Pounding The Rock
For all your Manu Ginobili loving and San Antonio Spurs news
Total reads
5,773
This week
4
Rank
#21 of 463
Published
1,528 posts
Last 12 weeks
Most read posts
Featured on Sportsblogs
Run this blog? Add the badge to your site to show readers you're featured — it links back to this page.
Latest Entries
Poor first half dooms Spurs in season opening loss to Thunder
The San Antonio Spurs fall 116-104 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in their season opener after a disastrous first half, shooting just 29% overall and 31% from three. Rookie Victor Wembanyama records a career‑low 12 points on 1‑13 shooting while grabbing 13 rebounds, prompting coach Mitch Johnson to cite team‑wide struggles. Stephon Castle leads the Spurs with 24 points, but turnovers halt a second‑half rally that briefly cuts the deficit to seven. Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander fuels the Thunder with 32 points, supported by Jared McCain’s 20 and Chet Holmgren’s 14. The Spurs now look to bounce back against the Houston Rockets on Friday.
San Antonio vs. Oklahoma City, Final Score: Spurs can’t overcome poor first half, 104-116
In the Spurs' season opener, Oklahoma City storms to a 116-104 win after building a 21‑point halftime lead. Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander tops the box score with 32 points, while Chet Holmgren adds 14 and 7 rebounds. San Antonio rallies in the second half, led by Stephon Castle’s 24 points and De’Aaron Fox’s 14‑7‑7 line, but Victor Wembanyama goes 0‑7 until the fourth‑quarter buzzer and finishes with 12 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks. The Thunder’s hot three‑point shooting (10‑for‑14) and early dominance (26‑point stretch) prove decisive, despite Dylan Harper’s ankle scare. Coach Gregg Popovich laments the Spurs’ lackluster first half, citing a 14‑for‑48 shooting night.
It’s time for Basketball: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs open the 2026-27 NBA season against the Thunder on Oct. 20 at 8:30 PM CT, a repeat of their dramatic Western Conference Finals clash in May. San Antonio revamps its front line with three new big men and adds Tobias Harris, while Oklahoma City says goodbye to Isaiah Joe, Aaron Wiggins and Lu Dort. Both teams carry fresh motives: the Spurs seek to avenge a “borderline disrespectful” Vassell dunk that ended the series, and the Thunder aim to prove their offseason moves paid off. Expect a tight, wire‑to‑wire opener as both squads fight for early league credibility.
What Wemby and the Spurs can learn from Gaius Marius and the aftermath of the Battle of Arausio
The post draws a parallel between the San Antonio Spurs’ recent struggles and Rome’s disastrous Battle of Arausio in 105 BC. It recounts how the Roman legions, overconfident after centuries of conquest, were ambushed and crushed by the Cimbri and Teutons—proto‑Vikings—highlighting the dangers of complacency. The author uses this historic defeat to argue that the Spurs, despite past luck and talent (Robinson, Duncan, Wembanyama), must evolve beyond reliance on fortune, skill, or effort alone. The article weaves the ancient lesson into a call for strategic change in San Antonio.
Game Preview: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
The Spurs open the 2026‑27 season against the Thunder on Oct. 20 at 8:30 PM CT, reviving their Western Conference Finals showdown. San Antonio rolls out a four‑guard lineup—De’Aaron Fox, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper and Devin Vassell—after Tobias Harris is sidelined with a calf injury, while Oklahoma City deals with knee, back and Achilles setbacks for Thomas Sorber, Nikola Topic and Otega Oweh. Key matchup: veteran Chet Holmgren versus rookie phenom Victor Wembanyama, with rookie Aday Mara added as a potential new Wembanyama stopper. Both clubs chase redemption after last season’s Finals loss (Spurs) and WCF victory (Thunder).
Join us for the 2026-27 Spurs season on the SB Nation app
Pounding The Rock reminds fans that the SB Nation app—launched two months ago—is now live for iOS and Android in North America, with global rollout underway. The app centralizes community posts, articles, and a new real‑time game chat that speeds up comments and notifications, boosting engagement during NBA games. Since release, the platform has set single‑day commenting records three times. Readers can still browse traditional front‑page content or jump straight into live discussions for the 2026‑27 Spurs season.
Open Thread: An inside look at Tiago Splitter with the Chicago Bulls
A one‑minute preseason video shows Chicago Bulls head coach Tiago Splitter quizzing players on Phoenix Suns strategies, using cold‑calling to enforce accountability. The clip, posted on the Bulls’ X account and praised by sportscaster Jose Arredondo, highlights Splitter’s hands‑on approach and hints at a promising coaching future. The post also includes a personal birthday note and a brief Spurs‑Thunder preview, but the core story centers on Splitter’s early impact with Chicago.
Predicting how the Spurs’ 2026-27 season will go
Analysts weigh in on the Spurs’ outlook for 2026‑27, noting the roster is largely unchanged but deeper and more mature. Victor Wembanyama’s passing improves, Dylan Harper emerges as a potential star guard, and new pieces Tobias Harris and interior defender Tarris Reed add depth. Opinions diverge on regular‑season expectations: some predict a slight dip due to a three‑guard experiment, while others argue the team could still notch 60‑plus wins. The consensus is that postseason performance will be the true test, with a Western Conference Finals run seen as the minimum goal after last year’s surprise Finals appearance.
