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No thoughts on how Finley fared?
Another game, another win for the Spurs. After getting up by double-digits early on, the Spurs held off the New Jersey Nets all night and came away with a 93-83 victory. With the W, the Spurs won their ninth consecutive game.
Appropriately, #9 led the Spurs to win number nine. Tony Parker had his best game in months, even though he faced off against his nemesis Devin Harris. Parker applied pressure continuously and did a good job of not taking his foot off the gas. The ankle injury and fatigue that had slowed him down since November didn’t seem to affect him too much tonight.
As for the Nets, they showed quite a bit of life. Harris seems to have reinvigorated both their fan base and the players around him. He’s not as good as Jason Kidd but his lively legs and defensively ability will make him a tough matchup for any point guard in the Eastern Conference. Richard Jefferson is an underrated player who seems to improve every year. Vince Carter remains an enigma. If this team is going to make any noise in the playoffs, it’ll be because Carter wakes up and realizes he still has the talent to be an elite player in the NBA.
Overall, this wasn’t a dominating victory for the Spurs. They played well but they never landed a knockout punch to put the Nets away for good. Nonetheless, it was another quality win and the Spurs continue to play as well as any team in the league.
-Tim Duncan had his second straight difficult game offensively. He hit only 4-of-14 shots from the floor on his way to 13 points. Part of the problem for Duncan offensively is teams are able to basically just beat him up down low. He’s not getting much respect from the whistle – especially in the last two games. It’s somewhat alarming that he’s averaging a career-low in free throw attempts per game. Considering Duncan’s minutes are up and his shots are coming from the same spots on the court, there's really not a logical explanation for why Duncan's free throw attempts have plummeted. Hopefully Duncan will just keep working through it and wait for the whistles to balance out. Defensively, Duncan was solid against the Nets. His rotations were on time and he pulled down 14 rebounds in 35 minutes.
-Manu Ginobili returned to the bench didn’t miss a beat. In 29 minutes, Ginobili finished with 17 points, four assists and three steals, while shooting 6-of-13 from the court. It wasn’t a spectacular game from Ginobili but he was really good. I was especially pleased with his active defense and the precision he showed on offense. If I had to complain about something, it’d be the two turnovers he had trying to thread the needle to Fabricio Oberto. Teams have scouted the Spurs enough to know that when Oberto sets a pick for Ginobili, Ginobili is almost always going to look for Oberto rolling to the basket. It’s time for Ginobili to adjust and not force that pass as often. Once a game is fine but more than that and teams are smart enough to sniff it out.
-Tony Parker looked really good against New Jersey. His speed, lift and stamina were all greatly improved over just a few games ago. Now that he’s obviously feeling better, Parker is starting to get back into form. He finished with 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, while shooting 10-for-18 from the field. Offensively, it was impossible for the Nets to keep him from shredding their defense. He probed incessantly until he found an open shot for himself or a teammate. Parker isn’t all the way back because he remains rusty in some areas. However, for the second straight game, Parker hit his outside jumper. He finished 5-for-8 on his jumper – making him 9-for-13 on jumpers in the last two games. Defensively, I once again thought Parker started off with not enough juice but then picked it up in the second half. If Parker can continue to play at this level, with the way Ginobili is playing and the way Duncan is capable of playing, the Spurs are going to be a very tough out in the playoffs.
-Bruce Bowen had the task of slowing down Carter and did a decent job. Carter hit half of his shots and scored 21 points, so Bowen wasn’t as effective as he'd like. On the other end of the court, Bowen knocked down 3-of-5 shots from the field, including his lone three-point attempt. Bowen battled foul trouble, which is a surprisingly rare event for him considering how much effort he puts into his defense.
-Michael Finley got the start at shooting guard but responded with a fairly poor outing. I thought he hesitated on a couple of open looks. When he did shoot, he only hit 2-of-10 shots from the field. For the game, he finished with four points, three rebounds and two assists in 31 minutes of play. He'll need to play better to keep the starting spot, especially with Ime Udoka playing well and Brent Barry eventually returning to the team.
-Kurt Thomas got his first start as a Spur. I’m sure Pop wanted Thomas to get quality minutes and starting him is the easiest way to ensure that. The Nets start two borderline centers in Nenad Krstic and Josh Boone, so it also made sense to have Thomas on the court to begin the game for his defense and rebounding. Thomas didn’t disappoint in either aspect as he played very good defense and pulled down nine rebounds in 17 minutes. Offensively, it wasn’t smooth sailing for Thomas. After knocking down his first three attempts, Thomas missed his final five shots. He might have forced one or two attempts but he’s learning quickly where he can get looks in the Spurs’ system. Thomas as a starter probably isn’t a long-term move, but it might be if Thomas takes advantage of this chance.
