duncan228
12-22-2008, 01:14 AM
Jeff McDonald: Leftover Raptor meat (http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/)
A few stray thoughts, while wondering if Matt Bonner is serious about applying for Canadian citizenship so he can play for the Canadian Olympic team in 2012:
* Saturday night produced probably the best outing of the year from Kurt Thomas, who had 12 rebounds and four blocks in nearly 26 minutes, and also supplied some of that intimidating defense we'd heard so much about. The Spurs have a need for a tough guy off the bench. As he proved vs. the Raptors, Thomas can be that guy.
* Twenty-three 3-point tries in the first half were probably a little much, but hey, they were open. It seemed an odd strategy from the Raptors, daring the NBA's third-best 3-point shooting team to shoot 3-pointers. Maybe interim coach Jay Tirano only watched film of the Spurs' two most recent games.
* Gregg Popovich doesn't think Manu Ginobili is all the way back from offseason ankle surgery, and neither do we. He has shown flashes of the old Manu, but not consistently. "I think, considering the injury he had, we've made it as good as we can make it," Popovich said before Saturday's game. "Hopefully he'll continue to get in shape and get to that 100 percent level and he'll be off to the races."
* And finally, more on Bonner, the NBA's leading 3-point shooter who, as a former Raptor, was the subject of a lengthy interview by a couple of Canadian reporters before the game. Here's Pop:
"His big deal was to learn that the next play is the most important one, whether he made the shot or missed it or dribbled it off his knees or threw it in the stands. It doesn't matter, because it's done. What matters is the very next play.
"We needed him to get over that. If he's going to be nervous about shooting or nervous about whether it's a good shot or not, he isn't much use. We finally got to the point where it's shoot or sit. I'd rather tell him, 'I'm not sure about that shot, Matty' than, 'Matty, why didn't you take that shot?' "
A few stray thoughts, while wondering if Matt Bonner is serious about applying for Canadian citizenship so he can play for the Canadian Olympic team in 2012:
* Saturday night produced probably the best outing of the year from Kurt Thomas, who had 12 rebounds and four blocks in nearly 26 minutes, and also supplied some of that intimidating defense we'd heard so much about. The Spurs have a need for a tough guy off the bench. As he proved vs. the Raptors, Thomas can be that guy.
* Twenty-three 3-point tries in the first half were probably a little much, but hey, they were open. It seemed an odd strategy from the Raptors, daring the NBA's third-best 3-point shooting team to shoot 3-pointers. Maybe interim coach Jay Tirano only watched film of the Spurs' two most recent games.
* Gregg Popovich doesn't think Manu Ginobili is all the way back from offseason ankle surgery, and neither do we. He has shown flashes of the old Manu, but not consistently. "I think, considering the injury he had, we've made it as good as we can make it," Popovich said before Saturday's game. "Hopefully he'll continue to get in shape and get to that 100 percent level and he'll be off to the races."
* And finally, more on Bonner, the NBA's leading 3-point shooter who, as a former Raptor, was the subject of a lengthy interview by a couple of Canadian reporters before the game. Here's Pop:
"His big deal was to learn that the next play is the most important one, whether he made the shot or missed it or dribbled it off his knees or threw it in the stands. It doesn't matter, because it's done. What matters is the very next play.
"We needed him to get over that. If he's going to be nervous about shooting or nervous about whether it's a good shot or not, he isn't much use. We finally got to the point where it's shoot or sit. I'd rather tell him, 'I'm not sure about that shot, Matty' than, 'Matty, why didn't you take that shot?' "