Game Blog: Hornets @ Spurs - Dec. 5

[CFH]

Quinn J

[024]

quinn passed it way to hard. just like blair's pass.

[peskypesky]

ok, our scrubs finally got their shit together

[Spursmania]

Temple was better than Quinn.

[justinandimcool]

I wish Quinn's first name was Quincy

[DPG21920]

25 point beat down sons. With no starter playing the fourth pretty much :lol

[dbestpro]

what was that someone said about blair's effort?

He got a gimme from Neal. His effort for the quarter was very poor over all.

[TDfan2007]

Tiago is abysmal offensively and on the boards right now. D is solid though...

[TampaDude]

Spurs win, 109-84!!! It's a BLOWOUT!!!

GO SPURS GO!!!!!

[peskypesky]

Go Spurs Go!!!!!!

Fuck yeah!

[Dex]

Now that's how you rest your starters.

[jimo2305]

so over or under 80?

average iq of spurstalk posters when it comes to popovich's coaching..

[DesignatedT]

Wow. What a great game.

[maddnezz]

:downspin:Time to play NBA LIVE 10 team play and the Cowboys beat the Colts! Ahh happy time!:toast

[TDfan2007]

How the hell did Splitter win MVP in the Spanish league...? He's kinda brutal...

See bold

[peskypesky]

Tiago is abysmal offensively and on the boards right now. D is solid though...

well, he just seems like the kind of post player who needs someone feeding him with good passes. he can't create for himself, but he can finish.

[jimo2305]

He got a gimme from Neal. His effort for the quarter was very poor over all.

lol didnt blair start the game? plus how much were they up by? id expect intensity to decrease.. but blair's the last player i'd question about effort.. 6'8 center with no acl's grabbing boards and all.. jus sayin'

[Stringer_Bell]

I'm in Holland watching SA hold it down, great game! :toast

[janetcn12]

Yes, mission almost accompolished...next game please

[TDfan2007]

Great win by our guys. I love embarrassing the hornets.

[Spurs Brazil]

Great win

[maddnezz]

Temple was better than Quinn.Quinn can dribble. Nuff said.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Tiago's D is reall good, hopefully he comes around on offense. It helps though if people pass him the ball when he rolls to the basket though. I saw him open 2-3 times on a P N R.

[janetcn12]

Wow, what a win. Hornet, go find your Hives.

[jimo2305]

FTR.. blair didn't pull himself that high on the rim when he was in pittsburgh.. 80 lbs ago

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

:downspin:Time to play NBA LIVE 10 team play and the Cowboys beat the Colts! Ahh happy time!:toast

:depressed

[Crookshanks]

Spurs have the best record, and had the longest winning streak, yet the poll on NBA.com that asks which team is best - the Spurs only have 18% of the vote! WTF

[angelbelow]

This game was extremely ideal for us.

1. TD and Manu get some solid rest in the 2nd half. As well as Tony, Dice, Hill.
2. Spurs were in firm control from the beginning, hitting a barrage of 3s while still taking the ball to the hole. Also our defense really forced CP3 off his game.
3. Tiago splitter got some good burn. Although he struggled on offense, most of it was him rushing his shots, not really having a good sense of timing on offense. The beauty of this game is that him playing will only contribute to him improving his offense feel for the game. Even so, his defense clearly stands out.

[Hemotivo]

How the hell did Splitter win MVP in the Spanish league...? He's kinda brutal...

pick&roll

[LeCrab]

Gary neal is an all around play maker... he is playing sf for us and covering guys bigger than him very well... he can create his own shot and can make great passes.... what a steal

[DPG21920]

Well I am most interested in the start. The Spurs have openly talked about digging themselves out of early holes. You know they are focused on it. It will be interesting to see if they actually start out strong.

I know sometimes seasons just have a way of going in certain directions, but I really hope these slow starts aren't something we see all year.

It makes it much harder to manage minutes when you are always playing from behind.

Spurs answered that question pretty well. Great start today and they held on the entire game. As a result, they big 3 got rest.

[janetcn12]

Kudos Spurs...

[BoricuaCJA]

What a blowout, son Where was that comeback BR-Hornet?

