Initial Reaction: Spurs vs. Mavs - Game 4

[timvp]

First, the Spurs won Game 3 without hitting a three-pointer. Then, to raise the difficulty level even more, the Spurs won Game 4 without much help from the Big 3. With the Big 3 a combined 9-for-36, San Antonio relied on their "dogs" to defeat the Mavs by a final score of 92-89.

The Spurs were up 24-20 with 9:14 remaining in the first half when San Antonio collapsed. Dallas went on a 23-4 run over the next seven minutes to take a 15-point lead. To get the Spurs back into the game, the Spurs turned to second-year guard George Hill. In a two and a half stretch in the third period, Hill scored eight straight points to help spark a 15-0 run to give the Spurs a five-point lead.

The Spurs had a 13-point lead with five minutes remaining but the Mavs fought back once again. With two minutes to go, the San Antonio's lead was trimmed to two points -- until Manu Ginobili hit a three-pointer to push it back to five. Both teams continued to scratch and claw down the stretch until the Mavs had the ball with 0.1 seconds remaining and trailing by three-point. Fortunately, 0.4 wasn't outdone and the Spurs pushed their lead in the series to 3-1.

-Tim Duncan had one of the worst games you'll ever see him play in the postseason. In 36 minutes, Duncan had four points, 11 rebounds and three assists on 1-for-9 shooting from the field. Duncan looked gassed the entire night. He couldn't jump, he wasn't moving well laterally and was slow up and down the court. Considering that the playoffs have just begun, that is definitely not a good sign for the Spurs going forward. The best thing he did was rebound well. Also, not forcing the action down the stretch was a smart move.

-Playing with a thickly padded broken nose, Manu Ginobili had a lot of difficulty putting the ball in the hoop. He made 4-of-16 shots from the field, including only 1-of-7 three-pointers. To Ginobili's credit, he did good work in other areas. He had seven assists to only one turnovers, pulled down four boards and swiped four steals. That said, the Spurs need Ginobili to score more and with better efficiency to have consistent success in the playoffs.

-Tony Parker played well early on but his performance waned as the game progressed. He finished with ten points, five assists and five turnovers in 27 minutes. I thought his defense was solid but he didn't play with enough smarts offensively and continuously found himself in trouble. In Game 5, Parker needs to do a better job of using his speed to his advantage, especially when it comes to pushing the ball in transition.

-George Hill had the game of his life. In 45 minutes, Hill had 29 points and four rebounds while hitting 11-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point land. Without Hill, this would be a tied series right now. His shooting was a godsend -- the team was 1-for-11 on three-pointers outside of Hill. His scoring in the third quarter forced the Spurs back into the game. Now looking completely healthy, Hill's defense was very good and his hustle was contagious. Let's hope this was Hill's coming out party and a sign of things to come.

-Antonio McDyess had another very good game. He helped limit Dirk Nowitzki to 4-for-10 shooting and pulled down eight big boards. His passing (three assists) was also impressive. Along with Hill, it was McDyess hitting shots to get the Spurs back into it. He connected on 5-of-9 field goals, which were attempted with a good amount of confidence. All in all, it's great to see McDyess raise his level of play in the postseason.

-While his Game 2 outing was more eye-catching, Richard Jefferson's Game 4 may have quietly been more impressive. In 37 minutes, Jefferson had 15 points, four rebounds and a block while knocking down 6-of-9 shots from the field. A couple of his buckets were huge shots the Spurs desperately needed. Jefferson did a fantastic job of picking his spots and taking what the defense was giving him. Defensively, he was very good -- it was arguably one of his better defensive games of the season. Overall, Jefferson was another of the "dogs" turned hero in Game 4.

-DeJuan Blair was a human ball of energy in his 12 minutes of action. He had seven points and seven rebounds to go along with a block, assist and steal. Finally looking in rhythm, Blair utilized his massive bulk to bully the Mavs down low. He helped changed the tone of the game from a passive affair to a physical brawl. Blair's teammates and the crowd seemed to feed off of his energy and his play allowed Duncan some extra rest. Considering Duncan's woes, that was huge.

-Matt Bonner be playing his way out of San Antonio. He didn't play in the second half after playing eight weak minutes in the first half. He missed both of his shots and didn't pull down a rebound. He's now 5-for-17 from the floor this series and has only nine rebounds in 62 minutes. Bonner's nervous play is close to proving the widely held theory that Bonner doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to play well in the playoffs.

-After not playing in either of the last two games, Keith Bogans didn't play too horribly in his six minutes. He pulled down two rebounds and a steal while playing good defense on multiple Mavs. Although his individual play was decent enough, his presence on the court bogged down San Antonio's offense. I can't say it's a coincidence that the Spurs scored only 11 points in the next 14 minutes after Bogans entered the game.

-I thought Pop had a hit-and-miss game. Unearthing Bogans didn't make much sense -- he killed the Spurs in Game 1 and the Spurs won both games he got DNP-CDs. I thought he could have gotten Hill a few more looks and a couple more minutes for Blair wouldn't have hurt matters. Parker's playing time was so sporadic that it was hard for him to get into rhythm. On the other hand, Pop benched Bogans and Bonner the entire second half and never played Roger Mason, Jr., which worked out well. Pop's gameplan against Nowitzki was very good and Pop adjusting well to Rick Carlisle's ever-changing schemes.

[smrattler]

My initial reaction is much shorter:

Yippy!!!!!

[Libri]

-George Hill had the game of his life. In 45 minutes, Hill had 29 points and four rebounds while hitting 11-of-16 shots from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point land. Without Hill, this would be a tied series right now. His shooting was a godsend -- the team was 1-for-11 on three-pointers outside of Hill. His scoring in the third quarter forced the Spurs back into the game. Now looking completely healthy, Hill's defense was very good and his hustle was contagious. Let's hope this was Hill's coming out party and a sign of things to come.http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0425/rpm_g_spursts_576.jpg

[Dex]

As always, thanks for the breakdown. Feel better, mang.

:flag:

[Capt Bringdown]

Damn, Blair only got 12 minutes?

Those were some killer minutes.

[smrattler]

Yup, Blair changed the game I thought. The momentum was theirs and he came in, banged, finished, every loose ball was ours it seemed after he came in. And like TimVp said, because of this, Pop was able to keep TD on the bench to rest and that's a double bonus when TD is struggling.

[Cry Havoc]

Incredibly exciting game, and not too good for my heart. Man, the swings were ridiculous.

I'll say this though... I am VERY encouraged by seeing our "little 3" (Hill, RJ, and Blair) getting their post-season act together and playing like vets suddenly. If RJ continues to have games like this, I might not mind seeing him around too much longer.

RJ's continuation plays were magnificent tonight, and his aggressive cuts to the hoop really capitalized on the Mavs small ball.

I'd really like to see Pop calling more post-ups when Barea is in the game. For the love of the Iceman, I'm pretty sure that -I- could back down the lawn gnome, so I'm assuming even Parker wouldn't have much of a problem scoring in the block when JJ is on the court. If he comes in, we should be exploiting his defense as much as humanly possible.

More Bogans wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, he made a couple of plays while he was in the game.

[Whisky Dog]

The only coaching job worse than Pop's 1st half was Carlisle's 2nd half. He completely abandoned what got him the lead and went too small again giving Hill all sorts of space to shoot and maneuver. I didn't understand him benching Marion when Marion actually responded well in the first half.

[admiralsnackbar]

Tremendous, composed win.

[EricB]

Eh, Duncan didn't looked too gassed. He looked like he just had an off night. His tip in near the end showed he had some jump in his step. He just had an off night.

Hopefully Manu and Tony can get back on track.

They NEED to finish it in game 5.

