timvp
01-25-2008, 01:09 AM
Well, the Spurs got the win. Taking on a Miami Heat team with the second worst record in the NBA and owners of a 14-game losing streak, the Spurs escaped Miami with a 90-89 victory. Definitely an ugly game that saw the Spurs struggle yet again, but a good fourth quarter saved the day for the Spurs.
Dwyane Wade, with about one and a half capable teammates, is still a very good basketball player. The kid is fearless and he’s an extremely tough competitor. He’s basically like Manu Ginobili on steroids. Wade played a good game and got some scoring help from Spur Killer Mark Blount and almost willed his team to victory.
Besides getting the W, there wasn’t much to be happy about for the Spurs. Their defense was only good in the last couple minutes of the fourth quarter. Before that the defense was ugly. The offense was equally as ugly for much of the night. The Spurs were playing the second night of a back-to-back after arriving at Miami at 4AM, but really that’s not much of an excuse going against perhaps the worst team in the NBA.
-Tim Duncan was fabulous offensively. He had his whole repertoire working and was taking it strong. He wasn’t hesitating at all and was doing anything he wanted. In the fourth quarter, Duncan was 6-for-6 from the field and was the main reason why the Spurs came away with the win. On the game, Duncan finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot while connecting on 14-of-19 attempts from the floor. Defensively, Duncan wasn’t nearly as effective. Although, to Duncan’s credit he improved defensively as the game progressed.
-Manu Ginobili made the biggest basket in the game for the Spurs late in the fourth when he hit a layup to put the Spurs up a point. All in all, Ginobili had a really good game. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He was all over the court for the Spurs and quietly ended up with one of his better games of the season. He struggled shooting the ball from deep, hitting just 1-of-7 three-pointers. However, that was basically the only area of the game where Ginobili struggled. His rebounding when the Spurs went to the small lineup was key, as was his playmaking the entire game.
-Tony Parker once again looked hurt, tired, unfocused or a combination of all three. He had some big points late in the game but up until then, he had no points and no assists in the second half. For the contest, Parker finished with 12 points and one assists on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. For whatever reason, he took a back seat this game. He wasn’t running the offense – instead he was just hiding on the offensive end. It was like Jacque Vaughn was playing in the #9 jersey tonight. Not sure what the issue is but hopefully it is cleared up ASAP.
-For the first 45 minutes of the game, Bowen was having a below average game. His shooting was off and his defense was mediocre. But then late in the game, Bowen took over defensively. His defense against Wade down the stretch was superb and he once again showed why he’s regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders of all-time. Bowen harassed Wade into missing six of his final seven shots from the field – and that doesn’t count his strip at the end of the game to seal the win for the Spurs.
-Finley played 24 minutes and was decent enough. He might have forced a couple of unnecessary shots but other than that he was solid. Ten points, six rebounds and two assists is good production from Finley. He’s once again in a bit of a shooting slump but his overall activity on the court makes him valuable enough for San Antonio.
-Fabricio Oberto was back in the starting lineup. However, Oberto didn’t really do anything to prove to Pop that he belonged in the starting lineup. In fact, Oberto didn’t get the start in the second half (Ginobili started in his place). In 20 minutes, Oberto had four points, three rebounds and an assist. And really, those stats are inflated because he got credit for an offensive rebound and a basket when he was the closest Spur to two Heat players colliding and accidentally tipping the ball in the basket. Two points and two rebounds in 20 minutes isn’t exactly going to earn Oberto more playing time.
-Robert Horry played one of his better games of the season. He was active and his athleticism was on display for one of the rare times this year. In 17 minutes, Horry finished with two points, four rebounds, one assist and a block. This was the first really good step in the right direction for Horry in a long time.
-Ime Udoka’s shooting wasn’t as good as it was against the Lakers but he was still productive. He hit 1-of-4 shots on his way to two points, two rebounds and three steals in 14 minutes. Defensively, he was extremely impressive during the first three quarters when everyone else on the Spurs was taking it easy on that end of the court.
-Jacque Vaughn had a bit of an off game. In 12 minutes he had two points and three assists on 1-of-3 shooting from the field. Offensively, Vaughn wasn’t getting the Spurs into their sets as well as he usually does. He was dribbling too much most of the time and letting the Heat dictate the tempo of the game.
-In the worst news of the day, Brent Barry re-injured his calf muscle when going after an offensive rebound. Earlier in the season he missed nine games (approximately three weeks) with this same injury. It’s likely that Barry will miss a significant amount of time. If I had to guess, I’d predict he’s going to miss about four to five weeks this time around. The injury is especially bad for the Spurs because Barry will most likely be sidelined for the whole Rodeo Road Trip.
-Pop got about as much as he could out of this tired and listless squad. He finally got the team to play defense late in the game and that was enough to get the win. Pop went small for much of the second half and it turned out to be the right call.
It’s looking more and more like Pop has settled on Horry as the backup bigman. Pop even gave Horry some important fourth quarter minutes against the Heat. Matt Bonner and Francisco Elson once again got DNP-CD’s as Pop went with a three bigman rotation when not using small ball.
The bottomline against the Heat is the Spurs won. It was ugly – it might have even been a step backwards – but it was a win. At this point, it’s best to just be satisfied with the win and ignore how bad of a loss it would have been.
In their last game before the Rodeo Road Trip, the Spurs take on the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday. The Hornets have the best record in the Western Conference and should be a fine test for the Spurs. If the Spurs can win that game and enter the Rodeo Road Trip with a four game winning streak, they can set themselves up nicely as they pack their bags to return with their engines fully revved and ready to roll.
