Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Hornets Jan. 26

[timvp]

Just when you think the Spurs are turning it around, the team lays a giant egg in the middle of the AT&T Center. The New Orleans Hornets came to San Antonio and just routed the Spurs by a final score of 102-78. The difference in the game was the second half in which the Hornets outscored the Spurs 60-35.

The Hornets are for real. Byron Scott has that team playing great basketball. Chris Paul, David West and Tyson Chandler are all three very impressive young players. Paul is quickly becoming the best point guard in the NBA, while West and Chandler are two bigman with as much combined skill as any other duo in the league. Add to that threesome Peja Stojakovic and Morris Peterson and you have a very capable team.

What was amazing about this game for the Hornets is they basically just ran two plays continuously and it destroyed the Spurs’ defense. While I don’t think the Hornets would beat the Spurs in the playoffs if they only have two plays to go to, it sure worked on this night. Props to Scott for recognizing the Spurs’ weakness on defense and exploiting it over and over again. (Speaking of Byron Scott, why doesn’t he get more respect? He took a very average New Jersey Nets team to the Finals in back-to-back seasons and now he has a young team that has no home court advantage playing better than anyone else in the Western Conference.)

The Spurs basically just got beat down by a better team tonight. At this point in the season, the Hornets are better. You couldn’t watch that game and say differently.

With the three-game win streak broken and the nine-game Rodeo Road Trip looming, it’s put up or shut up time for the Spurs. Are they going to get back to playing solidly on both ends of the court or are they going to fall flat on their faces? If they don’t start playing better quickly, by the time they get back to San Antonio they are going to be on the outside of the playoff picture looking in.

-I wasn’t too impressed with what I saw out of Tim Duncan tonight. Part of the problem was he a lack of touches offensively. He was scoring well early and then just didn’t get the ball for long stretches during the middle of the game. However, more importantly his defense was atrocious. He picked up a foul 14 seconds into the game and then decided not to play defense the rest of the contest. David West had 32 points on 15-for-19 shooting from the field – with a lot of that coming against Duncan. His pick-and-roll defense was especially poor and he wasn’t protecting the rim that well. A combination of the early foul and not being involved offensively seemed to throw Duncan off his rhythm. For the game, Duncan finished with 17 points and eight rebounds in 34 minutes.

-Manu Ginobili had another tough shooting night. He hit only 4-of-12 shots from the floor on his way to 11 points, three rebounds, two assists and three turnovers. Ginobili’s main problem offensively was his jumper wasn’t falling. He hit only 1-of-7 shots outside of the paint. I thought he should have driven the ball to the basket more because he had good success virtually every time he went into the lane. It seemed like the Hornets got physical with him and then he stopped driving. Defensively, I thought his rotation were slow for the most part. He had a few stretches of impressive defensive play but he needs to bring that more consistently.

-Tony Parker still wasn’t his normal self but I actually thought he played pretty well considering how he’s been playing lately. This was his best game in a couple weeks – which tells you how off his game has been. Early in the season, this would have counted as an average to below average performance. However, I thought he looked livelier and quicker than he has in recent outings. He seemed to wear down as the game went on but while the game was close, Parker was playing good enough for the Spurs to win. In 31 minutes, Parker had 17 points, six assists and one turnover, while shooting 8-for-16 from the field.

-This was one of Bruce Bowen’s worst games of the season. In fact, it may have been his worst. Offensively, he was a nightmare as he was 0-for-5 from the field. Defensively, he didn’t have his usual energy. Stojakovic, a player Bowen usually dominates, scored 22 easy points on 9-for-14 shooting from the field. While it’s true that Bowen was involved in a lot of switching on the defensive end of the court, he wasn’t doing much of anything on whoever he was guarding.

-Michael Finley reverting to his Maverick days and was a one-dimensional gunner tonight. Usually he does something else other than shoot, be it rebound, defend or make a few good passes, but tonight he was content on just getting up his shots. In 21 minutes, Finley hit 2-of-6 shots from the field while grabbing one rebound and dishing out one assist. Overall, this was a very poor performance from Finley.

-Ime Udoka was one of the few impressive Spurs tonight. He missed a few shots that could have really helped the team make a push but overall you can’t complain with his effort. In 24 minutes, Udoka totaled 13 points and seven rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. With Brent Barry out with an injured calf muscle, Udoka is going to get extended time for the next month. The Spurs need him to knock down shots in Barry’s absence.

-Jacque Vaughn gave good effort tonight. He was one of the few Spurs who wasn’t getting bullied by the Hornets. I liked his toughness and he was playing to win this game. In 17 minutes, Vaughn didn’t score but had three assists and three rebounds.

-Robert Horry was again active and moving well. His execution is way off and he’s not really helping the team much right now, however he looks a lot better than he did a couple weeks ago. He no longer looks like he has two feet in the grave anymore. Pathetically enough, his 1-for-5 shooting from the field tonight actually raised his field goal percentage.

