El Conclusion: Pelicans 108, Spurs 103

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San Antonio Spurs 103 FinalRecap | Box Score 108 New Orleans Pelicans
Tim Duncan, PF 33 MIN | 6-9 FG | 3-4 FT | 10 REB | 6 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 15 PTS | -2 +/-

Ineffective first half, really good second half. Omer Asik gives him fits on the block because he’s big and doesn’t bite on his up fakes. Either way, great finish to the regular season for Timmay.

Kawhi Leonard, SF 38 MIN | 6-14 FG | 2-2 FT | 10 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 14 PTS | -3 +/-

Another solid game, nothing dominant, but he looked good. Between Tyreke Evans, Eric Gordon and Jrue Holiday, New Orleans has a ton of ball handlers, which makes matching up on defense really tricky.

Aron Baynes, C 26 MIN | 4-6 FG | 0-0 FT | 6 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -7 +/-

Good game from Baynes except when he had to guard Anthony Davis. It’s not his fault, Anthony Davis is great, but things didn’t go well when that match up had to happen.

Tony Parker, PG 35 MIN | 11-17 FG | 1-2 FT | 1 REB | 6 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 3 TO | 23 PTS | -11 +/-

Easily the most encouraging part of the night. He was extra aggressive both getting his own shot and finding his teammates. If he’s playing like All-Star level Tony Parker in the playoffs, the first round match up won’t matter much.

Danny Green, SG 18 MIN | 0-0 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 0 PTS | -3 +/-

Ew (I mean, whatever, he’s fine) but Ew.

Marco Belinelli, SF 15 MIN | 0-2 FG | 2-2 FT | 0 REB | 0 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | -7 +/-

Under no circumstance should he have to guard Tyreke Evans, but given Danny Green’s foul trouble that happened a lot and it didn’t go well (unless you’re Tyreke Evans). The discouraging part was that he was missing on offense too.

Boris Diaw, C 34 MIN | 10-14 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 5 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 20 PTS | -6 +/-

Great game from Bobo, who looks like he’s ready for the playoffs too. Whether it’s Portland or the Clippers in the first round, aggressive Bobo is going to be an advantage for the Spurs.

Patty Mills, PG 11 MIN | 6-8 FG | 1-1 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 15 PTS | +13 +/-

Great timing if he really has found his shot? He’s shooting 40% from 3 over his last five games.

Cory Joseph, PG 7 MIN | 0-1 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 0 PTS | -2 +/-

Not great tonight when they could’ve used him against that backcourt trio.

Manu Ginobili, SG 21 MIN | 1-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 2 REB | 4 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 4 PTS | -5 +/-

Definitely not good Manu tonight.

Gregg Popovich
Curious game from Pop tonight. Nice job to motivate the team in the second half, but no Patty Mills and no Danny Green for much of the game was weird. Game didn’t thrown by any means, but I think Pop is the last guy that cared about seeding tonight.

Three Things We Saw

  1. Totally understandable if you’re pissed about this loss. It’s likely going to put them in the six seed against the Clippers (Memphis game hasn’t been decided as of writing this). That’s a little ridiculous that the two hottest teams in the league have to play each other in the first round.
  2. At the same time, the Spurs are playing so well, a lot of feel who they play in the first round really won’t matter. They will and should be the favorites in that series. Going on the road for three straight series before the Finals isn’t ideal, but the Spurs have shown they can win on the road in the playoffs.
  3. Anthony Davis is awesome. That is all.
  • hoopsaf

    It’ll be extremely tough for Spurs. It doesn’t matter if they are playing at the top of their games. They might not have a single home court advantage in any round, and will most likely have to win at least 2 aways games in many of the series. This will be very hard for a team that’s been to deep playoff runs for 3 seasons in a row.

    This is largely self-inflicted if you think about it. In this supposedly all-out-war, they came out with zero fire. It doesn’t really matter how experienced you are. No matter how many games you’ve played in your career, you still are prone to coming out flat in the most important game of the season.

    They’ll have to make history if they want to repeat. Spurs never had to win more than one away series in any of their championships. If they have to do it 3~4 times? Not unless Kawhi becomes the most dominant player on the floor for the entire post season.

  • Ginobili137

    Manu is really just struggling to move out there this year in most games. I know that the team hired some fancy medical staff this summer, but it would appear that they are incompetent. I know that Manu is very old and slowness is to be expected, but I always see him doing static stretches on the sideline before he comes into games. It is common knowledge amongst trainers that static stretching is bad to do before athletics, but apparently the Spurs trainers either don’t know or haven’t told Manu. I wonder if their incompetence is harming Manu in other ways that we don’t see on TV.

