The Notebook: Spurs-Lakers, 1/25/09
This afternoon’s Spurs-Lakers match-up was frustrating for fans of the silver and black but offered a pretty concrete guide of what needs to happen for this Spurs team to be considered a real contender rather than just receiving the obligatory “never count the Spurs out” remarks. We’ve got a lot to discuss so let’s get down to business:
There is no greater trap for the Spurs than the allure of the 3-point shot. We love to take them and the more we miss the more we take them in order to make up for our misses. This was painstakingly clear during the 3rd quarter during which the Spurs allowed the Lakers to create the distance they would fundamentally maintain for the remainder of the game. During the second quarter Duncan and Parker used high percentage shots to keep the Spurs competitive (we actually led for a decent part of the first half) but our infatuation with the long ball ensured we wouldn’t walk away with a win. Just so we are clear about how futile our perimeter shooting efforts were, the Spurs went an abysmal 5-23 from beyond the arc.
I think this afternoon’s game also showed the inadequacy of small ball in certain situations. In general Pop’s increasingly common tendency to go small doesn’t bother me because, aside from Duncan, our most potent scorers reside in our backcourt. And I have long been an advocate, not so much of a more offensive-minded approach, but at the very least a greater consideration for the number of people on the floor who can honestly create their own shot.
But against a team with a frontcourt composed of Paul Gasol and Andrew Bynum, we need to deploy the legitimate low post defenders we currently have (ideally we will be adding one more before the trade deadline). By that I mean that Fabricio Oberto and Kurt Thomas, against a team like the Lakers, should be seeing some of the minutes Matt Bonner is getting. Matt Bonner had a poor game today, but I don’t want to use this as an opportunity to jump down his throat. Yes, he took far too many shots. Yes, he attempted (poorly) to create of the dribble. And Yes, he failed to be a reliable presence on the boards. But that is nothing new when it comes to Matt Bonner. What makes Bonner an acceptable member of the rotation is his ability to limit himself to 4 or 5 3-pointers a game and make 2 or 3. But we can’t a) rely on him to cover the likes of Pau Gasol and b) allow him to take so many FGA (3-8, 0-4 from 3 point range).
In all honesty, those are two things I could have told you before this game. Those are two things I could have told you after the first game of the season. What I am surprised to here myself saying is that this afternoon’s loss was primarily a failure of on-court leadership. Most specifically I am referring to Tim Duncan. In situations where the team is making mental errors (particularly in terms of our shot selection), I expect Duncan to step up and clarify how we should be putting the ball in the hoop. I expect Duncan’s defensive focus to become equally unbreakable and infectious. I expect him to lead.
It’s not that Duncan had a bad game. It was decidedly average. But throughout the contest he came off as being nowhere near as focused as his counterpart, Andrew Bynum. Bynum gave him trouble on both ends of the floor and looked far more interested in making a statement than Tim did. I am not saying Tim needs to prove anything to anyone; clearly he doesn’t. But that is not an excuse for allowing yourself to get out-muscled on both ends of the court.
In some ways, this game was a far more even contest than the final score suggests. We didn’t do a terrible job on defense and we consistently found wide open looks throughout the game; we just didn’t make them. Our crisp, reliable ball movement will ensure we get open looks from the perimeter but in order to be able to win late-round playoff games we are going to have to survive on something else other than the longball.
Notable Statistics:
Only 3 Spurs players had a positive +/-: Bruce Bowen (+6), Fabricio Oberto (+4), Ime Udoka (+1).
Despite the Lakers height advantage, the rebounding was fairly even: The Lakers hauled in 43 while the Spurs collectively nabbed 40 rebounds.
Despite our perimeter shooting struggles, the Spurs had an excellent day from the line, connecting on 87.5% of their 16 free throw attempts. Duncan, Mason, Udoka, and Hill all shot 100% from the charity stripe.
Related posts:
- Los Angeles Lakers 102, Pomona-Pitzer 93: The Spurs’ second unit wins cookies and milk
- On Manu’s injury and playoff seeding
- Andy Kamenetzky wants the Spurs at full force
