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Spurs need to hire Mike Shanahan to handle offensive playcalling while Pop fixes the defense.
After eking out a home victory earlier in the month against the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs tried to go out on the road and get another win against their conference rival. Mission unsuccessful. The Lakers quickly expanded a modest halftime lead and had Pop waving the white flag long before the 99-85 final score was decided.
The two backbreaking shots came early in the second half. The first was a wide open Kobe Bryant three-pointer that came courtesy of a botched defense rotation. On the Lakers’ next possession, the Spurs failed to rotate and Derek Fisher connected on an open shot from downtown. Those two treys expanded a six-point halftime lead to 12 and the Spurs were never able to get back into the contest.
As for the Lakers, there’s no denying that they are a very good team and the favorites in the Western Conference. Bryant is a great player and he has an exceptionally deep group of talented players around him. Add Phil Jackson, arguably the best coach in NBA history, and it’s going to take an unbelievable effort by any team in the West to eliminate Los Angeles in the playoffs this season.
The Spurs can’t take any positives from this game. The effort wasn’t there. The dedication to details wasn’t there. The teamwork wasn’t there. No player on the team had an above average game. To put it bluntly, the Spurs simply got embarrassed and went down without a fight.
Tim Duncan
27 minutes, 15 points, eight rebounds
6-for-12 from the field, 3-for-3 from the line
After one of his better games of the season, Tim Duncan didn’t come to play against the Lakers. Defensively, he gave almost no effort on the low block. He let the bigs for the Lakers setup wherever they wanted and he didn’t show much resistance in any aspect of his defensive play. On the offensive end, he was decent when he actually attacked the rim but those forays were too few and far between. For the Spurs to beat the Lakers, Duncan has to dominate – especially when the Lakers aren’t sending an abundance of help. That wasn’t anywhere near the case on Sunday afternoon.
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Manu Ginobili
25 minutes, nine points, eight rebounds, two steals, four turnovers
4-for-11 from the field, 1-for-6 on three-pointers
Outside of his rebounding, Manu Ginobili had a poor showing. Turnovers were again a problem. The cause for the miscues was usually Ginobili trying to do too much and not letting the game come to him. Eight of his 11 shots came from the perimeter and his lack of aggression kept him off the free throw line. Defensively, Ginobili didn’t play well at all. He looked stiff and a step slow on that end. Ginobili has at times recently looked relatively healthy and close to form, while at other times he looks like a shadow of his former self. Hopefully this is all part of his recovery process and he can find his groove soon.
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Tony Parker
29 minutes, 19 points, six assists, three rebounds, four turnovers
8-for-17 from the field, 3-for-4 at the line
Tony Parker was the closest thing the Spurs had to a player performing at his capabilities but he too was flawed. His four turnovers were too many and his aggressiveness wasn’t always where it needed to be, especially with so many of his teammates struggling. The good news is that he had a quality mix of shooting and passing, plus his defense was solid. On the whole, Parker was playing well enough for the Spurs to win but he had room to improve on his game.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
19 minutes, five points, two rebounds, three turnovers
1-for-7 from the field, 1-for-5 on three-pointers
Roger Mason, Jr. continues to struggle. Since the previous Lakers game, his defense has been shoddy and his shooting has been poor. Bryant’s backbreaking three-pointer at the beginning of the third quarter was his fault when he puzzlingly switched on a screen and left him wide open. On offense, Mason missed a host of open jumpers and compounded his struggles by attempting a number of bad passes. For the Spurs to be a serious contender this season, Mason has to be an asset and not part of the problem.
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Michael Finley
24 minutes, eight points, two rebounds, two assists
3-for-8 from the field, 2-for-2 on three-pointers
Relatively speaking, Michael Finley wasn’t horrible. He gave good effort on defense – both on the block and out on the perimeter. However, he was responsible for Fisher’s three-pointer in the early part of the third quarter when he rotated to the wrong man. Offensively, Finley hit both of his three-pointers but his shot selection on a number of his two-pointers was questionable.
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Matt Bonner
21 minutes, six points, two rebounds, two assists, one block
3-for-8 from the field, 0-for-4 on three-pointers
Matt Bonner’s inability to knock down open three-pointers was the beginning of the end. In the second quarter, he got a number of open looks and couldn’t knock down the threes. That allowed the Lakers to sag even more into the paint and Bonner appeared to lose all of his confidence. When he came out in the third, he was passive on both ends of the court. His defense during his 21 minutes was on and off, though he was poor on the boards throughout. With the Spurs playing a number of top level teams on the road in the upcoming days and weeks, Bonner is going to have to step up and play well against quality compe ion. If not, he could see his role on the team change significantly.
