Monroe: Spurs lose Finley to ankle sprain

[duncan228]

Spurs lose Finley to ankle sprain (http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/spurs/Spurs_lose_Finley_to_ankle_sprain.html)
Mike Monroe

The Spurs lost a game and a player Saturday at the AT&T Center.

Backup forward Michael Finley suffered a Grade 2 sprain of his left ankle and will not make the trip to Utah for Monday's game against the Jazz.

A club spokesperson said Finley would miss “some games.”

Finley turned the ankle running to defend Denver's J.R. Smith, who was attempting a 3-point shot with 11:15 left in the fourth quarter of Denver's 106-99 victory.

The 36-year-old veteran last missed a game due to injury on Nov. 17, 2005.

Since returning on Nov. 19, 2005, he had played in 335 consecutive games, though he had one game he did not play by coach's decision last season.

Battling bigs: As Alabama's gridiron dismantling of Florida in the Southeastern Conference championship game was playing out before Saturday's tipoff, Spurs forward Antonio McDyess, a former Alabama star, kept quiet in front of former Gator Matt Bonner.

“I'm not saying a word until the game is over,” McDyess said, suppressing a smile after Bama went ahead 32-13. “We don't celebrate early.”

Sometime this week, McDyess said he will show up for a practice decked out in ‘Bama-logoed red.'

“I'm even going to wear my Alabama sweatpants,” he said.

No Moe: Former Spurs and Nuggets head coach Doug Moe, who was on George Karl's staff for five seasons before retiring in May, was at the Nuggets' morning shootaround and Saturday's game.

Moe has kept a residence in San Antonio since coaching the Spurs in the late 1970s.

“When I got to Denver, I thought bringing Doug back to the bench was probably one of the biggest keys,” Karl said. “He knew everybody. He kind of knew the egos and the attitudes of everybody. But what I found out is everybody liked him.

“Ninety-five percent of his life, he is jovial and the clown of the party. And five percent, he is the meanest, dirtiest competitor you ever wanted to deal with.”

Karl said he had no shot at getting Moe, 70, to remain on his staff.

“The last couple of playoff series, he had to walk out of the building and take some deep breaths,” Karl said. “So I think he hopes that we're going back there and would rather watch it from a distance.

[024]

i want to make jokes but i will refrain from doing so.

[timtonymanu]

one injury after another but im surprised Finley is hurt. He usually does a good job avoiding injuries.

[PM5K]

Figures. I just saw Finley doing some things he hasn't done in years, apparently his body was just as shocked as we were..

[Creation88]

that's what happens when an 80 year old gets 3 inches off the ground.

[Chomag]

I wonder if Pop will yank Hairston back or give Haislip a chance?

[ElNono]

I'll say it: Blessing in disguise. It's just sad that this is what needs to happen for Pop to give more minutes to Hill/Bogans/Hairston.

[HarlemHeat37]

It sucks that this happened to Fin, he's a great guy and he was actually playing well..however, I agree with ElNono that this could potentially be a blessing disguise, BUT only if Hairston is the one getting the shot..

It's obvious that we desperately need some athleticism on the perimeter, and I hope Pop agrees..

It's gonna be tough for Hairston to get a shot since Pop seems to bench him after every good play he makes, but hopefully this is it..

[Duncan2177]

Where's Bowen when you need him. :depressed

[ElNono]

It sucks that this happened to Fin, he's a great guy and he was actually playing well..however, I agree with ElNono that this could potentially be a blessing disguise, BUT only if Hairston is the one getting the shot..

It's obvious that we desperately need some athleticism on the perimeter, and I hope Pop agrees..

It's gonna be tough for Hairston to get a shot since Pop seems to bench him after every good play he makes, but hopefully this is it..

To be honest, I doubt Hairston will take on any of the minutes at all. I think it's gonna be more minutes for Mason and Hill at SG.

[Chomag]

Whats interesting is that Finely hurt his ankle while trying to defend JR Smith.
Why in the world was he set to guard a fast strong athletic player like JR? Over using Finley past his abilities to much? I don't know.

[200 miles]

Considering this may be his one shot in the whole season for serious PT, I don't think Malik will disappoint.

[ElNono]

Whats interesting is that Finely hurt his ankle while trying to defend JR Smith.
Why in the world was he set to guard a fast strong athletic player like JR? Over using Finley past his abilities to much? I don't know.

That's because it was a fastbreak. Fin was actually on Melo for a stretch there.
I remember it well because I almost swing this coffee cup to the TV...

[AFBlue]

Injuries in and of themselves are never a good thing, but sometimes good things come of them. This may be a good opportunity for RMJ to reassert himself as a productive offensive player and re-establish himself as a rotation regular.

