San Antonio Spurs Blog

Are the Spurs Duncan's team?

2008-05-27T02:30:00.000-07:00

Insert JA Adande's Duncan Passes Torch To Manu Article

Spurs Forum Poster:Duncan's numbers suggested he struggled a lot against the Hornets, but they doubled him like 90% of the time.

That's a pretty big copout. Duncan's #s mean he did struggle against the Hornets. NO actually let Chandler guard him one-on-one more than most teams single cover him. But even if they doubled him 90% of the time, how is that any different from what usually happens? There's nothing wrong with admitting Chandler had his number.

Adande must have gotten lazy and pulled up one of his drafts from the Hornets series. You don't write a torch passing article the game after someone puts up 20-20.

The most consistent of the big 3 is Duncan, but the way Parker, Manu, and Tim can seemlessly interchange as the team's MVP, I don't see the Spurs as anyone's team, but just a really good [U]team[/U] where if one star isn't performing, the others usually fill in the void.

Duncan is usually pretty strong on defense and rebounding, but he has had several games where he didn't show up on the offensive end. Other times, he looks almost as unstoppable as his early years in the league.

Manu's defense has been pretty weak for the most part and some games he just doesn't have anything to give. Then, he goes to the extreme polar opposite and plays Jordanesque. With Manu you're just going to have to see if he's recharged and can play big minutes as the game goes on.

I thought Tony had put it all together, but again in this playoff run he has been invisible at times. But, like T&M, he can be spectacular for some games and make you think he's the best PG in the league.

It's a very unique team if you think about it, but it does help explain the flip-flopping because TT&M have such big variances in how they play in any given game. The media wants to go with one theme and then run with it so they don't know how to reconcile

"Tim is the best pf of all time."
"Parker is a top 3 pg in this league."
"GINOBILLLLIIII!"

when either/and TTM has a horrible game, disappears for a couple, or gets badly outplayed.

If it is still "Tim's team" then it has to be because of his defense and rebounding. Also, the definition of "Tim's team" would be significantly changed since his early years when if Tim ever slightly struggled the game was over.

I think it's more of a nostalgia thing for most fans as he layed the groundwork for the Spurs to become who they are. In the present, Duncan is the biggest overall contributor on the team, but the margin for making it his team is very slim when you consider

- Parker actually won finals MVP vs. Cavs
- when the Spurs need need crucial baskets, they look to Manu and Tony first
- Duncan struggled for almost an entire series in Rnd 2

If the torch passes on the Spurs, it's a game-to-game situation.

Vujacic - Bowen Incident

2008-05-22T01:32:00.000-07:00

This is the play I referenced in my youtube video, "Is Bruce Bowen dirty?" Just for the record, I cannot make any judgments on this video. The angle is too remote to tell exactly what happened.

Pop Hands Lakers Game 1

2008-05-22T00:08:00.000-07:00

The Spurs wasted:

30-18-4 from Tim Duncan
Shutting down Fisher & Lamar Odom
A chance to end this series in 6 or less
Surprising the Lakers with their level of play

It all comes down to the Pop move. Spurs were up by 20 mid third quarter and Kobe had done his little act where he pretends he doesn't want to shoot and had only 1 or 2 baskets. Everybody on the planet knew Kobe was going to start shooting every shot. Kobe can live with losing, but he can't live with scoring less than 20 points. He's a stat sheet freak.

Why at this point Gregg Popovich takes off his best defender and then gives Kobe single coverage is beyond comprehension.Knowing that Kobe was going to try to win the game and the Lakers couldn't win if he didn't go wild and score something like 25 points in the second half, I would have even started double teaming Kobe. Instead, Pop not only didn't stay pat with what got the Spurs +20, he downgraded his defense.

The Spurs would have probably ended up cruising to a 12 point when and Pop could have ended up saving Duncan and Parker then. I can't tell how tired the players actually are, but I think Pop gets way too conservative with their minutes at points of the game where if they're not hyperventilating they should be out there.

If there's anybody he should have given extended rest to, it was Manu. Manu was obviously off tonight as the game wore on and was making really bad passes even for him.

The good news is is this loss is all Pop's fault and when the Spurs look at this tape, they'll know they can beat this team. The Lakers have been looking great, but they've also been accustomed to playing lower caliber teams.The Jazz and the Nuggets were byes compared to the Suns and the Hornets.I think this factor was obvious as the Lakers looked stunned to be facing an opponent they couldn't beat with ball rotation.

