timvp
04-17-2008, 04:04 AM
The Spurs really couldn’t have scripted the end of their regular season much better. Heading into the final game of the season, the Spurs needed to beat the Utah Jazz in order to have homecourt advantage in the first round. The Spurs did just that – convincingly.
San Antonio blew the game open early and cruised to a 109-80 victory. Offensively, the key to the game was the Spurs finally got out and ran the court. When the Spurs walk up the court and pound the ball into the ground, they aren’t a good offensive team. However, if they run, the Spurs can score with anyone. In the first half, the Spurs outscored the Jazz 18-2 on fast break points and led at halftime 65-39.
Defensively, the Spurs were also impressive. The team was attentive and didn’t allow many open looks all night long. For the game, the Jazz shot only 38.3% from the field and connected on 2-of-12 three-pointers.
Regarding the Jazz, they are going to be a tough team to beat in the playoffs. While I doubt the Jazz were trying to tank this game, the players obviously had to be thinking about how a loss would mean the hobbled Houston Rockets in the first round. I highly doubt there was a command to try to lose the game but I also don’t think the Jazz were 100% into the game mentally. In the playoffs, I really think the Jazz have a good shot at making it back to the Western Conference Finals.
Overall, this was a very nice way to end the regular season. The Spurs ended the year with a 56-26 record and enter the playoffs as a third seed.
-Tim Duncan is back. After sleepwalking the last dozen games, Duncan looked alive for the first time in a long while. Two areas really stood out – his defense and his running. On defense, Duncan guarded the rim amazingly and contested every shot within reach. Even more impressive to me was his running of the court. When Duncan runs the floor as hard as he did on Wednesday night, the Spurs are a much better team. Their offense flows smoothly and their defense becomes impenetrable. Offensively, I liked how he played. He wasn’t letting the refs affect his play and was utilizing his array of post moves. Duncan finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 27 minutes, while shooting 5-for-9 from the field. Hopefully he can continue this level of play in the postseason.
-Manu Ginobili was back in action and I was really excited by how he played. His injury didn’t seem to limit him at all and he didn’t appear to have any rust. Ginobili didn’t look like he had missed any time and was actually much sharper than the last few games he played in. In 19 minutes, he finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also hit all four of his shots from the field. This was about the best possible outcome for Ginobili tonight. He played limited minutes and played very well in his time on the court.
-Tony Parker apparently saved two of his best games of the season for last. Following up a great performance against the Kings, Parker played perhaps even better against the Jazz. He was orchestrating the offense about as effectively and efficiently as possible. With others on the team actually running with him this game, he was able to pile up the assists. For the night, Parker had 24 points, 12 assists (ten in the first half) and three steals in 29 minutes, while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor. If this is the Tony Parker the Spurs will see consistently in the playoffs, the team should be in good shape.
-Like usual against the Jazz, Bruce Bowen didn’t have anyone to guard. It was especially true this game as Pop opted to keep Parker on Deron Williams. That left Bowen mostly on Andrei Kirilenko. In 18 minutes, Bowen had two points, two rebounds and one steal. Bowen enters the playoffs again trying to prove to the world that he hasn’t lost a step and can still guard any star perimeter player in the league.
-Michael Finley continued his hot shooting ways. With 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, Finley looks extremely comfortable in his role right now. I especially liked how he was creating off the dribble against the Jazz. Finley’s confidence should be high heading into the real season.
-Fabricio Oberto played solid basketball. He finished with six points, three rebounds and hit all three of his shots. The biggest shot he took was to the face when Memo Okur nailed him with a flagrant slap. Luckily Oberto was able to shake it off.
-Kurt Thomas played one of his better games as a Spur. In 20 minutes, Thomas had ten points, two rebounds and a blocked shot. He also hit 4-of-5 shots from the field. Thomas, like a lot of the players, was impressive in his willingness to run the floor. The Spurs got a number of easy baskets just because Thomas sprinted to the rim.
-Ime Udoka had six points, four rebounds and an assist in 21 minutes of play. While he hit only 2-of-7 shots from the floor, I was impressed with his overall play. His defensive effort was really good and he was shooting the ball confidently. In the playoffs, Udoka will likely remain an integral cog in the Spurs machine.