-Jeremy Richardson, Matt Bonner and Francisco Elson all played trash minutes after the Spurs were getting blown out. Bonner and Elson didn’t do anything of note but Richardson had a couple nice moments. His jumper looks smooth and he just acts like he’s a natural born scorer. With Barry sidelined, the Spurs could opt to sign Richardson for the rest of the year. If they don’t, it’ll likely be to give a 10-day contract to a player who is more able to help right away.

-Pop coached a horrible game tonight. How can you get beat by a team that is running the same two plays continuously? He didn’t make any adjustment defensively until it was too late. The team’s defense was horrible but the coaching of the defense might have been worse.

This blowout loss is a tough one to swallow because it looked like the Spurs had started to turn it around. Now it’s basically back to square one. Can the Spurs right the ship as they head into the Rodeo Road Trip? I think they are capable of having a good road trip but I can’t say I’m overly confident at this point. The defense is crappy and the offense has no rhythm. History tells me to have blind faith in The Process but a game like tonight shakes that faith.

Thinking back to last year when the Spurs looked dead in the water, their pick-and-roll defense and offensive halfcourt execution looked to be their two biggest weaknesses. Tonight it was more of the same. Last year the Spurs were able to gel and go on to win the championship. Can they do that again this year? We’ll start to figure that out pretty quickly as the Spurs embark on their nine-game Rodeo Road Trip where they will either sink or swim.

Hopefully they pack their floaties.

[SequSpur]

You continue to give Jacque Vaughn compliments when he fucking sucks and the Hornets killed the Spurs when his ass was out there.

Vaughn sucks ass.

[T Park]

I thought it was Udoka that sucked ass?

[T Park]

History tells me to have blind faith in The Process but a game like tonight shakes that faith.



Ok, I must admit that sentence just scared me a bit.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

This road trip could be the worst for the Spurs in the past 6 years

[T Park]

Happy Day For Amused!!!

[tlongII]

This is timvp's best work to date, imo. The Spurs are in a lot of trouble. It's not good to lose a game like this before leaving on a long road trip.

[meta2007]

+1

[marini martini]

+2

[lefty]

Rodeo road trip = bunker mentality = refocus = gaining momentum

[timvp]

Rodeo Road Trip = 4-4 Last Year

[tlongII]

Rodeo Road Trip = 4-4 Last Year

Rodeo Road Trip = 3-6 This Year (at best)

[duncan228]

Rodeo Road Trip = 4-4 Last Year

Thank you.

It's not the win/loss record that I'm concerned with on this trip. It's how they come out of it. The focus, the energy, Pop having some settled rotation, the mentality that they are a team, on a mission. It's worked in the past, I have every confidence that it will work again.

[whottt]

If you think the Spurs were turning any kind of corners coming into this game...I have to ask have YOU been watching any Spurs games lately?

The only guy that's been turning any corners is Udoka.

They were horrible against the Heat, who were beat up, are arguably the worst team in the NBA, and were mired in a huge losing streak.

That may have been the least impressive Spurs win I've ever seen.

[timvp]

If you think the Spurs were turning any kind of corners coming into this game...I have to ask have YOU been watching any Spurs games lately?

The only guy that's been turning any corners is Udoka.

They were horrible against the Heat, who were beat up, are arguably the worst team in the NBA, and were mired in a huge losing streak.

That may have been the least impressive Spurs win I've ever seen.Where was this take after the Heat game? It's easy to criticize after the next game.

Do you have a link to a post you made after the Heat game? Thanks in advance.







P.S.

I didn't see too many Spurs fans doing cartwheels after the Heat game.

[whottt]

Where was this take after the Heat game? It's easy to criticize after the next game.

:lol





Do you have a link to a post you made after the Heat game? Thanks in advance.


I was in the game chat...










P.S.

I didn't see too many Spurs fans doing cartwheels after the Heat game.



turning the corner - timvp

[whottt]

Look...we all know...judging the Spurs by what they do in Dec and Jan is judging them too early.


My point is that there are certain things about the Spurs play that have really deteriorated....beyond simple motivation, rust etc.

And that this team has moved too far away from Tim Duncan...

Parker and Manu are not equals to Tim Duncan...it's time we re-establish that simple truth.


More Duncan...less Parker and Manu. Why? Because we'll be better...


It's kinda like...remember when Kobe became the equal of Shaq in terms of handling the bal, controlling the offense, shotsl?


Best thing that ever happened to us......

[timvp]

I was in the game chat...For a whole day?

[Pistons < Spurs]

Thinking back to last year when the Spurs looked dead in the water, their pick-and-roll defense and offensive halfcourt execution looked to be their two biggest weaknesses. Tonight it was more of the same. Last year the Spurs were able to gel and go on to win the championship. Can they do that again this year? We’ll start to figure that out pretty quickly as the Spurs embark on their nine-game Rodeo Road Trip where they will either sink or swim.

Hopefully they pack their floaties.
Wow!

