Stephen Kersey
11-04-2010, 07:04 PM
Game Thoughts: Spurs at Suns (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-game-thoughts/game-thoughts-spurs-at-suns/)
By LJ Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/ljellis/)
San Antonio Dispatch (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/)
The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns usually put on an entertaining show. Wednesday night was no different. In a back-and-forth affair, the Spurs and Suns traded haymakers until the Spurs landed the knockout blow late in the fourth. A combination of long-range bombs from Richard Jefferson and timely defense down the stretch gave the Spurs a 112-110 victory.
In the fourth quarter, Jefferson hit three three-pointers in a row to give the Spurs a six-point lead. However, the Spurs went scoreless the next four minutes and the Suns were able to go on a 9-0 run. It was then San Antonio’s turn to make a run. Holding Phoenix without a point for three minutes, the Spurs went on a 8-0 run to take a five-point lead with 18 seconds remaining, which was enough to ice the victory.
Overall, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game the Spurs will play this season. But considering the sweep administered by the Suns last season and the number of mismatches Phoenix can still force, it was undoubtedly a quality win for the Spurs.
Tim Duncan
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tim-duncan.jpg
33 mins (+10), 25 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 6 turnovers
11-for-13 from the field, 3-for-3 at the line
If there is one person happiest to see Amare Stoudemire go east, that person is Tim Duncan. Last year in the playoffs, Duncan was tortured in pick-and-rolls featuring Steve Nash and Stoudemire. Since Stoudemire is a deadly shooter in addition to being a world class finisher, Duncan had to venture out on the perimeter defensively on nearly every possession. On Wednesday, Duncan was able to play closer to the basket on defense — and that made a huge difference. He was able to dominate the boards, protect the rim and save more of his energy for the offensive end. While Duncan is still turning the ball over too much — especially when double-teamed — the rest of his game was at a high level against the Suns. In the three Spurs wins this season, Duncan has hit 28-of-37 field goal attempts for an amazing 75.7%.
Manu Ginobili
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/manu-ginobili.jpg
33 mins (-1), 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers
6-for-12 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 5-for-8 at the line
Manu Ginobili had a game of spurts. In the second quarter, Ginobili caught fire and scored eight points in less than a minute and a half. His play during the middle of the second period allowed the Spurs to stay afloat despite sloppy play. However, in the second half, Ginobili had a string of questionable decisions and defensive breakdowns. By the end of the game, Ginobili was back to playing smart basketball. All in all, I’m happy with his play. The beauty of Ginobili’s game is his aggressiveness and creativity. Sometimes that will lead to mistakes … and that’s fine.
Tony Parker
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tony-parker.jpg
34 mins (+10), 11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 turnovers
4-for-11 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line
Defensively, despite battling foul trouble, Tony Parker did very good work against Steve Nash. He fought Nash for every inch and once again proved he’s one of the better Nash defenders in the league when motivated and locked in. On offense, things didn’t quite as smoothly for the French point guard. After registering four made field goals in the first nine and a half minutes of the game, Parker was held without a basket the rest of the way. Considering it was mostly Nash defending him, not to mention Phoenix’s lack of true bigmen, Parker going that long without a field goal is unacceptable. To his credit, he had five assists in the second half, including three impressive dimes to begin the final stanza.
Richard Jefferson
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/richard-jefferson.jpg
34 mins (+8), 28 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers
9-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 on three-pointers, 6-for-6 at the line
The Richard Jefferson Redemption Tour continued with his best game yet. Jefferson’s four three-pointers in the fourth quarter allowed the Spurs to escape Phoenix with a win. Three of those three-pointers were in a span of 45 seconds, while the other one gave the Spurs the lead for good with 1:38 remaining. What’s impressing me most about Jefferson early in the season is his ability to produce with sporadic touches. He wasn’t getting the ball much in the first three quarters but was still able to explode for 18 points in the fourth quarter. Last season, Jefferson rarely produced late if he wasn’t involved early on. Through four games, Jefferson is leading the Spurs in scoring with an average of 20 points per game.
DeJuan Blair
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/dejuan-blair.jpg
19 mins (+9), 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers
2-for-6 from the field
It was yet another sub par game for DeJuan Blair. He was defended by Hedo Turkoglu for much of his minutes and still wasn’t able to take advantage. Blair struggled to score at the rim and made a number of poor reads with passes and shot attempts. On defense, Blair was asked to spend a lot of time out on the perimeter. The results weren’t pretty. He looked uncomfortable and gave up a number of open looks. The silver lining for Blair was he finished with his best rebounding night of the season. The first step in recovering from this slow start is getting back to dominating the glass.
