FoxPerez
04-01-2011, 01:03 PM
From PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
To see the original page, click here: http://bit.ly/ifRabI (http://bit.ly/ifRabI)
It was quite a sight to see Tim Duncan back so soon, joining Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to start the game for the San Antonio Spurs in a big, nationally televised game that the Spurs needed to break their losing streak. With good karma in the air and the team off to a great start offensively in the first quarter, all seemed right for the Spurs for the first time in what felt like ages. But eventually, San Antonio let it slip. Unable to take advantage of so many breaks in the first half, they went to halftime tied and their undisciplined defense in the 2nd half allowed the Celtics to pull away for a 107-97 win.
The killer in this game was Rajon Rondo. The book has been out on him for a long time. While he’s an excellent distributor as a point guard and can finish at the bucket, he has no jump shot. That’s why many defenders will give him a lot of room when he’s at the top of the key and why they always go under screens when
guarding him.
But he went off (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fchannel s%2Ftop_plays%2F2011%2F03%2F31%2F20110331_nn.nba&h=4b4da) in this game taking advantage of every open jumper, scoring 22 points and dishing out 14 assists while committing zero turnovers.
His offense opened everything up, especially in the 2nd half when Boston essentially was running everything off the same offensive set and several players were getting wide open shots. It’s nothing that San Antonio hasn’t seen before, but it was quite frustrating to watch Kevin Garnett and Glenn Davis get the same open jumpers on the wing over and over again. Sometimes you let guys like Rondo take that shot, but Garnett and Davis live in those spots and the defense should have been better.
Boston also did a great job of shutting down Parker. They closed the lanes and brought double teams whenever he got into the paint, forcing him to make a pass. Usually this works in San Antonio’s favor because the three-point shooters can knock down wide open three-pointers when given the opportunity. Matt Bonner and Gary Neal combined to go 2-10 on a night when the Spurs made just eight of the 29 three-pointers they hoisted. Again, the frustration coming because few of them were forced. While Neal’s confidence didn’t fade as he found other ways to contribute, Bonner is useless unless he’s making shots. Rarely does something good happen when he puts the ball on the floor, and it showed.
On the plus side, Tim Duncan didn’t look hurt at all. He was able to hit teammates in passing lanes perfectly and almost single-handedly kept the Spurs in the game with a stretch of 10 consecutive points late in the 4th quarter.
But Spurs fans have something new to worry about and that’s losing the #1 seed in the Western Conference, which seemed all but locked up weeks ago. With the LA Lakers beating the Dallas Mavericks (check out our recap here (http://bit.ly/hwrlxy)), LA is just two games back of San Antonio which means that the Spurs need to win their next five games and hope that the Lakers lose a game so that San Antonio can lock up the top seed before the two teams meet in the 2nd to last game of the season in LA on April 12th.
The Lakers are in the zone right now. They’ve only lost one game since the All Star break. Just one more loss could mean the end of their short run at the top seed, but enough wins could mean that it will be right there for the taking as the Spurs struggle into the playoffs and feel the pressure of the Lakers right behind them. As even the most optimistic Spurs fan, I’m even starting to worry. The only thing Spurs fans have left is hope. Duncan and Ginobili’s return to the lineup and showing no signs of injury provide the hope that they can finish the season with the top spot in the west and a little bit of momentum to carry into the playoffs.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas
To see the original page, click here: http://bit.ly/ifRabI (http://bit.ly/ifRabI)
It was quite a sight to see Tim Duncan back so soon, joining Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to start the game for the San Antonio Spurs in a big, nationally televised game that the Spurs needed to break their losing streak. With good karma in the air and the team off to a great start offensively in the first quarter, all seemed right for the Spurs for the first time in what felt like ages. But eventually, San Antonio let it slip. Unable to take advantage of so many breaks in the first half, they went to halftime tied and their undisciplined defense in the 2nd half allowed the Celtics to pull away for a 107-97 win.
The killer in this game was Rajon Rondo. The book has been out on him for a long time. While he’s an excellent distributor as a point guard and can finish at the bucket, he has no jump shot. That’s why many defenders will give him a lot of room when he’s at the top of the key and why they always go under screens when
guarding him.
But he went off (http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fvideo%2Fchannel s%2Ftop_plays%2F2011%2F03%2F31%2F20110331_nn.nba&h=4b4da) in this game taking advantage of every open jumper, scoring 22 points and dishing out 14 assists while committing zero turnovers.
His offense opened everything up, especially in the 2nd half when Boston essentially was running everything off the same offensive set and several players were getting wide open shots. It’s nothing that San Antonio hasn’t seen before, but it was quite frustrating to watch Kevin Garnett and Glenn Davis get the same open jumpers on the wing over and over again. Sometimes you let guys like Rondo take that shot, but Garnett and Davis live in those spots and the defense should have been better.
Boston also did a great job of shutting down Parker. They closed the lanes and brought double teams whenever he got into the paint, forcing him to make a pass. Usually this works in San Antonio’s favor because the three-point shooters can knock down wide open three-pointers when given the opportunity. Matt Bonner and Gary Neal combined to go 2-10 on a night when the Spurs made just eight of the 29 three-pointers they hoisted. Again, the frustration coming because few of them were forced. While Neal’s confidence didn’t fade as he found other ways to contribute, Bonner is useless unless he’s making shots. Rarely does something good happen when he puts the ball on the floor, and it showed.
On the plus side, Tim Duncan didn’t look hurt at all. He was able to hit teammates in passing lanes perfectly and almost single-handedly kept the Spurs in the game with a stretch of 10 consecutive points late in the 4th quarter.
But Spurs fans have something new to worry about and that’s losing the #1 seed in the Western Conference, which seemed all but locked up weeks ago. With the LA Lakers beating the Dallas Mavericks (check out our recap here (http://bit.ly/hwrlxy)), LA is just two games back of San Antonio which means that the Spurs need to win their next five games and hope that the Lakers lose a game so that San Antonio can lock up the top seed before the two teams meet in the 2nd to last game of the season in LA on April 12th.
The Lakers are in the zone right now. They’ve only lost one game since the All Star break. Just one more loss could mean the end of their short run at the top seed, but enough wins could mean that it will be right there for the taking as the Spurs struggle into the playoffs and feel the pressure of the Lakers right behind them. As even the most optimistic Spurs fan, I’m even starting to worry. The only thing Spurs fans have left is hope. Duncan and Ginobili’s return to the lineup and showing no signs of injury provide the hope that they can finish the season with the top spot in the west and a little bit of momentum to carry into the playoffs.
For more Spurs coverage, check out PlaymakerOnline.com (http://www.playmakeronline.com/)
Playmaker Magazine: The Source for Sports in Texas