Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good - SpursTalk.com

duncan228 · 11-22-2009, 10:10 PM

Wizards made Spurs look good
Mike Monroe

The Spurs on Saturday held the Washington Wizards to 33.3 percent shooting and 84 points, the lowest field-goal percentage and second-lowest point total for an opponent this season.

Spurs coach Gregg Popovich reserved judgment on whether this was a result of his team's defensive ascendancy or Washington's offensive struggles.

Afterward, the Wizards were openly sniping at one another about selfish play, and Popovich said he would wait to see the videotape before judging his team's defensive work.

“I just want to see how many basic errors we made and how many basic, good plays we made to see how much we improved,” he said. “Overall, I'm pretty certain it was better (defense) than it has been the last few games.”

Popovich was certain of one thing: He was happy with the interior defense and rebounding he got from center Theo Ratliff, one of two veteran interior players the Spurs signed as free agents in the summer.

Ratliff had a season-best 11 rebounds and blocked three shots in about 22 minutes against the Wizards.

“Theo got a decent amount of minutes, and I thought he had a fantastic defensive game,” Popovich said. “Offensively, he was very poised and played a good team game there.”

Ratliff, in his 15th season, has played only 75 minutes in the first 11 games but said he feels comfortable with the Spurs' schemes.

“I'm fine with learning the systems,” Ratliff said. “It's an adjustment, but once you understand the concepts and watch the film and see what it is Coach wants us to do, it's just about going out there and competing and just hustling. If you're giving effort, and you're in the right positions, everything works for us.”

Quarterback Tim: Tim Duncan had seven assists in the first half Saturday, prompting Popovich to laud his ability to quarterback the team.

Center Matt Bonner, recipient of one of those assists, said the Spurs understand that when Duncan is passing, they have to be ready for his throws.

“Obviously, you've got to have the right spacing and be in the right floor spots, but after that, he does it himself,” Bonner said.

“He draws the double-team and finds the open man.

“Tim's a team player, and he takes what the defense gives him. Some nights he scores, and some nights teams aggressively double him and try to take him out of the game. He's unselfish, so he just finds the open man.”

Phila_Chamberlain · 11-22-2009, 11:37 PM

The Wizards shot 30% because Ratliff had like 15 blocks and 12 altered shots.

VivaPopovich · 11-22-2009, 11:41 PM

Fab went in there, made great plays on both ends, then Flip Saunders takes him out for good. It was a mistake!

phxspurfan · 11-22-2009, 11:48 PM

Omg, we had a real center in the game & TD played PF instead of Finley. Now we have a good defense.

Johnny RIngo · 11-23-2009, 12:43 AM

Originally Posted by phxspurfan

Omg, we had a real center in the game & TD played PF instead of Finley. Now we have a good defense.

We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game.

Dalamar_the_Dark · 11-23-2009, 01:10 AM

I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results.

The key being starting Ratliff at center.

mingus · 11-23-2009, 01:22 AM

Ratliff is injury prone so his minutes need to be limited.

Xevious · 11-23-2009, 01:23 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny RIngo

We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game.

They were also on the second half of a back-to-back. There's no excuse for any contending team to lose this game.

Originally Posted by Dalamar_the_Dark

I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results.

The key being starting Ratliff at center.

The Spurs need to have some kind of set rotation in place so people can get used to their roles and keep working on their on-court chemestry. Ratliff's health is too much of a concern to start every game, even in limited minutes.

He had a great game though. Hopefully he can produce like that every time he plays.

SpursWench21 · 11-23-2009, 01:54 AM

Tim is the man

Isai659 · 11-23-2009, 02:02 AM

So is there any good free agents at the 5 position that we can pick up around the all star break?

boutons_deux · 11-23-2009, 02:12 AM

Spurs are nothing but mediocre until they beat good teams, home and away.

spurspokesman · 11-23-2009, 02:41 AM

Originally Posted by Johnny RIngo

We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game.

