Pounding The Rock - Full Coverage: San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder
For all your Manu Ginobili loving and San Antonio Spurs news
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2014-12-26T12:31:53-06:00
http://www.poundingtherock.com/rss/stream/4997935
2014-12-26T12:31:53-06:00
2014-12-26T12:31:53-06:00
Study Hall: Spurs can't stop Thunder
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<img alt="Russell Westbrook could not be stopped on Christmas day" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/XgQ7eqe5IibTv00AZ_pjA5ilCJM=/0x0:3359x2239/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44405710/usa-today-8291721.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Russell Westbrook could not be stopped on Christmas day | Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Spurs moved the ball well but shot poorly from deep and gave up way too many second chance opportunities to stop a Westbrook-led Thunder team that overcame atrocious FT shooting with extra looks and white-hot 3pt shooting. </p> <h2>
<a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> vs. <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Thunder</a> Dec 25, '14</h2>
<h2>Spurs 106, Thunder 114</h2>
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<p><section class="gameFlow"></section></p>
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<p>What a frustrating Christmas day showing. With Kawhi Leonard out, the only player on the court who could stop <span>Russell Westbrook</span> was Russell Westbrook. Get better quick, Whi!</p>
<h2>Four Factors <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/factors.html" style="font-size: 0.6em; font-weight:normal;" title='The "Four Factors" are a measure of how teams win games, as identified by Dean Oliver. Click here to read more.'>(def.)</a>
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<p><section class="stats">
<table border="1" class="sbn-data-table" id="fourFactors">
<tbody>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Spurs</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Shooting (eFG%)</td>
<td align="right">56%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>57%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Ball Handling (TO%)</td>
<td align="right">18%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>15%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Off Rebounding (OR%)</td>
<td align="right">24%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>36%</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Shooting FTs (FT Rate)</td>
<td align="right">26%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>47%</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</section></p>
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<p>The Spurs got a decent effort in eFG and TO%, but the Thunder just bested them in both categories. The Spurs got absolutely crushed in the other categories. Looking at the four factors, you'd assume this game was even uglier than it was.</p>
<h2>Team Stats <i style="font-size: 0.7em; font-weight:normal;">(Definitions at bottom of post)</i>
</h2>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><section class="stats">
<table class="sbn-data-table" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;" width="70"><b>Spurs<br></b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;" width="70"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Pace (No. of Possessions)</td>
<td align="center" colspan="2">96.5</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Points Per Possession (PPP)</td>
<td align="right">1.10</td>
<td align="right">1.18</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Points Per Shot (PPS)</td>
<td align="right">1.31</td>
<td align="right">1.41</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>2-PT FG%</td>
<td title="35/58" align="right">60.3%</td>
<td title="33/66" align="right">50.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>3-PT FG%</td>
<td title="7/23" align="right">30.4%</td>
<td title="9/15" align="right">60.0%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>FT%</td>
<td title="15/21" align="right">71.4%</td>
<td title="21/38" align="right">55.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td><a href="http://www.ehow.com/how_2092829_calculate-true-shooting-percentage-basketball.html" target="_blank">True Shooting %</a></td>
<td align="right">58.7%</td>
<td align="right">58.3%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td colspan="3"></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;" width="70"><b>Spurs<br></b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;" width="70"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td title="Points per 100 possessions">Offensive Rating</td>
<td align="right">109.0</td>
<td align="right">119.1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td title="Points allowed per 100 possessions">Defensive Rating</td>
<td align="right">119.1</td>
<td align="right">109.0</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Net Rating</td>
<td align="right">-10.1</td>
<td align="right">10.1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td></td>
<td align="right"></td>
<td align="right"></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Spurs</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Passes / poss.</td>
<td align="right">3.8</td>
<td align="right">2.4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td title="What percentage of a team's field goal attempts are uncontested: contested FGA / total FGA">% of FGA uncontested</td>
<td align="right">39.5%</td>
<td align="right">35.8%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Points in the paint</td>
<td align="right">54</td>
<td align="right">44</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Second chance points</td>
<td align="right">12</td>
<td align="right">13</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Fast break points</td>
<td align="right">12</td>
<td align="right">18</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td></td>
<td align="right"></td>
<td align="right"></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Spurs</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Assists</td>
<td align="right">33</td>
