We'll miss Diaw against the Thunder on offense, but not as much on defense; even if he's back, I doubt he'll be in shape to really hang with the Thunder. Perkins and Ibaka are not really low post threats, they just need someone to stay with them and box out.

Diaw is more important than Spurs fans give him credit for. His defense is underrated and he's a good offensive player, even when his shot isn't going in. It's not like Bonner will hit in the playoffs.

Bonner's 3 pt % drops by 10 percentage points in the playoffs. He shoots 32% from long range when the bright lights are on. Proven choker.

If Bonner and Blair are still getting big minutes, the Spurs won't make it past the 2nd round.

Also very concerning seeing that you just know Diaw is going to come back up 10 pounds. This is a huge blow.

Lets hope Splitter can find some extra energy also because he is about to get a ton of minutes.

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Diaw is more important than Spurs fans give him credit for. His defense is underrated and he's a good offensive player, even when his shot isn't going in.

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Absolutely. He's the only guy besides Parker who can consistently collapse the defense and kick out to an open shooter without having to run a called play. Most of them are following directions: catch ball here, dribble to here, pass here if A, shoot if B. Diaw is actually reading the defense and intentionally moving defenders around to create open shots. Very important to have someone who knows how to generate offense when the plan isn't working.

He's also the only defender besides Duncan who doesn't get overwhelmed by strong posts.

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He's also the only defender besides Duncan who doesn't get overwhelmed by strong posts.

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Not to mention, he almost always takes advantage of smaller defenders in the post area when they are switched on him. Unlike Tiago.

Tiago has done a better job of that lately, though not stellar. He has regressed a little on finishing strong at the rim though.

Tiago has been great his year. No doubt. Needs to do it in the playoffs though. I'm afraid he's getting a little worn down and that's why he's not finishing as well at the rim. He has never played this much consecutive basketball. In Europe the seasons are never this long.

Who are some of the teams that you Spurs fans would like to see (or not like to see) in the first round? With the possiblilty of a Rockets vs Spurs matchup first round, I was just curious to see which teams, between GS, HOU, UTA, and LAL, would yall like to play or like to avoid.

From a Rockets perspective, I think it would be a very fun first round matchup with you guys. I have little doubt yall would win, but the regular season games were very entertaining and I think the playoffs would be fun as well. I'll hang up and listen.

Obviously Utah is the weakest. Would like to avoid LAL for the obvious reasons now that Diaw is out for the first round.

Between GS and HOU I think it's pretty even. Short distance to HOU is nice. Both teams have enough talent to win a couple games given the Spurs injuries.

Both Houston and GS defend the paint fairly well but struggle guarding the 3 pt line. Both are in the bottom 5 in 3PA allowed. The Spurs should be able to take advantage of that with their shooters. If you give the Spurs enough open looks they will light it up from outside.

Spurs waive Stephen Jackson acording to Wojo. WTF is going on with this team?

Spurs waive Stephen Jackson acording to Wojo. WTF is going on with this team?

Spurs waive Stephen Jackson acording to Wojo. WTF is going on with this team?

I agree with those points. I would like to see a Rockets Spurs series matchup. Playing OKC would be interesting with the Harden history, put I have no desire to play Denver (because I think we simply do not match up well with them at all). It definitely feels good to be back in the postseason, though. Should be fun

Wow. This team is in total disarray. Horrible way to be entering the playoffs.

I had a bad feeling about Jack's situation when I read this two days ago:

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RUMOR has it that Jackson had a complete meltdown today with the team. Apparently he is uncertain about his future with San Antonio and is currently not with the team.

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And then heard he wasn't with the team in Denver and had no injury listed.

Well at least we know we will have a definite $10MM to play with this summer.

But seriously, we can't have tendonitis Kawhi playing 48 mins a game at SF. This is a huge loss.

what in the ****. unless he stuffed someones wife or is about to get arrested for beating the piss out of his grandma, that was a really, really stupid move. him and leonard were our only chances to stop the likes of kobe, harden, durant, james, etc.

I blame Forbes. They triggered this BS.

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Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 4m
Gregg Popovich and Stephen Jackson have been sparring over Jax's role throughout season; disagreements resurfaced this week, source tells Y!

