Leonard saga ends: Kawhi shipped to Toronto

By Anthony Caruso III | Publisher

Kawhi Leonard has finally been traded. The disgruntled former San Antonio Spurs trade rumors have been going on for the past several weeks.

Leonard was dealt to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday morning. Danny Green also joins him in the deal.

DeMar DeRozan is seen here as a member of the Toronto Raptors (Getty Images)

In exchange for Leonard and Green, the Spurs are receiving DeMar DeRozan,
Jakob Pöltl, and a 2019 first-round draft pick.

The deal with the Spurs intensified in recent days. Toronto was the only destination left after the Los Angeles Lakers refused to include Brandon Ingram in a deal and the Philadelphia 76ers refused to include Markelle Fultz and
Dario Šarić in a package.

Neither Leonard, or DeRozan are reportedly happy with their new destination. Leonard is saying that he will refuse to play in Toronto, while DeRozan is not happy he’s dealt, as he saying there “ain’t no loyalty” after the deal.

“Can’t trust ’em,” DeRozan said. “Ain’t no loyalty in this game. Sell you out quick for a little bit of nothing…”

Toronto is definitely taking a gamble with Leonard. He has one-year left on his current deal and there are concerns with his quad.

The Raptors will reportedly take the same approach that the Oklahoma City Thunder took with Paul George last summer. After spending one season with the team, George decided to remain in OKC.

If Leonard is healthy, he should definitely be able to put up elite numbers.

Leonard, who his teammates questioned his intentions with his quad injury, as Tony Parker said his quad injury was a 100 times worse than Leonard’s. He also reportedly caused a fracture within the locker room.

The former NBA Finals MVP played in just nine games last season. He averaged 16.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists, 2.0 steals, and 1.0 blocks per game. He spent seven seasons with the Spurs.

Green, who spent the past eight seasons with the Spurs after being his career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, appeared in 70 games, including 60 starts. He averaged 8.6 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game last season.

He appeared in 520 games, including 464 starts. He averaged 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game in his career in San Antonio.

DeRozan, who spent his entire career with the Raptors before the deal, averaged 23.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 80 starts last season. The 80 starts with Toronto last season were the most since the 2012-13 season when he started all 82 games.

In his Raptors career, he appeared in 675 games, including 663 starts. He averaged 19.7 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.0 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game.

Poeltl, who was the ninth overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Raptors, appeared in a career-high 82 games last season. He averaged 6.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1.2 blocks per game.

Belinelli missed the Spurs-Warriors game, and could miss Friday’s game against the Lakers

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: November 12th, 2014 at 1:51 AM EST

The San Antonio Spurs were without guard Marco Belinelli on Tuesday night against the Golden State Warriors. He has been dealing with a groin injury.

As of last Thursday, he is expected to miss 7-to-10 days. Plus, head coach Gregg Popovich is expected to play it safe with him until he’s ready to return.

Marco Bellinelli (Getty Images)

There’s no guarantee that he’ll be active for the Spurs game against the Los Angeles Lakers this Friday night.

With Belinelli out, Corey Joseph, Danny Green, and Manu Ginobili are expected to get increased playing time.

The 28-year-old has only played in three games this season, where he played 57 minutes. When he’s been on the court, he’s averaging 8.3 points, 1.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game.

Spurs defeat the Heat in Game 5 to win the NBA Finals

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 15th, 2014 at 11:04 pm EST

The San Antonio Spurs are the NBA Champions.

The Spurs beat the Miami Heat, 104-87, causing a 4-1 series win in the NBA Finals. It is the second loss in the NBA Finals for the Big 3 of LeBron James, Chris Bosh, and Dwyane Wade.

San Antonio Spurs celebrating (Photo by the San Antonio Spurs)

“We remember how it felt last year,” Duncan said. “It makes last year ok. We remember how it felt in that locker room that got us here today.”

This championship is the fifth for the Spurs since 1999. It is also the fourth in the Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili era.

Last year, the Spurs were just seconds away from winning their fifth in Miami, before Ray Allen hit a key three-pointer and turned Game 6 into the Heat’s favor. A few days later, the Heat won in Game 7, as the Spurs were deflated after the Game 6 loss.

Kawhi Leonard let the Spurs with 22 points. Ginobili came off the bench and scored 19 poins with Patty Mills scoring 17 off the bench, as well.

