San Antonio Spurs 98, Miami Heat 120: The Learning Curve
by Fred Silva on Jan 18, 2012 12:00 AM CST
in Game Recaps
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This loss to the Heat told a valuable story. Well, it told two stories: one in the first half, and its opposite in the second. During this stretch of LWM we will have to learn to accept these kinds of games, because they are very necessary.
And there will be more of them.
The good news is that this is all a learning process. While learning, we will pass some tests and we will fail some tests. The important thing is that the team uses these games as building blocks for our playoff future.
After such a defeat, I know it's difficult to see this game in anything but a negative light. But we must, as must the Spurs since they are counting on the highest level of play from several inexperienced players. Players who are not yet ready. The young are front-runners because they don't know any better. They have no sense of context and in their desire to win, a lot of other things get lost. Kids know that they like winning because winning is fun, and so they'll do anything they can to win, even things outside the rules. They don't understand that losing is necessary and teaches costly lessons.
It's a difficult change for Spurs fans, as we have become accustomed to veteran-laden squads that featured players such as Avery Johnson, Sean Elliott, Mario Elie, Robert Horry and David Robinson. But this isn't San Antonio's reality anymore. Instead we have young, exciting players with potential, but ones that will shake when an opposing crowd roars. These players will get better with every game that they play. These games against the best teams on the road will accelerate their development, as painful as it may be to watch.
Road games will continue to be rough on the Spurs. Tim and Tony can only handle so many minutes. The void will be filled by Kawhi, Danny, Cory, and Tiago. Inexperience is most visible on the road, as those who suffered through the third quarter in Miami just witnessed. At home, the Spurs have looked like unbeatable championship contenters. On the road they've looked, to put it politely, extremely mortal. It's simply a symptom of a young, but good team.
As a promising young team tends to do, the Spurs came out looking sharp and confident. Our veterans lead the way in the first half. Tony and DeJuan played extremely well from the opening tipoff. Tim, as always, was the cornerstone of the Spurs' offense and defense. Kawhi played excellent defense on Lebron and showed an all-around impressive offensive game. He really is starting to get comfortable out there as he finds the areas where he's most comfortable and productive. Danny Green felt the momentum and cashed in with two buzzer beating threes, the second of which was definitely Sports Center worthy. Cory Joseph filled in nicely for Tony, keeping the Spurs from missing a beat while Parker rested. Unfortunately, the first half came to an end.
In the second half, we witnessed a collapse. You may be thinking: every team would lose to that Lebron performance. While I don't disagree, I do want to point out that the Spurs were caught watching the show. Our veteran teams of old would have thrown a counter-punch. This team looked disoriented and shocked. Pop refused to put his veterans back into the game, and the Heat's lead grew out of control.
This kind of defeat yields dividends. No one plowed through the NBA their first time out. All the greats had to lose before they could win. The other night, I heard Kenny Smith talk about this very thing. He spoke of the Houston Rockets having to lose to the Seattle Supersonics in the ‘93 playoffs so that they could understand what intense competition was all about. The following year they won it all.
I actually hope we have more of these games. Our young players need to feel the pressure on the road. They have to learn how to keep their composure and overcome. They must understand what it means to not take a possession off. They can't allow themselves to get rattled, to hear the crowd and let it take them out of their comfort zone. If these losses do not happen during the regular season, I promise you they will lead to our demise in the playoffs.
Tomorrow night, the Spurs will again be given a test. Although only one day will have passed, expect the Spurs to have aged greatly with respect to their wisdom. Popovich will no doubt preach composure and intelligence for the next twenty-four hours. Expect it to begin to sink in; begin being the key word there.
We are only fourteen games into this young season with fifty-two remaining. The Spurs should be proud of their undefeated home record while they focus on improving. The schedule will give this team plenty of opportunities in the near future, six of the next eight are on the road, and then there's the Rodeo Road Trip looming.
One foot in front of the other, Spurs fans. Walk before you run. Lose before you can win. We'll keep pounding that rock and soon, Life Without Manu will be over and our youth will have gained the experience necessary to win it all. This is simply a learning curve; we'll accelerate through this burtal season and eventually plateau into a seasoned, playoff-ready team.
Your Three Stars
3.) DeJuan Blair 13 points on 6 of 10 shooting, 6 rebounds, and 1 steal.
