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Maybe the apostle Paul's comments had some merit regarding not just drinking water but to take a little wine for the stomach. (1 Timothy 5:23)
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b..._.4518c50.html
Web Posted: 01/02/2007 12:22 AM CST
Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer
CLEVELAND – For much of the past decade, Kobe Bryant and Allen Iverson have routinely proven to be two of the Spurs’ most difficult covers.
It might be time to now add LeBron James to that list.
If James plays like he has in his past two games against them, the Spurs could be in for a long evening. The 22-year-old forward scored 35 points when Cleveland won in San Antonio on Nov. 3. He had 44 when the Spurs lost here last season.
James, who also had 32 points in another victory over the Spurs during his rookie season, has caused similar trouble for many teams. But there haven’t been too many players who have consistently frustrated the Spurs like Bryant and Iverson.
What separates James from some of the league’s other top scorers is his combination of strength and athleticism. In their loss here last season, the Spurs twice thought they had James wrapped up for a foul only to watch him power through for a layup.
While the Spurs can throw Bruce Bowen on many an opposing team’s top scorer and not fret too much about the outcome, that isn’t the case with James. Bowen has had his most trouble with strong, physical players like James, Bonzi Wells and Carmelo Anthony.
As a result, whether the Spurs win or lose tonight could be determined by how they defend James as a team.
I'm wondering if any of the Spurs received a flu shot this year.
–Lee Butler, Charleston, W.V.
Yes they did. As they do every year.
But flu shots, from what I’ve been able to deduce from the Centers for Disease Control website (and, yes, that’s the type of extensive research we try to provide here at the Mailbag) do not prevent stomach flu. Go figure.
Flu shots reduce the risk of contracting various strains of influenza. They don’t protect you from other “flu-like” illnesses like gastroenteritis, a more common stomach ailment often referred to as “stomach flu.”
Outbreaks of gastroenteritis on cruise ships have been somewhat common in recent years. That’s also probably what leveled the Spurs last week.
So far, Pop has been one of the few people among the Spurs spared by the stomach virus.
“But,” Popovich said, “I didn’t get a flu shot.”
Why is Tim not taking control of the games like he used to before? Also why does Parker think that he have to take so many shots?
–Julian, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
I think you answered both questions yourself. From what I can deduce, Tim is not taking control of games like he used to because Parker is taking so many shots. And Parker is taking so many shots because Tim is no longer taking control of games like he used to.
EVEN WHEN ALL WERE WELL WE KEEP HAVING THESE DEFENSIVE MELTDOWNS!! CAN'T THESE COACHES DO SOMETHING! SOMEBODY IS FAILING AT THEIR JOB! S.A. HAS TOO MUCH TALENT TO BE CONTINUING WITH THESE DEFENSIVE FAILURES! THEY ARE GOING TO COST A CHAMPIONSHIP THIS YEAR FOR SURE IF THINGS AREN'T CHANGED!!!!!!!!!!!!
–C.W. Irwin, Port Neches
I first want to applaud you for setting a Mailbag record for most exclamation points in a sentence with 12. But as much yelling as you seem to be doing over the Spurs’ defensive lapses, I can assure you of this much: You would have been drowned out by Pop after last week’s loss to Milwaukee.
As far as your claim that the Spurs have “too much talent to continue with these defensive failures”: Talent only gets you so far in the NBA if you’re not athletic enough to use it.
Why don’t you allow Ginobili to run as point to see if he could get a little size at point guard?
–Joe Huennekens, Oakland, Calif.
Unfortunately, the decision isn’t up to me seeing as I neither coach nor own the Spurs. But if I did, I would try to clone Manu and have him play all five positions.
Manu already serves as a point guard of sorts. It’s not uncommon for him to initiate the offense and the Spurs rely on his penetration to create scoring opportunities just about as much as they do that of Tony.
If you’re suggesting Manu should back up Tony instead of say Beno or Jacque, Brent Barry is a more likely option for that role. But in either case, it’s wise to remember this piece of age-old wisdom: Size doesn’t always matter.
Do the Spurs look to make any type of trade before the deadline and who might they look to deal?
–Joseph Rodriguez, San Antonio
The Spurs are always looking at possible deals before the trade deadline. Finding one that works, however, is the hard part.
In the past three seasons, the Spurs have made one Deadline Day trade (Malik Rose for Nazr Mohammed) and had two others all but done before they collapsed (Rose for Kurt Thomas; Brent Barry for J.R. Smith). You can probably expect to hear three names come up in conversations this season: Eric Williams (he has an expiring contract); Jackie Butler (he’s young and not playing); and Beno Udrih (he has a cheap contract, he’s young, he’s skilled and he seems to have signed a three-year lease in Pop’s doghouse).
Barry surfaced in last week’s talks regarding Los Angeles Clippers’ swingman Corey Maggette, but the Spurs have been reluctant to move him – at least in that deal – because he’s finally playing like they hoped he would when they signed him.
Why don’t you guys get some big centers? Spurs got a bad defense because they don’t have a good center. Tim Duncan is getting old. He can't play defense and at same time take care of offense. I think Spurs need some big centers.
–Dean Pannil
First off, why does everybody keep putting this stuff on me? Where in this Mailbag does it say, “Email Johnny: He’ll orchestrate trades, make lineup changes, fire coaches AND get Tim Duncan’s autograph for you!”
If I had that kind of power, the first thing I’d do is give myself a hefty raise for having to put up with this kind of pressure every week.
Second, Tim is not old. Mike Monroe is nearly twice Tim’s age. Now, that’s old.
