• Houston Rockets head coach Rick Adelman say San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is the Coach of the Year:
“I think Pop’s just done a great job this year,” Adelman said. “To me, the record they have, he’s the Coach of the Year, the way he’s put these guys together and the type of season they’ve had.
“Right now, they’re still the best team in the league. They’re so efficient. They played together so long, especially (Tony) Parker and (Manu) Ginobili.
“Pop has those guys playing well. He has his role players playing well off the bench. They shoot the 3s well. They just take advantage of what you give them.” (chron.com)
• Tomorrow night the Spurs will face the Miami Heat who will be without center Zydrunas Ilgauskas after being released from a Miami hospital Sunday following treatment for a foot infection. (espn.com)
• The Spurs will face the Miami Heat tomorrow for the last time in the regular season and Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra says fatigue and emotions were causes for the Spurs annihilation of his team in the first meeting in San Antonio:
“That was an emotionally fatiguing day for us after coming off the Orlando game,” Spoelstra said. “It’s not an excuse. Our guys were ready and (the Spurs) played extremely well. They moved us around as much as any team has.” (southflorida.sun-sentinel.com)
• Spoelstra also went on to praise the Spurs:
“Every year, they’re there and they’re the epitome of a championship franchise,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. “We’ve always had the ultimate respect for them and what they’ve been able to accomplish. This year, it’s probably little bit of a surprise how well and how efficient they’ve played … They’ve already been tested through adversity. They’ve been through playoff battles. They’ve been through all the ups and downs.” (southflorida.sun-sentinel.com)
• Heat’s Dwayne Wade says the Spurs are not boring:
“San Antonio is not perceived to be sexy, they’re perceived to be boring. Teams don’t look at it as a bigger game, but as a player you respect it.”
Wade pointed out there is nothing vanilla about the how the Spurs play. They can easily turn into an exciting team when guards Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili dictate a fast pace.
“Their style isn’t boring,” Wade said. “…They get it, they go.” (southflorida.sun-sentinel.com)
• With the NBA playoffs nearing, RedsArmy.com is keeping an eye on the Spurs and other teams who are expected to make the post-season.
• Express News’ Tim Griffin shares some notes from the Spurs-Rockets game.
Hit the jump to read how you can win free ticket to the Spurs-Portland Trail Blazers game in San Antonio, more from tomorrow’s Spurs-Heat game, Spurs-Dallas Mavericks, and more
• Here is how you can enter for a chance to score some free tickets to the upcoming Spurs-Portland Trail Blazers game on March 28 at the AT&T Center:
1. Follow @TiqFeed_Texas on Twitter.
2. Once you’ve followed, send out a tweet that says “Follow @TiqFeed_Texas” and include your favorite live Texas sports moment, followed by the hashtag #LoneStarTiqs for chance to win free Spurs tickets.
3. One person who tweets that out will win a free pair of tickets to the March 28 Spurs-Trail Blazers game.
• The Austin Toros got a huge win over the Texas Legends, keeping their playoff hopes alive. Read the report at Toros Nation.
• The Palmbeachpost.com says a win by the Heat over the Spurs will be much more impressive than their lopsided win over the Memphis Grizzlies.
• The LATimes.com says the upcoming Spurs-Dallas Mavericks is a must win for Dallas not to make efforts to get the number one seed which the Spurs currently hold, but to keep the number two seed away from the Los Angeles Lakers.
• Former Arizona player and current Rockets’ player Chase Budinger spoke to Richard Jefferson – also an alum of Arizona – on the evolution of his game:
“He couldn’t shoot as well at this stage,” Budinger said Saturday. “He was better at attacking the rim.”
But with the Spurs, Jefferson has used his shooting range to set up his drives to the basket.
“I was talking to him about that today,” Budinger said. “He said it happens with old age. As you get older, the legs start to go. You’ve got to learn how to use the outside jumper.” (chron.com)
