2007-2008 Season Preview: San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs can win a war of attrition by scoring 80 a game (ask the Cavs) as quickly as they’ll win by dropping 100 (ask the Suns). That versatility, paired with three All-Star talents and a myriad of high character specialists, has made the Spurs the premier franchise in sports.
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Spurs Still Lead Race.. By Far
Even with the remodeling of franchises such as Houston, Boston, New York and others, it’s been two months through the offseason and this much is true: San Antonio is still the team to beat.
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Summer League Analysis: Game 1, Vs. Philadelphia
Jackie Butler and Marcus Williams are just two of the main players on San Antonio's summer league team. How did they fare in their action again Philadelphia?
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Dynastic Mr. Duncan
Next time you ask yourself who the best player in the world is, remember the criteria. Is it the best player on the best team? The player who’s won the most? The player who has the highest degree of skill? The answer to every one of those questions is the same.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: San Antonio Draft Preview (28th)
Even championship teams need to reload, and the Spurs are no exception. They need an upgrade at point guard behind Tony Parker and they also need to get younger on the wings.
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The New Model Of A Dynasty
It’s not a singular team that has garnered the “dynasty” identity for the Spurs. It is what perhaps separates the Spurs from other NBA dynasties (no doubt the Celtics of the 60’s and 80’s, MJ’s Bulls or the Showtime Lakers). The Spurs dynasty is really as much a testament to an organization as it is a spectacular group of players.
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Is LeBron The Next Duncan?
The storylines surrounding the 2007 NBA finals will inevitably focus on how these two organizations are so closely intertwined; a relationship fostered by similar principles, fortune, and, perhaps above all else, a surprisingly similar pair of superstars.
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Substance Over Style: Fighting The “Boring Image” In The Street NBA
Why has a team with three championship rings, a premier highlight-reel-in-the-making-backcourt, and the best power forward been labeled boring? The “boring” label has nothing to do with the substance of the game, and everything to do with tattoos, trash talk, and attitude.
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Getting Dirty: Why Amare and Diaw Deserved Suspensions
Whether it's the antics of Bruce Bowen, the accusations by Amare Stoudemire, or a hard foul by Robert Horry, the Spurs have suddenly become public enemy no. 1 to the casual NBA fan. And with that tag, a new perception has gained a chokehold on the team.
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San Antonio Playoff Preview
Admit it. With all the fanfare garnered by the streaking Dallas Mavericks or the high-flying Phoenix Suns, somewhere between the reemergence of the Utah Jazz and the flurry of points put up by Kobe Bryant, you forgot about the San Antonio Spurs. That’s fine, most people did. Before the All-Star break the Spurs looked passive, inconsistent, and worst of all, old. How things change?
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The Missing All-Star In San Antonio
Message board devotees and beer-guzzling fans in 200-level seats are all asking the same question: What happened to Manu Ginobili?
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Spurs Sustained Excellence A Thing of Beauty
What makes the Spurs' sustained excellence more incredible is their ability to cycle key role players in and out of their lineup year-in and year-out.
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A Quiet Offseason In San Antonio
If the Spurs win the 2006 Championship, the offseason can be seen as a monetarily efficient and patient endeavor. The core of the team is intact and they are favorites going into the new season with a fresh, healthy Tim Duncan. But if they don’t lift the trophy in June, there might be yet another painful hangover in San Antonio next summer because of their inactivity.
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Spurs Finally Hop Off The Mavericks' Back
As the basketball rattled around between the long arms of Tim Duncan in the final seconds of regulation in Game 7, an entire series hung in the balance. Duncan couldn’t find the grip on the ball, and while 20,000 Spurs fans screamed for a foul the game went into overtime.
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Finley, Spurs Punch Back
Never has a game 6 felt so much like a game 7, and for good reason. Ill-advised trash talk from Mavericks owner Mark Cuban added to an already electric atmosphere. Game 6 offered two 60-win powers slugging it out, a defending champion facing elimination on the road, an All-Star trying to survive his old team and a suspension providing even more locker room fodder.
