2014-15 5(x) Champion San Antonio Spurs - Title Defense Thread.

380,558 Views | 4050 Replies | Last: 9 yr ago by rms007
Sher Thing
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West Texan
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AG
I'm definitely recording this!

I love those clips of a young Manu. For a team that was labeled as boring for years, he brought so much excitement, unpredictability, and chaos to the well organized system that I've enjoyed watching him play as much as any single player the Spurs have had.
Natasha Romanoff
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In. Go Spurs Go!
Ganondorf
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AG
Hopefully the Champions Revealed episode makes its way to YouTube since I don't get NBA TV anymore.
Obi Wan Ginobili
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shameless plug here, but if anyone wants tickets, i have season tickets and i can't possibly use them all. will let them go for face value and comes with a parking pass.

owgtexags@gmail.com
mrnegative
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Face value? You won't be using them anyway
Obi Wan Ginobili
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you're right. free tickets for everyone! merry christmas!
mrnegative
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You mean Hanukkah
Ganondorf
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quote:
shameless plug here, but if anyone wants tickets, i have season tickets and i can't possibly use them all. will let them go for face value and comes with a parking pass.

owgtexags@gmail.com
At some point later on I might take you up on that.

Kawhi ranked #24 by ESPN's #NBARank
Sher Thing
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AG
quote:
NBA TV to salute Spurs with special 'Champions Day' programming,
Champions Day

quote:
NBA TV will feature special daylong programming on Monday, Oct. 27, to celebrate the 2014 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs. The network will premiere three original programs -- Champions Revealed: 2014 San Antonio Spurs, Open Court: NBA Champions Edition and 2014 San Antonio Spurs: Go Spurs Go -- along with re-airs of past NBA Finals performances and season reviews from the Spurs' five title-winning seasons.
Ganondorf
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AG
Someone record all this and send it to me.
Deputy Travis Junior
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quote:
The native languages on our team are English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Ettore Messina can converse with everyone on the team in their native languages. Plus he and Pop both speak Russian, so if they want to talk without the team overhearing they can.
Not trying to be a dick, but Splitter's native language is Portuguese, right?
Ganondorf
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Lowe and Simmons rank the Spurs at the 4th best League Pass team.

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/the-annual-nba-league-pass-rankings-part-2/

quote:
Lowe: You came to your senses! Look at San Antonio, tied for no. 4 overall and a strong no. 6 on your ballot!
Simmons: Last year, I thought I'd be bored of them from a League Pass standpoint. Turns out it's never boring to watch offensive basketball played beautifully and brilliantly.
Lowe: There's nothing more to say about these guys, other than that we need to savor what could be the final season for both Duncan and Manu.
Simmons: And maybe our final season for Parker as an elite playmaker (very quietly, it's Year 14 for him!!!) and Boris Diaw playing at the right weight. I love watching Boris as long as he's an A-cup. My biggest question: How will they remain motivated after last season? How do you top redeeming one of the worst sports defeats ever, winning the NBA title at home AND murdering the LeBron era in Miami? There's some decent letdown potential hanging over this season. Then again, who cares?
Lowe: This whole section should really just be the Spursgasm GIF from their Game 6 win over Oklahoma City last season the best possession of the year:




mrnegative
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Beautifully written article on ginobili.
http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/10/21/6960623/portrait-manu-ginobili
Sher Thing
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AG
quote:
quote:
The native languages on our team are English, Spanish, French, and Italian.

Ettore Messina can converse with everyone on the team in their native languages. Plus he and Pop both speak Russian, so if they want to talk without the team overhearing they can.
Not trying to be a dick, but Splitter's native language is Portuguese, right?
Well I guess so. He owns citizenship in both Brazil & Spain though.
Sher Thing
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AG

2014-15 NBA GM Survey

Which team will win the 2015 NBA Finals?
1. San Antonio -- 46.2%
2. Cleveland -- 15.4%
3. Chicago -- 11.5%
L.A. Clippers -- 11.5%
Oklahoma City -- 11.5%
6. Golden State -- 3.8%
Last year: Miami -- 75.9%

Which team will win the Western Conference finals?
1. San Antonio -- 55.6%
2. Oklahoma City -- 29.6%
3. L.A. Clippers -- 11.1%
4. Golden State -- 3.7%
Last year: San Antonio -- 40.0%

Who is the best point guard in the NBA?
1. Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers -- 71.4%
2. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City -- 10.7%
3. Tony Parker, San Antonio -- 7.1%
Also receiving votes: Stephen Curry, Golden State; Damian Lillard, Portland; Derrick Rose, Chicago
Last year: Chris Paul -- 70.0%

Who is the best power forward in the NBA?
1. LaMarcus Aldridge, Portland -- 25.0%
Blake Griffin, L.A. Clippers -- 25.0%
3. Anthony Davis, New Orleans -- 21.4%
4. LeBron James, Cleveland -- 10.7%
5. Kevin Love, Cleveland -- 7.1%
Also receiving votes: Tim Duncan, San Antonio; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City; Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas
Last year: Tim Duncan -- 31.0%

