PtR Quick Cap: Nuggets Axe the Spurs, 103-89
by CapHill on Jan 31, 2010 4:01 PM CST
in Game Previews
Email
PrintAnother game, another loss. However, there was a silver lining in today's loss: the major role players continued their improvement. I know I'm usually the pessimistic one around here, but for several different reasons (noted after the jump), I feel better about the Spurs' play of late.
As much as I hate to admit it, the Nuggets are a really good team this year. They are efficient on the offensive end and have stepped up the defense this season. Yes, Anthony sat out the game, but he's been hurt enough this year that the rest of the team has learned how to play when he's not on the floor. And no matter how good of a player Melo is, Billups is the straw that stirs the drink.
Rather than give a play-by-play account, I'm going to go with stats and my impressions.
- The game was medium paced, but very sloppy. Both teams turned the ball over too many times. However, the Spurs took advantage, scoring 23 points off of Denver's turnovers.
- The Spurs' also did a good job of being aggressive driving to the hoop, outscoring the Nuggets 40-26 in the paint.
- The Nuggets got to the line 25 times; the Spurs 21. The Spurs held the Nuggets under their season average of 32 FTAs per game, although much of that could be attributed to Melo sitting.
- For a while, the Spurs were holding their own in the battle of the boards, but Denver ended up owning us with a 41-33 advantage.
- The play at the end of the 2nd and 3rd quarters was awful. We were outscored 11-0 in the last 2:47 of the 2nd quarter and 6-0 in the last 2:10 of the 3rd quarter. You are not going to win games allowing those types of runs. This has been an issue for a while now and desperately needs to be fixed.
- The fouls called were often of the ticky tack variety, yet the zebras let the game reach very physical levels on both sides. Manu especially got extremely frustrated by the lack of calls during his forays into the lane, and therefore had a classic Good Manu/Bad Manu game. Would it hurt the refs to occasionally give us some home cooking (or just call the game correctly)?
But the stat of the game was shooting percentage. The Spurs shot 50% from 2-pt land; the Nuggets 49%. Pretty even, right? Wrong. The Nuggets were on fire from 3-pt land, a stellar 9-12 for 75%. The Spurs' shooting woes moved to beyond the 3-pt arc, where we shot an ice-cold 17.6%. We couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from 3-pt land, but still felt the need to jack up 17 of those puppies (yes, I'm referring to you, Roger). This stat is the story of the game. We missed too many open threes, especially those of the corner pocket variety. The Spurs' perimeter defense seemed to get caught in switches all game long, allowing the good ball movement from Denver to result in open threes for them.
Despite the loss, I was pleased with the effort. Although the perimeter defense broke down, the interior defense was great, with a lot of steals coming in the lane. There seemed to be a more aggressive attitude throughout the game, with the intensity a step up from previous efforts. The 3-ball and Martin are what killed us in the game. Martin had one of his best games of the season, but I don't have any issues with Pop's defensive philosophy. Unlike Dice, Lips' strong point isn't the 18 foot jumper. Although it was falling for him today, but you have to pick your poison on the defensive end, and K-Mart doesn't have a great jump shot.
Stars of the Game
- George Hill - Wow. I like Cubits' game, but today he was just balling. His improvement in running the offense today was quite apparent (although there is still room for more). He was extremely aggressive in going to the hoop, finishing quite well. And maybe it's just me, but it seemed like he was everywhere on the defensive end, diving for loose balls and playing physical D on the Denver guards.
- Antonio McDyess - Praise the FSM; I think Manu and Dice have finally clicked. Dice caught several classic Manu passes on cuts to the basket, resulting in baskets and/or fouls. He also was very confident shooting his pretty, pretty jumper today.
- Richard Jefferson - Even though RJ got some cheap fouls and the stats don't look great, he played a good game. He was aggressive on the offensive end and physical on the defensive end. For once, Rage wasn't standing around waiting for someone else to initiate the action. He had several nice drives to the hole and also tried to run when the opportunity presented itself. Maybe I'm just being hopeful, but the light might have finally turned on.
