Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Hornets - Apr. 15

[timvp]

The 2008-09 regular season for the Spurs was a journey that featured many close games and a number of memorable shots. It's only fitting that the last contest of the season ended in spectacular fashion.

With the Spurs down by three points against the Hornets and under ten seconds remaining, the Spurs ran a play that got Michael Finley a look from downtown with David West running at him. As time expired, Finley's shot went through the net and the game was sent into overtime. Once in the extra stanza, Tim Duncan stepped it up and the Spurs were able to cap their season with a 105-98 overtime victory to finish the year with a 54-28 record.

The Hornets deserve a lot of credit. They played extremely well and almost won the game even though they rested Tyson Chandler in the second half. West and Chris Paul were amazing and New Orleans illustrated why they are a seventh seed capable of making noise in the playoffs.

The victory, combined with the Mavericks beating the Rockets, allowed the Spurs to win the division and get the third seed in the Western Conference. They will now face the Mavs in the first round of the playoffs. If Finley's shot would have rimmed out, the Spurs would have been the fifth seed and heading to Portland for the opening round.

Overall, the Spurs were fortunate to escape with a victory. It wasn't pretty and it certainly wasn't championship basketball but let's hope the win gives the Spurs enough momentum to go into the first round confident in their capabilities.

-For much of the game, Tim Duncan was good -- but not great. He seemed to be moving well enough but his impact on the game wasn't overwhelming. However, things changed in the overtime. With three minutes to go and the Spurs trailing by a point, Duncan simply took over. He controlled the game on both ends of the court and put an exclamation point on his dominance by hitting a vintage fadeaway hook from deep along the baseline. With the playoffs now upon the Spurs, it will be extremely interesting to see how high Duncan is capable of elevating his game.

-Tony Parker had another good game. He had a few questionable decisions along the way but his production was obviously vital in the Spurs being able to secure the victory. Defensively, I liked the job he did on Paul. On offense, Parker did a good job attacking while also mixing in a number of quality passes. For the season, Parker ended up averaging 22.0 points and 6.9 assists per game while shooting 50.6% from the floor. He also finished 8th in the NBA in PER at 23.47.

-Michael Finley was the hero once again. Not only did he hit that three-pointer but he also had a jumper with about 45 seconds to go in the game to trim the lead to three-points. All in all, it was just another very solid game from Finley. He's playing good basketball at the moment in all phases of the sport. His shooting hasn't always been on but he's defending, hustling and making smart plays. Like it or not, Finley's heading into the playoffs with big role and for the Spurs to have a chance, he has to deliver.

-The player who authored the pass to Finley was Roger Mason, Jr. The play was designed for Mason to get a look but the secondary play was for Finley and Mason made the right read and a good pass. Other than that pass, it was a rough outing for Mason. He didn't shoot well and he struggled as the backup point guard. The silver lining continues to be the fact that Mason has made noticeable strides defensively over the last month to the point that he hasn't been a liability on that end as of late.

-The first basket of the game for the Spurs was a Matt Bonner three-pointer. Bonner went on to hit only two of his next seven shots, although one of his hoops was a key field goal with three minutes remaining in the game. Defensively, he didn't help out very much at all. He gave good effort on the boards but the results were again lacking. Going up against the Mavs, the Spurs need Bonner to play at a much higher level than we've seen out of him for the last few weeks.

-Ime Udoka came off the bench to play 38 minutes. After an off shooting night against the Warriors, it was good to see Udoka bounce back with a much better performance. He knocked down a couple of threes, rebounded well, defended well and even threw down an impressive reverse dunk in the overtime period. It was doubly impressive considering it was the first dunk of his life. Going forward, Udoka seems to have won a key role in Pop's rotation. If he can shoot it straight, he has a chance to really help out.

-I wasn't too impressed with the play from Kurt Thomas. He has been great in the second half of the season but he had his second straight forgettable performance. His defense wasn't as good as usual and he didn't pull down a defensive board in his 17 minutes of work. The matchup against Dallas doesn't seem to be a good one for Thomas on paper. Hopefully he can surprise.

-Drew Gooden once again produced in limited minutes. He was even more aggressive than usual with the ball. However, all things considered, Gooden was actually doing more bad than good on the night. His defense, especially in the pick-and-roll, was iffy. He wasn't much of a presence on the boards. Offensively, Gooden scored but he also stagnated the offense. Pop has his work cut out for him in trying to put Gooden in situations in which he can help the Spurs in the playoffs. But Gooden has definitely shown enough promise to warrant minutes from here on out.

-Bruce Bowen did a decent job in his ten minutes on the court. He had the task of trying to slow down Paul a lot of the time and did commendable work. With the Hornets sagging into the paint, per usual, Pop went with more offense in place of Bowen. Against the Mavs, there are a number of players who could draw Bowen's attention. It will be interesting to see how much time he will play now that it's either put up or shut up.