I second that

duhoh · 11-23-2009, 03:03 AM

10 of 15 of ratliff's season's are less than 55 games played due to injury.

i love his hustle, but i'm seeing that he has no regard for self-preservation. good stuff, old man

Johnny RIngo · 11-23-2009, 06:17 AM

Originally Posted by Isai659

So is there any good free agents at the 5 position that we can pick up around the all star break?

FA won't get it done. Either we trade any combination of Bonner, Finley, Mason, etc or we do away with Manu(assuming his health is still a concern).

CGD · 11-23-2009, 07:53 AM

Originally Posted by VivaPopovich

Fab went in there, made great plays on both ends, then Flip Saunders takes him out for good. It was a mistake!

Fab took himself out of the game with quick fouls. Little Flip could do.

Flux451 · 11-23-2009, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by duhoh

10 of 15 of ratliff's season's are less than 55 games played due to injury.

i love his hustle, but i'm seeing that he has no regard for self-preservation. good stuff, old man

True dat, if a guy, such as Ratliff, is trying swat everything insight he is bound to land wrong or on somebody. When he goes up to block a shot he has nothing in mind but the ball...it's pretty badass though.

SamoanTD · 11-23-2009, 10:49 AM

Originally Posted by Flux451

True dat, if a guy, such as Ratliff, is trying swat everything insight he is bound to land wrong or on somebody. When he goes up to block a shot he has nothing in mind but the ball...it's pretty badass though.

motha fukin monsta!!

SCdac · 11-23-2009, 12:22 PM

"Wizards made the Spurs look good"

was pretty much thinking the same thing to be honest.

It was a solid, NO game-opener-esque, win, but the Wizards are no litmus test on how good this Spurs team can be against real competition. Their most efficient player shooting wise went down sometime in the first quarter I believe (Mike Miller). He's not grabbing Washington a win by himself, but that team seemed sort of 'off' the whole night.

The teams we've beaten aren't exactly scary, aside from maybe Dallas.

Dallas, 10-3
Toronto, 6-8
New Orleans, 6-9
Sacramento, 5-7
Washington, 3-9

Don't get me wrong every win is good for our team and serves a purpose in the long run, especially a win without Tim/Tony against Dallas, but it'd be nice to win some (what I'd call) statement games. Next four or five weeks should be good for building team success, games against Boston, Denver, Houston, Portland, Dallas, Phoenix, rematches vs. Utah, etc. I want to see what this team is really made of, so far that hasn't been much middle ground (imo), we're beating weak teams pretty well, but struggling against good teams...

I'm just stoked to finally see this starting lineup... Duncan - McDyess - Jefferson - Bogans - Parker

phxspurfan · 11-24-2009, 10:55 AM

Originally Posted by Dalamar_the_Dark

I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results.

The key being starting Ratliff at center.

Go with this plan and you can add Ratliff to the injury list 10 games from now.

UnWantedTheory · 11-24-2009, 03:17 PM

The Wiz made us look good all by themselves?

They are just crazy good like that then. Wow.

