Wednesday, April 28th, 2010...6:00 am
Dallas Mavericks 103, San Antonio Spurs 81: Brendan Haywood stomps
The score says the Mavericks beat the Spurs by 22 points, but it was worse than that. And Gregg Popovich knew it. The Spurs’ starters didn’t see action in the 4th quarter. Pop put out the white flag towards the end of the third, and now it’s San Antonio’s turn to regroup.
The Mavericks jumped out on the Spurs early, taking an 8-6 lead with 8:25 remaining in the first. And from there the Mavericks just pulled away behind the force of Brendan Haywood and Caron Butler.
From the Spurs’ perspective, fouls and turnovers were their undoing. Manu Ginobili and DeJuan Blair each struggled with foul trouble in the first half-Blair picked up 4 personals in the space of a few minutes. Ginobili went to the bench early because of fouls, too. But his team-high 4 turnovers help fuel the Mavericks dominance. Ginobili played a mere 18 minutes before Popovich retired his starters for the evening.
From the Mavericks’ perspective, this game was about one crucial adjustment and the incredible play of Caron Butler.
After Game 1, we posted Wayne Winston’s thoughts on the Spurs-Mavericks series. His main contention for the Mavericks was that they should play Brendan Haywood more. It took the Mavericks a full four games to figure this out, but Haywood finally started for the Mavericks last night. Haywood was too much for the Spurs, finishing with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 blocks and a game-high plus/minus of +22. Erick Dampier, the Mavericks starting center for the first 4 games of this series, went from starting to DNP-CDing.
Haywood is a major concern for the Spurs. Quoting from Winston’s Spurs-Mavs Game 5 recap,
As we have reported throughout this great series, the Spurs starting lineup has torched the Mavs starting lineup. We also have noted that the Mavs are much better with Haywood on the court than with Dampier on the court. (Haywood has an Adjusted +/- rating of +22 for series and Dampier -10.)
The Mavs brain trust finally figured this out and inserted Haywood on the court and Dampier received a DNP. The results were a delight for Mavs fans. The Mavs new starting lineup (Haywirk, Kidd and Marion) was +17 points last night and the Spurs starting lineup (Hill, Manu, Duncan, McDyess, and Jefferson) was -17 points. Now it is the Spurs turn to adjust.
Rick Carlisle explained his decision this way, indicating that the Mavs plan to use Haywood in the same capacity going forward.
It just seemed like the right time to make this move. It is a little bit different kind of player. Damp has been giving us great defense and rebounding and stuff. Brendan is just a little bit different type of player and I thought he responded well. When I talked to Damp about the decision, he was great. He is going to be ready. I thought long and hard about it. Damp has been such an important part here and we are going to continue to need him. He just said hey I am ready. So it was great. I thought Haywood responded well to the opportunity. Hey, going back down there. The environment is going to be a lot different. We have our work cut out for us, but we have to build on tonight.
But perhaps the best summation of Haywood’s contribution comes from Rob Mahoney of the Two Man Game:
Haywood responded wonderfully, and though he failed to reach double-digits in points, his impact was profound. Brendan emerged from series invisibility to grab six offensive boards in 30 minutes, and went to the free throw line 12 times as a result. The Mavs fed Haywood down low early, and his focus and intensity never lagged. He was a force defensively, held Tim Duncan to 3-of-9 shooting and just 11 points.
Caron Butler’s line was more impressive, but Brendan Haywood is of greater concern to San Antonio.
But Butler’s 35 points, 11 boards and zero turnovers were concerning. He simply dominated the game, and there is very little to say other than the Spurs need to do a better job of accounting for Butler.
There is another major concern for the Spurs, and it doesn’t have an easy solution. The Spurs are playing 7 and 8 man rotations in the playoffs. The end of their bench-Roger Mason Jr, Keith Bogans, Garrett Temple-shouldn’t be on the court. And, as a result of their lack of depth, the Spurs’ starters are already giving indications of postseason fatigue. Tim Duncan followed the worst game of his playoff career (Game 4) with, perhaps, the second worst game of his playoff career.
Tim Duncan looks tired, and Brendan Haywood is one the league’s better interior defenders. That’s a bad mix.
The Spurs will continue to roll with a short rotation-only Ian Mahinmi has made an, admittedly meager, case for additional minutes. Trying Mahinmi against Haywood might make some sense if DeJuan Blair, who is struggling badly against Haywood, gets into early foul trouble. But for the Spurs, this series is about finding solutions from their already established 8-man rotation.
All eyes on Popovich. It’s the Spurs’ turn to adjust.
69 Comments
April 28th, 2010 at 6:17 am
Go Spurs Go!!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:19 am
I am not concerned about the loss we played very uninspired and complacent ball…I know the character of this team we will bounce back strong on Thursday and end it…kudos to Dallas they played like it was an elimination game.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:30 am
The Mavs needed to make adjustments in order to stay alive. Last night was a chance for Pop to study the changes. Hopefully he watched closely and will know what to do in Game 6 on Thursday. Let’s put them away at home!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:37 am
Give Dallas credit. They came out swinging and knocked us down and we could never quite get back up. Haywood and Butler, as stated above, were the difference makers.
The Spurs just weren’t sharp in any facet of the game. We turned it over, our rotations were a step (or two or three in some case) late, and we didn’t attack the rim like games 2-4. The aggressiveness of games 2-4 just wasn’t there, which is odd for a veteran club that (I assume) recognizes the need to put an oppenent down when they have a chance. The worst thing you can do is give the Mavs hope, which we have. Now, the pressure is on SA to close it out at home.
Going forward, we need TD to play at his usual, All-Star level. As well as the rest of the team can play, we aren’t contenders w/o an All-World Tim Duncan. I’ll repeat what I said in an earlier post, but it still all begins and ends with TD. Without him, we aren’t winning a championship (and we might not even make it out of the 1st round).
