Game Thoughts: Spurs vs. Mavs Feb. 28

[timvp]

When the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks take the court, you know you are going to be in for a great game. Tonight in the AT&T Center, that theory held true. Both teams traded body blows all night until the Spurs were able to unleash their knockout punch and win by a final score of 97-94.

At the end of the game, Tim Duncan drained two free throws and then Bruce Bowen got a game-clinching blocked shot to seal it. The Spurs came out determined and obviously really wanted the win.

As far as the Mavs are concerned, they honestly looked pretty good. Jason Kidd is going to allow their scorers to get open shots. Dirk Nowitzki looked better than I have seen him all season. While they are definitely a work in progress, Mav Fan should be happy with what he saw.

That said, I feel really good about how the Spurs matchup with the Mavs now. Kidd is a great player but that trade makes life easier for the Spurs. Devin Harris and DeSagana Diop aren’t really that good of players but they are extremely effective against the Spurs. Before the trade, I would say the Mavs had the upper hand if the two teams played each other in the playoffs. After the trade, I’d say it’s either even or the Spurs have a small advantage. I’d still rather the Spurs avoid Dallas in the postseason, but it’s no longer as vital.

Overall, it was a quality, quality victory. The Spurs have now won seven games in a row. As the team heads into March, it’s time for the peaking to begin.

-Tim Duncan had fantastic energy most of the night. He came out more focused than I’ve seen him all season. Offensively, he was really strong and fought through whatever the Mavs were throwing at him. Almost all of his field goal attempts were excellent looks at the basket. On the night, Duncan finished with 31 points, 15 rebounds, three assists and one blocked shot. However, it wasn’t all roses and bank shots for Duncan. Defensively, Duncan got lit up by Brandon Bass on a number of occasions. He got in trouble against Bass when he started going for pump fakes – something Duncan rarely does. Perhaps he was overanxious or perhaps he hadn't read his scouting report. On the whole it was a very nice game for Duncan, even though his man-to-man defense was sub par.

-Manu Ginobili had a streaky affair. He started off 1-for-6 from the field. He then bounced back to hit five of his next six attempts before halftime. In the second half, Ginobili missed all eight of his field goal attempts. For the game, Ginobili had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while shooting 6-of-20 from the field. While it’d be easy to dismiss this game as a poor showing for Ginobili, his spurt in the first half was vital. In the second half he did suck for the most part but you can’t be too mad at him. He’s been carrying this team for a while now. Ginobili’s biggest problem in the second half was likely fatigue as he’s played a lot of minutes in recent weeks. On the night, Ginobili added 38 more minutes to his season total.

-Tony Parker is still trying to get his game wind back but he’s getting there. Unlike recent games, Parker did a good job of repeatedly penetrating the basketball. He created a number of open shots and had the Mavs scrambling to keep up. His overall execution offensively was still lacking but defensively he was really good. He stayed up on Jason Terry all night and didn’t allow him to get any open looks. In fact, Terry went scoreless in the first half. Health-wise, Parker isn’t limping and he almost looks to be at his top speed, so for now it’s safe to believe that his ankle has improved. Against the Mavs, Parker scored 10 points, grabbed five rebounds and handed out four assists. He shot 5-for-13 from the field, including 1-for-5 on jumpers. Parker is still only a shadow of his former self but hopefully we will see continued improvement in the upcoming weeks.

-Bruce Bowen had a vintage Bruce Bowen performance. He hit big shots when it mattered, got under Terry’s skin to cause a technical foul and then blocked Terry at the end of the game to send the Mavericks packing. Not bad for a 37-year-old specialist who some say has reached the end of his rope. In 37 minutes, Bowen had 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocked shots, while hitting 5-of-8 shots from the floor. In the second half, Bowen was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. While Bowen didn’t have a dominant game overall defensively, he came up with the big play when it mattered.

-Fabricio Oberto played 14 minutes and was only decent. While on the court, he finished with four points, one rebound and two steals. His perimeter defense out on Nowitzki was commendable but he hurt the team by not pulling down a single defensive rebound. It wasn’t a bad game but Oberto has definitely seen better outings.

-Michael Finley was huge off the bench for the Spurs. When the Spurs fell down by ten points in the second half, Finley scored nine of the Spurs' 11 points as the Spurs wiped out the ten point lead in just little over two minutes. Without that run, the Mavs could have conceivably blown the game open. Finley finished with 16 points on 5-for-9 shooting from the field, including 3-for-5 shooting from beyond the arc. While he absolutely deserves props on his offense, Finley’s defense was horrible. He was constantly getting beat off the dribble, which is surprising because he’s been a relatively good defender this season. Despite his defensive shortcomings, Finley led the team in plus/minus on the night with a +12.

-Ime Udoka competed valiantly against Dallas but he wasn’t overly effective. He committed a couple of bad fouls and didn’t play Nowitzki as well as Spurs fans were hoping. It wasn’t a bad game for Udoka but it wasn’t anything to write home to Portland about. In 20 minutes, Udoka had three points and three rebounds. His lone basket came at the third quarter buzzer when he hit a three-pointer to give the Spurs a one-point lead.

-I once again liked how Damon Stoudamire ran the team. He’s a smart player who can get the team into its sets and understands when and how to pass the ball. On the night, Stoudamire totaled two points and two assists in ten minutes of action. It appears that he’s going to be an asset for this team down the stretch run of the season.

-Robert Horry got ten minutes of playing time and had a pretty awful game. He had a team-worst plus/minus of -14 and was hopeless when matched up against Nowitzki. The Mavs appear to be a team that Horry just doesn’t matchup well against. He’s not quick enough to guard Nowitzki and he’s not strong enough to guard Erick Dampier or Bass. Even with the Kidd trade, Horry remains virtually useless against Dallas, which is reason enough to try to avoid this team in the playoffs.

-Jacque Vaughn was actually the first point guard off the bench for the Spurs. I didn’t think he played that well and apparently Pop agreed because Vaughn didn’t see the floor for the rest of the night. In five minutes, Vaughn missed one shot and did nothing else.

-Kurt Thomas played four minutes in the first half and didn’t crack the stat sheet. He had a couple of errors on the defensive side of the court, which is to be expected for a new player in the system. He’s going to be useful for the Spurs but don’t expect Thomas to be much of an answer against the Mavs. He matches up better than Horry because he can defend Dampier and Bass, however when the Mavs go small Pop will be forced to take Thomas out of the game.

-Pop did a decent enough job coaching tonight. He played a lot of small ball but he’s forced to do so against the Mavs. The good thing is Udoka allows the Spurs not to be as soft in their small ball lineup as they were in the past. But really, if the two teams face off in the playoffs, the Spurs will use much of the same strategy that was used in 2006.

The big difference is the Spurs are better able to defend this Mavs team. Pop can put Ginobili on Kidd and have Ginobili double off of Kidd and force Kidd to hit jumpers. Parker can guard Terry and Terry is the exact type of player that Parker guards very well. You put Parker on a shorter guard who likes to shoot jumpers and Parker can shut that type of player down (see: Allen Iverson, Derek Fisher, Leandro Barbosa and Daniel Gibson in the 2007 playoffs). Then Bowen is left to guard either Josh Howard or Nowitzki.

In 2006, the matchups were much tougher. Parker versus Harris was bad because Parker doesn’t defend penetrating guards too well. Terry versus Ginobili was equally as bad because Ginobili tends to gamble defensively and that allowed Terry to get some easy shots.

In this game, I’m not sure why Pop went with Vaughn over Stoudamire to backup Parker in the first quarter. At this point, I’ve seen no reason not to trust Stoudamire with running the team while Parker is out. Vaughn is a good emergency player but this team isn’t in an emergency at the moment.

