Wednesday, October 28th, 2009...9:25 pm
New Orleans Hornets 96, San Antonio Spurs 113
The Spurs tipped off their 2009-10 campaign in impressive fashion, defeating the New Orleans Hornets 113-96 in the season opener at home this evening. It’s hard to imagine an opening game that inspires more confidence moving forward.
I think the overwhelming truth that must be taken from tonight’s game is how deep this squad is. Discounting Keith Bogans and Theo Ratliff, who only saw the floor during the game’s closing garbage minutes, the bench had an average +/- of 12.2. Part of that can be chalked up to the Hornets shallow roster; part of it can be excused by the fact that our “second unit” includes Manu Ginobili and Antonio McDyess, two players who will be closing games alongside Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Richard Jefferson.
But no matter what caveats one wishes to apply, the fact of the matter remains that Gregg Popovich brings George Hill, Manu Ginobili, Roger Mason, DeJuan Blair and Antonio McDyess off the bench. That’s a 5-man unit that is better than some NBA teams’ starting 5 and is sure to overwhelm nearly any second unit the Association has to offer.
In a game that the Spurs controlled comfortably from near the end of the first to the end of the fourth, the only real moment of concern came when Tony Parker fell hard to the floor during the third. He would eventually get up and walk to the bench under his own strength, having had nothing more than the wind knocked out of him. He didn’t return to the game but, given the lead and the second leg of a back-to-back on the horizon, there was no reason to take any risks.
Many fans will look at our starting lineup as a point of concern, noting that both Bonner and Finley have superior players coming off the bench behind them. Although I would prefer McDyess have the starting job as well, I think there is no reason to fret over Bonner’s continued presence in the starting lineup: Even a veteran like Dice is going to take some time to learn the system, and Popovich is almost always going to play a known quantity like Bonner over a player who has yet to become fully integrated. And, as I mentioned earlier, there’s no reason to think McDyess wouldn’t be closing out a close game alongside Duncan.
Finley and his role as a starter is a different matter. I don’t imagine it will last long: Roger Mason played well this evening and when, unsurprisingly, he puts together a few solid shooting performances in a row, I expect Mason to be inserted back into the starting lineup. In the meantime, We’ll just have to deal with the weak link that is Finley’s defensive abilities. On the offensive end of the ball, he played well, going 4-6 overall and 2-4 from 3-point range. But the fact that he is the only Spur outside of Bogans and Ratliff to have a negative +/- is telling. At this point in his career he just does not have the lateral movement to keep up with other wings, nor is he able to make the swift rotations the Spurs defense requires (even if those rotations are practically instinctual).
No recap of tonight’s game would be complete without mentioning Manu Ginobili and DeJuan Blair, both of whom played well. El Contusion looked like his old self, splitting double teams with his “Euro-step” and confidently finishing with his patented underhanded left layup.
Meanwhile Blair notched his first double-double, scoring 14 points and hauling down 11 rebounds. Of all the players on the floor, Blair and Emeka Okafor were the only two to reach double digits in two statistical categories.
Although the Hornets shot well (50% from both the field and beyond the arc), 31 defensive rebounds kept New Orleans’ numbers of shot attempts down. Chris Paul led the Hornets with 26 points and, as I’ve said time and time again, I’m just fine with that. If Paul is scoring, it means our defense is making it difficult for him to integrate his teammates into the offense. I would always rather Paul have 20 points and 10 assists than 10 points and 20 assists (he finished with 9 assists to go along with his 26 points.
42 Comments
October 28th, 2009 at 9:34 pm
For those who watched it live, how did george hill fare? Seems TD won’t be playing huge minutes either by the looks of things, plus it gives time for our bench to grow. GO spurs!! I’m searching for a torrent for the game now, haha.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:21 pm
Andrew,
George looked just as good as he did in summer league and preseason. He was a huge reason why the Spurs’ bench outscored theirs 30-0 in the first half. Yes, 30-0.