I knew there have been struggles of late w/ the Spurs....I just didn't know how bad it was.

I was going over your schedule and just realized you all are 11-11 in your last 22 games. :wow That's crazy.

The next closest such streak I could find in the last several years was the beginning of the 03-04 season when you all started out 9-10. At that point they went on a 13 game winning streak.

They better get their crap together pretty soon. Hopefully there's another long win streak around the corner.

[peskypesky]

this team has moved too far away from Tim Duncan...

Parker and Manu are not equals to Tim Duncan...it's time we re-establish that simple truth.


More Duncan...less Parker and Manu. Why? Because we'll be better...


I second this emphatically. The offense should run through Tim. Period. He should touch the ball on no less than 2 out of every 3 possessions. The ball should go to him, then let him decide if he wants to go for two or kick it out.

This reminds me of how the Lakers lost that Finals series to the Pistons. They decided that Kobe should shoot more than Shaq, even though Shaq was shooting a higher percentage. Makes a lotta sense, right? Not.

The Spurs will not win another Championship if they don't remember Tim is the horse they ride.

[Ice009]

I second this emphatically. The offense should run through Tim. Period. He should touch the ball on no less than 2 out of every 3 possessions. The ball should go to him, then let him decide if he wants to go for two or kick it out.

This reminds me of how the Lakers lost that Finals series to the Pistons. They decided that Kobe should shoot more than Shaq, even though Shaq was shooting a higher percentage. Makes a lotta sense, right? Not.

The Spurs will not win another Championship if they don't remember Tim is the horse they ride.

The thing is our defense is a bigger problem. Who the heck is going to play defense if Tim is using all his energy up on the offensive end?

Also, does anyone even remotely agree with me about starting Udoka?

[peskypesky]

The thing is our defense is a bigger problem. Who the heck is going to play defense if Tim is using all his energy up on the offensive end?

Also, does anyone even remotely agree with me about starting Udoka?

I agree that we should try starting Udoka for a while. Let Finley or Bowen come off the bench.

[byrontx]

You guys are a lot more knowledgable than I about the game, and btw, I always look forward to the Game Thoughts (thanks, Timvp) but it looks like one reason that the Spurs win it in odd number years is because they play with a sense of entitlement in even years. Hopefully the Trip will fire the desire.

[Bruno]

I don't like at all what Pop has done with Horry lately.
Horry clang everything during games and practices and was in a bad shape. At this stage, I don't think getting some playing time helps him more than practice and conditioning.
Pop should have given Horry's playing time to Bonner. It would have allowed Spurs to loss less games and Bonner would have gained experience in Spurs system.
Right now, Pop is doing the same mistake than with NVE in 06. He is sticking with a Horry and not working at a alternate solution. It's even worse than with NVE because Bonner looks like a better alternate solution than Udrih.

[spurspf]

I don't like at all what Pop has done with Horry lately.
Horry clang everything during games and practices and was in a bad shape. At this stage, I don't think getting some playing time helps him more than practice and conditioning.
Pop should have given Horry's playing time to Bonner. It would have allowed Spurs to loss less games and Bonner would have gained experience in Spurs system.
Right now, Pop is doing the same mistake than with NVE in 06. He is sticking with a Horry and not working at a alternate solution. It's even worse than with NVE because Bonner looks like a better alternate solution than Udrih.


It's like Pop is trying to force Horry into some sort of competence, but I can't remember how many times during the game I thought, "why can't we at least try Bonner?"

[Spaceman Spiff]

You continue to give Jacque Vaughn compliments when he fucking sucks and the Hornets killed the Spurs when his ass was out there.

Vaughn sucks ass.

Dude, in terms of +/-, Vaughn was one of our better players tonight. Duncan was a -22 and Parker was a -16. How could you say the Hornets "killed the Spurs when his ass was out there" when the Spurs obviously played better with his ass on the court?

Look at the numbers first, fucktard.

[ShoogarBear]

ShoogarBear's game thoughts:

Oh, shit.

[ShoogarBear]

(Speaking of Byron Scott, why doesn’t he get more respect? He took a very average New Jersey Nets team to the Finals in back-to-back seasons and now he has a young team that has no home court advantage playing better than anyone else in the Western Conference.)
Byron Scott gets criticized for being a hardass who doesn't pamper rookies.

In other words, the same things Jerry Sloan gets praised for.

[Ice009]

Dude, in terms of +/-, Vaughn was one of our better players tonight. Duncan was a -22 and Parker was a -16. How could you say the Hornets "killed the Spurs when his ass was out there" when the Spurs obviously played better with his ass on the court?

Look at the numbers first, fucktard.


How many offensively challenged players can Pop get on this team? Elson, Vaughn, Oberto, Horry, Bruce are barely getting 2 points a game lately. That is a joke. Someone needs to get in the role players faces and tell them they need to start giving us something more than NOTHING. Now if their shots aren't falling they need to play their asses off on defense, rebound do something other than nothing. I know TD isn't one to do something like that, but maybe he should have a word to them.

