Game 1, 2007 Random Thoughts

1. If it wasn't already apparent, Reggie Miller is crap as an announcer. "He did a great job moving his feet to draw the charge." lol

2. Oberto looks stronger physically. He showed his awareness around the basket on offense but he wasn't effective on either end compared to the playoffs last year.

3. Parker looks great. Fast as ever. Can't wait to see him in the 3 pt shoot-out. :p:

4. Darius Washington -- RAW with a capital RAW. I liked his speed and agression. He looked like he has the team mentality that will ease his game into "The System"

5. I liked the run Barry got alongside Finley. It looked like Barry has finally conceded to Pop that it's his job to chuck it up whenever he gets a touch. Nevertheless, he looked confident and fast on both ends.

6. Was that a SKYHOOK by Finley??? When did he add THAT to his game. :lol

7. BRUCE!!! He shut that R.O.Y. DOWN! Could anyone see the despair on Brandon Roy's face? I expect Bowen to be what he has always been for us. Age is simply NOT a factor in his game. Geez -- TP was way more winded than Bruce last night. :spin

8. Manu dunked. Good Omen. :smokin

9. Love the fast break style that the Spurs play. :fro

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

3. Parker looks great. Fast as ever. Can't wait to see him in the 3 pt shoot-out. :p:

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Tony was a little 'erratic' during the second half

"He did a great job moving his feet to draw the charge."
:p: :lol

Oberto had foul trouble.

Elson looked horrible and

Parker looked lost out there in the second half. Duncan was plain unstoppable when getting the ball down low.

they may have been a bit disjointed, but pop seemed to be limiting minutes due to the 2nd game of a b2b tomorrow. i expect rotations to be haywire until jan-feb anyway. the defense should come together by then. elson's missed dunk was hilarious.

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Originally Posted by bdictjames

Oberto had foul trouble.

Elson looked horrible and

Parker looked lost out there in the second half. Duncan was plain unstoppable when getting the ball down low.

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he was clutch

Elson did look terrible but it's always somehow funny when he messes up. Especially now with the mask.

The 3rd quarter continues to be the 'Sleep-Walk'.

I think there was the usual lack of focus coming out of the locker room but it lasted well into the 4th. Throughout the season, that tendency to coast usually remains but doesn't last as long. Then they closed it out with D -- as usual.

I was impressed by how "Duncanesque" Aldridge looked. To be honest, I didn't think he would ever be this good seeing him play for a yeat in Austin. I have to wonder if Pritchard made a mistake (injury notwithstanding) by drafting Oden over Durant. Durant-Aldridge would be a LOAD offensively.

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elson's missed dunk was hilarious.

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That wasn't hilarious, it was frightening. Portland seemed to be hot at that time. Webster was hitting all his jumpers.

Once again, Spurs got lucky at the end and Parker hit a fadeaway J. But that play was overall whack. :lol

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Originally Posted by Mark in Austin

I was impressed by how "Duncanesque" Aldridge looked.

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Seems Im not the only one comparing Aldridge to a young TD.

He hustles in defense, has a great hook and jumpshot, and good at freethrows. The only problem I see is that he needs to have that court vision when double-teamed. Pop had that strategy and it limited Aldridge and caused some turnovers for the Blazers.

Parker got tired, is a little out of shape?

Parker will have to ask eva permission everytime he wants to wear the championship ring.

Cheryl Miller does not need a Halloween costume tonight

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Originally Posted by nkdlunch

Parker got tired, is a little out of shape?

Parker will have to ask eva permission everytime he wants to wear the championship ring.

Cheryl Miller does not need a Halloween costume tonight

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:lol

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8. Manu dunked. Good Omen.

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Yeah I think he's averaging one dunk a game now :lol . But seriously it looks so far like the rest over the summer was good for him. He really seems to have his step back and even though he didn't have a great scoring night, he was really making things happen. He's been very aggressive at least getting to the hoop and looks like the old Manu again. Hopefully this continues.

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Originally Posted by bdictjames

Seems Im not the only one comparing Aldridge to a young TD.

