El Conclusión: San Antonio Spurs 99, Golden State Warriors 110

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San Antonio Spurs 99 FinalRecap | Box Score 110 Golden State Warriors
Tim Duncan, PF 21 MIN | 3-8 FG | 2-4 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | -12 +/-

After his huge game in Los Angeles the night before, you kind of expected Duncan to either sit out or have a quiet game. He ended up having a quiet game against the Warriors, but it wasn’t a silent one, as his interior defense helped keep the first half competitive. In a season of injuries and inconsistent play, Tim Duncan’s stellar play has been one of the team’s few constants.

Kawhi Leonard, SF 19 MIN | 5-7 FG | 1-2 FT | 6 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | -9 +/-

Kawhi Leonard played better than he did against the Clippers, but that is a very, very low bar. Loenard shot the ball well, but still got most of his points off of outside shots. During the game, Popovich said he played the Clippers like he was trying to be Kyle Korver. Well, he might not have been doing Hawks Charades in Oakland, but he still didn’t look exactly like Kawhi Leonard and didn’t attempt a single free throw.

Aron Baynes, C 25 MIN | 6-12 FG | 0-0 FT | 10 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 12 PTS | +3 +/-

Aron “Starting Center” Baynes is a thing now, I guess. Baynes played decently enough against the Warriors (minus a couple hilarious #gooflolz), but I just can’t bring myself to believe that his current spot in the starting lineup is a long term move. He’s well suited to come off the bench and devour backup Centers on opposing teams’ second units. That will likely be his role come playoffs.

Tony Parker, PG 21 MIN | 0-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 1 REB | 6 AST | 2 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 2 PTS | -14 +/-

Tony Parker played? Word? Like, the same guy that killed it last night? French guy, likes to spin, has a killer floater – that Tony Parker? Huh…

Danny Green, SG 21 MIN | 1-4 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 4 PTS | -11 +/-

Depending on how many times you rewound your DVR, Green may have been hobbled against the Warriors. I certainly hope that was the case, because the Green that showed up was tentative and mostly absent throughout the game.

Reggie Williams, SF 12 MIN | 3-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 2 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 7 PTS | +10 +/-

Newly signed Reggie Williams shot a ton in the game’s final quarter, and while that’s easy to poke fun at, the reality is Williams might not have another chance to play a full quarter all season. Good for him. He played hard and helped the Spurs trim down a disaster to a mere embarrassment.

Marco Belinelli, SF 19 MIN | 4-8 FG | 0-0 FT | 1 REB | 2 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 2 TO | 9 PTS | -11 +/-

Belinelli played hard and shot well. At one point, he even gave Stephen Curry a hard foul in response to Curry’s staredown of the Spurs’ bench after a big three. That might have been the greatest defensive display of Belinelli’s career.

Matt Bonner, C 12 MIN | 0-1 FG | 2-2 FT | 4 REB | 0 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 0 TO | 2 PTS | +10 +/-

Coach B played all of the fourth quarter, but it’s difficult to really judge his time considering the game was well out of hand by the time he hit the court. So just to be safe, I’m going to give him an A+.

Boris Diaw, C 21 MIN | 5-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 5 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 0 BLK | 4 TO | 11 PTS | -19 +/-

Boris was aggressive early and pushed the Spurs to a (mostly) strong first half. He started to take plays off on the defensive end as the game wore on, though, and as his aggressiveness waned, so did San Antonio’s chances of mounting a successful comeback.

Tiago Splitter, C 16 MIN | 3-5 FG | 2-2 FT | 5 REB | 2 AST | 1 STL | 0 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -6 +/-

Tiago coming off the bench is still a thing, and nobody really seems to know why. He’s still struggling to find his rhythm after missing time, and with the starting unit in varying degrees of slump (sweet name for a 90s grunge band, by the way), the team needs consistency. It’s a pity the Spurs couldn’t make a deal for last season’s Tiago before the trade deadline.

Patty Mills, PG 23 MIN | 3-6 FG | 1-2 FT | 0 REB | 1 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 2 TO | 8 PTS | +6 +/-

The Aussie Bake Oven™ didn’t heat up until the game was already out of hand. This was unfortunate.