GO SPURS GO!!

[jimo2305]

:downspin:Time to play NBA LIVE 10 team play and the Cowboys beat the Colts! Ahh happy time!:toast

what about nba live 11?

[LeCrab]

spillter was in the game with quinn as his pg.. when he gets playing time with manu or tony he can go off with the pick & roll

[Arc]

tiago will get better with more time. he's playing in a new league, against new players, with new teammates, and he hardly gets any minutes. plus he's always quick to make something happen (which is why he messes up sometimes) because he has to worry about getting benched.

this guy has a lot of potential. if you don't see it, you're blind.

[Cessation]

i think chris quin is solid for a 3rd string pg, he can handle and shoot, and his passing and d is not too bad

[Nathan89]

:depressed

:depressedI'm a colts fan to. Fuck that one yard running game and that defense.

[jimo2305]

tiago will get better with more time. he's playing in a new league, against new players, with new teammates, and he hardly gets any minutes. plus he's always quick to make something happen because he has to worry about getting benched.

this guy has a lot of potential. if you don't see it, you're blind.

yep.. dude's only 25.. i agree with this.. i just don't agree with posters acting like the difference between him over bonner and blair is +30 wins

[jimo2305]

i think chris quin is solid for a 3rd string pg, he can handle and shoot, and his passing and d is not too bad

yep.. just needs to fit in the system.. i noticed him back in miami and was pretty stoked we signed him.. but i can't remember the last time we had a pg that had as wet of a shot as his

[TampaDude]

The bottom line is...the Spurs were out there just shooting some shots...just beating a team they were supposed to beat...no surprises there. :D

[duncan228]

Jefferson interview on NBA TV.

[HarlemHeat37]

Splitter's game hasn't changed, it's amazing how so many Spurs fans still don't know how he plays..every time he's been on the floor this season, his game has been the same..the numbers back this up, too..

Post-up?..he's very poor, so far..he hasn't shown anything resembling a back to the basket game..he shows good footwork, but he can't finish at all, has trouble getting his shot over NBA defenders..

Face-up game?..he's below average, so far, slightly better than posting up..he has trouble creating his own offense, overall..we'll see if it's rust and lack of rhythm, or if it's permanent..he certainly has confidence, though..

Finisher?..he's shown a lot..his p&r game has been outstanding this season..he always knows where to be, and he finishes well..

Passer?..he's shown good things..

Rebounding?..he isn't good, so far..his hands are very weak for rebounding, he often mistimes rebounds, that's the primary reason for his struggles on the boards IMO..

Defensively, he has been outstanding in pretty much every game, so far..his post-up D needs a little work, but everywhere else, especially help D, he has been great..takes chargers, brings energy, defends with his feet and keeps his hands up, good IQ..

If you're expecting Splitter to create his own offense, you're going to be in for disappointment..if you're expecting him to excel with Chris Quinn or Gary Neal as his passers, you're going to be disappointed..he's a finisher, not a creator, just like most of the non-big 3..

[TMTTRIO]

Anyone know Manu's condition. He seemed to leave the game in a lot of pain (of course came back and didn't do much after that). Fortunately we don't play until Wednesday and if he needs Wednesday off he could.

[maddnezz]

what about nba live 11?It supposed to be called Elite with Durant on the cover but they recalled it to many problems with it so live 10 is what we play. Team play is awsome course all of the young guys wanna be Kobe, Labron ect. Id rather be Pf or C. Like I said the young guys cant play pf or c, to much watchin ESPN I guess! lol:lol

[DesignatedT]

I wouldn't say Splitter is very poor at the post up game. I have seen some great moves out of him in the post and he is going to have some growing pains playing against the much larger/stronger big men of the NBA.

[LeCrab]

If and when splitter starts finishing on his post moves he will be dangerous just a matter of time.....

[cutewizard]

The Hornets are in the top echelon of NBA teams, as Chris Paul is the best playmaker on Earth.....

Which means this blow-out is extra special......

Go Spurs go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cessation]

damn! check out neals complete game tonight
2-4 from three
11 points 5 rbs 5 ast

[Ice009]

The Hornets are in the top echelon of NBA teams, as Chris Paul is the best playmaker on Earth.....

