timvp
12-02-2008, 04:36 AM
Riding a four-game winning streak and the euphoria of having all their players healthy, the San Antonio Spurs went to Houston and had it all come crumbling down against the Rockets. The Rockets put the Spurs in a big hole and after the Spurs made a run, Houston finished the Spurs off with a run of their own.
In the third quarter, the Spurs cut the lead to two points when Tony Parker hit Roger Mason, Jr. for a layup. But following misses by Parker, Finley and Duncan, the Rockets went on a 24-12 run to close the quarter. In the fourth, the Spurs never could make it a game and the Rockets went on to win by a final score of 103-84.
Compared to the last time the two teams played, the Rockets were much more impressive. Their chemistry seems to be slowly coming together after their offseason moves. Even more importantly, their effort was off the charts and they were the much more physical team in the paint.
Overall, the Spurs just didn’t have it on this night. The activity level was low and it appeared that fatigue was an issue. Each member of the Big Three had a sub par game and the defense on a whole was poor.
Tim Duncan
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3173.jpg
29 minutes, 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks
6-for-18 from the field, 5-for-6 at the line
Tim Duncan had a game to forget on Saturday night against the Rockets. Offensively, Duncan missed a lot of shots he usually makes and compounded the issue by taking a number of questionable shots after getting frustrated. The Rockets deserve some credit for paying a lot of attention to him but Duncan wasn’t playing his usual smart game on the offensive end. On the defensive end, Duncan was decent. He bodied up Yao Ming well and his defensive rotations were mostly on time. After starting the season with ten straight games with at least 19 points, he has reached that mark only once in his last six games. Duncan will no doubt bounce back but he has definitely cooled off offensively in the last couple of weeks.
-------------------------------
Manu Ginobili
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3380.jpg
22 minutes, 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, five turnovers
2-for-6 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 6-for-6 at the line
Manu Ginobili returned to the court with two virtually flawless performances. His third outing saw him come back down to earth. Ginobili forced the issue much more than he did in his first two games and as a result had five turnovers in the game. He also looked a bit fatigued, which is understandable this earlier in his return - especially considering the fact that it was the second night of a back-to-back. I guess Ginobili is human, after all.
-------------------------------
Tony Parker
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3527.jpg
27 minutes, 15 points, 7 assists, four rebounds
5-for-12 from the field, 5-for-8 at the line
Back in the starting lineup for the first time since spraining his ankle, Tony Parker didn’t play too well. Like Ginobili, Parker struggled with trying to make plays when they simply weren’t there. He was statistically productive offensively but he didn’t do a good job of playing within the flow of the offense. Defensively, Parker could have given more effort in terms of pressuring the opposing point guard.
-------------------------------
Roger Mason, Jr.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3628.jpg
22 minutes, eight points, three rebounds, two assists
4-for-7 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. was one of the few Spurs who played somewhat well. Offensively, Mason played a controlled game and didn’t force the issue. Even though he wasn’t getting as many open looks as usual, he found ways to contribute. Defensively, he’s still a work in progress and had a number of mistakes on that end of the court against the Rockets. With Ginobili and Parker back in the mix, Mason will need to play harder and smarter defensively to keep playing 30+ minutes per game.
-------------------------------
Michael Finley
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3023.jpg
22 minutes, five points, two rebounds
2-for-4 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
Michael Finley started at the small forward spot and played reasonably well. He didn’t help out too much offensively but his perimeter defense was again better than expected. When matched up against Ron Artest, he moved his feet and forced Artest into a few difficult looks. That said, Finley didn’t rotate quickly enough on switches and got pushed around under the basket when trying to box out. It will interesting to see if Finley keeps his level of play high enough to keep his spot in the starting lineup going forward.
-------------------------------
Fabricio Oberto
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3988.jpg
16 minutes, two points, two rebounds, two assists
1-for-2 from the field
Same song, different verse. Fabricio Oberto did all the small things but didn’t help with regards to the big things. One defensive rebound in 16 minutes is inexcusable for a starting center. Two points when the Rockets were leaving him open most of the game also isn’t providing enough help. His passing and screens again were impressive but the Spurs need more from the bigman starting next to Duncan. He has now played 14 games this season and he has yet to score more than six points in a game and the only contest in which he had at least six rebounds was against the small bigmen of the New York Knicks.
