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I also noticed last two games Blair was the man who jumped at the tip-off, and he won it against Dampier, It's another proof why he's a talented rebounder.
Spurs' good, bad and an ugly turnover
Mike Monroe
The pluses and minuses of a Spurs roster with seven new players were evident in the final moments of Saturday's 101-98 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder at the AT&T Center.
Trailing 97-94 with 27.2 seconds left, the Spurs got just what they needed: a stolen in-bounds pass by Keith Bogans, signed by the Spurs in September to make precisely that sort of defensive play.
Bogans swiped Thabo Sefolosha's pass and got the ball to another newcomer, Richard Jefferson, acquired for his ability to make offensive plays.
Jefferson glanced over at Spurs coach Gregg Popovich before dribbling into the frontcourt. He acknowledged a moment of confusion before starting a drive to the basket that resulted in a lost ball turnover.
“We're still getting some of the communications figured out,” Jefferson said.
Spurs captain Tim Duncan, one of three veterans on the court with Jefferson and Bogans, relieved Jefferson of all responsibility for the costly mistake.
“Obviously, the last play down there, we probably should have called a timeout,” he said. “With the experience of enough among us (on the court), we should have done something: either set a screen for Richard or gotten a timeout and got a play in.
“So that's on us, the guys that have been here.”
Here's another tip: Rookie power forward DeJuan Blair, charitably listed officially at 6-foot-7, not only was in the starting lineup for the second time on Saturday but jumped at the tipoff to open the game, also for the second time.
Duncan ordinarily takes opening tip duties, but he was sidelined with an ankle sprain Wednesday against Dallas. Blair won the tip against 7-footer Erick Dampier.
Duncan was back on the court for the start of Saturday's game, so it was a bit of a surprise when Blair jumped again Saturday.
This time, Oklahoma City's Jeff Green won the tip.
Word games: Popovich on Sunday took time out from coaching to conduct the final oral round of the fourth annual LOGOS Vocabulary Contest for middle school students.
The event, sponsored by IKON Office Solutions and the Spurs Foundation, was held from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at Grossman International Conference Center Auditorium at the University of the Incarnate Word.
The contests grew out of the national spelling bee when some parents wanted to ensure students were learning the meanings of words, not just how to spell them.
“I enjoy it,” Popovich said. “It's fun, and the kids are a riot.”
I also noticed last two games Blair was the man who jumped at the tip-off, and he won it against Dampier, It's another proof why he's a talented rebounder.
Yeah, I always wished teams would let their actual best leapers jump the tip, instead of (usually) their centers. I mean Tim can hardly jump at all, even before this season. I bet RJ would be the highest leaper on the squad. Jeff Green could jump out of the gym.
is not only how high you jump, but also how fast you get there, and taller players may get faster to the ball because they don`t need to jump too much.
We should of won that game. Horrible mistake by veteran
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