NBA short takes

November 22, 2014 at 11:05PM
San Antonio Spurs guard Patty Mills (8) stands on the court during the second half an NBA basketball game against the Dallas Mavericks Thursday, April 10, 2014, in Dallas. (AP Photo/LM Otero) ORG XMIT: DNA101
Mills (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
short takes

Those silly Spurs, they're naturals

San Antonio's stars are back for another year of the quirky commercials they've shot annually for the H-E-B chain of grocery stores in Texas.

This one features Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and the team's Coyote mascot grilling burgers in a backyard when they finally goad Australian teammate Patty Mills into asking them to throw one on "the barbie" for him.

"The fact we have a great camaraderie on court translates into being in a nice spot when you do things like that," said Ginobili, an Argentinian. "Most of us, when we do commercials, it's just one guy in front of a camera.

"In this case, it's five guys always with a funny line. They let you sort of improvise and let you say something you're thinking and it makes it funny because the laughs are real.

"Patty's a rookie, but he was surprisingly good. With that type of accent, everything becomes funny. I don't have that. I have a different type of accent."

Waiting is the hardest part

The Timberwolves and the Sacramento Kings met on Saturday night at Target Center in a tussle of two teams that haven't reached the playoffs in seemingly forever. Nobody has waited longer than these two for a return to the postseason:

TeamLast playoffs

Wolves2004

ADVERTISEMENT

Sacramento2006

Detroit2009

Phoenix2010

Cleveland2010

about the writer

about the writer

More from Wolves

See More
card image
Alex Kormann/The Minnesota Star Tribune

The versatile guard will be in coach Chris Finch’s rotation as he hopes to help his new team make a playoff run.

card image
card image