For game 6, I’d like to see us go back to single coverage on Dirk more. If he beats us by himself, then so be it. But we can’t allow the rest of the Mavs to get hot like in game 5 - that’s trouble. In regards to Butler, I’m content w/ him going 1 on 1 on offense - he’s a ball stopper and he often settles for jumpers. But when he does attack the rim (as he did last night), our rotations need to be there. They weren’t there in game 5, and we either gave up layups or we fouled.
Whether we’re tired or not, we need to jump on the Mavs in the 1st qtr. That’s been the story of the series - whoever starts hot has won each game.
Let’s hope we respond.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:39 am
Thought Spurs had a chance after ending the 1st half strong. Then it was over a couple minutes into the 3rd. That’s how it goes sometimes.
I expect Manu to play much better (and hopefully cleans that butter off his hands) as well as Blair. Bonner helped us stay in it with a couple threes in the first half.
But the most obvious thing watching is just energy/hustle. They had it, Spurs didn’t.
Go Spurs! Go get game 6!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:51 am
Winning four in a row against any team, let alone a very good Mavs team, is very difficult. I’m not surprised we we lost but still worried about closing this series out for the reasons mentioned in this post. Our defensive rotations didn’t look as sharp, either. I think we’ll come back swinging at home.
April 28th, 2010 at 6:52 am
I thought the Mavs played Haywood already? I think we have the answers, but our supporting cast needs to get into it early. Besides, although I don’t like them, the Mavs are a good team and it’s hard to beat a team like them 4 games in a row. We are a smart ball club, and the energy at home is amazing, so I think we will get after it Thursday.
However, I am concerned with Manu and Timmy, we need their smart play and leadership. Also, Jefferson and McDyess need to do what they did in the 3 games we won, lock their men down. In game 4′s victory, the rotations were crisp and sharp, which we need again in game 6. But overall, I’ll take winning this series in 6 games! GO SPURS GO!!!
April 28th, 2010 at 7:21 am
Is anybody else getting a little concerned about Duncan’s play the past two games? I HATE his post move where he is on the right block, dribbles into the lane, and shoots with his right hand (handed nearest the defender). The longer post defenders can easily stop that move. Hopefully he can get that aggressiveness he had in games 1-4.
Go Spurs Go!
April 28th, 2010 at 7:22 am
What happened to Malik Hairston? I thought he was supposed to be a good defender. I didn’t get to watch the game, but according to the box score he never got in the game. Is he inactive? If Mason isn’t bringing it offensively, then why not use a guy who can play defense?
April 28th, 2010 at 7:44 am
A lot of the fouls on Haywood were intentional in sort of a “hack-a-haywood” rather than give him a dunk situation. If we weren’t turning the ball over, not rebounding, missing every shot, I don’t think Blair’s fouls or Haywood’s overall FTA’s would have mattered at all.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:46 am
@Rowrbazzle
Hairston sprained his ankle the last week of the season and hasn’t been in uniform since then. I doubt he’s going to see any time in the playoffs.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:54 am
I know that Blair had some foul trouble, but there was just too much Mase and Bonner in the early part of the game, you know when things were still manageable for the Spurs to win this game. But when you have foul trouble, you gotta do what you gotta do.
If the Spurs make it out of the First Round, which I have every reason to believe they will, this loss and the reduced minutes logged by the starters may end up paying dividends.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:02 am
Game 6 – Will the Big 3 (Duncan, Ginobili, Parker) outscore the Big 3 for Dallas (Nowitzki, Butler, Terry) ?
Game 6 – Will Mason get the DNP-CD to enhance the Spurs chances of winning?
Game 6 – Will Najera intentionally take a Spurs player out?
I deep down believe if the Spurs don’t win Game 6, they will lose the series.
@ Rowrbazzle, Hairston must be hurt because he’s been inactive for every game. Pop wouldn’t play him anyway over Mason, even though he shut down Kevin Durant and Kevin Martin when he’s played.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:05 am
Agree about the lack of depth being potentially being a problem.
But I don’t think lack of big men is an issue-Pop’s been relying on 4 guys, which is what he did in the regular season and is a pretty typical playoff rotation. Maybe Pop should keep Timmy down to 30-35, and give more to Bonner/Blair?
I think the bigger concern is that he’s really only playing 4 perimeter players among three positions (Hill, Parker, Manu, RJ). Considering that two of those guys are recently returned from injury, that could be a problem during the playoffs.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:07 am
When I checked the game, Mahinmi, RMJ and Temple were playing. I thought that with these three on the floor (although I need to give Temple his dues, as he’s a rookie looking for experience), I thought that this game was not really taken seriously. In the past Spurs game where they’re actually throwing everything on the table, the Big Three plus Hill and RJ are on the floor.
I read in the previous column that the Spurs want to win this at San Antonio, so while I was disappointed that the game didn’t finish today, I thought that this was not really something to worry about.
Definitely I’ll worry about the next game. The Spurs could not afford to lay back and relax now.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:10 am
Defensively we actually did not play all that poorly. Butler was a statistical outlier in this regard, but the total shooting percentages and true-shooting percentages are well within normal thresholds. The foul shots were way above normal thresholds, but Haywood was shooting most of them, so the percentage greatly cushioned the damage there.
The adjustments that I’d like to see defensively are:
1) Less double-teaming. How did Butler find room to jack 24 FGAs? Because we were constantly scrambling to rotate to him after a hard double in/around the paint. No other scorer put up numbers to justify the double-team last night.
2) Foul less. For the great night that Haywood had, he was only 1-3 from the field, but went to the line 12 times. Yes, some of those turned out to be “good” fouls that ended up with less points on the board than had we not fouled, but we have to just body up and force Haywood to actually create offense instead of giving him freebies. Show your hands, keep your body straight.
