Coach Popovich got his 800th regular season win tonight. Longevity is a good thing, and so is continuity. Both Manu and Tim were quoted after the game as saying they were proud of their coach. Pop brushed aside any individual adulation by giving the credit to those who surround him: "When you get that number of wins, it does mean you’ve been hanging around for a while," he said. "You’ve got a good staff, good players and a good management team. We’ve all achieved 800 wins. I haven’t, really."
But on this night, for this win, he had to thank Manu more than any other Spur. He was simply SuperManu once again - donning his cape for 23 points in only 24 minutes, only 10 shots (missed only one three), with 14 points coming in the second quarter alone. I can only attribute his performance to the pregame delivery of homemade alfajores.
DeJuan recorded another double-double with 10 rebounds and 17 points.
While watching warmups, I noticed the Spurs 'favorite" ref, Joey Crawford, enter the court, wearing a suit, to check the replay equipment. Recalling that he was the ref who tossed Tim for laughing on the bench, I couldn't resist telling him to "call 'em like Tim sees 'em" as he walked by me to leave the court. He actually laughed out loud - didn't ask security to remove me.
Kawhi Leonard's huge dunk in the first half brought the crowd to its feet.
Besides Manu's artful rainbow shooting, Tony and Tim also found a way to showcase their favorite shots:
In the second half, rookie Enes Kanter had to guard Tim. As Tim drove the lane, Kanter fouled him, knocking him backward. As Tim was falling, he tossed up the shot, and it went in (you can see it on nba,com's highlights). As Tim prepared to shoot his free throw, Kanter stood staring at Duncan with a look of wonder and disbelief - welcome to the NBA, young man. And, yes, your mother called and said she saw that, but she still loves you.
Jefferson seems to enjoy the attention he gets from the sign ladies during warmups when a sign of his jersey is held up. He smiles and waves.
Before the game I spoke briefly with Manu and asked him if he was rested after the Houston game. He laughed and shook his head and said, "yeah, sure," as though rest was not to be for the next four months. Thanks to the early lead, he was able to play about 10 minutes less in this game. Tim's minutes were also measured tonight to try to preserve his energy.
Finally, this edition's "guess the sneakers" photo:
3 recs | 29 comments
guess the sneakers
Tiago?
mina184 - January 1, 2012
Big feet, big …
;)
eastbaysd - January 2, 2012
Great pics! And are those Tiago’s sneakers, or did Bonner finally upgrade?
SpursfanSteve - January 1, 2012
Does anyone know the name of the shoe Timmy’s wearing?
Chedda(r) - January 1, 2012 via mobile
Lovely pics Janie. Thanks!
Shoe <=> Danny?
Nice capture of the rook dunk! How do you do it. I have always been curious. Are you always looking through the lens? Then how do you just catch the game. :)
LionZion - January 1, 2012
The camera has a huge viewing screen – like 2 × 3 inches. I can watch the game with the camera aimed at the action and can see out of the corner of my eye. I kinda leave it pointed at the basket with the button half way down and have learned to anticipate when to actually shoot. It’s a little camera and very lightweight so I just rest my elbow on the armrest and let it do the work. I have a larger camera with more zoom, but it doesn’t have the “touch” that the small one has.
janieannie - January 1, 2012
Ah. That’s quite a bit of concentration and skill involved. Cool!
LionZion - January 2, 2012
Way to yell at Joey for the rest of us!
JonnyJam - January 1, 2012
He actually called a good game last night. He really looks different in a suit, when he’s walking the court and not running in that goofy way he runs. Making him laugh was one of the more fun things I’ve done at a Spurs game.
janieannie - January 1, 2012
gotta give it to ya. That is pretty darn cool.
JonnyJam - January 2, 2012
Great picts and captions as usual.
Shoes. Cory Joseph
Spurlady - January 1, 2012
shoes.. hmm.. pale skin.. I think it’s Pop.
Marek Głowacki - January 1, 2012
Thanks, as always, for the pics, JA!
As for the nice pair of Nike’s, I have to go with Taigo.
Manu ex Machina - January 1, 2012
Look at the legs, obviously it’s Ford Lightning!
TrooperJoe73 - January 1, 2012
I dont know but they are pretty sweet
Joe deLarios - January 1, 2012
No correct guesses on the sneakers yet. I made this one a challenge on purpose.
janieannie - January 1, 2012
those are Coach Pop’s shoes!
TDzilla! - January 1, 2012
Rage?
silverandblack_davis - January 2, 2012
danny green on the shoes
play_splitter - January 2, 2012
Quinn?
Ayatollah - January 2, 2012
the chinese guy behind tim, scares me.. by the way TP is wearing that nice shoes..
The Watchers - January 2, 2012
I’m not sure what his role is – I think he is the new equipment manager or an assistant trainer. Both of the guys who formerly held those jobs have gone on to other teams.
janieannie - January 2, 2012
Awesome pics yet again, JA. And the
made me ROTFLMFAO. ;)Argento - January 2, 2012
STILL no correct guesses on the sneakers – No, they are not Coach Pop’s.
janieannie - January 2, 2012
Sneaker hint – he is a former Spurs player, currently an assistant – comes out and works out with the guys during shootaround, particularly Tim and Tiago.
janieannie - January 2, 2012
Sean Marks :)
eastbaysd - January 2, 2012
Yup.
Or Fab?
SpursfanSteve - January 2, 2012
I wish we had Fab.
LionZion - January 2, 2012
Ding ding ding. Has to be the one then with that hint.
But really, those legs look too skinny for a 7 foot guy :O
LionZion - January 2, 2012
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