Where have I seen this before? The Spurs played the Hornets well in the first half and then fall apart after halftime on their way to getting blow out. Oh that’s right, it happen twice in the regular season. Add one more to that total.
The Spurs came out shooting the ball well to begin the game and by riding their hot three-point shooting, San Antonio was up four points at the end of the second quarter. The Spurs' offense sputtered in the second half and the Hornets outscored the Spurs 56-33 in the second half to win 101-82.
The Hornets deserve a lot of credit for the win. David West (30 points and nine rebounds) was a monster, Chris Paul (17 points and 13 assists) was orchestrating the attack and Peja Stojakovic (22 points on 15 shots) was playing with exceptional confidence. Bonzi Wells (ten points) was his typical Spurs Killer self and Tyson Chandler (ten points and 15 rebounds) helped the Hornets outrebound the Spurs 50-34. In the second half, the Hornets just beat the Spurs down. That’s all there is to it.
The Spurs have a lot to fix before Game 2. Number one of the list is to figure out how to defend West. This is the third time West has dismantled the Spurs. The Spurs need to figure out who can slow him down or at least find a strategy that won’t allow him to put up Tim Duncan numbers. The Spurs also can’t let Stojakovic go off, especially if West is also going off. Somebody on the Hornets has to be slowed.
Overall, this was a very disappointing loss and the worst part is that some of the problems don’t seem to be easily correctable. The game had a very 2006 Mavericks feel to it. The Hornets were the team I feared most heading into the playoffs and all my worst fears, and then some, played out.
-Tim Duncan played the worst basketball game of his life. And that isn’t a hyperbole. Tim Duncan played the worst basketball game of his life. The Hornets were sending hard double-teams at him and that got him out of his rhythm. But even worse than that were his three rebounds in 37 minutes. Considering the Spurs got murdered on the board and considering he was on Chandler defensively, that is a shockingly low number. Three rebounds in 37 minutes on the road in an important playoff game? That’s just embarrassing. Offensively, he was 1-for-9 from the floor. Most of those misses were due to soft and weak attempts. Instead of playing basketball, Duncan spent the night whining. It would have been nice if Duncan stopped acting like a spoiled brat long enough to help the team out. The words just don’t exist that can explain how pitiful Duncan was tonight. He should be ashamed not only with how he played but how he hung the rest of the team out to dry. Struggle on offense? That’s fine. But at least try to help out by grabbing boards or at least give an effort that wasn’t a total embarrassment. Duncan needs to wipe away the tears, leave his ref complaining in the hotel room and come out in Game 2 ready to play.
-Manu Ginobili’s stats look good. He had 19 points, seven assists and six rebounds, while hitting 7-of-14 shots from the field. You can’t really complain about those numbers. However, his play in the third quarter left a lot to be desired. He had a couple of bad turnovers that led to easy transition bucks for the Hornets. He had another couple of bad decisions that came back to bite the Spurs. Ginobili also was a bit too three-point happy. He was 3-for-9 on three-pointers and 4-for-5 on two-pointers. In future games, he has to attack the basket unless he’s wide open from beyond the arc. Defensively, he wasn’t great but he was adequate. If he’s on Stojakovic or Peterson, he can’t roam into the paint. He got better at not roaming as the game went on. Overall it was a decent enough game for Ginobili. Playing smarter will be number one on the agenda for Ginobili in Game 2. (Oh and for the love of the basketball gods, stop forcing passes to Robert Horry. Whenever he’s on the court with Horry, Ginobili tries to make bullet passes to Horry as if Horry is going to do anything when he gets the ball. The passes to Horry either get stolen or sail out of bounds.)
-Tony Parker didn’t do a very good job of changing gears against the Hornets. He played as if he was still going against the Suns. Against the Hornets, Parker has to play differently. The Hornets are more able to play the passing lanes and trap him in the lane. Parker’s failure to adjust led to a team-high five turnovers. Outside of his turnovers, Parker had 23 points, five assists and five rebounds, while hitting 9-of-17 shots. I thought his defense on Paul was about as good as can be expected. He let Paul get loose a few times – but Paul is just damn good. On the whole, Parker wasn’t horrible but the Spurs need him to play better to win this series.
