SB Nation - Matt Bonner

Gameday Preview Charlotte Bobcats at San Antonio Spurs

David Arnott — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:06:23 -0000

Pump Up Music: Sponge -- "Plowed"

The Big Picture: What happened to the San Antonio Spurs? If the season ended today, they'd be a half game out of the playoffs. Part of it is probably injury. Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker have both missed time already, and Manu, especially, just hasn't been himself, his field goal percentage falling through the floor. But even that doesn't explain the Spurs' shakiness, seeing as Tim Duncan is as steady as ever.

It's probably the defense. They don't have a perimeter stopper, and that has a cascade effect on everyone else. Sure, Richard Jefferson is far from embarrassing on D. Same goes for Roger Mason, Jr. and Keith Bogans. But the formula kind of breaks down without that perimeter defender. Yes, Duncan is still an anchor in the paint, but when the opponent's go-to guy -- usually a wing player that Duncan can't guard one on one -- doesn't have to deal with Bruce Bowen harassing him all night (in ways both legal and gray area), it magnifies the others' defensive weaknesses, and suddenly Matt Bonner's ability to stretch the D on the offensive end of the floor doesn't seem like such a great advantage when he has to help more on slashers. It's not too late to correct this. Someone like Rasual Butler might be a great acquisition for them down the line.

Key to Victory: Tyson Chandler has to stay in the game. If he can avoid foul trouble and make life difficult for Timmy, the Spurs will have a really difficult time scoring on the Bobcats' defense. Secondarily, here's hoping Boris Diaw can punish San Antonio for playing either Matt Bonner or DeJuan Blair (a.k.a. Thabeet Killer) with his inside-outside game.

Detail That May Interest .08% of You: Larry Brown lasted 3 1/2 years as Spurs coach in the late 80s and early 90s. He was replaced by Bob Bass, apparently on an interim basis, for the rest of the 1991-92 season. But then, to start the 1992-93 season, somehow Jerry Tarkanian(!) lasted only twenty games before getting canned.

Spurs Offense Explodes, Kings Fall 118-106

Ziller — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 14:00:05 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

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San Antonio is hardly known for its offense -- that's why management paid a premium for a new starting small forward, one Richard Jefferson. The former Net and Buck has always been a frequent scorer, and that's what the Spurs decided (correctly) they needed. And it paid off Wednesday night, with Jefferson torching the Kings defense to buoy a Spurs offense that ended up performing very well despite middling production from its big men.

Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili helped a ton, and the Spurs shot 8-9 on threes despite fairly decent perimeter defense. The issues with the Kings defense weren't gaping -- they had trouble stopping Parker's penetration (unsurprising, as few stop Parker) and didn't get back in transition in the first half. Basically, this was a phenomenal performance for the Spurs. That the Kings constantly put pressure on the home team in the second half, with run after run after "you know I'm not dead" run is a minor coup.

Jason Jones of The Bee notes just how young Paul Westphal went: the only King with at least three years of NBA experience to play more than 20 minutes was Beno Udrih. This was basically a bunch of college-age players against a team whose core has won three championships this decade, and whose star has four and happens to be the best power forward of all-time.

And the Kings fought. The 14-0 Spurs run in the second quarter should have killed them ... but the Kings stormed back. And so it happened three more times in the second half: the Spurs opened up the lead to 10+ ... and the Kings brought it back within three or four, even taking a brief 1-point lead at one point.

Omri Casspi was a beast with 20 points on 14 FGAs, with seven rebounds. Tyreke Evans wasn't terribly inefficient, his worst game of the four-game stretch. But he still 20/4/5 and four steals. So, you know, not bad, rook. Jason Thompson and Spencer Hawes combined to play Tim Duncan as well as you can ever expect, with Thompson showing good offensive touch in the second half after Hawes had opened up the game looking sharp. Donte Greene made some late-game miscues on offense, but brought every bit the energy the situation called for, ripping a rebound out of Matt Bonner's hands for a putback, and not taking no lip when the Red Rocket later attempted to return the favor.

I'll take "Encouraging Losses" for $500, Alex.

