The Other Hot Team in the League
ManuEverywhere you turn right now, there’s something about how the Celtics are 22-2, having won 14 straight games and are embarking on NBA history. Add in that Kevin Garnett has been getting his own five minute segments on NBA Fastbreak three times a week for his questionable trash talking, and Ray Allen is shooting a career-best 49.8% from the floor, and it’s easy to see why the mainstream media sounds like they write for Bar Stool.
But this love affair has taken some shine away from another hot team who is starting to hit their stride: your San Antonio Spurs. They’re winners in their last six games by an average margin of about 14 points per game. Their big three is back and Tim Duncan has benefited hugely – knocking down 56% of his shots en route to NBA Player of the Week honors along with Al Harrington for tallying 22 points and 12.5 boards over a four-game stretch.
Best of all, the Spurs rough early season patch is actually paying dividends now. Because the entirety of their bench saw action with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili in street clothes, those guys are making the most of their minutes right now. George Hill‘s been consistently giving the Spurs about 9 points, 3 boards and 3 assists over these six wins. Matt Bonner has been even better, posting 13.1 points and 7.1 boards over that span.
And instead of immediately flipping the Spurs off when you saw that lineup of Hill, Bonner, Roger Mason, Ime Udoka, and Mike Finley on your TV, it’s actually fun to watch them now. Manu Ginobili had the full arsenal on display last night. That’s kind of crazy to say, but right now, the Spurs are playing so well that some of the haters might start calling them fun to watch too.
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December 15th, 2008 at 6:06 pm
vinny says:
This post will make Ian and Ranger happy!
December 15th, 2008 at 6:09 pm
Oi Oi Oi says:
Not me. Still B-O-R-I-N-G. Spurs get little to no play on my League Pass.
December 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Raj S says:
Speaking of the haters, you just had to inject a KG line into your article, didn’t you?
December 15th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
rangerjohn says:
ahhh yes this spot definately makes rangerjohn happy.
good stuff. and it was not even austn who put it up there.
GO SPURS GO (but quiet about it, we dont want to many people to figure it out until it is toooo late)
December 15th, 2008 at 6:39 pm
JCARR says:
Spurs are a bunch of senior citizens… I cant stand them. But respect… they still find a way to win.
December 15th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
Ian says:
vinny hell yeah
this and the manu post have been great
but i really wanted no one to notice the spurs keep shit quiet
December 15th, 2008 at 6:46 pm
Ian says:
vinny u know i didnt want them to do all that great i wanted that 8th seed so badly
December 15th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Jason says:
if you actually watch the spurs play, its hard to hate on them. roger mason jr and george hill are the new finley and bruce bowen. looks like good management means the spurs are still to be contenders for a few more years.
December 15th, 2008 at 7:29 pm
fallinup420 says:
And a well deserved player of the week honor for Timmy as well.
Face it, you shouldn’t have even doubted the boys from SA. It was all just a matter of time before they click and really get noticed. In hindsite, the Manu and Parker injuries were blessings. It gave the supporting cast a way to get their feet wet.
I’d still love to see a move from them. An athletic wing man, or PF. Someone they could speed things up with but yet, get Tim some rest. He’s playing a minute more than average right now and I’d just like to make sure that he’s rested for another playoff run. Plus, Plantar Fasciitis is a bitch.
Don’t get me wrong though. Tim is the sole reason why they are, where they are. 12 seasons. Steady every year…20pts, 11rbs, 3.5asts, 2blks…that’s greatness right there.
Day in day out, Pop gets that team running like a well oiled machine. It’s kinda sad that folks hate on a team like this. A team that actually knows how to play the game. You can’t deny that, and they have rings to prove it.
They may not win the championship every year. But they know how to make you worry like hell that they just might. That’s why folks hate em so much. And uh oh, June falls on an odd numbered year! boogy boogy boogy!
haha
December 15th, 2008 at 7:38 pm
Ross says:
Manu is always fun to watch. Matt Bonner is leading the NBA is 3 pt %.
December 15th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
baron von faulk says:
Although Flavor Flav looks like a struck match, I must quote him here….
“Yeeeeeahhhh boyyyyeeeee!”
oh and Celtics are the most boring team to watch
(that should get the hornets’ nest stirred up!)
December 15th, 2008 at 8:26 pm
the scola says:
honestly spurs aren’t boring to watch…not sure why people think this…
December 15th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
rangerjohn says:
@jcarr your nuts, the spurs really are not that old when you consider things like, the top 7 players who actually see rotation minutes right about now (parker, duncan, manu, hill, mason, bonner, finley) are a combines 28 1/2 yrs old average. then ad in the other 5 rotation players (vaughn, thomas, oberto, udoka, and bowen) and the age only goes up to 31 yrs old.
not that old at all really.
i honestly wish parker and manu would have sat about another week. they had a prety weak schedule at that point, and could have gotten more minutes for the young guys, more rest for them.
December 15th, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Gerard says:
You know what’s crazy is that perennially boring teams like the Spurs and the Jazz are really exciting to watch now. Manu, Parker, and George Hill are incredibly exciting, as are the Jazz backcourt players. In fact to me it seems like the boring teams are the ones that are overexposed (Lakers, Celtics) or past their exciting stages (Houston, New Orleans).
Most fun teams for me to watch (not in order):
San Antonio
Cleveland
Magic (only when they play a good team)
Portland
Atlanta (when they go hard)
Least fun:
Thunder
Boston
Detroit
Chicago (this team’s offensive sets are just horrible)
Bobcats
In fact I would say that the Knicks are more fun to watch now than the Suns, the Warriors have been replaced by the Nets, and the Rockets and Mavs are mired in almost-contender status. The Grizz are getting there while New Orleans is just boring and borderline very dirty.
December 15th, 2008 at 8:55 pm
fallinup420 says:
Chicago (this team’s offensive sets are just horrible)
preach on, preach on
December 15th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
Big V says:
I can’t really say that I’m surprised. As a card-carrying Spurs hater, even I knew that they were going to put together a stretch of solid basketball sooner or later.
Let’s hope it doesn’t last. Spurs haters unite!!!
December 15th, 2008 at 11:43 pm
Nora says:
If KG is getting in trouble for trash talking then so should every team. Trash talking is not a KG invention.
December 15th, 2008 at 11:45 pm
Nora says:
I guess it is ‘Sorry KG, now that you have a championbship you are no longer allowed to do what you have done your whole career’
December 16th, 2008 at 1:27 am
baron von faulk says:
Experience usually trumps youth when the game is played “upstairs”
December 16th, 2008 at 1:43 am
heartbreaker85 says:
what’s funny is KG only taks trash to guys 6″4 and below. he tried it on some 7’0 guys once before, basically got his mouth handed back to him.
December 16th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Raj S says:
^^ False ^^
That’s not what happened.
The Spurs were boring not too long ago. Their jerseys are still boring. Duncan, Bowen, and Pop are very very boring. The city of San Antonio is also boring.
Goodnight.
December 16th, 2008 at 8:20 am
rangerjohn says:
RAJ S has obviously never been to SA. sa is the #1 place for tourism in the state, and the #5 or 6 in the country for the same thing. if it was so boring, people would not be going there to visit. dont let your dislike for the spurs and their winning ways make you hate on the city and its people.
where are you from? lets see how “lively” your city is from.
December 16th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Ross says:
heartbreaker is right about KG.