-Bruce Bowen did about all he could do to get this win. He had 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while hitting 5-of-10 shots from the field – all of which were from three-point land. After not attempting one three-pointer in the Phoenix Suns series, Bowen found himself open from beyond the arc. Defensively, he was good against Paul. He didn’t shut Paul down but I don’t think shutting down Paul is humanly possible. Offensively, all of Bowen’s scoring came in the first half. It would have been nice if Bowen could continue to score in the second half, but 17 points from Bowen should be plenty.
-Michael Finley scored enough for the Spurs to win. He had 13 points on 5-for-11 points from the field and 3-for-8 on three-pointers. His defense wasn’t that good but it also wasn’t as horrible as we’ve seen out of him. Finley’s job is to score and hit more than 40% of his shots. He did that so the Spurs can’t be too mad with what they got out of Finley. Better defense would be nice going forward in this series.
-In 20 minutes, Kurt Thomas scored two points and pulled down two rebounds. He started at center and got the job of trying to slow down West. Obviously, Thomas wasn’t too successful. He might have been more successful than anyone else but that isn’t saying much. Thomas needs to figure out what to do against West and he also needs to pull down more rebounds. Two in 20 minutes isn’t going to cut it.
-Fabricio Oberto was on the court for 20 minutes and had one point and six rebounds. Defensively, he got lit up by West. West was just toying with Oberto out there. Oberto does deserve some credit for outrebounding Duncan and Thomas combined but the Spurs need more out of him. Passable defense on West would be huge. A few trash buckets around the rim would be very much appreciated. After watching Game 1, it became obvious that Thomas or Oberto will have to step up for the Spurs to win this series. Oberto has the championship experience and the chemistry with his teammates, so it’s time for him to come up big and prove he shines brightest when the pressure is on.
-Robert Horry played 12 minutes and he didn’t have any answers for West either. Offensively, he was a liability on the court. I’m not sure that this is the series to be trying to dust off Horry. He’s just not in a good rhythm and isn’t helping much on either side of the court. I don’t mind him in small doses but as a part of the regular rotation, I just don’t think Horry is ready yet. In his 12 minutes, Horry had no points and two rebounds.
-Jacque Vaughn played eight minutes and played well enough. He wasn’t great but he also wasn’t hurting the Spurs. Two points, two rebounds, no turnovers and one shot attempt in eight minutes is a good night for Vaughn. When the Hornets go with their small backcourt, expect Vaughn to get the call.
-Brent Barry played four minutes in the fourth quarter when Pop was looking for a spark. Barry didn’t provide the spark. In fact, all he did was turn the ball over twice and miss a three-pointer. However, if the Hornets continue to send hard double-teams at Duncan, I want to see more of Barry on the court. Barry is on the team specifically to make teams pay for doubling Duncan.
-Damon Stoudamire and Ime Udoka only played about a minute and a half of garbage time. Stoudamire not playing isn’t a surprise. Udoka not being a part of the rotation is pretty surprising. The Hornets have some bruisers who Udoka could match up well against. Udoka’s perimeter shooting could also come in handy.
-I thought Pop got thoroughly outcoached by Byron Scott. Pop’s plan going into the game was obviously for Duncan to get a lot of looks in the low block. Scott was a step ahead of Pop and instructed his squad to double-team Duncan while also being physical with him in the low block. With the Spurs’ first option on offense bottled up, the team didn’t know what to do offensively.
Defensively, Pop didn’t do anything special to slow West. It was like Pop was just hoping the regular season success West had against the Spurs was a fluke. For the third time, West proved he can light up the Spurs – especially if no extra attention is paid to him.
In Game 2, what I want to see is a return to the basics. Put Parker on Paul and tell Parker to harass him as much as possible. Put Bowen on Stojakovic and take Stojakovic out of the game. Give West different looks. Start Thomas on him but also don’t be afraid to put players such as Duncan or Udoka on him. Sending a double-team to West could also help West get out of rhythm. Right now, West is giving the Spurs Dirk Nowitzki type problems. It’s time to recognize he’s a star player and start mixing it up on him.
It’s tough to figure out if it’s time for Pop to fully panic or stick with his guns. In 2006, he went into full panic mode and threw away all his principals. Game 1 was a bad performance but do the Spurs need to change? Looking at it in optimistic light, Duncan will never play this bad again, the Spurs will shoot better from the line (12-for-21 for 57.1%), the Spurs will rebound better and the Hornets can’t plan to keep hitting tough shots. But then again, this is the third time the Hornets have blown out the Spurs this season and all three losses were strikingly similar.
