The Notebook: Blazers-Spurs, 4/8/09
In one of our more disappointing losses of the season, the Spurs let a 19 point second quarter lead slip away, eventually succumbing to the Blazers by 12. It’s hard to blame any single aspect of tonight’s game for the loss, since we played so poorly for the final 3 quarters.
The game began as well as any has this season. We played swarming defense in the opening quarter. We didn’t just force Portland into taking low percentage shots; we produced several turnovers and converted those turnovers into points on the opposing end of the floor. We also began the game shooting 4 of 5 from beyond the arc (during the remaining three quarters we would go 1 of 10). At the end of the first we led 33 to 16.
Over the course of the next 36 minutes we scored a grand total of 50 points. We would never again reach the 20 point mark in a single quarter. Our offensive woes can be blamed on any number of factors. Parker, although efficient (17 points on 8-15 shooting), lacked aggression as the game wore on. Duncan’s mobility was noticeably limited (I’ll address the state of Duncan more directly later in this post). And, as you know, I love nothing more than disparaging our reliance on 3-point shooting.
That being said, I don’t really blame our perimeter shooting for tonight’s loss. If anything, our mere 15 3-point attempts suggest how aware we were that we needed to score in the paint. Roger Mason, Matt Bonner, Ime Udoka, Michael Finley: They all put the ball on the floor in the hopes of scoring at the rim or creating contact. None of those men are skilled enough to create off the dribble with any regularity but if we are going to be consistent offensively (which we may not be for the remainder of the season) the attempt must be there.
If I am content with any aspect of tonight’s game, it was the way Duncan’s minutes were handled. I’m sure people will attempt to use Duncan’s poor performance (4 points, 5 rebounds) as further evidence that Tim should be shut down. I stand firmly behind my previous statements on the matter. Yes, he was relatively ineffective during his 24 minutes of court time but on Tuesday night he scored 25 points and hauled down 15 boards in 33 minutes on the floor. It should be no surprise he struggled on the second night of a back-to-back. The key is to be hyper-aware of how he is playing: In the fourth, when Pop noticed his lack of mobility had sharply risen, he immediately pulled Duncan for the remainder of the game.
There are numerous ways for Duncan to be productive even if he isn’t scoring. You could argue that, aside from Parker, Duncan is the team’s best passer. By feeding him the ball on the block and letting guys maneuver around his periphery, you put Duncan in a position to demand the double team (by reputation alone) and quickly find the open man. Even if he lacks lateral quickness, his presence in the paint is crucial to our defensive prowess. And, although somewhat stationary, he is essential to our rebounding ability on both ends of the floor (we were outrebounded this evening 43 to 26. That number was not so uneven during Duncan’s 10 first quarter minutes).
Although our offensive difficulties are made evident by the box score, let’s not ignore how much we struggled on the defensive end. Brandon Roy led the game in scoring but in a lot of respects the Spurs did a decent job limiting the two time All-Star. He went 0-3 from beyond the arc and committed 6 turnovers over the course of the game. The most evident match-up problem for the Spurs came in the form of LaMarcus Aldridge (10-13, 20 points).
As we’ve noted time and time again here at 48 Minutes of Hell, the Spurs struggle against post players who are comfortable turning and facing the basket after they’ve floated out into mid-range (Nowitzki, West). Aldridge, who has an excellent mid-range shot, fits the mold perfectly. He is an extremely difficult cover on both the high pick-and-roll and when playing the two-man game along the wing.
In both situations, Aldridge’s versatility is on display. When covering the pick-and-roll, the Spurs nearly always have the picked guard go under the screen to prevent the drive. Our forward juts out to disrupt the quick pass and attempts to recover quickly as the open cutter heads for the rim. While Aldridge can continue into the paint, he can also fade away from the pick so he is parallel to the point. In that instance our guard is underneath the screen. Meanwhile, our forward hasn’t commited to covering the point (because the defensive scheme does not call for a full-on switch) but is also not in position to deny the pass. Aldridge can catch the ball easily and has a quick enough release to shoot before either defender has closed the distance.
If anything, the two-man game on the wing functions more effectively for Portland than the pick-and-roll. It produces the same tactical conundrum (although the specifics of the movement are slightly different) with the added element of a potentialy open 3-point shooter. Unlike the Spurs, who plant their perimeter shooters in the corner, the Portland gunners like to haunt the top of the arc. Corner 3s are the more efficient shot but being situated at the top of the arc leaves their guards in a better position to catch and drive (which can work particularly well if a rotating defender is slightly out of control as he closes in on you).
The goal of the Spurs defense is to disrupt the passing lanes while preventing a mismatch in the low post or at the top of the key (or, if referring to the two-man game, in the low post and on the wing). Generally our defense involves a lot of rotating but in these situations we try to prevent our backcourt and frontcourt defenders from switching so they aren’t required to cover a player with overwhelmingly superior height or quickness. In order to achieve that goal we allow opposing teams to have decent mid-range looks. When those teams include the likes of LaMarcus Aldridge, they are going to make a fair amount of those looks.
The Spurs next game is against Utah (who lost this evening to the Dallas Mavericks, 130-101) on Friday. The Jazz have only defeated 2 +.500 teams on the road this season.
