Blackjack
12-10-2009, 04:00 PM
Spurs win! Spurs win! (http://blogs.mysanantonio.com/weblogs/courtside/2009/12/spurs-win-spurs.html)
By Jeff McDonald
Emptying out the notebook after the Spurs' 118-106 victory tonight, which wasn't always pretty but was good enough to stop a three-game losing streak ...
SPURS VS. KINGS POSTGAME AUDIO
- Spurs guard Manu Ginobili
- Spurs forward Richard Jefferson
- Spurs guard Tony Parker
(Follow the link for audio)
* The alley-oop play from Tony Parker to Richard Jefferson the Spurs ran on the second possession of the game was apparently concocted the day before in practice. "We were joking around," Parker said. "I couldn't believe we haven't gotten one alley oop (this season)."
Parker called the play, which called for Jefferson to cut his man hard off a pick on the left block and then rise to meet the pass. "I'm sure Pop thought I was crazy," Parker said.
It wasn't exactly a new play in the Spurs' arsenal. Just a new result.
"We've run that play a million times," Jefferson said. "It was more or less recognition and pointing things out to (Parker). He hasn't had too many guys who play that type of style. The more we get accustomed to playing together, the more we'll both benefit from it."
* Manu Ginobili had his most Manu Ginobili-like game since early November, scoring 20 points and going on a couple of those crazy scoring spurts that have characterized his career. He closed the game with nine points in 2:14, including an athletic 3-point play and a two-handed dunk.
Afterward, Ginobili was asked if this was a signal that his confidence, which had waned in recent weeks, was back.
"I don't know," he said. "We'll see in the following games."
Ginobili, however, is hopeful his late burst is a sign of things to come.
"I'm not playing that good," he said. "Anything like that (spurt) that can happen is going to give me confidence. I just need to get over this bad moment and start being better."
* Throughout the Spurs' three-game losing streak, they seemed to play Whack-A-Mole with a different problem every night -- turnovers, stretches of offensive stagnation, whatever. Tonight's bugaboo: Transition defense, especially in the second quarter. The Spurs gave up 13 of the Kings' 24 fast-break points in that frame, including nine in a stretch of less than two minutes that allowed Sacramento to cut a 10-point deficit to two in the space of a hiccup.
Some of the Kings' fast break points came off of turnovers. Some came off of poor communication on the part of the Spurs. An example: When DeJuan Blair fell chasing a rebound on the offensive end, nobody bothered to pick up his man, Jason Thompson, until Thompson was within two feet of the basket with the ball. Easy layup.
Ginobili had a word for the Spurs' second-quarter defensive lapses: "Embarrassing"
"There was one play that was four-against-zero," he said. "Those are things that should not happen to us if we want to get to the Finals."
The Spurs were much better in that area in the second half, allowing just one fast-break point. That adjustment was a big reason the Spurs were able to keep the Kings at bay.
* Neither here nor there, but there was an interesting coaching moment at the end of the first half that provided insight into the possession-by-possession chess match that is an NBA game. The Kings were beginning to inbound with 3.6 seconds left. The Spurs had a foul to give, but -- as assistant Mike Budenholzer alerted Gregg Popovich -- they also had three players on the floor with two fouls apiece. They didn't want anybody to get a third. So Popovich dispatched three new players.
"Are they going small?" Budenholzer asked. Yes, the Kings were going small. "Do you want George?" Budenholzer asked. Yes, Popovich wanted George Hill in the game instead of Blair.
Moments later, Hill interrupted an entry pass intended for Thompson in the post, thwarting the Kings' final possession before intermission.
By Jeff McDonald
Emptying out the notebook after the Spurs' 118-106 victory tonight, which wasn't always pretty but was good enough to stop a three-game losing streak ...
SPURS VS. KINGS POSTGAME AUDIO
- Spurs guard Manu Ginobili
- Spurs forward Richard Jefferson
- Spurs guard Tony Parker
(Follow the link for audio)
* The alley-oop play from Tony Parker to Richard Jefferson the Spurs ran on the second possession of the game was apparently concocted the day before in practice. "We were joking around," Parker said. "I couldn't believe we haven't gotten one alley oop (this season)."
Parker called the play, which called for Jefferson to cut his man hard off a pick on the left block and then rise to meet the pass. "I'm sure Pop thought I was crazy," Parker said.
It wasn't exactly a new play in the Spurs' arsenal. Just a new result.
"We've run that play a million times," Jefferson said. "It was more or less recognition and pointing things out to (Parker). He hasn't had too many guys who play that type of style. The more we get accustomed to playing together, the more we'll both benefit from it."
* Manu Ginobili had his most Manu Ginobili-like game since early November, scoring 20 points and going on a couple of those crazy scoring spurts that have characterized his career. He closed the game with nine points in 2:14, including an athletic 3-point play and a two-handed dunk.
Afterward, Ginobili was asked if this was a signal that his confidence, which had waned in recent weeks, was back.
"I don't know," he said. "We'll see in the following games."
Ginobili, however, is hopeful his late burst is a sign of things to come.
"I'm not playing that good," he said. "Anything like that (spurt) that can happen is going to give me confidence. I just need to get over this bad moment and start being better."
* Throughout the Spurs' three-game losing streak, they seemed to play Whack-A-Mole with a different problem every night -- turnovers, stretches of offensive stagnation, whatever. Tonight's bugaboo: Transition defense, especially in the second quarter. The Spurs gave up 13 of the Kings' 24 fast-break points in that frame, including nine in a stretch of less than two minutes that allowed Sacramento to cut a 10-point deficit to two in the space of a hiccup.
Some of the Kings' fast break points came off of turnovers. Some came off of poor communication on the part of the Spurs. An example: When DeJuan Blair fell chasing a rebound on the offensive end, nobody bothered to pick up his man, Jason Thompson, until Thompson was within two feet of the basket with the ball. Easy layup.
Ginobili had a word for the Spurs' second-quarter defensive lapses: "Embarrassing"
"There was one play that was four-against-zero," he said. "Those are things that should not happen to us if we want to get to the Finals."
The Spurs were much better in that area in the second half, allowing just one fast-break point. That adjustment was a big reason the Spurs were able to keep the Kings at bay.
* Neither here nor there, but there was an interesting coaching moment at the end of the first half that provided insight into the possession-by-possession chess match that is an NBA game. The Kings were beginning to inbound with 3.6 seconds left. The Spurs had a foul to give, but -- as assistant Mike Budenholzer alerted Gregg Popovich -- they also had three players on the floor with two fouls apiece. They didn't want anybody to get a third. So Popovich dispatched three new players.
"Are they going small?" Budenholzer asked. Yes, the Kings were going small. "Do you want George?" Budenholzer asked. Yes, Popovich wanted George Hill in the game instead of Blair.
Moments later, Hill interrupted an entry pass intended for Thompson in the post, thwarting the Kings' final possession before intermission.