Game Blog: Spurs vs. Clippers 3-13-2010

[Johnny RIngo]

knicks 91- mavs 66 after 3rd quarter...what the ??

Payback for the 50 point loss the last time they met.

[timtonymanu]

Is Travis Outlaw auditioning for the Spurs???????

That would be sweet. I want Outlaw.

[024]

Is Travis Outlaw auditioning for the Spurs???????
he doesn't need to audition.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Brick layer? Nuh uh.

For the season he';s shooting .401, .350 from 3. SO yeah, this year he's laid a lot of bricks. Pity, because he also has flashes of brilliance. Consistency is his problem.

[EricB]

If the Clippers can stay healthy next year. A good coach and GM + Blake Griffen and Outlaw and others and they are a playoff team.

No question.

[Libri]

Bonner's twin

[spurs1990]

Scary thing is if Bonner, Jefferson, & Mason hit their fair shots come playoffs, and Ginobili plays at all-star level, and with Timmy being Timmy, and Tony playing at 90%....we could actually make it out of the West.

[Ice009]

Well even if it is against the Clippers this is some great basketball from the Spurs. Pure basketball.

[TJastal]

For the season he';s shooting .401, .350 from 3. SO yeah, this year he's laid a lot of bricks. Pity, because he also has flashes of brilliance. Consistency is his problem.

Hard to be consistent when your minutes are spotty at best and your getting shifted from bench to starter and back to bench constantly

[Libri]

Ian is joining the fun.

[siraulo23]

mahinmi joining the party

[Chieflion]

Mahinmi and 1!

[spurs1990]

Come on man. Don't go saying mason proved me wrong after hitting a few shots against the worst team he has played in weeks in garbage time.

Don't take it personal. Mason is my favorite Spur so I'm biased there.

[Crosherelooms]

There ya go, Ian!

[timtonymanu]

Ian and 1.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Ian showing Timmy how he should shoot it going middle from the right block - LEFT HAND, Timothy. ;) :lmao

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

everyone is smiling i love it

[benefactor]

Victory cigar is between the lips.

[TJastal]

That was cool when Manu gave Matt a few pats on the head while sitting on the bench

[phxspurfan]

Mahinmi needs to learn to seal off his man

[benefactor]

lol Bonner leading the team in scoring.

[TJastal]

This is exactly how you give TD a rest, by letting him start and see where it goes from there, if he's not needed after the 1st quarter then you rest him not by benching him from get-go

[taps]

Pop's All-Rookie cast! Mahinmi is playing good d on the inside and looks GREAT defending the perimeter, altering 3's. pretty impressive for a big man i don't care if it's the clips.

Most importantly, he's learning how to defend w/out fouling. he's keeping his feet set and his hands up, then, box out. doing a good job on the wall & block

[Ice009]

Hard to be consistent when your minutes are spotty at best and your getting shifted from bench to starter and back to bench constantly

Why do you think he is not getting those consistent minutes. His defense has been atrocious at times and that is his fault that he is not getting consistent minute. If he can't hit a shot then Pop can't give him consistent minutes because he doesn't do anything else to stay out there on the court.

[nbaman99]

Dallas down by 25 points tonight to NY. Didn't we beat NY twice this year?

[Ice009]

Mason is playing like shit. All he is doing is jacking up shots here and looking for himself. I don't like it.

[justinandimcool]

:hat at Pop handing Hill the clipboard and having him draw up the play last timeout :toast

[benefactor]

thc

[Sisk]

wow mahinmi block.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Hairston is sneaky good.

He's progressed massively on O.

Whether he'll ever be an elite man defender is still a question though.

[timtonymanu]

god hairston has some nice drives.

[Chieflion]

Ian with that awesome block!

[spurs1990]

Ian -> Don't you push your drugs in my face, or I'm a put you in your place.

[alchemist]

haven't seen the "scrubs" put an ass whopping to someone in a while. :downspin: :toast

[Ice009]

Ian with a monster block to ignite the fast break!

[itzsoweezee]

imagine if the spurs had a shotblocker on their team?

[Sisk]

we are playing the clippers, but every time hairston is in the game he drives the basket and refuses settling for jumpshots the vast majority of the time.. maybe he can mentor dick

[TJastal]

Mason is playing like shit. All he is doing is jacking up shots here and looking for himself. I don't like it.

??

