Friday, March 26th, 2010...9:54 pm
San Antonio Spurs 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 97
AT&T Center-For all of Manu Ginobili’s strengths, perhaps no attribute is more significant than his indelible sense of the moment and ability to take full control of it.
And with a 102-97 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers at the AT&T Center, the Argentine guard can sense the Spurs making a better late than never push towards a playoff run.
“(Tonight’s win) means that we’re not that far from the best; of course it’s just a game-and at home-but it makes us feel better,” Ginobili said. “We know that if within these last 13 or 14 remaining games we can improve a little bit, slowly, we’re going to have a shot.
“Even if we don’t start (the playoffs) at home, you never know, we have the kind of experience that if we can improve until that day, we have a chance.”
Ginobili was at his best again in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his 30 points on 4 of 7 shooting, weaving through one of the NBA’s top defenses for layups and nailing timely three-pointers.
With the Spurs on the brink, Ginobili followed a pair of free throws with an ill-advised three-point attempt in transition. Undeterred, and perhaps even more determined, Ginobili immediately followed with a steal and dunk to bring the Spurs within one.
“He’s a playmaker,” Tim Duncan said. “If you put the ball in his hands and let him get comfortable, these are the results you get.”
In Duncan, the Spurs were able to get the best of both worlds, rest (26 minutes) and a rebound performance (16 points, five assists). He owned much of third quarter, scoring eight with J.J. Hickson and Zydrunas Ilgauskas guarding him after Anderson Varejao left with a sore hamstring.
Duncan was one of four players to register five or more assists. Overall, the Spurs registered 26 assists on 37 field goals.
“We’re not a one-on-one team, we don’t have people who isolate and say, ‘go do it’,” Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich said. “That’s not the kind of players we have. We need to do it together and they did a good job of that.”
The Spurs also worked together in keeping LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in relative check, yielding 27 points but forcing the reigning MVP into five turnovers.
“They did a good job with keeping bodies in front of bodies, sometimes double-teaming, other times trapping,” James said.
Perhaps no defensive stand was more fitting than what occurred in the closing seconds of the fourth quarter. Keith Bogans had just hit a pair of free throws to extend a shaky lead to 99-94-marking perhaps the first time all season fans were glad he’s not Bruce Bowen-when James came at Ginobili with a full head of steam.
Again seizing the moment, Ginobili was able to swipe at the ball just enough to send LeBron fumbling out of bounds to put the game away.
“Manu’s been Manu, he’s been unbelievable the past couple weeks,” Duncan said. “He’s going to make the right play most of the time.”
58 Comments
March 26th, 2010 at 10:16 pm
Great win tonight. I was anticipating the Spurs giving up the lead late in the 4th for another disappointing finish. Now, we need to win at least 7 of the last 11 to win 50 games for the season!
On a side note, waiting to sunday to see the spurs play finley and the celtics!
March 26th, 2010 at 10:24 pm
OK, nice win………let’s get the Celtics on Sunday. That should be a very winnable game (I know we’ve said that before)! Get after it!
March 26th, 2010 at 10:32 pm
MANU IS THE MAN!
March 26th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
i read something that duncan was limping? Is this true, and is he gonna start seein less minutes and rest for the playoffs?, if we get there, i hope!!! Manu is great!! Extend that contract and lets get this shit next year!!! Go Spurs!!!
March 26th, 2010 at 11:09 pm
sack the coach play ian start the d league guys trade parker we suck we suck we suck etc.
March 27th, 2010 at 12:24 am
I’d like to introduce a new phrase to 40minutesofhell. I Googled the line and I think we have it first. “In the midst of a storm, everyone is a better “captain”.” Having said that, we won the game but I don’t like Coach pop’s rotations! Our scoring droughts cannot be wished away by the success of last night’s rotations! Intuitively we do our best with McDyess on the floor, and the starts at 82games.com support this. I’m 5’3” and I hate small ball!!!!! There, I said it
This is not to say the numbers at 82games are all-knowing; but this is a good reference for a conversation. Does anyone have the feeling we are still saving our bigs? Duncan’s shots are down and McDyess time seems to be down.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:25 am
Further proof that the loss to LA was due to tired legs instead of being an awful team or LA’s greatness. Switch game dates and the Spurs would’ve beaten LA last night and lost to Cleveland on Wednesday.