He hustles in defense, has a great hook and jumpshot, and good at freethrows. The only problem I see is that he needs to have that court vision when double-teamed. Pop had that strategy and it limited Aldridge and caused some turnovers for the Blazers.

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Aldridge was impressive - he will come close to TD but not quite the brilliance.

1) Parker looked tired in the 2nd half and forced some issues.

2) As I said before the season began, Manu Ginobili is going to play MVP level this season I think.

3) I think Bonner is a worse defender than Brent Barry if possible.

4) Barry looked great...didn't hesitate to take open shots that were there...unlike in past years where if he missed shots, he'd get hesitant.

5) Finley looks like he's on his last run. Was not overly impressed with him and haven't been since the Denver Game 5 last season.

6) Duncan was Duncan...I think he was passing on too many shots in the 1/2 half, but was more aggressive in the 2nd.

7) Bowen was Bowen...still not sure how long he can keep doing this! Memo to NBA ANNOUNCERS at the game: It was 5% Roy's Achille's Heel and 95% Bowen that held him in check...not the other way around as they kept on insinuating.

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Originally Posted by Mark in Austin

I was impressed by how "Duncanesque" Aldridge looked. To be honest, I didn't think he would ever be this good seeing him play for a yeat in Austin. I have to wonder if Pritchard made a mistake (injury notwithstanding) by drafting Oden over Durant. Durant-Aldridge would be a LOAD offensively.

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he looks a lot more muscular, especially upper body/arms. that high release on his jumper can't be blocked.

It's amazing what players turn out to be good pros and what players don't. Not that they hate Tyrus Thomas, but anyone thinking Chicago wouldn't rather have LaMarcus Aldridge instead?

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Originally Posted by leemajors

they may have been a bit disjointed, but pop seemed to be limiting minutes due to the 2nd game of a b2b tomorrow. i expect rotations to be haywire until jan-feb anyway. the defense should come together by then. elson's missed dunk was hilarious.

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Have you looked at the Spurs schedule for the first two weeks of March? I think we'll see a lot of different rotations then.

Manu's 5 steals set the tone for the others not Bowen about the defensive mind they'all need to re-adapt to win ball game's... glad he dunked... and even more glad how his PT as PG in the preseason showed with his 8 assists... i thought POP would say something about it...

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Originally Posted by urunobili

Manu's 5 steals set the tone for the others not Bowen about the defensive mind they'all need to re-adapt to win ball game's... glad he dunked... and even more glad how his PT as PG in the preseason showed with his 8 assists... i thought POP would say something about it...

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While Manu's 5 steals were great, Bowen's defense on the guy Portland goes to in crunch-time was "straight-jacket". Manu and Bowen both deserved high praise, but Bowen put down the clamp. I didn't have the benefit of hearing expert analysis since I was at the game, but it was pretty obvious who were the key tone-setters in this game.

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Originally Posted by Solid D

While Manu's 5 steals were great, Bowen's defense on the guy Portland goes to in crunch-time was "straight-jacket". Manu and Bowen both deserved high praise, but Bowen put down the clamp.

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The only problem was Bowen's shooting....it was horrible tonight. He didn't just miss. he missed by country mile. I wonder why Udoka didn't get any playing time? I suspect Udoka will bring more to the table on the offensive side and if he can do 80% of what Bowen does on the defence, we could have a special season this year. Spurs didn't close out on the perimeter too well tonight (hence all the jump shots by Portland) but it's the first game of the season so the intensity probably wasn't there. Having said that, Portland shooters were hot today and I don't expect them to shoot that well next time Spurs play them which should result in the usual 15 to 20 point victory for the Spurs. Manu was amazing. Did everything......definitely the MVP of the game with Duncan close second.

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Originally Posted by Solid D

While Manu's 5 steals were great, Bowen's defense on the guy Portland goes to in crunch-time was "straight-jacket". Manu and Bowen both deserved high praise, but Bowen put down the clamp. I didn't have the benefit of hearing expert analysis since I was at the game, but it was pretty obvious who were the key tone-setters in this game.

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bowen locked roy down very well. left the game when he left, came right back in when he did. it seemed to me that they played a long stretch without roy at the end of the third well into the 4th.