-Ime Udoka had one of his better games of the season. When the Nets went small, Udoka was inserted into the game to play a lot of small ball power forward for the Spurs. He did a very nice job defensively, especially against Jefferson. Offensively, Udoka shot the ball with a lot of confidence and made good decisions. In 30 minutes, Udoka scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. It’s looking more and more likely that he’s going to be a valuable piece for this team come playoff time.
-Fabricio Oberto came off the bench and played well. He was very active on the glass and was attentive offensively. In 19 minutes, Oberto had four points and seven rebounds, including a team-high four offensive rebounds. When Duncan isn’t on the court, Pop puts a lot of trust in Oberto to hold serve until Duncan can return. Even though Thomas has been added to the mix, I don’t see a scenario in which Oberto becomes any less important for this team.
-Jacque Vaughn and Damon Stoudamire shared the backup point guard duties against the Nets. Stoudamire was the backup in the first half, while Vaughn got the call in the second half. In this game, Vaughn played better and even came up with a couple big baskets in the fourth quarter. Stoudamire struggled a bit but I thought he ran the team decently well. Pop seems to be trying to handle the backup point guard situation delicately so that neither Vaughn nor Stoudamire lose confidence. One would imagine that Pop would have to select one over the other at some point. I guess we’ll see if Pop ever makes a choice or continues to use both depending on the feel of the game.
-Robert Horry didn't play due to a hamstring issue. Matt Bonner didn't play due to a doghouse issue.
-Pop deserves a thumbs up for correcting his overuse of his star players. For a while, he was playing Duncan and Ginobili too many minutes. To his credit, the Spurs needed those two to play a lot of minutes if they wanted to win. Now that the Big Three is back together, Pop should be able to allow each player to rest more.
I was a bit surprised by the starting lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan and Thomas but I thought it was a good idea. Ginobili off the bench is just such a devastating weapon that it’s tough to not use him in that role. Plus, Ginobili coming off the bench doesn’t allow Pop to play Ginobili too many minutes.
Pop also deserves credit for making this team play defense again. Holding the Nets to 83 points on sub-35% shooting is impressive, especially considering that the Nets scored 120 points in their previous game.
The bottomline is the Spurs are currently in a great position. They are in the driver’s seat in the Western Conference and all the pieces appear to be in place to make a big splash in the playoffs. Avoiding injuries while navigating a treacherous March schedule should be the focus of the team at the moment. Next up, the Spurs play against the same Nets team on Tuesday – this time in the AT&T Center. 10?
Believe.
Last edited by timvp; 03-03-2008 at 01:30 AM.
No thoughts on how Finley fared?
Thangst. Will add
Hopefully Tony's free throw issues are behind him
Thanks. I always appreciate and look forward to your analysis and post-game write up, timvp.
TEN
I think if Manu is going to the bench and Thomas plays well enough starting expect to see the moves permanent simply because of how well Oberto and Manu play together.
I like Oberto coming off the bench with Manu. Their experience together make them more efficient that way
My only problem with Thomas starting and Oberto off the bench is that Thomas and Duncan together is likely too slow of a combination against the quicker teams in the league. Oberto isn't lightening but he's quicker than Thomas and can stay in front of smalls if need be.
Considering Duncan’s minutes are up and his shots are coming from the same spots on the court, there's really not a logical explanation for why Duncan's free throw attempts have plummeted.
Shoogar is probably right. If they'd taken revenge last season it would have been obvious...this season it won't be.
I was a bit surprised by the starting lineup of Parker, Finley, Bowen, Duncan and Thomas but I thought it was a good idea.
Me too...especially after an article yesterday saying that Manu was starting for the forseeable future.
I dont' like it because it seems to have thrown Finley into a funk now, and we've been trying to get him to consistently perform off the bench for almost all of his Spurs career.
2 reasons I can think of for Pop doing it...
1. He wants to limit Manu's minutes.
2. Pop is looking for a way to use these last minute lineup changes to his advantage. Whether Manu starts or comes off the bench does seem to make a little bit of difference.
There's no way in a post player with Tim's credentials shouldn't shoot 7 to 10 free-throws a night. I have to laugh at how many times Tim has to tuck his jersey back in during the game due to all the holding. Come to think of it, I think I just came up with a new drinking game!
Oooh, SD21's not gonna like that.
Manu needs to keep coming off the bench. It keeps his minutes down and you better utilize his talent when Tony isn't out there dominating the ball.
Kurt should start anytime they can get away with it. Tim and Kurt are too slow to get away with it on a permanent basis, but Kurt and Tim need to get comfortable playing together before the playoffs.
Seriously, though, I wonder when Matt will be able to leave the doghouse...
Awesome analysis as usual.