Letting Dallas win in game 5 just gives them confidence. Right now Dallas is arguing amongst themselves, they are really down, you need to freaking step on their necks NOW.

[honestfool84]

:tu thank you. good summary.

[benefactor]

I don't really know how to feel after this game. They won? Seriously?

Hill was next level. He recognized that the Spurs stars were struggling and stepped up in a way that one could have expected. What a great future this kid has ahead of him.

All in all, the X-factor was the team defense. I had many doubts about this team defensively going into playoffs...as they were still making a lot of mistakes late in the season that should have been corrected long ago. Seemingly out of nowhere, they have they have managed to play the type of defense the can bail out the Big Three on a 9-36 night...in the playoffs. Just amazing.

[manu the best]

nice thread ..

[honestfool84]

Right now Dallas is arguing amongst themselves, they are really down, you need to freaking step on their necks NOW.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Eh, Duncan didn't looked too gassed. He looked like he just had an off night. His tip in near the end showed he had some jump in his step. He just had an off night.

Hopefully Manu and Tony can get back on track.

They NEED to finish it in game 5.

Letting Dallas win in game 5 just gives them confidence. Right now Dallas is arguing amongst themselves, they are really down, you need to freaking step on their necks NOW.

I disagree he was getting almost no lift on any rebound or move he made. Very sluggish to me.


Team defense is the biggest thing we have going for us now.
Rebounding still suspect.

[Interrohater]

great writeup, thanks Timvp.

I would only add that I think game 3 was Hill's coming out party and was a sign of things to come. Game 4 was things coming, lol

[vander]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me

[objective]

Bonner's nervous play is close to proving the widely held theory that Bonner doesn't have the intestinal fortitude to play well in the playoffs.

Sorry, Bonner's choking playoff performances isn't close to being proven, it's already been proven.

It's like the platypus. It's existence has already been proven. All that happens now are observations of it's existence. And each observation results in an exclamation of "What the hell! Come on! Are you serious? A duck billed furry creature that lays eggs!??! What kind of a joke is this?"

Matt Bonner . . . the Platypus of Plus/Minus choking.

[Brazil]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0425/rpm_g_spursts_576.jpg

he looks like a panther on this pic.

Seriously props to him!

he was not a good game for TP with these 5 TOs, he didn't shoot bad (4-9) I guess and gave us a huge jumper in the 4th. More impressive he continues coming off the bench with no apparent problems and he let the ball to the hot guy, it was a time when Pop asked him to shoot 20 times per game tonite he shot 9 balls letting Hill and Manu having 32.

kudos to Parker

[Bender]

yeah, I saw the Box on Blair, in only 11:39 he gets a 7-7.

I thought only duncan was laying an egg, but now I see tony and manu were off this game too.

[DPG21920]

Duncan looked very bad. It has me very concerned. Manu has had two poor shooting games. That has me concerned. Spurs left the Mavs open for three, that has me concerned. Pop went back to Bogans and that has me concerned.

But somehow they keep winning. They are doing a lot of good things obviously, but still room for improvement. I hope Tim is ok because they can't survive another game like that. Dirk is not going to have an off game like Tim did tonight.

[EricB]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me

:lol

Mugged?


He's getting bodied up and defended well. When he drives tot he lane he flails.

WTF.

What other benefits are they getting?

The Jason Kidd "flagrant" foul beneficial? The BS flagrant on Dirk from Jefferson?

Oh yeah, CLEARLY in their corner :lmao fail

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Incredibly exciting game, and not too good for my heart. Man, the swings were ridiculous.

I'll say this though... I am VERY encouraged by seeing our "little 3" (Hill, RJ, and Blair) getting their post-season act together and playing like vets suddenly. If RJ continues to have games like this, I might not mind seeing him around too much longer.

RJ's continuation plays were magnificent tonight, and his aggressive cuts to the hoop really capitalized on the Mavs small ball.

I'd really like to see Pop calling more post-ups when Barea is in the game. For the love of the Iceman, I'm pretty sure that -I- could back down the lawn gnome, so I'm assuming even Parker wouldn't have much of a problem scoring in the block when JJ is on the court. If he comes in, we should be exploiting his defense as much as humanly possible.

More Bogans wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing, he made a couple of plays while he was in the game.

Overlooked was RJ's block on Caron at the end of the first half. I think it set the tone for the third.

Agreed on Barea. Punish that little f'er in the post when he's in.

On Bogans - got to put him out there with a better lineup than Tony, RJ, Blair, and Bonner if you're going to do it.

Bogans and Bonner on the court just means there's two people the Mavs don't have to cover on D (and they didn't in the second, our spacing was horrible, and we got clowned on).

[EricB]

Duncan looked very bad. It has me very concerned. Manu has had two poor shooting games. That has me concerned. Spurs left the Mavs open for three, that has me concerned. Pop went back to Bogans and that has me concerned.

But somehow they keep winning. They are doing a lot of good things obviously, but still room for improvement. I hope Tim is ok because they can't survive another game like that. Dirk is not going to have an off game like Tim did tonight.

Manu had a pretty good shooting 4th quarter in game 3.

They are defending well, its not all just those guys.

[NewJerSpur]

First, the Spurs won Game 3 without hitting a three-pointer. Then, to raise the difficulty level even more, the Spurs won Game 4 without much help from the Big 3. With the Big 3 a combined 9-for-36, San Antonio relied on their "dogs" to defeat the Mavs by a final score of 92-89.


Man, it's weird to think just last week the Spurs were in the "doghouse". What a turnaround and an old school Spurs win.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Very very worried about Duncan.

We might be seeing him wear down super fast to close out the season.

Sucks.

[EricB]

:rolleyes drama queen.


Also huge props to RJ in that third quarter when he got switched onto Dirk.

Fronted him, forced turnovers, I think got a block. Dude was studly in the 3rd and 4th quarter.

[admiralsnackbar]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me

Turnabout is fair play. Game 1 was ridiculous, too.

I also thought Blair picked up an unnecessary flagrant on Kidd, and Terry got away with several non-calls. It was a chippy game, no question.

[NewJerSpur]

Was definitely a tale of two halfs, and the game balls go to the supporting cast. RJ may be invisible at times, but he's had some timely blocks/rebounds/buckets around the basket which the Mavs AREN'T getting from their supporting cast....only the usual Spur-killers.

[Cry Havoc]

Very very worried about Duncan.

We might be seeing him wear down super fast to close out the season.

Sucks.

Nah, he'll be fine. 11 rebounds tonight. He was just missing some easy shots that should have gone down.

[scottspurs]

Duncan didn't have his legs tonight. Looked sluggish. Looking forward I think it's very important the spurs put this away on Tuesday so the spurs can rest up and prepare for Portland/Phoenix.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

LJ, your comment about Parker's D being "solid" was accurate until the last 3 minutes when he inexplicably wandered a few steps off Terry, neither doubling nor helping anyone else while simultaneously giving JET just enough room to hit two 3s when the Mavs needed them most. I really hope TP got a serve from Pop about that... just overwhelmingly stupid D.

As for Dice, after campaigning so strongly for him during the off-season, watching him stumble his way through the regular season was painful for me, but it's all paying dividends now! This is the Dice I expected to see as a Spur. :D

And yeah, George is a whirlwind. Awesome, clutch performance at both ends tonight.

Same can be said of Manu's ballsy 3 to effectively win the game. That mofo is so freakin clutch his picture is in the dictionary defining the word.

[ShoogarBear]

I'm worried about Duncan too, tonight looked like the stretch he went through in the second half of the year.

I think you can play Bogans for 5-10 minutes AS LONG AS he's out there with four other scorers. You can't put him out there with Bonner or Mason (and preferably not McDyess or RJ) or he's a liability.

