Game Thoughts: Spurs @ Hornets Game 1

[SpurOutofTownFan]

I don't agree with the Mavs comparisons...the Mavs role players and bench were a of a lot tougher than the ones for the Hornets....Stackhouse, Jason Terry, Devin Harris...these guys were a complete pain in the ass and the Hornets do not have anyone that compares to them.

These Hornets do not have all the great iso guys that the Mavs and, the Spurs do not have to defend them the same way.


On top of that...that Mavs team features almost no passing, this Hornets team is built on passing.



I hope the Spurs have more respect for the Hornets than you seem to think they have... if they don't then we've got problems.


Because Byron Scott is a good coach(as should be obvious to all Spurfans from his time with the Nets)...and Paul is a freaking once in a generation PG.


But David West? David West is not Tim Duncan...though he may have appeared to be him tonight. You take him out...and you leave Bruce on Paul.



I'm not particularly worried about Peja...he'll choke eventually, it's what he does.

I agree with you.

[jackseven]

Hi VOR.








Nice to see this thread is w/o the re ed Katrina smack, I look foward to some good basketball talk. I don't think you guys are giving enough credit to the Hornets defense on Duncan. In that win in S.A they held him to single digits as they did last night. Chandler did a very good job on him last night. Another thing I find funny is some of you guys dismissing DWest's game as a fluke, he's one of the bst PFs in the league and has really stepped it up in the playoffs.

I think the Hornets played awesome, but even if Duncan is playing 85 bears he still has to get a lot more than 5 and 3. We're talking about a guy that's been compared with Jordan and called the greatest PF of all time so while the Hornets deserve credit for their awesome defense, it's obvious there was more to it than that. I think Duncan gets too many free passes from Spurs fans. David Robinson would have been annihilated if he did that. Moreover, can you imagine if Jordan, Barkley, Malone, or Kobe put up 5 and 3 in 37 minutes for game 1 of the Western Semis? People would be looting electronic stores.

I hadn't watched West but a few minutes this season so I didn't know why Charles Barkley kept going on and on about how the Spurs were going to stop him, but now I do. That guy is raw. He's mean, aggressive, strong, quick, and takes the principal's lunch money. He might have to be my new favorite player.

[VoiceofReason]

I think the Hornets played awesome, but even if Duncan is playing 85 bears he still has to get a lot more than 5 and 3. We're talking about a guy that's been compared with Jordan and called the greatest PF of all time so while the Hornets deserve credit for their awesome defense, it's obvious there was more to it than that. I think Duncan gets too many free passes from Spurs fans. David Robinson would have been annihilated if he did that. Moreover, can you imagine if Jordan, Barkley, Malone, or Kobe put up 5 and 3 in 37 minutes for game 1 of the Western Semis? People would be looting electronic stores.

I hadn't watched West but a few minutes this season so I didn't know why Charles Barkley kept going on and on about how the Spurs were going to stop him, but now I do. That guy is raw. He's mean, aggressive, strong, quick, and takes the principal's lunch money. He might have to be my new favorite player.

First, you're right about West. He's been sort of under a lot of people's radar this season. He's a serious player.

And you're right about Duncan. I was scared less of him going into last night's game, but he didn't show up. Part of it was the N.O. defensive approach. But he also wasn't on his game. Monday should answer a lot of questions about this series.

[Deimosfobos]

Hey, I'm a huge Hornets fan and I agree. I was at the game and we all were amazed at the screwup. Didn't affect the outcome, however. And I'm thinking the suit was a $99 special.

Spurs played terrible on the second half and Duncan played his worst game ever, thats the main reason we lost.

But be honest, we'll never know how much that 20min delay helped NO, as your own players admited. Spurs where on a roll, outscoring NO for like 15 since the 0-8 start. Manu was not missing a shoot...
Again, Spurs lost that game... but that hurt us a bit... for sure.

[itzsoweezee]

The difference between Dirk and West is that Duncan, given the opportunity, can actually guard West. And West doesn't have the shot to make the Spurs pay for doing that quite the way Dirk did.

you're wrong about west's shooting ability. he might not have the range that dirk has, but he's pretty much automatic from 20 feet in. he's a much harder matchup than dirk because he's more athletic than dirk and he can score inside.

[dingoANDtheBABY]

Hornets look like a better team to me and there's no shame in losing to a better team. However, the effort has got to be there and Tim for as great as he was in game 1 against phoenix was equally as bad last night. Can a true superstar do that?

Tony, Fin and Bruce(of 1st half) were the only ones that showed up. IMO Tony's turnovers happened late when the game was out of hand. Manu played with half a brain. Tim was as TIMVP described, a spoiled brat and left his team to dry.

NO is a horrible matchup for the Spurs and we will need a miracle for the spurs to pull this one out. Again, no shame in losing to the better team.

the spurs needed miracles in '99, '03 and on and on we know the end of all of those stories... this team is not better than the spurs and not smart enough to beat them. pop didn't pull out all of his weapons and likely won't until later in the series... why show NO all of our cards in game 1??

