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so, the league changed the date of the ASG to mess with Pop's rodeo road trip plans, eh.
Edit: The updated version is in post #12.
Spurs just too powerful for Wizards
Jeff McDonald
WASHINGTON — Usually, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich loves his team's annual rodeo trip.
It is a time to bond, a time to focus, a time to develop the sort of “us-against-the-world” bunker mentality crucial at playoff time. If he had his way, the entire schedule would be one 82-game rodeo trip.
But this year's trek, which the Spurs concluded by smacking around the Wizards 98-67 on Saturday night at the Verizon Center?
“Disjointed as ,” Popovich called it.
Two games gone, four days at home. Three more games, then the All-Star break. Back on the road for three.
It hardly felt like a rodeo trip.
“From that respect, this has been the worst we ever had,” Popovich said. “It's been a pain in the ass. It's not the same situation we've had in the past, where we've had their attention. It was too broken up. I hated it.”
Unfortunately for Popovich, the Spurs have some home games coming up.
They polished off Leg 3 of their rodeo trip by doing to the Wizards what most teams have been doing to the Wizards this season.
Roger Mason Jr., who played for the Wizards last season, scored 25 points in his homecoming, Michael Finley chipped in 19, and the Spurs closed their disjointed eight-game trip with a 5-3 record.
It marked the sixth time in seven rodeo trips the Spurs have finished above .500. They have never had a losing rodeo trip.
The Spurs (37-17) got a large share of their points from beyond the 3-point stripe, making 13 of 27. Finley and Mason were each 5 of 9 from 3-point land.
Washington (13-43) shot just 33.3 percent from the field and came close to matching a franchise scoring low (65 points).
Last edited by duncan228; 02-22-2009 at 01:57 AM.
so, the league changed the date of the ASG to mess with Pop's rodeo road trip plans, eh.
McDonald the Math Scholar.It marked the sixth time in seven rodeo trips the Spurs have finished above .500. They have never had a losing rodeo trip.
I assume the 7th one they finished AT .500.
HahahahahaRe: McDonald: Spurs Just Too Powerful For Wizards
The depleted Washington Wizards??!!
hahahahahaha
Simply pathetic!
how's amare?Hahahahaha
The depleted Washington Wizards??!!
hahahahahaha
Simply pathetic!
check out where the suns are!
btw: only the TOP 8 teams make the playoffs.
and with amare out, and boozer almost coming back (jazz are in 8th), it's going to be much harder for your suns to make it.
huh? what?
might need a magnifying glass to find them at the bottomcheck out where the suns are!
btw: only the TOP 8 teams make the playoffs.
and with amare out, and boozer almost coming back (jazz are in 8th), it's going to be much harder for your suns to make it.
Heroic effort sparks Spurs
Mason shows Wizards what they're missing
Mike Jones
The Washington Times
During a third-quarter timeout with the Washington Wizards thoroughly buried in a 20-point hole Saturday night against the visiting San Antonio Spurs, the Foo Fighters' 1998 hit "My Hero" played.
"Theeere goes my heeero," Dave Grohl belted over the sound system.
The song was meant to honor members of the armed forces recovering at the District's Walter Reed Army Medical Center, who were introduced during the break. But it might as well have been played for former Wizards player Roger Mason Jr., who had just erupted to quash any comeback hopes his old running mates might have had and went on to lead the Spurs to a 98-67 victory.
Mason scored a game-high 25 points, including five 3-pointers, and handed out five assists.
"It was fun - definitely not just another game," Mason said. "It's always exciting to play in front of family and friends. And playing here last year with these guys, I'll see them in the summer, so I'm glad we won."
Last season, the D.C. native and former Virginia standout helped the Wizards overcome the absence of Gilbert Arenas and reach the playoffs. But Mason became a free agent last summer and Wizards management - adverse to exceeding the NBA's luxury tax spending threshold - deemed Mason expendable. The Spurs awarded him a two-year, $7.3 million contract, and he has since grown into a key contributor.
The Wizards, meanwhile, have plunged to the dregs of the NBA with Arenas injured yet again and additional firepower in the form of guard DeShawn Stevenson and center Brendan Haywood also on the injured list.
On Saturday, when the Wizards posted a season-low in points, Mason reminded his former employers, teammates and fans just how meaningful his services were last season.
The Wizards had trailed all game before rallying from a 52-38 halftime deficit to pull within 59-52 midway through the third quarter. And then Mason - starting in place of the injured Manu Ginobili - burned the Wizards for 10 points and two steals in a 2:41 span.
Each heroic play drew rousing cheers from the home crowd as Mason fueled a 17-4 San Antonio run that translated into a 76-56 advantage. From there, the Wizards never managed to recover and fell to 13-43.
"He is what we need," forward Antawn Jamison said, shaking his head. "A veteran who knows how to play the game, a guy who can play multiple positions, knock down big shots, defensively sound. That's a luxury we had last year, that's a luxury we don't have this year. And especially with injuries and the things that have taken place this season, he's a lot more valuable than what he was in the past. But I'm definitely happy for him and his success because he's a guy that's put in the work and earned it."
Jamison finished with 16 points, and Caron Butler scored 24. Darius Songaila added 16, but the rest of the Wizards combined for just 12.