We've already discussed in another thread that with Bonner you throw him out there and if he doesn't hit on any of his first 2-3 shots you banish him to the bench for the rest of the game.

But if Tim is gassed then we've got to get a good 25-30 minutes from Bonner and Blair. Hopefully tonight's game will have DeJuan turning the corner.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

As for Timmy, didn't he play big minutes in the first few games of the series? He's probably just tired. He'll come back strong.

[dbreiden83080]

I'd hate to think Duncan is already tired.. Guess we'll know in game 5 but to me he looked like he was not feeling it early and then just didn't press much in the 2nd half. I bet he has one more really great game in the next 2. We all expect this to go 6 anyway..

[wut]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me
Dirk took 10 shots and went to the free thow line 5 times; Duncan took 9 shots and went to the line 2 times. Guess which of these guys gets more contact putting up a shot.... the guy taking jumpers and driving or the guy posting up and driving?

Duncan took 7 shots in the paint, Dirk took 2.

I could continue to dive into the stats but I'm pretty sure you're just wrong.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Maybe Duncan got really fucked up last night for his birthday and was just hung over?

I really really hope so.

[HankChinaski]

Everyone was getting mauled tonight start of the 2nd half.

Duncan did look gassed. Part off night part fatigue due to the small roatation since game 2. Probably why we saw some bogans tonight also. A to give the man a chance to redeem his pathetic game 1 but also to rest out 2 and 3s some for the 2nd half.

Blair played some terrific 3rd quarter minutes that proved to be huge and game changing for the team. If we can get that type of trim from the man on forward this can help out the starters a bunch.

Timvp pretty much spelled out the rest. I'm loving the amount of determination and poise of this playoff spurs team to keep their heads in a rough n tough game like these home games.

[Kori Ellis]

LJ, your comment about Parker's D being "solid" was accurate until the last 3 minutes when he inexplicably wandered a few steps off Terry, neither doubling nor helping anyone else while simultaneously giving JET just enough room to hit two 3s when the Mavs needed them most. I really hope TP got a serve from Pop about that... just overwhelmingly stupid D.

On one of them, he was doubling and all the way over. He wasn't just a few steps off. The other one, I don't know WTF he was doing.

[Kori Ellis]

Maybe Duncan got really fucked up last night for his birthday and was just hung over?

I really really hope so.

:lol That's my theory.

[Saul Silver]

Maybe Duncan got really fucked up last night for his birthday and was just hung over?

I really really hope so.

Ha! That's what I woulda done.

[vander]

Dirk took 10 shots and went to the free thow line 5 times; Duncan took 9 shots and went to the line 2 times. Guess which of these guys gets more contact putting up a shot.... the guy taking jumpers and driving or the guy posting up and driving?

Duncan took 7 shots in the paint, Dirk took 2.

I could continue to dive into the stats but I'm pretty sure you're just wrong.

I didn't know fouls have to be called based on the style of ball you play and how many shots you take

[EricB]

I don't know, i was there and Pop was on Duncan's ass.

Usually when Duncan looks tired Pop usually doesn't get on him.

If Pop thought he was tired I don't know if he would've ripped his ass as much as he did...

[HarlemHeat37]

Duncan looked off mentally more than anything TBH..

He was taking some BAD shots in this game..a lot of contested fadeaways..he didn't even look to attack once, which was something we didn't see in the other games..he was also fumbling some easy rebounds and he had that mental block at the end of the game..

He also missed that chip shot in clutch time, point blank..he just looked off on his shot and mentally IMO..I agree he looked slow, but he could have overcame that IMO..

If he takes good shots, he'll be fine IMO..or at least I hope..Spurs need to close out the series ASAP..

[EricB]

I didn't know fouls have to be called based on the style of ball you play and how many shots you take

No, its just plain logic....

If he you shoot jumpers your gonna get less or create less contact...

[rpduke]

Duncan had a bad game and that's all I'm gonna chalk it up to, and the same goes for Manu.

Win Game 5 and get some rest. Hope Port/Phx goes 7.

[DPG21920]

Dude, just look at the game. Tim looked really bad physically.

[NewJerSpur]

Pop probably ripped into him for taking those fadeaways....even if he was fatigued, it was basically the same as turning the ball over given how they were rebounding in the 1st half.

[EricB]

Duncan looked off mentally more than anything TBH..

He was taking some BAD shots in this game..a lot of contested fadeaways..he didn't even look to attack once, which was something we didn't see in the other games..he was also fumbling some easy rebounds and he had that mental block at the end of the game..

He also missed that chip shot in clutch time, point blank..he just looked off on his shot and mentally IMO..

If he takes good shots, he'll be fine IMO..or at least I hope..


Yeah exactly. This was a game you'd see from Duncan in December. Not into it. fumbling stumbling just out of it.

Luckily he got some boards and a nice tip in in the second half.

I look for Duncan to be Duncan in game 5.

Manu I can almost guarantee will be Manu. Especially since he smells blood in the water.

Manu was VERY un aggressive, understandable with the nose, but still, if its ok to play, go to the damn hole.

[HarlemHeat37]

The positive is that if the Spurs advance, Portland/Phoenix aren't nearly as physical as Dallas..

[MannyIsGod]

One thing that made Duncan look worse was that all his touches came in the post and he rarely faced up. He's just not going to succeed against this team with his back to the basket. He's got to face up and take them off the dribble like he did on the first possession of the 2nd half.

[vander]

No, its just plain logic....

If he you shoot jumpers your gonna get less or create less contact...

unless the defender is giving you all the contact he would give a low post player anyways

you're both talking abut usual norms, I'm talking about what I thought I saw in this particular game

[baseline bum]

Tim's been having a monster series up until tonight, so I'm going to chalk it up to being an outlier unless shown otherwise in subsequent games. Man, it's nice to see the Spurs win a game they had no business being in with the entire big 3 looking way off tonight.

[Solid D]

http://a.espncdn.com/photo/2010/0425/rpm_g_spursts_576.jpg


he looks like a panther on this pic.

Stephen Jackson II

[HarlemHeat37]

One thing that made Duncan look worse was that all his touches came in the post and he rarely faced up. He's just not going to succeed against this team with his back to the basket. He's got to face up and take them off the dribble like he did on the first possession of the 2nd half.

Yup..

His success in this series against their defenders has been primarily from facing up..his post ups weren't successful in the 1st 3 games either, even though he was having good games..

He doesn't have any advantages against Damp and Haywood in the post IMO(although he could push Haywood around a little)..

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

On one of them, he was doubling and all the way over. He wasn't just a few steps off. The other one, I don't know WTF he was doing.

The question then is what he was doing doubling off Terry at all? Surely the one guy you should stay at home on against the Mavs, especially when they needed 3s, is Terry. That is about all I can say to criticize the Spurs D tonight though, because it was incredible all night. 2005 level. Just totally :wow

I will also say that, before those lapses, TP had played tough, in your face D, especially on Kidd, and helped to keep him out of the game yet again.

[GSH]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me

He was. So was Duncan. The refs let them play, and didn't step on the game any more than they had to. It's never a matter of expecting the refs to get every call right - just let them be fairly consistent on both ends of the floor.

If you have the game recorded, look at around the 2:00 mark of the 4th quarter. Jason Terry is lining up a 3-pointer from the corner, and George Hill is attempting to box out Eric Dampier under the basket. Caron Butler ran up and shoved Hill so hard from behind that he slammed into Dampier, and both of them fell out the end of the court. Ridiculous, unnecessary, and obvious.

The point is, the refs were letting both teams play hard, and both benefitted from it.

[HarlemHeat37]

Parker always seems to take it personal against Kidd defensively IMO..

