Larry Brown Sports

Stephen Jackson’s release by the San Antonio Spurs last week came as a shock to many. Nobody saw it coming, and many people were led to believe that Jackson was happy being part of the San Antonio organization. That clearly was not the case — at least not recently.

The day he was released, Jackson hinted at a possible conflict with coach Gregg Popovich.

“I would never say a player is better than me when I know their not. Not for no one,” Jackson wrote on Instagram.

He then tagged his note with a hashtag saying you and I know what’s really going on.

Jackson made it pretty obvious that he was dissatisfied with being behind players on the depth chart whom he thinks he’s better than. He elaborated on that thought in an interview with Sister 2 Sister Magazine.

“We had a disagreement,” Jackson said in reference to Coach Popovich. “He wanted me to agree to players being better than me, and I didn’t agree. I’ve been in the NBA a long time, so it’s just something I didn’t agree with and something I have no control over. He’s the coach. He controls who plays, and he controls the team, which I do respect. At the same time, I know what I can do and what I been doing my whole career, and I’m far from ready to hang it up. So, I can’t let one person tell me where I’m at 35-years-old. To me, it just didn’t make no sense.”

Jackson also says he expressed his unhappiness with his role on the team prior to the trade deadline and all-star break, and that he wishes they would have released him sooner so he could have joined another team.

I’m not 100 percent sure about whom Jackson is referring, but I’m guessing it’s Kawhi Leonard. Leonard was the team’s first-round pick in 2011 and has seen a big minutes boost this season. He’s also played well for San Antonio, and you cannot really disagree with the results; the Spurs secured the second seed in the Western Conference.

Who can really be surprised about Jackson having an issue with the team? He’s had problems everywhere he’s played, so it was only a matter of time before he had an issue with the Spurs. I’m honestly shocked he went this long without really having a big disagreement with the team.

H/T Pro Basketball Talk

The San Antonio Spurs caused a controversy when they sent home four of their top players prior to a nationally-televised game against the Miami Heat on Nov. 29. They have already been punished by the league for the move, and now they are being sued by a fan.

According to ESPN, attorney Larry McGuinness filed a class-action suit in Miami-Dade County against the Spurs for their actions. He reportedly accuses the Spurs of “intentionally and surreptitiously” sending their players home before the game without the knowledge of the league, team, and fans.

“It was like going to Morton’s Steakhouse and paying $63 for porterhouse and they bring out cube steak,” McGuinness said, according to ESPN.

McGuinness reportedly bought his ticket on the resale market, meaning he likely paid much more to see a top team like the Spurs than he would have to see a lesser team.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sent Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Danny Green home to San Antonio before the Thursday game against the Heat in Miami. Though the Spurs played an extremely competitive game and only lost 105-100, commissioner David Stern was so incensed by Popovich’s move that he scolded the Spurs in a statement issued before the game in which he promised to sanction the team. Stern fined the team $250,000 for the move.

McGuinness reportedly says he and other fans “suffered economic damages” by paying a premium price for tickets to see a good team that was missing most of its top players.

Popovich acknowledged after the game that he would have been disappointed if he were a fan who bought tickets to the game.

“If I was taking my 6-year-old son and daughter to the game, I would want them to see everybody,” Popovich said. “And if they weren’t there, I’d be disappointed.”

The Spurs were playing their fourth game in five days, and Pop felt it was more important for his players to get extra rest.

We have filed this story in our “frivolous lawsuits” category because we believe that’s what it is. There are never guarantees when one buys a ticket for a sporting event. McGuinness should be pleased he got to see a great game. We also think he should stick to labor and employment law, which, according to his LinkedIn profile, is his firm’s specialty.

The San Antonio Spurs caused a s— storm on Thursday when it was revealed coach Gregg Popovich would be resting his top players for Thursday’s nationally-televised game against the Miami Heat on TNT.

Commissioner David Stern threw a fit about the decision and is dropping the hammer.

“I apologize to all NBA fans,” he said in a statement issued before the game. “This was an unacceptable decision by the San Antonio Spurs and substantial sanctions will be forthcoming.”

Popovich emphasized that the Spurs were not simply mailing it in because Miami is a tough opponent, but because of scheduling and old age. Thursday’s game was the fourth in five nights for the Spurs, and it marks the end of a six-game road trip. They have another big game at home against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday.

“We didn’t do it because it’s the Miami Heat,” Popovich told the media before the game. “It has nothing to do with the Miami Heat or TV or anybody. You deal with the schedule the best you can and do the wisest thing for your particular team.

“If our best players were 23 years old or 25 years old, we might have done something different.”

Popovich is resting Tim Duncan, who is 36 years old; Tony Parker, who is 30; Manu Ginobili, who is 35; and Danny Green, who is 25. All have played at least 20 minutes per game during San Antonio’s five-game winning streak.

Resting his older players is something Pop has been doing for a few years. It’s not like this is a new strategy for him.

TNT commentators Charles Barkley and Reggie Miller defended Pop’s decision, and so do I.

I think it’s completely out of line for Stern to try to tell Popovich how to manage his players. NFL teams frequently rest star players towards the end of the season after clinching playoff spots regardless of whether they’re on national TV in primetime games. Whether the strategy works is debatable, but what is not debatable is whether a coach has a right to determine his players’ minutes.