-Jacque Vaughn played well enough. He wasn’t very noticeable, which is always a good sign. He had four points, one rebound and one assist in 19 minutes. Vaughn had his ups and downs last year in the playoffs. If he can bring steady positive (or even neutral) production this year, the Spurs will be happy.
-Matt Bonner led the bench with 24 minutes and I thought he was really good. The time spent in Pop’s doghouse seems to have mellowed Bonner a bit and he’s playing smarter now. He doesn’t force shots and he’s now more often than not in the right place defensively. Bonner finished the game with ten points, four rebounds and two assists. He hit 2-of-4 three-pointers and 1-of-3 two-pointers. If Bonner is called upon to help in the playoffs, I’m more confident now that he’ll know what he’s doing.
-Damon Stoudamire played 11 minutes and had one point, four assists and two rebounds. The good news regarding Stoudamire is he once again looks comfortable when he’s out on the court. Age has slowed him down to the point that he’s not able to be a championship level rotation player, however in an emergency he’s a capable third point guard.
-After a shaky first game, Brent Barry returned to San Antonio and played nine very impressive minutes. He hit all three of his shots (two of which were three-pointers) to finish with eight points, one rebound and one assist. Even more importantly, he wasn’t running as stiff as he ran against the Kings. It was a very encouraging outing for Barry. I don’t expect him to begin the playoffs in the team’s rotation but I do expect him to make an impact at some point.
-Pop had to be happy with the way things played out. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all played well. Ginobili and Barry looked about as healthy as could be expected. The Spurs were able to regain confidence and didn’t have to tire out the starters. Even if the Jazz players weren’t giving 100%, the Spurs needed this type of showing to help believe in themselves heading into the playoffs.
In the postseason, I assume Pop will start with a nine-man rotation of Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Bowen, Finley, Udoka, Vaughn, Oberto and Thomas. It will be interesting to see how (or if) Pop works in Barry and Robert Horry into rotation.
The bottomline is the Spurs put an exclamation point on what was otherwise a rocky regular season. But now the realness begins. From here on out is where history is made. Five? The Spurs got this.
Believe.
San Antonio blew the game open early and cruised to a 109-80 victory. Offensively, the key to the game was the Spurs finally got out and ran the court. When the Spurs walk up the court and pound the ball into the ground, they aren’t a good offensive team. However, if they run, the Spurs can score with anyone. In the first half, the Spurs outscored the Jazz 18-2 on fast break points and led at halftime 65-39.
Defensively, the Spurs were also impressive. The team was attentive and didn’t allow many open looks all night long. For the game, the Jazz shot only 38.3% from the field and connected on 2-of-12 three-pointers.
Regarding the Jazz, they are going to be a tough team to beat in the playoffs. While I doubt the Jazz were trying to tank this game, the players obviously had to be thinking about how a loss would mean the hobbled Houston Rockets in the first round. I highly doubt there was a command to try to lose the game but I also don’t think the Jazz were 100% into the game mentally. In the playoffs, I really think the Jazz have a good shot at making it back to the Western Conference Finals.
Overall, this was a very nice way to end the regular season. The Spurs ended the year with a 56-26 record and enter the playoffs as a third seed.
-Tim Duncan is back. After sleepwalking the last dozen games, Duncan looked alive for the first time in a long while. Two areas really stood out – his defense and his running. On defense, Duncan guarded the rim amazingly and contested every shot within reach. Even more impressive to me was his running of the court. When Duncan runs the floor as hard as he did on Wednesday night, the Spurs are a much better team. Their offense flows smoothly and their defense becomes impenetrable. Offensively, I liked how he played. He wasn’t letting the refs affect his play and was utilizing his array of post moves. Duncan finished with 14 points, 11 rebounds, three blocks and two steals in 27 minutes, while shooting 5-for-9 from the field. Hopefully he can continue this level of play in the postseason.
-Manu Ginobili was back in action and I was really excited by how he played. His injury didn’t seem to limit him at all and he didn’t appear to have any rust. Ginobili didn’t look like he had missed any time and was actually much sharper than the last few games he played in. In 19 minutes, he finished with 12 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. He also hit all four of his shots from the field. This was about the best possible outcome for Ginobili tonight. He played limited minutes and played very well in his time on the court.
