Spurs Training Camp Thread

[UnWantedTheory]

Eddy Curry's name just made me haphazardly pass out. Did I just see we got one of the NBA's laughing stocks in camp. :beatheadintowall: He's a big alright, but blah. Ryan Richards please!

We would have lost him for good after he would have been cut from TC.

[kdspurman]

Lighting the fires on Eddy Curry
By J.R. Wilco
Pounding The Rock




http://www.poundingtherock.com/2012/...-training-camp

Nice article... Really curious to see how he does.

These guys are completely guaranteed so they are making the team regardless.

Duncan, Splitter
Diaw, Bonner
Kawhi, Jack
Manu, Green, DeColo
Tony, Mills, Joseph

That's twelve guys. The others, Brown, Curry, Blair, Neal, Wilkerson, Collins,Powell are un-guaranteed and competing for up to, but not necessarily, three roster spots.

That would mean if Blair (who seemed very uninspired on Media day) doesn't perform well could get cut, or traded for draft picks, and Neal as well. I don't see it cause I think they might want to bring them back for trade bait which would make it 14 leaving 1 roster spot open.

Personally, I am fine with dumping Blair early. If anyone saw his interview, I think it's clear he is unhappy here and frankly I don't think we need anyone with that kind of attitude on the squad.

http://www.chatsports.com/san-antoni...-Day-1-6570893

[kdspurman]

I believe the Spurs Live scrimmage is today. I think it'll be streamed online but not sure what time. I wanna say 1:30 but not sure yet

Update- It's not 1:30 but tips off @ 7:30.

http://www.nba.com/spurs/news/120926_open_scrimmage

[AlexTmz2]

Video: Popovich likes the team mix of youth and veterans
Written by Jeff Garcia

For many seasons, the San Antonio Spurs were known for being an old team. However, that was then, this is now.

The Spurs have injected some much needed youth to surround their core of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker. Players such as Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard, Cory Joseph, and DeJuan Blair help add a nice mixture of youth to go along with the Spurs aged veterans. And no one like this more than head coach Gregg Popovich.

Check out Pop talking about the Spurs roster including why he feels the team has been so successful, what the team needs to do to get back to the NBA Finals, fourth quarter defense, the loss to the Thunder in the Western Conference Finals last season and much more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9_PK...layer_embedded

^ Video

[AlexTmz2]

Video: Spurs' Ginobili opens up at media day
Written by Jeff Garcia

San Antonio Spurs' media day was a whirlwind as the players stepped back on the court after a long offseason. At media day, Manu Ginobili sat with our friend Don Harris at News 4 WOAI to talk about the upcoming season, his health, and much more.

Check out the video and enjoy the ending when they thought the cameras were off.

http://www.projectspurs.com/2012-art...media-day.html

^ Video

[AlexTmz2]

Josh Powell, Eddy Curry and the Usefulness of Camp Bodies
By J. Gomez

You may remember Powell from his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, where he played a minor role as a backup and won back-to-back championships. He was their fourth big after Bynum, Odom and Gasol, which meant he played sparingly and wasn't particularly effective. Before joining the Dark Side, he played for the other LA team in what can be described as his best season. Powell scored very little but rebounded the ball well, especially on defense.

When his contract with the Lakers expired, Powell wanted a pay day and left LA. Unfortunately for him, fringe rotation players don't usually get multi-year contracts, and Powell ended up playing in Atlanta on a one year deal. He didn't exactly shine there, but like most of his career, he provided good bang for the buck at barely above the minimum. The problem for Powell and his chances at being anything more than a 3rd big on a bad team is that he basically never developed; he was the same player in Atlanta that he was with the Lakers.

When the lockout struck, Powell signed in China, where he averaged a respectable 16.7 points and 8.3 boards in 32 games. After that, he had a brief stint in Switzerland before signing with Brujos de Guayama of Puerto Rico, where he averaged 16.1 points and 9.2 rebounds. In his path to make a comeback to the NBA, Powell did what he had to do: dominate inferior opposition.

So what could Powell bring to the Spurs if his was to make the final cut? Well for one, a mid-range jumper. In his last season in the league, Powell took 1.5 attempts from 16-23 feet while connecting on 44% of them. As a pick-and-pop deep bench big, he clearly has skill and could benefit from the fact that the Spurs don't really have someone that can do this other than Duncan. On defense, and I'm working from memory here, he was a mobile big that could defend pick-and-rolls decently enough. He lacks the bulk and strength to bang with centers, but he's certainly long and scrappy enough to defend power forwards. For his career, he rebounds around the same percentage of available defensive boards that Matt Bonner or DeJuan Blair pulled down last season and is a decent offensive rebounder.

Overall, Powell shows some skills that every team wants from its bigs, like a mid-range jumper and a willingness to defend, but nothing jumps out in terms of potential. He's a 29 year old player and it would be silly to expect him to develop areas of his game he has never excelled at before. As a deep bench guy you can do worse than Powell, but the Spurs already have five bigs under contract at the moment. If the idea is to employ a 6th, a younger player with upside would be a smarter use of the roster spot and resources. But maybe the Spurs are not looking to add anyone for the season and are simply trying to find the right fit for camp. Are the Spurs using Powell (and Curry) in training camp to improve their current big-man rotation, instead of trying to add to it?