The bottomline is the Spurs lost a road game and they have plenty of time to get back into this series. In fact, one win on Monday and the Spurs get control of the series. It’s not time to panic but it is time to recognize that the Hornets are a true championship contender. They are a well coached team that plays tough and smart. The Hornets actually remind me of a younger version of San Antonio. The Spurs are going to have to play very well to survive this series.
Get Game 2.
Believe.
I thought I would have told Duncan after tonights game, that if he was going to let the refs or anybody take him out of the game he should have just gotten himself thrown out so that at least A) the others would have known he wasn't going to be playing, and b) may have lit an emotional fire under his teammates. He might have done the team some good that way.
Duncan was painfull to watch today, Manu and parker were decent, but both ed up several times on the second half.
Hope we play much better on game 2, we need to show them we can beat them NOW, before they get too confident.
West was amazing...
Flawed logic there timvp. ALL superstars MUST experience what losing in the playoffs feels like at least once. Jordan,Kobe,Duncan,etc etc. Chris Paul isnt avoiding this either. He will suffer elimination in the playoffs this year.
I don't agree with the Mavs comparisons...the Mavs role players and bench were a of a lot tougher than the ones for the Hornets....Stackhouse, Jason Terry, Devin Harris...these guys were a complete pain in the ass and the Hornets do not have anyone that compares to them.
These Hornets do not have all the great iso guys that the Mavs and, the Spurs do not have to defend them the same way.
On top of that...that Mavs team features almost no passing, this Hornets team is built on passing.
I hope the Spurs have more respect for the Hornets than you seem to think they have... if they don't then we've got problems.
Because Byron Scott is a good coach(as should be obvious to all Spurfans from his time with the Nets)...and Paul is a freaking once in a generation PG.
But David West? David West is not Tim Duncan...though he may have appeared to be him tonight. You take him out...and you leave Bruce on Paul.
I'm not particularly worried about Peja...he'll choke eventually, it's what he does.
I tend to agree with Whott on this one. The Hornet's arent as good as you are giving them credit for tonight. It was an ugly loss, and the Spurs deserved to lose. But they also didn't show up to play tonight.
I'm not ready to think that the Hornet's have our number quite the way that the Mavs in 06 or the Lakers of old, they just aren't that good yet. Yet being the operative word.
With that said I would like for the real Spurs to show up for game 2. Not whoever showed up thinking they could loligag through tonight's game. They actually show up to play a ball game and I like our chances against the Hornets.
Last edited by DespЏrado; 05-04-2008 at 03:19 AM.
You'd think a Laker fan would have heard of Magic Johnson.
Okay, I will read later
That game was so hard to watch it was insaine.
I watched the Mavs series and I was optimistic about spurs chances, knowing that the spurs can move the ball and can provide 3 pointers - something they were unable to do against Phoenix. Plus, I thought Chandler is not a great 1-1 defender, but reality hurts.
Youngsters were rusty but when they start rolling it was over as the spurs went step forward of the startgate and stayed there. And they let Orleans do absolutely everything. Tim with his head down was awefull to watch. In a long time I haven't seen him so pissed at himself and situation. He collaps as he feels guilty - the worst mental aspect of TD.
It will be tougher then I expected.
Scott has become a real great coach.
How he defended TD is the most effective defense IMO.
Give him as many defenders as possible, and let him fight for position, not let him go down low and do not give him space when on permiter. Pretty similar strategy to what we have seen in 2003 series agains Scott. And those defenders are extreamly aggresive like in 2003. Back then TD overcame that as he was in his prime and best shape.
Bonzi and the offensive rebound is another problem. This is not Phoenix with only 7 guys. This is a problem of youg athletic guys with no pressure. Wow.
West was well covered - good tactic by Pop. What else could Kurt Thomas do?
New Orleans made Mavs beat them by jumpshots. Not letting them inside. The problem of Avery's coaching IMO was not letting Dirk go in the post ... TD must to be in better position before he gets the ball.
Damn I was affraid of that game - spurs seems always out of shape when they have too many days off, they getting relax too much and have too much of a fun. NO are the real deal and I think they forgot about it.
Time to get back on the floor and show that Champions heart still beating.
Ps. I might be not much accurate with everything as I was at work when the game was on. So I was watching the game with one eye sometimes and it was 4-6:30 in da mornin'
West gives the same trouble as Dirk.
