Game Thoughts: Spurs @ Jazz - Nov. 5

[timvp]

After four days of rest, the Spurs traveled to Utah and took on a Jazz team that desperately needed a win. From the beginning, the Jazz played with more energy, more toughness and more urgency and handily defeated the Spurs by a final score of 113-99.

With the Spurs up 14-12 halfway through the first quarter, the wheels fell off. The Jazz outscored the Spurs 20-8 the rest of the period. From that point on, San Antonio never really made it much of a contest.

The Jazz entered the game 1-3 and were coming off two bitter defeats. Carlos Boozer, specifically, was starting to feel the heat. You have to give Utah credit for playing a very good game. Boozer and Deron Williams played fantastic and it was obvious that they came to this game with playoff intensity.

It'd be easy to blame the poor performance of the Spurs on rust ... but rust doesn't account for getting physically manhandled or the multiple mental lapses. If anything, this game showed that the Spurs have a long ways to go before they can claim to be true championship contenders.

Tim Duncan

30:12 minutes, 15 points, 13 rebounds, 3 blocks, 2 assists
5-for-10 from the field, 5-for-8 at the line

It wasn't a very pretty game for Tim Duncan. Offensively, he started off very poor but eventually got into a groove. Once he upped his assertiveness on the low blocks, he was able to be effective. Defensively, Duncan was decent. He protected the rim well but didn't play very good individual defense. Duncan was also slow to rotate a few times. The worst news of the night is that Duncan was limping a few times. Hopefully it's not anything serious.
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Manu Ginobili

25:02 minutes, 11 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
3-for-8 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 4-for-6 at the line

For the first time this season, I didn't like the way Manu Ginobili played. He was making bad decisions with the ball almost every time he touched it. He took ill-advised shots, he forced the issue too much and seemed to break any offensive rhythm the team gained. Even the shots Ginobili made weren't very smart possessions. On the defensive end he was a bit better but he gambled too much. Basically, Ginobili played like he was totally out sync.
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Tony Parker

28:34 minutes, 21 points, 3 assists
6-for-14 from the field, 9-for-9 from the line

Tony Parker had quality stretch in the second quarter. He attacked the basket relentlessly and kept the Spurs from getting blown out. But once he got in foul trouble, he struggled on both ends of the court. His attack level was decreased on offense. Defensively, he became a traffic cone. For the Spurs to win this game, they needed a much better and more consistent effort from Parker.
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Richard Jefferson

27:24 minutes, 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
5-for-9 from the field, 2-for-3 on three-pointers, 2-for-4 at the line

Although his offensive stats look good on paper, Richard Jefferson had an outing to forget. His defense, or lack thereof, got him benched on a pair of occasions. The first instance was due to allowing unimpeded penetration by Wes Matthews on multiple possessions. The second benching was after Jefferson missed a short shot and then lollygagged back on transition defense. The previous three games of the season, I thought Jefferson spent plenty of energy on the defensive end. This game, he played poorly on that end and without much energy. On offense, Jefferson still is struggling to gel. Right now, he's either getting open looks off of Parker's penetration or Pop has to call a play for him to get involved. Jefferson needs to figure out how to fit in during normal offensive sets.
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Michael Finley

16:52 minutes, 6 points, 1 blocked shot
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 1-for-2 at the line

This was one of those games that Michael Finley just had dead legs. He wasn't jumping well. He was moving in slow motion. Going against the Jazz on their home court, that's a bad combination. He hit a couple of shots but that didn't make up for the 36-year-old looking like he was going on 56.
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Matt Bonner

17:08 minutes, 3 points, 2 rebounds
1-for-6 from the field, 1-for-5 on three-pointers

You very rarely see Mehmet Okur utilize his quickness to beat his defender off the dribble and get to the rim. In fact, the only time I've seen it is when he's being defended by Matt Bonner. When defending the post, Bonner was adequate. But when Okur is getting around him with his molasses maneuvers, something isn't quite right with Bonner's defense. Add in his poor shooting and Bonner was definitely a part of the problem on Thursday night.
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Antonio McDyess

22:36 minutes, 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 blocked shot
2-for-5 from the field, 2-for-2 at the line

In the first half, Antonio McDyess wasn't helping at all. He was getting scored on in the block and was having even less success defending out on the perimeter. He also wasn't helping on the defensive boards and was a non-factor on the offensive end. In the second half, McDyess was much better. While still not at a level the Spurs need from him, it was definitely better than the forgettable play of the first two quarters.
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Roger Mason, Jr.

