Announced during the Spurs vs. Grizzlies game that Parker has fractured his shooting hand. Specifically it was an injury to his fourth metacarpal on his right hand. Basically his ring finger. Injury occurred in the first half of the game.
Add this to the list of injuries for Parker this season. Two ankle injuries, dealt with plantar fasciitis, a hip injury and now this. Expect Parker to be out 2-3 weeks or possibly the rest of the season.
Stay with Project Spurs for more details on this injury to Parker.
According to Coach Pop, Parker could be out of action for at least six weeks. If so, this will mean Parker will not be playing for the Spurs for the rest of the regular season.
The Spurs are on a roll winning three straight games beating the Phoenix Suns and defeating the New Orleans Hornets twice. With the West being competitive as ever, the Spurs need to sustain their momentum.
It's now time for some recommended Spurs reading which get Project Spurs seal of awesomeness.
SPURS.COM - Mailbag: Coach Gregg Popovich answered some questions from Spurs fans. Check them out!
ESPN - Josh Whitling tells us with Duncan sitting the second nights of back to backs, DeJuan Blair will benefit.
San Antonio Express News - Mike Monroe says that George Hill is looking like a grizzled veteran in his sophomore year. I agree.
Bleacher Report - Taylor Smith thinks Father Time is catching up on the Celtics and the Spurs. The last time I checked the Spurs are getting younger.
Hoopsworld - Eric Pincus looked at the Spurs' remaining schedule and says they could be out of the playoff hunt. Don't count out the Spurs just yet.
San Antonio Express News - Mike Monroe hopes Jefferson might earn redemption in the playoffs. I hope so too.
HoopVibe - Oly Sandor thinks Finley’s release is perhaps most telling indicator that the San Antonio Spurs’ empire and run as contenders is over. He might be speaking too soon.
SPURS.COM - Sean Elliott to be inducted into Arizona Sports Hall of Fame. Congratulations Sean you deserved it!
San Antonio Express News - Mike Monroe: Putting together their first winning streak in two weeks worked wonders on the Spurs' collective psyche.
Bleacher Report - Robert Kleeman believes the San Antonio Spurs can feel Tony Parker's pain.
KENS 5 - Dan Oshinsky is finding answers to the big stretch-run questions for the Spurs.
Pounding the Rock - Wayne Vore says not all shots are created equal. He explained it using the ATS shot charting system.
Mundo Albiceleste -- John reminds Spurs fans what they lost in Scola and an update on what former Spur, Fabricio Oberto, is up to in Washington.
48 Minutes of Hell - Timothy Varner talked about DeJuan Blair and thinks that Blair is one part Fabricio Oberto and one part Carl Landry. Good Read!
And don't forget to check out these great articles from us here on Project Spurs.
The Spurs are winning with Richard Jefferson coming off the bench. As long as that trend continues, I don't have a problem with that!
Next up are the Memphis Grizzlies, let's hope that the Spurs will make it 4 straight! Be sure to visit us daily for more Spurs news, articles and podcast. Have a great weekend!
For tonight's game against the Hornets, I looked to none other than Sarah of HornetsHype to preview the game. Here are her answers to my questions.
1. Can Darren Collison continue on the hot streak he's been on recently? Do you expect him to hit the rookie wall anytime soon with the amount of minutes he's been playing?
His and Marcus Thornton's rookie walls are going to be different from the Tyreke Evans and Brandon Jennings of the NBA, who have tailed off recently, because they got so few minutes in the early part of the year. Collison is playing higher minutes than Chris Paul even plays, due to the fact that he has no backup. He hasn't looked tired until this last week. I'm sure the recent string of losses is wearing on him. The fact that NO leads the league in close games hasn't helped either-- there's no such thing as garbage time anymore, and really, since the Hornets traded away the end of their roster before the All Star Break to get under the luxury tax, there aren't any garbage players left. But I'm more worried about him getting discouraged than tired.
2. Marcus Thornton has been playing off the bench, but against the Spurs, he seemed to be the only player actually doing anything off the bench. Who should Spurs fans expect to step up for tonight's game?
