Les San Antonio Spurs

[Red Sonja]

powerful duo #BadAss

[Red Sonja]

I'm bored so here's copypaste material #SpursNation #PoundingTheRock #GoSpursGo

‘I just love dudes who get out of the mud’: Where the Spurs got their moves

Spoiler

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‘I just love dudes who get out of the mud’: Where the Spurs got their moves

By Matthew Tynan Apr 23, 2020 6 

When we talk about “copycats” in sports we often are speaking of leagues in general — styles of play, strategies, adaptations to the direction a sport is headed, mostly in terms of efficiency. And while that word, copycat, is often used in a pejorative sense (think about when you were a kid and you called someone a copycat as an insult), trying to replicate that which works is almost a necessity when it comes to major sports.

Look at what the NBA has become with the giant spike in 3-point shots and the decrease in mid-range jumpers (unless you’re the Spurs); look at the way baseball has morphed into a different animal — you’re either swinging for the fences or striking out, and it seems like pitchers are all throwing somewhere around 187 mph. There aren’t many Greg Madduxes dominating games by painting the corners at 91 mph.

You don’t see any batting stances like Jeff Bagwell’s or Kevin Youkilis‘, or a bat waggle like Gary Sheffield’s; you don’t see a single running back with moves and speed like Barry Sanders or Le’Veon Bell (pre-Jets, where dreams go to die) — the patience, burst, shiftiness and power for such a big dude — and of course the one-cut, downhill monster that was Adrian Peterson; and you sure as hell don’t see a professional golfer swing like Jim Furyk (or non-professionals like Charles Barkley). The NBA is different than most other leagues. Coaches, training staffs, scouts and video coordinators aren’t the only ones identifying what works over the course of 48 minutes and 82 games; players are copycats on every possession.

Generation after generation, we’ve seen moves that were once unique to no more than a handful of players become commonplace in today’s game (maybe with the exception of Kareem’s sky-hook and The Iceman’s finger-roll).

Manu Ginobili’s Euro-step took the league by storm and now everyone has it.

Dirk Nowitzki’s one-legged fadeaway was so unstoppable it would be silly not to try and incorporate it into your game if you’re a big man, as it’s a virtually unblockable shot.

Magic’s no-look pass was one of the most entertaining displays of court vision you’ll ever see.

The step-back jumper has been around for a while, but I remember watching Reggie Miller use it from the 3-point line when I first started watching basketball as a kid.

Steph Curry effortlessly pulling up off the dribble from 30 feet away like it’s nothing is still one of the craziest things I’d ever seen in person when I first witnessed it early in his career.

The floater has also been around for a good time but I’ve personally never seen anyone master it the way Tony Parker did.

The Tim Hardaway crossover, which was then popularized even further by Allen Iverson, left defenders on ice skates or flat out on their asses.

Then there’s all things Jordan: the fadeaway, the pull up on a dime jumper while going straight up in the air without any of that momentum carrying him toward the defender, and the acrobatics around the rim.

There are two players’ styles that remind me so much of Jordan’s: the late Kobe Bryant and Kawhi Leonard. Kobe had more flash and fade that separated more, but Leonard has that drive, stop and pull-up. He’s not as athletic as the other two, but he’s bigger and longer.*

*Before anyone accuses me of saying either player was or is as good as Jordan

Over the course of the season, it was fun talking to players in the Spurs’ locker room about who they watched and how they molded their own games. There’s a good mix of veterans and young guys in San Antonio so the answers were all over the place. When talking to DeMar DeRozan, his mid-range game (which is often much-maligned by the new-age fan, the way he plays makes perfect sense).

“I was just a fan of old-school basketball. I didn’t have cable growing up so I just used to watch old-school games my dad had on VHS tape. A lot of kids these days have probably never seen a VHS.” DeMar DeRozan said. “For me, I was always a fan of old-school players like Alex English, ’80s basketball. I remember my dad used to show me every single All-Star Game from the ’70s and ’80s, and even in the ’80s all those guys were shooting elbow jump shots, even in All-Star Games.

