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Hey Spurs fans...
Are ya ready for this?!
And the win streak continues. Playing on the second night of a back-to-back, the San Antonio Spurs got a big shot from Roger Mason, Jr. to defeat the Los Angeles Clippers by a final score of 86-83. The win was their third consecutive and gave the Spurs a 5-5 record on the season.
Leading by 11 points with 6:43 to go in the ballgame, the offense for San Antonio suddenly stalled. Over the course of the next six minutes and a half minutes, the Spurs only scored two points – which allowed the Clippers to come back and tie the game. With the game knotted at 83, Mason used a Tim Duncan pick to get open and drain a game-winning three-pointer.
Although Los Angeles made it a game at the end, their team is … well, not even a team. The chemistry is horrible and on both sides of the court. Baron Davis and Marcus Camby, specifically, were both guilty of playing with no real team concept. The only Clipper who played well was Chris Kaman, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks.
For the Spurs, this was another noteworthy win. Usually beating the worst team in the league doesn’t mean much but with the team in survival mode, every game counts. What makes this win even sweeter is the fact that San Antonio once again won it by playing Spurs Basketball – rugged defense and offensive execution at the end of game.
Tim Duncan
40 minutes, 20 points, 15 rebounds, six blocks, four assists
9-for-14 from the field, 2-for-2 at the line
Tim Duncan had arguably his best all-around effort on Monday night against the Clippers. Defensively he was as active as we’ve seen him this season, which led directly to his six blocked shots. He also rebounded the ball very well, which had been a problem for him recently. On the offensive end, he had to deal with both Kaman and Camby but he found ways to be effective. Although he wasn’t able to get as many shot attempts as normal, he continually drew double teams and spotted the open player. Overall, it was a very good performance in which he dominated almost every facet of the game.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
35 minutes, 21 points, three rebounds
9-for-16 from the field, 3-for-5 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. has struggled shooting the recently but that slump ended in a big way. Even before the game-winner, Mason was playing very well offensively. He hit a number of difficult shots and looked extremely comfortable in the offensive sets. While he had a few issues defensively, most of his problems at that end are correctable once he completely learns the system. One interesting aspect regarding Mason is that he’s shooting much better on the road than at home (51% vs. 38%), which may be a sign that he’s pressing in front of the home crowd.
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Michael Finley
31 minutes, 19 points, two assists, two steals
7-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
The Michael Finley Redemption Tour continues. For the fifth straight game, Finley played very well. In that stretch he is averaging 15.6 points on 52.5% shooting from the field and 60% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Just as important, Finely is playing much better on the defensive end. Against the Clippers, he continued the trend by scoring 19 points and playing very impressive defense against Al Thornton, a player who repeatedly hurt the Spurs last season. If Finley can continue playing well on both ends of the court, it’ll be difficult for Pop to remove him from the starting small forward spot.
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George Hill
21 minutes, two points, eight assists, five rebounds
0-for-5 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
Although George Hill struggled with his own shot, he did show improvements in other areas of his game. His passing was very crisp, as he hit players with passes in the right spots and at the right time. His overall court vision seemed improved and Hill also did a solid job on the boards. Davis bullied him defensively and kept Hill from getting many open looks, but Hill also hurt himself by not being as aggressive as he’s been in recent games. On the whole, it was another learning experience for the rookie point guard.
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Fabricio Oberto
14 minutes
0-for-1 from the field
Fabricio Oberto had one of the most invisible games of his career. In 14 minutes, he failed to score a point or grab a rebound. His rebounding is the aspect to be worried about. Compared to last season, he’s grabbing 36.5% less rebounds. As good as Oberto is as doing the small things such as setting picks and making the right pass, he’s a liability on the court if he can’t grab rebounds. Let’s hope his problems are due to a lack of effort rather than age slowing him down.
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Bruce Bowen
25 minutes, six points, three assists
3-for-6 from the field, 0-for-2 on three-pointers
Bruce Bowen once again played quite well off the bench. His defense was solid and his offense was actually pretty impressive. He’s running the floor hard and is giving the Spurs a nice bit of energy off the bench. For his efforts, Bowen led the team in +/- at +12. With the Bowen off the bench experiment going so well, Pop has plenty of options going forward in terms of how to handle the rotation once everyone is healthy.
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Jacque Vaughn
23 minutes, four points, five assists, two steals
2-for-9 from the field
While Jacque Vaughn didn’t play as well as he did against the Sacramento Kings, he was still a vital part of the win. His offensive aggressiveness was extremely helpful, especially when the offense began to stagnate. Vaughn’s passing was impressive, as was his physicality on defense. He didn’t have a good shooting game and he had some problems handling the ball, but all in all Vaughn did his job.
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Matt Bonner
17 minutes, seven points, four rebounds
3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
After two very good games, Matt Bonner took a half step back against the Clippers. The good news is that he played well enough to continue getting minutes in the next few games. Most of his negative issues came on the offensive end when he failed to make the right pass. Bonner’s defense was solid and he did a good enough job on the boards. The fact that Pop felt comfortable enough to end the game with Bonner on the court for the third straight contest indicates that Pop’s confidence level in him is high – which hasn’t been the case too often in the last two plus seasons.
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Kurt Thomas
15 minutes, two points, two rebounds
1-for-3 from the field
Kurt Thomas was somewhat useful but not as useful as one would expect going against the massive frontline of Kaman and Camby. His post defense was sturdy but he had a hard time crashing the boards and his jumper wasn’t able to help spread the court. Like Oberto, it’d be nice to see some signs of life out of him in the next few weeks so the Spurs know whether or not they have enough capable bigmen on the roster.
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Ime Udoka
15 minutes, two points, three rebounds
1-for-3 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Following a DNP-CD against the Kings, Udoka was back in action. Although he didn’t play remarkably well, he played better than he did in any of the three games he started. He rebounded, played defense and wasn’t overanxious offensively. Ideally, Udoka would play well enough to start at small forward. But after his disastrous three-game stretch in that position, he’ll have to regain Pop’s trust.
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Blake Ahearn
four minutes, three points
1-for-2 from the field, 1-for-2 on three-pointers
The newly signed Blake Ahearn got his first action as a Spur. Even though Ahearn didn’t play too well – he had problems handling the ball and his defense was undetectable – it was expected. Since signing with San Antonio, Ahearn didn’t get a chance to even practice with the team before playing in his first game. Despite his struggles, he showed a good outside stroke and didn’t look intimidated by the situation.
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Gregg Popovich
When Tony Parker got injured, I said it was time for Pop to show why he’s a Hall of Fame coach. Four wins in five games later, Pop has done just that. On Monday, he helped coax another win out of a shorthanded roster that was also visibly tired. I like how he’s handling Hill, insofar as he’s balancing winning games with giving Hill experience. Pop continuing to go with Bonner seems like the right move and he also did a good job of finding some minutes for Ahearn to get his feet wet. The one glaring negative was playing Duncan 40 minutes on the second game of a back-to-back. I’m not sure that a November win is worth fatiguing the foundation.
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Offense
The offense was unspectacular yet decent enough. Their main problems came in that six and half minute stretch in the fourth quarter, where the team had five missed field goals and five turnovers. However, most of those issues were probably due to fatigue since the Spurs got uncharacteristically sloppy and had a perceptible lack of energy. Shooting-wise, the Spurs did well, shooting 44.4% from the field and hitting 8-of-20 three-pointers. Where the team really missed Manu Ginobili and Parker was when it came to getting to the line. Their six free throw attempts were a season-low, however they’ve had problems getting to the line even during this latest winning stretch.
Defense
The Spurs had another very fine defensive performance. If it wasn’t for Cuttino Mobley getting hot in the second half, the defensive statistics would have looked even better. As it played out, the Clippers shot only 41.4% from the field and only 3-of-16 from downtown Los Angeles. The eight blocked shots by the Spurs were also good to see. Rebounding, though, remains a problem. The Clippers had a 47-36 advantage on the glass, mostly due to the 14 offensive boards they were able to corral. For the Spurs to eventually return to elite status, they will have to start grabbing more defensive rebounds. The return of Ginobili and Parker won’t mean anything if they keep getting dominated on the boards.
Drive to Survive
Although the Spurs did a great job over the last five games, the schedule toughens up in their next two contests. The Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night will be an extremely difficult matchup, which will then be followed by the equally talented Utah Jazz on Friday. Thankfully, both games are at home so the Spurs should have a fighting chance. Great defense, improved rebounding and aggressive offense is the formula for the Spurs to use to have success and try to secure a another big win.
Believe.
Hey Spurs fans...
Are ya ready for this?!
Duncan's J was awesome!
I was kinda hoping for Pop to bring hill back in late in the game. JV was getting on my nerves a bit when the spurs went cold in the fourth. Maybe its just me but I was surprised that Hill didnt finish the game.
I'm very worried about our bigs.
I hope we can see Mahinmi playing soon
I'll take that stat line from Bonner any day ! 17min 7pts 4reb 3/7 FG.Matt Bonner
17 minutes, seven points, four rebounds
3-for-7 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
George Hill was in panic mode in the 4th quarter. He made 2-3 mistakes in a row vs Baron Davis. He is still learning. It takes time.
Really? I was surprised that Pop stuck with Hill as long as he did in the fourth. He was doing okay and then it was like BD flipped a switch on defense and completely forced Hill out of his comfort zone. Giving him the hook when he did was the right move. Vaughn's never the guy that will lose a game for you, but Hill could have been last night.
great read !!
A of a game by Tim Duncan. His 15 rebounds are very very welcome.
Very true. Davis upped his defensive intensity and Hill had difficulty getting the team into its offense. To be accurate, Vaughn didn't do much better, but I doubt Hill would have ended the drought.
I typed too slow
But yeah, Baron's defense at that point was very impressive. With the refs letting the teams play, he started just bullying Hill.
Michael Finley
31 minutes, 19 points, two assists, two steals
7-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
The Michael Finley Redemption Tour continues. For the fifth straight game, Finley played very well. In that stretch he is averaging 15.6 points on 52.5% shooting from the field and 60% shooting from beyond the three-point arc. Just as important, Finely is playing much better on the defensive end. Against the Clippers, he continued the trend by scoring 19 points and playing very impressive defense against Al Thornton, a player who repeatedly hurt the Spurs last season. If Finley can continue playing well on both ends of the court, it’ll be difficult for Pop to remove him from the starting small forward spot.
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Believe.
I really didn't see the Finley thing coming, but I sure hope he keeps it up.
But at least he gets the exposure to that type of pressure...but you all are right Pop has a bigger plan so maybe it was the right choice...it was just painful to watch down the stretch
Yeah, I'm not sure what switch flipped after he was horrible in the Heat game. Although, this very well could just be Finley streaking in one direction before he begins a streak in the other direction.
The most promising aspect to me is he's finally playing defense. Last season and early this season his defense consisted of backing off his man about five feet and hoping they miss the jumper.
I wonder if it just took him a while to adjust to playig at the lighter weight? I really want to believe that it is the weight loss that has helped him defensively, because if it's not that means that he had the ability to play D last year, but chose not to. That's the kind of bush league somebody like Shaq pulls, not Finley.
Yeah, my hope is he's now able to play defense due to his added agility. That'd make him much more valuable than he has been in recent years.
The only bad part about his defense right now is he seems to wear down as the games go along. Hopefully he's not using up all his juice now causing his legs to be gone like they were in the playoffs last year.
maybe he needs the ice bath - hot tub - ice bath treatment Henry Abbott blogged about on truehoop awile back...
seriously, Finley is still an enigma to me in a lot of ways. Normally, I'd respond to your concern by saying once Manu and Tony are back, Pop will be able to reduce Finley's minutes to conserve his legs. But with Finley there's no guarantee that production wouldn't just fall off a cliff if there's a big change in his role. I know he's not being a pouty little when it comes to that, he just seems to legitimately struggle with changes from the starter / volume shooter role that is wired into his brain. The fact that he probably knew this, and wanted to come to the Spurs anyway really says a lot about him, regardless of what some of the on-court results have been.
All that said, maybe you just have to ride the streak as long as it lasts and try to shave minutes here and there without breaking his rhythm.
I was thinking about the same.
I was impressed in the Knocks game after Pop did get I think days to reload the squad where TP and Manu were out.
It was good to see them play spurs ball, and Tim took an absolute control of what is going on on the court.
When Manu is in the game and TP they are doing the "in charge" job. Now Tim on evry possession is the guy who plays quarterback position.
Nice, but this season is so diferent then the nomal spurs season.
A nuggets in an hour
It that way, the Spurs look a lot like the 2001 Spurs right now.
Except instead of having DRob next to him, he has BFat.
(bonner, fabricio, anthony and thomas)
BFat needs more than 6 rebounds if we hope to win tonight.
First off, thanks again for the game thoughts, they are always a pleasure to read
I definitely see the point you're making with this statement, but after thinking about, do you think Pop knows he needs to keep his team's morale high, so maybe he's sacrificing a bit more (i.e. Duncan's increased minutes) in order to keep the wins coming? I know this team is structured on not getting too high or too low during the regular season, but with so many new faces involved that perhaps Pop is trying to keep up the momentum of the winning streak so his team can keep their heads up?
I though also about 2001 but I do not agree.
This season is diferent because Pop had to do a fast transition to younger guys and let them play.
He did great job and it can profit the spurs later in the season when the young guys will have to decide the game. They will be like we've been there before
As fo fomcourt - I'm still waiting fo Mainhimi and what can he bring to the table. He could be a nice addition for a teams there are playing faster and smaller.
Yeah, it's an extremely tough situation. If Duncan plays 32-34 minutes, the Spurs probably lose. Usually I wouldn't care too much about the extra minutes but the Spurs got burned last year when Manu had to play his extra minutes. To stay afloat last year, Pop sometimes had to play Manu 40+ minutes and I think that was part of the reason why Manu was burnt out by late-March, early-April.First off, thanks again for the game thoughts, they are always a pleasure to read
I definitely see the point you're making with this statement, but after thinking about, do you think Pop knows he needs to keep his team's morale high, so maybe he's sacrificing a bit more (i.e. Duncan's increased minutes) in order to keep the wins coming? I know this team is structured on not getting too high or too low during the regular season, but with so many new faces involved that perhaps Pop is trying to keep up the momentum of the winning streak so his team can keep their heads up?
The good news is that Duncan is good at fighting through fatigue. But I still worry about him getting worn down or getting a fatigue type injury.
I think the correct way to handle this current situation will only be known with 20/20 hindsight. The wins right now won't be so sweet down the line if Duncan gets tired. But if Duncan keeps it rolling and these wins are needed, it will look like the right move.
whatever happened to AToll?
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