First the starters:
Power Forward - Boris Diaw - A little over two months ago, Diaw was a member of the hapless Charlotte Bobcats, shooting a career low 41% and essentially playing his way out of town. The Bobcats cut the former NBA's Most Improved Player (2006) and he was promptly swept up by the Spurs. For San Antonio, Diaw scored just 4.7 points a game in his 20 appearances, but shot nearly 59% from the field and eventually worked his way into the starting lineup. Diaw has started all ten of San Antonio's playoff games averaging 6.9 points and 5.5 rebounds and hitting 29 of 51 field goals.
 |
| Photo Credit: flickr.com |
Small Forward - Kawhi Leonard - As a sophomore at San Diego State, Leonard led the Aztecs to a 34-3 record, a second straight Mountain West Championship, and a trip to the Sweet 16. Drafted by the Pacers with the 15th pick in the 2011 draft and traded to San Antonio for George Hill, Leonard would go on to start 39 games for the Spurs and finish fourth in the Rookie of the Year voting. Leonard has really stepped up his game in the postseason averaging 12.5 points and 8.5 rebounds including a double-double in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals against the Thunder in which he finished with 18 points and 10 boards.
 |
| Photo Credit: mysanantonio.com |
Shooting Guard - Daniel Green - The only player in ACC history with 1000 points, 500 rebounds, 250 assists, 150 three-pointers, 150 blocks and 150 steals, Green had a slow start to his NBA career. Drafted with the 46th pick of the 2009 NBA draft, Green was a member of the Cleveland LeBron's during the 2009-10 season, but appeared in just 20 regular season games. He ended up getting cut by Cleveland post-Decision and was signed by the Spurs in November of 2010. After appearing in just 8 regular season games last season, Green broke out in his third NBA season. The former UNC Tarheel played in all 66 games for the Spurs making 38 starts during the regular season and averaged 9.1 points a game. He's continued his solid play into the postseason scoring in double figures in six of San Antonio's ten games.
 |
| Photo Credit: chronicle.northcoastnow.com |
And the bench:
Point Guard - Gary Neal - Neal wasn't drafted after graduating from Towson University in 2007 and began his professional career abroad in Turkey before stints in Spain and Italy. The Spurs finally gave Neal a chance in 2010 signing him to a three year deal and he produced right away appearing in 80 games last season as a rookie. Neal finished the 2010-11 season averaging 9.8 points and was named to the All-Rookie First Team. Neal followed that up by averaging 9.9 points in his second season and has absolutely shot the lights out in the playoffs hitting 57.4% of his shots including 13 of 25 three-pointers.
 |
| Photo Credit: kobebeefnba.com |
Center - Tiago Splitter - The 6'11" Brazilian finally debuted in the NBA last season after getting drafted in the first round of the 2007 draft. Splitter's numbers went up in every category this season and he finished the regular season averaging 9.3 points and 5.2 rebounds. Over his last six playoff games, he's shooting an absurd 78.2% from the field (18/23).
 |
| Photo Credit: cleveland.com |
Shooting Guard - Stephen Jackson - Once upon a time, pre Malice at the Palace, Jackson was a budding young shooting guard for the Spurs helping them win an NBA Championship back in 2003. Now 34, he's no longer able to score 20 points a night the way he did in his prime, but he's still a capable shooter who can knock down an outside shot. San Antonio reacquired the veteran in March in exchange for Richard Jefferson and he's served as a valuable role player since the move. Jackson is averaging 5.3 points a game in the postseason, but scored in double figures twice in the opening round against the Jazz.
 |
| Photo Credit: beaumontenterprise.com |
Power Forward - Matt Bonner - The Red Rocket just wrapped up his sixth season with the Spurs and connected on over 40% of his 3-pointers for the 5th time in his 8 year career. A member of the Spurs 2007 NBA Championship team, Bonner averaged 6.6 points during the regular season this year and has contributed 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds a night during the postseason.
 |
| Photo Credit: mysanantonio.com |
Forward - DeJuan Blair - Blair started 62 games during the regular season, but despite scoring a career best 9.5 points a game on 53.4% shooting, he's been relegated to the back of the bench in the playoffs in favor of Boris Diaw. Blair hasn't played in any of the last 4 Spurs playoff games, but he did have 10 points and 7 rebounds in Game 2 against the Jazz.
 |
| Photo Credit: zimbio.com |
Shooting Guard - James Anderson - The Big 12 Player of the Year in 2010, Anderson was drafted by the Spurs with the 20th pick of the 2010 NBA Draft. He's seen fairly limited minutes in his first two NBA seasons, but set career highs in points (3.7), rebounds (1.5) and assists (0.8) this year. Anderson had 19 points and 7 rebounds in the regular season finale against the Warriors, but he's logged only 16 minutes in 7 playoff games this year.
 |
| Photo Credit: mysanantonio.com |
Point Guard - Patrick Mills - The Australian born Mills spent his first two NBA seasons with Portland before going to China during the NBA lockout and then joining the Spurs this March. In just 16 regular season games, Mills had an impact averaging 10.3 points and 2.4 assists. He finished the regular season with a 34 point, 12 assist performance against the Warriors setting a record for scoring by an Australian born player in an NBA game. In the postseason, Mills has logged just 20 minutes, but has connected on 5 of his 6 field goal attempts.
 |
| Photo Credit: goodwinsports.com |
And the reserves:
Small Forward - Derrick Byars - Byars played in two games late in the regular season highlighted by an 8 point, 8 rebound effort against the Warriors in the regular season finale. The former SEC Co-Player of the Year with Vanderbilt in 2007, Byars was a second round pick by the Blazers that year, but didn't pan out instead playing overseas in Germany, France and Greece before finally making his NBA debut this April.
Guard - Cory Joseph - A member of the Big 12 All-Rookie Team with Texas in 2011, Joseph was taken with the 29th pick in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Spurs. He appeared in 29 games as a rookie scoring a career high 13 points in a loss to Portland back in February.
No comments:
Post a Comment