Parker scored 16 points, and Duncan scored 14 points with 8 rebounds. Besides Leonard, Boris Diaw chipped in five points and Danny Green had zero from the Spurs starting lineup.

Marco Bellinelli scored 4 points, while Tiago Splitter scored 3 points. Jeff Ayres and Aron Baynes chipped in 2 points.

They had 16 fast break points and 32 points in the paint. The Spurs also scored 8 points off of 8 turnovers.

The Heat were led by James, who had 31 points. This was his third NBA Finals loss in his career.

Bosh scored 13 points with Wade chipping in 11 points. The rest of their starting lineup had 8 points, as Rashard Lewis scored 3 points and Allen, who started as the point guard in place of Mario Chalmers, had five points.

Michael Beasley scored 9 points and Chalmers had 8 points. Toney Douglas had 3 points, while Udonis Haslem and Norris Cole had 2 points.

The Heat had 11 fast break points, and 34 points in the paint. They scored 12 points off of turnovers.

Flashback? Spurs take Game 3 of the NBA Finals against the Heat

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 11th, 2014 at 12:08 am EST

The San Antonio Spurs are once again leading the NBA Finals.

The Spurs defeated the Miami Heat, 111-92, in Game 3 of the Finals at the American Airlines Arena. It also marked the 38th road playoff win in NBA history, the most ever.

The Finals (Photo by the NBA)

This is also the first loss at home for the Heat all postseason.

The Spurs will now have to avoid a letdown in Game 4 on Thursday night, as the Heat attempt to make it 2-2. Last year, the Spurs won Game 3 by 36 points, winning 113-77 at AT&T Center.

In Game 3 last year, Danny Green stepped up and had 27 points. This year, Kawhi Leonard led all scorers with 29 points.

It seemed like he couldn’t be stopped, as he went 10-of-13 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also went 6-of-7 from the free throw line.

Green and Tony Parker added 15 points, while Tim Duncan scored 14 points and 6 rebounds. Duncan will attempt to break Magic Johnson’s career playoff double-double on Thursday in Game 4, as both are tied with 157 double-doubles.

LeBron James, who had a game-high 35 points in Game 2, scored 22 points, along with Dwyane Wade. Rashard Lewis chipped in 14 points and Ray Allen scored 11 points.

Manu Ginobili also scored 11 points for the Spurs.

The Spurs will attempt to take a 3-1 lead at American Airlines Arena. They are looking to win their 5th NBA Finals since 1999.

They have won NBA Championships in 1999, 2003, 2005, and 2007. The 2007 NBA Finals was against James’ Cleveland Cavaliers team.

Game 3 winner of a tied NBA Finals series goes on to win the series 83 percent of the time (30-6)

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 11, 2014

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Spurs: 15-3 in best-of-7 series when leading 2-1 in the Gregg Popovich era

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 11, 2014

 

He’s on Fire! Spurs torch the Heat for a 21 point halftime lead in Game 3

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: June 10th, 2014 at 10:47 pm EST

The San Antonio Spurs had an NBA Jam style first half against the Miami Heat.

It seemed liked every shot that the Spurs took, it was going in the basket. Spurs are 14 for 18 inside the paint, 7 for 10 from 3-pt range, 4 for 5 on mid-range 2s.

Kawhi Leonard on fire (Photo by ESPN)

The Spurs led 71-50 at halftime. Spurs have biggest halftime lead by a road team in the NBA Finals since the Chicago Bulls in 1996.

In addition, the Spurs are 46-0 when they lead by more than 20 points at halftime in the Gregg Popovich era. They are also the first team to score 70 points in the first half of a playoff game since the 1987 Los Angeles Lakers.

In their hot shooting, Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green were nearly perfect. They were 12-of-13 from the field.

Jackson to miss 4-to-6 weeks with a fractured pinky finger

By Anthony Caruso III
Posted: November 20th, 2012 at 1:12 AM EST

San Antonio Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson has a non-displaced fracture of his right pinky finger.

He tried to get the finger taped up by the training staff and continue to play, but apparently, couldn’t playy with the injury. He is expected to miss 4-to-6 weeks with the injury.

Stephen Jackson (Getty Images)

He was starting at the small forward position before the injury in place of Kawhi Leonard, who is out with a knee injury. Now, Danny Green is expected to receive the majority of the playing time at small forward.

Boris Diaw, Gary Neal, and Tiago Splitter could also receive playing time at small forward.

In 9 games, Captain Jack is averaging 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He is also averaging 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game.