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I loved Green’s shooting, but everytime he dribbled the ball he had issues as a driver and dribbler. Hopefully he learns from those mistakes, but that was frustrating.
Blair was a tail of 2 halves.. Solid in the first but gone in the second just like Parker and the rest of the team.
Oh man this game pissed me off. Miami just caught so much fire.
Winter is coming
Our lack of another ball handler behind Tony really showed up last night. Way too many sloppy turnovers by Green, Neal and Joseph. Yes, the refs sucked, but you can’t control that. You can control turnovers and bad passes (the big guys had a lot of those too).
Nice use of burtal there, that alone deserves a rec. I hate it that Mike Miller, who hasn’t played for awhile, comes in and suddenly shoots 6-6 in threes. How lucky can you get?
Anyway, I like the positive spin and completely agree. You can’t be successful with the youth movement without experiencing these kinds of growing pains.
by silverandblack_davis on Jan 18, 2012 1:23 AM CST reply actions
I watched the late night replay, 1st half only. Shame that the Spurs weren’t up 14+ after the 1Q, which they would’ve been with any amount of competent officiating. Even worse, the refs did the pathetic thing of later calling a bunch of non-shooting fouls on Miami to balance out their first quarter of one-sided whistles.
It’s a compacted, weird season and therefore nothing in this regular season should be taken too seriously. Especially before March. But I’m not liking the mental toughness of the squad which makes it hard to really like this team. Fortunately, most of the guys are younger which means it can and should (with Pop leading them) get better.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
We dat team that beat them Saints!
I agree with the competent officiating, but that seems to be the norm in the NBA. With that said Spurs still had a 14 point lead at the end of the 1st half with the incredible half-court 3-pointer by Danny Green. It was an impressive 1st half and fun to watch. I would rather forget the 2nd half. On to the next one.
nice positive spin Fred -
here’s my take – and it’s also a response to NBA.com and BSPN
the tale of two halves was created, directly, by the officiating in the first half. Yes, the Spurs were hitting a lot of their shots but they were also playing defense. Meanwhile the Heat could not hit anything and their defense looked porous. It’s not as if Eric S. went back there during half-time and gave some pep talk that made them come out and swing a 30 point differential.
And it wasn’t Lebron James by himself that led the 30 point swing either. This game was decided in the first half when the refs decided to call ticky-tack or even phantom calls on our bigs. Tim Duncan picked up 2 fouls with less than 6 minutes into the game! Tim Duncan is tied for 1st as the least fouling Center in the entire league! and he picks up two fouls in 6 minutes of the game starting?
Pop then subs in Tiago for Tim because of the foul trouble. So the backup center, who has to replace the starting center because of foul trouble, then picks up, and I am not kidding here, 3 FOULS IN 1 MINUTE. Tiago averages 2.5 fouls a GAME. It’s not like he is DeMarcus Cousins or something (4.6)
So the calls were lopsided and put our defensive bigs in trouble in the first 7 minutes of the game. That is when this game was decided. You can’t play aggressive defense when your bigs are in foul trouble in the first 7 minutes. This was a garbage game and it was nothing less.
Pop knew, Tim knew and I imagine most of the fans figured it out. It was the type of game that makes fan sick.
Oh, and about that box score that shows Miami having 19 fouls total and SA having 18 – yeah, look a little closer and you’ll notice that 12 of those fouls for Miami were players who played less than 20 minutes. and 8 of those 12 came from garbage time.
By the first quarter, Miami had shot 14 free throws and SAS shot 0. SAS committed 9 fouls and Miami 1.
I said this game was decided in the first half, I was wrong. This game was decided by the first quarter and it wasn’t the players or coaches who decided this game.
sick
"got him at 42……Chad Ford can’t keep up with RC ‘Bargin Basement’ Buford."
Spurs Yoda on Draft Night 2011
by Joe deLarios on Jan 18, 2012 5:11 AM CST reply actions 4 recs
I was planning on doing a live FARS but it fell apart with the game. The officials were the main attention getters in the first half, even though we were up by double digits.
It’s more the inconsistency that kills me. You can’t call 5 touch fouls on our bigs and then let the Heat hit us in the back every time we have a layup. The Heat bigs would put their entire weight on our guys when they were attempting to post up and it was never called.
