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timvp, did Pop sub Duncan out in one of the last defensive possessions, then put him back on offense?
I think that's what I saw, I haven't re-watched it. Can you confirm?
Riding into Indianapolis with a two-game losing streak, the Spurs were able to escape with a shootout victory. Led by Tony Parker's 31 points and ten assists, San Antonio survived a furious rally by the Pacers in the fourth quarter and put just enough point on the board to leave Indiana with the W.
Overall, this isn't a victory to be too thrilled about if you are a Spurs fan. The defense was poor, especially in the second and fourth quarters, and the Spurs needed a heroic five-point flurry from Parker late in the fourth to get on top for good.
As for the Pacers, they deserve a good amount of credit for making life tough on San Antonio's defense. They can go small and put perimeter threats at each position. Indiana also has a number of players who can create off the dribble. If they get hot from the perimeter, there aren't many teams that have the defense that can slow their roll.
The most important aspect of this game was just getting the win. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't Spurs Basketball, but it was a victory. Plus, seeing the offense flowing after the recent struggles was good to see.
-Tim Duncan only played 28 minutes but I thought he looked healthier in his time out on the court. He got a key tip-in late in the game that extended the lead to five points. Duncan's passing was once again very good. However, when isolated against a smaller player on defense, it's still obvious that he has a ways to go before he's back to his usual mobility level. Duncan's speed up and down the court and his side-to-side quickness are still lacking.
-Well, I guess Manu Ginobili is no longer seeing his minutes limited. He led the Spurs with 36 minutes and stuffed the stat sheet with 16 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Ginobili also finished the game without a turnover. Offensively, I thought he did well. He picked his spots and his patience was better than we've seen since his return. Defensively, he started off really bad and slowly worked his way up to below average.
-In the last three games, Tony Parker had been tiptoeing his way around the offense. With the Big Three back, he had lost most of his aggressiveness and wasn't creating as much for himself or others. Tonight, he was back to the Parker who has carried the Spurs since the All-Star break. He got a little loose with the ball at times but on the whole I thought he did a very fine job on the offensive end. With the Spurs down by two points and under two minutes to go, Parker hit a three-pointer and then followed it up with a long jumper to put the Spurs up by three. Defensively, while his effort was consistent, the results were often lacking.
-On offense, Michael Finley showed why Pop has seemingly elevated him into the Big Four. Playing 34 minutes, Finley knocked won 7-of-11 shots from the field and his scoring was key to help build the lead in the first three quarters. However, he missed both of his shots in the fourth quarter. Defensive was an entirely different story. Finley got destroyed by Danny Granger repeatedly. Even with foul trouble, Granger put up 35 points. The fact that Finley is being used by Pop as the perimeter stopper right now is perhaps the biggest reason to be concerned about the championship hopes.
-Matt Bonner had a quality performance. He hit his shots offensively and that forced the Pacers to thin out their defense. Bonner also did a good job when defending against smaller players. His rebounding left a lot to be desired but that's been a reoccurring theme for much of the season. After struggling a bit after the signing of Drew Gooden, Bonner now seemingly has his rhythm back. In his last eight games, he's shooting better than 55% from the field.
-Roger Mason, Jr. was once again coming off the bench and might have had his quietest game of the season. I would say he struggled but he didn't do enough in his 22 minutes to classify his game one way or another. He played some point guard in the second half and didn't do a bad job. His defense was a little bit above average. But the Spurs will need him to provide some sort of scoring punch no matter if he's starting or coming off the bench. The team doesn't have enough scoring depth for Mason to dry up at this point.
-Kurt Thomas had a difficult time converting on the offensive end but the rest of his game was really good. He drew a handful of fouls because the undersized Pacers found it impossible to box him out. His seven boards in 21 minutes don't even give the full story of how much he dominated on the glass. It was a good sign to get a quality performance out of Thomas after a pair of quiet affairs.
-Drew Gooden once again showed that he doesn't have a shy bone in his body. In 13 minutes, Gooden poured in 17 points. His scoring came in a variety of ways including jump shots, hooks, moves to the bucket and at the free throw line. I also thought his defense was better than we've seen. All in all, this perhaps Gooden's most promising game to date.
-George Hill didn't play at all in the first half but ended up playing much of the second half. Although he didn't do much, I liked the way he played under control offensively and the pressure he applied defensively. He made a few mistakes but he didn't let it affect his aggression level.
-Jacque Vaughn was the backup point guard in the first half and he didn't do anything out of the ordinary. He ran the team decently well offensively and he provided his usual effort on the defensive end. I am still highly skeptical that his skill level at this point of his career would allow him to be in the rotation on a team with championship aspirations.
-Bruce Bowen got six minutes in the first half and did decent work. Assigned to try to slow Granger, Bowen made life difficult for him. Granger got a bucket after Bowen flopped and another one in transition but otherwise Bowen actually made him work for his positioning on the court.
-Pop had a mixed bag of results. First of all, I liked that he was able to rest Duncan. I thought that he used Gooden wisely. I also thought it was the right move to remove Ime Udoka from the rotation. Giving Ginobili 36 minutes was somewhat risky but at this point Ginobili needs all the minutes he can get until the real season begins. I don't agree with his use of Vaughn as the backup point and I agree even less with Pop splitting the backup point guard minutes. I'm also still baffled by why Finley is the perimeter stopper and why Pop seemingly doesn't care that he gets toasted on that end repeatedly. Oh well, I'll take the win.
