Game Blog: Spurs @ Thunder, 3-22-2010

[Spurs Brazil]

Spurs 81, Zombies 76

12:00 remaining, fourth quarter: Allow me to set the stage. I watch a ton of Zombies basketball because of Kevin Durant (my favorite non-Celtic), enough that I'm starting to feel guilty about refusing to call them by their name out of respect for the people of Seattle. A few weeks ago, they played the Spurs in San Antonio in what quickly evolved into an old guard-new guard battle. The Spurs pulled out all their cagey/savvy/sneaky veteran tricks and stole the game down the stretch. Great learning experience for the Zombies. Or so I thought. Because we're about to see whether they learned anything.


[+] EnlargeLarry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images
And just think: Kevin Durant could be a senior in college.
11:37: Off a Manu Ginobili miss, Durant (37 points already!) goes coast-to-coast for a layup. He's a starter on the "That Guy's Moving a Lot Faster Than You Realize" team. The captain, obviously, is LeBron: the only guy in the league who actually makes the court shrink in size when he's going full speed.

11:21: Matt Bonner for three … bang. I'm embarrassed to say that we have the exact same jump shot. Or, maybe he should be embarrassed. One of us should be embarrassed.

11:02: Durant misses a 3. Rebound, DeJuan Blair. On the other end: basket in traffic, DeJuan Blair. Spurs by eight. I don't care, I'd still take Christian Eyenga over him.

11:02: That was a joke.

10:17: Jeff Green sinks one in Bonner's mug. How 'bout Sam Presti snaring two of the best four rookies in that 2007 draft? I'd rank Durant first, Horford second, Joakim Noah third and Green fourth.

(Note: I'd give you a top 12, but then we'd have to discuss Greg Oden … and Rip City is already on edge enough thanks to the firing of assistant GM Tom Penn and the subsequent "Kevin Pritchard might be next" rumors. Which is really what separates Portland from any other basketball city: NOBODY ELSE would care this much about an assistant GM getting fired unless he got canned because he was plowing into his assistant on a Xerox machine or something. In Portland, this saga is being analyzed like President Obama's health care package. There is no other NBA city like it. And I mean that as a compliment.)

9:50: Ginobili snakes into the middle, gets swallowed up by Serge Ibaka and whips the ball out of bounds. I love Serge: He's a mortal lock to start at center for the Bill Simmons All-Stars this year (for random guys I like who haven't hit the big-time yet). Reminds me of a young … Theo Ratliff? Somebody. I can't decide. Love those long runner/leaper centers.

9:05: Russell Westbrook runs a serviceable high screen with Green, who finishes it by making an 8-footer. That play is called, "Take a Breather on This One, KD, We'll Shoot It." Zombies down by four. Timeout, Spurs.

9:05: Coming out of the timeout, we see Kyle Weaver (just came back from a three-month layoff after shoulder surgery) shaking his head on the bench after getting pulled. Sitting next to him, a yawning Kevin Ollie plops a hand on Weaver's shoulder and pats him a couple of times. Just another "here's an example of how much these guys like one another" Zombies moment. I'd love to see them in a Chemistry Contest. If one Zombie got married, I think he'd have the other 11 guys as ushers.

8:48: Tim Duncan bowls over Green (no call!) for a kickout to Bonner, Bonner misses, Ginobili chases down the rebound, George Hill (playing superbly in Tony Parker's absence) gets a wide-open 3 … swish. That one hurts. Spurs by seven. The refs make up for it by whistling Hill for a touch foul on Durant (two free throws) as Gregg Popovich (dressed like Sean Connery as always) complains on the sideline. Fun sequence.


[+] EnlargeLarry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images
Fear the Serge! Tim Duncan was scoreless in the fourth quarter.
7:58: Duncan just posted up Ibaka three straight times on two different possessions: missed twice, had the ball poked away once. You don't challenge the Serge! (He's officially a playoffs X factor.) Westbrook hits a 20-footer on the other end. Spurs by three.

6:47: Hill travels as the crowd gets loud. (Really good crowds in Oklahoma City for the most part. You gotta hand it to them.) Durant takes advantage on the other end with a twisting 20-footer over Hill for points 40 and 41. Of all the things that make him special as a scorer, it's his decision-making that stands out for me -- he knows what he wants to do right away, never hesitates and just does it. The defense never has time to prepare for him; he's already going. Spurs by one.

5:57: Duncan hits Richard Jefferson on a cut for a three-point play. Which raises the question, "Richard Jefferson was out there?"

5:33: Teardrop runner for Eric "They Stole Me Because Utah Was Afraid to Pay the Luxury Tax" Maynor gets quickly answered by another runner from Hill (a career-high 27). That's followed by Green missing a drive, then Duncan committing an offensive foul on a rebound and making the Tim Duncan Bulging Eyes "How Could You Call That?" Face. It's like seeing an old friend at this point. Sloppy game down the stretch. Can't tell whether it's good defense or bad offense.

4:25: Durant misses a 20-footer. The Spurs are unabashedly double-teaming him now -- this time, they defended him with Jefferson and Duncan lurking behind him like a safety providing deep help. (He'll be receiving a steady diet of that in the playoffs.) That's followed by a Spurs turnover, a Zombies turnover and then Jefferson getting a fast-break layup. Timeout. I gotta be honest: We need to see OKC win a few of these physical/sloppy slugfests before we can take it seriously as anything more than a Round 1 patsy.

3:39: Westbrook plows into the paint for a reverse layup. Spurs by four. He makes four plays every game that make you say, "That guy could have played any sport he wanted."

2:50: After the Zombies get a stop, Westbrook takes a bad 20-footer with a hand in his face. Brick. He also makes four plays every game that make you say, "Man, I'm not sure he's a point guard."

2:25: Manu misses a layup in traffic, quickly followed by Durant keeping it all the way and draining a stop-and-pop 12-footer. Spurs by two, crowd alive … and Serge draws a charge from Jefferson! Right as I'm typing the words "Coming-out party for Serge!" he botches an easy pass from Durant for a turnover. Damn.

Quick tangent: Ric Bucher and I argued for two weeks about whether Presti did the right thing by not trading for Marcus Camby in February. The positives: He kept a young team together, allowed Serge to get his reps (such as in a game like this), kept his chemistry intact and didn't give up anything. The negatives: a game like right now. Again, I'm a huge Ibaka fan and think he has a ton of potential. But this is a 50-win team with a chance to steal a playoff round. Isn't that great for the progress of the Durant-Westbrook-Green nucleus? Don't you want those guys to get those reps? I would have gone for it. But it's hard to argue against Presti, who basically threw a no-hitter these past three years with one exception: The increasingly polarizing James Harden over Tyreke Evans, Ricky Rubio or Stephen Curry draft pick.

(Follow-up note: The more I watch Curry, I wonder whether he should have been the play there. Can you Imagine him with Westbrook, Durant, Ibaka and Green? Good golly. It's also tough to say that someone made the right move when he could offer Harden for Curry or Evans and both Sacramento and Golden State would quickly hang up. And yet … chemistrywise, and stylewise, it still might have been the right pick. Let's give it a year. At the very least, Harden's beard has been phenomenal.)

1:28: Manu and Westbrook exchange misses. And then … Duncan versus Serge: The Rematch! This time, Serge pokes the ball away twice and forces a hurried Duncan air ball for a shot-clock violation. Are you kidding me? This is either Serge's breakout party or the end of Duncan's career. Maybe both. Timeout, OKC.

0:45: Nice play for Durant, who curls off a screen to loft a jumper over Duncan. He has only 45 points. Tie game.

(Crucial note: The secret best TV night of the season will be April 14, Game 82, when Durant tries to become the youngest scoring champ ever in a home game against Memphis. LeBron will play at the same time, but the Cavs will have clinched home-court advantage by then, so LeBron probably will take a breather that night. So Durant will go into that night knowing exactly how many points he needs to earn the le. Thirty-three? Thirty-eight? Forty-three? Forty-nine? And the Zombies might be playing for a sixth or seventh seed to boot. Wild horses couldn't drag me away from the TV that night.)

0:32: Ginobili draws a foul from Serge that got called two seconds after it happened. The ref was apparently hypnotized by Manu's renegade bald spot and forgot to blow the whistle. Whatever. Manu drains both freebies. Spurs by two.

0:32: Unforced errors -- the death of a young team. Westbrook just stepped on the sideline trying to throw an inbounds pass. This is why you can't pick the Zombies in Round 1. They just aren't ready yet. These things take time. , even Scotty Brooks' suit choices aren't ready yet. Today he looks as if he came right from a car insurance convention.


[+] EnlargeLarry W. Smith/NBAE/Getty Images
Thabo Sefolosha missed his wide-open shot to win it for the Thunder.
0:08: I know, I know. … I've been Serge-bonkers in this column. But he just made his best play yet: a swooping, Westbrook-like block of what seemed to be an easy Duncan layup (off a perfectly executed pick-and-roll with Ginobili) to save the game. Zombies ball, timeout. Incredible play. By the way, Duncan was blanked in the fourth. No points. He might be nearing the De Niro/Pacino "88 Minutes" phase of his career. I sure hope not.

0:03: Can't say I liked this do-or-die play: Thabo Sefolosha (ice-cold, took one shot all game) inbounds to Durant, who draws the double-team and kicks it back to Sefolosha … who fires up a wide-open 3 that rims out. Huh???? Rebound, Ginobili. I think that play was diagrammed by Mike Dunleavy. Is he in the building? MY GOD, I THINK HE'S IN THE BUILDING! SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM ON SIGHT!

0:00: Manu misses the first one, makes the second, then Westbrook air-balls a half-court shot. Ballgame. Spurs 99, Zombies 96. A predictable result: One team might be long in the tooth but knows how to win; the other team is still getting those winning reps. Eventually, there will be a day when the Zombies (A) don't step on the baseline during big inbounds passes and (B) will realize that their best player should always shoot the biggest shot of the game unless he's being assaulted by a two-by-four. They'll get there.

Either way, I can't believe I spent a night enjoying compe ive playoff basketball in Wisconsin and Oklahoma. The wonders never cease.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2...3&sportCat=nba

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

I'm pretty much predicting the usual bull if the Spurs catch a W.

"No Bynum. No Shaq. Odom is hurt. Fisher is hurt...etc...."

"Melo wasn't motivated"

Well, it wasn't me that said things like that. Stop trying to put words on me that I never said.

If we beat them (LA, Cavs)... Then what? In your book... Are we contenders then? Or we simply suck and no matter what we do, we just suck?
You want us to win or lose?

"Melo wasn't motivated" That was a good one.

If we beat one of those teams then we beat a contender. I've explained that twice already in this thread. Exactly how dense are you?

Does beating a contender make us a contender? No. To contend you have to win 4 7-game series, and I don't see us doing that because we don't have a team iden y, nor sufficient team chemistry. Our iden y used to be defense - we could lock the game down and stop teams from scoring for long periods. That's how we won 4 rings. We were also good enough offensively in 2005 and 2007 to play helter-skelter with teams like the Suns.

Now, what has the team proven this year? 1. It can't stop anyone consistently or for long periods. 2. It can't consistently outscore opponents. So, how exactly are we going to win 4 7-game series? Sadly, this team has not found the chemistry or iden y to be a champion. You can bury your head in the sand if you like, but that doesn't change the evidence at hand.

[santymrc]

Well, it wasn't me that said things like that. Stop trying to put words on me that I never said.



If we beat one of those teams then we beat a contender. I've explained that twice already in this thread. Exactly how dense are you?

Does beating a contender make us a contender? No. To contend you have to win 4 7-game series, and I don't see us doing that because we don't have a team iden y, nor sufficient team chemistry. Our iden y used to be defense - we could lock the game down and stop teams from scoring for long periods. That's how we won 4 rings. We were also good enough offensively in 2005 and 2007 to play helter-skelter with teams like the Suns.

Now, what has the team proven this year? 1. It can't stop anyone consistently or for long periods. 2. It can't consistently outscore opponents. So, how exactly are we going to win 4 7-game series? Sadly, this team has not found the chemistry or iden y to be a champion. You can bury your head in the sand if you like, but that doesn't change the evidence at hand.

We will see... Keep wishing for L... "Spurs fan".

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

We will see... Keep wishing for L... "Spurs fan".

Oh, for sake, GROW UP. I am not "wishing for a loss" dip , I am assessing the evidence with regards to what this team is capable of.

If I had a wish it would be that we would miraculously start playing like we did to end the 2007 playoffs, and we'd sweep through 16-0 to put the 5th ring on Duncan's finger and end any discussion about who has been the team of the decade. Unfortunately, all indications point to that not happening, so I'm being realistic about what the team is capable of.

I don't have a problem with you living in Dream Land with the fairies and unicorns, just don't paint me as a bad fan. I've put more effort and sacrifice into my Spurs fandom than most, having followed the team for 20 years and traveled from Australia twice to see them play a total of 18 games live. If you'd been here more than 5 minutes you'd know that.

In conclusion...

[NFGIII]

Oh, for sake, GROW UP. I am not "wishing for a loss" dip , I am assessing the evidence with regards to what this team is capable of.

If I had a wish it would be that we would miraculously start playing like we did to end the 2007 playoffs, and we'd sweep through 16-0 to put the 5th ring on Duncan's finger and end any discussion about who has been the team of the decade. Unfortunately, all indications point to that not happening, so I'm being realistic about what the team is capable of.

I don't have a problem with you living in Dream Land with the fairies and unicorns, just don't paint me as a bad fan. I've put more effort and sacrifice into my Spurs fandom than most, having followed the team for 20 years and traveled from Australia twice to see them play a total of 18 games live. If you'd been here more than 5 minutes you'd know that.

In conclusion...

Bottle this Ruff - this can be applied to many a thread here. A lot of posters knee jerk based on reading a sentence or two, if that. Context and content seems to some not to be very important.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Bottle this Ruff - this can be applied to many a thread here. A lot of posters knee jerk based on reading a sentence or two, if that. Context and content seems to some not to be very important.

Indeed sir! The quality of the board is highly variable.

It's okay though, sometimes it's a nice way to let off some steam!

BTW, kudos on being Frogger champion. I played it for a while but got to a point where I just couldn't go any further.