timvp
03-03-2008, 01:20 AM
Another game, another win for the Spurs. After getting up by double-digits early on, the Spurs held off the New Jersey Nets all night and came away with a 93-83 victory. With the W, the Spurs won their ninth consecutive game.
Appropriately, #9 led the Spurs to win number nine. Tony Parker had his best game in months, even though he faced off against his nemesis Devin Harris. Parker applied pressure continuously and did a good job of not taking his foot off the gas. The ankle injury and fatigue that had slowed him down since November didn’t seem to affect him too much tonight.
As for the Nets, they showed quite a bit of life. Harris seems to have reinvigorated both their fan base and the players around him. He’s not as good as Jason Kidd but his lively legs and defensively ability will make him a tough matchup for any point guard in the Eastern Conference. Richard Jefferson is an underrated player who seems to improve every year. Vince Carter remains an enigma. If this team is going to make any noise in the playoffs, it’ll be because Carter wakes up and realizes he still has the talent to be an elite player in the NBA.
Overall, this wasn’t a dominating victory for the Spurs. They played well but they never landed a knockout punch to put the Nets away for good. Nonetheless, it was another quality win and the Spurs continue to play as well as any team in the league.
-Tim Duncan had his second straight difficult game offensively. He hit only 4-of-14 shots from the floor on his way to 13 points. Part of the problem for Duncan offensively is teams are able to basically just beat him up down low. He’s not getting much respect from the whistle – especially in the last two games. It’s somewhat alarming that he’s averaging a career-low in free throw attempts per game. Considering Duncan’s minutes are up and his shots are coming from the same spots on the court, there's really not a logical explanation for why Duncan's free throw attempts have plummeted. Hopefully Duncan will just keep working through it and wait for the whistles to balance out. Defensively, Duncan was solid against the Nets. His rotations were on time and he pulled down 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.
-Manu Ginobili returned to the bench didn’t miss a beat. In 29 minutes, Ginobili finished with 17 points, four assists and three steals, while shooting 6-of-13 from the court. It wasn’t a spectacular game from Ginobili but he was really good. I was especially pleased with his active defense and the precision he showed on offense. If I had to complain about something, it’d be the two turnovers he had trying to thread the needle to Fabricio Oberto. Teams have scouted the Spurs enough to know that when Oberto sets a pick for Ginobili, Ginobili is almost always going to look for Oberto rolling to the basket. It’s time for Ginobili to adjust and not force that pass as often. Once a game is fine but more than that and teams are smart enough to sniff it out.
-Tony Parker looked really good against New Jersey. His speed, lift and stamina were all greatly improved over just a few games ago. Now that he’s obviously feeling better, Parker is starting to get back into form. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while shooting 10-for-18 from the field. Offensively, it was impossible for the Nets to keep him from shredding their defense. He probed incessantly until he found an open shot for himself or a teammate. Parker isn’t all the way back because he remains rusty in some areas. However, for the second straight game, Parker hit his outside jumper. He finished 5-for-8 on his jumper – making him 9-for-13 on jumpers in the last two games. Defensively, I once again thought Parker started off with not enough juice but then picked it up in the second half. If Parker can continue to play at this level, with the way Ginobili is playing and the way Duncan is capable of playing, the Spurs are going to be a very tough out in the playoffs.
-Bruce Bowen had the task of slowing down Carter and did a decent job. Carter hit half of his shots and scored 21 points, so Bowen wasn’t as effective as he'd like. On the other end of the court, Bowen knocked down 3-of-5 shots from the field, including his lone three-point attempt. Bowen battled foul trouble, which is a surprisingly rare event for him considering how much effort he puts into his defense.
-Michael Finley got the start at shooting guard but responded with a fairly poor outing. I thought he hesitated on a couple of open looks. When he did shoot, he only hit 2-of-10 shots from the field. For the game, he finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of play. He'll need to play better to keep the starting spot, especially with Ime Udoka playing well and Brent Barry eventually returning to the team.
-Kurt Thomas got his first start as a Spur. I’m sure Pop wanted Thomas to get quality minutes and starting him is the easiest way to ensure that. The Nets start two borderline centers in Nenad Krstic and Josh Boone, so it also made sense to have Thomas on the court to begin the game for his defense and rebounding. Thomas didn’t disappoint in either aspect as he played very good defense and pulled down nine rebounds in 17 minutes. Offensively, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Thomas. After knocking down his first three attempts, Thomas missed his final five shots. He might have forced one or two attempts but he’s learning quickly where he can get looks in the Spurs’ system. Thomas as a starter probably isn’t a long-term move, but it might be if Thomas takes advantage of this chance.