I usually don't enjoy national TV announcers since they spend too much time talking about miscellaneous crap and not the game - that should be reserved for PtR game threads. However, we had the pleasure of Hubie Brown calling today's game. I love his color commentary. Hubie absolutely loves "Mano", showing he has good BBIQ. Plus, we then get to hear gems like "Timmeh's ath-u-letic talent". He makes me smile, and when you watch a game like this, smiling is hugely underrated.
150 comments
|
2 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
The Spurs are the most frustrating team in life
The motto for this season should be “missed it by that much”; stupid shit has killed us in EVERY game thus far this season (even most of the wins, except we are too good to lose to below .500 teams) Hence,
- We have rarely, if ever, have been blown out the building by a team, but either turnovers or lack of defense have been our demise in every loss.
- Richard Jefferson goes to the hole in the first minutes of every game and we are usually leading and making opportunities for other guys, but then he decides to stop being aggressive and turn into a little baby for the subsequent three quarters. Has this guy learned already?
- Bonner IS Dead. Pop is clearly beating a damned dead horse giving this guy so many minutes, when we have a monster named Blair sitting down watching us get our asses kicked. Popovich is really pissing not just me off clearly, but the entire fan community with his questionable lineups down the stretch.
Summed up: It’s like this Spurs’ team buries the hatchet for itself, but we only have two and a half months left to get it together or else another first round exit is inevitable. Only this time we won’t have no Manu and injured Duncan as an excuse.
Damn...
This is indeed frustrating. Because I’m up here in Spokane, WA, watching Spurs games is a RARE treat. I have faithfully watched all the Spurs’ games this season and I have been disappointed with a loss each and EVERY time, the only win being against the New Orleans Hornets at the beginning of the year (even then I worked late and saw the game at the beginning of the 4th quarter).
I have felt pessimistic about the team recently and I’m an optimist! I just don’t know if the Spurs can pull it together this year even though there appears to be an abundance of talent. Too many times it has been said “the regular season doesn’t matter” but it does. It is a way of getting out the kinks and getting a decent seed in the standings. Unfortunately the Spurs DO NOT seem to be working out the kinks and they continue to slide through the standings. Having so many losses at home is unacceptable.
People are saying the rodeo trip will be telling, that it will reflect the quality of this team. I don’t know about the other five games but three games are definitely marked on my calendar: Portland, L.A. (the Lakers not the Clippers =0), and Denver. Those three games are big games. I’m going to assume we can win the other five; if we cannot and if we cannot win at least two of the three “big” games then I will pretty sure this team can’t compete come playoff time because the Spurs’ teams of the past COULD compete, COULD get stops down the stretch, COULD convert, and COULD win. The die is cast and the whistle has been blown; the ball is in YOUR court Spurs.
You’re killing it with the recaps, Cap. Kudos!
I liked the Spurs tonight. We lost, but we’re improving.
Can’t wait to meet you, Cap. :)
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Hey, where were you?
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 31, 2010 7:35 PM CST up reply actions
Ha, I think that is section 6. There was another PtR reader right behind the bench. The woman with him had the silver hair and the Manu jersey.
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 31, 2010 10:57 PM CST up reply actions
Yeah they were close to us, saw them on the jumbotron a few times
AKA: Linix129
by sw12 on Feb 1, 2010 8:07 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
Damn. Then you were near me, too. I was in section 6… why didn’t you say hi?
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
You only walked by once and by the time I realized it was you, you were already gone
AKA: Linix129
by sw12 on Feb 1, 2010 11:40 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
When? Because at some point I was trying to get to Wayne, and I didn’t know how…
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
That was probably it. He was in the media seats, and there was no clear paths. At least that the newbie could see…
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Shitfire
Can’t blame Pop for letting Martin shoot uncontested jumpshots. He’ll never hit that percentage again. But double-teaming Billups only opens up the 3s and they killed us. Mason and Bonner missing threes from our side was deadly. Mason still can’t play the point when any pressure is put on him, he becomes a turnover machine and then it seems to effect his shooting. Bonner has no business on the court at any time. Even when he’s hitting his threes (how many months ago was that?), his defense gives up at least as much as he gives us. Has no one noticed that once he is inserted in the lineup EVERY TEAM changes its offense to attack him? Shit, if they’ve figured it out, why hasn’t Pop.
