San Antonio Spurs 85, Chicago Bulls 92: The Early Edition

Graydon, can’t wait to read your analysis. One night after remembering how it felt to dominate a divisional rival, tonight was a reminder of the frustration when the ball won’t drop in the basket. Over 82 games these do happen; this one was bothersome since it was game 2. And because TD gad such a nice game. But as you said, road b2b against a young team in their home opener is a tough task.

“expect a post from Tim on George Hill, whose excellent play was this evening’s silver lining.”

You must mean TD, because he was the only one who played “excellent”

Depressing and disheartening, especially after the opening game.

A back to back, on the 2nd game against a young playoff team and the Spurs can’t compete?? Huh??

A 2nd half where Parker, Ginobili, and Jefferson combined can’t make ONE basket??

Jefferson getting his layup blocked by Rose?? Not getting above the net when dunked on by Thomas??

A game where the Spurs get dominated on the glass by giving up 19 2nd chance pts in the 1st half of a back to back??

Talk about reinforcing’s last years 6-19 record when scoring less than 90 pts.

Talk about embedding some deep doubts.

Long season to go, but I’ll be judging the Spurs against playoff caliber teams on the road. If we can’t go .500, especially with 24 of 36 games on the road in March and April, …..

Fairly disappointing game to watch.

Our bench not firing like they did in game one is something that always has a chance of happening, but when that happens you’ve got to have your starting 5 step up and play.

TD did it, no one else showed us much at all.

Had some nice little periods, and mainly quite a stiff looking offense.

That said, no matter what you can’t expect to win a game when you shoot worse from outside the arc than most junior teams.

Long season however, I think a few days of getting grilled and next week we’ll be better for it.

I agree with everyone else that this was a disappointing game, especially after such a tremendous opener. Long season and none of us thought we were going 82-0, but I think we all felt we should have looked a little better.

It’s only the 2nd game of the season, but I already feel frustrated with how much time Finley is seeing. I don’t mind him or Bonner starting, but when Pop made no changes to that lineup in the fourth quarter, even when they were getting outplayed, it was very hard to take. Mason, Jefferson, or even Hill would have been a much better option on both the offensive and defensive end. I know Pop has a strong sense of loyalty to Finley, but if this continues and Finley is playing almost 3o mpg, it doesn’t bode well for the Spurs.

Very different tail tonight of our bench. Nobody, including Ginobili, came off the bench and had a positive +/-. It was Chicago’s first game and they clearly had more energy from the start, but we must be able to count on our bench for energy and not just points or rebounds.

And this still shows our struggles with a young/quick/athletic team. Aren’t the Bulls the type of team that Hairston, Haislip, or Mahinmi would have matched up better against? Bonner, Finley, Ratliff are all too slow to stick with their man and lack the size to match up effectively.

I know it’s hard to win when you don’t make 3 pointers, but I saw a few things that still are cause for concern for Spurs fan.

If you want to give Blair credit for 6 points and 4 rebounds, then you can (and, technically, you’d be right). He scored 2 of the 6 points and grabbed 1 of the 4 rebounds at not just garbage time but at the very end of the game by putting in an uncontested follow-up with .5 seconds left. Yeah, 6 and 4 in 12 minutes sounds respectable, but it was more like 4 and 3.

I was only able to watch the first half. What bothered me the most (and it’s most likely due to a back to back) was the lack of assertiveness from anyone except Duncan. Everyone seemed to expect the other to get that defensive rebound.

This game is why I’m worried if we make it to th finals and play against Orlando. Any other team I think we win, but Orlando is that high energy tram which goes after offensive rebounds.

On a side note, I haven’t watched NBA basketball in a few years until this year, but there is an awful lot of contact when someone is trying to get the offensive rebound. Is this usual? It seems like if this aggressive contact happened at any point (shooting, slashing) it would be called a foul and maybe considered a flagrant.

I missed all the second half for a soccer game and while I was disappointed with the loss, it was good to see TD put up these numbers: 28, 16, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 blocks. wow. If the spurs weren’t so deep and he could play 32-34 minutes a game, I wonder if he’d be a top 3 MVP candidate.