-Ime Udoka had one of his better games of the season. When the Nets went small, Udoka was inserted into the game to play a lot of small ball power forward for the Spurs. He did a very nice job defensively, especially against Jefferson. Offensively, Udoka shot the ball with a lot of confidence and made good decisions. In 30 minutes, Udoka scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. It’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to be a valuable piece for this team come playoff time.
-Fabricio Oberto came off the bench and played well. He was very active on the glass and was attentive offensively. In 19 minutes, Oberto had four points and seven rebounds, including a team-high four offensive rebounds. When Duncan isn’t on the court, Pop puts a lot of trust in Oberto to hold serve until Duncan can return. Even though Thomas has been added to the mix, I don’t see a scenario in which Oberto becomes any less important for this team.
-Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire shared the backup point guard duties against the Nets. Stoudamire was the backup in the first half, while Vaughn got the call in the second half. In this game, Vaughn played better and even came up with a couple big baskets in the fourth quarter. Stoudamire struggled a bit but I thought he ran the team decently well. Pop seems to be trying to handle the backup point guard situation delicately so that neither Vaughn nor Stoudamire lose confidence. One would imagine that Pop would have to select one over the other at some point. I guess we’ll see if Pop ever makes a choice or continues to use both depending on the feel of the game.
-Robert Horry didn't play due to a hamstring issue. Matt Bonner didn't play due to a doghouse issue.
-Pop deserves a thumbs up for correcting his overuse of his star players. For a while, he was playing Duncan and Ginobili too many minutes. To his credit, the Spurs needed those two to play a lot of minutes if they wanted to win. Now that the Big Three is back together, Pop should be able to allow each player to rest more.
I was a bit surprised by the starting lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan and Thomas but I thought it was a good idea. Ginobili off the bench is just such a devastating weapon that it’s tough to not use him in that role. Plus, Ginobili coming off the bench doesn’t allow Pop to play Ginobili too many minutes.
Pop also deserves credit for making this team play defense again. Holding the Nets to 83 points on sub-35% shooting is impressive, especially considering that the Nets scored 120 points in their previous game.
The bottomline is the Spurs are currently in a great position. They are in the driver’s seat in the Western Conference and all the pieces appear to be in place to make a big splash in the playoffs. Avoiding injuries while navigating a treacherous March schedule should be the focus of the team at the moment. Next up, the Spurs play against the same Nets team on Tuesday – this time in the AT&T Center. 10?
Believe.
Appropriately, #9 led the Spurs to win number nine. Tony Parker had his best game in months, even though he faced off against his nemesis Devin Harris. Parker applied pressure continuously and did a good job of not taking his foot off the gas. The ankle injury and fatigue that had slowed him down since November didn’t seem to affect him too much tonight.
As for the Nets, they showed quite a bit of life. Harris seems to have reinvigorated both their fan base and the players around him. He’s not as good as Jason Kidd but his lively legs and defensively ability will make him a tough matchup for any point guard in the Eastern Conference. Richard Jefferson is an underrated player who seems to improve every year. Vince Carter remains an enigma. If this team is going to make any noise in the playoffs, it’ll be because Carter wakes up and realizes he still has the talent to be an elite player in the NBA.
Overall, this wasn’t a dominating victory for the Spurs. They played well but they never landed a knockout punch to put the Nets away for good. Nonetheless, it was another quality win and the Spurs continue to play as well as any team in the league.
-Tim Duncan had his second straight difficult game offensively. He hit only 4-of-14 shots from the floor on his way to 13 points. Part of the problem for Duncan offensively is teams are able to basically just beat him up down low. He’s not getting much respect from the whistle – especially in the last two games. It’s somewhat alarming that he’s averaging a career-low in free throw attempts per game. Considering Duncan’s minutes are up and his shots are coming from the same spots on the court, there's really not a logical explanation for why Duncan's free throw attempts have plummeted. Hopefully Duncan will just keep working through it and wait for the whistles to balance out. Defensively, Duncan was solid against the Nets. His rotations were on time and he pulled down 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.
-Manu Ginobili returned to the bench didn’t miss a beat. In 29 minutes, Ginobili finished with 17 points, four assists and three steals, while shooting 6-of-13 from the court. It wasn’t a spectacular game from Ginobili but he was really good. I was especially pleased with his active defense and the precision he showed on offense. If I had to complain about something, it’d be the two turnovers he had trying to thread the needle to Fabricio Oberto. Teams have scouted the Spurs enough to know that when Oberto sets a pick for Ginobili, Ginobili is almost always going to look for Oberto rolling to the basket. It’s time for Ginobili to adjust and not force that pass as often. Once a game is fine but more than that and teams are smart enough to sniff it out.
