Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Nuggets Dec. 15

[timvp]

First off, it was nice to see Tim Duncan back out on the court. It’s easy to take him for granted and forget how much easier he makes the game for everyone around him.

As far as the game, I thought it was a solid showing, especially considering Tony Parker was out with a sprained ankle. It wasn’t a great win because the Nuggets played horrible at times and made it easy for the Spurs, but it was at least nice to get back on the winning track. The Spurs got some good performances from a variety of players and were able to stay undefeated at home.

I wasn’t too impressed with the Nuggets. In the middle two quarters, their defense was pathetic. Offensively, it didn’t appear that they had a plan at all. I’ve seen them play better this season but this certainly was not one of their better outings. Without Kenyon Martin and Nene, Denver was much softer in the middle than usual.

-Tim Duncan’s stats are pretty ugly. He had eight points and five rebounds, while shooting 4-for-10 from the court. However, it didn’t take him long to show why he’s so valuable. Duncan attracts so much attention that the game become much easier for everyone around him. His defense wasn’t great but it was far better than anything the Spurs saw out of a bigman in his absence. Duncan looked relatively healthy even though he was moving painfully slow at times. Hopefully he was just taking extra caution as he worked his way back into action.

-Manu Ginobili looked good at times and bad at times. Most of the good came in the third quarter when he scored all 11 of his points and looked like the Ginobili we’ve come to expect this season. In the other three quarters, Ginobili was 0-for-6 from the field and failed to get to the line. You have to give him credit for his seven assists but overall he seemed out of sync and was forcing the action way too much, which led to a team-high four turnovers. Against the Nuggets specifically, Ginobili really missed having Parker at his side. For one, the Nuggets could put a better defender on him than they usually can because they didn’t have to worry about Jacque Vaughn. Secondly, Ginobili had to spend time defensively on Allen Iverson, which doesn’t happen if Parker is healthy. Overall though, this was a much better outing for Ginobili compared to the last two nightmares.

-Bruce Bowen had his hands full tonight spending time defensively on both Iverson and Carmelo Anthony. On the whole, Bowen did a very good job on whoever he was matched up against. There were a couple of possessions where he was out of position but there’s really no way you complain about his effort.

-Fabricio Oberto had yet another fantastic game. In one of the best games of his career, he had 21 points, 13 rebounds, five assists, one block and no turnovers, while hitting 10-of-11 shots from the field. He really played well in the first half, where he put up a team-high and already season-high 15 points. Oberto played great next to Duncan and his short jumper was as automatic as it’s ever been. Under the radar, Oberto has become a very legitimate NBA center. This nearly flawless outing was just another example of how well he has played this year.

-In a starting role, Michael Finley had one of his best games of the season. He had 21 points, six rebounds, four assists and knocked down 8-of-12 shots from the field and 4-of-5 shots from beyond the three-point line. His plus/minus showed just how well he played as he finished +27, which was far and away the best mark on the team. Finley has had a rollercoaster season but it seems that finally there are more ups than there are downs.

-Jacque Vaughn played much better in his second start of the season. In 34 minutes, he had ten points, six assists and three rebounds. The offense got stagnant at times while he was on the court but overall he played much, much better than he did against the Lakers. His all out hustle was on full display and his defense was quite good.

-Brent Barry was big early on in the game when the Spurs couldn’t make a basket. He came in and helped jumpstart the offense. He finished with 14 points, four rebounds and three assists, as he scored in double figures in back-to-back games for the first time this season. Defensively he wasn’t great but I liked how he stuck his nose in there and competed.

-I thought Darius Washington took a step back in his development tonight. His clock management, especially at the end of quarters and the end of shot clocks, was poor. He had a couple of possessions where he didn’t make the passes he needed to make. In fairness, he is still very raw but this game didn’t make Pop gain any confidence in him. He still has a lot of work to do before he’s capable of playing championship caliber basketball.

-First of all, I hope his ankle injury at the end of the game turns out to be not serious. It looked like he twisted it pretty good. Best wishes to him. But Francisco Elson was horrible. He had a plus/minus of -16 in less than 12 minutes of action. His defense remains clueless while his offense doesn’t help matters. He was going up against his idol Marcus Camby and didn’t do much of anything. Hopefully the ankle injury was Elson’s way of honoring Camby and wasn’t an actual injury that will sideline him.

-Ime Udoka was like the swingman version of Elson tonight. He had a -12 plus/minus in eight minutes of play. He looked out of sync more than usual and wasn’t really helping in any area. Udoka has shown glimpses but remains a project at this point.

-Robert Horry played just six minutes and missed all three of his shots, all from downtown. This was the first game that Horry looked his age. He wasn’t moving too well and his lack of conditioning was evident. But then again, this is Robert Horry and he’s going to have regular season games like this.

