Los Angeles Clippers 87, San Antonio Spurs 103: the Early Edition

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i-1

There are lots of positives to take away from tonight’s victory over the Los Angeles Clippers: the continued excellency of Tim Duncan; Tony Parker’s reignited aggressiveness; and what you might generally refer to as 48 minutes of sustained focus on both ends of the floor. But for me the story of the game is the play of the Spurs second and third tier players: Keith Bogans, Roger Mason Jr., Antonio McDyess and Theo Ratliff.

Coming into this season, many (including the authors of this blog) speculated that the Spurs would be one of the deepest teams in the league. So far that hasn’t proven to be true, as nearly every Spur except Tim Duncan has struggled to perform well on a consistent basis. But the evenly dispersed contributions of the second unit (Bogans started but I generally categorize him as a member of the “second unit”) speak to the idea that there is still plenty of time for that preseason speculation to be validated.

Although unanticipated, the play of Bogans, McDyess and Mason is in no way surprising. We’ve been watching Bogans relax into his role, drain more and more open threes, and effectively pester opposing wings for the past couple of weeks. McDyess’ fundamentals are so glaringly evident that it was only a matter of time before his 18-footer started dropping and his defensive abilities began to coalesce. And we can all testify to the fact that on any given night Mason’s stroke can look as smooth and sweet as anyone’s in the league.

But the truly surprising, and to some degree show-stealing, performance came from Theo Ratliff. Because of a comfortable lead and the absence of Matt Bonner, Ratliff saw more court time than in nearly any game so far this season. And how did he repay Pop for the opportunity? By not only remaining active on the glass and playing physical defense, but by whipping out an array of post moves that, in all honesty, I didn’t know he had.

“I had a little bit back in the day,” said Ratliff in a post-game interview. “I have just been watching Tim doing his little running hooks and getting his mid range game together. You are never too old to learn.”

I don’t think you can really say a 36-year-old had a “breakout” game but the big veteran certainly had his best game as a Spur.

Obviously one game a season does not make, and on Wendesday we’ll have a chance to see whether the Spurs can manage to put together an equally impressive performance against a playoff caliber team. But for the moment I’m content to savor the victory and entertain the notion that a number of our offseason acquisitions may finally be rediscovering their swagger.

  • to19

    it was interesting to watch the spurs frontcourt during this game. bonner’s absence left a more traditional look, mcdyess was the only big really able to spread the floor.

  • Chris

    Theo was amazing tonight and it was great to see the other guys playing well too (other than Timmy). Roger looks good and confident again about not only shooting the ball but driving and creating for others. Great to see Tony back to playing like Tony again. Manu’s still playing badly. I hope he gets it together. Not only do we need him still this is a contract year for him and needs to start playing well for any team to offer him some kind of contract.

  • thecrimsonblur

    I think saying that the Spurs’ depth hasn’t been showing early in the season isn’t true at all. Last I checked, our bench lead the league in pts, rebs, and was second in assists. Sure, the team has been inconsistent, but the talent has been showing, even if it is hibernating at times.

    Regardless, it sure is nice to see a complete game by the Spurs. Progress.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Graydon Gordian

    thecrimsonblur-

    On paper they look good but I think the bench has generally underachieved this season. I think Hill and Blair have played well given their level of experience but on the whole there is no one on the bench that I look at and say “he’s consistently performing to his potential.”

    Also, even though Manu has struggled this season, always be skeptical of the Spurs bench stats compared to the league. Almost no one in the Association chooses not to start a player of his caliber, and it can skew categories like points and assists (the rebounds figure strikes me as pretty legit).

  • Jesse Blanchard

    Re: Ginobili. I’m a little worried.

    I see a lot of the same tricky crossovers, daring passes and clever tricks that have made him so special. What I don’t see is an ability to create enough separation or enough lift to finish in heavy traffic.

    If he were misreading where the help defense was coming from, throwing away passes, or mishandling his dribble I’d safely say that this was just a matter of rust or confidence. But all of his basketball intelligence and feel for the game seems in place.

    What worries me is that his problems seem to be indicators of waning athletic ability. Though I hope I’m wrong.

    But even without a complete Ginobili he still remains valuable to the Spurs as our best playmaker. Because Manu Ginobili is able to get so many people involved from the shooting guard spot, he allows Tony Parker to concentrate a little more on scoring than most point guards would be allowed to. And allowing Parker to be aggressive has always been in the Spurs best interests.