Also on the bright side, Duncan carried the team and showed Pau Gasol nor anyone else on the Lakers is going to slow him down.I'm not sure if Manu was hurting or what, but this game should also hammer home that Manu is not good at guarding taller/heavier players.

The Spurs need to sleep 14 hours tonight, then watch some film and I think they can atone for this loss and take 2 in LA. I'd like to see more Brent Barry next game and if Manu can regain some of his form, the Spurs should be in good shape. It was really encouraging to see that the Spurs were running Derek Fisher off the 3's and bottling Lamar Odom.

I think they should keep a body on Gasol at all times. Rotating off him is similar to leaving Chandler in that you may be conceeding easier points. I think almost every point for Gasol came in the paint so I would assign Oberto to just face guard him at 9 feet.

PS If you ever see Doug Collins don't let him know you have a nickname.

Spurs vs. Lakers Preview

2008-05-21T05:00:00.000-07:00

My pen version of the preview can be found in the Spurs Forum.

Spurs Vanquish Hornets in Game 7

2008-05-21T02:03:00.000-07:00

You can hear my main analysis of this game/series at youtube.com/spursvideo.

I want to supplement my video by providing the URL of the blog that did an awesome job uncovering a huge stat padding operation for Chris Paul.

Here's the blog: http://www.20secondtimeout.blogspot.com/

This is not to say I'm blaming Chris Paul - it's not his fault there is an agenda to make his stats more than he produced and it's not like it doesn't happen with other league darlings.

And just a little bit more on the video. I want to emphasize how huge it was that the Spurs came back and won Game 7 after starting 0-2. I thought the Hornets were clearly the better team and at the very least wouldn't be able to be beaten at home. The Spurs proved me and a lot of other people wrong with a desire that was unmatched and used their experience and toughness to get a hard W at Mardi Gras. They took all the Hornets had and won pretty handily if you think about it. Sure the Hornets had that run, but the Spurs had the Hornets and their fans in check for the large part of the game.

The thing that I emphasized in the video and really killed me was why they kept trying to run Jannero Pargo off open 3's and thereby gave him layups and much higher percentage shots. He is the guy you want shooting the ball from deep range. You can't cover everybody, but you do want the opposition taking the lowest percentage shots possible.

Lakers vs. Spurs Game 1 tommorow. I predict the Lakers win a close one as the Spurs get tired down the stretch.

Series Prediction: Lakers 4-3
Reason: Rest, Freshness, & Kobe Bryant
Decisiveness: 55/45 - either way it will be a classic playoff war

Spurs v. Hornets: My Review of Game 5

2008-05-14T03:27:00.000-07:00

Spurs Blog

I will write more in-depth tommorow, but for my thoughts on tonights game see youtube.com/spursvideo.

Thanks!

Spurs Trounce Bugs To Even Up At 2-2

2008-05-12T03:32:00.000-07:00

I count the Spurs out and they count themselves back in it. The Spurs blew out the Hornets 100-80 to assure that there will be at least six games in this series.

The series will come to a boiling point in Game 5 where the winner will be determined.

For my complete outlook, see SpursVideo.com.

Spurs Kick Hornets 110-99

2008-05-08T23:38:00.000-07:00

Tim Duncan played 43 minutes, Tony had 41, and Manu had 40 while starting for the first time all year. Pop also switched Bowen to Peja Stojakovic. I don't think this warrants a "panic button" label, but it was a good response and adjustment and the Spurs are now 1 win away from having a best of 3 with momentum in their favor.

Spurs win Game 4 and the Hornets will start feeling that old time playoff pressure. San Antonio isn't there yet, but if the Spurs continue their intensity and will to win in Game 4, they might be able to buck the 0-2 trend and climb out of this series just yet.

Important Game Notes

Kurt Thomas + Oberto = 19 rebounds in 45 minutes
Tim Duncan had 4 block shots, 13 rebounds, and let the Spurs in +/- with +15.
Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili split 62 huge points
Bruce Bowen held Peja Stojakovic to 2-7 shooting
Tony Parker stood up Chris Paul and matched him equally with 31/11 vs. 35/9
Michael Finley provided a needed spark with 4-7 shooting and 11 points

Time To Press Panic Button For Spurs

2008-05-05T21:21:00.000-07:00

Two blowouts and the same basic game both times. First half on their heels and second half they are blown out of the water.

