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Published work now? Very nice.
Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Hornets
http://www.sanantoniodispatch.com/sa...rs-vs-hornets/
By LJ Ellis
San Antonio Dispatch
The offensive fireworks of opening night were too good to be true. Against the New Orleans Hornets on Friday in the AT&T Center, the San Antonio Spurs proved once again that winning consistently with offense alone won’t be an option. The Spurs fired blanks from long-range and their defense had severe difficulties slowing the Hornets.
Up until halftime, the game was closely contested. However, soon after the third quarter began, things fell apart. In a four-minute span at the start of the third, the Hornets went on a 15-2 run to take a 12-point lead. Their lead grew to 18 points when Marcus Thornton hit a jumper one minute into the final stanza.
To San Antonio’s credit, there wasn’t any quit. A small lineup of George Hill, Gary Neal, Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson and DeJuan Blair got the Spurs back into it. In fact, Jefferson missed a three-pointer with a minute and a half remaining that could have tied the game.
But on this night, the Hornets played better and deserved the 99-90 victory. For the good guys, the bottom line is they need to begin showing some defensive mettle or else any championship hopes will go up in smoke.
Tim Duncan
27 mins (-3), 7 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, 2 turnovers
2-for-10 from the field, 3-for-4 from the line
As well as Tim Duncan played in the first game of the season, that was about as poorly as he played against the Hornets. Most of his offensive struggles occurred in the paint. While New Orleans defended him well at times, Duncan also missed a number of chip shots he always cashes in. On defense, he was decent in the first half, however Duncan’s second half help defense was a step or two slow. As a result, he watched the game from the bench for the final 13 minutes. Let’s hope as the season continues that we see a lot more Game 1s than Game 2s.
Manu Ginobili
37 mins (-4), 23 points, 6 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 turnovers
8-for-19 from the field, 2-for-11 on three-pointers, 5-for-5 at the line
Manu Ginobili has now shot 20 three-pointers in the season’s first two games. That number is simply too high. He’s moving well and can get to the basket when he tries, so there really isn’t an excuse to be shooting that many shots from the perimeter. On Saturday, Ginobili was having a difficult night until he played a staring role in the fourth quarter comeback. Down the stretch, the Argentine star played a determined, hard-nosed style of basketball. More of that during the meat of the game would have really helped.
Tony Parker
27 mins (-11), 13 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 3 turnovers
5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-3 at the line
Fresh off of signing a four-year contract extension, Tony Parker came out of the gates playing well. He was a bit sloppy but he was helping the team in the first half. In particular, his defense against Chris Paul was very good. The second half was a different story. He missed all four shots and Paul was lighting him up on the other end. Pop subbed Parker out with one minute remaining in the third quarter — and Parker never stepped foot on the court again. The Spurs can’t afford for their starting point guard to have a mid-game massive slump. As we witnessed, Parker struggling can lead to a team-wide collapse.
Richard Jefferson
33 mins (-3), 18 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 block, 1 turnover
7-for-11 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 3-for-5 at the line
If there was a bright spot against New Orleans, it was the play of Richard Jefferson. To put it simply, Jefferson played how the Spurs imagined when the trade was made. Although he didn’t get a ton of touches, he took advantage of just about every touch. When he was open, he shot the ball. When he faced an off-balance defender, he took the ball to the hole. I was most impressed with his mental toughness. He went long stretches without seeing the ball and didn’t fade into the background like he often did last season. Defensively, he didn’t get tested much but Jefferson was fairly impressive on that end as well.
DeJuan Blair
38 mins (-6), 4 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnover
2-for-10 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
DeJuan Blair had his second straight sub par game as he continues to start at power forward. On offense, Blair is rushing too much and is making potentially easy shots more difficult. He also seems to be second-guessing on all of his offensive touches. Defensively, he got his hands on a ton of balls and was very active. That said, he got schooled by David West in one-on-one situations. Overall, Blair played better later in the game but we’re still waiting for him to look comfortable in his starting role.
