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Playing their second game without the services of both Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, the San Antonio Spurs faced another tough test against a Western Conference playoffs hopeful. Once again, the Spurs passed with flying colors as they ran away from the Portland Trail Blazers by a final score of 99-84.
Although the Spurs had control of the contest for most of the night, the Blazers made a run in the fourth quarter to cut the deficit to four points with five minutes remaining. At that point, Tony Parker put an exclamation point on his fantastic evening. In the next four minutes, Parker scored ten points and ran the offense beautifully as he nailed the coffin shut.
The Blazers are undeniably talented but they didn’t show much on Wednesday night. Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge were both held in check. Though San Antonio’s defense played a part in their demise, a young team fighting for a postseason spot usually comes with more energy than what was on display in the AT&T Center.
As for the Spurs, this win combined with the victory over the Mavericks shows how far the team has come. Down two of their Big Three, the Spurs have responded by stepping up their defense and simply playing tougher and smarter than their opponents. These last two games are Spurs Basketball at its finest.
Tony Parker
35 minutes, 39 points, nine assists, five rebounds
17-for-27 from the field, 1-for-1 on three-pointers, 4-for-5 at the line
It’s difficult to put into words how well Tony Parker played. While he was great against the Mavs and undoubtedly the biggest reason why the Spurs won that game, he was much, much better against the Blazers. From the opening tip to the final buzzer, Parker dominated the action. His decisions on the offense end couldn’t have been scripted any better. He knew exactly when to look for his own shot, when to run the offense and when to give the ball to each teammate. Not only did he produce more offense than the entire Blazers team when he was on the court, he could have finished with another five or six assists if more open shots were made. Overshadowed in Parker’s offensive performance was his inspired defensive play. He held Steve Blake scoreless on nine shots and was also active on the boards and in the passing lanes. Overall, it’d be difficult for any point guard in the league to play a better ballgame than Parker did against Portland. If there were any doubts on whether or not he’s an All-Star talent, the last two outings have provided more than enough answers.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
27 minutes, six points, two rebounds
2-for-9 from the field, 1-for-5 on three-pointers
Though the stats for Roger Mason, Jr. don’t look very impressive, he played an important role in the victory. His defense against Roy was very good. No matter if he was forced to go around screens or pick up Roy in transition, Mason was almost always on time and ready to defend with intensity. Since the All-Star break, Mason is playing his best defense of the season and seems to have gotten comfortable with the system and the expectations of him within the system. On offense, Mason had a tough shooting game and mixed in a few ill-advised attempts. That said, he was a calming influence when playing next to George Hill and helped the Spurs run their offense with Parker out of the game.
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Michael Finley
37 minutes, 13 points, six rebounds
6-for-11 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
Like he did against the Mavs, Michael Finley connected on shots at the most opportune times. Whenever the Spurs needed a shooter to come through with a momentum-changing shot, it was usually Finley who answered the bell. On defense, Finley was impressive. After a brief bout with stiffness in the middle of the season, it appears as if Finley’s athleticism has returned and he’s moving much better. As a result, like it was earlier in the season, his defense is acceptable once again.
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Matt Bonner
30 minutes,15 points, nine rebounds, two steals
6-for-9 from the field, 3-for-5 on three-pointers
Matt Bonner is looking more and more like a legitimate NBA starter. Against the Blazers, I was pleased with the level of tenacity he illustrated on the defensive end. At times he’d make a mistake or find himself out of position but instead of giving in, Bonner fought through it and ultimately turned in a very good defensive performance. He pestered Aldridge and also pulled down nine rebounds – many of which were highly contested. On offense, Bonner played under control and knocked down a number of key buckets.
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Kurt Thomas
32 minutes, eight points, ten rebounds
4-for-6 from the field
Though Parker has obviously been the key player in the last two games, Kurt Thomas has a great case to be second on that list. Filling in for Duncan, Thomas has actually done a very good Duncan-like impression. Defensively, he’s been outstanding in nearly every possible aspect. He’s closing off the lane, intimidating shots in the paint and his quick hands have been extremely disruptive. On offense, Thomas is setting bone-jarring screens, which not only is giving the guards open alleys to the rim, it’s giving him space to look for his mid-range jumper on pitch backs. Right now, Thomas is playing very good basketball and he’s making the Spurs frontcourt depth appear to be a strength rather than a weakness.
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Fabricio Oberto
26 minutes, two points, four rebounds, three assists
1-for-2 from the field
If there is one player who has taken a Robert Horry-esque pace to the 2008-09 season, it has to be Fabricio Oberto. Not long ago, Oberto appeared to be a washed up big whose time in the sun was nearing an end. Now, Oberto looks like he’s completely defrosted and playing exactly how he’s expected to play. His defense is physical and his intensity on that end has returned. Offensively, Oberto’s passing is a huge asset. With Duncan out, Oberto’s ability to pass from the low block area is a much needed ingredient.