Paul >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Harris + West + Stackhouse
Stojakovic = JHo + KVH
Chandler >> Dampier + Damp
And that's not even getting to Bonzi freakin' Wells. I'm not sure what you are talking about. These Hornets are much more talented than those Mavs. Those Mavs weren't even that talented ... they were just built to beat the Spurs.
These Hornets are talented and also have the pieces needed to beat the Spurs.
I hope you're right. West has lit up the Spurs exact same way three times now. It's time to take notice and admit West might be the reincarnation of Dirk.
I've never seen Peja play this confidently. He was a choke waiting to happen on the Kings. Now even he plays with heart. The old Peja would never try to exploit Manu's defense. This Peja attacks Manu like he has a mismatch.
Spurs overachieve admirably. They beat a team with more talent in Suns with coaching, preparation, and savvy. But they are now again against a better talented, much younger team in NO. This time without the help of a stupid coach to make it easy for the Spurs, you guys must try to power through with whatever is on the team talentwise and hope for implosion on the Hornets' part. For that, Duncan must play more forceful and score even under double teaming. Parker and Manu won't be of the same impact they had in the Suns series. The other role players won't shoot as well as they did in 1st half of game 1. Duncan is your last hope for miracle.
The difference between Dirk and West is that Duncan, given the opportunity, can actually guard West. And West doesn't have the shot to make the Spurs pay for doing that quite the way Dirk did.
And Paul is not better than Harris + West (Terry?) + Stackhouse combined The mavs were so good because we could never contain all of those guys. It was the sum of their parts that made the Mavs better as a team when they faced us. We can live with just Paul going off on us.
I think we have to go small against the Hornet's though to force a Duncan vs. West matchup. I just don't think there is another option.
And Udoka has got to freaking play.
does anyone think there might be a letdown after beating the suns?
When Bowen was hitting those shots I was like: ohh okay it's all good, now TD and Tp must get going and we can be very much succesfull. It didn't happened.
As for Duncan - he will be out of rythym when he will get 2team at him and multiple defenders who guards diferently. Just do not make him feel comfortable and figure the enemy out.
Scott knows how to beat the spurs, Pop still must to figure out how to beat Hornets, that big adventage on Scott.
As I said before - spurs are predictable they just had to fight through.
Dirk didn't use his three-point shot in the 2006 series. If think he hit like one or two threes that entire series. Dirk killed the Spurs in the same area of the court that West has killed the Spurs three times this season.
West might even be a tad bit harder to guard than Dirk because Dirk will bail you out with fade away 18-footers against point guards. West won't do that.
Dirk's advantage is he can get to the free throw line better than West.
I'd take Paul, Stojakovic, Peterson and Wells seven days a week over Terry, Harris, JHo and Stackhouse. I don't even think it is that close.
I don't like Duncan vs. West for long stretches. For a few minutes, it's doable.
Unless the Spurs figure it out early in Game 2, I'll agree.
While I'm comparing the Hornets to the 2006 Mavs, I'm not saying the Spurs are doomed. The Spurs can beat the Hornets. It's going to be damn hard but they can beat them. I'm not even overly worried after this Game 1 loss. The Spurs needed a split and they can still get that.
I don't agree with that at all...Dirk is a of a lot faster, better jump shooter, and better dribbler than West. He's also a of a lot longer. Dirk is a freaking 2 guard in a 7 foot body...David West is not.
That's not really true...Paul can be defended with one man, Harris, Terry and Stack require 3 men to defend them. If Paul was playing 1 on 3 against Terry, Stack and Harris would you expect him to beat them? A similar principle applies here.Paul >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Harris + West + Stackhouse
Ok...
Stojakovic = JHo + KVH
maybe a little...Chandler >> Dampier + Damp
Ime Udoka was revealed early on this season to be the Bonzi solution...am I the only one that remembers this?And that's not even getting to Bonzi freakin' Wells.
That's ok...I'm willing to wait for you to catch upI'm not sure what you are talking about.
1-4 maybe...but not 1-9...and not at the guard spots.These Hornets are much more talented than those Mavs.
That's not true...they had guys that had been defacto franchise players coming off their bench..the Mavs were deeper...especially with ball handlers.
Those Mavs weren't even that talented ... they were just built to beat the Spurs.
These Hornets are talented and also have the pieces needed to beat the Spurs.
