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honestly, timvp random thoughts >
-The second half meltdown against the Blazers is still a mystery. I know the Spurs had an off night and the Blazers had it going -- but, damn, I still can't put my finger on exactly what happened. What's strange is I didn't think any player was terrible -- it was more a matter of the entire team stopped trying on defense. But I've never seen that type of collapse out of a good defensive Spurs team -- and this year's squad definitely qualifies. Odd.
-I've been traveling a lot lately but that Portland game was the first game I've had to watch via an online stream all season (and probably the last). For that reason, it's even more surreal in my book. Are we sure that contest actually took place?
-I didn't really know how the Spurs would respond against OKC. After embarrassing losses, NBA teams usually either bounce back and play extremely well or fall apart and start skidding. After the first quarter, I was worried about the latter. Thankfully, it appears as if the former won out. I thought the defense in the final three quarters was really good and the Spurs were playing with extra chips on their shoulders. In retrospect, that humiliating loss against the Blazers probably was a good thing because the Spurs were forced to let the bad taste in their mouth fester until unleashing their rage against the Thunder.
-I remain stumped regarding Kawhi Leonard's potential. He has moves -- particularly moves off the dribble in the midrange area -- that are superstar-esque. You just don't see many players his size score on those move with such fluidity. The ones who can do it consistently become superstars.
-Regardless of what Leonard will become, the here and now is exciting. He has dialed up his aggressiveness and the results have been outstanding. Sure, he'll make some mistakes but he's blossoming right before our eyes. I believe that it's imperative that Pop (and everyone else for that matter) makes it a point to keep Leonard highly involved going forward. For the Spurs to win a championship, he might have to turn into a star this season. The only way that happens is if he keeps getting fed.
-It was great to see Danny Green do so well against the Thunder. He looks like a totally different player than the green, wide-eyed imposter who roamed the court in his jersey last June. We talk a lot about Leonard's development but Green is right there too. On consecutive plays he utilized a pump-fake to create open space for a three-pointer and then pulled up for a three in transition. Those six points were huge and created the momentum for San Antonio to dig themselves out of the early hole. The rest of the way, Green played very well in just about every possible category. Let us hope he keeps it up.
-And then there was Tiago Splitter. If we're being blunt, he was soft, choked and sucked simultaneously last year in the WCF. Tonight, he was a beast. He was by far the best bigman on the court, in fact. If he can play like he did tonight consistently, the Thunder suddenly don't matchup very well against the Spurs.
-Speaking of Splitter, a turning point in the first half was when Pop kept his big lineup on the court even though the Thunder went small. Pop was able to do that because Splitter was mobile enough to defend Derek Fisher on the perimeter. That's an almost unheard of cross-matchup but Splitter did well and it allowed Pop to win that game of chess.
-Another Pop move that worked was using Gary Neal at backup point guard. In his first few minutes on the court, I thought Neal looked bad. But he stuck to it and grinded out a solid showing. Neal is bad on defense -- but so is Patty Mills and Nando De Colo doesn't write back to France penning poems about his D either. Offensively, Neal can create shots for himself -- and that in itself is valuable. When he's passing adequately and not in a me-first, me-only mode, he's useful. Tonight he was useful.
-Did Pop pull a rope-a-dope against Russell Westbrook? I think he did. Pop had Neal defend Westbrook for long stretches and the Spurs sent little to no help. To add fuel to the fire, Neal was giving him about a five-foot cushion at all times. Westbrook took it as a challenge and started going into hyper-aggressive mode. His outside jumper wasn't falling so the strategy worked to cool off the Thunder. Westbrook destroyed his team's offensive flow. Kevin Durant didn't get enough touches to get going. Their team just had no ball-movement -- which was totally the opposite of Games 3 through 6 last year. I don't know if that's a repeatable strategy because most of the time Westbrook will go for 40 if you stick a hobbled Neal on him with no help … but it worked tonight.
