The San Antonio Spurs made a big splash on Tuesday when they acquired Richard Jefferson from the Milwaukee Bucks. On the Spurs, Jefferson will likely become the team’s starting small forward and joins Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to form a formidable foursome.

In return for Jefferson, the Bucks got salary relief in the threesome of Bruce Bowen, Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas. Both Bowen and Oberto have partially guaranteed contracts that will create space under the NBA’s luxury tax. Out of the three players, the only one who may suit up for the Bucks is Thomas.

Last season, Jefferson averaged 19.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game. He shot 43.9% from the field and 39.7% from beyond the three-point arc. In 2003 while with the New Jersey Nets, Jefferson played against the Spurs in the NBA Finals. The Spurs won the series in six games to capture their second NBA championship. Since then, San Antonio has won two more championships.

Jefferson and the Spurs hope that he’s can be a key contributor to championship number five.

Richard Jefferson joins Tim Duncan on the San Antonio Spurs (Image: Zuma Press)

The Dallas Mavericks defeated the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. The Spurs are now one loss away from going on vacation, however Tony Parker did everything he could to will his team to victory.

The 6-foot-2 guard from France scored 43 points on 18-of-29 shooting from the field. He also had five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot. Despite that effort, it wasn’t enough to overcome Dallas’ team play.

For the Mavs, Josh Howard had 28 points and four rebounds, while Jason Kidd chipped in 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and two steals. Dirk Nowtizki and Jason Terry, who are regarded as the two best players on the team, combined for only 22 points on 26 shot attempts.

The next game in this series will be on Tuesday in San Antonio. If the Spurs win that game, the two teams will play Game 6 on Friday in Dallas.

Tony Parker Couldn't do Enough for the Spurs (Image: Newscom)

Tim Duncan, the four-time NBA champion and future Hall of Fame bigman for the San Antonio Spurs, told reporters on Friday night that his knees are feeling better. Since the All-Star break, Duncan has been hobbled by knee pain as the Spurs sunk in the Western Conference standings.

Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs (Image: Newscom)

In recent weeks, Duncan has been sporting a pair of knee braces. Against the Utah Jazz, Duncan only had on one knee brace.

“It is basically gone,” said Duncan, talking about the pain in his right knee, “so it was good to be out there without a brace on and kind of play well.”

In 31 minutes of action versus the Jazz, Duncan finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and two assists. The Spurs, led by Tony Parker’s 31 points, seven rebounds and six assists, were able to win the game by a final score of 105-99.

Even if Duncan does heal in time for the playoffs, the Spurs still are in a major hole after the news hit that Manu Ginobili is out for the season. For Duncan to win his fifth championship, he’ll need to play better than ever in the postseason.

Manu Ginobili, the Argentine star guard for the San Antonio Spurs, will miss the rest of the regular season and the entire postseason with a stress fracture. Due to injuries, Ginobili was only able to play 44 games this season.

Manu Ginobili Injured, San Antonio Spurs (Image: Newscom)

In the offseason, Ginobili required ankle surgery and that forced him to miss the first month of action. Then at the All-Star break, the Spurs discovered a stress reaction near his other ankle.

After returning to action, Ginobili felt stiffness in his ankle. After further examination, it was determined that his stress reaction had turned into a stress fracture.

Without Ginobili, San Antonio’s chances of capturing their fifth NBA championship are greatly diminished. In fact, their chances may be non-existent at this point.

The Spurs have previously won NBA championships in 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007. Currently, the Spurs are the third seed in the Western Conference with a record of 49-27.

In San Antonio, Tony Parker oftentimes gets overlooked by superstar teammates Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili. However, as of late, Parker has undoubtedly been the best player on the Spurs.

Tony Parker of the Spurs carves up the Hawks (Image: Newscom)

On Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, Parker once again proved that point. In 39 minutes, Parker had 42 points and ten assists while making 18 of his 25 shot attempts from the field and all six of his free throws.

With the score tied going into the final period, Parker took over. Using his blinding speed and midrange jumper, the native of France picked apart the Hawks possession after possession. When it was all said and done, the Spurs had posted a 102-92 victory.

Making the win even more impressive is the fact that San Antonio was shorthanded. Duncan missed the game to rest his aching knees, while Ginobili was limited to 12 minutes in his return to the lineup after missing over a month with an ankle injury.

Roger Mason, Jr. chipped in 18 points for the Spurs, while Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 30 points.

By Guest Blogger Bo Durkop

Texas’ three NBA teams are well represented in the 2008 Olympics. The Dallas Mavericks Dirk Nowitzki, Houston Rockets Yao Ming, and the San Antonio Spurs Manu Ginobili, who each just a few months earlier competed in the NBA playoffs are now set to perform for an even larger world wide audience.

After propelling German men’s basketball team to its first Olympic appearance in sixteen years, Dirk Nowitzki was assigned the honor of carrying the country’s flag in the opening ceremony.

Now with that celebration over, the real work begins. In the preliminary round for group B, Germany’s first match is against Angola. Even greater challenges awaits the erman squad in the upcoming week when they take on European champions Greece, World Champions Spain, the highly motivated and extremely talented USA squad, and China, the host country’s celebrated team.

Leading China’s team is Yao Ming, who is making his third Olympic appearance. China reached the quarterfinals in the 2004 Olympics and will have plenty of fan support this summer as they strive for further progress. Yao Ming, who humbly carried the Olympic torch in Beijing, has a fire in his belly when it comes to competing.

In an interview with local Chinese media, Ming said, “I think we should focus on how to do well at this Olympics because (the Beijing Games) has been a dream for us all.”

Manu Ginobili along with a battle tested Argentina squad is looking to make their dream of Olympic championship repeat come true. Argentina’s first obstacle to overcome is the team from Lithuania. Both teams have been assigned to group A, along with Australia, Iran, Russia, and Croatia.

When asked to describe his team’s chemistry, Manu said, “We are hard workers and we just want the best for our teammates. On every team, that’s huge. We got all the roles well-covered and we’re all looking for just one simple goal.”

For all these players, though the goal is clear, the results remain to be seen.

Photo credit: Newscom

Yes. The 1992 Barcelona Olympics was an event that’s memorable for the sport, Basketball. It was when the following athletes competed:

• Charles Barkley of the Phoenix Suns
• Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics
• Clyde Drexler of the Portland Trail Blazers
• Patrick Ewing of the New York Knicks
• Magic Johnson, retired, formerly of the Los Angeles Lakers
• Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls
• Christian Laettner of Duke University
• Karl Malone of the Utah Jazz
• Chris Mullin of the Golden State Warriors
• Scottie Pippen of the Chicago Bulls
• David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs
• John Stockton of the Utah Jazz

Coached by Chuck Daly of the New Jersey Nets.

Final standing of the US Basketball Team, 8-0. So, yea — they took home the gold. Hahahaha. I can only imagine how their opponents may have felt when they were playing them. Stunned and star-struck. Great times. :D

Wikipedia