[Shaolin-Style]

I think Duncan will bounce back next game, he didn't really seem tired to me just seemed like he didn't have his touch. He looked energetic on the bench when he was cheering blair and others, and seemed to be going ok on defense, I think one point he messed up Jason Kidd's shot on a 3 attempt.

Glad to see Hill prosper and loved the commentators on TNT noting how hard he worked in the off season and worked on learning how to defend like bowen.

[EricB]

Parker always seems to take it personal against Kidd defensively IMO..

Ever since 2003 yup.

No one can convince me that he doesn't take it personal ever since that summer.

[wut]

I didn't know fouls have to be called based on the style of ball you play and how many shots you take
Look the stats suggest that Dirk got to the free throw line every other time he shot the ball... and you're saying refs weren't fair to him. I'm merely pointing towards the Spurs star player who got to the free throw line one in every four shots he took, taking them in a place where there's more physical contact to get up a shot.

I watched the game too, not just pointing out stats, I thought there was some serious "playoff basketball" going on for a change but Dirk got some calls and one or two that weren't even fouls. The home team will always get SOME calls in the playoffs, but it wasn't like it affected the game, slowed the game down or were outright phantom calls like you get up in Dallas.

Mavs played well, Spurs made some big shots, and that's that.

[The Truth #6]

I think this is the new Spurs. The big three will have more off games then they used to but we have a better supporting cast to balance it out. Tim had one bad game. He's been playing big minutes. Doesn't mean he's done for good. He will just have an off game here and there.

[EricB]

I think Duncan will bounce back next game, he didn't really seem tired to me just seemed like he didn't have his touch. He looked energetic on the bench when he was cheering blair and others, and seemed to be going ok on defense, I think one point he messed up Jason Kidd's shot on a 3 attempt.


Yeah again, he rotated to shooters well especially on that play forcing an airball from Kidd.

He was supposedly exhausted and got 6 more rebounds than he did in game 3.

Amazing.

[pjjrfan]

Let's face it our big 3 just didn't have their heads in the game. For whatever reasons. The final stressfull minute came down to Manu not calling a time out and getting hung up for a jump ball and then Timmy not calling a time out and throwing the ball the length of the court on what was just a bad decision. In the meantime I'm chunking down nexiums like crazy.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Here's my commentary on George and Grizzly so far this series:

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=152303

;)

[emanueldavidginobili]

tim will be fine, jesus hes a pro athlete i think he can play without him needing a wheelchair, calm down everyone. and manu struggling and tim has to do with mavs probably having one of the biggest bruiser centers in the west playoffs in damp and haywood and perimeter defenders in marion and caron. if we win advance into the next round theres no one on the suns that can defend duncan or manu. thats if the suns win.

[The Truth #6]

Blair was great tonight. I knew he could start making those shots around the hoop. I agree - his physical presence was huge. With Hill hitting from outside and Blair waging World War Three in the post, the Mavs were unprepared to respond. With this game hopefully Blair earned more minutes for game 5.

Also, curious if Stern fines anyone for this game. I could see them fining Eduardo but then feeling compelled to fine a Spur to somehow make things fair, as ridiculous as it sounds. Either way, the rivalry is back.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Let's face it our big 3 just didn't have their heads in the game. For whatever reasons. The final stressfull minute came down to Manu not calling a time out and getting hung up for a jump ball and then Timmy not calling a time out and throwing the ball the length of the court on what was just a bad decision. In the meantime I'm chunking down nexiums like crazy.

Manu was slapped on the arm by Jet for no call, but yeah, that was a strange decision.

As for Tim's throw, I could see his thinking. A time out is not always a good call because it gives the D time to set up, and with 1.5 seconds to go all he needed to do was get the ball inbounds and away from his end of the court. A little odd though, I will admit.

[NewJerSpur]

Hopefully that Suns/Blazers series goes every BIT of 7 games and we close things out Tuesday. The HUGE positive from tonight is that we took what might have been the best shot the Mavs had and we have experience in THIS series stomping them out on the road. Nothing's guaranteed, but I say this to say that the team is prepared for whatever happens at either end of the spectrum.

[HarlemHeat37]

Well, to be fair, while Duncan is a great passer, he makes bonehead outlet passes all the time..

[EricB]

a second left, he threw it the length of the court away from the basket to a streaking Manu. if Manu taps it in the air ahead of Terry's slapping it, game was over then.

Manu got freaking fouled on that play in the corner, happened literally right in front of me and freaking I think Butler and Kidd were on the trap, slapped the shit out of his arms.

[EricB]

Hopefully that Suns/Blazers series goes every BIT of 7 games and we close things out Tuesday. The HUGE positive from tonight is that we took what might have been the best shot the Mavs had and we have experience in THIS series stomping them out on the road. Nothing's guaranteed, but I say this to say that the team is prepared for whatever happens at either end of the spectrum.

Yeah end it tuesday and then hopefully Phoenix and Portland beat the living crap out each other for 7 games wearing each other out...

I wouldn't say that was Dallas's best game either BUT, thats the best IMO Butler and Marion are gonna play.

Dirk will shoot more than 10 times as well tuesday I'd bet.

[EricB]

Well, to be fair, while Duncan is a great passer, he makes bonehead outlet passes all the time..

cough *game3outlettogeorgehillup8*

[NewJerSpur]

Yeah end it tuesday and then hopefully Phoenix and Portland beat the living crap out each other for 7 games wearing each other out...

I wouldn't say that was Dallas's best game either BUT, thats the best IMO Butler and Marion are gonna play.

Dirk will shoot more than 10 times as well tuesday I'd bet.

Dallas played us the best they had for the series imo (we were in it for Game 1 but the whistles altered that). Barea was effective, Terry was scoring, and Butler and Marion were even involved early in this game.....not to mention we came out sluggish. It was a perfect storm for Dallas, particularly on the road. Doesn't mean they won't come out like gangbusters Tuesday night, but barring the majority of the roster being in double digits, we're prepared for anything else they can throw at us.

[The Truth #6]

I don't think the Spurs as a team have been this physical since 99. Hill, Dice, and Blair play physical. Even RJ got a flagrant tonight. Great to see the team as a whole not backing down. It's a good sign, the Mavs are probably getting rattled.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

All I ask is for Tony to quit leaving Terry wide open in the corner for three. JT loves that shot.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I don't think the Spurs as a team have been this physical since 99. Hill, Dice, and Blair play physical. Even RJ got a flagrant tonight. Great to see the team as a whole not backing down. It's a good sign, the Mavs are probably getting rattled.

Having recently played in a grand final against a bunch of bullies, this is crucial. Basketball is a game of mental toughness, and you have to stand up to being bullied. That doesn't mean you respond with dirty play, in fact quite the opposite. You have to respond with toughness - getting up in their grill, wrestling for position, hard fouls when beaten. If you stick to your guns and play harder than your opponent, you will wear them down more often than not, especially if they are bullies who are used to getting their way.

And yes, we won the grand final and I kept my guy (an 18ppg scorer) to 5pts and had him foul out early in the 4th (after out-toughing him all game then drawing 3 charges in the 3rd quarter :D ).


All I ask is for Tony to quit leaving Terry wide open in the corner for three. JT loves that shot.

Indeed.

You'd have to think that Pop would have a word to him about that after this game, no?

[NewJerSpur]

I don't think the Spurs as a team have been this physical since 99. Hill, Dice, and Blair play physical. Even RJ got a flagrant tonight. Great to see the team as a whole not backing down. It's a good sign, the Mavs are probably getting rattled.

After Horry faded coming off the injury in 2008 and Bowen's trade and retirement, it's nice to see guys chipping in with tough plays around the basket and on looseball situations. The three guys to mentioned made some plays on offense that go outside the stats.....everytime a ball was around the basket on offense in the 3rd it seemed Blair had a hand on it, even amongst the trees on Dallas.

