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Some minor edits to make it a little more worth reading.
The Recap:
San Antonio Spurs (13-1) v Oklahoma City Thunder (9-3), November 27th, 2013
Well, this isn’t the post I’d hoped I’d be writing, but here it is. The Spurs ventured to OKC to put their NBA season best 11 game win streak (tied with Portland) on the line against the Thunder. Early on in the 1st quarter, things looked to be going well for the Spurs. Parker found success off the pick and roll, getting deep into the lane repeatedly and scoring while Westbrook did a poor job of getting through screens. Tiago missed some early shots but was very aggressive in getting to the ball and rebounding. However, the game quickly boiled down to a few facts: The Spurs were physically unable to hit open shots, particularly from deep, score in transition, and above all they had no answer for Reggie Jackson. The 23 year old guard went off on the Spurs like Mo Williams back when he thought he was a good player.
The first half saw some 2nd quarter lead changes as the Spurs struggled to get buckets but made up for it with excellent team defense. At times I saw 4 Spurs converge near a spot where the Thunder looked to pass. They limited outside penetration and maintained a lockdown on Westbrook and Durant that lasted until about midway through the 4th quarter. The Thunder came out of the gate a bit lackadaisical and gave up a lot of early boards because of it. The Spurs meanwhile showed a lot of hustle to make up for their missed shots.
However, this trend couldn’t last, and to be honest, no team should expect to get a win in Oklahoma City when they shoot 7-27 from downtown and miss 5 of their 14 free throw attempts. The 2nd half saw a rejuvenated OKC team led by Reggie Jackson slowly assert control of the contest, as the Spurs began to collapse earlier on defense when they saw potential penetration. This freed up shooters all over the court and the Thunder were all too happy to oblige, picking apart the Spurs defense and drilling shots that most teams have no business even taking. All in all, the Spurs fought hard to keep it close, but the 4th quarter saw OKC take a big lead and lean on it, while the Spurs missed clutch tips and buckets in transition that should be easy for a team as polished and as experienced as San Antonio. When the final buzzer rang, the Thunder nabbed a big 94-88 win. The game did not feel like a 2 possession contest for most of the 4th, and perhaps is a testament to the Spurs ability to keep it close even though tonight was clearly not their night.
Tony Parker - 16 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 turnovers
Tony Parker might not be a better point guard than Westbrook, but he is much smarter. Late in the 1st Parker was a one man fastbreak against three OKC defenders and managed to draw the foul despite all 3 of them being in proximity to him under the hoop. Just an amazing, heady, wily play from Tony, one that sports columns would use a lot of white-guy adjectives to describe. Parker was one of the few bright spots for the Spurs in this game. His ability to get into the paint and on the break, including an astonishing display of speed in the 2nd quarter where he ran past Westbrook so thoroughly that he didn’t even challenge Parker’s layup at the end was encouraging to see. However, there were several mishaps tonight by Tony, particularly in making clean passes in transition and ball rotation. Parker began to force the issue midway through the 3rd, and it resulted in a number of missed shots for the Frenchman. On defense, Tony maintained a very good hold on Westbrook for much of the game, forcing the speedster out of UCLA to go 2-16 from the field. Sadly though, a game where Westbrook scores a total of 6 points is a game you should win. Period. Parker’s forays into the lane seemed to be more desperate as the game progressed, and Tony finished a dismal 6-16 from the field.
B. For relentlessly forcing Westbrook out of his comfort zones and for being one of only two guys who had their head in the game in the first half for the Spurs.
Danny Green – 4 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 turnover
Danny Green missed all 4 of his threes tonight. When other players are off, Danny absolutely has to take it upon himself to be a rainmaker from deep. He didn’t do that tonight and the Spurs sorely needed it, not just for the points but to also keep OKC’s defense honest. Green played good help defense but otherwise was not an impactful player in any sense of the word, and a ghost of the man we hope to see each night for the Spurs.
D. For not stepping up in a “big” game. Are there big games in the regular season? Either way, dude needs to do better.
Kawhi Leonard – 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 turnover
Kawhi Leonard was on his way to a signature performance tonight. Then the 4th quarter happened. For much of this game, Kawhi was the best player on the court for either team. He defended Durant fiercely, forcing KD to shoot a bevy of fadeaways and 3 pointers over the quantum singularity that is Kawhi’s hands. However, like Tony, Kawhi appeared to have the jitters in the 4th. The stats only show one turnover, but there were numerous blown opportunities for Kawhi to finish and pull the Spurs within a bucket. Leonard played a very poor final period and as a result shot 33% from the field. However, if not for his defensive prowess in the first three quarters, this game would have gotten out of hand in the first half. A plethora of easy putbacks found a way to rim off the iron, and Leonard missed a chance to save the day for the Spurs and preserve the winning streak. Between Tony, Danny, and Kawhi, the trio shot a combined 1-11 from 3.
