From Courtside

There are certain nuances in any NBA game that only become visible when you’re sitting 10 feet away; notable little particulars that 99% of fans will never have the opportunity to see. Fortunately, I was able to be in the 1% for the Rockets/Spurs Sunday matchup, despite some god-awful traffic problems. Here are the some of the most distinctive things from Sunday’s game, as seen from somewhere between Eva Longoria and the “Valero Guy”.

While the Spurs talk a lot defensively, they never say anything unnecessary. No “good pass”, random jargon, or chit-chat with the opposing team (outside of Parker, who, for some reason, wants to be everybody’s friend). It’s unnerving how stoic and business-like they are on the court, which just goes to reaffirm the belief that they are all robots programmed for NBA domination.

I love Ime Udoka. He’s tough, confident, and a dogged defensive player…but not always a smart one. He was pulled twice by Popovich for defensive mishaps against the Rockets. The first time, he shaded Tracy McGrady on the wrong side and gave up an easy dunk. Pop subbed him out, gave him a pat on the ass, and calmly pointed out the miscue. Later in the game, Udoka inexplicably tried to double McGrady from the opposite baseline, allowing McGrady to swing the ball to a teammate for an easy 3. This time, Pop lit into Udoka, shouting at him in red-faced fury until Ime found a place on the bench. Good stuff.

Tim Duncan is a clever dude. Whenever the man he is defending goes to set a high pick, Duncan gives the screener a slight push along the hips/waist. It’s not much, but the screener always ends up setting the pick about 6 or 7 inches away from where he actually wanted to set it because of Duncan’s shove, occasionally even bumping into the ballhandler. I saw this tactic kill a pick-and-roll between Alston and Landry.

Duncan is also constantly touching someone. It’s like he doesn’t know what to do when he isn’t in contact with another player. He always had a hand on the guy he’s guarding or, on the other side of the court, leaning on the player guarding him. If he’s not touching someone, he specifically reaches out for the player closest to him. Watch for it, it’ll mess with you.

The Last Positional Battle

We're less than a month away from the NBA playoffs, and the Spurs are currently sitting at 6th. To be fair, they could either be a 1 seed or an 8 seed entering the playoffs, so the seeding alignment doesn't matter as much as the things Popovich harps on: health and playing well at the right time.

Riding a 3 game winning streak, I'd say the latter is getting taken care of (in no small part thanks to Duncan and Manu). The team is also getting fairly healthy. Parker is about 100%, Udoka recovered nicely from the tarsal tunnel syndrome in his right foot that cost him two games, and Ginobili is playing with energy without overexerting himself.

The two variables are Robert Horry (knee contusion against Sacramento) and the recently resigned Brent Barry (still out with his calf tear). It's safe to assume that Horry will be back soon and that, for some godforsaken reason, Pop will let him shoot 1-6 in case he hits one big shot...meaning Bonner and Oberto will see more pine time, especially since Kurt Thomas has looked decent.

The shooting guard slot is far more intriguing. Barry provides the shooting that the notoriously streaky Finley, to be blunt, doesn't always do. Finley is 10-33 in his last 5 games including an 0-7 crapfest against Dallas. Thankfully, Udoka has shot 11-20 in this winning streak, and Bowen has held his own to make up for the lack of shooting that Finley and Barry are supposed to provide.

So, the million dollar question is this...if other teams go small, which wing players do you roll with? Ime has to be in there (he's the only wing capable of playing the 4 spot, and he proved it against Dallas), and obviously Manu is in the bunch. Bruce will be on the court come playoff time, meaning Finley and Barry will be sharing minutes based on who is shooting best on any given day. Do you roll with a Brent Barry recovering from injury, or a Michael Finley who shows up to 1 out of every 3 games?

Personally, I roll with the hot hand. As for Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire...take Vaughn in a heartbeat and never look back.

Defense, defense, defense....

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've been busy with SXSW. After the 50th beer and the 50th band everything seems to get a little hazy.

The one healthy byproduct of being preoccupied was that I missed most of the Spurs' recent skid. They've lost 3 out of 4, slid into 6th in the conference, and, most importantly, just aren't playing well. Now, they have a healthy Celtics looming on St. Patty's.

Their slump can be attributed to a few things. The injury to Ime Udoka doesn't help, and Bowen's suspension-based-on-reputation was a speedbump too. But the two main factors have been the defense and the play of Manu Ginobili.

Usually the savior, Manu has hit one of his patented "disappear for a week" walls. Other than a thigh contusion (which we saw hold him back in the 2005 Finals), there has been no report of injury, meaning he's probably just fatigued. Prior to his 22 point outing against Philadelphia, Manu averaged 11 PPG in his previous 3 games, including 2-13 from the arc.

The defense has been the main culprit. When Philly drops 103 points on you, you know you're having trouble. Most notably, the Spurs aren't creating defensive pressure. Philadelphia only have 4 turnovers against the Spurs. The Suns won the game in the second half the same way.

Spurs Hire Kelvin Sampson....yes, that Kelvin Sampson

INDIANAPOLIS -- The San Antonio Spurs have hired Kelvin Sampson as an adviser, days after he resigned as Indiana University men's basketball coach amid allegations he committed major NCAA rule violations, 6Sports Director Dave Furst reported Thursday.

He is expected to advise the defending NBA champions for the next few weeks, Furst reported. Hiring advisers is nothing new for Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. He has hired several coaches in this capacity through the years.

Must....resist.....too....many.....easy.....jokes.

Rotations and the Return of Nick the Brick

We've got a big feature coming from a guest contributor pretty soon....so yeah, tune in.

In other news, the Spurs are rolling with 10 straight wins. The rough part is yet to come, however, with a stretch of 6 of 7 games against playoff-quality opponents looming (including Phoenix, Boston, and Denver twice). Pop has yet to set a rotation, but it looks more and more like Kurt Thomas is going to get the starting nod for the rest of the season. With Parker back, it looks like Ginobili will go back to the bench.

Damon Stoudamire has stolen a lot of Jacque Vaughn's backup minutes, but hasn't done anything to deserve them. Meager Mouse has shot 31.2% since becoming a Spur, including 4-21 in their last 5 games. I don't want to say it, but he's looking more and more like the second coming of Nick Van Exel...he sucks all year but Popovich expects him to come up big in the playoffs only to watch him brick every shot he takes.