Antonio McDyess
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/antonio-mcdyess.jpg
27 mins (-8), 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover
3-for-6 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line
Antonio McDyess is quietly playing very well. He’s consistently giving great effort on the boards in addition to hustling on both ends. Against the Suns, he had a couple of nice passes and his movement with and without the ball was impressive. While Jefferson is getting all the attention, McDyess’ second season has also resulted in marked improvements so far. If he can improve his shooting percentage, he’ll be in the discussion of best bench bigmen in the league.
James Anderson
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/james-anderson.jpg
23 mins (-8), 6 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 1-for-2 at the line
I don’t want to jinx the kid but James Anderson seems to have a lot of Robert Horry in him. He’s not the quickest or the biggest but he’s consistently in the right spot making the right play. Maybe it’s beginner’s luck but Anderson’s basketball IQ looks to be off the charts for a rookie. In the fourth quarter against Suns, Anderson nailed a three-pointer and then assisted on two of Jefferson’s pivotal three-pointers. His ball-handling ability is better than advertised. In fact, Pop utilized Anderson as the point guard out of a timeout on one possession. Defensively, he’s looking better and better; he has a blocked shot in three straight games. Let’s hope Anderson keeps this up.
Tiago Splitter
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tiago-splitter.jpg
15 mins (+0), 7 points, 3 rebounds
3-for-6 from the field, 1-for-3 at the line
Tiago Splitter illustrated a lot of good against the Suns. Most impressively, he drew three offensive fouls and his pick-and-roll defense thwarted a couple other Suns possessions. Splitter also battled on the offensive boards and showed that he’s far from a soft player. On offense, he had two or three impressive post moves, however the moves were against sub par defenders so a bigger sample size is needed before claiming Splitter as a legit post threat. Not grabbing a defensive rebound in 15 minutes is a bit of a concern, though overall it’s difficult to not be excited about Splitter’s potential to help the Spurs this season and beyond.
Garrett Temple
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/garrett-temple.jpg
14 mins (-12), 2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover
1-for-2 from the field, 0-for-2 at the line
Garrett Temple played like a steady-handed veteran for the Spurs last season. So far this year, Temple has been the complete opposite. He got rattled by Phoenix’s pressure defense and got roasted on the other end. To put it bluntly, Temple doesn’t look like an NBA player — and hasn’t since the start of preseason.
Gary Neal
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/gary-neal.jpg
7 mins (+2), 2 points, 1 steal
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers
While the Suns don’t have much size in the bigman department, their wings are huge. When Neal was on the court, the Suns took advantage of his lack of height. Pop adjusted by keeping Neal on the bench. It’s worth watching to see if other teams use similar tactics to neutralize Neal’s shooting prowess.
Gregg Popovich
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/gregg-popovich.jpg
Pop coached a smart game. Despite the score being tight throughout, he didn’t play the Big Three too many minutes. I liked how he utilized Anderson and Splitter, especially by giving the duo fourth quarter minutes to build their confidence. The upcoming dilemma for Pop will be the bigman rotation once Matt Bonner returns from injury and Splitter is in game shape. McDyess deserves a spot in the rotation and Blair needs a chance to break out of his slump. How he rotates those four plus Duncan will be interesting.
Offense
Even though the Spurs had 23 turnovers and missed ten free throws, they were still able to put 112 points on the board. How? They shot 54.5% from the floor, 42.9% (6-for-14) on three-pointers, grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and got to the line 32 times. Those numbers are very un-Spur-like. The last time the Spurs had at least 30 free throw attempts, less than 15 three-point attempts and double-digit offensive rebounds was in 2001. Interestingly, the Spurs have won 25 straight games when meeting that criteria dating back to 1992.
Defense
Though the Spurs gave up 110 points, their defense wasn’t too horrible. They held the Suns to 44.6% shooting from the field and only 20 assists on 41 field goals. The Suns scored as much as they did due to a fast pace in addition to hitting their threes (8-of-21) and free throws (20-of-23) at a high rate. Down the stretch, the Spurs put a few stops together to obtain the breathing room they needed to get the win.
Drive for 5
After losing at home against the New Orleans Hornets, I thought this two-game road trip would tell us a lot about these Spurs. And I think it did. While not in championship form yet, Duncan still has gas left in the tank, the young players are promising and the Spurs seemingly have the tools needed to at least fight for a top seed in the Western Conference. Next up is a date in the AT&T Center against a desperate and dangerous Houston Rockets squad.