Offensively, we just need to get back into a rhythm. Penetration and a heavy dose of Duncan. Haywood is a great defender, but they aren’t going to allow him to single cover TD all night. If they do, then we can pepper them with inside-out. This requires Tim to be aggressive. It requires Manu to be aggressive. 36% shooting is a statistical outlier. Bring that up to 44% and we will probably be ok. 48% is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Make more buckets, foul less, double less. Root for Portland in their game 6 on Thursday.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:23 am
Andrew, I didn’t realize that. Thanks for the info.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:39 am
Like everyone else, I’m not going to read too much into this game. We’ve seen it before many times, including during our championship runs. However, I think one point that Carlisle is not saying publicly is that their entire defensive strategy has changed to take Manu out of his rhythm. They are blocking him in the high pick and roll to take the ball out of his hands. To be sure, he did not respond well, as his turnovers attest. But Pop needs to recognize that the Mavs entire game plan is to keep Manu from beating them. They believe that as Manu goes, so go the Spurs. In the first four games, Manu played well (even in the loss) and we were never out of any of them. Last night, he played badly and we didn’t have a prayer. Yes, he had foul trouble, but it was more than that. They threw everything at him to get him out of rhythm and it worked. Maybe Pop should go back to starting TP. If not, he needs to come up with Plan B that allows Manu to run the office or to be a decoy so that others can dictate the tempo of the game and our offensive sets.
April 28th, 2010 at 8:45 am
Just one question after the Spurs pathetic performance. Who let the dogs out? Who? Who?
April 28th, 2010 at 8:52 am
wow. i guess this game a serious problem, but it really. we have no real solution for haywood and duncan has put together 2 poor performances. i sincerely hope this isn’t due to fatigue otherwise we may be facing a game seven situation.
i thought it was interesting that mahinmi was on the floor with george hill, tony parker, and matt bonner instead of dejuan blair. this lineup was supposed to give us a chance to get back into the game without manu and timmy and it was peculiar to see ian apart of this lineup. seems to me that pop and co. realize that ian has the capability of putting points on the board with relative efficiency. i would have like to have seen more post up situations late in the game rather than keith and roger jacking up constested jumpers. ian has some decent post moves and is capable of getting to the line. also, if plays are run for ian mahinmi, this could give chance for blair (given he is on the court at the same time) to defend weak side and clean up after mahinmi’s potential miss. blair is a great putback force, but lacks an offensive, low post game. ian may also be capable of getting haywood in foul trouble as well. blair could potentially get haywood in foul trouble as well. problem is, haywood won’t see the floor unless duncan is on the floor.
interesting matchups, but i think some low-post agression fro ian or dejuan may help. haywood is effectively distrupting tim
this is a very interesting situation, but i have no doubt we can recover. we flat out played poorly 1 through 8 last night
April 28th, 2010 at 9:03 am
Spurs didn’t look good from the beginning. These games happen sometimes, even for eventual champs (see Boston 2008). I’m not too worried.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:47 am
What happened to Duncan’s reliable bank shot? He hasn’t made one all series.
Foul trouble killed us in this game, which forced us to use Mason (ugh) early on. Let’s hope we do a better job avoiding fouls or coercing the Mavs to be less aggressive to the lane in game 6.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:48 am
I’m slightly worried about TD, but not overly worried. He looked great in games 1-3. Unless he’s hurt, I don’t see how 3 games in six days or seven days, playing less than 40 min in some, could wreck him so badly. I’ll chalk the last couple games up to “off nights”. (So I also don’t think it’s because of Haywood; TD abused him earlier in the series.) If it is a health issue, we’re in trouble.
Also, I’ll chalk Caron Butler’s game up to a good night. It wouldn’t surprise me if he plays better than he has in games 1-4, but I expect him to score under 20 and shoot under 50% in game six.
I didn’t get to see this game, but from the boxscore, it looks like there was some kind of team-wide failure of execution/lack of intensity down the stretch. No matter what FG% our big guys shoot in game 6, I guarantee they’ll play their butts off. With the intensity ratcheted up, I think we play better than Dallas.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:50 am
I agree with many posts here. Over the years, I’ve seen the Spurs basically hand a team a win and this was simply the case last night. I don’t know why, but the Spurs were never really in this game from the onset. They’ve played well for the first 4 games of the series (game 1 was competetive) so perhaps they were due for a flat performance.
What concerns me is Manu and Tim. As previously mentioned, Tim has had two straight atrocious performances and Manu has almost followed suit. Are these two straight games simply a fluke or is something really wrong here? If they both make it three straight games, I’m afraid game 6 and the series is lost. With that said, I think they’ll get their mojo back and we can end this tomorrow night, but if this goes to game 7, Spurs are going fishing.
April 28th, 2010 at 9:51 am
I hope MANU isn’t bothered by the broken nose.
Yes, the MAVS won but why? Because the SPURS turned it over. 4 TO in the first half. Mavs built a ten point lead off of them and that’s all she wrote.
That’s the only way this MAVS team can beat anybody. You might as well hand KIDD the ball and get out of the way.
TP helped cut the lead to 7. How did the MAVS get the lead back in the 3rd? TO’s.
I’m no expert but I said that the SPURS would only lose if they turned the ball over. 18 TOs!!!!
I was really disappointed in the performance by the SPURS. They totally came out like they knew they had game 6 in San Antonio.
They better win Game 6 easily since they decided to take the night off.
I love you SPURS but you frustrate the hell out of me.
April 28th, 2010 at 10:01 am
How did Duncan have an awful night? 11 points in 24 minutes. Dirk had 15 in about 30. It’s about what the guys around you do a much as what you do. It’s also about minutes. With the game out of reach Duncan didn’t play much. Had our team been more competitive he would’ve had a 20 & 10 night, perhaps finishing off the Mavs with a great 4th as he did in game 2. No panic needed there.
@Kevin - Duncan made a bank-shot last night. Throughout in the series Dampier was crowding him to take it away.
As for depth, I believe Dirk, Kidd and Terry have played just as many if not more minutes than our big-3, as they did all regular season. Kidd is exhausted from being guarded by Hill. There’s no story there.
Cut the turnovers in half and you’ll see Butler’s scoring cut in half. You’ll also rid us of foul trouble. Which means we’ll win. Like post game 1, the mistakes are all correctible and self inflicted.
April 28th, 2010 at 11:17 am
We win if Mason gets a DNP-CD next game!!
April 28th, 2010 at 11:25 am
@SpurredOn, Duncan was not awful, just mediocre.
I got a bad feeling when I saw Haywood starting.
