timvp
11-05-2008, 08:32 AM
Hoping for their first victory of the season, the San Antonio Spurs had their hopes smashed by the Dallas Mavericks on Tuesday night in the AT&T Center. Losing by a final score of 98-81, the Spurs struggled to even keep it competitive for most of the contest.
San Antonio’s only run in the second half came courtesy of rookie point guard George Hill. Starting with about nine and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter, he scored six points in the span of about two minutes to cut the deficit to seven points. But the Mavs once again awoke and soon after put the game out of reach.
The Mavs, playing the night after getting embarrassed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Dallas, played with much more desperation and energy than the Spurs. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Josh Howard all played very well. Jason Kidd was all over the floor for Dallas and hurt the Spurs in just about every way possible. The game was very reminiscent of the Game 7 the two teams played in the 2006 playoffs, however these Mavs put the Spurs out of their misery in the fourth quarter.
For the Spurs, 0-3 is definitely disappointing. It’s easy to say the Spurs will bounce back but this game was a step in the wrong direction. The first two games were at least competitive, while this affair was a total domination for most of the 48 minutes.
Tim Duncan
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3173.jpg
40 minutes, 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists
8-for-15 from the field, 3-for-6 at the line
After two stellar games offensively, Tim Duncan came back down to earth. The Mavs defended him well but he also helped by missing a few shots he usually makes. Defensively, Duncan was a bit better than his first two contests of the year. He was much more active on the boards and picked up his first blocked shot of the season. While Duncan wasn’t great, he actually played well enough for the Spurs to win. Going forward, he’s going to have to figure out a way to get his teammates going offensively and become even more of an anchor defensively.
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Tony Parker
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3527.jpg
29 minutes, 22 points, three assists, three turnovers
8-for-15 from the field, 5-for-5 at the line
Tony Parker didn’t produce at the needed level. For the second time in three games, Parker struggled mightily in the first quarter to hit his shots. He did a good job of regrouping and scored well the final three quarters, but the game was out of hand by the time Parker found his stroke. For the Spurs to win games, Parker needs to come out of the game producing right away. If he’s not creating offense one way or another, the Spurs simply don’t have the personnel to make up for it.
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Bruce Bowen
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3167.jpg
12 minutes, five points, two rebounds
2-for-3 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
Another game, another unavailable conclusion regarding whether Bruce Bowen has anything left in the tank. Bowen actually played relatively well offensively, but he produced his third consecutive poor defensive showing. He had the task of slowing Terry for most of his minutes and his simply did not do so. Uncharacteristically, he was slow to fight through screens and didn’t do a good job of staying in front of him. The only good news, if you can call it that, is Bowen has never defended Terry that well. So again, we are left with more questions than answers. However, Bowen left the game with four minutes to go in the second quarter and never saw the court again. Perhaps the coaching staff has come to some sort of conclusion – or they could have simply wanted more offense on the court.
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Michael Finley
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3023.jpg
27 minutes, three points, five rebounds
1-for-6 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 0-for-2 at the line
The Spurs needed some offense out of Michael Finley against his former team but Finley didn’t provide much of anything. In the first two games, I thought he had better than usual shot selection. This contest, he hoisted some ill-advised attempts and generally appeared to be forcing the issue. I thought he competed well defensively but the results were lacking. Finley started the second half at small forward and stayed at that position for the rest of the game, which we might see a lot more of depending on Bowen’s future.
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Matt Bonner
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3748.jpg
20 minutes, five rebounds
0-for-5 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
Matt Bonner started at center for the second straight game and didn’t help much at all. Defensively, he was simply no match for Nowitzki, who is too long and too talented for Bonner. Although he didn’t play horrible on defense, he was ineffective. On the other end of the court, Bonner putting up a goose egg in 20 minutes accounted for some of the offensive troubles for the Spurs on this night. Bonner did pull down three offensive rebounds, so it wasn’t a total disaster.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3628.jpg
30 minutes, 11 points, two assists, two rebounds, two steals
4-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. was a beacon of hope for the third straight game. Offensively, he gave the Spurs a few moments of life. Though he didn’t shoot lights out and he did have a couple of ugly turnovers, San Antonio is functioning much better offensively when he’s on the court. He started the second half and Mason continues on the path of earning more and more minutes as the season goes along. Defensively, he had both good moments and poor moments but overall he appears to be picking up the schemes quite well.
