Reply With Quote
Even the bench defended relentlessly and rebounding great
Good read. Thanks benefactor!
Last night, the Spurs had one of the most forgettable victories in recent memory. Not only did they blow a double digit lead in the closing moments, they allowed the game to go to overtime and allowed the Big 3 play way too many minutes on the front end of a back to back. One could easily speculate that Pop would decide to tank tonight’s game and rest Duncan and Parker(Manu was not going to play anyway due to hamstring tightness), but that would be far from the case. Instead, the Spurs stars would respond in a way no one expected…fighting through the fatigue and summoning championship level mental focus that would lead them to blow out of the Dallas Mavericks at home.
Tony Parker
Good aggression early despite the back to back and quite frankly did not look anything like a player that had just played 40 minutes the night before. He tried to do a bit too much early on and wound up with as many turnovers in the first half as he had assists. In the third quarter, he dialed in with sniper like precision, pouring in 14 points and only one turnover. The offensive explosion would snuff out any hopes the Mavs had of mounting a comeback and would send Parker to the bench for a well-deserved 4th quarter rest.
Tim Duncan
Duncan, in a word, was dominant. He was so dominant that only one half and some change of him was needed to make the Mavs wave the white flag early. His all-around presence around the rim and his complete destruction of the Mavs on the glass in the first half helped the Spurs keep the Mavs at arm’s length even though neither team was shooting well. He scored well, got to the line and played at the level we were all accustomed to seeing him play last season. Hopefully this win springboards him into more vintage performances.
Boris Diaw
Boris the Animal was Boris the perfect complement tonight. If he made a bad play, I don’t remember when it was because so much good basketball was just flowing out of him. A truly beyond the box score performance, filled with great passing, great court awareness and an outstanding defensive effort on Dirk which led to Dirk never getting a chance to get in any sort of rhythm. He was also very good at playing the quarterback role with the bench players with Manu gone. In the words of Walton, “This guy has it all.”
Kawhi Leonard
Leonard took over as the third of the Big 3. Picking up where he left off last night, he was all over the court with boundless energy. Great defense, great on the boards, opportunistic around the rim…Leonard was a disruptive force on one end and a source of second hand points and good, stead offense on the other. He even had a post up and knocked down a three. With Parker going into god mode in the third, he only needed to watch on offense, but he continued to play with great energy.
Danny Green
Danny wasn’t really needed tonight. He missed some shots early but contributed on the glass to offset that. He stayed in late in the game and helped the Spurs prevent any sort of replay of last night’s debacle by playing good defense, continuing to rebound well and knocking down a few shots. Since that was the extent of what the Spurs needed from him this evening, I’d say he served his purpose.
Marco Belinelli
It was an uneven game for That Dude. He was extremely shaky early on with some poor decisions/ball handling, but overall I’d say he didn’t really help or hurt much in the first half. In the second half he had a four point play opportunity that seemed to ignite him. Coupled with energy provided by the ignition of Tony Parker, Beli morphed into the player that we have been used to seeing most of the season…scoring most of his 17pts late in the game while leading the unit that kept the blowout intact.
Matt Bonner
Bonner missed some threes early and played in garbage time late. That’s about it.
Jeff Ayres
It was a mixed bag tonight from ST’s favorite son. Had 3 offensive boards in 4 minutes in the first half but also had 3 fouls in that same time span. He had a good cut to the basket for a finish in the second half. All of that is better than the alternative that we experienced last night.
Patty Mills
Patty was part of the poor shooting in the first half as well with a couple missed threes, but came back in the second half and helped the garbage time unit preserve the lead. He made a great saving pass to Joseph for a three late in the game which was the highlight of his evening.
Aaron Baynes
Played the length of a drawn in breath in the first half then in garbage time. Ayres seems to be Pop’s new project and it’s at Baynes expense. January tinkering, tbh.
Cory Joseph
Joseph played with Parker and Mills in the third and made quite a nice contribution for a player that has gotten zero burn lately. He had a couple of really good defensive plays that led to easy baskets while the Spurs were on their tear in the third quarter. He also did a nice job as floor general during garbage time with 9pts, 5ast, 3stl while going 4-4 from the stripe.