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Adrian Wojnarowski ‏@WojYahooNBA 3m
Spurs and Jackson discussed a release prior to trade deadline, but sides agreed to go forward together for rest of season, source says.
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The Spurs HAVE to sign another SF for the playoffs. Anyone have any ideas....?

Eliott still looks pretty spry.

This late in the season, it's going to be a Toro's call up.....or someone from the French/Australian national team

Spurs need a vet. Someone with NBA experience.

They can prob get by going small with Manu and Green at the 3 when Kawhi is out but if something happens to Manu they are going to need to have another wing who can play.

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GS, HOU, UTA, and LAL

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The Spurs should beat all of those teams, but none of them jump out as a team I want to play like the Clippers did last year. That has a lot to do with how the Spurs are playing right now compared to last year (TP and Manu coming back will hopefully make a big difference). On the flip side of the coin, none of them look like a horrible matchup like Memphis did two years ago.

In order of how much I want to play them:
HOU
GS
UTA
LAL

Houston - Harden is probably good for a win on his own (and I really dislike that guy), but they don't have dangerous players at multiple positions and levels of the roster like some other teams do. They play hard, but they don't have the depth or experience to beat the Spurs 4 out of 7. Add in the proximity and potential for banter as ancillary benefits.

Golden State - Steph Curry is a tough cover for anyone because he can shoot for volume and percentage from anywhere. Everyone knows he can shoot threes, and he still hits 3.5 per game at 45%. That is astounding. Now add in David Lee, Klay Thompson, maybe Andrew Bogut, and an irritatingly effective Carl Landry.

Utah - I don't want to play the Jazz because they have a variety of good low post guys and play with a ton of energy. Jefferson/Millsap/Favors/Kantor is a tough card for the Spurs to cover and box out with Duncan/Splitter/Blair/Bonner. Mo Williams always plays well against the Spurs because his game is tailor-made to what the Spurs like to force teams to do, and wildcard Alec Burks reminds me way too much of Devin Harris in 2006.

LAL - Who would want to play Nash, Kobe, Howard, Pau, and Artest? This smells a little like the LAL 2004 1998 all-star team and the bench looks weak, but that is a ton of talent on the starting lineup and the bench has a couple guys who are capable of coming up big for a game or two in Jamison (getting old, but he has 27 and a 33 point games this season) and Blake (you can't leave this guy open). Kobe's ego and Mike D'Antoni are the two biggest wildcards in that series. I like that the Spurs have Leonard and Green to throw at Kobe, and Duncan/Parker know how to deal with Nash as well as anyone does. Howard will probably be frustrated and in foul trouble for much of that series, but at the end of the day there are a lot of holes in the dike and very possibly not enough fingers. But it sure would be fun to be the team that knocks LA out of the playoffs.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 4/12/2013 5:10p).]

That. Is. Awesome.

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Spurs need a vet. Someone with NBA experience.

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I agree, but we really need someone who has a clue how our system works. Is Bogans still around? Wasn't he waived earlier in the season?



[This message has been edited by Enzo The Baker (edited 4/12/2013 5:09p).]

Well, Jackson being out changes things since I started writing that post.

This is now officially setting up as a perfect storm for a first round flop. Chemistry issues - check. Rampant injury problems - check. No easy first round opponent possible - check.

Why can't the Spurs be in the East so they have a round to sleepwalk through while they get their s*** in order?

We will get out of the first round.

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I agree, but we really need someone who has a clue how our system works. Is Bogans still around? Wasn't he waived earlier in the season?

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He's still with Brooklyn. Plays like 20 minutes a game for them.

I thought they waived them for some reason...ooops. Welp, maybe there's a reason we signed Ime as an assistant this year.

Just a quick list after looking briefly:

Mo Evans
Rasual Butler
Ryan Gomes
Tracy McGrady
Bill Walker
Dominic McGuirre
Derrick Brown

Ugh.

I don't know if this is still right.
http://hoopshype.com/free_agency/small_forwards.htm
No one really leaps off the page.

The only guy who has experienced the Spurs system is Da'Sean Butler. He has time with the Spurs and Toros.

[This message has been edited by Ulrich (edited 4/12/2013 5:22p).]

Don't know if they have any roster room left, but I could see Jackson going to the Thunder now. He and Durant are buddy buddy, and he could really help them against the Heat.

Well Gomes can shoot the ball at least. And the Spurs used to really like Childress. Who knows what we're going to do.