Which means this blow-out is extra special......

Go Spurs go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have you actually watched the Hornets play lately? or even followed them just a little bit?

[TampaDude]

Chris Paul is the best playmaker on Earth.....


Deron Williams would disagree with you.

[cutewizard]

The gorrila dunk from the grizzley aaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Gorilla dunk! I like it.....

We could call Blair the sweet gorilla momma!!!!!!!!!!!!

Go Spurs go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Budkin]

Wow what an absolute ass kicking! Nice to see!

[angelbelow]

Anyone know Manu's condition. He seemed to leave the game in a lot of pain (of course came back and didn't do much after that). Fortunately we don't play until Wednesday and if he needs Wednesday off he could.

Really, i didnt notice, hope hes alright.

[Budkin]

The bottom line is...the Spurs were out there just shooting some shots...just beating a team they were supposed to beat...no surprises there. :D

:( SpursDynasty where are you?

[TampaDude]

Wow what an absolute ass kicking! Nice to see!

Yup...after all those "heart attack" games we've seen recently, it's great to sit back and watch a nice, relaxing blowout. :toast

[LeCrab]

I think manu had a sore neck that 300 pound hornet player fell on manu... manu and tony should get a day off hill and neal will step up

[TampaDude]

:( SpursDynasty where are you?

Heh...just keeping the legacy alive. :D

[ElNono]

Great win at home. When we shoot like that it's hard to lose.
Wish we could shoot half as good every game.
Tony was also active from the get go, and I thought Blair played well too against West, a first. Really good way to bounce back from a fairly mediocre game against the Wolves.

[DieHardSpursFan1537]

Was only able to watch the first quarter, but looking at the stats, it looks like it was all Spurs this game. Glad to see Tony is back in his rhythm.

[TampaDude]

Was only able to watch the first quarter, but looking at the stats, it looks like it was all Spurs this game. Glad to see Tony is back in his rhythm.

Yup...and the scrubs played the entire 4th quarter. Otherwise, the Spurs would've won by 50. :lol

[ElNono]

Really, i didnt notice, hope hes alright.

He got a full blown elbow from Okafor on the back of the neck. It looked pretty nasty. I was relieved to see him come back and play, and he looked ok. But I bet it's going to hurt a lot tomorrow.

[ohmwrecker]

I missed the game. Where are the damn quick grades?!

[angelbelow]

He got a full blown elbow from Okafor on the back of the neck. It looked pretty nasty. I was relieved to see him come back and play, and he looked ok. But I bet it's going to hurt a lot tomorrow.

Ouch..

[janetcn12]

Won't worry much. Manu is God so he will be fine.

[ducks]

splitter is a bad finisher
the height of the nba players are bothering him he will adjust
he needs to try to post up duncan in practice

[ElNono]

I missed the game. Where are the damn quick grades?!

http://spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167637

[robot89]

splitter is a bad finisher
the height of the nba players are bothering him he will adjust
he needs to try to post up duncan in practice

Really 2 of 4 a bad finisher?? come on man
You can make that judgment when he isn't
taking shots

[duncan228]

Video

First-half highlights (http://www.nba.com/video/games/spurs/2010/12/05/0021000298_noh_sas_1h.nba/)

Neal sinks free throws, drops 'air daps' (http://www.nba.com/video/games/spurs/2010/12/05/0021000298_noh_sas_play3.nba/)

Jefferson sinks the reverse (http://www.nba.com/video/games/spurs/2010/12/05/0021000298_noh_sas_play1.nba/)

Bonner beats the buzzer (http://www.nba.com/video/games/spurs/2010/12/05/0021000298_noh_sas_play2.nba/)

Arena Link: Sean Elliott discusses why the Spurs look so good (http://www.nba.com/video/channels/nba_tv/2010/12/05/20101205_alink_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luc k_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_ The_Fakers_.nba/)

[duncan228]

Manu has sore neck after collision with Emeka Okafor. "I thought I got run over by a train," he said, adding, "but I'll be fine."

