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I'm just happy we got some players back.
The Spurs began the second half of their season against the Bulls, a defensive juggernaut that also happens to feature the NBA's reigning MVP. Following a lot of runs both ways, Chicago was able to prove their supremacy in the fourth quarter on their way to a 96-89 victory.
The first quarter ended with the Spurs up by two points. The Bulls owned the second quarter to take an eight-point lead into halftime -- but the Spurs bounced back in the third. That period saw the Spurs play some of their best hardnosed basketball of the season. Heading into the fourth, the Spurs had reclaimed the lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Bulls turned the intensity up and their execution was nearly flawless. If it wasn't for Gary Neal single-handedly keeping the Spurs in the game by scoring 13 straight points, Chicago would have ran away with it.
First of all, I was really impressed by the defense played by the Bulls. They are extremely well coached on that end of the court and each player performed his role exquisitely. It's no mistake they are the envy of the rest of the league when it comes to defensive play. Oh, and that Derrick Rose kid ain't half bad.
As for the Spurs, there was some good and some bad. First the bad: The Bulls are simply the better team right now. There's still a long way to go before San Antonio reaches that level. The good news is that the Spurs have a lot of room to improve, especially health-wise, and they were able to hang in there tonight despite being completely outplayed on both ends for much of the game.
Tim Duncan C+
In the first half, Tim Duncan looked like he had spent the All-Star break hibernating in a vat of ice. His reactions were slow, his movements were slow and he was having trouble running the court. I'm not sure Duncan has looked worse physically all year than he looked in the first two quarters. Thankfully, he must have thawed out during intermission because he was totally different in the third period. In about an eight-minute stretch, Duncan took over the game -- totaling 12 points and seven rebounds on 6-for-7 shooting from the floor. Unfortunately, Duncan never really got involved in the action in the fourth quarter until it was too late. When he checked in, Neal was in the middle of his one-man show so he ended up taking a backseat. Other than that one stretch, Duncan was definitely sub par tonight. However, that stretch was good enough to arguably be the brightest spot of the entire game.
Tony Parker D+
Early on, it looked like Tony Parker was up for the challenge of matching Rose basket for basket. Parker made four of his first seven shots and looked primed for another huge game. It just didn't happen. Parker went on to connect on only one of his last nine field goals -- many of which were open looks. Despite what his nine assists might lead you to believe, Parker didn't do a very good job of running the offense, particularly in the final three quarters. It seemed like he was taken out of his game after a few calls went against him early and he just never could get everything back on track. While the Bulls are a devastating defensive squad, Parker needed to play a smarter all-around game to give the Spurs a chance.
Richard Jefferson D
I can't even adequately describe how useless Richard Jefferson was tonight. On defense, his rotations were pathetically slow. He compounded that issue by rotating to the wrong player a handful of times. Jefferson gave no effort on the glass and didn't bother to hustle. On offense, he's so much of a one-trick pony that the Bulls erased him from the equation entirely simply by keeping a defender near him at all times.
Danny Green B+
In the first half, Danny Green's three three-pointers played a key role in keeping the Spurs in the ballgame. His energy on the boards and in loose ball situations was also commendable. At times, he even did decent work on Rose. However, in the second half, once the Bulls started running Green off of numerous picks, they realized he couldn't keep up. That's when his defense was exposed a bit. While not being able to maneuver around picks is legitimately a glaring flaw, if he can fix that, Green is showing quite a bit of potential as far as being a player tough and rugged enough to thrive in a playoff type atmosphere.
DeJuan Blair B
To begin the night, DeJuan Blair wasn't doing a good job on the defensive boards, but after Pop jumped on the team to be more aggressive in that area, Blair responded with some strong work on the glass. Offensively, he missed a few easy shots but I didn't mind his aggressiveness. He also had a couple nice high-low entry passes to Duncan to beat an overaggressive Bulls defense. On the other end, outside of his early lapses rebounding-wise, I thought he was solid. All in all, Blair played an average game.
Gary Neal A-
With Chicago's defense beginning to dominate, things looked bleak for San Antonio. But then Gary Neal came to the rescue. Sure, he might have forced some shots and broken the offensive sets a little early a couple times but his 13 straight points in the fourth quarter were gigantic. Without those buckets, the Bulls coast to a double-digit victory. But other than his fourth quarter play, I didn't think Neal was that good. He had a short yet disastrous stint at point guard and his decision-making in pick-and-rolls left a lot to be desired throughout. On defense, it was difficult to hide his deficiencies.
