Tag: Oklahoma City

Griffin’s in-your-face dunk has nation buzzing

Blake Griffin has thrown down an assortment of memorable dunks during his short NBA career. 

Griffin might have outdone himself Monday night in the Clippers’ 112-100 victory over  Oklahoma City.

On the play early in the third quarter, he slammed the ball in the face of burly Oklahoma City center Kendrick Perkins in one of the more memorable dunks in recent NBA history.

Griffin threw the ball down with his right hand with such force, his left hand on Perkins’ shoulder. Even worse, he was fouled  by Perkins on the play and he then converted the free throw to complete  the three-point play.

The play left the Staples Center crowd buzzing as it was shown seven times on the video screen in the minute after the play.

“Like I said, it’s the timing of the play. It’s the timing of when I got the pass, the late rotation, all that,” Griffinof his dunk. “If all that comes together at the right time, it happens. It’s not like I caught the ball and said, ‘OK, let’s go make something happen.’ It just kind of came together like that.”

Clippers guard Chris Paul, who set up the dunk from the left wing with a nice entry pass, was charged by Griffin’s athleticism on the play.

“That’s one of the most amazing things I’ve ever seen, just like the dunk (Griffin had) against the (last season),” Paul . “ You’re watching the game, and I’m playing the game. So I can get excited for a split second, but I have to keep everyone locked in and let that one go.”

But Oklahoma City forward Kevin Durant wasn’t nearly as impressed.

“Man, I don’t care about that dunk,” Durant said.

Sorry, Kevin. But the rest of the nation doesn’t agree.

Here’s a look at Griffin’s slam, thanks to You Tube.com

 

Spurs preparing for Thunder storm

By Mike Monroe

Gregg Popovich fussed with a lock on the door that separates his postgame interview room from the Spurs locker room. The pregnant pause inspired a final shouted inquiry from the back of the media pack that had interrogated him after his team’s Thursday night victory over the Hornets at the ATT Center.

“What about the Thunder on Saturday night?”

As he pulled a curtain over the jamb so the door wouldn’t lock behind him, Popovich stuck his head back in the room. He summarized the challenge the Spurs face tonight against Oklahoma City, the team with the NBA’s best record, in what will be their last game at home for 25 days.

“I don’t think they’ve lost a game yet, have they?” he said.

The door closed on the curtain and Popovich headed to his office to begin plotting a way to compete against a team that has been only slightly less dominant than he had suggested.

Oklahoma City isn’t undefeated, but the 17-4 record the Thunder took into Friday’s home game against Memphis had them 2??1/2 games better than second-place Denver in the Western Conference and two games better than Chicago, which is tops in the East.“They’re the best team in the league right now, playing the best basketball in the league right now,” said Spurs captain Tim Duncan. “They’re very comfortable with each other and very talented. We’re going to have a lot on our hands.”

The Thunder has one of the league’s most potent one-two offensive punches.

Former Texas Longhorns star Kevin Durant, a legitimate Most Valuable Player candidate, is the league’s No. 3 scorer at 26.6 points per game. Point guard Russell Westbrook ranks eighth at 21.9 points per game.

Only Miami’s duo of LeBron James (29.7 points) and Chris Bosh (20.4) has been more productive.

? The Spurs have reached the brink of their annual rodeo road trip with a 15-9 record. They’re fourth in a tight Western race despite playing all but five games without two-time All-Star guard Manu Ginobili, sidelined since Jan. 2 by a fractured fifth metacarpal in his left hand.Their ability to stockpile home wins before the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, which will send them packing for more than three weeks, has been vital. Their 12-1 record at the ATT Center is the league’s best home mark.

Duncan understands the importance of dominating at home, even against a Thunder team that has the league’s best road record at 9-3.

“Absolutely, absolutely we have to, especially the way we’ve played on the road so far,” he said. “Home court is huge for us, and we have to continue to win here.”

There have been some close calls at home of late, including Wednesday’s victory over the Rockets that required a second-half comeback from a 58-40 deficit, but Duncan has found encouragement in the team’s recent defensive improvement.

“Yeah, the defense is getting up there,” he said. “We’re starting to understand and starting to get on the same page. There’s not a lot of practice, so there’s not a lot of situations where we can go in there and work on one thing and get it under out belts.

“We have to work on things during the game and get that experience there. Then watch film when we can and work on those situations. But we’re getting there.”

The Spurs haven’t spent one minute of practice time working on zone defense.

Nevertheless, they came out of a timeout in the fourth quarter Thursday and played one defensive possession in a zone, forcing a Hornets miss.

Forward Matt Bonner called it a Popovich exercise in negative reinforcement.

“That’s Coach Pop’s joke when you screw up,” he said.

mikemonroe@express-news.net

Popovich: No practices hurts

MILWAUKEE — Ask Spurs coach Gregg Popovich if he recalls the last time he was able to schedule a full practice, and it’s like asking him to calculate the square root of 1,247,211 in his head.

He racks his brain for a second before giving up.

“I do not,” Popovich said.

One of the many side effects of the post-lockout NBA schedule is a nearly complete lack of practice time. With games scheduled almost every day, coaches tend to choose rest over a morning in the practice gym.

The Spurs have not had a full practice session since the start of the regular season. Popovich might not be able to squeeze one in until after a Feb. 8 game at Philadelphia, after which the Spurs finally enjoy back-to-back days without a game for the first time this season.

“All year long, all of us are going to have to figure out ways to review things and go over things — the mental rehearsal part — without practices,” Popovich said. “It ends up being shootaround time and film time. It’s difficult for everyone.”

The Spurs remained in Oklahoma City after Sunday’s game, but did not practice. Tonight’s game at Milwaukee will be their fifth in seven days.

For a team like the Spurs, who feature only two new rotation players — rookie forward Kawhi Leonard and backup point guard T.J. Ford — the lack of practice time isn’t as big of a problem.

For teams with new coaches and new players, no time to practice can be especially detrimental. It’s a sure reason quality of play seems down across the league.

“I think the whole product will be better in about another month or so,” Popovich said. “You see a lot of games now where you want to cover your eyes.”

Spurs players certainly aren’t bemoaning the lack of practice time, even if they understand their head coach might feel differently.

“Every player probably prefers to play the game,” guard Gary Neal said. “If you ask Coach Pop, I’m sure he’d rather have time to practice.”

Neal shaping up: When Popovich inserted Neal to play point guard late in Sunday’s lopsided loss at Oklahoma City, it was with a distinct purpose in mind. It beat having Neal run conditioning sprints after the game.

“We put him back in so he could get his butt in shape,” Popovich said.

Neal missed all but the first day of training camp after having an appendectomy and has played in just four games since his return. He started the past three in place of injured All-Star Manu Ginobili.

After logging a season-high 28 minutes against the Thunder, and scoring a season-high 18 points, Neal said he’s not quite back to normal, conditioning-wise.

“If I compare it to last year, there were times I was able to pressure the ball full-court and still make shots,” Neal said. “I don’t think I’m there yet.”

Popovich would like Neal, a first-team All-Rookie selection last season, to play a larger role with Ginobili out for at least the next five weeks with a broken hand.

“With Manu out, he’s got to get in shape for us,” Popovich said. “It will take some time.”