October 28th, 2009 at 10:41 pm
all i can say is WOW WOW WOW!! ive been watching the spurs since i could remember and the last time i saw them playing like this they were pretty young!! i mean even the 07 team wasnt this pumped up. did you see rj sticking up for parker, dice yelling with parker after the 3pt play? the players couldnt sit down when our bench was out on the court!! i mean it was just great, wow i havent seen this much firepower… well? ever really.. i know i know its only one game,but that just means exactly that imagine when they get comfortable with the system!!!!! i did not like the start of finley and bonner either, but it looked as if pop got the hint, everytime n.o got the ball they were headed to bonner or finley. they know exactly who to go after. but overall i have to give it an A!!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:01 pm
I loved this game tonight! Loved the rotation! Loved the enthusiasm! Loved the intensity!!
Bring it on!
October 28th, 2009 at 11:38 pm
I think Pop did a great job on the rotation and distribution of minutes, even though the large lead had something to do with most of the guys getting 20-22 minutes. I think the starting line-up is perfect in the fact that you HAVE to guard every single guy on the court. If the D suffers because of Bonner or Finley, you can throw in Dice/Blair/Manu/Mason/Ratliff/or Hill.
It’s amazing how much scoring power we have. Hill and Blair are the least proven offensive players, so if you exclude them by default, you have a 10 man rotation with 8 must-guard players.
I loved the enthusiasm we played with. Blair was just all over the boards. Jefferson has a terrible shooting day, but hustled, and showed some fire by chesting up Paul. WE HAD 2 DUNKS! Manu was Manu and looked wonderful. Timmy looked stiff, but I think he’ll shake that off as he gets used to the knee brace.
This is going to be a very, VERY fun season.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Great to have basketball here again. Even better to see the Spurs appearing to play effortlessly. After two seasons of struggling to score on any night two of the Big-3 were not hot, it was great to have so many scoring options and overall quickness on the floor. Manu still looked a bit rusty and TD seemed content to let the new guys involve themselves. That minutes could be limited in game one of a back-to-back was extra nice. And I enjoy beating CP3 and the Hornets. All in all, a solid way to open the season.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:08 am
I agree with “ThatBigGuy” in regards to Pop managing the rotation in the beginning. Pop knows his team and he knows to rotate it.
Overall our defense was outstanding tonight!!
N.O. had no answer for us tonight.
BTW Top Performer for each team was this:
Hornets
Chris Paul
SPURS
DEJUAN BLAIR
A rookie like like Blair coming out on the season opener at home have GM’s from other leagues itching their heads. I like to see what programs like “Around the Horn” and “Pardon the Interuption” (ESPN) have to say.
Parker injury had me personally worried; have to see day to day (hopefully nothing)
Manu… is back
Looked really good especially the steal during the fourth quarter then faking Peja to the rim.
October 29th, 2009 at 1:37 am
That was one sweet left handed cross over!
October 29th, 2009 at 2:26 am
Finally got to see the game!
Was good to see everyone looking up beat and enthusiastic, solid first game.
Second half the D was a bit lacking, but the bench rotation was great to see.
Looking forward to getting up early to watch the next game
October 29th, 2009 at 2:34 am
Hey, Graydon, are you worried at all about the defense?
Our frontcourt had zero blocks and gave up big games to West and Okafor. At the same time, the Hornets shot 50 percent as a team. Both teams had basically the same amount of points in the paint, which to me says the biggest difference was in the Spurs making a lot of their jumpshots.
The shots aren’t going to fall like that every night, and I expect our field goal percentage to be about 7 to 10 percentage points less on the year when all is said and done.
October 29th, 2009 at 3:15 am
I stayed up all night to watch the game (I live in Luxembourg, Europe) I’m really tired today but I don’t regret staying up at all, what an opening game!!!
How deep and balanced is this team??
RJ had a bad shooting night but he dished out a few very nice assists under the basket. Duncan was quiet but efficient as ever. Loved seeing Manu move so quickly and doing crazy stuff like splitting defenders or going behind the back and scoring!
Blair was also playing very well, apart from making a few rookie mistakes but I loved his energy!
Could mention every player but it’s easier to say that,
in the whole, the team had a great opening night I think. Nobody was on the floor more than 28 minutes and everyone who played was somehow productive (apart from Ratliff and Bogans who only got garbage minutes). Offensively I’m not concerned at all for the season, defensively there is still some work to do but we got the guys to be a Top 3 defensive team again. That’s the key to championship #5!
