Spurs vs. Thunder: Stats of the Game
by Fred Silva on Nov 16, 2009 2:59 PM CST
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Let me begin by apologizing for this late post. I've been traveling, moving, and simply busy. Plus, the Spurs are not treating my Stat of the Games very well. How about a win when it's my turn, guys? After the jump, the aforementioned stats.
Here are the Blowing Trees performing "The Day The World Left Me," which basically summarizes how I felt when we dropped the game to the Thunder.
1-4, 35 Minutes
Richard Jefferson only took 4 shots in 35 minutes. This cannot happen. He went from scoring 29 without Tim or Tony to scoring a measly 4 points. We need Jefferson to be more selfish. We need him to take the ball to the hole with authority and get to the line. He does not help the team by deferring. I understand he is trying to figure out how to play with two superstars while not stepping on anyone's toes, but we need an aggressive forward. If not, then why did we get rid of Bruce Bowen? Bruce can go 1-4 in 35 minutes and play better defense. RJ needs to score.
0-8, 18 Minutes
Manu was off, that was easy to see. But he was aggressive and made all 7 of his free-throws. He also had 6 assists, 4 rebounds, and 2 steals. Now, why was he on the bench in the fourth quarter? This is what kills me. How hard is it to play the best five players on the roster during crunch time? Experiment, mess around, out-think yourself. Fine, Pop, do that in the first 3 quarters. Just play the best five during crunch time. Manu does not need to score in order to make a positive impact on the game. Put him in there and let him create. He makes the game easier for everyone else, regardless of whether he is on fire or ice cold.
7-18, 32 Minutes
When it takes Tony 18 shots to score 17 points, odds are the rest of the team struggled with him. As I have said, Tony controls the game more than most realize. If he is having a hard time scoring, he is having a hard time creating for others. This means that our spot up guys, Bogans, McDyess, Mason, Bonner, and Finley, are not getting the clean looks that they require to shoot a high percentage. In games where Tony struggles, it is even more important that RJ establishes himself as an offensive threat. If not, the offense stagnates and the Spurs shoot 16.7% from three point land.
Clearly, this game did not go well. When 3 of the Big 4 struggle, grinding out a win becomes extremely difficult. That being said, the Spurs were still in this game. Had a few bounces and calls gone the other way, the Spurs may have been able to get control of this one. Even in bad losses, the potential of this team is evident. In a month, expect a nice, long winning streak. Until then, try not to throw your remote at the Plasma. Apparently, Plasmas do not like that.
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With Hill playing a good game and we still lose, it should be relatively obvious that he can’t be considered one of the big 4 yet.
I thought the Big 4 are Timmeh, Tony, Manu and RJ, in which case I agree with Fred that 3 of the 4 sucked. Hill and Timmeh almost won the game for us, with not much help.
My people call it "sarcasm." - Lauri
Yup, by Big 4 he meant Tim, Tony, Manu and RJ.
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Some one needs to ask Tony to move the ball around and try to pass it a little more to RJ. He is the PG last I checked. When RJ is trying to figure out what to do, the onus is on the BIG 3 to integrate/involve him.
Also, now that we have enough fire power, I doubt if we need Tony to carry us offensively like he did last year. We need him now, more than ever to involve others. Otherwise, everyone else not named TD are going to stand and watch while they play a 2 man game.
I know everyone has crazy man love for Hill, with good reason, but this is my complaint. When we play Tony and Hill together, who is supposed to create? Essentially both are score first point guards. This is why I was pulling my hair out when Pop refused to play Manu. When Ginobili comes in with the second unit, he is a scorer. But when he plays with Tim, Tony and the rest, he acts as a facilitator. As good as Hill played, it hurts us when he is in there with Tony and no one is getting the others involved.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
Fred, that’s not necessarily true. While Manu does become more of a scorer with the second team, I think aggressor is a better word to describe him. He is a facilitator for the second team, all you have to do is look at a couple of the games we won without Timmy and Tony. Either way, that’s what we need more of.
When Hill & Parker at on the court at the same time, I like Hill taking the ball up court and initiating the offense. If anything else, you discourage Tony from running the two man game with TD and everyone else just stands around and looks at them. I don’t mind Tony scoring, but when he’s off and trying to do it one-on-one or on a two man game, I think the rest of the players lose some interest and it discourages the defensive effort some.
