Spurs survive a poor shooting night

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AT&T CENTER — The subtle shift of relying on perimeter shooting more than pounding the rock inside to Tim Duncan time after time means one thing: you have to knock down shots. But for most of the night during the San Antonio Spurs’ 104-95 win over the Toronto Raptors, the silver and black failed to do that.

I told ESPN TrueHoop Network blog Raptors Republic on Wednesday that as long as “show up with decent energy early in the game… and don’t go completely cold from 3-point range,” that I expected them to win comfortably. Well, they didn’t show up with very good energy and were completely cold for three quarters.

“We were 0-15 on jump shots [in the first half],” Spurs Head Coach Gregg Popovich said after the game.

Through three quarters, the Spurs shot 0-9 from the 3-point line. It’s a stat that would probably doom the Spurs had they not been playing a team boasting a record as bad as Toronto’s (13-28 coming into the game).

But according to George Hill, it was all planned, like one elaborate practice.

“Coach put the lid on the basket, he wants us to work on our rebounding,” Hill said postgame. “The whole first half I think we did a great job rebounding and then he finally took the lid off for us.”

The lid on the rim was removed by arena workers between the third and fourth quarters, though I must have looked away at the time, because I missed it.

Sure enough, on the second possession of the fourth quarter, Gary Neal stepped up and knocked down a 3-pointer, giving some validity to Hill’s theory. The Spurs ended up shooting 4-7 from beyond the arc in the quarter and finished 4-16 (25%) on the night.

In related news, Spurs forward Matt Bonner missed his second straight game with a sore right knee. It’s tough to say how much Bonner’s presence in the lineup would’ve helped ease the commotion on the offensive end for San Antonio, but I was always told that there are two ways to beat a zone (which Toronto played a lot against the Spurs): shooting and passing. With his elite 50% from the 3-point line, we know that Bonner would have been valuable there. But Bonner is also a smart passer, knowing when to swing the ball and when to take a shot for himself.

For San Antonio, Bonner is their proverbial “zone buster” (much like Gary Neal). And for one night, at least, they escaped unscathed despite their shooting woes.

  • Konstantin

    Just a note, Bonner lost his league leading 3 pt % around a week ago. He got passed by Shawne Williams of the Knicks who is shooting .540.

  • jwalt

    The Spurs obviously miss Bonner. He gives them another weapon, another potential guy to break up the zone.

    I thought the same thing when the Spurs fell behind by 12 against Denver early in the 2nd quarter, that Bonner’s presence would have been making a difference.

  • http://48minutesofhell.com Andrew A. McNeill

    @ Konstantin

    Thanks for the note, and you’re right, Williams is above Bonner. The post has been fixed accordingly.

  • Gebo

    For jwalt: I completely agree about Bonner. I would go so far as to add James Anderson to that list of potential weapons as three point shooters. With some luck we should have him back soon. Best of luck, James Anderson.

  • TD = Best EVER

    Yes you can shoot a team out of a Zone….. but since that’s what the other team wants you to do you should always be careful……. The best way to beat the zone is by “getting the ball to the free throw line….. The way the Spurs used to run the high low with TD and DR….. from the middle you can choose to shoot or pass back out, but either way you collapse the D and make it very hard for them to recover back to their original positions

  • Tyler

    The key against any zone is making it work. If it’s two passes and a shot, you play right into the defense’s hands. Ball movement and penetration are the two best ways to attack a zone.

    Having said that, I thought our offense was fine last night. The shots were there, we simply didn’t knock them down in the first half.

    And when we tightened things up, stopped turning it over, and made Toronto take the ball out under the hoop instead of run outs on long rebounds, it was over.

  • idahospur

    “In related news, Spurs forward Matt Bonner missed his second straight game with a sore right knee. It’s touch to say how much Bonner’s presence in the lineup would’ve helped ease the commotion on the offensive end for San Antonio”

    Shouldn’t it be “It’s tough to say”

    Thanks for writing.

  • idahospur

    Last year it seemed the Spurs always screwed themselves by playing 3 quarters of good basketball, and then one bad quarter. This led to many leads being lost and good opponents able to take over. This year, it seems this team gets one great quarter per game and takes over from that point on.

  • Bruno

    Pick-roll is the key of a zone…Why Pop don’t give minutes to Splitter??He is good in pick-roll, Macdyess only doing craps in first half…

  • Bruno

    Pick-roll is the key of a zone…Why Pop don’t give minutes to Splitter??He is good in pick-roll, Macdyess only doing craps in first half….

  • rob

    @Tyler

    Completely agree.

  • Tyler

    Of course, ball movement and penetration is the key to beating any defense, whether it’s zone, man or some hybrid….

  • rj

    so i guess if ever a game is in doubt, we see don’t ee splitter even if we are short a big in the rotation. bummer. we spurs fans are so very spoiled.

