FoxPerez
03-24-2011, 03:48 PM
From The Daily Six Shooter (http://bit.ly/hgDnkY) at PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/):
The San Antonio Spurs have played a full game without Tim Duncan before this season, but not against a team as good as the Denver Nuggets or playing as well as Denver. And for more than three quarters, the Spurs played good enough to hold a lead, but then they collapsed. San Antonio went for a five minute stretch without a field goal and that allowed Denver to turn a deficit they faced since the tip-off into a lead at home late in the 4th quarter.
A seven point lead in the 4th quarter in Denver had the crowd out of the game because, with only a couple of exceptions, San Antonio had complete control of the game and looked like they’d be able to ride out another victory in Denver. But then the Spurs lost control. The Nuggets couldn’t miss and the Spurs failed to get quality shots on the offensive end.
The big thing that San Antonio missed was Tim Duncan’s steady hand and leadership on the floor. If you look at the numbers in the box score, the game seems pretty even. What the Spurs missed without Duncan couldn’t be read in the box score, or even really detected by just watching the game because the difference was so subtle and yet so significant.
One of the things that San Antonio wasn’t able to do was run after grabbing a defensive rebound. As well as Tony Parker (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fnuggets%2F2011%2F03%2F23%2F0021001064_sas_den_pla y4.nba&h=91014) played in this game, shooting well in a 19-point effort, almost none of those points came on a fast-break. San Antonio is one of the league leaders in fast break points, but they only scored two against Denver last night. The next time Duncan plays in a game, watch what he does after he grabs a rebound. Most of the time, the ball is in his hands for less than a second. He’s played with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili so long that he can immediately identify where they are on the court, analyze if he’s throwing a dangerous pass, and then hit them in stride so that they can continue streaking down the court for some easy points.
On the more obvious side, they missed his presence in the low block offensively. Sure, the Spurs scored more points in the paint in this game and grabbed more rebounds, but they really missed his ability to work with his back to the basket and take control of the game when the team needed him to slow down and get a big bucket down the stretch when the team was struggling offensively. Without Duncan, Tiago Splitter is the only one that works that way offensively. The best quality shot that Antonio McDyess gets is a mid-range jumper and DeJuan Blair (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fnuggets%2F2011%2F03%2F23%2F0021001064_sas_den_pla y2.nba&h=91014) doesn’t have that low post game enough to use it often. Splitter shot just 1-5 from the field and only played 17 minutes, so the Spurs will have to find a better way to slow down the game and still get a quality basket.
There’s no column in the scorebook for moral victories, but it’s clear how well San Antonio was playing through more than three quarters and what was missing that cost them the game. So hopefully Gregg Popovich can make the necessary adjustments and keep the team from going into a free fall. One thing is for certain, Tim Duncan is a lot more valuable than most people give him credit for.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas
The San Antonio Spurs have played a full game without Tim Duncan before this season, but not against a team as good as the Denver Nuggets or playing as well as Denver. And for more than three quarters, the Spurs played good enough to hold a lead, but then they collapsed. San Antonio went for a five minute stretch without a field goal and that allowed Denver to turn a deficit they faced since the tip-off into a lead at home late in the 4th quarter.
A seven point lead in the 4th quarter in Denver had the crowd out of the game because, with only a couple of exceptions, San Antonio had complete control of the game and looked like they’d be able to ride out another victory in Denver. But then the Spurs lost control. The Nuggets couldn’t miss and the Spurs failed to get quality shots on the offensive end.
The big thing that San Antonio missed was Tim Duncan’s steady hand and leadership on the floor. If you look at the numbers in the box score, the game seems pretty even. What the Spurs missed without Duncan couldn’t be read in the box score, or even really detected by just watching the game because the difference was so subtle and yet so significant.
One of the things that San Antonio wasn’t able to do was run after grabbing a defensive rebound. As well as Tony Parker (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fnuggets%2F2011%2F03%2F23%2F0021001064_sas_den_pla y4.nba&h=91014) played in this game, shooting well in a 19-point effort, almost none of those points came on a fast-break. San Antonio is one of the league leaders in fast break points, but they only scored two against Denver last night. The next time Duncan plays in a game, watch what he does after he grabs a rebound. Most of the time, the ball is in his hands for less than a second. He’s played with Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili so long that he can immediately identify where they are on the court, analyze if he’s throwing a dangerous pass, and then hit them in stride so that they can continue streaking down the court for some easy points.
On the more obvious side, they missed his presence in the low block offensively. Sure, the Spurs scored more points in the paint in this game and grabbed more rebounds, but they really missed his ability to work with his back to the basket and take control of the game when the team needed him to slow down and get a big bucket down the stretch when the team was struggling offensively. Without Duncan, Tiago Splitter is the only one that works that way offensively. The best quality shot that Antonio McDyess gets is a mid-range jumper and DeJuan Blair (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fgames%2 Fnuggets%2F2011%2F03%2F23%2F0021001064_sas_den_pla y2.nba&h=91014) doesn’t have that low post game enough to use it often. Splitter shot just 1-5 from the field and only played 17 minutes, so the Spurs will have to find a better way to slow down the game and still get a quality basket.
There’s no column in the scorebook for moral victories, but it’s clear how well San Antonio was playing through more than three quarters and what was missing that cost them the game. So hopefully Gregg Popovich can make the necessary adjustments and keep the team from going into a free fall. One thing is for certain, Tim Duncan is a lot more valuable than most people give him credit for.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas