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Nice analysis. We now know that anything other than 20-29 points for Manu = win.
In one of the most impressive victories of the season, the Spurs went into Toronto and came away with a 93-88 victory without Tony Parker and Brent Barry. It was a great win and a great effort. After suffering a disappointing loss against the Celtics yesterday, the Spurs bounced back with a superb performance tonight.
The Spurs scored the first nine points of the game and looked especially focused in doing so. Continuing their impressive play, the Spurs got up by as many as 18 points in the first half before heading to intermission with a 55-40 advantage.
The second half wasn’t nearly as pretty but the Spurs hit big shots and got key defensive stops when needed. I thought they ran out of gas a bit at the end, yet the team continued to claw and came away with another much needed victory.
As far as the Raptors, they have a pretty good team up there north of the border. I think they’re a bit gimmicky to truly be a playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, but they are a good regular season team. If the Raptors get hot shooting the ball, they can compete with anyone on a given night.
Overall, I was extremely pleased with the win. The execution was really good in the first half and the team’s scrappiness was on display in the second half. Standing at 5-3 on the Rodeo Road Trip with one game to go, I’d say that the trip is already a success – all thing considering.
-Tim Duncan bounced back from a disappointing effort against the Celtics with a much better outing tonight. Although his numbers were similar, Duncan had much more of an impact and his energy level was much higher. He finished with 22 points, 13 rebounds, two assists and two blocks, while hitting 11-of-19 shots from the field. The Raptors were throwing a bunch of defenders at him and Duncan responded by staying aggressive all night. A classic Tim Duncan performance.
-Speaking of classic performances, Manu Ginobili played one of his most dominating games I’ve ever seen him play. From the opening tip until the final buzzer, Ginobili was by far the best player on the court. He simply dominated in every aspect of the game. Ginobili ended the night with 34 points, 15 rebounds, six assists and two steals, while hitting 13-of-22 shots from the field including 6-of-12 from beyond the three-point line. Words really can’t describe how well Ginobili played. Truly, those jaw-dropping numbers didn’t even do his game justice. He was better than those gaudy stats. If you’re a Spurs fan and you ever get worried about the Spurs, just remember that this guy is on your team. Combine this Ginobili with the best bigman in the league and a healthy Parker, and I wouldn’t bet against the Spurs in any cir stance.
-Bruce Bowen played 28 minutes and scored five points on 2-for-5 shooting from the field. Bowen didn’t really have anyone to guard since the Raptors don’t have a go-to perimeter scoring threat, so it was pretty surprising he played as much as he did. Bowen wasn’t particularly notable in this contest, but to be fair the Raptors don’t have an offensive player that could test Bowen’s defense.
-I thought Jacque Vaughn played one of his better games of the season. He didn’t over dribble and he ran the show well at times. Vaughn also did a good job recognizing Ginobili was on fire and continually fed him the ball. On the night, Vaughn totaled seven points, five assists and one turnover on 3-for-8 shooting from the floor in 33 minutes. Vaughn’s defense wasn’t very effective but the energy was apparent from the tip off. If you start Vaughn, this is about as well as you could hope he’s going to play.
-Fabricio Oberto had strung together a number of solid games until his poor showing against the Celtics. Against the Raptors, Oberto was back to playing well. In 30 minutes, Oberto finished with six points, seven rebounds and four assists. Early on, Oberto’s passing was destroying the defensive schemes the Raptors were trying to use. Overall, Oberto showed as much energy in this game as he had all season.
-Michael Finley had his ups and downs but he was an important part of the win. When the Spurs needed to knock down some shots, Finley answered the bell. For the game, Finely finished with 12 points on 4-for-9 shooting from the field. Outside of Duncan and Ginobili, Finley was the only Spur to hit double figures. Compared to how Finley looked when he first joined the Spurs a couple years back, he looks amazingly comfortable on both sides of the court.
-Robert Horry didn’t take a shot in his 17 minutes of playing time. The good news is he dished out four assists. The bad news is every other part of his game looked slow. His defense was slow and he only had one rebound. On the whole, it wasn’t a horrible performance from Horry. The assists were good enough to count this as a decent night.
-Damon Stoudamire really struggled against the Raptors. His defense was extremely poor and his offense wasn’t much better. After getting off to a good start as a Spur, Stoudamire has come crashing back down to earth. In 15 minutes, Stoudamire had two points on 1-for-5 shooting from the field. Hopefully Stoudamire can find his rhythm sooner than later.