Who is the best center in the NBA?
1. Dwight Howard, Houston -- 42.9%
2. Marc Gasol, Memphis -- 25.0%
3. Joakim Noah, Chicago -- 17.9%
4. Tim Duncan, San Antonio -- 10.7%
5. Anthony Davis, New Orleans -- 3.6%
Last year: Dwight Howard -- 65.5%

Which player is the best leader?
1. Tim Duncan, San Antonio -- 35.7%
2. Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers -- 28.6%
3. LeBron James, Cleveland -- 14.3%
4. Kevin Garnett, Brooklyn -- 10.7%
Also receiving votes: Stephen Curry, Golden State; Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City; Steve Nash, L.A. Lakers
Last year: Tim Duncan -- 30.0%

Who is the best international player in the NBA?
1. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas -- 53.6%
2. Tony Parker, San Antonio -- 28.6%
3. Marc Gasol, Memphis -- 14.3%
4. Goran Dragic, Phoenix -- 3.6%
Last year: Tony Parker -- 53.3%

Who is the best perimeter defender in the NBA?
1. LeBron James, Cleveland -- 25.0%
2. Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio -- 21.4%
3. Tony Allen, Memphis -- 17.9%
4. Jimmy Butler, Chicago -- 7.1%
Andre Iguodala, Golden State -- 7.1%
Chris Paul, L.A. Clippers -- 7.1%
Klay Thompson, Golden State -- 7.1%
Also receiving votes: Avery Bradley, Boston; Paul George, Indiana
Last year: Tony Allen -- 36.7%

Who is the best head coach in the NBA?
1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio -- 92.9%
Also receiving votes: Lionel Hollins, Brooklyn; Tom Thibodeau, Chicago
Last year: Gregg Popovich -- 75.9%

Which head coach is the best manager/motivator of people?
1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio -- 57.1%
2. Doc Rivers, L.A. Clippers -- 35.7%
Also receiving votes: Steve Clifford, Charlotte; Tom Thibodeau, Chicago
Last year: Gregg Popovich -- 51.7%

Which head coach makes the best in-game adjustments?
1. Gregg Popovich, San Antonio -- 46.4%
2. Rick Carlisle, Dallas -- 42.9%
Also receiving votes: Mike Budenholzer, Atlanta; Doc Rivers, L.A. Clippers; Tom Thibodeau, Chicago
Last year: Gregg Popovich -- 27.6%
Sher Thing
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AG
Which team is the most fun to watch?
1. Golden State -- 57.1%
2. L.A. Clippers -- 21.4%
3. San Antonio -- 17.9%
4. Oklahoma City -- 3.6%
Last year: Golden State -- 41.4%

Who is the best assistant coach in the NBA?
1. Alvin Gentry, Golden State -- 17.9%
2. Adrian Griffin, Chicago -- 7.1%
Tyronn Lue, Cleveland -- 7.1%
Ettore Messina, San Antonio -- 7.1%
Mike Woodson, L.A. Clippers -- 7.1%

Who is the league's best role player?
1. Boris Diaw, San Antonio -- 11.1%
Kenneth Faried, Denver -- 11.1%
3. Jimmy Butler, Chicago -- 7.4%
Taj Gibson, Chicago -- 7.4%
Manu Ginobili, San Antonio -- 7.4%
Kyle Korver, Atlanta -- 7.4%
Kawhi Leonard, San Antonio -- 7.4%
Wes Matthews, Portland -- 7.4%
Joakim Noah, Chicago -- 7.4%
Sher Thing
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Q&A with Manu about pre-season struggles.

On whether he thinks the team is ready for the season to start:

"As a team, maybe. Individually I feel like I need 17 more games (laughs) to feel more confident and to get where I want to be. As you can tell, I'm not quite there yet. So I'm excited about these games. I need to play, I need to try to do things and get in a rhythm."

So, you don't think shooting 5-of-26 is going to cut it when the games count?

Umm, probably not. But the good side is that in preseason last year I shot like 68 (percent) and then I started the season at 29 (percent), so I'm trying to reverse the cycle. [He actually shot 20-of-34 last preseason (58.8 percent) and his valley in November seven games into the season had him at 39 percent before he started righting his course.]
Sher Thing
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AG
Sports Illustrated on Tim Duncan

quote:
  • TIM DUNCAN, SPURS

    Forward/center | Age: 38
    6-11, 250 pounds
    Last year: No. 6
    2013-14 statistics
    15.1 PPG, 9.7 RPG, 3.0 APG, 49.0 FG%
    21.4 PER, 7.4 Win Shares, 3.1 RAPM
  • Go ahead, start rehearsing now. Start preparing your speech to your future grandkids that explains what Duncan accomplished in 2013-14, and try to make it sound like something that actually happened rather than a passage out of an ancient Greek myth.