Tim isn’t as dominant in Year 10 as he was in Year 3, so I don’t expect him to shut down Amare Stoudemire. But I’m also not sure there’s another big man in the league who can.
I also don’t think Tim’s occasional defensive problems have had as much to do with age as they do focus. Sometimes he gets too frustrated with the officiating. But when he’s feeling (and thinking) right, he still ranks as one of the top three defenders in the league.
Third, what do you mean by “big centers?” The Spurs already have one 7-footer in Francisco Elson. If you mean “big, lumbering centers,” the Spurs had one of those last season in Rasho, and he couldn’t get off the bench against Dallas.
I can count the number of dominant centers in the league on one finger: Yao Ming. Duncan also qualifies in my book, but he prefers to be called a forward.
Shaquille O’Neal isn’t the force he once was because of injuries, but Stoudemire can join that group if he stays healthy and learns to impact the game more on the defensive end.
The Spurs don’t ask too much of their centers even when David Robinson was lining up next to Duncan in the 2003 NBA Finals. Defend. Rebound. Hit the occasional open jump shot.
Elson has shown the ability to do that. Just not consistently.
If Elson doesn’t improve, the Spurs best option might be to make Tim the full-time center and go shopping this summer for an athletic forward. In either event, however, I won’t be the one making the decision.
Maybe the apostle Paul's comments had some merit regarding not just drinking water but to take a little wine for the stomach. (1 Timothy 5:23)
Why is it that Flip Saunders can gameplan for James and the Cavs offense but Pop can't?
Slant the defense toward his side of the floor and put a smaller defender (i.e. Jacque Vaughn) on him. Throw in the occasional double and triple team.
LeBron abuses our defense like a teen does with his pickle..
"defend James as a team."
We won't see Tim, aka "last line of defense", stepping into LeBron's path. Last game, LeBron posterized him @ATT as Tim stood there passively with his hands up and then stumbled to the floor like a crumpled piece paper all the way back to the backboard support.
LeBron loafs a lot, but we can't count on him loafing tonight.
Pop probably doesn't care about this game any more than t_pork, so he's not going to work to come up with adjustments for LeBron, and if he did, it's not clear the Spurs would be bothered to execute those adjustments.
CLE is 2nd on +RB differential.
Wonder what version of the Spurs will show up tonight?
Probably because Flip has a long small forward in Tayshaun that can bother him with his length. We don't have anyone Prince's size on our squad.
BEWARE of the Spurs' Secret Weapon Beno Udrih
They can only hope to contain him.
In Slovenia, secret weapon contains you.
BEWARE of the Spurs' Secret Weapon Beno Udrih
They can only hope to contain him.
Prince has never done against LeBron. The only players on the Pistons who have been able to keep LeBron in front of them consistently were Lindsey Hunter (6-3 point guard) and Rip Hamilton (Bowen's size). A quick point guard like Lindsey - or possibly Vaughn - can pressure him in the open court, recover on the pick-and-roll, harrass his dribble, and face-guard him when he's off the ball. LeBron has a completely undeveloped post game, so he can't really take advantage of his size.
The Pistons have used semi-zones and weak double and triple teams against the perimeter scorers Prince guards since he became a starter - I'm sure that given the proper help Bruce Bowen could do it much better than Prince could.
Bowen is no physical match for LBJ. Bowen will do the best he can but the Spurs will probably mix it up a bit. If Eric Williams is available, he's got 6 fouls to give.
Flu shots doesn't work or are a lottery
Every year the flu is different
But wtf flu? To me it is impossible that pro players can caught a flu.
They are human, just like everyone else. Regardless of their level of fitness, it's easy to catch a virus. You may be being facetious but in case you weren't, there are a million scenarios..
A: The ballboy has the sniffles and distributes the basketballs to the players for warmups. Players put hands to mouth, lick their fingers or whatever and there you go.
B: Air vents in Spurs' jet circulates airborne microbes and viruses. It happens on commercial airlines all the time.
C: Timmy goes to restaurant with Manu and Matt and Brent. (if you've ever worked at a restaurant before, no further explanation is needed). Tea glass wasn't exactly stored in an iso ward. Neither is the credit card swipe.
James
Ohhh come on
Only in America
Have you brushed your teeth this month?
Have you brushed your teeth this month?
I was supose to do it?
With the old ball, we will now stop him.
Yes, they will try to hit him with the old ball in his head.With the old ball, we will now stop him.
Last year they missed the opurtunity
The "flu shot" is to prevent the influenza virus. Influenza infection is characterized by fever, headache, muscle pains, weakness, and upper respiratory symptoms. Sometimes it can lead to secondary infections of pneumonia. Diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain are not part of the flu symptoms.
The "stomach flu" is not caused by influenza at all, so the term itself is a misnomer. Infectious gastroenteritis can be caused by many different organisms; the flu shot does not provide protection from any of these. They are viral (mostly rotavirus and Norwalk virus) but also bacterial (campylobacter, Shigella, Salmonella, E. coli, Clostridium) and occasionally parasites (Giardia, etc.).
And I thought this was the best one of these yet by Ludden. He was mostly informative and still got off some funny stuff without being insulting to his questioners. Although he still tries too hard to fire off one-liners.
Come on! What would a porn star know about the flu?
We have to keep our shot records up to date.
I say put E. Will on him. He's strong enough to handle the punishment that LBJ dishes out but may not be quick enough to stay in front of him.
Bowen just bounces off of strong players like a ping pong ball. LBJ is a horrible match up for him.
almost as if he's saying "cus I'm not the coach you stupid !"
Ludden's the man
Lebron James, Lamar Odom.
Rashard Lewis.
These are the guys I thought Williams was gonna match up perfectly with when we acquired him...
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