October 29th, 2009 at 5:02 am
@Adonis,
Sorry to break it to you, but I seriously doubt PTI or AtH will touch on Dejuan Blair’s performance or even the Spurs at all. They’re more likely to review Kobe’s pre-game interview with Stu Scott.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:08 am
I like having Bonner and Finley in the lineup early but I overlook their defensive liabilities I’m sure. Duncan and Blair both could’ve had 20-20 games if they played 32 minutes.
When I saw TP fall I thought his wrist was under there….man oh man, what a scare.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:16 am
The best part of watching the game for me was at the end of the third quarter seeing Roger Mason on the floor and going, “oh yeah, I forgot we had Roger.”
So many guys were playing well and drawing attention that I forgot one of our biggest free agent pickups from last season.
If I had to guess, I’d say that’s a good problem to have.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:27 am
Nice game. I think offensively we looked good but our defense is one big man short. Bonner and Blair seemed like defensive liabilities and we had zero blocks last night! zero! I hope its just a conditioning issue but Duncan didn’t seem to lift off to try and block shots while playing help defense…
October 29th, 2009 at 5:32 am
loved the game however i think dice and mason should get to start instead of bonner and finley
October 29th, 2009 at 5:41 am
I agree with comments about the lack of blocks and Duncan’s lack of lift (which, as noted, is hopefully just a matter of conditioning). However, one of the things that stuck out to me was the amount of dribbling that Roger Mason Jr. did. There were times when he was on the court with George Hill and it seemed like Hill was the 2-guard and Mason was running the point with WAY too much dribbling. I’m not sure if that was by design (i.e. Pop let Mason initiate the offense a few times) or if Mason was just hogging the ball. Either way, let’s hope that it’s not a sign of things to come…. If Mason eventually gets into the starting lineup over Finley, then it won’t be an issue. He can just do what he does best.
October 29th, 2009 at 5:48 am
good all around game by the Spurs, and will only improve. Watchout Lakers!!!!!!!!
October 29th, 2009 at 5:59 am
That wasn’t just a left handed crossover, it was a right to left left handed crossover. Brilliant. I also loved Manu’s steal and then the behind the back to get the layup. Manu looked great.
We missed rotations on defense, but so what. It’s game one and we have a lot of new guys. We have lots of good defenders on the team and I’m confident they’ll get it locked down.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Great game last night. I’m sure the comments are going to run deep today, as that was a great win. As previously mentioned, it was nice to have capable scorers all over the court. The scoring distribution, while maybe a little bit overweighted due to the blowout, was awesome.
I was surprised to see Bonner in the starting lineup, as I’m sure many in here were. However, as the game got going, I actually started to think it made sense to run him with the first unit. Sure, he was getting killed by West. But I think it’s good to have another floor spacer when Duncan is on the court to allow him to work in the post. I also liked the front court combination of Dyess and Blair with the second unit. I’m sure we’ll see many different lineups by the time May rolls around, but I liked the way the front court PT worked last night. I do think Mason made a case to get lots of time in the backcourt, and as previously mentioned, wouldn’t be surprised to see him start soon.
It was nice to be able to see the 2nd unit maintain a lead and allow our main guys to rest down the stretch. That’s going to be important to this team.
And yes, Blair was a beast, but I though George Hill was equally impressive. He did a great job leading the second unit and actually looks like a PG now. As mentioned by TrueFan, I did notice that Mason seemed to be initiating the offense in the 4th as well. I don’t think that is a sign that he is going to be playing backup PG… I think Pop just wanted to see what other ball handlers he had. I actually think Mason looked decent enough. However, there is no way he is supplanting Hill as the PG off the bench.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:47 am
A couple friends and I recently got season tickets, and we were incredibly excited for tonight’s game. I recorded the game as broadcasted on ESPN to see if there was a big difference in what I saw, especially considering my seats are pretty high. (We call it the “crow’s nest.”)
