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Thanks for the writeup Tim.
The Spurs suffered their first loss of the preseason on Friday night when they dropped a 97-91 ballgame against the Denver Nuggets. San Antonio scored the first 13 points of the contest but got handily outplayed from that point on. The Spurs were doomed by errant three-point shooting (6-for-24), poor defensive rebounding (the Nuggets had 15 offensive boards) and a drove of turnovers (22).
Tim Duncan
The biggest bright spot for the Spurs was the play of Tim Duncan. I thought he looked great. He was running the court extremely well, elevating impressively at the rim, showing off nimbleness in the paint and he held up quite well against the gaggle of quality bigmen the Nuggets threw at him. If he can remain this spry for the entire season, the Spurs will be overjoyed. It’s obvious Duncan played a ton of basketball in the summer because he already has his timing in just about every aspect of the game.
Tony Parker
Tony Parker’s playmaking was fine. He was penetrating and finding the open man with ease. However, the rest of his outing was forgettable. His outside shot -- especially off the dribble -- looks flat. In the paint, his vertical jump was even less impressive than usual. Parker’s defense and overall speed just wasn’t there tonight. Thankfully it’s preseason.
Kawhi Leonard
While Kawhi Leonard still had a subpar outing, it was a step in the right direction. His defense was particularly exciting. He was wreaking havoc with his length and uncanny anticipation -- as evident by his four blocks and two steals. Leonard was also crashing the boards and pulling down contested rebounds amongst the trees. Offense was more of a struggle. Leonard was still trying to do too much and broke the sets too often. Most of his jumpers are short and he’s rushing his attempts around the rim. We saw some flashes of what Leonard could potentially become but for the most part it’s still a bumpy ride for the sop re.
Danny Green
I’ve been complaining about a lack of energy out of Danny Green but tonight that was not a problem. He was flying around the court on both ends. On defense, he did a really good job individually and was consistently swooping into the paint to offer help. His work on the defensive glass helped the Spurs avoid getting totally slaughtered in that department. Offensively, while it’s worrisome that he missed all four of his three-pointers, I liked his aggression. He was shooting whenever he got a modi of daylight and was running the court in an effort to create additional shots. Though he needs more polish, this was the type of effort the Spurs need out of Green every night.
Boris Diaw
The film of this game is going to be unkind to Boris Diaw. With the Nuggets living off the offensive glass, Diaw failed to pull down even one defensive board. His passing was relatively iffy and he couldn’t buy a bucket. Diaw’s shot selection was poor; he should have used his mobility advantage against Denver’s bigs instead of remaining stationary most of the game.
Gary Neal
With Manu Ginobili not playing, Gary Neal slid into the backup shooting guard role. Offensively, he again looked very comfortable off the ball. He was deadly coming off of screens and was able to create a number of clean looks for himself. His passing, though, took a step back. The ball oftentimes got stuck with him when he had open teammates one more pass away. Defensively, it depended on the matchup. When he had to defend Andre Iguodala or Corey Brewer, he was simply overmatched physically. But otherwise he did acceptable work on that end.
Stephen Jackson
Stephen Jackson knocked down a few open jumpers and did reasonably well with his touches in the low block. The rest of his evening was frustrating, however. He had a difficult time staying with the Nuggets athletes on defense and compounded his issues by fouling jump shooters on a few occasions. Jackson’s ballhandling was shaky and the timing on his passes remains a work in progress.
Eddy Curry
In the thick of the action on seemingly every possession, Eddy Curry made the most of his 16 minutes. While it wasn’t always positive, his level of activity alone was remarkable. For a player who historically only gives effort when trying to score, Curry’s showing an encouraging amount of desire. Defensively, his transition defense was improved and he had some fine rotations to cut off driving lanes. On offense, his brute strength was difficult for anyone on the Nuggets to deal with. He again exhibited a surprisingly agile first-step on his way to attacking the hoop and his passing remains better than advertised. Curry has a lot of rough edges and it’s clear he’s always going to make his share of mistakes but the combination of his size, talent and want-to is alluring.
Derrick Brown
This was Derrick Brown’s best game so far with the Spurs. It’s becoming clear that he’s at his very best in transition. If the Spurs are going to be a running team this year, Brown might be worth keeping around just because he excels so much on the break. He’s not only fleet of foot for a player his size, he gathers himself well when on the move and is large enough to finish against most defenders. But outside of his impressive work in transition, Brown remains underwhelming. Offensively, he doesn’t seem to be capable of doing much of anything in halfcourt sets. Not being able to dribble, shoot or post-up obviously limits his possibilities. Defensively, while his length helps when he’s in a crowd, I just haven’t seen any one-on-one defensive ability. His quickness is lacking and it seems like his first step is always backwards when he’s trying to defend the ball. Worst of all is his defense against three-point shooting. Whenever he’s on a quality outside shooter, that player is sure to get a ton of open looks against Brown’s sagging style of D.