-Tony Parker apparently saved two of his best games of the season for last. Following up a great performance against the Kings, Parker played perhaps even better against the Jazz. He was orchestrating the offense about as effectively and efficiently as possible. With others on the team actually running with him this game, he was able to pile up the assists. For the night, Parker had 24 points, 12 assists (ten in the first half) and three steals in 29 minutes, while shooting 10-of-17 from the floor. If this is the Tony Parker the Spurs will see consistently in the playoffs, the team should be in good shape.
-Like usual against the Jazz, Bruce Bowen didn’t have anyone to guard. It was especially true this game as Pop opted to keep Parker on Deron Williams. That left Bowen mostly on Andrei Kirilenko. In 18 minutes, Bowen had two points, two rebounds and one steal. Bowen enters the playoffs again trying to prove to the world that he hasn’t lost a step and can still guard any star perimeter player in the league.
-Michael Finley continued his hot shooting ways. With 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting, Finley looks extremely comfortable in his role right now. I especially liked how he was creating off the dribble against the Jazz. Finley’s confidence should be high heading into the real season.
-Fabricio Oberto played solid basketball. He finished with six points, three rebounds and hit all three of his shots. The biggest shot he took was to the face when Memo Okur nailed him with a flagrant slap. Luckily Oberto was able to shake it off.
-Kurt Thomas played one of his better games as a Spur. In 20 minutes, Thomas had ten points, two rebounds and a blocked shot. He also hit 4-of-5 shots from the field. Thomas, like a lot of the players, was impressive in his willingness to run the floor. The Spurs got a number of easy baskets just because Thomas sprinted to the rim.
-Ime Udoka had six points, four rebounds and an assist in 21 minutes of play. While he hit only 2-of-7 shots from the floor, I was impressed with his overall play. His defensive effort was really good and he was shooting the ball confidently. In the playoffs, Udoka will likely remain an integral cog in the Spurs machine.
-Jacque Vaughn played well enough. He wasn’t very noticeable, which is always a good sign. He had four points, one rebound and one assist in 19 minutes. Vaughn had his ups and downs last year in the playoffs. If he can bring steady positive (or even neutral) production this year, the Spurs will be happy.
-Matt Bonner led the bench with 24 minutes and I thought he was really good. The time spent in Pop’s doghouse seems to have mellowed Bonner a bit and he’s playing smarter now. He doesn’t force shots and he’s now more often than not in the right place defensively. Bonner finished the game with ten points, four rebounds and two assists. He hit 2-of-4 three-pointers and 1-of-3 two-pointers. If Bonner is called upon to help in the playoffs, I’m more confident now that he’ll know what he’s doing.
-Damon Stoudamire played 11 minutes and had one point, four assists and two rebounds. The good news regarding Stoudamire is he once again looks comfortable when he’s out on the court. Age has slowed him down to the point that he’s not able to be a championship level rotation player, however in an emergency he’s a capable third point guard.
-After a shaky first game, Brent Barry returned to San Antonio and played nine very impressive minutes. He hit all three of his shots (two of which were three-pointers) to finish with eight points, one rebound and one assist. Even more importantly, he wasn’t running as stiff as he ran against the Kings. It was a very encouraging outing for Barry. I don’t expect him to begin the playoffs in the team’s rotation but I do expect him to make an impact at some point.
-Pop had to be happy with the way things played out. Duncan, Ginobili and Parker all played well. Ginobili and Barry looked about as healthy as could be expected. The Spurs were able to regain confidence and didn’t have to tire out the starters. Even if the Jazz players weren’t giving 100%, the Spurs needed this type of showing to help believe in themselves heading into the playoffs.
In the postseason, I assume Pop will start with a nine-man rotation of Duncan, Ginobili, Parker, Bowen, Finley, Udoka, Vaughn, Oberto and Thomas. It will be interesting to see how (or if) Pop works in Barry and Robert Horry into rotation.
The bottomline is the Spurs put an exclamation point on what was otherwise a rocky regular season. But now the realness begins. From here on out is where history is made. Five? The Spurs got this.
Believe.