[whottt]

Byron Scott gets criticized for being a hardass who doesn't pamper rookies.

In other words, the same things Jerry Sloan gets praised for.


Byron Scott seems to be hated by his players more than Sloan...and that's what leads to the criticism.


Jason Kidd(who got him fired from New Jersey) and Baron Davis immediately come to mind...there are others.


Scott is probably more like Pat Riley than he is Jerry Sloan...and Riley wasn't always that popular with his players either.

[ShoogarBear]

Byron Scott seems to be hated by his players more than Sloan...and that's what leads to the criticism.


Jason Kidd(who got him fired from New Jersey) and Baron Davis immediately come to mind...there are others.


Scott is probably more like Pat Riley than he is Jerry Sloan...and Riley wasn't always that popular with his players either.You may be right in some ways, but Scott isn't a self-serving publicity hound like Riley.

[whottt]

You may be right in some ways, but Scott isn't a self-serving publicity hound like Riley.


The knock I've always heard on Riley is that he is the Supreme control freak of all time...especially at the end of his coaching career with the Lakers. Which was a big reason why his coaching career with the Lakers came to an end.

Byron Scott has said Pat Riley is a tremendous influence on his coaching style...well what ever that influence is...it involves pissing off HOF PG's. Because that's also what Riley did.

Doesn't mean he's a bad coach...I agree Byron Scott is a good coach. Look at how the Nets went into the toilet after he left.

Just like Pat Riley is a pretty good coach.


And all great coaches tend to be control freaks...

But there's some kind of line there that some coaches don't cross and others do...and Scott has evidentally crossed that line at times. That's the reason he doesn't get much respect...because his star players have gotten him fired or demanded to be traded. So the perception is that he does something wrong somewhere...beyond the x's and o's.

[GrandeDavid]

Another great postgame analysis by TimVP, who certainly reigns supreme over any Express News beat writer.

Anyway, I can't seem to shake that stigma off of Paul's back, the one where, although a freshman but it was his only year in college, he led Wake Forest to a first round choke in the NCAAs. But then again Tim was part of that FIBA Olympic debacle....okay, back to more important things.

I'm not the least bit concerned about the Spurs right now, tomorrow or the rest of the season... assuming Parker does not have a lingering injury. I keep hearing that Parker has some heel discomfort or something like that.

I recall a four game losing streak with two home losses to Eastern conference fodder at the time, like Toronto, a few years ago. That was in January like this is now and I remember how disgusted people were at the Spurs for being softer than tissue. Yesterday was ugly, and at some point the Spurs have to show cracks and age, but I feel that come playoff time this team will be better than last season's, particularly because of Udoka.

But like TimVP said, the Rodeo Road Trip will reveal a lot about this team.

-Robert Horry was again active and moving well. His execution is way off and he’s not really helping the team much right now, however he looks a lot better than he did a couple weeks ago. He no longer looks like he has two feet in the grave anymore. Pathetically enough, his 1-for-5 shooting from the field tonight actually raised his field goal percentage.

Good one! :lol

[Quasar]

TIMVP
Love your game thoughts as I can't watch games from where I live.

Just wondering if the omission of Oberto by design?

[Slippy]

Too much reliance from the 3-pnt line again and awfull conversion at 2 of 20.. The Spurs have to take the open 3's and knock them down but there's been too many in your face attempts (Manu). Others are settling for the 3 way too easily after moving the ball around. In turn Tim misses out and not much offense gets run.

Agree, he needs to get the ball more.

[TwoHandJam]

What was amazing about this game for the Hornets is they basically just ran two plays continuously and it destroyed the Spurs’ defense.

...

-Pop coached a horrible game tonight. How can you get beat by a team that is running the same two plays continuously? He didn’t make any adjustment defensively until it was too late. The team’s defense was horrible but the coaching of the defense might have been worse.

...


I agree completely. Either Pop had a lobotomy before the game or he decided to the the team try and figure out how to defend the same plays that were killing them repeatedly. If it was they latter, they sure failed miserably.

There are a couple of things I really hate about the defense currently. One is that guys seem to be sending help defense a lot more compared to last year. This leads to us doubling players that I think shouldn't really command a double team. Against teams that swing the ball well, this always leaves a guy wide open for shots.

I also don't understand why we're so quick to switch defenders on picks. Parker and Duncan repeatedly switched on picks leading to Tim guarding Paul and Parker guarding West.

The last thing is our serious lack of shotblocking. Horry is playing so poorly he doesn't see the court enough to block a lot of shots. Ditto for Elson. Tim just seems a step slow this year in his defensive positioning to block shots and sometimes even when he is in position, he doesn't challenge shot because he seems scared to get into foul trouble. All this has made our interior defense very poor this year. Teams aren't scared to take it to us in the paint.