Dude, you are so correct. EVERY TEAM attacks Bonner. 1st QTR score is 10 – 6 Denver with 7 mins remaining. We are not scoring much but we are playing hellish defense. Then in comes Bonner, and K-Mart gets in his ass immediately. It was like Karl was just waiting to see if Pop was going to put Bonner in the game, and when he did the Nuggets jumped on his ass like ants on a meatskin.
FG shooting outside the paint (aka jump shots):
Qrtr Spurs Nuggets
1st 5-14 5-10
2nd 4-15 5-8
3rd 5-9 9-11
4th 2-10 6-10
-— -—— -——
Total 16-48 25-39
I pulled these off the shot chart so they might be off one or two, but you get the idea. I would say it was just one of those nights, but it seems like half the teams we play have franchise-best jump shooting nights against the Spurs. Bad defense? Bad karma? A run of freakish coincidences which will revert to the mean in the playoffs? I don’t know but it’s a killer.
Poor defense
Denver’s shooting was freakish; they managed to make EVERY dagger shot. However at the same time the Spurs weren’t guarding jump shots in the second half. After seeing K-Mart make one or two of those jumpers, I would have SHUT HIM DOWN but he continued to score and score from his perch. Then of course Billups had some open looks…The Spurs have to defend better than that especially against a lethal team in the last few minutes of the fourth quarter!!!!
I went looking for the fan poll with the panic vote and coudn’t find it so I’ve settled for good things coming on the road trip if Pop will settle down. That is based on 1,)when he pulled Blair at the end of the 4th. We were holding our own at that point. 2) trying to make players what they really are not like Mason at point and Boogie shooting 3’s in the corner.4) Double team of Billups.We have always played basic straight up in the past. Pop really cost us this game. The team is really playing hard. But Pop is still trying to figure it out. It’s getting late. And what was his quote in AP “…needs to step up and make some shots”. That’s something he would never of said before. Enough sacred cow.
Melo > Parker
This stinks. They were with out their best player and we still lost to them with our two best players healthy and active for the game.
I thought Blair was really effective today, but for some reason he didn’t get much PT. He is the perfect type of player to negate Birdmans length and leaping. A lot of players drive on him and try to get the ball over him. Fail! Blair just takes Birdmans legs out with his big butt and has a field day.
I too feel like RJ is coming along Cap.
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
They made up for Melo’s points with hot shooting. They don’t score any more than they did had Melo played, it’s just that Martin and Billups would’ve scored fewer.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Good point, J.
I too thought that Blair was effective and would have loved to see him play some more.
Sure is a good thing that we know Pop never makes any mistakes. Otherwise I’d feel like maybe I should be questioning why The Beast didn’t get more run.
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
Polysyllable as in multiple syllables?
I wasn’t sure if you’d catch what I was attempting: 5 words, all with 5 letters. I was going to try and make it 5 lines too but you definitely would have caught it and probably fell over and died.
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
Poor Blair...
On any other team, especially one of the crappier ones, he would be getting 30-35 minutes and he’d probably average a double-double. Some would argue the Spurs are a champion contender and obviously don’t need the help. This is absolute ballocks. He is one of the few players currently getting it done! I agree with Manuwar; he IS the perfect type of player to match up against Birdman. I was watching one of his plays: Blair caught it down low, spun around and smashed into Birdman, getting the easy layup. And he only played 10 minutes??? Forget Bonner-give the minutes to Dyess and Blair and see what they can do.
Granted Pop shouldn’t play Blair against the Lakers; at least not against Bynum. There are some games where Blair should have less minutes than other games depending on the matchups. However I don’t want to see Blair play another 10 minute game. We need his energy NOW more than ever.
The Augustus speaks the truth. However, I come not to praise him, but to quibble at his typo.
This is absolute ballocks.
I love this sentence so much that if I weren’t already married, I’d be looking at rings and practicing my proposal speech. Anyone who thinks I wouldn’t is complete ballocks.
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
Is your real name Richard?
Don't compare RJ to Sean unless he's coming up clutch while playing with a failing kidney.
It took me a second read to get that. Nice though.
"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 Feb 2, 2010 10:50 PM CST up reply actions
I liked the way the Spurs played today. Please, I really hope I’m not jinxing anybody, but I really feel like our big acquisitions are finally coming through.
Dice, to accompany Duncan, is being a nice defensive presence down low with blocks, boards, and changing shots. And he’s hitting that sweet jump-shot.