17:42 minutes, 7 points, 1 steal
3-for-6 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers

Roger Mason, Jr. was one of the few bright spots for the Spurs. He played with purpose on the offensive end and acted like he knew what he wanted. Defensively he was pressuring his man and even ventured into the passing lanes a few times. It was easily Mason's best game of the season and perhaps it was enough for Pop to give him more minutes.
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George Hill

22:41 minutes, 2 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist
1-for-8 from the field

George Hill's performance was bad. Very bad. In fact, it had to make Pop think about whether or not Hill can handle the pressure in an hostile environment. This was his first true test of his sophomore season and it is safe to say that he didn't pass. When he wasn't missing shots he was having trouble running the offense or getting beat on the defensive end. Hill needs a much better showing in Portland to erase any early season doubts.
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DeJuan Blair

21:07 minutes, 14 points, 9 rebounds, 1 block
7-for-10 from the field

It was another impressive statistical performance by DeJuan Blair. Though a chunk of his stats can in garbage time, he played relatively well throughout and gave consistent effort. His defense still has a long, long way to go but I'm seeing slight improvements. Offensively, he's fitting in well and seems to relish the role of the garbage man.
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Keith Bogans

10:42 minutes, 1 turnover, 2 fouls
1-for-5 from the field, 1-for-2 at the line

When Pop benched Jefferson, Keith Bogans was sent into the game. It was an obvious attempt by Pop to get the message across that defense is what will earn playing time. Bogans was ugly offensively but he was very physical on defense and showed why Pop likes him. He was one of the few Spurs that wasn't getting pushed around. That said, his offense is so bad right now that it's difficult to put him on the court.
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Gregg Popovich


I really didn't understand what Pop had in mind. Not only is he not doing a very good job of making sure the Spurs have at least two of their top four players in the game, there was even a stretch in the first half that featured none of the four. I'm also counting down the days until the end of the starting lineup that features both Finley and Bonner. Starting one of those players isn't the end of the world. Starting both? Please make it stop, Pop.
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Offense

The Spurs scored 99 points, which should be good enough for a San Antonio squad to win the game. They shot 43.2% from the field, hit 6-of-16 three-pointers and 23-of-31 free throw attempts. Finishing with 14 assists shows that the chemistry on the offensive end is still a work in progress. But really, having 80 points heading into the fourth quarter should be plenty.

Defense

Defense was the downfall. The Jazz scored 113 points and most of the points were rather easy. In fact, 64 of the points were scored in the paint, while another 24 came from the free throw line. Even though the Jazz hit only 1-of-7 three-pointers, they hit 43-of-76 of their two-pointers -- or 56.6%. They also racked up 23 assists while only turning the ball over 10 times. The cherry on top was the fact that the Jazz outrebounded the Spurs 41-36, which included 14 offensive rebounds for Utah.

Drive to Five

With a back-to-back against Portland, the Spurs don't have any time to feel sorry for themselves. They need to come out and play with much more passion and understand that they will be playing another team on the road that desperately needs a win.

Believe.

[Chieflion]

So what now? Those who are above average on offense, can't play for shit on the other end. The same goes for good defenders who cannot do squat on the offensive end.

[Capt Bringdown]

I'd like to see Blair starting. Call it an experiment, a short term measure, a way to light a fire under Bonner's ass (like that's going to happen) or the way forward, I'm not sure. But how many more looks do we need to see that Bonner's not going to work?

I wouldn't want to see Dice get the nod because we need to save him for the playoffs.

Our overall lack of athleticism is a big concern...

[sabar]

Pop is undoubtedly hesitant to move Bonner and Finley to the bench because of their previous stints of getting down on themselves and bricking shots. The earlier it happens, the better as it gives more time for them to fit into a better-defined role. It was a poor defensive outing overall. I'd like to think that the team just needs to gel together more, as them getting blasted for missing defensive assignments during timeouts didn't seem to work.