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Bruce Bowen
24 minutes, six points, two rebounds
2-for-3 from the field, 2-for-3 on three-pointers
Along with Mason, Bruce Bowen helped shut down Roy. Although Bowen isn’t as unbelievably quick as he was a few years ago, he’s making up for most of it by mastering veteran maneuvers. Off the ball, he’s being more physical and even more annoying. Like most players on the team, Bowen’s attention to detail on defense has elevated since the All-Star break. Versus Portland, Bowen nailed a pair of first quarter three-pointers that helped the Spurs get off on the right foot.
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George Hill
16 minutes, four points, two assists
2-for-6 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
The most unenviable position on the team right now may be entering the game as Parker exists. With Parker playing on a “super stud” level, as Pop described it, George Hill’s play is underwhelming by comparison. But in reality, Hill is producing at a better than expected level. Though his defense has been inconsistent, he played well on that end against the Blazers. On offense, he did a decent job of keeping the pace and running the sets. An interesting strategy by Pop has been to play Hill next to Parker since Ginobili got hurt. By doing so, Pop is able to recreate some of the havoc-inducing play typically caused by the grouping of Parker and Ginobili.
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Ime Udoka
13 minutes, six points, two rebounds, two assists
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
Since playing well against the Wizards, Ime Udoka has found himself back in the rotation. However, he’ll have to perform better to stay in his current spot. The Blazers game once again demonstrated a pattern we’ve seen often from Udoka this season. In his first few minutes, Udoka struggled and seemed totally out of rhythm. Near the end of his 13 minutes of action, he found his groove and started to give the team a lift. There’s enough of the season remaining for Udoka to squeeze out a relatively significant role, though he’ll need to play much more consistently to do so.
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Pops Mensah-Bonsu
34 seconds, one rebound
After leading the D-League in both scoring and rebounding while with the Austin Toros, the Spurs have given Pops Mensah-Bonsu a ten-day contract. Though a little bit undersized and not overly skilled, Mensah-Bonsu is a breathtaking athlete with a good motor and a good amount of toughness. It’s a long shot that he’ll play noteworthy minutes while in San Antonio this season, however the Spurs could definitely use a bigman with his skillset to help against the fleeter teams in the NBA. If Pops can earn props from Pop, he may be able to stop, drop, shut them down and open up shop next to Duncan in the low block.
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Gregg Popovich
If Parker is proving why he was an All-Star, Pop is proving why he’s a future Hall of Fame coach. Without arguably his best two players, Pop has guided the team to two fairly easy victories over two quality teams. The main reason, outside of Parker’s play, is the fact that Pop has the team playing great defense once again. He’s rewarding those players who bring energy and effort on that end of the floor. Combine that level of defense with an unselfish offensive attack and you wouldn’t even know the Spurs are shorthanded at the moment.
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Offense
The Spurs executed their offense with precision. Scoring 25 or more points in three of the four periods, the Spurs ended up shooting 53.8% from the floor and 9-for-21 from beyond the three-point stripe. Although they only got to the line eight times, San Antonio made up for it by ac ulating 20 assists while only turning the ball over seven times.
Defense
A few weeks back, the defense looked atrocious. In the last four games, the defensive play has taken a sharp detour for the better. Opponents in the last four contests are averaging 77.5 points per game and shooting a 36.4% from the field. The Blazers finished at 37.6% from the field and connected on only 5-of-17 three-pointers. The Spurs also did fine work of allowing Portland to shoot just 17 free throws and hand out a measly 12 assists. Although the Blazers won the battle of the boards 43-41, it seemed like the Spurs grabbed all of the important caroms off the glass.
Drive to Five
The Spurs definitely deserve to feel confident and content with what they have accomplished in the last two games. That said, this is no time to drop their guard. With the Cleveland Cavaliers invading the AT&T Center on Friday night, the Spurs have their work cut out for them if they hope to extend the winning streak to five games.
Believe.
no grades
Thnaks for your thoughts! Nice to have them back!
The Cavs game tonight is going to be a very tough one to play, with or without Duncan. I'd be very impressed if the Spurs came out with a win tonight.
That being said, Spurs are playing some great basketball as of late. Although I am somewhat amazed at the amount of minutes Finley is playing...37 minutes seems like a lot, even though I know it's mostly because Ginobili is gone. One thing I was looking forward to this season is less Finley in the regular season so he can be a little more well rested in the playoffs. Last season it seemed he definitely ran out of steam in the postseason. This season because of Ginobili's injuries, he's still playing some big regular season minutes.