I’ll toss out another positive: Opponent’s Shooting Percentage - 41.7% ain’t nothin’ ta sneeze at.
Rose had 13 points on 12 shots and 5 free throws.
Salmons had 10 points on _15_ shots and 4 free throws (making 3 of each).

So, while it was disappointing, I’m not going to jump off a cliff. As others have said, there are still 80 more games left in the regular season and this team has some gelling to do on both ends of the floor with so many new parts.

I think people forget/forgot that Da Bulls were a very solid team last year, and if I remember correctly they gave the Spurs trouble when they met.

/Sunshine and Daffodils post. Future posts today will probably be much less positive!

God, waited all year to attend the game and this is what I get. The spurs looked awful last night. It wasnt the fact they lost that upset me, but the lack of character the team showed. Besides Timmy, there was no hustle or effort to win this game. Bulls player shot the ball without being contested, how many times did Salmon shoot a wide open 3.
I’ve come to expect better from Richard Jefferson, he is surely not looking like his old self. I understand this is only the second game and also a b2b but I expect to get my money’s worth when I watch a game, and I was utterly bored at the game last night. That being said, Timmy looked great!!!

Bulls shot even worse from from three (18%) but they turned their misses into 2nd chance points. First half 2nd chance point battle was 19-0.

Bulls have the kind of long, athletic players that Ian, RJ, Haislip and perhaps even Ratliff are supposed to handle. Especially on back-to-backs. But Ian and Haislip aren’t close to being there yet and RJ, well…….

Spurs first four posessions:
RJ miss open three
Tony bad pass stolen by Rose
RJ miss open three
RJ layup blocked by Rose

RJ missed his next jumper a few possessions later and Pop sent Manu in for him. His offense was OK after that, driving and getting a good shot or foul (but missing his first three FTs). His defense was sporadic. Too many bad habits picked up playing on bad teams recently, according to the announcers. We’ll see.

I keep reading that Pop’s goal for this year is to get the Spurs back into the top two or three in key defensive categories. Yet, he starts the game with two of our biggest defensive liabilities, Fin and Bonner. Granted this is only the second game, but this looks exactly like last year … Fin and Bonner have a hot shooting night once every 5 or 6 games and we think they’ve found it. Also, Pop never seemed to find a way to get Kurt Thomas involved in the offense and from what I’ve seen so far, the same is happening with McDyess and RJ. Finally, if tonight’s game is any indication, we’re going to play hell against teams with several bigs (like the Lakers). Yet, we’re giving up on Mahinmi. The bigs that we can put on the floor cannot compete.

Man, I can’t believe how upset everyone is. We lost the second game of a back-to-back, so what? It will happen a few more times, just like it does every season, over and over. It’s hard to see Spurs fans being so upset at a loss like this in January.
Considering the learning curve of all our acquisitions, and how amped the Bulls were for their season opener, I think it’s a non-issue.
It’s just a let-down from opening night euphoria.
The best thing that I take away from it is Duncan’s great night, quieting down all of those “career finish line” comments.

AP,

You’re absolutely right. We shouldn’t be taking it so hard. What bothers me is the strong and long Chicago players who kept getting that offensive rebound.

Cleveland doesn’t have those players (except for maybe Varajau). Boston doesn’t have those players. Lakers kind of do (Odom and Bynum) but the team I fear the most is Orlando with Howard.

We’ll, so much for “destroying the rest of the league on the way to title number five,” as I’d bragged to anyone who would listen.

I agree that Finley’s minutes should be limited against youthful opponents like Bulls and OKC, but an old team needs to share minutes and luckily, there’s a few more games left to be played.

Unlike Manu, I honestly Finley HAS to start to be most effective. But I totally agree that Bonner should not start over McDyess.

(sarcastically) I mean it took Popvich like, what, a year to figure out he should play George Hill instead of JV?

Let the Popovich tinkering begin…

I think we’ll see less of Finley when Pop feels the new guys know the system better. When trailing, Pop wants to go with players that he trusts instead of new guys that may make mistakes. That it’s early means Finley’s legs are fresh; if this were March I’d wonder why Pop was going with him for so long.

