Tag: New Orleans

Game rewind: A forgettable night in OKC

The Spurs’ road woes continued against Sunday after they dropped a 108-96 decision at Western Division leading Oklahoma City.

The Thunder produced a strong all-around performance as they put the Spurs away early in the second half. The final margin was closer than most of the second half. After leading wire-to-wire in their last two games, the Spurs led for 3 minutes, 39 seconds in Sunday’s game.

Oklahoma City was the better team Sunday night.

Here’s how they claimed their first victory over the Spurs in Oklahoma City since March 16, 2009.  

Game analysis: The Thunder’s bench was too much of a challenge for the Spurs, even playing on the third night of a back-to-back-to-back. San Antonio couldn’t match Oklahoma City’s athleticism as the bench repeatedly provided key plays that eventually put the game away.

Setting the stage: The Oklahoma City bench hit San Antonio with a 9-0 run to start the second quarter. Rookie guard Reggie Jackson started the spurt with a floating jumper, James Harden added a transition dunk and a deep three and Nick Collison finished it off with a nifty reverse layup to boost the Thunder’s lead to 33-22.

Where the game was won: After Richard Jefferson hit a 3-pointer to pull the Spurs  within 54-51 in the first minute of the second half, the Thunder erupted on an 11-3 run and the Spurs never closed  within seven points during the rest of the game.

Player of the game I: Kevin Durant didn’t hit his scoring average (26.2 points per game), but his strong all-around game of 21 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists was a key reason the Thunder was successful.

Player of the game II: Harden provided his accustomed lift off the bench, ripping the Spurs at the hoop and the perimeter in a 20-point effort that keyed the Thunder’s bench production.

 Player of the game III: The brightest spot for San Antonio was rookie forward Kawhi Leonard, who provided his first NBA double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. He even did a passable job defending Durant in the third quarter  in a game that should boost his confidence for future defensive challenges.

Most unsung: Collison not only produced 12 points and 10 rebounds, but he also was dominant inside hitting  6 of 7 shots from the field. Collison was active defensively and provided the most consistent play inside in Sunday’s game. Collison also led the Thunder with a plus-19 score.

Did you notice: Ike Diogu received his most extensive playing time of the season with nine minutes. Diogu was the center in San Antonio’s “small ball” team used in the fourth quarter, producing two points and a rebound. Most impressively, he was a plus-11 which led all the Spurs Sunday night.

Stat of the game: The Thunder became the league’s first team to win back-to-back-to-back games in three nights. Atlanta, Denver, Houston, Sacramento and the Lakers all had failed before them.

Stat of the game II: Oklahoma City hit 50.7 percent from the field and 86.2 percent from the line. The Thunder led the league last season, hitting 50 percent from the field and at least 85 percent from the line 14 times in the same game last season. The Spurs, by comparison, accomplished the feat twice last season.

Stat of the game III: During a 37-21 binge in the third quarter, Oklahoma City outscored the Spurs in fast-break points, 13-0.

Weird stat of the game: Danny Green erupted for a career-high 24 points Saturday night against Denver. Green didn’t score Sunday against the Thunder until he hit two 3-pointers during garbage time during the final 90 seconds of the game.

Weird stat of the game II: Oklahoma City led 104-81 with 3:38 left  before the Spurs closed on a 15-4 spurt to make the final score more presentable. 

Quote of the game: ”They kicked our butts in the third quarter. They did a great job,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich on the Thunder’s pivotal fast start in the second half.

How the schedule stacks up: The Spurs were on the back end of a back-to-back and will rest Monday before an approaching back-to-back Tuesday at Milwaukee and Wednesday at home against Houston. The Thunder finished their first back-to-back-to-back of the season. They will rest Monday before a back-to-back Tuesday at Memphis and Wednesday at New Orleans.

Injuries: Manu Ginobili missed his fourth game after undergoing surgery for a fractured fifth left metacarpal. DeJuan Blair and Tony Parker were both removed from the lineup with leg injuries that didn’t appear serious. They rested because the game was out of hand in the fourth quarter. Oklahoma City lost backup point guard Eric Maynor with a season-ending knee injury in their victory over New Orleans Saturday night. Rookie forward Ryan Reid missed Sunday’s game as he recovered from nasal fracture surgery.

Spurs rank 11th among shortest odds to title

The Spurs haven’t exactly captured the attention of Las Vegas bettors as they prepare for the upcoming season.

The latest odds from the website indicate the Spurs rank 11th among the NBA teams with the lowest odds for an NBA title. San Antonio’s odds are 30-to-1 for claiming its fifth title in team history this season.

