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Kobe was chasing him all over the place in the 4th...
First of all, awesome win!
Amazing last shot by Mason!
Exciting game all around!
What I'm wondering about are the fourth quarter ball possession decisions. Manu was having one of his very best games since coming back from the injury. He was going crazy and feeling his groove all game long.
My question is WHY didn't he get any type of ball possessions during his usual clutch time in the fourth quarter? Usually even if Manu is not having his best game, the ball tends to be in his hands. Yet, today, even though he was having an incredible game, the ball was not in his hands.
Was that part of Pop's strategy to sort of go more to Tim and Tony instead of Manu? If so, why would he choose such a strategy if you know that one of your best players is going off at the right time and is having an incredible game?
It seems like the game got extremely close during that stretch of time with tons of the Spurs players making errors left and right. And at that time, I would have liked for Manu to at least have more possessions of the ball. Even if he gets fouled, he's an excellent FT shooter.
I was just surprised to see Manu barely touching the ball in the last few crucial clutch time minutes that basically made the game so close. I know that Kobe was guarding him the whole time, but he was also guarding him before when he was going nuts on him, too.
Anyway, any thoughts as to why the ball was not in his hands? Just curious.
Kobe was chasing him all over the place in the 4th...
Yeah, and Kobe is an excellent defender especially when he's mad.
But the thing is that Kobe was all over Manu in the prior quarters when Manu was just getting hot and going nuts.
I think in the second quarter right at the very end in the last few minutes, it became a Manu vs Kobe game with both of the trading shots left and right.
And Manu had the possessions of the ball during that time even with Kobe chasing him all over the place.
Yet, in the fourth quarter with the same scenario, I'm not sure that Manu even touched the ball more than twice. It was a little bit strange.
Each time that I've seen Manu in such a zone, the ball was always in his hands in all the other prior games, regardless if three defenders were even on him. When he goes off like that, rarely anyone can stop him. Even if they send two or three defenders on him.
put a couple of screens and the ball is in manu's hands...
the thing is, manu was really tired at the end of the first half and TP+TD were in the game too.
lots of ball denial by kobe
-Mars
Oh you're right. I didn't even consider that he might be exhausted.
I think he said that during the interview after the first half.
So maybe it was tiredness.
Yeah, I mean of course, you'd want the ball in Timmy and Tony's hands. But I think the chances are better if you distribute between the three main players so that you can keep your opponents guessing.
Pop has opted to put the ball in Parker's hands in clutch situations this year more often than not. Parker has responded with some of the best clutch stats in the NBA. Plus tonight Manu looked a little winded in the fourth, which is expected after all the energy he used in the first three quarters.
As the season wears on, we'll probably see a shift in Pop's playcalling in clutch situations. The last few seasons it's been all Manu, all the time in those situations ... so yeah, it's a pretty big switch. If Parker cools off in the clutch, we could see it switch back to Manu. Even if Parker stays hot in the clutch, we'll probably eventually see more of a 50/50 split between Parker and Manu.
Either way, this time where Parker has the ball in the clutch is good for his overall growth as a player and should help give the Spurs more options in late game situations.
ginobili is having the training camp in reg. season games
I think Finley is the key for SAS, if he can contribute with points along with mason, the spurs just need defense...
Manu is not all the way back. Old Manu could heat up to a point where he couldn't miss. This version of Manu is missing a lot of daggers. Lets give him time, because for the first time in about 8 months he is healthy.
TP is playin' great, really great bball. tonite a couple of plays late in the game went wrong but i think he's more "mature"... pop should take advantage of fisher bc derek was tired and he's the best laker right now (besides kobe)...
The Lakers tightened their D on Manu and Tony in the 4th. That's why they both didn't do much after playing well through 3. Manu was 1-for-3 in the 4th with 2 turnovers and Tony was 1-for-2 in the 4th with a turnover. You gotta give some credit to Lakers D.
Fortunately for the Spurs, Tim and Mason came up big late.
Thanks so much for the long explanation. Pop does have a tendency to test out different combinations and options. And you are right that if they prepare more players for the clutch situations, that's good for the team over all to have more options. So then it was basically more of Pop's decision.