Dwyane Wade, with about one and a half capable teammates, is still a very good basketball player. The kid is fearless and he’s an extremely tough competitor. He’s basically like Manu Ginobili on steroids. Wade played a good game and got some scoring help from Spur Killer Mark Blount and almost willed his team to victory.
Besides getting the W, there wasn’t much to be happy about for the Spurs. Their defense was only good in the last couple minutes of the fourth quarter. Before that the defense was ugly. The offense was equally as ugly for much of the night. The Spurs were playing the second night of a back-to-back after arriving at Miami at 4AM, but really that’s not much of an excuse going against perhaps the worst team in the NBA.
-Tim Duncan was fabulous offensively. He had his whole repertoire working and was taking it strong. He wasn’t hesitating at all and was doing anything he wanted. In the fourth quarter, Duncan was 6-for-6 from the field and was the main reason why the Spurs came away with the win. On the game, Duncan finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds, five assists and a blocked shot while connecting on 14-of-19 attempts from the floor. Defensively, Duncan wasn’t nearly as effective. Although, to Duncan’s credit he improved defensively as the game progressed.
-Manu Ginobili made the biggest basket in the game for the Spurs late in the fourth when he hit a layup to put the Spurs up a point. All in all, Ginobili had a really good game. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals. He was all over the court for the Spurs and quietly ended up with one of his better games of the season. He struggled shooting the ball from deep, hitting just 1-of-7 three-pointers. However, that was basically the only area of the game where Ginobili struggled. His rebounding when the Spurs went to the small lineup was key, as was his playmaking the entire game.
-Tony Parker once again looked hurt, tired, unfocused or a combination of all three. He had some big points late in the game but up until then, he had no points and no assists in the second half. For the contest, Parker finished with 12 points and one assists on 5-for-9 shooting from the field. For whatever reason, he took a back seat this game. He wasn’t running the offense – instead he was just hiding on the offensive end. It was like Jacque Vaughn was playing in the #9 jersey tonight. Not sure what the issue is but hopefully it is cleared up ASAP.
-For the first 45 minutes of the game, Bowen was having a below average game. His shooting was off and his defense was mediocre. But then late in the game, Bowen took over defensively. His defense against Wade down the stretch was superb and he once again showed why he’s regarded as one of the best perimeter defenders of all-time. Bowen harassed Wade into missing six of his final seven shots from the field – and that doesn’t count his strip at the end of the game to seal the win for the Spurs.
-Finley played 24 minutes and was decent enough. He might have forced a couple of unnecessary shots but other than that he was solid. Ten points, six rebounds and two assists is good production from Finley. He’s once again in a bit of a shooting slump but his overall activity on the court makes him valuable enough for San Antonio.
-Fabricio Oberto was back in the starting lineup. However, Oberto didn’t really do anything to prove to Pop that he belonged in the starting lineup. In fact, Oberto didn’t get the start in the second half (Ginobili started in his place). In 20 minutes, Oberto had four points, three rebounds and an assist. And really, those stats are inflated because he got credit for an offensive rebound and a basket when he was the closest Spur to two Heat players colliding and accidentally tipping the ball in the basket. Two points and two rebounds in 20 minutes isn’t exactly going to earn Oberto more playing time.
-Robert Horry played one of his better games of the season. He was active and his athleticism was on display for one of the rare times this year. In 17 minutes, Horry finished with two points, four rebounds, one assist and a block. This was the first really good step in the right direction for Horry in a long time.
-Ime Udoka’s shooting wasn’t as good as it was against the Lakers but he was still productive. He hit 1-of-4 shots on his way to two points, two rebounds and three steals in 14 minutes. Defensively, he was extremely impressive during the first three quarters when everyone else on the Spurs was taking it easy on that end of the court.
-Jacque Vaughn had a bit of an off game. In 12 minutes he had two points and three assists on 1-of-3 shooting from the field. Offensively, Vaughn wasn’t getting the Spurs into their sets as well as he usually does. He was dribbling too much most of the time and letting the Heat dictate the tempo of the game.
-In the worst news of the day, Brent Barry re-injured his calf muscle when going after an offensive rebound. Earlier in the season he missed nine games (approximately three weeks) with this same injury. It’s likely that Barry will miss a significant amount of time. If I had to guess, I’d predict he’s going to miss about four to five weeks this time around. The injury is especially bad for the Spurs because Barry will most likely be sidelined for the whole Rodeo Road Trip.
-Pop got about as much as he could out of this tired and listless squad. He finally got the team to play defense late in the game and that was enough to get the win. Pop went small for much of the second half and it turned out to be the right call.
It’s looking more and more like Pop has settled on Horry as the backup bigman. Pop even gave Horry some important fourth quarter minutes against the Heat. Matt Bonner and Francisco Elson once again got DNP-CD’s as Pop went with a three bigman rotation when not using small ball.
The bottomline against the Heat is the Spurs won. It was ugly – it might have even been a step backwards – but it was a win. At this point, it’s best to just be satisfied with the win and ignore how bad of a loss it would have been.
In their last game before the Rodeo Road Trip, the Spurs take on the New Orleans Hornets on Saturday. The Hornets have the best record in the Western Conference and should be a fine test for the Spurs. If the Spurs can win that game and enter the Rodeo Road Trip with a four game winning streak, they can set themselves up nicely as they pack their bags to return with their engines fully revved and ready to roll.