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 sop re 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.
duncan should just get rid of that knee brace, he didnt have to play with it last season...
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