-------------------------------
George Hill
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/4488.jpg
24 minutes, three points, two rebounds, one assist
1-for-8 from the field, 1-for-2 at the line
After five straight impressive outings, George Hill stumbled against Houston. He reverted back to his passive offensive play of earlier in the season. He didn’t attack nearly enough and instead played a part in bogging down the offense. Hill’s usual stellar defensive effort also was missing in action, as he spent most of the time reacting instead of causing havoc. Since he’s a rookie, it’s not surprising that he’ll have these types of slipups every now and again. Hopefully they will become more distant as the season progresses.
-------------------------------
Matt Bonner
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3748.jpg
22 minutes, 17 points, five rebounds
6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-4 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
Matt Bonner was unquestionably the best player on the Spurs. He shot with tons of confidence and hit all but one of his seven attempts. Defensively, he was again impressive and was one of the few players who matched the physicality of the Rockets. When Bonner plays with energy and without a conscious, he’s actually a good basketball player. In his last nine games, Bonner is averaging 9.2 points and 4 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game, while shooting 57.9% from the field and 58.3% on three-pointers.
-------------------------------
Bruce Bowen
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3167.jpg
22 minutes, two points
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Bruce Bowen had a decent defensive showing but he lacked his typical energy. If Bowen is going to be a useful bench player, he has to step on the court and immediately be playing with his normal boundless energy. Against the Rockets, he didn’t do that. Offensively, Bowen remains in the midst of a shooting slump.
-------------------------------
Kurt Thomas
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3012.jpg
15 minutes, three rebounds, one block
0-for-2 from the field
Kurt Thomas wasn’t able to build upon his previous two strong games. Against the Rockets, Thomas played decent defense on individual matchups but his help defense was non-existent. He was sometimes a step slow, other times he didn’t go to help at all. On the opposite end, Thomas missed both of his shots and didn’t help much of the offensive glass even though Houston let him free to roam much of the night.
-------------------------------
Ime Udoka
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3501.jpg
ten minutes, two points, two rebounds
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
It’s difficult to figure out why Ime Udoka is struggling defensively. His team defense is good enough but he’s nowhere as good in one-on-one scenarios as he was last season. Out on the perimeter, players are able to drive passed him. On the low block, Udoka’s physical strength isn’t as overwhelming as it was last season. I’m not sure if Udoka has lost a step or if he’s just out of defensive rhythm.
-------------------------------
Anthony Tolliver
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/4371.jpg
ten minutes, three rebounds
0-for-4 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
On one side of the coin, it was good to see Anthony Tolliver able to handle his own on the boards against the rough and rugged bigmen of Houston. On the other side of the coin, his inability to shoot has to be worrisome at this point. He’s now only 6-for-28 on three-pointers in the regular season after struggling mightily in the preseason from long range. Without three-point marksmanship, it’s tough to imagine Tolliver as an NBA player.
-------------------------------
Gregg Popovich
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/topstory/sports/popovich_gregg030428.jpg
The Spurs played poorly against the Rockets but Pop didn’t exactly help out. First of all, how does Bonner only play 22 minutes? At the start of the fourth quarter, Bonner should have been out there with Duncan trying to make one final run. I also thought Mason should have played more. Even if he’s struggling on defense, he had a pulse offensively -- unlike the majority of the other perimeter players. Playing him a season low 22 minutes didn’t make much sense. The best thing Pop did on the night was calling off the dogs early and not playing Duncan more than 30 minutes.
-------------------------------
Offense
The offense rarely clicked on Saturday night. The Spurs shot 37.7% from the field and hit only 5-of-17 three-pointers. They also had less assists (18) and more turnovers (14) than usual. Instead of playing as a cohesive unit, it appeared as if each player took turns trying to carry the offense on their own shoulders. With as physical as the Rockets were down low, the Spurs also could have gotten more than 27 free throw attempts if they took it strong to the cup more often.
Defense
The defense wasn’t good at all. Allowing the Rockets to score 103 points without the services of Tracy McGrady is unacceptable. The Rockets shot 48.1% from the field and it was even worse than that number appears. Houston missed a number of open three-point looks and if you go solely on two-pointers, the Rockets shot 54.1%. Any time the Rockets swung the ball from one side of the court to the other, they ended up getting a wide open shot. The good news on the night on the defensive end was that the Spurs were very impressive on the boards, giving up only three offensive rebounds. Even though it seems like the Spurs haven’t rebounded too well this season, they are actually ranked first in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage.
Drive to Five
The Rockets game was the first contest in a stretch of difficult opponents. On Tuesday, the Spurs will host the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are desperate for wins and the Spurs are still trying to figure out the pieces to their puzzle. Without a much better effort than San Antonio gave against Houston, Detroit is going to be hard to beat. Hopefully the two days of rest and the friendly confines of the AT&T Center give the Spurs the juice to get back on the winning track.