    Now if Parker could just return to being Parker…but that’s another story.

  • Ian

    Sorry, this isn’t anything to do with your article, but is Bruce Bowen working as an ESPN analyst or something?? I was watching the ‘highlight of the night’ video embedded on the right hand side of your blog and was surprised to see Bruce commenting on the game… man that was weird.

  • Ivander

    I agree with thecrimsonblur ;
    I think the bench has been playing excellent so far, maybe the players who contributed weren’t the same every game but the Spurs’ bench is #1 in the league with around 42 pts/game.

    Sure, if everyone could deliver on a consistent basis it would be even better. The players who have to improve the most (in my eyes) are RJ, Parker (who’s on the right path) and maybe Roger Mason Jr who is finding his touch too. As we know Duncan is having a stellar season so far ,if he can keep that up and others step up ,things will work out and the Spurs will finally be able to beat playoff contenders!! I find Keith Bogans is filling Bruce Bowen’s role better every game and it seems like McDyess is feeling more comfortable too. I like him coming of the bench instead of Blair, this kid has brings so much energy and he’s hitting virtually every shot under the basket. I hope Matt Bonner will be able to continue shooting threes like before his injury when he’ll be back in a month.

    Things are starting to look a little better for the Spurs right now, even if the game against the Pacers was more difficult it should have been. They had the right attitude and fought back to win.

  • Easy B

    Re: comment of Jesse Blanchard:
    I am tending to agree a little bit about MG…..I see why pop wants to rest him….he has given his all to basketball for how many years and no one lasts forever. Look at Peja….he is not Ginobili, but for a time he was deadly…Not trying to count out my fave player but I think Pop and the spurs Trust know what they are doing and can see that they are better off trying to ” get by” with their new , and deeper roster until playoff time, and with a little luck, have el contusion firing for a 25 game burst at the end of the season to put the spurs over the top. I still really like this team and all its parts, what concerns me the most is the intangiables of the team; there is enough talent on the team to win the league, but when the playoffs come and we play 8 players predominantly, will we have the necessary combination of athletic talent, savvy, and top level execution to beat teams that parade superior athletic ability - ie lakers, orlando, boston, portland.
    Having said that, I tend to believe that the spurs are scrimmaging a bit right now, and though they want to win, pop isn’t trying to pad his win stats, but rather trying to groom a real team….a little bit of that peeped its head out against indiana the other night…enough to get me excited

  • Ivander

    I wanted to add that YES, of course Manu needs to play better too in order to be more competitive BUT we have talented players we didn’t have 3 years ago who can make up for inconsistent performances from our beloved bat-stopper.
    Don’t you agree Graydon? Or am I getting it wrong?

  • JT

    Last night was in fact a good win, but I don’t think we have learned that much from the Spurs. We think McDyess is fitting better, but we all said that right before they played Phoenix and he disappeared for a while. Jefferson had a couple of nice games and struggled a bit last night.

    I like Ratliff on the floor, I would like to see both him and Duncan on the floor at some point to see how they match.

    Did you guys notice on the 3rd or 4th quarter, Roger Mason Jr was running Point and Tony SG. mason is turning out to be pretty good with the ball.

    I really would like a definite answer as to whats up with Manu, he seems to shy away from taking shots (unles its a 3 pointer) and passes almost on every possession. He still looks OFF.

    Timmy is unbelievable, hitting shots from all angles and yes… even free-throws.

    I think we will learn a bit more once they play Portland, though they are without their big man.

    Bright side of things is that after all this, we only 2 games out of the 2nd seed in the west, but our games will get tougher now. We are lucky we’ve had such an easy schedule in the earlier part of the year.

    Sad the Spurs won’t play Phoenix again this Christmas :(

  • LionZion

    I gotta chime in and agree with Jesse above. Manu’s play has been efficient most nights. What’s missing are those crazy drives in heavy traffic and somehow finding a way to finish. I am hoping, it is still too early in the season and he has enough time to get that going by the end.

    Also, Manu has himself said he is going to focus on building a reliable midrange game. So far, I think he has missed more than made his behind the back step back midrangers. If he can make that at a deadly pace, I think he will be golden coz defenders can’t crowd him at the 3pt line.