One more game left in this death run of a week. Beat Boston and things will calm down at the right time, with the team having great confidence.
March 27th, 2010 at 3:31 am
Social comments and analytics for this post…
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March 27th, 2010 at 5:18 am
? to the SpursNation
Have you guys noticed that good personnel packages and sound, rational player rotations generally lead to a WIN?
At the very least, it leads to a respectable, competitive product on the floor.
March 27th, 2010 at 5:34 am
Great game effort by most, on to the next one.
Co Spurs Go!!
March 27th, 2010 at 5:41 am
Good win. Still Feels like fantasy, but good win.
@ Bushka
I knew you would be talking trash at the 48 after that win. Normally I would trow a few jabs at your chin, but since you are 48 VIP, I give you pass…
I cant stab you on this one, it was too bizare for me to touch.
Bogans, who is the funniest &%^ Ive ever seen, was seen crouched down in his defensive stopper stance at the top of the key. He hiked his shorts up and wiped the sweat from his brow as if to say “Yeah, Yeah, bring it on Bron”,,,I couldnt breath. This is after he did a leg whip at Lebron in the first quarter..LMAO
It was like watching Kings of comedy….
OH, and I cant leave without mentioning this for you Bushka…Bonner got a dunk. Im sure he propelled himself to all pro status in your eyes.
For me, Im excited to see him get his 3rd dunk of the year after 70 games at 6’10. It is encouraging.
They both contributed, but still wreak of D League in my book.
As for the game, good win, but Cleveland wasnt intrested in this game. They couldnt get it up for Spurs.
The King was passive and undetermined…rest of the team followed his lead.
@ Bigballs,
Duncan is hurt…From the look of it, it is not his knees…He seems to be favoring his feet. Noticable limp, and looks like he is laboring in getting up and down the floor.
Your opinion….
I would post more, but I cant stop the giggling….
March 27th, 2010 at 6:13 am
“sack the coach play ian start the d league guys trade parker we suck we suck we suck etc.”
LOL, literally
Good win Spurs!
…now go and break off a win in KG’s poop-shoot
March 27th, 2010 at 6:23 am
Great win, our guys are playing so much better, but we still need TP. We couldn’t sit Manu in the fourth for fear of what happened with the Lakers, and we played George Hill 45 minutes. 45 minutes is a lot for someone we need on both ends of the floor. Sadly, since RMJ lost his shot he has been little help running the show. If Tony doesn’t make it back soon maybe someone young and athletic like Jerrells could start for us.
March 27th, 2010 at 6:42 am
Good win.
We just beat the best team in basketball.
If the Spurs would have lost none of us would have been surprised.
Manu. Ginobili.
March 27th, 2010 at 6:57 am
Got the W!
Manu is good.
I’m changing my vote of best player to LeBron.
March 27th, 2010 at 7:50 am
You guys should change the name of this site to 48 Minutes of MANU!
March 27th, 2010 at 7:52 am
Just read an article stating that after Bonner’s dunk some dude had a heart attack cause he thought it was 2012 and the start of the apocalypse.
March 27th, 2010 at 8:16 am
If only we had this Manu in ’08
March 27th, 2010 at 8:54 am
Being a Spurs fan has been an emotional roller-coaster over the last week, as these comment boards indicate, and it has been pretty entertaining.
After losing to the Hawks in OT, we were all pretty bummed.
Then we beat OKC, and we’re all ecstatic.
Then we lose a heartbreaker to the enemy, and our season is over.
Then we beat the best team in the league and we’re ecstatic again.