RJ is FINALLY driving to the hoop, being aggressive, and is also playing very nice defense.
Let’s hope this trend continues.
Nice recap – only argument is Cubits/Mongoose’s playing D on Chauncey – Chauncey had his # all day whether dishing the ball, jacking up a three at an opportune time or driving the lane……good game, too bad it fell apart at the end. -- > 4th Quarter is the weakness right now – i think Jackson figured that out last year and now other teams are picking up on it – too much panic
"Mr. Gilmore deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame damnit. Highest field goal percentage EVER"
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilmoar01.html
Hill didn’t play D on Billups for parts of the game. And let’s be reasonable – Billups abuses most points on D. The only one in the West who can consistently handle Billups is Williams. Most teams have their 2 guard Chauncey. Hill did as well as most would, and his effort is amazine.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
No one else is saying it, but Tim has also cooled down quite a bit offensively from the start of the season. He’s still doing all of the little things, but his shot is clearly off. (Ironically, the one exception to this is at the free-throw line.)
Assuming something’s not bothering him, I suspect the Spurs will step back up on offense once Timmy gets back in rhythm again. Come to think of it, I sense January is never his best month for whatever reason.
Ask anyone how to beat Denver, and they will tell you stop Billups. What’s wrong with trapping Billups? We give up 103 points at home to a team missing a 30pt scorer.
Did anyone notice how Jon Barry and Wilbon said the Spurs are done even before we started this game?
This team needs AJ.
Ghos, who is AJ ?
...Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is forty five.
nah he’s retired. anthony johnson more like it. thats who we should trade for :)
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
YEP!
Having a hall of Fame coach doesn’t mean much if you are not making hall of fame decisions. And Lately, Pop is not doing a good job of making game time adjustments. For instance, not to give a play by play against Denver, buy it took us too long to start trapping Billups and we only did it like twice. These are things that an ex point guard coach like AJ would see immediately and make the adjustment.
All I’m saying is we know AJ is all about defense, and he wouldn’t hesitate to get up in a player’s ass if need be.
Think about this?
Why stack a team full of athletic talent and then not use it. When the goal is to get the vets to the playoffs healthy. Where is the logic?
Ian can jump out the gym, but yet we have 5’11 guards like Bayless finishing at the rim. And now Haislip, Gone! But Bonner is still playing more than Ian and Blair combined.
It doesn’t matter how well Bonner plays, as long as he is playing we will either be losing the lead or getting farther behind. Just look to the best game Bonner ever played, and we still loss against Utah. We have seen his best and his worse, what more do we need to see.
I don’t understand it, I just don’t.
If everyone knows how to stop Billups why he is having the highest scoring month of his career at 25 points/game? And if everyone knows how to beat Denver why they are 9-1 in their last 10 games?
Hopefully, those experts will eat their words in spring.
Good point, not many people have been able to stop the Nuggets, but why did we have to change the starting lineup from the Grizzlies game?
Mase is no Bogans when it comes to playing defense. And why was Bonner the first big off the bench when we need to be stopping people?
I am not convince the commitment to defense is there, so even if we wanted to stop Billups we didn’t have the lineup in there to do it.
If Spurs hit their open shots, it might be a different game.
You also had stellar shooting games from Kmart and Afflalo.
I think we are being mislead. Pop tells us that defense is our problem. He says this team is not playing good defense then he turns around and leans on Bonner and Mase which are offensive guys. This game was lost because we are not paying attention to detail on defense, they only have one player that we should have been concerned about and we still let him go off. Denver was playing defense exactly the way we should have been playing defense. Trap Billips or funnel him to baseline where the bigs can help. We didn’t do any of that.
Afflalo is not a penetrator why was he allowed to shoot jumpers, get up in his grill and force him to be a driver or passer, none which are his strengths.
K-Mart may not be the best jump shooter in the NBA but he is still in the NBA so you just don’t leave a man uncontested 8-10 ft from the goal wide open, if you do, he goes for 27 most of the time.
Dammit where is my medication???
I think we are being mislead.
Well, GT, I have to agree with you about that. The way I see it, we root for a team that’s coached by a guy whose public statements can’t be taken at face value roughly 99.999999 percent of the time.