The Hornets are obviously the better team but Spurs fans are trying to blame Pop or missing open shots, but they're not used to being the inferior team and that is the case here.

This series is over.

Are Hornets not getting enough credit for stopping Tim Duncan?

2008-05-04T13:34:00.000-07:00

Do you think the Hornets aren't getting enough credit for stopping Duncan?

What do you think about David West?

I think the Hornets played awesome, but even if Duncan is playing 85 bears he still has to get a lot more than 5 and 3. We're talking about a guy that's been compared with Jordan and called the greatest PF of all time so while the Hornets deserve credit for their awesome defense, it's obvious there was more to it than that. I think Duncan gets too many free passes from Spurs fans. David Robinson would have been annihilated if he did that. Moreover, can you imagine if Jordan, Barkley, Malone, or Kobe put up 5 and 3 in 37 minutes for game 1 of the Western Semis? People would be looting electronic stores.

I hadn't watched West but a few minutes this season so I didn't know why Charles Barkley kept going on and on about how the Spurs were going to stop him, but now I do. That guy is raw. He's mean, aggressive, strong, quick, and takes the principal's lunch money. He might have to be my new favorite player.

Hornets Hurt Spurs Bad; Duncan Pitiful

2008-05-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

First thing I have to mention Jaque Vaughn's turnover. If this is from a bad dream let me know, but I remember him thinking he was going to be Tony Parker when he drove into 3 Hornets defenders on a fast break and picked the ball up and then got stuck despite his massive hang time and threw the ball away. That play was the one that made me the most mad.
For me the loss falls 100% on Duncan. He's got to at least put up 12-15 points and 8 rebounds for the Spurs to have a chance. I don't care if the Hornets came at him with triple teams, he has to still play like a superstar of some sort. I hope Pop or if Pop is too afraid (I have a tough time believing Pop will actually yell at Tim Duncan) then Sean Elliott has the courage to call him out and tell him to make his move when he catches the ball. A lot of times he has single coverage and just waits until a double team comes. He's so much better when he's decisive and aggressive, but I think Duncan would prefer not to be and let Manu and Tony do the work while he draws the double teams.

Another bad result from Duncan's play is if he doesn't serve as the Spurs nucleus, but just another player, Manu and Tony try to take it upon themselves and I don't think that will work in this series. The Hornets are too good of a defensive team to be beaten by one guy.

The game started off horribly from an intensity standpoint. The Spurs came out looking so overconfident it looked like they thought they would just use the logos on their jerseys to win the game for them. They then promptly spotted the Hornets 8 points. They did come back and end up with a four point lead at half time, but that had more to do with Manu (and Finley to a lesser extent) catching on mini fire than them playing well. Whenever someone is just turning and swishing threes with 20 seconds in the shot clock, those are bonus points, not points coming out of your system.

On that note, I do have to give credit to Bruce Bowen for knocking down his threes - which in constrast derived from the Spurs offense.

One last thing. I can't stand when Oberto is one foot away from the basket and tosses up a shot that doesn't hit the rim because he's so afraid of getting rejected. I wish he would just lay the ball up as if he were by himself. It's not like he doesn't get thrown on a regular basis so he doesn't really have the pride factor and if he shoots it like he's afraid of getting blocked it's usually equal to a turnover anyways.

I don't blame the Hornets pyrotechnics team for this loss, because the Spurs were going to lose anyway the way Duncan was playing, but get real. That kind of stuff can't happen in a NBA playoff game. And if it does, get moving. It was rediculous to watch the one guy trying to briskly walk dignified in a $139 suit while just spreading around the fire extinguishing powder. There should have been 30 people on their hands and knees with towels and water getting that powder off the floor.

Spurs Defeat Suns 4-1

2008-04-30T02:19:00.000-07:00

I think it's good the Spurs didn't mess around with the Suns at all. The Spurs have a tendency to spot teams early games in the series, but this squad came out with determination. I believe the key to this series was Tim Duncan coming out determined in Game 1 and willing the Spurs to a pivotal victory. A Phoenix win here and this series is probably going the distance.

My MVP for the series is Tony Parker. I thought he was the most consistent of the big three and his offense was spectacular for the most part while his defense was very good.

The Spurs will matchup with the Hornets and superstar phenom Chris Paul next round. This should be a tough series for the Spurs. The Hornets youth and athleticism is a stark contrast to the Spurs age and experience, but the stark contrast should make for a highly competitive and exciting series.