Initial Reaction: Spurs @ Hornets - Mar. 29

[timvp]

I classified the win over the Warriors recently as a bad win. Although this 90-86 loss against the Hornets isn't quite a good loss, it's definitely an understandable loss. With the Big Three healthy and playing close to normal minutes in a playoff atmosphere for the first time in six weeks, it'd be a bit shortsighted to expect the Spurs to instantly return to their customary form. I saw enough good out of Sunday night's game to feel positive about the team going forward.

The Hornets also deserve a lot of credit. Chris Paul illustrated again why he's one of the top five basketball players on the planet, while David West continues to be a difficult matchup for the Spurs. Despite being without a number of key players, New Orleans stepped up, played hard and beat San Antonio. You can't take anything away from their effort.

As for the Spurs, the most important thing is that Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili appear to be getting healthier. It's going to take a couple games before they get back into the groove, especially considering that Pop's rotation once again was completely overhauled. If the Spurs still look out of sorts a week from now, perhaps then would be the time to worry.

-In the second quarter, Tim Duncan was Tim Duncan. He scored 12 points and was carrying the Spurs on both ends of the quarter. The rest of the game, particularly down the stretch, Duncan didn't play too well. The issue in the fourth quarter appeared to be fatigue as he didn't have anywhere near the crispness he had in the second stanza. I liked that he rebounded well but when he's getting outplayed in a stretch by Sean Marks, that's when you realize Duncan still has a ways to go before returning to health and game shape.

-Manu Ginobili played his normal amount of minutes for the first time since the All-Star break. Like Duncan, Ginobili looked like he was totally out of gas late in the contest. Throughout the game, the Hornets decided to defend him like they did last year in the playoffs by giving him the outside shot. Ginobili responded by being the only three-point shooter on the team who hit a respectable percentage of his bombs from deep. His defense wasn't very good and his playmaking was lacking but Ginobili has to be considered ahead of schedule in his return from his stress reaction.

-Some aspects of Tony Parker's game I thought were very good, namely his defense. He guarded Paul about as well as Paul is going to be guarded. The Hornets superstar still got his but Parker made him work for everything. Offensively, Parker was thinking a bit too much. The Spurs have been thriving with him in constant attack mode and he had his foot off the pedal for too long tonight. Though considering that the Spurs outscored the Hornets 80-74 in the 39 minutes he played and were outscored by the Hornets 16-6 in the nine minutes he was on the bench, it's difficult to put too much blame on Parker.

-Michael Finley, like the rest of the role playing shooters on the team, got a number of wide open looks against New Orleans. The problem was converting the open looks into made baskets. Finley had a three-pointer late that gave the Spurs a chance to steal the game but missed a number of open shots throughout. Other than his shooting, I thought Finley played well.

-Roger Mason, Jr. was held scoreless in his 23 minutes of playing time. Running the point, Mason once again struggled. That struggle was even more prominent when he didn't have Ginobili at his side. It was a bit odd that Mason didn't get more minutes considering that the Hornets were leaving shooters open but it appeared as if Pop wasn't thrilled with what Mason was doing on the defensive end.

-Like the last time the Spurs visited New Orleans, Matt Bonner made Byron Scott look brilliant by instructing his bigs to let Bonner roam free on the perimeter. Bonner didn't knock down his open perimeter looks, except for one he hit late to cut a six-point lead in half. Though Bonner put up good rebounding numbers, he didn't corral a couple boards late that came back to bite the Spurs. Despite his uneven play, this wasn't anywhere near the disaster that the other game in New Orleans was for Bonner.

-Ime Udoka seems to have successfully carved out a role in Pop's rotation. In minutes that have traditionally gone to Bruce Bowen, Udoka is now seeing action. (In fact, Bowen registered his first DNP-CD in his Spurs career and it was the first game he missed outside of last year's suspension since 2002.) In his new role, Udoka didn't exactly earn an invite to the Hall of Fame. He missed a handful of wide, wide open looks from beyond the arc. His redeeming quality was his rebounding and he also made a few good passes within the offense.

-Drew Gooden hasn't quite integrated himself into the team concept yet. It's still very obvious that he's the round peg trying to fit into the square offensive and defensive sets. However, at least he isn't bashful and he is trying to help out. Gooden connected on four of his five shot attempts. His defense was decent at times against West but his help defense and rebounding were non-existent.

-I've been typing Kurt Thomas' praises for most of the last few months but he was horrible tonight. Since his slow start to the campaign, this was undoubtedly his worst game. He was loose with the ball offensively, out of position defensively, fouled needlessly and was just a very bad player overall. Hopefully this was a hiccup and Thomas can return to his stellar play ASAP.

-George Hill got a few minutes of action and didn't hurt the team. He gave good effort defensively and crashed the boards. On offense, he pushed the break when he got the ball. If the Spurs were to face the Hornets in the playoffs, it wouldn't surprise me in the least if Pop figured out how to have Hill guard Paul for stretches of the series.