The Hornets had a great fast bench going in January that was running over other teams' benches with Collison and Thornton. But then injuries happened to ruin that chemistry. New Orleans is playing about 8 players these days. Darius Songaila has been a big bench guy this year, who was out for the Spurs & Hornets' previous game. He's usually good for about 10 points and some great pick and roll D, and his return should help with the problems the Hornets had the other night.
3. Key matchup: Parker-Collison or Duncan-West?
After the other night, more like Collison/Hill. Haha. Well, Collison and whoever. He needs to control the turnovers.
4. What do the Hornets have to do from here on out to give them a chance at making the playoffs?
Chris Paul needs to come back and they need to go on an absolute tear. The last two weeks have almost killed their chances-- they're about 7 games back from where they were unfortunately.
5. Your prediction for tonight's game.
Spurs win again by about 4. I predict this so I don't get upset if it happens. But the Hornets have put together a few surprise road wins-- and even more really great games that were almost wins-- against solid teams, so I also wouldn't be shocked if they managed to pull this one out.
Make sure to visit Sarah over at HornetsHype.com. You can also listen to her in our live postgame show from Monday.
Michael and Jeff get together for a non-live show to talk about Michael Finley signing with the Celtics and Tony Parker having second thoughts about playing with France this summer.
We also preview tonight's Hornets game and put a new Spurs player on the hot seat. Look for our next live show and the next episode of Spurscast En Español next week.
Recently waived, Michael Finley, has decided to sign with the Boston Celtics according to Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.
Michael Finley has decided to come to Boston and will sign in next couple days, source tells Y! Sports
Finley will be signing for the veteran minimum. At least he did not sign with a Western Conference team and come back to haunt the Spurs in the playoffs. Good luck to Finley in Boston.
When the Spurs took on the Philadelphia 76ers, I figured I'd have some friends over to catch the game. The Silver and Black were up by three heading into the fourth with the score 76-73. Then, at the 8:32 mark, Lou Williams threw down a dunk, tying the game at 82 a piece, and shifting the momentum in favor of Philly. Philadelphia went on an 18-3 run, and Williams scored 12 of his 20 points in the final period as the 76ers out scored the Spurs 33-18 in the fourth. Well, Spurs nation knows how the game ended.
After the game, and vacuuming up all the hair I ripped out of my head, my friends and I sat around and discussed what we had just seen. It seemed like we couldn't get a stop. In the fourth quarter, in the most critical part of the game, our defense just wasn't up to the challenge. And as we recapped what we just saw, my roommate said something that made everyone in the room nod with agreement, "I miss Bruce Bowen."
The Spurs this season are ranked 12th in defense. This is the first time the Spurs haven't been ranked in the top five since the 1996-97 season, when David Robinson missed 76 games due to injury.
In the eight seasons Bowen played for the Spurs, they were ranked either one, two or three defensively, except for Bowen's last season in '08-'09, when the Spurs were ranked fifth. From 2003 to 2006, the Spurs were the number one ranked defense in the Association.
So, to get a feel of what Bowen really brought to the game, day in and day out, I decided to look at the Spurs in their defensive prime, and what better year then in 2005. In 2005, the Spurs were ranked number one defensively, Bowen was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and the City of San Antonio held a parade down the Riverwalk. 2005, what a great year.
The leading scorer in the NBA in 2005 was Allen Iverson. The 6"1' guard from Georgetown averaged 30.7 points per game while shooting 42 percent from the floor. However, in his two contest against the Spurs, Iverson went 14 for 41, shooting only 34 percent from the field.
The second leading scorer, was none other than Kobe Bryant. Bryant was averaging 27.6 points and shooting 43 percent, but in his three games against the Spurs, Kobe went a combined 19 for 57 and shot a stagnant 32 percent. In fact, Bryant scored over 20 points in only one of the three games. Now some Kobe fans might ask, "How do you know it was Bowen who stopped Kobe?" Well, in the three games they played against each other, Bryant averaged 40 minutes and Bowen averaged 35. We Spurs fans know it was the aggressive defense of Bowen that shut down Kobe as well as Iverson.
This season, George Hill and Keith Bogans have had to play the role of defensive stopper, and while they've done a good job, it's not quite the same as Bruce Bowen. But then again, no one will ever duplicate what Bowen did on the defensive end.