James Anderson B-
With Manu Ginobili and Kawhi Leonard out due to injury, James Anderson was forced into duty. In fact, he was the first player off the bench tonight. What I liked best about his outing was his rebounding in the second half. He pulled down some key boards and his effort was contagious. Defensively, he wasn't very good; he looked slow in one-on-one matchups. Offensively, he hesitated a lot and was basically just getting in the way. But to his credit he had a couple strong drives and he never seemed to back down at any point in the game.
Matt Bonner D
All I can do is shake my head. And really, I'm not even mad at Matt Bonner. But this is a perfect example of what happens against a defense that pays attention to details -- like the Bulls on a nightly basis or most every other team once the playoffs arrive. The Bulls obviously made sticking with Bonner a major point of emphasis in their gameplan because he got none of his customary open looks. His one basket was off of a set play out of a timeout. In the course of the free flowing game, the Bulls were disciplined enough to not even give Bonner one open look. Then on the other end, the Bulls made it a point to attack Bonner defensively. And come playoff time, this is exactly what's going to happen. In typical regular season games, Bonner is a huge asset … but that's largely due to laziness and unpreparedness by the opposition. It just doesn't work when the games actually matter. Tonight was just another example.
Tiago Splitter C-
Coming back from a calf strain, Tiago Splitter didn't look like the same player we got accustomed to before he got hurt. He had trouble running the court and his agility was poor. Hopefully it's just a matter of Splitter getting back into shape and not a matter of lingering effects of the injury. The Brazilian had a couple moments here and there but overall it was a far cry from a few weeks ago.
TJ Ford C
During his first stint, TJ Ford had some exciting plays. His passing was excellent and his defense was scrappy. It looked like he wasn't going to miss a beat following his extended absence due to a pulled hamstring. But then his second stint happened. Ford was atrocious. His defense was lousy, he started dribbling too much, his decisions were too slow and he wasn't getting the team into their sets. That said, it's obviously way too early to have too high of expectations for Ford -- and that first stint offered quite a bit of hope.
Pop B-
The Bulls were the much better team tonight so Pop deserves some credit for playing a role in keeping the scoreboard close for a majority of the game. Dealing with all the players either coming back from injuries or playing through injuries wasn't easy. To make it more difficult, it appeared as if Green got hurt in the second half, which forced Pop to either go with Jefferson or Anderson to close the game. I didn't envy his decision between those two. While I think Pop played Bonner too much, Splitter looked to be gassed after his 18 minutes and Blair hasn't closed games all year so he was probably stuck there too. Let's hope the Spurs can get healthy so that Pop can get back to coaching instead of just playing whichever players are the most upright at any given moment.
I'm just happy we got some players back.
Agreed on basically everything. Spurs hung in there and gave the Bulls a run for their money despite everything going against them. Didn't expect a W but I'm glad the team kept it close. The first order of business from here on out is to get healthy and stay consistent.
-Tale of 2 halves for TJ. Looked confident, rejuvenated, and revitalized in the first half. The 2nd half showcased what a lot of us were concerned about, poor D, over dribbling, lack of energy. But I'm confident with TJ moving forward.
-Bonner made me believe in him (again) during our winning streak. Sadly LJ brings the goods and explains perfectly why Bonner is fool's gold.
-Reoccurring theme for Blair, play well the first 6 minutes and either fall off completely or manage to be active enough to help. At times he looked slow and sluggish while running the court, other times he attempted questionable shots but overall he was positive tonight. Notable plays: the two overhead passes to Timmy that resulted in 2 dunks.
-If you only watched the 3rd quarter, you'd probably think Timvp is insane for giving him a C+. But on the whole Duncan had a lot of trouble with the physicality of the Bulls in the first half. He was unable to generate any offense outside of Blair assisting him for the dunk. Luckily in after getting 2 more dunks in the 3rd, his body language changed and he proceeded to drain a classic bank shot and 3 more long range jumpers.