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Ime Udoka
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3501.jpg
17 minutes, one point, four rebounds
0-for-4 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
After last game, I praised Ime Udoka for having good shot selection. In this game, that aspect of his game regressed and he ended forcing most of his shots. When he plays too hurriedly on offense, he tends to break the rhythm of the entire offense. Compounding issues on this night for Udoka was his very pedestrian defense. Usually you can count on him having a positive affect on that end of the court but that was not the case tonight. On the whole, this was a very forgettable game for Udoka.
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George Hill
http://www.iupuijags.com/images/2007/12/12/player_hill.jpg
16 minutes, 11 points, one assist, one steal
3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 4-for-4 at the line
If you are looking for something positive to take from this drubbing, look no further than the play of George Hill. The rookie out of IUPUI performed quite well in his NBA debut. After sitting out due to a thumb injury, Hill almost instantly showed why the Spurs were so high on him following the draft. The two aspects of his game that stand out when you first watch him play are his composure and his defense. While his point guard skills are a work in progress, he has improved greatly from his summer league showing and actually ran the team pretty well against the Mavs. Defensively, he’s extremely long and very active. Hill is also fearless on that end of the court, which was apparent when he hounded both Kidd and Terry relentlessly. Add in the fact that he looks like he has the potential to be a more than a capable scorer on the NBA level and there’s a good chance he won the backup point guard job on this night.
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Fabricio Oberto
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3988.jpg
14 minutes, two points
1-for-1 from the field
It was good to see Fabricio Oberto back on the court after missing the first two games due to a heart condition. Oberto was obviously rusty and didn’t play too well. Going without a rebound in his 14 minutes hurt the Spurs, although he was chasing around Nowitzki for a portion of his minutes so he wasn’t always in the paint. I expect Oberto to play much better after he shakes off the rust.
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Kurt Thomas
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3012.jpg
12 minutes, one assist
0-for-1 from the field
After not playing at all in the first three quarters, Kurt Thomas played the entire fourth quarter. That said, he was hardly noticeable even when he was in the game. He handed out an assist within the first few moments of the quarter but then did literally nothing else. No points, no rebounds … not even a foul. Over the course of the first three games of the season, Thomas has looked like a player who has reached the end of the line in his career. He’s not moving well, doesn’t appear to be in great shape and doesn’t even seem capable of helping out unless he’s defending a large, immobile player. Hopefully he snaps out of this funk or else the Spurs just gave an $8 million contract to a player who won’t be able to be much more than an end of the bench spot player.
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Desmon Farmer
http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_headshot/p-farmer2.jpg
12 minutes, three points, one rebound
1-for-2 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
Desmon Farmer played better than he did in his Spurs debut, however he still needs to play with more aggression. Farmer is put into the game to score the ball but he hasn’t taken advantage of his green light nearly enough. He hit a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to help ignite the team’s run but that was about all he did in his 12 minutes of action.
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Jacque Vaughn
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3195.jpg
Ten minutes, four points, one assist rebound
2-for-5 from the field
Jacque Vaughn didn’t play horribly but he likely saw the end of his run as the backup point guard. Hill came in and showed qualities that Vaughn simply doesn’t have. Expect Vaughn to play as the third point guard once again from here on out – unless Hill hits a rookie wall at some point.
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Gregg Popovich
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/topstory/sports/popovich_gregg030428.jpg
In the first two games, I thought Pop coached decently well. In this game, I wasn’t nearly as happy with Pop. First of all, starting the game off with Bonner on Nowitzki was a joke. That’s asking the impossible from Bonner and when that matchup was exploited by Dallas, the rest of the defense broke down when attempting to send help. I also don’t know what Pop was thinking by playing Duncan 40 minutes in such a lopsided game, especially when the Spurs are playing a back-to-back contest the next night. Thirdly, with the way Hill played late in the game, it would have been nice for Pop to put him in earlier. And finally, while I realize Bonner is still adjusting to time spent outside of the doghouse, Oberto is rusty and Thomas is on life support, Pop has to figure out a way to get production from a bigman on the roster not named Tim Duncan.
