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That's the story of the game. Bonner's failures are hurting the spurs. Might as well just be 4 on 5 out there.
But Vander still thinks Bonner can contribute.....
ing idiot.
I was referring to Bonner by the way.
Heading into Game 2, the Spurs needed a win to tie the series and capture homecourt advantage. Mission failed. Instead, the Suns showed off their depth and explosiveness in a 110-102 victory.
The Spurs played well in the first half, leading by as many as 11 points. However, Jared Dudley and the rest of the hustling Suns bench ignited Phoenix in the second quarter -- mostly by crashing the offensive glass. By halftime, all the good work San Antonio had done was erased and the game was tied 51-51.
In the third quarter, the Spurs spent much of the period with the lead. But, as has been the theme of this series, the Suns responded to every Spurs run and took a two-point lead into the final stanza.
With Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire on the bench, the Suns went small and forced Duncan out onto the perimeter -- and their plan worked to perfection. Duncan couldn't keep up with Channing Frye off of down-screens and couldn't defend Grant Hill one-on-one. By the time Nash and Stoudemire re-entered, the Suns held a six-point lead with six minutes remaining in the game. At that point, Nash orchestrated the pick-and-roll too well and the Spurs couldn't get the needed to stops to make a comeback.
The Spurs now head to San Antonio in an 0-2 hole and obviously need to win both games at home to have a chance in this series.
-Tim Duncan carried the Spurs early on. San Antonio came out trying to establish Duncan from the beginning and they did just that. He was scoring at will and the Suns looked helpless to stop him. The second half was a different ballgame, however. The Suns started to swarm Duncan more and he didn't have the space to operate. When the Suns went small, Duncan couldn't take advantage on the offensive end and was exploited on the defensive end. That double whammy doomed the Spurs in the fourth quarter. Overall, Duncan played well but he has to take advantage of the small lineups. If the small lineups continue to take advantage of him, the Spurs don't have a shot of coming back in this series. Duncan finished with 29 points, ten rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while shooting 12-for-20 from the field.
-I expect Manu Ginobili to get too much blame for this loss. Yes, he was only 2-for-8 from the field and missed all three of his two-point attempts, but the Suns were blitzing almost every pick-and-roll he was involved in. Rather than force the issue, Ginobili turned into a playmaker. He had 11 assists and three turnovers -- numbers the Spurs can surely live with. Going forward in this series, Ginobili has to find a way to consistently get into the paint. The answer may be more isolations instead of the plethora of pick-and-rolls. Defensively, Ginobili was late on some rotations but wasn't much of a liability. I'm confident he'll figure things out between now and Game 3.
-Tony Parker, who came off the bench again, was once again able to attack Phoenix's defense. He totaled 20 points and seven assists on 8-for-14 shooting from the floor. I also thought he did a very good job defending Nash. That said, Parker was just too sloppy. He had four turnovers and had a few other bad passes that broke the offense's rhythm. Parker needs to clean up his play and attack even more. The Suns don't have an answer for him; he has to play like he knows that. I want to see 20+ field goal attempts out of him in Game 3.
-George Hill played better but was still hurting the team more often than not. Defensively, the Spurs covered up his shortcomings against Nash by trapping pick-and-rolls ... although that opened up room for other Suns to get going. When Hill was defending bigger players, his lack of height was once again taken advantage of by Phoenix. He finished with 14 points on 5-for-11 shooting from the floor and 2-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc, however he was hesitant a number of times and could have done more on that end to help the Spurs. Hopefully Hill's level of play will increase in front of the home crowd.
-Statistically, no one can complain with what the Spurs got out of Richard Jefferson. He finished with 18 points, ten rebounds, three assists and two blocks, while hitting 8-of-13 shots from the floor. That said, he didn't play as well as the stats indicate. His defense was inconsistent and the Suns are thriving on defense by leaving Jefferson open. Jefferson has apparently given up on his three-point shot and is instead standing about 20 feet away from the basket when others are trying to create. While that allows Jefferson to penetrate or shoot a midrange shot when he gets the ball, the lack of spacing is hurting the overall offense. This game was a step in the right direction for Jefferson but he has to figure out a way to make the Suns pay even more for ignoring him. Or better yet, force the Suns to stop ignoring him.
-Antonio McDyess didn't do much wrong in his 22 minutes. In fact, I'm not sure why he didn't play more. He had six points on 3-for-5 shooting from the field to go along with three rebounds, an assist and a steal. I thought his defense against Stoudemire was stout and he appeared confident in his jumper. Pop really should consider playing him more as the series progresses.
-Matt Bonner was most responsible for losing the game for the Spurs. Point blank. With Frye going 5-for-6 from three-point range, San Antonio's bench bigman shooter responded by missing all four of his shots. That's a 15-point swing the Spurs simply can't overcome. You can now etch it in stone that Bonner is a playoff choker. He doesn't want to shoot open shots and he misses the ones he does take. He's now 10-for-32 from the field in the playoffs and 5-for-20 on threes. What makes it even worse is virtually all of those shots are without a soul around him. It's just a damn shame.
-DeJuan Blair played nine minutes and was hit and miss. He had four points, two rebounds and three steals. The three steals were helpful but his lack of defensive rebounds really hurt the Spurs. When the Suns have their lively bench on the court, Blair has to pull down rebounds. He has to. Next to him is either Bonner or a small ... so either Blair gets the defensive rebound or chances are the Suns get an offensive rebound.
-Keith Bogans played five first half minutes. He had a couple good moments but Pop was angered by a few boneheaded plays that included an inexplicably bad foul at the end of the first quarter. With the Suns having ten legit players in their rotation, the Spurs need someone like Bogans to step up and provide decent minutes. On this night, that didn't happen.
-I can't put too much blame on Pop tonight. The biggest mistake was playing Bonner 15 minutes and not giving those minutes to someone like McDyess ... although the Spurs are so desperate for spacing offensively that I can almost understand Pop's usage of Bonner. I disagreed with Pop not starting Parker but I'm not sure how much that move affected the game. The role players not producing better is killing the Spurs right now, as is the Spurs losing defensive concentration here and there for a few minutes at a time. I'm not sure what else Pop can do with regard to either matter. I guess the hope is that the role players do better work in front of the home crowd and the defense improves the more it see this unique Suns attack.
That's the story of the game. Bonner's failures are hurting the spurs. Might as well just be 4 on 5 out there.
But Vander still thinks Bonner can contribute.....
ing idiot.
I was referring to Bonner by the way.
LJ tell me you don't miss Finley right now
I just don't get why Pop doesn't stick with McDyess and his long range jumper for spacing instead of a Matt Bonner who isn't even guarded ANYWAYS.
It makes no sense when you say it out loud.
We need Bonner for spacing. He misses every shot. They don't even guard him so theres no spacing.
McDyess does hit shots. Albiet closer to the rim. But they do have to respect it.
There has to be at least some spacing advantage to leaving Dice out there.
His jumper is overall money these playoffs.
Baffles me.
I thought Pop coached bad ass this game except leaving Bonner out there too long. He was lightning quick and on point with his subs utions especially in the first quarter. Rewatch that first quarter for subs. It's a work of art. He arguably left Bogans in there too long at the very end and then Bogans goes and gets that stupid foul.
Ginobili gave us Bad Manu tonight.
And we made a conscious team effort not to guard Channing Frye.
Ball game.
McDyess has to be getting way way more minutes. I agree with what you're saying about the reasoning behind Pop trying to play Bonner to space the floor, but at this point we need to pull the plug on him.
I just don't see why Pop doesn't give all of Bonner's minutes to Dice and even some to Blair. I understand that Pop wants to "space" the floor, but what good is trying to space the floor..when the guy your counting on to shoot 3-pointers bricks every WIDE OPEN attempt he gets? I'd rather have Dice out there who can also stretch the floor (even though they would be long 2's instead of 3's). At least the damn ball would go in the basket...
F Fin.
Spurs would have lost against the Mavs if Fin were still on the roster. Those McDyess minutes would have been Finley's minutes following the Game 1 loss and I'd have a fishing pole in my hand.
But yeah, this series, Finley would help. , Barry or Kerr would help. Anyone who could hit a wide open three.
Shane Heal would help.
My problem with the "spacing" issue is that teams do not even guard Bonner.
Even if he hits one or two, they do not guard him.
There is no spacing either way.
So why not leave Dice out there to hit that 20 footer at a high clip, and provide some rebounding punch?
It makes no sense to play Bonner extended minutes. None. We need him in brief spurts to spell Dice and Duncan but other than that he does not need minutes like tonight.
But that guy was the Bonner of the regular season
Bingo. I just posted the exact same damn thing 2 posts before...
Spurs made 7 3's. Funny thing is Parker has 2 and Tim had 1.
What sucks is that now in Game 3, Pop will probably be forced to see if Bonner will hit these wide open shots at home. He could pull the plug completely on Bonner but standard logic says role playing shooters shoot better at home ... so that alone may force Pop to give Bonner yet another chance.
Don't get me wrong, I personally wouldn't mind if Bonner went back to New Hampshire and never returned. I'm just saying what Pop will be thinking headed into Game 3.
ing Shane Heal.
Jesus Christ I can't believe we can't hit 3s.
I guess the big question is whether or not you live and die by the Bonner. I don't see how you win this series without some 3 point shooting and Bonner is the most likely source (LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL) of that shooting but I'm not sure if Pop has given up on him.
I don't care if Pop plays him anymore and unless he does a complete 180 dude is done here but how the do the Spurs win without him playing well?
Well if you're Pop assumptions are correct its yet another notch on Pop's belt of bad decisions since game 1 of the Laker series in 2008.
at parker being our best 3 pt shooter now.
We don't.
Tony Parker needs to channel his inner Memphis Series 2004 Self. He hit like 4-to-5 threes a game in that sweep. And also the first two Lakers games of 2004.
It was a 6 game stretch of Tony Parker hotness the likes of which I have still not seen.
If he can give up his whack ass work with Chip for this long range jumper that still is not that dependable, and just revert to 2004 playoff Parker on his threes....we can still beat this team.
Anyone remember what I'm talking about?
Jefferson's block on Dud was awesome. But bim not trusting his 3 point shot is killing us imo. He might as well fire away because its not like his step in 2 is automatic. And I agree that Dice needs to get more minutes. Amare did get a few bowling, elbows frailing, buckets against him, but overall he played good, and like stated before his jumper has been good during the playoffs.
Considering the Spurs had 2 winnable games on the road to start this series, I think we have a better chance to make it 2-2 heading into game 5, as the role players should perform better at home.
However, the difference so far in this series, is that the Suns are winning games they seemingly shouldn't be winning, while the Spurs are the ones giving games away.
I'll be curious to see how the Suns bench performs on the road.
I don't think the Spurs win this series unless he plays well. Its either him or RMJ (LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL) so I guess Pop might as well roll the dice and play them.
All season long we complained about RJ and his lack of production but what is really going to sink this team is the complete lack of 3 point shooting.
The second he bricks one at home, Pop should pull the plug then..
Prahps to calling it that played worse than his stats say he played. He ed up a lot of things down the stretch and all of his points were created off better players being present on the court.
It's amazing how Bonner can go from a huge difference maker in the regular season to a gaping orifice in the playoffs. Got damn it is so frustrating watching a player like Bonner ruin things for the whole team. If he'd just hit 33% of his wide open shots things would be a lot different.
this is pretty telling. Bonner is just playing like garbage all over the place. Even if he's able to draw a foul or something else, the rest of the stuff he does (or doesn't do) offsets the good things by big margin.
For instance, i can't really say Mason is a playoff choker - i think his problems are others but Bonner I think he chokes big time. I remember seeing him many times passing the ball on open looks and he knows they are open, he even looks at the basket, then passes the ball with 6 secs left on the clock. Also, he seems to be outside the 3 line, then when he gets the ball, he steps in, looks up, then passes the ball. that's choking big time.
Mason at least tries to shoot the ball but just can't get the shot to fall.
I see the difference in this series so far being that the Suns are about 3 players deeper than the Spurs.
+1. That Suns bench has never been in this situation before. 2nd round of the Playoffs, on the road, against a pretty damn good team. Their whole bench consists of nothing but young guys (Dragic, Frye, Dudley) who might not have the confidence or balls to fire away like they did in front of their home crowd.
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