timvp
03-22-2008, 07:18 AM
The Spurs took another step in separating themselves from their four-game losing streak by beating the Sacramento Kings on Friday night. The Kings did a good job of making it a competitive game for most of the evening until the Spurs were able to pull away late. The Spurs didn’t play great but they got what they needed most – a win.
The Kings are actually a tough matchup for the Spurs. Ron Artest is bigger and stronger than anyone the Spurs have to defend him. Kevin Martin is a crafty scorer who knows all the tricks offensively. Brad Miller can spread the floor with his shooting and his passing. While the Kings’ future doesn’t look especially bright at the moment, at the very least they have a definite keeper in Martin.
For the second straight games, the Spurs’ offense looked to be clicking. The ball movement was good and the Spurs didn’t run into too many lulls during this contest. Defensively, the Spurs were again solid. Holding the Kings to 38.7% shooting was an encouraging sign.
Overall, the Spurs played well enough. The big test will be the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. A win in Dallas is important to keep the momentum headed in the right direction.
-Tim Duncan wasn’t overly effective but he was active. In the last two games, it appears as if Duncan has made it a point to make more of an impact. He’s becoming more aggressive in the low block offensively and has upped his energy level on defense. On this night, Duncan finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in 32 minutes of playing time. While his shooting was a bit off (8-for-18), everyone on the team did a good job of repeatedly feeding Duncan the ball.
-Manu Ginobili had his second straight quiet game. This time, though, Ginobili didn’t struggle. With the athletic defenders of the Kings checking him, most notably Artest, Ginobili did a great job of not forcing the issue offensively. He instead kept the ball moving and attacked when he had a path to the basket. Ginobili ended up with nine points, five assists and two rebounds, while shooting 3-for-5 from the field. He started the game off poorly defensively but eventually raised his effort on that end of the court. This wasn’t a highlight reel night for Ginobili but he put in a good 27 minutes of work.
-Tony Parker continues his improved play. It appears that Parker has regained most of the confidence he lost when he was dealing with his ankle problem. If he can stay healthy, Parker should help this team make a strong push into the playoffs and beyond. He was attacking well and did a good job of finding the open man when he penetrated. In 32 minutes, Parker had 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and only one turnover. Although he hit only 6-of-14 shots, he did sink both of his three-point attempts. Parker is now 6-for-12 on three-pointers in the month of March. As a Spurs fan, you have to be happy with the way Parker’s play has progressed over the last couple weeks. His defense can still stand improvement and he can still attack even more offensively, but he’s playing a lot better than he was in earlier March.
-In his 29 minutes of action, Bruce Bowen played pretty well. He had success defensively against Martin, however he didn’t have much success against Artest. Bowen, like the rest of the Spurs, can’t do much with Artest once he gets rolling. Offensively, Bowen shot the ball well. He had ten points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 on threes. He’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence these days.
-It’s too early to claim that he’s completely back but Michael Finley has alleviated fears that he was completely done after having his second straight good shooting game. Against the Kings, Finley knocked down 4-of-9 shots, including 1-of-3 three-pointers. While his defense still is sub par and his rebounding is non-existent, at least his shooting appears to be coming back.
-Fabricio Oberto didn’t have a very good game. The Kings weren’t respecting him offensively, which resulted in poor spacing when Oberto was on the court. Defensively, he was average but his defensive rebounding (2) could have been better. On the night, Oberto had six points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.
-Ime Udoka had a good game shooting the ball. He hit 3-of-5 shots from the field to finish with seven points. Defensively he was active but he wasn’t especially effective. The Kings had success going right at him. Udoka’s inability to defend the stronger perimeter players this year such as Artest has been somewhat disappointing, however I haven’t given up on him in that regard. With better technique, he could become the Spurs’ answer to players like Artest.
-I thought Kurt Thomas quietly had one of his better games as a Spur. He had eight points and seven rebounds, while shooting 4-for-6 from the field. With the Kings upping the level of physicality at certain points in the game, Thomas didn’t hold back in dishing out some punishment of his own. Thomas and Ginobili are turning into a nice one-two punch off the bench for the Spurs.