Believe.
In the third quarter, the Spurs cut the lead to two points when Tony Parker hit Roger Mason, Jr. for a layup. But following misses by Parker, Finley and Duncan, the Rockets went on a 24-12 run to close the quarter. In the fourth, the Spurs never could make it a game and the Rockets went on to win by a final score of 103-84.
Compared to the last time the two teams played, the Rockets were much more impressive. Their chemistry seems to be slowly coming together after their offseason moves. Even more importantly, their effort was off the charts and they were the much more physical team in the paint.
Overall, the Spurs just didn’t have it on this night. The activity level was low and it appeared that fatigue was an issue. Each member of the Big Three had a sub par game and the defense on a whole was poor.
Tim Duncan
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3173.jpg
29 minutes, 17 points, nine rebounds, two blocks
6-for-18 from the field, 5-for-6 at the line
Tim Duncan had a game to forget on Saturday night against the Rockets. Offensively, Duncan missed a lot of shots he usually makes and compounded the issue by taking a number of questionable shots after getting frustrated. The Rockets deserve some credit for paying a lot of attention to him but Duncan wasn’t playing his usual smart game on the offensive end. On the defensive end, Duncan was decent. He bodied up Yao Ming well and his defensive rotations were mostly on time. After starting the season with ten straight games with at least 19 points, he has reached that mark only once in his last six games. Duncan will no doubt bounce back but he has definitely cooled off offensively in the last couple of weeks.
-------------------------------
Manu Ginobili
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3380.jpg
22 minutes, 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, five turnovers
2-for-6 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 6-for-6 at the line
Manu Ginobili returned to the court with two virtually flawless performances. His third outing saw him come back down to earth. Ginobili forced the issue much more than he did in his first two games and as a result had five turnovers in the game. He also looked a bit fatigued, which is understandable this earlier in his return - especially considering the fact that it was the second night of a back-to-back. I guess Ginobili is human, after all.
-------------------------------
Tony Parker
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3527.jpg
27 minutes, 15 points, 7 assists, four rebounds
5-for-12 from the field, 5-for-8 at the line
Back in the starting lineup for the first time since spraining his ankle, Tony Parker didn’t play too well. Like Ginobili, Parker struggled with trying to make plays when they simply weren’t there. He was statistically productive offensively but he didn’t do a good job of playing within the flow of the offense. Defensively, Parker could have given more effort in terms of pressuring the opposing point guard.
-------------------------------
Roger Mason, Jr.
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3628.jpg
22 minutes, eight points, three rebounds, two assists
4-for-7 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. was one of the few Spurs who played somewhat well. Offensively, Mason played a controlled game and didn’t force the issue. Even though he wasn’t getting as many open looks as usual, he found ways to contribute. Defensively, he’s still a work in progress and had a number of mistakes on that end of the court against the Rockets. With Ginobili and Parker back in the mix, Mason will need to play harder and smarter defensively to keep playing 30+ minutes per game.
-------------------------------
Michael Finley
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3023.jpg
22 minutes, five points, two rebounds
2-for-4 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
Michael Finley started at the small forward spot and played reasonably well. He didn’t help out too much offensively but his perimeter defense was again better than expected. When matched up against Ron Artest, he moved his feet and forced Artest into a few difficult looks. That said, Finley didn’t rotate quickly enough on switches and got pushed around under the basket when trying to box out. It will interesting to see if Finley keeps his level of play high enough to keep his spot in the starting lineup going forward.
-------------------------------
Fabricio Oberto
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3988.jpg
16 minutes, two points, two rebounds, two assists
1-for-2 from the field
Same song, different verse. Fabricio Oberto did all the small things but didn’t help with regards to the big things. One defensive rebound in 16 minutes is inexcusable for a starting center. Two points when the Rockets were leaving him open most of the game also isn’t providing enough help. His passing and screens again were impressive but the Spurs need more from the bigman starting next to Duncan. He has now played 14 games this season and he has yet to score more than six points in a game and the only contest in which he had at least six rebounds was against the small bigmen of the New York Knicks.
-------------------------------
George Hill
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/4488.jpg
24 minutes, three points, two rebounds, one assist
1-for-8 from the field, 1-for-2 at the line
After five straight impressive outings, George Hill stumbled against Houston. He reverted back to his passive offensive play of earlier in the season. He didn’t attack nearly enough and instead played a part in bogging down the offense. Hill’s usual stellar defensive effort also was missing in action, as he spent most of the time reacting instead of causing havoc. Since he’s a rookie, it’s not surprising that he’ll have these types of slipups every now and again. Hopefully they will become more distant as the season progresses.