I have a huge container in my kitchen filled with massive grains of salt. And I force myself to take one every time I’m tempted to believe anything Pop says without first running it through my Little Orphan Annie secret decoder ring.
Truth is, he just doesn’t put any kind of value on playing the media game, and he’s concerned (and rightly so) about saying anything that would give some kind of edge to our potential playoff opponents.
Also, if you find your medication, I think I might be able to use some of it too. That loss left me feeling sluggish and lethargic. Do you have anything for that?
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
Nope. We stayed and listened to Manu address the crowd instead. We missed a good one. Check 48MoH for video.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
Yesterday he said that the defense wasn’t the problem, that we lost because no one could make a damn shot. So no.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
We lost because we could score in the last 2 minutes of the first half, and again at the end of the game, too.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
The spurs got their ass kicked.
If i had watched the game, perhaps i could find the silver lining. ie , Jefferson played well, etc
But the fact is Denver shot 54 pct and thumped San Antonio in their own building without their best player.
Tony wasnt playing neither, so going by the logic of some people, the Spurs should have been able to lock down the Nuggets without Tonys poor defense on the floor. So much for that thinking….
...Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is forty five.
Maybe us PTRers haven’t been bringing the mojo?
It’s been a while since we’ve done something that…
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
board hearing is next week and I want to bring my dogo with me but I’m thinking
We specialize in misinformation around here. Facts and stats just get in the way.
by Wayne Vore (ATS) on Jan 31, 2010 11:00 PM CST up reply actions
that officer is really hot and she
"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 Jan 31, 2010 11:05 PM CST up reply actions
post about come halftime. And then I could send her an email inviting her to PtR where she’ll be all impressed with my html skills and decide that
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
smart a decision, considering that your ass is
"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
not as wise as Pop even though they do share some common traits like
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
drinking your wine when you not looking and refusing to
"Mr. Gilmore deserves to be in the Basketball Hall of Fame damnit. Highest field goal percentage EVER"
http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/g/gilmoar01.html
make Bella, Cap, Lauri and the other PTR females feel a kind of camaraderie amongst the guys that is usually only found
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
in the relaxing room of a spa after an all day group mani/pedi, facial, oatmeal bath and shiatsu massage.
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
Good news? Seeing how the Spurs were able to get into the lane shows why a healthy Parker can tear up the Denver defense. The problem today is that no one made up for the loss of Tony whereas Denver made up for Melo’s scoring with great games from Billups, Martin and outstanding 3-pt shooting. We missed our star far more than they missed theirs and that’s both a credit to them and scolding frustration for us.
It would also help if the refs would properly blow the whistle when Manu is fouled in the paint. I know they allow the hand and body checking against him and Hill to go uncalled up top but when a guy is in scoring range, do your job. And certainly don’t call Manu for a BS charge as they did today.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
Well, I missed the game, and it looks like that’s for the best. I managed to catch glimpses of the score at work, and whaddya know… another loss. To an elite team. I reeeeaaallly do not feel confident about this team. Get Amare, or Battier, or Camby, or Butler/Jamison, or West/Posey. Or don’t, and get eliminated in the first round again.
you missed a cool manu dunk and a sweat manu fake pass into a semi reverse lay up so not all was bad in the game
"I will five all over this blog." - JRW
speaking of manu, is anyone else concerned with his 37% shooting and 12.5 ppg average in 15 games this month ?
...Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is forty five.
+1
Somebody posted on SpursTalk the 4th quarter of the the game 7 against the pistons. That was the excellence of execution, offensively and defensively.
We need a center and a Backup SF. We have too many SGs and PFs on this team, we need a trade.
I really didnt like the game today. We always are one of the best teams defending the 3, and today we gave up too many open ones. We didnt make the adjustments needed to win the game. Duncan is looking very slow on defense. And agree with Ghostown too much Bonner and not enough Blair.
Also Denver had 19 TOs and was missing the leading scorer in the NBA and still won.
There’s a few ways to look at it. Scrape into the playoffs with this line up and go home early. I’m fairly confident we will, but we’ve dropped games to most teams on the bubble- Utah, Nooch, Rockets, Grizz . We will not advance past the first round.
Or we make the all important trade and advance with some dignity intact. Or miss the playoffs and say hey to the lottery.