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Bruce Bowen
26 minutes, two points, three steals
1-for-3 from the field
Bruce Bowen played good defense against Bryant in the first half, holding him to 4-for-11 shooting from the field. In the second half, Bowen didn’t have an opportunity to guard Bryant as Pop instead opted for offensively powered lineups. On offense, Bowen was 0-for-2 from the floor when it mattered. It will be interesting to see if Bowen will get more minutes as the playoffs near or if he’ll be relegated to spot action.
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Fabricio Oberto
19 minutes, eight points, five rebounds, two steals
4-for-5 from the field
Fabricio Oberto appears as if he’s getting back into shape. He was moving well and did a good job running the floor. It was also good to see Oberto pull down three rebounds in his four minutes of play in the first quarter. For him to reclaim a spot in the rotation, he’s going to have to show he can rebound and defend like he has in past seasons. Although his scoring looks to be a positive on paper, most of it came late when the game had long since been decided.
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Kurt Thomas
18 minutes, two points, three rebounds, three assists, one block
1-for-3 from the field
One of the worst parts of the game from the Spurs’ point of view was the fact that Kurt Thomas looked overmatched on the defensive end against both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Thomas was helpless to stop L.A.’s large duo, especially when he was playing post defense in the paint. To survive against the Lakers, he’s going to have to be much more physical and do his work earlier in the possession. Pulling down more rebounds would also help matters. Offensively, Thomas was somewhat helpful, particularly when he looked to pass.
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George Hill
16 minutes, four points, two rebounds, two assists
0-for-4 from the field, 4-for-4 at the line
George Hill didn’t get much of a chance to show what he could do. Less than three minutes into his first stint, Pop put Hill back on the bench. The next time Hill got into the game, Pop was already pulling the white flag out of his pocket. Overall, his aggression level almost always tells the story. If Hill is attacking on offense and pressuring on defense, he’s a very effective backup point guard. When he’s not pressing the issue, he becomes a placeholder.
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Ime Udoka
10 minutes, five points, four rebounds, four steals
1-for-8 from the field, 1-for-4 on three-pointers, 2-for-2 at the line
Ime Udoka got all of his minutes in garbage time and was extremely active. He did a fine job of grabbing rebounds, swiping steals and missing shots. His 1-for-8 showing from the floor dropped his field goal percentage down to 37.6% - a drop of nearly 5% from last season.
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Austin Croshere
Five minutes, two points, two assists
1-for-2 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Playing the last five minutes of garbage time, Austin Croshere didn’t show much good or bad. With his ten-day contract almost over, expect the Spurs to give him another ten-dayer to get a few more looks at what he can do.
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Gregg Popovich
Pop had a number of questionable decisions against the Lakers. He could have mixed up the offensive playcalling to try to get more players going. The amount of scrambling on defense due to double-teams wasn’t helping. Benching Hill in the first half seemed to disrupt the offensive rhythm. Not playing Bowen in the third quarter was an iffy decision. Calling off the dogs so early in the fourth could also be questioned. Overall, it was an unsuccessful day at the office for Pop in which almost everything he tried to do didn’t work.
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Offense
To say the offense was anemic would be an understatement. For the game, the Spurs shot 37.5% from the floor, 5-for-23 on three-pointers and attempted only 16 free throws. They had 21 assists on 33 baskets while turning the ball over 14 times – which are all acceptable yet unspectacular numbers. If you take out Parker, Duncan and Oberto, the rest of the team shot 27.8% from the court. The Spurs simply can’t beat a team like the Lakers if they can’t hit shots, especially with how San Antonio’s team is constructed this season.
Defense
The defense was below average but it wasn’t nearly as bad as we’ve seen over the last month. The main problem was that the Spurs sent the Lakers to the line 32 times and committed a large amount of needless fouls. The Spurs also didn’t guard the three-point line very well, allowing the Lakers to hit 7-of-17 shots from beyond the arc. The Lakers shot 46.4% from the field, which is a mark that should keep the Spurs compe ive if the rest of their defensive play is up to par. The 20 assists and 18 turnovers for the Lakers were both good enough marks for the Spurs to win. But overall, the Spurs were too undisciplined and made too many defensive mistakes.
