Yardbarker: Antonio McDyess

This Week in San Antonio Spurs Basketball: Not-Friday Edition

Mon, 30 Nov 2009 09:23:54 -0500

Expecting the Friday TWSS? I'm afraid we couldn't find the time for it. It should be back next Friday/Saturday, in some way or shape - and it will have twice as many random links, so take heart in that. In the meantime, if you want to know what happened to our Spurs during this wonderful week, take a look after the jump: Here we'll provide information, links and summaries for all the games the Spurs played during the week, so that no one has to miss Po...

Game Preview #15: Philadelphia 76ers @ San Antonio Spurs

Sun, 29 Nov 2009 02:00:13 -0500

Everyone might remember that I was slighty cranky and pessimistic during my last preview. It's amazing what a four-game winning streak will do for a person's disposition. Especially when it includes a road win against a very scrappy team! I almost forgot, but tonight is "David Robinson Tribute Night", so put your favorite memory of The Admiral in the comments. We are playing the Sixers tonight, a team currently thinking about bringing Ivers...

Spurs @ Rockets: Examining Antonio McDyess

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:39:31 -0500

The Spurs have now won four in a row and seem to be evolving into the team that we thought would start the season. It's taken a while, but our defense is on its way to being respectable and the new guys are finding ways to contribute offensively. Specifically, the players just seem much more comfortable on the court together than they did even as recently as last week. I think a big part of this improvement centers around our resident glue guy, Antonio McDyess. He...

PtR QuickCap: Spurs Shoot Down Rockets, 92-84

Sat, 28 Nov 2009 00:37:38 -0500

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP Get. It. Out. Of. Here. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Browse more photos » This is going to be quicker than usual, so hold on to any loose fitting clothing and keep all limbs inside the vehicle. So, we finally got a road win. How about that? It wasn't easy, but it finally happened. This game got off to a very ugly start for our heroes. The Spurs ...

Duncan, McDyess power Spurs past Rockets

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:46:59 -0500

Tim Duncan and Antonio McDyess recorded double-doubles, Tony Parker had 19 points and seven assists, and the San Antonio Spurs earned their first road win of the season with a 92-84 victory over the Houston Rockets on Friday.

Balanced attack lifts Spurs to first road win of season

Fri, 27 Nov 2009 23:29:00 -0500

Game Preview #12: Milwaukee Bucks at San Antonio Spurs

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 04:29:20 -0500

Not bad, guys, not bad. Yes, it was the Wizards, and yes, it was at home, but that W counts just as much toward the standings as the W we earn on the road against a championship contender (don't worry, we'll get one someday). Now we just need to amass a few more, starting with a win against the Milwaukee Brandons. Yeah, remember how excited you all were when you traded for me? How 'bout now? I'm getting there, right? Rage contributed 15 and finally looked comfor...

Unofficial Spurs/Mavs Recap

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:36:54 -0500

That was a tough game to lose. There are some really good signs from last nights game, but one thing that is really not good is the loss of Manu Ginobili. I haven't heard if he's going to be out for an extended period or if everything was just precautionary last night. Let's just hope that game last night didn't cost us more than a loss. On to the game.... The defense was pretty good last night. You have to give credit to Dirk Nowitzki, he p...

PtR Quick Cap: Blazers Thump Spurs 96-84

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:51:31 -0500

The Spurs dug themselves out of a 17 point third quarter hole to pull within 3 with 5:30 to go. They couldn't get any closer though as Portland scored 21 points from there on out. Box Score. The good thing that came out of this loss was that for a stretch the Spurs discovered their defense. Down 64-47 with 6:20 to go in the third, the Spurs finally started playing basketball with some intensity. Even desperation. Over the next 13+ minutes, the Bla...

Spurs @ Jazz: Stat of the Game: 7

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:10:13 -0500

Last night featured an abysmal performance by our San Antonio Spurs. I watched the entire game in disbelief. I kept thinking, "There is no way the Spurs will play this poorly for 48 minutes;" but obviously, they did. There were many stats that I could have highlighted that would have helped to explain just what happened, but none were so impactful as the 7 three pointers that Utah took. 6 of those came when the game was already decided. They only co...

Spurscast #166: Summer League

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:45:00 -0500

On this episode of the Spurscast, Michael and Jeff talk about the signing of Antonio McDyess before interviewing Pistons blogger and Dyess fan Natalie Sitto of Need4Sheed.com.Natalie gives us some insight on what we can expect from McDyess and talk a lot on the type of player and person he is. While he may not fit our need for a center, Jeff and I are both glad to have a player that shows some heart and passion.On the second half of the show, we talk to Chris Denker of NetScouts Basketball fo...

