SpursUniverse

San Antonio Spurs

recent posts

Brandon Lucero here, Journalist and Photographer dedicated to covering the San Antonio Spurs. I served onboard the USS San Antonio while in the United States Navy! I utilized my GI Bill and went to college where I received my Associates and Bachelors degrees in Journalism and Photography!

  • Spurs Vs Knicks Finals Preview!

    The San Antonio Spurs will be taking on the New York Knicks in a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals! The Alien 👽 The Big Apple 🍎, in what could be another classic NBA Finals! V. Wembanyama will be looking to get his first championship in a very similar way T. Duncan got his! Beat Portland, Beat Minnesota, Beat your rival, Beat the Knicks, Win the Finals and Finals MVP and cement your legacy!

    Spurs: The Spurs road to the Finals was more difficult than the Knicks as the Spurs played better competition! Both teams played for the NBA Cup championship with the Knicks winning the Cup in a good game from both teams. The Knicks have the edge winning 2 out of 3 games against San Antonio this season. There will be 5 keys for the Spurs to win their sixth championship against the Knicks! 1. Rebounding will be key to this series as the Knicks have a few bigs that can rebound and play physical in M. Robinson and KAT. The Spurs guards will need to help rebound if Wemby is out of the game or he has to guard the perimeter! 2. Can New York force Wemby out of the paint with KAT, and take advantage of the Alien not being near the basket. The Spurs will likely start Wemby on OG or Hart and this will be key if neither player can hit threes! 3. Matchups! The chess game of these Finals will be key in that New York will try and force Wemby out of the paint, but in turn can the Knicks hide Brunson and some of their key bench players on Spurs Shooters instead of Castle, Harper and Fox! 4. The Spurs bench vs the Knicks bench will also be key! Can the Spurs get any momentum from their more physical and bigger bench? The Knicks have the better overall bench, but they are mostly shooters outside of Robinson. Will the Spurs bench play more disciplined and make the Knicks bench pay for playing smaller shooters? 5. X-Factor- The Spurs have the Alien and have homecourt advantage! This will likely be another grind out series and the team with home court and the best player should win this series!

    Prediction: Spurs in 7! The Corgi has Spurs in 7 so I gotta ride the hot hand, or paw!

  • Spurs defeat Thunder in Game 7 to advance to The NBA Finals!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 111 to 103 to advance to the NBA Finals! In just his third year in the NBA, V. Wembanyama (22pts,7rebs,1blk) gets his team to the NBA championship defeating the defending champs in a classic seven game series! He showcased his unique skills and why he was considered an MVP candidate! Wemby had help as D. Fox (15pts,5ast,3stls) S. Castle (16pts,6rebs,6ast) and D. Harper (12pts,7rebs,3ast) attacked the Thunder guards all night! They brought the necessary energy and sustained it all 48 minutes! J. Champagnie (20pts,6rebs) D. Vassell (11pts,6rebs) and K. Johnson (11pts,3rebs) all hit timely shots while playing solid fundamental basketball! L. Kornet (2pts,1blk) only played 6 minutes, but his huge block in the fourth quarter helped swing momentum for the Spurs! San Antonio scored 19 points to the Thunders 9 off of turnovers. This was the only advantage as majority of stats were close and similar! Next up is the New York Knicks and a rematch of the 1999 NBA Finals! The Alien 👽 vs the Big Apple 🍎!

    Thunder: SGA (35pts,4rebs,9ast) did everything he could to get the Thunder past the Spurs! He needed more help and with the Thunder down a few key guys, the MVP was going to have to score 50 to beat the Spurs! C. Holmgren (4pts,4rebs) was nonexistent for this game. After being put on Wemby’s poster he only took two shots and was benched the final minute of the game. C. Wallace (17pts) and J. Williams (11pts,10rebs) helped SGA make the game close, but they just didn’t have enough as a collective! The Thunder are deep, but when a guy or two goes down it becomes talent vs dept as San Antonio is the more talented team! J. McCain (12pts) and A. Caruso (12pts) were kept under 30 points combined, as the Thunder needed more from these two! They will be back next year so the OKC vs San Antonio rivalry will continue!

  • Spurs show Heart and force Game 7!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 118 to 91 in a game where the young Spurs showed heart and determination! V. Wembanyama (28pts,10rebs,3blks) was aggressive from the start! He played his game, and seemed in control of his emotions! Many in the media want Wemby to go play in the paint most of the game, but Wemby is not that type of player! He just needs to play his game and find his groove and pick his spots, so the team can play off his aggression! The young guards came to play as S. Castle (17pts,5rebs,9ast) and D. Harper (18pts,6rebs,4ast) really shined and helped push the Spurs past the Thunder. D. Vassell (12pts,2blks) was solid for the Spurs and has been one of the most consistent Spurs in these playoffs! J. Champagnie (10pts,6rebs) and K. Johnson (9pts) hit timely shots for the Spurs. D. Fox (5pts,5rebs,7ast) was off again going 1-9 in the game. He did contribute in other aspects of the game! He needs to show up in game 7 if the Spurs are to advance to the NBA Finals!

    Thunder: SGA (15pts) didn’t shoot 17 free throws! He was under pressure all game from the Spurs guards! He will have to have another big game for the Thunder to advance! C. Holmgren (10pts,11rebs) and I. Hartenstein (10pts,5rebs) tried to stop Wemby, but we’re unsuccessful in keeping him from getting to his spots! The Spurs are content with theses two scoring tough buckets. J. McCain (13pts) and A. Caruso (7pts) missed early and often. If the Spurs keep them under 30pts they can control the game better! Game 7 will be a classic! The Spurs are playing with house money, and the Thunder are supposed to be here! SGA vs The Alien 👽! Game 7! Let’s go!

  • Spurs show no fight and play soft as Thunder go up 3-2!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 127 to 114 in a game where the Spurs had no fight and played soft for most of the game! V. Wembanyama (20pts,6rebs,3blks) had one of his worst games in the playoffs going 4-15 and showing no hustle as well as playing soft! One could tell he was upset at everything happening in the moment instead of focusing on getting the job done! This will be another opportunity for him to grow as a person bothbon and off the court! When he is engaged and focused, no team can beat the Spurs, but when he is distracted and upset, anything can happen! J Champagnie (22pts,8rebs) had a good game, hopefully he carries momentum to game 6! S. Castle (24pts,5rebs,6ast) played with fire and hustle! He was a main reason the Spurs were in the game. D. Fox (9pts,8ast) was a disappointment this game and never got going. K. Johnson (15pts) finally showed up in the series, maybe he will finally get going. This team can still win the series and they have an opportunity to get game 6 at home and in a game 7, anything can happen!

    Thunder:C. Holmgren (16pts,11rebs) finally showed up in this series! Maybe that will motivate Wemby to play better. SGA (32pts) shot 17 free throws! This is one of the reasons a lot of fans are sick of Oklahoma City and get turned off by them! He is a good player and does not need to fall after every shot and contact! J. McCain (20pts) had a good game in his first career start. He will be key going forward for the Thunder. A. Caruso (22pts) also did well, his antics on the court are largely ignored by the refs! Speaking of refs, the officiating crew of Tony Brothers should be fired! I’ve never seen such one sided officiating in all my life!

  • Spurs tie series at 2-2 as Wemby shows Growth and Fire! 🔥

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 103 to 82 to tie the series at 2-2 in a game where V. Wembanyama (33pts,8rebs,5ast,3blks) showed his growth and maturity as well as a passion that ignited the win! The Spurs big man was in attack mode from the jump and the Spurs coaching staff made an adjustment to focus majority of sets to get Wemby involved early, so that the MVP candidate could take more shots in the paint as well as let his teammates play off his gravitational pull! D. Fox (12pts,10rebs,5ast) S. Castle (13pts,6ast) and D. Vassell (13pts,6rebs) all utilized the Alien 👽 in sets to get open looks for themselves and others! They trusted the system and made the necessary adjustments, as well as playing solid fundamental defense on SGA! The plan was clear, play SGA straight up and get Wemby in action early and often! The Spurs bench did better this game scoring 24 points to the Thunders 32. L. Kornet (6pts,7rebs,2blks) did a decent job when Wemby rested. K. Johnson (6pts) and H. Barnes (5pts) are still struggling, but they played better than the last two games. Rumor has it, El Jefe, better known as Coach Pop came into the locker room after game 3 and let the young Spurs know the honest truth about their last performance in the only way he knows how! They say honestly is the best policy! Game 5 should be a classic!