As for RJ, remember how much Finley struggled when he first game to S.A.? New established star wanting to make a good impression but also wanting to defer to the established teammates. Jefferson will be fine. He needs to get to the point where he’s thinking less while playing.

does anyone else think that we need pj back?i think it would be a good idea.

I’d point out that Pop has repeatedly stated that he wanted the older guys to start the season out of shape, getting them more offseason rest time.

A lackluster showing in the early part of the season on the second part of a back-to-back is the exact thing you would expect to have happen. New guys are still learning the defensive (and offensive) rotations, older guys are a little winded and a little slower rotating over, or getting back to protect the rim.

As guys get more into shape and the new guys get used to the system, expect the team to gradually improve as the games go on.

I’m not worried by any stretch of the imagination. If the same thing happens in March, I may actually lose some sleep over it, but not now.

I agree entirely with SpurredOn’s point about RJ. He just needs to stop over-thinking and let his role in the offense come to him. Even with the nice assists he had against NO, there still were a lot of times the past two nights where he over-passed and/or looked tentative on offense. That will change with time, and he’ll be fine.

I really could not help wondering last night how Malik Hairston could have helped. By all accounts, he played good defense in summer league and preseason, and has developed a nice shot as well. He also seems to be a better rebounder than Finley. And it’s not like he doesn’t know the system. What’s the point of having him on the roster if he can’t get time in a game like the one last night??

The Spurs were clearly in a funk last night, but the beauty of their depth should be that on such nights, Pop can put in the hungry young talent. Instead, we were treated to 28 minutes of Finley while Bogans was active (instead of Hairston) and yet could only contribute a DNP.

I agree with TrueFan. These are the nights, both b2b and/or when shots will just not fall for us, were I’d like to see Pop go with an all defense lineup for long stretches. Hill, Malik, maybe TD and RJ or whatever other group matches best with the opponent. Allow our team speed to bring us back and frustrate the opponent by “boring” the game down.

As Rick said, no worry here. I figured this season would be like Spurs’ seasons of yesteryear. Start slow, people worry, Pop complains about defense and toughness, players find their rhythm and Pop discovers the roations he likes. Team then goes on great run so when they’re 39-12 a the All-Star break, some talking head on TV can proclaim “since starting the season a lackadaisical 5-4, San Antonio has gone 34-8!”

I guess the season is lost according to all the negative post. Yes I was dissapointed with the loss but I do not expect to many of these off nights. I will start to worry when the team plays like this in the middle of the season.

One more thing (for conspiracy theorists): Isn’t it a little odd that the Spurs go TO Chicago for a home/season opener the night after their own, then Boston gets Chicago at home after a day of rest (some might say 2 days given the Bobcats game)?
Hmmmm….

I like the optimism shown in the past few posts.

This game can be summed up very simply. The Bulls played very well and the Spurs did not. The Bulls were slept in their own beds and were pumped for their first game while the Spurs were busy flying to Chicago until 2 am. There is no other reason why we lost.

As far as this Finley starting debate, who would start over him? If he and Bonner start, the bench gets much deeper. If either one of those guys hit shots early, it opens up the lane for RJ, TP, and TD. If they don’t hit or get burned defensively, you go to the deepest bench in the league.

Also, I don’t understand everyone’s insistence of playing younger guys over the veterans. If they were truly as good as the fans truly think/hope, then they’d be playing. We have the best coaching in the league, don’t you think they know who their best players are? Obviously Hairston and Mahinmi just aren’t getting it done in the eyes of the coaching staff while the Finley/Ratliff/Bogans trio is doing the right things. There is no substitute for veteran savvy and knowledge of the system.

yeah, it’s been two games. we’re not working with a big sample size here and towards the end of the season i’m confident all the cogs will be turning the right direction.

[...] Network: Graydon Gordion of 48 Minutes of Hell: “First and foremost, games that look something along the lines of tonight’s are gonna [...]

@ThatBigGuy

Let’s be clear that I’m not insisting on playing younger guys just for the heck of it. As you mentioned, if they really were *that* good, they’d be getting the playing time over the veterans to begin with.

My point is that, when the team is clearly being not just outplayed but out-hustled, that’s the perfect chance to give the young legs a chance to earn their stripes.