"Anything that you use to justify a performance like tonight comes out as an excuse," Wizards interim coach Ed Tapscott said. "I'm not going to let us make excuses. Bad night, didn't play well."
The Wizards started the game shooting just 33 percent from the field while allowing the Spurs to make 53 percent of their shots and take a 25-18 lead heading into the second quarter.
A night after boasting good ball movement and a balanced scoring attack, the Wizards struggled to get anything out of anyone other than workhorses Jamison and Butler. The Spurs, meanwhile, already had three double-digit scorers and held a 52-38 halftime advantage.
The Wizards fared better at the start of the third quarter, using a 14-7 run to pull within 59-52 of the Spurs with 5:47 left in the quarter. Then Mason unleashed on his former teammates and buried them.
In 2006-07, the Spurs went 4-4 on the RRT with wins at L.A. (Lakers), Washington, NJ, and Detroit. The four losses were to Utah, Phoenix, Miami, and Orlando.
Updated.
Spurs just too powerful for Wizards
Jeff McDonald
WASHINGTON — Antawn Jamison thought he recognized the guy with the mini-dreadlocks, firing up off-balance jumpers and rally-killing 3-pointers Saturday night. Then, Mini-Dreadlocks got hot in the third quarter, playing his own special brand of Pop-A-Shot, and Jamison was almost sure of it.
The guy wearing No. 8 for the Spurs, shooting down the Wizards, sure looked like Roger Mason Jr.
But something was different.
“Playing with those guys, he’s a little bit more confident,” Jamison said. “He’s a little bit more aggressive than when he was here. That’s saying a lot.”
In his first visit to the Verizon Center since trading his Wizards whites for silver and black, Mason had the kind of homecoming he could have only dreamed of.
He threw in 25 points, made five 3-pointers, and scored 13 in the third quarter to help his new team smack his old team, 98-67.
With the victory, the Spurs (37-17) closed down their annual rodeo road trip with a 5-3 record, the sixth time in seven seasons they’ve finished their February sojourn with a winning mark.
Michael Finley added 19 points and hit another five threes for the Spurs, who came within two points of holding the Wizards to their franchise scoring low.
“It was impressive to me that, after the last three or four weeks, with all the away games, in the last one we took it seriously and played a very good game,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “It’s one of the better games we’ve played, actually.”
The night, from start to finish, was Mason’s. He needed 50 tickets to fulfill all the requests for friends and relatives, and joked that he’s glad the Spurs only come here once.
Afterward, Mason also admitted the obvious.
“This was definitely not just another game,” he said.
A D.C. native, Mason arrived at the Verizon Center the epitome of the local kid made good. He got a raucous ovation when announced as the Spurs’ starting shooting guard. The home crowd even cheered his first 3-pointer.
The Wizards saw this potential last season, when Gilbert Arenas went down with a knee injury and Mason became the Band-Aid. He made shots then, too, so many that the Spurs took notice and signed him.
“I have to give a lot of credit to the Wizards for playing him last year,” Popovich said. “All the time he got last year really built up his confidence, and made him feel like he was a guy who could play in this league for a while.”
Mason took over in the third quarter Saturday, when the Wizards made one last-gasp run. He threw in a 3-pointer, then another, got fouled on a drive and sunk two free throws. Seconds later, he stole a pass from Juan Dixon at halfcourt and swooped in for a layup.
The Spurs closed the quarter ahead 78-57. The Wizards, gassed and hopeless, gave up.
Spurs players say they didn’t know what to expect when the guy with the mini-dreadlocks joined them in September.
“I didn’t expect him to do what he’s been doing now,” said Tim Duncan, who had 12 points and 11 rebounds and sat out the fourth quarter. “He’s been incredible for us. He’s the kind of player we needed to pick up.”
The flip side? Washington could be saying the same.
With Saturday’s loss, the Wizards — injury-plagued again and with Arenas yet to play a game again this season — dropped to 13-43.
After re-signing Arenas and Jamison in the offseason, the Wizards didn’t have money to keep Mason, despite his breakout season. It is a loss that hurts, more so now than ever.
Wouldn’t Mason be able to help this team, too?
“It’s what we need,” Jamison said. “We need a veteran who knows how to play the game. A guy who could play multiple positions. A guy who can knock down big shots. That’s a luxury we had last year, and it’s a luxury we don’t have this year.”
So there Mason was on Saturday, lighting up his homecoming as the Spurs’ luxury. Somewhere, Jamison had seen it all before.
“Nothing’s changed,” Jamison said.
And, yet, everything has.
dude-oniah. you are gay.Hahahahaha
The depleted Washington Wizards??!!
hahahahahaha
Simply pathetic!
That's what crubs teams are all about: playing guys that will eventually be picked up by the Spurs.
Did Ginobili play, o?Hahahahaha
The depleted Washington Wizards??!!
hahahahahaha
Simply pathetic!
How stupid are you? Were you conceived as a result of your father jerking off on to a rag and your mother sitting in it?
Damn, imagine this season without Mason. He has been huge this season, and I hope I can get his autograph next next weekend.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0Sy6...eature=relatedHahahahaha
The depleted Washington Wizards??!!
hahahahahaha
Simply pathetic!
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