Lemme ask you guys a hypothetical question.
What do you think would happen if the Rodeo trip was a disaster and we went 2 and 4 the first six games of it ? Keep in mind that the trade deadline falls on the 19th….
Would the FO do anything? SHOULD they do anything ?
...Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is forty five.
they should make a trade regardless, we are not beating anyone with this team.Our frontcourt is too weak, and our defense sucks.
We have no personnel to make adjustments in a 7 game series.
Great recap Cap, and by great I mean totally in alignment with my thoughts.
Random ramblings:
- Not enough Blair.
- a lot of people are dumping on the officiating. Hate to break it to y’all, but we got a fair bit of home cooking this game. All with Hill, not the others, but still. Ty got a foul that looked like an offensive on Hill, + a few other calls. good to see Hill getting respect.
- Not enough Blair.
- Manu is my fav player, but he should to stop going for shots that have no chance hoping to get bailed out by the officials. He had no shot any of those times and it was not easy to see if anyone fouled – too may bodies around.
- I really like how Rage played for much of this game. Not quite there, but obviously listening to Pop and trying. His offense will come eventually once he really fits into the system.
- Manu’s shot is not there, but the rest of his game is getting there. I am happy with that – the shots will come.
- Not enough Blair. I wonder if that is because Pop still cares more about the playoffs than these meaningless games. More Blair may have won the game, but Pop needs MudButt to get his game on, Dice to get even more comfortable, etc…
once he really fits into the system.
You mean, um, never.
"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
Ouch! I am probably in the minority in that I actually like RJ. Ya, he has not made a big impact (yet), but many other stars would have come in, played their game their way, gotten their points at the expense of the system, bitched about not getting enough touches or otherwise screwed up chemistry. RJ is trying really hard (maybe too hard) to fit into the system first and he is obviously listening and trying to learn. It is taking him longer than expected as he has never played in a defense-based system (though you could argue he still is not :-).
If the same lack of production had happened with most other stars they would have made excuses and bitched about something or the other. RJ just shuts up and keeps trying in true Spurlike fashion.
Ok, enough Rage defending for now.
Maybe he really is trying, but it’s the “not succeeding” part that gets to me.
"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
Manu and Coach Bud got into an intense discussion,animated on Manu’s part, during a timeout late in the third quarter that continued after the time out. Hill also appeared to be discussing something with Coach Newman. I captured it with my camera but have no idea what it was about. Both players seemed to be pointing to the same area of the court where the Spurs were on defense.
Great recap. I like that you saw the silver lining under our bad play this season (since most can’t). In my humble opinion, I would be surprised if the Spurs win a championship this roster this year. Not that I’m not still pushing for them too but it just seems out of reach at this point. Even though I lost hope in this year’s team I am already excited about next season when Tiago Splitter suits up. Timmy needs a true defensive center next to him.
"I've got Tim (Duncan) and you don't. That's the difference." -Gregg Popovich
Anyone knows whatever happened to Ratliff? He was supposed to be a defensive center next to Timmy, and he looked OK in the games where he played. On the other hand, it’s not like the teams beat us inside recently. Like in this game against Denver we had more points in the paint, more offensive rebounds, there were not many layups and so on. So watching the game I won’t say that I missed a true defensive center. I wanted to see more defense at a 3-point line and higher percentage shooting – and a true defensive center would hardly helped with these areas. Other recent games were kind of similar. I thought we won inside against Chicago, Memphis, Atlanta and Denver, all teams with a decent inside game. If we matched them in the jump shooting percentages, we would win all these games.
You’re correct about interior D not being the problem in this game – check out the advanced box. Denver’s effective field goal percentage was terrible inside, but got progressively higher the further from the hoop you got. I think our boys were so concerned about protecting the interior, that they forgot to challenge midrange jumpers. (Martin, for example, had that shot from the top of the key open all 48 minutes long) They got the Nuggies to shoot from the right spots, but they forgot to challenge those shots. Not good – this has been a pattern all season long, and there’s been enough time to correct it.