April 28th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Well, Ive been told that the all powerful Pop knows things that the normal human mind cant comprehend. He has been called mastermind and genious…So we shouldnt be concerned.
We cannot lose this series while being coached by Big Poppy….So Ive been told, and told, and told….
He can do no wrong! Were good!
April 28th, 2010 at 11:41 am
I STILL BELIEVE!!!!! 2010 THE YEAR OF THE SPURS!!!!! GO SPURS GO!!!!!
April 28th, 2010 at 11:51 am
@BALLHOG that’s why nobody likes you
April 28th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Ballhog is Ballhog… but he’s onto something here. This is a CRUCIAL game for Pop. As critical as I’ve been of Pop I’d rather have him manning the fort than Carlisle. I’d been harping on Haywood since before the series even started (wondered why he wasn’t starting when he was the better player). Add to that Damps always gets’ lit up by TD. So it took Carlisle that long to figure out? Big and obvious adjustment by Carlisle. Nother adjustment that scared me a bit was Kidd posting up TP. Kidd is not a finisher in the lane, we forced him to do that in games 2 and 3 and it showed. He has hit over 40% from 3 but our D is moving ontop of the pick and roll and that has made it difficult for Kidd to get his 3pt shot off. However that post up move for Kidd… it’s always there against TP, not against Hill is he’s gaurding him but against TP yes. I hope Carlisle doesn’t come to that revelation as well. Pop’s adjustments will be ciritcal for this game. It’s time for Pop to counter, this is the stuff he gets paid for so let’s hope he comes through. And… let’s hope our players come through as well. There were some obvous coaching errors last night but that did not lose the game for us last night. Being down only 6 at the half and laying an egg to start the 3rd did us in. Turnovers, lack of energy and way too many jumpshots killed us. We need to right that part of the ship.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:01 pm
I think Pop may be thinking about the next round and REALLY wants Mason and Bogans to do well. We need 3′s to get through this conference and last night was a chance to experiment. However, this season has been a freaking roller coaster and science time is over! Play the guys that are doing well: Parker-Hill-Manu-RJ-Blair-Dice-Duncan-Bonner and let things take care of themselves. We cannot give Dallas an opening to take the series and must do all to put them away tomorrow!
April 28th, 2010 at 1:09 pm
Last night’s game was lost by the players, not the coaches. There isn’t a coach in the history of basketball that could’ve won with that performance by his players last night.
Turnovers, sloppy rotations, lack of aggression (outside of TP), foul trouble……that’s not the coaching staff.
We need to respond in game 6. If we don’t, it doesn’t look good. We gave the Mavs hope. To them, this is a one game series. They’re thinking, “If we win game 6, there’s no way we lose at home in a game 7.”
I expect Dallas to play as well as they did in game 6. We’re going to have to play our best game of the season to win tomorrow night.
April 28th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Dr. Who
April 28th, 2010 at 12:24 pm
Nice post, Dr. Who. I especially liked the following excerpt because it was balanced, and clearly suggested the importance of PLAYER responsibility in our losses, while also not showing “complete” deference to Pop.
“It’s time for Pop to counter, this is the stuff he gets paid for so let’s hope he comes through. And… let’s hope our players come through as well. There were some obvous coaching errors last night but that did not lose the game for us last night. Being down only 6 at the half and laying an egg to start the 3rd did us in. Turnovers, lack of energy and way too many jumpshots killed us. We need to right that part of the ship.”
So, for those of you looking for scapegoats, Pop would not be the first direction I’d turn. Coaches can only do so much, and then PLAYERS have to step up, and GET IT HANDLED!
The last I checked, for game FIVE:
Pop — didn’t tell RJ to NOT take a shot until TWO MINUTES WERE LEFT IN THE FIRST HALF!
Pop — didn’t instruct his entire team to come out with low energy & weak defensive intensity!
Pop — did not ask his STAR players to shoot 11-31 from the field and turn the ball over SEVEN times in a half’s worth of action!
Pop — did not say to Manu, RJ, & Hill, go out & get just FIVE REBOUNDS in 71 minutes of play!
Pop — didn’t ask his starters to go out there and get their asses handed to them on the offensive glass - out-rebounded by the Mavs starters 10-5, a 2 to 1 margin!
Pop — did not ask the players to have slow, reckless, lackadaisical ball movement, which resulted in just 11 assists out 28 made FG’s, and 18 total turnovers!
Pop — didn’t ask Blair to go out and get 4 fouls in his first 5 minutes of play!
And Pop — certainly DID NOT ask the players to go out and play LAZY transition “D”!
The main thing Pop did wrong, in my humble opinion, is play Mason AT ALL, instead of Temple (I assume Hairston is still injured?! But how bad is his ankle sprain? Why is there no reporting on the extent of his injury, and his time-table for return?!). Other than that, the MAVS PLAYERS just came out and KICKED OUR PLAYERS ASSES!
Coaches can facilitate a team to get the most out of the talent they have. He CANNOT win games by himself, and is certainly not the MOST responsible for the GREAT MAJORITY of win & losses that a team gets. While having a competent coach can be an important piece, ultimately it is PLAYERS that win games, and championships.
If one is compelled to look for “scapegoats”, I would suggest starting with the players. Thank you.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
I’d like to see a Mahinmi/Blair combo too. I liked Ian’s energy last night. He looked a little awkward, but Blair can grab his misses.
No more RMJ ever. I’d rather see Temple missing all those same shots.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:24 pm
Watching that game was truly 48 minutes of hell. A couple of alarming trends. The obvious is that Haywood is causing Tim more issues than Dampier and that change should have been made after gm 1. Secondly, the Mavs have made a decision and that decision is that Manu is not going to have an easy time getting to the rim. They are leaving guys like Hill and Bonner open behind the 3 point line with all the Mav defenders keeping one foot in the paint almost at all times.
It was this strategy that gave G Hill a lot of good looks and allowed him to go off in game 4. But, smartly Carlisle is taking his chances with leaving Hill open and giving extra attention to Ginobili.