    Thunder: C. Holmgren (10pts,9rebs) and I. Hartenstein (12pts,7rebs) tried their best to stop the Alien 👽 all night, but it was not enough as Wemby even hit half court shots to get the Spurs going! SGA (19pts) was frustrated most of the night with the new approach the Spurs deployed on him. He couldn’t get a rhythm going, nor could he find others in rhythm, resulting in a lot of missed jumpers by the supporting cast! A. Caruso (0pts) feel back to earth and was also frustrated with his performance! The Thunder dept is a weapon, but if the Spurs can get healthy and stay healthy, the depth won’t matter. Especially with J. Williams still being out as well as some of the other Thunder role players! Depth vs talent will be key moving forward in this series! If the Spurs cancel out the Thunders depth with thier talent, the series will come down to who is the better player between SGA and the Alien 👽!

  • Spurs falter after hot start as Thunder take 2-1 lead!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs lost 123 to 108 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in a game where they started off strong, but faltered after the bench came into the game. V. Wembanyama (26pts,4rebs,2blks) played a decent game, but he seemed to be frustrated in himself and the game plan in the loss to the Thunder. He was upset after the game and seemed to understand that if San Antonio is going to get past the Thunder, it will be because he is aggressive and makes his team better by asserting himself early and often! He will be key in how the Spurs bench can get back on track in this series. Speaking of bench, the Thunder bench outscored the Spurs bench 71 to 18, in a game where focus and control mattered! D. Fox (15pts,7rebs,6ast) did his best coming back from injury, but one can tell his ankle is bothering him. S. Castle (14pts) was also frustrated by the refs and was not himself as well. He will have to maintain control so that his game can get back to his standard of play! He did only have one turnover so that is a bright spot! D. Vassell (20pts) played his heart out and kept the Spurs close. He will have to stay steady if San Antonio is to tie this series and eventually win the series! The Spurs bench has been such a let down these playoffs! To go from the number one bench in the NBA to getting outscored by 53 points at home is a disgrace! L. Kornet (4pts) K. Johnson (5pts) and C. Byrant (3pts) all have to be better! D. Harper (6pts) seemed hurt still and his health going forward will be key, especially with him coming off the bench if Fox can still play! This team has gone through tough times this season, so they have it in themselves to play better and focus on the task ahead! As long as Wemby leads the charge they will get back in this series and compete!

    OKC: SGA (26pts,12ast) played like the MVP! He got his teammates involved early and the confidence from game 2 carried over. J. McCain (24pts) had himself a game, it will be interesting if the Spurs can lock him up and game plan better for him. A. Caruso (15pts) was a pest as usual, even running into players to force calls and riding the line with flagrant fouls! The Spurs had no answer for the Thunder bench in this game. After San Antonio blitzed the Thunder to start the game the tide turned as Wemby got some rest, and from that point on the Spurs could not stop the subs of the Thunder! It will be interesting to see if the Thunder’s super subs can maintain how well they have played for the rest of the series?

  • Thunder Strike back and tie series against Spurs at 1-1!

    Spurs: The Oklahoma City Thunder defeated the San Antonio Spurs 122 to 113 in a game where obvious calls should been made and the Spurs beat themselves! S. Castle (25pts,5rebs,8ast) did his best to compete against the Thunder, but it was not enough as his 9 turnovers and the lack of calls did not do San Antonio justice! He did have what could be considered the dunk of the year on I. Hartenstein in this game! V. Wembanyama (21pts,17rebs,6ast,4blks) had a decent game compared to the standard of game 1! He seemed tired and was held on a majority of plays by Hartenstein, but he needs to realize that will happen and will be expected until the refs adjust or actually call a foul. Getting Wemby in the post will help him catch his breath and help in getting more foul calls on Hartenstein! D. Vassell (22pts) and K. Johnson (10pts,5rebs) had a tough time getting to their spots but they eventually got going. D. Harper (12pts) left the game and did not return. Hopefully he is not hurt and can return sometime in this series! L. Kornet (4pts) in 11 minutes is not gonna cut it against a solid opponent! He needs to step up so Wemby can get an actual rest and show he has the heart of a champion! The Spurs bench was outscored 49 to 25 and continues to be a liability when the starters sit. Hopefully in San Antonio they can get some momentum and help the starters get the lead in the series!