-------------------------------
Matt Bonner
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3748.jpg
22 minutes, 17 points, five rebounds
6-for-7 from the field, 3-for-4 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
Matt Bonner was unquestionably the best player on the Spurs. He shot with tons of confidence and hit all but one of his seven attempts. Defensively, he was again impressive and was one of the few players who matched the physicality of the Rockets. When Bonner plays with energy and without a conscious, he’s actually a good basketball player. In his last nine games, Bonner is averaging 9.2 points and 4 rebounds in 19.6 minutes per game, while shooting 57.9% from the field and 58.3% on three-pointers.
-------------------------------
Bruce Bowen
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3167.jpg
22 minutes, two points
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Bruce Bowen had a decent defensive showing but he lacked his typical energy. If Bowen is going to be a useful bench player, he has to step on the court and immediately be playing with his normal boundless energy. Against the Rockets, he didn’t do that. Offensively, Bowen remains in the midst of a shooting slump.
-------------------------------
Kurt Thomas
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3012.jpg
15 minutes, three rebounds, one block
0-for-2 from the field
Kurt Thomas wasn’t able to build upon his previous two strong games. Against the Rockets, Thomas played decent defense on individual matchups but his help defense was non-existent. He was sometimes a step slow, other times he didn’t go to help at all. On the opposite end, Thomas missed both of his shots and didn’t help much of the offensive glass even though Houston let him free to roam much of the night.
-------------------------------
Ime Udoka
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/3501.jpg
ten minutes, two points, two rebounds
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
It’s difficult to figure out why Ime Udoka is struggling defensively. His team defense is good enough but he’s nowhere as good in one-on-one scenarios as he was last season. Out on the perimeter, players are able to drive passed him. On the low block, Udoka’s physical strength isn’t as overwhelming as it was last season. I’m not sure if Udoka has lost a step or if he’s just out of defensive rhythm.
-------------------------------
Anthony Tolliver
http://i.cdn.turner.com/si/images/basketball/nba/players/4371.jpg
ten minutes, three rebounds
0-for-4 from the field, 0-for-3 on three-pointers
On one side of the coin, it was good to see Anthony Tolliver able to handle his own on the boards against the rough and rugged bigmen of Houston. On the other side of the coin, his inability to shoot has to be worrisome at this point. He’s now only 6-for-28 on three-pointers in the regular season after struggling mightily in the preseason from long range. Without three-point marksmanship, it’s tough to imagine Tolliver as an NBA player.
-------------------------------
Gregg Popovich
http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/topstory/sports/popovich_gregg030428.jpg
The Spurs played poorly against the Rockets but Pop didn’t exactly help out. First of all, how does Bonner only play 22 minutes? At the start of the fourth quarter, Bonner should have been out there with Duncan trying to make one final run. I also thought Mason should have played more. Even if he’s struggling on defense, he had a pulse offensively -- unlike the majority of the other perimeter players. Playing him a season low 22 minutes didn’t make much sense. The best thing Pop did on the night was calling off the dogs early and not playing Duncan more than 30 minutes.
-------------------------------
Offense
The offense rarely clicked on Saturday night. The Spurs shot 37.7% from the field and hit only 5-of-17 three-pointers. They also had less assists (18) and more turnovers (14) than usual. Instead of playing as a cohesive unit, it appeared as if each player took turns trying to carry the offense on their own shoulders. With as physical as the Rockets were down low, the Spurs also could have gotten more than 27 free throw attempts if they took it strong to the cup more often.
Defense
The defense wasn’t good at all. Allowing the Rockets to score 103 points without the services of Tracy McGrady is unacceptable. The Rockets shot 48.1% from the field and it was even worse than that number appears. Houston missed a number of open three-point looks and if you go solely on two-pointers, the Rockets shot 54.1%. Any time the Rockets swung the ball from one side of the court to the other, they ended up getting a wide open shot. The good news on the night on the defensive end was that the Spurs were very impressive on the boards, giving up only three offensive rebounds. Even though it seems like the Spurs haven’t rebounded too well this season, they are actually ranked first in the NBA in defensive rebounding percentage.
Drive to Five
The Rockets game was the first contest in a stretch of difficult opponents. On Tuesday, the Spurs will host the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are desperate for wins and the Spurs are still trying to figure out the pieces to their puzzle. Without a much better effort than San Antonio gave against Houston, Detroit is going to be hard to beat. Hopefully the two days of rest and the friendly confines of the AT&T Center give the Spurs the juice to get back on the winning track.
Believe.