lurker23
01-13-2010, 01:21 PM
Just got finished watch the 2nd half in more detail, and figured I'd share some of my thoughts from the entire game, in no particular order.
Spurs
-If Tim Duncan continues to play this well, the Spurs can do anything. This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who has watched him all year, but he is playing some of his best basketball in many facets of the game. For a guy who is 63 years old, he does an awful lot of diving to the floor for loose balls, blocking shots on 2nd and 3rd efforts, and making defenses pay if they miss a rotation even for a split second. All this said, Tim looked a little fatigued at the end of last night, especially when he line-drived a couple free throws. Tim's 40 minute games outside the playoffs should be few and far between, and I'd actually be surprised if he ISN'T left out of the game against the Thunder.
-Manu Ginobili was Mr. Intangible last night. As usual, his biggest contributions don't show up in the box score, especially with a couple steals/blocks last night negated by poor officiating. While Manu is still capable of pouring in points in high volumes, especially when he gets his 3-point shot going, that's not necessarily what the Spurs need from him. If Manu Ginobili only scores 12 points per game, but those points come in typical clutch/late-game fashion, and he continues to get in passing lanes, disrupt shots on help defense, and generally make opposing teams wonder where he is, then he's doing plenty to help this team win.
-Tony Parker was feeling his jump shot. Much has been made about the new plantar fasciitis revelations, and there was no doubt that he was settling for the jump shot much more than usual last night; of course, when it's going in that regularly, who cares? However, I did see several plays where Parker showed his regular explosiveness last night, proving that he's not completely hobbled. As has been mentioned by a few people already, teams will now close out on that jump shot a little more; while that may be playing the percentages against a hobbled foe, I guarantee you Tony still has enough left in the tank to make them pay at times.
-George Hill was damn good last night. Particularly on the defensive end, Hill played an aggressive, strong game, where he defended a few different players, including the much larger Ron Artest. He also definitely earned future cracks at Kobe Bryant. Offensively, he found ways to get points and had crisp passes. However, I feel the Spurs need to find a better way to get GH3 more involved in the offensive half-court set when Tony Parker is also on the floor. As much as his corner-3 has improved, I don't want to see an athletic guy like George simply standing there. Find a way to get him to the wing or the top of the key (where he was when he threw a nifty bounce pass assist to a cutting Tony Parker), or even give him some opportunities to run the offense and let TP play off the ball a little bit more.
-I liked the activity that Bogans and RJ played with on both ends of the court. Both played within their skill set and didn't press too much. Both got in passing lanes a few times and came up with deflections or steals. Jefferson looks more comfortable by the day, and is slowly but surely getting his driving legs back. If the Spurs can get the ball in RJ's hands and let him attack the basket, he'll continue to become a bigger and bigger part of the offense.
-Not too much to say about Mason. He continues to shoot lights out, and confidence is high. It'll be interesting to see if Pop mixes things up and moves him to the starting lineup before the year is up.
-The big men next to Duncan played well enough to win.
-McDyess had a solid game on both ends of the court; hopefully the good game by Mahinmi has woken him up a bit, and he brings the goods every time we play the Lakers (and other big teams, ideally).
-Blair was a non-factor in his limited minutes; it'll be interesting to see if Pop lets him play through the rookie wall in the starting lineup, or if he moves McDyess or Bonner back into that spot. Honestly, I'm glad Blair is going through this now rather than in March.
-Ratliff played well in limited minutes, and I'd like to see him play more, especially against the Lakers when they're at full strength. It's hard to believe that Pop ISN'T saving him for when it counts.
-Getting Bonner back will help this team, if nothing else for the added depth he provides (not to mention 3-point contributions). However, the last few weeks have been a good test run for Pop and the Spurs to see what life would be like without him, whether by trade or with a very limited role come playoff time. Realistically, I think a subtraction of Bonner permanently requires either another big man to be brought in (if nothing else but for depth purposes), or for Blair to be reliable for no less than 15 minutes a game.
Lakers
-The Spurs have no one who is fully capable of guarding Ron Artest. That's okay, because almost nobody really does, but he was able to overpower Spurs defenders at will. George Hill actually did a pretty decent job of ball denial and not backing down from him, while also managing to steal a couple rebounds from him, but in the end, Artest's physical gifts will win out against any Spurs defender 1-on-1. If I were Phil Jackson, I would strive to exploit this matchup frequently in future games.
-Andrew Bynum continues to improve. He has great touch around the basket, and was consistently able to shoot over/around Tim Duncan and actually make those shots. Based on what I saw last night, if I were Duncan, I would try to block a few more of those shots and dare Bynum to actually make a move to get around me. In the end, that may be a move that backfires, as Bynum's footwork is constantly improving, but until he proves he can actually get around and past Duncan and get to the rim, I think you have to play him as if he's going to shoot the 6-10 footer.
-As much as I think this was a legitimate win for the Spurs, Kobe obviously wasn't 100%. I feel that he played well enough in the first half (VERY well at times) that you could consider the Lakers at full strength (minus Gasol, of course), and the Spurs passed that test well with a 12-point lead going into the half. However, even when Kobe was in the game in the 3rd quarter, he was a non-factor. He was passive, and acted like he was Bruce Bowen out there offensively. Except for a nice assist from behind the three-point line, it was basically as if he didn't play the 2nd half at all. The reason the Lakers played better once he left is because they weren't playing 4-on-5 anymore. Don't get me wrong, this was a very good win for the Spurs at this point in the season, but I know we're all looking forward to seeing how these two teams match up in April when both teams are (hopefully) at full strength and the Spurs have another 2.5 months to gel.