-Matt Bonner was victim of a classic Pop DNP-CD. After starting two consecutive games, Bonner didn’t get off the bench for the Spurs tonight. It’s tough to blame the coaching staff though because last game against the Lakers Bonner put up a goose egg when he could have really made a case for himself in terms of getting minutes in the rotation.

-Pop did a good job overall. He let Duncan get out there for 20 minutes to shake the rust off and kept him on the bench when the Nuggets were making their late run. I also liked how he didn’t overplay Ginobili even though Parker was out. The Spurs stuck to their guns after a difficult first quarter and broke through in the middle two quarters, outscoring the Nuggets 68-41. The fourth quarter got ugly but that’s what happens when Duncan is on the bench, Parker is out and Ginobili is out of rhythm. Bottomline is it was a good win but more importantly it was nice to have Duncan back in the fold.

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Great as always, timvp.

I have 3 comments:
1. I love watching Oberto stick that 12-15fter. You know he's going to get hustle baskets, but having seen him do it time and again, I now fully trust his jumper and it adds another dimension to his hustle game. He has become a solid contributor for this team since the playoffs last year.
2. Udoka - wtf? He has looked HORRIBLE of late, especially turning the ball over with poor, dumb passes. Hope he comes on a bit soon and shows us something.
3. Bonner - I think a DNP is a bad move by Pop at this stage. If he keeps yanking him in and out of the lineup like this he'll ruin his confidence like he did to Beno (amongst others). So he had a bad game at the Lakers, so what - you give him some 1st half minutes today and tell him to hustle his arse off or he'll sit... but you don't just freeze him out like that. If I'm Bonner right now I'm shrugging my shoulders and saying "wtf is up with this guy?"

[AnotherArgie]

About Manu: it's me or he wasn't getting any calls in the offensive side? He struggled like tonight many more times, but usually he was able to, at least, get to the FT line.

[BeerIsGood!]

About Manu: it's me or he wasn't getting any calls in the offensive side? He struggled like tonight many more times, but usually he was able to, at least, get to the FT line.

You have to take care of the ball long enough to get fouled if you want to get to the line.

[AFBlue]

Fabricio with two turnaround jumpers tonight...WTF? Dude was en fuego. Seriously though, I completely agree that Oberto has turned into a legit starting Center in this league. What's amazing is that he's done it while playing within the confines of his ability and the system....this guy epitomizes Spurs basketball.

Also agree on Darius. I think he's a great scorer and a good individual talent, but he still has a ways to go in regards to playing Spurs (a.k.a. smart) basketball.

I can recall one specific play at the end of a quarter where he got the ball with less than 30 seconds on the clock and instead of bringing the ball up slowly and working for the final shot, he decided to go on a crazy fastbreak....that resulted in a turnover and subsequent Nugget basket.

Again, I think this kid has enough talent, work ethic, and smarts to be a long-term piece to this team...but he's still a "rookie" that played to that label in many cases tonight.

Elson was terrible once again, but I hope he's okay. I wonder if his injury is serious enough for the Spurs to recall Mahinmi. Personally, I hope they don't recall Mahinmi, who needs to continue his development in Austin and turn in consistent performances. Sad to say, but I think I'd still rather have Elson at this point...

Lastly, Ime has been awful but I'm hoping it's more of him trying to regain confidence and learn the system. Something about this guy tells me he's got more Oberto in him than Elson. I think the guy will "get it", I just think he needs more time.

[AFBlue]

I really liked how Williams chipped in 29 points and shot so effectively from the field. While it's apparent he doesn't have much of a three-point game, maybe the Austin coaching staff can convince him to play within his means and not take so many.

I also like how Cheyne has come in for a called-up Washington and done....wait, what "game thoughts" thread is this?

Dude, Chump where are you with the Toros v. Stampede game thoughts?

[urunobili]

i'm addicted to this ... thanks timvp

[DariusWashington]

-I thought Darius Washington took a step back in his development tonight. His clock management, especially at the end of quarters and the end of shot clocks, was poor. He had a couple of possessions where he didn’t make the passes he needed to make. In fairness, he is still very raw but this game didn’t make Pop gain any confidence in him. He still has a lot of work to do before he’s capable of playing championship caliber basketball.

Hey, it's not my fault if they sent me to the D-league and I don't know the system.

[NuGGeTs-FaN]

Nuggets took a night off. Saving themselves for the playoffs I must be hanging around here too much coz im starting to use the 'its only December' excuse

[roycrikside]

I don't think Manu's defense was all that bad. He did draw three charges on AI.

[timvp]

I don't think Manu's defense was all that bad. He did draw three charges on AI.

It was actually pretty decent. Holding AI to 30 in a regular season game is a job well done. Manu, Bowen and even Vaughn had some pretty good possessions against him.