I doubt if Hairston gets a call-up, let alone makes it off the Spurs bench to play regular minutes. Bogans and Mason will take all of Fin's minutes.

[The Truth #6]

With Mason back healthy, Finley was actually settling in to the role many had hoped for when he returned this season: about 6 minutes a half. Fin had responded actually fairly well and was hitting some shots. I think his injury highlights the theme of this season so far: we're still an old team and hence there will be a fair share of injuries. The flip side is that hopefully our youth will fill in and not look back.

[androck]

Here's a thought. Our 2nd-most-common 5-man unit thus far this year (by minutes played together) is:
Bonner - Tim - Finley - RJ - Tony
Of our 5 most common 5-man units, this is the only one with a negative adjusted plus/minus (basketballvalue.com).

I have no idea why Pop has Bonner and Finley on the floor at the same time. The only difference between the two is Bonner can rebound. If we can give Finley's minutes to Bogans and Mason, I think we're much better off.

[Johnny RIngo]

One thing I'll give Finley is that he has been ridiculously durable in his time with the Spurs. Wish I could say the same about Manu.

[lefty]

You know the expression "blessing in disguise? "

Well, it's not.


It's an obvious blessing

[SenorSpur]

That's what happens to old-ass players - they get hurt.

Could be a blessing in disguise.

I imagine Pop will visit Fin tomorrow bearing flowers and candy.

[lefty]

That's what happens to old-ass players - they get hurt.

Could be a blessing in disguise.

I imagine Pop will visit Fin tomorrow bearing flowers and candy.
Not according to my previous post

[EP Money Man]

It'd be nice if there was a good 3 out there to challenge RJ. Force him to step up his game or lose his starting job.

[SenorSpur]

Even though the talent level of the roster has been upgraded, it still looks old. Watching Finley injure his ankle when there was no opposing player around him is a clear example.

[HarlemHeat37]

I actually think our 12th man will have a shot at some minutes..

Pop gives minutes when the team needs a spark and other players are struggling, as we saw when he inserted Hairston at a few points this season(he was replaced by Finley after he played)..

There are only 2 role players he rarely sits due to struggles IMO..Finley and Bonner..he gets down on other guys during games, but those 2 guys have rarely seen the doghouse the past few years, especially Finley..

His injury opens up time for others..

[phyzik]

As much as I hate the too many minutes for Finley, I expect some of you extreme haters are going to be eating some crow when you realise how much he does help us when he is playing good minutes.

[sabar]

This will just show that our problems are much deeper than overplaying our 3-pt shooting role players. Our starting 5 should be one of the best in a league and they've been outplayed by a bench of vets and rookies in several games now.

[HarlemHeat37]

I don't hate Finley..

I hate the fact that Finley and Mason are both serious rotation players at the same time..

[HarlemHeat37]

This will just show that our problems are much deeper than overplaying our 3-pt shooting role players. Our starting 5 should be one of the best in a league and they've been outplayed by a bench of vets and rookies in several games now.

Nobody is saying Finley is the only problem, or even a major problem..

This team currently has many problems, and this is one of them..obviously it starts at the top, especially with guys like Tony, Manu and RJ..

[Spurs Brazil]

That sucks for Finley, I hope he can comeback soon

[urunobili]

I hope they give a run to Haislip... GWS Fin!

[intlspurshk]

With this injury, I hope Finley become STeve Smith v2.0. Malik and Bogdan should get more minutes and this is definitely good thing. The next good thing to happen would be a Bonner injury too

[kace]

I'll say it: Blessing in disguise.


It sucks that this happened to Fin, he's a great guy and he was actually playing well..however, I agree with ElNono that this could potentially be a blessing disguise, BUT only if Hairston is the one getting the shot..


You know the expression "blessing in disguise? "

Well, it's not.


It's an obvious blessing


That's what happens to old-ass players - they get hurt.

Could be a blessing in disguise.

I imagine Pop will visit Fin tomorrow bearing flowers and candy.


easy to predict this kind of reaction but still........

[kace]

With this injury, I hope Finley become STeve Smith v2.0. Malik and Bogdan should get more minutes and this is definitely good thing. The next good thing to happen would be a Bonner injury too

yep. we're loaded. we have our starting five of ST all-dick team with you and the four previous posters who welcomed/wish spurs player injury.

[Spurs Brazil]

Wish any player gets injury is stupid

[ElNono]

yep. we're loaded. we have our starting five of ST all-dick team with you and the four previous posters who welcomed/wish spurs player injury.