    The climactic scene takes place during Game 6 of the Western Conference finals in Oklahoma City, where a 38-year-old Duncan finds himself without Tony Parker, in one of the most hostile environments in the league, with Serge Ibaka shadowing his every move and with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook desperately trying to pull themselves back into a series that had seemed all but over. Oh, yes, it happened to be overtime, too, and coach Gregg Popovich had no choice but to play his aging great 39 minutes. How does Duncan respond? By scoring seven straights points getting whatever he wants against Ibaka -- to send the Thunder home for the summer and silence the Chesapeake Arena. And then? Minutes later, he calmly predicts that his Spurs will revenge their 2013 Finals loss against the back-to-back champs. Five games and four blowout wins later, Duncan's prediction came true.
    Almost 20 years ago, Wofford coach Richard Johnson gave this speech before facing Duncan's Wake Forest team: "Let me tell you guys about who you're playing tomorrow. Someday your six-year-old will ask you for a Tim Duncan jersey for Christmas. This is your chance to play a future NBA Hall of Famer, your turn to face the greatest player you will ever meet." Those words were delivered when Michael Jordan was still collecting championship rings, when Shaquille O'Neal had just arrived in Los Angeles, when Allen Iverson was in the middle of a Rookie of the Year campaign, when Anthony Davis was first sprouting a unibrow, and yet the gist of Johnson's message could still be delivered by any NBA coach today.
    Think it's unfair to keep Duncan in the top five when he is the only player in the top 10 who is older than 30? A far greater injustice would be to rush this living legend out the door, to downplay his status as of mid-June 2014, not five or 10 or 15 years ago -- as the best player on, by far, the league's best team.
    Duncan's Spurs were so dominant last year that you need to adjust his stats not only to account for Popovich's careful rotation management, but also for the fact that many of his team's postseason games were over midway through the third quarter. Even so, he trailed only James in postseason Win Shares, his postseason average of 16 points and nine rebounds marked the best numbers of any big man who advanced to the conference finals, and he posted a comical +11.2 net rating for the duration of the playoffs. Even though he is years removed from his most prolific statistical seasons, Duncan's impressive all-around per-36 minutes numbers 18.7 points, 12 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 blocks were matched by exactly zero players last season. There still isn't another big man who packs as many different types of positive plays into his court time as Duncan does, despite his advancing age.
    With each new season, there are fewer and fewer historical comparisons for Duncan's late-career brilliance. At this point, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone and John Stockton pretty much make up the entire list. The 14-time All-Star is fully within "wheels falling off" territory. There's definitely a chance that age decline alone causes Duncan to drop out of the top 50 of SI's Top 100 of 2016, something that absolutely cannot be said about anyone else in our top 10. There's also a meaningful chance that Duncan isn't included at all on next year's list because he decides to call it a career. But those exact same things could have been said last September, and yet here he is, one ring richer, continuing to loom over the league with his Spurs as the early favorites to win the 2015 title.
    Until Father Time intervenes, until retirement beckons, or until a young big man finally succeeds in knocking him off the pedestal for good, Duncan deserves every ounce of credit and praise that we can muster. The one part of the story that you won't want to tell your grandchildren: "By the end, we were so caught up in how old Duncan was that we weren't able to fully appreciate his greatness." B.G.

mrnegative
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"Umm, probably not."
Brian Earl Spilner
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AG
The GM questions. Gregg Fing Popovich.

Nice to see Kawhi get some love in defense as well.
mrnegative
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I'm going to the game tonight
mrnegative
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Wish the final score was better
Obi Wan Ginobili
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Bryce Cotton and Josh Davis cut
Sher Thing
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JaMychal Green the lone free agent left in camp. I'm a pretty big fan of his since a couple years ago and he's really played well during the summer league and pre seeason this year. Im not sure he doesn't deserve a spot over Daye. Unlikely though with our lack of 3s on the roster.
mrnegative
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Luckily, I think the 16th player is still under the teams rights.
mAgnoliAg
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AG
About time for me to get this thread on my WatchList for the season.
Sher Thing
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AG
Spurs Coyote & Coach Pop surprise Michelle Beadle on her bday.
Natasha Romanoff
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She was on Grantland Hour, I think yesterday, and was hilarious. Didn't know she was such a big Spurs fan.
aggieactor01
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AG
quote:
Spurs Coyote & Coach Pop surprise Michelle Beadle on her bday.
Obi Wan Ginobili
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She was on Grantland Hour, I think yesterday, and was hilarious. Didn't know she was such a big Spurs fan.


shes from the area and went to UTSA
Natasha Romanoff
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It all makes sense then.
Ag Natural
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I think she's from Boerne.
Sher Thing
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AG
Final Pre-Season game. Spurs @ Rockets about to start on NBAtv
Obi Wan Ginobili
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In case anyone wants to see what the new gold tab looks like up close

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