The leading scorer in the NBA this season is Kevin Durant. The "Durantula" is averaging 29.6 points and shooting 47 percent. While the Spurs have slowed the young offensive machine twice this, including a victory against the Thunder, halting his streak of 29 consecutive 25 point games, Durant still seems to get buckets far too easily. In a game earlier this season, he exploded for 35 points and shot 45 percent from the field.
The Spurs could potentially face the Thunder in the playoffs this season, so it is vital for them to come up with a defensive game plan designed to make Durant work for his points. Durant is going to get his buckets, one way or another, but if the Spurs can make it difficult for him and force him to get his teammates involved, then the youth and inexperience of the Thunder will work in favor of the Spurs. They could even let Durant get his points and shut down the others. See their approach to Amar'e and the Suns.
Continuing with our stroll down memory lane, the top offensive team in 2005 was, you guessed it, the Phoenix Suns, led by their MVP point guard Steve Nash. The Suns averaged a ridiculous 110 points per game, but in the three games they played against the Spurs they only cracked 110 points once. The second highest scoring team in the league was the Chris Webber led Sacramento Kings. The Kings averaged 103 points per contest, but in four games against the Spurs they averaged 81 points and not once did they score over 90 points.
I guess some things never do change because this season the highest scoring team in the NBA is the Phoenix Suns, led by, who else, MVP candidate Steve Nash. The Spurs have played the Suns twice this season. In the first game, the Suns scored 116 points, which is seven points better then their league leading 109 points per. Phoenix also shot 57 percent for the game.
The Denver Nuggets and their MVP candidate Carmelo Anthony are the second highest scoring team with 107 points a game. The Spurs held the Nuggets to an average of 100 points in their three meetings which is a good defensive effort, but the Nuggets shot over 50 percent in two of the three games.
Now, I understand that Bruce Bowen alone can't make a whole team defensively better, but Bowen didn't just bring his defensive mentality to the court. He brought it to practice. He brought it to the locker room. His presence alone on the team reminded everyone that defense wins championships
In 2007-2008, the Spurs brought in Ime Udoka to help out the 36-year-old Bowen on the defensive end. However, Bowen still played 30 minutes a night, while Udoka played 18 minutes per game. Udoka showed he could guard many of the high scoring players in the league, but he couldn't do it like Bowen. Bowen made the NBA All-Defensive First Team for his fifth and final time.
There will never be another defender like Bruce Bowen. Whether he was guarding a 6"1' Allen Iverson, a 6"6' Kobe Bryant or a 7 foot Dirk Nowitzki, Bowen was fearless. He played with a passion on the defesive that we may never see again. He wasn't afraid to throw an elbow or a knee, see Steve Nash, and for that he was labeled as dirty. And I loved that about Bowen. He didn't care what anyone called him, because at the end of the day, he was going to get that steal, or make the game winning block. He was going to get the stops necessary for the Spurs to win, no matter what.
The offseason trade for Richard Jefferson has not panned out as expected. Instead of being considered as one of the top contending teams this season, the Spurs are now fighting hard just to maintain playoff position. The team is currently ranked 7th in the West and are virtually tied with 8th placed the Portland Trail Blazers.
Now the Spurs are stuck with Jefferson and hope that his play gets better as the post season approaches.
With Jefferson struggling and the rotation not yet set, Coach Pop decided to put Jefferson on a reserve role. So far, it seems that the move has benefited Jefferson. He has looked more confident and comfortable when playing off the bench.
In 50 games as a starter, Jefferson is averaging 12.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 31.3 minutes of playing time.
While in 7 games on a reserve role, he is averaging 12.4 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.4 assist in 29.1 minutes of action. He is also shooting better from the free throw line at 82.7% when coming off the bench compared to a measly 69.5% when he is starting.
Jefferson has embraced his off the bench role drawing inspiration from Manu Ginobili. He said that “No, it’s not hard at all to accept, I just want to win. You look at a guy like Manu, who’s been All-NBA, one of the best players in this league, and he comes off the bench"
“Starting isn’t a pride thing. I didn’t start, but I was in the game at the very end. That’s been the situation most of these games I haven’t started since the All-Star break. As long as I earn those minutes to be in at the end of the game, I’m happy.”
Jefferson was on the floor through the entire fourth period of Wednesday’s victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, logging 31:34 for the game.
