DieMrBond
12-11-2006, 05:54 PM
Spurs don't look like a champion yet
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6259960
Despite their stellar record thus far this season, the Spurs' 106-99 road-loss to the Lakers uncovered some alarming shortcomings.
These flaws certainly won't keep San Antonio from winning 60-plus games, but just might frustrate their attempt to win another championship.
Even the most casual fan knows what the Spurs can do:
# Tim Duncan has a variety of long-armed shots in the low-post. Indeed, virtually every time the Lakers failed to collapse their defense around him, TD spun, pivoted, and jump-hooked his way to several buckets. While Duncan wasn't especially quick off his feet, those same long arms worked with his strong hands and his impeccable timing to make him a formidable rebounder. He also showed a willingness to run the floor (both ways), to set effective screens, and to make the right passes at the right times.
All things considered, Duncan is the most fundamentally sound All-Star in the game.
# Bruce Bowen can knock down open treys and play aggressive interior defense.
# Tony Parker is an international jet-setter. Give him the ball anywhere in the vicinity of a high screen and Parker can either find an open jumper, or zip into the lane. (Which is exactly why the Spurs run numerous high S/R), and his right-to-left crossover executed at warp-speed, is just plain indefensible.
# Manu Ginobili can bomb from the outskirts and take his left hand through the narrowest cracks in any defense. If Ginobili isn't much of a straight-up defender, he compensates with quick hands and uncanny anticipation.
# Brent Barry is a dangerous 3-point shooter.
# Robert Horry used to be Mister Big Shot.
Put them all together and the Spurs always make the extra pass, run a precision offense, and take justifiable pride in their poise, and in their timely and alert defensive rotations. They have a lot of ways to score, and they always seem to come up with a big play when a ball game is on the line.
But not on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The Lakers just about neutralized Duncan by frequently triple-teaming him in the pivot limiting him to 7-9 and 16 points. He also had difficulty defending the post-up activities of the Lakers' young bigs Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum combined for 17 points and together matched TD's total of 13 rebounds as they variously overcame Duncan's defense with tight drop steps, baseline drives, and even a couple of dunks. The two youngsters (along with Lamar Odom) also showed much more explosiveness off the floorboards than did the 30-year old Duncan, and beat him to the top of several rebounds.
Kobe Bryant had his way with the Spurs on Sunday night. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Could it be that TD has lost a half-step?
While Tony Parker seemed able to score at will 9-16, 9 assists, 21 points he had trouble passing over the top of his defender. (That was the reason for two of his five turnovers.) Also, TP's defensive efforts weren't very successful in keeping either Smush Parker or Jordan Farmar out of the middle.
Defensive balance and anticipation, as well as general mindfulness are Parker's biggest drawbacks.
Michael Finley has simply lost any signs of life in his legs 2-14, 4 points. On one first-quarter isolation, he drove to the ring, failed to elevate, and missed the layup. In his glory years, he would have easily dunked the sucker.
Fabricio Oberto showed in proper fashion on several screens, but was too slow to prevent the ball-handler from turning the corner. Yes, he worked hard and set passable screens, but Fab-O is too slow to justify significant court-time against the better teams. His defense was so immobile that the Lakers even attacked him with several post-ups and isos by Luke Walton. Oberto registered two points, four rebounds, and four fouls in just under thirteen minutes. The guy just can't give the Spurs what they need from their man in the middle.
Bowen can still play down-and-dirty post-up defense. Indeed, he fronted Kobe Bryant to good effect whenever the Lakers' main man ventured into the pivot. And Double-B's long-range shooting was totally on target 6-9, 3-3 from downtown, 16 points. But, at age 35, he can no longer play lockup defense away from the basket. Kobe had a field day both shooting from the outside and shedding Bowen on his way into the paint.
Ginobili is still at the top of his game 6-10, 3 assists, 2 steals, 23 points. The trouble is that as a non-starter, Ginobili was most often teamed with Beno Udrih, Finley, Horry, and Maurice Evans and was the only dependable scorer on this second unit. As a result, Ginobili had to over-handle the ball and try to force his way through tiny cracks in the Lakers defense hence his 6 turnovers. After the Spurs starters had jumped out to an early 11-pointlead, Ginobili and the other subs were outscored by 11-2, and the Lakers were back in the game. In the second half, Gregg Popovich tried to remedy the situation by having Parker assume many of Udrih's minutes.