[VoiceofReason]

the spurs needed miracles in '99, '03 and on and on we know the end of all of those stories... this team is not better than the spurs and not smart enough to beat them. pop didn't pull out all of his weapons and likely won't until later in the series... why show NO all of our cards in game 1??

So he's waiting until it's 3-0?

[Ragin Cajun]

The Spurs are in deep trouble. I think their best chance is to have Duncan cover West. They don't have anyone else that can defend him. The Spurs have nobody that can defend CP3. Not Parker. Not Bowen. Not anybody. Of course every team in the league has that problem...

[Strike]

The Spurs are in deep trouble.

[Johnny_Blaze_47]

Hi VOR.








Nice to see this thread is w/o the re ed Katrina smack, I look foward to some good basketball talk. I don't think you guys are giving enough credit to the Hornets defense on Duncan. In that win in S.A they held him to single digits as they did last night. Chandler did a very good job on him last night. Another thing I find funny is some of you guys dismissing DWest's game as a fluke, he's one of the bst PFs in the league and has really stepped it up in the playoffs.

A couple of us last night were talking about how physical the Hornets were with Duncan early on -- especially Ely. Any Spurs fans dismissing the Hornets as simply a step to the le are sorely mistaken.

[florige]

The Spurs are in deep trouble. I think their best chance is to have Duncan cover West. They don't have anyone else that can defend him. The Spurs have nobody that can defend CP3. Not Parker. Not Bowen. Not anybody. Of course every team in the league has that problem...

Don't try and get y after one win. You guys beat us yes, but if you think that we are in deep trouble you are dreaming. And like alot of other posters has said, West and Paul are pretty much undefendable. But over the years As you should know we have alot of experience in playing teams with more unstoppable players than West and Paul and have come out on top. So you may want to hush on that deep trouble crap until after you guys go up 3-0.

[ballhog]

Spurs might be better off letting one guy (Paul) do all the work and shut down the others. He's gonna get his eventually, let him try to win all by himself. I mean, they did shut down Paul for most of the game. Just a thought. I think it would be better to put Bowen on West and see how that goes. At least that would be adjustment. Try anything at this point.

[florige]

Spurs might be better off letting one guy (Paul) do all the work and shut down the others. He's gonna get his eventually, let him try to win all by himself. I mean, they did shut down Paul for most of the game. Just a thought. I think it would be better to put Bowen on West and see how that goes. At least that would be adjustment. Try anything at this point.

Bowen is waaaay to small to cover West. If anything I maybe try Udoka on West and switch Bowen off of Peja and Paul.

[td4mvp21]

Just let West get his and focus on the rest of the team. Shut down the perimeter.

[florige]

Like I said, I tell Bowen to shut down Peja, and at the very least slow down Paul. Putting Bowen on West is pretty much wasting a defender.

[SpursFan0728]

The Spurs are in deep trouble. I think their best chance is to have Duncan cover West. They don't have anyone else that can defend him. The Spurs have nobody that can defend CP3. Not Parker. Not Bowen. Not anybody. Of course every team in the league has that problem...

CP3 had one of the worse playoff performance this year in game 1 vs. spurs

also, nobody in hornets can cover Manu and Parker so there you go

[jackseven]

Hornets look like a better team to me and there's no shame in losing to a better team. However, the effort has got to be there and Tim for as great as he was in game 1 against phoenix was equally as bad last night. Can a true superstar do that?

Tony, Fin and Bruce(of 1st half) were the only ones that showed up. IMO Tony's turnovers happened late when the game was out of hand. Manu played with half a brain. Tim was as TIMVP described, a spoiled brat and left his team to dry.

NO is a horrible matchup for the Spurs and we will need a miracle for the spurs to pull this one out. Again, no shame in losing to the better team.

It hadn't hit me yet, but this might be true. Everyone keeps trying to stretch the defense because the Spurs can't matchup with this guy or another guy but the reality might be the Spurs just can't matchup with the Hornets. It probably depends on how hurt Manu is on whether the Spurs can win this series. Whether they do advance or they don't, I hope it's painfully obvious to Pop that the Spurs have to get more athletic this offseason.

[raspsa]

I thought the Spurs looked a half-step too slow against the younger hornets, often getting beaten to loose balls a and in general being out-hustled. TD better wake up or this series is over. Spurs can't spot NO big leads because CP3 is a smart player and does a good job of protecting a lead. The bright spot is that Bowen, Finley, manu are doing a good job offensively.. the ret of the Spurs have to contribute as well.

[td4mvp21]

The Spurs did get outhustled yesterday. The effort just wasn't all there. And you need effort against the Hornets.

[SenorSpur]

The Spurs did get outhustled yesterday. The effort just wasn't all there. And you need effort against the Hornets.

A fact that is absolutely UNACCEPTABLE for a defending NBA Championship team.

The Atlanta Hawks can get off with a performance of that sort and people will write it off to their youth. A veteran team, like the Spurs, has absolutely no excuse for poor effort.