What are TP's clutch stats so far this season, by the way? I know that Mason had been doing good in the clutch with his last second shots. But I wasn't too sure about TP's stats in those regards.
In the last few minutes of the game, though, I also saw Timmy as being one of the main and crucial ball handlers, as well. It was honestly just a little odd for me to see Manu not getting the opportunity to touch the ball at all. You've basically said it, we've all been used to seeing him be the main ball handler in close situations that it's a little strange to see him not in that position lately. Especially since Manu had his best season as a Spur last year and basically handled all the clutch situations for the team.
But yes, it's an excellent opportunity for personal growth as a player for TP. Except, I think that TP is already an excellent player who has years of experience in playing in close and tense last second situations in the game. He didn't have the best game today, but I think he has had a ton of excellent clutch moments.
Kori I'm still having a hard time figuring how Tony was only credited with one turnover. I remember the pass out of bounds with one second and the two bad passes to Duncan.
As far as Manu, all I remember late were those brick shot 3s.
Yes.
And that would take away a possible foul being called because of the Kobe superstar status.
The shot clock violation (which was mostly Tony's fault, but also Laker D) is a team turnover. So I guess credit him for 2.
Like I said, Manu and Tony didn't do anything in the 4th but we should give the Lakers defense some credit. And it shouldn't matter anyway. I don't get why Spurs fans care so much about who puts the ball in the basket, as long as the Spurs get the W. If Udoka and Vaughn each went for 25 in a win, I'd be happy. But some fans would be whining (I'm not referencing the original poster in this thread) that Manu and Tony didn't get touches.
they need to put finley and mason on the same side of the court, the spurs try that play just once...
Either way, this time where Parker has the ball in the clutch is good for his overall growth as a player and should help give the Spurs more options in late game situations.
I agree with timvp
it also will give spurs another option in playoffs
tp will have more practice
From what I basically saw, it was Kobe basically guarding Manu one on one.
The Lakers D was indeed pretty good late in the game while the Spurs D suffered in the fourth. That's something that Pop will have to work on.
TP had one turnover? Do the couple of bad passes to Timmy count as turnovers or more of Tim's errors? I don't know all the specifics in terms of how turnovers are counted and such.
And that shot by Mason was amazing. I wonder what his clutch stats are at this point. He's an excellent addition to the team.
Tim's stats were also good in the game with his assists number and points as was Manu's stats, too.
Last edited by greens; 01-15-2009 at 12:51 AM.
Clutch Stats - Per 48 Minutes
Parker: 42.7 points on 56.9%
Duncan: 26.8 points on 46.8%
Ginobili: 24.0 points on 37.0%
Mason: 20.9 points on 50.0%
Finley: 7.0 points on 30.8%
Bowen: 2.8 points on 100%
Oh, I love the win. I honestly just thought it was kind of odd after seeing Manu usually be the closer to sort of not be even much involved in the last few minutes of the game whether in the passing of the ball or anything. I thought that perhaps Pop came up with a couple of new strategies or something like that.If Udoka and Vaughn each went for 25 in a win, I'd be happy. But some fans would be whining (I'm not referencing the original poster in this thread) that Manu and Tony didn't get touches.
Kind of like I was wondering why Bruce wasn't much in the game. Even Kobe called Bruce the best defender that he's been up against. Yet, we didn't see much playing time. Even after the whole "chair" thing early in the game!
Wow. Pretty good. Thanks for posting the data!
Manu threw it away 2 straight times in the 4th. Parker threw it away 3 times in the 4th. Finley missed 3 wide open jumpers in the 4th.
If not for Duncan + Mason in the 4th. We'd have lost BIG TIME
Manu, finley and Parker (not to mention, Pop) are all to blame for the 4th quarter meltdown
kori posted one turnover for tp
who is right?
Kobe was overplaying him, Manu didn't try hard enough to get open and Pop didn't draw anything speciall to get him the ball.
Officially he had 1 TO but he made two consecutives bad passes to Duncan's feet that must had been counted on Tim's line.
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