“It was always intriguing to me how some of the greatest players in history were super good shooters (from mid-range). That’s what I grew up on, that’s what I love and that was the game of basketball to me. There’s nothing wrong with how it’s being played (in today’s 3-point heavy game), but for me, just being a fan of that old-school basketball — of Jordan and all those guys — it’s just intriguing to me.

“I used to watch Elgin Baylor — you name it, I used to watch all those guys from literally the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. That was the only thing I’d watch. I was always really intrigued how they were never really athletic or fast or jump high (which is funny because DeMar is quite athletic), but they could always get a bucket whenever they needed to. Bernard King was one of my favorites. So many guys back in the day played for so long and they were just so smooth … I always just told myself, ‘If I can play this way I can play until I’m 40,’ so that was just always my thought process.”

With the exception of DeRozan’s athleticism, you can see the impact watching English had on his game.

Sitting catty-corner from DeRozan at his locker was LaMarcus Aldridge, another player famous for his mid-range shooting (though he was taking a lot more 3s prior to the suspension of the season). But his game is more than that. He’s got that high-release jumper he takes often, but he’s a big dude and can get to the rim against just about anyone. He watched and learned from big men who did both, and when you watch his game you can definitely see the comparisons.

“I took (three) players and tried to take it from them and make it my own. I took KG (Kevin Garnett) and I took Tim (Duncan) and took their moves and tried to make it my own. I took Rasheed Wallace’s high releases because he shot it so high you can get it over most guys in the post, and I took a little bit from all three of those guys and tried to make it my own,” Aldridge said.

“It was more in college (he started working on those moves). As a young kid, I was more athletic and I could handle the ball, so I kinda made jump-hook or off-the-dribble-type stuff. When you get to college you’ve got to pick your position,” he continued. “You can’t just be a ‘tweener’ if you want to be in this game a long time, so that’s when I decided who I wanted to be and took the high release, the fadeaway from KG…

… then from Tim, getting to the middle and using my right hand.”

Then there are the younger guys in San Antonio, most of whom are guards and understandably modeled their games after some of the backcourt greats. Whether it was speed and athleticism or their predecessors’ relentless, attacking mindsets, guys like Lonnie Walker IV took away a lot from those players as he grew up traveling all around the country playing basketball for most of his life.

“I would say D-Wade, for sure. He was a leader, he was athletic, he had this swagger to him that brought that Miami Heat team to be themselves. I would say he was a huge influencer,” Walker IV said. “He had it all: when it came to cutting, when it came to Euro-stepping and dunking on someone, his mid-range was on a thousand.”

 

Walker IV continued: “But also, I’m from Pennsylvania so we had guys like Allen Iverson who was just fearless. He wasn’t scared of anyone. Growing up, I wasn’t the tallest person. I started growing in high school, so he gave me that mentality of, ‘I don’t care what size you are, I’m gonna attack you, I’m gonna do what I can. I used to do the A.I. crossover a lot.”

 

“Also, probably Derrick Rose — huge Derrick Rose fan. I loved his game and I still do. I’m a huge fan to this day,” he continued. “Derrick Rose was just an athletic beast. He was too fast for everyone. I still watch his highlights to this day just to see if I could possibly do it and try to imitate him.”

Then there’s the always surly Dejounte Murray, who once said earlier this season, “I just play with anger.” And you can tell he does. Murray is obsessed with basketball. It’s his life, and missing last season with the ACL tear absolutely killed him. He carries himself with a certain type of attitude, both on and off the court. It’s just basketball, basketball, basketball at all times. He’s often in his own world and his answer was perfectly Dejounte.

“I mean, I don’t try to be like nobody. I watch great players, competitive players and I just love dudes with the mentality like, ‘I’m gonna kill everybody.’ I don’t try to do nobody’s moves or shoot like nobody. I’m Dejounte Murray and this is my journey, not nobody else’s,” Murray said.

He did however have some praise for a guy he had just played against the night of the interview, who just so happened to grow up in his neck of the woods.

