A few notes from the Pistons game

by Rand on Dec 2, 2008 10:46 PM CST Comment 9 comments

Well. Okay then. This much, at least, I know:

The good news: if we hadn't been sloppy as hell out there, we'd have won. Manu and TP shot a combined 10-24; that's not gonna happen too often. Plus, we were sloppy as hell, and ordinarily we're good at not being sloppy as hell. 'Course, ordinarily JFK was good at not getting shot in the head; just because it's not a habit doesn't make it less horrific when it happens.
Jacque Vaughn stepped onto the court tonight. Best Case Scenario: Pop is giving the JV a little play to attract some GM desperate for a savvy veteran leper. Worst Case Scenario: Pop thinks that the JV has a legitimate excuse to be wearing a Spurs uniform that doesn't involve selling Spurs uniforms.
Tim Duncan was created when military scientists, after countless failed experiments with pieces of structural lumber and streusel topping, finally achieved the Ultimate Stud Muffin. 9-19 be damned, he was a hoss out there tonight.
Qbitz is a goddamned Spur. There is no statistical category that tracks catching up with an opponent on the fast break and swatting away easy lay-ups, but we all know the truth. Now if only he could get more than six minutes in a game that could have used a lot less JV and even a smidge less TP.
Matt Bonner looks great! Let's trade his ginger-whiskered ass quick, maybe he's got somebody fooled!
Timmy sat on a cameraman's face. In a week, the cameraman's oncologist will be at a loss - he's never seen a cancerous face-lesion go into remission that fast. The FDA will fast-track approval for over-the-counter sales of Tim Duncan ass sweat.
Quelle dommage - Le P'tit Francais is not yet in top form. Shooting struggles aside, we don't seem to be getting in the extra pass with him running the point. What if we gave *him* some time in the second unit? With him slashing and Mason at the arc, we'd have a deadly drive-and-dish pairing that could put up serious points against an enemy second unit. 'Course, we'd have to find *somebody* to start at PG. Maybe somebody with long arms and dreamy brown eyes a fella could get lost in...
Seriously. Can somebody please go Kathy-Bates-in-'Misery' on the JV? At this point I'd rather see James Caan in black and silver.
Rasheed Wallace needs to get Tim Duncan to sit on his head. It would fix his attitude and cure that freaky little grey patch on the back of his skull.

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Sounds like a sloppy game.

Here is what Rasheed had to say after the game about his technical -

But scoring wasn’t the first thing on Wallace’s mind in the second half. He was more concerned with how the game was being officiated—tipping toward the Spurs, he thought.

"I knew what it was going to be out there, and I didn’t want our team to fall into that," Wallace said. "We knew how it was going to be, especially going against the league darlings."

According to Sheed, the Spurs are (still) the darlings of the NBA. He must still be angry that we won in 05 and again in 07.

by werdnawee on Dec 3, 2008 12:28 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

I agree with everything you said, really. This was a great post-crushing defeat post.

That said, can you imagine Tony coming off the bench? Me neither. He’d first demand a trade that relinquish his starting spot to Hill. I actually think it could be a smart move, but since there’s no way we’re sticking with that for the long run, why bother?

Right now the rotation is a mess. It has been so for two games now, ever since Tony came back. It took Hill and Mason off their games, and everybody else came crashing down. Pop needs to figure it out and soon. We’re out of the playoffs again…

by LatinD on Dec 3, 2008 5:00 AM CST reply actions 0 recs

Chemistry

The group that was out there last night, in all its iterations, had absolutely no chemistry. No way of knowing if that’s a long term problem, but if it is, we’re in deep doodoo.

by agutierrez on Dec 3, 2008 12:35 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

I agree with most of what you said, except I was less than thrilled with TD’s performance last night. He was great in the first half, but he basically went oh-fer the second half. He hit two jumpshots to start out the third quarter and then did nothing. He just tried to bait officials into calls the rest of the night and they weren’t buying it. If I remember correctly, he missed his last 6 shots, of which only one or two were good looks.