[SAGambler]

You continue to give Jacque Vaughn compliments when he fucking sucks and the Hornets killed the Spurs when his ass was out there.

Vaughn sucks ass.

No shit. Every goddamn time Vaughn comes in at point, the Spurs either give up a lead if they have one, or they get buried in a hole.

If we don't get a better backup, we can forget about a finals appearance. We may not even get in the playoffs.

And it's not just the Hornets. It happens against almost every team we play.

It may not be his fault, but it happens too often to just be coincidental.

[T Park]

twohandjam comes in after a loss.

Shocking.

[T Park]

Horry played a good game last night WTF...

[wildbill2u]

What was amazing about this game for the Hornets is they basically just ran two plays continuously and it destroyed the Spurs’ defense. While I don’t think the Hornets would beat the Spurs in the playoffs if they only have two plays to go to, it sure worked on this night. Props to Scott for recognizing the Spurs’ weakness on defense and exploiting it over and over again. .
I can't see many games since I live in Houston. What exactly were the two plays and what is the defect in the defense? From a brief comment later I deduce that our pick and roll defense was one culprit, but which players/positions were exploited?

[VaSpursFan]

i agree with timvp's observations. one thing i would like to see is ime getting more burn. he understands the schemes now so reward him with more minutes at the expense of finley and bowen. i'd also like to see manu stop chucking step back 3's. how about manu dribbling in and taking a mid range jumper if he can't get to the rim. david west killed us last night simply by hitting that mid range jumper. in fact, it seemed like the same play that dallas runs against us with dirk getting those same mid range shots. it's clear that scott realized that was a weakness of our and exploited the hell out of it.

[ploto]

I was going over your schedule and just realized you all are 11-11 in your last 22 games. :wow That's crazy.

The next closest such streak I could find in the last several years was the beginning of the 03-04 season when you all started out 9-10. At that point they went on a 13 game winning streak.
I think that people have very short memories and because it worked last year, they want to claim that this streak is no big deal. I keep reading that the Spurs do this every January, but if you look back at the 2003 and 2005 championships, they were not won in this manner.

January 2003 11-3
January 2005 12-4

[TwoHandJam]

twohandjam comes in after a loss.

Shocking.
TPark still clueless.

Check.

[duncan228]

The Spurs will not win another Championship if they don't remember Tim is the horse they ride.

Direct and to the point.
Duncan is the key to this team, he's been turning it up, it's time to feed his fire.

[Southwest Texas Fan]

Another great postgame analysis by TimVP, who certainly reigns supreme over any Express News beat writer.

Anyway, I can't seem to shake that stigma off of Paul's back, the one where, although a freshman but it was his only year in college, he led Wake Forest to a first round choke in the NCAAs. But then again Tim was part of that FIBA Olympic debacle....okay, back to more important things.

I'm not the least bit concerned about the Spurs right now, tomorrow or the rest of the season... assuming Parker does not have a lingering injury. I keep hearing that Parker has some heel discomfort or something like that.

I recall a four game losing streak with two home losses to Eastern conference fodder at the time, like Toronto, a few years ago. That was in January like this is now and I remember how disgusted people were at the Spurs for being softer than tissue. Yesterday was ugly, and at some point the Spurs have to show cracks and age, but I feel that come playoff time this team will be better than last season's, particularly because of Udoka.

But like TimVP said, the Rodeo Road Trip will reveal a lot about this team.


Good one! :lol



Are these guys starting to show their age? I have faith they will pull it through and come April and May this team will be clicking on all cylinders but a concern is Tony's nagging injury and the latest injury to Brent. And is Roho finished or does he have one more left in the tank

[T Park]

[/QUOTE]I think that people have very short memories and because it worked last year, they want to claim that this streak is no big deal. I keep reading that the Spurs do this every January, but if you look back at the 2003 and 2005 championships, they were not won in this manner. [QUOTE]

I know it would pain you for them to win, but this team is better than their play indicates.

Horrible for you to think about I know.

[Indazone]

All I know is that the Spurs gotta beat Portland and put the Rockets right back in the middle of the playoff picture.

[roycrikside]

Horry played a good game last night WTF...

If 1-5 = a good game for Horry then he should retire. He can't score the basketball and we already have enough guys in the rotation who can't score. He is an offensive abyss. At least with Bonner he can knock down an open three and somebody has to pay attention to him.

Pop is playing Horry purely for his defense, but he's too slow too often to contribute. If Bonner or Elson could play any defense at all, they'd be in there instead of Horry, but I would argue this team has more offensive problems than defensive ones right now.

Especially when Manu is playing with the second unit. Now that Barry is out again, the only guy he can even pass the ball to is Udoka. He must be going crazy with frustration.

Also, I thought TimVP took it too easy on Parker on his evaluations. Defensively he was our worst player. Even Bill Land and Elliott, who normally never criticize any Spurs, pointed out that Parker being soft on the screens was why Peja eventually got all the open looks.