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Offense
The offense wasn’t a major problem in either of the first two games. In this third game, offense was a major issue. The Spurs scored only 16 points in the first quarter and never had a quarter in which they scored over 23 points. For the game, the Spurs shot only 41.7% from the field and missed 13 of their 20 three-point attempts. Most of the problem is the team is playing with a lack of purpose on the offensive end. Instead of attacking, they are waiting around for one player to try to carry the entire scoring burden. A more desperate and aggressive mindset would help the Spurs on the offensive end.
Defense
Plainly said, the defense was horrible. The Mavs exposed most of the holes in the defense on their way to shooting a scorching 53.1% from the field. The lack of a mobile big next to Duncan is so very noticeable. Nowtizki had all he could eat on the offensive end. When the Mavs got into the lane, they did so without fear of a shotblocker coming over to help. Bowen didn’t play at his expected level out on the perimeter either, which trickled down to everybody else. Instead of defending, the Spurs were basically just chasing the Mavs around the court aimlessly. To compound issues, the rebounding was once again poor as the Mavs outrebounded the Spurs 45-34.
Drive to Five
At 0-3, while hope isn’t lost, some sort of change is needed. Personally, I think that change should be even more minutes for Mason and also giving Hill the backup point guard job. Mason gives the Spurs life offensively and is also playing relatively well defensively, while Hill is needed to supply more scoring and more pressure on defense. I’m not ready to give up on Bowen yet but that situation definitely needs to be watched closely. While the offense certainly isn’t flowing perfectly, most of the problems are due to the liberal defense the Spurs are employing. There is virtually no backbone to speak of right now on that end of the court. Can we as Spurs fans expect the Spurs to bounce back? Yes we can. Although the Spurs really do need to go into Minnesota on Wednesday night and come away with a victory to stop this ship from taking on even more water.
Believe.
San Antonio’s only run in the second half came courtesy of rookie point guard George Hill. Starting with about nine and a half minutes to go in the fourth quarter, he scored six points in the span of about two minutes to cut the deficit to seven points. But the Mavs once again awoke and soon after put the game out of reach.
The Mavs, playing the night after getting embarrassed by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Dallas, played with much more desperation and energy than the Spurs. Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Josh Howard all played very well. Jason Kidd was all over the floor for Dallas and hurt the Spurs in just about every way possible. The game was very reminiscent of the Game 7 the two teams played in the 2006 playoffs, however these Mavs put the Spurs out of their misery in the fourth quarter.
For the Spurs, 0-3 is definitely disappointing. It’s easy to say the Spurs will bounce back but this game was a step in the wrong direction. The first two games were at least competitive, while this affair was a total domination for most of the 48 minutes.
Tim Duncan
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3173.jpg
40 minutes, 19 points, 15 rebounds, two assists
8-for-15 from the field, 3-for-6 at the line
After two stellar games offensively, Tim Duncan came back down to earth. The Mavs defended him well but he also helped by missing a few shots he usually makes. Defensively, Duncan was a bit better than his first two contests of the year. He was much more active on the boards and picked up his first blocked shot of the season. While Duncan wasn’t great, he actually played well enough for the Spurs to win. Going forward, he’s going to have to figure out a way to get his teammates going offensively and become even more of an anchor defensively.
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Tony Parker
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3527.jpg
29 minutes, 22 points, three assists, three turnovers
8-for-15 from the field, 5-for-5 at the line
Tony Parker didn’t produce at the needed level. For the second time in three games, Parker struggled mightily in the first quarter to hit his shots. He did a good job of regrouping and scored well the final three quarters, but the game was out of hand by the time Parker found his stroke. For the Spurs to win games, Parker needs to come out of the game producing right away. If he’s not creating offense one way or another, the Spurs simply don’t have the personnel to make up for it.