-Tony Parker looked really good against New Jersey. His speed, lift and stamina were all greatly improved over just a few games ago. Now that he’s obviously feeling better, Parker is starting to get back into form. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while shooting 10-for-18 from the field. Offensively, it was impossible for the Nets to keep him from shredding their defense. He probed incessantly until he found an open shot for himself or a teammate. Parker isn’t all the way back because he remains rusty in some areas. However, for the second straight game, Parker hit his outside jumper. He finished 5-for-8 on his jumper – making him 9-for-13 on jumpers in the last two games. Defensively, I once again thought Parker started off with not enough juice but then picked it up in the second half. If Parker can continue to play at this level, with the way Ginobili is playing and the way Duncan is capable of playing, the Spurs are going to be a very tough out in the playoffs.
-Bruce Bowen had the task of slowing down Carter and did a decent job. Carter hit half of his shots and scored 21 points, so Bowen wasn’t as effective as he'd like. On the other end of the court, Bowen knocked down 3-of-5 shots from the field, including his lone three-point attempt. Bowen battled foul trouble, which is a surprisingly rare event for him considering how much effort he puts into his defense.
-Michael Finley got the start at shooting guard but responded with a fairly poor outing. I thought he hesitated on a couple of open looks. When he did shoot, he only hit 2-of-10 shots from the field. For the game, he finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of play. He'll need to play better to keep the starting spot, especially with Ime Udoka playing well and Brent Barry eventually returning to the team.
-Kurt Thomas got his first start as a Spur. I’m sure Pop wanted Thomas to get quality minutes and starting him is the easiest way to ensure that. The Nets start two borderline centers in Nenad Krstic and Josh Boone, so it also made sense to have Thomas on the court to begin the game for his defense and rebounding. Thomas didn’t disappoint in either aspect as he played very good defense and pulled down nine rebounds in 17 minutes. Offensively, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Thomas. After knocking down his first three attempts, Thomas missed his final five shots. He might have forced one or two attempts but he’s learning quickly where he can get looks in the Spurs’ system. Thomas as a starter probably isn’t a long-term move, but it might be if Thomas takes advantage of this chance.
-Ime Udoka had one of his better games of the season. When the Nets went small, Udoka was inserted into the game to play a lot of small ball power forward for the Spurs. He did a very nice job defensively, especially against Jefferson. Offensively, Udoka shot the ball with a lot of confidence and made good decisions. In 30 minutes, Udoka scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. It’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to be a valuable piece for this team come playoff time.
-Fabricio Oberto came off the bench and played well. He was very active on the glass and was attentive offensively. In 19 minutes, Oberto had four points and seven rebounds, including a team-high four offensive rebounds. When Duncan isn’t on the court, Pop puts a lot of trust in Oberto to hold serve until Duncan can return. Even though Thomas has been added to the mix, I don’t see a scenario in which Oberto becomes any less important for this team.
-Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire shared the backup point guard duties against the Nets. Stoudamire was the backup in the first half, while Vaughn got the call in the second half. In this game, Vaughn played better and even came up with a couple big baskets in the fourth quarter. Stoudamire struggled a bit but I thought he ran the team decently well. Pop seems to be trying to handle the backup point guard situation delicately so that neither Vaughn nor Stoudamire lose confidence. One would imagine that Pop would have to select one over the other at some point. I guess we’ll see if Pop ever makes a choice or continues to use both depending on the feel of the game.
-Robert Horry didn't play due to a hamstring issue. Matt Bonner didn't play due to a doghouse issue.
-Pop deserves a thumbs up for correcting his overuse of his star players. For a while, he was playing Duncan and Ginobili too many minutes. To his credit, the Spurs needed those two to play a lot of minutes if they wanted to win. Now that the Big Three is back together, Pop should be able to allow each player to rest more.
I was a bit surprised by the starting lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan and Thomas but I thought it was a good idea. Ginobili off the bench is just such a devastating weapon that it’s tough to not use him in that role. Plus, Ginobili coming off the bench doesn’t allow Pop to play Ginobili too many minutes.
Pop also deserves credit for making this team play defense again. Holding the Nets to 83 points on sub-35% shooting is impressive, especially considering that the Nets scored 120 points in their previous game.
The bottomline is the Spurs are currently in a great position. They are in the driver’s seat in the Western Conference and all the pieces appear to be in place to make a big splash in the playoffs. Avoiding injuries while navigating a treacherous March schedule should be the focus of the team at the moment. Next up, the Spurs play against the same Nets team on Tuesday – this time in the AT&T Center. 10?
Believe.