Odds to win 2012 NBA Championship

  • Miami Heat 9/4
  • Los Angeles Lakers 9/2
  • Chicago Bulls 7/1
  • Oklahoma City Thunder 15/2
  • Dallas Mavericks 10/1
  • Boston Celtics 14/1
  • Los Angeles Clippers 15/1
  • New York Knicks 18/1
  • Memphis Grizzlies 25/1
  • Orlando Magic 25/1
  • San Antonio Spurs 30/1
  • Portland Trailblazers 35/1
  • Atlanta Hawks 40/1
  • New Jersey Nets 50/1
  • Denver Nuggets 65/1
  • Houston Rockets 75/1
  • Indiana Pacers 75/1
  • Phoenix Suns 75/1
  • Golden State Warriors 100/1
  • Milwaukee Bucks 100/1
  • New Orleans Hornets 100/1
  • Philadelphia 76ers 100/1
  • Utah Jazz 100/1
  • Charlotte Bobcats 150/1
  • Minnesota Timberwolves 150/1
  • Sacramento Kings 150/1
  • Washington Wizards 150/1
  • Cleveland Cavaliers 200/1
  • Detroit Pistons 200/1
  • Toronto Raptors 200/1

Interestingly, the Clippers were 40-to-1 and New Orleans was 75-to-1 before the Chris Paul trade was announced.

How about it Spurs Nation? Do you have confidence that a bet on the Spurs would bring back any money at the end of the season?

Spurs hope stability equals edge post lockout

By Jeff McDonald
jmcdonald@express-news.net

Wednesday was media day at the Spurs’ practice facility, and Tim Duncan knew the drill.

For the 15th consecutive year, Duncan donned his white No. 21 jersey and smiled awkwardly while the cameras click, click, clicked away.

For Tony Parker, it was Spurs media day No. 11. For Manu Ginobili, it was No. 10.

In a post-lockout NBA world, with players still shuffling from team to team well into training camp, the Spurs hope to use their core players’ familiarity with each other to their advantage once the 66-game regular season begins.

“These guys have a lot of chemistry,” said backup point guard T.J. Ford, who experienced his first media day with the Spurs. “That goes a long way.”

Given an abbreviated camp, with the start of an abbreviated season looming Dec. 26, that nebulous thing coach Gregg Popovich calls “corporate knowledge” could mean more now than ever.

The Spurs are still unsettled at small forward, where Richard Jefferson may or may not be the opening day starter, and at center, where Antonio McDyess appears intent on retirement.

They are attempting to ?integrate their highest-drafted rookie since Duncan in Kawhi Leonard, are missing another first-rounder (Cory Joseph) who has been unable to practice while awaiting a work visa from Canada and are also without key reserve guard Gary Neal, who had an appendectomy Monday.

Compared to other rosters across the rapidly shifting NBA, the Spurs’ situation is practically Gibraltar.

If the Spurs so choose, they could return the most-used starting lineup from last year’s 61-win season — the Big Three plus Jefferson and DeJuan Blair.

“What we are lacking in some ways — youth, fresh legs — we make up for in corporate knowledge that we talk about,” Ginobili said. “You always gain something you lose on the other side, so hopefully we’ll use that to our advantage.”

Elsewhere across the league, teams are scrambling to stuff an entire offseason of roster moves into the span of about a week against the backdrop of training camp.

In New Orleans, the Hornets have just seven players on guaranteed contracts and on Wednesday agreed to trade the best of them, All-Star point guard Chris Paul, to the Los Angeles Clippers. The Spurs, by contrast, at least have enough NBA players in camp to stage a game of 5-on-5.

In Denver, the Nuggets lost three players (Wilson Chandler, Kenyon Martin and J.R. Smith) to China. In Dallas, the defending champion Mavericks lost starting center Tyson Chandler and reserve wings J.J. Barea and Caron Butler to free agency and face a short turnaround to indoctrinate newly acquired forward Lamar Odom.

In Houston, Minnesota, Toronto and Golden State, teams are adjusting to new head coaches, new philosophies and new cultures.

“We’re going to do the same stuff, the same plays,” said Parker, whose team plays its first preseason game Saturday in Houston. “I think we’re going to have a bit of an advantage. Now we just have to show it on the court.”

That’s not to say the Spurs’ opening-day roster is carved in stone.

The front office has engaged in serious discussions with free-agent small forward Josh Howard, most recently of Washington, and would like to add another big man, perhaps using McDyess’ $5.22 million expiring contract as a trade chip.

So far, however, the Spurs appear content to let the first flurry of activity subside before diving headlong into the market.

The first hard deadline they face is Friday, when they must decide whether to use their one-time amnesty provision to waive a player — most likely Jefferson —or pocket it until next season.

“It’s been kind of wild,” Ginobili said, surveying the league-wide free-for-all of roster-building. “Usually free agency is more like a domino effect, where you wait for two or three of the big fish to sign somewhere, and then the other players start cascading to other teams.

“That hasn’t happened yet.”

Eventually, perhaps, players will begin cascading to the Spurs. Even if that happens, they will still return a core of players who have shared a decade’s worth of media days together.

In this lockout-shortened season, with chemistry at a premium, that’s sure to count for something.