Good/Bad from Spurs/Thunder..

[SpurPadre]

Add in a healthy Tony and Manu to this Spurs team and I don't see them losing a series to this OKC team. HCA or not. OKC is not the same without Harden. The Spurs can actually get stops against this team now.

Of course adding in a healthy Tony and Manu might be too much to ask. I guess time will tell.

We can't forget the Sefolosha on TP factor, though and TP hasn't showed a counter to that strategy all year.

[Richie]

People are being way too harsh on Green. The guy is what he is, a knockdown shooter from 3 and an above average defender. Put him in a backcourt with De Colo and ask him to create like we did in the 4th tonight and he will look bad. 3-9 from 3 is a useless statistic, if he hits his next shot in OKC he's at 40% which is above the league average.

I'd love to see a breakdown on what, if anything, OKC did different tonight against Splitter. From 21/10 on 81% to 4/6 on 14%. Was it just a bad game or did OKC change it up?

[Pasta Batman]

We can't forget the Sefolosha on TP factor, though and TP hasn't showed a counter to that strategy all year.

But it looks like Kawhi will have the ball in his hands more. Thabo can't be everything. Making Duarant work harder is going to be a good thing. Only time will tell, but a key to helping Parker shake Thabo is having other guys with the ball in their hands who are capable.

[SpurPadre]

But it looks like Kawhi will have the ball in his hands more. Thabo can't be everything. Making Duarant work harder is going to be a good thing. Only time will tell, but a key to helping Parker shake Thabo is having other guys with the ball in their hands who are capable.

Ok but in order to do that, then Manu must start over Green in a series against OKC. Green is definitely not ready step up against a team of this caliber.

[SpurPadre]

People are being way too harsh on Green. The guy is what he is, a knockdown shooter from 3 and an above average defender. Put him in a backcourt with De Colo and ask him to create like we did in the 4th tonight and he will look bad. 3-9 from 3 is a useless statistic, if he hits his next shot in OKC he's at 40% which is above the league average.

I'd love to see a breakdown on what, if anything, OKC did different tonight against Splitter. From 21/10 on 81% to 4/6 on 14%. Was it just a bad game or did OKC change it up?

After that pathetic inbounds pass from Green, he deserves to be torn a new asshole. I didn't want to look at his face after that one and neither did Pop, who promptly yanked him for several minutes after that.

[HI-FI]

fair and balanced post from Harlem.

OKC doesn't scare me like previously. I think the Heat beatdown and losing Harden has stolen some of their thunder (bad pun). They, like their ice skating fans, realize that they depend on a lot on refs to win. Even tonight, they didn't seem as y as before. Spurs seemed to be playing very well, despite injuries and key contributors going cold.

I'm not saying we will dominate them, but if healthy, I think we can push their in, enough to create real doubt.

[SpurPadre]

fair and balanced post from Harlem.

OKC doesn't scare me like previously. I think the Heat beatdown and losing Harden has stolen some of their thunder (bad pun). They, like their ice skating fans, realize that they depend on a lot on refs to win. Even tonight, they didn't seem as y as before. Spurs seemed to be playing very well, without most of our most talented guys.

I'm not saying we will dominate them, but if healthy, I think we can push their in.

Not without HCA we won't, tbh.

[Pasta Batman]

Ok but in order to do that, then Manu must start over Green in a series against OKC. Green is definitely not ready step up against a team of this caliber.

It's less about who starts and more about the total minutes played. Green won't get all those minutes, but there are times when he's useful. That said, I'd rather Pop try and give him those situations. This is what the season is for. Learning.

The team was lacking 3 players in this game basically. Parker, Gino, Jackson. They were also in the 4th in 5 nights. They did pretty well for all those factors. Also, there is nothing stopping Pop from running Nando/Parker together with Parker as an off guard, which would take away some stuff from Thabo if he gets him run off screens.

Pop has more options this season with Nando getting better and of course Kawhi. The key to Green is limiting his ball handling, which will definitely lessen if the team is fully around.

[Pasta Batman]

Not without HCA we won't, tbh.

There are no guarantees either way. It just takes being hot at the right time, if healthy.

[SenorSpur]

It's less about who starts and more about the total minutes played. Green won't get all those minutes, but there are times when he's useful. That said, I'd rather Pop try and give him those situations. This is what the season is for. Learning.

The team was lacking 3 players in this game basically. Parker, Gino, Jackson. They were also in the 4th in 5 nights. They did pretty well for all those factors. Also, there is nothing stopping Pop from running Nando/Parker together with Parker as an off guard, which would take away some stuff from Thabo if he gets him run off screens.

Pop has more options this season with Nando getting better and of course Kawhi. The key to Green is limiting his ball handling, which will definitely lessen if the team is fully around.