Thanks.
Without grades the conversation has a chance to stay on track.
Impressive, most impressive. But you are not a Jedi yet.
Yeah I think when they resigned him I don't believe they anticipated his minutes being this high. I think me and along with everyone else was hoping he would play the Brent Barry role, but due to injuries and other factors he's been asked to resume the starting role.
IMO hes played the best basketball he's ever played as a Spur one only needs to look twords the defensive end for the evidence. His defense the other night against the Mavericks and Blazers was, for Finley, superb.
Nice DMX reference Timvp, lol.
If Parker is proving why he was an All-Star, Pop is proving why he’s a future Hall of Fame coach. Without arguably his best two players, Pop has guided the team to two fairly easy victories over two quality teams. The main reason, outside of Parker’s play, is the fact that Pop has the team playing great defense once again. He’s rewarding those players who bring energy and effort on that end of the floor. Combine that level of defense with an unselfish offensive attack and you wouldn’t even know the Spurs are shorthanded at the moment
Suck it Fabbs.
It's tough to say how much mass minutes have a negative effect on Finley. Playing so many years for Nellie, Finley playing anywhere south of 30 mpg is like a vacation for him.
But yes, I agree that he was totally out of gas last season in the playoffs. Hopefully his offseason workout will help him to continue playing at an acceptable level into the month of June.
I was right about DPG . . .
Good job LJ.
Without bothering with quotes, a few comments on your thoughts:
-I'm so happy for Matt Bonner. Before the year I said a lot of things like "Bonner is a legitimate NBA player" and that he could be a "solid contributor" if given the proper minutes. However, I'd probably be stretching the truth a bit if I said I expected him to be a legitimate starting big man on a championship-contending team. I just hope he can keep it up in the playoffs.
-I've been lobbying for some time to get Hill some more 2-guard minutes. While that's still not up to the level I'd like, it's great to see that it's on the menu. As well as he's done in picking up the PG position, I think he'll always be a combo guard.
-It's also great to see Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto coming into form. As you said, if these guys can keep it up, our frontcourt depth is just fine.
-While trying to temper my hopes that Pops Mensah-Bonsu can somehow contribute this year, I'm already looking forward to a potential training camp battle next summer: Mahinmi vs Mensah-Bonsu vs Gist.
-I'm surprised you forgot why you got rid of the grading system. I was solely a lurker back then, and I distinctly remember how people spent more time arguing about A- vs B+ than they did talking about your insightful thoughts.
Dude... I'd pay whatever to see that battle!I'm already looking forward to a potential training camp battle next summer: Mahinmi vs Mensah-Bonsu vs Gist.
Tony Parker was ing unbelievable in that game. It really pissed me off that we didn't design an effective strategy to shut him down. I think the Spurs are going to get brutalized by the Cavs though.
It's not bad or good with the grades.
It does not matter much cause the content of the post is the same
'Appreciate the time spent on the Game Thoughts. Tony Parker indeed showed that he is capable of increasing his level of play at both ends when he really needs to. He truly still has a high ceiling, one we probably haven't seen yet. Besides TP's scoring, his assist/TO ratio during this 4-game stretch has been 4.5 (season average 2.7). With Tim removed the last 2 games, his ratio has been 7.0 (21 assist/3 Turnovers) to go with his 38 points avg..
Kurt Thomas was like one of the pyramids with feet out their setting screens and in his post defense. It's the best he's looked since his NY Knicks days.
Bonner's 45 degree turn and fire from the baseline on the inbounds pass was a real eye-opener
The team defense was just so much better and much more physical than we have seen this season. Everyone was just all up into their man. Like the night before on Nowitzki, they blitzed Aldridge and Roy and basically frustrated their 2 scoring threats all night. The rebounding was also a team affair, despite the maniacal effort by Przybilla.
The team obviously has done some homework, paid attention to detail and applied sweat and intensity to these wins, of late. They are not soft any more.
Great call. I remember you being one of the few who insisted during the summer that Bonner's best was yet to come. I honestly thought that he'd never gain Pop's trust. Thankfully Bonner has played well and Pop has gone the extra mile to give Bonner every opportunity to succeed in the last few months.
I like that alignment, especially with Ginobili out. If Pop doesn't at least break it out for a few minutes, the other team can relax their transition defense.
Yeah, suddenly Thomas, Bonner and Oberto doesn't seem like such a bad group of bigmen. Although we gotta hope they continue this level of play. If Thomas and Oberto regress to how they were playing at the beginning of the season, the Spurs aren't advancing very far in the playoffs.