<td align="right">25</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Steals</td>
<td align="right">8</td>
<td align="right">9</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Turnovers</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
<td align="right">14</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>
<u>B</u>all <u>C</u>ontrol <u>I</u>ndex (BCI)<br><i>(Assists + Steals) / TO</i>
</td>
<td align="right">2.56</td>
<td align="right">2.43</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td></td>
<td align="right"></td>
<td align="right"></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Spurs</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Thunder</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td title="How many offensive rebounds an average rebounding team could expect to grab, based off the number of opportunities in a game">Expected Offensive Rebounds</td>
<td align="right">10.3</td>
<td align="right">11.0</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Offensive Rebounds</td>
<td align="right">10</td>
<td align="right">16</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Difference</td>
<td align="right">-0.3</td>
<td align="right"><strong>5.0</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</section></p>
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<link rel="stylesheet" href="http://cdn3.sbnation.com/assets/3608425/mustreads.css">
<p>The Spurs did some things well. They dished out 33 assists en route to 60% 2pt FG% and just bested the Thunder with a solid 2.56 BCI. As <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/12/25/7449673/spurs-get-demolished-by-westbrook-thunder">Michael was quick to point out</a>, the Thunder absolutely crushed the Spurs on the offensive boards, grabbing <b>5</b> more offensive rebounds than they should have. Oddly enough, that didn't translate into a huge 2nd chance points differential, but the extra possessions between the offensive boards and a modest +2 TO differential meant the Thunder had 7 extra possessions, which added up.</p>
<p>OKC inexplicable shot better from deep than they did from the charity stripe. The Thunder doubled the Spurs' 3pt%, hitting 2 more 3s in 7 fewer attempts. That's painful. It was enough to overcome some comically atrocious FT shooting by the Thunder, who missed <b>17</b> FTs to let the good guys stick around much longer than they ought to have.<br><br><i>Side note: I've started adding Passes/possession, mostly to see how the Spurs compare to other teams in that mark. It's a pretty clear indicator of just how different the Spurs' style of play is. The Spurs passed the ball 58% more often yesterday than OKC. But I guess when your best player is the one dribbling down the floor, why bother passing, right?</i></p>
<h2>Players <i style="font-size: 0.7em; font-weight:normal;">(Definitions at bottom of post)</i>
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<p><section class="stats">
<table role="grid" class="sbn-data-table tablesorter tablesorter-default" border="1" id="players1">
<thead>
<tr role="row" class="ui-state-even tablesorter-headerRow">
<td aria-label="Player: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players1" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="0" style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Player<br></b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="AdjGS: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players1" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="1" title="AdjGS: a take-off of the Game Score metric from basketball-reference.com accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's 'score' for a given game. The 'adjustment' in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket." style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>AdjGS</b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="GmSc/Min: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players1" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="2" style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>GmSc/Min</b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="Line: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players1" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="3" style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Line</b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody aria-relevant="all" aria-live="polite">
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Manu Ginobili</span></td>
<td align="right">17.8</td>
<td align="right">0.72</td>
<td>24 Min, 11 Pts (3-5 FG, 1-3 3PT, 4-4 FT,) 7 Reb (1 Off), 13 Ast, 1 Stl, 5 TO, 4 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Cory Joseph</span></td>
<td align="right">17.5</td>
<td align="right">0.59</td>
<td>29 Min, 14 Pts (5-7 FG, 4-4 FT,) 4 Reb (1 Off), 5 Ast, 2 Stl, 3 TO, 2 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Matt Bonner</span></td>
<td align="right">16.5</td>
<td align="right">0.52</td>
<td>31 Min, 17 Pts (6-12 FG, 3-8 3PT, 2-3 FT,) 4 Reb (2 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Tiago Splitter</span></td>
<td align="right">13.2</td>
<td align="right">0.69</td>
<td>19 Min, 14 Pts (7-10 FG, ) 7 Reb (2 Off), 1 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 3 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Tim Duncan</span></td>
<td align="right">13.0</td>
<td align="right">0.45</td>
<td>28 Min, 15 Pts (6-13 FG, 3-5 FT,) 6 Reb (2 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 TO, 4 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Tony Parker</span></td>
<td align="right">10.7</td>
<td align="right">0.39</td>
<td>27 Min, 10 Pts (5-10 FG, 0-1 3PT, ) 3 Reb (0 Off), 5 Ast, 1 Stl, 4 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Marco Belinelli</span></td>
<td align="right">7.2</td>
<td align="right">0.24</td>
<td>30 Min, 7 Pts (3-5 FG, 1-2 3PT, ) 1 Reb (0 Off), 1 Blk, 2 Stl, 1 TO, 2 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Danny Green</span></td>
<td align="right">5.8</td>
<td align="right">0.20</td>
<td>28 Min, 12 Pts (4-13 FG, 2-8 3PT, 2-5 FT,) 2 Reb (1 Off), 2 Ast, 1 Blk, 2 Stl, 2 TO, 4 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Aron Baynes</span></td>
<td align="right">5.6</td>
<td align="right">0.51</td>