    Anyway, I know I sound like some creepy stalker fan, but I’m worried about Manu. It would really hurt to see him finish his career with poor play. I hope he can get it together.

  • hoopsaf

    Father time has caught up with Manu. He’s the first to retire among the old trio I presume.

    I think that the next to go might actually be Parker, as Duncan is still one of the top big men in the league, while Parker in most night is a struggling one dimensional player.

  • Jane Ann Craig

    He’s been doing those stretches for several years - nothing new.

  • brunostrange

    So it looks like the sixth seed, huh?

    LAC happen to be my most disliked team in the league. It would be just great to boot them out in the first round.

  • Graham

    Can we chalk this up as a charity loss to gift the fans the chance of seeing playoff Davis? Certainly not afraid of playing the clippers and Houston, if it comes to that. Team showed good fight against a team that threw every ounce of itself at us and then some.

  • brunostrange

    Given that there’s another Spur that is playing incredibly well at 39, and presumably uses the same training staff as Manu, I don’t think SA’s trainers are the problem.

    Manu’s running on fumes is all. He’s old. He’s said as much in interviews. I would be very surprised if he came back next season, regardless of how this playoff run plays out. I don’t think we’ll see ‘bad Manu’ on every outing from here on out - he’s too smart a player for that. But it’s going to be a roll of the dice with him - it’s been that way for a while now.

  • Gabbo

    Playing that well down the stretch and getting the team that’s healthy and playing js well as anyone and has everybody healthy is a bad beat. The 4/5 winner will be cakewalk for GS. I was really hoping we could somehow slide into the 5 spot, get HCA and play a banged up Portland team.

    You can look back over an 82 game series and see so many lost opportunities. The inexplicable meltdown in MSG. The Cleveland OT game. All those winter stinkers that were being thrown up. Credit to the Pelicans though. They brought a ton of energy and showed a lot of heart down the stretch where everyone was expecting them to tighten up.

    And a tired beat up Indy team just didn’t have any gas after an emotional OT win.

    Tighten your seat belts. This is easily going to be the most competitive first round series in the playoffs. Without HCA, we’re gonna have to do it in 6.

  • brunostrange

    Is it really that likely that Houston will beat Dallas? Genuinely curious - I get that Dallas kinda turned to crap midway through the season (and to be honest, I haven’t followed them all that closely since the first couple months), but Houston is dealing with some pretty significant injuries - and Carlisle can coach circles around McHale.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    Tonight’s events do not bode well for the SA Spurs. You guarantee homecourt in your first two playoff series if you win, while you get those same two on the road if you lose. It’s really simple, and they came out flat enough to let the Pels get a 20 point first half lead? Really?

    They had all the motivation in the world, knew the stakes, and flat out laid an egg against a highly motivated, yet borderline lottery team. I know some of you diehards will disagree, but this is a bad sign going forward. If you’re going to come out half-hearted, then just do it all the way and put your vets in street clothes.

  • DorieStreet

    And the team you really are a fan of -the Detroit Pistons—what are they doing now?
    (Look up the his comments history.)

  • Graham

    I certainly wouldn’t rule it out. Every one of these series except Warriors Pels can be potrayed as a toss us I think

  • DorieStreet

    Bad scheduling by the NBA. Injuries aside, you want teams to be at their best physically and mentally in playing down the stretch for a playoff berth. There should not be any teams playing back-to-back games during the last week - 10 days of the season.

  • Graham

    On a related note……EVERY SINGLE SOUTHWEST TEAM MADE THE PLAYOFFS!?!?! That’s kind of nutty.

    We weren’t going 16-0 here, let’s not kid ourselves. Probably best we go in with something to prove as opposed to riding high like we did in 2012

  • Graham

    Parker looked quite capable tonight. Though this comment may be on the fact that Duncan is aging like a tree more than anything else.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    I’ve been a hardcore Spurs fan since 2007, troll. Ask anyone who knows me (but how could you? LOL) But yes, I live in Michigan and have been a Pistons fan my whole life. Gee, a guy who likes TWO basketball teams. Whoda thunk it? Also, do I get additional demerits since Steph Curry is my favorite NBA player (Kawhi is second).

  • hoopsaf

    Even when Parker plays well offensively, I just don’t feel good about him being on the floor because he’s a liability on everything else (defense, rebounding, anything regarding hustle).

    I think his career won’t be as long as Manu’s or Duncan’s simply because once his speed completely vanishes, he has nothing to offer.