One thing that gives me confidence for gm 6 is that there’s not much that Duncan, Ginbobili and Parker haven’t seen with opposing teams schemes over the years and I’m sure they’ll adjust. And judging by the up and down and in many cases zero production from the role players it will be up to the big 3 to carry the team to victory in gm 6.
April 28th, 2010 at 2:50 pm
Jim, you are absolutely correct. This is not Pop’s fault (though I still think he shouldn’t play Mason AT ALL). I watched the game from beginning to end last night and was shocked at how flat we looked last night. We started the game with no urgency, slow on rotations, poor team defense overall, no aggressiveness (we kept settling for jumpshots), and simply sloppy with the ball. Quite a bit of the fouls I saw were to stop the guy from dunking or easy layups, so I could understand the fouls. But, how can you come out to close out a game vs a quite decent opponent with that sort of intensity? Put it this way, we had none. We were not hungry. We did not control the tempo like we have the past 3 games. We did not take care of the ball. We were slow on rotations so had to foul to prevent easy buckets. (I know we also had silly fouls to give them and-1′s) We settled for jumpshots instead of going strong to the rim as we have all series long. We lived in the paint!!!! We looked like the mavs who were settling for jumpshots all series long. I think our Spurs just forgot to get on the plane to Dallas. I sure hope they’ll show up for game 6 because if we lose game 6, I’m not confident we can win game 7. I expected us to lose last night, but not in that fashion. We were due for a letdown, I guess?
As for Tim and Manu, I am rather worried about them. I hope last night’s game was another outlier because if they don’t turn back into TIMMEH !!! and SuperManu!!!!, we have no chance in making out of this one alive.
I know Parker didn’t shoot particularly well either, but I appreciate his aggressiveness to the rim, even after the Najera foul. (BTW, I wanted to jump into the TV to give him a beatdown). No one else was getting to the rim and getting fouled. RJ kept settling for jumpshots. Our jumpshots suck!!!! Get your booty in the paint and make them foul you!!!! Ruin their flow by stopping the game and getting to the foul line. I think that was what kept us close at the end of the first half. Parker kept driving into the lane and getting fouled. If your shots aren’t falling, get some easy buckets and the rim will open back up, but keep tossing up bricks will be worse for your shooting psyche, IMO. Do you think Spurs were intimidated by Haywood in the paint?
I think our Spurs can bounce back tomorrow! After this embarrassing loss, they better come out hungry and aggressive to kick some pony booty!!!!
Go Spurs Go!!!!
(Sorry for this long, frustrated comment.)
April 28th, 2010 at 3:10 pm
There are lots of reasons we lost that game, but I’m gonna simplify it a bit.
The Spurs live and die by number 20. Period.
As a general rule, when Ginobili plays good, we win. When he plays bad, we lose. And when he plays really bad. We lose really bad. Thats what happened in last years series, and thats what happened in game 5 last night
April 28th, 2010 at 3:52 pm
Relax on all the HAYWOOD talk.
That’s the same HAYWOOD that TD scorched in the 4th quarter of Game 2.
THey just turned the ball over. NO TO’s means SPURS win.
April 28th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Jim Henderson do you pleasure yourself listening to Pop’s postgame? You remind me Steve Bucemis (sp?) character in Billy Madison; putting on lipstick and laying on your couch……
I dont think Pop was at fault at all the last game. In fact I think this was his best, most strategic coaching job ALL SEASON. Dont push. Get your guys rest. Let Dallas use up all their energy this game. Get the bench involved. Great job managing the players and the game.
HOWEVER. He has not done anything to prove himself the past few years….
April 28th, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Go Spurs!!! All the commentators said you were too old to hang. Let’s rest well, come out on “fire” Thursday and send Dallas on vacation!
April 28th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
@ Este
“Watching that game was truly 48 minutes of hell.” I think that may be the best qoute of the entire series!
Lots of Haywood comments. Granted he is not exactly Shaq in his prime out there, but he is better than Damps. Combining a stronger shot blocker out there (Haywood was #4 in theNBA) poses problems with a degrading Timmy. For the poster that asked how can you say Timmy had a crappy game when he scored 11 pts… it was off 33% shooting and his combined shooting % in the last 2 games is a startling 22%. His legs have little elevation and he’s being pushed outside his comfort zone for his usual post up moves. Let’s all hope the rest does his legs good and we see a refreshed TD similar to games 1-3. Another bad thing about Haywood is that he makes TD play defense. If TD isn’t on Dirk he’s on Dumpier and he has had a post move since the Reagan administration. More work for Duncan if Haywood is in there. Duncan can handle both centers but Haywood is a bit more work for TD, especially if he is working with some suspect wheels. The team goes as Manu goes but we can’t expect to go far if TD has dead legs. Rest up TD!!!
In other news… no one is upset that Najara seems to be the only NBA thug that has ever been called for a flagrant 1 while “trying” to take a charge? Almost comical. I say we nominate RMJ to go Cobra Chai and “sweep the leg on Najera.” It sure would be nice to see him get suspended for the playoffs (RMJ that is). I almost despise his game as much and FinDogs and that’s saying a lot. I don’t mind Najera being a thug. Tony got PO’d after Najera pulled his stunt and went off. That’s when we closed the gap. It woke up a lifeless team.
April 28th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
Hey Spurs fans! I’m disappointed to see so many fans giving up if we can’t get game 6. Remember 2006 when we came back from 1-3 and lost game 7 in SA. Anything can happen in a 7.
With that said, let’s kill the drama and take 6!
April 28th, 2010 at 6:40 pm
well maybe i shouldn’t comment cuz i only saw 3/4 of the 1st half. but couple things to note.
TD- i’m not too worried about him, even towards the end of the season, he had couple off games and respond strongly. granted haywood is better than dampier, we know he is not better than Howard. if tim could take Howard 2 school, he can take Haywood 2 school. but it needs 2 be noted he has been gone 4 the past 9 qrts.