<td>11 Min, 6 Pts (3-5 FG, ) 4 Reb (1 Off), 1 Ast, 1 TO, 1 PF</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Austin Daye</span></td>
<td align="right">0.0</td>
<td align="right">0.00</td>
<td>0 Min, 0 Pts ,</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td><span>Jeff Ayres</span></td>
<td align="right">0.0</td>
<td align="right">0.00</td>
<td>0 Min, 0 Pts ,</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td><span>Kyle Anderson</span></td>
<td align="right">-1.3</td>
<td align="right">-0.16</td>
<td>8 Min, 0 Pts , 1 PF</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
<table role="grid" class="sbn-data-table tablesorter tablesorter-default" border="1" id="players2">
<thead>
<tr role="row" class="ui-state-even tablesorter-headerRow">
<td aria-label="Player: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players2" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="0" style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Player</b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="Usage%: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players2" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="1" title="This estimates the % of team possessions a player consumes while on the floor (via basketball-reference.com). The usage of those possessions is determined via a formula using field goal and free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. The higher the number, the more prevalent a player is (good or bad) in a team's offensive outcome." style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Usage%</b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="Floor%: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players2" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="2" title='Floor % answers the question, "when Player X uses a possession, what is the probability that his team scores at least 1 point?". The higher the Floor%, the more frequently the team probably scores when the given player is involved.' style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Floor%</b></div>
</td>
<td aria-label="Plus Minus: No sort applied, activate to apply an ascending sort" aria-sort="none" unselectable="on" aria-controls="players2" aria-disabled="false" role="columnheader" scope="col" tabindex="0" class="tablesorter-header tablesorter-headerUnSorted" data-column="3" title="A metric that looks at how teams perform with a certain player on the court, how they perform with a certain player off the court, and calculates the overall impact that player has on team success." style="text-align: center; -webkit-user-select: none;">
<div class="tablesorter-header-inner"><b>Plus Minus</b></div>
</td>
</tr>
</thead>
<tbody aria-relevant="all" aria-live="polite">
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td>Manu Ginobili</td>
<td align="right">21%</td>
<td align="right">60%</td>
<td align="right">4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td>Cory Joseph</td>
<td align="right">18%</td>
<td align="right">65%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>10</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td>Matt Bonner</td>
<td align="right">19%</td>
<td align="right">55%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>9</strong></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td>Tiago Splitter</td>
<td align="right">27%</td>
<td align="right">56%</td>
<td align="right">-5</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td>Tim Duncan</td>
<td align="right">27%</td>
<td align="right">50%</td>
<td align="right">-34</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td>Tony Parker</td>
<td align="right">17%</td>
<td align="right">60%</td>
<td align="right">-23</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td>Marco Belinelli</td>
<td align="right">10%</td>
<td align="right">46%</td>
<td align="right">-1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd" role="row">
<td>Danny Green</td>
<td align="right">26%</td>
<td align="right">32%</td>
<td align="right">-14</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even" role="row">
<td>Aron Baynes</td>
<td align="right">25%</td>
<td align="right">50%</td>
<td align="right"><strong>14</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
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<p>If you're being generous, you could say the Spurs brought a balanced attack. The only truly notable individual performance came from Manu Ginobili, who racked up 13 assists and 11 points on just 5 shots. The 5 TOs hurt, though, and Tony Parker was utterly ineffectual and looked like he'd rather be at home sipping egg nog. Duncan forced the issue a bunch against <span>Steven Adams</span> and wasn't as effective on the boards as he usually is, and posted a comically bad -34 plus minus.</p>
<h2 title='The Spurs Index is a just-for-fun formula that attempts to quantify just how "Spursy" a particular game is.'>Spurs Index: 103.8 <a href="#spursIndex" style="font-size: 0.7em; font-style:italic;">(def.)</a>
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<p> </p>
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<p> </p>
<p><section class="stats">
<table id="spursIndex" class="sbn-data-table" border="1">
<tbody>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Factor</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Value</b></td>
<td style="text-align: center;"><b>Score</b></td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td title="Assist Percentage - Assist Percentage is the percent of team's field goals made that were assisted." align="left">Passing (AST%)</td>
<td title="2013-2014 Average: 62.1%" align="right" style="color: #5cb85c">78.6%</td>
<td title="This factor accounts for 30% of the Spurs Index score" align="right">38.0</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td title="Effective Field Goal Percentage - Effective Field Goal Percentage is a field goal percentage that is adjusted for made 3 pointers being 1.5 times more valuable than a 2 point shot." align="left">Shooting (eFG%)</td>
<td title="2013-2014 Average: 53.7%" align="right">56.2%</td>
<td title="This factor accounts for 20% of the Spurs Index score" align="right">20.9</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td title="Defensive Rebound Percentage - The percentage of defensive rebounds a team obtains." align="left">Defensive Rebounding (DReb%)</td>
