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I like Game Thoughts.
In the next installment of the seemingly always low scoring and hard fought rivalry between the San Antonio Spurs and the Houston Rockets, the Spurs were able to pull away late in the contest due to clutch plays on both ends of the court.
With the game tied at 77 with five minutes remaining, the two healthy members of the Big Three took over. Tim Duncan connected on a banker and then Tony Parker scored the final nine points for the Spurs. All three of Parker’s buckets came courtesy of assists from Duncan. After a late defensive stand in which the Spurs withstood three-point attempts from Ron Artest and Aaron Brooks, the final score of 88-85 was decided.
It’s not a big surprise that the Rockets are better without Tracy McGrady. With McGrady out, Houston is forced to look for Yao Ming more often – and that is a good thing. Artest, Brooks and Von Wafer off the bench can supply the needed perimeter scoring and the rest of the role players get more touches. While the Rockets aren't a true championship contender this season, they have a shot of making it to the second round.
For the Spurs, this was an important W. The disappointing performance against the Lakers can now be forgotten and the Spurs can go ahead in their quest to put their stamp on the second seed in the Western Conference.
Tim Duncan
33 minutes, 15 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals
7-for-18 from the field, 1-for-2 at the line
In the first half, Tim Duncan was 2-for-8 from the field and appeared totally out of rhythm. The good news was he didn’t appear to be hampered by injury, unlike against the Lakers. In the second half, Duncan stepped it up. In his eight and a half minutes in the fourth quarter, Duncan had six points, four rebounds and those three important assists to Parker. Overall, his recovery from the quadriceps tendonosis looked promising on the night.
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Tony Parker
38 minutes, 28 points, eight assists, four rebounds
10-for-23 from the field, 8-for-9 at the line
All things considered, Tony Parker played a very good game. However, if you break it down, you’ll realize that he was extremely streaky on the night. After knocking down 5-of-7 shots to begin the game, Parker then missed eight of his next nine field goal attempts. Late in the contest, Parker regained his rhythm and carried the Spurs to the victory. Defensively, he didn’t give enough respect to Brooks’ jumper to begin the game. His effort on that end got better as the game progressed. Parker also passed the ball very well and he rediscovered his free throw stroke.
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Roger Mason, Jr.
30 minutes, five points, two steals
2-for-3 from the field, 1-for-1 on three-pointers
The Rockets once again did a great job of taking Roger Mason, Jr. out of the game. In three games against the Rockets, Mason has only been able to shoot 18 times. The defensive strategy for Houston was to not double off of him and to trap any Mason initiated pick-and-rolls. When he was at shooting guard, Mason literally didn’t get any open looks. The only time he could find any airspace was when he shot quickly after coming off of a screen. Defensively, Mason didn’t have a very good game. He was a step slow and compounded the issue by reaching after he found himself out of position.
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Michael Finley
37 minutes, 17 points, four rebounds
6-for-14 from the field, 5-for-7 on three-pointers
Michael Finley had his second consecutive positive performance. Although he seemed to run out of gas at some point in the third quarter, Finley hit five key three-pointers. He also showed good speed and athleticism when running the court and his effort on defense was noteworthy. Compared to last season, Finley is moving much better. Let’s hope he can save some gas for the postseason.
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Matt Bonner
29 minutes, two points, ten rebounds, two assists
1-for-6 from the field, 0-for-1 on three-pointers
Matt Bonner hit double digits in rebounding for the first time since January 17th against the Bobcats. He seemed extra focused on becoming a factor on the glass and even had an impressive block. Offensively, Bonner didn’t look too comfortable. Like Mason, Bonner didn’t get many open looks. He forced the issue a few times off the dribble and basically just looked frazzled most of the time offensively. It should be noted that since the Spurs signed Drew Gooden, Bonner is shooting just 29.2% from the floor and 25% from beyond the three-point arc. Is Bonner feeling the pressure? It’s hard to argue against his shooting numbers over the last five games.
