Spurs Win 19 Straight

It wasn't always pretty, in fact sometimes it was ugly, but the Spurs pulled it out. Despite trailing for the majority of the 3rd quarter and looking absolutely terrible that quarter, the Spurs remained undefeated in these playoffs. They are now up 1-0 over the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals behind a 101-98 victory.

Matt Bonner, Boris Diaw, and Danny Green looked awful on offense and for some reason kept jacking threes despite looking awful. Luckily, Splitter, Neal, and Ginobili stepped it up. Tiago Splitter had 9 key points and drew a crucial charge to help turn the game around. Ginobili led the Spurs with 26 points and was definitely the biggest key to the victory tonight. He finally got it going for the Spurs in the 4th after they were struggling a great deal offensively. Gary Neal was huge and was great down the stretch.

The Spurs went with an extremely small lineup at the end of the game. They had Neal, Ginobili, Parker, Jackson and Duncan. You rarely see an NBA team run 4 guards out there, but the Spurs ran this lineup the majority of the 4th quarter. Stephen Jackson did an amazing job guarding Durant and even added a few buckets. Jackson was like Bruce Bowen with his amazing defense. Very nice to see Jackson play great defense like that.

The other two parts of the big 3, Duncan and Parker both had decent, but unspectacular games. Parker had 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 6 assists. Tim Duncan had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Each can definitely play much better though.

The most satisfying part for the Spurs has to be that they won this game despite the turnovers. They had 12 turnovers in the 1st half. How do you win with 12 turnovers in one half? They finished with 17 turnovers for the game. If the Spurs win after that game, then how can they lose? Too much depth, too much skill, too much desire.

-Noland

Spurs Now Take 3-0 Lead

The San Antonio Spurs beat the Utah Jazz 102-90 in an extremely late game 3 last night. These Spurs look tough to beat and are showing why they are the #1 seed. No NBA Team has ever overcome a 0-3 deficit to win a best of seven series.

Tony Parker led the way with 27 points. 16 of those points came in the final quarter to lead the Spurs to victory. Parker went a perfect 6 for 6 from the line in the fourth. He also hit all five field goals he attempted. Tough to beat the Spurs when Parker is on like that.

The Spurs got an unexpected spectacular game from Tiago Splitter. He finished with 10 points and 8 rebounds. Performances like this from Splitter will increase the Spurs championship chances drastically.

Tim Duncan, the Spurs best player, had a mild game for him. The greatest power forward of all time finished with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 blocks. They can win with those numbers, as they showed last night, but they will likely need better against the big boys. That is unless the other guys step up, like Splitter did last night.

The other member of the Big Three, Manu Ginobili, had a very unusual stat line. Ginobili had 6 points, 10 assists, and 5 rebounds. Those totals worked though because the Spurs played brilliant unselfish basketball.

Stephen Jackson and Danny Green both finished with double figures. They scored 13 and 14 points respectively. Man this Danny Green sure looks like a player surrounded by that Big 3.

-Noland

Popovich wins 2012 NBA Coach of the Year

Who is shocked? I know I am not. Popovich is the best coach in the league. He should probably win every year and yet, this is only the second time that Popovich has won this award. It is the second time in a row that the Spurs have won the West despite Tim Duncan being past his prime. You cannot ask for much more out of Popovich as a coach.

The ultimate testament to Popovich is the career of Stephen Jackson. Look at what Jackson did when he was with the Spurs. The guy was a likable, unselfish, team player who played defense. Then he goes to Atlanta and becomes a selfish ego manic. After Atlanta Jackson went to Indiana and got into the brawl. During a few other stops Jackson did not get any better. Yet when Jackson got back to San Antonio this season he once again is a model citizen. How does that happen?

Do you want more proof of Popovich's skill? Matt Bonner is a solid contributor on the Spurs who is considered a vital part to their success. Tell me one other team that considered Matt Bonner critical in his career. What about Danny Green? The guy rode the bench in Cleveland. Once Green got to San Antonio he becomes a starter and a focal point. Then there is Kawhi Leonard. Popovich developed Leonard as a quality starter in just his rookie season allowing him to have a shot at rookie of the year despite not being a lottery selection. Gregg Popovich can coach, and he is doing a fantastic job of it.

-Noland