B+. Fantastic D on KD for 3 quarters and being the only guy apart from Tony on the starting 5 that even looked capable of scoring.
Tim Duncan – 11 points, 8 rebounds, 0 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, 3 turnovers.
Not Duncan’s worst performance of the season, but perhaps that’s a troubling sign. Tim, like many of the Spurs, played very solid defense throughout much of the first half. He rotated well and clogged the lane as he has been known to do for a decade and a half now. His shot is very sporadic, and although it looked better at times, it’s still very unreliable and seems to affect Duncan’s confidence. Duncan’s counterpart, meanwhile, seems to shine against the Spurs like no other team, and went off for 17 points. Duncan had one very nice drive from the top of the key past Perkins to the goal, which prompted the Thunder commentators to describe Duncan as a methodical player. Odd choice of words, that.
D+. Tim. Where are you? We want you back. Show that the fire still burns, because this ship ain’t sailing far when Tiago Splitter is our best post player. Speaking of….
Tiago Splitter – 6 points, 9 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 disappearing act in the 2nd half.
Tiago came out fired up and ready to play. He fought hard for boards underneath, played very good to occasionally excellent defense in the post, and forced OKC to pay attention to him on offense. He missed some early easy shots, but stayed aggressive. Then the 2nd half happened, someone at Chesapeake flipped a switch, and Tiago reverted back to being a 3rd tier big. Tiago needs to step up in these games if we are going to rely on him for production in the playoffs. Otherwise, I’d readily advocate giving his starting spot to Diaw, because Boris at least seems to want to be on the court when he’s out there.
D. Only because he got some boards.
Manu Ginobili – 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers.
You gotta love Manu. Win lose or draw, he’s going to make something happen. And if the rest of the team isn’t playing up to snuff, what do you have to lose? Manu was much needed energy tonight. Despite the turnovers, he played extremely hard on D and seemed to annoy the Thunder. He, along with Leonard were the most consistent Spurs tonight as far as energy level/intensity. The Spurs might have benefitted from seeing more of both Manu and Marco tonight. Manu also shot 50% on the evening, and given the standards the rest of the team set, it was needed.
B. For tireless effort on both sides of the ball but a couple of costly turnovers.
Boris Diaw – 10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 turnover.
I really don’t understand why Diaw only played 19 minutes tonight, but I assume it was due to his subpar rebounding. The *other* French Meat on the Spurs vacillated between looking lost on defensive rotations and making the Thunder defense look completely befuddled as to how to guard his drives to the hoop. He went 2-4 from three on the night, including one that the Thunder announcers described as a “pump fake”, only a split second before the ball ripped the cords of the net.
C+. Good offense. Bad defense. A wash. 10 points in 19 minutes ain’t bad, though.
Marco Belinelli – 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.
Marco badly missed a 3 in the 3rd quarter. His solution was to step about 3-4 feet back and heave another one at the rim. No dice. Aside from his extremely questionable shot selection, which is probably the reason he only saw 17 minutes, Belinelli played a decent game. He supplied the Spurs with some energy and was going after loose balls. But if he’s not hitting threes, it severely diminishes his value on the court. Tonight was not a good night for the 2nd 5.
C-. Horrible shot selection tempers an otherwise decent performance.
Patty Mills – 9 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, 1 steal.
Probably the worst game I’ve seen from Mills all season. He was able to score, but his normally strong defense was the catalyst to set Reggie Jackson off for a career night. Mills played up tight on Jackson, who utilized his first step to completely blow past Mills. Mills didn’t learn, and Jackson gained confidence as the night wore on.
D. For his shockingly poor defensive performance, a precipice from the high standard he has set for himself thus far this year.
Jeff Ayres – 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 turnover.
Ayres did not score and played limited defense in some of the most significant minutes he’s seen all season. Popovich seemed to give Ayres a shot to prove he belongs in this league and bang with the Thunder, and Ayres did precious little to justify his 12 minutes of time. His off-ball defense was perhaps the only acceptable thing from Ayres, but as it stands now, he does not deserve a place in the Spurs regular rotation. I’m as forgiving as it comes to new players working their way into the system but this might be the last season we see Jeff in the NBA.
D-. Boo.
Matt Bonner – 1 rebound, 1 assist, +8 IN TWO MINUTES WHAT THE .
I really don’t get it. He is the king of +/- forever.