<td title="2013-2014 Average: 76.4%" align="right" style="color: #d9534f">63.6%</td>
<td title="This factor accounts for 20% of the Spurs Index score" align="right">16.6</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td title="Defensive Rating - The number of points allowed per 100 possessions by a team. For a player, it is the number of points per 100 possessions that the team allows while that individual player is on the court." align="left">Defense (DefRtg)</td>
<td title="2013-2014 Average: 100.1" align="right" style="color: #d9534f">119.1</td>
<td title="This factor accounts for 20% of the Spurs Index score" align="right">16.8</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td title="The percentage of opponent's Field Goal Attempts which are uncontested. A measure of how many open looks an opponent is afforded per possession. A contested shot is one in which a defender is within 4 feet of the shooter" align="left">% of FGA Uncontested</td>
<td title="2013-2014 Average: 40.8%" align="right">35.8%</td>
<td title="This factor accounts for 10% of the Spurs Index score" align="right">11.4</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td align="left"><b>Total</b></td>
<td align="right" colspan="2"><strong>103.8</strong></td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
</section></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p>The Spurs played a pretty "Spursy" game in 3 of the 5 Spurs Index factors: Passing, Shooting and contesting field goals, which led to a deceptively solid 103.8. (I'll be tweaking the Spurs Index to better account for poor performances like this as the season progresses) The Spurs are feeling Leonard's absence acutely on defense, netting an abysmal 119+ DefRtg for the second straight game. Not going to win many games that way.</p>
<p>To be fair, Spurs forced OKC to take quite a few contested shots (although I'm beginning to question the value in that statistic, as it seems to only loosely correlate with good defensive performances), but when you've got a guy like Russell Westbrook who makes his living off making impossibly difficult circus shots, that doesn't mean all that much.<br><br>Let's hope the Spurs can <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/12/26/7449837/game-preview-san-antonio-spurs-new-orleans-pelicans">bounce back tonight</a> against <span>Anthony Davis</span> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thebirdwrites.com/">Pelicans</a>. Go Spurs Go!</p>
<p><i>P.S. you can now sort the Players stats by clicking on the column header. You can also see a definition of most statistics by hovering the mouse over the title. Enjoy!</i></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p><section style="font-style: italic;" id="definitions">
<p>---</p>
<p><b>Definitions</b> (with major credit to <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/users/Bill%20C.">Bill Connelly</a> over at our sister blog <a href="http://rockmnation.com">Rock M Nation</a>)</p>
<p id="eFGPct"><b>eFG%</b>: Effective Field Goal percentage. (<a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/glossary.html#efg_pct">via</a>) Effective Field Goal Percentage; the formula is (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA. This statistic adjusts for the fact that a 3-point field goal is worth one more point than a 2-point field goal. For example, suppose Player A goes 4 for 10 with 2 threes, while Player B goes 5 for 10 with 0 threes. Each player would have 10 points from field goals, and thus would have the same effective field goal percentage (50%).</p>
<p id="adjGS"><b>AdjGS</b>: a take-off of the Game Score metric (definition <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/glossary.html">here</a>) accepted by a lot of basketball stat nerds. It takes points, assists, rebounds (offensive & defensive), steals, blocks, turnovers and fouls into account to determine an individual's "score" for a given game. The "adjustment" in Adjusted Game Score is simply matching the total game scores to the total points scored in the game, thereby redistributing the game's points scored to those who had the biggest impact on the game itself, instead of just how many balls a player put through a basket.</p>
<p id="usageRate"><b>Usage%</b>: This "estimates the % of team possessions a player consumes while on the floor" (<a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=1120">via</a>). The usage of those possessions is determined via a formula using field goal and free throw attempts, offensive rebounds, assists and turnovers. The higher the number, the more prevalent a player is (good or bad) in a team's offensive outcome.</p>
<p id="floorPct"><b>Floor%</b>: Via <a href="http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=1120">Basketball-Reference.com</a>: Floor % answers the question, "when Player X uses a possession, what is the probability that his team scores at least 1 point?". The higher the Floor%, the more frequently the team probably scores when the given player is involved.</p>
<p id="offRtg"><b>Offensive Rating (offRtg)</b>: Points per 100 possessions.</p>
<p id="defRtg"><b>Defensive Rating (defRtg)</b>: Points allowed per 100 possessions.</p>
<p id="spursIndex"><b>Spurs Index</b>: The Spurs Index © is a just-for-fun formula that attempts to quantify just how "Spursy" a particular game is, based off averages for the 2013-2014 regular season. A perfectly average game would have a Spurs Index of 100. The formula consists of four factors which the Spurs are known for and lead or nearly lead the league in: Shooting (effective Field Goal %), Passing (Assist percentage), Defensive Rebounding Rate, and Defensive Rating. These metrics are weighted as follows:</p>
<table border="1" class="sbn-data-table">
<tbody>
<tr class="ui-state-even" style="font-weight: bold;">
<td>Factor</td>
<td>Weight</td>
<td>Average</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Passing (AST%)</td>
<td>30%</td>
<td>62.1%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Shooting (eFG%)</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td>53.7%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>Defensive Rebounding (DReb%)</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td>76.4%</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-even">
