Austin Toros Roster Updates

Ian Mahinmi and Darius Washington were both sent to Austin over the course of the last couple of weeks. Washington tore it up in his first game with the Toros: 32 points (28 in the second half). If he develops, he could be the heir apparent to Jacque Vaughn rather than just the guy who helped make Beno expendable.


Mahinmi, on the other hand, has been up and down. He's averaging a respectable 13 points and 7 rebounds a game in the D-league (which is far more guard-oriented than the NBA). Unfortunately, he's also a foul and turnover machine. He's a freak athlete, but still a work in progress. Of course, just because he can dunk, some Spurs fans think he should be starting today (see: White, James).

Perhaps the weirdest roster update is the re-acquisition of Marcus Williams. He scored 12 points against Sioux Falls in his first game. Someone still has hope for the guy, but I'd be fairly amazed if he ever works his way onto the Spurs roster.

The Return Of Small Ball

Prior to their 112-99 collapse against Sacramento Monday night (a.k.a. Beno’s wrathful revenge), the Spurs had set a franchise record for best start to a season at 12-2. Sure, they’ve had a cakewalk schedule, but they’ve also been taking care of business. So take every critical statement with a grain of salt, because the Spurs are winning.

But recent trends in playing time have brought forth a resurfacing of sorts: the dreaded small ball.

For the more dedicated of Spurs fans, you recognize the lineup immediately. Duncan mans the center, flanked by any group of Ginobili, Parker, Bowen, Barry, or Finley (with Finley generally manning the power forward position).

When it works, the Spurs play magnificent finesse basketball. The lane opens up for Duncan, and opposing teams sag off of the plethora of shooters. Recently, the Spurs won a high scoring affair with Orlando by predominantly playing small ball, matching up against a Magic team that plays Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis at the power forward.

Other times, it backfires, like it did against the Kings. Fabricio Oberto tore up the Kings on the interior for 13 points on 6-7 shooting in the first half, but received little playing time as the Spurs started falling behind.

Statistically, the recent pension for small ball has been most readily reflected in Francisco Elson's minutes. Through their first 11 games, Elson averaged 20.1 minutes a game, all off the bench. In the last 4 games he's averaged 8.3 minutes a game, sacrificing minutes (mostly) to Brent Barry. Barry hadn't registered more than 22 minutes in a game all season, but is averaging slightly over 22.1 in the last 6.

The lingering question is whether this style of play best suits the Spurs (or, more specifically, if they can win in the playoffs this way).

Spurs fans remember small ball not stacking up against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2006 playoffs. We also saw it work, albeit inconsistently, against the Phoenix Suns in 2007. According to 82games.com, the lineup of Barry, Finley, Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan was actually one of the better lineups the Spurs put out in '06-07, with a +26 point differential. Statistically, small ball isn't necessarily a bad things for the Spurs.

But stats don't show everything. By playing small, the Spurs often buy into another team's style of play. It generally means that they've been taken out of their traditional two-big lineup. The Kings and Mavs both did they by getting double-digit leads on the Spurs. The Magic also forced the Spurs to play small, but the Spurs managed to hit their shots and eventually put the defensive clamps down.

The Spurs love their flexibility. They can run with the Suns or slug with the Rockets. But small ball isn't usually a tactical strategy by Pop, it's a last ditch effort when his team is struggling.

Like I said, the Spurs are winning, so this may all be trivial. But if other teams (namely Dallas) can force the Spurs to adjust to the small style of play, the Spurs may find themselves sacrificing their defensive foundation for a game of catch up.

Marcus Williams Waived By Toros

Talk about a bust. Picked 33rd in the draft after coming out of college early, Williams was waived by the Spurs after a pathetic summer league and preseason (3.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 4.2 bonehead plays a game). I don't know if there is any other player in the league selected higher in this year's draft that is not on any sort of roster right now.