Cory Joseph, PG 12 MIN | 2-5 FG | 3-4 FT | 0 REB | 3 AST | 0 STL | 1 BLK | 0 TO | 8 PTS | +10 +/-

CoJo didn’t play against the Clippers, and he only saw garbage time against the Warriors. This was a little puzzling, considering the Spurs needed some defense with Green gimpy. But they also needed some offense, and that hasn’t been Joseph’s strong suit. (Although, he did play well on that end tonight in the final quarter.)

Manu Ginobili, SG 18 MIN | 4-7 FG | 0-0 FT | 3 REB | 3 AST | 1 STL | 1 BLK | 1 TO | 8 PTS | -12 +/-

Manu shot well from the field but failed to make an impact on a night where the Spurs could have really used his assertiveness. With Parker slumping the night after a monstrous performance, Ginobili had ample opportunity to take the lead on the second night of a back to back. He didn’t have a terrible game, but the Spurs needed him to have a great one to have a shot at leaving Oakland with a win.

Gregg Popovich

Cory Joseph’s recent stints notwithstanding, Popovich’s coaching decisions have been fine. The team just didn’t respond well against the Warriors and started to lose defensive assignments as the second half started. Some of that is fatigue, but Popovich is clearly upset by what he perceives to be a lack of motivation.

Three Things We Saw

  1. With the Western Conference so tight, and the teams at the bottom just now starting to get healthy, the first round is going to come down to matchups. And the Warriors are going to draw a tough one, likely playing the Thunder in the first round. The Spurs, for their part, might not mind staying in the 7th spot if it means getting Memphis in the first round. The Grizzlies are really good this year, but the Spurs match up against them really well and have owned them for the most part since 2011’s brutal playoff loss. But with so many games to go and so few games separating the teams, guessing where anybody will end up is a fool’s errand. We’re in store for a fun close to the season as teams jockey for the best matchups in the first round.
  2. This year’s road trip is not off to a good start, but the Spurs have a good chance to finish 3-1, with winnable games against the Jazz, Kings, and Suns ahead of them. That would be enough to finish above .500 at 5-4, but it would probably not be enough to move up a spot or two in the standings.
  3. I’m supposed to be working on a highlight video of the season so far, but part of me just wants to do a mixtape of injured Spurs players set to Sarah McLachlan. God, I really need this team to turn it around…
  • Bussman

    We need to hit 50 wins and is a really hard thing to do with this kind of play… I don’t see the pace we used to have and I remember Pop yelling for the pace, because is very difficult for us to beat a good (and young and athletic) defense when they are set up…

    When we keeped pace this look like a very good game in the first half…

  • Spurs fan in Australia

    As much as I can see Spurs wanting to play Grizzlies, it doesn’t really matter if they beat them but then lose in the 2nd round. Also, as much as I think Spurs are still a chance to win it all, unless Parker and Splitter return to a level of play equal to last season they might even struggle to make it out the first round.

    I feel like Spurs are almost a victim of their own success. I think more than any of their other Championship wins, teams really took notice of the beautiful way they played against Miami last season and now teams are incorporating that constant motion and ball movement the Spurs are known for, Unfortunately, those teams also on a whole have better talent.

    While I think the Spurs at their best with every player playing their A game can still beat anyone, it just seems like they are struggling to get their due to injuries and possibly fatigue.

  • DorieStreet

    The 7th place spot the Spur have been stuck in seemingly since Thanksgiving is in jeopardy now with the recent losses. An OKC win in CHA Saturday nigh cuts the margin to 4 games (in both the win and loss columns). A sweep of the 3 remaining opponents in February really needs to happen.

  • brunostrange

    I think it can officially be said that Tony Parker is in decline. Yes, he’ll have the odd vintage TP game like he did against the Clippers the other night, but he follows it up with a string of clunkers where he plays with no confidence, and is unable to score consistently. It got to the point where the Warriors weren’t too concerned about him getting to the rim last night. No shame in that, I supoose. There’s a lot of miles on those legs. Still disheartening to see.

  • brunostrange

    Good point. A lot of people take it as almost a given that the Spurs own the seventh spot, but OKC ain’t too far behind. SA-GS in the first round is not out of the question.

  • Dapimp Ofdayear

    I think last night’s game was the first time it really hit me that the Spurs won’t repeat this year. There is just too much young, hungry talent in the West to deal with. Add that to this troubling, prolonged lack of chemistry and intensity and you have a recipe for a first round flameout. Other than maybe Houston, I can’t see the Spurs beating anybody.