Are you fucking blind? He set up Hairston for an easy layup and should have been another one if Hairston could have finished

[alchemist]

C-Jackson/Malik getting time might've lit a fire under Mason's ass

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Jackson has to learn to close out better on 3pt shooters.

[spurs1990]

We're blowing out a team by 30+ after playing a road game the previous night.

This is what we did during our championship years.

[Libri]

another hook shot by Ian

[TJastal]

Fucking Hairston dunking the ball again. Needs to stop that shit and get his ass out on the corner 3 point line where the best % shot in basketball is

[Chieflion]

Ian with another left handed hook!

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

That last move by Ian is one of my faves - I'm a righty, but my left hook is killer. it confuses the hell out of people! :lol

[Bartleby]

Spurs reserves making the Clippers look like the Clippers

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I hope we keep Mahinmi for the min next year. He's better than a lot of the bench bigs going around, although still has a lot of work to do on his man-to-man D.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

god i love games like these.

Yeah, pity we've had so few of them this year.

[Cane]

Blake Griffin has his work cut out for him next season.

[angelbelow]

sweet score

[Ice009]

??

Are you fucking blind? He set up Hairston for an easy layup and should have been another one if Hairston could have finished

He is looking for his own shot 1st and passing second.

[benefactor]

13 minutes for Duncan and 18 minutes for Manu. :tu

[TJastal]

He is looking for his own shot 1st and passing second.

take off your hate blinders, he's got 3 assists and should have 4

[alchemist]

Spurs have some good young talent if they sign them up.

[Sisk]

Fucking Hairston dunking the ball again. Needs to stop that shit and get his ass out on the corner 3 point line where the best % shot in basketball is

:deadhorse

[benefactor]

It's good to see Pop resting the Centerpiece too. They need to have him rested and ready.

[Libri]

Good way to end the game.

[Ice009]

Cedric Jackson pass to Ian for a MONSTER JAM

[TJastal]

Ian with the monster dunk to close out this masterpiece of a game

[siraulo23]

spurs win!!!!!!!

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

lol jordan doing his lebron imitation

[TJastal]

It's good to see Pop resting the Centerpiece too. They need to have him rested and ready.

:lmao

[angelbelow]

Damn what a great game. Lots of rest for TD and Manu and our bench really stepped up.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

BTW, shout out to Blackjack and Ice. Hope you are well, fellas. I've been busy lately and thus not around here so much. :)

[Chieflion]

Duncan was like, the fuck these guys are ignoring me. I wanted a hi-five.

[TJastal]

Ian sure sucks balls man I'm glad the spurs didn't pick up his option

[spurs1990]

Hollinger will probably have us at 3 tomorrow.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

We're in good shape with some of this youth coming through.

Add an athletic swing like Poindexter, and a big who can defend the paint next to Tim, and we'll be back in the equation.

[EricB]

Ian sure sucks balls man I'm glad the spurs didn't pick up his option


Yeah straw poll games against the Clippers are great examples to use there chief...

[taps]

Amazing how well Ian plays when Pop doesn't go small and puts him in with blair sharing duties as the focal point. Suddenly Clips don't score for 5 minutes and the rooks single handedly keep them to the 80's.

Spurs basketball

[TIMMYD!]

Dallas loses 128-94 to the Knicks.

:lol :lol :lol

[EricB]

:lol

Knew this would happen...

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Ian sure sucks balls man I'm glad the spurs didn't pick up his option

You are one bitter fucker.

Did you ever consider that maybe Ian hadn't shown enough or wasn't working hard enough before the season so the team didn't pick up the option to motivate him?

Just because we didn't pick up his option doesn't mean he won't be here next year. In fact, I think he will be, on a vet min deal.

[EricB]

Gain a game on the Mavericks...

Sweet night :smokin

[SpursNextRomanEmpire]

damn that was a good pass from jackson to mahinmi

[EricB]

You are one bitter fucker.

Did you ever consider that maybe Ian hadn't shown enough or wasn't working hard enough before the season so the team didn't pick up the option to motivate him?

Just because we didn't pick up his option doesn't mean he won't be here next year. In fact, I think he will be, on a vet min deal.

Watch the Grizzlies give him the MLE.

[birdy219]

Dallas loses 128-94 to the Knicks.

:lol :lol :lol

:lmao:lmao:lmao:flag:

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

:lol

Knew this would happen...