A+. We won by 8 when he was in the game.
Gregg Popovich
Pop threw some different rotations out tonight, hoping to find a solution to dealing with OKC’s bigs who inexplicably can shoot from outside like they’re actually good players against us. At the end of the night, he has to have more questions than answers. Yet at the same time, the Spurs played easily one of their worst games in recent memory and were still in it late in the 4th. That has to serve as some comfort, but for tonight, Pop’s lineups did not bring the requisite energy to stay with a top tier team in their home arena.
D+. If the 3s are falling tonight, he looks like a much better coach.
Team Grades
Offense
Abysmal in pretty much every aspect of the word. Poor shooting, poor shot selection, and absolutely no flow or rhythm. Given the lofty standards we have set for ourselves so far this season, this is a complete and utter failure and a “burn the tape” sort of game. No flow, no show, no mo’. That’s all you need to know.
F. A few nice passes weren’t enough to save this clown car of a game.
Defense
Actually I was pretty happy with our defense through three quarters. We hit a wall in the 4th, but I’d like to think that’s as much of a result from our offense being unable to convert as anything else. The Thunder got out in transition as the Spurs devolved into a Nuggets type offense of one on one, or even worse, a team coached by Jason Kidd. This put tremendous strain on the D, and eventually it bent beyond recognition, if not breaking entirely. Still, holding the Thunder off for 3 quarters at home is tough to do, especially considering they usually treat games vs. our squad as their Finals. I loved seeing our players diving into the lane for passes, or collapsing on driving players while keeping their options limited as far as passing out of trouble. Active hands on D alone will be good enough to win us a few close games this year.
B-. Great first act. Tragic finish.
Some minor edits to make it a little more worth reading.
I'm surprised as that Bonner isn't getting more run than Ayers.. I guess it's true that this will be Bonners last season with the spurs and Pop doesn't want to get sentimental.
that was harsh on patty. maybe a c but not a d. those 3 pointers he did kept us in the game.
and tony didnt not play like his usual self at all. i would of given him a c atleast.
It looks like the Spurs were thinking more about the Thanksgiving holiday than the game.
thanks
Mills gets a D for bad defense? And Manu gets a B for bad defense on Lamb? Mills deserves better for at least sparking a run, C+ or B-
where the f is timvp for grading the games.
Patty was worthless on D tonight. At least Manu had some positive defensive impact.
Yeah Patty was on jackson when Jackson started taking over..
Patty's grade is a bit harsh, but his defense, or lack thereof, was certainly a big reason for Reggie's career night in scoring. I like to think that OKC's strong screens had something to do with it as well.
Thanks for the grades, Havoc!
Have to blame Pop for sticking with Patty on Jackson when he was knocking them down, took a good 7 or 8 shots before he made the switch.
Losing with Westbrook going 2-16 is pretty bad...
I was traveling and could not see the game. Thanks, Cry.
Letting the Spurs be within two points when you're at home and having their big 3 shoot 17-48 is pretty bad...
We look like a completely different team against their length. We're slower moving the ball to the wings because they're in the passing lanes. We're scared to finish underneath because of Ibaka. We're all afraid to get in the paint because they have arms reaching all the time. We need to go deeper in the playbook tbh. They have us figured out- taking away our penetration and now our ball movement.
Tiago and Danny shrinking against real teams, that's to be expected at this point tbh.
Leonard is gonna want off the team in a couple years if he continues to not get touches because of hero ball tbh.
I'll give Westbrook his usual 7/17 if it means we could actually hit a 3.
Should have kept Bonner in the game for longer, tbh. +/- king, per par.
Play Bonner.
But Belinelli doesn't take terrible shots. How can this be?Marco Belinelli – 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal.
Marco badly missed a 3 in the 3rd quarter. His solution was to step about 3-4 feet back and heave another one at the rim. No dice. Aside from his extremely questionable shot selection, which is probably the reason he only saw 17 minutes, Belinelli played a decent game. He supplied the Spurs with some energy and was going after loose balls. But if he’s not hitting threes, it severely diminishes his value on the court. Tonight was not a good night for the 2nd 5.
C-. Horrible shot selection tempers an otherwise decent performance.
All in all I'm pretty happy with this game. Expected loss, but even when everyone shot poorly the game was in reach.
Yeah, I wasn't too pleased with Patrick tonight. I'd still give him a C- though. Hopefully his defense doesn't go down the toilet and he can keep improving on that end of the court. If not, then I won't mind Cory getting another shot at it. We absolutely must maintain defensive focus out there at all times. The offense won't always be consistent, but the Spurs gotta get to the point where the defense is as consistent as possible.
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