[Spurminator]

Duncan looked a little slower at times, but sometimes it seemed like he just wasn't putting his usual Playoff effort into plays. Case in point, the play where he let Haywood get a layup instead of fouling or going for the block. It was a very regular season looking play for Duncan. I'm sure it's hard to play 82 games one way and then flip the switch permanently... Anyway, I think he'll bounce back in Game 5. We'll need it.

Wasn't wild about Tony's game after the first quarter. Far to many turnovers and bad decisions on offense, and he left Terry in the corner too often to guard no one in particular.

I wanted less shooting and more penetration from Manu. Seeing the nose bandage he began the game with, I was not confident he was going to have a very good shooting touch. It had to be visually distracting.

I would have George Hill's child if science would allow it.

Blair was a game changer. He completely swung the "loose ball" game our way.

This was definitely Jefferson's best game of the series. He brought it both halves this time.

Bonner is not only missing, he's missing bad. I have no confidence he will ever be able to consistently hit open 3's in pressure situations. If we play the Lakers, they will leave him even more open than the Mavs are, and this could be disastrous.

I fucking hate Najera. I've always believed he was an injury waiting to happen. If anyone ever dies on the basketball court I give 2:1 odds Najera will be somewhere in the vicinity.

[NFGIII]

Damn, Blair only got 12 minutes?

Those were some killer minutes.

Absolutely Killer! What an energy guy he was tonight. So in a 48 minute game that would be 48 pts with 48 rebounds. Nice you think? :D


Yup, Blair changed the game I thought. The momentum was theirs and he came in, banged, finished, every loose ball was ours it seemed after he came in. And like TimVp said, because of this, Pop was able to keep TD on the bench to rest and that's a double bonus when TD is struggling.

I think this team did an about face when he hit the floor. His energy is contagious. I especially liked the play where he interrupted an inbounds pass to Haywood and knocked it in the direction of RJ. What a hustle play!


On one of them, he was doubling and all the way over. He wasn't just a few steps off. The other one, I don't know WTF he was doing. He cheats/gambles sometimes too much for me. Leaving Terry along in the corner for a 3 when he is the hot shooter isn't a very good defensive play.


The question then is what he was doing doubling off Terry at all? Surely the one guy you should stay at home on against the Mavs, especially when they needed 3s, is Terry. That is about all I can say to criticize the Spurs D tonight though, because it was incredible all night. 2005 level. Just totally :wow

I will also say that, before those lapses, TP had played tough, in your face D, especially on Kidd, and helped to keep him out of the game yet again.

TP has been playing great D as of late. Like many of the other Spurs the defensive level has jumped - except for the obvious culprits ...ie...Bonner and Mase. Even Bogans played good D tonight though as usual he was offensively challenged.

[Blackjack]

The question then is what he was doing doubling off Terry at all? Surely the one guy you should stay at home on against the Mavs, especially when they needed 3s, is Terry. That is about all I can say to criticize the Spurs D tonight though, because it was incredible all night. 2005 level. Just totally :wow

I will also say that, before those lapses, TP had played tough, in your face D, especially on Kidd, and helped to keep him out of the game yet again.

The Spurs were coming after Dirk much more in this game and, as strange as it was to see, were somewhat conceding the short-corner 3 -- the bane of Pop's defensive existence.

Pop had the bigs closing out hard to the corner to get a contest on the 3 but he clearly took a calculated gamble that the resulting shot would do less damage over the course of the game than playing Dirk straight-up.

There looked to be a switch in the rotation on one or both of the last plays from Pop, so Tony might not be completely at fault -- it looked like he did have a gaffe on one of them, though. (Pop couldn't have felt the percentages were with him if Terry was in the short-corner.)

[TIMMYD!]

Not worried about Tim, he was just having an off game. Just watch, he will bounce back in Game 5.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Hopefully that Suns/Blazers series goes every BIT of 7 games and we close things out Tuesday. The HUGE positive from tonight is that we took what might have been the best shot the Mavs had and we have experience in THIS series stomping them out on the road. Nothing's guaranteed, but I say this to say that the team is prepared for whatever happens at either end of the spectrum.

Let's not get ahead of ourselves. The Mavs have not given us anything resembling their best possible effort.

We are D'ing them up pretty damn well but if we play like the 2nd quarter for two or three quarters we will lose that game quite handily.

[EricB]

Duncan looked a little slower at times, but sometimes it seemed like he just wasn't putting his usual Playoff effort into plays. Case in point, the play where he let Haywood get a layup instead of fouling or going for the block. It was a very regular season looking play for Duncan. I'm sure it's hard to play 82 games one way and then flip the switch permanently... Anyway, I think he'll bounce back in Game 5. We'll need it.

Wasn't wild about Tony's game after the first quarter. Far to many turnovers and bad decisions on offense, and he left Terry in the corner too often to guard no one in particular.

I wanted less shooting and more penetration from Manu. Seeing the nose bandage he began the game with, I was not confident he was going to have a very good shooting touch. It had to be visually distracting.

I would have George Hill's child if science would allow it.

Blair was a game changer. He completely swung the "loose ball" game our way.

This was definitely Jefferson's best game of the series. He brought it both halves this time.

Bonner is not only missing, he's missing bad. I have no confidence he will ever be able to consistently hit open 3's in pressure situations. If we play the Lakers, they will leave him even more open than the Mavs are, and this could be disastrous.

I fucking hate Najera. I've always believed he was an injury waiting to happen. If anyone ever dies on the basketball court I give 2:1 odds Najera will be somewhere in the vicinity.

Agreed 100% on all points. I thought Manu was very passive and very unagressive tonight and would've liked to see more drives.

Hopefully that changes tuesday when he's more comfortable with the tape.

[Blackjack]

As for Tim, he didn't look terrible physically but he didn't look nearly as spry as he had through the first three games.

It's difficult to know for sure with him nowadays, because his margin for error is razor thin offensively (if he's a hair off mentally or physically with his shot or attack he can look pretty bad), but he does look fatigued to me -- not as bad as he was when I mentioned to end the year but it's significant enough.

I usually look to see where he's catching the ball and what kind of progress he makes backing people down when he's on the box, and there's definitely been a drop off from Games 1-3 -- he was burying both Damp and Haywood and backing them down to pretty much wherever he wanted to go early ... tonight he was getting stood up and feeling the defender more than overwhelming or imposing his physicality.

It makes sense, though. He had all sorts of rest coming into the series and a couple of days off in between 1 and 2. He played big, physical, playoff minutes, and now he's playing every-other-day -- the Spurs would be wise to end this thing in 5, he and Manu could use the days off.

[EricB]

Yeah agreed.

Although I don't think he was as tired as said, its wise all the way around just to end this thing before Dallas gets even a shred of confidence.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I'd like to see Manu wear a mask - that way he can go to the rim without worrying about his nose. With only a bandage, what if he cops another elbow? it could put him out for a game or the series. I hope he sees reason on this. Playing with just a bandage seems an unnecessary risk to me, especially since he shot poorly anyway.

[Blackjack]

He's actually got a specially molded piece of plastic (Basically the same stuff the mask is made of) under the bandage, so it's pretty much serves the same purpose.

He has better vision with this and it's more comfortable and easier to play with, though.

[DespЏrado]

If Tim starts to have another bad game like tonight, I'd like to see him on the three point line knocking something down. It can't be any worse than what Bonner takes, and it might open the floor up just a little for himself. And they would be easy points being so unexpected.

