timvp
02-29-2008, 02:46 AM
When the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks take the court, you know you are going to be in for a great game. Tonight in the AT&T Center, that theory held true. Both teams traded body blows all night until the Spurs were able to unleash their knockout punch and win by a final score of 97-94.
At the end of the game, Tim Duncan drained two free throws and then Bruce Bowen got a game-clinching blocked shot to seal it. The Spurs came out determined and obviously really wanted the win.
As far as the Mavs are concerned, they honestly looked pretty good. Jason Kidd is going to allow their scorers to get open shots. Dirk Nowitzki looked better than I have seen him all season. While they are definitely a work in progress, Mav Fan should be happy with what he saw.
That said, I feel really good about how the Spurs matchup with the Mavs now. Kidd is a great player but that trade makes life easier for the Spurs. Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop aren’t really that good of players but they are extremely effective against the Spurs. Before the trade, I would say the Mavs had the upper hand if the two teams played each other in the playoffs. After the trade, I’d say it’s either even or the Spurs have a small advantage. I’d still rather the Spurs avoid Dallas in the postseason, but it’s no longer as vital.
Overall, it was a quality, quality victory. The Spurs have now won seven games in a row. As the team heads into March, it’s time for the peaking to begin.
-Tim Duncan had fantastic energy most of the night. He came out more focused than I’ve seen him all season. Offensively, he was really strong and fought through whatever the Mavs were throwing at him. Almost all of his field goal attempts were excellent looks at the basket. On the night, Duncan finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. However, it wasn’t all roses and bank shots for Duncan. Defensively, Duncan got lit up by Brandon Bass on a number of occasions. He got in trouble against Bass when he started going for pump fakes – something Duncan rarely does. Perhaps he was overanxious or perhaps he hadn't read his scouting report. On the whole it was a very nice game for Duncan, even though his man-to-man defense was sub par.
-Manu Ginobili had a streaky affair. He started off 1-for-6 from the field. He then bounced back to hit five of his next six attempts before halftime. In the second half, Ginobili missed all eight of his field goal attempts. For the game, Ginobili had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while shooting 6-of-20 from the field. While it’d be easy to dismiss this game as a poor showing for Ginobili, his spurt in the first half was vital. In the second half he did suck for the most part but you can’t be too mad at him. He’s been carrying this team for a while now. Ginobili’s biggest problem in the second half was likely fatigue as he’s played a lot of minutes in recent weeks. On the night, Ginobili added 38 more minutes to his season total.
-Tony Parker is still trying to get his game wind back but he’s getting there. Unlike recent games, Parker did a good job of repeatedly penetrating the basketball. He created a number of open shots and had the Mavs scrambling to keep up. His overall execution offensively was still lacking but defensively he was really good. He stayed up on Jason Terry all night and didn’t allow him to get any open looks. In fact, Terry went scoreless in the first half. Health-wise, Parker isn’t limping and he almost looks to be at his top speed, so for now it’s safe to believe that his ankle has improved. Against the Mavs, Parker scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists. He shot 5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-5 on jumpers. Parker is still only a shadow of his former self but hopefully we will see continued improvement in the upcoming weeks.
-Bruce Bowen had a vintage Bruce Bowen performance. He hit big shots when it mattered, got under Terry’s skin to cause a technical foul and then blocked Terry at the end of the game to send the Mavericks packing. Not bad for a 37-year-old specialist who some say has reached the end of his rope. In 37 minutes, Bowen had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while hitting 5-of-8 shots from the floor. In the second half, Bowen was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. While Bowen didn’t have a dominant game overall defensively, he came up with the big play when it mattered.
-Fabricio Oberto played 14 minutes and was only decent. While on the court, he finished with four points, one rebound and two steals. His perimeter defense out on Nowitzki was commendable but he hurt the team by not pulling down a single defensive rebound. It wasn’t a bad game but Oberto has definitely seen better outings.
