San Antonio Spurs 2023 Offseason - Voodoo Dolls and Ping Pong Balls

[Irieguy 1,059]

14 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Speaking of Dejounte, when and why did he turn into such a dick?  That trade looks like a heist right now.  We'll see what it bears in fruit.

 

Probably when he started putting up big numbers for the Spurs and thought he was a bigger star than he is. Those Hawks picks and swaps are looking juicy. But the problem with owning so many Hawks picks is that Atlanta has no incentive to tank. There will always be a handful of teams that own their own picks and will bottom out. Still a great position for the Spurs to be in. 

Edited May 29, 2023 by Irieguy

[Kermit 3,136]

15 hours ago, Patrick Bateman said:

Speaking of Dejounte, when and why did he turn into such a dick?  That trade looks like a heist right now.  We'll see what it bears in fruit.

 

Right after he was traded. Dude went full heel in a pick-up game. It’s a shame too, because he really is good at what he does. Maybe he’ll leave Atlanta and join a team that makes more sense fit wise, or they trade that overrated sooner asshole for something resembling a two way guard.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

Happy Memorial Day everyone.

 

 

[Irieguy 1,059]

Wemby plays game 2 of the semis against ASVEL at 1:30 CT on Tuesday. I’m guessing ASVEL will tempt him to shoot 3s and it will be interesting to see how he adjusts.   NBA App again. 

[Hate 20,104]

Happy 24th anniversary of the Memorial Day Miracle. This is probably the most important single shot in Spurs history!

 

 

[Michael Knight 12,948]

5 hours ago, Hate said:

Happy 24th anniversary of the Memorial Day Miracle. This is probably the most important single shot in Spurs history!

 

 

I'd probably go with this one since after all we did sweep Portland 

 

 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

Up until Elliott hit that shot the spurs had always found a way to choke in the playoffs. There was nothing but heartbreak after heartbreak. That shot changed the entire trajectory of the franchise from being one that you felt something bad was going to happen to where you expected something good to happen. It was like a cloud lifted. I can’t really explain it but that one shot changed everything. It was a borderline religious experience. No disrespect to the Horry shot but I don’t know if they ever break through and get back to the finals without the Memorial Day miracle. 

[Kermit 3,136]

I’ll fuck both shots. 

[Hate 20,104]

Up until Elliott hit that shot the spurs had always found a way to choke in the playoffs. There was nothing but heartbreak after heartbreak. That shot changed the entire trajectory of the franchise from being one that you felt something bad was going to happen to where you expected something good to happen. It was like a cloud lifted. I can’t really explain it but that one shot changed everything. It was a borderline religious experience. No disrespect to the Horry shot but I don’t know if they ever break through and get back to the finals without the Memorial Day miracle. 

This is exactly right.

[Michael Knight 12,948]

3 hours ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Up until Elliott hit that shot the spurs had always found a way to choke in the playoffs. There was nothing but heartbreak after heartbreak. That shot changed the entire trajectory of the franchise from being one that you felt something bad was going to happen to where you expected something good to happen. It was like a cloud lifted. I can’t really explain it but that one shot changed everything. It was a borderline religious experience. No disrespect to the Horry shot but I don’t know if they ever break through and get back to the finals without the Memorial Day miracle. 

nah thats bitchmode talking all that changed when Duncan got here, no one was beating us that year

[ztejas 43,382]

I agree with MK. Unless you think we needed the Elliot shot to win that series - which I guess you could make the case for but I don't think TD would have let that happen. 

We absolutely needed the Horry shot to win that Finals. That series still went to 7.

[chainsaw 9,840]

Spurs swept Portland, so I agree Horry shot was bigger and more clutch but the Portland series overall and getting to the Finals was more historic and the Memorial Day Miracle is too intertwined with that series and that's probably why many fans consider it more important (even though, objectively, it wasn't).

[Irieguy 1,059]

Wemby plays at 1:30 on Friday and will be going for the sweep. When you aren’t watching Wemby keep an eye on his teammate Bilal Coulibaly. He’s a small forward projected to go top 25 and he pulls off some impressive steals. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by Irieguy

[Coach pop a bitch 5,459]

9 hours ago, chainsaw said:

Spurs swept Portland, so I agree Horry shot was bigger and more clutch but the Portland series overall and getting to the Finals was more historic and the Memorial Day Miracle is too intertwined with that series and that's probably why many fans consider it more important (even though, objectively, it wasn't).