  • thedrwolff

    We only say that because OKC played out of their mind with three MVP candidates and Ibaka on the same team. I often wonder if that wasnt our best team due to Duncans insane year and Ginobilli being younger as well as Parker in the MVP chat

  • thedrwolff

    21-4 down the stretch…with two of those to overtime. Is a good run. Equal to 68-14 on the season. We can point to any number of things but they are all history and we could just as easily have lost other games. I don’t dig the 1-6 in OT, the 6-7 in games 3pts or less. Beating Houston IN houston on the last play was cool. Tonight I needed to see PoP give Kawhi the ball midway through the fourth and say “go have fun and let’s see what you can do”. You hear a lot of Kawhi/Pippen conversations…except…in Pippens best years (28,29,30 yo) he averaged 20/7/5.5 with 2.6 steals per 36 min. He also shot over 34.5% only twice in 16 seasons. Kawhi is a more efficient scorer as well as more careful with the ball and a better rebounder. Kawhi is also 230 and pippen floated between 210 and 220. I still need to see Kawhi in the clutch with the game on the line. His game was awfully quiet tonight and not once did he pull out the CLAW. Damn that foul that negated his made three. That super Kawhi game is coming… nice consolation to see OKC out of the playoffs and knock that franchise down a few notches from the lofty perch the media had them on. Kinda lets them know how hard making the playoffs and 50 wins for 16 straight is. Unless durant and westbrook play till theyre 41 with some excellent talent…that’s now out of reach.

  • thedrwolff

    Can’t waste time with discussing teams that don’t stand a prayer of winning the WCF. The clippers, in spite of everyone dissing their bench, are real. Of course Golden state, and us. The other 5 teams are for fandom and dreams. I just don’t see us winning 3 series on the road to get to the finals. Where the F is Splitter and what’s his status??????????

  • RonJohn

    It’s not charity when Duncan, Leonard, Parker & Diaw all played minutes significantly over their 10 game average.

  • TD BestEVER

    1st these grades have become almost a running gag reel or something. How can you give TP an A when he couldn’t contain Norris Cole. NORRIS COLE!!!!!!!!!!!! And Kahwi made ZERO impact on the defensive said of things. I didn’t see a single deflection all game and he was under 50% shooting….. Diaw had 4 turnovers at really bad times….. You can’t grade some players based on a complete floor game and give others passes on their complete game…..

  • TD BestEVER

    I still think we win this in 6 games MAX and more than likely 5. I think we start Diaw and just outscore them. Then hack Jordan when it close. That plus having KL and Danny D up should be more than enough to make this a quick and easy series. The Clips just don’t play Defense at all!!!

  • Jordan Hedge

    Parker is an underrated defender. He is smart, but he just isn’t as quick as he used to be. And he has to pick his spots now-he can’t go all out on both ends. Not anything to do with effort.

  • Jordan Hedge

    clips are not great on defense, but have been much better since the All Star break I believe. Also, pretty sure CoJo also took turns guarding Cole and fared no better. It was the same thing for all NO drivers all night. Bigs had to back up and they would either pop a J or throw up a floater. That isn’t on the guard coming off of a screen-there’s little you can do.

  • TD BestEVER

    I disagree, you don’t follow non shooters over screens you can go under and meet them before they get to the basket. And CoJo did play poorly and got the grade he deserved for his poor play. But giving Parker an A with his costly TO’s and poor Defense is just a joke.

  • Jordan Hedge

    That’s an interesting argument considering Cole did a lot of the damage against Parker on jump shots or long floaters…but whatever. The bigger joke is getting worked up about grades for players done by a blog for a regular season game.

  • JSpur

    No! No more hacking! We had the Pelicans on the ropes early in the fourth. Back to a 5 point game, they were out on their feet after their unbelievable effort, then we broke our momentum and rhythm with the hacking plays. This actually gave NO a breather, and with some FT’s made and us missing at the other end, it bolstered their confidence. When we stopped hacking, the Pelicans were 11 points to the good. We let them off the hook, and the hack was to blame.

  • hoopsa

    He might have been an ‘OK’ defender when he could still move around. But this year, he just isn’t. Whether you believe in analytics or not, I haven’t seen a single number that doesn’t scream how bad he’s been defensively.

    And a guy who’s playing nearly 30 minutes is averaging 1.9 rebounds. 1.9 rebounds! His per-minute-rebounding is the worst in the entire league among qualified PGs:

    http://espn.go.com/nba/statistics/player/_/stat/rebounds/sort/avg48Rebounds/position/point-guards/count/41

  • Tyler

    This was a kitchen sink game - NO throws everything and the kitchen sink to try to win. They leave nothing in the tank.