-Michael Finley was huge off the bench for the Spurs. When the Spurs fell down by ten points in the second half, Finley scored nine of the Spurs' 11 points as the Spurs wiped out the ten point lead in just little over two minutes. Without that run, the Mavs could have conceivably blown the game open. Finley finished with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. While he absolutely deserves props on his offense, Finley’s defense was horrible. He was constantly getting beat off the dribble, which is surprising because he’s been a relatively good defender this season. Despite his defensive shortcomings, Finley led the team in plus/minus on the night with a +12.
-Ime Udoka competed valiantly against Dallas but he wasn’t overly effective. He committed a couple of bad fouls and didn’t play Nowitzki as well as Spurs fans were hoping. It wasn’t a bad game for Udoka but it wasn’t anything to write home to Portland about. In 20 minutes, Udoka had three points and three rebounds. His lone basket came at the third quarter buzzer when he hit a three-pointer to give the Spurs a one-point lead.
-I once again liked how Damon Stoudamire ran the team. He’s a smart player who can get the team into its sets and understands when and how to pass the ball. On the night, Stoudamire totaled two points and two assists in ten minutes of action. It appears that he’s going to be an asset for this team down the stretch run of the season.
-Robert Horry got ten minutes of playing time and had a pretty awful game. He had a team-worst plus/minus of -14 and was hopeless when matched up against Nowitzki. The Mavs appear to be a team that Horry just doesn’t matchup well against. He’s not quick enough to guard Nowitzki and he’s not strong enough to guard Erick Dampier or Bass. Even with the Kidd trade, Horry remains virtually useless against Dallas, which is reason enough to try to avoid this team in the playoffs.
-Jacque Vaughn was actually the first point guard off the bench for the Spurs. I didn’t think he played that well and apparently Pop agreed because Vaughn didn’t see the floor for the rest of the night. In five minutes, Vaughn missed one shot and did nothing else.
-Kurt Thomas played four minutes in the first half and didn’t crack the stat sheet. He had a couple of errors on the defensive side of the court, which is to be expected for a new player in the system. He’s going to be useful for the Spurs but don’t expect Thomas to be much of an answer against the Mavs. He matches up better than Horry because he can defend Dampier and Bass, however when the Mavs go small Pop will be forced to take Thomas out of the game.
-Pop did a decent enough job coaching tonight. He played a lot of small ball but he’s forced to do so against the Mavs. The good thing is Udoka allows the Spurs not to be as soft in their small ball lineup as they were in the past. But really, if the two teams face off in the playoffs, the Spurs will use much of the same strategy that was used in 2006.
The big difference is the Spurs are better able to defend this Mavs team. Pop can put Ginobili on Kidd and have Ginobili double off of Kidd and force Kidd to hit jumpers. Parker can guard Terry and Terry is the exact type of player that Parker guards very well. You put Parker on a shorter guard who likes to shoot jumpers and Parker can shut that type of player down (see: Allen Iverson, Derek Fisher, Leandro Barbosa and Daniel Gibson in the 2007 playoffs). Then Bowen is left to guard either Josh Howard or Nowitzki.
In 2006, the matchups were much tougher. Parker versus Harris was bad because Parker doesn’t defend penetrating guards too well. Terry versus Ginobili was equally as bad because Ginobili tends to gamble defensively and that allowed Terry to get some easy shots.
In this game, I’m not sure why Pop went with Vaughn over Stoudamire to backup Parker in the first quarter. At this point, I’ve seen no reason not to trust Stoudamire with running the team while Parker is out. Vaughn is a good emergency player but this team isn’t in an emergency at the moment.
Like I’ve harped on for the past month or so, Pop needs to really pay more attention to Ginobili’s minutes. Continually playing him more than 35 minutes a night in the regular season is crazy. A few wins isn’t worth having Ginobili spent come playoff time.
The bottomline is this was a good win. No matter the scenario, it’s always good to beat the Mavs. Seven in a row is an impressive feat, especially considering how poorly the team was playing not too long ago.