To my surprise, there were some big differences. For one thing, you really got a feeling of how annoying Chris Paul is. And I don’t mean that as a compliment on his defensive ability. Sure, dude’s talented. But what the broadcast left out was the little things. Few things made us happier that night than seeing RJ nearly get into it with him. Parker falls, and Paul doesn’t miss a beat. He keeps playing. RJ slows him down to get him to wait, and Paul starts getting all upset. They were down by nearly twenty!
Later, George Hill was guarding Paul - and very well, I should add - and you could tell Paul was getting frustrated. It was so obvious, in fact, that from our angle, you could clearly make out Paul throwing elbows at Hill, some of which were inexcusably high. Sweet justice came during that same play, when after moving from a screen, Hill poked the ball out of Paul’s hand, sending it right into Blair’s. Blair passed it down to the other side of the court, where Hill threw down a great dunk. It was definitely one of the play’s of the game, even if we were already way, way ahead of the Hornets.
When Bill Simmons said the Spurs would go 64-18, I laughed, but tonight, even after one game, I am beginning to entertain that idea. We are just too deep for a lot of teams. The Hornets are legit, but we just never allowed them back in the game. “Grizzly Blair,” as we call him, was an absolute monster, and Ginobili looked great. Both of these guys will only get better, as Blair matures and Ginobili gets in better shape.
The best part of the game, though: Duncan only played 22 minutes. That’s just beautiful.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:47 am
As far as Blair being a defensive liability, most of the time he was matched up against Okafor, who is one of the better back to the basket bigs in the game right now. As far as offense is concerned, Okafor is really just a step below the Gasol/Duncan sphere. And i really dont think he did that poorly. One of the foul calls against him was pretty lame, but he was out of position on the other two. He got beat a couple times but the rest of the time he had a hand in his guys face anytime they were shooting the ball. I think the reason Bonner started was because of the matchup against David West. West is horribly lazy when it comes to chasing perimeter oriented bigs around- and this resulted in several open 3′s for Bonner (and others due to the swing a round). All things considered, this was one of our best defensive performances in recent memory. We were swarming. I dont really remember them having any wide open shots, except a couple on the break. I’m not too concerned with the lack of blocks, because even though we didnt get them, most of their shots were still contested.
As for the offense- we are loaded. thats really all there is to say. George Hill is an excellent backup PG and i think he could start at the 2 for a lot of teams in the league. He’s got a sweet stroke and is really quick. I noticed towards the end of the game we started running the offense through Blair, and he made a couple nice moves. I think his per 40 minute averages are going to be comparable, if not better than, Blake Griffins at the end of the year. He just needs a little time to get used to the speed of the game. He looked gassed a couple times trying to keep up with Ginobili…but thats a tough task when Manu is playing like he did last night. Incredible. Glad to have him back.
Cant wait til tonights game.
October 29th, 2009 at 6:48 am
Glad to hear Popovich will do what I proposed in this forum. Pop will play Ginobili no more than the last 7 minutes of every qtr.(I had said last 6 only.)
Spurs looked good offensively. Defense still needs work.
Impressed by the spurs depth. No need to sit Duncan or Ginobili for back to backs.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:04 am
I agree with Caleb on Chris Paul being annoying. Okay, maybe it is a “smart” play to heave up a 3 as you realize a foul is coming. But I’d say it’s pretty classless when you do that when the team is trying to foul you become one of its players is injured. Maybe the 3-pointer in the playoffs 2 years ago was smart, but last nights play was uncalled for. Not quite as big of an a-hole move as the low blow to Julius Hodge in the NCAAs, but still uncalled for. I think that’s why the refs didn’t give him the free throws - just because.
It was nice to see Hill harrass Paul and poke the ball away to get an easy flush.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:18 am
I think losing 15 pounds or so really helped Mason’s game. He seemed noticeably quicker to me.
I thought everyone was amazing, even Bogans with his air ball three!
October 29th, 2009 at 7:25 am
I’m looking forward to Bogans being in street clothes so Hairston can play. Or Ian. Or Haislip. Maybe we get a Haislip or Hairston sighting tonight to see how they match up with Tyrus Thomas and the Bulls rookie?