Haywood-put a body on him on def. rebounds, and he will get himself into foul trouble
manu-i’m very concerned, he hasnt been the same. if he is not the same neither is tim or the spurs. we need him, and an injury 2 ur head could bother u. trust me i ahd to wrestle with a mask my senior year in hs, things on ur face makes u frustrated.
if haywood and najera r mavs only centers we r in good shape, as soon as haywood leaves parker should score 20 on Najera, by simply going to the paint.
when j.kidd gaurds rj, rj should post him up. he is too big 4 kidd.
marion, the last 2 games has hustled his ass off, and no body is guarding him. rj needs to box him out and out hustle him, he is younger after all.
in the 15 min, i watch i saw jj barea getting 2 offensive rebounds. No mav should get 2 off reb. in a playoff game, let alone jj getting 2 in a quarter.
butler could be scary. After his 0-5 start in game 4, he has been amazing, somebody needs 2 be physical on him. i would try rj on him, someone bigger and strong. and place manu on marion, cuz manu could out hustle marion.
j.kidd was shooting well and got a good rest. that could be a confidence builder, and thats all a shooter needs.
and rmj and bogan r needed 2 win a championship. pop made a smart move. guyz lets not have a short memory. he was great 4 us until tp’s injury. remember the wizard game-20 points in the 1st half. or the nuggets game. we need his shooting and D, he is a solid player as he showed last year and last game of reg season he could gaurd kobe we need that. bogans could be used on butler, strong guard and out muscle him. moreover, he could be the shooter we r looking 4, he was in a rythym at the end of the year.
Pop lets c how u react.
April 28th, 2010 at 7:34 pm
Trade TP, do you get yourself off on your couch during Spur losses. You remind me of Archie Bunker, minus the obnoxious humor — an ignorant buffoon, sitting in front of the boob-tube, compelled to pass out unfounded insults in an effort to cover up his own “inadequacies” ….
“HOWEVER. He has not done anything to prove himself the past few years….”
Yeah, just for starters, how about helping his team win their fourth title in 2007?
Dr. Who
April 28th, 2010 at 4:37 pm
Solid comments on the Haywood/Duncan issue. It is important, but in a potential close-out game at home, I’d be shocked if TD did not bring all he’s got with 100% effort. He has to have some legs left after the two lack-luster games he’s put up back to back. Whatever he might not have physically, he’ll have to bring it with mental will power, and we all know he’s displayed plenty of that over the years. After all, TD has limited time left to shine & succeed in the playoffs. He’s a special competitor. I think he’ll be fine tomorrow.
What worries me more is RJ & the bench. I haven’t heard any focused commentary on this thread about that concern. RJ at or close to his best is what allows our team as currently constructed to compete most consistently against the more elite teams. I’m sure you guys have noticed, but throughout the season, if RJ starts off slow (e.g., not aggressive, foul trouble, etc.), he REALLY struggles to get himself back INTO the game the rest of the way. In game five, for example, he did not take his first shot until there was two minutes left in the half! He ended the game with four shot attempts, four points, zero free throw attempts, and one rebound in 24 minutes of play. We simply can’t afford to have these kind of games from RJ at this crucial point in the season. We’re trying to close out a series against a good team. When RJ has games like game five, it requires all of the big three, plus Hill, to score well in order to have a good shot at winning. RJ needs to absorb some of that pressure and get himself in the right, aggressive mindset from the start of game six, or we’re asking for trouble.
April 29th, 2010 at 2:21 am
The issue is Tim.
He looked very tired and leg weary.
The brilliance of the first four games was to me more than just Haywood.
The fact that Pop played Dirk straight up and did it with Bonner & McDyess turned it into something Dallas saw as a weak point, and they subsequently went back to the well time and time again, it took them out of motion, and it caused their offence to stagnate.
More than just Haywood they swung the ball plenty last night and looked very loose and fluid.
That worries me an awful lot.
Also i’d rather eat my own legs than see RMJ on the court right now. Seriously happy that Pop pulled the starters and put Ian and co in, but Ian/Blair/Hairston/Bogans/Temple will do me before you let Romaju near the ball.
April 29th, 2010 at 2:30 am
By the issue, I mean that if he is screwed now even if we beat the Mavs, he isn’t going to get us far looking like that.
April 29th, 2010 at 3:51 am
Ginnobli had a bad night, Duncan had a quiet night. Shots were not falling and Pops answer was, once again, Mason.
All season long folks insist that Pop can do no wrong and it is pathetic. Pop does not cause this team to lose all games, but he dayum sure caused a lot of losses this season.
Call it stubborn, call it a wierd veterans only type preference, or call it just being hard headed…Whatever, but he will not be let off the hook. I agree that Pop has been declining since 2007. Dont like his style and dont like his decisions and hate his demeanor, period. Now if that means that David doesnt like me….I will try to get over that tragedy.
As for the Spurs in this series. Too many jump shots. Any coach would understand that your team is throwing up bricks. He might then tell them to take the ball to the hole for a minute. Not done.
He might see that Butler is killing him and make an adjustment, other than putting Mason on him.
He may see that attacking Haywood in the paint will get him out of the game.
He might realize that Temple is a better player than Mason and Bogans. Same for Hairston.
He might be a decent human being and let us know why Hairston is still in street clothes after suffering a minor ankle sprain. Same thing happened when Finley had a mild sprain.
I have been giving the REAL in here for a while. I just tell it like it is fellas. Sorry I dont enjoy keeping my lips pressed against Pops azz. Please forgive me.
But, when you are hindering the progress of my favorite franchise, I have a Fing problem with you, even if your name is Poppy.
We should have ended this series in 5. To allow that type of game when we clearly had this team on its back was unbeleiveable to me. No excuse.
Also, maybe Pop should do what any good coach would do. When your main guys are struggling, bring in some fresh legs and get on with the game.
Stop paying these guys to spectate. If Pop didnt want the Spur Nation to be adament about winning, he shouldnt have put the tase of winning into our mouths., You raise the bar, you keep it that way. Mediocrity just will not be accepted anymore.
Folks scream about cutting players, trading players, releasing players, constantly. Hell, Parker got hurt, Hill had a few good games, and the entire room was asking for Parkers head. This is TP. Our steady warrior. A Spur soldier. Has been and still is.