[m33p0]

manu is in some kind of funk. is it simply because he's trying too hard?

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

manu is in some kind of funk. is it simply because he's trying too hard?

Manu is streaky (great example last playoffs - he was cold until the middle of the Suns series, then hot as ), and it makes sense when you think about the energy it must have cost him to get 37 two nights in a row. With Tim, and now TP out, he's had to play a lot harder and basically become "the man".

He'll be back in form soon enough.

[m33p0]

Manu is streaky (great example last playoffs - he was cold until the middle of the Suns series, then hot as ), and it makes sense when you think about the energy it must have cost him to get 37 two nights in a row. With Tim, and now TP out, he's had to play a lot harder and basically become "the man".

He'll be back in form soon enough.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

Did Carmelo even play in last night's game?

[m33p0]

Did Carmelo even play in last night's game?

i remember someone mentioning melo staring down someone, possibly duncan, when he dunked one time. probably his only appearance that night.

[Cherry]

Manu is streaky (great example last playoffs - he was cold until the middle of the Suns series, then hot as ), and it makes sense when you think about the energy it must have cost him to get 37 two nights in a row. With Tim, and now TP out, he's had to play a lot harder and basically become "the man".

He'll be back in form soon enough.

[FromWayDowntown]

The Nuggets spent the entire evening carping at the officials. They got what they deserved for taking that approach -- it's tough to win when you're complaining to an official on just about every possession.

That said, this was a vintage Team is Everything performance from the Spurs. Survive off nights from Duncan and Ginobili (and no Parker) by getting huge nights from Finley, Oberto, and Barry (at least in the first half). Take advantage of a distracted team's lack of focus and blow them out when the opportunity presents itself.

To me, the win was more important than impressive; important because while regular season games are, at this point, largely meaningless, you hate to give up a winnable game against a conference playoff team -- and particularly a game at home.

[SAGambler]

Great as always, timvp.

I have 3 comments:
1. I love watching Oberto stick that 12-15fter. You know he's going to get hustle baskets, but having seen him do it time and again, I now fully trust his jumper and it adds another dimension to his hustle game. He has become a solid contributor for this team since the playoffs last year.
2. Udoka - wtf? He has looked HORRIBLE of late, especially turning the ball over with poor, dumb passes. Hope he comes on a bit soon and shows us something.
3. Bonner - I think a DNP is a bad move by Pop at this stage. If he keeps yanking him in and out of the lineup like this he'll ruin his confidence like he did to Beno (amongst others). So he had a bad game at the Lakers, so what - you give him some 1st half minutes today and tell him to hustle his arse off or he'll sit... but you don't just freeze him out like that. If I'm Bonner right now I'm shrugging my shoulders and saying "wtf is up with this guy?"

Agree on all points. Are we about to see a barage of "Trade Bonner" threads? WTF is it with Pop and his "once in the doghouse, always in the doghouse" bull ? A few nights ago, Pop couldn't praise Bonner enough, and then he has a bad game, and it's "sit on the bench, boy". Wonder how long before he sits Duncan for having a 5 point game? Pop is a great coach, no doubt..But damn he knows how to shred a guys confidence all to .

[wildbill2u]

I tend to agree with the comments about Pop and Bonner. It looks like Pop is playing head games with players even if he isn't but just doesn't realize it.

When Pop plays a very raw rookie like Washington who doesn't do much and a player who's been something of a disappointment all year (I'm Okeydokey) and Elson (what can you say good about him?) and they don't contribute either, then what is Bonner to conclude when he can't get any minutes even when it was a garbage time blowout with the Spurs up 26?

I love what Pop has done with this team overall, but sometimes his rotations and minutes just don't make sense and appear to be made by some arbitrary judgment he makes about a player's errors.

[fred33]

how was tony?

[exstatic]

how was tony?

I can't find my ass with two hands and a magnifying glass forum.

I'm not nearly as happy with Vaughn's play this year as last. He seems to be trying to do WAY too much, and ing up a LOT of possessions. If we're going to have a backup PG who's going to dribble the clock out and then try to create something, ing plug Darius in right now. Vaughn isn't talented enough to pull that one off.

[MaNuMaNiAc]

I can't find my ass with two hands and a magnifying glass forum.

[LaMarcus Bryant]

timvp---not counting this game's comments, but especially the laker game's comments--are you being a pessimist about Washington's role and performance so people don't get let down or do you seriously believe he's one of these ron mercer-lite spurs that people see alot of good but Pop is secretly hating everything about him and will soon get him off the team?

[duncan228]

how was tony?

Parker looked very nice on the bench in a sports coat and jeans.
Where he will be for the near future.


Pop said he had no plan to rush Parker back and wished he had sat him a game earlier.