  • TD BestEVER

    The problem here is TD is still are BEST Player!!!!!!!! His ceiling still seems just as high as every other player we have…… I mean TP with only 4 shots!!!! Like he wasn’t even trying!!! I have always been hard on him but this is a new low even for him…..At this point I think we might be better Playing him less and Patty/CJ more. At least they don’t dominate the ball!!! Even vs the Clippers he dribbled the life out of the ball several times…… But since he was being aggressive you can forgive it….. but not tonight.

    Also I think Baynes is our new starting Center, he just looks better than Splitter at the moment. His passing isn’t as good but he can shoot it better and finishes strong at the rim as oppose to some of the weak flips TS throws up there….

  • Dapimp Ofdayear
  • Graham

    We’d have to really bomb out to lose the 7 spot to OKC. They got a lot of new moving parts to integrate plus no KD against CHA, which probably isn’t a gimme for them. I like our chances to hold out given how home heavy the back half of our schedule is.

    That being said, I wouldn’t be totally afraid if we ended up in the 8 spot against the Warriors. It feels like either we aren’t healthy every time we play them or are on the 2nd leg of a Back to Back. You saw it in the first half that we were quite capable of going blow for blow with them before the team lost it’s energy.

  • GlassofOrangeJuice

    Pop needs to shave that beard. NOW

  • GillyTooTall

    I’m really torn watching the 2015 Spurs play. No dynasty (and yes the TD Spurs are an absolute dynasty) lasts forever. And it’s pretty clear the end is near, so I’m enjoying watching the random glimpses of brilliance they show. But, it’s also very sad watching the end of a historic run of basketball greatness, even though I knew it was coming eventually. Barring some sort of miracle, this years playoffs will make me shed a tear or two as the torch gets passed to the West’s new powers.

  • Filemon

    Some people say we need last years TP to be somewhere. But we seem closer to get 2002 TD than last year TP. Maybe we should go back to the roots, feeding Timmy in the post. The rest of the team has mysteriously regressed.

  • fkj74

    Guys come on. Healthy we have just as good a shot as anyone else. Baynes A+ for sure. Why only 19 Leonard minutes? I do think Cojo should start. TP off the bench could be explosive. Go Spurs!

  • Ed Yates

    “God, I really need this team to turn it around…”

    —-Yeah, good luck w/ that.

  • Ed Yates

    Stop. Just stop. Go get a glass of water and start dealing with the 1st stage of grief…denial.

  • brunostrange

    No disrespect meant, but I think the “wait till we get healthy” excuse is well past its expiration date.

  • DorieStreet

    Check the records, Graham.
    OKC won (CHA gave them a battle, though). Their record is 30-25, and the Spurs are 34-21. Four-game difference—-the Spurs don’t have to “really bomb out” have OKC overtake them for the 7th spot. They were 6 games up Thursday night; 48 hours later, that lead was chopped down 1/2 to 4 games.

  • DorieStreet

    This last week of February will let Spurs fans truly know about the mettle of this team.
    @ UTA — yeah, they beat POR (more about them later) by over 20 pts. Friday night.. But March is around the corner—-and the Jazz still only have 20 wins. And the telltale sign they are an inferior team this season—they have only 2 more wins at home versus on the road.The Spurs already gave a game away to them back in December.

    @POR — after the beat down from UTA, their record since 2015 started is 10-11.
    Ok, their 23-5 at home—but Wednesday night is the time for the Spurs to get a win at the Rose Garden. It’s not a back-to-back game.

    @SAC — don’t care that the Spurs December loss to the Kinds was a road SEGABABA. March 1st is a week from today—and the Kings have only won 19 games. Their home record this deep into this deep into the season…… 12-17.

    @PHX -it will be a SEGABABA Saturday night. But the Suns are only .500 (11-11)since New Year’s Day.
    They have fallen out of the last playoff spot in the west. And again —the Spurs gave away a game to them (reoccurring theme here, eh?) last Halloween.

    I’d feel real comfortable with a sweep to finish out the RRT.
    But anything less than 3-1 spells trouble.

  • Graham

    That’s just it though. 4 games is a good cushion. We didn’t play terrible, we just caught two extremely good teams on a back to back. Even playing at that level we should be able to win the next 3 of 4 at the minimum. Remember the thunder have to be damn near flawless to catch us if we play at an acceptable level the rest of the way. The clippers loss was unfortunate but not damning and that warriors game was basically a schedule loss. Let’s see how these next games look before jumping off the bridge here

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  • Graham

    We caught a huge break too with Durant having to get surgery too. A strong finish and we can be 5+ games up on the thunder by the end of the week too

  • Emil E. Matula III

    The pace was good in the first half, now we need the conditioning to keep the pace up through the rest of the game.