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Originally Posted by telecomguy

The only problem was Bowen's shooting....it was horrible tonight. He didn't just miss. he missed by country mile. I wonder why Udoka didn't get any playing time? I suspect Udoka will bring more to the table on the offensive side and if he can do 80% of what Bowen does on the defence, we could have a special season this year. Spurs didn't close out on the perimeter too well tonight (hence all the jump shots by Portland) but it's the first game of the season so the intensity probably wasn't there. Having said that, Portland shooters were hot today and I don't expect them to shoot that well next time Spurs play them which should result in the usual 15 to 20 point victory for the Spurs. Manu was amazing. Did everything......definitely the MVP of the game with Duncan close second.

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I never pay attention to Bowen's scoring, just as people never payed attention to K.C. Jones - the perimeter shut-down defender for 9 years (8 championships) with the Celts. Russell got all the acclaim for the interior D (justifiably) but KC defended the top perimeter player. KC won two NCAA championships with Russell and he won a Gold Medal in the Olympics. KC averaged 7.4 ppg for the Celts and he was a starter for many of those years. Sound familiar?

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Originally Posted by leemajors

bowen locked roy down very well. left the game when he left, came right back in when he did. it seemed to me that they played a long stretch without roy at the end of the third well into the 4th.

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:tu

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Originally Posted by telecomguy

Manu was amazing. Did everything......definitely the MVP of the game with Duncan close second.

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The surprising thing is that NBA.com's boxscore lists Manu as having the worse +/- score of the whole team save Elson...

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Originally Posted by Mark in Austin

I was impressed by how "Duncanesque" Aldridge looked. To be honest, I didn't think he would ever be this good seeing him play for a yeat in Austin. I have to wonder if Pritchard made a mistake (injury notwithstanding) by drafting Oden over Durant. Durant-Aldridge would be a LOAD offensively.

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Aldridge played two years at Texas, he got injured almost mid season his freshman year.
Aldridge/Oden would be a far more dominant tandem than Durant/Aldridge, if you consider the defensive side of the floor. Oden is the straight up shot blocker and Aldridge is a perfect weakside blocker.

Durant is a pure scoring machine for the new millenium, and Aldridge likes the ball in his hands too. Plus Aldridge has one huge flaw in his game, as we all saw, he falls in love with that stupid insanely high released jumper of his. So he would occupy alot of the spaces on the court that Durant would like to operate in. Oden/Aldridge makes far more sense to me.

I think Duncan was the MVP of that game. Manu comes second.

Defense needs work, but its just probably the ring ceremony that gives them the jitters. Webster was always hitting his shots.

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Was not overly impressed with him and haven't been since the Denver Game 5 last season.

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Yeah those clutch shots and 16 points per game he averaged for the playoffs were not overly impressive :lol

Finley looked like Finley of last year.

He starts off slow, hell pick it up a bit in january, and will be full going in april.


:lol

He will be considered horrible by the experts here from november through February as usual.

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Originally Posted by telecomguy

The only problem was Bowen's shooting....it was horrible tonight. He didn't just miss. he missed by country mile. I wonder why Udoka didn't get any playing time? I suspect Udoka will bring more to the table on the offensive side and if he can do 80% of what Bowen does on the defence, we could have a special season this year. Spurs didn't close out on the perimeter too well tonight (hence all the jump shots by Portland) but it's the first game of the season so the intensity probably wasn't there. Having said that, Portland shooters were hot today and I don't expect them to shoot that well next time Spurs play them which should result in the usual 15 to 20 point victory for the Spurs. Manu was amazing. Did everything......definitely the MVP of the game with Duncan close second.

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:lol

I see you haven't changed your takes from last year - "Bowen sucks. Manu rules."

Anyway, Bowen's D ruled this game. Manu's play and energy was awesome. He got his steals, but he got burned on D repeatedly (as did many of the other Spurs).

after all Bowen does, theres still a "Bowen sucks" :lol


Pathetic.