James Anderson had 1 nice drive.. but I've seen Malik Hairston do that 4 times in one game. The real concern is that he continues to miss his shots when open.
Relying on Bonner is like cheating on your homework. It's hurts you when the test comes. That said the best way to combat a good defense is by getting as many easy baskets as possible. That means efficient low post scoring and fastbreaks.
blair a fkn B?
his negatives all game clearly destroys whatever his done on the court
Timvp, you should give RJ an F. An utterly useless weapon who is basically a deadweight being carried by the rest of the Spurs team. He, i thought was single handedly responsible for the Spurs' defense breakdown on crucial plays in the fourth quarters. Other players were atleast trying their best to keep their team close (except for Bonner of course).
Bonner is what he is. A fourth big who gives some offensive options and is otherwise overmatched. Anything that Bonner gives is a bonus. And I am sure his minutes will come down eventually, either when the Spurs get a fifth big man by trade or by the waivers.
But RJ is practically useless - he can't get away from the corner on offense (nor can he get off a shot from there when required) and he is completely listless on defense. His presence in this team is the biggest roadblock for Spurs' contention IMO.
TJ Ford was great in the first half precisely because he was playing like he was a second string PG who was going with the flow. The second half and it seemed like he wanted to take over and to emulate what CJ Watson did for the Bulls. That, I think, completely screwed him up.
Nice writeup Tim.
Good write up
Without Manu & Leonard, the Spurs can't & shouldn't be expected to keep up with the Bulls 2nd unit. Bulls are a very difficult team to defeat in the regular season because of their depth.
Ultimately we are talking about 2 of the Top4 coached teams in the league. Could very well be a Finals preview
LJ, while I agree with you on your points about Bonner and good defenses/playoff defenses prepared for him, shouldn't we be able to exploit teams that have defenders guarding him closely by driving and scoring inside baskets?
The 82games.com data has shown that Manu and Bonner work well together in particular and you'd think with Bonner spacing the floor that either Manu or Neal can dribble drive inside and dish it off to Tiago in a 2-on-1 or 3-on-2 situation when the big man collapses to help, no?
Even if the help comes from a wing, we should be able to dish to the corner for a three, right?
Where's Manu's grade?
Where the crowd's grade?
Refs grade too
Manu Ginobili C-
It was a tale of two halves for Manu. Early on it was nothing short of a vintage performance from the fiery Argentine. He was clapping and cheering on his teammates, and showed why he's one of the best bench leaders in the League. His emotional support and high-five availability was Adam-Morrison-like. However, as the game progressed Manu seemed to fade. In the second half, his passion and enthusiasm from behind the bench were almost non-existent. I can only speculate that his clapping in the first half aggravated one of his many previous injuries. If the Spurs expect to make a deep run this postseason, then they are going to need Manu at his best. If that means clapping and cheering on his teammates through the pain, then so be it. He started off strong, but lackadaisical, uninspired performances like tonight aren't going to cut it.
Are you guys shocked Timmy only played 32 minutes? I felt like Pop sat him too long after he went off. I think he should've came in earlier in the 4th than he did.
James Anderson has a terrible habit of picking up his dribble at the wrong time then following it up with a weak pump fake. He has to stop doing that.
Absolutely spot on. Playoff defense meets playoff Bonner.
Yet CIA Popped gets a B- for playing these two 42 minutes combined.
The Good: The Spurs got a taste of playoff basketball early -- the Bulls beat them up in every sense and gave them a standard to aim for. You can bet Pop has their attention now and they'll be fighting to reach that standard the whole second half. A nice motivational kick in the rear beats resting on RRT laurels anyday. And considering two of their top five-six players were out, they competed pretty well.
The Bad: The Bulls' bigs exposed the Spurs front line as unable to rebound or defend the rim at a playoff level. Noah was playing ping pong on the offensive glass. That will not get better even when Manu and Kawhi return. How they address this fatal flaw before the playoffs is anybody's guess. But we can at least hope they try.
The Ugly: Too much cheering for the Bulls in SA at the Spurs' arena.
This game shows exactly why Bonner is useless in the playoffs. He doesn't get open looks against elite defensive teams.
Expected loss. There are 3 true contender this year with Heat, Thunder and Bulls. Spurs aren't in the same category and it will stay like that baring some kind of miracle trade or free agent addition.