Once Tim got in foul trouble, our stellar defense became mediocre because he could not challenge any shots. After the three quick ones on Tiago, Pop was forced to play Blair with Bonner. At that point, the Heat began to take the momentum from us. This was in the first half. Our offense was still flowing at that point, so we kept a lead, but the Heat were allowed to gain confidence. In the third quarter, all it took was a bad start and Miami used their built up momentum from the first half to blow by our Spurs.
So, yes. I could have written 5,000 words on the officials, but I didn’t want to go that route since it’s out of our control. But yes, you could make the argument that the officials are more to blame for the collapse than anyone on the floor last night.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
I wanted to throw up at one point but could be bothered getting up.
This must be the worst officiating i have seen in years, lopsided but more then anything – shameless. It felt as the refs were showing off their affection to the Heat.
This kind of officiating is so annoying that i just don’t want to see another game for a few days. When you’re a fan of a team that is blown out by refs, you are not having fun, this is NOT entertaining! And to think i had to stay awake until 5am to watch it. bleh.
Exactly. We have been blown out before this season – Hou, OKC but those teams beat us, not the refs. This game in Miami was the same case and it made me sick. I really want to avoid basketball for a couple of days because of this game.
"got him at 42……Chad Ford can’t keep up with RC ‘Bargin Basement’ Buford."
Spurs Yoda on Draft Night 2011
by Joe deLarios on Jan 18, 2012 9:35 AM CST up reply actions
Knowing how NBA refs are, and that quality of play in general would suffer in such a tightly compacted schedule, I chose not to buy League Pass this year. Games like this remind me why it was a good choice.
You gotta bring ass to get ass.
We dat team that beat them Saints!
It was still an entertaining game. The quality of play was, for stretches, sub-par and filled with misses, but it was still compelling. And then there was the overtime.
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
Agree that the two games felt like one but,,the overtime came against Orlando.
by indiancharlie on Jan 19, 2012 7:03 PM CST up reply actions
You actually believe that Florida has TWO teams in the NBA?
C’mon!
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
The amount of TQC’s we have makes me wonder how much of a motivator Pop really is. Maybe we can get Richard Simmons in for halftime talks.
"Are you gunna bite all day little doggie, or are you gunna bite?"
Pop pulls a Phil Jackson. Every other coach in the NBA would have called a time out early but Pop didn’t this time…he let em play through. Phil used do this all the time and maybe this is why his teams won so many championships. As a fan..I wanted Pop to stop the bleeding. But Pop felt that in going through we will be better on the other side.OK now I’m on the other side. Do I feel any better..No..but I’m working on it and that’s what Pop wanted.
Miami and San Antonio
The home team shot a blistering 56% from the field, an obscene 60% percent from three point land and hit 17 total three pointers. Final score, 125 to 95. Too much would be made of the game, and the losers would go on to shred the league, culminating in a finals appearance.
No this isn’t a portend of what awaits the Spurs (though it hopefully ends up being so), this isn’t even a description of last night’s game.
Enter March 24th, 2011, the AT&T Center. The Spurs would have one of those hot shooting games to completely bury the Heat, one of those games where defense just doesn’t matter. The infamous "Game over" contest. We all know how that season played out, so let’s just not make too much of last night’s game and move on.
A man gets the eye of a Tiger, but a Tiger gets the eye of a Manu.
I am guessing you mean March 4th. When the Spurs obliterated the heat. Ten days later the Heat returned the favor. It is almost like we saw a replay of those two games within the span of two halves.
"If an expert says it can't be done, get another expert"
- DBG
This is precisely what I said to Fred after the game.
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
I like the positive spin you put on this game. I agree that this game is a learning experience for the young guys. I do not agree with you on Pop should have put in Tim and Parker. I think if there is a fault that Pop has it is he doesn’t trust his bench enough and leans to much on his big three. Sometimes I feel like he leaves Tim and Manu out on the court too long and they end up running out of gas too soon.
by spurlover on Jan 18, 2012 9:19 AM CST via mobile reply actions
I didn’t get to see this game…lucky me. I couldn’t agree more with your perspective though. From some of the other comments I guess the officiating was like it always seems to be, but that is just something teams (especially our team) will have to overcome. Losing builds character (hopefully) and character is how you overcome bad shooting, bad officiating and good teams.
it was especially bad
"got him at 42……Chad Ford can’t keep up with RC ‘Bargin Basement’ Buford."