    Thunder: The MVP found his shot and the game plan was obvious that SGA (30pts,9ast) would attack the opposite side that Wemby was on. I. Hartenstein (10pts,13rebs) was a pest all game and got away with plenty of missed fouls. It was obvious that his entire job was to foul and take shots at Wemby and the Spurs. He did play a good game but he was doing tactics that would make Meta World Peace mad! J. Williams (6pts) left the game early and seemed to be hurting. Hopefully he will return to the series and the injury is not serious. The Thunder bench helped win them this game. A. Caruso (17pts) A. Wallace (12pts) and C. Wallace (12pts) were responsible for the Thunder outscoring San Antonio’s bench the entire night. The Thunder also scored 27 points off of the Spurs 21 turnovers. Game 3 should be another classic!

  • Spurs win game 1 as WeMVP delivers in game of the century!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Oklahoma City Thunder 122 to 115 in an epic game where the final outcome was decided in double overtime! V.Wembanyama (41pts,24rebs,3blks) was the best player on the floor! He was dominant early and made sure the Spurs would not loose this game! The amount of difficult shots he made while been fouled and also controlling the paint was remarkable! D. Harper (24pts,11rebs,6ast,7stls) was amazing in his first playoff start! He started slow but really picked up momentum when he adjusted to the pace of the game. S. Castle (17pts,6rebs,11ast) was also clutch down the stretch for San Antonio! He had 11 turnovers, but he and Harper had to do a lot more with Fox being out! D. Vassell (13pts,6rebs,2blks) and J. Champagnie (11pts) hit timely shots! Vassell even had a clutch block on Holmgren at the end of double overtime! K. Johnson (13pts) was a bright spot for the Spurs bench. San Antonio out rebounded the Thunder 61 to 40 and dominated the paint scoring 52 to 38. This game was amazing and will be one to remember!

    Thunder: The Thunder played like a team who was living life on easy street through the first two rounds. J. Williams (26pts,7rebs) came back and almost lead the Thunder to a win. SGA (24pts,12rebs,5stls) was off most of the night. He saw many different looks from the Spurs defense and was out of rhythm all night. C. Holmgren (8pts,8rebs,2blks) felt out of place and never got going. A. Caruso (31pts) had a decent game even after scoring 31 points. The Spurs dared him to shoot all night and lived with the results! The Thunder did force 28 Spurs turnovers so they have a formula that they can rely on to get easy buckets. They do struggle with half court basketball against the Spurs because San Antonio dictates match ups on that end! Game 2 should be another classic!

  • Spurs Vs Thunder! Western Finals Preview!

    Head to Head: The San Antonio Spurs will be taking on the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference Finals! San Antonio is 4-1 against the Thunder this year and are eager to keep proving the doubters wrong! The Spurs are 3rd in the NBA at defensive rating at 111.3 and 4th in the NBA at offensive rating at 119.6. In contrast, Oklahoma City is ranked 7th at offensive rating at 118.9 and 1st in the NBA at defensive rating at 107.7. Both teams are deep and are ranked in the top ten in bench points with San Antonio scoring 41.5 a game and Oklahoma City at 38.5.

