San Antonio Spurs 116, Los Angeles Clippers 90: Game Recap

Can we ever face these guys with our team at full strength? by Dark Black
Prior to the game, it was announced that Kawhi Leonard would be sitting this one out with a sore left knee. I believe it's the second game this season that Kawhi has missed because of that knee. While it's definitely a little troubling that our future has a sore knee this early in his career, couldn't this just be an extremely cautious move by Popovich that's only happening because the Spurs now lead the West so comfortably? I'm going to choose to believe my own theory, even if it's based on absolutely nothing.

Blake again with that ugly, horrible post move. by JohnWilSal
In the first quarter, Blake was having success with his funky post up game. It's so awkward and unnatural that it's difficult to watch. It begins with him holding the ball, hoping for a double team. Once it's obvious that a double team is not coming, he then makes a series of moves that have no purpose. By this I mean his fakes do not improve his positioning. He pivots and pump fakes for a bit, eventually giving up on getting open. At this point, he jumps over his defender and shoots a funky shot. Early on, he made these funky shots and it's what kept the Clippers close in the first quarter. The Spurs began the game scorching and if it was not for Blake's funky post moves, it would have gotten ugly much earlier than it did.

Manu looks close to 100% (knock on wood). He's got some speed and good height on his jumps and rebounds. by alamoaggie
When Manu entered the game, the score was tied 15-15. A Manu jumper, layup and 3-pointer later and the Clippers called timeout down 29-17. Obviously, others scored in there but the point is Manu was the game-changer. It's nice having a healthy Manu back, isn't it? It's easy to forget how easy Manu can make these games when he's out for an extended period of time and the Spurs continue to win. You begin to think crazy thoughts like we're just as good without him as we are with him. But then, you watch a five minute span like this and realize, 'Oh yeah, that guy has been a champion on every basketball stage for a reason. Wow.'

End of the 1st qtr: Tony has 10 pts and 4 assists, CP3 has 0 and 1. Enough said. by alamoaggie
Tony played an unbelievably flawless game. I seriously think it may have been the best game he's played for the Spurs. He outclassed Chris Paul from the get-go.

I love how the reporter prepared Pop to get him to be gentle. by LatinD
Rachel Nichols for sideline MVP. by sambunnell
Rachel Nichols began her sideline interview with Pop by telling him that she had never done this before. It was a fantastic move by Rachel and it worked perfectly. Popovich actually answered her questions thoughtfully. Well done, Rachel. You are our sideline MVP.

Jax taking one for the team! by TX2NC
Captain Jack made his return tonight. He's been missing and last time I recapped, I was a little harsh about his absence due to his twitter activity. Well, news of why he's been out was just released and it's extremely sad. I wish the best to Jack and his family.

I, for one, don't like Matt Barnes. by Dark Black
Neither do I! I've hated him throughout his career. He's a dirty player and doesn't get called for it nearly often enough.

Billups, Butler, Barnes, Paul. Are the Clippers really, really hateable or is it just me? by J. Gomez (Edg5)
They are extremely hateable! They are all dirty players. Especially Chris Paul. He often gets overlooked when people talk about the dirtiest players in the league because he's tiny, but make no mistake, he's awful. I blame him for the rest of the Clippers' cheating ways. Blake wasn't a flopper until Chris Paul came along. Paul, Barnes, Butler and Billups, yuck. I was so happy when we swept them last year. I sincerely hope we get a chance to do it again this year.

LOL, Bonner uses that shot from 3ft. by chapnis
You noticed that, too? Bonner did his normal TREY-buchet windup for a three footer. It was ridiculous. I can't believe no one blocked it. It had all three hitches and then was launched three feet. Someone needs to put this on youtube for me.

Speaking of Bonner, he was robbed in the 3-Point contest, wasn't he? Kyrie Irving caught on fire and there was nothing Bonner could do. I don't think I've ever seen a guy stay that hot throughout the competition. It was extremely bad luck that Bonner ran into Kyrie. Bonner should have won it.

