Tim C. made the logo for hacks like me who don't release TWSS on its supposed Friday schedule, so thanks Tim.
Anyway, we have our first (and hopefully last) three-game losing streak in the bag, we're depressed as hell but that doesn't mean we won't care about basketball in general, or to checking out Ice Thrown-cool links. Make the jump with me to ease that stinging losing feeling a little bit.
Mood Music
From Tim C. and his never-ending well of musical goodness:
Sometimes, a lot of video links get lost in the comments section. Here are two rocking tracks I picked up from bellasa. It's the same song but Chris Cornell's cover is awesome, too.
Have some Sigur Ros to calm those early season jitters.
Peachtree Hoops: The impact of Jamal Crawford
"A look at Jamal Crawford's role so far in an Atlanta Hawk uniform."
Rufus on Fire: Have the Bobcats Made Progress in the Larry Brown Era?
David Arnott wonders whether the Bobcats' total roster turnover under Larry Brown has accomplished much.
CelticsBlog: The Latest Nocioni Rumor
Forget Captain Jack. Let's go after Noc and make Manu happy.
Blog a Bull: Gar Forman's team is on the floor
"It'd be very hard to find such a deal to satisfy what the Bulls are trying to do this season (tread. water.), at least for now."
Mavs Moneyball: Saying Goodbye to Reunion Arena
A Mavs fan revisits memories of Reunion Arena, former home of the Dallas Mavericks.
Denver Stiffs: Three Days with George (Part 1)
As an aside, I don't know why someone would type all caps in the title of a post when one isn't trying to convey any emotion whatsoever, and then put ellipses at the end. That being said, Andrew Feinstein let's us in on how his three days with Georgy Pudgy went, and the result makes for a very interesting read. I seriously recommend you to read this, except maybe for CapHill. Too bad we can never have WVATS spend even at least a day with Pop. That would've been epic if it happened. You can find Part 2 here.
Golden State Of Mind: RUMOR: Monta Ellis wants out of Golden State and Warriors looking to trade him
First it was S-Jax, now it's Mo-Ped Ellis. Don Nelson's ship is sinking.
Motown String Music: Is Charlie Villanueva Playing "Terrific" Defense?
"Charlie V putting his name in the same sentence as Ben Wallace in terms of his defense thus far definitely raised an eyebrow for me." -- Tweet Master CV31 makes me laugh.
The Dream Shake: Fun with interesting statistics
Houston's most effective unit is an ultra small-ball one. I wonder what would be the most effective for the Spurs. Mebbe I should get off my lazy ass and try to look it up.
Indy Cornrows: Pacers' Chemistry Remains A Work In Progress, But Well Worth The Effort
".,.the element of bringing five guys together from different walks of life to trust each other and play as one also plays a big role in sustained success. It's the reason you can't plug all of the new stats into an algorithm and predict the outcome of an NBA game. You just don't know how the human element will impact a game from one day to the next."
Clips Nation: A Quick Talk With Mike Dunleavy from Playa Vista
Can Mike Dunleavy the GM fire Mike Dunleavy the Coach? I hope he does, just to show how crazy the Clippers franchise really is.
Straight Outta Vancouver: No End in Fin: Allen Iverson Bought Out, Leaves Memphis
Yo, A.I. See you at practice at 8 am, okay? What? You're not coming? Don't give me that "I hate practice" shit again, alright? Say what? You're not part of the team anymore? What the hell am I gonna do now with the Memphis A.I. jersey I just ought? Aw, c'mon!
Peninsula is Mightier: Hey LatinD I think you'll like this.
Let's see if someone actually pays attention to the Friday TWSS. Heh.
Brew Hoop: Here we go again? Bogut to miss 2-4 weeks
Introducing the new Mr. Glass. Hey, at least more opportunities for B.Jennings to hog that ball and keep on shooting!
Canis Hoopus: Nearing Unwatchable
The T-Wolves suck. It didn''t say that, their fans did.
Third Quarter Collapse: Regarding Vince Carter's Jump-Shot-Happy Ways
Magic fans, welcome to the Vinc Carte jump-shooting era: where uber talented players too scared or too lazy to drive to the basket happens!