I can't believe we kept switching the screens all night. That's lazy. Good defenses don't switch on screens. We had Duncan guarding Paul and Tony guarding West all night. This kind of stuff gets you clowned by Charles and Kenny on TNT.

[Indazone]

Oh and if the Spurs keep playing like this...what is it. 5-5 over the last 10 games and the Rockets continue to play like they have 8-2 over the last 10 games...Rockets will pass the Spurs up. 4 games back that's what the margin is right now.

[DubMcDub]

-Michael Finley reverting to his Maverick days and was a one-dimensional gunner tonight. Usually he does something else other than shoot, be it rebound, defend or make a few good passes, but tonight he was content on just getting up his shots.

I find this comment very odd. Finley was at least twice as good of a player with the Mavs as he is with the Spurs.

[SenorSpur]

Are these guys starting to show their age? I have faith they will pull it through and come April and May this team will be clicking on all cylinders but a concern is Tony's nagging injury and the latest injury to Brent. And is Roho finished or does he have one more left in the tank


That's the question we ask every year at this time. The problem is the answer is never known until the conclusion of the Rodeo Road trip and as the Spurs start the stretch drive toward the playoffs.

It seems that the lack of contribution from the supporting players is really wearing on the Big Three as they are shouldering most of the load.

I just wish this team had one or two other players that can create their own shots. As some have already stated, this team is evolving from an "inside-out" team into one that is "outside-in". That's not Spurs basketball.

The Spurs coaches and FO annually gamble that "the oldest team in the league" will coast a good portion of the season and "dial it up" come playoff time. It's a very dangerous game to play. At some point, this roster of older players will reach a threshold limit where it will not be able to "flip a switch". I hope it's not this season.

[timvp]

I would argue this team has more offensive problems than defensive ones right now. I would argue otherwise. Especially coming off a game where the Hornets shot something north of 70% in the second half.


Especially when Manu is playing with the second unit. Now that Barry is out again, the only guy he can even pass the ball to is Udoka. He must be going crazy with frustration. :dramaquee

Even with the worst of lineups, Ginobili had opportunities to drive the lane. The Hornets pick-and-roll defense was also pretty horrible last night but only when Ginobili (or Parker) would drive off of the pick.


Also, I thought TimVP took it too easy on Parker on his evaluations. Defensively he was our worst player. Even Bill Land and Elliott, who normally never criticize any Spurs, pointed out that Parker being soft on the screens was why Peja eventually got all the open looks.

I can't believe we kept switching the screens all night.How can you say he was soft on the screens when the Spurs were switching all the pick-and-rolls? Parker's responsibility in that situation is to just try to defend the big. Being soft on the screen would only come into play for the bigman not showing enough on the switch or the second bigman not coming over to bump the big so that he couldn't get an alleyoop.

You can say that Parker didn't do a good job on West after the switch was made ... which would have some merit to it. But the point guard in that situation doesn't have anything to do with Peja getting open looks. That's the team rotating after the switch of the pick-and-roll.


I can't believe we kept switching the screens all night. That's lazy. Good defenses don't switch on screens. We had Duncan guarding Paul and Tony guarding West all night. This kind of stuff gets you clowned by Charles and Kenny on TNT.The Spurs have won playoff series with the same defensive alignment. Specifically against the Nash teams. It's nothing new, really. When a smaller big such as West is involved in a pick-and-roll, Pop has oftentimes had the team switch.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was the team's defensive rotations were a step slow and the bigs weren't showing enough on Paul to keep him from having clear passing lanes immediately after the pick was set. If the big can occupy the point guard for a couple seconds, the team defense can usually rotate to recover. But last night the big wasn't occupying Paul and the team defense was so slow that it became the worst of both worlds.

[timvp]

TIMVP
Love your game thoughts as I can't watch games from where I live.

Just wondering if the omission of Oberto by design?My bad. I'll add him in later.


I don't like at all what Pop has done with Horry lately.
Horry clang everything during games and practices and was in a bad shape. At this stage, I don't think getting some playing time helps him more than practice and conditioning.
Pop should have given Horry's playing time to Bonner. It would have allowed Spurs to loss less games and Bonner would have gained experience in Spurs system.
Right now, Pop is doing the same mistake than with NVE in 06. He is sticking with a Horry and not working at a alternate solution. It's even worse than with NVE because Bonner looks like a better alternate solution than Udrih.It's definitely a risk. It's understandable to me that Pop would much rather have Horry be the third big than Bonner or Elson. Horry is the best defender of the three, he's the smartest of the three and he's the clutchest of the three. That's like the three elements of playoff basketball.

However, I don't think Pop is dead set on the idea of Horry yet. I think he's giving him this time in hopes that Horry rounds into shape and proves he's not too old. I actually agree with the strategy because I'd much rather Horry fail now than to fail in the playoffs.

[Budkin]

The fact that Pop never made adjustments tells me that he was trying to prove a point to his players. There's just no other explanation for it.