George Hill
27 mins (+3), 6 points, 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
2-for-7 from the field, 0-for-4 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
I’m starting to worry about George Hill’s outside shooting. He’s hesitating to shoot and even when he does shoot, his mechanics look a lot worse than last season. His release is slow and he’s not getting much elevation. Hopefully those issues are simply due to Hill not being confident and not a sign of bigger problems that could lead to a prolonged slump. So far this season, Hill hasn’t done a very good job of running the show. He’s getting the team into their sets late in the clock too often. However, Hill tallying seven assists against the Hornets is a step in the right direction. All of last season, Hill never had that many assists in a game in which he came off the bench. Defensively, Hill did a good job of pestering Paul and upping his intensity as the Spurs attempted their comeback.
Antonio McDyess
21 mins (-18), 6 points, 8 rebounds, 2 blocks, 1 turnover
3-for-8 from the field
Antonio McDyess once again played well. He’s really rebounding well to begin the season and he added two blocks to his quality defensive performance. On offense, McDyess needs to take more advantage of being left alone. Attempting more shots and shooting for a better percentage would really help the team. Despite his advanced age, McDyess is moving well and getting good elevation.
Gary Neal
19 mins (+1), 8 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnovers
3-for-6 from the field, 2-for-4 on three-pointers
With the Hornets daring the Spurs to shoot, Pop played Gary Neal the final 19 minutes of the game. All in all, Neal played well. He shot the ball with confidence and played with toughness on both ends of the court. In addition to his three-point shooting, Neal also showed good touch off the dribble and made a few good passes. In his first extended action in the NBA, he helped cement his role as a floor-spacer Pop can call on to keep defenses honest. Will he continue to get minutes? Perhaps, although the Hornets presented the perfect matchup for Neal: a sagging defense and shooting guards small enough for Neal to defend.
James Anderson
11 mins (-4), 5 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 block
1-for-4 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
All of James Anderson’s minutes came in the first half (Neal took his second half minutes). Anderson hit another three-pointer and had a couple impressive drives to the hoop. However, the rookie is obviously still adjusting to the speed of the NBA — both in terms of mentally knowing what he needs to do and physically getting to where he needs to go. With Neal playing well, it’ll be interesting to see if Pop uses Anderson or Neal in upcoming games.
Gregg Popovich
Pop deserves credit for finding a unit that allowed the comeback to take place. On the other hand, I thought it was questionable for Pop to keep Duncan and Parker on the bench for the duration of the fourth quarter. The squad he had out on the court seemed to tire and subbing in Duncan and/or Parker could have given the needed jolt of enegy to give the Spurs the win. Playing Ginobili 37 minutes was a bit excessive, especially this early in the season. Going with Neal turned out to be a good decision. And whatever Pop did to Jefferson in the offseason is paying dividends so far.
Offense
San Antonio’s main problem on offense was their three-point shooting. They made just 6-of-26 three-pointers (23.1%), while hitting 27-of-59 two-pointers (45.8%). The Spurs did well enough at the line (18-for-21) and at handling the ball (24 assists and 13 turnovers). Over the last few seasons, the Spurs have struggled against the Hornets when they miss from the perimeter. That was again the case on Saturday night.
Defense
For the second straight game, the Spurs defense was bad. It wasn’t as obvious at times against the Hornets but that was simply due to the slower pace of the game. New Orleans shot 50% from the field while hitting 7-of-11 three-pointers and 14-of-17 free throws. The Spurs didn’t disrupt what the Hornets wanted to do, as New Orleans finished with 20 assists and 14 turnovers. The Hornets hurt the Spurs mostly with West in isolations in the first half and Paul led pick-and-rolls in the second half.
Drive for 5
We’ll know a lot more about these Spurs after their two-game road trip against the Clippers and Suns. Both teams are quick, athletic and play with a lot of juice. Will the Spurs look old, slow and bad on defense or will they be able to command the flow and play to their strengths? Hopefully it’s the latter.