Bruce > RJ > Vinc Carte
I think leaving Lips open at the top of the key was a strategic decision – he’s only got a eFG% of 35% from there and historically the Spurs allow long jumpers, as those are the most inefficient shots. However, you are correct that they didn’t challenge the other shooters or even chase the Moonmen off the 3-pt line, which is another defensive ploy missing this year.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Since everyone else has been over the last few months, I was feeling left out. Plus, if I were gameplanning for the Nuggets I would also leave Lips open, based upon my personal observations. Therefore, I had to go find a stat that showed I was right.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Just wanted you to know that I noticed.
And so that you know; there’s a term for someone who does the quick cap and then brings stats into the comments to support a theory about a gameplan …
Consider the gun jumped
5 in 10
The Spurs were trying to crowd the paint today. Being the smart veteran leader he is, Chauncey saw it and picked us apart. I like the whole “no easy buckets” idea, but it would also help to not get beaten repeatedly by the same f5g play every other time down the floor. Make an adjustment, fellas – it can’t be that hard to see what’s going on.
Bruce > RJ > Vinc Carte
Only with the Spurs can Cubits be credited for his amazing D, while Billups was doing whatever he wanted and Afflalo was shooting lights out.
I am sorry but in this game, Cap you overrate your homonym’s D. We got destroyed. Honestly, Devin Brown is as good.
And I don’t change my stance. We need an influx of quality assistants. Like Rivers without Thibodeaux is nothing (at least not a championship contender), I am starting to think that Pop wasn’t the only one in the FO behind the Spurs’ successes. But a lot of them left.
I’m not saying that we didn’t get destroyed on the perimeter. I just don’t think it was George’s doing. Is he at Bowen’s level? No. But he was the only perimeter player that had any consistency on the defensive end. It usually wasn’t Hill getting lost on the perimeter rotations – it was Mason and Manu and Bogans. The Spurs were sagging into the interior all game, using the wings to double team. The weak side wings were slow to rotate all game long. Now, Cubits does need to work on his baseline defense, but overall his improvement is good.
Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way. - Jane Austen
Nuggets Axe Spurs
I’m beginning to wonder what the heck is Pop thinking. He says “Its all about defense.” and then he inserts Bonner into the game along with Finley. Those two should never be on the court together. I’ve been watching TD closely in recent games and it is obvious to me that his legs are starting to give out on him. That means his offensive moves aren’t as quick as they need to be and his defense around the basket is coming up short. He get’s defensive position, but other bigs and even smaller players are taking it over the top on him. Without TD’s stronger legs the Spurs are going to have a tough time even making it into the playoffs. In he past SA has always looked to the rodeo road trip as the time for getting it all together, but I see a different picture. The Spurs will be fortunate to win half of the upcoming road games, even though they will be facing some of the league’s weaker teams. Pop needs to bring in some of the younger players right now or it will be too late for them to fit in. Haislip and Mahinmi have hops and young legs and they need that now. All the experience in the world can’t make up for a lack of athleticism. How about trying Mahinmi, Haislip and Blair together on the frontline just to see how they do? Rebounding certainly won’t be a shortcoming. If we stay with the “over the hill” experienced bench players the Spurs defense will continue to suffer. Of course the youngsters will make a lot of rookie mistakes, but maybe they can learn quick enough to be a big factor come playoff time. Right now, "I’m worried. It’s a case of hope for the best, but expect the worst. Not a fan mode I enjoy.
Has anyone seen the Pop’s press conference? We have to put that up in the front page.
Bone breaking? -340
Dunkin' Cheerleaders
I think he was just faking it to get the press off his back last night. Pop never cares if we don’t make shots. We played well last night, made some mistakes, but some things didn’t go our way, and others went the Nugget’s way. I think Pop was just playing the press. Only one question was asked after his rant, so it worked. Besides, I’ve learned not to take anything that Pop says seriously.
When the tooth fairy's own tooth falls out, it is taken during the night by Princess Peanut.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
FanShots
Quick hits of video, photos, quotes, chats, links and lists that you find around the web.
Recommended FanShots
Recent FanShots
Featured Stories
In Association With
Ball Don't Lie - NBA - Yahoo! Sport
- Video: Boston works in a half-court football snap after winning the tip
- Judging the choices for the Eastern Conference All-Star team reserves
- Judging the choices for the Western Conference All-Star team reserves
- Jeremy Lin draws inspiration from Tim Tebow
- Stephen Jackson is already tired of Milwaukee
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