[endrity]

Last night was as big as a regular season game can get for the Spurs. No need to minimize it. The hornets lead the WC, have been playing very well while the Spurs should start thinking about turning up their intensity very soon now. A lot of you were saying the same thing before the game as well. The implications of this game though can be felt in the standings. The Spurs lost a tiebraker game. It is very possible that the Spurs can be 5th in the standings now, since both NO and Dallas don't seem to let up. This means a first round matchup with Utah, and probably Dallas and Phx the next two rounds. That is not a good way to go about winning a championship.

[Spurs Dynasty 21]

Spurs could have easily lost to the Heat, and if it wasn't for that amazing 2nd half they lose to the Lakers also



Pop joking around at the end of that game was very weird to watch

[timvp]

Last night was as big as a regular season game can get for the Spurs. :dramaquee

My hyperbole detector just exploded.

[greens]

-Pop coached a horrible game tonight. How can you get beat by a team that is running the same two plays continuously? He didn’t make any adjustment defensively until it was too late. The team’s defense was horrible but the coaching of the defense might have been worse.



Another thing is that I feel that Pop kept Tony too long on the bench during his rest period...TP was playing really well at the beginning, getting the points and the assists quite nicely...then NO went on a sort of a run, and Pop still didn't put TP back into the game...that's when the Spurs really needed him...and TD was also seating down at this time...

[Spaceman Spiff]

Another thing is that I feel that Pop kept Tony too long on the bench during his rest period...TP was playing really well at the beginning, getting the points and the assists quite nicely...then NO went on a sort of a run, and Pop still didn't put TP back into the game...that's when the Spurs really needed him...and TD was also seating down at this time...

He was great on the offensive end, but he was really struggling on defense. His defense was a big part of Peja going off in the first quarter and one of the central reasons the Hornets were putting up so many points early.

Maybe Pop didn't want to run him ragged since he's getting over the flu and everything.

[urunobili]

scary way to get into the rodeo trip

[mookie2001]

timvp is too soft on manu

hes like mccain on immigration

[ploto]

...the bigs weren't showing enough on Paul to keep him from having clear passing lanes immediately after the pick was set. If the big can occupy the point guard for a couple seconds, the team defense can usually rotate to recover. But last night the big wasn't occupying Paul and the team defense was so slow that it became the worst of both worlds.
Very good point.

[loveforthegame]

-Michael Finley reverting to his Maverick days and was a one-dimensional gunner tonight. Usually he does something else other than shoot, be it rebound, defend or make a few good passes, but tonight he was content on just getting up his shots. In 21 minutes, Finley hit 2-of-6 shots from the field while grabbing one rebound and dishing out one assist. Overall, this was a very poor performance from Finley.

I agree that Finley laid an egg on the boards, assists, steals, something but I didn't think he took enough shots early on. He had no shots in his first 6 minutes and was 2-4 at the half. He only played the first 3 minutes of the 3rd then sat till the 10 minute mark of the 4th. He took a shot almost immediately but we were already down 12 then his final shot came minutes later and we were already down 20.

[Ghost Writer]

This was as big a game you can get in JAN.

We need to beat Boston now.

[TMTTRIO]

Manu had an awful game but that block he had on Chandler was pretty cool.
vgFNvV33Ytk

[bigfundamental21]

scary way to get into the rodeo trip

This is definitely not the jump start we expected going into the RRT, but on the other hand, a loss like this could be just the fire this team needs. I know Duncan hates to lose, especially this bad to a team that we really needed to hold our own against. As timvp said, it's put up or shut up time. I still trust in the system and in the players to pull out of this funk and move toward their usual 2nd half dominance. History says that it will happen. True Spurs fans know to hang in there with the team. I, for one, am not ready to give up on them and fully expect a great response on the RRT.

SPAM.

[The Truth #6]

Regarding Byron Scott, he's a moron. In New Jersey I thought the consensus was that his assistant was the one who had the respect of the players and got everyone to play hard. On the 2003 Championship DVD I remember watching Byron make several dumb comments to his team in crunchtime. His coaching style might be like Riley in that they both make odd pseudo motivational speeches.

Back to the Spurs, I think our biggest problem is Tony Parker's nosedive in production. I realize he's probably hurt. I hope he gets healthy because we need his bonus points on the break. Lately, he's been diving into the lane lamely looking for contact and then falling down. I think his FG% is actually below 50%, which is insane considering it's been up near 54 to 55% the last few years. I think that's all we have to know about our offensive slump. The game has slowed down and no none knows what to do, except Finley who jacks it up with a guy in his face everytime.

I agree that Pop is auditioning Horry right now to see if he has a pulse left. If Horry shakes off the rust we all want him playing in the playoffs. The flipside is that if it turns out that Horry isn't going to play in the playoffs (assuming we make them, what are we, in the 6th seed and about to go on a 9 game road trip, good lord) I wonder what confidence Bonner will have when he gets back on the court. He's already shaky enough as it is (and I don't mean to be harsh because obviously the guy is cool.)