The comments posted here perfectly correlate with this results-based roller coaster. At least we are passionate…
March 27th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Did anyone see the Thunders’ drubbing of the Lakers? I’m wondering if the Lakers are at a point where young, athletic legs give them trouble, particularly Kobe who had 11 turnovers. If so, it might educate us a bit. It would also allow us to try some of that experimentation in our next Lakers game.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:12 am
Good win last night for SA.
You 4th quarter shows what separates a player with rings and LBJ. Whether he was disinterested, passive or whatever excuse all his lovers will make for him- he could not get it done. Manu challenged him in the 4th and won the battle- their body language showed it all.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:30 am
Regarding rotations:
Everybody would like to see more of Dice and Duncan on the floor together but it’s really not a good idea with the age and rest issues for those two.
If you made a list of every starting or impact NBA big and sorted it by how many minutes they can play without getting tired, you would see both Duncan and McDyess near the bottom of the list. Both will typically get tired and have to come out of the game before opposing bigs.
This puts us at a disadvantage and a passive, responsive situation right away. But the real kicker is our need and number one goal of resting for the playoffs.
We have 11 games ahead to decide if we’re seed 6 7 or 8. We’re probably looking at LA, Denver, Dallas or Utah. If we’re still hoping for a championship in our hearts, we admit we’ll have to face two of these four to do it.
Nothing that happens between now and the playoffs changes that.
In that situation, any rest you can put in the bank without crippling your team is a secret win. The three guys who most need their batteries charged are probably Duncan McDyess and Manu.
With that in mind, let’s look at the much criticized lineups that Pop’s bringing us:
@SA win vs. CLE: http://popcornmachine.net/cgi-bin/gameflow.cgi?date=20100326&game=CLESAS
This is what we’ve seen since Tony’s been out. Heavy heavy minutes for Hill. Bogans and Bonner as the first sub unit, in FOR Manu and Dice: Bonner and Blair no longer get to share the court with Manu 90% of the time.
Dice had a great game to my eye and played well in all three stints on the floor. We’ve had a problem of late with the start of the third quarter, when the starters have their rematch. In competitive games since TP went out, this stretch of the game has gone like this
LA (5:52): -4
OKC (4:26): +3
ATL (3:49): -4
ORL (2:18): -3
This is the same unit that got out to early leads against LAs starters and in Atlanta. Coming back from halftime however they’re not as effective and we’ve been seeing Pop call to the bench earlier than usual.
Usually the call is to Matt Bonner, and Dice doesn’t get much time for the rest of the game. It makes sense if you think about him as the one player Pop needs to rest and can rest without getting blown out.
The exception in recent history was last night’s game against the Lebrons, where we were able to sit Tim in the 4th as well. Against a frontcourt of Jamison James and JJ Hickson the Bonner Blair Bogans team was the unlikely victor. Although only a spurs fan would know it, lineups with Bonner Blair and Manu on them have been crushing NBA benches all year. It was nice to see the Cavs closers have the same trouble.
Tony’s injury has turned the team inside out. Instead of having an average starting unit a killer bench and a good closing lineup, we now field a better team of starters but not having Manu there for the bench team is killing us.
The fact that the bottom hasn’t completely fallen out is a testament to the excellent play of the Spurs subs and George Hill’s increasing influence on the offense. These guys (the much maligned group of Bonner Bogans Blair Roger Mason and now Hairston) are in many cases going up against starters while their Manu sits. It puts a lot of pressure on them and yet in March they’ve been superb.
I personally deride Bogans’ game all the time, especially as I’m watching it live. I have to admit though his defense has improved and the stats i’m looking at suggest he’s been stepping up under difficult circumstances.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:53 am
I’m with you, AP. It’s been a heck of a rollercoaster. But it’s nice to be on the up after a nice, strong win last night.
@ThatBigGuy,
Changing your vote for best player to Lebron is interesting. Yes, last night he looked incredible and unstoppable. But Kobe got the win without doing a whole lot of shooting. Lebron didn’t necessarily shot a lot last night, but he didn’t seem to really try to take over the game in the 4th either. Kobe certainly did. Lakers won, Cavs lost.
