Game Blog: 3/31/12 - Spurs vs. Pacers

[Manudona]

Manu defense!

[roycrikside]

Hope that guy who complained we're shooting too many threes is happy. We attempted only one that period and scored just 26 pts, compared to 39 in the second quarter.

[Robz4000]

At least the Spurs will have some momentum going into the 4th, but that was an otherwise forgettable quarter.

[Spurs Brazil]

Neal did well in the 3rd

I hope the Spurs play defense in the 4th. 3rd quarter was a pathetic effort

[maverick1948]

Although they are winning quite handily, the lack of Diaw is worrisome.. The big rotation as it is tonight just isn't good enough defensively to rely on in the playoffs..

We won a hellofalot of games without Diaw. We can win while he sits now.

[ViceCity84]

Too small in the paint.Too slow on the perimeter
Our defense stinks.

[Robz4000]

Hope that guy who complained we're shooting too many threes is happy. We attempted only one that period and scored just 26 pts, compared to 39 in the second quarter.
I thought the offense looked good. The matter of them not shooting 3s is that Indy is doing better at staying with the Spurs' shooters. The D needs to pick it up, West going shot-happy is not good, but there were flashes there at the end of the 3rd.

[TDMVPDPOY]

can we keep them under 90?

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

:lol Barbosa

[MannyIsGod]

:lmao

[TDMVPDPOY]

barbs showing us what a total scrub he is

[Spurs Brazil]

:lol Leandro

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Neal 33333333333333333333333

[loveforthegame]

Neal locked in.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

is george hill wearing shoulder pads

[ViceCity84]

Sick of Bonner
More sick of POP for playing him.

[Robz4000]

can we keep them under 90?
After what happened in the 3rd, if they hold them under 100 I'll be pleased.

[Spurs Brazil]

Neal on fire!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ViceCity84]

Kneal with it.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Attack Jackson :tu

[MannyIsGod]

I'm enjoying the Pacers broadcast. They've been very high on the Spurs. Its hard not to be when they play as well as they have tonight and Quin Buckner is the color guy (he did some color with the Spurs) but its nice.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Jackson makes the offense so much more potent

even when he is missing, he's still cutting to the lane and creating havoc near the rim

[MB3//]

I love that has been in attack mode all night.

[wildbill2u]

Despite all the bitching, we lead in every stat--rebounds, steals, assists, PF, and of course the most important stat, the score.

Meanwhile, we don't have anyone who has played 25 minutes. They have four of their best players above 25 minutes going into the 4th. We will see if our guys are fresher at the end and if that doesn't play a big part in the final stat--W or L.

[MannyIsGod]

Sick of Bonner
More sick of POP for playing him.

Bonner has been great tonight.

[maverick1948]

Sick of Bonner
More sick of POP for playing him.

Are you watching the game? Or are you just posting to be on here?

Because in the 1st minute of the 4th he made 2 good plays on D.

[DesignatedT]

haha sjax

[DontStopBelieving]

We won a hellofalot of games without Diaw. We can win while he sits now.

Yes. Relying on Blair and Bonner too much really helped us out last year, didn't it?

[MannyIsGod]

Jackson makes the offense so much more potent

even when he is missing, he's still cutting to the lane and creating havoc near the rim

Its SO damn nice watching him and knowing that would be RJ if not for the trade. Seriously best part of this season was that trade.

[Spurs Brazil]

Jax plays with a lot of intensity. Night and day comparing to Jefferson

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Bonner has been playing pretty well tbh

[HarlemHeat37]

I'm enjoying the Pacers broadcast. They've been very high on the Spurs. Its hard not to be when they play as well as they have tonight and Quin Buckner is the color guy (he did some color with the Spurs) but its nice.

The Pacers announcing duo is easily in the top 5, tbh, they're always fair and unbiased..

[Spurs Brazil]

Bonner has been great tonight.

Agree, one of his best games of the season

[maverick1948]

Bonner Big D on West!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spurs Brazil]

Good timeout. Bring TD back

[maverick1948]

Yes. Relying on Blair and Bonner too much really helped us out last year, didn't it?

Having Manu with a broken arm and Timmy on a bum ankle didnt help much either did it? Blaming Blair and Bonner for every loss or every bad defense play is BS.

