Tag: the NBA

Spurs miss Lakers-Portland back-to-back among six lost lockout games

The Spurs will get a bit of a scheduling break after the NBA cancelled  the first two weeks of games through Nov. 14 because of the extension of the lockout.

Here’s a look at the games the Spurs will miss:

Nov. 2 – Milwaukee

Nov. 4 – Dallas

Nov. 7 – at Golden State

Nov. 9 – at Los Angeles Lakers

Nov. 10 – at Portland

Nov. 12 – New Orleans

On the surface, it appears that missing those six particular games won’t hurt the team. San Antonio will skip contests with four teams that made the playoffs, including a tough back-to-back that would have featured games at the Lakers and Portland on consecutive nights. That game would have been followed by a home game against improving New Orleans two nights later.

San Antonio’s six opponents had a combined record of 279-213 last season for a combined winning percentage of .567.

Spurs Nation will miss out on a chance to jeer Mark Cuban and Jason Terry during their first trip to the city after their championship banner would have been raised at the start of the season. I would imagine they will save up their catcalls for whenever their first scheduled trip to the city by the Mavericks finally materializes.   

Of course, there’s no indication how many games the team will be actually miss. The first six were announced Monday night were only a start and many more could be coming.

The Spurs thrived with a veteran team during the 1999 season that was abbreviated by a similar lockout, posting a 37-13 record and eventually claiming their first NBA title.

Considering the veteran core for their current team, missing a few games at the start shouldn’t necessarily a problem for them.

When he saw the games that he would be missing, I wonder if Gregg  Popovich secretly might have felt a little relieved.

Kobe, KG show up for Tuesday’s bargaining session

Kobe Bryant made his first appearance Tuesday at the bargaining session as players and owners frantically attempt to end the NBA’s lockout.

Bryant was joined by Boston forward Kevin Garnett among the first-timers, according to a . Others players who were attending outside of the NBPA’s bargaining committe included Paul Pierce, Ben Gordon and Amar’e Stoudemire.

The apperance of Bryant, arguably the league’s most marketable star player, underscores the seriousness of the talks. About 10 NBA owners also attended Tuesday’s bargaining session in New York City.

The wider negotiating sessions have not been as effective for either side as the meetings involving smaller groups.

Both Bryant and Garnett have the reputation of being among the fiercest on-the-court competitors in the league.

But something tells me that their  celebrated determination that makes opposing players wilt in pressure situations probably won’t faze David Stern or Adam Silver when they are on the other side of the negotiating table.

Parker: Lockout won’t hasten Duncan’s retirement

It’s long been considered the apocalypse scenario in San Antonio: The NBA lockout devours the entire 2011-12 season, and then Tim Duncan retires.

Duncan’s contact is set to expire after this season. If the NBA labor impasse winds up cancelling the entire schedule, would the Spurs’ franchise icon simply retire instead of re-upping for another season in 2012-13, when he will be 36?

In May, had played his final game in a Spurs uniform. Speaking at a basketball clinic Saturday afternoon in San Antonio, Tony Parker — Duncan’s point guard for the past 10 seasons — echoed those doubts.

Asked if a wiped-out 2011-12 season would also mean the end of Duncan’s career, Parker shook his head.

“I don’t know. I don’t think so,” Parker said. “I see myself playing at least two or three more seasons with Timmy.”

Obviously, Parker is not Duncan’s agent, and isn’t qualified to speak authoritatively on the two-time MVP’s career plans. Still, Parker has been in touch with the reclusive Duncan often throughout the lockout, and plans to work out with him Monday in San Antonio.

If doomsday occurs, and the entire season is scuttled, it would be quite a blow to a Spurs team that still relies heavily on aging stars like Duncan (35) and Manu Ginobili (34), whose remaining seasons of elite productivity are numbered.

That seemed to be the , when he said the Spurs could “no longer say that we’re playing for a championship.” Parker has since backed off those remarks, and did again Saturday.

“We still have a great team,” Parker said. “We just have to stay positive. Right now, you’re thinking too far ahead.”

For the record, Parker believes talk about a scuttled season to be a moot point. Despite the doom and gloom shrouding labor talks, Parker said Saturday he believes the NBA will return at some point.

“I think we’ll have a season,” he said.