[duncan228]

Some post-game quotes.

More quotes here.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167642

Video.

http://www.spurstalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=167641


Spurs pummel sliding Hornets to keep NBA-best mark (http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2010120524)
By Paul J. Weber

What the NBA’s best record doesn’t say about the San Antonio Spurs are the four times they’ve fallen behind by 15 points or more before scrambling back to win.

“We got to stop that,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

There was nothing to worry about in this game.

Tony Parker scored 19 points and the San Antonio Spurs beat the sliding New Orleans Hornets for the second time in a week, 109-84 on Sunday night, never trailing and leading by 38 in the most-lopsided game for the Hornets this season.

The Hornets also have other matters: George Shinn has agreed to sell the club to the NBA, a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press before the game. Hornets forward David West called the ownership issue a “mess” after the game.

“During the summer we felt it was going one way, and I guess things started changing,” said West, who scored 13 points. “Who knows. It’ll be an experience I would imagine for us, coaching staff and all parties involved.”

Matt Bonner added 14 points for the Spurs, hitting four of five 3-point attempts. San Antonio improved its NBA-best record to 17-3 and matched its best start through 20 games since the 2007-08 season.

Parker, who had another strong night after failing to reach double figures in three of the previous five games, said the team talked before the game about the big deficits.

Among the times was just a week ago in New Orleans, where the Spurs trailed by 17 before rallying.

“We would start too slow, and defensively not reacting, not playing with the same passion, not the same energy,” Parker said.

Chris Paul had 16 points for the Hornets, who have lost four of five and lately look nothing like the team that opened 8-0.

“They smashed us,” Paul said. “They just beat us in all phases of the game. It’s pretty embarrassing.”

The Hornets are 2-6 in their last eight games, spoiling what had been a record start for the franchise. New Orleans gave up season highs for points allowed, opponent field-goal percentage (58.6 percent), opponent assists (29) and set a season low for rebounds (30).

At one point midway through the second quarter, the Spurs were still shooting 74 percent as a team.

“I’m not sure we’re going into the games with the same confidence that we had earlier in the season,” Paul said. “Somehow, some way, we got to get that confidence back, that swagger back.”

Tim Duncan had 11 points and nine rebounds before sitting for nearly the entire second half. Richard Jefferson scored 13 points, and George Hill and Gary Neal had 11 apiece.

West returned to the Hornets’ lineup after a stomach bug kept him out of a loss to New York on Friday night. West was 6 of 11 from the field and played 30 minutes.

Trevor Ariza also scored 13 points for New Orleans.

Shinn has been in negotiations to sell the team to minority owner and Louisiana native Gary Chouest since last spring, but talks have been stalled for months.

The league has lined up New Orleans-born sports attorney Jac Sperling, vice chairman of the NHL’s Minnesota Wild, to be the NBA’s administrator of the team and oversee its sale to a more permanent owner, the person told AP on condition of anonymity because the move has not been publicly announced.

First-year Hornets coach Monty Williams said he’s heard speculation about the potential sale since arriving in New Orleans but that didn’t know any details—and added that he didn’t want to know.

“There’s a number of distractions we have in our lives,” Williams said. “It’s not a big deal to us.”

NOTES: Hornets center D.J. Mbenga stayed in New Orleans while trying to overcome the same illness that had sidelined West. … Spurs F Tiago Splitter scored five points in 18 minutes, continuing to play only sparingly since being the crown jewel of the club’s offseason moves. Coach Gregg Popovich said Splitter’s impact and minutes have been hurt by him being injured for nearly all of training camp.

[Refocus]

Wasn't able to catch the game but looks like the Spurs put the beat down on the Hornets. Damn.

[duncan228]

San Antonio Spurs 109, New Orleans Hornets 84 (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/)
by Jesse Blanchard
48 Minutes of Hell

AT&T CENTER–Big deficit comebacks–and the need to avoid them–being a popular pregame topic of conversation, the San Antonio Spurs rang up a season-high 68 points in the first half on their way to a 109-84 victory over the New Orleans Hornets (http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=301205024).

“You can only reach into that bag so many times, and we’ve done it five times already,” said Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich. “Eventually it will catch up to us.”