[HeroSquad]

This game seems like a lazy game. Not sloppy but there's a lack of energy especially on defense.

[jestersmash]

7 minutes to go and we're almost at 100.

[Reck]

Tiago is so raw. No post move skills whatsoever.

They need to put him through boot camp or something. He's pretty much useless as he is now.

[100%duncan]

The game's not televise fuck life.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Nice defense from Hill

[Juggity]

haven't scored in like six minutes

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Tiago is so raw. No post move skills whatsoever.

They need to put him through boot camp or something. He's pretty much useless as he is now.



:rollin:nope:bang

[Spurs Brazil]

great block TD

[Robz4000]

4 point play...

[100%duncan]

Poor Defense?

[Reck]

:rollin:nope:bang

Ok, except from getting your occasional rebound.

Can you honestly say he has moves? He'll fumble the ball more often then not. C'mon now..

[Nathan89]

WTF Blair get 4th quarter minutes now. This team just took a step back.

[DontStopBelieving]

Tiago is so raw. No post move skills whatsoever.

They need to put him through boot camp or something. He's pretty much useless as he is now.

He showed some pretty good moves and footwork prior to his injury. It is frustrating to see him revert to his weak.. hooks.. though

[loveforthegame]

No words to describe this.

[SanAntonioSpurs23]

Ok, except from getting your occasional rebound.

Can you honestly say he has moves? He'll fumble the ball more often then not. C'mon now..


Should have used blue TBH

[sharkenleo]

Timmy turning back the clock

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Blair getting minutes in crunch time? :wtf

[DontStopBelieving]

Lucky break for Blair and the Spurs there.

[Robz4000]

Blair coming through during crunch time. Good to see! He totally stepped out of bounds though.

[GB20]

that was a big break for the spurs

[Spurs Brazil]

TD playing great

And I was afraid when Blair was in to finish the game but he's doing a good job

[HarlemHeat37]

I completely disagree about Splitter being useless, far from it..he's still a good finisher and a very solid defensive player..

His post moves are currently atrocious, though, I agree with that..it's a shame, because his post game looked much improved, before the injury..he was scoring with a variety of moves, and his ugly hooks had a nice touch to them..

The injuries seem to have killed his offensive rhythm, though..

[Malice]

great game.

[loveforthegame]

The Spurs keep fighting so they've avoided a complete meltdown. There's plenty of room for improvement but they keep fighting.

[GB20]

Blair getting minutes in crunch time? :wtf

the spurs showcasing blair to the pacer for another pick next draft

[Robz4000]

Crunch-time Tony!

[wildbill2u]

Duncan came back in 4th quarter with only 25 minutes. He's still fresh enough to play well down the stretch. Only Tony over 30 minutes.

I think the way Pop spreads the minutes helps us a lot in the closing minutes.

[bklynspursfan]

We can never put even 3 quarters of defense together

[Chomag]

People here keep talking about Spurs gettign the chip this year but they are not going to be doing i with this defence....

[Chomag]

but hey, why worry about defence if you can outscore the other team right? This team seems to think so lol

[100%duncan]

Meanwhile... Kansan and Ohio givin better entertainment?

[HeroSquad]

That's sloppy clock management by the Pacers

[Mal]

Pacers will score on last possesion, cause i bet Spurs -8.0

[loveforthegame]

One of the things to love about Jackson is that he still does the other things to help the team win even on an off shooting night.

[100%duncan]

Why are Diaw and Mills in the doghouse?

[Mal]

Pacers will score on last possesion, cause i bet Spurs -8.0

good old mr jinx :hat

[ElNono]

We win!

[ElNono]

Spurs not going anywhere with that D though

[Nathan89]

I don't how Pop can justify playing Blair with Tim and not Splitter.

[Robz4000]

People here keep talking about Spurs gettign the chip this year but they are not going to be doing i with this defence....
I think the bad D has more to do with Pop playing random rotations trying to find one that works than the team just being bad defensively. Not that it's much better with the right players, but the potential is there. If it's still bad in the final games of the season, then it'll be time to panic.

[Juggity]

TD with a solid double double

[Mal]

I dont like this defence.

[$pursDynasty]

I don't how Pop can justify playing Blair with Tim and not Splitter.
Pops trying to avoid Tiago getting another injury since he isn't the most durable. He wasn't needed anyway.