Published work now? Very nice
Great write up. I am hoping to see more from Anderson. He had some nice moves in last night's game, and has a good first step. I'd love to see him be a respectable SF in backup minutes.
Props to RJ, he can automatically make this year's team better than last year if he keeps this up.
Thanks, good read. I look forward to these Game Thoughts, especially when I miss the game. Hope they use this loss as motivation for the road trip.
This is the thing with the Spurs: We know their offense is going to be very up and down. They are one of the few teams that can go from absolutely scorching hot, to absolutely ice cold in the blink of an eye.
Whether it be from game to game (as evidenced in game 1 vs. game 2) or quarter to quarter (as evidenced by their do ented 3rd quarter woes), the Spurs offense is something that is solid, but subject to change without notice.
This seems to be because the team lacks really quality reliable shooters. They have some good shooters, but not the kind where even their misses look good.
This is nothing new for those following the team post 07' and with that in mind, the reason they have been unable to contend truly since then is because of the drop off in defense.
Spurs used to be able to overcome a slower pace and bad shooting because they could hold teams down. They have not been able to do that as of late. A lot of that is personnel and some of that is philosophy. Either way, the Spurs will have to find a combo of the right players and mindset in order to right the ship. They don't have to be the best defensive squad because they have enough firepower on offense, but they have to be much better than they have been.
The real question is: How?
i really worry about this team and its horrible defense. what's worse is that i don't think it's correctable in terms of the perimiter defense. the Spurs just straight up lack the athleticism neccessary in their starting lineup to defend opposing guards well.
What really, really sucks is that the Spurs best offensive backcourt (Manu, RJ, TP) does not include perhaps their best defensive player (George Hill). what needs to happen then is one of two things:
1. George Hill needs to move into the starting lineup for Manu.
2. Spurs need to trade for someone that has the ability to preferably start at our wing and play defense.
one guy i thnk the Spurs should go after: Casspi. i know they wanted to draft him. he'd fit in our lineup and he has great defensive potential.
I don't see why they'd trade Casspi to us...but it would be great if it could happen.
Thanks for the writeup, LJ. Enjoyable read as usual.
As for the offensive woes, I think they played too much inside-out. Tim wasn't playing that great. The shooting was off. With RJ's new focus on getting to the hole and the foul line I think they should involve him more now. And a little more movement on offense would be helpful as well.
The play of Neal was a positive. His shooting stroke looks really, really good. I can see why they were so high on him. If he could learn some dirty/old man defensive tricks he might be able to stay on the floor longer.
The play of Hill baffles me. To his credit when we get a run going he is often a part of it. However, unless there is a flow to the game he seems to stagnate and overthink things and become overly mechanical. He seems like a great guy but I'm not sold on him yet as a consistent player. He just doesn't seem confident. He prepares constantly and wants to improve but doesn't know how to take control of the game yet.
Moving Hill to the starting lineup seems like a no-brainer. He's playing the best perimeter defense, and starting might get him back into the offensive flow.
The ideal would be if both Manu and Blair move to the bench, with Tiago replacing Blair.
That would give the Spurs an elite defensive starting lineup and unmatched firepower off the bench.
From what I have seen so far this year's Spur's team is turning out to be one of the worst defencive teams that they have had since the 90's. This is very concerning.
Mad props to RJ though, so far he as showed allot of aggression and thats all we have asked for from him last season. I hope he keeps it it.
Manu took 11 three-pointers last night? Holly crap thats alot especialy if you are not making them. I agree he realy needs to try to mix it up more as he has proven he still has the ability to be more then a 3pt shooter. Not very many three-point sharp shooters in the NBA even attempt put up 20 three-pointers in only 2 games
Last edited by Chomag; 10-31-2010 at 03:22 PM.
Nice thoughts, thanks.