It's difficult to draw much from games like this so early. Utah played with a purpose after being embarrassed multiple times and we are still raw as a team. Our largest issue in the short term is Jefferson's role in the offense along with overall team chemistry. Hopefully we see strides in the coming games. Combined with an adjustment to Finley and Bonner's playing time, defense will come more naturally to the team.

[kobyz]

Mahinmi should start we need his quickness and athleticism on the defensive side.

[baseline bum]

This team has been feast or famine so far this year. They're just too talented for this kind of crap, but the season's still young and full of opportunity should they quit believing their own hype and go out and show they have a pair. BTW, wouldn't tonight have been a nice night to have Bruce back with how bad Richard was getting torched? I don't know what the hell Pop & RC were thinking to not want to bring back a model professional like Bowen who still showed he had something left in the tank last year. Especially when Pop's giving two nobodies in Finley and Bonner starring roles again.

[Danny.Zhu]

Thank you for the game thought. The game is ugly though.

[Allanon]

Good News: I'm not sure that this was so much the Spurs sucking but rather it was more of Boozer getting the taste of 40pt Dirk Diggler out of his mouth.

Bad News: Blazers also had a demoralizing loss just 2 days ago and will be out to prove they belong among the West elite.

Even more bad news: tlongII if the Blazers get the win

[Allanon]

Originally Posted by timvp

Gregg Popovich


I really didn't understand what Pop had in mind. Not only is he not doing a very good job of making sure the Spurs have at least two of their top four players in the game, there was even a stretch in the first half that featured none of the four.

Pop's been watching Philip. Pop might do it here and there but Philip does this pretty much every game.

It's bad for winning games and leads to alot of close calls but it's great for development of the new players to give them confidence down the road. It's gonna lead to some losses but those guys will be alot more useful in the Playoffs.

Pop's gotta integrate a bunch of new guys while developing a slew of young guys...and it's gotta be done by March.

[Spurs Brazil]

It's time to start Mason Jr and bench Finley.

[AussieFanKurt]

not worried

[DBMethos]

The Finley/Bonner starter experiment must end, and it must end soon. They're spot-minute bench players at best. Pop is continuously preaching that we need to get back to the old defensive Spurs mentality...starting those two matadors gets the gameplan off to a bad start and so far it's been almost impossible to reverse it.

[Obstructed_View]

I'm disappointed with the effort, but If Roger Mason got his shot back, I'm okay with the trade-off.

The saddest part about the "bench Finley and Bonner" crowd is that they failed to realize that nobody behind Finley and Bonner has made any sort of a consistent case that they deserve to be ahead of either in the rotation, other than the rookie. Again, Roger Mason sure tried against Utah. Let's see him do it a couple of times in a row.

You would think, after all the times that Matt Bonner has his hand in a shooter's face, that he'd accidentally block one. I'm beginning to think he's missing the point of individual defense.

Speaking of individual defense, do the Spurs have anyone on the team that knows how to play it?

Duncan tweaked something running down the court with about 10:10 left to go in one of the quarters. I wouldn't be shocked if he sits tonight's game.

Manu's back to his vintage clown-prince flopping best. It's not really gaining him anything. I wish he'd stop it.

I've no doubt that this team is going to be able to tweak the defense and ratchet it down, but the effort is simply not there.

[TJastal]

Originally Posted by DBMethos

The Finley/Bonner starter experiment must end, and it must end soon. They're spot-minute bench players at best. Pop is continuously preaching that we need to get back to the old defensive Spurs mentality...starting those two matadors gets the gameplan off to a bad start and so far it's been almost impossible to reverse it.

Oh come on now, mr. strawman. They're not playing many minutes, just
20+ give or take. We HAVE to play them as starters, in order to mask their defeciencies. See how that works??

This is the absolute brilliance of the Gregg Poppovich, and should not be questioned by peons such as yourself.

[Dice]

I was dissapointed in the Spurs inability to even slow down penetration to the lane. Tim and the other bigs don't have a chance to play "help defense" if there's nobody there for them to help. Utah's guards went wherever they wanted to go and the Jazz did a really good job of moving the ball around inside the perimeter.

I'm ok with Finley starting but I'd rather see anyone out there rather than Bonner. So far at the start of every game, the other teams bigs attack him for easy baskets. Then they're all warmed up and have confidence going when they go after Tim and the second unit bigs. He's a non factor other than his three ball which also hasn't really been a game changer. Put anyone in there with Tim to help defensively.