Preview: Kings at Spurs

Ziller — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:00:23 -0000

by Darren Abate - AP

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THE OPPONENT

The Spurs are far better than .500, despite the record. I could try to explain what's gone wrong, but Timothy Varner of 48 Minutes of Hell can do it from a tighter perspective, much more eloquently.

[T]hrough 18 games, those horses have come up lame. Rather than getting a lift from the supporting cast, Tim Duncan is playing with MVP-efficiency and barely keeping the Spurs at a half-respectable .500. If the Spurs recover from their start of sputter and stall, Tim Duncan ought to be placed at the center of the MVP conversation. He’s threatening a career season, at least in terms of efficiency. And it’s all lost on a 9-9 start.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not that no one else is playing well. Matt Bonner is a having a career year; DeJuan Blair is occasionally sensational. Tony Parker is not dominating, but playing competent basketball. I get all that, and I could further qualify. It’s just that the supporting cast taken as a whole is providing more drag than momentum-gathering boost. Tim Duncan is all dragster, and the team is mostly parachute.

Richard Jefferson has certainly been disappointing, and Manu Ginobili has seemingly been on-and-off, hot-and-cold. For the Kings' sake, given that our defense isn't bright and the Spurs' defense continues to be, let's hope Jefferson disappoints and Ginobili is more cold than warm.

			FG			3PT			FT			Rebounds			Misc
	G	M	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	M	A	Pct	Off	Def	Tot	Ast	TO	Stl	Blk	PF	PPG
Tim Duncan	16	32.3	7.6	13.8	55.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	4.0	5.2	77.1	3.1	7.7	10.8	3.4	2.0	0.5	2.1	1.9	19.1
Tony Parker	14	30.4	6.4	12.8	50.3	0.1	0.4	20.0	4.7	5.9	79.5	0.1	2.6	2.7	5.6	3.3	0.7	0.3	2.1	17.6
Richard Jefferson	18	33.2	4.4	10.1	43.4	0.9	2.8	33.3	3.1	4.6	68.3	0.7	3.6	4.3	2.7	1.6	0.8	0.3	2.1	12.8
Manu Ginobili	13	22.8	3.5	9.6	36.8	1.6	4.4	36.8	4.0	4.8	83.9	0.7	1.8	2.5	3.6	2.0	1.2	0.5	1.9	12.7
George Hill	18	25.3	3.7	9.0	40.7	0.9	2.3	38.1	2.4	3.1	78.6	0.6	1.4	2.0	2.1	0.9	1.0	0.4	3.4	10.7
Matt Bonner	18	21.5	3.3	6.7	49.2	2.0	4.4	45.6	0.7	0.9	81.3	1.6	3.7	5.2	1.4	0.7	0.2	0.2	2.3	9.3
DeJuan Blair	18	14.9	2.8	4.7	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.6	1.2	45.5	1.9	3.6	5.4	0.7	1.1	0.2	0.7	2.5	6.2
Antonio McDyess	17	20.9	2.5	5.2	47.7	0.0	0.1	0.0	1.1	1.5	69.2	1.8	3.8	5.6	0.6	0.8	0.6	0.4	2.6	6.0
Roger Mason Jr.	17	18.4	2.3	6.0	38.2	0.9	3.1	30.8	0.4	0.5	77.8	0.1	1.6	1.6	2.2	1.1	0.3	0.2	1.5	5.9
Michael Finley	17	18.2	2.1	4.6	44.3	0.7	1.7	41.4	0.4	0.5	66.7	0.2	1.5	1.7	0.9	0.6	0.3	0.2	0.5	5.2
Keith Bogans	17	17.5	1.4	3.5	40.0	0.5	2.1	25.0	0.6	0.8	76.9	0.2	2.4	2.5	0.8	0.7	0.6	0.1	1.9	3.9
Marcus Haislip	1	3.0	1.0	1.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	1.0	2.0
Theo Ratliff	9	8.8	0.7	1.4	46.2	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.4	50.0	0.6	1.2	1.8	0.3	0.7	0.0	1.2	1.4	1.6
Malik Hairston	9	3.8	0.3	0.6	60.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.4	0.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.7

THE KEY BATTLE

Tony Parker vs. Tyreke Evans. Reke struggled to defend the pick-and-roll against the Spurs last time around, with Parker slicing to the rim at will. Now granted, Parker does this against most teams. But if the Kings want to compete, Parker can't own the driving lines. He's going to have to work.

