Tag: San Antonio Spurs

Duncan by the numbers

Tim Duncan says he wants to keep playing, but his 15th season with the Spurs will be the final year of his existing contract.

Just in case he hangs up the Spurs jersey, either through injury, retirement or by doing something crazy such as joining the Miami Heat, Express-News staff writer Douglas Pils takes a look at some of his Hall of Fame credentials, his numbers and where they rank.

1 – Rookie of the Year (1997-98) and All-Star Game MVP (2000)

2 – League MVPs (2001-02, 2002-03)

3 – NBA Finals MVPs (1999, 2003, 2005)

4 – NBA championships (1999, 2003, 2005, 2007)

8 – First-team NBA All-Defensive Team honors among his 13 overall

9 – First-team All-NBA honors among his 13 overall

13 – All-Star Games, 12 as a starter

93.4 – Percentage of regular-season games he’s played. He’s missed just 63 games in 14 seasons. To compare, teammates Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker are at 85.7 and 91 percent in their careers; Chauncey Billups, taken two picks after Duncan in 1997, is at 88 percent; and Shaquille O’Neal was at 84.2 in his first 14 seasons.

1,053 – Games, 74th in NBA history

2,381 – Blocks, ninth in NBA history. Little chance of moving up this season since he’s 161 behind Tree Rollins, who’s at No. 8.

3,296 – Assists, 143rd in NBA history, 3.1 per-game average. Other big men: Wilt Chamberlain 4.4, Chris Webber 4.2, Alvan Adams 4.1, Charles Barkley 3.9, Wes Unseld 3.9, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 3.6, Karl Malone 3.6, Jack Sikma 3.2, Vlade Divac 3.1.

7,161 – Free-throw attempts, 23rd in NBA history. Maligned at times for his performance at the line — career 68.8 percent shooter — his 4,925 free-throw makes still rank at No. 31.

12,013 – Rebounds, 21st in NBA history. Only eight have more defensive rebounds (8,831), and he will pass Patrick Ewing and O’Neal with 60 more on defense.

21,663 – Points, 28th in NBA history. He should pass Larry Bird and Gary Payton soon, and with 533 points he would move ahead of Clyde Drexler.

Manu, Pop ponder loss to Rockets

By Mike Monroe
mikemonroe@express-news.net

The long NBA lockout, which began in midsummer and stretched deep into the fall, allowed Manu Ginobili to spend quality time in Argentina, where he is one of the most popular personalities in his native land.

For the civic-minded Spurs guard, this interlude included a lot of personal appearances on behalf of many causes, including promoting a new book authored by mathematics professor Adrián Paenza.

Ginobili explained to his countrymen that he is hooked on math, so it seemed natural Thursday night when he turned to the most logical of disciplines to explain how the Spurs laid an egg in a 105-85 loss to the Rockets in Houston in their third game of the season.

Taking note of how surprised he had been at the excellence the Spurs had displayed in their first two games, both victories over talented teams, the two-time All-Star said a subpar performance probably should have been expected.

“My way of thinking now is that this is a typical case of regression to the mean,” he said. “We played an extremely good first two games, over the expectations, and today we were below. So it happens.”

Of course, the goal for the Spurs every season is to play far above the mean. They will try to ? get back on a better-than-average track tonight when they play the Utah Jazz at the ATT Center to close out the blink-of-an-eye 2011 portion of the 66-game 2011-12 season.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich — no stranger to higher math himself — seemed to agree with Ginobili that Thursday’s performance could be explained by something approaching science.

There was no postgame rant about lack of effort or poor execution. Rather, Popovich also applied an analytical approach to the game, going deep into his bench early and getting some on-the-job training for rookies Kawhi Leonard and Cory Joseph and second-year players Tiago Splitter and James Anderson. He kept team captain Tim Duncan, the team’s oldest player, on the bench throughout the second half.

Popovich regards Splitter and Anderson as virtual rookies because injuries cost them so much court time last season. He considers their early development vital to his team’s ability to cope with the grind of the compressed schedule.

“We’ve got some players that we had last year but weren’t available,” he said. “Tiago Splitter and James Anderson are like two new draft picks coming in, so we’re a deeper team that’s more prepared.”

Splitter admitted he was surprised when Popovich told him to take the court to start the second half in Duncan’s spot.

“Pop changed his mind so he could rest ‘TD’ for the next game,” he said. “I just think, ‘Well, just keep working out there and try to play good.’?”

Popovich said he was encouraged by Splitter’s performance. The Brazilian center logged nearly 25 minutes, scoring 10 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

“Tiago is a professional,” he said. “Last year he was hurt, so he couldn’t play. He’s been a great competitor and been on a lot of great teams in Europe, just like Luis (Scola) was before he came over.

“Tiago just knows how to play, and he’s the ultimate pro. He plays defense, he rebounds, he runs the floor, he’s unselfish. He’s just a blue-collar guy who works his butt off.”

Shootaround notes: Joseph finally on the job

HOUSTON — Nobody was happier to be on the  Toyota Center court for this morning’s shootaround than Spurs rookie Cory Joseph.

After missing the first eight days of his first NBA training camp while clearing up immigration issues with his native Canada, the former Texas point guard was finally able to slip on some workout gear for his first practice as a professional.

He might even play tonight, when the Spurs open the preseason against the Rockets.

“You get anxious to get out there on the court and start playing,” said Joseph, the 29th pick in the June draft. “I’m happy it’s over and I’m on the court again.”

Joseph, 20, filed paperwork to receive a work visa as soon as the lockout officially ended Dec. 9. It took a little more than a week for his request to be processed by Canada’s Citizen and Immigration department.

“It was just slow,” Joseph said. “I couldn’t tell you why. I guess it was just taking a little bit longer than we  thought.”

On Thursday, Joseph flew to Toronto to pick up the visa. He met the Spurs in Houston on Friday afternoon, at long last signed his rookie-scale contract, and was on the floor at the Toyota Center this morning.

Joseph is expected to be in uniform for tonight’s game. With Tony Parker not on the trip, the rookie could be in line to see some minutes backing up T.J. Ford at the point.

“I’m excited,” Joseph said. “This is what every kid waits for.”

Some, it seems, just wait longer than others.

Other bullets from this morning’s shoot:

* , Parker and fellow All-Star Tim Duncan are at home in San Antonio and will skip tonight’s game. Between Les Bleus and ASVEL Villeurbanne, Parker has been playing more or less non-stop since late August. Duncan, apparently, is just old.

* Rockets forward Luis Scola and Spurs guard Manu Ginobili, teammates on the Argentine national team, met for dinner in Houston on Friday night. Spurs center Tiago Splitter, Scola’s old Spanish League compadre, joined them. “We broke a rule and invited a Brazilian,” Scola joked.

* Speaking of Splitter, Scola says Spurs fans didn’t get a chance to see every tool in the Brazilian’s arsenal during a forgettable rookie season. “He’s got great post moves,” Scola said. “He’s great around the basket.”

* Rendered jobless by the lockout, Joseph said he split workout time between his old college campus in Austin and Houston, where he worked out with former NBA point guard — and former Spurs coach — John Lucas.

At UT, Joseph’s workout partners included a bevy of former Longhorns such as Kevin Durant, Tristan Thompson and T.J. Ford, who would soon become his teammate with the Spurs. Joseph said he gained the most out of his sessions with Lucas.

“He was a great point guard back in the day,” Joseph said. “He taught me a lot – coming off the screens, decision-making, a whole bunch. Just the pace of the NBA game, as a point guard.”