Oddly enough I trust Tim's three point stroke more than I trust almost everyone outside of Manu and Hill.
/end pipe dream

[Cant_Be_Faded]

If Tim starts to have another bad game like tonight, I'd like to see him on the three point line knocking something down. It can't be any worse than what Bonner takes

funny cuz true

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

He's actually got a specially molded piece of plastic (Basically the same stuff the mask is made of) under the bandage, so it's pretty much serves the same purpose.

He has better vision with this and it's more comfortable and easier to play with, though.

Okay, thanks, didn't know that. I think the mask works by spreading the force of any impact across its entire surface though, so a smaller piece of plastic would be less effective at doing that.

Anyway, we just have to trust in Manu, and I'm willing to do that - he knows what's best for him. :)

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

As for Tim, he didn't look terrible physically but he didn't look nearly as spry as he had through the first three games.

It's difficult to know for sure with him nowadays, because his margin for error is razor thin offensively (if he's a hair off mentally or physically with his shot or attack he can look pretty bad), but he does look fatigued to me -- not as bad as he was when I mentioned to end the year but it's significant enough.

I usually look to see where he's catching the ball and what kind of progress he makes backing people down when he's on the box, and there's definitely been a drop off from Games 1-3 -- he was burying both Damp and Haywood and backing them down to pretty much wherever he wanted to go early ... tonight he was getting stood up and feeling the defender more than overwhelming or imposing his physicality.

It makes sense, though. He had all sorts of rest coming into the series and a couple of days off in between 1 and 2. He played big, physical, playoff minutes, and now he's playing every-other-day -- the Spurs would be wise to end this thing in 5, he and Manu could use the days off.

I want to see Tim go back to facing these guys up and going to his running hook. When Dampier is effective against Tim it is usually because he can muscle him around, but he can't do that when Tim's driving around him. Tim has more of a chance successfully posting Haywood.

BTW, where has the banker gone? We haven't seen it in weeks!

[HarlemHeat37]

He tried a bank shot tonight, but it rimmed out..

Tonight was the first game where Duncan was settling..in the other games, he was attacking quickly and aggressively..there was a clear difference tonight..

He was facing up Dampier to death in the other games, tonight he went back to the post ups for some reason..

[Blackjack]

I'm sure the mask would definitely be better, for the reasons you mentioned, but I think Manu will take the trade-off -- greater ability to play unencumbered and a little more susceptible to injury, as apposed to the other way around.

He's Manu Ginobili -- it's who he is. :lol

[NewJerSpur]

BTW, where has the banker gone? We haven't seen it in weeks!

He's made a concerted effort it appears to go away from the long range jumpers unless he's absolutely open, which is a good thing, especially with the legnth of the Mavs bigs. Now he just needs to give the fadeaways a rest because when he's facing up driving to the basket he's been nearly impossible for them to guard.

[peskypesky]

DeJuan Blair was a human ball of energy in his 12 minutes of action. He had seven points and seven rebounds to go along with a block, assist and steal.

I thought Pop had a hit-and-miss game... a couple more minutes for Blair wouldn't have hurt matters.

ya think?

[mingus]

yeah, with Duncan it seemed to me he wasn't getting that much lift, and he was slow getting up the court. besides that, he wasn't that aggressive with his offensive moves. he never really went to the basket. most of his shots were either hooks or shots where he was fading away. and then he had one missed banker. it could be that he wasn't feeling the explosiveness that is needed to make those aggressive moves toward the basket to get his game going that explains his lack of offensive aggression.

[peskypesky]

i'm surprised so many people are wondering what happened to Tim in this game. It's simple. He turned 34. he's aging, and every birthday takes him closer to the end of his career, and he knows it. it's depressing. i know because my birthday is today, and even though i'm acting like it's no big deal, i'm kind of depressed at the moment. i want to be getting younger, not older. tim does too. he was just bummed out today.

[Blackjack]

Yeah, he went glass early tonight, rimmed out, but he just didn't look decisive with his moves -- this banker looked like more of him settling than mixing up his game.

During the first three games, he actually had a good first step. He was beating the bigs to the middle, getting to the front of the cup, but he just didn't have it tonight. I mean, he was even backing Damp down a good 10-feet to shoot his jump hook, which is something he's had trouble with since losing all the weight -- some could be attributed to playoff Timmy, but most had to do with the fresh legs he had from the rest.

He looked so good to start the series and was making moves as well as he had in years. I'm really hoping this schedule doesn't kick his ass now that he's played the minutes he has and won't get more than a day break, but I guess we'll see.

The guy better be in a hot tub and chillin' until game time Tuesday.

[mingus]

and big props to McDyess. His jumper and play is making it so that the Spurs don't have to play Bonner that much. He's doing what's expected of him now. IF Blair can be counted on to do what he did tonight, it'll do more to not having to play Bonner. and not enough can be said about Hill. Hill jumper is a thing of beauty right now.

[NewJerSpur]

i'm surprised so many people are wondering what happened to Tim in this game. It's simple. He turned 34. he's aging, and every birthday takes him closer to the end of his career, and he knows it. it's depressing. i know because my birthday is today, and even though i'm acting like it's no big deal, i'm kind of depressed at the moment. i want to be getting younger, not older. tim does too. he was just bummed out today.

Happy Birthday. My Grandfather's is today as well and mine will be following shortly thereafter.

Hopefully Tim gets up for the closeout, it's been a while since he's been in this situation but I'd bet on him showing up.

[angelbelow]

If we can close it out in 5 that would be ideal. Hopefully our bench continues their great play on the road.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Yeah, he went glass early tonight, rimmed out, but he just didn't look decisive with his moves -- this banker looked like more of him settling than mixing up his game.

During the first three games, he actually had a good first step. He was beating the bigs to the middle, getting to the front of the cup, but he just didn't have it tonight. I mean, he was even backing Damp down a good 10-feet to shoot his jump hook, which is something he's had trouble with since losing all the weight -- some could be attributed to playoff Timmy, but most had to do with the fresh legs he had from the rest.

He looked so good to start the series and was making moves as well as he had in years. I'm really hoping this schedule doesn't kick his ass now that he's played the minutes he has and won't get more than a day break, but I guess we'll see.

The guy better be in a hot tub and chillin' until game time Tuesday.

He was even driving baseline on them and pulling up while fading baseline, a shot he hasn't used much for years. He's had at least 2 3pt plays doing that this series. It's not one of my favourite Timmy moves as, just like his righty push shot on the right block going middle, it is susceptible to getting blocked, but it has been effective this series.

I think we'll see Playoff Warrior Duncan again next game. He was just tired, and he'll bounce back.

[GSH]

Hill jumper is a thing of beauty right now.


Did you see the rotation on those balls? You're right, it was a thing of beauty. (Especially on a night when the other guys were throwing knuckleballs.) I actually backed up during commercials to watch some of those shots again. He is really stroking it right now.

[crc21209]

Well we all sure as hell know that TD is his harshest critic..so you know even though they did win this game, he didnt play well and he's gonna come out wanting to bounce back big time in Game 5. If you would've told me that the Big 3 would only play mediocre to poor, I would've said they lost this game. But Hill, RJ, and Dice stepped up BIG tonight. Dice continues to make Dirk earn each and every one of his points that he gets, he's rebounding, hustling, and knocking down the mid-range J we need him to knock down. RJ brought some very much needed D and hustle-type plays on Defense that led to some points on the offensive end, big props to him. And Hill, this kid totally had his breakout playoff game tonight- shredding the Mavs from every which way possible. From knocking down the corner 3 to hitting the mid-range J to driving and finishing at the rim, this guy had it ALL tonight. BIG win by the Spurs, now all we need is ONE more.

[Blackjack]

Yeah, and that's what I was getting at when I was talking about his thin margin for error. He shoots those same shots (into the defender, with the wrong hand) one game and looks inept and clueless but in the next looks like a world-beater because he's a little quicker and more decisive -- if he has his legs and wits about him it gives him just enough of a window to get those shots off without much of a problem.