[saxman]

I actually expected the Spurs to loose game 1. Now, I'm expecting the Spurs to win game 2. However, I'm more interested in how the Hornets play in game 2. If they win, I'm changing my prediction from Spurs in 7 to Hornets in 5.

[Slippy]

Pop's coaching and Spurs execution will be tested Monday night.

Do whatever it takes to avoid coming to SA 0-2.

ing Tim, was he drugged?

So ing weird to be so 51-years old and useless for 37 minutes.

1st half showed we could have had that game easily. ing Duncan.
25 - 12 vs Suns,
then 5 - 3 vs Hornets.

He had to be sick or drugged.

Even going into the 4th down by 5 , i thought our chances of pulling a win were good. As others have pointed out the Spurs have proven they can come-back. They have shown familiarity and play-off experience does make a difference. The problem was, no one would of expected a shocker of a game from Tim on both ends for 4 full quarters. Normally he turns it around by the 4th. The good news is that it's safe to assume there will be no repeat performance like that again.

Not time to panic just yet. The Hornets may be the most difficult team to match-up against but this Spurs team as a whole are just as difficult. They will move on, adjust and bring it the next game.

[wildchild]

-Fabricio Oberto was on the court for 20 minutes and had one point and six rebounds. Defensively, he got lit up by West. West was just toying with Oberto out there. Oberto does deserve some credit for outrebounding Duncan and Thomas combined but the Spurs need more out of him. Passable defense on West would be huge. A few trash buckets around the rim would be very much appreciated. After watching Game 1, it became obvious that Thomas or Oberto will have to step up for the Spurs to win this series. Oberto has the championship experience and the chemistry with his teammates, so it’s time for him to come up big and prove he shines brightest when the pressure is on.
Believe.

One last thing. I can't stand when Oberto is one foot away from the basket and tosses up a shot that doesn't hit the rim because he's so afraid of getting rejected. I wish he would just lay the ball up as if he were by himself. It's not like he doesn't get thrown on a regular basis so he doesn't really have the pride factor and if he shoots it like he's afraid of getting blocked it's usually equal to a turnover anyways.

As I said before Oberto needs a confidence shot and now Pop doesn't trust in this guy. As can be expected he wasn't playing well at all in this series 'cause when he came off the bench against Hornets he always sucked. As starter this regular season he averaged 10,3 points and 5,6rebounds in 3 games, only game that the guy not in starting line up he finished with 0 points 3 rebounds.He's worthless in other way and he won't adjust to play in a new role this series.

Spurs played terrible on the second half and Duncan played his worst game ever, thats the main reason we lost

Robert Horry played 12 minutes and he didn’t have any answers for West either. Offensively, he was a liability on the court. I’m not sure that this is the series to be trying to dust off Horry. He’s just not in a good rhythm and isn’t helping much on either side of the court. I don’t mind him in small doses but as a part of the regular rotation, I just don’t think Horry is ready yet. In his 12 minutes, Horry had no points and two rebounds

I'm not argue with the Pop reason, but I don't sure why he put Robert on West in the 3rd quarter 7'. I agree with timvp about Rob.


But I don't worried. Tim played an unusual game, if he plays a good game, we'll win. There's no doubt about it.

BELIEVE!

I agree.

[timvp]

Re-watching the game again, some things I noticed:

-Spurs actually did a good job against West -- for the most part. He just hit some tough azz shots. I'd start out with the same defensive scheme on him and see if he's still on fire.

-Transition defense was poor. That will be fixed. Pop will make sure of that.

-Spurs have to take and make threes. The Hornets are daring the Spurs to beat them from the outside. If it takes 40 three-point attempts, so be it. Other than Manu shooting contested step-back threes, every other look the Spurs got from deep were good looks.

-Duncan got good looks, even against double-teams. I'm not worried at all about him being able to bounce back.

-Chris Paul wasn't that good. He was good but not MVP good. Expect him to play much better.

-Rebounding and lack of hustle hurt the Spurs more than anything. That was a pitiful amount of heart for a playoff game. The Spurs deserved to lose the game. They have to come out with more fight and will to win.

[T Park]

Re-watching the game again, some things I noticed:

-Spurs actually did a good job against West -- for the most part. He just hit some tough azz shots. I'd start out with the same defensive scheme on him and see if he's still on fire.

-Transition defense was poor. That will be fixed. Pop will make sure of that.

-Spurs have to take and make threes. The Hornets are daring the Spurs to beat them from the outside. If it takes 40 three-point attempts, so be it. Other than Manu shooting contested step-back threes, every other look the Spurs got from deep were good looks.

-Duncan got good looks, even against double-teams. I'm not worried at all about him being able to bounce back.

-Chris Paul wasn't that good. He was good but not MVP good. Expect him to play much better.

-Rebounding and lack of hustle hurt the Spurs more than anything. That was a pitiful amount of heart for a playoff game. The Spurs deserved to lose the game. They have to come out with more fight and will to win.

I'm slightly encouraged by this.

Unfortunately I think West is damn good enough to hit tough ass shots.

The answer to slowing him or giving him trouble unfortunately, I think sits in Spain.