On the other end, it's a two-fold challenge in attacking San Antonio's defense: win the favorable size mismatches (particularly Evans-Parker) and overachieve in the problem spots (Andres Nocioni against the tough-inside, anti-three team defense, Jason Thompson vs Tim Duncan). Evans is the biggest key here, both in terms of punishing Parker without getting denied by Duncan and friends, and in terms of setting up Thompson, Spencer Hawes and others with easy attempts.

INTERESTING SIDESHOW

Let's play Inane Arguments, hosted by Grant Napear! His tirades against

a) Paul Westphal for protesting the shot clock violation when the Kings inbounded with 1 second on the clock, and

b) Jason Thompson for protesting his fifth foul, which came when he pulled Darius Songaila's jersey on defense

were inane. Everyone, including Westphal, who, you know, has been around the league a while, knows that there could be less than a second left. Westphal was indicating he thought the New Orleans scorekeeper jobbed the Kings by starting the shot clock just a touch before the ball was touched. This is a pretty classic home court advantage type move. If you read Westphal's lips, he says "Nice timekeeper!" or something like that. He is indicating that he believes the shot clock was started early. Not that the Kings deserve a full second because the clock read 1. You idiot.

Regarding Thompson, Napear kept on about how obvious a foul it was, and how Thompson should have shut up about it and play smarter defense. Of course, Thompson was protesting the fact that he was assaulted repeatedly at the other end, with nary a whistle to help him out. You can see him motion to the refs that he had been beaten about the head by the Hornets defense, and how he deserved to get some calls if the refs insisted on calling Nancy garbarge like the jersey yank. Thompson wasn't saying, "I didn't pull his jersey!" He was saying, "They are beating me about the head and whatnot, how bout a whistle, chum?"

And missing those things isn't terrible. It's the attitude that he, Grant, is the smartest person in the world that grates.

BOLD PROCLAMATION

Matt Bonner takes more three-pointers than Spencer Hawes.

NUMERIC PREDICTION

Spurs by ... never mind. I am not a jinx.

DETAILS

The tip-off, again, is at 5 o'clock. Game thread then, with the second game thread at 6 and the post-game thread at 7:45. Recap someday.

Spurs Fail Again In Loss To Jazz

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 16:28:56 -0000

The Spurs failed me last night, plain and simple. I don't care if it was close. I don't care if they had a chance to win in this 104-101 loss. They didn't win -- thus, they failed me.

I had a terrible day yesterday. I have a leak in the water line that leads into my house. Mrs ATS' car overheated on the way home from work -- it was 45 degrees out -- and had to be dropped off at the shop. And I can't tell you what tops the list. So when I sat down to watch the game, I needed a win. My team needed to win a game for me. Because that's why I HAVE a team. They need to make my day better. It is my escape from reality. It is where I get to check out of my life and get something enjoyable placed into it.

Instead, they had another suckfest in a game they really couldn't afford to lose. At 9-9, with such an easy schedule so far, our record is very worrying.

I think we all remember this Pop quote from last year:

We suck on 'D. Both individually and team-wise, we suck. We're pretty consistent that way. I don't know if I have an answer to that. If I did, we wouldn't suck quite so bad.

If Pop dropped the "on 'D" part from that line, it would apply aptly to this year's team. Last night encapsulated all the problems we have seen. Let's take a look.

Turnovers

This is an easy one. We just don't take care of the ball, and it is a team effort (or failure) across the board. Last night against the Jazz, we had "only" 15 turnovers. "Only" because that is our best turnover rate in the last three games. But when the TOs came last night, they came in waves. We had 4 at the half. We then fueled the 37-19 drubbing the Jazz gave us in the third quarter with 7 turnovers.

Defense

The Jazz scored on 12 straight possessions in just under 6 minutes. They went on to shoot 53% for the game. This is after they got off to a terrible start early and were in the mid-30s after the first quarter. Again, this is nothing new to this game. The Spurs have not been able to play consistently on the defensive end for an entire game against any decent team.

