River Walk Chronicles ♦ ///

[Martti.]

Awesome shot by Manu.

[Valor]

Nice win, and damn you guys look unstoppable right now

[megarover]

It shouldn't have been that close of a game in the 1st place but what a huge basket.

[kibaxx7]

Spurs waive Alonzo Gee; Splitter new 6th man?
nba.com/spurs/beat | December 23th, 2010

SAN ANTONIO -- Alonzo Gee has been waived by the San Antonio Spurs today, general manager R.C. Buford announced on press conference. This move allows the team to cut its roster to 13 players. Gee averaged 4.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 16 games with the Spurs this season, including a 14-point game against the Los Angeles Clippers on November 1 (W 89-81), a 14-point, 3-rebound night at Phoenix, two days later (L 97-111), and 12 points & 3 rebounds three days later, against Houston (L 94-102). In those three games, Gee averaged 25.2 minutes per game, but after that, never played more than 16 with the emergence of rookie James Anderson and signee Larry Hughes.

Team coach Gregg Popovich also added he will not give up on the concept of trying out Tiago Splitter in the role of sixth man. So far, that “role” has been in George Hill's sneakers, but with Tony Parker having an injury in the past, Hill took over the point guard duties in those games, posting some nice statlines, but now struggling off the bench with Parker back. With Tim Duncan now in the injury list, Splitter's shining. Popovich vocalized the idea a few training sessions ago, having Splitter spend the majority of it playing with the second unit -- he and the Brazilian have been going back and forth through the press on the topic ever since. Splitter was going to be San Antonio's starting power forward this season, but with DeJuan Blair exploding in training camp, it was just a matter of time before a lineup tweak. In preseason, Popovich was doing everything he could to experiment with Splitter as the team's sixth man. Having him come off the bench to run the second unit would only make the team that much stronger all around. Initially, Splitter was simply not having it. During the Spurs' media day, he voiced his opinion; obviously, he wanted to showcase his abilities as much as possible, and he didn't see this happening in a sixth man role. But after a few preseason games seeing how it would shake out, along with assurances from Popovich and manager Buford that it would not mean a decline in minutes, Tiago now seems to be perfectly content coming off the bench.

Afterwards, Popovich wanted to calm any fears Splitter might have a cut into his minutes when Duncan comes back. “If the team's successful out on the floor, you want to keep that group going. Tiago has been our sixth guy lately, playing 25 minutes a game with ease. If a guy comes in from the bench and plays like you expect him to, you play him until he's tired. I don't think that will change any time soon.” Popovich also reassured that Splitter is willing to help when things count. “I must admit, when Tim went down against Denver a week ago, my first thought was upgrading Tiago to the PF position and moving DeJuan to center. But I ended up starting Antonio (McDyess) on the next games,” he said. “With Tiago coming in and playing off the bench, we had a different approach on our offense and it worked out even better than I first hoped. Both him and Antonio are putting double-doubles on the board.” Just look at these numbers: 8.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, 1.7 blocks (rookie leader) in 28 games, all as a backup; two straight double-doubles -- 17 points, 13 rebounds against Phoenix; 18 points, 10 boards against Denver... and the Spurs with a 21-7 record, the best in the West. “To come off the bench, it's not a problem to me, I’m really comfortable. Whatever the team needs me to, that’s what I'll do,” Splitter said. “It's been done before with huge NBA players, so it's no big deal to me. To be successful, to play for championships, that doesn't come around often. So, I'll do whatever it takes. I'm a humble man. I'll put my ego aside for the group.”

The Spurs flew to Orlando this morning to play against the Magic tonight, at the new Amway Arena. The Magic have a 18-11 record, and a streak of 3 straight wins, winning 4 of their last 5 games.

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[kibaxx7]

Nice Buzzer Beater by Manu

Awesome shot by Manu.

Huge shot!

Wow you almost blew a big lead , nice game winner by Manu though

It shouldn't have been that close of a game in the 1st place but what a huge basket.

I was up by 18, down by 6, up by 12, tied. It was a little frustrating If you've seen the video, Blair inbounds the ball but Billups almost steals it. Manu grabs it quickly, thank God!