We can undervalue and under appreaciate our all pro point guard, but cant critic the coach?
Stop pootsniffing. Pop is not above reproach!
April 29th, 2010 at 6:19 am
@Ballhog
You don’t like Pop. We get it.
April 29th, 2010 at 6:40 am
@BALLHOG
Wait, are you for or against Pop? Do you think he should be questioned?
I’m just not entirely convinced either way, maybe you could post again and explain whether or not you think Pop is the greatest man who ever walked the Earth?
What about Ian? Should he get more PT? Is he still working harder than everyone? Is his playing time somehow related to how terrible Pop is?
I’m sorry, I just haven’t gotten it yet.
Also, LOL… you use the Parker haters as an example, but you sound just as ridiculous as they do. At least they have some sort of arguement to go with their post, not just the same repeated unfounded BS.
“Ian works so hard! Don’t believe the guys who coach him [Spurs and French nat'l team], or the guys who interview coaches and players and watch practice… believe me! I can see it!”
April 29th, 2010 at 6:43 am
Seriously though, the Mavs are a good team. That’s what is scary about not putting them away in Game 5. Both of these teams are unlucky to have drawn each other in round 1, because they might just be the best 2 right now.
Beating them will not be easy. That’s why tonight is so important, because the home court probably gives us better odds than going back to Dallas for game 7.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:02 am
Great response Henderson! pull out some antiquated bs from 3-4 years ago. Living in the past.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:42 am
Clearly Pop has outcoached Carlisle in this series. The entire basketball world knows that.
Game 5 was a number of things that did not work well for us and it was a desparation home game for the mavs. In fact, I actually think Pop was smart by not giving too much away. It would have been way worse if all our starters played heavy minuets and still lost…not only would our morale be low we’d also be low on energy.
Clearly the entire team as evidenced by what they say or more importantly do not say in the media shows us their attention to detail and to me that is completely a Pop thing. A game ago we saw how fractured the Mavs were after losing…you will never see that in SA. One thing is for sure, we had our troubles much of the season but the last 6-8 weeks this team has shown it can play. I expect they will tonight! Go Spurs!!!!
We are indeed blessed to be Spurs fans!
April 29th, 2010 at 7:45 am
@Jim - you and others blame RJ for not scoring. Little known fact — you can’t shoot without the ball. You know how many times RJ touched the ball in the 1st quarter? Three. That’s one touch every four minutes. In fact, he got zero touches the first four minutes. Think about that. The other four players all had at least two scoring opportunities each and RJ had not TOUCHED THE BALL one time.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:21 am
It’s rare that you see the Spurs as a team play two bad games in a row, and even more rare to see Tim duncan play three bad games in a row…whether Los Spurs win tonight or not, I expect the game to be played with far better execution by the Silver and Black
April 29th, 2010 at 8:32 am
@Ballhog
not that it matters but that’s a fair post. Beleive it or not, I follow the logic and the points are valid. Critique of Pop is all good with logic. RMJ playing with Blair and keeping him into long after he got 3 fouls was a problem. But it didn’t lose the game. Not attaching Haywood to get him in foul trouble and make him work. Yep that was a problem, not attacking… Yep it was a problem. All valid points. IMO it didn’t lose the game for us since the energy level was beyond low for everyone not named Parker. As well as TP looked he did a lot of 1 on 1 and didn’t distribute to get the other guys involved. The previous poster did hit on RJ not shooting because he didn’t touch the ball. Very true, playmaker Manu was out with foul trouble and TP was a scorer not a distributed. So here’s to a better game 6! I’ve had issues with some if ur biased posts in the past. But I can’t really rag Ballhog too much for that previous post. It’s what every university English teacher says in regards to literature, any interpretation is valid as long as there is logic behind it. It’s better than reading Pop blows!
April 29th, 2010 at 10:10 am
@ Dr Who
Truth is truth and it doesnt really matter who tells it.
A person can post factual interpretations or just simple opinion. Opinions dont require facts, just fingers and a keyboard.
Besides, Im realistic enough to know that Pop is not going anywhere and demanding his head is a wate of a good complaint.
Also, as for grading Pop as a coach or having an opinion on how effective or ineffective he is…It is what it is. However,
Since we seem to crave facts over opinion, here is a fact 4 ya….
If Pop goes into next season and spends an entire season trying to set starting line ups and rotations, the heat will indeed be on! Our core players dont have years to waste. They arent exactly spring chickens.
If anybody struggles to admit that this was Pops worst season as a head coach, its simply denial.
I understand supporting a coach, but that support cannot be blind. Unless your screen name is JIMJIM.
April 29th, 2010 at 10:28 am
[...] about Dallas Mavericks 103, San Antonio Spurs 81: Brendan Haywood stomps [...]
April 29th, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Trade TP
April 29th, 2010 at 7:02 am
“Great response Henderson! pull out some antiquated bs from 3-4 years ago. Living in the past.”
Do you know any other coaches not named Jackson that win a title with their team every 3-4 years, over a period of more than a decade? Everyone knows the answer to that question, NO. But for you, the team that you happen to be a fan of apparently needs to win a title EVERY YEAR, or their coach must suck. LOL! If I’m living in the past, you’re living in Fantasyland.
doggydogworld
April 29th, 2010 at 7:45 am
“@Jim – you and others blame RJ for not scoring. Little known fact — you can’t shoot without the ball. You know how many times RJ touched the ball in the 1st quarter? Three. That’s one touch every four minutes. In fact, he got zero touches the first four minutes. Think about that. The other four players all had at least two scoring opportunities each and RJ had not TOUCHED THE BALL one time.”
