Spurs Edge Cavs with Kawhi's Three, 96-95

Your Game Thread Comments are in bold, and my comments follow them.

Big 3 will play tonight! by grego21
Yes, the news early on was that the Big Three would return to play the Cavs before the All Star break. While it's clearly a welcomed return; why now? Why not after the break? I do not know if there are rules that would have been broken if they hadn't played, but I assume Parker and Duncan needed to make a presence in this game so that it didn't seem like the Spurs were discounting a regular season game. I think Manu was allowed to play just because Popovich finally grew tied of him complaining every waking hour. So, we have the Big Three. That means we should win in a blowout, right? The B-Team just beat the Bulls in Chicago. Logic would dictate that the A-Team should destroy the Cavs. Well, it didn't quite happen that way.

Blair dunks again. just do that.. nothing else. by play_splitter
DeJuan Blair was given 18 minutes of action and did everything he could to please his number one fan, TheGhostOfJH. He scored 12 points on 6 of 7 shooting and snared 5 rebounds.

That bald guy is making Blair look like an average NBA player. by kenshinsama
This comment made me guffaw, but the Ghost would not be pleased. For your information, Kenshinsama, if that's your real name, DeJuan played a very good game tonight. Now, I'm not arguing that DeJuan played well, I'm simply stating that DeJuan played better than our other options, Diaw and Bonner. If you take a second to look at DeJuan's stats, you will see that he has an incredible win percentage when starting for the Spurs; so this should come as no surprise. Now, I'm not saying DeJuan is responsible for the great winning percentage, I'm just stating he was present and there may be something there. When Blair starts and the Spurs are playing an above .500 team in the last 4 seasons, the team has won 74% of their games, (if you want to disagree, I invite you to spend the next 30 minutes stat checking me. Actually, I'm counting on you not to.) This year, DeJuan has not started and the Spurs are DEAD last in Offensive Rebounding Rate. In the ENTIRE league. No team has ever won the championship while being dead last in ORR. DeJuan is CLEARLY our best rebounder and it would behoove us to play him more. Now, I'm not saying this is the only factor in determining a champion, but I am saying that DeJuan may or may not help us in this statistical category without hurting other statistical categories. So there, Kenshinsama. If you would like to argue, I suggest you take the next 48 hours preparing your rebuttal. Oh, you don't have the time? Well, I believe that means I win. BAZINGA! (BTW Ghost, you should end most of your comments with, ‘Bazinga.')

HOLY CRAP, LUKE WALTON IS STILL ALIVE! by spursfan87
Yes, and he's making $6 million dollars and no one is talking about it! Why isn't this a running Bill Simmons joke? "Luke Walton's expiring contract" came into existence as soon as Luke Walton signed a contract. In other words, he was never eligible for a legitimate trade. As soon as he inked, no team in the NBA wanted him. Luke Walton was an early symptom of the Lakers' current disease. It's called herpes and Kobe still blames Colorado for it. By the way, don't mention Colorado to him on Twitter. If you do, he'll reprimand you and ESPN will write multiple articles glorifying his learning process.

They're just giving the ball to whoever Blair is defending! by spursfan87
You should have said, "They're giving Blair the Bonner treatment!"

Neal on defense is almost as bad as Neal at point. by hurts2bgood
BAZINGA! (See Ghost, it works!) Neal should never be asked to play defense or to play point guard. We have Nando. We have to play Nando. At his worst, he's better at the point guard position than Gary Neal. Gary can't handle the ball, he can't handle defensive pressure and he doesn't make good decisions. Yes, these are all valid reasons to play Nando. However, the best reason to play Nando at the point is that GARY IS GREAT A SHOOTING GUARD! Just hide Gary on the defensive end and find him on the offensive end, like you would do with any other great shooting guard. Make this happen.

We seem so meh right now.. by play_splitter
Meh, you are so right. We're rusty and don't care. It's a bad combination. We're rusty because Tim and Manu haven't played in a month. We don't care because this building is half empty and the All Star parties begin as soon as this game ends. The Spurs shot 45% from the field and 26% from distance. The entire game felt very meh-like.

IcyHot is Icy by spursfan87
Yep, and it couldn't have happened at a better time. Danny "Big" Green has been more hot than icy recently. However, against the Cavs, he was extremely icy making only 1 of his 8 shots and missing all 5 of his threes. This is perfect. The Spurs do not play again till Tuesday. He'll be hot again by then. I'm telling you, it's perfect.

What about Tim? How great is that guy? by Spurs2150
What a great comment! Tim looked rusty, yet fine coming back from his injuries. He didn't seem to limp and wasn't hesitant at all. Tim's 13 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 blocks allowed the Spurs to win this game. Whenever Tim was not in the game, the Spurs were abused on the boards. As soon as Pop inserted Tim back in, the Spurs grabbed boards.

Danny can't run a fast break to save his life. by nicolaspursfan88
It hurts to admit this, but you're correct. Danny "Big" Green can't run a fast break. At this point, I feel more comfortable with Tim going coast to coast than Danny. That's just sad.

I'm scared Danny's icy is gonna screw us in the playoffs again. by play_splitter
It's going to take a lot more than Danny to screw us in the playoffs. This team is built to stop their opponents' runs while making runs of their own. This team is also built to not depend on a single person for success. It will take a monumental effort to beat this team. As it did last year, a team will need luck, near perfect play and the officials to topple the Spurs. I really don't see the Spurs losing in the West, and I love our odds against the Heat.

Didn't think there was any way Nails (Gary Neal) was gonna miss that last one. Oh well...by HtownSteelerFan
Gary scored 15 points on 12 shots. It wasn't a great performance but he hit some big ones throughout the game, especially in the fourth that helped the Spurs stay in the game. Here's all you need to know. Forget your advanced metrics. His shooting form makes me feel the exact opposite of how I feel when Danny leads a break. That's all you need to know.

Uh oh, Bonner's shirt is coming off. by play_splitter
At the last moment, Bonner and Kawhi were told to switch positions. Instead of Bonner being in that corner and Kawhi throwing the ball in, Kawhi was in the corner and Bonner threw the ball in. This coaching move was the true play of the game. Tony received the ball from Bonner down by 1 with 9 seconds remaining. He saw the opening and took it before Tim was ready to set the screen at the top of the key. Tony drove into the paint, and at the free throw line, realized the defense was going to collapse. Tony drove under the basket so that he could create the correct passing angle for Kawhi in the corner, (this could have been Bonner).

SADas;ghagrljeaAEL'R;GJAERG'EJKAEDSRG'EAHD by Trey Felder
Exactly! Kawhi hit the three-pointer to put the Spurs up by one. If, (when), the Spurs win the championship, the Bulls game will be featured in the championship DVD that only me and you will purchase. It was the game that gave the Spurs' bench the ultimate confidence.

"That's why they played so fiercely against the Heat and consistently beat their second unit throughout the Finals. Against the Bulls, Tony, Tim and Manu were hurt and Kawhi was given the opportunity to find himself. The very next game against the Cavaliers, the Big Three returned and watched Kawhi make the game-winning three. That's when it all began."

Nice D by Parker. Great win by the Spurs! by anirontag
Fantastic defense by Parker. He was the aggressor. I don't think he appreciates Kyrie Irving being an All Star. Tony took it to him the entire game and put him in his place. Tony was easily the MVP of the game with 24 points and 7 assists while holding Kyrie to 2 of 15 shooting for 6 points.