That we'd beat the Clips? Or that JTastal would be a fucktard? Or both? :lmao

[Chieflion]

We are now 6th in the West.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Watch the Grizzlies give him the MLE.

Are you calling that or kidding? I hope you are kidding, because there's no fucking way he gets the MLE from anyone.

[EricB]

That we'd beat the Clips? Or that JTastal would be a fucktard? Or both? :lmao

That Mahinmi would get more than 8 minutes and the Mahinmites would freak the F out.

[EricB]

Are you calling that or kidding? I hope you are kidding, because there's no fucking way he gets the MLE from anyone.


They drafted Hasheem Thabeet second overall.

Anythings possible with them...

[Ice009]

take off your hate blinders, he's got 3 assists and should have 4

It doesn't matter how many assists he has. He was looking to shoot first and pass second.

When TP has 11 assists do you call him a pure point guard? TP looks for his shot first most of the time and then looks to pass. Same thing Mason Jr. is doing, but Mason Jr. is not Tony Parker and he's not shooting great.

If Mason wants to improve his game he's gotta look to do other stuff. What I saw mainly from Mason Jr. tonight is that he is looking to get out of his shooting slump. It doesn't look to me that he is trying to improve his overall game. He usually misses these shots against the good teams because their defense is better. I am not impressed with him hitting a few shots against the Clippers. He's gotta play consistent D against the best teams and hit his shots to get court time.

Pop's not going to play him to get his rhythm if he can't do anything else. You ripping Pop for not giving him consistent minutes is ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC. How about ripping Mason Jr. instead for not playing D and hitting shots.

I had no idea there was Mason Jr. fans like you on this board.

[Pentagruel]

This is the grizzlies we are talking about... Who knows what those fellows will do.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

They drafted Hasheem Thabeet second overall.

Anythings possible with them...

You just played yourself. Why would they sign a young athletic big like Ian to the MLE when they have Thabeet developing?

[TJastal]

You are one bitter fucker.

Did you ever consider that maybe Ian hadn't shown enough or wasn't working hard enough before the season so the team didn't pick up the option to motivate him?

Just because we didn't pick up his option doesn't mean he won't be here next year. In fact, I think he will be, on a vet min deal.

You haven't seen anything yet, I'll be even more bitter when he's gone after this year, because some other team is going to offer him something better than vet min.

[EricB]

You just played yourself. Why would they sign a young athletic big like Ian to the MLE when they have Thabeet developing?


Why would they draft Thabeet when they have Gasol, Haddadi, and Randolph?

The Grizz are run by morons.

[Ice009]

BTW, shout out to Blackjack and Ice. Hope you are well, fellas. I've been busy lately and thus not around here so much. :)

Good to see you around here anytime you can make it during the game threads. One of the best posters here IMO.

[EricB]

You haven't seen anything yet, I'll be even more bitter when he's gone after this year, because some other team is going to offer him something better than vet min.


The Spurs might lose their 12th man.

OH NOES!

[EricB]

Good to see you around here anytime you can make it during the game threads. One of the best posters here IMO.


Shit, now he's gonna get a big head :lol :)

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

You haven't seen anything yet, I'll be even more bitter when he's gone after this year, because some other team is going to offer him something better than vet min.

Which totally ignores the point. If he had his option picked up he may well never have gotten to this stage - he's clearly a guy that needs to be forced to work, and the loss of a guaranteed paycheck has forced him to work this year to prove his worth.

We'll find a way to keep him if the staff wants him here.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Anyway, you're massively over-rating him. Highlight plays in garbage time mean little, especially when his man D is so poor. he still has a long way to go to be a regular rotation player in the NBA.

[timtonymanu]

We are now 6th in the West.

baby steps. try to aim for that 5th seed at least.

[EricB]

Why aim so low? They are only 3 back in the loss column I think to the Mavericks.

Give it a shot why the hell not?

[Chieflion]

baby steps. try to aim for that 5th seed at least.

I just want us to stay at 6th. Let's just say I want that higher draft pick, even it is just one pick higher. :lol

Better stay away from the Lakers.

[TJastal]

It doesn't matter how many assists he has. He was looking to shoot first and pass second.

When TP has 11 assists do you call him a pure point guard? TP looks for his shot first most of the time and then looks to pass. Same thing Mason Jr. is doing, but Mason Jr. is not Tony Parker and he's not shooting great.

