duncan228
04-01-2010, 08:21 PM
Spurs Roundup: The things we learned from the Stretch of Doom (http://www.kens5.com/sports/Spurs-Roundup-The-things-we-learned-from-the-Stretch-of-Doom-89603092.html)
by Dan Oshinsky / KENS 5
So the Stretch of Doom is over. The Spurs came out of that five-game stretch looking, suddenly, like a team that could win a first-round playoff series. They beat Cleveland at home and Boston on the road.
And then they lost to the Nets.
It's not often that a team can beat the two best squads in the East and then lose to the worst team in the NBA in consecutive games. But that's how this season has gone for the Spurs: a few fleeting highs followed by a handful of unimaginable lows.
Still, the Spurs are in good shape as far as the playoffs are concerned. They're in eighth place in the west -- with a potential first-round series against the Lakers looming -- but they're six games ahead of Memphis. Each team has nine games to play. It would take a monumental run by the Grizzlies and a near-historic collapse by the Spurs for San Antonio to fall out of the playoffs.
So with postseason play coming near, the Roundup has a few Spurs thoughts in mind:
-When they want to be good, they can be: That's the ultimate takeaway from this stretch of games. Against two of the best teams in the East, the Spurs impressed. And the Spurs are good enough at home -- 26-11 on the season -- to potentially steal one or two games in a first round series. The question is, can they minimize the mistakes that killed them in that loss to the Nets?
-The Spurs need Manu as a ballhandler: Without Tony Parker, the Spurs lack a true point guard. But both George Hill and Manu Ginobili are fully capable of running the offense and dishing out five assists per game.
Against the Nets, with Ginobili out due to back spasms, the Spurs were down to essentially one guard. True, the Spurs will still get contributions from other sources -- both Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson had five assists against the Nets -- but the Spurs need Ginobili healthy as soon as possible. (With Roger Mason, Jr., also possibly out tonight, the situation gets even murkier.) Their offense can't run solely through Hill.
Getting Tony Parker back to health by the playoffs will be a top priority for the Spurs. He's the best chance the Spurs have to potentially top the Lakers in a round one series.
-Monday's free throw shooting was an aberration: The Spurs scored more field goals than the Nets in Monday's game. They outrebounded the Nets by 10.
But they still lost because they couldn't hit free throws. The Spurs shot an uncharacteristically poor 11-20 from the line.
But don't expect the Spurs' free throw woes to linger. Only two Spurs regulars shoot below 70 percent from the free throw line: DeJuan Blair (54.6 percent) and Antonio McDyess (63.6 percent).
by Dan Oshinsky / KENS 5
So the Stretch of Doom is over. The Spurs came out of that five-game stretch looking, suddenly, like a team that could win a first-round playoff series. They beat Cleveland at home and Boston on the road.
And then they lost to the Nets.
It's not often that a team can beat the two best squads in the East and then lose to the worst team in the NBA in consecutive games. But that's how this season has gone for the Spurs: a few fleeting highs followed by a handful of unimaginable lows.
Still, the Spurs are in good shape as far as the playoffs are concerned. They're in eighth place in the west -- with a potential first-round series against the Lakers looming -- but they're six games ahead of Memphis. Each team has nine games to play. It would take a monumental run by the Grizzlies and a near-historic collapse by the Spurs for San Antonio to fall out of the playoffs.
So with postseason play coming near, the Roundup has a few Spurs thoughts in mind:
-When they want to be good, they can be: That's the ultimate takeaway from this stretch of games. Against two of the best teams in the East, the Spurs impressed. And the Spurs are good enough at home -- 26-11 on the season -- to potentially steal one or two games in a first round series. The question is, can they minimize the mistakes that killed them in that loss to the Nets?
-The Spurs need Manu as a ballhandler: Without Tony Parker, the Spurs lack a true point guard. But both George Hill and Manu Ginobili are fully capable of running the offense and dishing out five assists per game.
Against the Nets, with Ginobili out due to back spasms, the Spurs were down to essentially one guard. True, the Spurs will still get contributions from other sources -- both Tim Duncan and Richard Jefferson had five assists against the Nets -- but the Spurs need Ginobili healthy as soon as possible. (With Roger Mason, Jr., also possibly out tonight, the situation gets even murkier.) Their offense can't run solely through Hill.
Getting Tony Parker back to health by the playoffs will be a top priority for the Spurs. He's the best chance the Spurs have to potentially top the Lakers in a round one series.
-Monday's free throw shooting was an aberration: The Spurs scored more field goals than the Nets in Monday's game. They outrebounded the Nets by 10.
But they still lost because they couldn't hit free throws. The Spurs shot an uncharacteristically poor 11-20 from the line.
But don't expect the Spurs' free throw woes to linger. Only two Spurs regulars shoot below 70 percent from the free throw line: DeJuan Blair (54.6 percent) and Antonio McDyess (63.6 percent).