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Ime Udoka
25 minutes, two points, three rebounds, two assists
1-for-3 from the field
Ime Udoka’s brawn was useful against Ron Artest on Saturday night. Udoka was able to keep him from punishing the Spurs in the low block and instead forced Artest to the perimeter. Although Udoka didn’t do much offensively, he also didn’t exhibit the poor shot selection that sometimes haunts him. Since re-entering the rotation five games ago, Udoka is averaging 22.8 minutes, 7.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game, while shooting 44.1% from the field and 50% from beyond the three-point arc.
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Kurt Thomas
19 minutes, two points, three rebounds
0-for-1 from the field
Kurt Thomas continues to be a positive force for the Spurs. Night in and night out, Thomas is giving quality minutes. Against the Rockets, his hard-hitting play allowed the Spurs to stay strong when the two bench units matched up. Since the start of January, Thomas has been a very productive bench piece.
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Drew Gooden
15 minutes, 13 points, four rebounds
5-for-10 from the field, 3-for-4 from the line
In his first extended playing time with the Spurs, Drew Gooden was impressive. He showed off his talents on the block and in the pick-and-rolls. When Duncan rested, Gooden actually did a decent Duncan impression to keep the offense flowing. Defensively, Gooden wasn’t great but he seemed willing to battle and he also hit the boards. On the whole, it’s difficult to not be excited by Gooden’s first 20 minutes in a Spurs uniform.
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George Hill
15 minutes, four points, one rebound
2-for-3 from the field
George Hill continues to be a ball of energy off the bench. His defense was again very good and he helped out with a pair of well-timed buckets on the offensive end. Since his transition to the shooting guard position, Hill’s defense has been much improved and his shooting percentages are on the rise. As a backup two guard, he’s hitting 56.5% of his shots from the field and is 3-for-3 on three-pointers.
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Bruce Bowen
Four seconds
Bruce Bowen only played four seconds – the last four seconds of the game. To his credit, he actually made a heady rotation on that last play to deny the shot the Rockets drew up for Brent Barry. It’s tough to figure out if this is the beginning of the end for Bowen or if Pop just went elsewhere due to matchups.
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Gregg Popovich
Pop coached a good game. Surprisingly enough, Pop actually coached like he cared whether or not the Spurs came out on top. His rotations were more orderly than have been the case recently and his playcalling was good. I especially liked how he utilized Drew Gooden. When Gooden was on the court, Pop played to Gooden’s strengths offensively and covered his weaknesses defensively.
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Offense
The Spurs scored between 20 and 24 points in each quarter. Perhaps their best offensive showing of the game came late when Duncan and Parker took the reins and drove the Spurs to victory. On the night, the Spurs shot 42% from the field, hit 6-of-9 three-pointers and turned the ball over only ten times. Their 17 assists and 17 free throw attempts were both low, but those numbers are understandable because the Rockets were forcing the Spurs to play more one-on-one basketball than normal.
Defense
Outside of the 17-2 spurt the Spurs gave up in the third quarter, the defense was very good. They didn’t back down and gave good effort from the beginning of the game. The Rockets shot 41.8% from the field, handed out only 14 assists and got to the line just 18 times. What kept the Rockets in the game was their 7-for-17 three-point shooting and their 45-41 advantage on the glass.
Drive to Five
It’s always good to beat the Rockets. Next up on the agenda is a back-to-back against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday and the Minnesota Timberwolves on Tuesday. These are both important games for the Spurs to get as they wait for Manu Ginobili and Tim Duncan to get healthy.
Believe.
Good to have them back...the Game Thoughts that is.
Last night's game defensively, is what gives you hope when a guy with defensive shortcomings like Gooden, is passable or good, and it gives you hope due to the defensive scheme. the last couple minutes defensively was decent spurs defense that will only get better.
very nice as always. cant wait to see manu in the game thoughts
I like the idea of having KT and Gooden in the game at the same time. It gives you two rebounders that can shoot and have a different set of tools that allow the spacing on the floor to work. Plus they can clean the defensive glass and if Drew can just keep putting the effort in defensively, it gives us some decent size in there.
Thanks!
Our D seems to be progressing along. That is good news and to win a hard fought game always is a good sign. This one reminded me of the past days when we used to have these types of games regularly with the Spurs winning the vast majority of them.
Hopefully these next two games and all future games where the team is sub .500 the Spurs can jump out strong. This would give Gooden more time on the floor and rest TD. Doesn't always happen but that would be what I would want. Most likely Pop, too.