Cory Joseph
Defense is where Cory Joseph shined. He has all the tools to be a really, really good defender at the point guard position. His anticipation of passes is very good, he has become deceptively quick and he’s long enough to be a bothersome help defender. Offensively, Joseph didn’t do much against the Nuggets. He has a bad habit of relying too much on the offensive sets instead of using his playmaking abilities. He’s not talented enough to let the game come to him -- he has to attack. That didn’t happen tonight.
Nando de Colo
For the time being, Nando de Colo has leapfrogged all the other candidates to become the backup point guard. His encore, however, wasn’t as rousing as his first act as point guard. He made a few good passes but he had difficulty adjusting to the speed and length of Denver’s players. A few times De Colo thought he had an open teammate -- only to see the Nuggets swiftly close the door. That’s one adjustment he’s going to have to make going from Europe to the NBA. De Colo’s jumper remains iffy and he wasn’t tested very often on defense tonight since he spent most of his time matched up against Anthony Carter. It’ll be very interesting to see how long De Colo retains the backup PG gig and how quickly he can adjust to the best league in the world.
Tiago Splitter
Interestingly, Tiago Splitter was the fifth bigman off the bench -- even though Matt Bonner didn’t play. Splitter got in the game in the first half when the Nuggets utilized a lineup with two centers (Pop put Splitter next to Duncan). In the second half, Splitter didn’t play. In his eight minutes on the court, the Brazilian didn’t do much of anything. He had a couple good passes but was forgettable on defense and mostly a spectator on offense.
DeJuan Blair
In his seven minutes, DeJuan Blair continued his frenetic play. He was active -- if not always technically sound -- on defense. Offensively, he wasn’t shy about trying to score. Blair might not be in the rotation come opening night but it won’t be due to passive play in the preseason.
Josh Powell
For at least one night, Josh Powell didn’t play like the second coming of Hakeem Olajuwon. In fact, he was pretty much invisible. He didn’t attempt a shot despite being involved in a handful of pick-and-rolls. Defensively he counterbalanced a few miscues with a couple solid possessions. All in all, this game probably didn’t move the needle in terms of Powell’s chances to make the team.
Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili didn’t play due to a sore foot. Before you sound the alarm, know that the Spurs are saying he could play Sunday in Houston.
Patrick Mills
Out with a sprained ankle, Patrick Mills is also expected to miss the game against the Rockets. Next week he’ll be re-examined and could be cleared to play.
Matt Bonner
I don’t know why Matt Bonner didn’t play.
Pop
Pop moving De Colo ahead of Neal and Joseph in the point guard depth chart was interesting -- if only for one game. His rotation of bigmen didn’t make too much sense but I’ll assume he was just testing out different combinations. It seems like Pop is starting to warm to the idea of playing Neal at shooting guard because he was calling play after play for him -- though it remains a mystery how Neal is going to get minutes at SG with Ginobili and Green also at that position. Powell being one of the first reserves to enter game suggests he’s the training camp invitee most likely to make the team.
Thanks for the writeup Tim.
thanks!
Maybe not but it's a little concerning that it's only the second game of preseason and he already has a foot injury. Fortunately we have enough guards to fill it up.Manu Ginobili
Manu Ginobili didn’t play due to a sore foot. Before you sound the alarm, know that the Spurs are saying he could play Sunday in Houston.
Thanks for the game thoughts! Yes Tim looked great and Tony was a bit flat. It seemed like the game got away from us in the beginning of the 3rd quarter and we never recovered. During this time it looked like Neal was indeed over-matched several plays in a row and the Nuggets went on run. Neal made up for it with some strong offense, but his defense and fouls were not so great. Curry looked very involved. I particularly loved seeing him miss a shot at the rim and then get back on transition for a big block. I, too, am puzzled by the absence of Bonner. I didn't see him there in street clothes either.
A player that worked out a lot against/with Duncan this summer was former Spurs Ian Mahinmi. I think it's the kind of perfect player to practice with him in the summer: he isn't strong/heavy enough to wear him down but his combination of size and quickness offers a good challenge to Duncan.
I see at least 3 cases where Neal could get minutes at the SG spot:
- If one of Ginobili, Green, Jackson or Leonard is injured.
- If Spurs plays small ball, Green or Ginobili will play some minutes at SF which will open minutes at the SG spot for Neal.
- Against teams without a good offensive SG, Pop would cut Green's minutes to go more with Neal.
At the end, it might make a decent amount of minutes for Neal at the SG spot over the course of the season.