Like I’ve harped on for the past month or so, Pop needs to really pay more attention to Ginobili’s minutes. Continually playing him more than 35 minutes a night in the regular season is crazy. A few wins isn’t worth having Ginobili spent come playoff time.

The bottomline is this was a good win. No matter the scenario, it’s always good to beat the Mavs. Seven in a row is an impressive feat, especially considering how poorly the team was playing not too long ago.

Next up is the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday, which likely means the win streak ends. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

[Obstructed_View]

Still haven't seen the Spurs play a complete game start to finish, and they only play well in very short spurts. Duncan just fell asleep on defense way too many times. Pop went with a really weird rotation. I don't know what he was trying to do, but something about having AJ in the building causes him to make questionable decisions. He also had some really strange combinations on the floor for stretches. Horry and Vaughn were really terrible, and Finley's bad team defense was made up for by some really good individual plays and a good shooting streak. I'm hoping for a commitment to defense and rebounding, as well as a healthy Brent Barry with a " it-I'm gonna shoot" at ude once the playoffs roll around.

[Admidave50]

Always nice to read your recap after a win, especially when we beat the Mavs! =p

[jcrod]

I was impressed with Parkers defensive intensity. He fought Dirk well when switch off on him and always seemed to make him take a tough shot.

Again why does Pop continue to put Vaughn in. Stoudamire is playing way better and just let him play and make mistakes. It will pay off in the long run.

[gilmor]

Always nice to read your recap after a win, especially when we beat the Mavs! =p

It's beyond being 'nice'.. TiMVP's game thoughts posts have been nothing short of 'awesome'..

[jcrod]

Next months game will be interesting with a healthy Parker and Kidd being more comfortable with his teammates.

[some_user86]

I was impressed with Parkers defensive intensity. He fought Dirk well when switch off on him and always seemed to make him take a tough shot.

Again why does Pop continue to put Vaughn in. Stoudamire is playing way better and just let him play and make mistakes. It will pay off in the long run.

What is this 'continue to put Vaughn in'? He was barely in there.

[jcrod]

What is this 'continue to put Vaughn in'? He was barely in there.

UHH, he was in there. Why put him in the games at all, give all his minutes to Damon.

[Obstructed_View]

Since he was the first point guard off the bench, and got all the backup minutes in the first quarter, I think it's a legitimate question. Seems odd to suddenly screw with a rotation that was starting to show signs of rounding into form.

[objective]

In this game, I’m not sure why Pop went with Vaughn over Stoudamire to backup Parker in the first quarter.

I would guess that Pop went with Vaughn on the assumption that Vaughn would know how to better defend Kidd given the time they spent as teammates and that experience took precedent over Stoudamire playing better than Vaughn recently.

Pop realized his mistaken assumption and corrected it.

[m33p0]

finally tore down the scola thread.

[baseline bum]

Man, 47 lead changes tonight!

[some_user86]

UHH, he was in there. Why put him in the games at all, give all his minutes to Damon.

Damon had him beat in terms of minutes by a ratio of 2:1. I still don't see the complaint. It's still a trial process to see who matches up better against a team that has had a major change at their PG position. Eventually, Pop settled on whoever was better.

[Slippy]

Again why does Pop continue to put Vaughn in. Stoudamire is playing way better and just let him play and make mistakes. It will pay off in the long run.

The only reason i could come up with was to match-up with KIDD . Bad move and even Pop realised it . I was saying in the game thread, Vaughn just sapped any fluencey the offense had . He was playing at one pace and took too long in deciding what to do with the ball.

From what i've seen with Stoudamire he definately the better at option as back-up point, even when he not scoring .


Tony became bit of liability in the 3rd and 4th. His man was sagging off him to protect the lane and when he had the ball daring him to shoot jumpers. Hopefully he gets his stroke back soon.

[StoneBuddha]

-Bruce Bowen had a vintage Bruce Bowen performance. He hit big shots when it mattered, got under Terry’s skin to cause a technical foul and then blocked Terry at the end of the game to send the Mavericks packing.