I welcome a change of personnel in the rotation, as I clearly expressed in my post, that you decided to dishonestly trim to make your point.
I didn't injure Finley, so get off my back.

[SenorSpur]

I don't hate Finley..

I hate the fact that Finley and Mason are both serious rotation players at the same time..

Not to mention, both of them are nothing more than spot-up shooters with similar flaws - not the least of which being they're both poor defenders.

[Chieflion]

I welcome a change of personnel in the rotation, as I clearly expressed in my post, that you decided to dishonestly trim to make your point.
I didn't injure Finley, so get off my back.
But you injured Finley. The vibrations made from you typing on your keyboard because of Finley hate, injured Finley by moving his skin particles sideways, resulting in a sprain. Sorry, I know I typed crap.

[Chomag]

You know, Bonner's and Finley's freedom to fuck up while Pop throws others to the deep end of the bench if they even walk wrong. It's something I'll never understand, and it's something I think I have stop trying to understand.

[ElNono]

But you injured Finley. The vibrations made from you typing on your keyboard because of Finley hate, injured Finley by moving his skin particles sideways, resulting in a sprain. Sorry, I know I typed crap.

I'll try to be more careful next time... god forbid Bonner gets injured while I type this...

[loveforthegame]

I hope Fin doesn't miss too much time. He was settling into a role player with limited minutes and was actually playing well. Something some of us were wondering if he could do but he's responded nicely.

I don't think it matters if they call Hairston up. He couldn't get minutes when Ginobli was out so I don't see him getting minutes with a limited minute guy like Finley being out. More likely that Bogans, Hill, and RMJ pick up the slack.

Any guesses how long he's out? 2 weeks or less or are we looking at longer?

[Fabbs]

Originally Posted by kace
yep. we're loaded. we have our starting five of ST all-dick team with you and the four previous posters who welcomed/wish spurs player injury.

ElNono
I welcome a change of personnel in the rotation, as I clearly expressed in my post, that you decided to dishonestly trim to make your point. I didn't injure Finley, so get off my back.
+ many.

What other elite contending team in the West, make that the East also would start and/or play significant minutes of FinleyBonner?

[duhoh]

You know the expression "blessing in disguise? "

Well, it's not.


It's an obvious blessing

:lol

[ffadicted]

Blessing in disguise in my opinion. Sucks that Hairston is gone now though, but I guess we'll be seeing more from mason and hill, which I would never complain about

[Warlord23]

Oh Joy! Oh Rapture!

j/k, here's hoping it helps Bogans cement his position and/or Hairston to make a good impression

[TIMMYD!]

I hate RJ not playing well.

[Big P]

Thats one way for Pop to not be able to play him.

[BlackSwordsMan]

was hoping the thread was about just losing finley period
oh well

[EricB]

Spurstalk at it's finest. How far this forum has fallen since 2003 thanks to all the new pathetic fans. You people are shit.

[oligarchy]

Spurstalk at it's finest. How far this forum has fallen since 2003 thanks to all the new pathetic fans. You people are shit.

http://yakabout.com.au/home/images/stories/articles/harpoon.jpg

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Spurstalk at it's finest. How far this forum has fallen since 2003 thanks to all the new pathetic fans. You people are shit.

:lol I Agree. Even as an opposing fan on Spurstalk, i have been here quite a few years and the quality of the board is going downhill. The same thing is happening with the Nuggets board i post on. :bang

Maybe ST needs to open a 'veterans' section and it is invite only for veteran Spurs fans who want to talk bball :toast

[lennyalderette]

i second that guys,
i mean i hate that finley got hurt but i also hate that pop plays finley like a 20 yr old
so i was kinda happy finley got hurt, because i knew we could give hairston some playingtime, and you know what it cant get any worse from hairston. if hairston stopped defending, drove in the lane only to act like he can still shoot, and was scared to shoot the three then we would break even with him. so i hate to say this but im glad this happened! its amazing that it takes this to play hairston!!! if he plays well for us and pop uses finley more than hairston san antonio is going to be super pissed

[lennyalderette]

you know what finley is 37yrs old people!!! no one is being irrational here !!!! hairston knows the system and plays it better than finley period.!!!!!!! dont give me this shit like people are being assholes for saying pop should invest p.t for some one whos younger more athletic and plays better d, than a guy whos 37yrs old and on his way out!!!!! get real people i find it very stubborn of pop to do these things to players who have worked hard to get on the team only to be exucused for a guy who is no longer suitable for the job!!!!! its cheating the fans, the spurs, and those players careers. im not talking about all young people so dont take it out of context, but clearly malik is an upgrade over finley, and its a shame that pop is so stubborn with credible young players.