[D.C. Council: setting the scene, rating the starters, assessing the subs, providing the analysis, and catching anything that you may have missed. Unlike the real DC Council, everything here is on the table. Game No. 46, Washington Wizards at San Antonio Spurs; contributors: Rashad Mobley and John Converse Townsend from D.C.]

A Texas-Sized Beatdown.

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John Wall led all scorers with 21, but the Washington Wizards never recovered from their 26-point first half. The Wiz lost their 13th straight game to the San Antonio Spurs in South Texas, 86-96. John Converse Townsend (@JohnCTownsend) has your rapid recap.

M.V.P.

Tony Parker. The PG double-doubled in 33 minutes with 19 points and 12 assists, also adding four rebounds to his stat line. Were you expecting anything less from the Western Conference’s player of the month? Read more »

Randy Wittman will go with a new starting lineup tonight against the San Antonio Spurs, his fourth in 12 games on the season. And that lineup is: A.J. Price, Bradley Beal, Trevor Ariza, Kevin Seraphin, and Emeka Okafor. I asked the coach before the game, before the new lineup was announced, if his players understood the coach’s search, or if they are getting frustrated with the process.

“Again, I’m trying. They’ve got to prove to me who’s worthy of that, too. And that’s what I’m trying to find. Right now we’re kind of going a little bit with matchups, too,” said Wittman, mentioning his “banged-up” team, health-wise. He also reiterated his desire for a consistent starting five and a rotation of about four guys off the bench. The search continues…

Before the game, I also asked the hard-to-crack Gregg Popovich about Wittman tinkering, searching for the right lineup combinations, and if the seasoned Spurs championship coach can empathize with that situation.

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Here to provide the DC Council Opening Statements for Washington’s 12th game of the season against the San Antonio Spurs in D.C. are TAI’s Kyle Weidie (@Truth_About_It) and guest Andrew McNeill (@drew_48moh), who writes about the Spurs for the ESPN TrueHoop blog 48 Minutes of Hell.

UPDATED: Wizards Starters (0-11):

Shaun Livingston, Jordan Crawford, Bradley Beal, Jan Vesely, Kevin Seraphin
(Disclaimer #1: These starters have to change, right?)

Yes, they have changed, to this: A.J. Price, Beal, Trevor Ariza, Seraphin, Emeka Okafor

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 ShareBullets: links, shares, stories, and irreverence…

The San Antonio Spurs recently released some new, alternate jerseys, which you can find modelled above by Kawhi Leonard. Here is what the Internet thinks of them:

Rick Pych, president of business operations, Spurs Sports & Entertainment:

The new design simply features our iconic ‘spur’ logo and it is positioned over the heart as it has such enormously deep roots with our team, fans and the entire community. It’s the first-ever NBA jersey logo without any writing or peripheral design on the front of the jersey…

Kelly Dwyer, Ball Don’t Lie: Read more »

Building the Great Wall of China was a process, you see….

The Oklahoma City Thunder are America’s heartland heroes. From top to bottom, from the shot-callers in the front office to the shot-makers on the hardwood, they’re made up of all the right stuff: sharp minds and undeniable athletic talent, blended together with a big helping of humility.

They’re winners. They’re the model of roundball reconstruction. They’re what the Washington Wizards aspire to be.

Thunder Up

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[Roger Mason Jr. - via Flickr/Keith Allison]

It’s now being widely reported that Roger Mason Jr. — native son of D.C., attendee of Sidwell Friends/Good Counsel, UVA Cavalier — will soon sign with the Washington Wizards, making it his second stint with the team. Teams can officially sign players at 2 pm on Friday, just before training camp is scheduled to commence. The Post’s Michael Lee reports that Mason will be in Washington, ready to join the team.

How do I feel about this? Iffy, yet content. For one, the signing fits the Ernie Grunfeld mold. The Wizards team president values the presence of veterans, and even though the Wizards hopefully aren’t promising Mason too much court action, nor are overpaying him (the veteran’s minimum, they say, which is just fine), Washington likely offers Mason the most comfort and opportunity over other potential suitors. The Boston Celtics were also said to be interested in Mason; in that situation, Roger might’ve easily found himself relegated to those spillover seats behind the bench, following the inactive dress code, and wondering how and why.

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McGee vs. Duncan in the Phone Booth? Not going to happen. [photo: K. Weidie]

Crafty spin moves by Dirk in D.C.? Don’t count on it. [photo: K. Weidie]

The Monday after Thanksgiving, just two days after David Stern and Billy Hunter posed together in the middle of the night indicating that a handshake deal was bringing back in the NBA, I found myself face-to-face with a co-worker. Prior to that deal, this co-worker would pick my brain daily, seeing if I knew when the NBA would resume. I’d refer him to ESPN True Hoop for daily coverage, and I’d do my best to tell him to stay optimistic, but I ultimately I was just as clueless.

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The San Antonio Spurs came into the Verizon Center last night and thoroughly dominated the Washington Wizards 118-94.  They shot 58-percent for the game, 52-percent from three-point land, only trailed for 22 seconds and had six players in double figures.  They were also able to accomplish this with Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili combining for just 20 minutes and 12 points.

San Antonio’s victory was even more impressive considering that the night before, they were outplayed in Philadelphia, losing to the 76ers by shooting just 33-percent from the field, 17-percent from the three-point line, and by putting up just 25 points in the second half.  As Gregg Popovich said during his pregame presser on Saturday, “We set offensive basketball back a decade.”

“Just one?,” asked another reporter.

“Maybe two …. you’re right, I’m being too kind. It was just ridiculous,” responded the coach.  One night later, Popovich got his team to leave that ridiculousness behind. By halftime in Washington, they scored more points (72) than they had the previous night in Philadelphia (71 points total).

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Chris Quinn is a spritely-looking fellow, an every-man’s guy. He’s the type of NBA player you look at and say, ‘man, if that guy can make it, anyone can.’ Dude must work really, really hard. So this here post of pictures from the Wizards’ 118-94 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday night is dedicated to the guy who couldn’t be picked out in a lineup of ball boys. Although Quinn didn’t exactly tear it up in his 20 minutes off the bench (6 points, 2-9 FGs, 2-4 3PT, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists and 2 turnovers), his presence goes to show you that just about anyone can take part in embarrassing the Wizards. Here’s to the regular guy doing basketball things.

Quinn didn’t make this particular shot, but I still love it.

Quinn didn’t make this shot either, but again, the moxie.

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