PtR QuickCap: Spurs Declaw Hawks, Play Defense
by Tim C. on Jan 27, 2010 11:09 PM CST
in Game Previews
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PrintThankfully, that picture above is the only time we really came close to being Psychologically Devastated™ during this game.
This is going to be even quicker than usual, so feel free to comment on everything I missed.
First Half
Let me get right to the point: I didn't see most of the first half. But, I can make inferences from the play-by-play and comments on the first game thread. The Spurs' starting lineup tonight was surprising in that McDyess was part of it - but he soon dispelled any doubts about whether that was a good move. The Spurs got off to the usual quick start we've all become accustomed to, featuring alley oops to Jefferson and McDyess. Do not adjust your monitor, you read that right: Dice finished an alley oop against a team with lots of athletes. Not only that, but late in the half, he put some moves on Josh Smith down low for an easy layup, and he played with lots of energy from the opening tip. Rumors of the old man's demise seem to have been greatly exaggerated. Parker scored all of his 10 points in the first quarter, but also distributed the ball very well, and finished with 5 assists for the half. In fact, the team as a whole shared the ball very well tonight(more on that in a minute).
Second Half
After the break, both teams came out cold, with only 5 points scored between them in the first 3 minutes. McDyess made another impressive play down low after that to break the drought for the Spurs, but they essentially traded baskets with Atlanta for the remainder of the quarter... except when the Spurs missed. It couldn't quite be considered a 3rd quarter collapse, but the defense really looked bad. Atlanta won the third quarter 30-21. In the fourth, both teams came out cold again, but the Hawks still managed to pull within 9 with 9:22 to go. And then, it happened: the Spurs started playing better defense. They forced Atlanta into a couple of turnovers, and Antonio once again led the charge, sinking a layup off a sick pass from Manu, followed by a patented Dice 17-footer. It should be noted that Richard Jefferson made a couple of nice plays during the fourth as well, including a steal(which oddly got credited to Manu) and a near-steal which forced Atlanta into a bad shot on two possessions in a row. The first play ended with RJ throwing a sweet alley-oop to George Hill. Way to not be completely useless, RJ - now play with that kind of energy and intelligence consistently. The last few minutes were all about Timmy, whom we will praise more below, and the Spurs pulled away for a comfortable win.
Other Notes and Observations
Ball Movement - The Spurs did a fantastic job of sharing the ball tonight. Of their 40 field goals, 29 were assisted. If we counted "hockey assists", there would have been more assists than baskets. The big 3 all had at least 6 assists in the game.
Tony Parker - The bad(hopefully not too bad) news from this game is that Tony Parker rolled his left ankle on a drive at the 2:30 mark of the 3rd quarter. He was carried off the court. He tried unsuccessfully a couple of times to put some weight on it, but x-rays were negative. Hopefully we'll get some not-terrible news from the team about this tomorrow. We miss you already, Frenchy... especially since this makes it likely that we'll see Keith Bogans back in the starting lineup now.
Interior Defense - It does exist, and Pop's lineup change had a lot to do with it. It still needs a lot of work, but the D looked good inside for most of the contest.
Your 3 stars
Antonio McDyess - Dice really brought it tonight. 17 points, and was limited to only 4 rebounds simply because of playing with Timmy and Blair. I was more impressed with his D - he altered a lot of Atlanta drives, and the fact that the Hawks missed a lot of layups tonight isn't just a fluke. Dice and Timmy locked down the paint.
Manu Ginobili - Manu had a terrible shooting night, but still managed to be the spark that ignites our offense. Most of Dice's points came from Manu passes, and he had some nice defensive plays in the second half as well. 14 points, 6 assists, 2 boards.
Tim Duncan - What more can be said about this guy? He set a career high tonight for rebounds, and dominated the entire time he was in the contest, despite shooting 5-20 and supposedly not being able to jump any more. 21 points, 27 rebounds, 6 assists, and a block. Oh, and 11-11 from the free throw line. Like Dice, Tim altered a lot of Atlanta drives, and that was a big help in holding the Hawks to less than 40% shooting.
__________________________________________________________________________
Update on Tony - Tony just posted this on Facebook:
hello…Big win for us against atlanta only one bad thing i sprain my ankle .nothing bad i will be back soon
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Comments
I love frenchie and all, but couldn’t this be a good thing? His on-going injuries require rest to heal anyways. If we can hold the fort, it’s not like he won’t be back for the stretch run/playoffs…
Unless something terrible shows up tomorrow, in which case ignore me.