Nice win, and damn you guys look unstoppable right now

And TD's on the injury list I think I have another couple of games before he's back. The game at Orlando will be a nice challenge.

[Mandich]

Not a surprising move waiving Gee , your team really doesn't loose much

[kibaxx7]

As usual against the Spurs, Dwight explodes but Splitter, Ginobili, Blair post seventh straight victory
Preview | Recap | Game Info | Full Play-by-Play | Boxscores (SAS :: ORL)
ORLANDO, December 23 -- Tiago Splitter has become the indispensable player for the San Antonio Spurs. Regardless of the source of inspiration, and only a couple of games away from the return of Tim Duncan, the Brazilian gave a brilliant performance Thursday night, making 7-of-12 shots and scoring 19 points to go with 10 boards to carry the Spurs to a 97-90 victory over the Orlando Magic. The Spurs also got double-doubles from DeJuan Blair, with 16 points and 20 rebounds, and Matt Bonner (10 & 10). “He's got some grit,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said of Splitter's effort. “Tiago's a warrior and he continues to keep growing. This shows what he's got inside of him.” Tony Parker said Splitter got rolling because he had open looks on his first few shots -- 6-of-7 in the first half, but 1-of-5 in the second, but the only stat Splitter cared about was making the winning streak bigger, specially with San Antonio coming back to the AT&T Center to battle Washington and the LA Lakers. Blair suffered a lower back strain in the fourth quarter and Brandon Bass a broken ankle in the second -- both leaving the court helped by teammates. “We have two days to get rest and treatment before the game against the Wizards. It's the way it happens sometimes,” Blair said. “But I think I'll be a couple of games out. Good thing Tim makes his return.”

“It was important to come out with a good effort,” Parker said. “We had some lapses where we were behind, but we fought back. We rebounded well, we got to the paint and did what we needed to do to score.” The Magic, who came to this game with three straight wins, had Dwight Howard with 28 points, 22 rebounds, six steals and four blocks. “It seems like Howard has a brighter, bigger flame when he plays against us,” Parker added. “He really is something else against our team. But thankfully, we got the win in both games.” Vince Carter and Jameer Nelson added 21 and 15 points, respectively. “They made the plays and hit big shots down the stretch. We had no answers for it,” Carter said. The opposite of Howard, Carter seems to struggle against San Antonio; combining both games between the teams (this one and November 22), Carter shot 22-of-75 from the field (.293%) and a horrendous 2-of-31 from beyond the arc (.065%). “I thought we were lethargic on some parts of the contest,” Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. “We let Splitter establish himself. He got going and we couldn't control him or Blair. Those were two guys we weren't counting on to come out and play big like that.”

Orlando connected on consecutive 3-pointers to start the final period and put the Magic ahead, 71-69. A floater by Manu Ginobili cut the Magic lead to 77-75 -- Ginobili scored 19 points, five rebounds and four assists. Then Corey Maggette answered the Spurs call with a series of clutch jumpers and a tomahawk dunk over Carter, a 8-0 run, to hold the Magic at bay and lead 86-81 -- 11 points for Maggette tonight. Orlando battled back for a tie at 88, shooting from Quentin Richardson -- 10 points. The Spurs were ahead 94-90 as Bonner found the range: two consecutive treys; he had eight points in the second half after getting only two in the first. “We had so many defensive breakdowns. They're a good offensive team,” Nelson said. “They made us pay for it. We lost all of our energy.” With Bass injured in the middle of the second period and Rashard Lewis (broken jaw, a month out) and Marcin Gortat (broken ankle, two more weeks out) already on the injured list, the Magic played most of the fourth quarter with a unique unit that featured Howard, Nelson, Mickael Pietrus and seldom-used reserves Daniel Orton and Malik Allen. Pietrus shot 1-of-16 from the field for 5 points. Coach Van Gundy didn't rule out a signing for the team.

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Video Music :: Planet Funk • “The Switch”

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[kibaxx7]

Not a surprising move waiving Gee , your team really doesn't loose much

Yeah not a big loss, but with Duncan and Blair out, I'm considering a signing from the FA pool. Never bad to have an extra big man.