  • jwalt

    TD Best Ever — prepared to be shocked but I completely agree with you. Getting the ball into the holes of the zone is the absolutely best way to attack it. Another reason why Manu and Tim are the two best players on the team, Manu knows how to make those penetrating passes and Tim knows both how to get open to receive those passes and also knows what to do with the ball once he has it. And all shooters become better when they receive the pass from the post area — they don’t have to turn their bodies to the basket before taking the shot, they already are facing the basket. It’s why shooting 3’s after an offensive rebound is so effective, the shooter is already squared up before he receives the pass.

  • DNITCH

    Reports are that Peja’s contract is close to being bought out and that he wants back in the west. He could definitely provide a boost to shooting the ball and could play the 3 behind RJ. Any chance the FO jumps on this?

  • jwalt

    read that the 3 teams supposedly interested in Peja are New Orleans, Dallas, and the Lakers. If, and that’s a big word considering Peja’s last few years, Peja is healthy enough, he will help any contender.

    If he doesn’t sign with us (which probably has no chance) I hope he decides to re-live his youth and signs with Sac. Of course I’m kidding, but I sure don’t want to see him in a Mav or Laker uniform

  • Hobson13

    DNITCH
    January 20th, 2011 at 3:26 pm

    I really thought about the Spurs going after Peja. In fact, I even wrote a small blurb and then deleted it after I decided against making the Peja to Spurs case. I believe he would absolutely look to sign with the Spurs if we made him a vet min offer, but the guy just can’t play a lick of defense and at 33yrs old has no athletic ability. At this point in his career, his only real ability is his 3pt shot. However, we have Manu, Bonner, Neal, Hill, Anderson, and even Parker making 3’s these days.

    Even though I don’t think Anderson is a great fit at the 3, that is what he will probably play when he comes back. I wouldn’t want his minutes being taken away to give to Peja. What we really need, IMO, is another big. So, in other words, I would vote against Peja coming to the Spurs.

  • http://www.nbamatchup.com Chris in Phoenix

    @ McNeil and Varner,

    I was listening to Phoenix sports radio KTAR 620 and they said the Suns are looking to trade 6-8 Small Forward, Grant Hill.

    Don’t you think he would be an invaluable asset to assist RJ in mentoring James Anderson? Even if it was only for the rest of this year?

    We could give the Suns McDyess’ expiring contract, (probably have to give up a draft pick too) they waive him, and he comes back to us anyways. Then 2 likable old men in the NBA get a title! It would be Grant Hill’s one and only ring.

    He’s not gonna get a ring in Phoenix. And they’re not going to do any damage this year if they even make the playoffs so why don’t they try and rebuild for the future and give away Grant Hill to a team that is reaching close to making a run?

    Have yall seen how Grant Hill has been playing this year? He looks like he’s 28 not 38! I haven’t tried to pull the trigger on ESPN’s trade machine yet. I thought I would ask Tim and Andrew first.

    Whattaya think?

  • http://www.nbamatchup.com Chris in Phoenix

    Someone help! I’m trying this trade on ESPN’s trade machine to get Grant Hill and I can’t make it work with just the Spurs and Suns. Who’s a third team I could add?

    Help please??

  • DNITCH

    @jwalt

    I read that too and I completely agree that if he can stay healthy he is a legitimate threat on any team. I just think, like Hobson13 said, that if he signs for the vet min that everyone is a winner. With the Spurs switching to a more outside shooting team having a three point shooter like that to take 10-15 minutes would be amazing. What team in the NBA is better at taking care of vets than Pop and the Spurs? Peja is also a winner because he gets to go to a contending team which I would think is what he really wants, and he gets to be close to NOLA where his fam lives.

    All and all it would strengthen our bench since we carry the league min. While I realize this is because of financial reasons I think this is something that deserves a glance and possible offer.

  • http://ballchat.podbean.com Ball Chat

    Peja is going to the Mavs not the Spurs, and be thankful. Peja is completely worthless and his 3PT shooting is completely overrated at this point. If the Spurs are going to go after a washed up star they should shoot for Sheed, who was rumored to sign back with Boston just a week ago. Sheed would provide Bonner’s ability to stretch the floor but add some physicality the Spurs need at the C position.

  • badger

    A poor shooting “night” has been a rarity this season. There have been plenty of poor shooting quarters, like the 1st quater against Denver the other night. But, it seems like the team finds a way to keep themselves within 10 points or less, even when there’s a lid on the basket. Then, when the lid comes off, usually in the 2nd or 3rd quarter, LOOK OUT! Their ability to put up points in bunches, is, in my opinion, the big reason they are at 36-6.

    We’ve become a MUCH better team offensively, and we haven’t lost very much on D.