The Spurs also noticed Richard Jefferson's improvement and different approach towards the game when he comes off the bench. Coach Gregg Popovich said this about Jefferson after the game against the Phoenix Suns. "He’s been aggressive. He’s driving the ball well. He’s driving with the shot and not thinking about things. His defense is better too."
Jefferson's commitment to aggression at the offensive end produced his first 20 point game since December 29 as he helped the Spurs beat the Phoenix Suns 113-110 at home.
Playing seven games as a reserve is a small sample, but Richard Jefferson's numbers improved and his aggression on both ends on the floor is more apparent when he plays off the bench.
But maybe that is what he exactly needs to get comfortable with the Spurs, just be aggressive and not think too much on making his shot or who is on the floor.
During the Spurs' last four games in a reserve role, Jefferson has improved his averages to 13.5 points, 5.5 boards, and 1.75 assists per game while shooting 48.7% from the field in 31 minutes of action.
Whether Richard Jefferson can sustain his solid play off the bench remains to be seen. But for the time being he seems to be a better fit in a reserve role.
What do you think? Should Jefferson continue to come off the bench or does he need more floor time with the starting lineup? Share us your thoughts.
According to Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News, Spurs guard Tony Parker is contemplating whether or not he should play with France this Summer.
After several nagging injuries have kept him out several times this season, Parker thinks his participation in Eurobasket this past summer may be to blame.
"I think it's finally catching up with me a little bit," Parker said before Wednesday's practice. "What it tells me is I'm going to have to make decisions about my priorities. At the end of the season, I'm definitely going to sit down and look at what happened this year, and make sure it doesn't happen again."
Parker has not completely ruled out playing for France this summer, but he admits he will have to think long and hard before committing to another grueling basketball summer. He will be heading into the final year of his contract, and says he is serious about returning his game to an All-Star level next season.
"I still want to play, because I still want to go to the Olympics (in 2012)," said Parker, who turns 28 in May. "But after (age) 30, it gets tough. I think what happened this year is going to affect my decision."
After Parker's career year in 08-09, many including everyone at Project Spurs thought this year would be the year Parker took the reins to the team. Not only has Tim Duncan proven that he can still play and compete for MVP votes, Parker's stats have pretty much dropped across the board. When he hasn't been injured, he's been hesitant and a step slow, which could have been a huge issue if not for the improvement of George Hill.
While it's easy to understand why Parker wants to represent his country, his priority and his commitment should be with the Spurs. Especially if he wants a fourth ring.
DeJuan Blair was on ESPN's First Take this morning, and although we weren't able to witness the love fest live, thanks to the internet, we are all able to watch uncomfortably as Skip Bayless professes his love for DeJuan.
Most Spurs fans are probably frustrated about the Spurs continued inconsistent play. As you guys know, we here are Project Spurs are always keeping you updated on latest happenings on Nando De Colo and Tiago Splitter.
Let's start with De Colo.
De Colo is playing for Power Electronics Valencia which is currently ranked fourth in the ACB Spanish league with a 15-8 record and has qualified in the Eurocup's last 16.
In 21 games at the ACB Spanish league, he averaged 12.8 points, 3 rebounds and 2.6 assist while shooting 49% from the field and 34% from the 3 point line in 26 minutes of action.
In Eurocup's last 16, he has played even better having solid averages of 16.6 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 3.2 assist on 50% shooting from the 3 point area and 40% from the field after playing 5 games.
In his latest game, he scored 11 points, grabbed 4 rebounds, dished out 4 assist with 3 steals in 33.4 minutes of action in Power Electronic Valencia's 69-64 victory over Hapoel Jerusalem.
The team is currently at first place in Group J with a 4-1 record at the Eurocup last 16.
Power Electronic Valencia will play one more game before the quarter final round against Unics Kazan on March 9. The top eight teams will advance to the Eurocup quarterfinal round.
How about Splitter? This guy is the most popular international player of the Spurs. With his current contract having an opt out clause this year, other Spanish league teams had already expressed their intentions of signing him.
His team Caja Laboral is currently 2nd in the ACB Spanish league with a 19-4 record wherein he averaged 16.5 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 1.9 assist on 58% shooting in 21 games.
While in the Euroleague, he averaged 13.7 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 assist and 53.9 FG% in 10 regular season games.
