High Expectations

With winning many championships in recent memory, the San Antonio Spurs have once been considered a dynasty by some in the NBA, always a force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference, and a dominant force in the playoffs.

Despite in recent years making unceremonious playoff exits, after capturing their most recent title in 2007 by sweeping Lebron James and his former Cleveland Cavaliers, San Antonio struggled to make it back to the finals regressing in the post season one level at a time, having being beat in 2008 by the Lakers in the Western Conference Final, 2009 being swept by Phoenix in the semi-finals, and capped off their amazing 2010 season by getting upset by an upstart Memphis team in the first round.

Spurs fans have always held high expectations for their team, and this year is no different than years past, thanks to the lockout and labor disputes, the season is going to be severely shortened, the older veterans will benefit from the shortened scheduled, but the schedule is going to be brutal as multiple games are scheduled in a row, the major question surrounding San Antonio is: Can the Spurs' vets handle it?

Tim Duncan is essentially the lone seasoned "big man" on the squad, the Spurs need another respectable, decent player to full in for Duncan when he needs his rest. Acknowledgement of Duncan's age, and he not being the young and stout man he was in the last decade, is the only way for the Spurs to find the solution, because quite frankly, Matt Bonner and DeJuan Blair do not match the demands of the grueling centers of the Western Conference. Bonner is near Duncan in height, but simply is better as a center than a forward, but against a smaller team, Bonner and Blair can fit the suit.

The Spurs have a chip on their shoulder after their premature exit of the playoffs after reaching their climax in the regular season, and lesson learned for Coach Gregg Poppovich and company, a lesson that is: it does not matters how you start, yet how you finish, and the Spurs are not at all content with last season's finish. Relying on Manu Ginobili's last second herorics in a number of games towards the end of last year, and resting the final games of the year, going in to the first round agaisnt the rambuctious and resillient Memphis Grizzlies, ultimately losing to the Grizzlies in 6 games.

With time winding down till tip-off, the Spurs are as ready as they'll ever be, being rushed through an abbreviated training camp and preseason, finally, the 2011-2012 NBA Season is upon us and basketball never stops in San Antonio, Spurs fever spreads like wildfire as their fans unite to cheer them on in their Drive for Five NBA Championships

-Richard Perez

Another Injury

Another member of the Houston Texans goes down today, but it is not a player. It is defensive coordinator Wade Phillips, and no, he is not injured. Coach Phillips is just taking a 7-10 day medical leave to deal with a kidney issue that he will have surgically dealt with. Phillips said it is not life threatening and that he feels fine and, according to him, it is not cancerous. He said he will feel better after the procedure.
“I feel good,” Phillips said in an Associated Press interview. “I don’t have any physical problems right now, so if I get this done, this procedure that I’m doing, then I’ll be fine.”
As usual in a “next man up” type of order, Phillips’ absence leaves fans to wonder who is next in command, the man who take over during Wade’s absence, and that man is no other than Coach Phillips’ right hand man, linebackers coach Reggie Herring. Herring was Phillips’ coach back when he was the head coach in Dallas, Phillips brought him aboard the Texans’ staff back in January, so Coach Herring is more than qualified to take over now that he’s been brought along with Phillips from his former staff in Dallas.
Head coach Gary Kubiak said that Herring is ready to take over, he has called plays before and knows exactly what to do in Phillips’ absence, nothing will change as far as the system goes,
“At the end of the day I’m not Wade Phillips,” Herring said in the AP interview, “but it’s Wade Phillips’ system. It’s our calls. It’s what the players know.”
Despite the week to ten-day range of absence, Phillips will miss both the game versus Carolina and the Thursday night game versus Indianapolis, but hopefully return in time for the last game against Tennessee, and the playoffs. In his absence, a north and south transition for the players will take place, Phillips, a cool and calm coach is the antithesis of Herring who works up a sweat and is usually barking orders, but hopefully this  late in the season, the players have adjusted to his coaching style.
“I feel very confident about this,” Herring said. “We’re all in a good frame of mind right now. We have a lot of things to finish, home-field advantage. We have a lot to play for right now.
“Players have shown a lot of character and pride,” he said. “I don’t see any letdown in these guys. At the end of the day, Wade will be with us every snap. This is his system, his defense and we’ll move on.”
- Richard Perez