Like I said...West isn't near as fluid as Dirk is. He's not a big 2 guard like Dirk.I hope you're right. West has lit up the Spurs exact same way three times now. It's time to take notice and admit West might be the reincarnation of Dirk.
I've never seen Peja play this confidently. He was a choke waiting to happen on the Kings. Now even he plays with heart.
Peja had some dominant playoff games...
Here's the deal with Peja...when his team is playing well? He'll play well...when his team is faltering? He will be leading the faltering...Peja never steps up when his team is going badly. You start beating the Hornets...you will beat Peja.
That's just coaching...that's basically what Pop does.. Chandler even drove on Duncan. It worked tonight because the Spurs weren't really expecting it...The old Peja would never try to exploit Manu's defense. This Peja attacks Manu like he has a mismatch.
Looks...you guys are sitting here saying no one can guard West...and then you keep trying to think of players that we can put on him. You are pointing out the problem with him but then you keep trying the same solution..when the answer is, he's the one you double.
Yeah the Spurs winning a le would definitely be a miracle.
Much like the sun rising in the morning and setting in the evening is a miracle.
A miracle would be the Suns beating a Tim Duncan led team in the playoffs.
here we go
I thought Duncan was quite lost on defense as well...
Hie was late on this rotations and was lazy and didn't try to bother shots
Did Manu gave away the offensive game plan in his recent interview? Perhaps the NO coaches read spurs talk!
Heh, it is true that the game plan is always to go through Tim anyway...
You know a better comparison for this Hornets team is the 2004 Spurs...with Paul and West being Parker and Duncan and with the Parker and Duncan positions of dominance being switched. I'm not saying these guys have the exact same moves or anything...but the way to beat them is similar.
If you remember...Phil Jackson doubled both Tim(after he got the ball) and Tony...but Tony proved to be the weak link due to inexperience....
So basically a similar philosphy that was used to beat the 2004 Spurs can be used to beat these Hornets.
David West is the 2004 Tony Parker of this Hornets team...you double him after he gets the ball and he will not be able to handle it. You double on him with a ball hawk like Manu or perhaps Parker and let them go for steals.
Chris Paul is the 2004 Tim Duncan...while Duncan was doubled pretty effectively, I would not even attempt it with Paul...leave him to Bruce and let Bruce wear him down.
That's how you beat this Hornets team...trust me, Peja is not going to lift his team up from a collapse...do not waste Bruce on him.
Bull . They are THAT good. Do you think they just beat us and no one else ? Man, they were down 30 to the Lakers and made a huge comeback. They fell short, but still...no lead is big enough. They believe in each other and they know their roles. They held the # 1 position in the West longer than anyone else did I think.
We will have to come up with some pretty special performances to beat them. Once is a fluke, twice is legit and three times is habit.
Let's hope Tim comes out pissed off and plays with a sense of purpose. Tony was good enough, Manu and Bruce did enough, but Tim was a no show.
Why aren't people giving the Hornets any credit ? The media isn't either. I would not be surprised 1 bit if they win it all. It's them or us.
Look can West put the ball on the floor and drive around Duncan? ....every time?
Can West hit a jump shot over Duncan?
Can West hit three pointers and pull Duncan too far away from the lane to sag?
And if Duncan isn't in the lane do the Hornets have enough dribble penetrators like Harris and Stack?
No? Then Duncan isn't going to be a liability guarding West. You even admit West doesn't have Dirk's ability to draw fouls, which was a huge reason to keep Duncan off of Dirk. Duncan can guard West. He is an all world defender and he would pride himself on stopping West or making it up on the other side of the court. You have to give him that challenge to respond to, or you just end up playing not to lose.
By the way... you're speaking about mobile, fast, physical... Why not dump Stoudamire for a game and trot out Mahinmi on West for a few seconds just to see how he handles it?
Could be a useful gamble, especially if the Spurs are down by so much again!
The liability with Duncan guarding West is obviously foul trouble.
Let's not go overboard here. All the Spurs needed to do from the start is take one in NOLA. All they need to do to accomplish that is win on Monday. A win on Monday and we're back in control. And we're winning on Monday.
They deal with that every game. You keep Duncan on him until he gets the first foul. Then you switch defenders to Kurt, Horry, Udoka, or Oberto. And then you start the double teams. But you can always start the game and end it with Duncan on West, and manage the fouls.
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