Caja Laboral finished the regular season with a 7-3 record and qualified at the Euroleague's Top 16.
However, Splitter only managed to play only two games in the Euroleague Top 16. He is in and out of lineup because of a nagging ankle injury that caused him to miss some games.
He was able to return to action and played against the Olympiacos. A game that Caja Laboral lost 85-89. Splitter scored 10 points, grabbed 6 boards and added an assist on 40% field goal shooting for the game.
Caja Laboral held out Splitter in the next game against Cibona Zagreb which the team won 78-75.
He promptly returned to play for Caja Laboral after missing a game and scored 15 points, grabbed 4 rebounds with 2 assists on 83% shooting from the field in 26 minutes of action. Caja Laboral lost that game 71-82 to BC Khimki Moscow.
Again, Splitter was not able to play in Caja Laboral's next game against BC Khimki Moscow due to his ankle injuryand is expected to miss at least the next two weeks of the Euroleague's Top 16.
Nonetheless, Caja Laboral stayed alive with a key 93-84 win over over BC Khimki Moscow without Splitter. Laboral is currently tied at 2-2 good for second place in Group H and will play 2 more games on March 4 at Olympiacos and on March 11 against Cibona. The top eight teams will qualify to play at the Euroleague's quarter final round.
In the ACB Spanish league, Caja Laboral lost 85-86 to GC 2014 with Splitter still recovering from an ankle injury.
These players would be a welcome addition to the Spurs' lineup in the coming offseason. As they can address the major spots that the Spurs team needs.
Splitter would be a great complement next to Tim Duncan and De Colo would give the Spurs another combo guard who can handle the ball, drive to the basket and shoot the ball.
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Specifically it was an injury to his fourth metacarpal on his right hand. Basically his ring finger. Injury occurred in the first half of the game.
momentum.
For tonight's game against the Hornets, I looked to none other than Sarah of 
The Hornets had a great fast bench going in January that was running over other teams' benches with Collison and Thornton. But then injuries happened to ruin that chemistry. New Orleans is playing about 8 players these days. Darius Songaila has been a big bench guy this year, who was out for the Spurs & Hornets' previous game. He's usually good for about 10 points and some great pick and roll D, and his return should help with the problems the Hornets had the other night.
The second leading scorer, was none other than Kobe Bryant. Bryant was averaging 27.6 points and shooting 43 percent, but in his three games against the Spurs, Kobe went a combined 19 for 57 and shot a stagnant 32 percent. In fact, Bryant scored over 20 points in only one of the three games. Now some Kobe fans might ask, "How do you know it was Bowen who stopped Kobe?" Well, in the three games they played against each other, Bryant averaged 40 minutes and Bowen averaged 35. We Spurs fans know it was the aggressive defense of Bowen that 
guessed it, the Phoenix Suns, led by their MVP point guard Steve Nash. The Suns averaged a ridiculous 110 points per game, but in the three games they played against the Spurs they only cracked 
In 2007-2008, the Spurs brought in Ime Udoka to help out the 36-year-old Bowen on the defensive end. However, Bowen still played 30 minutes a night, while Udoka played 18 minutes per game. Udoka showed he could guard many of the high scoring players in the league, but he couldn't do it like Bowen. Bowen made the NBA All-Defensive First Team for his fifth and final time. 
After several nagging injuries have kept him out several times this season, Parker thinks his participation in Eurobasket this past summer may be to blame.
Bloguin is the revolutionary blog network specifically focused on helping bloggers get the most out of their websites. We're currently working on building a large network of online communities and hope to expand our blogging coverage to include a wide range of topics. 
The Bloguin Network allows advertisers to promote their products and services to our ever-growing number of visitors. We offer both site-specific ad placements as well as the ability to run a network-wide campaign. If you're interested in working with Bloguin to meet your advertising needs, please contact us.
The Bloguin Network is always looking to expand. We're specifically looking for blogs in the sports, entertainment, and video games field, but are open to adding any type of quality site.. If you're a blogger and interested in joining our network, please fill out our application form.
The Bloguin Login gives you full access to everything our network has to offer. Your name and password will work for each and every one of our sites. Signing up is simple, and will allow you to post in all our forums, create member blogs, and access other cool features! What are you waiting for? Create an Account! 