Green always scares the crap out of me whenever he tries that little trick of driving the lane and then attempting to put the ball behind his back in traffic. After all, he's already one of the worse ball-handlers on the team to start with, then he tries that crap while surrounded by defenders. It's just scary.

[jjktkk]

- OKC won by double-digits, despite losing the FT battle..this will rarely occur, as they are arguably the most ref-coddled team in NBA history..

Telling stat. But looking ahead at a potentiall playoff matchup against OKC, this is also troubling, given how OKC normally gets those calls.

[jag]

Tiago's problem is that he puts up shots in the paint and is surprised by contact. Any contact gets him out of rhythm and he puts up a rushed/forced shot expecting a call. He's at his best when he goes to his move, or attacks the basket, expecting contact. He's not the only one who struggles with this though. Tim sometimes gets into a habit of expecting calls and starts putting up garbage shots when he feels contact. The difference with Tim is he knows how to snap himself out of that way of thinking after a few possessions. Tiago seems to bring only one particular mindset to each game. He either shows up with a soft mindset, looking for calls, or he shows up ready to bang in the paint. Unlike Tim, he isn't able to adjust.

I think he's still very much in the process of developing his game and adjusting to NBA-level talent. He's not a finished product. And I think his ability to adjust and adapt over the course of a game will come with experience. That being said, I'm getting tired of watching him lose focus because of contact and then put up bad shots expecting calls. Especially when he's shown he has the skill around the rim to finish with contact.

[Seventyniner]

Good thread, and good observations, Harlem.

I'll add some of my own observations.

• About the Spurs' defensive rebounding, it actually was above average. The Thunder had 9 ORB and the Spurs had 33 DRB, giving the Thunder a ORB% of 9/42 = 21.4% (against their average of 26.5%) and the Spurs a DRB% of 33/42 = 78.6% (against their average of 74.8%).
• Green going 3-9 from three isn't all that bad. 9 points on 9 shots isn't stellar, but it definitely isn't bad.
• Last night is the closest to a playoff-like rotation I've seen in a while. Give Neal's 28 min to Manu, most of De Colo's 23 min to Parker, a few of Diaw's min to Splitter, and carve out 8-10 min for Jackson, and that's a playoff rotation. To sum up: Duncan 36, Splitter 33, Diaw 25, Jackson 10, Leonard 40, Green 24, Ginobili 28, Parker 36, De Colo 8 looks like a possible rotation, and last night wasn't far from it.
• The Thunder are very underrated on D by this board. The Spurs are 3rd in DRtg, sure, but the Thunder are 5th.
• The Spurs did a good job on Durant. Durant used 28 possessions to get his 25 points, while Westbrook used 27 for his 27 points.
• Overall, the Spurs were on their 4th game in 5 nights with Manu out, Jackson out, and Parker hobbled, while the Thunder are always healthy and had 4 days of rest. It was a scheduled loss if there ever was one (like the Thunder's recent loss to the Spurs in San Antonio), so I can't be too disappointed.

[Slippy]

The biggest "bad" facing the Spurs currently is ball movement from their guards. The high assisting offense has taken a dive. The likes of Neal , Green , Jax and Kawai who are handling the ball more, arn't good enough to see or make the pass needed to get their offense flowing. That include making second or third pass for a better shot. It gets tougher for the team because they aren't handling high pressure defense on the dribble well meaning stupid turnovers. If you wanted proof. Look at the most basic offense run in basketball . They can't even get a fast break right. It's a glaring weakness.

Offcourse having Manu out and a banged up Tony is big reason on why. The Spurs are not only missing their chief playmakers but also their best passers and ball handlers.

The "good" is for Nando and Kawai its part of their learning curve. You would expect them to get better at dealing with it going into the play-offs.

[spurraider21]

here's the good from the Thunder game

[thunderup]

here's the good from the Thunder game

Yall have a promising player.

[spurraider21]

Yall have a promising player.

and the kid is just 21. for the past couple of seasons i was always depressed when I thought of the Spurs post-Duncan. we had ridiculously luck with the robinson-duncan transition. the odds of landing yet another top 10 all time big man is laughable, but at least this guy can develop into something. he's gotta be surrounded by parts though, he's not going to be able to carry a team like 03 Duncan did

[Southwest Texas Fan]

and the kid is just 21. for the past couple of seasons i was always depressed when I thought of the Spurs post-Duncan. we had ridiculously luck with the robinson-duncan transition. the odds of landing yet another top 10 all time big man is laughable, but at least this guy can develop into something. he's gotta be surrounded by parts though, he's not going to be able to carry a team like 03 Duncan did

Only time will tell what Kawhi will turn into. So far everything looks good and though the season is far from over, part of me is looking forward to Kawhi's third year.