The San Antonio Spurs had a tough loss over the weekend but have a pretty easy schedule coming up.
Check out the latest news and rumors below.
Spurs Waiting for Injured Players to Return
The Spurs may be one of the deepest teams in the league but are still missing three rotation players--Tiago Splitter, Marco Belinelli, and Patty Mills, none of whom have definite returns listed soon.
Tony Parker addressed not having the players after the close 94-91 loss to the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.
“Definitely, it’s going to be like that for awhile,” he said.
“It’s still a great road trip, 3-1 is still a great one. We wanted to be greedy and wanted to be 4-0 but 3-1 especially with the Clippers going into a back-to-back. It’s tough with back-to-backs for our teams especially with all the injuries. Just have to stay positive and start another series.”
Parker also noted how the team failed to make crucial stops in the last few minutes.
Kawhi Leonard was asked about the extended minutes for the veteran players, a factor because of the three injuries.
“I mean we had two days off between our back-to-backs. I felt like that’s why they played and last night they didn’t play much minutes. So I had a sense that they were going to play tonight,” he said.
“Probably later on as we get into game 30 or 40 he [coach Gregg Popovich] will start sitting the guys or someone tells him something will be bothering them.”
“We ran out of juice a little bit,” Popovich said, reported the San Antonio Express. “A couple of guys were probably tired at the end of the road trip. But everybody goes through that. We had a chance to win the thing and we just didn’t.”
Spurs Missing Splitter
Splitter being out could very well be the biggest reason the Spurs are just 5-4.
Splitter played just 10 minutes in the regular season before being sidelined with a calf injury, and his absence “has only reinforced the notion that Spurs fans have long realized: That Splitter, whose inconsistency and offensive limitations became trademarks of his first few seasons as a Spur, has since become the team’s most unsung weapon and an under-the-radar key to their success,” according to Bleacher Report.
The website says that Splitter is a fantastic passer for a big man, and has also developed several moves in the post so that he can score down low.
But it’s on defense where Splitter makes the real impact.
And without him, the Spurs have only two players--Tim Duncan and Aron Baynes--above 6'11".
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“When it comes to anchoring the team in the post—on both ends—the crop ends at Duncan and Splitter. With Duncan’s health of prime importance, it’s integral that he can receive proper rest and not be pitted against the opposition’s best post player every minute that he’s in. The Spurs need to rely on someone else to do the dirty work. In a manner that nobody else—and I mean, nobody else—can, Splitter has the means to fill that capacity,” the report concluded.
“He has shown that he is capable of making an impact, and with his role boosting his importance, Splitter—for all the obstacles that has faced—will return from injury as a savior of sorts with tools rivaled by few on the roster, and a role that will make him a key to the Spurs’ 2014-15 success as they look to defend the title.”
There’s no timetable for Splitter’s return from injury, but he’s been ruled out against the Philadelphia 76ers on Monday.
Duncan and Parker Both Quiet
A big factor in the Kings loss was bad games from both Duncan and Parker.
“It’s not too often that Tony Parker and Tim Duncan have quiet games on the same night,” noted Air Alamo.
“Duncan finished with 15 points (4-11 fg) and 8 rebounds. Duncan also struggled to contain Cousins, just like the rest of his teammates. Parker had 11 points (5-11 fg) and 6 assists. Expect big nights from the two against Philadelphia on Monday.”
On the other hand, Manu Ginobili had a big game off the bench, finishing with 21 points and 5 assists.
See an Associated Press recap below.
Spurs Lose to Kings in Close Game
SACRAMENTO, Calif.—After squandering huge leads in back-to-back road losses earlier this week, the Sacramento Kings were quite pleased to hold on for a victory over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs.
DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 10 rebounds despite playing limited minutes, helping the Kings beat the Spurs 94-91 on Saturday night.
The Kings, who blew leads of 24 and 26 points in losing their previous two games, snapped a nine-game losing streak to the Spurs, who had won 21 of the past 22 meetings.
“To be honest, we were a little down about the last game (a 111-110 loss to Memphis). This was a huge win,” said Kings point guard Darren Collison, who had 19 points. “We’re maturing as a team and not worrying about the past and thinking about the present.”
Rudy Gay scored 18 for the Kings, who committed only nine turnovers against 19 assists. Omri Casspi provided a spark off the bench with nine points for the Kings, who opened the season with a 5-1 record.
Cousins sat out the entire second quarter with foul problems, and left the game briefly after getting a cut over his left eye late in the third. He was limited to just under 27 minutes.
“I don’t know if there’s a more competitive player in the NBA,” Kings coach Michael Malone said. “We all know how skilled he is, and he hates to lose. There’s a big difference between guys who love to win and hate to lose. He’s maturing right before our eyes.”
Manu Ginobili had 21 points, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green scored 16, and Tim Duncan finished with 15 points and eight rebounds.
The Spurs were looking to sweep their four-game road trip. They posted a league-best 30-11 road record last season en route to an NBA championship.
“We hung in there, we just ran out of juice a little bit,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. “A couple of guys were probably a little tired at the end of the road trip, but everybody goes through that. We had a good chance to win the thing; we just didn’t.”
The Kings had dropped their previous 11 home games to the Spurs, dating to Nov. 26, 2007.
San Antonio took a one-point lead, its first since the second quarter, before Gay converted two free throws, Collison drove the lane and made a layup in traffic, and Cousin made two free throws, giving Sacramento a 93-88 lead with 21 seconds remaining.
Ginobili’s three-point play cut it to 93-91, but Collison made one of two free throws before Ginobili shot an airball on the Spurs’ last attempt.
“We could have stepped it up little earlier in the game and played with more intensity,” Leonard said. “We have to play the whole 48 minutes. But give credit to the Kings. They played great, executed down the stretch, and played great defense.”
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TIP-INS
Spurs: Marco Belinelli missed his sixth straight game with a strained groin. ... Leonard wore a bandage over his left eye. He was hit in the face in Friday’s game against the Lakers and the cut required five stitches.
Kings: Cousins picked up his second technical of the season for continuing to question a call during a first-quarter timeout. Cousins had two fouls in the game’s first nine minutes and didn’t return until the start of the third quarter. ... Sacramento missed all 12 3-pointers.
QUOTABLE
“It was hard to tell how much time was left,” Ginobili said of his 3-point attempt that came up short. “By the time I got it, I saw Cousins coming towards me so I just tried to get it high in the air. I wasn’t balanced and it didn’t feel good at all leaving my hands.”