Elliott shot was bigger. We had won championships before the Horry shot. We did sweep Portland but up until then we were losers. That shot was emotional. Year after year of losing...... then a miracle 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

On 5/31/2023 at 11:49 PM, Michael Knight said:

nah thats bitchmode talking all that changed when Duncan got here, no one was beating us that year

It’s easy to say that in hindsight but there was a much different vibe in the moment. 

7 hours ago, Coach pop a bitch said:

Elliott shot was bigger. We had won championships before the Horry shot. We did sweep Portland but up until then we were losers. That shot was emotional. Year after year of losing...... then a miracle 

Also that Portland team was really good and really deep. They had just knocked off the 800 lb gorilla that was the Stockton/ Malone (MVP that year) Jazz, coming off back to back finals including beating the Spurs in 5 the previous year (Tim’s rookie season). There was so much trauma from the ghosts of playoffs past - the Strickland pass, Barkley closing the Hemisfair, Run TMC, the Rodman stuff, Hakeem, the fucking Jazz - that you were just waiting for the bottom to fall out.

And the Blazers were cruising in game 1. It wasn’t just the shot that was a miracle, the spurs were down 18 in the third quarter. When Sean hit that shot, everything changed. It gave the Spurs unwavering confidence. You can’t just look at the sweep in a vacuum and say they would win anyway.

Let’s play out a hypothetical where Sheed blocks the shot and the Spurs lose. The Spurs won game 2 by 1 point coming back down 8 in the fourth again. Do they win that game if they lose game 1? I dunno. But it’s not hard to imagine them going back to Portland down 2-0 with their old “oh shit here it comes again mindset” and losing the series. Duncan gets hurt the next season. Then there’s the Kobe / Shaq three peat. Pop who was wildly unpopular after the Bob Hill deal, probably doesn’t survive that many years without a ring. Duncan ends up in fucking Orlando. The team moves to fucking St. Louis or some shit. It sounds ridiculous but it’s not that difficult to imagine that alternate scenario. 

[chainsaw 9,840]

1 hour ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

But it’s not hard to imagine them going back to Portland down 2-0 

It's hard for me to imagine, since the Memorial Day Miracle was Game 2 in a series the Spurs eventually swept.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

5 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

It's hard for me to imagine, since the Memorial Day Miracle was Game 2 in a series the Spurs eventually swept.

Lol. God dammit I'm fucking old and can't remember shit. Whatever. They won game one by 4. They could have easily lost it.

The rest of the post still stands. it's not that far fetched for them to have lost that series.

[gofuckyourself 8,164]

I remember the giddiness from that Elliott shot and the feeling of triumph...it was different. 

The feeling I had about Spurs playoff basketball prior to that was encapsulated by Rod Strickland's no look behind the head pass to a non-cutting ninja.

Then it was years of first round upsets to Run TMC warriors, suns, jazz, the fucking Hakeem games etc. Just never could win big games. Even with Duncan the hated Jazz won his first year.

We needed that Elliott shot, sweep or not.

But that shot and Duncan's ascendant play dramatically changed the narrative about this franchise.

 

[Michael Knight 12,948]

You guys are forgetting we only lost 2 games in those playoffs against Minnesota and then New York. They were close game 2's in each series until the finals but none of those rounds were ever really in doubt. We lost game 2 to Min against the Lakers game 2 Kobe fucked up the inbound and against Portland of course you all know

Edited June 2, 2023 by Michael Knight

[Kermit 3,136]

Well, at least we’re arguing about the Spurs again. Apathy really sucked.

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

11 minutes ago, Kermit said:

Well, at least we’re arguing about the Spurs again. Apathy really sucked.

Right? But there's a lot more interesting shit to talk about going forward than something that happened 25 years ago.