As for Tony being tired ... it was obvious to me he was getting winded in the middle of the game but I thought he did a great job re-grouping. He hit 2 big shots late. In the postgame, when Pop was talking about the D, it was actually Tony's D that got praise. Pop said nobody will notice because Tony wasn't scoring that much (after the first quarter) but that Pop thought Tony's D was very good last night.

Elson looks better to me than last season. He's not awesome but better. And I can't really judge him much because it's apparent he's bothered by the mask.

Timmy was Timmy. Bruce was Bruce.

Manu's "power" dunk when he was mad was great.

The crowd loves Darius Washington.

I love Bonner's energy and he looks to be in much better shape than last year, but he missed so many rotations in the first half it was getting funny. He'll get better I think.

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Originally Posted by 1Parker1

1)

3) I think Bonner is a worse defender than Brent Barry if possible.

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I think Bonner just had a tough matchup against a way more athletic guy. Outlaw is more of a 3, and was just to quick for Bonner. Im sure Bonner would have much rather had to guard a guy who plays in the post. I just hope he continues to get better

Nobody loves Bruce more than I. (Actually, I hope Yardley does, but anyway...) He was missing by a country mile, however. I know I don't really care, but it's still true.

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

"He did a great job moving his feet to draw the charge."

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Well you have to move your feet to be in position to draw a charge...

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Originally Posted by Reggie Miller

Nobody loves Bruce more than I. (Actually, I hope Yardley does, but anyway...) He was missing by a country mile, however. I know I don't really care, but it's still true.

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Bruce's shooting percentage sucks at the beginning of every season. But who cares. :lol

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Bruce's shooting percentage sucks at the beginning of every season. But who cares. :lol

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Honestly, I think Popovich would be fine with him so long as he hits the rim and resets the clock. Actually making them is just gravy. :toast

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

Bruce's shooting percentage sucks at the beginning of every season. But who cares. :lol

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At the beginning of each season his Salsa dancing skills are at their peak and his three point shooting is quite the opposite, however as the season progresses his skills swap and he becomes a considerably better shooter, and a poorer salsa dancer....

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Originally Posted by Kori

Manu's "power" dunk when he was mad was great.

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http://i177.photobucket.com/albums/w...0/manuuuuu.gif

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Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

:lol

I see you haven't changed your takes from last year - "Bowen sucks. Manu rules."

Anyway, Bowen's D ruled this game. Manu's play and energy was awesome. He got his steals, but he got burned on D repeatedly (as did many of the other Spurs).

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No Kori I was never negative on Bowen! Early last year i was down on TP because of his tendency to play erratic, turn the ball over, force shots, miss wide-open jumpers etc. but i haven't said anything negative about Tony lately because he is playing more controlled and hitting his jumpers and coming through in the clutch (Cleveland series he played amazing). I love what Bowen brings to the team, and he hit some seriously clutch shots (especially against the Suns) in last year's playoffs. Last night, he was just really off and because he isn't a pure shooter/skilled offensive player, i guess we just have to live with this type of night from him ocassionally.

Anyway I really like this Udoka acquisition because i think he will be invaluable against a team like the Suns or the Mavs because we may need couple of shut-down perimeter defenders in the playoffs once we have the game under control and have a decent lead.

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Originally Posted by Solid D

:tu

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Spurs would have been better off with Roy shooting because Aldridge and Webster shooting sure wasn't working. :lol

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

1. If it wasn't already apparent, Reggie Miller is crap as an announcer. "He did a great job moving his feet to draw the charge." lol

2. Oberto looks stronger physically. He showed his awareness around the basket on offense but he wasn't effective on either end compared to the playoffs last year.

3. Parker looks great. Fast as ever. Can't wait to see him in the 3 pt shoot-out. :p:

4. Darius Washington -- RAW with a capital RAW. I liked his speed and agression. He looked like he has the team mentality that will ease his game into "The System"

5. I liked the run Barry got alongside Finley. It looked like Barry has finally conceded to Pop that it's his job to chuck it up whenever he gets a touch. Nevertheless, he looked confident and fast on both ends.

