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I was getting a little scared during that time he shot terribly. Good thing he has overcome that slump.
Finley discovers shooting tendency
Mike Monroe
Express-News
The best teammate Michael Finley ever had was down on the court, writhing in pain and holding his right knee.
The opponent who had tangled with Tim Duncan in the low post stood over the Spurs' star, and in Finley's mind, he had become a menacing presence.
Without hesitation, Finley poked a forearm in the chest of Portland's James Jones and “guided” him away from the fallen star.
In the Spurs' first game of December, Jones was just about the only thing Finley hit all night.
Eight of his 10 shots against the Blazers failed to fall. Coming on the heels of his 1-for-11 game in Minnesota, a player unaccustomed to hardwood bricklaying could do little but shake his head and fall back on homespun philosophy.
“Sometimes,” Finley said, “you're the Louisville Slugger. Sometimes, you're the ball.”
Lately, Finley has been swinging a big bat for the Spurs. In the 11 games in December that followed that errant night against the Trail Blazers, Finley has made 61 of 142 shots, including 30 of 71 3-pointers. His average of 14.6 points for those 11 games raised his average for the season to 10.4, making him the fourth Spurs player with a double-figure scoring average.
He made 5 of 7 long-range shots in the Spurs' victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday at the AT&T Center for a season-high 22 points. It was his second-straight game of 20 or more points, the first time he put together back-to-back 20-or-more games since Dec. 12 and 13, 2005, his first season with the Spurs.
Nobody who sees Finley shooting jump shot after jump shot long after most of his teammates have walked off the Spurs' practice court is surprised when his shots fall, least of all Finley.
“I'm a firm believer that hard work pays off,” he said. “I know I put in the work to give myself the opportunities to have good games, so when they come, I'm not surprised.”
Now in his third season with the Spurs, his 14th in the NBA, Finley's teammates understand the importance of finding him when he is hot.
“When he shoots the ball that well, you just make sure you don't miss him when he is open,” said Duncan, who passed out of the post to set up three of Finley's 3-pointers against Memphis.
“It's not even that you look for him more often. He always moves well without the ball and is one of our guys who is great coming off screens, and a lot of our offense is that. So he just ends up being that kind of guy.”
Duncan and Finley have developed a nice feel for playing off one another, but Finley says he continues to learn from all his All-Star teammates.
“This is only my third year with the team,” he said, “and I'm still learning the guys. Playing with All-Stars like Tim, Tony (Parker) and Manu (Ginobili), you learn something every game. And every game, I'm trying to learn to pick and choose my spots so I can be aggressive offensively; pick and choose my spots where to be when they have the ball.
“The more time I play with those guys, the more comfortable it gets.”
I was getting a little scared during that time he shot terribly. Good thing he has overcome that slump.
Yeah Findog is really finding is touch lately. I love to see him shooting the ball well.
he'll get better and better this year... expect him to be almost his old self come playoff time...
I'll admit it. I've been as big of a Finley critic as anyone on this board. When his jump shot is on, it's a thing of beauty and the rest of his game seems to open up. My issue with him is, at this stage of his career, he's evolved into a "one-trick pony". When his shot is off, he doesn't provide much added-value anywhere else. Doesn't drive to the hoop much anymore, doesn't rebound well, doesn't make his teammates better. This is very disheartening for someone who once possessed such extraordinary athleticism for his position.
I will give him credit for his defense. He's been surprisingly better than anyone could've hoped.
I would like to see him drive to the hoop more. Finley dunks are usually pretty nasty. I'll never forget the "header" dunk in the 06 semis.
Along with that article is a stat of his rebounding. In the past eight games his average in rebounds is 5.3. Previous to that he was averaging 3.0 rebounds a game. I am just as impressed with that.
Here's a chart that was included with the story. It gives you an idea of just how well Fin's played recently compared to the start of the season. Whatever the reason it's good to see him produce while Ginobli struggled and sat out a few games.
Hitting on all cylinders
Spurs guard Michael Finley is in the midst of his most productive stretch this season, having scored in double figures in eight-straight games. Here is a look at how Finley has fared over the past eight games compared with the previous 21.
Past eight games
MPG: 31.9
FG%: 45.3
3PT%: 39.6
RPG: 5.3
APG: 2.6
PPG: 15.6
Previous 21 games
MPG: 17.7
FG%: 35.3
3PT%: 36.8
RPG: 3.0
APG: 1.6
PPG: 8.4
umm Finley is learning ... 3 years as a spurs
how much time kg, ray and paul were learning?
they had some hidden training sessions for 5 years or what?
Well I've heard many times that the Spurs system takes a few years to learn... so I dunno...
When did the Spurs sign these guys?how much time kg, ray and paul were learning?
Big news!
'his old self come playoff time"
When Michael was coming to the Spurs, his playoff stats were always lower than his season stats.
Great numbers!!!
seeing the last couple of games it looks like finley found his shot already. when he is on the spurs are almost impossible to beat.
i'd like to know the spurs record when fin has somtheing like 15+
It's not the tendency that I'm worried about -- it's the accuracy.
The only difference is Finley is playing more minutes and is hitting more of his two-pointers. His rebounds per minute and assists per minute are actually down during this stretch . . .Past eight games
MPG: 31.9
FG%: 45.3
3PT%: 39.6
RPG: 5.3
APG: 2.6
PPG: 15.6
Previous 21 games
MPG: 17.7
FG%: 35.3
3PT%: 36.8
RPG: 3.0
APG: 1.6
PPG: 8.4
I seem to remember that dunk was on Dampier's head. That was very nasty. He's also had one or two monster dunks earlier this year, including one reverse dunk on the other side of the rim. That proves that he can still get to the rim if he wants. He could really utilize his drive as another offensive weapon - even when his shot is on. He's a fantastic FT shooter.
Tons of love here for Finley, but boy does he give lousy, boring quotes.
He's a Spur!
Like most guys who rely on the jumper, Finley will be streaky. Same thing happened last year. Expect him to go through another rough patch before the season is out, but hopefully he'll peak at the right time as our team tends to do.
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