-Jacque Vaughn was great. He was the best player on the court for the Spurs this game. Defensively, he was insanely active and offensively he was making all the right decisions. Since he’s gotten his backup point guard job back, it’s like Vaughn was shot out of a cannon. He enters the game with a bundle of infectious energy. In 18 minutes, Vaughn had 11 points, seven assists and one turnover. Hopefully Vaughn can keep up this level of energy for the rest of the season.
-Robert Horry’s injury put a damper on the win. Horry left the game early on after suffering a knee injury. The Spurs are reportedly worried about some sort of kneecap injury. Horry will have an MRI today to check for damage. Hopefully that MRI comes back clean and Horry is able to return to the lineup soon.
-When you see Damon Stoudamire and Matt Bonner headed to check into the game, as a Spurs fan you know that’s either really good news or really bad news. Tonight, the news was good. Might Mouse and Scott Tenorman made sure that the Kings continued to experience unfathomable sadness.
-Pop stuck to his new rotation and he has to be happy with the result. Even though the Spurs didn’t play great, the pieces to the puzzle seem to fit well.
If Horry has to miss time, it’ll be interesting to see if Bonner enters the rotation or whether Pop will just give more time to Oberto and Thomas. My guess would be the ladder.
The bottomline is the Spurs got the much needed win. Now the focus shifts to the Mavs game on Sunday. The Spurs need to win that game to not only help their own confidence but to help shatter Dallas’ confidence. The Mavs are 0-7 against teams with winning records since the Jason Kidd trade. If the Spurs can make that 0-8, the Mavs and Mav Fan will sink even further into depression.
The last time the Spurs had this opportunity, they let the Suns get a win. The Suns were reeling after the Shaquille O'Neal trade and seemed to be on the brink of imploding ... but all became well once they beat the Spurs. The Suns haven’t lost since.
This time, the Spurs need to handle their business. It’s time to kick the Mavs while they are down.
Believe.
The Kings are actually a tough matchup for the Spurs. Ron Artest is bigger and stronger than anyone the Spurs have to defend him. Kevin Martin is a crafty scorer who knows all the tricks offensively. Brad Miller can spread the floor with his shooting and his passing. While the Kings’ future doesn’t look especially bright at the moment, at the very least they have a definite keeper in Martin.
For the second straight games, the Spurs’ offense looked to be clicking. The ball movement was good and the Spurs didn’t run into too many lulls during this contest. Defensively, the Spurs were again solid. Holding the Kings to 38.7% shooting was an encouraging sign.
Overall, the Spurs played well enough. The big test will be the game against the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday. A win in Dallas is important to keep the momentum headed in the right direction.
-Tim Duncan wasn’t overly effective but he was active. In the last two games, it appears as if Duncan has made it a point to make more of an impact. He’s becoming more aggressive in the low block offensively and has upped his energy level on defense. On this night, Duncan finished with 21 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and two steals in 32 minutes of playing time. While his shooting was a bit off (8-for-18), everyone on the team did a good job of repeatedly feeding Duncan the ball.
-Manu Ginobili had his second straight quiet game. This time, though, Ginobili didn’t struggle. With the athletic defenders of the Kings checking him, most notably Artest, Ginobili did a great job of not forcing the issue offensively. He instead kept the ball moving and attacked when he had a path to the basket. Ginobili ended up with nine points, five assists and two rebounds, while shooting 3-for-5 from the field. He started the game off poorly defensively but eventually raised his effort on that end of the court. This wasn’t a highlight reel night for Ginobili but he put in a good 27 minutes of work.
