timvp
01-15-2008, 04:12 AM
Thanks to a late run in the fourth quarter, the Spurs avoided arguably their worst loss of the season. Going up against a Philadelphia 76ers squad that had lost six straight games and is clearly in a rebuilding mode, the Spurs trailed by as many as five points in the final stanza. Luckily, the Spurs’ defense buckled down and Manu Ginobili got hot from three-point land.
With regards to the Sixers, I was mildly impressed. Defensively, Maurice Cheeks has the team playing solidly, especially for a squad with a lot of young players. On the other end of the court, Philly just doesn’t have enough scoring to be a playoff threat.
Overall, this was another poor showing by the Spurs. Their offense is painful to watch right now. Tonight their defense was better but a lot of that was just poor offense by the Sixers.
-Tim Duncan is slowly picking up his intensity level. Both offensively and defensively, he played better than he has in recent games. The Sixers have a couple good defenders to throw at him and Duncan responded by unleashing more of his offensive repertoire. Unlike recent games, Duncan was a very willing passer. Defensively, Duncan was much more of a force. He had two blocks and he altered a handful of other shots. On the game, Duncan finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and only one turnover. He also hit 8-of-14 shots in his 36 minutes of action.
-Manu Ginobili had an odd game. Even though he was 0-for-6 through the game’s first 44 minutes, I thought he was playing relatively well. I liked his overall energy, especially on defense. I thought he had become a bit lackadaisical defensively over the last couple games but he really picked it up tonight. His four fouls were extremely hard fouls, which set the tone for the Spurs defensively and let the Sixers know that they’d have to earn this victory. What everyone will remember are his four three-pointers late in the game that basically won the game for the Spurs but I was more impressed with his overall energy level and determination. Ginobili played the game with a playoff intensity I haven’t seen from a player on this team outside of Jacque Vaughn.
-Tony Parker was streaky, as has been the case recently with him. He started off well but then soon disappeared. He reappeared in the second quarter for a stretch when he was the best player on the court, but then he re-disappeared for basically the rest of the game until he hit a big jumper late. On the whole, Parker was more down than he was up in this game. I’m not sure if he’s fatigued, injured or just in a slump but whatever it is has him playing very inconsistently. And honestly, that’s surprising since Parker is usually quite consistent during the regular season. It’s not helping him that the offense on a whole is playing poorly. Hopefully Parker can get back to playing well and playing well consistently.
-Bruce Bowen had a sub par game. Defensively, he had either an average or a slightly below average game. Offensively though, Bowen was forcing the issue way too much. Bowen usually has impeccable shot selection but his poor shot selection recently has been one of the reasons the offense isn’t flowing as it should. Bowen hit 1-of-8 shots from the field and is now mired in a 4-for-27 slump over the last five games. During that stretch, he’s hit only 2-of-16 three-point attempts. This slump is a bit surprising because he was having one of his better shooting seasons of his career. Bowen needs to get back to only shooting wide open shots and that will not only help his shooting percentage but also the offensive flow for the Spurs.
-At one point in the game, Michael Finley was the only Spur who seemed capable of getting off a quality shot. He hit a couple big shots throughout the game which helped keep the Spurs from totally collapsing. For the night, Finley totaled 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, while shooting 6-for-13 from the field.
-Fabricio Oberto played 16 non-descript minutes. In that time, Oberto had six points, four rebounds and an assist. He also connected on 3-of-4 shots from the field. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence but it’s pretty interesting to note how seemingly dependant Oberto is on Ginobili. In the six games that Ginobili missed with injury, Oberto was 3-for-15 from the field. In the five games since Ginobili has returned, Oberto is 9-for-11 from the field.
-Ime Udoka played 19 minutes against the Sixers, getting extended playing time because the Spurs went small at different points in the game. Although his line doesn’t look too spectacular (five points and three rebounds on 1-for-5 shooting), I thought he played rather well. His defense was good and he was taking quality shots offensively. It’d be nice if he hit more of his five attempts but he seemed like he knew what he was doing on that end of the court – which couldn’t be said for many of the players.