I liked that Pop finally played Manu for 29 minutes as opposed to the 38-40 minutes he has been playing him for a while now...
HUGE props to Tony Parker! Amazing game by TP...just super efficient scoring...and the 7 assists and the 8 rebounds...and then the 5-6 FT shooting...I know some people were complaining about his FT shooting. So it's an area where he is improving. It's really good to see him play like himself. I think there was one spin move that was extremely impressive...
TD had two bad games...but it happens to every single player. I'm sure he'll get back to his usual solid self really soon. That's why it's nice to be on a team where you have guys who will have your back...
Ime is awesome. Bruce did a decent job on Vince.
And I agree about the Manu/Oberto picks...Especially when they are done twice in a row, unsuccessfully.
Manu had a very good outing. Some of his shots...I have no idea how he made them...One contested high arc jumper over his defender was amazing...His scoring has continued to be impressive from the bench as well...
KT and Damon are both really solid additions to the team. I'm looking forward to seeing Kurt play even more minutes...
Last edited by greens; 03-03-2008 at 02:45 AM.
Parker BACK.
Manu benched.
"-Robert Horry didn't play due to a hamstring issue. Matt Bonner didn't play due to a doghouse issue."
Matt Bonner probably knocked up Pop's daughter. That's the only explanation for him being relegated to Beno status.
He was watching Harris shoot the 3, 3 times in a row without doing anything !!!
I'm not sure about Oberto off the bench 'cause Manu off the bench.
Last playoff Manu off the bench and Oberto starting and he was solid, even amazing.
I guess the change in starting lineup will hurt the Oberto's play and his confidence, again, as those 5 or 6 games in january.
Against Bucks Oberto started and finished leader the team in +/-with +10. Yesterday came off the bench and finished with -9. I really think the change hurts his play.
I don't want arguing against Pop but with Thomas in process to learn our systems it doesn't a good move if Oberto lost the confidence in his play. We need the best of this guy (as all guys) in playoff and the change seems no good for him therefore no good for our team.
I agree. I don't like starting Thomas against teams with players as Dirk or Gasol. I like Thomas on Shaq but not so much over other guys.
Last edited by wildchild; 03-03-2008 at 06:23 AM.
I agree. Manu plays better when he comes off the bench, he has more the ball in offense with Tony out. And Tony seems more comfortable last night. Tony with his best game after the injury? To Tony
I guess Robert is the Pop's first option for bigmen backups. When he returns and if Kurt in the starting line up, the Oberto's play will hurt so much.
But if Kurt come off the bench, unlike Oberto, his play will still be good enough.
I was in tha house yesterday. Great to see NEW YORK GIANTS 2007 WORLD CHAMPIONS across the street at the Meadowlands.
Observations:
The Nets are marketing the out of Devin Harris. He was on many of the JumboTron in-game segues, begging the fans to make noise, etc. The Nets distributed signed Devin Harris T-shirts, too. The crowd went nuts every time he shot the ball. He loves the 3 from the elbows. I guarantee he starts this TUE versus the Spurs.
Some of the Nets cheerleaders had the bodies of hot 20-somethings, yet were probably seniors in high school. That made me feel weird.
Diop aggravates Duncan.
Bowen can't hold Carter anymore.
Parker is all the way back and that's why Ginobili is on the bench, where he can provide scoring and ball handling off the bench. Pay attention to me, because every so often I predict stuff that happens.
Finley fits in with the first team.
Surprised that Thomas got the start already. I can see Pop going with matchups at the PF/C spot from here on in.
All Jason Kidd signage and merchandise was removed from the IZOD Center already; I mean not a trace of Kidd at all.
My friend the Nets fan turned to me after another Udoku™ 3-pointer and asked "Is that guy a player?!?"
The Spurs turned the Nets into a jumpshooting team.
The Nets need to establish their big men rotations. They love Krstic, but I think he's done. S. Williams makes mistakes, but he offers the most upside. Diop is their biggest defender. J. Boone is playing at the highest level of them all, but can't finish around the basket.
It will be interesting to see how the teams adjust for TUE's rematch.
Parker still needs to fine tune his free-throw shooting... he regressed during his time off...
Duncan not getting to the line is scary. If the refs swallow their whistles come playoff time, Spurs are in HUGE trouble.
I disagree with TimVP about the pick and roll being used too frequently. Two certain Hall of Famers (Stockton & Malone) used that play as the bread and butter of their careers at Utah without teams being able to defense it. Teams knew it was coming but couldn't stop it consistently.
It's not the frequency--Manu and Oberto simply aren't as skilled with it. That being said, Manu shouldn't try to make it work if it isn't there. He's reckless with his passes sometimes. Oh, well, Manu is Manu.
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