If Stern is worried about fans not getting their money’s worth, he shouldn’t be; anyone watching still gets to see LeBron James and the Heat, which makes most tickets worth buying. And if he wants November regular-season games matter this much, then maybe he should limit the number of teams that make the playoffs. Also, why isn’t Stern looking at his scheduling people? Why did his office give the Spurs four games in five nights and put them on national TV against the Heat in November if he wanted the teams to be at their peaks? He should be reprimanding his schedulers instead of San Antonio.

Lastly, how can Stern release the statement before the game is played? For one day, who’s to say San Antonio’s secondary players can’t beat the Heat? The commissioner is clearly saying that the entertainment factor is much more important than anything else in the NBA, which is why they’ve been upset about the success of the “boring” Spurs all these years.

Photo credit: Derick E. Hingle-US PRESSWIRE

The San Antonio Spurs had their work cut out for them from the start before taking on the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night. The Spurs were thin heading into the game with forward Kawhi Leonard nursing an injury, and they became even thinner when Stephen Jackson broke his pinky in the first quarter. Given that they were missing some key players against one of the best teams in the Western Conference, you could argue that a 92-87 loss is a moral victory. Just don’t say it to Gregg Popovich.

“I thought for a portion of that game we were an embarrassment,” Popovich said after the loss according to Spurs Nation.

The Spurs went 3-for-8 from the floor and were outscored 29-14 in the second quarter. They also turned the ball over seven times during that stretch, which is likely what Popovich was embarrassed by. San Antonio had been leading by as much as 10 before that run, but L.A. took a five-point lead into halftime and held onto to it the remainder of the way.

Pop hates losing almost as much as he hates doing interviews with sideline reporters during a game, so it’s not surprising to see him heated after a loss that many saw coming. Excuses don’t fly in San Antonio.

Photo credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-US PRESSWIRE

Many thought they were too old, but the Spurs emerged as legitimate title contenders during the lockout-shortened season. As expected, they have handled the Jazz with relative ease through the first three games of the opening round of the playoffs. San Antonio currently has a 3-0 series lead over Utah, but the Jazz have not given up just yet. Actually, at least one of them has.

Before practice on Sunday, Al Jefferson said he expects the Spurs to win it all. Considering they have not yet closed out the Jazz, that may irritate some Utah fans and coaches.

“I just think we’re playing against a team that is at its peak,” Jefferson told reporters according to Spurs Nation. “I don’t see nobody beating them.

“Right now, they just playing well, man. I ain’t never seen nothing like this.”

That has to be pretty deflating to anyone who has a ticket to Game 4 tonight in Utah. In reality the Jazz have no shot of coming back and beating the Spurs. Any intelligent fan knows that, and the players probably do too. However, someone needs to tell Jefferson that it’s not a smart idea to basically declare his team a group of dead men walking before the season officially comes to a close.

Photo credit: Russ Isabella-US PRESSWIRE

With the way technology has advanced over the last few decades, this move has been a long time coming. Yes, there are season ticket holders in the world like Jimmy Fallon in “Fever Pitch” who look forward to the day FedEx drops off all their tickets in the mail. Those people will never go for this print your tickets online or download them to your smart phone stuff, but those of us who like technology will love what the Spurs have done this season.

According to the Sports Business Journal, the Spurs gave their season ticket holders the option of receiving the traditional paper tickets to all 33 regular season home games (shortened season), or just having them all stored on a smart card.  The card can be scanned at the AT&T Center before each game and will keep track of what games you have been to.  Now that’s convenient.

Of course, the all-important issue of selling your tickets complicates things.  The smart cards are reportedly saving the Spurs about $50,000 this season since they don’t have to print as many tickets, but what if you can’t go to a game?  You could always let your friend pay you and borrow your smart card for that game, but what about selling to strangers?  Those who fail to think it through will find themselves struggling to profit on the secondary market, which can be considered another win for San Antonio.

Chest bump to I Am a GM for passing the story along.

The Spurs miraculously came back to beat the Grizzlies in Game 5 of the NBA Playoffs Wednesday evening in what had to have been the best game of the postseason thus far. The Spurs were down by three with under 10 seconds left and staring elimination in the face. This is the same San Antonio team that earned the top spot in the Western Conference, has won three titles with their core three, and whose window was closing. But for at least a day, the basketball gods ensured the Spurs legend would live on.

Check out these amazing shots made by both Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal that helped send the game to overtime. These two shots are every reason why it’s awesome to be a sports fan — skip ahead to the two minute mark in the video:

After such a crushing defeat in Game 5, I really wonder who has the more difficult task to conquer. San Antonio needs to win two more games to win the series while Memphis only needs one. Will they be demoralized after blowing a chance to clinch the series and advance? Will they be able to recover? Will the Spurs carry the momentum they gained from the thrilling comeback for the rest of the series? There’s only one way to find out, and that’s what makes watching these playoffs so darn exciting. I do have to tell you, I would favor the Spurs at this point. If Memphis can clinch the series, they will have accomplished a more impressive feat even though they’re ahead in the series.