Still, Ginobili remains the key to San Antonio's offense, providing a spark of the unexpected that boosts a very good team into a championship-caliber team. But, he's not dominating enough to carry the entire offensive load for the second unit and needs more daylight with the starters.
On the cusp of his 36th birthday, Brent Barry remains a two-dimensional player 2-3, 3 assists, 6 points. He can still shoot 3-balls and make snappy reversal passes. Too bad he still can't defend.
Robert Horry can still drop long range shots and hit turnaround jumpers on the rare occasions when he posts-up. But he could in no way play adequate defense against Lamar Odom. Nor could he make the quick-footed defensive rotations that once were his specialties.
Horry should have retired two years ago.
Beno Udrih moved the ball smartly and made nice entry passes. But he still was unable to handle the ball safely in a crowd.
Francisco Elson ran the floor, dunked off a nifty S/R he ran with Ginobili, got pushed around near the basket, and committed four fouls in 15 minutes.
So how do all of the above pluses and minuses play out on the Spurs balance sheet?
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable rebounder the next highest boardman were Parker, Finley, and Oberto with four each. That's why the Spurs couldn't keep the Lakers from climbing all over the offensive glass LA had 14 offensive rebounds to San Antonio's five.
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable big man Horry, Oberto, and Elson were so ineffective that in the endgame Pop went with TD, Bowen, Barry, Ginobili, and Parker.
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable post-up scorer actually he is their only post-up scorer.
What else?
Besides Parker, Ginobili, and the seldom-used Elson, the Spurs lack any speedsters. Besides Parker and Ginobili, the Spurs also lack anybody not named Duncan who can create his own shot.
The Spurs, then, are two players short. Another glass-eating big who can score inside (do they really miss Nazr Mohammed that much?), and a wing-man who can light up the scoreboard.
Even so, the Spurs are certainly capable of returning to the winner's circle. But only if Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili can bring their A-plus games to the playoffs. Only if Oberto, Elson and Horry make sizeable contributions.
And only if Horry, Barry, Finley, and Bowen can be inspired by Satchel Paige's view of senior athletes with young hearts: "If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you be?"
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/6259960
Despite their stellar record thus far this season, the Spurs' 106-99 road-loss to the Lakers uncovered some alarming shortcomings.
These flaws certainly won't keep San Antonio from winning 60-plus games, but just might frustrate their attempt to win another championship.
Even the most casual fan knows what the Spurs can do:
# Tim Duncan has a variety of long-armed shots in the low-post. Indeed, virtually every time the Lakers failed to collapse their defense around him, TD spun, pivoted, and jump-hooked his way to several buckets. While Duncan wasn't especially quick off his feet, those same long arms worked with his strong hands and his impeccable timing to make him a formidable rebounder. He also showed a willingness to run the floor (both ways), to set effective screens, and to make the right passes at the right times.
All things considered, Duncan is the most fundamentally sound All-Star in the game.
# Bruce Bowen can knock down open treys and play aggressive interior defense.
# Tony Parker is an international jet-setter. Give him the ball anywhere in the vicinity of a high screen and Parker can either find an open jumper, or zip into the lane. (Which is exactly why the Spurs run numerous high S/R), and his right-to-left crossover executed at warp-speed, is just plain indefensible.
# Manu Ginobili can bomb from the outskirts and take his left hand through the narrowest cracks in any defense. If Ginobili isn't much of a straight-up defender, he compensates with quick hands and uncanny anticipation.
# Brent Barry is a dangerous 3-point shooter.
# Robert Horry used to be Mister Big Shot.
Put them all together and the Spurs always make the extra pass, run a precision offense, and take justifiable pride in their poise, and in their timely and alert defensive rotations. They have a lot of ways to score, and they always seem to come up with a big play when a ball game is on the line.
But not on Sunday night in Los Angeles.
The Lakers just about neutralized Duncan by frequently triple-teaming him in the pivot limiting him to 7-9 and 16 points. He also had difficulty defending the post-up activities of the Lakers' young bigs Kwame Brown and Andrew Bynum combined for 17 points and together matched TD's total of 13 rebounds as they variously overcame Duncan's defense with tight drop steps, baseline drives, and even a couple of dunks. The two youngsters (along with Lamar Odom) also showed much more explosiveness off the floorboards than did the 30-year old Duncan, and beat him to the top of several rebounds.