If Mason wants to improve his game he's gotta look to do other stuff. What I saw mainly from Mason Jr. tonight is that he is looking to get out of his shooting slump. It doesn't look to me that he is trying to improve his overall game. He usually misses these shots against the good teams because their defense is better. I am not impressed with him hitting a few shots against the Clippers. He's gotta play consistent D against the best teams and hit his shots to get court time.

Pop's not going to play him to get his rhythm if he can't do anything else. You ripping Pop for not giving him consistent minutes is ABSOLUTELY IDIOTIC. How about ripping Mason Jr. instead for not playing D and hitting shots.

I had no idea there was Mason Jr. fans like you on this board.

OMG a Mason Jr fan!!! I didn't know they existed!! :lmao

Mason shot the ball well tonight, so I don't understand your argument. What should he be doing then to make you happy?

[EricB]

fuck draft picks.

Keep that win now mentality.

[taps]

Pop in a rare SUPER good mood in the interviews. I miss this Pop, especially in the playoffs. The one who believes nobody can beat him

[Biggems]

I wish we would have traded up to draft DeAndre Jordan in 2008. He is wasting away in Clipperland, but would be awesome next to Tim Duncan in our starting lineup. Getting Hill and even Gist was pretty sweet, but had we been able to get Jordan also, it would have been awesome.

Duncan, Jordan, Bonner, Blair, Ian would have been a very nice group of bigs. I doubt we would have signed McDyess, and thus could have gone after a different player with our MLE, probably a wing.

[Ice009]

OMG a Mason Jr fan!!! I didn't know they existed!! :lmao

Mason shot the ball well tonight, so I don't understand your argument. What should he be doing then to make you happy?

I just told you that he needs to bring it on the defensive end. Try to play more of a team game on offense instead of jack up every shot he can.

I have no problem with him shooting the ball I'd just like to see him mix it up a little more and not always look to jack up a quick shot.

[TJastal]

I just told you that he needs to bring it on the defensive end. Try to play more of a team game on offense instead of jack up every shot he can.

I have no problem with him shooting the ball I'd just like to see him mix it up a little more and not always look to jack up a quick shot.

I think he mixed it up just fine tonight, as evidenced by the 3 assists, and what should have been a 4th if Hairston finishes that drop off pass along the baseline. I still don't see what your harping on exactly. He's been in a shooter's slump and like Sean Ell1ot said he just needs to shoot his way out of it.

And call me crazy, but Roger plays passable defense just about every time I've watched him this year so far. It's not great, but its not poor either. I don't know why people harp on it repeatedly. He keeps very good position and is hard to shoot over.

Otoh, the centerpiece gets burned by dribble penetration and anyone with a decent jumper, fouls alot and gets put on a pedestal by the fans because he's Pop's newest flame.

[duncan228]

Updated.

Spurs beat Clippers for 16th straight time (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010031324&prov=ap)

George Hill was a scorer and distributor for the San Antonio Spurs, and then a player-coach briefly as well.

Hill had 14 points and a career-high 11 assists to help the Spurs beat the Los Angeles Clippers for the 16th straight time, 118-88 Saturday night.

With the Spurs up by 25 midway through the fourth quarter, coach Gregg Popovich called timeout and handed the clipboard to Hill, who had exited the game for good with 2:41 left in the third.

“Sometimes it’s good to let the players do some of the coaching,” Popovich said. “It makes them think a little bit and really give them confidence in what we’re doing as a group.

“(Hill) didn’t really draw up a play. He was showing (newcomer) Cedric Jackson about the defensive error that was made on a double-team in the post. But he does get the credit (for Roger Mason’s subsequent field goal) because after that he said, ‘Pop, what play do you want to run?’ and I said, ‘I don’t know, whatever you want.”’

Manu Ginobili and All-Star forward Tim Duncan saw little playing time after the first quarter. Ginobili had 14 points in 19 minutes, and Duncan totaled eight—all in the first 6:23 of the game—in 13.

Hill had eight assists in the first quarter as the Spurs sprinted to a 32-18 lead. He surpassed his previous career-best nine assists just before halftime. He said Popovich’s goal is for Hill to be more like Avery Johnson, a former Spurs point guard who went on to become an NBA coach.

“I didn’t call a play,” Hill said. “I tried to keep it very simple: Run angles and rolls. When you don’t know something, keep it simple; don’t try and do too much.”