Anyone know why Terry was upset with Bowen? I freeze-framed the whole sequence and didn't see anything. He looked like he was saying someone elbowed him but Bowen was pretty far away from him most of the play.

BTW, Terry's a little, bitty hothead.

[Ice009]

Anyone know why Terry was upset with Bowen? I freeze-framed the whole sequence and didn't see anything. He looked like he was saying someone elbowed him but Bowen was pretty far away from him most of the play.

BTW, Terry's a little, bitty hothead.

I didn't see the play, but from the looks of it it seems that Terry thought Bowen elbowed him. Are you saying Bruce was nowhere near him? If that's the case Bruce got inside Jason's head. .

[ludda]

^well what else is new? Terry is still a punkheaded little , nothing made me happier than seeing him get his stuffed by Bowen.

He's a whiny turd, similar to his owner and coach.

Not only am I convinced that the Mavs won't go far, I'm almost certain as long as Avery is the coach of that team.

[Obstructed_View]

It would have been after the play when Terry was going back upcourt. The cameras didn't pick up what happened prior, but he suddenly wheeled back around and came right at Bruce. Terry had just walked past him, so Bruce was close enough to have done something. Terry gets a flagrant or a technical in virtually every game against the Spurs; it's amazing that he can dish it out but isn't man enough to take it, or at very least to expect it.

[TDMVPDPOY]

This game remind of the last match against teh suns,

on paper they look like they are going to beat us, a beating was expecting,

they played , refs tried to steal the game from us, they choked every opportunity allowed us to hang in there for 3 quarters...4th quarter? they forget, TIM DUNCAN AND GINOBOLI MAKE A LIVIN IN THE 4TH QUARTERS

took the game away from them, executed when we need it = WIN.

flawless victory.

[pku47]

Bass seems like a Malik Rose of Dal, he got two dunks over Duncan. If he gets a quality defence, he would be perfect spur

I do like mavs forwards, Howard, Bass, even Dirk, he would be a nice subs ute of Bonner

anyway, NICE WIN

[roycrikside]

I think Manu needs to go back to the bench. That's the easiest way for Pop to discipline himself into limiting his minutes. Bring him in at the 6 minute mark, play him until the 8 minute mark of the 2nd, let him sit for a quick three minute blow, and bring him back for the final five minutes. Repeat in 2nd half.

Voila: 30 minutes for Manu.

Tony is healthy enough to take more responsibility and Tim is playing very well these days, they can handle the starting load. I want this team to have a bench again and I'm concerned about Manu being worn out for the playoffs too.

[Slippy]

-I once again liked how Damon Stoudamire ran the team. He’s a smart player who can get the team into its sets and understands when and how to pass the ball. On the night, Stoudamire totaled two points and two assists in ten minutes of action. It appears that he’s going to be an asset for this team down the stretch run of the season.

.

Yah, I like the way he pushes the ball and gets the offense going promptly. When needed he would know to slow it down and i don't mean Vaughn pace either.

From a handful of games he's picked up the spurs offense. A few games back i remember being impressed at the way he was directing the traffic, as in pointing out to his teammates where to go. It's also greast to have back-up that can help space the floor with a reliable 3.

The Spurs just seem to play better on offense when he running the point over Vaughn. Manu in particular.

[K-State Spur]

hopefully with a few games coming up against some eastern teams with losing record, we can get some more rest for the starters. (although, for some reason, we always seem to have problems in milwaukee...)

[WalterBenitez]

Great recap from a very emotive game, besides all usual good players, good play that were touching were Udoka's 3 + Bruce's block + manu last second shot + ...

Great to see TD playing like a SuperStar and TP going better and better.

THis game emotional prize goes to Mike Finley, this guy enjoyed the game.

[polandprzem]

YEAH

They will rerun that game after 10pm! So I will be able to steal a tv and watch that game.