-The more I think of this win, the bigger it is and the more impressed I am. No Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili didn't play that well. Tim Duncan was solid but far, far from the top of his game. OKC, of course, was in perfect health. Yet the Spurs got a win thanks mostly to Leonard, Splitter and Green. A loss tonight would have been devastating to San Antonio's chances of getting the first seed in the West. With the win, the Spurs are still in the driver's seat -- especially if Parker can return from injury early.
-I don't think Cory Joseph especially helped his chances of staying in the rotation once Parker returns but he also didn't hurt his chances. I love his defense. And even if he's not doing much on offense, he still has a leadership quality about him that seems to help keep things organized. I still stick to my opinion that Joseph is the second best point guard on this team.
-Hey, at least Boris Diaw is coachable. Early on, he was so damn passive that it was difficult to watch. But after he passed up about his fifth open shot, Ginobili told him to "shoot the f***ing ball" and Diaw listened. From then on, he was pretty darn good. He hit some big shots and played with about ten times as much aggression as before Ginobili cursed at him. But, really, at this point you'd hope Diaw would have figured out he has to be ready from his first minute. Let's hope that realization comes at some point before the playoffs.
-I'm going to bury this down here so it doesn't come off as I'm whining but holy do the Thunder get a lot of whistles in their favor. It's really unbelievable. Not even the Lakers have ever gotten this sort of whistle. They get a good five to ten borderline whistles to go their way. Then they get two or three totally bogus whistles. Subtract a few missed whistles on the other team and they are a damn difficult team to beat consistently. I don't believe in NBA conspiracy theories but I haven't yet figured out why OKC gets such a kind whistle. If I had to guess I'd say it's because: 1) They have a lot of great athletes who are difficult to referee because they move so fast 2) They create a ton of legit fouls so the refs are always prepared to blow their whistle 3) They have one of the best homecourt advantages in the league right now so that helps 4) All teams outside of the Heat look unathletic and unaggressive when compared to OKC so they get the benefit of the doubt as the "aggressors".
-Pop broke out a playoff-type bigman rotation in the second half. He only used Duncan, Splitter and Diaw at the big positions. That was great to see and hopefully we see more of that as the season winds down.
-To really make tonight's win count, the Spurs need to go into Minnesota tomorrow night and avoid a letdown. The Timberwolves usually give the Spurs a tough fight at home so San Antonio needs to be ready.
-All in all, it was a great, great win tonight. Outstanding job
honestly, timvp random thoughts >
1- Pop Should have played CoJo 40 minutes(Lilard was just 4-10 in 22 minutes vs CoJo).
2- Took Tiago out (just 3 fouls) with 7 minutes left in the 3rd, scoreboard was 64-63(7-6 in the quarter), Blazers scored 26 points to end the quarter.
3- Started the 4th with Bonner/Diaw(Spurs was down by 8), Blazers scored 7-0 in 54 seconds and the game was over.
Thanks for the "random thoughts"
The whistles are the prime reason they're a bad match up.
Duncan, Diaw, Manu, Jackson, and Neal all look slow against the Thunder, and get fouls racked up on them really quick.
I turned the game on when it was like 27-14 in the first...and was like, oh boy...here we go with the decline of the Spurs(decline in the standings)...from that pt on they were pretty much on a tear. I took away a few things from this big game:
1) Manu needs to reign it in and play smarter. I know his risks he takes are what have made him so special, but for the sake of this team he needs to pipe down. No longer do they need super Manu..
2) kawhi is the real deal. His shot looks like a thing of beauty. Props to pop for leaving him in, when I thought for sure he'd pull him after his "heat check", as Sean called it.
3) not having harden on the floor in the fourth is HUGE. I kept waiting for him to make a fade away 3 with a hand in the face...and then reminded myself he was no longer with the team
Also timvp don't forget Ibaka no call travel and Westbrook blatantly blatant travel no call which led to a thunder run.
Mostly agree, think saying that Green is a completely different player is a big overreaction tho, Splitter is really a different player, his passing game has really surprised everyone for instance, but Green is still very much the same to me.