    It doesn’t matter how much experience you have, it’s impossible for anyone to simulate that type of desperation. I don’t think this loss in any way changes the groove this team has been on.

    That said, sure it’s going to be a tougher road in the playoffs. But as well as they’re playing, I think they have to be favorites to make the WCF.

  • Tyler

    I believe it’s only bad to do static stretching when you’re cold. When Manu is due to come in, he’s already warm and sweating. I don’t think it’s the same.

  • Tyler

    They didn’t have nearly the desperation of NO. In that regard, it wasn’t close. You can’t simulate that. And it’s not like they necessarily came out flat - NO was as good as I can remember last night. They won the game more than SA lost it.

    It’s one of 82. I wouldn’t draw too many conclusions from one game.

  • hoopsaf

    True, I think Spurs are still the favourite in every match up even without HCA except for a potential GSW showdown.

    However, the odds took a non-trivial dip due to lack of HCA IMO. E.g. Spurs could’ve been favoured as 70~80% likely winner with HCA against DAL, but now they are probably more in 50~60% range against LAC without HCA.

  • TD BestEVER

    Nope the bigger jokes are people who don’t get worked up by grades on a blog!!!! Why would you be posting on a blog if you are not a FANBOY!! People who want casual news should go watch sports center or download the team Stream APP and get their news that way.

  • thedrwolff

    Go back to 5:30 left down to 2:30 left in the game. 6 possessions. Parker 2 TO Diaw 2 TO and we shoot 1 for 2…that was the end. 2 points in 6 possessions with 4 TO. the Pelicans shot on fire with their early emotional high but came down to earth in the second half. What they did so much better then us is got shots and not TO. 10 steals to 1 steal until the final minute…that is ridiculously lopsided.

  • ferscia

    Agreed 100%

  • JSpur

    Yeah, you have that right. I won’t argue about them being the better team on the night, and fair play to them for their effort and execution. Not saying we’d have definitely gone on to win, but at that stage I was confident for the first time in the game. We had our tails up, they were missing shots… then the hack-a plays killed our momentum and gave them the opportunity to regroup.

  • TD BestEVER

    I agree 100%

  • Jordan Hedge

    Interesting take. I did not realize player grades was such a hard-hitting news item.

  • Jordan Hedge

    And yet hacking Josh Smith was basically the reason the Spurs won the second game against Houston…I do feel like it draws away from the Spurs offense though. They can no longer get steals, transition baskets, etc. I do think it can be beneficial at times though.

  • Jordan Hedge

    Oh, sorry, didn’t realize grabbing rebounds as a PG qualified you as a good defender. Got it.

  • TD BestEVER

    You just don’t get people go online to get worked up… its not like I can got into Pop’s office and give him a piece of my mind w/o going to jail or something….. And getting a bunch of Spurs fans together in any city not named SAS is as close to impossible……….So this is where people go who have something they really want to say and no place to say it.

  • hoopsaf

    I said ‘… he’s a liability on everything else (defense, rebounding, anything regarding hustle)’

  • JSpur

    You are right, Jordan. I agree there is a time and a place for it (even though I’m not a fan of it). Just not last night when it was a completely different kind of game and circumstance.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    You have a right to your opinion but your logic is flawed. The Spurs had a chance to play their first TWO series in the already brutal Western Conference playoffs with home court advantage, as opposed to opening those same two series on the road. All you have to do is win one game against a weaker, albeit highly motivated opponent on THREE DAYS rest.

    This was hardly “one game of 82.” A road game against, say, the Timberwolves on a frigid January evening is “one game of 82.” Frankly, the notion that blowing this game didn’t potentially have long lasting implications and/or wasn’t really that important is patently ridiculous.

  • Zach

    Don’t forget the OG wild card that year: Captain Jack

  • Tyler

    No one said this game didn’t have implications. I don’t think I ever said that.

    My point was there is no better motivator than the “win or go home” mentality. It’s certainly a greater motivator than the “let’s win for a better seed” mentality!

    When I said I wouldn’t draw conclusions from this game, I meant this loss shouldn’t impact the trajectory of this team - they’re playing extremely well and a loss to a good NO team (they played really, really well) shouldn’t affect that.

  • Anwar

    danny green a D and marco belinelli an F?….someone please explain that logic. and if it has already been discussed in the thread which i have decided i will read upon completion of this post, accept my dearest apologies.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    We can agree to disagree, but your statement of “one game out of 82″ is what sparked the debate in the first place.