6. Was that a SKYHOOK by Finley??? When did he add THAT to his game. :lol

7. BRUCE!!! He shut that R.O.Y. DOWN! Could anyone see the despair on Brandon Roy's face? I expect Bowen to be what he has always been for us. Age is simply NOT a factor in his game. Geez -- TP was way more winded than Bruce last night. :spin

8. Manu dunked. Good Omen. :smokin

9. Love the fast break style that the Spurs play. :fro

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That's only 9, you are 1,998 short

:lol

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Originally Posted by Trainwreck2100

That's only 9, you are 1,998 short

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damn.




:lol

The second unit looked sharp out there. Not entirely surprising since they saw more action this preseason. Elson looks sharper. I'm liking Barry firing away, and I like Pop sticking with him when he has the hot hand even more. Bonner looked out of place at times on both ends of the court, but the effort is definitely there. As long as he brings that I'm confident he can settle into a larger role with the first unit.

I echo the sentiments on the third quarter. Looked like they were being coached by George Romero for a while.

All in all, same song, new year. Room for improvement on D (tell them they are soft, Pop!) but nothing wrong with a W.

I thought the bigest difference from last season that I took from the game was that the Blazers have found their outside shooter now that Martell Webster looks like a player worthy of the lottery pick he was in 2005. He has a serious stroke and next season when Oden returns along with Aldridge in the middle he is going to get a lot of open looks and knock them down. They are building a nice foundation as long as Oden returns healthy.

Looking forward to watching tonite's game and see how the spurs fare on the road playing 2nd night in a row vs a fast paced team.

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Originally Posted by LEN BIAS 4EVER

I thought the bigest difference from last season that I took from the game was that the Blazers have found their outside shooter now that Martell Webster looks like a player worthy of the lottery pick he was in 2005. He has a serious stroke and next season when Oden returns along with Aldridge in the middle he is going to get a lot of open looks and knock them down. They are building a nice foundation as long as Oden returns healthy.

Looking forward to watching tonite's game and see how the spurs fare on the road playing 2nd night in a row vs a fast paced team.

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Yup. This guy has the potential to be a great shooter. Great stroke.

Im thinking Oden going down is a blessing in disguise. Lamarcus Aldridge and Outlaw plus Pryzibilla could have breakout seasons with this offense.

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The only problem was Bowen's shooting....it was horrible tonight. He didn't just miss. he missed by country mile.

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He always start the season ice cold

But his D was great as always

Bowen is the MAN.

I thought Bonner looked like crap; I liked DWash's hustle but he seemed a bit frenetic, no?

And Reggie Miller...I'd like to vote to bring in Cheryl as color commentator and dress Reggie in a Craig Sager jacket and kick him to the sidelines. He is abysmal.

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Originally Posted by Lebowski Brickowski

2. Oberto looks stronger physically. He showed his awareness around the basket on offense but he wasn't effective on either end compared to the playoffs last year.


7. BRUCE!!! He shut that R.O.Y. DOWN! Could anyone see the despair on Brandon Roy's face? I expect Bowen to be what he has always been for us. Age is simply NOT a factor in his game. Geez -- TP was way more winded than Bruce last night. :spin

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Oberto wasn't effective ? I don't know 3/4 FGM 66%

When teams double Duncan, Oberto can sneak down low to get easy basket of hight effectiveness, if only Fab can manage to stay out of foul troubles...Zebras hate Fab? :D

Bruce never gets old :smokin

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Originally Posted by wildchild

3/4 FGM 66%

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:dizzy

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Originally Posted by ElliottFan

:dizzy

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:oops 75%? :elephant

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Originally Posted by wildchild

:oops 75%? :elephant

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:tu

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Originally Posted by ElliottFan

:tu

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:spin

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Originally Posted by wildchild

Oberto wasn't effective ? I don't know 3/4 FGM 66%

When teams double Duncan, Oberto can sneak down low to get easy basket of hight effectiveness, if only Fab can manage to stay out of foul troubles...Zebras hate Fab? :D

Bruce never gets old :smokin

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I don't think so for real, but I wondered on one play. It seemed like a complete phantom call. This was #2 or #3. Unfortunately, I don't remember. Can anyone help out here? There was no replay and the angle was bad on the play, so I could be off-base.