Open Thread: Spurs 2022 draft picks all waived before start of 2026 season
All three San Antonio Spurs first‑round picks from the 2022 draft—Jeremy Sochan (9th), Malaki Branham (20th) and Blake Wesley (25th)—are now free agents. After Sochan was waived in February, he briefly joined the Knicks, won a championship, then signed with Portland before being cut. Branham and Wesley were traded to Washington in 2025; Wesley later moved to the Clippers, while Branham signed with Orlando. On October 17, 2026, each player was waived by his current team within a 24‑hour span, prompting a new open discussion thread for Spurs fans.
Victor Wembanyama and the Spurs were shown lots of love in the new GM survey
Every year there’s an abundance of lists that come out about the NBA’s players, coaches and teams, and none matter more than the general manager survey released before the season. The latest one was published on Thursday, and according to most top executives, Victor Wembanyama is primed to have one of the greatest seasons of […]
Open Thread: A peak at George Hill’s 850 acre ranch
Former Spurs guard George Hill was once called Gregg Popovich’s favorite player. Trading the 2008 draft pick was a difficult decision for Pop and the Spurs, but it has yielded continued dividends. For starters, it landed the Spurs Kawhi Leonard, Dāvis Bertāns, and draft rights to Erazem Lorbek. Leonard helped bring the Spurs fifth NBA […]
Busted Three-peats, Triple Crowns, and the Spurs three guard lineup
At the start of October, I had high hopes for a fan’s Triple Crown for 2026-27. My main team, the Spurs, are co-favorites to win it all this season. My two local teams were also favorites – the Dodgers were already into the NLCS looking for a three-peat, and the Rams were everyone’s favorite to […]
Spurs announce opening-night roster for the 2026/27 season
The Spurs’ roster is set for opening night, the team announced. There are no big surprises. As expected, San Antonio will carry 14 standard contracts into the regular season, with those going to De’Aaron Fox, Jordan McLaughlin, Stephon Castle, Dylan Harper, Devin Vassell, Julian Champagnie, Keldon Johnson, Carter Bryant, Harrison Barnes, Tobias Harris, Jayden Quaintance, […]
Spurs exercise team options on Castle, Harper, and Bryant
The Spurs did what everyone expected them to and picked up team options on Stephon Castle, Carter Bryant, and Dylan Harper. Castle, the No. 4 overall pick in the 2024 draft, is entering his third year in the league and has become a full-time starter for the contending Spurs. The young guard averaged 16.7 points, […]
Open Thread: How age impacts ever-changing landscape of the NBA
San Antonio Spurs former vice president for strategic research Kirk Goldsberry recently posted this graphic. “It’s a young man’s game, and increasingly so. Over 80% of the NBA is now 29 or younger. This hasn’t always been the case but the combination of pace and space basketball with the lack of durability we associate with […]
It’s time for Preseason Basketball: San Antonio Spurs vs Sacramento Kings
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site […]
The best and the worst of the Spurs’ preseason so far
Who or what has impressed you the most during the Spurs’ preseason so far? Marilyn Dubinski: I was just hitting publish on an article about Tarris Reed’s impressive play when these questions came out, so I’ll change things up and go with Carter Bryant. He looks so much calmer and more comfortable, isn’t lost on […]
Open Thread: Spurs launch “Los Spurs”
Per a Spurs press release: “The San Antonio Spurs announced the launch of @LosSpurs, a dedicated Spanish-language Instagram account for the organization. The platform will serve as a digital space catered to Spanish-speaking Spurs fans, with curated content, storytelling and fan engagement efforts. Fans are encouraged to follow the @LosSpurs account to catch the latest news […]
Tarris Reed gives the Spurs the backup plan they lacked last season
Following the 2024-25 season, the Spurs knew they needed an upgrade at back-up center. They had already traded away Zach Collins during the season, and Charles Bassey proved to be too injury prone, leaving them with just Bismack Biyombo to close the season after losing Victor Wembaynama to deep vein thrombosis. They responded with arguably […]
Open Thread: DAZN disappoints on delivery of Wednesday’s game
What a night. For starters, I have been trying to watch the MLB playoffs, and like many sports these days, not all games are available on regular channels. I watched games 1 and 2 of the Dodgers vs. Brewers on FOX, but game 3 was not airing on TV and I did not have one […]
It’s time for Preseason Basketball: San Antonio Spurs vs Phoenix Suns
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site […]
Open Thread: Keldon Johnson- How the NBA’s Sixth Man enjoys his time off the court
This came across on Instagram. A cool collection of photos and stats surrounding Keldon Johnson, the 2026 NBA Sixth Man of the Year. The photos, most from his ranch, were the subject of many articles written after KJ invited some members of the media out to his ranch for an afternoon. “Keldon Johnson, at home. […]
Open Thread: The Spurs have won more games than any other team during this century
I found this cool graphic, but for some reason Instagram is not uploading, so I created a link through X. Heartbeat Visuals has seemingly endless amounts of these sort of graphics, not just on sports. But I do prefer these year-by-year comparisons. Since the turn of the century, no team has won more games than […]
It’s time for Preseason Basketball: San Antonio Spurs at Utah Jazz
Welcome to the Game Thread. Veterans of the Game Thread know how we do things around here, but for all you newbies we have a few rules. Our community guidelines apply and basically say be cool, no personal attacks, don’t troll and don’t swear too much. The rule against trolling also applies to members of this site […]
Spurs release new ABA-inspired Classic Edition uniforms and court
It’s a not a new season without new alternate uniforms in this day and age, and the Spurs have released their new Classic Editions: a retro throwback to their ABA origins in honor of the 50th anniversary of the American Basketball Association’s merger with the National Basketball Association back in 1976. “Honoring our ABA roots […]
Displaying entries 26-50
of the latest 1,250