Pounding The Rock 1 hour ago
Spurs Draft Pick Power Rankings: 16-11
Photo by Garrett W. Ellwood/NBAE via Ranking the Spurs draft picks of the Gregg Popovich Era. We’re back continuing our rankings of the all the Spurs draft picks of the Gregg Popovich era. The second round picks who never played for the Spurs have already received a shoutout, and if you haven’t already, feel free to check out picks 27-23 and 22-17. Also, as a reminder: Players whose rights were traded on draft night and never played for the Spurs are excluded. That eliminates Leandro Barbosa, Goran Dragic, and 9 other picks. Three picks who have not played for the Spurs but were...
Pounding The Rock 13 hours ago
Open Thread: It’s time for the Spurs to bring Manu Ginobili back...as a coach
Photo by Ronald Cortes/ Retirement schmirement Last season, which started over a year ago, saw the return of Tim Duncan to the Spurs sideline. But instead of suiting up, he dressed in his best (well, best for Tim Duncan) and joined Gregg Popovich’s coaching staff. Photo by Jason Miller/ As was reported, the assistant coaching job initially went to Manu Ginobili. According to sources, Ginobili, only a year into his retirement, was “apparently not quite ready to dive back in”. Okay, so it’s been a year. Perhaps it’s time to ask again? With Will Hardy being...
Pounding The Rock Oct 25, 2020
Should he stay: Jakob Poeltl
Daniel Dunn-USA TODAY Sports Should the Spurs re-sign the solid but unspectacular big man? It depends on how highly they value impact over potential. Beyond what happens with DeMar DeRozan, the biggest free agency question in the Spurs’ near future revolves around Jakob Poeltl. The big man is up for an extension at a strange time for the league, both financially and stylistically, so it’s hard to determine his value. Poeltl has been undeniably good since arriving in San Antonio in the Kawhi Leonard trade, but his ceiling is limited, which could make the decision to sign him to a...
Pounding The Rock Oct 25, 2020
Open Thread: Checking out what DeMar DeRozan and Giannis Antetokounmpo have in common
Photo by Quinn Harris/ The MVP and Spurs guard may both be competing for offseason moves if they opt out of their current contracts. The NBA’s 2020 MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo and San Antonio Spurs star DeMar DeRozan had one statistic in common this season Efficient hoopin @DeMar_DeRozan | #GoSpursGo pic.twitter.com/yqSf6rfYcH— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 24, 2020 Both men were the only players to average 20 points per game, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists while shooting over 50% from the floor this season. Giannis won back-to-back Most Valuable Player awards over the past two...
Pounding The Rock Oct 24, 2020
Watch: The Spurs best clutch moments from the 2019-20 season
Photo by Ronald Cortes/ A lot of Spurs games came down to the wire this season, which means lots of clutch plays. The 2019-20 Spurs may not have won as many games as usual — both because of the shortened season and they just weren’t that good — but for better and for worse (depending on the opponent) they had a lot of close games, which meant some big moments in the clutch. As a result, they have compiled a video of all their best clutch moments of the season. My favorite — and probably almost everyone else’s — is the all clutch-ness from the Spurs’ OT win over the...
Pounding The Rock Oct 24, 2020
Open Thread: Win an autographed Dejounte Murray jersey
Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Join the Spurs Fan Group today. If you haven’t already, you can join the San Antonio Spurs Official Facebook Fan Group. We're giving away a FREE signed @DejounteMurray jersey over on the Official San Antonio Spurs Facebook Fan Group! Join now ➡️ https://t.co/9nkdRPqrjx pic.twitter.com/ql4isLGMUb— San Antonio Spurs (@spurs) October 23, 2020 The benefit of joining right now is that you can win an autographed Dejounte Murray jersey. The Spurs point guard has been working hard this offseason getting ready for whatever the future has in store....
Pounding The Rock Oct 23, 2020
Pounding the Rock Prospect Talk: Deni Avdija
Photo by Marko Metlas/Euroleague Basketball via Discussing Deni Avdija and the San Antonio Spurs with NBA Draft Analyst Matt Babcock The Spurs are merely three weeks from making their first lottery pick in more than two decades, and the Silver and Black faithful have collectively fallen in love with talented Israeli teenager Deni Avdija. The six-nine point-forward is one of the brightest international prospects in this class, and San Antonio has little hope to select him with the 11th pick after he climbed his way into early-lottery territory. With the San Antonio Spurs on pace for a...