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Duncan Dominates Dallas
A memo to the Dallas Mavericks: no matter how much your defense may have improved under Coach of the Year Avery Johnson, there’s no way to prepare for a determined Tim Duncan. The Tim Duncan that controls the game from the low post. The two-time MVP with three Finals MVP trophies to go along with his three rings.
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Ginobili Rebounds, Spurs’ Big Three Take Over
The trio of Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan dominated the Kings defenders, culminating in a crucial 109-98 victory at the AT&T Center and giving the Spurs a 3-2 series advantage. Parker was solid in his midrange game, Duncan finished at the rim and created for his teammates, and Ginobili slashed through the lane as if games 3 and 4 were distant memories.
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Barry Boosts Spurs to 128-119 Overtime Victory
San Antonio, looking overly lax in the first half, was carried by Manu Ginobili and Barry, who came off the bench to provide a big lift for the sluggish Spurs. Tony Parker and Tim Duncan struggled to get into the lane and the only thing Van Exel could hit all night was sideline reporter Jalen Rose’s head with a towel. Barry, who was often the lost man this season behind guards Manu Ginobili and Michael Finley, came out firing for the Spurs, finishing 8/12 from the field and 4/7 behind the line.
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Parker, Sharp Shooting Send Message in Game 1
For more than a few moments in the Spurs 122-88 domination of the Sacramento Kings in game 1, it was like the Kings weren’t even on the court. Sure, for coach Pop and the rest of the Spurs, game 1 was a strategic, focused effort against the “darkhorse” Kings. They stopped the Kings pick-and-pop, prevented Ron Artest from pinning Bruce Bowen in the post, and found numerous ways to get penetration from the Spurs guards. But it also felt like the Spurs were playing for a something more, playing to give a reminder to the entire league.
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Bowen Top Choice For Defensive Player Of The Year
Playoff fever is looming in the air in Texas and the San Antonio Spurs are vaulting for a hard earned, hard knock home court position. With the regular season coming to and end, many S.A. fans will be turning their attention to the NBA post season awards.
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Looking Back To Look Forward In San Antonio
As the 2006 campaign winds down, this season's edition of the San Antonio Spurs seems to face more cynicism than any other Tim Duncan-led team. The Spurs face more doubt than last April despite another 60 win season for a franchise revving up to defend its 2005 championship.
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Spurs Haven't Lost A Step
The San Antonio Spurs are off to a flying start getting to a record of 13-3. This record was achieved partly to the great play of Point Guard Tony Parker.
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Damage Control
After proudly donning the Mavericks logo for almost a decade Michael Finley has traded in his cowboy hat for Spurs. The recently waived veteran will head down I-35 and join the NBA champion San Antonio Spurs.
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The Smarter Kid in School
When it comes to picking solid players late in the first round and into the second, the Spurs are second to none. Is there something Popovich isn’t telling us? Based on the Spurs moves this off-season, the answer to that question would be a triumphant “yes”.
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Parker Claims Racial Bias Over Olympic Games Selection
Tony Parker will represent France in the 2012 Olympic Games and retire from international basketball provided the games are held in his home counrty.
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Spurs Have Many Options This Offseason
Might the Spurs take a run at Nuggets' free agent DerMarr Johnson to add some extra athleticism to the lineup?
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Size Matters
Is it any wonder that the San Antonio Spurs won another championship, their second in three years and their third in seven? Even with Tim Duncan, the MVP of the final series, playing sporadically well, the Spurs still triumphed. Duncan's overall numbers were consistently good, enough to win him the MVP and his team the title, though his play was often lacking at crucial series moments and might have cost them a ring.
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Big Shot Bob Strikes Again
It was the classic game that everyone had been waiting all series for, and the Pistons had it in their grasp. Now, they have the unenviable task of having to win two straight games in San Antonio. But if they want to do that, they’ll have to turn Big Shot Bob into No Siree Bob.
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Mohammed is the X-Factor for the Spurs
Forget about Brent Barry, newly aquired Nazr Mohammed has been the San Antonio Spurs true X-Factor.