Spurs
-If Tim Duncan continues to play this well, the Spurs can do anything. This doesn't come as a surprise to anyone who has watched him all year, but he is playing some of his best basketball in many facets of the game. For a guy who is 63 years old, he does an awful lot of diving to the floor for loose balls, blocking shots on 2nd and 3rd efforts, and making defenses pay if they miss a rotation even for a split second. All this said, Tim looked a little fatigued at the end of last night, especially when he line-drived a couple free throws. Tim's 40 minute games outside the playoffs should be few and far between, and I'd actually be surprised if he ISN'T left out of the game against the Thunder.
-Manu Ginobili was Mr. Intangible last night. As usual, his biggest contributions don't show up in the box score, especially with a couple steals/blocks last night negated by poor officiating. While Manu is still capable of pouring in points in high volumes, especially when he gets his 3-point shot going, that's not necessarily what the Spurs need from him. If Manu Ginobili only scores 12 points per game, but those points come in typical clutch/late-game fashion, and he continues to get in passing lanes, disrupt shots on help defense, and generally make opposing teams wonder where he is, then he's doing plenty to help this team win.
-Tony Parker was feeling his jump shot. Much has been made about the new plantar fasciitis revelations, and there was no doubt that he was settling for the jump shot much more than usual last night; of course, when it's going in that regularly, who cares? However, I did see several plays where Parker showed his regular explosiveness last night, proving that he's not completely hobbled. As has been mentioned by a few people already, teams will now close out on that jump shot a little more; while that may be playing the percentages against a hobbled foe, I guarantee you Tony still has enough left in the tank to make them pay at times.
-George Hill was damn good last night. Particularly on the defensive end, Hill played an aggressive, strong game, where he defended a few different players, including the much larger Ron Artest. He also definitely earned future cracks at Kobe Bryant. Offensively, he found ways to get points and had crisp passes. However, I feel the Spurs need to find a better way to get GH3 more involved in the offensive half-court set when Tony Parker is also on the floor. As much as his corner-3 has improved, I don't want to see an athletic guy like George simply standing there. Find a way to get him to the wing or the top of the key (where he was when he threw a nifty bounce pass assist to a cutting Tony Parker), or even give him some opportunities to run the offense and let TP play off the ball a little bit more.
-I liked the activity that Bogans and RJ played with on both ends of the court. Both played within their skill set and didn't press too much. Both got in passing lanes a few times and came up with deflections or steals. Jefferson looks more comfortable by the day, and is slowly but surely getting his driving legs back. If the Spurs can get the ball in RJ's hands and let him attack the basket, he'll continue to become a bigger and bigger part of the offense.
-Not too much to say about Mason. He continues to shoot lights out, and confidence is high. It'll be interesting to see if Pop mixes things up and moves him to the starting lineup before the year is up.
-The big men next to Duncan played well enough to win.
-McDyess had a solid game on both ends of the court; hopefully the good game by Mahinmi has woken him up a bit, and he brings the goods every time we play the Lakers (and other big teams, ideally).
-Blair was a non-factor in his limited minutes; it'll be interesting to see if Pop lets him play through the rookie wall in the starting lineup, or if he moves McDyess or Bonner back into that spot. Honestly, I'm glad Blair is going through this now rather than in March.
-Ratliff played well in limited minutes, and I'd like to see him play more, especially against the Lakers when they're at full strength. It's hard to believe that Pop ISN'T saving him for when it counts.
-Getting Bonner back will help this team, if nothing else for the added depth he provides (not to mention 3-point contributions). However, the last few weeks have been a good test run for Pop and the Spurs to see what life would be like without him, whether by trade or with a very limited role come playoff time. Realistically, I think a subtraction of Bonner permanently requires either another big man to be brought in (if nothing else but for depth purposes), or for Blair to be reliable for no less than 15 minutes a game.
Lakers
-The Spurs have no one who is fully capable of guarding Ron Artest. That's okay, because almost nobody really does, but he was able to overpower Spurs defenders at will. George Hill actually did a pretty decent job of ball denial and not backing down from him, while also managing to steal a couple rebounds from him, but in the end, Artest's physical gifts will win out against any Spurs defender 1-on-1. If I were Phil Jackson, I would strive to exploit this matchup frequently in future games.
-Andrew Bynum continues to improve. He has great touch around the basket, and was consistently able to shoot over/around Tim Duncan and actually make those shots. Based on what I saw last night, if I were Duncan, I would try to block a few more of those shots and dare Bynum to actually make a move to get around me. In the end, that may be a move that backfires, as Bynum's footwork is constantly improving, but until he proves he can actually get around and past Duncan and get to the rim, I think you have to play him as if he's going to shoot the 6-10 footer.
-As much as I think this was a legitimate win for the Spurs, Kobe obviously wasn't 100%. I feel that he played well enough in the first half (VERY well at times) that you could consider the Lakers at full strength (minus Gasol, of course), and the Spurs passed that test well with a 12-point lead going into the half. However, even when Kobe was in the game in the 3rd quarter, he was a non-factor. He was passive, and acted like he was Bruce Bowen out there offensively. Except for a nice assist from behind the three-point line, it was basically as if he didn't play the 2nd half at all. The reason the Lakers played better once he left is because they weren't playing 4-on-5 anymore. Don't get me wrong, this was a very good win for the Spurs at this point in the season, but I know we're all looking forward to seeing how these two teams match up in April when both teams are (hopefully) at full strength and the Spurs have another 2.5 months to gel.