Amuseddaysleeper
12-19-2008, 01:50 PM
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Worst of the Night: December 18, 2008
By Basketbawful
The San Antonio Spurs: Basketbawful reader Chris wrote in regarding something that was said about the Spurs on Wednesday night that I noticed as well: "With the Spurs' second loss in as many days, I guess they got stat cursed by the pre-game runup on the ESPN broadcast. I remember hearing this in the game preview as the Celtics-Hawks tilt winded down: 'The Western Conference should've put the Spurs down when they had the chance.' Well, apparently Wednesday AND Thursday night proved that the conference still has quite the chance to leave San Antonio's basketball team well in the dust."
Do they ever. These two games seemed to prove that the Spurs' time as legit contenders has gone the way of the $40-per-hour factory job. And I say "seemed" only because I, like many other people, don't feel entirely comfortable counting San Antonio out. However, that's due more to their championship past than their iffy present. And it's very, very iffy. I've talked about this before, but there simply isn't enough talent after Timmy D, TP and Manu. And what I mean is "scoring talent." Their defense is fine -- currently tied for eighth in defensive efficiency -- because they use a proven system that requires discipline, hard work and concentration moreso than speed and athleticism. Plus Duncan is the unshakeable foundation of that defense, so as long as he's around, it's going to be solid.
But most of the Spurs are like guys showing up to a gun fight with soggy ice cream cones. Sure, Roger Mason is having a career year (12.8 PPG) and George Hill has been better than expected (a evidenced by that hot streak in late November), but come on. They're starting Michael Finley (who's so far over the hill he can't even look over his shoulder and see the hill anymore) and Matt Bonner (who's, you know, Matt Bonner). Bruce Bowen is done. Kurt Thomas is awfully close. Ditto for Jacque Vaughn. And the fabulous Oberto can't even stay on the floor these days (although that's supposedly due to a "sore foot"). Who's going to step up and make a difference in the regular season? The playoffs? Nobody. And it's not like the Spurs have much in the way of trade bait. A package of Bowen, Thomas, Vaughn and Oberto might get them some old tinsel and a bag of reindeer droppings. Maybe.
Now, the popular justification for these two rather ugly losses -- in which San Antonio managed only 83 and 78 points while shooting 38 and 37 percent respectively -- is that they were due to weariness. After all, the Spurs are the oldest team in the league and were faced with a really difficult back-to-back situation against two division leaders. Heck, after last night's game, Gregg Popovich came as close as he ever comes to making an excuse. "Everybody gets tough back to back. The timing wasn't great. Coming in at 3:30 (a.m.) wasn't good. Orlando will have something in its schedule where they'll have a god-awful back-to-back. It evens out in the end."
Fair enough. But reading between the lines, Pop seems to be inferring that we can expect the Magic to drop a couple the next time they're forced to play two toughies in two nights. (And they just might: Orlando’s next back-to-back series is in mid-January, when they face the Lakers and Nuggets on the road on consecutive nights.) And I guess you could say that's been part of the Spurs' championship formula this past decade: Don't sweat the small stuff. Some games are lost before the team plane even lands. All you have to do is make the playoffs and let experience (and Tim Duncan) carry the day. Okay.
But still...
Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker: Because of the sorry state of the supporting cast, at least one of these guys (and/or Timmy) have to be on it every night. Last night, they were not: TP finished with 9 points (3-for-17) and 4 turnovers while Manu was only 4-for-12.
My comments:
I don't agree about Bruce being done at all, but the Spurs scoring is still gonna be a huge issue this season. This team is still going to be too dependent on the big 3 having big games every night because the offense from Hill, Mason, and Finley just isn't consistent at all. I'm sure Pop will figure things out before the playoffs start, but the scoring droughts are still a major concern much like last year despite the addition of some new role players.
It's only December, lots of time left, but hopefully the Spurs figure things out sooner than later :tu
Worst of the Night: December 18, 2008
By Basketbawful
The San Antonio Spurs: Basketbawful reader Chris wrote in regarding something that was said about the Spurs on Wednesday night that I noticed as well: "With the Spurs' second loss in as many days, I guess they got stat cursed by the pre-game runup on the ESPN broadcast. I remember hearing this in the game preview as the Celtics-Hawks tilt winded down: 'The Western Conference should've put the Spurs down when they had the chance.' Well, apparently Wednesday AND Thursday night proved that the conference still has quite the chance to leave San Antonio's basketball team well in the dust."
Do they ever. These two games seemed to prove that the Spurs' time as legit contenders has gone the way of the $40-per-hour factory job. And I say "seemed" only because I, like many other people, don't feel entirely comfortable counting San Antonio out. However, that's due more to their championship past than their iffy present. And it's very, very iffy. I've talked about this before, but there simply isn't enough talent after Timmy D, TP and Manu. And what I mean is "scoring talent." Their defense is fine -- currently tied for eighth in defensive efficiency -- because they use a proven system that requires discipline, hard work and concentration moreso than speed and athleticism. Plus Duncan is the unshakeable foundation of that defense, so as long as he's around, it's going to be solid.
But most of the Spurs are like guys showing up to a gun fight with soggy ice cream cones. Sure, Roger Mason is having a career year (12.8 PPG) and George Hill has been better than expected (a evidenced by that hot streak in late November), but come on. They're starting Michael Finley (who's so far over the hill he can't even look over his shoulder and see the hill anymore) and Matt Bonner (who's, you know, Matt Bonner). Bruce Bowen is done. Kurt Thomas is awfully close. Ditto for Jacque Vaughn. And the fabulous Oberto can't even stay on the floor these days (although that's supposedly due to a "sore foot"). Who's going to step up and make a difference in the regular season? The playoffs? Nobody. And it's not like the Spurs have much in the way of trade bait. A package of Bowen, Thomas, Vaughn and Oberto might get them some old tinsel and a bag of reindeer droppings. Maybe.
Now, the popular justification for these two rather ugly losses -- in which San Antonio managed only 83 and 78 points while shooting 38 and 37 percent respectively -- is that they were due to weariness. After all, the Spurs are the oldest team in the league and were faced with a really difficult back-to-back situation against two division leaders. Heck, after last night's game, Gregg Popovich came as close as he ever comes to making an excuse. "Everybody gets tough back to back. The timing wasn't great. Coming in at 3:30 (a.m.) wasn't good. Orlando will have something in its schedule where they'll have a god-awful back-to-back. It evens out in the end."
Fair enough. But reading between the lines, Pop seems to be inferring that we can expect the Magic to drop a couple the next time they're forced to play two toughies in two nights. (And they just might: Orlando’s next back-to-back series is in mid-January, when they face the Lakers and Nuggets on the road on consecutive nights.) And I guess you could say that's been part of the Spurs' championship formula this past decade: Don't sweat the small stuff. Some games are lost before the team plane even lands. All you have to do is make the playoffs and let experience (and Tim Duncan) carry the day. Okay.
But still...
Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker: Because of the sorry state of the supporting cast, at least one of these guys (and/or Timmy) have to be on it every night. Last night, they were not: TP finished with 9 points (3-for-17) and 4 turnovers while Manu was only 4-for-12.
My comments:
I don't agree about Bruce being done at all, but the Spurs scoring is still gonna be a huge issue this season. This team is still going to be too dependent on the big 3 having big games every night because the offense from Hill, Mason, and Finley just isn't consistent at all. I'm sure Pop will figure things out before the playoffs start, but the scoring droughts are still a major concern much like last year despite the addition of some new role players.
It's only December, lots of time left, but hopefully the Spurs figure things out sooner than later :tu