So, to sum up, Marcus Williams not worthy of the Austin Toros roster, where tattooed West Virginia boy Kevin Pittsnogle was the 12th overall pick. Just putting things in perspective.

Ten Reasons I Hate The Dallas Mavericks

1. They have the worst fans in the NBA. Spoiled rich kids all around. Did you see the planned "green out" last night? It was a miserable failure. Nobody wore the shirts because they didn't want to change out of their collared polos or sports coats. And it was supposed to support the troops. Embarrassing.

2. I hate everything about the wannabe-pot-smoking-thug Josh Howard. Way to punch someone in the back of the head during preseason, by the way.

3. Jason Terry punched Michael Finley in the man parts. I knew not to do that by middle school.

4. I hate everything about cocky-rat-boy Devin Harris.

5. The fans actually have the audacity to boo Finley after all the years he put in there. He was released by the organization, he didn't ask for a trade or Marbury his way out of town. Yet they boo him. Amazing. Watch Spurs fans cheer for Avery Johnson when his number is retired this December, and you'll learn something about loyalty.

6. They are, collectively, the ugliest team in basketball, and the camera continues to zoom in on free throw attempts. Jason Terry looks like a rodent, Stackhouse looks like he should be in Geico commercials, and Howard needs a lot more than braces to fix that mess.

7. Dirk Nowitzki just kills the Spurs. He's pretty damn good, and it pisses me off.

8. They could only win with a Spur as their head coach.

9. The whole "muddy River Walk" thing. You know, it is an actual river. It's on mud. It also generates millions in tourism for the city. As opposed to Dallas, which has...uh....banks. Nice going, Cuban.

10. They are the image of the "new" NBA...tons of finesse play, isolation plays, and high scores. They are the embodiment of how the league has become wimpier.


Anyways, now that I've vented, I'll try to sum up the game in a paragraph or so. Devin Harris looks like an All-Star when he plays against the Spurs, probably because he's compared to Tony Parker every day. Parker, in case nobody noticed, single-handedly blew the first quarter for the Spurs with a sequence of turnovers. He looked banged up, too. Not good. Manu, Duncan, Vaughn and Barry (both of whom returned from injury) were the only Spurs that came to play. Oh well, it's November. Hopefully they figure the Mavs out by playoff time.

The Week In Video (11/4-11/11)

Manu slings it in to Oberto:


Manu on Yao...again.


Parker scoop against Hilton Armstrong:


Francisco Elson on 78-year-old Penny Hardaway:

The Buck Stops Here

(I need to make a habit of cheesy titles).

From the Spurs' 25 point rout of the Milwaukee Bucks:

- Manu is playing the best basketball he's played since the 2005 playoffs. 21 points in 18 minutes. Thankfully, he didn't have to play much tonight. He already has a tight quad and it flared up on him against New Orleans. The fewer minutes he has to play right now, the better.

- The Spurs outscored the Bucks by 31 points while Duncan was in the game.

- Jake Voskuhl (Bucks backup center) is balding but still sucks, disproving the theory that Manu's alopecia is directly tied to his ridiculous awesomeness.

- Barry missed his second straight game with a bum ankle, so Ime Udoka got to see some minutes....sorta. He played 27 minutes, but didn't do much of anything and only had one field goal.

- Finley caught fire, his first good game of the season. 7-12 for 17 points. He and Ginobili almost had as many points as the entire Bucks team in the first quarter.

- Ian Mahinmi could be really, really good someday. Just a beast. He's like Dwight Howard (as a rook) without the muscle. He's also really hard to tell apart from Elson on the TV...it's annoying.

- Matt Bonner is a total spaz. Darius Washington is tough as nails. Fransico Elson is playing great despite having monster butterfingers syndrome.

Duncan Arrives, Stings Hornets

From the Spurs 97-85 victory over the Hornets:

- After a few paltry performances, it was good to see Duncan back to form. Duncan had 24 and 12 with 4 blocks while dominating the Hornets' frontcourt.