    Keys for the Spurs: There will be five keys to San Antonio winning this series against the defending champs! 1. San Antonio has to limit turnovers and keep the Thunder from running. If the Spurs take care of the ball they will force SGA into tough shoots and have their defense set so that they can dictate match ups! 2. With that being stated, the Spurs need WeMVP to control the paint and win his match ups with the Thunder bigs! SGA likes to get into the paint and pass to the bigs or shooters so with Wemby controlling the mid range and paint this will make scoring low percentage threes and two’s more difficult than what the Thunder have been accustomed to. Wemby will be extra motivated with being second in MVP voting and this will be his chance to show the NBA just how impactful he can be on both ends of the court! 3. The Spurs guard trio of D. Fox, S. Castle and D. Harper will be a key in that they don’t turn the ball over and that they stay in attack mode all series! The Thunder have good guards in SGA, A. Caruso, L. Dort and J. Williams but they will have a hard time staying in front of San Antonio’s three point guard rotation. Expect Dort or Caruso to guard Wemby so that takes a few of the defenders away that normally will be primarily guarding the point! Castle will in turn have his hands full with SGA, but he has held his own this season as well as last season. The Thunder will try and slow down Harper, but he is leading the NBA in bench points so that will be a tall task no matter who they ask to do it. Fox is that older statesman in the locker room, and will be pivital in getting the Spurs in their sets and making tough shoots! Fox will have to play big and put pressure on the Thunder throughout this series! 4. The Spurs bench has been hit or miss in these playoffs, but with every round comes different options and match ups! Look for L. Kornet, H. Barnes, C. Bryant, D. Harper and K. Johnson to really be a factor in this series. Each player will have a game or two that they need to affect the game positively with their hustle, shooting, rebounding and attention to detail! 5. Shooting and coaching will also be important as J. Champagnie and D. Vassell are the best shooters on the team! They will be important in the team having spacing and they have to hold their own on the defensive side of the ball. The Spurs as a whole have to make open shots and trust in themselves to let the ball fly as OKC has the number 1 defense in the NBA. Open looks will be hard to come by if they set up their defense. Also, Coach Johnson will have to adjust some of his match ups as the Thunder will look to play a small on Wemby. On the other end, the need for Wemby to protect the paint will give a few of the Thunder players open looks. It will be about who shoots the shots and not just about the Thunder getting some open looks as Caruso can’t beat you, but SGA can! 6. (Honorable mention) the refs will also dictate how each team plays. The Spurs and Wolves series saved the NBA with it’s physicality and great basketball. The Thunder won easily against a Lakers team that had no real hope without Luca as controversy surrounded the series with foul calls that had the NBA talking! If the referees let the Spurs be physical and SGA does not live at the free throw line, look for the Spurs to be the more ready team!

    Prediction: Spurs win a classic 7 game series and head to the NBA Finals!

  • Spurs Dominate Wolves to win series 4-2!

    Spurs: The San Antonio Spurs defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 139 to 109 and win the series advancing to the Western Conference finals! S. Castle (32pts,11rebs,6ast) was dominant and in attack mode all night! He had 19 points at halftime and was a big reason the Spurs had the lead for most of the game! V. Wembanyama (19pts,6rebs,3blks) and D. Fox (21pts,4rebs,9ast,2blks) were solid and ready to put the Wolves to sleep from the start of this game! Both were focused on getting the job done and closing out Minnesota. D. Harper (15pts,5rebs) D. Vassell (11pts) and J. Champagnie (18pts,5rebs) played great defense and hit timely shots. The Spurs shot 55.7% compared to Minnesota’s 37.7% from the field. The Spurs also out rebounded Minnesota 62 to 29 and out paced the Wolves 17 to 5 in face break points! San Antonio’s defense was on display all night with 13 blocks compared to Minnesota’s 2. Next up is OKC and a trip to the Western Conference Finals!

    Wolves: The Wolves gave great effort and will be better next year when everyone is healthy and depending on if they make any moves. A. Edwards (24pts) did his best to get the series to game 7, but the Spurs would not be denied! J. McDaniels (13pts) A. Dosunmu (10pts) and N. Reid (18pts,7rebs) fought hard to keep their season alive. All are great building blocks moving forward. J. Randle (3pts,7rebs) and R. Gorbert (0pts) were such a let down for Wolves fans. Maybe it is time to move on from both and shake up the roster? Steve (Portal) Violet from MN-2-NM was spot on about the Spurs winning in six games, and JakeyPicks was clutch with his pick for the Wolves to win game 1. JakeyPicks was wrong about his pick for the winner of the series as some lessons are better learned in silence! You know what they say, “Karma is a dish best served cold!”