Something that surprise me in this game from Pop is that he didn't give a single minute to Simmons. It was the perfect opportunity for him with no Bonner, no Splitter and Spurs splaying some small ball. It could mean that Simmons will only be a garbage time player and could even be waived before his contract became guaranteed.
Thanks, mirrors everyone's thoughts most likely
It doesn't get any easier for Dejuan in the next game with Griffin and Kaman. They're going to be a handful. The good news is that Splitter might be ready.38 mins (-6), 4 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block, 3 turnover
2-for-10 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
DeJuan Blair had his second straight sub par game as he continues to start at power forward. On offense, Blair is rushing too much and is making potentially easy shots more difficult. He also seems to be second-guessing on all of his offensive touches. Defensively, he got his hands on a ton of balls and was very active. That said, he got schooled by David West in one-on-one situations. Overall, Blair played better later in the game but we’re still waiting for him to look comfortable in his starting role.
It was beyond questionable, it was flat out stupid. I knew he was going to do it, though, it was predictable. He loves doing it from time to time, having Ginobili playing hero ball, with an undersized lineup and without the best and third best player on the team on the floor. So that if they win, he can sing Ginobili's praises about what a winner he is and how he's as compe ive as Jordan and Bryant.
No excuses for Duncan; he played awful. But that being said, he got Okafor into foul trouble early, then got two on Mbenga and instead of the Spurs continuing to go to him to get into the bonus early and also force them to play West, Smith or Mensah-Bonsu on him (which would likely lead to double teams and good outside looks for an ice cold Spurs team), they completely forget about and/or ignored him, because it was more important for Ginobili to run around jacking up an absurd amount of three's.
- Jefferson and Neal were the story, on the positive side of the ledger.
- Blair was awful again. He needs to know his place. He's a role player. Particularly amongst the starters, he's the clear cut fifth option. Far too much dribbling, ridiculous shots and sloppy defense.
- Hill is a guy who almost cares too much. You can tell he's thinking about it when he shoots, worried about the result beforehand. It's early yet, but if this keeps up, he'll need to be moved into the starting lineup at the expense of Ginobili
- Speaking of Ginobili, I don't mean to sound like I'm pinning this game all on him (even though it probably comes off that way), because I'm not, but this team can't turn into the Ginobili show offensively, or they're going nowhere. They can't devolve into any one player playing that role, it's not how they're built. Their strength is in numbers, doing it by committee, a la the Celtics.
Is it just me or does whole roster pass up on shots?
It seems they wont dare to shoot the ball unless they are fully open and wont even try to create their own shot?
This leads to passin the ball around looking for a open man which pressurizes the pg(tony) leading to scramble finish or a turnover. I dont see single player creating his own shot other then manu. This really is a concerm imo. Is it pop's tactics or what?
Nice read LJ I appreciate that you often post your thoughts. I have confidence and faith the Spurs will pick it up. We're seeing better things than worse.
Spurs suck balls. Period.
I can't help but think that Tim and Tony, seing how the bench put them back in the game, would have been usefull in the last 5 mins...
Pop was too "concervative" on that part of his coaching.
i love SAdispatch. i was sorry the blog radio show didnt make it but this, this is sweet in so many ways. i fully support SAdispatch and i will help if i can. lol man you got em good this time kori
Great stuff, timvp.
Not such great stuff, Spurs.
Our D has been bad since Bowen's retirement
Damn
Did Bruce want to retire or was it because of the trade? Did the Spurs not want him back? I want to know what happened there. Stupid if the Spurs didn't want him back to focus more on offense. They really do play an offensive game of basketball these days defensively.
Bruce got traded and then he retired.
I agree he left a glaring hole that might not ever be filled again
Pop phased him out to end his final year and Bowen wasn't willing to come back if that was the only role left for him to have -- there's no reason he couldn't have come back for the minimum after being bought out.
Bowen had fallen off towards the end, but he was still undoubtedly the best defender they had. If Pop would have told him they'd like to have him back and he could have a role of some significance, he would have come back, at least that's what I've been led to believe.
Too late now.
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