Drive to Five
The loss against the Lakers definitely stings, especially since the effort was lacking and the number of mental errors was high. The Spurs need to rebound quickly from the loss and shift their concentration to the Utah Jazz. The Jazz are once again a very good home team and the Spurs will need to be playing at a high level to escape Salt Lake City with a win on Tuesday night.
Believe.
Spurs need to hire Mike Shanahan to handle offensive playcalling while Pop fixes the defense.
This game ='d fail. That simple. If the Spurs bring an effort like this against the Thunder they should expect to get manhandled.
I turned the channel in the middle of the thrid quarter. The Spurs lack of effort and them giving up made me sick so I started to watch Dumb Dumber
This one couldn't have been fun to write. Thanks as always for the breakdown.
thanks for the recap timvp... didn;t watch the game (first one i miss the whole season) so i was really looking forward to reading this... thanks again
It's a frustrating loss but we do have to remember it's January... and Pop rarely pulls all of his tricks out of his hat in January. Still, you have to view the Lakers as the odds-on favorite if we meet them in the Playoffs.
I would be shocked - SHOCKED - if Bruce Bowen was not in the starting lineup against the Lakers in the Playoffs. Right now the MO is to keep from wearing him down in the regular season but he will be absolutely crucial against them in May.
Everyone already knows what he does to disrupt the easy flow of the Lakers offense by making it difficult on Kobe to score, but what often gets overlooked is that he comes through from long distance against the Lakers like no one else. I tallied his 3-point shooting against the Lakers since 2006, and he's hitting 55% of his 3's (27 of 49 including Playoffs). Unlike other players we've had on this team, he does not seem to be phased by the fact that Phil Jackson will dare him to shoot.
I still believe we can beat the Lakers in seven if everything goes right, but the key will be having players on the floor who can open up the floor for Duncan and Parker. We can't afford to waste possessions on shots by players who go mental after two misses in a row.
Against the Lakers I would start Parker, Mason, Bowen, Duncan and Oberto.
Very good post.
I agree with everything other than the last word. I just don't have enough trust in Oberto right now to hope he starts against the Lakers. He was overmatched last year against them in the playoffs and seems to have lost a step this season. His inability to rebound on the defensive glass would be suicidal. He'd have to really improve on that aspect for me to sign off on starting him against LA.
Then again, the other options aren't that great. KT has shown a little bit of potential but for some reason Gasol has his number and Bynum looks like he might just be too big. Bonner in theory would make sense because his three-point shooting would spread the floor ........ but as we all know, his propensity to shrivel up in big games makes it difficult to trust him.
Best case scenario is that Oberto regains his ability to rebound, KT keeps improving and Bonner proves he is capable of helping in pressure situations. Either that or the Spurs are gifted a big a la Gasol from someone like Presti or Ferry . . .
I'm seduced by Oberto's work on the offensive glass. I think it could be key to get some extra possessions against LA but you're right, if he can't grab the Lakers' misses then it's a net negative.
Thanks a lot for the thoughts.
I stopped watching at the end of the third, a spurs-lakers that wasn't (for once) late at night. Nuf said, that was disgusting.
The lack of effort on D and all the wiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide open misses. Next game quick please.
great thoughts timvp, agree with pretty much everything, as usual..
if I had to give grades on the game yesterday..
Duncan: C-..
Parker: C..
Ginobili: D-..
Finley: D..
Mason: D-..
Hill: D..
Thomas: D..
Bowen: B..
Bonner: D-..
Oberto: C-..
Udoka: D+..
Pop: C-..
The Spurs missed wide open shots that they normally hit.
When you live and die by the three point line, and your 3-guys are missing, it compacts the inside w/ defenders and makes going inside pretty hard. If the 3-guys aren't hitting, the spurs are virtually dead. That 5/23 statistic tells the whole story. from there, you can pretty much be sure that timmy and manu, and tp probably had a tough night getting easy shots in the paint.
I think the Bowen experiment needs to end. Have Finley and Ginobili come of the bench. Bowen just isn't a come of the bench player. If San Antonio's defense is their priority, which pop has said it is, then how does Bowen not being in the starting line-up reflect that? If pop is serious about having the team play better d, then GET IN BOWEN IN THERE. He's showed the last couple fo times vs. La, that he still has got what t takes to play better than average defense against the best in the league. He isn't as good as he was a couple years ago on d, but he's still great.