Spurs Yoda on Draft Night 2011
by Joe deLarios on Jan 18, 2012 9:36 AM CST up reply actions
Good write up Fred. As always, you nailed it.
At this point, I’m less concerned about Offense than Defense. Offense should get better(than what it is now, atleast easier) once LWM ends. As far as defense goes, it hurts to see that our players get lost on rotations or the weak side is help is late or non-existent. I know all these are direct implications of very little practice and foul trouble. But it is unlike the Spurs teams of old. Well, growing pains….I’ll learn to live with it.
Keep the faith!!
The Spurs looked like a young team that is rebuilding last night, because they are. These are the kinds of losses that young up-and-coming players need to experience. The Spurs of yore, the ones with veteran bench players and no long term prospects, would have not let this happen, but we are not that team anymore. As every Spurs fan has been trying to tell basketball pundits, this is a young team, except for the Big Three, RJ and Bonner. That, plus the awful officiating and Lebron and Mike Miller catching fire equals a blow out loss. No biggie. On to the next one.
"Deep down we all know that swagger comes hand in hand with insecurity. We strut not to convince competitors of our dominance; we strut to convince ourselves."
Matthew Powell
The biggest problem is the team is so uneven due to the injuries, that each and every game is just odd, especially on the road. .
Winter is coming
Add to that the craziness of the schedule and you’ve got one nasty cocktail.
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
It’s the type that gives cocktails a bad name.
Will argue against trading #45 until I am blue in the face and your eyes and ears are bleeding.
by SpursfanSteve on Jan 18, 2012 3:48 PM CST up reply actions
Not as bad a name as blue skin gives them.
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
Yep. Although in some ways, it gives the Spurs a chance to win any game, since the other team might be on their 6th game in 8th night (like the Mavs). I’m just not sure how it all balances out since there are so many factors at play.
Winter is coming
It’s a coin flip. If the plans goes as follows… good, if it doesn’t…. bad
Now the bad is more likely because it is dependent on young players learning, but to win, the Spurs need more weapons, so it is almost needed for guys in the young group to step up.
Winter is coming
I meant that the way the schedule works out this year may not actually “balance out.”
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
Talking to my wife before the game and I suggested that the Spurs might see how well Tiago does in the low post against Miami’s centers, and that Pop would likely love to see how well Kawhi might do guarding LeBron regardless of the outcome. Tiago took only one shot (which he made) that counted, and was called for an offensive foul on what looked like a good move on what would have been another basket. Seemed he could’ve been given an “and one”, instead how the bucket taken away and had to go to the bench due to foul trouble. The refs definitely seemed to be calling a home game throughout the first half to even keep Miami in the game. I would have expected with the lead the Spurs had that they might have worked the low post game more to use up clock, but our low post players were pretty much in foul trouble the whole time.
Actually, the offensive foul on Tiago was one of the few I didn’t have a problem with. He used his elbow as a hook on his defender, which the NBA started cracking down on a year or two ago.
Will argue against trading #45 until I am blue in the face and your eyes and ears are bleeding.
by SpursfanSteve on Jan 18, 2012 3:49 PM CST up reply actions
Been too long since I saw it, but it seemed his own arm was mere inches from his body with the defender pressed in on him. Unless he is required to keep his elbow pressed against his ribs, it would seem difficult for him to make any sort of a move at all if that is a foul. You might be right, it just looked to me like his elbow was not being thrown out there but that his arm formed an L at the elbow while kept in close to his own body and the defensive player pressing in on it.
Let them Play
Pop has always been so farsighted when it comes to early games in the year and how he approaches them. The NBA is about match-ups and experience and getting your own team to play a certain style of basketball that highlights their talents to the greatest degree. With so many young players on the team now, these early season games are the best teaching tools Pop has to show them what needs to be done to succeed. And sometimes that happens by letting them learn the hard way.
As long as the young guys are playing and learning, any game like this just has to be swallowed by the fans without too much bitterness. Hopefully when the Spurs get to game 50-60 the team will be much more in tune with what Pop wants them to do.
Good points, douglas. And welcome to PtR.
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
Before this one leaves the front page, thanks for all the nice words. Good times.
"GINOBILI!" -- Sir Charles
VERY good! =]
No one on the planet plays lockdown D like Matty B.. - Matthew Tynan
Pounding the Rock
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