Well, Pop said he didn’t play Gino for health reasons. We have to trust him.
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No, we really don’t. He just wanted to see how Hill performed under pressure. Did you watch Manu’s body language as he sat the entire fourth out? He was pissed. He barely made it to the huddle during timeouts. He was not acting like an injured player, he was acting like a benched player.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
by Fred Silva on Nov 16, 2009 6:17 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
I tend to agree with you Fred. I think Manu got benched, whether it was to see how Georgie performed under pressure or because Manu was playing badly—a couple of poor decisions/turnovers—I’m not sure. The bright side is that George played very well under the pressure. That three he hit late was great. Just couldn’t get anyone else to hit a shot.
I agree with you, Fred. It seemed to me that when Manu was stretching the hamstring, he was trying to keep it warm and loose so he could return to the game.
Also, I don’t think Manu gave up hope that he would be playing in the closing minutes until he untied his shoelaces. That was quite late in the 4th quarter… maybe a minute was left on the clock? maybe less?
That’s my perspective.
Superman wears Manu Ginobili pajamas to bed. - CMoney
On a different note, I’m extremely relieved that we do not have to worry about the Spurs trading for Stephen Jackson. That guy is not worth the gamble. In addition, I assume this means that Iverson is going to the Cavs. Shaq and AI competing with Lebron for shots should make for an entertaining season, for everyone except Cavs fans.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
+1
Or the Lakers—with their injury woes? Pretty please…
"Yes, it's important that I have good numbers, and I'm well-respected as a player. But I think it's more important that I'm respected as a man." - Some Tall Guy Who Wore #50
by theonlyromeo on Nov 16, 2009 9:05 PM CST up reply actions
I dont think AI could be worse than their bench, or even Fisher. He played 35 minutes with 0 point, assist, and no rebound. AI D or lack of, will hurt them though.
I just never thought Iverson as a team player. He’s a heck of a basketball player, carrying that Sixers Finals team on his back, but he will definitely ruin any challenger he signs with.
"Yes, it's important that I have good numbers, and I'm well-respected as a player. But I think it's more important that I'm respected as a man." - Some Tall Guy Who Wore #50
by theonlyromeo on Nov 17, 2009 3:35 AM CST up reply actions
Seriously, this could happen for the Lakers. Fisher, Brown and Farmar. PG is clearly their weakest position. They may end up rolling the dice on AI.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
The "Injury"
Pop’s excuse that Manu was injured was proveable bullshit. Yes, presumably, Manu had not practiced for a couple of days because of a slight tweek to his hamstring (Manu has not confirmed this as far as I know). But if Pop was erring on the side of caution as he says, then he would have kept him out the whole game, particularly since we now had TP and TD back. Manu has said publicly that during the game he never told Pop anything about the injury. So Pop could not have known any more during the game about the “injury” than he did before it. Obviously, we can only speculate as to why Pop kept him out the fourth quarter, but it had nothing to do with caution regarding an injury. And I think all Spurs fans would agree that our chances of winning that game would have been much greater with him on the floor.
Well, he knew Manu couldn’t finish at the rim and after a couple minutes stopped even trying. That told him more about the hamstring than anything Manu would ever say.
by doggydogworld on Nov 17, 2009 10:34 AM CST up reply actions
His drives to the basket looked fine to me. Bad luck was a factor in his 0-8. That’s not to say he was 100%.
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Bad luck and bad shooting.
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Nov 17, 2009 3:30 PM CST up reply actions
A factor, not the whole story.
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The real reason
Besides hamstring issues, Manu was on the bench when the Spurs went on that 16-2 run in the 2nd quarter. TP, Hill, RJ and Timmy were in for almost that entire run. During those 5 minutes OKC had 4 turnovers and 3 missed jumpers, scoring only on a Jeff Green putback. Meanwhile the Spurs scored on 5 layup/dunks and 4 free throws.
Pop wanted to see if the TP/Hill/RJ/Timmy quartet could repeat that magic in the fourth. They almost did — going from down 87-80 when Tim and Tony checked in at 8:33 to down 89-88 a couple minutes later. But they then went on a 1-8 shooting slump with a couple turnovers to boot and the game slipped out of reach.
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