Antonio McDyess may have just signed with the Spurs

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 17:14:14 -0500

That’s what an unnamed “league source” has told Y!’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who’s been killing it this offseason with the scoops. Apparently it’s a two-year deal for the MLE that likely includes a partial guarantee for a third season. For reference, the Pistons are unable to offer the MLE since they have cap space, and they’re [...]

As John Kuester arrives, Antonio McDyess leaves?

Tue, 07 Jul 2009 19:04:30 -0500

As reported by, well, everyone, it looks like Joe Dumars is close to making this official. Take it away, Sherrod Blakely! Cleveland Cavaliers assistant John Kuester will be named the Detroit Pistons’ next head coach, although no formal announcement is expected today. A league official, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the multi-year contract between Kuester [...]

Back from the Brink: Kudos to Antonio McDyess

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:02:00 -0500

This is the vision of Antonio McDyess I remember best. Hunched over, looking a bit battered. It was six years ago, during the 2003-04 season, when McDyess was a Knick. And for anyone who'd ever watched basketball, he was clearly a player on the way out. Beaten down. Fragile. Fighting an uphill battle with his heart against a body that simly couldn't and wouldn't keep up.

To understand how sad it was to watch, one had to understand the recent history and promise of the player leading up to that point. McDyess had established himself as an NBA stalwart. A member of the 2000 Olympic team, he had the physique and game of Amar'e Stoudamire long before AMare's arrival. During that 2000-01 season, he averaged 20.8 PPG and 12 boards a contest -- and a block-and-a-half a game to boot. He was a member of the Western Conference All-Star team. A 26-year old with plenty of runway left and maybe even some more upside. Then it disappared.

By the time McDyess arrived in New York, a lot had changed. Early in 01-02, he went down with a ruptured patella tendon and has season-ending surgery. It would then be almost two years before he came back to the floor after re-injuries and multiple setbacks. The Knicks had high hopes for McDyess. I remember. I was hoping he was the guy before the injuries. It was clear even early on that he wasn't. Then, it happened again. McDyess didn't even make it through the exhibition season. A broken kneecap in an exhibition game shelved him again.

Eventually, he'd return to play 18 games with the Knicks and finish in Phoenix. Career lows of 5 and change points/boards a game, but, more telling, he looked done. It was like watching Jose Reyes run the bases a few years back. You closed your eyes and hoped nothing bad would happen. In McDyess's case, it was every dunk, rebound of fastbreak. He looked just unsteady enough to go down again.

Regardless, it was clear his career was on the swift decline. It was sad, moreso because you could see in his eyes how hard he'd fought to get back...how much he wanted to be the old explosive Antonio...how hard he was fighting against nature knowing it was a losing battle.

Fast-forward to today and how I landed on this post. Earlier this evening I was reading about the Pistons early moves in free agency, signing Charlie Villaneuva and Ben Gordon. The ESPN story ended with the following:
"The Pistons now turn their attention to re-signing forward Antonio McDyess, but they'll have competition from the Cavaliers, Celtics and Spurs.
And that's when I stopped...and gave Antonio McDyess a long-distance fist-pound. Good for him. Sure, I was fully aware that McDyess was still around and a member of the Pistons. But, in the context of his career, the final sentence of that article is somewhat remarkable. The mere notion of McDyess playing in the NBA if offered up six seasons ago might likely have been greeted with laughter by even the most prophetic of pundits. The concept that McDyess might be sought-after having proved himself still valuable after a season in which he averaged nearly a double-double over 62 games?

Yet, McDyess now enters his 14th season in the NBA and is due to make many millions. Whether it's the Pistons who ante up, or some of the many other suitors rumored to be seriously interested, they're getting a gamer. For anyone who is a Knicks fan like me and watched McDyess wither into a shell of his former self six years ago, it's a pleasure to seeing him continuing to play the game and contribute. Who knows maybe he'll even latch on somewhere with a chance at a ring. It would be a fitting close to a career that many lesser players might have abandoned a long, long time ago.

Curry may still be tinkering

Thu, 05 Feb 2009 17:09:26 -0500

Vince Ellis of the Detroit Free After the workout, Pistons coach Michael Curry said that he might consider starting backup power forward Antonio McDyess for the last 20 games of the season and into the But he’s only considering it as a way to bulk up the starting lineup and ...