Great timvp impersonation.
But yeah, Ginobili has been a total disaster this year. At more than the half of the regular season, he has only been healthy only 4 games. He better start being healthy and playing great because, with a $13M salary, he will soon end up as one of the most overpaid player in the NBA.
Isn't the reason Pop likes Bonner to be out there that he can "spread the floor"? That doesn't just mean that he makes 3's. It means that it forces the defense to put a man on him or they sag to the middle and then he makes 3's. So when a team like Chicago goes to the trouble of putting a man on him all night, and denying him the open looks, isn't that part of the plan? Isn't that the spreading the floor part of the Bonner strategy? Didn't his presence spread the floor by forcing the other team to keep a potential help defender out there?
Sometimes the defense may go cover him because he's been making 3's - last night they covered him to keep him from making 3's. What's the difference? Well... except for the part where he makes some shots.
Don't even start the rants - I'm not even talking about Bonner here. I'm wondering if there's really any value to this team in spreading the floor, if the rest of the offense can't take advantage of it. We didn't have anybody capable of sucking the defender off of Bonner, so they didn't have to worry about it? To me that all says that the spreading the floor thing is BS, and Bonner's only value is if he's shooting, and making, 3-pointers. I guess it also says that the Bull's defense is good enough (or our offense lacking enough) that they don't need that help defender - ever.
Someone correct me, or steer me in another direction. Because that's a pretty sobering thought.
No, you're right. The evidence of that is the goose egg in the 2nd round as of late.
Well of course master Pop has a solution to improved rebounding in the playoffs...
here, I'll let the master speak;
"Matty will grab more than his share of boards because he is fundamentally sound in the way he keeps his arms raised-both of them!"
Not exactly Bonner's fault. The offensive system that has shooters rotate among the four major spots (the wings and corners) to get threes is to take advantage of bad defenses only. The only open looks the Spurs got were from Danny Green, early. Then the Bulls figured out he could shoot and he never burned them again.
The offensive system banks on teams doubling Tony or Timmy (or Manu) in order to create open looks, which worked great in the le years because you HAD to double them- all of them. Last night, Tony was too busy choking, no need to double. Tim doesn't get doubled anymore even on his best day. How will we expect Bonner (or Green, or Jefferson) to get open when we can't even get step 1 out of the way?
People love to blame Bonner/Jefferson for choking when really the same thing would happen if we had Bowen/Kerr/Barry as our spot up shooters against elite teams in this system with Duncan at the age he is now. All teams have to do is NOT double team Tony or Manu, and therefore Jefferson and Bonner (and Mason and Bogans and Jackson and Horry) don't get their threes. Then they can't get into a rhythm throughout the game, and all of a sudden they're labeled as chokers.
This is the flaw in Pop's offense. It's great for little league/high school/Golden State where defenses are undisciplined (I coach middle school kids, Pop's offense works amazingly when you have a quick PG). But spot up shooters can't get open when the defense locks in on them. There needs to be more screens and more plays literally drawn up for Bonner/RJ/Green to work the floor and less reliance on stand attack and kick, because defenses aren't buying it anymore.
The reason people say teams die by the three in the playoffs isn't because they suddenly choke- good defenses just key in on it. The reason guys like Reggie Miller and Jason Terry are such huge playoff performers from the perimeter against the best defenses ever is because they don't rely on a defender sagging off--they can run around screens and their offense can create plays for their 3's more easily. Luckily we have a guy like Neal who can do that, as we saw last night. But if Pop doesn't change his offense and set more screens for the spot-up guys, they'll put up more bagels in the playoffs and cause panic here. But the blame lies more on Pop for not realizing this, and for TP when he doesn't score enough to draw doubles.
The best example of this is the OKC games. In game 1 in OKC, they never dared leave Bonner for the entire first half. With Timmy and Tony both struggling, why should they? Bonner ends up 0-1 from 3pt land, and OKC wins in a blow out. Game 2? Parker scores 42...they have to double him or he torches Russell...and they do...Parker ends up drawing the defense out and boom he gets 9 assists--- Green hits 2 threes, Jefferson hits three, Bonner hits three.
It's easy to jump on Bonner and RJ, but it all starts with Pop and Tony.
inb4 tl;dr
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