11-22-2009, 10:10 PM	#1
duncan228 Silence surpasses speech. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $73350 Post Count: 23,851	Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Wizards made Spurs look good Mike Monroe The Spurs on Saturday held the Washington Wizards to 33.3 percent shooting and 84 points, the lowest field-goal percentage and second-lowest point total for an opponent this season. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich reserved judgment on whether this was a result of his team's defensive ascendancy or Washington's offensive struggles. Afterward, the Wizards were openly sniping at one another about selfish play, and Popovich said he would wait to see the videotape before judging his team's defensive work. “I just want to see how many basic errors we made and how many basic, good plays we made to see how much we improved,” he said. “Overall, I'm pretty certain it was better (defense) than it has been the last few games.” Popovich was certain of one thing: He was happy with the interior defense and rebounding he got from center Theo Ratliff, one of two veteran interior players the Spurs signed as free agents in the summer. Ratliff had a season-best 11 rebounds and blocked three shots in about 22 minutes against the Wizards. “Theo got a decent amount of minutes, and I thought he had a fantastic defensive game,” Popovich said. “Offensively, he was very poised and played a good team game there.” Ratliff, in his 15th season, has played only 75 minutes in the first 11 games but said he feels comfortable with the Spurs' schemes. “I'm fine with learning the systems,” Ratliff said. “It's an adjustment, but once you understand the concepts and watch the film and see what it is Coach wants us to do, it's just about going out there and competing and just hustling. If you're giving effort, and you're in the right positions, everything works for us.” Quarterback Tim: Tim Duncan had seven assists in the first half Saturday, prompting Popovich to laud his ability to quarterback the team. Center Matt Bonner, recipient of one of those assists, said the Spurs understand that when Duncan is passing, they have to be ready for his throws. “Obviously, you've got to have the right spacing and be in the right floor spots, but after that, he does it himself,” Bonner said. “He draws the double-team and finds the open man. “Tim's a team player, and he takes what the defense gives him. Some nights he scores, and some nights teams aggressively double him and try to take him out of the game. He's unselfish, so he just finds the open man.” _____________________________

11-22-2009, 11:37 PM	#2
Phila_Chamberlain 20,000 women and counting Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $80424 Post Count: 5,543	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good The Wizards shot 30% because Ratliff had like 15 blocks and 12 altered shots. _____________________________ Separated at birth? If I cared about your opinion you'd have a television show. "Now, if a player does not have an altercation on or off the court once each month, we fine him. I've tried to get this into the press, but people won't pay attention. And, the guys who are our top four scorers, each of them will be required once every two months to appear on MTV. And the guys who shoot the worst free throws over a one-month period, the next time we have a TV game, they are required to look into the camera and beat their chests after they make a good play. I think then we will have a little bit different reputation." - Gregg Popovich.

11-22-2009, 11:41 PM	#3
VivaPopovich Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $18650 Post Count: 863	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Fab went in there, made great plays on both ends, then Flip Saunders takes him out for good. It was a mistake! _____________________________ If your sick of Matt Bonner make sure your voice is heard! http://www.nba.com/spurs/contact/club_directory.html Long Live Thank you Bruce.

11-22-2009, 11:48 PM	#4
phxspurfan Now a CA Spurs fan Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $86260 Post Count: 3,092	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Omg, we had a real center in the game & TD played PF instead of Finley. Now we have a good defense. _____________________________

11-23-2009, 12:43 AM	#5
Johnny RIngo Veteran Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $17800 Post Count: 1,767	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by phxspurfan Omg, we had a real center in the game & TD played PF instead of Finley. Now we have a good defense. We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game.

11-23-2009, 01:10 AM	#6
Dalamar_the_Dark The Dark Dude Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $22950 Post Count: 299	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results. The key being starting Ratliff at center. _____________________________ I don't understand why you don't understand what I don't understand.

11-23-2009, 01:22 AM	#7
mingus Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $38400 Post Count: 1,236	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Ratliff is injury prone so his minutes need to be limited.

11-23-2009, 01:23 AM	#8
Xevious Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $36550 Post Count: 597	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by Johnny RIngo We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game. They were also on the second half of a back-to-back. There's no excuse for any contending team to lose this game. Originally Posted by Dalamar_the_Dark I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results. The key being starting Ratliff at center. The Spurs need to have some kind of set rotation in place so people can get used to their roles and keep working on their on-court chemestry. Ratliff's health is too much of a concern to start every game, even in limited minutes. He had a great game though. Hopefully he can produce like that every time he plays.

11-23-2009, 01:54 AM	#9
SpursWench21 Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $28394 Post Count: 173	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Tim is the man

11-23-2009, 02:02 AM	#10
Isai659 Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $800 Post Count: 9	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good So is there any good free agents at the 5 position that we can pick up around the all star break?

11-23-2009, 02:12 AM	#11
boutons_deux Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $78950 Post Count: 5,312	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Spurs are nothing but mediocre until they beat good teams, home and away.