Also funny was Pop trying to play Manu at point guard only to get mad and bark at Manu like he didn't know that wasn't a good idea in the first place.
Great thoughts
And the James Harden trade has just been an awesome move for Spurs. It changes so much things in the Thunder/Spurs matchup.
I don't know if Duncan being raped in the post repeatedly and the whistle being absent repeatedly counts as "a few missed whistles" but you shouldn't be so quick to rule out the conspiracy theories. I hate to go there, but when it is so predictable and obvious I can't see how it can be categorically ruled out. With 6 minutes to go I told my wife, "Watch, the refs will start to take over" and sure enough that's exactly what happened out of the under-6 timeout, I don't know how this is so easily discounted.
I'll be honest here, I was starting to loose faith in pop. It always seems like he adjusts to teams and doesnt make teams adjust to the spurs. Tonight him leaving tiago and tim while the thunder went smal was a great sign to see. Hope see more of it.
Then you must not know this team very well. There's two teams that absolutely would have won in this same exact situation tonight: Spurs and Celtics. Too much pride not to . . . plus it helped that it was the Thunder's 4th-in-5 and they had two days off, but still.-I didn't really know how the Spurs would respond against OKC. After embarrassing losses, NBA teams usually either bounce back and play extremely well or fall apart and start skidding.
I don't think he has to be a consistent star (not that there's any other kind, but you get the gist). Like Splitter, he has to be a sometimes star on the nights that Duncan and Ginobili aren't able to to score at a star level, which is going to happen a decent amount against the Thunder, who have quality defenders to throw at them.-For the Spurs to win a championship, he might have to turn into a star this season.
I've never understood why people say this. The mere fact that you have to say it shows what an outlier it was. And that's not a knock on him, because no one shoots 90% and it's not possible to consistently rebound above your normal rate.-If he can play like he did tonight consistently, the Thunder suddenly don't matchup very well against the Spurs.
No, he was able to do that because Fisher (and Sefolosha), are classic "hiders". Besides, I've always liked the idea, with limited offensive players, of giving them what appears to be an advantageous match-up. I want the Thunder to think about isolating him or having him run pick-and-roll in that match-up, for 2 reasons. 1) That's not his game, 2) That keeps the ball out of their scorers hands and can take them or the team in general out of rhythm.-Pop was able to do that because Splitter was mobile enough to defend Derek Fisher on the perimeter.
Agreed. They needed his ability to create and his confidence.-Another Pop move that worked was using Gary Neal at backup point guard. Offensively, Neal can create shots for himself -- and that in itself is valuable. When he's passing adequately and not in a me-first, me-only mode, he's useful. Tonight he was useful.
That and they didn't shoot lights out from three. They shot just under their average, which is good obviously, but nothing that can't be consistently relied on.-The more I think of this win, the bigger it is and the more impressed I am. No Tony Parker. Manu Ginobili didn't play that well. Tim Duncan was solid but far, far from the top of his game. OKC, of course, was in perfect health. Yet the Spurs got a win thanks mostly to Leonard, Splitter and Green. A loss tonight would have been devastating to San Antonio's chances of getting the first seed in the West. With the win, the Spurs are still in the driver's seat -- especially if Parker can return from injury early.
He is by default, because he's one of two true PG's. That doesn't necessarily mean he's the best man for the job though.-I still stick to my opinion that Joseph is the second best point guard on this team.
If it hasn't in 10 years, it's not going to miraculously happen now. He is what he is. He'll up his overall aggression, but not in terms of pass-shoot.-But, really, at this point you'd hope Diaw would have figured out he has to be ready from his first minute. Let's hope that realization comes at some point before the playoffs.
They're the league's poster child for being able to form a contender in a small market. What about the Spurs, you say? The Spurs shunned the spotlight and don't have marketable stars to the ignorant masses. They're the opposite, so they're a perfect fit.-I'm going to bury this down here so it doesn't come off as I'm whining but holy do the Thunder get a lot of whistles in their favor. It's really unbelievable. Not even the Lakers have ever gotten this sort of whistle. They get a good five to ten borderline whistles to go their way. Then they get two or three totally bogus whistles. Subtract a few missed whistles on the other team and they are a damn difficult team to beat consistently. I don't believe in NBA conspiracy theories but I haven't yet figured out why OKC gets such a kind whistle.