<td>Defense (DefRtg)</td>
<td>20%</td>
<td>100.1</td>
</tr>
<tr class="ui-state-odd">
<td>% of FGA Uncontested</td>
<td>10%</td>
<td>40.8%</td>
</tr>
</tbody>
</table>
The values for each metric are determined based on how a particular game's performance compares to the Spurs 2013-2014 regular season average for that metric. For instance, the average effective Field Goal percentage for 2013-2014 was 53.7%. So if the Spurs shot 60% in a given game, the score for eFG% would be calculated by: (0.6 / 0.537) * 20, which would yield a "score" for that factor of 22.3.</section></p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2014/12/26/7450709/study-hall-spurs-thunder-game-stats-score
BrettJones
2013-12-23T18:17:07-06:00
2013-12-23T18:17:07-06:00
Stampler admits he was wrong about the Thunder
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/FgQ0PUfV9YN4tEDjajlnGJsb5gQ=/0x160:2680x1947/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/25652931/20131220_kkt_al2_972.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It turns out that thinking they were doomed without James Harden was a bit of an exaggeration on my part. Kevin Durant is still good. So is Russell Westbrook, annoyingly so. Serge Ibaka keeps getting better. And they have a bench now? That doesn't seem fair. That was supposed to be our thing. I'm not happy about any of this. </p> <p>I spent last night before bed, the morbid soul that I am, finally watching the Thunder game. Some aspects were better than I expected and some worse. I see some areas that were fluky and/or correctable and others that may not be and are most concerning. At this stage it's impossible to argue that the Spurs are the better team and a bit of a stretch to suggest that they're equals, subject to the whims of coin flip games.</p>
<p>Still, I'd argue that if Kawhi Leonard played the other night it would've been a much closer game if not an outright Spurs win. And if Leonard played and Danny Green was the one who had dental surgery I'd almost guarantee the win for the good guys because holy hell was Green awful on both ends of the floor.</p>
<p>Let's break the game down into the three separate categories: Correctable, Concerning (i.e. Not Correctable) and Fluky</p>
<p><b>Correctable:</b> Gregg Popovich said after the team's first meeting at Oklahoma City, a game the Spurs came into riding an 11-game winning streak but <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400489097">lost 94-88</a>, that he thought the guys weren't patient enough, that they rushed possessions and forced bad shots instead of moving the ball and looking for better opportunities. I saw much of the same thing last night, especially early on. I blame most of it on Tony Parker, who was rusty after missing two games with a shin injury and might have been a bit too geeked up for his match-up with Russell Westbrook, when it's usually the latter who's over-caffeinated.</p>
<p>Parker missed three layups early on, a couple of which weren't really good looks, and Green and Splitter threw up some ugly shots as well. Just about all of them came really early in the shot clock and none were what I'd deem open shots. Even Marco Belinelli rushed a few, but he's been so unconsciously hot that it didn't matter. In the second half the Spurs slowed down somewhat, went through Tim Duncan a bit more and it was a more even game, 52-50, Thunder.</p>
<p>Maybe the frenetic pace was the result of Leonard's absence and this instinctive need to have a run-and-gun, up-tempo game since everyone in the arena thought that Kevin Durant was going to go off for the Thunder. Maybe it was Parker's state of mind. Maybe the Spurs as a whole were too hyped and unsettled. For whatever reason they didn't look like the veteran team.</p>
<p>My guess is that for the next game these teams meet, and also in a potential playoff match-up, Pop will make more of an effort to get his point across that they have to calm down and play smart, not just in avoiding turnovers but also not jacking up any old shot. Right now the Spurs look freaked out when playing long, athletic teams. They're so worried about getting the ball stolen away or swatted that they're not working to get the great, efficient looks they're accustomed to. It's a bit of a Finals hangover and it was reinforced in that turnover-fest against the Clippers.</p>
<p>My solution would be to run the offense through Duncan more, especially when Kendrick Perkins isn't in the game. More four-down in 1-4 sets, more post-ups for Leonard, more direct drives for Parker and Manu Ginobili and fewer pick-and-rolls. I think the good teams have scouted the Spurs down to the point where the offense settles for hook shots for Tiago Splitter or Green putting the ball on the floor and we don't want that.</p>
<p>The other problem the Spurs have, as I see it, is that Reggie Jackson is a bit of a match-up nightmare for them. Patty Mills cannot guard really good, quick, big offensive point guards. Against the Thunder I think the Spurs would be better served to give his minutes to Cory Joseph. Maybe against Houston, too. On Saturday they tried guarding Jackson with Ginobili, Mills, Belinelli and even Green and he torched them all. The last of those was particularly rough to see. I'd like to try Joseph.</p>
<p>Finally, and I've harped on this for as long as I've been on PtR, but for the love of all that is good, Pop needs to stop playing "naked" against good teams. The Thunder started stretching out this game in the second quarter when he took Ginobili out and the quintet on the floor was Splitter-Diaw-Green-Belinelli-Mills. That lineup might be fine and good against the Jazz, but especially without Leonard I'm gonna need one of The Big Three on the floor at all times. You just can't produce any offense against a locked in defense without at least one star to worry about. Pop is too smart to not figure this out by now and to not plan his rotations accordingly.</p>
