Game Thoughts: Spurs @ Suns Dec. 25

[024]

parker did blow some plays during the game but he makes mistakes because he controls the attack. there isn't much else he could have done. ginobili was obviously out of it and the spurs can't go to tim duncan every single time. i am a little worried about ginobili, who seems to be taking a while to get back into form. some players lose a step or half step after a major surgery and at ginobili's age, it may be a concern.

george hill can beat his man off the dribble but he needs to make those layups after. his shooting percentage is hovering a little above 40%. when he can score with more efficiency, then he will get more playing time. hill should definitely work on staying aggressive instead of disappearing offensively.

i thought matt bonner played some crappy defense against stoudemire. he was obviously trying but stoudemire rolled over him. this is another big game where bonner failed to show up. i think it was very telling that popovich changed his mind and pulled bonner out during the last play. shows that popovich doesn't believe bonner has the mentality to make big plays.

[stéphane]

We got the win but there's still some concerns coming out of the game...

1. Manu's continued health struggles

2. Tony's loss of composure down the stretch (the technical was boneheaded and stupid).

exactly, especially what I bolded.

[bobbybob0]

Matt Bonner

25 minutes, five points, four rebounds
2-for-5 from the field, 1-for-3 on three-pointers

I wasn’t too thrilled with how Matt Bonner played. Rebounding is currently his biggest problem. When he first got into the starting lineup, he was rebounding really well. Over the last few weeks, his rebounding numbers have plummeted. His lack of rebounding was made obvious against O’Neal and Stoudemire and it often left Duncan fighting two against one. Defensively, Bonner was decent but not nearly as good as we’ve seen out of him. Offensively he helped spread the floor but he wasn’t always running hard and he didn’t come up with a single offensive rebound. Basically, Bonner is playing as if he’s fatigued – which could be the case due to all the recent games.
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What did you think about Bonner's pick and roll defense?
I think I've seen at least four different occasions where he tried to trap on the P&R but did not recover on time when the ball went to Stoudamire and let him shot an uncontested jumper.

Maybe it was part of the gameplan to trap Nash on the P&R but then another Spur should have rotate to cover Stoudamire.