Having fallen behind quickly into double digit holes in the first two games against the Hornets, with one comeback successful and the first one falling just short, the San Antonio Spurs did what worked so successfully in their previous two games against the Hornets–spread a previously elite New Orleans defense out with four shooters, then bombard them with three-pointers, dribble penetration, and extra passes.

In a blowout like tonight, there are so many things to point out that the Spurs did right (or Hornets did wrong), but the most notable was dealing with pick and rolls (and, in fact, any play) involving Matt Bonner.

Keep reading → (http://www.48minutesofhell.com/san-antonio-spurs-109-new-orleans-hornets-84#more-11720)

[Bukefal]

Good game and nice to see TP coming back. :flag:

On to the next one

[Bukefal]

:lol

http://imgur.com/Tohzp.png
http://imgur.com/xGQbM.png
http://imgur.com/22BVE.png

[boutons_deux]

Gary confidence on full display. Let's see how that goes in the playoffs.

We know Matty's gonna go 1-fer-farty.

[Dex]

Views from the Other Side:



http://www.nola.com/hornets/index.ssf/2010/12/new_orleans_hornets_strategy_d.html

New Orleans Hornets strategy didn't work at all against San Antonio
Published: Monday, December 06, 2010, 2:12 AM
Jimmy Smith, The Times-Picayune

San Antonio — In theory, it was a nice idea.

“We have to play our style and our big lineup has to impose its will,” Hornets Coach Monty Williams said, hopeful that could be the case Sunday night at the AT&T Center against the league-leading San Antonio Spurs. “We’ve done that in the past. We have to impose our will on this team tonight.”

It didn’t happen. Not at the beginning, the middle or the end.

The Spurs opened the game by scoring 10 consecutive points in the paint, attacking the middle of the Hornets’ defense, then going long-range at the outset of the second quarter, hitting four consecutive 3-pointers and easily dispatching the visiting Hornets 109-84 in front of 17,571.

“They smashed us,” said Hornets guard Chris Paul, “beat us in all facets of the game. It was pretty embarrassing.”

When Tony Parker (game-high 19 points) or Tim Duncan weren’t driving the lane against what appeared to be the most porous Hornets’ defensive effort of the season, reserve center Matt Bonner was netting rainbow 3-pointers a over tepid New Orleans defense.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Williams said afterward.

A week ago at the New Orleans Arena, the Spurs overcame a 17-point halftime deficit by adjusting their defense to a smaller rotation that presented the Hornets a puzzle they could not solve.

On Sunday night, though, San Antonio — which never trailed in the game — toyed with the Hornets, who’d won on this floor 99-90 on Oct. 30 in the early days of the season when teams had not yet formulated a scouting report that would fluster a group that was playing together for the first time.

“Some of the things we saw tonight,” said Williams, “have happened for the past couple of weeks. As a head coach, my job is to prepare for the next game. But as a unit, we have to realize we can’t make the same mistakes. And we’ve done that for the past two weeks.”

The Spurs had a 13-2 run in the first quarter and opened the second on a 14-4 burst, running up a lead of as much as 30 points.

So flustered was Williams with not only his team’s play, but the imposition of the Spurs’ will through their physical play with a resultant lack of whistles, Williams was assessed his first technical foul of the season by referee Kevin Cutler with 6:30 remaining in the second quarter.

His nostrils flared, Williams’ anger could not revive his ballclub, which put up only token resistance the rest of the way when starters were in the game through three periods.

And when New Orleans did do something positive, such as an 8-0 run at the outset of the third quarter, the Spurs beat that back with a 17-0 run to push their lead to 87-49 with 4:45 to go.

Paul led the Hornets with 16 points, eight assists and five rebounds, while David West, playing after missing Friday night’s loss against the Knicks with a stomach ailment, had 13 as did Trevor Ariza.

“It happens to every team in the NBA,” said Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich, “and I think they just had a bad, bad night tonight. It coincided with us having a very good night. It’s happened to us before, and it happens to everybody whether you’re at the bottom of the heap or a good team. It doesn’t matter.

“And they’re obviously a good team.”