11-23-2009, 02:41 AM	#12
spurspokesman Spurs or nothing Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $29400 Post Count: 864	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by Johnny RIngo We also played one of the weakest teams in the league at home. Let's save the chest thumping for when we win an away game. I second that

11-23-2009, 03:03 AM	#13
duhoh Cool story bro Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $57800 Post Count: 1,617	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good 10 of 15 of ratliff's season's are less than 55 games played due to injury. i love his hustle, but i'm seeing that he has no regard for self-preservation. good stuff, old man

11-23-2009, 06:17 AM	#14
Johnny RIngo Veteran Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $17800 Post Count: 1,767	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by Isai659 So is there any good free agents at the 5 position that we can pick up around the all star break? FA won't get it done. Either we trade any combination of Bonner, Finley, Mason, etc or we do away with Manu(assuming his health is still a concern).

11-23-2009, 07:53 AM	#15
CGD Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $49800 Post Count: 370	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by VivaPopovich Fab went in there, made great plays on both ends, then Flip Saunders takes him out for good. It was a mistake! Fab took himself out of the game with quick fouls. Little Flip could do.

11-23-2009, 10:07 AM	#16
Flux451 obligatory troll smasher Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $108182 Post Count: 1,224	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by duhoh 10 of 15 of ratliff's season's are less than 55 games played due to injury. i love his hustle, but i'm seeing that he has no regard for self-preservation. good stuff, old man True dat, if a guy, such as Ratliff, is trying swat everything insight he is bound to land wrong or on somebody. When he goes up to block a shot he has nothing in mind but the ball...it's pretty badass though. _____________________________

11-23-2009, 10:49 AM	#17
SamoanTD YOU JUST GOT THE BUISNESS Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $707100 Post Count: 426	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by Flux451 True dat, if a guy, such as Ratliff, is trying swat everything insight he is bound to land wrong or on somebody. When he goes up to block a shot he has nothing in mind but the ball...it's pretty badass though. motha fukin monsta!! _____________________________

11-23-2009, 12:22 PM	#18
SCdac Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $23150 Post Count: 492	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good "Wizards made the Spurs look good" was pretty much thinking the same thing to be honest. It was a solid, NO game-opener-esque, win, but the Wizards are no litmus test on how good this Spurs team can be against real competition. Their most efficient player shooting wise went down sometime in the first quarter I believe (Mike Miller). He's not grabbing Washington a win by himself, but that team seemed sort of 'off' the whole night. The teams we've beaten aren't exactly scary, aside from maybe Dallas. Dallas, 10-3 Toronto, 6-8 New Orleans, 6-9 Sacramento, 5-7 Washington, 3-9 Don't get me wrong every win is good for our team and serves a purpose in the long run, especially a win without Tim/Tony against Dallas, but it'd be nice to win some (what I'd call) statement games. Next four or five weeks should be good for building team success, games against Boston, Denver, Houston, Portland, Dallas, Phoenix, rematches vs. Utah, etc. I want to see what this team is really made of, so far that hasn't been much middle ground (imo), we're beating weak teams pretty well, but struggling against good teams... I'm just stoked to finally see this starting lineup... Duncan - McDyess - Jefferson - Bogans - Parker

11-24-2009, 10:55 AM	#19
phxspurfan Now a CA Spurs fan Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $86260 Post Count: 3,092	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good Originally Posted by Dalamar_the_Dark I have said this all along. Start Ratliff at center with TD at PF. Jefferson at SF, Finley at SG and Parker at the point and we will start seeing results. The key being starting Ratliff at center. Go with this plan and you can add Ratliff to the injury list 10 games from now.

11-24-2009, 03:17 PM	#20
UnWantedTheory Believe. Team: San Antonio Spurs SpursTalk Cash: $20150 Post Count: 517	Re: Monroe: Wizards made Spurs look good The Wiz made us look good all by themselves? They are just crazy good like that then. Wow.

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