Posting and Toasting: Isola: Signs Pointing to Iverson Acquisition
Iverson joining the Knicks is like... I don't know, like doing a remake of The Hours with Megan Fox playing the role of Virginia Woolf?
At The Hive: The Prospect of Losing Emeka Okafor
The Hornets franchise has no meaningful direction. Seriously.
Liberty Ballers: Brand out? Who's in?
"A suggestion from a Sixers blogger on how Eddie Jordan should do his job." -- Maybe they'd want to trade Brand for Bonner.
Bright Side Of The Sun: The 10-2 Phoenix Suns Are Tough
Wait until Nash gets hip-checked by Theo Ratliff in the playoffs.
Blazersedge: Travis Outlaw Has Successful Foot Surgery, Out 3-5 Months
"Portland Trail Blazers forward Travis Outlaw is expected out 3-5 months after having foot surgery."
Sactown Royalty: The Prospect of, Um, Samuel Dalembert
"The Kings are highly interested in a defensive-minded center."
SLC Dunk: The Ditziness of Hope
SLC Dunk isn't as big as PtR and when I can't find any interesting front-page content for the SB Nation roundup, I often turn to FanShots. Here's a good one, and very useful in our situation as Spurs fans (just be made aware that it's from a female's perspective, as the title suggests). A little ironic though, considering that the Jazz just recently beat the Spurs.
Bullets Forever: How does Antawn Jamison help the Washington Wizards? Some stats to consider
"Trying to find some statistics to give Wizards fans a better idea of just how Antawn Jamison's return from injury can improve the team." -- or in other words, Gilbert Arenas is overrated.
Raptors HQ: A Play for Monta Ellis?
Fuck, yes! More "should my team make a trade for Monta Ellis?" news! So... should the Spurs make a trade for Monta Ellis?
Ridiculous Upside: Ridiculous Transactions: 11/9 - 11/15, Plus Trade Analysis
Wow, I mean, I don't know how many actually watch the D-League, but these guys at RU do a tremendous job of covering it.
The Boston Globe: Perkins says sloppy practice isn’t helping
Maybe they should sign Allen Iverson. I hear that dude likes practices.
NYTimes.com: The Pick-and-Roll Is the N.B.A.’s Old Reliable
Awesome article by the New York Times on the usage of pick-and-rolls in today's NBA. As they say, "the more things change, the more they remain the same." And oh, the Spurs come in second only to the Heat in pick-and-roll usage. Blame it on ballhog TP if you want.
Yahoo! Sports: Passing on Jennings could cost Knicks LeBron
"After not drafting Brandon Jennings, the Knicks are considering A.I. That won't help them in the LeBron sweepstakes."
Yahoo! Sports: McGrady unsure whether Rockets want him
"Sources say McGrady has started to wonder whether the Rockets want him back with this team, or whether they’ve been motivated to let him sit and collect on insurance money."
Yahoo! Sports: Ankle injury continues to slow Rose
"A sprained right ankle Derrick Rose suffered early in the preseason has limited him. Three weeks into the schedule, it’s clear his game isn’t the same as last season when he was named Rookie of the Year."
Yahoo! Sports: Rockets reassign C Dorsey, waive F Mensah-Bonsu
Nobody wants the PMB... booo.
TrueHoop: Sonny Vaccaro: Brandon Jennings broke the mold, part one
"Jennings famously skipped college basketball entirely, waiting out the NBA's age limit with a highly paid year in Europe, instead of playing at Arizona where he was academically ineligible. "
Larry Brown On The Still Homeless Allen Iverson: "If you think you’re going to manage his minutes and he’s going to be satisfied with that, it’s not going to happen."
Larry loves Allen, Season 6, Episode 38.
SLAM ONLINE: SLAM 134: The How-To Issue
An example: "How To Deal With Losing by Jamal Crawford, eight seasons, no Playoff games"
FOX Sports: LeBron needs to focus on NBA ... not NFL or MJ
Stick it to 'im, Mr. Whitlock!
FOX Sports: Magic would go along with plan to retire No. 23
Okay, maybe we should all ban the wearing of No.23 in any league, be it the D-League, junior varsity or little league. Sheesh.
FOX Sports: Knicks have no excuse to pass on Iverson
Well, this is a first. Uncle Charley Rosen actually endorses A.I. to the Knicks.