<p><b>Concerning:</b> I'm starting to worry that Green's struggles are a thing. <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/21/5231230/danny-green-spurs-three-point-shooting-analysis">J.Gomez laid out his opinion of why it's not</a>, but more and more it's looking like Green's season thus far is a microcosm of the Spurs themselves in that he lights it up against the crap teams in the Eastern conference but struggles mightily against the superior West. Not only did Green's shot selection leave much to be desired against OKC, but even a couple of his good looks were far off the mark. Right now he's just not shooting them very straight, and worse still it's affecting his defense and other areas of his game. Green made a number of glaring defensive mistakes in the game, had a couple of awful, unnecessary turnovers and generally looked like anything but a starting-caliber NBA player. Not to put too fine a line on it, but he <i>killed</i> the Spurs on Saturday. Pop played him 34 minutes in the game, but Green might have totaled half that if Leonard was available.</p>
<p>While the Spurs can do as good a job as any team can of limiting Durant and forcing Westbrook into taking some bad shots, their personnel and defensive philosophies seem predisposed to conceding big games from Serge Ibaka and Jackson. Defensively they give Ibaka all the open jumpers he wants, even from the corner three, even though he's worked on his game enough to be a very reliable mid-range shooter. I'd still give him all of those he wants, but I wish the Spurs could tweak their schemes to give him less room from 15 to 18 feet. I'm not sure they can, without inviting a bunch of rim runs to Westbrook, Durant and Jackson. On the other end, they can't seem to get Ibaka out of the paint no matter what they try. The dude is parked there and he's contesting everything at the rim. Worse, the addition of rookie Stephen Adams has given them a fourth reliable big, and he's got the size and athleticism to also bother people. The Thunder only played small for nine minutes against the Spurs on Saturday and just ten minutes the time before. Since the Spurs don't have a fourth big that can even be remotely trusted, I'd go the other way and try going small versus them, trying the aforementioned 1-4 look and trying to find a speed/athleticism mismatch with Leonard.</p>
<p>Jackson, meanwhile isn't James Harden, not anywhere close, but he is a quick guy who can knock down open shots and can get to the rim. I don't really think Joseph would dramatically change the outlook against him but it can't hurt. Mostly though I'm hoping that the Spurs stop sagging off of him on threes, which they did several times. I can't stand when smalls step toward the paint as though they're going to be any hindrance to a driver when they're not even going to challenge shots anyway. It's the worst of both worlds. Just stay at home. Don't enter the paint unless your man is there, ever.</p>
<p><b>Fluky:</b> This might sound like sad excuse-making, and it is, but I don't think the Spurs have faced the Thunder in ideal circumstances in either of their first two meetings. In the first meeting it was their fourth game in six nights and they had played so many bad teams leading up to that game that the step up in class was too much to overcome. In this one Leonard was out and Parker was rusty. Again, I'm not making an excuse for either game, but I think context does matter. It's one thing if the talking heads make declarative statements about the Thunder being better. As long as the Spurs themselves don't believe that (and they have home court in a playoff series) I'll be okay, I think.</p>
<p>Jackson is good, but he's not this good. Dude has scored 20 points twice all year and both have been against the Spurs. At some point he'll cool down against them, you'll think, though by the same token we haven't seen Durant's best yet either. The Spurs haven't gotten a good game from anyone in two tries against these guys and at some point you'd think the worm will turn and the percentages will even out. They have one elite defender and a bunch of crappy ones. It shouldn't be this hard to shoot well against them.</p>
<p>I'm also skeptical that Adams or Jeremy Lamb will offer much to the Thunder come playoff time. At some point young guys will have stage fright, especially on the road. And don't even get me started on Derek Fisher. Good lord they must dominate Fisher!</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/23/5239142/stampler-was-wrong-about-the-thunder
Aaronstampler
2013-12-22T00:26:33-06:00
2013-12-22T00:26:33-06:00
Recap: Thunder beat Spurs, 113-100
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<p>Without Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs were beaten soundly by the Thunder in San Antonio.</p> <p>I am going to explain away this loss with the absence of <span>Kawhi Leonard</span>. He missed Saturday night's bout against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> due to a dental procedure. I think not having Kawhi Leonard against the Thunder is just as impactful as not having <span>Tim Duncan</span>, <span>Manu Ginobili</span> and <span>Tony Parker</span> against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Warriors</a>. In fact, it may have put the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">Spurs</a> in an even worse hole. Without Kawhi, the Spurs faced the Thunder without their best perimeter defender.</p>
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<p>More than that, it took away the Spurs' defensive flexibility for the night. Some may argue that since it was Westbrook, and not Durant, who torched the Spurs, Leonard's presence wouldn't have been a difference maker. But I say that if Kawhi had played, Pop would have certainly switched him to Russell after his hot start which would have forced the Thunder to find a different way to attack the Spurs.</p>
<p>Instead, Westbrook was left unchecked and he had his way with the Spurs for the entire 48 minutes. Without the defensive flexibility that Kawhi allows, the Spurs were left with zero options to curtail his hot shooting. And so, this admittedly biased observer will give the game a grade of incomplete. I don't think you can use this contest to add to the talking head headline, "The Spurs can't beat elite teams this year." [Editor's note: <i>Not that that will stop them. -jrw</i>]</p>
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<p>As you can see from the Game Flow, the Spurs were down just about the entire game and were never able to get over the hump. The Thunder deserve credit for controlling the game from start to finish. Every time the Spurs made a run, the Thunder responded before the Spurs could capture any momentum. It was an extremely frustrating game to watch.</p>