-Francisco Elson had his best game in a long, long time. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes. Elson played like he did last year, before he regressed to his current state. That said, he was far from perfect. Although the stat keepers only gave him two turnovers, he was responsible for at least a couple others by either being out of position or not catching passes. However, this was definitely a step in the right direction for Elson. If he can play a bit less sloppily, he might turn back into a capable backup center.
-While Jacque Vaughn didn’t have a game like he did in his last two outings, I thought he was decent. He finished with two points on 1-for-4 shooting from the field. I do think he rushed a few jumpers but he made up for it with solid defensive play.
-A game after getting into a mini tiff with Pop, Horry was back on the court for the Spurs. While his offense was still poor as he shot 0-for-2 from the field, I liked what I saw out of him defensively. He grabbed three rebounds and swiped two steals in his nine minutes of playing time. Hopefully Horry can start showing a bit more because it really looks as if Pop is trying to figure out whether his veteran big has any gas left in the tank.
-Surprisingly enough, Matt Bonner appears to now be the bigman not in the rotation. I say it’s surprising because Bonner has played effectively for the last month or so. I’m not sure if Pop is disappointed in Bonner’s play or if he’s simply seeing what Elson and Horry can bring to the table. Against the Sixers, Bonner got off the bench for the first time in the fourth quarter. In six minutes, Bonner finished with three rebounds and an assist, while missing his only field goal attempt.
-Pop had a decent night coaching. He put different combinations on the court as he searched for someone to spark the Spurs. I thought he did a really good job of resting Ginobili until the stretch run. Ginobili entered the game fresh and ready to help win the game.
The most interesting sub plot from this game is the bigman rotation. Horry, Elson and Bonner seem to be competing for the final spot in the rotation. Although Bonner has played the best out of the three, Pop is letting Horry and Elson make a case for themselves. Will Horry hold onto his spot in the rotation for one more season or will he his role be usurped by a younger option? Pop has four months to figure it out.
The bottomline for this game is it was another ugly win for the Spurs. The struggles continue but at least the team is pulling out victories. With the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets on the upcoming schedule, the Spurs will have to play better to win those two games.
With regards to the Sixers, I was mildly impressed. Defensively, Maurice Cheeks has the team playing solidly, especially for a squad with a lot of young players. On the other end of the court, Philly just doesn’t have enough scoring to be a playoff threat.
Overall, this was another poor showing by the Spurs. Their offense is painful to watch right now. Tonight their defense was better but a lot of that was just poor offense by the Sixers.
-Tim Duncan is slowly picking up his intensity level. Both offensively and defensively, he played better than he has in recent games. The Sixers have a couple good defenders to throw at him and Duncan responded by unleashing more of his offensive repertoire. Unlike recent games, Duncan was a very willing passer. Defensively, Duncan was much more of a force. He had two blocks and he altered a handful of other shots. On the game, Duncan finished with 18 points, 16 rebounds, six assists and only one turnover. He also hit 8-of-14 shots in his 36 minutes of action.
-Manu Ginobili had an odd game. Even though he was 0-for-6 through the game’s first 44 minutes, I thought he was playing relatively well. I liked his overall energy, especially on defense. I thought he had become a bit lackadaisical defensively over the last couple games but he really picked it up tonight. His four fouls were extremely hard fouls, which set the tone for the Spurs defensively and let the Sixers know that they’d have to earn this victory. What everyone will remember are his four three-pointers late in the game that basically won the game for the Spurs but I was more impressed with his overall energy level and determination. Ginobili played the game with a playoff intensity I haven’t seen from a player on this team outside of Jacque Vaughn.
-Tony Parker was streaky, as has been the case recently with him. He started off well but then soon disappeared. He reappeared in the second quarter for a stretch when he was the best player on the court, but then he re-disappeared for basically the rest of the game until he hit a big jumper late. On the whole, Parker was more down than he was up in this game. I’m not sure if he’s fatigued, injured or just in a slump but whatever it is has him playing very inconsistently. And honestly, that’s surprising since Parker is usually quite consistent during the regular season. It’s not helping him that the offense on a whole is playing poorly. Hopefully Parker can get back to playing well and playing well consistently.