FOX Sports: Injuries not always a bad thing for some teams
Wise words from an old man, yet again.
SI.com: Rich season for basketball books
Right now, I'm reading Bill Simmons' The Book of Basketball, so yeah, sue me. After that, I plan on getting Chris Ballard's book, The Art of a Beautiful Game.
NBA FanVoice > Hornets pushing all the wrong buttons with Paul
"That the Hornets didn't bother to consult Paul before making the decision to fire Scott is easily their greatest misstep in this entire affair. And now that the total team makeover is underway in New Orleans, does anyone really believe this story has a happy ending?"
If the truth hurts, then hurt us because we can take it
Wouldn't it be neat if ... Gregg Popovich said, "You media have no idea how stupid you really are." (Maybe he's already said that.)
The Painted Area: What Will The NBA's Next Wave of International Players Look Like?
"Looking ahead, the interesting question is whether international players will have as much impact on the 2010s as they did in the 2000s."
Eric Musselman's Basketball Notebook: Only a small percentage of young guys can come into this league and lead
And Al Horford is one of them. I'm hoping for George Hill to be one, too.
Basketbawful: My new favorite quote of all-time
Ron Artest talks about throwing Trevor Ariza's shoe. Crazy pills strikes again!
Lord of the Rings Movie Character Interactions
Courtesy of LatinD. The LOTR world is more complicated than I thought.
Eva Longoria: Philanthropist of the Year
I, ah, umm... err... uhh...I'm speechless. (thanks to TDZilla for the find)
Unique Scoop: Geeks can't ride a roller coaster like normal people
Hah, geeks for the win! I find it funny that I've ridden in some of these roller coasters and I was like every other person aside from the geeks. On a positive note, at least I've confirmed that I'm not one of them.
Your Kitten Is Safe on Snuzzy
Kitteh is alive and well.
Ubersuper: History of the Coca Cola bottle
From slim to fat to sexy to just right. No, I'm not talking about the evolution of the supermodel.
Breathtaking photography might make your day (especially after a tough three-game losing streak)
23 Beautiful Examples Of Fall Color Photography
I'm no photographer but I can appreciate a great shot when I see one.
instantShift: 100+ Examples of Brilliant Tilt-Shift Photography
Tilt-shift photography is THE BOMB. Seriously, these photos are incredible. (there's a nice shot of Hoover Dam included, for all the PtR engineers to drool over)
The Invisible Agent: Vintage Stewardesses of the Jet Age
Maybe NSFW or a lot like cheerleaders, but these photos are just really, really cool. I love vintage AND stewardesses, so double yay for me.
Most of you have probably already seen this, but I still think Timmeh's rasta-man wig is funny.
Thanks to Lauri for these cutesy, weirdly funny videos
Kitteh versus paw-lees!
Kinder Surprise commercial starring Humpty Dumpty on Crack
Videos that will blow your mind, courtesy of LatinD
If you're not watching TED's videos, you are seriously missing out.
As the title of the video says, this is rather inappropriate. Don't eat while watching this.
The latest... Prank War!!! Man, I love these. The half-court shot prank still remains to be my favorite, though.
Photos of the Week
Choice photos from the Jazz, Mavericks and Thunder (courtesy of janieannie) games
Some off-topic but interesting photos that LatinD and his friend would like to share with us
Quotes of the Week
Richard Jefferson after the tough loss to the Mavericks:
A good start, a slow start, it doesn't matter. You've got 70-something games left to prove who you are.
Pop on the worst 10-game start of the Spurs since the 1996-1997 season:
We just have to stay the course. Stay focused on the learning part, and not the record part.
It's probably tougher on the defensive end. Everybody likes to score. All of these guys have been scoring all of their lives. ... It's tougher for a team to come together and trust each other at the defensive end.
Roger Mason on breaking out of his extended slump:
I came into the season all about defense, all about all the other things, and I forgot my jump shot. But you keep plugging and keep working on your game, and I got some shots to fall (Thursday).
It's refreshing to do these after a week's hell at work. If you have any suggestions, links and photos that you want to share with other PtR'ers, just drop us an email. Off to see the Wizards then.