Other Notes
The Spurs had 8 offensive boards in the first quarter and with the Spurs shooting 41% and the Mavs shooting 35%, rebounding was clearly the difference in the game in the first half as the Spurs outrebounded the Mavs 36-18 led by Duncan who had 12. The starters carried the team in the first half and the lack of Manu was evident…as the bench shot a miserable 3-12. Both teams shot a combined 1-12 from distance in the first half but this disadvantage was much more glaring with the Mavs as the Spurs continued to attack the rim leading to opportunities at the line that they did an outstanding job of converting. By the end of the game they had only missed 3 of their 26 attempts. Parker’s contribution was key to the victory…but make no mistake…if you let a team go +18 on you from the stripe and +23 on the glass you are going to lose and lose badly 95% of the time.
Final Thoughts
This was easily one of the best wins of the season. What can be taken from this game is that the Spurs seemed genuinely pissed about the near loss last night and played like that from the opening whistle. It’s good to see because they have been doing a lot of coasting early in the season. It’s nice to know that when they are ready to dial it in and kick ass they still have it in them. Hopefully they save some of this fire for another great postseason run.
Even the bench defended relentlessly and rebounding great
Good read. Thanks benefactor!
Last edited by wildchild; 01-09-2014 at 12:05 AM.
Great read, bene. Thanks
Solid thoughts
Solid read
The way the Spurs carried themselves tonight showed that they were on a mission not to let a lead slip away and to bury their opponent early and often. Tony Parker took a trip in his DeLorean at halftime to find his 2012-2013 self and exploded in the 3rd quarter. I can't say enough about Tim Duncan, we see what he does game after game but I honestly think we're desensitized to his greatness, the subtle things that make him an all time great are almost always lost on those seeking some kind of glamour to their superstars. He's the most consistent player of our generation and even at 37 he can outplay younger more athletic players.
great read. thanks.
My Thoughts:
The Mavericks SUCK. Holy mother of God these guys are awful. They don't rebound. They don't play defense. Their offense is a mess. And they're old as $%#%. How in the WORLD are they currently sitting at the #8 seed in the West? I'm convinced that the Spurs can't lose to them. Drawing them in the #1/#8 match-up would be an absolute dream. But there's no way it happens. Surely Denver or Minnesota will eventually overtake them for that last spot.
Denver sucks major balls too and Minny is too inconsistent
It was as though the Spurs remembered that good things happen when you play aggressive defense and rebound. Not only good team defense but Diaw has to be singled out for the job he did on Dirk. He played inside the dude's jersey all night and never let him breathe. Taking Dirk out of the game was the key to the win IMO. A++
Mavs came in with a hot streak on the road and we beat the snot out of them.
Nice read. Thanks!
Tony was dialed in and that made everything easier. Thank god we have a defined backup pg rotation. Patty is playing some inspired ball and really solidifying that backup spot. Corey is a fine 3rd PG and good insurance.
Love watching this team lately, especially for the cerebral plays from Tim, Manu, Diaw, or Belli. All of the team are obviously enjoying the out of the game. This team just seems to be clicking as a group very well. Diaw is is playing so well, he almost looks bored sometimes. Scary depth.
bene ftw
Dirk's a of a player, for one thing. Marion is their best defender and he was out tonight. Not saying they're a good team, but far from the horror show they put on tonight. Spurs played active defense and Dallas looked pretty old.
Blair at center. The basket is assaulted.
End of story.
Man, that was a lot of reading. Very good read though. Can you include the letter grades next time...please? I'm the type of person who likes a book for the pictures...if you get what I'm saying.
Since losing to the Knicks the Spurs have scored 110+ in three straight games.
Excellent write-up! Thanks Mr. benefactor!
I've been real excited with Kawhi's energy and play the past two games. Bill Walton's analysis of Boris looks to have been spot on after all, and I liked Boris since Phoenix but never thought he would put it all together.
I've been real excited with Kawhi's energy and play the past two games. Bill Walton's analysis of Boris looks to have been spot on after all, and I liked Boris since Phoenix but never thought he would put it all together.
Helps that he's playing alongside a buddy and for a coach who can put him in a position to succeed.
LOL errors outrebounding blair in half as many minutes. sup playblair
Great work. Thanks.
Still don't get why Pop insists on putting Kawhi on small guards. Leonard wasn't very good on Ellis for stretches. He should have been on Carter who was posting Green up. It's just not using players to their strengths.
Solid read/excellent takes.
Bene with the goods
As one of the commentators noted, Blair sits on the bench for SAS and starts for MAVS. Their rim protection was terrible. Loved Diaw last night - if he would play aggressively like that ALL the time instead of only when some are out.
I thought he should have put Bowen on Billups and let Parker chase Rip around those screens. Series wouldn't have gone to 7 games then.
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)
Posting Permissions