-Francisco Elson played 12 minutes and although he was bad, he wasn’t as bad as he’s been in recent games. This was actually a step forward for him. I like how he did a better job of letting the game come to him. He finished with four points on 1-for-4 shooting from the floor. Ugly game for Elson but he has to start somewhere if he wants to journey back to respectability.
-Matt Bonner played less than a minute. Why? After entering the game in the first half to an ovation from the crowd, Bonner was out of position on the very first possession and Pop yanked him out immediately. It was an alarmingly boneheaded play by Bonner. How are you going to come into the game and screw up within five seconds? If Bonner wants to regain his spot in the rotation or at least save himself from a permanent spot in the doghouse, he’s going to have to raise his basketball IQ to the point that it’s larger than his jersey number.
-Ime Udoka also played less than a minute. The problem for Udoka was the same problem that Bowen faced. The Raptors have perimeter shooters and not perimeter scorers. With no one to really defend, Udoka and Bowen weren’t needed.
-I thought Pop coached a relatively good game. Whatever he said to the squad before the game really hit home. The Spurs came out like they were pissed and looking to bury the Raptors.
Pop could have played Bowen a little less and Finley a little more because the Spurs didn’t need perimeter defense. And while Ginobili played great, 39 minutes just is too much on a back-to-back. By the end of the game, Ginobili was so exhausted he started to turn different shades of red and purple. As good of a win as this was, it’s not worth hurting Ginobili in the process.
Regarding Bonner, Pop made the right decision. The Spurs have had players on 10-day contracts make less mistakes than Bonner has made recently. Yanking Bonner and driving in the point that Bonner needs to play smarter to earn minutes was the right move.
The bottomline is this was a very nice win. The team played hard and with a purpose. Next up is the Cavaliers on Wednesday. A win in Cleveland would give the Spurs a 6-3 record on the Rodeo Road Trip and would officially make the trip a smashing success considering how the trip started and the obstacles the Spurs have had to overcome.
Last edited by timvp; 02-12-2008 at 05:04 AM.
Nice analysis. We now know that anything other than 20-29 points for Manu = win.
good job my friend, always expecting to read your game thoughts after each game!
Giving Bonner that contract was stupid.
They showed this game in Argie Direct TV.
Nice to see Manu on fire again.
Thanx timvp for this nice game summary. It's as if im viewing the action on the court everytime i read your game thoughts. Thank you spurs for making my day brighter with this win. This rodeo road trip, hopefully, will reignite that desire to be on top of the game again for the spurs.
Good analysis Tim.
I thought Elson was really terrible tho. He actually scares me. I've seen him slam into so many Spurs players I think he's gonna hurt one of our guys one of these days. He gets out of position, then overcompensates trying to get back into the play...usually jumping or running into one of the Spurs who has rotated to help. He continually has to overcompensate because of poor positioning. One of those out of control freight trains you have to continuously avoid trying not to get hurt. I seriously don't like this guy.
Wasn't too impressed with Horry either, guys blew by him like he was a statue...he actually looks like he's hurting a little.
Ginobili sure makes coaching easier, eh?
Great recap as usual
How about that ^? What's your argie's opinion? I don't deeply familiar with Delfino and his play but I think the guy have seen better games.
Manu with an incredible game. It just goes to show that I'm right. He's one of the most amazing players in the NBA.
more about argies, IMO the Oberto's defense over Bosh was really good. Bosh finished with only 11 points and 7 rebounds in 38 minutes. Fab did a smart job, didn't he?.
Last edited by wildchild; 02-12-2008 at 07:15 AM.
Thanks, timvp.
5-2 without Parker is great, ending with 6-2 without him would be pretty amazing imo.
Why is this impressive? Isn't this more like a routine win that was more difficult than it should have been, similarly to the recent win over the Knicks?
I don't follow Toronto closely, but I'm under the impression they've regressed this year and haven't been playing particularly well lately, except for a surprising win over Boston in late January. They're playing 0.5 ball lately:
Date Opponent Result
Sat 19 @ Philadelphia L 95-99
Wed 23 @ Boston W 114-112 <- Surprising win
Fri 25 vs Milwaukee W 106-75
Tue 29 @ Washington L 104-108
Wed 30 vs Washington W 122-83
Fri 01 vs LA Lakers L 101-121 <- Crushed by the Lakers
Mon 04 @ Miami W 114-82
Fri 08 vs LA Clippers L 98-102 <- Clippers ain't a good team this year
Sun 10 @ Minnesota W 105-82
Mon 11 vs San Antonio L 88-93
Edit: My hero Manu was great thoughAmazing performance from an amazing player! To me, he's the player with the most game-changing + clutch ability since Jordan.