-George Hill got some first half action but he wasn't able to continue the progress he showed against the Warriors. He made a few defensive mistakes and missed the one shot he attempted.

-Pop did a good enough job. I liked the play he drew up for Mason and Finley. It was a new look we hadn't seen yet this season. Regarding his rotation, it was somewhat surprising that he leaned on Udoka so much. And if Finley doesn't hit that shot, the Spurs have would have gone down with Duncan only playing 29 minutes. But now Pop's preseason tinkering is over and it's time to show his cards. In Game 1 against the Mavs, I don't think anyone on earth has a clue what Pop is going to do. Well, hopefully Pop knows.

Entertaining regular season. Now the real games begin.

Believe.

[td_tp_manu]

thanks timvp. it's been a year since i joined this forum. it's hard to believe how much more i understand about the spurs from reading your timely thoughts without being able to watch a few games.

i found out this forum shortly after tim's big 3 vs. Suns. Well I hope we could see something equally epic this post-season.

Believe

[ElNono]

Gooden did not have a good game, but it was not for lack of trying. He pushed the issue out there, but in all honesty, we will need anything he can give us.
I thought Bonner played boy scout basketball. He didn't take the West challenge, and outside a ballsy move and basket to end a long scoring drought in the fourth quarter, he's been the passive Bonner we've seen for the past month or so. We will need more from him. I complained in the game thread about having Udoka over Bowen out there at the end, but Ime proved me wrong. We're going to need him to prove me wrong more often in these upcoming serie.
Overall, a very gutsy win, and a good confidence builder and morale booster going into the playoffs.

[mathbzh]

Originally Posted by timvp

-For much of the game, Tim Duncan was good -- but not great. He seemed to be moving well enough but his impact on the game wasn't overwhelming. However, things changed in the overtime. With three minutes to go and the Spurs trailing by a point, Duncan simply took over. He controlled the game on both ends of the court and put an exclamation point on his dominance by hitting a vintage fadeaway hook from deep along the baseline. With the playoffs now upon the Spurs, it will be extremely interesting to see how high Duncan is capable of elevating his game.

[MoSpur]

It was really good to see Tim Duncan take over late. When I saw that I found some of the hope I had lost when Manu went down.

[spurster]

Seeing TD being TD in overtime was a relief. I'm not sure how long it's been since we've seen that level of play from him.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

My thoughts.
*firstly, I love watching these two teams play each other! We usually see all kinds of crazy action, some gorgeous pic'n'rolls, a bit of fireworks, and four elite players going at each other's weaknesses... excellent basketball all around;
*we have no answer for West, but watching him tear our D to pieces is a strange joy because he is such a fundamentally sound basketballer (homeless man's younger Duncan?);
*Paul is Paul, he did some incredible things, but as seems to be the trend TP had it over him by the end;
*our D in the first half was reminiscent of the 20-pt blowouts last playoffs, but it tightened up nicely in the second half, as did the Hornets' sphincters as their missed FTs allowed us to stay in the game;
*don't ever forget that TP is one of the great competitors in this league - the guy has a major killer instinct, and now this season has proven that he has the game to better anyone at his position;
*KT does not match up well with the Hornets (he can't guard either Chandler or West), so we end up playing Bonner or smallball with Ime as the 4, and I'm tending towards prefering the latter... how about that reverse? Ime has stepped up since Manu went down, and kudos to him;
*we need clutch Finley/Mason to show up a lot these playoffs or we're going nowhere;
*Pop did some really nice stuff - he used his matchups beautifully and defintely go the better of Scott a few times, especially using Tim to exploit their weak bench bigs;
*when did AD start pimp-rollin around the court? And Sean Marks can dunk, huh? Who knew?

Bring on the Mavs!

[romain.star]

thnax timvp...

I really love reading those toughts after every game

Will you post a global 08/09 regular season thought?

[SA210]

Originally Posted by spurster

Seeing TD being TD in overtime was a relief. I'm not sure how long it's been since we've seen that level of play from him.

[lefty]

" Pop's preseason "

Well said

[polandprzem]

timvp you cheated

This are not the thoughts it's initial reaction

[polandprzem]

Yea well, that was a good outing from the spurs to end the season.
Now it will come down to the matchups. Pop is good on adopting and changing the strategy. he have nothing to lose, so his moves will be more risky.

Spurs at their best now can advance to the West Finals. But we need many factors to work on full speed.

[stéphane]

Thanks for the thoughts.
As RuffnReady stated, Hornets-Spurs games really are something to watch.

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Thanks for giving us these game thoughts throughout the regular season, Timvp! You, sir, are the man! They have been awesome reads...better than anything else I see written about the games.

I want Bruce to get more minutes, other than that you can't walk away from watching last night's game with anything but warm, happy thoughts. Timmy is playing pretty well, Finley enters the post season on a high note. Parker's playing great. We're getting decent contributions from several of the role players on different nights, Mason, Gooden, Bonner and even Udoka.