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-game-thoughts/game-thoughts-spurs-at-suns/
By LJ Ellis (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/author/ljellis/)
San Antonio Dispatch (http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/)
The San Antonio Spurs and Phoenix Suns usually put on an entertaining show. Wednesday night was no different. In a back-and-forth affair, the Spurs and Suns traded haymakers until the Spurs landed the knockout blow late in the fourth. A combination of long-range bombs from Richard Jefferson and timely defense down the stretch gave the Spurs a 112-110 victory.
In the fourth quarter, Jefferson hit three three-pointers in a row to give the Spurs a six-point lead. However, the Spurs went scoreless the next four minutes and the Suns were able to go on a 9-0 run. It was then San Antonio’s turn to make a run. Holding Phoenix without a point for three minutes, the Spurs went on a 8-0 run to take a five-point lead with 18 seconds remaining, which was enough to ice the victory.
Overall, it wasn’t the most aesthetically pleasing game the Spurs will play this season. But considering the sweep administered by the Suns last season and the number of mismatches Phoenix can still force, it was undoubtedly a quality win for the Spurs.
Tim Duncan
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tim-duncan.jpg
33 mins (+10), 25 points, 17 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal, 6 turnovers
11-for-13 from the field, 3-for-3 at the line
If there is one person happiest to see Amare Stoudemire go east, that person is Tim Duncan. Last year in the playoffs, Duncan was tortured in pick-and-rolls featuring Steve Nash and Stoudemire. Since Stoudemire is a deadly shooter in addition to being a world class finisher, Duncan had to venture out on the perimeter defensively on nearly every possession. On Wednesday, Duncan was able to play closer to the basket on defense — and that made a huge difference. He was able to dominate the boards, protect the rim and save more of his energy for the offensive end. While Duncan is still turning the ball over too much — especially when double-teamed — the rest of his game was at a high level against the Suns. In the three Spurs wins this season, Duncan has hit 28-of-37 field goal attempts for an amazing 75.7%.
Manu Ginobili
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/manu-ginobili.jpg
33 mins (-1), 18 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 4 turnovers
6-for-12 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 5-for-8 at the line
Manu Ginobili had a game of spurts. In the second quarter, Ginobili caught fire and scored eight points in less than a minute and a half. His play during the middle of the second period allowed the Spurs to stay afloat despite sloppy play. However, in the second half, Ginobili had a string of questionable decisions and defensive breakdowns. By the end of the game, Ginobili was back to playing smart basketball. All in all, I’m happy with his play. The beauty of Ginobili’s game is his aggressiveness and creativity. Sometimes that will lead to mistakes … and that’s fine.
Tony Parker
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tony-parker.jpg
34 mins (+10), 11 points, 6 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal, 3 turnovers
4-for-11 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line
Defensively, despite battling foul trouble, Tony Parker did very good work against Steve Nash. He fought Nash for every inch and once again proved he’s one of the better Nash defenders in the league when motivated and locked in. On offense, things didn’t quite as smoothly for the French point guard. After registering four made field goals in the first nine and a half minutes of the game, Parker was held without a basket the rest of the way. Considering it was mostly Nash defending him, not to mention Phoenix’s lack of true bigmen, Parker going that long without a field goal is unacceptable. To his credit, he had five assists in the second half, including three impressive dimes to begin the final stanza.
Richard Jefferson
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/richard-jefferson.jpg
34 mins (+8), 28 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 4 turnovers
9-for-13 from the field, 4-for-5 on three-pointers, 6-for-6 at the line
The Richard Jefferson Redemption Tour continued with his best game yet. Jefferson’s four three-pointers in the fourth quarter allowed the Spurs to escape Phoenix with a win. Three of those three-pointers were in a span of 45 seconds, while the other one gave the Spurs the lead for good with 1:38 remaining. What’s impressing me most about Jefferson early in the season is his ability to produce with sporadic touches. He wasn’t getting the ball much in the first three quarters but was still able to explode for 18 points in the fourth quarter. Last season, Jefferson rarely produced late if he wasn’t involved early on. Through four games, Jefferson is leading the Spurs in scoring with an average of 20 points per game.
DeJuan Blair
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/dejuan-blair.jpg
19 mins (+9), 4 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 turnovers
2-for-6 from the field
It was yet another sub par game for DeJuan Blair. He was defended by Hedo Turkoglu for much of his minutes and still wasn’t able to take advantage. Blair struggled to score at the rim and made a number of poor reads with passes and shot attempts. On defense, Blair was asked to spend a lot of time out on the perimeter. The results weren’t pretty. He looked uncomfortable and gave up a number of open looks. The silver lining for Blair was he finished with his best rebounding night of the season. The first step in recovering from this slow start is getting back to dominating the glass.