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Bruce Bowen
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3167.jpg
12 minutes, five points, two rebounds
2-for-3 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
Another game, another unavailable conclusion regarding whether Bruce Bowen has anything left in the tank. Bowen actually played relatively well offensively, but he produced his third consecutive poor defensive showing. He had the task of slowing Terry for most of his minutes and his simply did not do so. Uncharacteristically, he was slow to fight through screens and didn’t do a good job of staying in front of him. The only good news, if you can call it that, is Bowen has never defended Terry that well. So again, we are left with more questions than answers. However, Bowen left the game with four minutes to go in the second quarter and never saw the court again. Perhaps the coaching staff has come to some sort of conclusion – or they could have simply wanted more offense on the court.
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Michael Finley
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3023.jpg
27 minutes, three points, five rebounds
1-for-6 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 0-for-2 at the line
The Spurs needed some offense out of Michael Finley against his former team but Finley didn’t provide much of anything. In the first two games, I thought he had better than usual shot selection. This contest, he hoisted some ill-advised attempts and generally appeared to be forcing the issue. I thought he competed well defensively but the results were lacking. Finley started the second half at small forward and stayed at that position for the rest of the game, which we might see a lot more of depending on Bowen’s future.
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Matt Bonner
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3748.jpg
20 minutes, five rebounds
0-for-5 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
Matt Bonner started at center for the second straight game and didn’t help much at all. Defensively, he was simply no match for Nowitzki, who is too long and too talented for Bonner. Although he didn’t play horrible on defense, he was ineffective. On the other end of the court, Bonner putting up a goose egg in 20 minutes accounted for some of the offensive troubles for the Spurs on this night. Bonner did pull down three offensive rebounds, so it wasn’t a total disaster.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3628.jpg
30 minutes, 11 points, two assists, two rebounds, two steals
4-for-8 from the field, 2-for-4 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. was a beacon of hope for the third straight game. Offensively, he gave the Spurs a few moments of life. Though he didn’t shoot lights out and he did have a couple of ugly turnovers, San Antonio is functioning much better offensively when he’s on the court. He started the second half and Mason continues on the path of earning more and more minutes as the season goes along. Defensively, he had both good moments and poor moments but overall he appears to be picking up the schemes quite well.
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Ime Udoka
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3501.jpg
17 minutes, one point, four rebounds
0-for-4 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
After last game, I praised Ime Udoka for having good shot selection. In this game, that aspect of his game regressed and he ended forcing most of his shots. When he plays too hurriedly on offense, he tends to break the rhythm of the entire offense. Compounding issues on this night for Udoka was his very pedestrian defense. Usually you can count on him having a positive affect on that end of the court but that was not the case tonight. On the whole, this was a very forgettable game for Udoka.
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George Hill
http://www.iupuijags.com/images/2007/12/12/player_hill.jpg
16 minutes, 11 points, one assist, one steal
3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 4-for-4 at the line
If you are looking for something positive to take from this drubbing, look no further than the play of George Hill. The rookie out of IUPUI performed quite well in his NBA debut. After sitting out due to a thumb injury, Hill almost instantly showed why the Spurs were so high on him following the draft. The two aspects of his game that stand out when you first watch him play are his composure and his defense. While his point guard skills are a work in progress, he has improved greatly from his summer league showing and actually ran the team pretty well against the Mavs. Defensively, he’s extremely long and very active. Hill is also fearless on that end of the court, which was apparent when he hounded both Kidd and Terry relentlessly. Add in the fact that he looks like he has the potential to be a more than a capable scorer on the NBA level and there’s a good chance he won the backup point guard job on this night.
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Fabricio Oberto
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3988.jpg
14 minutes, two points
1-for-1 from the field
It was good to see Fabricio Oberto back on the court after missing the first two games due to a heart condition. Oberto was obviously rusty and didn’t play too well. Going without a rebound in his 14 minutes hurt the Spurs, although he was chasing around Nowitzki for a portion of his minutes so he wasn’t always in the paint. I expect Oberto to play much better after he shakes off the rust.