“I’m a big, big Damian Lillard fan — just what he represents off the floor, where he comes from and just how he plays and the mentality he plays with. I’m a big fan, but obviously, when we’re on the court, I gotta compete,” he continued. “I’ve followed Dame since he got to the NBA. He didn’t go to a high college, I know his whole story, and I just love dudes who get out of the mud … coming from the bottom and grinding all the way to the top. So seeing him grind and get to the top is impressive for a young guy like myself.”

The NBA and its flash and style are unmatched by any other sport in the world (at least in this writer’s opinion), and it’s these kinds of moves listed toward the top of this piece that basketball heads will always remember.

Watching a pre-balding wild Argentine side-stepping around defenders who had no idea how to react; witnessing a teenage French point guard fly down the court in a blur and spin through traffic without slowing down before laying it in; enjoying the incredibly exciting bank shot from a big man from the U.S. Virgin Islands lull people to sleep, but in a very satisfying “I just got eight hours of sleep and a free cup of coffee from Valero in the morning” kind of way (that was a thing after Spurs wins back in the day, and that’s a lot of free coffee) — those are the things San Antonio fans will remember forever.

(Photo: Nathaniel S. Butler / NBAE via Getty Images)

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Matthew is a staff writer for The Athletic, covering the San Antonio Spurs. He is a central Texas native and graduate of Texas Tech. Matthew has covered the Spurs since 2012. Follow Matthew on Twitter @Matthew_Tynan.

6  COMMENTS

Coty D.

Apr 23, 5:07pm

3 likes

I'm an old school kind of guy myself and I love DeMar DeRozen's game. He definitely plays like someone from the 1980s or 1990s.

Matthew Tynan

STAFF

22h ago

@Coty D. It was crazy watching those highlight packages back to back ... such similar games.

BRADEN H.

23h ago

Gotta love Dejounte's mid-range jimbos

Matthew Tynan

STAFF

22h ago

@BRADEN H. That's definitely his spot

Sam P.

22h ago

Ah . . . Love Alex English. Yeah dating myself but don’t care.

Matthew Tynan

STAFF

22h ago

@Sam P. Nor should you!

 

 

[Red Sonja]

вчора анниверсари 71очков адмирала, а сегодне - денюха у ассистент-тренера тима данкана, остаётьця только поздравить

 

[Red Sonja]

тащение в качестве шпёрс #OneOfAKind

PS вступаем в группу у кого есть вконтакте

[Red Sonja]

немношко (60) фотографий с 99ого года когда чампионы нба шперсы завоевали чампионат макдональдса (последний из проводимых) в италии (милан) сыграв против командочек из италии и бразилии, то был первая и вторая (из 11 на сегодняшний момент) встреча супротив иностранных команд для спур, джарен джаксон выйиграл спалдинг три-поинт шутаут а тим данкан заполучил дражен петрович мвп трофей и на пару с авери жонсоном избран в остар сборную турнира, видосы необходимо гуглить на ютубе

https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/san-antonio-spurs-mcdonald-1999?family=editorial&phrase=san antonio spurs mcdonald 1999&sort=best#license

(беляшик сас #24 на фотках ето тодд линдеманн)

Spoiler

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1999 McDonald’s Championship

10/15/1999

Milan, Italy

San Antonio Spurs 96, Varese Roosters 86

The last year of the McDonald's Classic opened with a near-shock, as Italy's Varese Rooster's shined at home, out-playing the defending NBA champion Spurs from the start to take the lead heading into the 4th. But a 36-point fourth quarter ensured that Gregg Popovich's club would have a chance to play for the final title. Said Pop: "We are very very happy to get that win. They played better than we did in every way, shape and form. Down the stretch our defense played pretty well and we just made some shots. "

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1999 McDonald’s Championship

10/16/1999

Milan, Italy

San Antonio Spurs 103, Vasco da Gama 68

Brazilian-based Vasco de Gama took down Lithuania's ?algiris Kaunas in the opener, but was no match for reigning NBA champs, who soundly won the final McDonald's championship and made NBA teams a perfect 18-0 in the event. Tim Duncan's named MVP.