Antonio McDyess
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/antonio-mcdyess.jpg
27 mins (-8), 9 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover
3-for-6 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line
Antonio McDyess is quietly playing very well. He’s consistently giving great effort on the boards in addition to hustling on both ends. Against the Suns, he had a couple of nice passes and his movement with and without the ball was impressive. While Jefferson is getting all the attention, McDyess’ second season has also resulted in marked improvements so far. If he can improve his shooting percentage, he’ll be in the discussion of best bench bigmen in the league.
James Anderson
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/james-anderson.jpg
23 mins (-8), 6 points, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers, 1-for-2 at the line
I don’t want to jinx the kid but James Anderson seems to have a lot of Robert Horry in him. He’s not the quickest or the biggest but he’s consistently in the right spot making the right play. Maybe it’s beginner’s luck but Anderson’s basketball IQ looks to be off the charts for a rookie. In the fourth quarter against Suns, Anderson nailed a three-pointer and then assisted on two of Jefferson’s pivotal three-pointers. His ball-handling ability is better than advertised. In fact, Pop utilized Anderson as the point guard out of a timeout on one possession. Defensively, he’s looking better and better; he has a blocked shot in three straight games. Let’s hope Anderson keeps this up.
Tiago Splitter
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/tiago-splitter.jpg
15 mins (+0), 7 points, 3 rebounds
3-for-6 from the field, 1-for-3 at the line
Tiago Splitter illustrated a lot of good against the Suns. Most impressively, he drew three offensive fouls and his pick-and-roll defense thwarted a couple other Suns possessions. Splitter also battled on the offensive boards and showed that he’s far from a soft player. On offense, he had two or three impressive post moves, however the moves were against sub par defenders so a bigger sample size is needed before claiming Splitter as a legit post threat. Not grabbing a defensive rebound in 15 minutes is a bit of a concern, though overall it’s difficult to not be excited about Splitter’s potential to help the Spurs this season and beyond.
Garrett Temple
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/garrett-temple.jpg
14 mins (-12), 2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 turnover
1-for-2 from the field, 0-for-2 at the line
Garrett Temple played like a steady-handed veteran for the Spurs last season. So far this year, Temple has been the complete opposite. He got rattled by Phoenix’s pressure defense and got roasted on the other end. To put it bluntly, Temple doesn’t look like an NBA player — and hasn’t since the start of preseason.
Gary Neal
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/gary-neal.jpg
7 mins (+2), 2 points, 1 steal
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers
While the Suns don’t have much size in the bigman department, their wings are huge. When Neal was on the court, the Suns took advantage of his lack of height. Pop adjusted by keeping Neal on the bench. It’s worth watching to see if other teams use similar tactics to neutralize Neal’s shooting prowess.
Gregg Popovich
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/gregg-popovich.jpg
Pop coached a smart game. Despite the score being tight throughout, he didn’t play the Big Three too many minutes. I liked how he utilized Anderson and Splitter, especially by giving the duo fourth quarter minutes to build their confidence. The upcoming dilemma for Pop will be the bigman rotation once Matt Bonner returns from injury and Splitter is in game shape. McDyess deserves a spot in the rotation and Blair needs a chance to break out of his slump. How he rotates those four plus Duncan will be interesting.
Offense
Even though the Spurs had 23 turnovers and missed ten free throws, they were still able to put 112 points on the board. How? They shot 54.5% from the floor, 42.9% (6-for-14) on three-pointers, grabbed 11 offensive rebounds and got to the line 32 times. Those numbers are very un-Spur-like. The last time the Spurs had at least 30 free throw attempts, less than 15 three-point attempts and double-digit offensive rebounds was in 2001. Interestingly, the Spurs have won 25 straight games when meeting that criteria dating back to 1992.
Defense
Though the Spurs gave up 110 points, their defense wasn’t too horrible. They held the Suns to 44.6% shooting from the field and only 20 assists on 41 field goals. The Suns scored as much as they did due to a fast pace in addition to hitting their threes (8-of-21) and free throws (20-of-23) at a high rate. Down the stretch, the Spurs put a few stops together to obtain the breathing room they needed to get the win.
Drive for 5
After losing at home against the New Orleans Hornets, I thought this two-game road trip would tell us a lot about these Spurs. And I think it did. While not in championship form yet, Duncan still has gas left in the tank, the young players are promising and the Spurs seemingly have the tools needed to at least fight for a top seed in the Western Conference. Next up is a date in the AT&T Center against a desperate and dangerous Houston Rockets squad.
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/san-antonio-spurs/spurs-game-thoughts/game-thoughts-spurs-at-suns/