Hopefully the day off will be enough to re-energize him because if it's not ... it's only going to get worse from here -- I'm hoping for the best and believing he, and they, will find a way to get it done.

[timvp]

We'll find out if it was fatigue or simply a bad game for Tim Duncan on Tuesday. if a day of rest isn't enough for TD anymore, that's obviously a big concern.

I'm also a little concerned with Manu being fatigued. He was moving a lot better earlier in the series than in the last two games.

[td_tp_manu]

Maybe Pop put Bogans in to give RJ some rest? I'm cool with it if the man he defends is Jason Kidd.

To the Spurs, Mavs' most threatening weapon is transition offense. If Spurs execute the offense well, they are generally fine defensively.

[tuncaboylu]

There is a good side of the bad performance of our big three: Our role players are filled with the full confidence at the moment and that's great for the rest of the play-offs. If we could beat the Western conference 2nd team without any significant supplement of TP, TD and Manu; we can advance till the end. It's great news.

[z0sa]

We just need to escape Dallas and Game 5 with a win so we can get our vitals some real downtime.

[TDMVPDPOY]

Damn, Blair only got 12 minutes?

Those were some killer minutes.

enjoyed the part where he took down kidd, fck him...how about the part he tango with dirk and he was going to beasts him if the refs didnt stop it.....did blair just came out on enforcer school under the schooling of their grandmaster kwillis/massoman?

we need more of this no tolerant bs on this team....


ps. pop going cia when gino went down from the najeras flagrant foul..

[NFGIII]

a second left, he threw it the length of the court away from the basket to a streaking Manu. if Manu taps it in the air ahead of Terry's slapping it, game was over then.

I was watching TNT and Collins stated that TD should have called a TO and so as to advance the ball to half court. I think that Pop acted like he wanted one too but not really certain. Happened so damn fast and will all the adrenaline flowing and all... I think that a TO would have been the correct call and if there was more time left there still remained the possibility of making a shot however mprobable. Any BB fan has seen those last second mircale shots and to have witnessed one in this game would have pissed me off more than I can think. Especially since it would have been the result of TD not making the proper call. IMHO For being such a great player there are times when I just shake my head and wonder what he was thinking when he does things like that.




Manu got freaking fouled on that play in the corner, happened literally right in front of me and freaking I think Butler and Kidd were on the trap, slapped the shit out of his arms.

Manu got mugged for sure. Should he have called a TO rather than try to get a foul called? Moot point but worth considering.

Considering these two situations I wonder if Pop is going to address this issue in respect to future ones. Though this may not seem that important to some (we did win the game right?) it is the attention to detail that has made this team/core players champions. I think that both of those players should have called TOs. But it is hard to argue with two future HOFs.

[SenorSpur]

Great summary, as always.

Amazing that the Spurs were victorious despite such a poor outing from Duncan, along with struggling efforts from both TP and Manu. Hill literally carried the Spurs to this win, with a lot of help from Dice, RJ, and Blair. If Blair continues to amass good production, I hope Pop increases his PT, because Bonner brings nothing, but an opportunity for Dice to rest.

[polandprzem]

shit that man

I had problems finding a stream. Most of the 1st and begining of 2nd Q I was sitting and swearing. damn I was pissed. Then I was able to watch only in small window, so basicly I was sometimes closer to Nowitzky then McDyess [head in the screen]

Then I got even more pissed looking spurs fold to 15pt deficit.
Damn you Bonner for not resting TD!

Timmy said: I'm not gonna put an effort F U O' It's my birthday. GHrizzly then said chill man I've got a lil gift fo ya. he took the Bonners minutes and gave it to TD. dirk wanted to mess with Heavy D?
Then Hill made a Bowen impression from the corner, was making gutsy plays so Timmy relaxed on the bench. He apperciated the gifts i assume.

To me he had a night off. He looked bad in 1st Q and I was worried like timvp that it's so early in the postseason and Timmy does not have his legs.
But I think he must get used to playing more as he was pl;aying less minutes in the regular.
An encouraging part was when he came back in the 4th. he looked fresher almost jumping like a dear to set the picks. Thanks god he did not force the action and others stepped up

dallas fans are probably pissed that Jim Carey was not playing Matrix in the final stanza. well sometimes coaches goes by they gameplans more then indyvidual play.

I hate Barea, Terry and that dipshit najera

Can you belive I was shouting to him. GET THE F OUT NOW cause I'm gonna KNOCK YOU OUT.
This guy was there disscussing with refs? About what? GTFO!

Props to RJ. He made some tough plays and was doing more then fine against Kidd and Nowitzky.


And Pop in every game he made adjustments with players not playing well.
Not to slim the rotations he must to try the guys to see if they gonna contribute this particular bight.
And his reaction to the Najera knockdown? He got off the bench but immediatly looked backk to the bench and kept the bench players on the bench. :tu


Overly this win was HUGE as HUGE it could be.

:flag:

[Refocus]

Timmy is fine. :flag:

[Fpoonsie]

-DeJuan Blair was a human ball of energy in his 12 minutes of action. He had seven points and seven rebounds to go along with a block, assist and steal. Finally looking in rhythm, Blair utilized his massive bulk to bully the Mavs down low. He helped changed the tone of the game from a passive affair to a physical brawl. Blair's teammates and the crowd seemed to feed off of his energy and his play allowed Duncan some extra rest. Considering Duncan's woes, that was huge.


Considering Blair wasn't likely to get SIGNIFICANT minutes in this series anyway, would you classify this as his "spectacular" performance you'd HOPED to see from him?

[Sisk]

Stephen Jackson II

my thought exactly - he looks like SJAX in this picture

and people are seriously worried about duncan slumping right now? have you not seen his previous games this series?

he'll be fine - settle down.

[will_spurs]

I'm not worried in the least with the Big 3 performance. Been there, done that, next game will be very different.

However what this game showed was young prospects like Hill or Blair and veterans like Dice or RJ stepping up when the time is ripe. And the posers being exposed... Dice in particular looked confused and almost dispirited all year long, but he's being huge right now.

[RobinsontoDuncan]

I think this talk of TD being tired is overblown. The Mavericks really set the tone in the first half with very physical interior D, and the refs were letting both teams play all game, so I think Dampier and Heywood's physicality just got Duncan out of his rhythm early.

Here's what Rosen says:


San Antonio’s top gun, Tim Duncan, was smothered by the ferocious defense of Erick Dampier and Brandon Haywood. TD never got a clean look at the basket and wound up shooting 1-for-9, with his only bucket coming on a tip-in at 4:11 of the fourth quarter. Duncan yanked down 11 rebounds, but he was never a factor on offense and only slightly more effective on defense. Still, Duncan did show his mettle by setting sturdy screens all game long. He also dove headlong to the floor to rescue a loose ball in the third quarter.

But you gotta love this gem from Rosen most of all:


Indeed, the Mavs faux belligerence was exposed when Eduardo Najera collared Ginobili in mid-drive and ruthlessly yanked him to the floor. Neither Ginobili nor the Spurs were intimidated by Najera’s cheap — and dangerous — bullying.

This was a character win for the resourceful Spurs, as well as a characterless loss for the lightweight Mavs.

[wildbill2u]

I don't know, i was there and Pop was on Duncan's ass.

Usually when Duncan looks tired Pop usually doesn't get on him.

If Pop thought he was tired I don't know if he would've ripped his ass as much as he did...

Duncan came out with more than 3 minutes to go in the 3rd. By the time he went back in the 4th, because of the time it takes to play, he had rested 25 minutes according to the announcers. They thought he might have cooled off too much.