Matt Bonner scored 21 points on 8-for-9 shooting to lead the Spurs, who have the longest winning streak by one team against another. Richard Jefferson added 18 points and nine rebounds.

The Spurs (39-25), winners of three straight and six of seven, moved into sixth place in the Western Conference by .003 over the idle Phoenix Suns (40-26).

Baron Davis scored 18 of his team-high 22 points in the first half for the Clippers, who last defeated the Spurs in March 2006. The loss was Los Angeles’ 15th straight in San Antonio, dating back to January 2002.

“Oh, man. You know, they just own us,” Davis said. “They own us in discipline and their focus. They know that they’ll outlast us.

“We’re not coming to the gym with the right mentality and it’s starting to show. We have to change that. Everybody on the Spurs scored. Everybody shared the ball. We just got to a better job. That’s all I got to say. I ain’t got nothing else to say. We have to do a better job of playing with some heart and passion.”

Bonner summed up the Spurs’ night late in the third period when he hit a baseline jumper that went over the top of the backboard from behind. By the 1:40 mark of the quarter, each of the Spurs’ starters was done for the night.

“I practiced that shot a thousand times at the Concord (N.H.) YMCA,” Bonner said. “It was perfect because I had to shoot it—the shot clock was running down. Since I’ve been playing basketball since the second grade, I’ve never made that shot in a game.”

DeAndre Jordan summed up the Clippers’ night with an airball on a free-throw attempt with less than a minute left.

“We probably had four guys compete tonight. That’s not enough,” Clippers coach Kim Hughes said. “Whether they think the season is done, whether they’re going for points, whatever’s going on with them has to change, because we’re not done. It’s still a teaching process. I don’t intend to let it happen that we’re going to play like that. If it’s going to play like that, then minutes will have to be adjusted. It’s just not fair.”

The Spurs rolled to a 22-point lead late in the second quarter before settling for a 65-48 lead at the break despite not attempting their first free throw until Hill’s with 2:02 remaining in the half.

The Clippers closed the gap to 13 with a brief flurry to open the second half, but San Antonio regained control and carried a 90-68 lead into the final period.

San Antonio took the lead for good at 6-5 on a layup by Ginobili.

NOTES: The Spurs on Saturday signed Garrett Temple from the Rio Grande Vipers of the NBA Developmental League to a 10-day contract. Temple, who has seen NBA time this season with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings, is the fourth former D-League player on the current Spurs roster, joining Malik Hairston, Cedric Jackson and Ian Mahinmi. … The Spurs are 6-6 in second games of back-to-backs, but have won their past three. … Tony Parker, who missed his fourth straight game with a fractured fourth metacarpal, was the last Spur before Hill to record 10 or more assists in a half, totaling 11 in the first half of San Antonio’s 2008 regular-season finale against the Utah Jazz. … The Clippers (25-42) clinched a losing record for the third straight season and the 16th in the past 17.

[Ice009]

I think he mixed it up just fine tonight, as evidenced by the 3 assists, and what should have been a 4th if Hairston finishes that drop off pass along the baseline. I still don't see what your harping on exactly. He's been in a shooter's slump and like Sean Ell1ot said he just needs to shoot his way out of it.

And call me crazy, but Roger plays passable defense just about every time I've watched him this year so far. It's not great, but its not poor either. I don't know why people harp on it repeatedly. He keeps very good position and is hard to shoot over.

Otoh, the centerpiece gets burned by dribble penetration and anyone with a decent jumper, fouls alot and gets put on a pedestal by the fans because he's Pop's newest flame.

Keith Bogans is definitely more aggressive on defense than Mason Jr. Mason Jr. is certainly not a better defender than RMJ though, but having said that I'm not too keen on either player. The are both kind of one dimensional players that aren't great at the one thing they do. Bogans is a decent defender, but not great and Mason Jr. is a decent shooter, but not great so that is why I am not really a huge fan of either player.

[ducks]

On George Hill's coaching in the fourth quarter - “Sometimes it’s good to let the players do some of the coaching. It makes them think a little bit and gives them confidence in what we are doing as a group. He didn’t really draw up a play – what he was showing Cedric Jackson was about the defense error that was made on a double team of the post and he was explaining that to the group. After that, he does get the credit. He asked ‘Pop, what play do we run’ and I said whatever you want. They ran whatever he wanted so he gets credit for that. The timeout was because of the defense.”