[ViceCity84]

Spurs 115
Pacers 104

I was in the neighborhood.This game went exactly the way I thought it would go.

[Reck]

Good win but I'm starting to get concerned about the massive amount of points the Spurs are giving. That needs to stop.

[HeroSquad]

This game felt like a Pop experiment. He was basically playing around with different rotations. Even in the 4th, he kind of forced the guys on the floor to play through their bad defense rather than put in Diaw. Plus, the Pacers are a solid albeit streaky team. Clearly defense is not a strong suit for this group of guys.

[goPaTTY!]

y pop not play diaw and mills

[sharkenleo]

Solid win against a good Pacers team.

[Nathan89]

Duncan 32:07
Splitter 15:53
= 48minutes

Pop not preparing for the Lakers:lmao
Pop not preparing for Memphis:lmao
Pop is a defensive coach:lmao

[Obstructed_View]

League pass is annoying. Was a few minutes behind and suddenly can't watch the game while it "archives". One would think the NBA would have a second copy of the game to back up. I assume the Spurs won.

[Josepatches_]

I completely disagree about Splitter being useless, far from it..he's still a good finisher and a very solid defensive player..

His post moves are currently atrocious, though, I agree with that..it's a shame, because his post game looked much improved, before the injury..he was scoring with a variety of moves, and his ugly hooks had a nice touch to them..

The injuries seem to have killed his offensive rhythm, though..

That's all.

"His post game looked much improved" is the post game he always had in Spain. Nothing new. But he never showed it in the NBA until last 2 or 3 weeks before the injury.

The biggest problem is confidence & rhythm. Of course he has to take care of the ball.

[Leetonidas]

Where was Diaw? Did he not play at all?

[ViceCity84]

This game looks like a playoff preview
Capt Jack would play significant role in playoffs and unfortunately Bonner.
Diaw and Mills are end of bench guys.

[100%duncan]

The positive thing is... I still have to see a great shooting from Sjax but even now he's struggling to shoot he still makes positive plays

[Nathan89]

Pops trying to avoid Tiago getting another injury since he isn't the most durable. He wasn't needed anyway.

That's a stupid reason not to ever get Tim and Tiago some decent minutes together.

[therealtruth]

Pops trying to avoid Tiago getting another injury since he isn't the most durable. He wasn't needed anyway.

So when does he start playing Tiago for real so he can get ready for the playoffs?

[Spurs Brazil]

Nice to see Neal with a good game after those two on the road

[elemento]

I just wonder why Diaw did not play at all.

I just hope he isn't in the doghouse. I will be fucking mad if in playoff time we go with the same freaking front-court rotation of last season.

[100%duncan]

Duncan 32:07
Splitter 15:53
= 48minutes

Pop not preparing for the Lakers:lmao
Pop not preparing for Memphis:lmao
Pop is a defensive coach:lmao

Of course, the next game will be on wednesday

[Nathan89]

Splitter played 7 less minutes than Blair and still score 3 more points. Also his defense...you know the rest.

[therealtruth]

Duncan 32:07
Splitter 15:53
= 48minutes

Pop not preparing for the Lakers:lmao
Pop not preparing for Memphis:lmao
Pop is a defensive coach:lmao

Tiago is strictly a backup center now even though he's the second best big and arguably the 4/5th best player.

[wildbill2u]

Here some data from hoopdata.com. We're #5 in the League in Off. efficiency vs. defensive efficiency differential. Miami and Chicago lead but maybe that's because they play in the East. We are behind OKC in the West. I don't think we're so shabby.

