yavozerb
01-29-2011, 09:55 AM
By Tim Griffin
[email protected]
Spurs forward Matt Bonner will miss today’s game against Houston as he continues to recover from a bone bruise on his right knee.
After Friday’s practice, it is undetermined if rookie guard Gary Neal will play against the Rockets. Neal sustained an injury to his rear end and his left knee late in the Spurs’ victory at Utah Wednesday night.
Both Manu Ginobili and assistant coach Don Newman mentioned Neal’s injury in their postgame comments on the Spurs Radio Network and Neal was icing his knee on the bench late in the Spurs’ victory.
“It’s always a big thing to stay healthy, and now we are starting to have some,” Ginobili said Friday. “First Matt, now Gary Neal, who couldn’t play the second half (in Utah). Not big ones, but it’s going to happen in 82 games.”
Neal practiced Friday, but had a brace on his left knee. He did not appear to be hobbling as he went through his final drills when reporters were present.
Blair on Duncan: Spurs center DeJuan Blair said he was a little surprised that Tim Duncan didn’t make the Western Division’s All-Star team when starters were announced Thursday night.
It will mark the first time that Duncan wasn’t picked to start in the All-Star Game, although he could be a starter if NBA commissioner David Stern selects him to replace injured Houston center Yao Ming.
Blair said that Duncan really isn’t concerned about seeing his streak end.
“I don’t think he really wants to go,” Blair said, laughing. “He’s been there and he’s a Hall of Famer. I don’t think that matters to him.”
The Spurs became the first team in league history with 10 or fewer losses at the time the starters are announced without at least one starting player.
Manu’s rodeo dreams: During his nine-season career with the Spurs, Ginobili has become a certifiable Texan.
But Ginobili hasn’t fulfilled one item on his personal bucket list: the chance to visit the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
“Everybody loves it and I have never been a part of it or had the opportunity to go,” Ginobili said. “I’m waiting for my kids to get a little bigger and retire, probably, because otherwise I will always be on the road.”
But Ginobili is able to experience one part of the event during the Spurs’ first game back in the AT&T Center after the rodeo closes.
“That first day in the arena, there is a very thick aroma hitting us when we get there,” Ginobili said, chuckling.
Winning in Arlington big for Blair: The Pittsburgh Steelers are DeJuan Blair’s favorite team. The Spurs center is especially excited about the Steelers’ chances of winning Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in the home of one of their biggest traditional rivals.
“Don’t be mad at me because that’s just how I feel,” Blair said. “I love their stadium. I was there for the (NBA) All-Star game last year. It’s huge. And there will be a lot of black and yellow in there. Pittsburgh is taking over Texas.”
[email protected]
Spurs forward Matt Bonner will miss today’s game against Houston as he continues to recover from a bone bruise on his right knee.
After Friday’s practice, it is undetermined if rookie guard Gary Neal will play against the Rockets. Neal sustained an injury to his rear end and his left knee late in the Spurs’ victory at Utah Wednesday night.
Both Manu Ginobili and assistant coach Don Newman mentioned Neal’s injury in their postgame comments on the Spurs Radio Network and Neal was icing his knee on the bench late in the Spurs’ victory.
“It’s always a big thing to stay healthy, and now we are starting to have some,” Ginobili said Friday. “First Matt, now Gary Neal, who couldn’t play the second half (in Utah). Not big ones, but it’s going to happen in 82 games.”
Neal practiced Friday, but had a brace on his left knee. He did not appear to be hobbling as he went through his final drills when reporters were present.
Blair on Duncan: Spurs center DeJuan Blair said he was a little surprised that Tim Duncan didn’t make the Western Division’s All-Star team when starters were announced Thursday night.
It will mark the first time that Duncan wasn’t picked to start in the All-Star Game, although he could be a starter if NBA commissioner David Stern selects him to replace injured Houston center Yao Ming.
Blair said that Duncan really isn’t concerned about seeing his streak end.
“I don’t think he really wants to go,” Blair said, laughing. “He’s been there and he’s a Hall of Famer. I don’t think that matters to him.”
The Spurs became the first team in league history with 10 or fewer losses at the time the starters are announced without at least one starting player.
Manu’s rodeo dreams: During his nine-season career with the Spurs, Ginobili has become a certifiable Texan.
But Ginobili hasn’t fulfilled one item on his personal bucket list: the chance to visit the San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo.
“Everybody loves it and I have never been a part of it or had the opportunity to go,” Ginobili said. “I’m waiting for my kids to get a little bigger and retire, probably, because otherwise I will always be on the road.”
But Ginobili is able to experience one part of the event during the Spurs’ first game back in the AT&T Center after the rodeo closes.
“That first day in the arena, there is a very thick aroma hitting us when we get there,” Ginobili said, chuckling.
Winning in Arlington big for Blair: The Pittsburgh Steelers are DeJuan Blair’s favorite team. The Spurs center is especially excited about the Steelers’ chances of winning Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in the home of one of their biggest traditional rivals.
“Don’t be mad at me because that’s just how I feel,” Blair said. “I love their stadium. I was there for the (NBA) All-Star game last year. It’s huge. And there will be a lot of black and yellow in there. Pittsburgh is taking over Texas.”