[wildbill2u]

Did you see the rotation on those balls? You're right, it was a thing of beauty. (Especially on a night when the other guys were throwing knuckleballs.) I actually backed up during commercials to watch some of those shots again. He is really stroking it right now.

He should be shooting well. He was a high-scoring shooter in UIPUI. He's had to change his game to become a PG but the inate skills are still there.

Now he's gonna have the confidence to use them. Look out NBA :ihit

[polandprzem]

He should be shooting well. He was a high-scoring shooter in UIPUI. He's had to change his game to become a PG but the inate skills are still there.

Now he's gonna have the confidence to use them. Look out NBA :ihit

Exactly

When he pulled out that off screen jumper from 16-17ft, I was thinking georgee is back in school. He was hitting everything.

Crucial player for this series.

[Brazil]

The question then is what he was doing doubling off Terry at all? Surely the one guy you should stay at home on against the Mavs, especially when they needed 3s, is Terry. That is about all I can say to criticize the Spurs D tonight though, because it was incredible all night. 2005 level. Just totally :wow

I will also say that, before those lapses, TP had played tough, in your face D, especially on Kidd, and helped to keep him out of the game yet again.

These two Terry 3s were quite suspect tbh but I agree the rest of the game was vintage TP on Defense. I really liked how he followed Jason during the whole game and how he run around the Mavs screens.

[quentin_compson]

Duncan looked tired both physically and mentally, I guess. But the good thing is his defense was pretty decent, especially in the fourth quarter.
Of course his outlet pass at the end of the game was a risky one. But I don't think Tim knew Terry would be catching up with Manu that quick - if Terry doesn't, it is a good play.

[polandprzem]

well we had TO left so no need to pass it in a hurry

[Agloco]

I didn't know fouls have to be called based on the style of ball you play and how many shots you take

Well, now you do. :toast

As if someone really needed to explain why shooting jumpers involves less contact than a post move.......:rolleyes

[Manufan909]

I didn't know fouls have to be called based on the style of ball you play and how many shots you take

You don't know that Dyess plays better D on Dirk than Bonner, so it's understandable.

P.S. You can play physical without fouling.

[Manufan909]

After Horry faded coming off the injury in 2008 and Bowen's trade and retirement, it's nice to see guys chipping in with tough plays around the basket and on looseball situations. The three guys to mentioned made some plays on offense that go outside the stats.....everytime a ball was around the basket on offense in the 3rd it seemed Blair had a hand on it, even amongst the trees on Dallas.

Indeed, and Pop is again having a brain fart not to playing Blair more than 12 minutes, especially with Timmy playing as bad as he was. Blair might not be a great defender (great at steals though), but he more than evens it out with his extremely physical style, man boards on both ends (getting the D board is part of defense, technically), and drawing fouls, techs, you name it.

Bonner otoh, should be in a suit next game, so Hairston can possibly get time in a blowout. I know he supposedly needs a 3pt shot to get PT, but if they treated him like RJ (get him involved), or just force him to take mid-range jays if at all possible (like TP and Dice), I think he'd fit in just fine. Play him with Manu and Hill as well, so there are already to 3pt shooters on the floor.

And speaking of Bonner, his misses were HORRIBLE. One hit some part of the backboard, and the other barely hit the front of the rim. He is showing why the last time he didn't get any PT in the playoffs the Spurs got the LOB. Not putting it all on him, but he is still a negative.

[Indazone]

Spurs turn it on when it really matters. lol @ Spursfans ragging on their own team after a win.

[Josepatches_]

LJ, your comment about Parker's D being "solid" was accurate until the last 3 minutes when he inexplicably wandered a few steps off Terry, neither doubling nor helping anyone else while simultaneously giving JET just enough room to hit two 3s when the Mavs needed them most. I really hope TP got a serve from Pop about that... just overwhelmingly stupid D.




True.Pop sat him after that

[Old School 44]

Major props to George Hill, with an assist from Chip Engelland and Chad Forcier.
Hill's corner threes and jump shots in general are awesome. Notice the hold on his follow through on all his jump shots, very impressive!

[spurster]

so, no one else thinks were were getting the benefit of the doubt with the refs? seemed like Dirk was getting mugged out there to me

Dirk does a lot of "little" bumping and pushing, and the Spurs defenders are reacting/acting as it happens. The refs are less likely to blow a whistle when Dirk gets one back. I also don't think the refs are impressed with Dirk's flailing.

[SAGambler]

Very very worried about Duncan.

We might be seeing him wear down super fast to close out the season.

Sucks.

Wonder if this could have anything to do with Pop "saving" him during the reg season? Now after three games of going all out, come the fourth game conditioning might be catching up to him. Maybe that's why Pop rested him so much last night, so he'll be ready to go in game 5. The chess match continues, and right now, Pop is winning the match.

[Solid D]

Wonder if this could have anything to do with Pop "saving" him during the reg season? Now after three games of going all out, come the fourth game conditioning might be catching up to him. Maybe that's why Pop rested him so much last night, so he'll be ready to go in game 5. The chess match continues, and right now, Pop is winning the match.

Maybe, but I just looked at it as Tim was getting plenty of opportunities to score and he was failing big-time. Lots of empty trips feeding transition opportunities for Dallas.

The Spurs really needed Blair at that moment and, boy, did he and George deliver!

[silverblk mystix]

Maybe, but I just looked at it as Tim was getting plenty of opportunities to score and he was failing big-time. Lots of empty trips feeding transition opportunities for Dallas.

The Spurs really needed Blair at that moment and, boy, did he and George deliver!


I am surprised no-one has seen what Tim's deal was---and there have been various theories throughout this thread...

Don't underestimate Dallas---they are a really good team---

and the prior win (Friday night) was a HUGE win for the spurs---and a highly emotional one for the whole team---but especially for the big three---

they were just tired---it takes a LOT of energy and adrenaline to defeat a good team in the playoffs---and Timmy especially used up a lot of energy---

Sunday's game was just a result of all this---nothing more---

Timmy,Manu & Tony will recoup in time and hopefully close out the mavs and restore energy for a continued run...

it is good to see that the spurs have become a true team---in the sense that --whenever someone is off---someone else is trying to step-up and help...

Timmy was just running on fumes but he will be there.

[wildbill2u]

Of course it was only the meaningless last game of the season, but remember that Blair had a 20+/20+ game against the same Maverick bigs. He'll get his shot blocked a lot under the basket, but his positioning for rebounds is so instinctive he can work against taller opponents.

[HarlemHeat37]

Yup, Blair really just has a way to find the ball, it's amazing..

He's one of the best "loose ball" players I've seen in a long time..that tip out to RJ where it was Blair vs. like 4 Mavs near the out of bounds line was such a great player..

[Mixability]

I agree that TD must face up more next game.

[Manufan909]

Yup, Blair really just has a way to find the ball, it's amazing..

He's one of the best "loose ball" players I've seen in a long time..that tip out to RJ where it was Blair vs. like 4 Mavs near the out of bounds line was such a great player..

Indeed. That was after the score on Haywood, no? Both were impressive, but I believe the bucket more so, because if Blair incorporates real post moves into his game (contorting in the air does not count), he'll have a much easier time getting off shots. Blair getting the steal was almost a normal play for him. When someone that out hustles every opponent he faces, and outweighs most of them to boot, he'll end up with a bunch of spectacular plays.

[ducks]

We'll find out if it was fatigue or simply a bad game for Tim Duncan on Tuesday. if a day of rest isn't enough for TD anymore, that's obviously a big concern.

I'm also a little concerned with Manu being fatigued. He was moving a lot better earlier in the series than in the last two games.

this is why closing out tuesday is big
for manu and duncan
to heal up

tp needs a real great game
lets do it tp