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Kurt Thomas
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3012.jpg
12 minutes, one assist
0-for-1 from the field
After not playing at all in the first three quarters, Kurt Thomas played the entire fourth quarter. That said, he was hardly noticeable even when he was in the game. He handed out an assist within the first few moments of the quarter but then did literally nothing else. No points, no rebounds … not even a foul. Over the course of the first three games of the season, Thomas has looked like a player who has reached the end of the line in his career. He’s not moving well, doesn’t appear to be in great shape and doesn’t even seem capable of helping out unless he’s defending a large, immobile player. Hopefully he snaps out of this funk or else the Spurs just gave an $8 million contract to a player who won’t be able to be much more than an end of the bench spot player.
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Desmon Farmer
http://graphics.fansonly.com/photos/schools/usc/sports/m-baskbl/auto_headshot/p-farmer2.jpg
12 minutes, three points, one rebound
1-for-2 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
Desmon Farmer played better than he did in his Spurs debut, however he still needs to play with more aggression. Farmer is put into the game to score the ball but he hasn’t taken advantage of his green light nearly enough. He hit a big three-pointer in the fourth quarter to help ignite the team’s run but that was about all he did in his 12 minutes of action.
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Jacque Vaughn
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3195.jpg
Ten minutes, four points, one assist rebound
2-for-5 from the field
Jacque Vaughn didn’t play horribly but he likely saw the end of his run as the backup point guard. Hill came in and showed qualities that Vaughn simply doesn’t have. Expect Vaughn to play as the third point guard once again from here on out – unless Hill hits a rookie wall at some point.
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Gregg Popovich
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/topstory/sports/popovich_gregg030428.jpg
In the first two games, I thought Pop coached decently well. In this game, I wasn’t nearly as happy with Pop. First of all, starting the game off with Bonner on Nowitzki was a joke. That’s asking the impossible from Bonner and when that matchup was exploited by Dallas, the rest of the defense broke down when attempting to send help. I also don’t know what Pop was thinking by playing Duncan 40 minutes in such a lopsided game, especially when the Spurs are playing a back-to-back contest the next night. Thirdly, with the way Hill played late in the game, it would have been nice for Pop to put him in earlier. And finally, while I realize Bonner is still adjusting to time spent outside of the doghouse, Oberto is rusty and Thomas is on life support, Pop has to figure out a way to get production from a bigman on the roster not named Tim Duncan.
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Offense
The offense wasn’t a major problem in either of the first two games. In this third game, offense was a major issue. The Spurs scored only 16 points in the first quarter and never had a quarter in which they scored over 23 points. For the game, the Spurs shot only 41.7% from the field and missed 13 of their 20 three-point attempts. Most of the problem is the team is playing with a lack of purpose on the offensive end. Instead of attacking, they are waiting around for one player to try to carry the entire scoring burden. A more desperate and aggressive mindset would help the Spurs on the offensive end.
Defense
Plainly said, the defense was horrible. The Mavs exposed most of the holes in the defense on their way to shooting a scorching 53.1% from the field. The lack of a mobile big next to Duncan is so very noticeable. Nowtizki had all he could eat on the offensive end. When the Mavs got into the lane, they did so without fear of a shotblocker coming over to help. Bowen didn’t play at his expected level out on the perimeter either, which trickled down to everybody else. Instead of defending, the Spurs were basically just chasing the Mavs around the court aimlessly. To compound issues, the rebounding was once again poor as the Mavs outrebounded the Spurs 45-34.
Drive to Five
At 0-3, while hope isn’t lost, some sort of change is needed. Personally, I think that change should be even more minutes for Mason and also giving Hill the backup point guard job. Mason gives the Spurs life offensively and is also playing relatively well defensively, while Hill is needed to supply more scoring and more pressure on defense. I’m not ready to give up on Bowen yet but that situation definitely needs to be watched closely. While the offense certainly isn’t flowing perfectly, most of the problems are due to the liberal defense the Spurs are employing. There is virtually no backbone to speak of right now on that end of the court. Can we as Spurs fans expect the Spurs to bounce back? Yes we can. Although the Spurs really do need to go into Minnesota on Wednesday night and come away with a victory to stop this ship from taking on even more water.
Believe.