I completely agree that Pop probably won't show his hand, especially to the Lakers, in a regular season game. Bowen, I would hope, is someone who will see a lot of action against LA once the games start to count.
I don't know what Pop might have in his bag of tricks, however, that can offset our severe disadvantage in the post. Bynum and Gasol are too fast and athletic for all three of our centers. We had Big Shot Rob for big game situations, and now we have Bad Shot Bonner. Considering the Spurs lack of ability to defend, score or rebound out of the center position, it would almost make sense to go small against LA and at least hope we can trade baskets out of the 5 spot.
Maybe we can pick up Shaq on the cheap this offseason after Phoenix misses the playoffs.
The frustrating part is the fact that they gave up too early. Popovich needs to not wave the flag so early if things aren't going right. 13 pt lead going into the 4th quarter was not unsurmountable. Manu was right, the quitting early is the worse part about this team. The last thing we need is for the lakers to have a happy go lucky afternoon. Spurs need to make them understand that we are no push over even in defeat. They way they just give up sometimes is enough to make you want to kick the dog!
Pop throwing in the towel as early as he did was the one thing that made me think that there may be some real credence to Spurm's theory about Pop not showing his hand.The frustrating part is the fact that they gave up too early. Popovich needs to not wave the flag so early if things aren't going right. 13 pt lead going into the 4th quarter was not unsurmountable. Manu was right, the quitting early is the worse part about this team. The last thing we need is for the lakers to have a happy go lucky afternoon. Spurs need to make them understand that we are no push over even in defeat. They way they just give up sometimes is enough to make you want to kick the dog!
You're right, 13 points is nothing in the NBA.
Pop may have been concerned about the mental outlook of his own team had he kept the starters in and fought back only to lose... or worse yet, had LA stretch their lead with the starters in the game.
Pop's CIA tactics may have been for his own team's benefit more than planning his next move against LA.
I'm going to assume Pop is at all costs keeping Bowen bottled up for the playoffs, but him playing well and not getting minutes is disturbing. With Finley and Mason playing at the level they did, putting in Bowen would'nt have mess with the o and greatly enhanced the d. I hope in the playoffs, Bowen is in when Kobe is in, except for maybe 5 minutes or so. I want him to hound Bryant like he did Peja last year in the 2nd round(I know it won't have the same effect, of course).
I don't even understand the thought that Bowen messes up our offense..he makes corner 3's at a VERY HIGH rate, and he has shown this season, that he can mix up his offense a little..
Finley had a stretch where he was mixing his offense, but that didn't last long..Finley is a great wide open shooter, but he makes nothing off the dribble..Bowen only has Finley's 3-point range from 2 spots on the floor, but that shouldn't matter..
Finley provides nothing that Bowen can't do for us IMO..
people seem to forget that Bowen is a great 3-point shooter from the corners..Parker, Ginobili and Duncan can all draw the double team, so it's not like teams will usually have the choice of not letting Bruce get in the corners..
it doesn't make any sense..
I've reached the point where I hope Finley will picks up fouls so he can sit out..
I hope spurs find a Good big for the Help . But one thing is for sure the spurs afterburners are on come play-off time and its a whole new spurs . If the spurs just hit there shots against the lakers they would of either won or it would of been a 1 point game .
Not a bad read. For the most part I thought we played pretty good. Considering the amount of talent the Lakers have. Still not sure why Pop or whomever made the choice to quit before the 4th quarter was made. At least now Im satisfied by the whole game in general. I wanted to see how we faired against the Lakers with Farmar and Luke back in the lineup. Farmar has been a great find for the Lakers. Hope Hill will become a player like Farmar. He brings a different game then Fisher off the bench. Now we know what we need to do. No more guessing games..........
This game just made me a stonger believer that we need another BIG - a defensive-minded 7-foot center. Like others said, the Bonner experiment failed. Duncan alone just can't matchup against Gasol/Bynum duo.
Unfortunately, our FO is cheap so I don't expect any significant trade. So, it'll be another WCF exit against the Lakers (4-2)
Scouts must have forgotten to tell Pop's that the Lakers easily loses leads at the 4th.
Either Pop sucks or he is deliberately sandbagging until the playoffs.
That's what I think...
don't the spurs have a tough stretch of games coming up? If so, that's prob. why pop "gave up" in the last quarter.
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