spursfaninla
01-12-2014, 10:05 PM
Spurs were without their 6th man in Manu, and without their starting bigman in Splitter; no problem.
Although the good guys won by 18, this was no blowout until more than half way through the last period; the game was very much up in the air at the half and up until the 4th. Thus, this game was encouraging to me more because we had such even contributions, and because the team fought through losing on so many fronts, and yet still managed the victory (more on that below). I should add that Green sprained his finger and did not play after the half (scoreless at that point, you should note). Hopefully Manu is not out too long, or we will need Green to suck it up.
In the end, although the offensive ineptitude of the timberwolves had a lot to do with this victory, I will take it.
Offense:
Spurs had 30 assists without Manu (10 for TONY!) which is damn good by any measure. Spurs shot over 50% for the game, and spread the offense around with 6 players in double digits. Spurs scored the right way: in the paint (46), in transition (12) and from 3pters 9-13, 27pts. Leading scorer was Leonard a very efficient 8-11 for 17?! If you will remember, I asked that Leonard score at least 15 from here on out: ask and ye shall receive.
Parker (14), Duncan (15), Beli (13), and Patty (10) are all depended on to score at least what they contributed.
The big surprise of the night was clearly Bonner: 5-10, 4-5 from 3, for 14 points. Free bonner! No, just kidding, keep him on the bench. Surprise number 2 was Ayres: 4-7, and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes? Thank you, I will take that every night.
Defense:
The numbers look good at first glance: Minny scored 86 points on 35% shooting. We held Love to 3-14 shooting. However, that may be deceiving.
At the half, the Spurs were shooting about 58%, and the timberwolves were shooting below 40%, but the spurs only led by 4 points. The reason?
Keys at the Half:
Four things stood out at the half:
1) Offensive rebounds: Minny had 9 offensive rebounds at the half. They finished with 16. That translated into more possessions...
2) Turnovers: Spurs had 11, minny had 5. Finished the game with 20 turnovers, to their 10. Another 10 possessions....
3) Free throws: Minny had 9 ft made, spurs 6. To finish the game, Spurs made 11 fts and Minny made 15.
4) No one could defend Pekovic: I believe he had 16 at the half, and was scoring and rebounding at will. He finished with 22 on 10-15 shooting, so his slowed scoring helped a lot.
Keys for the game:
So, although the spurs kept the wolves from shooting well, they fouled more than they got fouled, and they gave minny plenty of extra chances to shoot. Not sure if I count that as good defense.
Really, the only way the Spurs were winning this game was to shoot their way out of it: shoot, and shoot well, to overcome turnovers, offensive rebounds, and a free throw disparity. The spurs continued to shoot well in the 2nd half, and did it particularly well from 3pt land. Game over. Next.
Although the good guys won by 18, this was no blowout until more than half way through the last period; the game was very much up in the air at the half and up until the 4th. Thus, this game was encouraging to me more because we had such even contributions, and because the team fought through losing on so many fronts, and yet still managed the victory (more on that below). I should add that Green sprained his finger and did not play after the half (scoreless at that point, you should note). Hopefully Manu is not out too long, or we will need Green to suck it up.
In the end, although the offensive ineptitude of the timberwolves had a lot to do with this victory, I will take it.
Offense:
Spurs had 30 assists without Manu (10 for TONY!) which is damn good by any measure. Spurs shot over 50% for the game, and spread the offense around with 6 players in double digits. Spurs scored the right way: in the paint (46), in transition (12) and from 3pters 9-13, 27pts. Leading scorer was Leonard a very efficient 8-11 for 17?! If you will remember, I asked that Leonard score at least 15 from here on out: ask and ye shall receive.
Parker (14), Duncan (15), Beli (13), and Patty (10) are all depended on to score at least what they contributed.
The big surprise of the night was clearly Bonner: 5-10, 4-5 from 3, for 14 points. Free bonner! No, just kidding, keep him on the bench. Surprise number 2 was Ayres: 4-7, and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes? Thank you, I will take that every night.
Defense:
The numbers look good at first glance: Minny scored 86 points on 35% shooting. We held Love to 3-14 shooting. However, that may be deceiving.
At the half, the Spurs were shooting about 58%, and the timberwolves were shooting below 40%, but the spurs only led by 4 points. The reason?
Keys at the Half:
Four things stood out at the half:
1) Offensive rebounds: Minny had 9 offensive rebounds at the half. They finished with 16. That translated into more possessions...
2) Turnovers: Spurs had 11, minny had 5. Finished the game with 20 turnovers, to their 10. Another 10 possessions....
3) Free throws: Minny had 9 ft made, spurs 6. To finish the game, Spurs made 11 fts and Minny made 15.
4) No one could defend Pekovic: I believe he had 16 at the half, and was scoring and rebounding at will. He finished with 22 on 10-15 shooting, so his slowed scoring helped a lot.
Keys for the game:
So, although the spurs kept the wolves from shooting well, they fouled more than they got fouled, and they gave minny plenty of extra chances to shoot. Not sure if I count that as good defense.
Really, the only way the Spurs were winning this game was to shoot their way out of it: shoot, and shoot well, to overcome turnovers, offensive rebounds, and a free throw disparity. The spurs continued to shoot well in the 2nd half, and did it particularly well from 3pt land. Game over. Next.