-I've been hoping for Pop to set a rotation and it appeared he did. Now the second guessing can commence. Removing Bowen from the equation is a move I don't agree with, especially when Udoka is the recipient. Udoka has had his moments but I still think it's clear that Bowen is a better player than Udoka. In what was nothing of a surprise, Pop leaned on Finley. It's inevitable that Finley will be in the rotation but I hope Pop isn't planning on bumping Mason's minutes to make room for Finley to play extended minutes each night.

Against the Hornets, I was a bit puzzled why Pop didn't go with the same strategy he used last time against New Orleans. In that victory, the Spurs went under the screen on Paul and forced him to score. Pop also started Thomas that game to not allow West to get off to a good start. In this game, Pop had the Spurs go over the screen against Paul and started Bonner on West. My guess would be that Pop didn't want the Hornets to get a free look at the defense the Spurs would play in the postseason ... but it was definitely an odd coaching maneuver.

All in all, I can live with this loss. The Spurs don't have much breathing room in the Western Conference but considering the circumstances, the positives outweighed the negatives tonight.

[Ghazi]

Spurs just missed their shots.

[crc21209]

Shit happens, and this game happened ALOT. The Spurs shot 29 freakin' 3 pointers and only made 7! They kept giving up Offensive boards, and we all know that BS call at the end of the game to hand the game over to the Hornets.

[024]

kurt thomas is a bad matchup against the hornets. he can't really step out into the perimeter to defend david west. spurs always expect more from duncan, especially in the fourth quarter. ginobili is getting back into shape so only parker was present in the fourth quarter. udoka getting minutes over bowen is a bad sign indeed. at least bowen can hit open threes under pressure.

[duncan228]

Originally Posted by timvp

I saw enough good out of Sunday night's game to feel positive about the team going forward.

All in all, I can live with this loss. The Spurs don't have much breathing room in the Western Conference but considering the circumstances, the positives outweighed the negatives tonight.

Agreed. And refreshing amidst the meltdown. Thanks for the time.

In the second quarter, Tim Duncan was Tim Duncan. He scored 12 points and was carrying the Spurs on both ends of the quarter.

I think he had 14 in the quarter, but I haven't re-watched it.

[ElNono]

I think once the smoke clears we'll see that this wasn't such a terrible loss.

[exstatic]

Originally Posted by crc21209

Shit happens, and this game happened ALOT. The Spurs shot 29 freakin' 3 pointers and only made 7! They kept giving up Offensive boards, and we all know that BS call at the end of the game to hand the game over to the Hornets.

Uh, the Spurs are lucky the RIGHT call wasn't made. That would have been two for Paul and the ball to NO for Parker grabbing his jersey before the ball was inbounded.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

LOL timvp you blatantly try to be optimistic sometimes and it just makes it so hard to take the rest of your post seriously.

Positives outweigh the negatives. crawful.

[crc21209]

People need to stop freaking out so much when this is barely Manu's third game back and this team together has to get used to playing with all of each other again. They will be fine, and we most likely grab the 2 seed going into the playoffs...

[timvp]

Originally Posted by Cant_Be_Faded

LOL timvp you blatantly try to be optimistic sometimes and it just makes it so hard to take the rest of your post seriously.

Positives outweigh the negatives. crawful.

Meltdown because the Spurs lost their first real game in six weeks?

[dogzofwar]

A lot of yall really do amaze me....There are 13 other teams in this conference that would trade places with the Spurs in a heartbeat. Instead of giving props to a team that has it's franchise player hobbled with an injury and your most dynamic offensive spark plug gimped up for a chunk of the season....yall piss and moan and break down the team. While in the mean time, they are holding down the #2 spot! Wow...just wow. I, for one, am very proud of this team....the good, the bad, and the ugly.

[itzsoweezee]

the spurs are so good when tony tries to dominate the other team. he just has to be more selfish. i would have liked to see tony, manu, and tim not playing together all at the same time. all three of those guys need the ball in their hands to be effective.

[crc21209]

Originally Posted by timvp

Meltdown because the Spurs lost their first real game in six weeks?

Too many people around here jump off the ledge way too damn fast, and as soon as the Spurs win a big game...will jump right back on saying they never doubted them. If you're a real true Spurs fan fucking step up now...otherwise...get out.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Originally Posted by timvp

Meltdown because the Spurs lost their first real game in six weeks?

You are blatantly trying to be over optimistic man. First real game? Wow. Alright, brah go back to trying to rally spurstalk into being optimistic about a team with an obviously ailing Duncan that can't outhustle a nearly decimated Hornets team.

[crc21209]

Originally Posted by dogzofwar

A lot of yall really do amaze me....There are 13 other teams in this conference that would trade places with the Spurs in a heartbeat. Instead of giving props to a team that has it's franchise player hobbled with an injury and your most dynamic offensive spark plug gimped up for a chunk of the season....yall piss and moan and break down the team. While in the mean time, they are holding down the #2 spot! Wow...just wow. I, for one, am very proud of this team....the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Exactly. Who in the hell here would have thought the Spurs would be holding the #2 spot with Manu missing 30 or so games this Season and Tim being a little banged up as well. The Spurs coaching staff and organization have done a hell of a job this year...yet..most people here continue to bash them like crazy when we should be giving them credit for the most part.

