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That's really, really disconcerting this late in the season.
Coming into the game, I didn't give the Spurs much of a chance. They usually aren't very sharp in afternoon affairs and the Cavaliers were coming off of two disappointing road losses. And that's not even mentioning that Cleveland has lost only one home game all season. The Spurs definitely had their work cut out for them.
Today, there was no miracle. The Spurs held the game close for the first quarter before the Cavs blew the doors off. The final three quarters weren't very compe ive as Cleveland steamed their way to a 101-81 victory.
Regarding the Cavs, as impossible as it may seem given the amount of hype surrounding LeBron James, I think they are actually underrated this season. They are a very good defensive team, James is obviously a beast and now they have perfect pieces around him. I personally think they are going to easily make it to the NBA Finals. Kevin Garnett would have to get healthy for the Celtics to give the Cavs a test but even if he does, I just think the Cavs are better this year.
For the Spurs to even think about the Finals, they'd need to get a lot better. The problems facing the team are multifaceted and with the playoffs coming in less than two weeks, it's looking less and less likely that this is their year.
-Tim Duncan had an odd game. He started off playing decently well but then just never got the touches the rest of the way. While his teammates could have done a better job of force-feeding him the rock, a lot of the blame is on Duncan for not putting himself in positions to receive the ball. Physically, it's difficult to figure out how health or how hurt he is at the moment. He'll play a few possessions like the regular Tim Duncan but then he'll go a stretch where he moves like he's under water. Hopefully his performance today was just a case of Duncan sleepwalking through an early game and not a sign that his health is regressing.
-Manu Ginobili wasn't too helpful. In the first half, he seemed content to stay on the perimeter. With the offense in his hands to start the second quarter, the Spurs went scoreless and the Cavs were able to get the separation that they never relinquished. Defensively, he was a little bit better that his last outing but his rotations were a slow. For the Spurs to have put up a fight against Cleveland, Ginobili was going to have to produce at an extremely high level. Instead, he was well below average.
-In the first quarter, Tony Parker's offense helped the Spurs stay in the game. He had a number of impressive moves around the basket and also mixed in a few jumpers. Defensively, Parker had also done a good job against Mo Williams. However, once Parker subbed out and Jacque Vaughn took the point guard reins, the offensive momentum totally died and Williams was able to heat up at the other end. Parker gave good effort in trying to right the ship but sometimes he tried too hard and that compounded the negative issues. Overall, Parker didn't play a great game but he was playing at a high enough level for the Spurs to win if he had help.
-Michael Finley got the unenviable task of defending LeBron James one-on-one to begin the game. To the shock of no one (other than maybe Pop, apparently), James was able to go absolutely wild in the first quarter as he scored 18 of his 38 points. It'd difficult to blame Finley too much for his defense because anyone who has watched him play defense knew he had no chance. Offensively, Finley was horrible in the first half -- missing all of his shots and turning the ball over three times. He was better in the second half but by then it was too late.
-Matt Bonner had an all too familiar line. He scored well, hit a good percentage of his shots but was worthless on the glass. A starting bigman can't go without a defensive rebound, especially a starting bigman on a team with championship aspirations. Defensively, Bonner was decent but not good enough to make up for his lack of rebounding.
-Drew Gooden gave the Spurs another solid effort. He once again scored in a variety of different ways and his energy on both ends was commendable. Gooden has proven he can produce. The trick for Pop will be to figure out best to get that production out of him. The cold, hard truth is that Gooden is a ball hog who has a penchant for breaking the rhythm of the offense and his defense is going to be a liability for at least the rest of the season. That said, the Spurs desperately need his scoring punch and his lively body on the boards. Hopefully Pop will master when and how Gooden should be utilized.
-Roger Mason, Jr. was headed to another very quiet outing until he got hot for a stretch in the second half. For the first time this season, I saw signs of his confidence being severely rattled. With his role changing from quarter to quarter, it doesn't take a basketball genius to figure out why Mason is second-guessing himself. Hopefully he can get into some sort of rhythm heading into the postseason. If he doesn't, it'd be difficult to envision a championship without Mason being a trustworthy fourth option.
-With James blowing up, Pop eventually gave Bruce Bowen a chance. Bowen didn't have much luck with James rolling but he at least made scoring a bit more difficult. I would have loved to see what would have happened if Bowen got a chance to start off the game on James. As we saw in the 2007 Finals, Bowen is very good at not allowing the superstar perimeter player catch fire. This fire extinguisher role isn't fitting him well right now.
-Kurt Thomas played decent in his time on the court. His rebounding was very good and his defense was solid. Offensively, he struggled and missed a few chippies around the rim. With the Spurs getting out-rebounded 44-34, it would have been nice for Thomas to play more. His nine boards in 16 minutes led the team. With the bigman rotation as chaotic as it is, Thomas deserves kudos for being consistent over the last few months.
-Jacque Vaughn was once again the backup point guard. On the roster, Vaughn serves a purpose - but it shouldn't be the backup point guard role. The Cavs weren't even guarding him when he had the ball. When he didn't have the ball, the Spurs were literally playing four on five. Unlike Bowen, opposing teams don't even have to respect his jumper once he gets the ball. I could somewhat understand if the Spurs had Vaughn run pick-and-rolls or penetrate and kick but his job is to basically bring the ball up the court and hand it off to the shooting guard. As it is, San Antonio's backup point guard is playing shooting guard even though he can't shoot, score at the rim or play much defense. Mind boggling. Truly mind boggling.
-Ime Udoka got 11 minutes of action and was embarrassingly bad. He missed the rim on his shots a handful of times. His perimeter defense was awful. Udoka wasn't even rebounding, which is usually his saving grace. For a while, Udoka was playing better but now he's back to the Ime Udoka we saw earlier in the season.
-George Hill got six minutes but didn't get to do much. His defense was active and he stayed somewhat aggressive offensively. Honestly, I'm surprised Hill hasn't totally melted down considering he's now mostly playing small forward on offense while defending both point guards and shooting guards on defense. For a rookie, he's doing a good job of keeping his composure , getting back on transition defense and remembering to defend the right man.
-Pop's coaching decisions continue to baffle. Starting the game with Finley defending James without any double-team help was simply amazing. James scoring 18 points against that strategy was probably a below average performance by James. Then Pop decided to mix things up but the double-teams he sent at James were way too predictable and the Cavs were able to pick the defense apart with cross court passes.
The backup point guard situation is just getting sad. In the five minutes Vaughn played as the backup point guard in the first half, the Spurs had no field goals and a total of two points. However, that didn't stop Pop from trotting Vaughn out there again in the second half. What's depressing is that the second unit has looked far and away the best this year with Hill running the show, but now it's probably too late to switch back to that alignment.
Pop also needs to figure out what he's going to do with the bigmen surrounding Duncan. Playing three is just too much. He needs to cut out one of Bonner, Gooden or Thomas out of the rotation and allow the chemistry to grow. Trying to rotate four bigs in the playoffs won't work, especially when this team is lacking cohesion without this extra obstacle.
Oh and Finley is not the combination of Michael Cooper, Dennis Johnson and Scottie Pippen. Starting him out isolated against James was like playing Russian roulette with a flamethrower.
The glass half full look at this game is that the Cavs are a great team who was playing mad while the Spurs, on the other hand, are still coming together. Now San Antonio can start gearing up over the next 13 days and iron out their issues. Or at least that's the hope.
Believe.
That's really, really disconcerting this late in the season.
The worse thing about Pop today was that after James exploded to 18pts in the first Q, he STILL said he didn't want to change anything. Pure sample of stubbornness.
The most disturbing aspect of these late season losses is not that they are occuring, it's how they are occuring. For the first time since I can remember, I see a Spurs team that truly cannot win against some of the other teams in the league. It's not a confidence, injury or chemistry thing either. There are other teams now that are simply better than them. In the past you could always make the argument: playoffs vs regular season. This is distinctly different though. This team is now at a point where they are a playoff contender but no longer a le contender.
It's the sound of inevitability which has come knocking. We shouldn't be too upset however. The Spurs have had a of a run.
spurs need an effort to help mason get going next game early
tp needs to stay on the court 42 minutes a night in postseason
Thanks timvp... your willingness to get this done after this game speaks a lot and very well about you and this site... props...
a question though... do you think the rotations in the PO will look like what we saw today or there's nothing settled?
Thanks timvp, this one had to be tough to recap.
Duncan's knees are still a big concern for me. I haven't seen anything consistent enough from him to tell me he's any great percentage better. He's not anywhere near his Playoff self.
Mind boggling is a good way to sum this team up at the moment. I hope they can pull it together.
"are still coming together"
It's April 6. This team is dead in the water, mediocrity of mediocrities, not "coming together".
Coming together? GMAFB They're getting worse.
I don't even recognize this team as the Spurs. They have no fire, no seriousness, no commitment, no will to win, just pocketing their undeserved $Ms and thinking about going fishing Real Soon Now.
Anybody know a good bait shop?
Pop killed Mason's game. Pop refused to play Hill and Bowen the way they should be played. Pop trots out Udoka and Vaughn to kick start offensive droughts. There is no hope, this team is a mess. I just wish there was an explanation.
Look at the Spurs last year heading into the playoffs (April of '08)
Tue 01 vs Golden State W 116-92
Fri 04 @ Utah L 64-90
Sun 06 @ Portland W 72-65
Wed 09 vs Phoenix L 79-96
Fri 11 vs Seattle W 95-74
Sun 13 @ LA Lakers L 85-106
Mon 14 @ Sacramento W 101-98
Wed 16 vs Utah W 109-80
3 teams that were all playoff bound and the Spurs ended up getting throttled.
They still managed to go to the WCF in a season where many thought they would be ousted at the hands of the Suns.
Though it should be noted Ginobili was sitting out some of those games
Ginobili played bad enough today where he probably should've sat out.
Ditto. Just sad.
Same with everyone not named Parker, Gooden, and Thomas
I agree. I remember some very horrible games last yr around this same time also. It seems that Pop and the Spurs have a big " this" at ude toward the regular season this time around. Plus with Manu going out for a bit and Gooden coming in toward the end of the year this has been the hardest yr to nail down a final rotation. Come playoff time though, I expect the Spurs and Pop to get it right...as they always do. I remember last yr alot of people around here were nervous to start round 1 against the Suns.
Its very hard to watch the Spurs right now. Pop's subing patterns have always bothered me, but its plain crazy now. He is looking like he is a rookie coach, I wonder wtf the coaches are telling each other to believe these lineups will work eventually.
I like having Bonner in the rotation because of his shooting, which has been quite consistent, but you are correct about his rebounding: it's just sad.
The Cavs are the new (or old) Spurs. They play defense and have role players playing their roles. The Spurs have lost their way, and it starts with Pop. It's just a big mess.
I know we're all saying Pop killed Mason. I have said that. But come on, the guy had some opportunities to shoot and some were wide open shots he just missed. He needs to get a damn backbone and make those shots. Whether he likes what he's expected to do out there or not, he's a professional and payed to play basketball. He needs to get it together and fast. We need him and he's floundering. He hasn't had a good game since Manu's return. , I can't even remember his last good game.
What I do see there is that the opponent barely scored over 100+ points. Actually, just the Lakers. The rest are fairly low scoring affairs. Now, go take a look how many points teams have scored on us the last few weeks...
That is what worries me. Unless they somehow find and flip a switch defensively, we're just not that good offensively to outscore opponents.
MY REACTION is that the spuurs suck
lol so many laker kiddies around. I am kinda new here, so I was wondering if this is the case every year, have these laker kids been around the past few years as well? esp when they missed the PO, coz they were a lottery team?
Hey Noobie Troll, you decided to invade the Spurs forum with your crap too-you can stop the trolling now or get your ass to the troll forum where you belong!
This pathetic worm CARAO45 decided to come spew some of its crap here. This Noobie troll also started some BS thread intelligently called "wow oh wow" where noobie knocks himself out over the Spurs' loss and begins to trash all over Parker and Eva. Just another dumbass troll doing what dumbass trolls do. Nothing new here.lol so many laker kiddies around. I am kinda new here, so I was wondering if this is the case every year, have these laker kids been around the past few years as well? esp when they missed the PO, coz they were a lottery team?
JV wasn't able to get off the bench during most of the regular season - now he's our back up PG.
Mason, Hill, Bowen, Finley and the rest of it. I don't see how all of these items can be attributed to scouting reports and Duncan's creaky knees.
I can't help but feel that we're not putting our best foot forward and are being cheated out of possibilities due to poor leadership.
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