Matt Bonner and The Final Play

Matt provided both a very high point in the game and a very low point. He lit up the scoreboard with 28 points. He also grabbed an impressive 8 rebounds. He caught fire and got us back into the game in the fourth quarter. He had a 17-point quarter. Then, inexplicably, with 10 seconds left and the Spurs down by one point, he decided to go one-on-one from the top of the key. Of course, this didn't go well.

How the hell was that our final play?

Execution In The Clutch

We've been abysmal in the final minutes of games. I'm used to us executing. I'm used to our ability to get good shots. This year, we are turning the ball over and getting terrible shots.

Last night with 3:00 left in a tie game, our next three possessions were: Manu TO, Bonner 1-2 free throws, Tim TO. Utah scored on their two possessions between ours and took a 3 point lead.

Nuggets end of game, down 1 with 3:14 left: Bad foul by Manu, Tony TO, missed layup, gave up offensive rebound, gave up offensive rebound

Celtics: The Mason quick 3 with 2:14 left, Michael Finley standing out of bounds when receiving a pass.

Thunder: down 5 with 40 seconds and a Tony Parker TO, down 3 with 15 seconds and a RJ TO.

Yeah, I'm doing some cherry picking -- sour cherries at that -- but the fact is we just haven't played well in close games in the last two minutes. Whether against good teams or not.

One And A Half Stars

I know I'd like to think we have a Big Four, but right now we've got a Big One and a Half.

Tim has been awesome. As good as we could want him to be.

Tony has been pretty good, but he has been extra-super-sloppy with the ball at times.

Manu has struggled. Sure, he's shown some flashes of getting it back but he is a LONG way from playing at an all-star level. His shooting the last three games has been very poor. 4-12, 3-9, and 2-7 for 32%. Add in 7 turnovers against 7 assists. When you play good teams, you need your best players to play well.

Rage has been, um, not scoring and not doing much of anything else offensively. He's averaged just under 8 points per game over the last 3, and hauled in just under 4 rebounds per game. He's 3-10 from 3-point range and shooting 36% overall. He's 0-5 from the free throw line. He's had exactly 2 turnovers and 2 assists in each game. That's consistency, I guess. Yeah, he's new to the system, but it is still basketball. The free throw line hasn't moved.

We need a Big Productive Four. Our stars not named Tim need to start playing like all-stars.

Our Free Agents

McDyess, Bogans, and Ratliff. Ewwww. Isn't that the first word that comes to mind when you think about how those guys are playing? Or, maybe with Ratliff, you thought "who?"

There really isn't even much to discuss about these guys.

Some Urgency Please

Ok, I feel better. I just had to get that bunch of suck off my chest. For sure, and make no mistake, we are playing like suck.

We are in an interesting situation. No, I don't think we are in danger of missing the playoffs. But since when was that the goal? The goal is to win it all, and I sure as hell don't see that happening with this team. A lot of guys are going to have to start playing better. And they better start doing it soon. Because they have a LONG way to go as a team. The Spurs like to say, "It's a process." Well, that process takes time. You don't just get better overnight, and they have a whole lot of getting better to do.

Spurs vs Sixers: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 01:00:29 -0000

There was something very weird about this game. I think ATS was pretty close about the game feeling in control even when it got close. I was excited for the big plays, but I wasn't super excited for the gritty stuff like usual. I think I've come up with a few culprits:

* A Sunday game

* During football season

* Against the Sixers (AI2, Dalembert, and who? I've heard of Holiday but, yeah...sorry Ivey, but I didn't even know you were on the roster until I looked at the boxscore. Shame on me.)

* Where the main event is actually post game.

Another list after the jump....

I don't listen to much Green Day anymore, but this is a great one for me.

STATS OF THE GAME

* We "live and die" by the 3 so anytime we shoot over 50% behind the arc is worth noting, 55.6% to be exact. So without Mason; Bonner, Finley, Manu, and RJ combine for 9 of 13 for 69.2%. Where were the other 5 attempts? K-Boges was 1 of 5....In his defense, I think most of them were fair attempts. You can't make them all.