Next up is the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, which likely means the win streak ends. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.
At the end of the game, Tim Duncan drained two free throws and then Bruce Bowen got a game-clinching blocked shot to seal it. The Spurs came out determined and obviously really wanted the win.
As far as the Mavs are concerned, they honestly looked pretty good. Jason Kidd is going to allow their scorers to get open shots. Dirk Nowitzki looked better than I have seen him all season. While they are definitely a work in progress, Mav Fan should be happy with what he saw.
That said, I feel really good about how the Spurs matchup with the Mavs now. Kidd is a great player but that trade makes life easier for the Spurs. Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop aren’t really that good of players but they are extremely effective against the Spurs. Before the trade, I would say the Mavs had the upper hand if the two teams played each other in the playoffs. After the trade, I’d say it’s either even or the Spurs have a small advantage. I’d still rather the Spurs avoid Dallas in the postseason, but it’s no longer as vital.
Overall, it was a quality, quality victory. The Spurs have now won seven games in a row. As the team heads into March, it’s time for the peaking to begin.
-Tim Duncan had fantastic energy most of the night. He came out more focused than I’ve seen him all season. Offensively, he was really strong and fought through whatever the Mavs were throwing at him. Almost all of his field goal attempts were excellent looks at the basket. On the night, Duncan finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. However, it wasn’t all roses and bank shots for Duncan. Defensively, Duncan got lit up by Brandon Bass on a number of occasions. He got in trouble against Bass when he started going for pump fakes – something Duncan rarely does. Perhaps he was overanxious or perhaps he hadn't read his scouting report. On the whole it was a very nice game for Duncan, even though his man-to-man defense was sub par.
-Manu Ginobili had a streaky affair. He started off 1-for-6 from the field. He then bounced back to hit five of his next six attempts before halftime. In the second half, Ginobili missed all eight of his field goal attempts. For the game, Ginobili had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while shooting 6-of-20 from the field. While it’d be easy to dismiss this game as a poor showing for Ginobili, his spurt in the first half was vital. In the second half he did suck for the most part but you can’t be too mad at him. He’s been carrying this team for a while now. Ginobili’s biggest problem in the second half was likely fatigue as he’s played a lot of minutes in recent weeks. On the night, Ginobili added 38 more minutes to his season total.
-Tony Parker is still trying to get his game wind back but he’s getting there. Unlike recent games, Parker did a good job of repeatedly penetrating the basketball. He created a number of open shots and had the Mavs scrambling to keep up. His overall execution offensively was still lacking but defensively he was really good. He stayed up on Jason Terry all night and didn’t allow him to get any open looks. In fact, Terry went scoreless in the first half. Health-wise, Parker isn’t limping and he almost looks to be at his top speed, so for now it’s safe to believe that his ankle has improved. Against the Mavs, Parker scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists. He shot 5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-5 on jumpers. Parker is still only a shadow of his former self but hopefully we will see continued improvement in the upcoming weeks.
-Bruce Bowen had a vintage Bruce Bowen performance. He hit big shots when it mattered, got under Terry’s skin to cause a technical foul and then blocked Terry at the end of the game to send the Mavericks packing. Not bad for a 37-year-old specialist who some say has reached the end of his rope. In 37 minutes, Bowen had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while hitting 5-of-8 shots from the floor. In the second half, Bowen was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. While Bowen didn’t have a dominant game overall defensively, he came up with the big play when it mattered.
-Fabricio Oberto played 14 minutes and was only decent. While on the court, he finished with four points, one rebound and two steals. His perimeter defense out on Nowitzki was commendable but he hurt the team by not pulling down a single defensive rebound. It wasn’t a bad game but Oberto has definitely seen better outings.