Next up, is an afternoon match with the Cavs in Cleveland. It'd be nice to shake off this feeling of uneasiness within Spurs Nation by handing the Cavaliers their second home loss of the season.
Believe.
timvp, did Pop sub Duncan out in one of the last defensive possessions, then put him back on offense?
I think that's what I saw, I haven't re-watched it. Can you confirm?
This is the Parker I like to see and I hope he keep playing like tonight-In the last three games, Tony Parker had been tiptoeing his way around the offense. With the Big Three back, he had lost most of his aggressiveness and wasn't creating as much for himself or others. Tonight, he was back to the Parker who has carried the Spurs since the All-Star break. He got a little loose with the ball at times but on the whole I thought he did a very fine job on the offensive end. With the Spurs down by two points and under two minutes to go, Parker hit a three-pointer and then followed it up with a long jumper to put the Spurs up by three. Defensively, while his effort was consistent, the results were often lacking.
Pop did that. A lineup with no bigs, Granger got past Finley and got a easy layup
pop had to tell tp you are the key
we need your points
most of the double digits assist come for tp when he scores more then 22
Yeah, down the stretch Pop was using five smalls on defense so they could switch every pick. Then he'd put Duncan back in the game for offense. Since Duncan's tendonosis flair up, Pop has been sitting Duncan a lot more than usual in end of games defensive situations -- usually to go with five smalls or use Thomas.
timvp, are you still concerned with the lack of minutes Bowen has been getting?
I was really hoping Pop would slowly work him back in for 20 MPG or so, because we need him
Thanks Spurs Brazil and timvp.
If Duncan is pulled on defensive possessions, isn't that a scary statement about his knees?
Yeah, I'm starting to think the Spurs will need this level of Parker if they are going to make noise. The last few years, the Big Three have split the opportunities almost 33/33/33. Since Parker is the healthiest, it might have to be 40/30/30.
tp will have to go for 30 and 10 assist
And if ever there was a statement game, the Cavs is it. If this year's Spurs team is to have any championship aspirations they need to go in there and grit out a close game. They don't even need to win it, a close loss might be enough to change the fortune of the team.
Finley over Barry in last year's playoffs was questionable. Now Finley defending the opposing team's best player?
I guess we'll have to wait a bit longer to see if Pop has really lost his mind.
I guess the question remains after tonight's game. Pop is testing to see if Finley's offense could offset his liabilities on the defensive end. The answer was quite obvious pop We DON"T need offense. We need D!
Tim got burned repeatedly late in the game by the Indiana smalls, particularly Jack, and then those 3s by Murphy. His lateral movement near the basket was non-existent, and he wasn't closing out on the perimeter. I think Pop recognised that he couldn't stop the little guys, and that he couldn't stay close to Murphy, so he pulled him.
so why not mike finley?
mason lost all confidence because mike can do know wrong
but if mason blows d he is on bench
Yeah, I still don't understand it. Although at least there were baby steps in the right direction in terms of actually letting Bowen and Hill play.
But we should get a good idea of what's to come with this game on Sunday. If Pop allows Finley to defend LeBron as much as he let Finley defend Durant and Granger, LeBron will easily score 50. Easily.
If Bowen doesn't play at least 20 minutes on Sunday, it'd be safe to turn the page on the hope that Bowen will be used this year.
Somewhat scary but Duncan has been pulled in similar situations in the past. Plus if you are trying to save Duncan from wear and tear, taking him out when the Pacers' gameplan was to attack Duncan makes sense.
But yeah, if Duncan can't guard players like Brandon Rush even halfway decently come playoff time, the playoffs won't be including the Spurs for very long.
Taking him out to save wear and tear is fine. It's beginning to look like more than that.
I went from concerned about Duncan's left knee to worried when he was diagnosed with the tendonosis in his right. I'm moving to the next level. If he can't defend...
There are some key indicators when the spurs championship dreams are done. I think we are seeing these signs unfold and either we are having a hard time coming to grips with a strong reality or Popovich is making unfathomable mistakes in his coaching decisions.
1. Offense will not take this team far. This team wasn't built for offense.
2. Continuity or lack thereof. Are rotations are set by now even in a year we know we can't compete for a le. You can throw defensive continuity in there as well.
3. Injuries. Lets face it. This was a cripled year once Manu fell to the floor in Beijing. Tim knees are only going to deteriorate the rest of his career. And depending on Tony to carry this team is not enough.
4. Luck. We can honestly say the only luck we've seen this year is a string of early season wins that gave the spurs a strong position in the standings. Right now, the spurs are not the 2nd or 3rd best team in the west.
I am very thankful of the success of my basketball team the past decade or so and it would be inhuman of me to still not have hope for this year. But the frustrations of no longer being able to shut a team down as our bread and butter is a hard pill to swallow. And Pop may have come to that reality well before it started showing in the past month or so.
The Spurs defense is s**t. They might win a playoff series or two, but not against any elite team.
who is an elite team?
It would be INSANE for Pop to let Finley defend Leborn for more than 30mins. How could pop not see how Granger torture Finley on the defensive end? Just freaking click on nba.com and there are at least 5 times (in that 2 min clip) where Granger just blew past Finely with his dribble or off screens.
is it that hard for Pop to figure this out?
you put hill on james boy
That charge on Duncan that turned into a Parker triple...the refs would have called it on the Pacers. Just saying...
Good game, but you need to get Bowen and Mason going, you need them to throw at Kobe.
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