And while we're on the All Star Game, I went and have a few things to say about it. First, whenever I venture off to another arena it makes me appreciate the AT&T Center that much more. We are extremely spoiled. We have the best franchise in professional sports and we also have one of the best stadiums in professional sports. I've been to many others and have liked none of them more than our own At&T Center. Well, the new Cowboys Stadium is pretty sweet, but it's so different I don't think it's comparable.

Houston's Toyota Center is awful. It reminded me of an airport that was built pre-9-11 and wasn't designed to accommodate all of the added security. So what you end up having is a lot of temporary walls and rooms being used for something other than they were intended for. Nothing flows correctly in the Toyota Center. It felt closer to a run-down high school than a state of the art arena: white walls, ugly art, kind of an office space feel to it. It'd be a great place to film a horror flick, though. So there's that.

In addition to the extremely bland, poor design, the acoustics were terrible. It was extremely quiet throughout the All Star Game. It was so quiet it was eerie. I felt like if I stood up and yelled, I'd be able to easily converse with the people sitting on the other side of the arena. That's weird, right? And it wasn't due to an awful All Star crowd, the acoustics of the arena prevented the space from getting loud. I think the best way to describe the noise inside the Toyota Center was a constant murmur.

Adding to the Toyota Center's awfulness was its desire to play old-school organ music throughout the game. I understand that it's part of the old NBA mystique, but let me tell you, it's time for that crappy mystique to be retired. Organ music sucks. There's a reason why you have never paid to hear someone play the organ. The noise it produces is annoying and when played in a stadium, is repetitive. In my opinion, the Garden should be the only arena in the NBA allowed to force its fans to listen to the organ music. Every other arena needs to join the current century.

Other than that, I had a marvelous time at the All Star Game. Now, back to the recap.

....Walked? HOW'S THAT A WALK? by LatinD
The Spurs were up 15ish and it looked like they were about to blow this game wide open in the last five minutes before the half. Right on cue, the refs showed up to slow the Spurs down. They called three consecutive travel violations on the Spurs that completely took them out of rhythm. It was unbelievable. The third call robbed Tiago of a beautiful up and under basket. It was definitely not a travel. The first two could be called a travel, but EVERYTHING could be called a travel. Every time Chris Paul drives he carries the ball. What are we doing here? I feel like I'm taking crazy pills! It's understood that the travel and carry are simply part of the NBA playbook. A close travel should never be called.

Should of been a tech or even flagrant 1 for a blow to the head regardless of how much time was or wasn't on the clock. by HtownSteelerFan
The first half ended in such a way that it seemed the Clippers still had a shot, only down 15. The three traveling calls destroyed the Spurs' momentum and Chauncey put an exclamation point on it all by winding up and striking Danny Green across the face as the buzzer sounded. The officials reviewed the call and decided that the egregious Billups' hit occurred just after time expired, and therefore the foul never occurred. That's insane, right? So we should end every half with Baynes in the game? At the buzzer, he can just punch the nearest guy and it'd be like it never happened? Is that what we're saying?

Danny's doing a good job on defense, filling in for Kawhi nicely. by alamoaggie
Danny "Big" Green played excellent defense and contributed 15 points, 7 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks in 28 minutes. Overall, the Spurs played an outstanding game. It'd be difficult to criticize anyone's performance.

Tim Duncan showing Blake Griffin what a power forward must be. by JohnWilSal
I think I'm getting old. I watch these young players like Blake Griffin and Dwight Howard and think, back in the day, these guys would have entered the NBA with some post moves. Today, these guys just rely on their athleticism. Years after their rookie season, they still do not have a developed offensive game. As a rookie, Tim had an incredible arsenal of low post moves. And, by the way, he was extremely athletic back then, too. If he had chosen to, he could have also relied on pure athleticism for a paycheck. But he didn't and because of his hard-work he is now regarded as the greatest power forward of all time. I guess today's players just don't have the same desire. This is Lebron's tenth season and he's just now taken the time to learn post moves. Damn youngsters don't care about the game.