Last edited by Quasar; 02-12-2008 at 07:27 AM. Reason: Manu goodness
Nice recap... the win against the Raptors was impressive; considering it was the 2nd game of a back to back. I couldn't follow the game because I was in a training session, but reading Manu's stat line was sweet. His compe ive drive is awesome, and as hard as it is to measure it, I'd say he's up there with Kobe. I am just glad he's a Spur.
I've been trying to say this all year.
Maybe if it is coming from the great timvp, they will listen.
....Maybe not....
Anyways, great recap!
Just to let you know, the Raptors played the night before. Unlike the Spurs who played during the day and got into Toronto at a decent time, the Raptors arrived much, much later.
I did find it interesting that a win over Toronto could be considered the most impressive win of any season for the Spurs. I guess the Raptors have come a long way in a year and a half.
Timvp, I know this killed you to write:
As far as the Raptors, they have a pretty good team up there north of the border.I am not saying this to fan the fire but with Tony in the game, I do not think there is much opportunity to see this Ginobili.If you’re a Spurs fan and you ever get worried about the Spurs, just remember that this guy is on your team. Combine this Ginobili with the best bigman in the league and a healthy Parker, and I wouldn’t bet against the Spurs in any cir stance.
Good reason to run out of gas. While this is shown officially to be a B2B and 3 games in 4 days, it is actually 3 games in 3 1/8 days or 2 1/2 hours shy of being a B2B2B. No wonder everyone was out of gas by the 4th quarter.I thought they ran out of gas a bit at the end, yet the team continued to claw and came away with another much needed victory.
But it was a good win. Now sitting at 5-3 (I predicted 5-4) on the road trip, a win in Cleveland Wednesday would indeed make this a smashing success. Just hope the guys aren't too anxious to bring it to an end and get back home, that they don't play their best against Cleveland.
A win Wed night, and getting Tony back (hopefully) next week, should send the Spurs on their way to a great season finish.
So true
When Tony is in the game, Manu automatically becomes a 10 / 3 / 2 guy
Manu comes off the bench, about the time the other team is starting to figure out TP. That's kind of the point.
I noticed that Ime made a mistake in his one play in the game - a crucial late play - when he let his man get around a pick and get an open shot. I can see why Pop was made at Ime. It was actually kind of funny. Ime is holding the ball while the clock is running out, the Spurs are about to win the game, and Pop is yelling at him for screwing up.
As for Bonner, I wasn't paying attention to what he did on his one play. I saw him guarding Bosh in a post up and fouled him. What was his mistake? Did anyone see it clearly?
I'm starting to wonder why the resigned Bonner in the first place.
Correct me if I'm wrong but I seem to remember two 37 pt performances from Manu with Tony in the lineup. The thing is that with Tony in the lineup, Manu DOESN'T have to be THIS Manu for us to win. This is a good thing. Having to watch Manu bail us out by playing 40 minutes a night is not.So true
When Tony is in the game, Manu automatically becomes a 10 / 3 / 2 guy
I remember saying to myself, this is the first win in a while that i can actually be proud of. they went out there and actually performed.
I understand about Elson. However I will give him credit that no one on the team (outside of Parker) gets upcourt faster in transition. That's his game and he is severely hampered by Parker's absence. He can beat any big down the court, yet it seems that no one ever looks his way.Good analysis Tim.
I thought Elson was really terrible tho. He actually scares me. I've seen him slam into so many Spurs players I think he's gonna hurt one of our guys one of these days. He gets out of position, then overcompensates trying to get back into the play...usually jumping or running into one of the Spurs who has rotated to help. He continually has to overcompensate because of poor positioning. One of those out of control freight trains you have to continuously avoid trying not to get hurt. I seriously don't like this guy.
Wasn't too impressed with Horry either, guys blew by him like he was a statue...he actually looks like he's hurting a little.
Ginobili sure makes coaching easier, eh?
He is what he is. THe Spurs (and everyone else for that matter) should've known what they were getting when he came over from Denver. I still think he could be useful against certain teams, but it's clear his confidence is way down - along with his performance.
I don't understand all the Elson hate, though. It's not like Horry, Oberto and Bonner are tearing it up either.
Yeah, I agree, Manu was poo in the 2005 Finals with Tony on court.I am not saying this to fan the fire but with Tony in the game, I do not think there is much opportunity to see this Ginobili.
Come on, you know better than that.
I'm sorry I missed the game yesterday.
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