Pounding the Rock

2 days ago | poundingtherock.com | Jeje Gomez |Marilyn Dubinski |Mark Barrington |Jacob Douglas

Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images Marilyn Dubinski: The Thunder came out of the West because they’re the most well-rounded, versatile team. They finished the season 4th in offensive rating and 1st on defense for the best net rating (so it goes without saying that they can both score and defend). They addressed their weaknesses from last season by adding a perimeter stopper in Alex Caruso and a defensive-minded big man in Isaiah Hartenstein to take some pressure off Chet Holmgren.

2 days ago | poundingtherock.com | Marilyn Dubinski

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images It’s not uncommon for there to be several coaching changes during an NBA cycle, but they usually occur for teams that are either in the cellar or are trying please a star player to avoid impending turmoil. So far, there have been six coaching changes since December, and all of them have been surprising to a certain degree because they didn’t seem to meet that criteria.

2 days ago | poundingtherock.com | Jeph Duarte

Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images Welcome to the Open Thread. During the month of June, we are talking NBA Draft. As we lead up to the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25th, we will be revisiting the Spurs draft choices. Today we remember 2004 NBA Draft. While the Spurs took a pass on the 2003 NBA Draft, they made up for the lack of picks by taking four players in 2004. For starters, the Spurs chose Beno Udrih with their 28th pick.

3 days ago | poundingtherock.com | Marilyn Dubinski

Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images The legacy of Gregg Popovich and the Big Three will always be about championships first and foremost. Pop and Tim Duncan won five together, and Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili were there for four of them. For the 1999, 2003, ‘05 and ‘07 championships, the Spurs were considered “boring” for their slow pace, post-heavy game, and defensive dominance.

3 days ago | poundingtherock.com | Jeph Duarte

Photo by Ronald Cortes/Getty Images Welcome to the Open Thread. During the month of June, we are talking NBA Draft. As we lead up to the 2025 NBA Draft on June 25th, we will be revisiting the Spurs draft choices. Today we remember 2003. So there are a lot of mechanics to the draft when the addition of trading is involved. The 2003 season ended with the Spurs defeating the New Jersey Nets in the NBA Finals and then courting future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd.