To support the "Raising the Bar" program on the Spurs forum, I will post game thoughts on the Spurs' road games in the regular season from now on.
Disclaimer: If you disagree with me, feel free to voice your opinion without being a total head. My opinion does not represent the entire Spurstalk opinion and by all means do not agree with everyone.
Final score: (Spurs: 106, Hornets: 92)
TV companion with box score/play-by-play:
http://www.nba.com/tvc/index.html?ga...SNOH&brand=NBA
Starting lineup: Keith Bogans (SF), Tim Duncan (PF), DeJuan Blair (C), George Hill (SG), Tony Parker (PG)
First of all, I have no need to post the statlines of any of the players with the link posted. I am going to tell you what I saw and my opinion of the offense and defense of individual players.
Keith Bogans: His contribution on offense, or lack of, hurts the Spurs. Heck, leaving him wide open on offense is a safe roll of the dice the Hornets were willing to take and Bogans cannot take advantage of it. His defense is nothing to write home about either, although he usually is at the right place at the right time, usually just in time to get his ass burned by the likes of Peja and Marcus Thornton.
Tim Duncan: Mr Fundamental played a decent game, his minutes were regulated enough and he shot well from the field, although his defense and rebounding were pretty poor in the 1st half due to the back-to-back on his old knees. The Hornets were able to keep themselves from doubling Duncan, limiting the effectiveness of the passing from Tim Duncan.
DeJuan Blair: The Beast put up respectable numbers and scored on pick and roll opportunities and had some chances with offensive rebounds. A good development is that he has somewhat improved his defense but he is still quite poor at team defense at that regard.
George Hill: The Naked One played a team high 44:18 of playing time. Coach Pop is definitely not micromanaging his minutes and prefers George Hill to wear himself out on a back-to-back just to develop him. Hill scored a team high 23 points and burned the Hornets early in the 1st quarter, scoring 13 points in the 1st. Hill missed some defensive rotations but Collison wasn't able to make him pay, with a memorable miss from right underneath the basket.
Tony Parker: After being limited in the 1st half, Tony Parker lit up the Hornets in the 3rd quarter, picking his spots and extending the lead in the 2nd half, enough for the Spurs lead to never really get threatened. Parker did a good job limiting his man, Darren Collison, from going off on him. Parker's minutes have been limited recently, he only played 28 minutes. But he looks fresher and it would be the right move to limit his minutes the way it is until the playoffs.
The best artificial bench in the league: Manu Ginobili, Richard Jefferson, Matt Bonner, Roger Mason, Malik Hairston, Ian Mahinmi
Manu Ginobili: Manu stole the ball again and again in the 1st quarter, setting the defensive tone with his energy, creating havoc and got the Spurs the lead. His play in the 2nd quarter also helped the Spurs get the lead and push it to 9 to end the half. He gradually disappeared in the 2nd half because of the back-to-back but he had a good time dishing the basketball and getting easy opportunities for his teammates.
Richard Jefferson: Richard got into foul trouble early and was getting flopped on by James Posey. None could take away his aggressiveness these past few games. Pop limiting small ball allowed him to regain his confidence level and he is attacking the basket more often. It is painfully obvious that due to foul trouble, he cannot get into the rhythm he needs to get into a groove, not getting enough minutes. His defense was respectable and he was attacking the boards, snatching them left and right.
Matt Bonner: Pop has an absolute disdain for Ian. He absolutely would not play Ian even if it means playing a guy like Mikki Moore, Kyle Gordon, small ball or whatever. Pop decided to play Matt Bonner, the prince of the +/-, the Hoagie man, the sandwich guru. The awesome Matt Bonner was able to hit 2 buzzer beaters to end the 2nd quarter and the 3rd quarter. Matt Bonner played decent defense (for him anyway), and did not get fouls called on him. He was allowed to get physical with David West. He also chucked his way to a bench high 11 shots.
Roger Mason: He shot one shot, got only 5 minutes, and did nothing significant to make or break the Spurs. With Finley's departure, Pop is still unwilling to give Roger Mason minutes, despite Richard Jefferson's foul trouble, Keith Bogans' injury and what not, Pop gave Bogans more minutes than he deserved, yet refusing to play Mason.
Malik Hairston: We can see how stubborn Pop is. Malik Hairston just doesn't seem to be able to get minutes over Keith Bogans. Malik did not do anything to impress nor turn people off.
Ian Mahinmi: It is contradicting to see Ian get the ball to try and produce in garbage time in one minute, he missed his only shot but knows where he must be on defense, shading the ball handler to provide help defense. He is definitely laterally quick enough to be servicable.
Summary: Winning a road game against a good home team in the West is a step to the right direction and I hope the team will do well enough in the future.
Reply With Quote