* The Spurs have been doing a good job of making opposing leaders into being poor leaders. Jennings looked not so great against us. The Wizards, a veteran team, looked completely leaderless. Ariza chucked away to get his points. Iguodala 21 points and is an awesome athlete, but please don't tell him that. He was 1 of 6 from 3. If I was the Sixers coach, the first thing I would do is sit him down and say, "you are an average 3 point shooter at best, but you can rock the paint and get to line at will so if you don't drive the ball, I will bench you!" Once again, an opponents best player finishes the game with the worst +/- on the team. AI Jr. was -15.

* Dejuan Blair had a disgusting line (11 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 blocks).....in 16 minutes of play! A note from watching the Spurs this season: Manu likes passing to Blair more than anyone else. Watch for it. Manu forced at least 3 crazy passes in this game alone at Blair. The first I remember was a turnover because Blair wasn't ready. The second was a turnover because Manu's pass went too crazy for any human or Beast. The third was an easy score. I'm not sure if Manu and him just have a a connection, Manu wants to see Blair dominate the opponent, or Manu trusts Blair's wingspan and low body center to the person guarding him to prevail, but watch when they are on the court together. As the season goes along, expect Manu to Blair, points for Blair, assist for Manu to be a very common and efficient sight.

* Duncan and Parker were monsters of efficiency. For the sake of this being a triumvirate of power, I'll include Manu who wasn't half bad either in his limited role and coming off an injury. So your Cerberus of All the is Holy has a combined stat line of 84 minutes, 46 points on 17 of 30 shooting and 11 of 11 from the line, 15 assists, 9 rebounds (in spite of Blair's night and then Bonner, Finley, and Bogans combining for another 16 rebounds), 2 steals, and 5 blocks. What turnovers? I don't see that column.....

Finally, here is the man of the night!!! Thank God every Spursday or those ones in between that we can claim this guy to our franchise so I leave you with this last stat of the night: +1 Spurs with their retired jersey saying "Hall of Fame".

Stat of the Game: -20.5: Also, Matt Bonner Makes My Head Hurt

Fred Silva — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:20:27 -0000

After last night's game, I was really not sure of what stat to use. I considered writing about how every time the Spurs were on the verge of making a run, they gave up a three point play or an offensive rebound. This game could really be summed up by the phrase, "momentum killing." It felt like I was punched in the stomach 36 times last night. Well, when I gave more thought to what exactly was momentum killing, Matt Bonner immediately came to mind. I re-watched the game and wrote a running diary that focuses on Matt Bonner. I also kept track of his negative and positive contributions to the game. That is where -20.5 comes from. What does this mean? Continue reading to find out.

A friendly note: Kids, don't try this at home. Re-watching a Spurs' loss is painful enough. Re-watching a Spurs' loss while observing every move that Bonner makes is damn near torture.

1st Quarter
4:41 Bonner checks into the game. I remember thinking, 'Why do we not play Blair more often?'
4:13 Bonner misses a wide open three. He will receive a -1 for that. I will be assigning values to every play he makes as we go along.
3:08 Bonner attempts to set a screen on the much smaller Wes Matthews and somehow gets manhandled. The officials make the call and Bonner goes to the line where he makes 1 of 2. He gets a +.5 for this play. While we are here, have you ever watched Bonner shoot? I mean, do not watch the ball, stay focused on his form. It is unbelievable. Who told him to shoot like that? When I was learning how to shoot, I watched Michael Jordan and tried to mimic his form. I feel that's what most people do. Find the best there is and try to be like Mike. Who the hell did Bonner copy? Bill Cartwright?
2:54 Kirilenko blows past Bonner forcing McDyess to come over and help. McDyess alters Andrei's shot but Milsap is left wide open under the basket for the offensive rebound. Bogans fouls Milsap for two free throws. Now, after Andrei blows by Bonner, Bonner is completely out of the play. It's like he disappears from the court. Get back in it, Bonner. Block someone out. Alter Milsap's shot. At the very least, Bonner should have been the one to foul Milsap. Bogans and Hill's foul trouble killed us. -1 for Bonner.
2:46 Bonner walks around aimlessly as McDyess is called for the Spurs first illegal screen of the night. -1 for Bonner because he seriously spends the majority of his time on the court wandering aimlessly. It's like he just woke up and is searching for his glasses. He is slow, somewhat clumsy and contributes nothing to society.
2:35 Kirilenko posts up Bonner on the block. There is a lot of contact but no call and the Spurs secure the rebound. +1
2:10 Bonner gets called for the Spurs' second illegal screen of the game. Alright, just 36 seconds earlier McDyess was called for the same violation. Now, if you follow basketball at all, you know that officials have a tendency to really focus on making one or two calls each night. Sometimes it's traveling, sometimes it's a blocking foul, and sometimes it's setting an illegal screen. The tip off occurred when they called an illegal screen on McDyess. They never make that call, but they made it clear early on that they were going to enforce it tonight. -3 for being incompetent, Bonner.
1:55 Finley and Bonner fight over a rebound. Bonner wins the battle. Way to go, Bonner. +.5
1:30 Bonner fakes a three, drives into the lane, and finds a wide open Finley for three. +1
:59 Bonner fakes a three, drives into the lane, and makes a horrible pass that gets picked off. Bogans commits the foul to stop the fast break. That's the second foul that Bonner caused Bogans to commit. Also, at the NBA level, you cannot make the same exact move two times in a row. The players and defenses are too gifted. How does he not know this? -2.
:03 Bonner gets the rebound and throws a JaMarcus Russell like duck over half court as time expires. +1 for getting the rebound, -.5 because, "You throw like a GIRL!" -- Sandlot