Green is a SF really
not much of a difference in the spurs system between the 2/3
would be better of playing him at the 3 and neal at the 2
but with jack there it wont work
if jack is traded then it could since the backup SF spot will open up and leonard/green should both be playing 30+ mins since theyre young
I think at this point the Spurs simply HAVE to go with Eddy Curry.. He's shown enough promise, and is working his ass off for a spot on the team. He was a previous go-to guy and borderline star despite his health and weight issues, and he's simply too big and too strong to pass up. Remember that Dwight is now in the West, the Spurs going "small" is no longer an option and we need a proper big/wide body to get easy buckets inside and someone who can hold his own on defense simply because he's 7ft tall and he's big. Duncan at his age cannot continue to be the only big man defender on the team, who can affect play simply by his size and long arms. Also, Splitter seems to be in the dog house and is so injury prone, leaving us with Timmy as the only pure big man. It seems Pop has lost any trust in Splitter, so definitely Curry has to be the player to choose. He can continue to get into shape and lose a bit more weight and could be very useful down the line as the season progresses.
Last edited by jiggy_55; 10-13-2012 at 10:27 AM.
I agree. Curry is working his ass off right now. There aren't many players who can play the post today in the NBA that have his kind of strength.
the 16 minutes he played, he wasnt subbed off for a breather...he look lost on the court just another player making up the numbers, once he started doing things and getting into the motion of the game, things open up for him mainly on offense....as the game went on, he was gas running back and forth, but once the spurs got into the halfcourt transition he dominated and force 2-3 team defense collapse when he posted up on the low block (a scene we rarely seen from any spurs player for the last 5 seasons)..
a motivated curry is at leasts a top5 big in the league offensively, he does crap on the offensive that the turd towers cant do, and yes no soft releases like splitter....how much does he weigh now coming into camp, if he could shed a few more pounds and up his stamina...the backup center could be his, jumping past blair, bonner, splitter into the rotation, then again you must pair him up with a guy who can play defense to cover his weaknesses
ps. why do most of our bigs outside of duncan, set crappy high screens?? its like they havnt settled the pick for the active ball handler to use the screen, then the big runs off into the direction of the rim.....
jack and KL would see minutes at the 4th if needed, which means less minutes for blair, bonner...
we really need a floor general for the 2nd unit, i hate fkn watchin blair and neal go trigger happy just to get their game going....ginoboli/de colo can be the point/foward ball handler for the 2nd unit
Wat about DG guarding the PG instead of Neal. Start Ginobili and have Green off the bench
DG gaurding the pg is only useful during stretches of the game, when we really need to make stoppages...other than that is just wasting his energy running down PGS, i think this is where De Colo will find his niche in the roster backup PG if NEAL starts to fall out of favor....
de Colo doesnt have the footspeed to stay in front of anyone who aint white. Makes me think you're from Melb or Syd with that kind of intelligence. LOL where you from? need to catch up with any Spurs fans in SEQLD let alone the rest of Aus
come at me bro
Maybe it's the first time I see Curry, or pay attention to any game so far, but I thought he was a bit slow getting into the rhythm of the game. He was slow on transition. Like "oh, yeah I have to rebound. Oh yeah, I have to set pick. Oh yeah, I'm trying to make an NBA team's roster." As it went on he showed promise. Has he played next to Tim yet? I'm reading that he's "lost" weight. He's got a ways to go.
A project player if the Spurs think they could use him. Maybe a lesser jewel (not diamond) in the rough. Needs more "bruting" before polishing. 7-footers don't come around too often.
Timvp do you see Eddy curry fitting the roster somehow? Why would the spurs want to keep him?
not signing curry means, u clowns accept midget turd towers and soft cone center......sweet cant wait to see a repeat of the previous season, regular season champions playoff fodder team
Compared to a few years ago, Curry has shed probably 25% of his body weight. It's significant. He's still overweight, but not "Eddy Curry" overweight.
Thanks for posting that. Agree. Neal in the wright cir stances is too valuable to not use or figure a way to be employed during games. Your examples serve good examples as to how he can be utilized and not lost on the bench.
I don't see how we lost last season down low tbh.. I agree that we have a hole, but other than the lakers, no team has a decent center anymore so why bother when you can go hack a dwight anyway..
hack a clown rule has been change?
I am worried that D Green will become a Bonner-like useless overpaid mental midget who is overplayed at the expense of more able players. Hope not.
I'm not sure where you're getting this idea from that De Colo has leapfrogged all the other candidates to be the backup PG or that there's anything interesting about how Pop utilized the guards. De Colo was obviously only playing as the backup PG because Ginobili and Mills were out and in that scenario, it obviously makes sense to shift Neal to SG.
Bruno mostly covered the scenarios where Neal will play SG, but he left out one. It's one that's unlikely, but if Green continues to struggle, I could envision a scenario where they start Ginobili, shift Neal to SG and make Mills the backup PG.
In small ball I could see Kwahi playing PF better than GREEN. Green is smaller and lighter--not to mention that Kwahi seems to be a little tougher for rebounds and defense in general. If Green plays SF then Neal can play SG.
This leaves Manu subbing in at SF for Green (he's played there before) or at SG when Neal is at SG.
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