Like Wemby's personal trainer and what he's doing to keep him healthy:

Spoiler

The man behind keeping the 7-foot-5 Victor Wembanyama healthy

Trainer Guillaume Alquier was hired to help Victor Wembanyama stay healthy prior to the 2023 NBA draft. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
Jeremy Woo
Jun 2, 2023, 08:00 AM ET

BEFORE VICTOR WEMBANYAMA could properly introduce himself to the basketball world last October, first, he had to warm up.
Curious onlookers at the Dollar Loan Center outside of Las Vegas -- many of whom were NBA scouts -- congregated early on the floor to find Wembanyama going through somewhat unusual paces ahead of his debut on American soil.
Of course, there were dunks and jumpers and typical pregame basketball activities. But Wembanyama's systematic, full-body warmup also left an impression.
Cameras flashed as Wembanyama bent forward onto his palms, bear crawling with his bare toes, crawling methodically along the sidelines. He spent a large part of the time barefoot, specifically warming up his feet that wear size 20.5 shoes.
Later, the 7-foot-5 Wembanyama juggled three tennis balls at once before he turned his back and began catching them over his shoulder with his back turned, a drill that seemed intended more for center fielders than centers.
Victor Wembanyama juggling tennis balls pic.twitter.com/hJn8xyVyla
— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 6, 2022
While his style of play can be heavily improvisational, every aspect of Wembanyama's preparation is planned. Shadowing him in every viral warmup video has been Guillaume Alquier, the mastermind behind the whole routine. Metropolitans 92's strength and conditioning coach was hand-picked by Wembanyama's team to prepare the future No. 1 pick of the San Antonio Spurs for the rigors of an NBA workload.
In the stands that week in Nevada, NBA executives wondered whether Wembanyama would play again this season after his head-turning two games against G League Ignite in a head-to-head matchup with projected top-3 pick Scoot Henderson.
In order to prevent injury, he could have sat the season out, trained privately and still gone No. 1 on draft night. However, Wembanyama made it clear that he wanted to play basketball. And with Metropolitans 92 on the cusp of the French Pro A Finals entering Friday's game against his former club, ASVEL, Wembanyama, under Alquier's supervision, hasn't missed a game this season in 57 appearances across all competitions since September.

Wembanyama's offseason move to Metropolitans 92, which finished third the previous season, had quite a bit to do with keeping him healthy. He'd spent the past year with ASVEL, the Lyon-based club owned by retired Spurs great Tony Parker, but it hadn't been a banner year. His minutes and role fluctuated before a back injury requiring eight weeks of rest ended his season last May.
Wembanyama's agents, Bouna Ndiaye and Jeremy Medjana, took a longer view. The move to Metropolitans, a non-EuroLeague team that played only a domestic schedule, allowed for fewer games, more practice and recovery time, and paired Wembanyama with coach Vincent Collet, who also coaches the French national team.
It also enabled the 19-year-old to bring a dedicated body man along for the ride.
"Bouna came to me and asked if I wanted to work with Victor," Alquier told ESPN. "After that, the decision was made."

There's a possibility Guillaume Alquier will come to San Antonio with Victor Wembanyama in some capacity. AP Photo/Abbie Parr
OFTEN DRAPED IN the shadow of Wembanyama's 8-foot wingspan, Alquier is an unassuming figure on the sidelines, bearded and lightly graying. The 30-year-old grew up in Pau, a small city in the southwest of France, and began his training career in 2015 with local club Pau-Orthez. He worked his way up to the Pro A level through the youth academy and rugby team. He also earned a master's in sports and conditioning in nearby Tarbes.
Over the years, Alquier built a strong relationship with Ndiaye, having worked closely with Comsport clients including 2016 draft pick Petr Cornelie in his time at Pau-Orthez and Tony Parker's summer academy camps. Toward the end of last season, Pau-Orthez faced the danger of relegation to the French third division due to financial hardships. Last summer, Ndiaye called Alquier with an opportunity he couldn't refuse.

Meanwhile, Metropolitans 92, a club previously on the brink of financial dissolution, has been rejuvenated by Wembanyama's arrival for now. Collet had initially faxed in his resignation as Met 92 coach in order to focus on the national team and the 2024 Paris Olympics. But he chose to stay at Metropolitans in order to work with Wembanyama in what would be his final year playing in France.
The team's entire setup this season was built out to facilitate its star player's development. The plan has been a success with Wembanyama establishing himself as the league's top player, winning league MVP and leading his team to the Pro A semifinals.
Their partnership began after Wembanyama returned from his first trip to the United States last August with a three-hour sit-down meeting, running through Wembanyama's physical history, what he'd done with previous coaches, doctors and specialists and his own goals for himself.
"I saw in the first minute [we met] he was very active on his own project," Alquier said.
Alquier's philosophy centers on not only keeping Wembanyama flexible, but emphasizing natural movements to sharpen his actions and coordination while activating his body in the process. Whenever Wembanyama rests on the bench for extended periods, he'll do activation exercises -- squats, jumps and other simple things -- on the side to keep his body moving, trying to mirror in-game actions rather than sit stagnant.