-Tony Parker continues his improved play. It appears that Parker has regained most of the confidence he lost when he was dealing with his ankle problem. If he can stay healthy, Parker should help this team make a strong push into the playoffs and beyond. He was attacking well and did a good job of finding the open man when he penetrated. In 32 minutes, Parker had 19 points, seven assists, four rebounds and only one turnover. Although he hit only 6-of-14 shots, he did sink both of his three-point attempts. Parker is now 6-for-12 on three-pointers in the month of March. As a Spurs fan, you have to be happy with the way Parker’s play has progressed over the last couple weeks. His defense can still stand improvement and he can still attack even more offensively, but he’s playing a lot better than he was in earlier March.
-In his 29 minutes of action, Bruce Bowen played pretty well. He had success defensively against Martin, however he didn’t have much success against Artest. Bowen, like the rest of the Spurs, can’t do much with Artest once he gets rolling. Offensively, Bowen shot the ball well. He had ten points on 3-for-4 shooting from the field, including 2-for-2 on threes. He’s shooting the ball with a lot of confidence these days.
-It’s too early to claim that he’s completely back but Michael Finley has alleviated fears that he was completely done after having his second straight good shooting game. Against the Kings, Finley knocked down 4-of-9 shots, including 1-of-3 three-pointers. While his defense still is sub par and his rebounding is non-existent, at least his shooting appears to be coming back.
-Fabricio Oberto didn’t have a very good game. The Kings weren’t respecting him offensively, which resulted in poor spacing when Oberto was on the court. Defensively, he was average but his defensive rebounding (2) could have been better. On the night, Oberto had six points and five rebounds in 23 minutes.
-Ime Udoka had a good game shooting the ball. He hit 3-of-5 shots from the field to finish with seven points. Defensively he was active but he wasn’t especially effective. The Kings had success going right at him. Udoka’s inability to defend the stronger perimeter players this year such as Artest has been somewhat disappointing, however I haven’t given up on him in that regard. With better technique, he could become the Spurs’ answer to players like Artest.
-I thought Kurt Thomas quietly had one of his better games as a Spur. He had eight points and seven rebounds, while shooting 4-for-6 from the field. With the Kings upping the level of physicality at certain points in the game, Thomas didn’t hold back in dishing out some punishment of his own. Thomas and Ginobili are turning into a nice one-two punch off the bench for the Spurs.
-Jacque Vaughn was great. He was the best player on the court for the Spurs this game. Defensively, he was insanely active and offensively he was making all the right decisions. Since he’s gotten his backup point guard job back, it’s like Vaughn was shot out of a cannon. He enters the game with a bundle of infectious energy. In 18 minutes, Vaughn had 11 points, seven assists and one turnover. Hopefully Vaughn can keep up this level of energy for the rest of the season.
-Robert Horry’s injury put a damper on the win. Horry left the game early on after suffering a knee injury. The Spurs are reportedly worried about some sort of kneecap injury. Horry will have an MRI today to check for damage. Hopefully that MRI comes back clean and Horry is able to return to the lineup soon.
-When you see Damon Stoudamire and Matt Bonner headed to check into the game, as a Spurs fan you know that’s either really good news or really bad news. Tonight, the news was good. Might Mouse and Scott Tenorman made sure that the Kings continued to experience unfathomable sadness.
-Pop stuck to his new rotation and he has to be happy with the result. Even though the Spurs didn’t play great, the pieces to the puzzle seem to fit well.
If Horry has to miss time, it’ll be interesting to see if Bonner enters the rotation or whether Pop will just give more time to Oberto and Thomas. My guess would be the ladder.
The bottomline is the Spurs got the much needed win. Now the focus shifts to the Mavs game on Sunday. The Spurs need to win that game to not only help their own confidence but to help shatter Dallas’ confidence. The Mavs are 0-7 against teams with winning records since the Jason Kidd trade. If the Spurs can make that 0-8, the Mavs and Mav Fan will sink even further into depression.
The last time the Spurs had this opportunity, they let the Suns get a win. The Suns were reeling after the Shaquille O'Neal trade and seemed to be on the brink of imploding ... but all became well once they beat the Spurs. The Suns haven’t lost since.
This time, the Spurs need to handle their business. It’s time to kick the Mavs while they are down.
Believe.