Our team chemistry has suddenly disappeared, and I feel like maybe it’s because everyone is getting complacent. The other guys see that they have Tony and Manu back and now they are more content to let them run the offense. Mason and Hill haven’t been agressive lately. We really gotta find some workable rotations.

In said rotation, George Hill must be playing. He is too good and too much of a spark plug to leave sitting on the bench. He scored 19+ four straight games. . . like a week ago!!! Last night he had 0 shot attempts! Something needs to change there.

I think we’ll get it together after a while, but we don’t have much time to screw around right now. There are 9 very good teams in the West and one of them is not going to make the playoffs.

TP has been struggling the last couple games, but no moreso than the rest of the team. I never know how much stock to put into /- but Tony’s was +2 last night. The only other positive on the team was Bruce (11).

We also just need to start hitting shots. We’re 11-41 from 3 in our last two games. If we start hitting closer to 40% of those, we’ll be in a lot better shape.

by jkalb on Dec 3, 2008 1:25 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but he was on the court when Timmy was making every shot in the first half, and he also made 3 meaningless baskets when the game was over, so +/- is skewed. I guess. Not that those points don’t count, just saying.

by LatinD on Dec 3, 2008 1:38 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

If anything the Spurs were over-reliant on Tim. The give the ball to Tim and stand and watch strategy in the 4th quarter was painful to watch. Nobody cut, nobody set screens, the ball just stuck. That ain’t gonna cut it.

"....It is more about them than it is about the team. Cannot play with them. Cannot win with them. Cannot coach with them. Can’t do it. I want winners!" - Mike Singletary

by DennardC on Dec 3, 2008 3:49 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

very true dennardc

tim was a beast in the first half, but the pistons are too smart to let the same person beat them for both halves. It looked like we had 4 Horry’s on the court waiting for Tim to do his thing. For the love of God I was getting so pissed at watching Finley completely fail at defending Prince. It was so pathetic, and Tony was getting schooled by Stuckey. Judging from Pop’s postgame interview, what happened last night isn’t going to happen with Denver. Not saying its going to be a W, but there will be movement and defense.

What the Bowen giveth Horry taketh away. --LatinD (2008 Playoffs Round 2, Game 1)

the Spurs do not defeat you so much as they grind you into tiny shards of psychological wreckage.
-the Denver Post

by Hamer_SpursFan on Dec 3, 2008 8:14 PM CST up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t know what you guys are talking about. The blue rectangle I was watching last night was very entertaining and spoke with an English accent. I was beguiled.

Rand, great recappy-type thing. Great points you made and with such éclat and style. Bravo.

I am calm, filling myself with patience - Manu Ginobili

by jollyrogerwilco on Dec 3, 2008 10:48 PM CST reply actions 0 recs

Nice summary of a crappy game, Rand.

Really, I thought the Spurs played well through the 10:00 minute mark of the 4th. They led by 11 twice in the 3rd quarter. Ball movement was good, rebounding was ok, and defense, while not great, was at least making them work for shots. So, what happened? They allowed the Pistons to out-muscle them on the boards (which, in combination with refs who had swallowed whistles all night, was a bad thing) and out-hustle them on fast breaks. Oh, yeah, and everyone shot like CRAP most of the game. Yet, we still lead for a lot of this game.

Two words: IT’S EARLY. We are in pretty good shape in the division. If the Spurs can stay within 5 games or so through the end of January, there’ll be plenty of time to work out the kinks. Every new returning player from injury is causing Pop to have to experiment with rotations and playing time for everyone. It’s not going to be a smooth ride for awhile. We have to keep the big picture perspective here – they are playing to be better in May and June, not December. Just have to be close in the division. And quit throwing Tony overboard.

And +1 to whoever said never to play The JV again.

"Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored." – Aldous Huxley

by spurchief on Dec 3, 2008 11:09 PM CST reply actions 0 recs