The playoffs are an entirely different animal, however, and I do wonder how far this team can actually go without Manu. I'll be hoping and praying that the Spurs, collectively, can step up and fill the huge void Manu's injury leaves. Playoff basketball games come down to a handful of possessions that make the difference between winning a series and planning that fishing trip, and I always feel like the Spurs have the edge in deciding those games when Manu is healthy. He lives to make those sort of plays when the pressure is its highest.

Dallas is playing as well as anyone in the West right now, so this first round should be a war. IMO, Dallas is playing better than Denver or New Orleans at the moment, so getting past round one, sans Manu, will be a true test for this team. And I think round 2 will probably feature those same Hornets again, as I think they're going to upset Denver. New Orleans, no matter how bad they appear to play at times, seem to step it up and play extremely well when the opponent is San Antonio. Should be fun. Let's get this party goin'!

[ducks]

paul had 20 assist but spurs had more assist then the hornets

[DPG21920]

First of all, watching the game live, TP's defense on Paul was very good. Especially in the low block. He busted his butt in order to prevent Paul getting the ball and only picked up 2 cheap fouls (1 where he fell down and Paul tripped over him and 1 reach in). I was very impressed with the amount of effort TP was putting in defensively along with his energy offensively.

Secondly, If ERICB posts in this thread I will flame him. I wrote many of the same things in my thread yesterday from an observation stand point, but he argued until no end with me because of Bonner and Duncan and Mason.

[EricB]

What about Duncan and Mason?

Flame away tough guy.

[Fabbs]

With the Spurs down by three points against the Hornets and under ten seconds remaining, the Spurs ran a play that got Michael Finley a look from downtown with David West running at him.

Nice sink by Finley.
True, David West was running at him, but with a very late start. When Fins catches the ball, for that matter when Mase has the ball, West is standing flat footed at the foul line. Way to guard Finley, West.

Good shot by Fins but we are not going to get that kind of mental retardation defense in the playoffs. Well maybe we are but not against Phil and the Lakers should we make the title run at the WCFs.

[DPG21920]

Originally Posted by EricB

What about Duncan and Mason?

Flame away tough guy.

I said Duncan was not going to get any healthier and that he looked about as good as you can hope. You made some lame a** comments about when he is making bank shots you know he is all the way back. Wrong. But, but since Timvp says it you keep your mouth on mute.

Mason I said is not going to play any better than he has been, and you once again made some comment about how "he will score more than he did tonight" when I was clearly saying he had a tough game, but has been playing well. I told you to look at the big picture and not one game.

Same with Bonner.

But now is not the time for fellow Spurs fans to argue. Because my momma raised a hellraiser and biggie has given the Spurs one more chance mo murda the Mavs because that is how Ruff Ryders Roll.

[EricB]

Originally Posted by DPG21920

I said Duncan was not going to get any healthier and that he looked about as good as you can hope. You made some lame a** comments about when he is making bank shots you know he is all the way back. Wrong. But, but since Timvp says it you keep your mouth on mute.

Mason I said is not going to play any better than he has been, and you once again made some comment about how "he will score more than he did tonight" when I was clearly saying he had a tough game, but has been playing well. I told you to look at the big picture and not one game.

Same with Bonner.

But now is not the time for fellow Spurs fans to argue. Because my momma raised a hellraiser and biggie has given the Spurs one more chance mo murda the Mavs because that is how Ruff Ryders Roll.

So I have to post "I disagree" in multiple threads?? Alright toughie I'll remember to do that.


And, type in English, that last paragraph made zero sense what so ever.

[tp2021]

Originally Posted by DPG21920

Because my momma raised a hellraiser and biggie has given the Spurs one more chance mo murda the Mavs because that is how Ruff Ryders Roll.

Mo' Murda
Mo' Murda Mo' Murda
Mo' Murda Mo' Murda Mo' Murdaaaa

[Bigzax]

great stuff LJ,

i was only listening on the radio, but damn if TD didn't flip a switch in OT.

sounded like he was 10 years younger...and a block of CP on top! wow.

good to see the team rebounding in the stats but bonner and mason's poor 3pt shooting is not getting better...yikes.

i guess i'll wait to see what pop does in the playoffs, but should my i change my bruuuuce chant to uuuuudoka?

[loveforthegame]

It's good to see Finley entering the playoffs on a strong note. Not just the two game winners but his overall play has been a huge positive. Even on off shooting nights he's stepped up his aggressiveness and defense.

That's not to say he's going to be good in the playoffs but it's a better way to enter them than he did last year.

Same can be said of Udoka.

[Budkin]

As always... great analysis timvp!

[polandprzem]

Originally Posted by EricB

So I have to post "I disagree" in multiple threads?? Alright toughie I'll remember to do that.


And, type in English, that last paragraph made zero sense what so ever.

And you try to type in Unlame, cause you never was successfull doing it

[bobbybob0]

Originally Posted by EricB

And, type in English, that last paragraph made zero sense what so ever.

Phonetic typing?