Championship-level mettle against the Nets and other random thoughts

[ffadicted]

-I have to give my daughter credit for her craftiness. Her new method to con her way out of going to bed is to sobbingly tell me how much she wants to watch basketball. No, you have to go to bed. But I want to watch baaaaasketball. Please, daddy, please. No you have to go to bed. But I like basketball. Sorry you can't.

LJ plz ;-;

[crc21209]

Forgot to mention Jack in the game thoughts thread. For those who have been bagging on him over the last few weeks, last night is why some of us have been defending him. He stepped in when the whole team was unable to prevent the Nets from scoring and just started to disrupt. I don't remember any amazing plays off the top of my head, but he knocked the ball around, pushed people out of position and drew fouls. He was the guy putting his oar in the water and getting the boat back on course. It's the same thing he did against OKC when everyone else was fading. Every C run for the Spurs had that kind of intervention from a vet off the bench.

Bingo. Jack is a very smart basketball player. He knows his role and knows what is needed at times when the team needs help the most. Not only was he disruptive on the defensive end, but I think he got the Spurs out of a little offensive funk in the 2nd quarter when it looked like the game may get away from them. Jack scored on an ISO jumper from the left block, and on the very next play he had a nice assist to Blair that led to a layup...

[Obstructed_View]

Bingo. Jack is a very smart basketball player. He knows his role and knows what is needed at times when the team needs help the most. Not only was he disruptive on the defensive end, but I think he got the Spurs out of a little offensive funk in the 2nd quarter when it looked like the game may get away from them. Jack scored on an ISO jumper from the left block, and on the very next play he had a nice assist to Blair that led to a layup...

Yep. I think people forget that Jack could be scoring 20 a night for a bad team right now. I trust him to pick his spots. Tonight he's going to get some minutes at the 2. Wouldn't be surprised to see him do well. I think yesterday was his first game without two fingers taped together.

[rascal]

Wait a minute... Our 3-year-old daughter was up at midnight watching replays of a Nets game? A Nets game?

She could do the late nights, she doesn't go to school and can nap at any time.

[Arcadian]

-It's 2013 and we're still talking about Cs. That's shocking in and of itself.

Not really. We still have Tim Duncan with very good pieces around him. That's always a C-formula, if you will.

But I agree, there are reasons to be optimistic about our chances this year. Mainly Tiago Splitter coming into his own and helping Tim with big-man responsibilities.

[DPG21920]

I just don't get why timvp somewhat acts like it's a big surprise the Spurs win games without Tim and/or Manu. At least as of late, the team has shown to be very compe ive no matter who is healthy (see MIA game). While I am not saying it's easy, saying things like the Spurs will likely go 4-5 on this RRT (when looking at who they play), I am not surprised they are able to win at all.

[Kori Ellis]

Bonner got some playing time last night. Don't you know that the kids love Bon-Bon?

True! They love that redhead. Bonner was our older (4 year old) son's fave player the last two years, but now he's on the TP bandwagon.

All our kids watch basketball, obviously, but the daughter he is referencing watches it very intently -- like she's going to have an exam later about the game.

[TD 21]

-I get a little queasy thinking how this season could ride on whether Danny Green is randomly hot or randomly cold at the right time. The good news is that I don't think Green choked against the Thunder. The bad news is that I don't think there is any rhyme or reason to his shooting streaks. It could come down to pure, unadulterated luck.

It doesn't ride on any one thing specifically. I also don't think he choked against the Thunder, either. He was so obscenely hot for so long that he was bound to hit a dry spell (I was practically hoping that it happened at some point during the first two rounds, so that he could resume being on fire during the WCF). Jackson basically did the reverse of what Green did, but because of his playoff exploits in '03 and '07, we were (myself included) more apt to describe his performance as clutch.

-Another promising sign: The Spurs are doing great so far this season but it's logical to ascertain that the best may be yet to come. Pop hasn't settled on a rotation. Many role players have underachieved and can be expected to play better between today and the end of the season. The offense hasn't revved up to the level it reached last season. The more Splitter, Duncan and Leonard learn to play with each other, the better the defense should become. Exciting -- healthy permitting -- times could lie ahead.

Disagree that Pop hasn't settled on a rotation. He's just messing around, getting guys experience, rationing minutes, etc. Barring injury (or trade), I think it's pretty clear we're looking at a Splitter, Leonard, Duncan, Green, Parker, Ginobili, Diaw, Jackson, Neal, playoff rotation.

Agree that many role players have underachieved. If Duncan and Parker hadn't played out of their minds and Splitter weren't finally playing a roll commensurate with his production, where would this team be?

As far as the offense goes, I'm skeptical they can get back to that level with their current rotation. But I guess with the defense much improved, it might not have to. Still, slight improvement is probably necessary.

[team-work]

Parker seemed to have overcome a rough start offensively to finish at 12-21. That in itself also demonstrated a C-trait.

[rascal]

True! They love that redhead. Bonner was our older (4 year old) son's fave player the last two years, but now he's on the TP bandwagon.

All our kids watch basketball, obviously, but the daughter he is referencing watches it very intently -- like she's going to have an exam later about the game.

Liking Bonner is liking the clown. Your son is getting older and wants to see a good player now.

You should buy a small hoop and they can play small ball.

[team-work]

Great write-up as usual. Enjoying the analysis as well as the team's performance.

[spurs10]

Had to go back and re-read this thread. Damn good writing. Damn good journalism to be honest.