<p><span>Russell Westbrook</span> and <span>Reggie Jackson</span> took turns torching the Kawhi-less Spurs all night. Westbrook finished with 31 points and eight assists while Jackson scored 21. Jackson scored 23 in his last meeting with the Silver and Black on November 27th. Keep in mind that while Reggie has been great for the Thunder this year, he only has two 20 point games this season and both were against San Antonio. So he's not as great as you might think. He just played two of the best games of his career against the Spurs this year.</p>
<p>There's really not much worth recapping in my opinion. The Spurs found themselves down double digits early and while they didn't give up, the Thunder never let the Spurs get over the hump. Again, this would have been a completely different game if Kawhi Leonard hadn't sat out. By the way, "dental procedures?" What? Did he have his wisdom teeth taken out? Are you telling me that there wasn't a more opportune time for him to see the dentist? I'm just speculating, but I would have loved to know that Kawhi was going to miss this game before I spent money on floor seats. I'm a little bitter, if you hadn't noticed.</p>
<p>Marco Bellinelli and <span>Boris Diaw</span> followed up their strong performances against the Warriors with great games against the Thunder. Marco scored 17 points, making five of his eight threes, and Diaw had 14 points on six of nine shooting. Unfortunately for the Spurs, they were the only ones who really played well.</p>
<p>Tony Parker finished with a respectable 23 points and eight assists, but he looked very rusty to begin the game and missed a bunch of easy shots that he normally converts. That's basically how the Thunder were able to build their early lead that they never relinquished. Tim Duncan had a solid performance with 17 points and 10 boards, but he was fairly quiet all night and clearly his performance wasn't enough to get the Spurs a lead.</p>
<p><span>Danny Green</span> did what he could in defending Durant, but he was simply overmatched and Durant got his shot off whenever he wanted to. Durant didn't have to take the game over since Westbrook was essentially unstoppable all night, but I felt as if he could have scored any time he wanted to. Patty had an off-night shooting just one of six from the field. His shots were just barely missing. There were a few threes that went in and out in the fourth that could have changed the game.</p>
<p>And so, your Spurs fell to 21-6 on the season while the Thunder improved to 22-4. It's disappointing, but there's still a long way to go and with any luck the Thunder will drop a few games soon so the Spurs can catch them. As I mentioned, I don't think you should take too much away from this game. Without Kawhi Leonard, the Spurs just aren't capable of defending a team like the Thunder. Next up, the Spurs will take on the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.raptorshq.com/">Toronto Raptors</a>. Expect the Spurs to pummel them.</p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/22/5234682/recap-spurs-lose-to-thunder-113-100
Fred Silva
2013-12-21T22:00:35-06:00
2013-12-21T22:00:35-06:00
Final Score: Spurs fall to Thunder, 113-100
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<figcaption>Soobum Im-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>It would have been cool to have Kawhi Leonard. </p> <p></p>
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<th class="td-left"> <span>Final - 12.21.2013 </span> </th> <th>1</th> <th>2</th> <th>3</th> <th>4</th> <th>Total</th>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="win"> <a href="https://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Oklahoma City Thunder</a> </span></td>
<td>21</td>
<td>40</td>
<td>24</td>
<td>28</td>
<td class="highlight">113</td>
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<td class="td-name"><span class="loss"> <a href="https://www.poundingtherock.com/">San Antonio Spurs</a> </span></td>
<td>21</td>
<td>29</td>
<td>26</td>
<td>24</td>
<td class="highlight">100</td>
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<p class="foot clearfix"><span class="link-more"><span>Complete Coverage ></span></span></p>
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<p>Well, I still don't like FIsher, and I think Reggie Jackson's quest in life is to destroy the Spurs. What is with that guy?</p>
<p>Oklahoma City has a good basketball team, and the Spurs couldn't get over the hump after giving up 61 first half points. Kendrick Perkins did his team a solid and picked up five fouls, forcing the Thunder to play Steven Adams. Why does <span>Scott Brooks</span> insist on playing Perk so much?</p>
<p>Your Spurs fall to 21-6 for the season.</p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/21/5233898/final-score
Chris Itz
2013-12-21T17:56:15-06:00
2013-12-21T17:56:15-06:00
Kawhi unavailable tonight, Parker will play
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<p>The Spurs will battle the Oklahoma City Thunder without their best defensive option against Kevin Durant.</p> <p>As if it wasn't enough for the Spurs to triumph shorthanded over the Warriors on Thursday, now they'll battle the Oklahoma City Thunder without their best defensive option against Kevin Durant. Per the official Spurs Injury Report:</p>
<blockquote>Kawhi Leonard (dental procedure) will not play in tonight’s Spurs-Thunder game. Additionally, Tony Parker is scheduled to play in tonight’s game after missing the previous two contests with a right shin contusion (suffered against the L.A. Clippers on 12/16).</blockquote>
<p>So, who wants to guess who'll be taking Leonard's place in the starting lineup?</p>
https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/21/5234054/kawhi-leonard-wont-play-against-thunder-tony-parker-plays
J.R. Wilco
2013-12-21T02:00:03-06:00
2013-12-21T02:00:03-06:00
Game Preview: Spurs vs. Thunder
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<p>After a long road trip where they fought some of the best teams out west, the Spurs make their return to San Antonio in a marquee matchup versus the Oklahoma City Thunder.</p> <div id="preview-wrapper">