Also looking forward to Hill matching up with Rose. Should be excellent. Plus, i have a man crush on Kirk Heinrich.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:29 am
I won’t be surprised to see Finley remain in the starting lineup. He became a starter over Manu when he first signed with SA and took over for Bruce last year for one reason: he sucks off the bench. Finley doesn’t play well off the bench, so Pop started him. I hope his minutes are limited, but I don’t think it really matters if he continues to start because Manu will generally be the first off the bench to replace Finley.
As far as Bonner goes, I don’t think that really matters either. A bigger issue to me is how many minutes Bonner and Finley play, not if they start. We all know that in most cases, they won’t be on the floor at the end of games since McDyess and Manu will most likely join TP-TD-RJ as the closers. And with the depth of the team this year, I don’t see them playing “starter minutes” like they did last year.
As far as the defense goes, that’ll take time. With so many new faces, it will take time for them to learn the defensive schemes. I’m not worried about a lack of blocks. It is more important to me that they force difficult shots, limit teams to one shot, and play good help defense. Blocks are nice, but unless the blocking team controls the rebound, they don’t really amount to much.
Also, I was at the game, and at one point in the early second half, I looked at the stat board and NO was shooting around 44%. Their percentage increase during garbage time. When it the game was still competitive, the Spurs defense was doing fine. Plus, the Hornets played starters during the fourth quarter against our second and third units. NO’s final shooting percentage number is not indicative of the Spurs defense as a whole.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:34 am
Hey Steve,
you and Kirk get a room! j/k
Anyway, I was fortunate enough to be at the game last night and… Wowwzas! I started watching the Spurs in ’89 and I have never seen this many weapons on a squad. I was pumped to get our bench on the floor.. when was the last time you could say that???
Everyone looks great.
Nice little stat here: 9 players scored 9+ points.
That’s what you call DEPTH.
Bold Prediction: No one on the Spurs averages more than 32 minutes a game.
October 29th, 2009 at 7:36 am
What impressed me the most was the ball movement. For a team with guys just starting to play together, I thought they did a good job of finding the open man.
My favorite play was in the third quarter, when Parker received the ball, drew Okafor away from the basket, and made the bounce-pass to Blair for the easy bucket.
Wouldn’t it be great if Pop started Fin and Bonner all year, and then never played them in the playoffs? The old, “I am not left-handed” psych out.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:14 am
I agree. I think that Finley and Bonner should remain in the starting lineup actually. I might be in the minority but I like the veterans playing first and let the younguns (and Dyess) bring the energy at the end of the first quarter. Is it possible for an entire bench to win 6th man of the year?
I’m sorry I missed the live chat. Tim or Graydon, could you put a live chat preview post on here before you actually do one so we know when one is coming up? Something like, “Tonight, Live chat during the game with your favorite Spurs bloggers at 7:00 ET.” Or something like that. It would be appreciated.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:21 am
Good point, RBG. The ball movement looked really good last night. While RJ didn’t shoot lights out, he made a couple of nice passes. He had a decent shot in the middle of the lane that I thought he was going to take, but instead softly tossed it into Duncan who got an easy layup.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:22 am
Enjoyed the recap.
As Spurs fans, we’re lucky to have insight like this. Please keep it up.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:32 am
Great game. I am a little concerned with Duncan’s explosiveness. Our depth will carry us through most games this year but like Van Gundy said last night, Duncan has to be the best big on the floor against the lakers.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:33 am
Awesome game, I’ll be at the Bulls game tonight. GO SPURS GO!!!!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:20 am
I really enjoyed this sequence when Blair was one rebound away from a double double in the 4th quarter:
0:41 DeJuan Blair misses 1-foot two point shot
0:41 DeJuan Blair offensive rebound
0:39 DeJuan Blair misses tip shot
0:39 DeJuan Blair offensive rebound
Sometimes you have to make your own luck.
Blair is tied for the league lead in double doubles and 5th in rebounds/48 minutes among players with any significant playing time… I’d ask if it is too early to start the ROTY hype, but I think I’m too late…
When do we start talking about DB’s place among the greatest rookies of all time in any sport?
October 29th, 2009 at 9:33 am
Not sure if this has been mentioned yet, because I wasn’t able to read through all the comments, but I think starting Bonner and Finley is the right choice at this point.