-Bruce Bowen had a sub par game. Defensively, he had either an average or a slightly below average game. Offensively though, Bowen was forcing the issue way too much. Bowen usually has impeccable shot selection but his poor shot selection recently has been one of the reasons the offense isn’t flowing as it should. Bowen hit 1-of-8 shots from the field and is now mired in a 4-for-27 slump over the last five games. During that stretch, he’s hit only 2-of-16 three-point attempts. This slump is a bit surprising because he was having one of his better shooting seasons of his career. Bowen needs to get back to only shooting wide open shots and that will not only help his shooting percentage but also the offensive flow for the Spurs.
-At one point in the game, Michael Finley was the only Spur who seemed capable of getting off a quality shot. He hit a couple big shots throughout the game which helped keep the Spurs from totally collapsing. For the night, Finley totaled 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal, while shooting 6-for-13 from the field.
-Fabricio Oberto played 16 non-descript minutes. In that time, Oberto had six points, four rebounds and an assist. He also connected on 3-of-4 shots from the field. I’m not sure if it’s a coincidence but it’s pretty interesting to note how seemingly dependant Oberto is on Ginobili. In the six games that Ginobili missed with injury, Oberto was 3-for-15 from the field. In the five games since Ginobili has returned, Oberto is 9-for-11 from the field.
-Ime Udoka played 19 minutes against the Sixers, getting extended playing time because the Spurs went small at different points in the game. Although his line doesn’t look too spectacular (five points and three rebounds on 1-for-5 shooting), I thought he played rather well. His defense was good and he was taking quality shots offensively. It’d be nice if he hit more of his five attempts but he seemed like he knew what he was doing on that end of the court – which couldn’t be said for many of the players.
-Francisco Elson had his best game in a long, long time. He finished with seven points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots in 17 minutes. Elson played like he did last year, before he regressed to his current state. That said, he was far from perfect. Although the stat keepers only gave him two turnovers, he was responsible for at least a couple others by either being out of position or not catching passes. However, this was definitely a step in the right direction for Elson. If he can play a bit less sloppily, he might turn back into a capable backup center.
-While Jacque Vaughn didn’t have a game like he did in his last two outings, I thought he was decent. He finished with two points on 1-for-4 shooting from the field. I do think he rushed a few jumpers but he made up for it with solid defensive play.
-A game after getting into a mini tiff with Pop, Horry was back on the court for the Spurs. While his offense was still poor as he shot 0-for-2 from the field, I liked what I saw out of him defensively. He grabbed three rebounds and swiped two steals in his nine minutes of playing time. Hopefully Horry can start showing a bit more because it really looks as if Pop is trying to figure out whether his veteran big has any gas left in the tank.
-Surprisingly enough, Matt Bonner appears to now be the bigman not in the rotation. I say it’s surprising because Bonner has played effectively for the last month or so. I’m not sure if Pop is disappointed in Bonner’s play or if he’s simply seeing what Elson and Horry can bring to the table. Against the Sixers, Bonner got off the bench for the first time in the fourth quarter. In six minutes, Bonner finished with three rebounds and an assist, while missing his only field goal attempt.
-Pop had a decent night coaching. He put different combinations on the court as he searched for someone to spark the Spurs. I thought he did a really good job of resting Ginobili until the stretch run. Ginobili entered the game fresh and ready to help win the game.
The most interesting sub plot from this game is the bigman rotation. Horry, Elson and Bonner seem to be competing for the final spot in the rotation. Although Bonner has played the best out of the three, Pop is letting Horry and Elson make a case for themselves. Will Horry hold onto his spot in the rotation for one more season or will he his role be usurped by a younger option? Pop has four months to figure it out.
The bottomline for this game is it was another ugly win for the Spurs. The struggles continue but at least the team is pulling out victories. With the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets on the upcoming schedule, the Spurs will have to play better to win those two games.