 

 

[Red Sonja]

с др айсмена! 

(также аба олстар 74, 75 и 76)

 

также целесообразно вспомнить прошедшие 30 и 22 лет назад награждения следующих новичков года по версии нба

 

ПС ну и конечно же в такой день не стоит забывать об чудесах сотворяемых джонни муром в по 83его

[Red Sonja]

Throwback Tuesday: SAS at 1994 preseason "Mexico Challenge" (Palacio de los Deportes, Mexico City) - 2 games: 121-112 vs Rockets (defending champs, on the way to repeat and wcf matchup with spurs) and 95-124 vs SuperSonics

 

PS at the same time NBA moved minor league team to Mexico City  - Mexico Aztecas, which lasted 1 season 

PPS spurs would return next year (with Admiral as MVP-95) to play 1 game (preseason) - 125-107 vs Bullets

[Red Sonja]

Flashback Tuesday #AntoineCarr #TomTibodo #SpursBasketball #GSG

 

[Red Sonja]

тхровбаск тхурсдай #ABA #TexasChaparrals #2012 #GoSpursGo

 

 

[Red Sonja]

Throwback Tuesdays 

 

легенды нба 90 #NBALegends #SpursNation

 

бешенные псы #ILoveMySpurs #SanAntonioPride

 

в сочетание с РОЙем тимданканом батя жарен жаксон унижает малолетов в 98 #InSpursWeTrust #GoSpursGo

 

 

[Red Sonja]

?? насладится перфоменсом спур 90 (до трейда на стрикланда) с руки-адмиралом в действии (первый 20+ подборов екшен) 

 

?check?? 

?? скачать полный видеофайл с торента NBA 1990 02 03 Bulls vs Spurs XviD 432p.torrent 

[Red Sonja]

ТХРОВБАСК олстар-96 проходящего в санантонио *(2ой и последний для еллиотта), де-факто мвп которого следует принять легенду и воспитанника санатонио шакилонила 

доступно для поиска на ютуб в 720п, а также и другие проходящие мироприятия - игра новичков с сабонисом, конкурсы трёх и дунков (брент барри с лак задунчил)

[Ellie]

Статья об успехах Паркера-управленца. Тони Паркер – классный управленец. Его команда стоит дешевле Алексея Шведа, но разделывала ЦСКА, а теперь он берет футбольный «Лион». Паркер, которого вы не знали https://www.sports.ru/tribuna/blogs/devotion/2652287.html?ext=yandex

[Red Sonja]

buen d?a пащщему (в качестве 720п) не посмотреть (насладитьця) зборную (фулл зарубу) при участии (в росьтере) будущих спурс (vamos) -- адмирала #11 и еллиотта #8 и светогодуха тиммейта его керра #6* (под руководством ихнего суперкоуча лютолсона) - в противостоянии насыщенной разной-степени-легендарности-игроков-прибалтов-и-не-только зборной юсср в финальчике por favor #SelenaGomez

*ПС (плот твист) однако керрушка не сыграл в титульном 10м матьче изза палученной в раннее полуфинале травмочки против бразилии #SelenaGomez

[Red Sonja]

1 hour ago, Red Sonja said:

 

yessir мой человек чарльз ди смит #15 (на заднем фоном дразен петровис) такжы станет играком для шпёрс, на непродолжительный по временному промежутку отрезок их виликой истории и дажы сиграет в пловчике, таким образом наблюдаетьця зашкаливающее колличество будущех игроков спарс в зборной как и в следующим мажорном собрание зборной '88: уи. андерсон + адмирал + жр рейд + мой человек чарльз ди смит #SelenaGomez

[Red Sonja]

от чего не поздравить тонипаркера (вчера) прасмотром как пологаетьця? микс #JoyeuxAnniversaire

 

[Red Sonja]

23 minutes ago, qtix said:

Я бы не сказал, что Ламаркус прям так резко вдруг открыл свой бросок в этом году. У него всегда был неплохой средний и дальне-средний, а трёшки он ещё в своём последнем сезоне в Портленде уже неплохо бросал. Просто Попович, скажем так, не фанат трёхочкового, и вообще от Олдриджа он вначале больше хотел того, что ему раньше давал Данкан, то есть активная 5mincredit.com.ua защита корзины, держание щита, и доминирование в посте в нападении. Вот только сейчас играя с Демаром Олдриджу приходится чаще растягивать площадку именно по абсолютной необходимости, но посмотрим правде в глаза: в нынешней NBA с такой первой опцией как Дероузен, далеко не уедешь, а тем более учитывая, что и второй их лучший слешер Дежонте Мюррей тоже не владеет надёжной трёшкой.

спасибо за Вашу аналитику, есть над чем поразмыслить.. пожалуй вынужден согласитьця, соглашусь с вышесказанным и становитьця ясно что команда зашла в тупик.. погаваривают что команда исчерпала себя и нуждаетьця в стряске, выход видитьця в том чтобы последовать примеру родной команды сильверстарз из внба двухлетней давности и оформить транзишен франчизы в ласвегас штат невада? по проторенной дорожке первые шаги уже проделаны (продажа доли владельцем питером холтом)

[Suriken]

парни, благодарочка за качественный контент, но как насчет поразмыслить над тем, что в 2018 Торонто вышло в финал конфы с первого места на востоке имея Дерозана в качестве первой опции. напрашивается вопрос, вотафак? и очень очевидный ответ. Ибака, Лаури и Воланчунас тогда были куда более стабильны, чем Олдридж, Уайт, Мюррэй и Гэй в этом году. я за слив Дерозана всеми руками, но разумнее было бы сначала провести пол сезона с подобающим ростером вокруг него, а не со слабачками.

[Red Sonja]

впринцепи тоже хорошо. главное боевой настрой, гнуть свою линию. дерозаньчик и олд бридж могут тащить и будут, остальное уже дело техники. с переездом главное не спешить, не ломать дров, а что действительно сейчас нужно так ето усиление. на рынке будут ентони девис и другие, заполучив таких ребят можно через перегрупировку снова боротьця за высокие позиции. если мы не говорим об чемпионстве то команде уроня 95ого (гранж) или около того, в перспективе

 

[Suriken]

нужно легкое усиление старта и лавочки более менее надежными скорерами с ростом 2 метра и физухой. Богданович, Коркмаз, Михайлюк, Бертанс)))

[fr0mhell]

Жирного Алдриге и Дырозана менять на пики точеные и перестраиваться. С такими инвалидами максимум это борьба за 8 строчку и возможность быть свипнутыми, а это явно не тот уровень, к которому САС приучили болельщиков.

Да и Поповича на пенсию отправить уже. Нет у деда огня в глазах с этими инвалидами.

[Ellie]

DJ Rudy Gay

 

[Red Sonja]

хоф игроки-споры в истории сас пикчерз представляет:

#Top10 #GoSpursGo #ForeverLegends

[Ellie]

Репортёр ESPN Дорис Бёрк в подкасте R2C2 от Uninterrupted рассказала о своём разговоре с Греггом Поповичем после поражения в Финале 2013:
«Я увидела как он уходит со своей дорожной сумкой. Первое, что я сделала — отступила назад, потому что не хотела ему мешать. Я не знала, что ему говорить, я не могла смотреть ему в глаза… И как вы думаете, что он сделал после опустошительного поражения в седьмой игре? Он поинтересовался у меня о том, чем я буду заниматься в межсезонье. Я растерялась…»

«В итоге он отправил мне большое и детальное личное письмо на электронную почту, — продолжила Дорис, — которое затронуло темы вина, еды, жизни и философии спорта. Я всегда поражаюсь такому с его стороны. Именно это и является его истинной сущностью, а не 15 ужасных секунд на интервью во время матча».

Грегг Попович, скорее всего, решил отправить Дорис Бёрк личное письмо в связи с тем, что репортёр часто выражала огорчение по поводу угрюмости главного тренера в интервью.

 

[Ph@ntom]

Крут мужик, что тут скажешь.