Duncan, Parker and Jefferson give the starting 5 all the scoring they need. Bonner and Finley’s responsibilities on offense are to stand at the three point line and fire away. Duncan also makes up for Bonner’s deficiencies on the defensive end, at least as much as he can. Starting Duncan and McDyess at this point would be fantastic both offensively and defensively, but they can’t play the whole game. Do you really want a frontcourt pairing of Bonner/Blair coming off the bench for significant stretches? Duncan (low post) helps Bonner (3-point), and McDyess (mid-range) helps Blair (low post) at this point. I’m fine with that.
Finley is a bit tougher to validate, but according to reports, he’s earned his starting spot. He’s playing well, and there’s enough depth behind him (Mason, Ginobili, Hill, etc.) to keep him fresh.
The “crunch-time 5″ of Duncan, McDyess, Jefferson, Ginobili and Parker will be utilized against stiffer competition at the end of games, but Pop is doing the right thing with the starters and bench.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Mike3,
I think you hit the nail on the head, as far as why Bonner is starting. I think Pop wants a longer player to play alongside both of them, right now that means McDyess with Blair and Duncan with Bonner.
I wonder if Pop will try starting Blair instead of Bonner at some point to mix that up.
Also, it was really nice to actually see in person what Richard Jefferson brings to the team. He’s such a physical presence driving the ball to the basket. He has the length and strength to score or draw the foul on anyone. I don’t think this game told us much about his defensive abilities though, we’ll have to wait until he matches up with a premier wing player for that, although Deng tonight will be a nice preview.
What do people think about playing Jefferson at the 4 in a small ball lineup? I think he can guard players like David West or even Ty Thomas. Could be something to look for in the future, a “Tim-RJ-Manu-(Mason, Finley, Hill)- Tony” lineup. That’s an explosive five.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Edit: *Pop wants a longer player to play alongside both Bonner and Blair…*
October 29th, 2009 at 10:21 am
I don’t think our team even missed a single three pointer that was uncontested at all, that looks really good, and i saw very good offense from everyone, and i was really surprised when mcdyess made those long jumpers near the three point line and how he played great defense against the other team. I am soooo excited for our team this year, and could see us going three and 0 because we are playing chicago and sacramento next. GO SPURS GO!!
October 29th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Let me start by saying how excited I am about this year.
I think the point that everyone is missing is; a healthy Timmy, Tony, and Manu, wins championships. I really think the best part of our super deep bench will be that our All-Stars won’t be worn down come playoff time. They will be used just enough to secure a good (not best) spot in the playoffs. That being said, The Big Three can get it done. Richard Jefferson surprised me, although some of you wont agree. He is a self-less, savvy wingman… ie. light pass to Duncan and Blair versus upping his points on his debut as a spur. His shot percentage will go up (his career proves this), and if he can keep making the decisions he made last night throughout the year… LA is in more trouble than they suspect.
I can’t remember being more excited about any rookie ever. Grizzly Blair fits! Enough said. He finds a niche and fills it very well in every game. I have yet to see a poor performance (which is usual with most rookies), and with 40+ minutes a game, he will shine above the rest of the lottery picks.
With the depth that we have this year, it almost garuntee’s(if you can do such a thing) a healthy Big Three. That being said; Timmy gets his fifth ring this year!
October 29th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
Great first game by the Spurs, obviously. Admittedly, this may be nitpicking, but allowing an offense as mediocre as the Hornets’ to shoot 50% from the field and from 3 is unacceptable, even if much of that was accumulated when the game was well out of reach.
As for the 2nd unit, it’s clearly the best in the league. The Magic, Celtics and Blazers the only three teams that you could make anything resembling a credible case for, but the difference is Ginobili. He’s still one of the best players in the world, when healthy, and that’s a luxury no other team has coming off the bench.
It is, however, a strange lineup. A combo-guard as the point guard, then two shooting guards and two power forwards. Strictly from a size standpoint, they’ll be times when the Spurs simply won’t be able to get away with running those five out there at the same time, I’d imagine.
November 14th, 2009 at 11:03 am
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