2nd Quarter 20-19, Jazz lead.
11:30 As Boozer hits another one of his funky fade-aways, Milsap beats Bonner like the red headed step child he is. -1 because Bonner was manhandled the entire night. He gets treated like a little brother out there.
10:59 Bonner fakes a three, drives into the lane, realizes he has absolutely no where to go with the ball, and flips it up and over the backboard. That's right, he shot the ball over the entire backboard. -3 for sucking at life in general.
10:38 Bonner is on the weak side as Brewer drives baseline for an uncontested layup. Thanks for the help, big guy. -1
10:10 Mason shoots a deep three that misses and the long rebound bounces right to Bonner. Bonner tips the ball back to Mason for a new possession. After watching Bonner closely, it became evident that he never fights for offensive rebounding position. Whenever he gets an offensive rebound, it's because the ball took an unlikely bounce and went right to him. He is the Bizzaro Blair. +1
9:21 Bonner drives baseline for a reverse layup. +1
9:03 When I watched this in person, I was very confused as to how Bonner managed to put himself in such a bad situation. Well, it turns out Boozer caught the ball at the top of the key and Bonner thought he was going to shoot. As Bonner attempted to block Milsap out, Milsap cut across the paint and Boozer passed him the ball. Bonner was facing the wrong direction under the basket as Milsap received the pass. Bonner managed to foul Milsap preventing the easy layup. -2 for not following one of the main rules of defense. "Always keep an eye on your man and the ball." Bonner managed to lose track of both.
8:55 Finley misses a long three from the corner and the long rebound falls into Bonner's lap. +1 At halftime, the Jazz lead 44-40.

3rd Quarter
Bonner gets benched for the entire third. Not coincidentally, this is the only quarter that the Spurs win as they tie the game at 60 to begin the fourth.