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Horry-Book Finish For Spurs
It’s no accident that Robert Horry has five championship rings. He may have played in the shadow of illustrious teammates like Hakeem, Shaq, and Kobe, but at crunch time in the most important playoff games, the ball always seems to wind up in Horry’s capable hands.
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Manu Dominates Denver
Manu Ginobli continued to show why he is arguably the world’s best all around player(See 2004 Olympics) by completely dominating the Denver Nuggets during the Spurs’ 86-78 Game 3 victory.
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Spurs Take Must Win Game 2
The San Antonio Spurs set out to prove not only that their loss in Game 1 of their best of 7 series against the Denver Nuggets was complete fluke, but also to establish their control of the series.
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Spurs Must Make Readjustments Before Game 2
The San Antonio Spurs have a lot of changes to make prior to Game 2 if they want to make life easier than it has become now that they have fallen behind the Nuggets 0-1, after Denver defeated them 93-87.
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Big Dog Signed By San Antonio
The Spurs just got better with the signing of Glenn Robinson, The "Big Dog."
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Bank On The Spurs
The Spurs are still the team to beat this year and with a healthy Duncan and great supporting class including a surging Devon Brown they will make for a very tough opponent.
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Fan Article: Spurs Winners In Every Sense Of The Word
The San Antonio Spurs are world-class from the players up to the management.
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Spurs Miss Out On Malone, But Land Mohammed
To say Buford fleeced Isiah Thomas would be an understatement as not only did the Spurs acquire a starting caliber center who’s entering the prime years of his career, but they also got rid of their worst contract in Rose.
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Not Even Close In Sacramento
The Spurs went into Arco Arena on Sunday night without their usual starting center, and without one of their reserve big men. They didn’t need them. At times, it looked like they didn’t even need five players on the court.
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Manu Ginobili Might Want To Hurry Back
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Spurs Return Home And Get Bounce Back Win Versus Milwaukee
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Has Amare Stoudemire Joined The Ranks Of The Big Fundamental?
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Could Karl The Cowboy Join The Spurs?
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Spurs Looking Good In The Super-Deep Southwest Division
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Michael A. De Leon
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A New Season: Skepticism and Optimism
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The Spurs Offseason-D.A. and Bargains
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Spurs Lock Up Home-Court Advantage, 'Inching Toward Locking Up #1 Seed
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Spurs Lose Anderson for season
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Coming Out Party for New Breed of NBA Superstars
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What Happened!?!?!?
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The Spurs Offseason: “At the Cross-Roads”
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Spurs now own top record in NBA.
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The Sonics are in the most unique situation of all the teams heading into this year's lottery because of their uncertain future in Seattle. However, everyone seems to agree that they could use a top-flight point guard.
Two years removed from winning the NBA title, the Heat have the best chance to land the top overall pick in June's NBA Draft. Miami fans tend to agree on one thing - they want Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.
The blueprint to stop LeBron James is simple: limit his penetration and double-team him on pick-and-rolls. 
Larry Brown inherits a crop of hard-working players but a crop that unfortunately lacks the imagination and exceptionalness to become great. 
All year long people criticized Rashard Lewis because of the contract Orlando gave him last summer, but he has paid dividends for the Magic this postseason.
Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger had nice seasons, but they appear to be in that limbo between being good and being bad enough to get help in the lottery.
Billy Knight will be remembered more for his blunders than his successes.
Rudy Gay positively broke out this season and is the Grizzlies' focal building block moving forward, that is unless they land the number one overall pick.
The Bulls were thought to be a talented young team expected to take their collective game to the next level but instead played like a young team with less talent than anticipated.
Maybe it was the green hue that has been sprinkled on the league this season, or Atlanta’s losing record, but there didn’t seem to be a matchup Boston couldn’t exploit before this seven-game relationship began.
Who should the fans blame for the Nuggets sweep at the hands of the Lakers? George Karl barely runs an offense and the team doesn’t focus on defense. However, the answer to the question lies in the team's front office.
The Lakers' offense is synergistic; the Nuggets are a ticking time bomb with no semblance of offensive cohesion.
For the first time since the Run TMC days, three Warriors averaged 20 points a night and by winning 48 games, it was their highest win total since 93-94 when they won 50.