Name OffEff DefEff Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff
MIA 106.6 96.6 10.0 51.66 47.18 4.48 31.8 28.6 3.13 14.26 15.71 -1.45 26.42 26.97 -0.55
CHI 105.7 96.0 9.7 49.48 45.38 4.10 26.3 24.2 2.12 13.09 13.04 0.05 32.69 26.44 6.25
PHI 102.3 94.6 7.7 48.19 44.83 3.36 21.5 26.2 -4.71 10.53 13.58 -3.05 24.38 25.14 -0.76
OKC 107.5 100.3 7.2 52.18 46.75 5.43 34.1 26.7 7.39 15.45 13.10 2.35 27.42 27.77 -0.35
SAS 106.0 101.5 4.5 51.54 49.26 2.28 26.1 22.3 3.73 12.56 12.73 -0.17 24.46 23.80 0.66
LAL 102.2 98.9 3.3 49.08 46.23 2.85 30.1 22.7 7.38 14.57 11.21 3.36 27.94 25.57 2.37
IND 102.2 99.1 3.1 47.03 47.23 -0.20 32.5 31.0 1.54 13.45 14.41 -0.96 28.91 2

[therealtruth]

Good win but I'm starting to get concerned about the massive amount of points the Spurs are giving. That needs to stop.

Playing the better defenders more at the expense of the worse defenders is the only way to fix that.

[freetiago]

only way you can justify the rotations is if pop was experimenting since we were up by 10-20+ most of the game
blair should never see the court to close the game ever
diaw should play 10 mins minimum
lol @ splitter with 15 mins outplaying bonner/blair playing 24 mins each

[Ice009]

People here keep talking about Spurs gettign the chip this year but they are not going to be doing i with this defence....

All I have got to say is that Pop CANNOT play Bonner and Blair more minutes than Tiago and Diaw.

If you want any kind of defense Blair and Bonner both getting more minutes needs to stop.

[jestersmash]

Here some data from hoopdata.com. We're #5 in the League in Off. efficiency vs. defensive efficiency differential. Miami and Chicago lead but maybe that's because they play in the East. We are behind OKC in the West. I don't think we're so shabby.

Name OffEff DefEff Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff Own Opp Diff
MIA 106.6 96.6 10.0 51.66 47.18 4.48 31.8 28.6 3.13 14.26 15.71 -1.45 26.42 26.97 -0.55
CHI 105.7 96.0 9.7 49.48 45.38 4.10 26.3 24.2 2.12 13.09 13.04 0.05 32.69 26.44 6.25
PHI 102.3 94.6 7.7 48.19 44.83 3.36 21.5 26.2 -4.71 10.53 13.58 -3.05 24.38 25.14 -0.76
OKC 107.5 100.3 7.2 52.18 46.75 5.43 34.1 26.7 7.39 15.45 13.10 2.35 27.42 27.77 -0.35
SAS 106.0 101.5 4.5 51.54 49.26 2.28 26.1 22.3 3.73 12.56 12.73 -0.17 24.46 23.80 0.66
LAL 102.2 98.9 3.3 49.08 46.23 2.85 30.1 22.7 7.38 14.57 11.21 3.36 27.94 25.57 2.37
IND 102.2 99.1 3.1 47.03 47.23 -0.20 32.5 31.0 1.54 13.45 14.41 -0.96 28.91 2


This is an absolute nightmare to read :lol

Just link to hoopsdata in the future.

[Arcadian]

I think the clear Final Four in the NBA this year is OKC, SA, Chicaco, and Miami. Can we just skip the remainder of the season and the first two rounds of the playoffs? Those four teams should all be in the conference finals.

[Nathan89]

All I have got to say is that Pop CANNOT play Bonner and Blair more minutes than Tiago and Diaw.

If you want any kind of defense Blair and Bonner both getting more minutes needs to stop.

Don't worry after we get down in the playoffs Pop will start Tiago next to Duncan even though they didn't get to play together all year.

[TE]

I really do hope Pop doesn't play Blair that much, especially in crunch time. Tiago and Timmy need to be in the game. I don't know why Pop consistently keeps that from happening. Also, wtf is up with not playing Diaw? C'mon Pop.

[Nathan89]

Splitter played 7 less minutes than Blair and still score 3 more points. Also his defense...you know the rest.

Also 2 more rebounds.

[Robz4000]

People need to realize that Pop isn't going to play Tim and Tiago together much, if at all. He hasn't done it in two years and he isn't going to start now. However, with Diaw and Bonner coming out of his shell and playing better D, he shouldn't have to. Simple solution is in matchups against bigger teams he starts Diaw in place of Blair. If Bonner disappears again in the playoffs, then just play Diaw with Splitter. The potential for D is there, Pop just needs to bring it out.