March 27th, 2010 at 9:57 am
@agutierrez
Exactly, that’s the real LAKERS. Just shut down Farmar,Brown and Fisher and they got nothing. Let KOBE handle the ball. Stopping those guys is easy, All they do is stand behing the three point line and wait for a pass. ANybody can cover players like that. LAKERS have the most overrated bench in the league.
No one should fear them.
It wasn’t lack intensity by the LAkers either. Think about it they could easily have 6 more losses if it wasn’t for KOBE hitting game winners.
The SPURS should have been up by that much at half, but they had a classic SPURS drought.
THe THUNDER kept hitting shots and keeping the pressure.
Also, I gotta give props to BOGANS. I know we practically hate the guy but last night he delivered.
He hit two clutch freethrows and a clutch 3. It makes it easier to win when shots go down.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:01 am
The thing about the emotional roller coaster is you have to always keep a point of perspective. We can all agree that the Spurs played a good game last night, but in all honesty, it was not that different of a game than the one in LA other than a more productive Tim Duncan. If the Spurs pull out the win in LA than fans are talking Finals, if we lose last night in Cleveland, fans are talking trading the entire roster….
We are playing the best teams in the league right now, and we’re doing it without one of the biggest keys to our team (Tony Parker). You should realistically have expected to lose each of these four games. At the beginning of the season, with our hopes being what they were, you’d take going 2-2 during this stretch with the other two games being highly competitive…wouldn’t you? And I want to reiterate again…WE ARE DOING THIS WITHOUT TONY PARKER.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:26 am
@ Jesse
I was thinking the same thing.
That’s why I haven’t thrown in the towel, man.
The important thing is they have been in all four of those games. A few more shots go down and they could have won all four. But 2-2 is pretty good against the best teams. One can only imagine what they would look like if TP didn’t go down.
ANother thing is, as bad and inconsistent as the SPURS have been, they are only a couple of games behind Dallas in the loss column. That’s saying somehting,. DALLAS,THUNDER,JAZZ,NUGGETS are playing at their best THe SPURS can only get better and the SPURS are right there. ANd the LAKERS are so ahead because of all those KOBE game winners, and the fact that the NUGGS and MAVS aren’t for real, IMO. THey didn’t challenge the LAKERS for anything.
Call me a fan in denial but until they are out I think the SPurs can make some serious noise. Especially with the way MANU is playing.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:28 am
Can we agree Pop messed up in the Lakers game by benching Ginobili? Notice that Pop didn’t employ the same strategy of benching Ginobili in the middle of the 4th against the Cavs. One decision led to a loss and one decision led to a win.
What will Pop do in Boston? Will he play Hairston? Hairston played vs Cavs in a win, sat the bench vs Lakers in a loss. Hairston played vs Thunder in a win, sat the bench vs Hawks in a loss.
Will he make sure Mason plays less than 5 minutes, if he’s not making shots or will he draw up a 3 for Mason after he’s 0 for 8 like in Cleveland or after he’s 0 for 4 like vs the Lakers? Anyone notice that Pop finally ran the play that Ginobili runs the baseline to give Mason (in the past it was Finley or Barry, saw Barry make the 3 with 2 seconds left and Spurs down 3 vs Kings on NBATV replays of greatest playoff games) an open corner 3 that he missed the games I mentioned. Except Pop had Hill run the baseline and Ginobili shot the 3 in the corner? Notice how Ginobili made the shot?
What will Pop do in Boston? Can’t wait.
Go Spurs Go.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:31 am
@LV,
A lot of Ginobili being fresh for the fourth quarter also has to do with the fact that he did absolutely nothing in the third. Because the Spurs went exclusively through Duncan in the third, Manu Ginobili was able to bide his time.
It’s all relative.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:47 am
@LV
I was surprised POP let MANU play the whole 4th. I applaud him for going with it. He couldn’t let another game slip away.