-Michael Finley was huge off the bench for the Spurs. When the Spurs fell down by ten points in the second half, Finley scored nine of the Spurs' 11 points as the Spurs wiped out the ten point lead in just little over two minutes. Without that run, the Mavs could have conceivably blown the game open. Finley finished with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. While he absolutely deserves props on his offense, Finley’s defense was horrible. He was constantly getting beat off the dribble, which is surprising because he’s been a relatively good defender this season. Despite his defensive shortcomings, Finley led the team in plus/minus on the night with a +12.
-Ime Udoka competed valiantly against Dallas but he wasn’t overly effective. He committed a couple of bad fouls and didn’t play Nowitzki as well as Spurs fans were hoping. It wasn’t a bad game for Udoka but it wasn’t anything to write home to Portland about. In 20 minutes, Udoka had three points and three rebounds. His lone basket came at the third quarter buzzer when he hit a three-pointer to give the Spurs a one-point lead.
-I once again liked how Damon Stoudamire ran the team. He’s a smart player who can get the team into its sets and understands when and how to pass the ball. On the night, Stoudamire totaled two points and two assists in ten minutes of action. It appears that he’s going to be an asset for this team down the stretch run of the season.
-Robert Horry got ten minutes of playing time and had a pretty awful game. He had a team-worst plus/minus of -14 and was hopeless when matched up against Nowitzki. The Mavs appear to be a team that Horry just doesn’t matchup well against. He’s not quick enough to guard Nowitzki and he’s not strong enough to guard Erick Dampier or Bass. Even with the Kidd trade, Horry remains virtually useless against Dallas, which is reason enough to try to avoid this team in the playoffs.
-Jacque Vaughn was actually the first point guard off the bench for the Spurs. I didn’t think he played that well and apparently Pop agreed because Vaughn didn’t see the floor for the rest of the night. In five minutes, Vaughn missed one shot and did nothing else.
-Kurt Thomas played four minutes in the first half and didn’t crack the stat sheet. He had a couple of errors on the defensive side of the court, which is to be expected for a new player in the system. He’s going to be useful for the Spurs but don’t expect Thomas to be much of an answer against the Mavs. He matches up better than Horry because he can defend Dampier and Bass, however when the Mavs go small Pop will be forced to take Thomas out of the game.
-Pop did a decent enough job coaching tonight. He played a lot of small ball but he’s forced to do so against the Mavs. The good thing is Udoka allows the Spurs not to be as soft in their small ball lineup as they were in the past. But really, if the two teams face off in the playoffs, the Spurs will use much of the same strategy that was used in 2006.
The big difference is the Spurs are better able to defend this Mavs team. Pop can put Ginobili on Kidd and have Ginobili double off of Kidd and force Kidd to hit jumpers. Parker can guard Terry and Terry is the exact type of player that Parker guards very well. You put Parker on a shorter guard who likes to shoot jumpers and Parker can shut that type of player down (see: Allen Iverson, Derek Fisher, Leandro Barbosa and Daniel Gibson in the 2007 playoffs). Then Bowen is left to guard either Josh Howard or Nowitzki.
In 2006, the matchups were much tougher. Parker versus Harris was bad because Parker doesn’t defend penetrating guards too well. Terry versus Ginobili was equally as bad because Ginobili tends to gamble defensively and that allowed Terry to get some easy shots.
In this game, I’m not sure why Pop went with Vaughn over Stoudamire to backup Parker in the first quarter. At this point, I’ve seen no reason not to trust Stoudamire with running the team while Parker is out. Vaughn is a good emergency player but this team isn’t in an emergency at the moment.
Like I’ve harped on for the past month or so, Pop needs to really pay more attention to Ginobili’s minutes. Continually playing him more than 35 minutes a night in the regular season is crazy. A few wins isn’t worth having Ginobili spent come playoff time.
The bottomline is this was a good win. No matter the scenario, it’s always good to beat the Mavs. Seven in a row is an impressive feat, especially considering how poorly the team was playing not too long ago.
Next up is the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, which likely means the win streak ends. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.