  • Emil E. Matula III

    Tim does not have the weight to play with his back to the basket anymore, and he cannot add that weight on his knees.

  • DorieStreet

    Stop with the “jumping off the bridge” line-it’s lame, tired, and overused.
    OKC does not have to play “flawless”—-just outdo the Spurs by a game or two in 5-6 game segments as the season winds down.
    Still two games left to play against the Thunder—so right there are two opportunities for the Spurs’ lead to get whittled down some more-in addition to the other 23 games left.
    Check back here St. Patrick’s Day; the Spurs will have played 10 more games, and OKC 12 (including the Nuggets game Sunday night). We’ll review the results and comment then.

  • DorieStreet

    OKC getting inferior opponents while he misses games.
    Saturday night —close win @ Hornets; Sunday night -blowout victory hosting Nuggets.
    Spurs 34-21
    Thunder 31-25
    Lead is 3 1/2 games.

  • Graham

    Funnily enough in thinking the same thing. Let’s see if this team can grab some wins against average teams and put some distance on the KD-less thunder if at all possible.

  • Graham

    I wouldn’t classify @portland as inferior competition. Keeping the records even works in our favor.

  • spurs10

    Yeah I saw that Thunder has a weak schedule. Hopefully the Blazers can man up and give them a loss. Don’t have much faith in the Suns or Pacers.
    I’m thinking at the beginning of March we are at
    Spurs 37-22
    OKC 33-26
    Then I think things become much less of a cakewalk for OKC. I really want to see them play the Dubs in the first round..

  • Suave Groove

    Won’t happen. Timmy can’t bang in the post night after night anymore.

  • Comrade747

    I know, that beard is always bad luck.

  • Suave Groove

    Keep in mind that the Spurs has the toughest schedule in the West going forward, while OKC has the 4th easiest. Anyone thinking that 7th seed is given is crazy.

  • DorieStreet

    Wild & Crazy scenario: Spurs stay @ 7th spot, OKC remains in 8th spot.
    Playoffs start—-Spurs win series over 2nd seed, OKC prevails against No. 1.
    Spurs go on to defeat 3 v. 6 winner in wc semis, OKC takes out 4 v 5. victor.
    Spurs-Thunder WCF rematch—with Spurs having HCA.

  • TD BestEVER

    We don’t have to feed TD in the post, he can catch it at the high post like Dirk and shoot some of those 10-15 ft jumpers…… If you look he is open like 80% of the time off the high pick and roll action….. So on nights where he has it rolling just keep feeding him and if he feels like passing let him make the call….. he can still carry this team in short spurts and we need to keep that in mind….. Plus its not like anyone else is stepping up and taking he mantle from him….

  • TD BestEVER

    I like this scenario and really think it can happen…. But beating the Grizz we will need to get our scoring back in tip top shape…… last year we had like 4 people shoot over 40% from 3….now we only have one (Tony Parker) who doesn’t shoot many, I think if we are gonna do something in the playoffs, we will need more from TP, KL, and TD to really carry the scoring load for us. Because as it is now I don;t see anyone of them taking it over consistently!!!

  • Suave Groove

    That would be awesome! lol

  • thedrwolff5

    It’s been an amazing ride for the last 4 years. Aging core dominates and pass happy ball dominates. But as much as we all don’t want to admit it. We’re on the backside now. we have good support players that arent playing “good” and our three HOF players arent scaring anyone any longer. The core has changed. Tim isn’t getting those points posting up. Tony isnt getting his points charging the glass with no fear and manu isnt going to light it up for 20 points to bail out bad nights. We play excellent team ball but that is predicated on establishing a threat. Tim on the block, Tony at the window, Manu being Manu. They all have moments now, maybe even a quarter, but 25 min of dominance…Kawhi has got to turn into “the man” and pop is patiently giving him that responsibility inspite of the weak shooting % lately. It will be interesting to see if he can do it. Danny Green sighting anyone? Our 3 point shooting has just sucked this year. Plenty of open looks. Lots of clanking. we havent pulled away from anyone to win by 20 in a long time and that has been normal for 3 years. We had a good run.