It looked like a pretty nasty sprain, but we’ll have to see if SiMA was right about the French.
suicide > RJ
Also, we might see the JV again soon(on a 10-day contract). But I’m hoping for Antonio Daniels.
suicide > RJ
Daniels… Intriguing. You think the system has changed that much since Daniels was last with the team? I think it’s time Tony take a rest. We need him at full strength.
AD was a difference maker, and one of my favorite players back when he was with the team(I still have a #33 Spurs jersey lying around somewhere). He was a real difference-maker off the bench at guard before most of us had ever even heard of Manu. I’d love to see him back, even if he can’t do a lot of the things he used to.
suicide > RJ
I’m with you.
I wanted Parker to rest his foot and tonight, pre-injury was a good example of why. He can bring it for one quarter. That’s it. He then has no explosion to the basket, in half court or on the break, and ends up being part of the reason the offense goes stagnant. His over-dribbling and rushed jumper at the end of the shot clock hurts the offense and his game.
Rest up Tony and come back healthier. The team will benefit.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
By the way, that steal that was credited to Manu was actually his steal. If you could see the replay he slapped it through Joe Johnson’s legs and RJ picked it up.
"I've got Tim (Duncan) and you don't. That's the difference." -Gregg Popovich
I would have gone with G. Hill as one of the stars. He had 16 points on a very efficient 6-9 and led a few fast breaks. He also played good defense.
Tim, does this mean I can’t watch the next game?
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Aww, Cap. Sorry, but yeah, I think you can’t.
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 27, 2010 11:52 PM CST up reply actions
It’s Tim who shouldn’t watch. First half was wonderful without him watching. Second half a different story.
First game I attended this year. Jamal Crawford’s 3 at 8:55 in the 4th, which would have made it a six point game, looked right on line from my angle. He’d just made two pure jumpers. Big sigh of relief when it missed.
by doggydogworld on Jan 28, 2010 1:05 AM CST up reply actions
Cap, that’s complete b.s. — mojo doesn’t work that way! How can you be a fan if you’re not allowed to follow and watch your team’s games?
Ridiculous!
Seriously, you might flip the mojo by not watching a quarter, or a half, or even (although I’d never do it on purpose) an entire game. But you can’t KEEP mojo going for a team you follow by not watching.
That’s actually the opposite of being a fan.
Foolishness!
Watch the game, Cap. And enjoy it for what it’s worth: Manu’s brilliance, Hill’s tenacity, Duncan’s excellence, and Blair’s Unbridled Rebounding Aggression. Hopefully, the Spurs win, but I certainly won’t blame a loss on you if things don’t work out as we’d prefer. And I’ll take on anyone who does.
</ rant>
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
First, you completely mistagged your rant there. Second… I completely agree with JRW albeit for different reasons. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS MOJO!!! WAKE UP PEOPLE!!! The FSM would never allow something as arbitrary as mojo to exist. Count me in as a mojo skeptic.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
by LasEspuelas on Jan 28, 2010 10:01 AM CST up reply actions
Nice rant, jrw. I don’t usually expect those from you. I have plans for Friday night, so I’ll probably miss the game anyway. But it was realistically going to be over by the Nuggets game anyway. No way I’m not watching that one.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
BTW, both of my teams won last night, so maybe the sports gods don’t hate me as much as I thought. Ironically, the Spurs and OSU have had the same problems this year – integrating half of the roster into the system, losing leads, and defensive lapses. I’m starting to feel more optimistic.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Okay, someone distract the mojo while I say this. . . .
Use reverse psychology.
I think recent experience has established that the best way to get the mojo on your side is to deny its existence. That way the mojo is all, “O rly? I’ll show you what I’m capable of, you blasphemer!” and the rest is cake. And you know what they say about cake.
I have flying monkeys at my disposal, and I'm not afraid to use them.
I’m glad we won this game. Good morale booster for anyone, including the team. In fact, today’s win brought me out of such a hoops depressed mood that I was finally able to check out the “enemy’s” game thread at peachtree hoops after a long drought of not doing so. I haven’t been commenting as much, or reading PtR as much for that matter, for a few days now. Now, while I think that the Spurs title run is pretty much dead, I still firmly believe, just like I do any other season, that this team has a puncher’s chance of coming out of the west. In a series, and if the FSM lets us play well, this team could beat the Lakers. But whatever, I don’t wanna bore you with stupid expectations. Great win, great recap Tim.