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<h4><b>San Antonio Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder</b></h4>
AT&T Center, San Antonio, TX<br>December 21, 2013, 7:30 PM Spurs Time<br> TV: FSSW - RADIO: 1200 AM WOAI<br><br>
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<p style="text-align: left;" align="center">The San Antonio Spurs begin a three game home-stand tonight against the formidable Oklahoma City Thunder. The Spurs return from a successful Western Conference road trip in which they went 3-1, <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/20/5229604/spurs-warriors-tim-duncan-manu-ginobili-tony-parker-recap?utm_source=poundingtherock&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs" target="_blank">winning their most recent game</a> against Golden State <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/20/5229562/morning-rehash?utm_source=poundingtherock&utm_medium=nextclicks&utm_campaign=blogs" target="_blank">without the Big 3 on a Tiago Splitter tip-in</a>. Unlike last year's infamous regular season game against Miami, the Spurs prevailed against the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.goldenstateofmind.com/">Warriors</a> thanks to a career high 28 points from Marco Belinelli and season high 21 points from Kawhi Leonard. Duncan and Ginobili should play tonight against the Thunder while Parker's return from a shin contusion remains questionable.</p>
<p>Winners of their last eight games by an average of over 14 points, OKC arrives with a fully healthy squad that has the NBA's best record of 21-5. Point guard Russell Westbrook, fully recovered from last season's knee surgery, is playing some of the best ball of his career. He's averaging over a point more per game over his 19.9 ppg career average. Kevin Durant, meanwhile, leads not only the Thunder but the entire league in scoring with an average of 28.7 points per game. Since starting the season 5-3, the Thunder have gone 16-1, losing only in a <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/pages/ptr-lexicon#SEGABABA" target="_blank">SEGABABA</a> to Portland on December 4th. One of their wins was a November 27th home victory over San Antonio that ended the Spurs' 11-game win streak. In it, the good guys shot only 39.1%, including a lousy 7 of 27 from the three point line.</p>
<p>Of the Spurs' five losses, all have come at the hands of the NBA's upper echelon; Portland, OKC and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.clipsnation.com/">Clippers</a> on the road and Indiana and Houston at home. Their best win so far was against the 14-10 <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.brightsideofthesun.com/">Phoenix Suns</a>. So with both OKC and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.thedreamshake.com/">Rockets</a> returning for round two during the holiday stretch, San Antonio will have the opportunity to earn some quality wins. To do so, particularly against the Thunder, the Spurs need to shoot the three ball well. The five losses reveal that the team's shooting about three percentage points less than their season average in defeat. It's not a huge deal, but when factoring in the raw number of missed treys: 20 against OKC, 17 against Houston and 12 against LAC, a troubling pattern emerges. The Spurs gave away too many scoring opportunities to win. Furthermore, three point misses typically lead to easy transition buckets for the opposition which helps explain the almost 15 point difference in points allowed over the season average.</p>
<p>Whether or not Parker plays may go a long way in determining the winner of this game. Without him, Ginobili will need to go to the rim more often to keep OKC's defenders honest and Duncan will need his mid-range jumper to really sing if the Spurs are to have a shot at this one. Mostly though, as in many big time matchups, it's the role players that will make the difference. In the first game, Reggie Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Serge Ibaka added 17 points and 11. If the Spurs want to end the Thunder's 8-game win streak, like in the win over Golden State, more than just the usual suspects will have to step up.</p>
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 12px;"><b>Lineups</b></div>
<p><b>Starters</b><br><b>PG:</b> <span>Tony Parker</span><br><b> SG:</b> <span>Danny Green</span><br><b> SF:</b> <span>Kawhi Leonard</span><br><b>PF:</b> <span>Tim Duncan</span><br><b>C:</b> <span>Tiago Splitter</span><br><br><b>Key Bench Players</b><br><span>Manu Ginobili</span><br><span>Boris Diaw</span><br><span>Marco Belinelli</span><br><br><b>Head Coach</b><br><span>Gregg Popovich</span></p>
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<div style="font-size: 12pt; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 12px;"><b>Lineups</b></div>
<p><b>Starters</b><br><b>PG: </b><span>Russell Westbrook</span><br><b>SG:</b> <span>Thabo Sefolosha</span><br><b>SF:</b> <span>Kevin Durant</span><br><b>PF: </b><span>Serge Ibaka</span><br><b>C:</b> <span>Kendrick Perkins</span><br><br><b>Key Bench Players</b><br><span>Jeremy Lamb</span><br><span>Reggie Jackson</span><br><span>Nick Collison</span></p>
<br><b>Head Coach</b><br><p><span>Scott Brooks</span></p>
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<p>Thunder perspective can be found here: <a href="http://www.welcometoloudcity.com/">Welcome to Loud City</a></p>
<p>Game Prediction: Hard to predict a game with Parker's status unknown. If pushed though, I'll say the Spurs win either way, 102 to 94 with Belinelli and Green both stepping up their jump shots to help keep the Thunder out of transition.</p>
<p>As always <a href="http://www.poundingtherock.com/pages/ptr-lexicon#tonydominatefisher" target="_blank">Tony must dominate Fisher</a>, and NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area. Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate.</p>
<p>Get your San Antonio Spurs tickets from Daniel Farias with Spurs Sports & Entertainment:</p>
<p>Tel: 210-444-5607 | <span>dfarias@attcenter.com</span></p>
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https://www.poundingtherock.com/2013/12/21/5231904/game-preview-san-antonio-spurs-vs-oklahoma-city-thunder
Mark Toubin