But to be honest, I also thought wow he played the entire 4th!! Yikes.
Clearly the team is at its best when MANU is in there. MANU has to rest at some point, its up to POP to decide when.
BUt against the good teams then he should just ride him, like he did last night.
March 27th, 2010 at 10:49 am
Great win!!Resign Manu!!!!
March 27th, 2010 at 10:58 am
We mention TP and state that we are doing this without TP. However, I think that we are missing the point. Right now at least, we are better without TP and am not sure that we will be better with him. When TP comes back, do we start TP and bench Manu? Manu is doing so well because he is getting lots of time. Perhaps TP should be coming off the bench…
March 27th, 2010 at 11:13 am
The Spurs are playing better, by showing they can play well at home. This team will need to win every home game in the playoffs, and try to steal one on the road to keep advancing. Even Hollinger writes that the Spurs have a legitimate chance to upset the Lakers. This team must find ways to not let games slip out of their hands, because they are not successful at coming back from behind.
Manu, Hill, and Duncan will play their games come playoffs, and RJ finds ways to contribute. Parker will only help this team win. This only makes us good competition. In order for this team to win playoff games against GREAT teams, Mason and Bonner have to make 3′s. That has always been the secret key to the Spurs winning titles, great 3PT shooters.
March 27th, 2010 at 11:16 am
Great finish. Just like Manu said, if Spurs get improving a little bit for the next 13-14 games, we have a shot at it. Go Spurs Go! Next!
March 27th, 2010 at 11:38 am
Can’t seem to get over how complete Ginobili’s game is . He can penetrate, shoot from all ranges, dunk, hit floaters and fadeaways, distribute, create his own space, play the one or the two- and to boot, he’s a south paw. Oh yeah, that’s just his offensive game.
Manu’s also a defensive pest, as the Spurs have benefited greatly from his deflections, steals, and blocks.
He does have some major flaws, though. The dude’s balding and skinny, so I say we trade him.
March 27th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
@ Spurs win Vs. Cavs:
I would like to hereby take full credit for the Spurs win against the Cavs. Finally, my call for sensible personnel packages and rotations - with minimal minutes for Bogus, Bonner and Mason - was taken under advisement by Pop. Bogus still go about 10+ too many minutes.
I still think Pop went to the Eastside of San Antonio and picked Bogus up from the soup kitchen and game him a Spurs uniform to put on. I think he went to Sam Houston High School.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
“For all of Manu Ginobili’s strengths, perhaps no attribute is more significant than his indelible sense of the moment and ability to take full control of it.”
I really like this description. I also really liked Manu’s post-game comments. That’s the fire in the belly you see when he makes an amazing play on either end of the floor near the end of a close game (steal from Ray Allen last year, block on KD this year, clutch buckets and passes). What a fun guy to watch.
BALLHOG,
I’ll admit, I see the comedy in Bogans trying to strut in front of LBJ. Still, I like that he does that. Haven’t you ever played anybody who stands to you as LBJ to LeBron? Ok, never mind; have you ever played anybody who’s much, much better than you? You gotta keep doing your thing, no matter what the score is, you’re still competing… I just talked myself out of it.
I do wish people would refrain from the “f” word (I’ll say it just this once: “finals”). That was another great Manu performance. Isn’t it more enjoyable in isolation from the broader context of the season? Saddling it with expectations that it can’t support puts it in a less flattering light.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:04 pm
i definately agree with earlier posts that it is concievable that we could lose each game of this gauntlet stretch. these games prove how much we need tony parker to contend, when actually, we have managed quite well.
i don’t know if it is because of the home-cooking mojo that we have been able to hang with L.A. and beat Cleveland, but we are definately solidifying ourselves as a contending team. we have done an excellent job of not letting one dominant superstar kill us. hopefully this win and a win against boston will give us confidence going into L.A. we have the talent to match up, but we have to prove that we won’t let the purple and gold get into our heads.