Pounding The Rock Oct 23, 2020
What we’ve learned from 2 years of LaMarcus Aldridge and DeMar DeRozan
Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports A retrospective on the numbers and takeaways as San Antonio approaches a likely third (and final?) year with both players on the the roster. It’s not meant as a knock on DeMar DeRozan or LaMarcus Aldridge to say that where the Spurs are—structurally or competitively—isn’t what the front office had planned three-ish years ago before the vector bent profoundly and irreversibly with the start of the Kawhi Leonard saga. While they salvaged what they could a year later by moving Leonard to Toronto and getting back a package headlined by DeRozan, the...
Pounding The Rock Oct 22, 2020
Spurs Draft Pick Power Rankings: 22-17
Ranking the Spurs draft picks of the Gregg Popovich era. We’re back continuing our rankings of the all the Spurs draft picks of the Gregg Popovich era. The second round picks who never played for the Spurs have already received a shoutout, and if you missed it you can click here to check out players 27-22. Also, as a reminder: Players whose rights were traded on draft night and never played for the Spurs are excluded. That eliminates Leandro Barbosa, Goran Dragic, and 9 other picks. Three picks who have not played for the Spurs but were either first round draft-and-stashes (Livio...
Pounding The Rock Oct 22, 2020
The Spurs could be a dark horse destination for Giannis Antetokounmpo
Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports The Spurs won’t likely get the Greek Freak, but their disposable assets and ample 2021 cap room should at least put them in a position to try. There has been speculation about the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo for years now, so it’s not a surprise that now that he’s about to enter the final year of his contract with the Bucks we are seeing more and more reports about teams that are eager to pry him away from Milwaukee. If a move were to happen, the Spurs could be in a position to put themselves in the running to land the reining MVP thanks to their...
Pounding The Rock Oct 22, 2020
Open Thread: Already pining for the NBA preseason that make never come
Photo by Ronald Cortes/ Unsure of how the 2021 season will pan out, is it too much to ask the Spurs to televise this year’s preseason games? The leaves are changing, Texas is cooling (sort of), and the days are getting shorter. As I mentioned yesterday, this is the time time of year when I break out the Spurs flag, lace up a new pair of Spurs-infused Converse, buy myself a new Spurs shirt, and get stocked for the preseason. There are fifteen roster spots, and in the last three seasons there have been two additional two-way contracts tying a pair of players between the Spurs of San...
Pounding The Rock Oct 21, 2020
Pounding the Rock’s Pre-Draft Lottery Big Board and Spurs Pick Probability
Photo by Michael Reaves/ A few prospects have set themselves apart from the crowd, but do the San Antonio Spurs have a realistic shot at selecting them in the 2020 NBA Draft? The Spurs are less than a month away from making their first lottery pick in more than two decades, and in a draft class with little to no consensus, pinpointing a prospect who San Antonio might target isn’t so simple. A handful of collegiate and international players are on my lottery radar, and the Silver and Black could go several directions with the 11th pick depending on who’s still available when they’re...
Pounding The Rock Oct 21, 2020
Report: DeMar DeRozan is unhappy in San Antonio
Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NBAE via Could the Spurs’ star swingman be on the move this offseason? DeMar DeRozan is reportedly unhappy in San Antonio and wants out, according to an anonymous NBA agent quoted in an article in The Atheltic by Ben Standig and Mike Vorkunov. Not sure it means much of anything, but here's an excerpt on DeMar DeRozan in an Athletic article I read at lunch: pic.twitter.com/vo46WTm9xX— Noah Magaro-George (@N_Magaro) October 21, 2020 “DeMar DeRozan doesn’t like San Antonio and doesn’t want to be there. If those guys leave, they land with Dwane Casey...
Pounding The Rock Oct 21, 2020
Open Thread: Your Spurs carved pumpkin could land you $100 gift card
‘Tis the season to show your Spurs spirit. It’s usually this time of year when I break out the Spurs flag, lace up a new pair of Converse (to which a Spurs patch has been added), buy myself a new Spurs shirt (or just put a lengthy birthday request list together) and get soaked into the pre-season. Not so much this year. Hard to believe the NBA season just wrapped up. But not to worry, the Spurs are stoking the fire of spirit. And you can join in the fun. ICYMI, we want to see your #SpursPumpkin! Carve a Spurs themed pumpkin ⤵️, submit a picture of it to...
Pounding The Rock Oct 20, 2020
Spurs Draft Pick Power Rankings: 25-21
Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports Ranking the Spurs draft picks of the Gregg Popovich era. The 2020 NBA Draft is still four weeks away, and barring an unforeseen move (like a trade), the Spurs will be picking in the lottery for the first time since 1997 and only second time in the Gregg Popovich era. As a result, we’re taking some time going back through the Spurs’ draft history under Pop ahead of their most anticipated (and possibly most important) pick in 23 years. The second round picks who never played for the Spurs have already received a shoutout, and now we’re moving into...