Last year a dread was set over the team with everyone wondering if someone (Barry) was going to get traded. There isn't that problem this year. There is no boost of confidence Pop can give the team. They're going to have to do it themselves. Obviously, we'll see what happens.

[roycrikside]

How can you say he was soft on the screens when the Spurs were switching all the pick-and-rolls? Parker's responsibility in that situation is to just try to defend the big. Being soft on the screen would only come into play for the bigman not showing enough on the switch or the second bigman not coming over to bump the big so that he couldn't get an alleyoop.

You can say that Parker didn't do a good job on West after the switch was made ... which would have some merit to it. But the point guard in that situation doesn't have anything to do with Peja getting open looks. That's the team rotating after the switch of the pick-and-roll.

The Spurs have won playoff series with the same defensive alignment. Specifically against the Nash teams. It's nothing new, really. When a smaller big such as West is involved in a pick-and-roll, Pop has oftentimes had the team switch.

That wasn't the problem. The problem was the team's defensive rotations were a step slow and the bigs weren't showing enough on Paul to keep him from having clear passing lanes immediately after the pick was set. If the big can occupy the point guard for a couple seconds, the team defense can usually rotate to recover. But last night the big wasn't occupying Paul and the team defense was so slow that it became the worst of both worlds.

On the play where they run the pick and roll for West, Parker was helpless. But the other play, the one they run to get Peja open shots, it started out with a screen on Tony, and he was so sluggish with it that it ruined the rotation for everyone else and that's why Peja was wide open. Even Elliott said so and he never rips anyone.

And when I said that the team has more offensive problems than defensive, I didn't mean for this game, I meant in general. They've been in an offensive slump for a long time and lost games to Houston and Cleveland where the opponents didn't score a lot of points. They only scored like 90 against Miami, the worst defensive team in the league, and needed to force a bunch of turnovers to score against the Lakers. The offense is just not working right now and I'm hopeful Tony can get healthier and Pop can settle on some kind of rotation. But playing Bonner instead of Horry would probably help a little too.

[timvp]

On the play where they run the pick and roll for West, Parker was helpless. But the other play, the one they run to get Peja open shots, it started out with a screen on Tony, and he was so sluggish with it that it ruined the rotation for everyone else and that's why Peja was wide open. Even Elliott said so and he never rips anyone.Oh, okay. With you talk about switching, I thought you were talking about the plays in the third quarter that involved the pick-and-rolls with West where the slow rotation left Stojakovic open in the opposite corner.

If you are talking about when Peja got hot earlier then yeah, that was just bad overall defense with Parker being weak at the point of attack.


And when I said that the team has more offensive problems than defensive, I didn't mean for this game, I meant in general. They've been in an offensive slump for a long time and lost games to Houston and Cleveland where the opponents didn't score a lot of points. They only scored like 90 against Miami, the worst defensive team in the league, and needed to force a bunch of turnovers to score against the Lakers. The offense is just not working right now and I'm hopeful Tony can get healthier and Pop can settle on some kind of rotation. But playing Bonner instead of Horry would probably help a little too.Yeah, overall it's tough to say which is struggling more -- the offense or the defense. I still lean slightly to the defense because it's basically been bad all year and continues to be bad. The offense is a problem right now but at one point this season it was running smoothly so when the offense struggles, it's stands out more. Basically, the Spurs are playing bad on both sides of the court :lol

And I do agree that right now Bonner would help more than Horry. Hell, Elson would probably help more than Horry. Pop surely isn't playing Horry because Horry has outplayed either Bonner or Elson. I truly think that Pop is giving Horry a trial to see if there is any gas in the tank. If there isn't and Horry keeps shooting 19%, Pop's hand will be forced.

It sucks for right now because Bonner or Elson would help the team win but I think it's the right move. The alternative would be to play Bonner and Elson heavily right now and then try to dust off Horry in the playoffs. If Horry's done -- and he might be done -- I'd rather Pop find out in January than May.

[polandprzem]

Thanks for the answer about Horry timvp which I asked about two games ago :tu

:D

[Ed Helicopter Jones]

Timvp, your comment on Byron Scott was right on.


I was just having this conversation with some Suns fans I know out here the other day. We were talking about the league's best coaches and I said Byron Scott is easily top 4 these days. He really does seem to understand how to get the most out of his guys. New Jersey hasn't changed much, talent-wise the last couple of years...they just changed coaches. Pop's a great coach, Phil Jackson is a great coach, Jerry Sloan is a great coach. But if I had a fairly young and talented team that I wanted to see rise to their maximum potential I think the first person I'd call to coach them would be Byron Scott.

[Ghost Writer]

Timvp, your comment on Byron Scott was right on.
Pha.

He stole that comment from me in the Hornets/Spurs Pregame thread.


Act like you know.

[ancestron]

Best thing that could've happened to the Spurs at this point.