NJ is coming up. rest timmy, give roger all the burn he can handle so he may hopefully regain his shooting stroke, and unleash mahinmi for another 15 and 9 performance ( : P). i know we can’t take games off, but that one looks like a must.
why all the bogans hate? i will admit i hated on him early in the season when i thought malik hairston should have his minutes, but the guy is a solid basketball player. nice 3pt shooting, defense, and good IQ. he is a very pop-type player, as is malik.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
So now we know. When the Spurs play at the top of their game, and the Cavs play a mdiocre game, we can beat them. Just barely.
March 27th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Obewan Ginobili vs King James
I just LOVED the last 10 seconds of that game
March 27th, 2010 at 2:04 pm
great win for the guys we are going to be the most dangerous team to the fakers when we play them.I still say get ian about 5 to 10 minutes against this top competition because who knows foul trouble could play a factor in the game. If he can can give you 6 and 4 that would be a help also cause playoff basketball everybody intensity will go up but great win now lets go get boston and mike finley we will holla at you.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
A month ago I said if the Spurs win it all the Ball Boys will take credit because Pop “finally listened to us”. Today we see a small example of this delusion. The two most dumped on players, Bonner and Bogans, actually played MORE against Cleveland than LA. Does the brilliant one admit there might be something he has yet to learn? Or does he blame Pop’s idiot rotations after the loss and take “full credit” for them after the win? LOL.
March 27th, 2010 at 2:41 pm
Pop changed his rotations? I must have missed that…
As for the Clevland game. It is a win. I will certainly take it. Although, I fully realize that Cleveland had no energy and played badly. They did however, do much better at help defense, for once.
However, to deem the Spurs as sudden contenders in the West, is a bit too much Hoorah for me just yet….
Bogans? Better than Seinfeld
Bonner? Seeing him run down court, Priceless.
They did play better. I painfully admit that.
As for taking credit…Who cares? If something we post in here helps Flopovich to win games, I am all for it.
@ Pasrtypride…I saw it, I get it, and yes I have.
As for Lil Keithy Bogans during the Cleveland game, Come on Pastry…Even you can admit that he is hillarious to watch.
Dont you watch B play defense my man? B gets all up on his man with a look of intense grit, he even gets into the stance. As soon as he does, his man goes right around his goofy A. He doesnt even bother to chase, just fades into traffic until the play ends. Looking around as if he was in the play….HHAHAHHAHAHAHA
I LMAO and rolled all over the floor for the entire time he played. It was big fun…I mailed him a ski mask to wear to practice, because he is dayum sure stealing Holt’s money!
March 27th, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Can we all just agree to disregard Ballhog and bigballs from here on out???
March 27th, 2010 at 4:52 pm
@Bryan
You are a fool! My prognostications to this point regarding the Spurs have been absolutely Sterling. I just do not have an appetite to smell Pop’s poot as you do without letting him know that he smells.
I know when my basketball intelligence is being insulted and Pop has done just that all season as he has wrecked up and pile of undue losses — no they are hanging on to be respectable and make the playoffs.
Seems that Ballhogs takes have been pretty solid to me.
Ah, what the heck! If you want fantasy, there are a number of other Posters who can give you that. I am focused on winning ball games.
95% percent of the posters on this site can not handle the truth regarding Pop and this current collection of pretenders - Gino, excluded!.
March 27th, 2010 at 4:55 pm
@An Open Apology to the SpursNation
Sorry, if the truth hurts.
Please forgive me.
Genuinely,
BIGBALLS
March 27th, 2010 at 5:10 pm
@ Bryan
Again…Who?
Did I stab at Bryan? Who the h—
What is the draw Bryan? What makes a man want to fire heat rounds at THE HOG?
I post, you post, we all post…..We dont hate on each other in here Bry. I never once puffed up my chest, got teary eyed, and said “Bry is a *%$&%*#”. Never, not once. Dont even recognize your screen name……So why the hostility guy? Where is the love B?