[TDMVPDPOY]

pop puts fukn HILL on bigger players armstrong, butler, wright...when he should be on fkn CP3

would like to see pop put ghill on cp3 full court press...lock this flopper down like no tommarow.

[DPG21920]

It is hard to consider it a real game when they are missing Chandler, Posey and Peja. I know the other guys are capable, but really? This is a game that everyone expects the Spurs to win at this point in the season.

[timvp]

Originally Posted by Cant_Be_Faded

You are blatantly trying to be over optimistic man. First real game? Wow. Alright, brah go back to trying to rally spurstalk into being optimistic about a team with an obviously ailing Duncan that can't outhustle a nearly decimated Hornets team.

How is this blatantly over optimistic? Where you watching the same game I was where Duncan and Manu were gasping for air in the fourth quarter? And yeah, first real game with the Big Three all together since the first week of February.

I'm concerned about the health of Duncan and Ginobili. I apologize for not cutting myself because the Spurs lost at a place where they got routinely blown out last year while having the Big Three whole for the first time since the All-Star break. And that's not even accounting for Pop playing presumably his "real" rotation for the first time all season.

[SenorSpur]

So let me get this straight. This was the first real game in a while. So that means the Rockets and Celtics games were merely inconsequential?

[crc21209]

Originally Posted by DPG21920

It is hard to consider it a real game when they are missing Chandler, Posey and Peja. I know the other guys are capable, but really? This is a game that everyone expects the Spurs to win at this point in the season.

Manu's 3rd game back and the addition of Gooden Pop is still just feeling things out and seeing what combo's do and do not work out there, thus the weird line-ups at times. The Spurs in money Playoff time, should be fine. Always believe in TP, TD, and Manu damn it.

[_JaG]

Originally Posted by Cant_Be_Faded

You are blatantly trying to be over optimistic man. First real game? Wow. Alright, brah go back to trying to rally spurstalk into being optimistic about a team with an obviously ailing Duncan that can't outhustle a nearly decimated Hornets team.

If the spurs shoot 35% as opposed to 24% from 3 and win this game...then all the sudden things are ok? Duncan didn't look ailing in the 2nd quarter. I'm not saying hes 100%...but there's no reason to think his bad knees are the reason the Spurs shot so poorly from downtown.

[crc21209]

Originally Posted by SenorSpur

So let me get this straight. This was the first real game in a while. So that means the Rockets and Celtics games were merely inconsequential?

Manu didnt play in those games. Manu is a BIG piece to our puzzle and we all know it.

[timvp]

Originally Posted by SenorSpur

So let me get this straight. This was the first real game in a while. So that means the Rockets and Celtics games were merely inconsequential?

Real as in having the Big Three together playing normal minutes. Substitute the word "whole" or whatever else to get the message across.

[crc21209]

Originally Posted by __JaG__

If the spurs shoot 35% as opposed to 24% from 3 and win this game...then all the sudden things are ok? Duncan didn't look ailing in the 2nd quarter. I'm not saying hes 100%...but there's no reason to think his bad knees are the reason the Spurs shot so poorly from downtown.

It was one of those nights where NOTHING goes your way. We shot like shit from 3, we couldnt keep New Orleans from getting offensive boards, and finally...the shitty call at the end giving 3 ft's to Paul and the game to the Hornets. NOTHING went our way at all.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

The most maddening thing about all this continues to be the Mason-as-backup-PG experiment.

It is going to doom this team in the post-season. Give Hill the run and let him get experience, and let Mason go back to being an eagle eye shooting guard.

He hasn't looked the same since this backup PG experiment began.

But we're just getting a different look at Pop's inherent distrust for rookies in a different light. He won't give Hill the run, knows Vaughn won't cut it, so we're stuck with Mason at 'point'.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Originally Posted by timvp

How is this blatantly over optimistic? Where you watching the same game I was where Duncan and Manu were gasping for air in the fourth quarter? And yeah, first real game with the Big Three all together since the first week of February.

I'm concerned about the health of Duncan and Ginobili. I apologize for not cutting myself because the Spurs lost at a place where they got routinely blown out last year while having the Big Three whole for the first time since the All-Star break. And that's not even accounting for Pop playing presumably his "real" rotation for the first time all season.

Reading your original post alone as is, does not even provide convincing evidence that there is more good than bad out of this loss.

Watching the game, Duncan was being outhustled and was much slower than normal way before he got gassed. So he got tired. Hey, guys, Duncan got tired in the fourth, when he's been relatively rested the past week. Alot of good in that, right?

And it is ridiculous for you to try to convince people on this forum that Pop's strategies the past few weeks, leading into and including this game, shows more promise than disappointment.

It does not matter if we got blown out at NO last year, or every year for the last decade. We were outhustled by an undermanned team, and our anchor is nowhere near 100%. Just those facts already outweigh any positive you saw tonight, and any silver lining you grasp at about it being the first time the big three were together, us supposed to lose this game based on last year, and duncan and ginobili being tired.

And then we have RMJ scoring zero points, being completely shut out, and not having a groove, at all, against a possible first round playoff opponent.

Udoka getting mad minutes, and scoring less points than Bowen.

Lots of positives