Timvp,
Thanks for the thoughts! But, can you please change the Gooden picture? It's freakin' me out.
Much Love,
usckk
At the beggining of the season I thought Pop was saving Bruce for the playoffs but after the last month or so I think he'll have very limited minutes in the playoffs.Bruce Bowen only played four seconds – the last four seconds of the game. To his credit, he actually made a heady rotation on that last play to deny the shot the Rockets drew up for Brent Barry. It’s tough to figure out if this is the beginning of the end for Bowen or if Pop just went elsewhere due to matchups.
Yeah. At least game thoughts. I missed them a lot. Perfect as always. Keep up.
yes, please update the pic of Gooden with a newer one....
It would be nice if Tim could play 25-30 min the next two games instead of his usual 30+.
Great analysis. Quality win, but too much nail-biting at the end. Refs didn't help with that BS jump ball call.
Michael Finley had his second consecutive positive performance. Although he seemed to run out of gas at some point in the third quarter, Finley hit five key three-pointers. He also showed good speed and athleticism when running the court and his effort on defense was noteworthy. Compared to last season, Finley is moving much better. Let’s hope he can save some gas for the postseason.Fin's made some siginficant strides this year on the defensive end of the floor, but he was downright disruptive for a stretch there, by getting his hands in some passing lanes and really displaying some solid effort. That would have been the most eye-opening thing, had not Bonner gone and had a legitimate weak-side block that just about any big would be proud of. (Finley and Bonner... Who would've thunk?Matt Bonner hit double digits in rebounding for the first time since January 17th against the Bobcats. He seemed extra focused on becoming a factor on the glass and even had an impressive block. Offensively, Bonner didn’t look too comfortable. Like Mason, Bonner didn’t get many open looks. He forced the issue a few times off the dribble and basically just looked frazzled most of the time offensively. It should be noted that since the Spurs signed Drew Gooden, Bonner is shooting just 29.2% from the floor and 25% from beyond the three-point arc. Is Bonner feeling the pressure? It’s hard to argue against his shooting numbers over the last five games.)
That last three pointer from Fin was complete BS. Might as well have put a blindfold on him and told him to throw up that prayer.
He was the starting power-forward on an eastern conference champion, who's biggest reason for success, was the fact that they were one of the best defensive/rebounding teams in the league. He may not a be a great defender, but he's also not the inept defender you make him out to be.
It's karma, man.
The Spurs have already seen their fair share of fluke shots made against them this year. (i.e. Iguodala, F. Jones, etc.)
please update the picture of Gooden ! He is ugly on that pic
Damn, I didn't even notice til you said something, but that is pretty creepy.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009031410
Duncan’s first basket gave him 19,000 career points.
Gregg Popovich coached his 999th career game on Saturday night.
He’ll become the 24th coach in NBA history to reach 1,000 when the Spurs play in Oklahoma City on Monday.
Popovich will be the seventh man to coach his first 1,000 games with one team.
Did I miss the thread about those huge milestones ?
Where is duncan228 ?
She must have talked about that somewhere.
for Tim.
Pop's 1,000th is mentioned here, I didn't mention Duncan.http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/recap?gid=2009031410
Did I miss the thread about those huge milestones ?
Where is duncan228 ?
She must have talked about that somewhere.
What decided this game was a half court heave by Finley that banked in for 3 points....other than that...this game was DEAD even.
I hope to see the Spurs in the playoffs that is a toss up series.
DD
spurs were without ginobili. unlike tmac, ginobili makes his team better, not worse.
after yesterdays game i would love to have yall in the secound round
parker was schooling brooks
duncan played good against yao ming not his best but put gooden and duncan out there and we will sweep the series if these 2 guys our at there best
and the part that yall didnt want mason to shoot the 3 yall will have yall hands full with ginobili to not shoot that
unless rocekts shoots lights out the series would only go to 5 so im pulling for yall or denver to get that 3rd seed
no bowen or oberto either
bowen makes artests life miserable and oberto knows all of scolas moves pretty much so it would be really tough for houston to beat us without mcgrady
Agreed.
Butt hurt some?
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