Spurs news and notes: 70 wins, Spurs one of the best, and more

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• The topic of the San Antonio Spurs being boring raises its ugly head again but this time the Spurs are given respect:

Popovich and Duncan to the NBA are like vegetable platters at a full buffet, well-intended but barely noticed. They are the primary reasons why San Antonio, the model American franchise, is relegated to the tiniest corner of the league’s marquee.

That’s how it is, and that’s how the Spurs like it. (source mercurynews.com)

• Though the Spurs lost to the New Orleans Hornets giving them their seventh loss of the season, the Spurs are not out of making team history to get 70 wins:

     

• And although the Spurs may have a shot at 70 wins this season despite the loss to the Hornets, we are reminded even the 1996 72-win Chicago Bulls team were beaten badly as well:

• Basketball Reference crunches the numbers and show the Spurs rank high as one of the best teams in the NBA:

According to this, we can be about 94% sure that the best team is either San Antonio, Miami, Boston, the Lakers, Chicago, or Orlando.

• TNT’s Charles Barkley is picking the Spurs as one of four teams to win it all this season:

“Like I said, I think the Lakers are clearly in the mix. But San Antonio and Dallas are both terrific teams and I’m waiting to see on Utah how Mehmet Okur comes back. They could be there. But I think all four of those teams are pretty evenly matched.” (source thenational.ae.com)

• The debate continues on whether Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich or Los Angeles Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson is the better coach of the decade:

• Former Spurs’ player Bruce Bowen recently spoke at his Alma Mater of Cal State Fullerton and noting he wants to give back to the school that started it all for him:

Cal State Fullerton graduate and former San Antonio Spur Bruce Bowen was the guest speaker at the Titans’ men’s basketball chalk talk Saturday, Jan. 22.

Known for his defensive tenacity in the NBA, where he routinely guarded stars like Kobe Bryant and Dwayne Wade, Bowen went over how he was so successful. He also spoke about his time as a Titan and how he wants to give back to the school that started it all. He likes the direction the university and men’s basketball program are headed in.

“Having the opportunity to come back and see where I was at one point, looking at how the university has changed so much, they always talk about how things change and get better in life as you move on. This university has definitely gotten a lot better,” Bowen said. (source dailytitan.com)

• Read Express News’ Tim Griffin’s notes from the Spurs-Hornets game.