  • http://www.48minutesofhell.com Graydon Gordian

    Ivander,

    In the short term I agree that we have enough talented players that on any given night someone can make up for Ginobili’s inconsistent play. But I consider it essential to our playoff hopes that Manu find his stride. He doesn’t have to return to pre-2008 injury Manu, but he does have sharpen up a little bit.

    Re: The Bench,

    I’m not trying to knock our bench, I just think using the points the bench scores compared to the rest of the league is a bad indicator because a) most people don’t bring a talent like Manu off the bench and b) Pop always plays a deep rotation- the more burn the bench gets, the more points they will score. Pop has always played a deep rotation even when the talent wasn’t there to do so.

    If you take away Manu’s 13 points per game, the bench’s ppg standing falls to 18th.

    What the bench does have is the best defensive efficiency rating of any bench in the league and in this instance the fact that Pop uses such a deep rotation is a bonus: Bench players oftentimes find themselves out there with our players starters and, at least statistically, continue to do a good job defensively. But given our overall defensive efficiency rating (which is lower in the rankings), that raises some questions about the defensive prowess of our starters.

  • bigtee

    I like our defense without bonner in there muckin it up.

  • Jimbo

    Great to see Blair getting some playing time…

  • Drom John

    Bad +26 game by Ginobli.

  • ThatBigGuy

    @ Graydon:

    A. Most teams can’t bring a guy like Manu off the bench. We can and we do.
    B. Most benches can’t play their 2nd unit big minutes. We can and we do.
    I’m not sure how this is a “bad indicator.” We have to most potent bench in the league because we have the best bench in the league. Pure and simple.

    I don’t like Blair starting. The opposing big men are fresh and ready to set the tone against the rookie when he starts. So he ends up with 2 quick fouls. I say let him come off the bench. If I was Kaman and I was guarding McD all over the court, then saw Blair sitting at the scorer’s table, I’d be all pissed because I’m winded and now I have to box out like crazy. Blair is almost as much of a psychological weapon as he is a physical weapon. A couple offensive rebounds and put-backs towards the end of the the first quarter is demoralizing.

    Baron’s beard is sweet. I’m glad I got to see it again so soon.

  • Greg

    Statistically speaking (although skewed by individual performances), the bench is tops in the key points, assists and rebounds. They actually make the starting lineup look worse, which to me is more the problem since Parker and RJ have looked very inconsistent (and Manu although not part of the starting crew).

    Bogans seems to be finding himself each and every game. I thought the Indy game was a good example of the balance on both sides. And it wasn’t just with shooting, but off the dribble.

  • Martin

    @ThatBigGuy

    What I believe Graydon is pointing is that: yes, the Spurs have the best bench on the league and one of the reasons why is because it is the only team that has a future Hall of Famer (not exactly in his prime, but who is still one of the best 2s in the league).

    I haven’t done the math, but probably if you strip the bench’s statistics out of the team’s ones, you will find out that the Spurs probably have the Worst starters in the league (which of course is false)

    I guess the difference is that the bench and the starters are really balanced in their minutes. Which is a huge difference compared to other teams that play their stars 40+ minutes per game.

    So I think you are both right: Yes spurs have the best bench, but it is a very unconventional bench, so you are not comparing apples to apples vs other teams

  • Vic De Zen

    Man, I wish I had watched this game now. Just for Ratliff.

  • zack

    @ that big guy,
    very good point about the psych. aspect of blairs game. Never thought of it like that, but his athleticism is prob being spread faster than light, by word of mouth among nba players. Really loved how he blew baron davis off when he attacked him verbally! dejuan looked at him like “try something”. i think manu’s game will definitely come back. no doubt unless injury. hes off and you can tell hes not in rhythm mentally. parker and rj are so troubling right now, im still really worried about them the most. what if we start winning constantly with bonner and finley gone, afterall they are the most terrible defenders in spurs unif. (props to bonner lately 4 defense) im thinking w/out weak defenders we will keep points out of the post alot better. think about all the points finley and bonner give up! now we can specifically single out the weakest defenders. im not being neg. just observing each player.

  • doggydogworld

    Finally freed of both “weak defenders” Finley and Bonner, the Spurs buckled down and held the Granger-less Pacers to 38 in the 3rd quarter.

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