Oh, so you count touches for each player in the first quarter of every game? And look, did I ever say RJ’s lack of production was ENTIRELY his fault. No. The fact is though, if you’re somebody with RJ’s ability & past success (including in BIG playoff games), and you are still in your prime years, you don’t sit there and blame your lack of “touches” or “production” on someone else, for the WHOLE game. No, not at all. You demand MORE touches, and RJ obviously didn’t do that. And it’s certainly not the first time. Instead, he disappears into the woodwork, voluntarily. You can’t tell me that Pop and the big three deliberately keep the ball from him the WHOLE game. They know he has a tendency to struggle if he’s not involved EARLY in the game, and that he’s an important link to their success. By the same token, they’re not going to worry about spoon-feeding the guy. Let’s be real, he’s not Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and this is a playoff game. But good players for the most part produce when they’re aggressive, by doing other things on the court when not given the ball on a silver platter, like get rebounds, scrap, and get easy put-backs underneath, etc. But how many rebounds did RJ get in game five? How many loose-balls did you find him involved in? One, and None. Who does he blame for that?!
Look, it’s a team game, but RJ’s a key player for us if we want to have the BEST CHANCE against elite competition. He needs to come out EARLY playing AGGRESSIVELY on both ends. If his teammates (not known to be selfish) need to do a little better job encouraging him, so be it. But top players don’t RELY on encouragement; they motivate themselves to be valuable out there on the court, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
Dr. Who
April 29th, 2010 at 8:32 am
“The previous poster did hit on RJ not shooting because he didn’t touch the ball.”
The whole thing started because I said RJ was NOT PRODUCTIVE or AGGRESSIVE. That’s not just shooting.
For a reminder, here’s the key excerpt from my post:
“I’m sure you guys have noticed, but throughout the season, if RJ starts off slow (e.g., not aggressive, foul trouble, etc.), he REALLY struggles to get himself back INTO the game the rest of the way. In game five, for example, he did not take his first shot until there was two minutes left in the half! He ended the game with four shot attempts, four points, zero free throw attempts, and one rebound in 24 minutes of play. We simply can’t afford to have these kind of games from RJ at this crucial point in the season. ”
And who’s at fault for that? You can’t pin it ENTIRELY on the guards, can you? Look, if a talented SF WANTS the ball, he’s going to get it, especially on the notoriously unselfish, share-the-ball-type-of-team like the Spurs. It’s not that I don’t fault the guards to some extent, but the main reason RJ did not get touches was because HE WAS TOO TIMID. And as I said earlier on this thread, RJ’s lack of aggression is born out by his ZERO free throws, ONE rebound, and ZERO knee burns. I can tell you one thing: Pop is not TRYING to keep the ball from RJ! So enough with the RJ excuses. We NEED him to step up and ASSERT himself. We’re not paying him 15 mil./yr. to whine about not getting touches!
BALLHOG
April 29th, 2010 at 10:10 am
“If anybody struggles to admit that this was Pops worst season as a head coach, its simply denial.
I understand supporting a coach, but that support cannot be blind. Unless your screen name is JIMJIM.”
Sorry, but I respectfully disagree. We simply can not say whether this was a “successful” year in coaching this team or not UNTIL THE SEASON IS OVER. After all, the PRINCIPAL way one assesses whether a coach was successful or not is how close he comes to winning a championship, with the talent he has. Granted, it has been an unusual, and at times frustrating year for Pop, the team, and the fan base, for a variety of reasons. But to suggest that this his WORST season as a coach is clearly stretching it at this point. That said, it is of course difficult to “appear” better this year, after having THIRTEEN STRAIGHT SEASONS with more than our wins for this season, 50. Which, by the way, that consecutive 50-win streak* may be an NBA record (*1998-99 was a strike shortened 37-13 record: pro-rated, it would have been 61-21 - thus, it’s VERY likely we would have hit at least 50 wins during a full season, which, as you know, was our first title year).
And of course, for those that have read my numerous posts with an objective eye, my support for Pop has in no way been “blind”. That my friend, is patently absurd.
On the other hand, your critique of Pop has been incessant, and has typically consisted of old fashioned rants mixed in with the occasional valid point. You appear to simply have a natural affinity for latching onto scapegoats when things don’t go your way. And of course, the coach is inherently the easiest target.
And please don’t take it personally. I generally don’t get incensed by your posts, like some on this blog appear to. In fact, some of your posts are quite entertaining, even if I disagree (which is often). So, keep those posts coming!
April 29th, 2010 at 1:59 pm
Ballhog why is every post you make about pop?
It’s the worst kind of tunnel vision.
April 29th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Jim Henderson: Yes I expect us to win every year. I dont just follow the team and think “since I know nothing about basketball I will just agree with everything POP does and says to seem like I know more than I do.”
You’re comments are extremely absurd. You’re a yes man with no opinions of your own.
April 29th, 2010 at 7:12 pm
Bonner is barely over 30% FG and 3pt for the series. 16mpg is too many.
Hill shot 50% FG and 3pt this series.
McDyess played better than I expected. I hate the fact that he never takes it to the rim. 0 FT attepts this series…ODD….
Tim= Horrible series. less than 50% FG less than 50% FT. Almost 3Tos a game. Yikes.
Jefferson= Shot over 54% from the field, yet only took 37 shots.
Manu= Shot poorly from three 30%. Aggressive play saved us.
TP= Great comeback. Dont like him taking all the jumpers. 62% FT…..
Players of series= Hill/Manu
Leave a Reply
April 29th, 2010 at 7:45 pm
Trade Tp
April 29th, 2010 at 5:31 pm
You’re an idiot!!!
April 29th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
Jim, Ive owned you from day one. Thanks.
April 29th, 2010 at 8:46 pm
[...] CENTER-Given a second shot at a closeout game after their disappointing Game 5 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, the only adjustment needed by the San Antonio Spurs between games was to [...]
April 29th, 2010 at 11:35 pm
Trade Tp
April 29th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
You own nothing, are nothing, and never will be anything. You’re bankrupt of mind & purse. Good luck. You’ll need it.
May 1st, 2010 at 6:01 am
Great point Henderson. Your analysis of people are much like your ignorance of the game.
May 1st, 2010 at 6:52 pm
Trade Tp
April 29th, 2010 at 8:05 pm
“Jim, Ive owned you from day one. Thanks.”
Yeah, this comment was pretty insightful as well. About as delusional and tactful as your understanding of the Spurs. Keep it up, Trade Tp. I don’t know what the “48″ would do without you.
Leave a Reply