On a more unrelated note, I stayed away from PtR for the 3rd and 4th quarter, my main intention was to stay away for only the 3QC but when I saw that we still had the lead, and while a bad quarter, shouldn’t be entirely considered a collapse by the Spurs standard, I decided not to mess with the Mojo and stay away for the fourth as well. I do realize however that there were far greater mojo reasons for the win, such as bakkie’s arrival, SiMA’s return, Cap’s absence, and LD’s Manly part Media Mojo. My absence for the second half was primarily due to the fact that I didn’t want to prove to myself that the main reason why we didn’t win the game was that I wasn’t able to puff the magic dragon while watching the game, as was the case for the last couple of losses. Damn you Basketball Gods! Why can’t you let me enjoy my two unfaltering loves! Anyways, enough about me, just wondering, while I also believed that Hill should’ve been a star, it sparked a question. Does meriting a star have to do with you being one of the top best players for the Spurs on that particular game, or does it mean that you were one of the players who played much better than you usually do in a winning game? Just wondering. Thanks.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 28, 2010 2:09 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
whoah, this is a lot. Nothing to read here people.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 28, 2010 2:11 AM CST up reply actions
thanks davis.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 28, 2010 2:48 AM CST up reply actions
and yet...
i felt compelled to read it all anyway. Sometimes, sacrifice must be made for the mojo. If i knew what to do to contribute any, i’d do it, up to and including giving up 1 testicle. Anyone know any good voodoo spells?
by SpursfanSteve on Jan 28, 2010 3:37 AM CST up reply actions
Correction:
My absence for the second half was primarily due to the fact that I didn’t want to prove to myself that the main reason why wedidn’t win(were winning) the game was that I wasn’t able to puff the magic dragon while watching the game, as was the case for the last couple of losses.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 28, 2010 2:50 AM CST up reply actions
Unfortunately
Unfortunately I’m seeing a lot of the same things wrong with the Spurs still going on, we just got lucky that our defense decided to play.
Timmy still can’t score consistently unless it’s from the line (did I just say that?), Parker isn’t scoring consistently, Gino is still missing a TON of shots, and RJ is still RJ though it’’s nice to see him posting double-figures.
Oh and there’s this: if we lost, we would have had the same record as Memphis who’s only 1 game behind us.
Evey- "Are you a crazy person?"
V- "I'm quite sure they'll say so."
V for Vendetta, blowing your mind away since 2005.
Yay US!
Didn’t get to watch the game. So to those who did…clearly we dominated the whole way, but did we really play good or did the Hawks play bad or both? I need to know if my hope can return yet…
Good team...
…and we win! Maybe the sprained ankle for TP will help him get that foot rested and healed. Tim Duncan is the freakin’ man!
One strategy I think might be useful for the team is to start quarters with Georgie. He gets the team playing at a faster pace than usual (this is just my impression cannot actually prove it)
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
From the data on that page it seems that Hills shot clock usage is about the same as that of the whole team
Using the data from here we can calculate the number of possessions per minute when every player is on and off the court and then we can take the difference between the two. A negative number below indicates the players decreases the number of total possessions per minute. A positive number indicates he increases the total number of possessions per minutes:
Hill does not increase the number of possessions per minutes but Manu does.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
by LasEspuelas on Jan 28, 2010 12:44 PM CST up reply actions
I cannot believe I just went through that exercise.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
by LasEspuelas on Jan 28, 2010 12:44 PM CST up reply actions
That graph tells us everything that is wrong with Jefferson. You would think we would push more with him on the lineup but he is the slowest starter in that regard and the slowest of all consistent minute getters. Somebody needs to tell him that it is OK to be fast.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
by LasEspuelas on Jan 28, 2010 12:58 PM CST up reply actions
So if we start Duncan, Dice, Hill, Mason, and Jefferson next game, we will have a super slow start in terms of possessions…..
That is what it seems… of course every number there is skewed by the fact that some players play with some other players more consistently than with others.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
Actually that combination has only gotten 7 minutes of playing time together the whole season. It is an extremely small sample size but apparently they average 107 points scored per 100 possessions and a tiny 69 points allowed per 100 possessions. In terms of the total possessions per minutes for them and the opposition 3.5 a number lower than that for the top 14 units in terms of minutes played.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
Now that’s interesting. Write a post about it, LE. You know you want to.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Good win for us. It’s nice to get a win against a good team for once, or for once in 3 games, anyway. It looks like Tim Duncan circa 2003 showed up? Maybe all of the trade talk motivated us. I dunno what to think anymore.
Anyone up for a loser thread tonight? We’ve got 3 games, and 2 of them are on TNT.
We’ll need to get Lauri to start it. ;-)
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
spoiler alert: all star reserves.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
by the little o on Jan 28, 2010 5:42 PM CST up reply actions
Or we can turn some other post into our own personal loser thread :P
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 28, 2010 6:34 PM CST up reply actions
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