Kobe Bryant had his way with the Spurs on Sunday night. (Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Could it be that TD has lost a half-step?
While Tony Parker seemed able to score at will 9-16, 9 assists, 21 points he had trouble passing over the top of his defender. (That was the reason for two of his five turnovers.) Also, TP's defensive efforts weren't very successful in keeping either Smush Parker or Jordan Farmar out of the middle.
Defensive balance and anticipation, as well as general mindfulness are Parker's biggest drawbacks.
Michael Finley has simply lost any signs of life in his legs 2-14, 4 points. On one first-quarter isolation, he drove to the ring, failed to elevate, and missed the layup. In his glory years, he would have easily dunked the sucker.
Fabricio Oberto showed in proper fashion on several screens, but was too slow to prevent the ball-handler from turning the corner. Yes, he worked hard and set passable screens, but Fab-O is too slow to justify significant court-time against the better teams. His defense was so immobile that the Lakers even attacked him with several post-ups and isos by Luke Walton. Oberto registered two points, four rebounds, and four fouls in just under thirteen minutes. The guy just can't give the Spurs what they need from their man in the middle.
Bowen can still play down-and-dirty post-up defense. Indeed, he fronted Kobe Bryant to good effect whenever the Lakers' main man ventured into the pivot. And Double-B's long-range shooting was totally on target 6-9, 3-3 from downtown, 16 points. But, at age 35, he can no longer play lockup defense away from the basket. Kobe had a field day both shooting from the outside and shedding Bowen on his way into the paint.
Ginobili is still at the top of his game 6-10, 3 assists, 2 steals, 23 points. The trouble is that as a non-starter, Ginobili was most often teamed with Beno Udrih, Finley, Horry, and Maurice Evans and was the only dependable scorer on this second unit. As a result, Ginobili had to over-handle the ball and try to force his way through tiny cracks in the Lakers defense hence his 6 turnovers. After the Spurs starters had jumped out to an early 11-pointlead, Ginobili and the other subs were outscored by 11-2, and the Lakers were back in the game. In the second half, Gregg Popovich tried to remedy the situation by having Parker assume many of Udrih's minutes.
Still, Ginobili remains the key to San Antonio's offense, providing a spark of the unexpected that boosts a very good team into a championship-caliber team. But, he's not dominating enough to carry the entire offensive load for the second unit and needs more daylight with the starters.
On the cusp of his 36th birthday, Brent Barry remains a two-dimensional player 2-3, 3 assists, 6 points. He can still shoot 3-balls and make snappy reversal passes. Too bad he still can't defend.
Robert Horry can still drop long range shots and hit turnaround jumpers on the rare occasions when he posts-up. But he could in no way play adequate defense against Lamar Odom. Nor could he make the quick-footed defensive rotations that once were his specialties.
Horry should have retired two years ago.
Beno Udrih moved the ball smartly and made nice entry passes. But he still was unable to handle the ball safely in a crowd.
Francisco Elson ran the floor, dunked off a nifty S/R he ran with Ginobili, got pushed around near the basket, and committed four fouls in 15 minutes.
So how do all of the above pluses and minuses play out on the Spurs balance sheet?
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable rebounder the next highest boardman were Parker, Finley, and Oberto with four each. That's why the Spurs couldn't keep the Lakers from climbing all over the offensive glass LA had 14 offensive rebounds to San Antonio's five.
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable big man Horry, Oberto, and Elson were so ineffective that in the endgame Pop went with TD, Bowen, Barry, Ginobili, and Parker.
Duncan is the Spurs only reliable post-up scorer actually he is their only post-up scorer.
What else?
Besides Parker, Ginobili, and the seldom-used Elson, the Spurs lack any speedsters. Besides Parker and Ginobili, the Spurs also lack anybody not named Duncan who can create his own shot.
The Spurs, then, are two players short. Another glass-eating big who can score inside (do they really miss Nazr Mohammed that much?), and a wing-man who can light up the scoreboard.
Even so, the Spurs are certainly capable of returning to the winner's circle. But only if Duncan, Parker, and Ginobili can bring their A-plus games to the playoffs. Only if Oberto, Elson and Horry make sizeable contributions.
And only if Horry, Barry, Finley, and Bowen can be inspired by Satchel Paige's view of senior athletes with young hearts: "If you didn't know how old you are, how old would you be?"
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.