The Spurs' bigs struggle closing out on jumpers, partly by design - as the team is willing to concede mid-range shots - and partly because they do not recover quickly enough. As Serge Ibaka's 11-11 night showed, you can't simply allow open looks anymore because most teams have bigs that can hit from mid-range or beyond. Having someone like Powell trying to get a spot on a team would be a good way to challenge Bonner, Blair, Diaw and Splitter to step up their defensive game when guarding a jump-shooter in the same way that having a big, strong post player like Curry could test how well the Spurs' bigs can handle such an assignment. Unlike undrafted rookies or athletic guys with little skill, veterans like Powell and Curry come with NBA-ready skills already at their disposal and have been around long enough to understand that, while they are fighting for a spot, the coaching staff needs to focus on the players that are guaranteed to be on the team. It is also in their best interest to behave as professionally as possible, since this is probably one of their last remaining chances of landing a roster spot anywhere else. Pop's stamp of approval likely carries some weight around the league and getting it would increases both Powell's and Curry's chances of reviving their dwindling careers.

Unless something catastrophic happens, neither Curry nor Powell will don the Silver and Black this upcoming season; a fact that leads to frustration for fans, who would rather see those spots go to young, high-upside players that could break out and be contributors. But what these veterans could do is help the guys already on the team improve in areas in which they've been struggling. I understand that going against Curry won't get Splitter ready to face Dwight Howard, and DeJuan Blair won't have as much trouble closing out on Powell as he'd have bothering Dirk Nowitzki's shot. However, seeing each react to the type of player that has bothered him in the past can help the coaching staff get a better read on how the guys currently on the team would fare in certain situations and adjust the game plan accordingly. It's possible that PATFO didn't hand out invites thinking of a roster overhaul, but of having the players they'll rely on during the season face the type of opposition that pose issues. And that's a good use of camp bodies, if you ask me.

http://www.poundingtherock.com/2012/...of-camp-bodies

[Imwithstuped]

I finally watched that video of Blair, what was he thinking? When asked what he had to do to get more playing time he said "I don't know.." REALLY??? How about working on your D or a mid range jumper. Who has an attitude when you are auditioning for your next contract? I have rooted for him in the past but this BS has changed my mind. His agent must be pounding his head against the wall, what a moron...

[AlexTmz2]

De Colo explains reason for choosing number 25
Written by Paul Garcia

As the San Antonio Spurs prepare to kick off their preseason against Siena this coming Saturday, one new face in the silver and black will be the newest Frenchman, Nando De Colo.

De Colo will wearing a number that used to belong to James Anderson for the last two seasons, number 25.

With Anderson trying to find a place in Atlanta with the Hawks, De Colo's new goal will be to bring a spark to that 25 jersey that fans had hoped Anderson would do two years before.

Via his personal facebook account, De Colo explained his reasoning for choosing number 25.

I wanted to choose 87 for my birth year, but it is too big a number for the team because they prefer a number below 50! I thought of 12 but obviously it is retired (Bruce Bowen) so I decided to follow logic and take 22 for Valencia (I got to 22 years and 25 to Valencia Spurs). And 25 suits me;-)”

As De Colo makes his debut in the white 25 jersey on Saturday, it'll be his play that will make a fan take notice of the new number 25 on the court.

http://www.projectspurs.com/2012-art...number-25.html

[AlexTmz2]

I'm really excited for Saturdays preseason game. If anyone has a link to where the game can be watched, please be sure to post it.

[kdspurman]

Live scrimmage on now

http://www.nba.com/spurs/live

[kdspurman]

Only a scrimmage but Kawhi has 18 first half points scoring in a variety of ways. The guy is a flat out beast

[kdspurman]

Box score from last night:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A4XuUlyCQAIzSAh.jpg

Keep in mind the below

Jeff McDonald@JMcDonald_SAEN
Re: Scrimmage box. Leonard had at least two steals I can recall, but he's credited with zero. Take these stats with a huge grain of salt.

[benjirh]

Box score from last night:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/A4XuUlyCQAIzSAh.jpg

Keep in mind the below

What is that? Why were they listed as the blazers? Why did they have records next to their names? Did Splitter and Brown really not play? And if not, does anyone know the reasons? Looks like Blair might have been on the floor quite a bit. Wonder if they are trying to get him more reps to see if he can finally get comfortable in the system.

[benjirh]

I finally watched that video of Blair, what was he thinking? When asked what he had to do to get more playing time he said "I don't know.." REALLY??? How about working on your D or a mid range jumper. Who has an attitude when you are auditioning for your next contract? I have rooted for him in the past but this BS has changed my mind. His agent must be pounding his head against the wall, what a moron...

I just watched the clip and am unsure what people have a big issue with. It wasn't a drastic change from other interviews that he has done. His demeanor and tone is generally laid back, so I don't think he was being defensive nor was he being lethargic.

In regards to the questions about his status/pt, he completely said the right things in my mind. He avoided the question. We all know he wasn't happy, we all know he wants more pt. So how should he feel. He didn't demand a trade, he didn't take potshots at the FO or Pop and he didn't play into the reporters hands of trying to get a sound byte. I think Blair is ready and willing to play and will give his all for this team as long as he is a part of it. That being said, I also don't think he is a TP or even a Leonard for that matter who will respond in positive ways to Pops strategies for player development. So I think his time is coming to an end, but I don't think he is a head case nor will he cause us problems.

[AlexTmz2]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=EJiYDC-oLeo

In case you missed the scrimmage..