Wembanyama lifts weights regularly, but with a focus on building strength over time, not adding significant bulk. The goal has never been for him to bulk up, particularly not while his frame is still developing naturally. "He's adding some weight normally, but not 10 pounds, or 20 pounds every month," Alquier said. "That could be difficult for his motor control, his knees, his joints. We try to build it as best as we can."
Over the past several years, Wembanyama's physical development -- he reportedly weighs 230 pounds -- had been as meticulously structured as his on-court work. For his final season in France before the pros, the goal was to stick the landing and create a healthy developmental runway into the NBA.
"The [previous] season was difficult for Victor because you have a lot of trips, you have a lot of games, you're on the road [all the] time," Alquier said. "So it's difficult to develop, to be good on the court and to recover as well. So for me, this year [has been] optimal, because you have one game a week, you have one day off after the game, and after, you work five days during the week. So you [eliminate] a lot of the stress."
ON A TYPICAL off day, Wembanyama and Alquier begin their work 90 minutes before Met 92 holds practice, with a full warmup routine and a light lift. Alquier tailors their exercises to work on weaknesses but also with a holistic approach that uses recovery time to drill hand-eye coordination and vision in between sets. Alquier adapts the plan -- intensity as well as which drills -- around how Wembanyama is feeling that day.
"His body is not finished, so the principal part of my work is to adapt [to] this," Alquier said.
Alquier prefers much of the body work to be done barefoot, focusing on strengthening Wembanyama's feet, enhancing stability for both landing and launching. "If your foot is strong, normally everything [connected] is strong too," Alquier said. "When you land on the floor, it's the foot first. If it's not strong, it's difficult to land and after that, produce some force."
Their sessions typically alternate between legs, upper body and coordination drills, utilizing rest time for one thing to work on something else. They stretch not just to be flexible, but to sharpen control over that flexibility and improve coordination in the process.
"The most important thing is to have strength in the legs, to produce force to play basketball: To play inside, to play D, post up, everything," Alquier said. "After that, you have core activation, and the last thing is the prevention stuff -- trying to do the best thing to be healthy all the time during the season."
The truest test of Wembanyama's body will begin with the rigors of the NBA schedule.
Considering the three injuries Wembanyama sustained a season ago at ASVEL -- in addition to the back injury, he dealt with a right shoulder issue and a fractured finger -- the move to Metropolitans, as well as Alquier's methods, have worked out favorably. Still, one or two games a week, with reduced travel playing domestically, is much less demanding than up to five games a week and constant flights packed into an 82-game season.
Considering Alquier's familiarity with Wembanyama's body and his prominent role in keeping him healthy -- he even tracks Wembanyama's sleep manually -- there's a possibility Alquier will come to San Antonio with Wembanyama in some capacity, although nothing has been decided yet.
The Spurs will certainly give his long-term health every consideration, knowing they face an important task in managing Wembanyama's rookie workload and helping nurture one of the unique frames in the history of the sport.

 

If this season is any evidence, we know by now that Wembanyama wants to play every game. And as his San Antonio debut draws closer, it's certainly reassuring that what he's already doing seems to be working.
"He [Wembanyama] wants to improve, he's really focused, trying to understand everything [we do]," Alquier said. "When you know and understand why you do it, for sure you are more active in the work."

 

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Wemby on nba app?

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Yes. I was right.  And it’s free. Just gotta download app and hit skip on everything 

First play. He gets bodied down low

Edited June 2, 2023 by kingkoopa6

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

This dude ballin early 

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Wemby heating up! 
 

and that fall kid got 10 years on Wemby. 
 

I ain’t worried. Our kid beast 

Omg!! AND 1!

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Other team got a lot of lil guys. Or Wemby is just tree 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

FYI... you don't have to download the app. Can watch on nba.com

https://www.nba.com/watch/event/game-lnb-betclic-elite-lyon-villeurbanne-vs-boulogne-levallois

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

We was cooking to close out the half. 

 

still down. But not out 

[chainsaw 9,840]

Steeve Ho You Fat sighting

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Gettin out coached

[chainsaw 9,840]

1 minute ago, kingkoopa6 said:

Gettin out coached

massive understatement. they have a generational talent and for some unclear reason he's completely uninvolved on offense.

