Monday, March 30th, 2009...11:41 am
The Notebook: Spurs-Hornets, 3/30/09
Ed. Note: I apologize that “the Notebook” is making such a late appearance. I have been feeling pretty under the weather and that has made it hard to write. Tack on the fact that I moved to a new apartment yesterday and don’t have internet yet and it has made getting this post up a bit of a challenge. If my posts pop up at somewhat unexpected times over the next couple of days, that’s the reason why.
The Spurs lost to the Hornets in Louisiana yesterday, 90-86. After falling down seven with under a minute to play, the Spurs nearly completed an improbable comeback after a quick three and steal by Manu, followed by another quick three by Finley. But after Manu purposely fouled Chris Paul near the half-court line, Paul was ruled to be in the act of shooting and made all three free throws, putting the game out of reach.
I’m not going to over analyze the final foul call Paul received. I personally felt that, because his hands were moving left to right (away from the basket) when he received the contact, saying he was in the act of shooting is a bit of a stretch. But, no matter how sober-minded I may intend to be, any discussion of a crucial foul’s legitimacy immediately elicits partisan jeers. So all I’ll say is, after such a hard-fought contest, I was disappointed the game came to a close in such a controversial manner.
At the end of last week, John Hollinger wrote an edition of Per Diem in which he connected a team’s rate of 3-point attempts to their offensive efficiency. In short, he felt taking (and not even necessarily making) more threes was a sign of efficiency. While I deeply respect Mr. Hollinger’s work, I must disagree. Because yesterday evening the Spurs were undercut by their incessant need to shoot the long ball, as they have been time and time again this season.
I understand the Spurs are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the league. I understand that our offensive scheme is perfectly designed to create open looks for perimeter shooters. But we need to have the sobriety to realize that, when the outside shots aren’t falling, the cure isn’t more outside shots. When we struggle from deep, we need to work the ball inside or earn some trips to the charity stripe. The Hornets had a poor night from the field as well (.375) but by initiating enough contact to make it to the free throw line 33 times (and making 32 of those attempts) they were able to produce points consistently. I’ve made this point far more times than I care too. The fact of the matter is, even for a talented shooting team, 29 3-point attempts is too many.
Aside from their coverage of David West, the Spurs did a decent job on the defensive end of the ball. As I mentioned earlier, the Hornets had a rough night from the field. Recent history would suggest that their low FG% and the fact that they were playing the Spurs is not a coincidence. We executed our defensive scheme well, allowing for mid-range looks while remaining tough on the interior and perimeter.
But West remained a match-up problem for the Spurs, as he has always been. I often mention how we struggle against forwards who are comfortable shooting from 10-15 feet. No one better exemplifies this than West. Over the course of the game, we had several people cover West: Thomas, Gooden, Udoka. None of them were particularly effective. Udoka may have done the best job and for predictable reasons: Of the three he is the most comfortable chasing his man anywhere on the floor. If we face the Hornets in the first round of the playoffs, Udoka may earn that tough assignment.
Our next game is tomorrow night against the Thunder back home in San Antonio.
10 Comments
March 30th, 2009 at 12:02 pm
Shooting 1 for 1,000 from behind the 3pt line didn’t cost the Spurs the game. Chris Paul selling foul calls did. Like the Mavs, the Hornets can only win if they get 40 FTs a game.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
Forgive me if its been discussed here already, but why is Mason being given back up point guard duties? I think he’s much more effective without the ball spotting up for 3’s. He can’t really penetrate, when he does he either turns it over or takes a highly contested shot. In fact I’d really like to his fg% in the lane in half court sets. I’m not trying to bash Mason, I really like him at the 2 and Hill at point. Hill’s done a great job all year, why the switch? I understand Mason is a vet and Hill a rookie, but I think Hill has been much more effective at the point than Mason.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Jacob,
I addressed that in my Notebook for the Warriors game last week. If you get a chance, take a look.
March 30th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
Even though I am not too happy that the refs didn’t call Tony for a foul earlier and don’t like that Chris Paul got three freebies, I do gotta admit that it was pretty smart of the dude. I mean, you know you are going to get fouled so as soon as you see contact looming, shoot it. All night I dreamt that Manu outsmarted Paul and would only pretend to foul and then move away and watch Paul chuck up a weird three pointer from half court. Wouldn’t that be cool?
March 30th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Live by the 3 die by the 3. I understand that Duncan is probably banged up, but I don’t know why we are becoming the Bulls who live and die by their jump shot when we have the greatest power forward ever to play in the NBA on our team…
March 30th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I don’t know if I’m missing something, but did you notice how out of touch Gooden was? I mean, he and Duncan were posting on the same side of the basket??!!! As for the attempted foul on Paul in the back court, Finley or Parker should of JUMPED on Chris Paul to make it obvious. I just think it’s funny. Last year, Barry threw up a three pointer and was clearly fouled during the WCF against the Lakers. No Call. Parker yanked Paul’s arm for an intentional foul. No Call. Lastly, I hope the Hornets fall to 9th place. I really hate Chris Paul.
March 30th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
if we dont clinch soon, Im scared that the rockets might catch up and we might not to have homecourt advantage during the playoffs.
March 30th, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Ginooooobili! Ginobili looked like he alternated from winded and gased to brilliant. His drive is a step slow and I believe our championship hopes rely on that step getting all the way to the rim. With Manu and Tony cutting to the rim successfully - game over.
March 30th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
It really depresses me to see Chris Paul playing well and smart.
But these bad officiating calls and bad clock takes the cake. But then there is also the problem of Spurs taking too many three point shots in a game. I agree, there should be more points in the paint and a good defender for west.
March 31st, 2009 at 6:01 am
Hollinger wasn’t expressing his feelings about 3 point shooting and winning, he was telling us what the numbers say. Hollinger is almost strictly a numbers guy, and the numbers say teams win more when they shoot the three more. I think that shooting more threes was referring to over the course of the season, not about shooting them repeatedly throughout a game when the shots aren’t going in. I agree that we should try to get some different shots if our 3s aren’t falling. Unfortunately, if the aren’t 3s going in, then teams can concentrate on keeping the ball on the perimeter where they know you can’t make shots.
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