The Harden trade probably deserved a mention. I thought that was a terrible trade for the Thunder when it happened. Now it looks even more ridiculous. They ended up trading away Harden for like twenty cents on dollar. Mindboggling.
I agree re: CoJo being the 2nd best PG. Gary Neal may have been useful tonight, but if he returns/remains the backup PG it will spell disaster over the long haul. He is a small SG, not a ballhandling PG, and his "D" is very suspect. If Pop is not going to use a true PG as backup, then I'd rather have Manu there than GNeal. I believe if CoJo gets some solid PT before TP comes back that he will be able to prove himself. We have plenty of depth that can provide "O" Perhaps there will be times in the playoffs CoJo and GNeal can play together, but the team is better served using CoJo and his "D" than GNeal's "O".
I flipped when Westbrook got away with his travel....but now that I think of it ....in the nba if the ball is bobbled, they don't call the travel.
Conversely, If the 5 has Duncan and Durant is the Stretch 4, he has to defend Splitter and Splitter can punish KD. Without Harden, they are more reliant on Westbrook to playmake and he is easily susceptible to being goaded into Hero Ball.-Speaking of Splitter, a turning point in the first half was when Pop kept his big lineup on the court even though the Thunder went small. Pop was able to do that because Splitter was mobile enough to defend Derek Fisher on the perimeter. That's an almost unheard of cross-matchup but Splitter did well and it allowed Pop to win that game of chess.
I wish this win meant something other than one more "W" but it doesn't. OKC played terrible and they were tired. We played without Parker and we won't know how we stack up against OKC until he is healthy. Beat OKC convincingly in their building in April and it'll get my attention.
He trapped the ball to his hip. That's a travel.
There is not one official in the league who could watch that replay and not call that a travel. It was a blown call, the only question was whether it was a mistakenly blown call or intentional. You can't do that.
It was a mistaken intentional blown call. If the zebras had been smart they would have called that to make their agenda/stern's agenda seem just a tad less obvious, especially since the game was pretty much over by that time anyways.
If CJ wasn't in foul trouble, he would have gotten more time. I'd still take bigger minutes of CJ over Neal, especially since his D is so ty. Manu and CJ is probably better than Manu and CJ if you take everything into consideration (not just offense).-Another Pop move that worked was using Gary Neal at backup point guard. In his first few minutes on the court, I thought Neal looked bad. But he stuck to it and grinded out a solid showing. Neal is bad on defense -- but so is Patty Mills and Nando De Colo doesn't write back to France penning poems about his D either. Offensively, Neal can create shots for himself -- and that in itself is valuable. When he's passing adequately and not in a me-first, me-only mode, he's useful. Tonight he was useful.
Honestly don't think they give a about obviousness, the is always plausible deniability (I didn't see it) with the speed of the NBA.
I think it's time for Manu to stop playing so much and only use him occasionally.
Maybe if you're a casual or young fan of the sport, but you shouldn't be allowed to have a job as a supposedly fair ref if you haven't been watching the NBA for at least 15-20 years. It's not too hard to train your eyes to watch everything that goes on in the halfcourt (especially involving THE GUY WITH THE BALL) with a few years of experience.
You read half my post. Half is anti-Spurs, the other half is pro-OKC, Stern backing up his zionist forcing of the Sonics out of Seattle.
Bottom line: OKC is a city whose economy is driven by meth, useless construction, and gotry. The soil there is red from the menstrual flow of their wannabe basketball team, its effeminate "superstar", and all of its fans. The hole of a city doesn't deserve a pro sports team.
Last edited by spursmartyr; 03-12-2013 at 01:33 AM.
I think he should play more but handle the ball less, he is the best corner shooter on the team...
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