2001 and being named third-team All-NBA in 1996-97.

Michael Adams

Selected: 66th overall (third round) by Sacramento in 1985

The payoff: Diminutive guard went on to become one of NBA’s most lethal scorers in Denver, averaging a career high of 26.5 points in 1990-91. Twice led the NBA in 3-pointers and made one All-Star team in 1992.

Mark Eaton

Selected: 72nd overall (fourth round) by Utah in 1982

The payoff: The 7-foot-4 center led the league in blocked shots in four of his 10 seasons, won two NBA Defensive Player of the Year awards and made one All-Star appearance.

Drazen Petrovic

Selected: 60th overall (third round) by Portland in 1986

The payoff: In a prelude to the overseas invasion to come, Petrovic enjoyed his best years in New Jersey, where he averaged 20-plus points in back-to-back seasons and earned All-NBA recognition in 1992-93 before his death in a car accident.

Steve Kerr

Selected: 50th overall by Phoenix in 1988

The payoff: The NBA’s most accurate 3-point shooter in history had a hand in five championships, including two with the Spurs.

Mario Elie

Selected: 160th overall (seventh round) by Milwaukee in 1985

The payoff: Pugnacious swingman lasted 11 NBA seasons and won three NBA titles, two with Houston and one with the Spurs.

Luis Scola

Selected: 55th overall by Spurs in 2002

The payoff: Long considered the one who got away for Spurs fans, Ginobili’s teammate on the Argentine national team developed into a steady starter in Houston. In 2010-11, averaged 20.2 points and nine rebounds.

Marcin Gortat

Selected: 57th by Phoenix in 2005

The payoff: Traded on draft day to Orlando, where he spent three seasons backing up Dwight Howard. Broke out after return to Suns in 2010, averaging a double-double (15.4 points, 10 rebounds) this past season.

Isaiah Thomas

Selected: 60th by Sacramento in 2011

The payoff: Last year’s Mr. Irrelevant was anything but, averaging 14.2 points and 5.2 assists for the Kings after the All-Star break to garner a second-team All-Rookie mention.

Sarunas Marciulionis

Selected: 127th overall (sixth round) by Golden State in 1987

The payoff: Became sixth man for high-scoring Warriors teams of the early 1990s, averaging a career high of 18.9 points in 1991-92.

Sam Mitchell

Selected: 54th overall (third round) by Houston in 1985

The payoff: Forward spent 10 of 13 NBA seasons with the Timberwolves, averaging 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds in 1990-91.

Spud Webb

Selected: 87th overall (fourth round) by Detroit in 1985

The payoff: The 5-6 Lilliputian lasted 13 seasons, averaging a high of 16 points with Sacramento in 1991-92. Memorably won 1986 slam dunk contest while with the Hawks.

Kyle Korver

Selected: 51st overall by New Jersey in 2003

The payoff: Has long been one of league’s deadliest 3-point shooters, leading NBA in long balls made in 2004-05 and percentage in 2009-10.

Patty Mills

Selected: 55th overall by Portland in 2009

The payoff: Still to come, perhaps. Hooked on with Spurs as backup point guard late in 2011-12 and finished with 61 points in final two regular-season games.