If you try ESPN’s blog, (as a suggestion to ease your frustrations) you will find all of the insults and profanity you need. More than enough angry company to suit your needs.
You must secretly be a Hog Fan….Just dont want the rest of the posters to know…
We cant all be on Popovich’s Pep Squad B…
March 27th, 2010 at 5:32 pm
@Bryan,
Lick this - ( | )
March 28th, 2010 at 5:35 am
come on pop play the young guys tonight get them experience and some toughness before the playoff everybody else playing young guys join the party pop and get out of your stubborn ways it s killing us.
March 28th, 2010 at 6:06 am
The Spurs are missing a 3 point shooter and it isn’t Bonner. I’ve reviewed some of last year’s games and this year’s and I have noticed a flaw in Mason’s long shots. He is not raising his elbow as high as he did last year and he is using his elbow as an axis point. This causes him to throw the ball at the basket. Instead he needs to keep his elbow under his shooting hand longer, use his wrist and hand more. This would eliminate the line drive shots he’s winging at the basket and give the ball a higher arc allowing the ball to drop into the basket. He has no margin for error with his present mechanics. TD has the same tendency on his short jumpers. Is the shooting coach afraid to talk to these guys or is he afraid of offending them.
March 28th, 2010 at 6:21 am
Guys,
I know we dont post other theams business here at the nation. However, out of curiosity..
Who is this kid with Mavs that torched Golden State for 40 last night?
I heard the Mavs went and found this kid on some french island. NO experience, no college ball. Rodrigue Beaubois is his name.
Rick Carlisle waited to unleash this kid until now. Great move. Teams will have to account for this kid vs. Mavs…
What is Flopovich’s plan is for giving us an injection of energy? Bonner and Bogans
March 28th, 2010 at 6:25 am
@ Jim Miller
He’s probably afraid of Pop’s wrath, as are the local media. Is Pop from Spartica?
Pop didnt notice Masons mechanics? Makes you wonder about the level of coaching going on.
Great piece on Mason’s mechanics…I hope he is reading..
March 28th, 2010 at 6:41 am
Intresting pice in the news today…
On Wednesday, Hill handed Derek Fisher 20 first-half points, a few days after he lit up the Thunder for 27 that included a goose egg in the assist column. That prompted Duncan to shout, “We already have one point guard who can’t pass” within earshot of San Antonio Express-News columnist Buck Harvey. I hope he was kidding. Hill did fade in the second half against L.A., but his recent solid play can only help when Parker returns.
Also, Ginnobli’s agent says that G wont bolt for Real Madrid….
We can only hope…..
March 28th, 2010 at 8:39 am
@BallHog,
Re: Good catch. The Beubois kid with the Mavs, I have checked him out and he is a real player. Actually saw the game when he dropped 40 and he did it from all over the court. 29 mins - 8 rebs - 3 asst - 3 bs. - Will be interesting to watch next Spurs/Mavs encounter in April. I look at the opposing players, bench and coach when this guy gets in and they have a look on their face like - who is this kid? He is something like 20 yrs old, doesn’t really know NBA game, yet!, but he got something special.
@Jim Miller (jimjule)
JM, got take on Mason. In addition to what you stated re his elbow, I find it a little odd how most often he is off balance, legs spread apart, feet at weird angels while shooting his jump shot. I think he is a better set shooter. In any event, not a guy you can rely upon to be your 3 ball sharp shooter. His handles are not very good, so he can’t really go to the cup. So what do you do? Well, as a team, you just suffer when he is on the court through 4 on 5 basketball until Pop can get Keith Bogus back in the game for him!
March 28th, 2010 at 9:25 am
@Ballhog,
Interesting take on alleged comment by Duncan re lack of a passing point guard. For all of TP’s positives, and he has several, I personally believe that his assist totals should be a bit higher.
For as much as he has the ball in his hands, there should be 7 to 8 dimes per game that he should be able to give off to his team mates just from them cutting to the basket or running the lane on breaks. That equates to 14 to 16 additional points per game - that’s huge!!!!! - These points are actually being left on the table each game.