4th Quarter
12:00 Okay, this is only somewhat Bonner related. I realize that the Spurs are experiencing foul trouble with Bogans and Hill, but we really needed to make a push to begin the fourth. We had been trailing the entire game. It was important for the Spurs to come out aggressively. Pop's lineup to begin the fourth was about as bad as it gets. Mason, Hairston, Finley, Bonner, and McDyess. Shockingly, our first possession ended with an air ball and a 24 second shot clock violation. I mean, what is the purpose of this lineup? Can they defend well? No. Can they score in bunches? No. Can they completely destroy the Spurs' momentum? Yes, and they did.
11:15 Kirilenko receives a pass at the free throw line extended, crosses Bonner over, and makes the layup as Bonner catches up just in time to commit the foul and send him to the line. Vintage Matt Bonner. -3 because this was a huge momentum killer. The crowd was begging for a defensive stop and this play completely took the air out of the building.
10:18 Pop finally subs in RJ for Bonner. The crowd was restless as the Spurs were down 66-63. Also, this lineup sucks. We just went small for no reason. Now our lineup consists of 'Showing Signs of Life' Mason, 'Mistake Prone" Hairston, '0%' Finley, 'Too short to be a 4' RJ, and 'Likes to Hide' McDyess. Again, what is the purpose of this lineup? When a team goes small, they generally do it to upgrade their offense at the expense of their defense. But this lineup is not good offensively. Maybe if Mason and Finley were red hot it could work, but Finley shot 0% from the field and Mason was cooling off at this point.
8:31 The Spurs have completely lost the momentum and Pop finally decides to put in a competent lineup. We are down by 5. Now, 5 points may not seem like a big deal, but it is. The Spurs were trailing the entire game. They battled back to tie it at the end of three, but now that group re-enters the game to find themselves once again in a hole. It's simply draining to be losing. And as the second game of a back to back, playing from behind becomes that much more tiring. We should have began the fourth with our best lineup, built a lead, and then rested players as needed. I just hate the substitution patterns. The team is in a funk and so are the coaches. It's a tug of war match and we are always either losing or tied. That's not how you win basketball games.
3:20 McDyess gives up a three point play to Boozer so Pop replaces him with Bonner. As you can imagine, I was furiously screaming at this point.
2:53 It looked as if Deron Williams pushed off as he began his drive, but no call. Williams gets into the paint and Bonner arrives just in time to give up the three point play. Vintage Bonner. -4. Oh, and great call on replacing McDyess with Bonner, Pop. That fixed everything. Pop calls a timeout and puts McDyess back in for Bonner.
:45 For reasons that could only be illogical, Pop decides we need more Bonner. We are down by 5. I told my friend, "We are still in it. All we need is a quick score, one stop, and another score to tie it." Well, Bonner delivered one last punch to the nuts. He set his second illegal screen, thereby eliminating any chance that the Spurs had of coming back. -5.

Horrible. Why did I do that to myself? I guess I wanted evidence to support my hate for Bonner. Well, adding up all of my points, we come to -20.5. Bonner is like that friend you have who always is a negative. You have friends that contribute to the group, you have friends that do not contribute one way or the other so no harm done, and then, inevitably, there is that one dude who somehow always shows up and brings the fun level down. He just sucks at life. He can't help it. You cannot even pinpoint what he could do to improve himself. He is a lost cause. The good Lord simply did not bless him with the tools necessary to be successful. This is Matt Bonner in a nutshell. Generally, the group rids itself of the negative over time. It's a process. So, what's Tonya Harding up to these days? I mean, she is capable of handling this situation. Does anyone have her contact info? I would like to speed the process up. (Just kidding, kind of.)

Game 9 Preview: Oklahoma City at San Antonio

Zorgon — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 22:33:05 -0000

by Eric Gay - AP

Get away from our basket!

View full size photo »

This also counts as an open thread, so feel free to post your thoughts during the game here.

Time: 7:30 PM Central Standard Time

Place: The American Telephone & Telegraph Center, San Antonio, Texas

TV: Fox Sports Net Oklahoma, KMYS My Network TV 35

Radio: WWLS The Sports Animal (98.1)

Enemy Blog(s): Pounding the Rock, 48 Minutes of Hell, Project Spurs

Backstory: The Spurs are like the old, forgotten team. They won a championship not so long ago and they continually make moves to stay competitive, but injuries just keep getting in the way of true success. This year, that description has held true to what the Spurs are. They made some off-season buzz by obtaining Richard Jefferson to fill a hole at Small Forward, but not near the amount of news the Magic made by grabbing Vince Carter, the Cavaliers made by grabbing Shaq, or the Lakers made by grabbing Ron Artest. And this season has started out with injury after injury, firstly to Tony Parker and secondly to Tim Duncan. One of them is probably going to play tonight, but we are unsure of who. Thus, I am very unsure of whom is going to win this game.

Meanwhile, the Thunder have been the epitome of average. At times, they look like they're on top of the world, able to compete with teams like the Lakers and blow out the short handed Magic, but at other times, they look pretty bad, barely beating the Clippers and playing extremely ugly games against the Trail Blazers and Kings. One never knows what we'll do against a slow, monotonous team like the Spurs, but considering we split the series last year, we have a fair shot at beating them.

