Spurs 109, Nuggets 98 - Nov 18, '15

The Manu-less Spurs cruised to a fairly easy victory, leading by double digits most of the way but failing to really put the Nuggets away as the margin stayed about the same for most of the game.  Some observations:

• The Spurs shot really well from deep, going 9/18, but I'd still like to see a bit higher volume.  A mediocre shooting night on that few attempts could have spelled doom.
• Both teams took care of the ball very well, with just 16 combined turnovers.  The Nuggets were a little better, but neither team threw the ball away enough to matter too much.
• The Spurs played great defense, tallying 13 blocks as they prevented easy looks and held the Nuggets to under 40% from two.
• The Spurs gave up a lot of offensive rebounds, allowing 17 offensive boards and 17 second chance points, enough to keep the Nuggets in the game.
• The Spurs did a bad job of keeping the Nuggets off the glass, but not quite as bad as the 17 to 10 OReb margin might suggest.  The Nuggets missed so many shots that they would be expected to nab more offensive rebounds than the Spurs.  This is what we mean by "Expected Offensive Rebounds" - the number of offensive rebounds that an average rebounding team would typically get, given the number of missed shots.
• By that measure, the Spurs were actually just -3.5 in expected offensive boards.  The problem was that the ORebs the Spurs did give up led to lots of points.  The Nuggets turned 17 offensive boards into 17 points, while the Spurs turned 10 into just 6.
• Tony Parker looked three years younger as he sliced and diced Denver's defense en route to 25 points and 9 assists.  The Spurs are a much better team with an effective Parker, and though we shouldn't expect this kind of performance from Tony on a nightly basis, it's great to know that we'll still get nights like this from time to time.  Stay healthy, TP.
• Kawhi Leonard finished with a ho hum 20 points 8 boards, 3 assists and 3 stocks.  Just another day at the office for Kawhi.
• Tim Duncan had the most ridiculous stat line of the night, with 12 points, 11 boards, 6 assists, 6 blocks and a steal.  Duncan doesn't just do a little bit of everything to help his team win, he does a TON of everything day in, day out.  What more can be said about the ageless one?
• Patty Mills had an explosive night.  The Spurs are a very dangerous team when Patty gets going.  With Marco's departure, it's key for Patty to have nights like this more often since the Spurs are down one prolific gunner.  Fortunately, Patty finally looks to be fully recovered from his shoulder surgery, and for now he, Manu and an improved Diaw are picking up the slack from deep.  Now if only Danny Green could show us a nice "Hot" game...
• The Spurs win streak improves to six, and they continue to look better and better.  The first squad's spacing was improved and the Spurs were able to score at will even without Manu.  Go Spurs Go!

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Spurs Index: 105.9 (def.)

Nuggets Spurs Index: 92.5 Show Breakdown

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