RichJeff would be an ideal candidate for many of these dimes. Oh, I forgot, Pop has Jeff sitting out at the 3 line spotting up for 3′s(the weakest aspect of his game).
TP could still get his points, still get his shots, still crash the rim, I just believe that he could make his teammates better by upping his assist totals. He would not have to work any harder, in fact, it would facilitate his game whereby he would not have to expend so much energy constantly dribbling around, constantly crashing the rim. As TP gets older, he will be less inclined to crash the rim to get his points and take a beating(See Al Iverson) - then what?
Then what, is - he will be less effective as an NBA point guard at that time. I Like TP alot - not downing his game, he has even worked on and improved his game to develop a consistent, mid range jump shot. Just saying that he could get better. Each year, there is always the next great young, point guard that comes into the league. So guys like TP really do have to keep working on their games or they will begin to get embarrassed by some of these guys.
Amazing. Jason Kidd has built a career on making his team mates better, even to the determent of developing a consistent outside shot early in his career. Now at age 37, he is still able to stay on the floor with the young bucks because he makes his teammates better. With JKidd’s high basketball I.Q., he understood this early. Now, 17 years into his career, JKidd has developed a consistent outside shot. Scouting reports now say that you can not leave him open and uncontested at the 3 line.
What does this say? It says that JKidd, a certain Hall of Famer, has continued to work on his game, to get better.
So Spurs Nation, I ask you! Why the offense when it is suggested that Gino could further develop his off hand(right hand) or get in the weight room to strengthen his upper body?;
Why the offense when it is stated that Duncan could stand to get in the weight room to strengthen his upper and lower body so that he can better get and hold his post position?
Why the offense when it is stated that bonner could and should augment his game by putting the ball on the floor more and going to the bucket, instead of relying upon the low percentage 3 point shot while not even being a high percentage outside shooter him ?
Why the offense when it is stated that the Defensive Stopper, Keith Bogus, might actually sometime stop his guy from going baseline or actually deny his guy from getting a spot or from even catching the ball? - Bruce Bowen did these things as a True D Stopper and thus was his reputation around the leauge. With the exception of Kobe and a few others, they hated to see Bruce step on the court. Currently, opposing players lick their chops when they see Bogus step on the court.
Indeed, further — why the offense when it is stated that Pop could do a better job with personnel and rotations?
The point is, the great ones are always working to improve their game. Even the great George Gervin said that each off season, he always to worked to add something “new” to his game. The result — All ABA; All NBA; 4 time Scoring Champion; 50 greatest; Legend of the Game; career 85% FT; career 52% FG(yes! 52% career, from the field).
So what is the offense as to why these current Spur players can not get better as players and the coach can not get better as a coach?
This should only be so if mediocrity is your objective!
March 28th, 2010 at 9:38 am
@Jim Miller
re: Mason comment, I thought the below post by Jacob (@ No Rest for the Wear at ATT Center) was well stated:
“mason is about as terrible as one poor sum’bitch can be. GET WITH IT ROGER!”
Personally, I thought it was a very SCOLDING piece of Butt Chewing, by Jake, but I can not say that I disagree.
March 28th, 2010 at 11:33 am
i think i’m in love with ballhog. sorry, everyone who i’ve offended. apparently, i’m a retard.
March 28th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
I’m surprised no one has mentioned how sweet it was to see Malik Hairston playing crunch time minutes. I loved seeing him stand up and take a blatant charge from Lebron, who only got the call due to superstar bias. It was a crap call, but awesome play from Malik.
Then he came through with the outlet and dunk to seal the game. It was awesome to see him contribute in the real rotation.
You can use Malik’s arrival as an argument for or against Pop’s talent management, but either way, we should all be excited.
March 28th, 2010 at 2:23 pm
Great post by Greyberger.
Excellent perspective. Very good depth of support for your opinion. Absolutely informed.
Good to see something positive and consistent.
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