  • Daniel T

    Chris in Phoenix:

    You could do a one-for-one if you click on “trade exception” next to McDyess once he is in the Phoenix field and agree to have Phoexnix use $4.8M of the trade exception built up from losing Amare

  • Ryan

    Uhhhh.. no on the Grant Hill shananigans please. Dice is apparently getting younger and younger as the season rolls on and the last thing I want to mess with is this team’s chemistry. Same starting lineup for 42 games… 36-6… can’t argue with that. No thanks to the Grant Hill nonsense.

  • Ryan

    On a personal note though, the lack of focus this team has is starting to concern me somewhat. yes, we’re 36-6 and we can brag all we want too.. but I’m tired of this team taking nights off when they think they have it easy. Sean said it best during the telecast that they lack focus. This is the same nonsense we had when Minny first rolled into town and we didn’t take them seriously.. and the same reason we lost to the Clippers. Yes you can argue that both of those teams are better then their records show, but it’s really irritating to see SA just cave for lack of intensity. Yes, I know its an 82 game season and we’re going to lose some game… yes, I know its the Any Given Sunday principle… and yeah, there’s luck too…. but just not trying sometimes? C’mon… this team is too good to play that sloppy and I’m glad Pop chewed their asses during halftime… Big, monstrous, huge, grande, ginormous game on Friday… C’mon guys, win because you want to, not because you think you need to.

  • doggydogworld

    The article focuses too much on 3 point shooting. Missing all your 3s for a few quarters is just one of those things. It doesn’t happen that often, but it does happen. In the first half vs. Toronto the Spurs did not make a single shot more than 6 ft from the basket (remember DeJuan’s little back-to-the-basket Globetrotter move and flip shot over Bargnani on the 3rd possession? That was the longest FGM of the half). I’ve never seen that before.

    In the 3rd the Spurs may have missed all three attempts beyond the arc but hit 4-6 on two point jumpers outside the paint. That’s a completely different story. In fact, their first two shots were made jumpers - a 12 footer from Tim and a 16 footer from Tony. That set the tone against the zone, spurring the Spurs to a 33 point 3rd quarter and 62 point closing half.

  • r.l.manuel

    we better get payback tonite
    go spurs go
    beat the knicks

  • AS

    @ DNITCH

    “What team in the NBA is better at taking care of vets than Pop and the Spurs?”

    Phoenix

  • Rondo’s Cousin, Melvin

    @Chris in Phoenix

    McDyess’s contract is not expiring. He says he is going to retire, but your proposed trade would mean PHX is giving up Hill’s expiring contract for a “kind of” expiring contract that doesn’t actually come off the books until he officially files paperwork, etc. PHX wants either youth or picks for its expiring contract. That is what a rebuilding team needs. It does PHX no good to take on another expiring contract, and they aren’t looking for a half-year rental in McDyess.

    @Daniel T

    There is no way on earth that PHX would waste its super valuable Amare trade exception to do the deal. Combined with Hill’s contract, it allows them to trade for an $11 million dollar contract. I hardly think they would waste it for a fraction of its value on McDyess.

  • jwalt

    Ball Chat, you are ignoring how good Peja is when healthy. Look at 82games.com, even in his limited play this year he is near the top for both the Hornets and the Raptors. In his prime he made the Sac Kings go. Ask Chris Paul if he wouldn’t want him back right now with the Hornets.

    If the argument is that he won’t ever be healthy again, fine, don’t pursue him. But to think that if he is healthy that he won’t help, I don’t buy that at all.

    And yes, he isn’t great defensively. But the Spurs rely on great team defense, not one on one defense, and Peja would be smart enough to pick up on all the rotations, etc., that the Spurs play. It doesn’t take great defense to play top side and force the ball baseline the way Pop wants.

  • este

    The Spurs missed Matt Bonner. Wow! this has been a wonderfully strange season.

  • Tyler

    @ Ryan

    I wouldn’t worry too much about the Spurs’ focus. It’s a marathon of a season and while everyone would love this team to come out and execute their opponent to death, in reality, it’s not possible. There are inevitably going to be games where we just don’t have it. Every team goes through it. We’ve seen it against Orlando, LA Clippers, Houston, NY and twice against MN. Pop knows what he’s doing. He knows when to get on the guys and when to back off. Look at the end of the Orlando game for example - Pop was joking on the sidelines at one point late in the game (with Bonner was it?) while we were down 20+.

    Also, not being sharp and not playing hard are two totally different things. I don’t remember us not playing hard in any game this year. If that was the case, you better believe Pop would have let the team know. Against Toronto, we played hard, we just were sloppy with the basketball and missed shots. And in the 2nd half, we took care of the ball and knocked a few shots down. The effort didn’t change, we were just crisper.