[rise]

Why did Vince Carter shoot 36 times?

[Eirsej]

Why did Vince Carter shoot 36 times?

And only hitting 9 of them. He sucks.

[Patr1ck]

64 points in the paint?

[Martti.]

2-31 is .065, not .006.

Great win, Dwight sure did what he wanted down there..

[kibaxx7]

Why did Vince Carter shoot 36 times?

And only hitting 9 of them. He sucks.

Well yeah, as I said, Dwight explodes against me but Carter, is like he disappears against the Spurs.

64 points in the paint?

Yeah that sucks. Will have to edit the 3PT% sliders...

2-31 is .065, not .006.

Great win, Dwight sure did what he wanted down there..

My bad, edited. Yeah Dwight is Hulk against me. Even 6 steals!

[shadowgrin]

WTF, where's my Morning Coffee?!?!
I want my coffee dammit!

[kibaxx7]

Spurs sign Stromile Swift; Blair to the injury list
nba.com/spurs/beat | December 24th, 2010

SAN ANTONIO -- The San Antonio Spurs have signed forward/center Stromile Swift (6-10, 220) to a contract for the remainder of the season and placed forward/center DeJuan Blair on the injury list, general manager R.C. Buford announced today. A 9-year NBA veteran, Swift enjoyed his best statistical season in 2001-02 when he averaged 11.8 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.7 blocks over 68 games (14 starts) with the Memphis Grizzlies. In 2009-10, Swift played for Shandong Lions in China.

Swift began his NBA career with Vancouver in the 2000-01 season, drafted out of LSU in 2000 (2nd overall) by the Grizzlies. He played with the Grizzlies in two stints (2000-2005, 2006-2008) and has also played with the Houston Rockets (2005-2006), the New Jersey Nets (2008-2009) and the Phoenix Suns (2009). Swift, 31, has played in 547 career NBA games (97 starts) and holds averages of 8.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per contest in his career.

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[kibaxx7]

WTF, where's my Morning Coffee?!?!
I want my coffee dammit!

Every Monday.

[shadowgrin]

My bad. It's Monday here already going on a Tuesday. Forgot about timezones.

[kibaxx7]

My bad -- every Sunday, but 2k Sunday; it's December 25 on my association calendar now (Saturday), so I'm posting a new Coffee tonight and then the game against Washington.

[Valor]

106 field goal attempts? and how did VC go 1-17 from three?

[Houndy]

Wow, Swifty as a Spur?

[mp3]

I bet no one was more pleased by the Swift signing than Matt Boner he got abused by Dwight in that game !

Really good Thierry • my man !

[kibaxx7]

106 field goal attempts? and how did VC go 1-17 from three?

I really don't know. Ask Carter.

Wow, Swifty as a Spur?

Needed another body with both Blair and Duncan out. I think Duncan comes back after the game against the Wiz. I'll be nice to have Swift around this year (Cousin will get his spot next season).

I bet no one was more pleased by the Swift signing than Matt Boner he got abused by Dwight in that game !

Really good Thierry • my man !

Everyone got abused by Dwight, and in both games If I remember correctly he was like 37 points, 20 boards, 7 blocks in the other game.

[The X]

I think it must be time for you to either update or delete your poll

[hova-]

Well, I would have kept Gee instead of signing Swift. Swift is just not a good player at all. But if you need more power inside, it might help you.

[kibaxx7]

I think it must be time for you to either update or delete your poll

Lol yeah, completely forgot!

Well, I would have kept Gee instead of signing Swift. Swift is just not a good player at all. But if you need more power inside, it might help you.

With both Duncan and Blair on the sidelines, I needed an extra big man. Despite Splitter's killing everyone on sight, McDyess and Bonner just don't do it. Maybe Swift can be that DeSagana Diop on the Mavericks and charge with a lot of fouls, not a problem for me. At Gee's spot, I already had Maggette, Hughes, Anderson, Neal...

Later this afternoon -- new Coffee!