[bigfan]

I think the four days off just killed any rhythm the team had so far this season. I look at this game like a first game of the season and think when they start playing in a normal every other day routine things will shape up. Tim limping does worry me though.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Starting both Finley and Bonner puts this team in a hole right out of the gate. It's stupid, and Pop needs to let go of his geriatric starter security blanket.

The other obvious change he needs to make is that two of the big four need to be on the court at all times.

[ivanfromwestwood]

pop has to play fin/bonner. i think he's showcaseing them for a trade. too bad both suck and no teams will bite.

[Warlord23]

Bonner and Finley may understand the system but they will never have enough physical ability (given Fin's advanced age and Bonner's Bonner-ness) to ever be effective 2-way role-players that can help this team contend for a championship.

Whereas players like Hairston and Mahinmi may not understand the system, but at least have the physical tools to contibute on both ends of the floor. Now I don't know that giving Hairston and Mahinmi more minutes is going to help them become what we need to win a 5th title. But I do know that playing Finley and Bonner is earning us a first or second round exit when we match up against the better teams in this league.

We've gone down the Finley/Bonner route for a full season, and we know what the results are. So the question is, do we take a chance on Mahinmi and Hairston with a very small probablity of success, or do we persist with Finley and Bonner with the certainty of failure? I'd much rather test the unknown, rather than go through deja vu when Finley and Bonner get destroyed by athletic players in the playoffs.

Phil Jackson took a chance on Ariza and it paid off; Orlando gambled with Courney Lee and it sorta paid off. Pop needs to throw Mahinmi and Hairston into the deep end and hope they swim; because otherwise we're all going to sink in May with Fin and Bonner.

[ManuTastic]

Originally Posted by Spurs Brazil

It's time to start Mason Jr and bench Finley.

True dat X5

[Supergirl]

I do think this game should be chalked up to TOO MUCH REST. The Spurs looked like they were using the game as a practice session for most of the night, which would explain what you noted about not having more than one of their big 4 on the floor for long stretches of the time.

[wildbill2u]

If Finley and McDyce looked old and slow, it is because they ARE old and slow. Enough has been said about Finley here so I won't repeat.


Some here have thought McDyce could start when he learns the system. I don't think so.

Unlike many on this site, I guess I wasn't all that thrilled about bringing in another geriatric vet who was planning to retire for God's sake. He only stayed active because he thought he might get a smell of a title with the Spurs. I'm sure he didn't think at the retirement stage of his career that he was going to have to be an important part of the rotation when he was looking into assisted living homes.

[completely deck]

I'm not jumping off a cliff, I'm not giving up on this team--far from it. I'm concerned. I understand that having this many additions to the team is going to take time to let it gel, but time is of the essence. Time is something that is few and far between. With as many things I saw wrong last night, it concerns me thinking we have to get it together by the spring. I have faith in this team that they can do it.

I'll use the Portland game as a barometer--to see if they have the will to win another championship.

[quentin_compson]

This was certainly not a fun game to watch. It was kind of embarrassing to see Utah score at will in the paint. Tony tried to take over in the second quarter, but it wasn't enough.

Dice looked very rusty, but I'm still confident he will improve as the season progresses. Jefferson was OK on offensive, but too lackluster at the defensive end. Manu was off in about almost any aspect of his game, and Hill wasn't much better.

But the main thing is we all saw that Bonner and Finley won't help us in any way if they're not scoring at least the same amount of points they give up on the other end. I just hope Pop saw it too.

[superbigtime]

We looked just awful. Tim is slow and gimpy and has no lift. We got scored on ine th paint easily; I think Theo could have helped with that. If Bogans is getting 11 minutes that is a BAD sign. Finley and Bonner are soft. Poor chemistry. McDyess looked slow and old. Manu out of rhythm. Just YUCK.

[My Fault]

Originally Posted by Allanon

Pop's been watching Philip. Pop might do it here and there but Philip does this pretty much every game.

It's bad for winning games and leads to alot of close calls but it's great for development of the new players to give them confidence down the road. It's gonna lead to some losses but those guys will be alot more useful in the Playoffs.

Pop's gotta integrate a bunch of new guys while developing a slew of young guys...and it's gotta be done by March.