- Everyone talks about how fast Parker is, but Chris Paul is pretty quick, too. Parker torched him by playing smarter that Paul did (27 points and 8 assists, including a few miracle layups that he makes seem pedestrian). Sniffle....he's all grown up.

- Ginobili keeps making plays. Not just scoring, but just plays. In one sequence, he made a three, got a steal, made an amazing pass to Parker, and swiped a rebound. He had 10 boards tonight. He's just kinda nuts. Look at that picture. Nobody would do that unless something was sincerely wrong with their mental wellbeing. I love this guy.

- Michael Finley looks old. Really, really old. He gets no separation from his defender and is mastering the Malik Rose "pump fake the shot you take 3 times" routine. He shot 1-6 tonight and only got 17 minutes of run. Not saying he's done by any stretch, but he's not in form yet.

- Darius Washington looked like a rookie at the beginning of the year, but made some smart plays. He's aggressive, to say the least. 7 points and 0 turnovers for him.

- Peja Stojakovic got Bowened: 1-6, 2 points. Bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuce.

Manu Reigns Supreme, Carries Spurs

Last season, I wrote about Manu Ginobili's slow start. Ultimately, he was able to return to form by the 2007 playoffs, offering timely shooting and his usual competitive fire.

This year? Ginobili's reminding everyone what a summer of rest will do for you.

Through five games, Ginobili is averaging a team-high 20.8 points a game in a modest 30 minutes a night. He's shooting 45.8% from the three point line, and perhaps most importantly, getting to the line 9 times (considerably higher than his 5 attempts a game last season). His 5.6 assists and 2.6 steals per a game are also indicative of his do-everything style.

But, as always is the case with Manu, the numbers don't tell the whole story. The fact of the matter is that Ginobili is carrying the Spurs whenever he's on the court. Through 5 games, he's their central playmaker, their best outside shooter, and, above all else, their best competitor. He tears away rebounds from bigger players (like he did against Miami) and steals outlet passes (like he did in Houston, leading to the vicious dunk on Yao). In the embarrassing loss to the Houston Rockets, Ginobili single-handedly kept the Spurs in the game with pure competitiveness.

Against Miami, Ginobili looked like his 2005 self; an unstoppable slasher with an array of floaters, fadeaways, and methods of dribble penetration.

And in case anyone forgot, he's doing it from the bench.

While Duncan quietly struggles to regain form (16 points a game on 47.5% shooting), Parker and Ginobili have carried the load. Bowen, Finley, Barry, and Oberto have all struggled to find their offensive rhythm. Each player is averaging fewer points than last season, and while early, it's obvious that the Spurs need someone to be their go-to-guy while they round into form.

Ginobili is the guy, and if he plays at this level for the next few months, the leading candidate for 6th man of the year may find himself on the All-Star team as well.

Spurs Start 3-0, Rotation Unsettled

The Spurs played their best game of the season Friday night, granted they beat up a hapless Sacramento team 96-80. For the first time this season, the defense actually showed up.

We'll give Bowen and company a mulligan for the closer-than-it-should-have-been Portland game on opening night because of the emotions of the ring ceremony. The win in Memphis, while close, was good stuff considering that the Spurs beat a running team on the second night of a back-to-back.

The one uncertainty with the Spurs at this point is their rotation. Robert Horry is returning next week after missing the last 3 to deal with "personal business". Matt Bonner has gotten good playing time in his absence and has been adequate. Elson has been getting minutes but still shows that the things he's best at are dunking and disappearing from the game...and he doesn't get to dunk a whole lot.

Ime Udoka, the only Spur that hadn't seen action after two games, tore it up in garbage time against Sacramento. Udoka had 14 points (3-4 from downtown) and 6 rebounds in just 24 minutes. He also showed surprising quickness. Popovich claimed that Udokawas "down the line" but "will get his chance".

Oh, and Beno got his ring after signing with the Kings. Good for Beno, since he'll play in a more open offense in Sac-town.