[ducks]

matt's d has improved not the best but it is better then it has been

[ducks]

people the pacers are the 5 seed in east and spurs were in complete control

[T Park]

I really do hope Pop doesn't play Blair that much, especially in crunch time. Tiago and Timmy need to be in the game. I don't know why Pop consistently keeps that from happening. Also, wtf is up with not playing Diaw? C'mon Pop.

Yeah clearly hurt them tonight...

[easy7]

Great game!!!

[Johnny RIngo]

Result was never in question all night. Pop was experimenting with lineups and we were still up by ten throughout the game. Defense was disappointing - hopefully a more consistent rotation will fix that. For once, I'll agree that Bonner had one of his best games of the season. Splitter was efficient but he's a long way from being the big we're looking for in a championship run.

[therealtruth]

So we take Bonner and Diaw out of the rotation and the defense is still bad. The next guy to remove from the rotation is Blair. Pop can give him a game to rest.

[siraulo23]

so weird seeing blair finish games

pop is experimenting a little bit i guess

[Obstructed_View]

When did David West's jumper disappear? Used to be automatic and I don't think he hit one the entire night. He took a ton of shots.

[Biernutz]

We went to the game to-night and their was a medical emergency in the lower level about 10 rows off the floor across from the Spurs bench. Some guy totally went down like a heart attack. They didn't stop the game but the had medical personal and ems techs working on a man as he was on the floor. They brought the paddles over to where he was but we never saw anyone do CPR or shock him.They never put him on a stretcher or a board or anything. THEY had about 5 guys carry him out of the middle of the row down the asile to behind the basket on the spurs side of the court. They almost dropped his head to the floor. It was quick work by the guy at the front to grab the back of his shirt to keep him from banging his dome on the court floor. They then took him into the tunnel and out of sight. This looked really bad the way they carried him out. Did the TV say anything about him or was he just passed out drunk and they were just getting him out of the stands?

[spurs10]

so weird seeing blair finish games

pop is experimenting a little bit i guess
Hope so, and I hope this wasn't a glimpse of the playoffs with the benching of Diaw.
:rolleyes

[sehui]

So why didn't Boris play at all? You would think he should play every game so he get more exercise to shed that fat!

[SpursRock20]

We went to the game to-night and their was a medical emergency in the lower level about 10 rows off the floor across from the Spurs bench. Some guy totally went down like a heart attack. They didn't stop the game but the had medical personal and ems techs working on a man as he was on the floor. They brought the paddles over to where he was but we never saw anyone do CPR or shock him.They never put him on a stretcher or a board or anything. THEY had about 5 guys carry him out of the middle of the row down the asile to behind the basket on the spurs side of the court. They almost dropped his head to the floor. It was quick work buy the guy at the front to grab the back of his shirt to keep him from banging his dome on the court floor. They then took him into the tunnel and out of sight. This looked really bad the way they carried him out. Did the TV say anything about him or was he just passed out drunk and they were just getting him out of the stands?

I didn't see any mention of it nor did I notice anything from the telecast.

[Arc]

does anyone else have nba league pass broadband? i ask because i want to know if your feed has been shitty like mine. for the past couple of games now mine has been absolutely horrible. it stops, lags, the feed is constantly switching from HD quality to standard ugo quality. anyone having the same problems or is it just me?

[jestersmash]

We went to the game to-night and their was a medical emergency in the lower level about 10 rows off the floor across from the Spurs bench. Some guy totally went down like a heart attack. They didn't stop the game but the had medical personal and ems techs working on a man as he was on the floor. They brought the paddles over to where he was but we never saw anyone do CPR or shock him.They never put him on a stretcher or a board or anything. THEY had about 5 guys carry him out of the middle of the row down the asile to behind the basket on the spurs side of the court. They almost dropped his head to the floor. It was quick work buy the guy at the front to grab the back of his shirt to keep him from banging his dome on the court floor. They then took him into the tunnel and out of sight. This looked really bad the way they carried him out. Did the TV say anything about him or was he just passed out drunk and they were just getting him out of the stands?

Based on your description, it sounds to me like they violated a handful of basic medical protocols here.

Best case scenario (the patient was still breathing fine and had a strong pulse/no obvious arrhythmia), the lack of CPR and use of an AED is obviously justified, but now their prime concern should have been proper C-spine immobilization. This is textbook pre-hospital care.