• Does the injury to San Antonio Spurs guard Tony Parker lead to the possibility of the Dallas Mavericks catching the Spurs for the best record in the NBA?
Does it crack open the door for the Dallas Mavericks (43-16), who despite winning six in a row and 15 of 16 remain six games behind San Antonio (49-10), to make a run at the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference?
Dallas has 23 games left starting Tuesday night at the vastly improved Philadelphia 76ers, who have moved above .500 at 30-29 and have won four in a row. (espn.com)
• Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich and Manu Ginobili talk about the scoring drought in last night’s win against the Memphis Grizzlies:
• With all the talk about small markets thriving against larger markets such as New York, in any new CBA, the Spurs are seen as the exception:
Now, there are exceptions to the rule in the NBA. The San Antonio Spurs play in a smaller market and currently have the league’s best record. That’s because they’ve drafted brilliantly — not just Tim Duncan as the no-brainer No. 1 choice, but Tony Parker (28th pick, one pick after Jamaal Tinsley), Manu Ginobili (57th pick), DeJuan Blair (37th) and George Hill (26th). Brilliant management and talent evaluation can overcome a middling (13th) payroll. (indystar.com)
• Spurs’ Tim Duncan and David Robinson weighed in on the small versus big market cities in the NBA:
“I always thought it was special to be in one place and you could put together a team, especially in a small market like San Antonio’s,” said Hall of Fame center David Robinson, who won two championships and spent his entire 14-season career with the San Antonio Spurs. “But it’s real tough because the small-market teams don’t have the money to do what a New York can do and the Lakers can do. It’s going to be hard for a lot of small-market teams.”
“The big teams getting the best players might be what [people] want to see. It might be the biggest draw,” conceded Spurs forward Tim Duncan . “But obviously, if the league wants to stay competitive all-around, that makes room for much better games on a nightly basis.” (sports.yahoo.com)
Hit the jump to read about how to score some free Spurs tickets, a Spurs caption contest, more from the Spurs win over the Grizzlies and more.
• In last night game between the Spurs and the Memphis Grizzlies, NBA referee Tommy Nunez, Jr. suffered a leg injury:
Nunez fell to the floor during a fast break in the first quarter and remained there until Spurs trainer Will Sevening came to his assistance.
Nunez resumed his duties after a short break, but at the next timeout he walked to the locker room with the game still in the first quarter. (nba.com)
• Ginobili and Duncan talk about the tough win against the Grizzlies:
• Yahoo! Sports is having a caption contest featuring Spurs’ Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan.
• Express News’ Tim Griffin shares his notes on the Spurs-Grizzlies game.
• Spurs’ legend George Gervin has been in India spreading the game of basketball through clinics sponsored by the NBA. Here is what he had to say about the experience:
“The trip has been good man,” said Gervin in a phone interview with Deccan Herald. “A real eye opener and I’m really thankful to the NBA for giving me this opportunity. I have heard so much about the place and I’ve always wanted to visit it. This is my first time here and I’m loving it. I’ve never been around so many people. The landscape, the people and everything else is awesome.”
When asked about the quality of basketball in India, Gervin said: “I’m in no position to comment on the quality of basketball in the country because I’ve barely seen anything. But the best part is that they all seem to have the ability to learn quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised to see an Indian in the NBA or the WNBA.” (deccanherald.com)
• Former Spur Terry Porter reflects on his NBA career.
• Want to be named Spurs fans of the week? Check out this contest where you can win four tickets to a Spurs game.
• Press8 Telecom will have a raffle for two Spurs tickets. Click HERE for the details.
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