Exactly. I would like the idea of signing Pops just to retain his rights over the summer. Let him and Mahinmi battle it out in summer league and training camp and let the best man win the job. Gist is a little bit more perimeter based but he could conceivably join the fight.-While trying to temper my hopes that Pops Mensah-Bonsu can somehow contribute this year, I'm already looking forward to a potential training camp battle next summer: Mahinmi vs Mensah-Bonsu vs Gist.
Glad to have the thoughts back. Thanks. Great job.
Well put and agreed. He's been very good as of late. Hopefully he can stay healthy and continue this level of play into the playoffs.
It's tough to say if the Spurs would have been better off if they had signed Przybilla in the summer of 2006. He had that one season derailed after taking a knee to the Przybilla jewels but has bounced back nicely. Rebounding and blocked shots are two major strengths of his, although his offense is so rudimentary that it'd probably cause Duncan to face continual double-teams.
I must admitt I did not read those thoughts yet ...
First thing is to look at the responses not to be behind the discussion
hehe
ps. almost 10 grands - I think I'll start a thread in teh club
Thanks for your post, I enjoy reading these game thoughts.
I'll add in a few of my own also. I was very impressed all in all with the game against Portland (and the Mavs game as well). Without Duncan I was really expecting the worst not only because Duncan is an integral part of the Spurs system in regards to basketball skills but even more so his leadership abilities on the court. Tim Duncan is always out there directing the defense and the offense and I would figure that this would be greatly missed. To my great surprise however, Tony Parker looked like a real leader out there on the offense. I feel that these have been two of the smoothest offensive games we have played all season (and that without Manu and Tim is really incredible). As stated the team defensive effort was also fantastic to see and has been missing the past couple of games. It really has been a pleasure to watch these last few games.
As for some thoughts on individual players, I think a few in particular stood out. Besides obviously Tony Parker, I thought Kurt Thomas and Michael Finley have been playing particularly well. Thomas' shot has really been falling the past couple of games and thats a nice boost when really he is there more for his defensive prowess where he has also excelled in. Secondly, I feel that Michael Finley gets a lot of unreasonable hate on this forum and unfairly so. Certainly he has had some off games but if you look at his season stats, they are really pretty efficient, so the claim that he has 5 good games to 15 awful ones simply isn't true. And that's really what I appreciate about Finley (especially noticeable in the last two games where he has been playing more minutes due to injuries), his efficiency. Finley hardly ever takes ill advised shots, unlike Roger Mason who makes me want to break my computer screen at times. He's a role player who knows and accepts his role and is efficient on offense and solid on defense.
One last thing; Although Udoka missed two wide open threes to start off his playing time, he was still a solid contributor in that game considering his playing time. He hit two shots got two boards and had two assists as well as some scrappy defense. I'd say his performance was more impressive the George Hill in this particular game. Hopefully he can gain some more confidence in his shot because I agree with you when you say he looked pretty shaky out there in the early going.
Ciao,
Pentagruel.
Great to see the GT back
Finley played very good in the beggining of the season and also playing good again after the All-Star break.Michael Finley
37 minutes, 13 points, six rebounds
6-for-11 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers
Like he did against the Mavs, Michael Finley connected on shots at the most opportune times. Whenever the Spurs needed a shooter to come through with a momentum-changing shot, it was usually Finley who answered the bell. On defense, Finley was impressive. After a brief bout with stiffness in the middle of the season, it appears as if Finley’s athleticism has returned and he’s moving much better. As a result, like it was earlier in the season, his defense is acceptable once again.
It'd be nice to lock the #2 spot with a week left in the regular season so we could give Finley a week off before the playoffs. I want to see this Finley in the playoffs and not the last season Finley
Actually, if you check player pairs over at 82games.com, the pairing of Parker and Hill has been an abject disaster for most of the season. They're at about -3 per 48 minutes now, but were floating around -15 before the Manu injury. Pairing Parker with his backups has never really panned out. Not with Udrih, not with JV, and I don't foresee it working with Hill either, not with his shaky jumper.
I like that alignment, especially with Ginobili out. If Pop doesn't at least break it out for a few minutes, the other team can relax their transition defense.
Pulling out the "abject disaster" card is a little overboard considering that they've played all of 77 minutes together this season.
Makes sense. Hill hasn't completely meshed with Ginobili yet. He plays much better with Mason. He also plays a lot better when he gets to run the pick-and-roll with Bonner ... which doesn't happen much with Ginobili around. Next to Ginobili, Hill turns into an observer.
It's true that Parker has never played well next to the other point guards. But the reason why this alignment has a chance is because Parker remains the point guard and Hill turns into the shooting guard. Next to Beno, JV and whoever else, Parker was the one who'd turn into a shooting guard. Comparatively, this twin point guard lineup is totally different.
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