[kingkoopa6 8,331]

Finally turned it off. 
 

Wemby was for sure not being used right. And I did not like that. 
 

was gettin abused on d too cuz no one backed him when we came out to contest. 

[chainsaw 9,840]

More like Steeve Ho You Washed

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

19 minutes ago, kingkoopa6 said:

Gettin out coached

When the other coach is Tony Parker's dipshit little brother, that's not really a good sign. 

But for sure it's coaching malpractice not to have Wemby more involved. 

[chainsaw 9,840]

29 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

When the other coach is Tony Parker's dipshit little brother, that's not really a good sign. 

But for sure it's coaching malpractice not to have Wemby more involved. 

He's Tony parker's brother?

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

15 minutes ago, chainsaw said:

He's Tony parker's brother?

Yes. Tony owns the team and hired his brother to coach. I'm pretty sure he tried to swindle a couple of my friends on a bar deal out on 1604 back in the day.

[chainsaw 9,840]

7 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Yes. Tony owns the team and hired his brother to coach. I'm pretty sure he tried to swindle a couple of my friends on a bar deal out on 1604 back in the day.

that sounds like a Tony move. great PG but makes questionable off-court decisions.

[Kermit 3,136]

On 6/2/2023 at 4:16 PM, chainsaw said:

that sounds like a Tony move. great PG but makes questionable off-court decisions.

Also either doesn’t pay for air conditioning, or was trying to repeat game 1 from the 2014 Finals. Didn’t work. Wemby and friends on to the finals to face…Monaco.

[chainsaw 9,840]

That was not difficult.

[BurgleBro 786]

On 6/1/2023 at 1:12 PM, ztejas said:

I agree with MK. Unless you think we needed the Elliot shot to win that series - which I guess you could make the case for but I don't think TD would have let that happen. 

We absolutely needed the Horry shot to win that Finals. That series still went to 7.

Give my man Parker credit for physically guarding the taller Hamilton on a pretty good look for the final Pistons shot that game 😄 

[DeepEastTexas 640]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:19 AM, Coach pop a bitch said:

Elliott shot was bigger. We had won championships before the Horry shot. We did sweep Portland but up until then we were losers. That shot was emotional. Year after year of losing...... then a miracle 

Elliott's shot won 3 games. Portland was never the same after that Memorial Day. Most debilitating shot I've ever seen, helped with the sweep. 

And I'm glad it was against Portland after the Strickland pass in '90. Strickland didn't need to make that pass, he could have turned and hit a wide open Elliott. Then Rod fucks up and commits a flagrant on Drexler. 

Elliott is my all time favorite Spur. Thanks for posting that piece above. 

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

The real finals start Saturday against Monaco.

[hornfan785 554]

 

[gofuckyourself 8,164]

55 minutes ago, Mitch Cumsteen said:

The real finals start Saturday against Monaco.

Monaco can suck it...with their glitzy destination city appeal, fancy casinos and yachts, stupid race cars and big name free agent player signings ... presumably.

Metropolitans 92 are gonna crush. Built, not bought.

Then again, Grace Kelly. She was hot.

[Kermit 3,136]

[Mitch Cumsteen 18,526]

1 hour ago, gofuckyourself said:

Monaco can suck it...with their glitzy destination city appeal, fancy casinos and yachts, stupid race cars and big name free agent player signings ... presumably.

Metropolitans 92 are gonna crush. Built, not bought.

Then again, Grace Kelly. She was hot.

Monaco chupa.

[chainsaw 9,840]

On 6/5/2023 at 4:32 PM, Mitch Cumsteen said:

Monaco chupa.

pushed in, their shit was

[gofuckyourself 8,164]

Mets lost game 2 as well. I caught a couple early highlights with a great spin move and dunk, alley oop and defensive impact but can't find any final stats.

More importantly, and I'm sure this site was all over it, but how have I not seen his teammate yet.

 

[chainsaw 9,840]

Yeah he went viral a few months ago.

Wemby made some big plays but it wasn't enough. Gonna need to reverse sweep or no title for Mets92.

[Gut Wagon 8,054]

7 hours ago, gofuckyourself said:

Mets lost game 2 as well. I caught a couple early highlights with a great spin move and dunk, alley oop and defensive impact but can't find any final stats.

More importantly, and I'm sure this site was all over it, but how have I not seen his teammate yet.

 

His sister doing those dance commercials for Jardiance?