So, if you count the foul that didn't count at the end of the 1st half and the 3 they took away on a blatant flop, that's 6 points lost to the refs, and yet we still lead by 24. Enough said. by alamoaggie
The game got away from the Clippers quickly in the second half. The Spurs began the third quarter with purpose and the Clippers were no match. With 5:30 remaining in the third, the Spurs led 73-49 and the game was effectively over.

Parker for 30 points again? 1 to go. That'll be like 5 games out of 6 if I'm counting right, with one 29-point one in there. by Just_Another_Spurs_Fanatic
Tony Parker was so good that everyone on the TNT broadcast proclaimed that he should be the league MVP. Even I think that's insane, but I do think he was that good tonight. Tony had 31 points, 7 assists and 0 turnovers in 28 minutes for a +/- of +31. Chris Paul, who before this game was the consensus best point guard in the game, had 4 points, 3 assists and 3 turnovers in 27 minutes. That is what you would call domination. It was the best I have ever seen Tony play. This is not an exaggeration.

I miss Jacque Vaughn. by sambunnell
I know you've been sitting on the edge of your seat wondering which comment out of the 2,310 available would win my "LOL of the Night" award. Well, it goes to SamBunnell for saying, 'I miss Jacque Vaughn.'

Jacque was the first Spurs player I ever hated. His lack of a discernible skill always kept me skeptical of his presence on the team. His tendency to air-ball layups drew my attention. What really cemented my hatred was his go-to move of dribbling into the paint, circling around and coming back out to the three point line with the ball. What was that? It still makes me upset. Imagine him doing that on this Spurs team. Jack would walk over and punch him in the face, right? He seriously would dribble under the basket and back out, thereby wasting a good 10 seconds of the shot clock. It always resulted in a rushed, low percentage shot because by the time the offense regrouped, the shot clock was nearly expired. So thank you, SamBunnell, you earned my "LOL of the Night!"

Oh my god Baynes! Please give this guy playing time. by SpursBenchOverStarters
Per 36 minutes, tonight Baynes had 27 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks. Unfortunately, he only played 8 minutes so his numbers were 6 points, 3 rebounds and 1 block. Yeah, but still. I really do want to see what Baynes could do with a consistent 10 minutes per game. He's a strong guy so at the very least he could knock the hell out of guys like Barnes. That'd be worth it.

Never trailed. Biggest lead was 34 points. and we win by 26! hahahahahahahaha CP3 is a joke! TP9! FTW!!!!! by BayAreaSpur
Or, as Kings fans would say, FTM. How much do the Maloofs suck, btw? I guess we should be grateful that they didn't give Thomas Robinson to a contender, but still. This trade was ridiculous. I can't even figure out the logic behind it. Either the Maloofs sell the team to Seattle or they keep the team in Sacramento, right? If they're selling to Seattle, this trade can't make the new owners happy. So, they're keeping this team in Sacramento and are just trying to save money? But this trade hurts the King's long term success. How does this trade make sense if they are keeping the team? I don't get why this happened. So, FTM, if for no other reason that the whole thing is illogical.

Oh yeah, we never trailed and blew the Clippers out. The Clippers were streaking, too. They had won four in a row and all the buzz before the game was about how they were finally healthy. Did you know that they are 6-1 this year when Chauncey Billups plays? Well, make that 6-2. Grant Hill adds experience and irreplaceable leadership to this team, by the way. Speaking of leaders, the best the NBA has to offer is CP3. That's without a doubt. They're really deep and before this game, they seemed to be the consensus sexy pick to give the Thunder trouble in the Western Conference Finals. Well, let's throw some numbers at them. #1 in the NBA. 44-12 record. 22-2 at home. 6-1 RRT. 116-90, without our best defender. What a win. JUMBACO!