This week was midseason review week at Project Spurs and all of our staff joined in on the fun with our series of posts. In case you missed any of them, here’s our midseason review wrapup.
• Midseason review Q&A
On Monday, Jeff Garcia talked with Humberto Cervera of News4WOAI to get his views on the San Antonio Spurs at the halfway point of the season. While many overlook the San Antonio Spurs’ flaws due to their success this season, Humbie was the voice of reason saying “this team is one Manu ankle sprain from getting bounced out of the first round of the playoffs .”
• The West’s Best: Then and Now
Jason Rogers wrote about how hindsight is 20/20 and even preseason predictions by some of the most respected writers have been wrong so far this season.
“Predictions are hard and often wrong. The Spurs not only top the Western Conference but the NBA. And it’s not even close, statistically. Though half of the season is in the record books, there is a lot of basketball to play. The top teams in the West at the beginning of the season remain essentially unchanged, but the order is drastically different.”
• Spurs Midseason Grades
Project Spurs’ lead staff writer Robby Lim gave out his midseason report card. Not surprisingly, the Spurs centers received the lowest grade of C+, while the guards brought home straight A’s.
“Overall, the Spurs have done an excellent job during the first half of the season but that doesn’t mean their work is done. This team has some room to improve and maybe adding a rotation player or two will help them towards a strong second half push and bring that needed momentum heading into the 2011 playoffs.”
• A look back at the first half
Jake Faunce says that the Spurs addressing all glaring weaknesses in the offseason is the reason for their first half success and he doesn’t see them slowing down any time soon.
“This is what happens when you give a chess master like Popovich all the pieces he needs to run a competent offense. In the past couple of years Popovich was always missing a needed key weapon necessary for playoff success.”
• Scene 1 Over: Rookie Intermission
Project Spurs’ newest writer, Paul Garcia, took an in-depth look at the Spurs’ rookies and how they have performed in the first half of the season. Paul says Tiago Splitter is a year away from being an effective big man, James Anderson can be another weapon in the Spurs’ high-powered offense and says Gary Neal isn’t likely to cool down anytime soon.
• Spurscast #235: Midseason Review
Jeff Garcia and I got together to talk about the Spurs at midseason and answered three questions about the surprises, disappointments and areas to improve on as they take on the second half of their schedule. John Karalis of Red’s Army also joined in on the fun to give his view on the Spurs from an outsider’s perspective.
• The Anatomy of Being Wrong
Jordan Rivas looks back at everything we at Project Spurs and other bloggers and media outlets were wrong about when assessing the Spurs chances this offseason. In the process, he also makes me crave pretzel M&Ms and compares himself to Luke Skywalker, Frodo Baggins, Neo from the Matrix, Harry Potter and Alice. That alone is reason enough for reading his post.
• Life After Death: Health Meets Pride
Our resident alt tag champion, Nick Kapsis, says health could be the biggest reason for this year’s turnaround and says the Spurs have a renewed dedication to the regular season after being bounced out of the playoffs at the hands of the Phoenix Suns.
“Turns out, what they needed all along was to be broken down to be built back up—the mind’s health is the body’s wealth. There may be no more preventative measure than a properly conditioned mind. Health and professional pride have the Spurs back in the fight. Alone atop the league, the Spurs breathe on their own.”
• Spurs rookies among midseason surprises, disappointments
I closed out midseason review week here at Project Spurs with a look at some of the surprises and disappointments of the season to date. The Spurs record, the discovery of Gary Neal and the struggles of Tiago Splitter are discussed at length.
Feel free to leave a comment on this post or any of the individual posts for your take on the above topics.