Below: Matchups, Prediction

Matchups: (Please Note that the Spurs lineup wavers from game to game, so I'll just follow the lineup Pounding the Rock says that the Spurs will have.)

Center: Nenad Krstic vs. Matt Bonner

Wow, a matchup of two outside shooting Centers! To be honest, I haven't seen much of Matt Bonner, but I'm pretty sure he's not much of an inside guy. I'd say that Bonner has the advantage outside, whereas Krstic has the advantage inside.

Power Forward: Jeff Green vs. Tim Duncan (Possibly Jefferson or Blair)

Well, this is a mismatch if I've ever seen one. To be honest, if Green can get his outside shot going, this could turn very nasty. And, if Green doesn't get his outside shot going, this could also be very nasty. I could see either side dominating the matchup, but in the end, I think it will be a wash, with Green having less rebounds than usual. If Jefferson starts, I see him winning the matchup, as he's a more versatile scorer than Green.

Small Forward: Kevin Durant vs. Richard Jefferson (Possibly Michael Finley)

Durant wins this matchup either way, but if old man Finley gets the start here, I could see a Durant bonanza starting to form. If the Spurs are smart, he won't start here. Either way, I don't see Durants defense getting in the way of Jefferson or Finley, so I think they'll have good games as well.

Shooting Guard: Thabo Sefolosha vs. Keith Bogans (Possibly Michael Finley)

That's right, Manu Ginobili isn't starting. He'll often be the top performer for the Spurs, but he does it off the bench for some reason. Well, whatever floats the Spurs' boat is fine with me. I think that Sefolosha will win the matchup, just because of his recent performance in the intangible categories, something which really isn't seen in the Box Scores of Bogans. If Finley plays, I think Sefolosha can do a fair job of keeping him down. In his day, he was one of the NBAs best scorers, but these days, he's just alright.

Point Guard: Russell Westbrook vs. George Hill (Possibly Tony Parker)

George Hill is a really nice scoring point guard to have, but he's not nearly the distributor Tony Parker is. With the way Westbrook has been playing, he's about equal to George Hill, but if Tony Parker plays, he'll find himself out of his league.

Battle of the Benches:

Well, by having Manu Ginobili on their bench, the Spurs get an automatic win here. Oh yeah, can they've got Antonio McDyess, Dejuan Blair, Roger Mason Jr., and Theo Ratliff as well. Talk about us getting outclassed.

Coaching and Intangibles:

Gregg Popovich is an excellent coach from way back, the Spurs are at home, and they've won their last two games without Duncan or Parker. I think even the dullest bowls of soup can determine who has the advantage here.

Bottom Line:

The odds are stacked against the Thunder, and if either Duncan or Parker play, we'll be up against even greater odds. But if the Thunder can focus on ball movement, Kevin Durant can luck into good matchups, and, if Duncan or Parker play, the Thunder can neutralize their threat, then we'll have a chance. But, in the Spurs house....I think we're going to fall back below .500.

Prediction: Spurs 85, Thunder 73

How do you think the game will go? Vote in the Poll!

And, again, feel free to drop any comments you might have during, before, or after the game below. I might be here during the game to drop my thoughts as well. Go Thunder!

Poll

Who's going to win tonight?

The Oklahoma City Thunder

25 votes

The San Antonio Spurs

15 votes

40 votes | Poll has closed

Canadian Content

rbala — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 10:00:36 -0000

More NCAA basketball letters are signed early, Carl English is big in the EuroLeague, another look at St. Francis Xavier's Coach Konchalski's milestone and other assorted basketball news from around the country in this edition of Canadian Content.

First off, let's start by saying congratulations to St. Francis Xavier Coach Steve Konchalski for setting the all time CIS wins record with 735, and counting, passing the great Jerry Hemmings of Brandon University. He broke the record last week but it's never a bad thing to repeat a monumental feat. Canada Basketball | CANADA'S COACH K SETS WINS RECORD

For some National Team news ...

A little on the English in Europe. Canada Basketball | ENGLISH LEADS THE WAY IN CAJA LABORAL'S EUROLEAGUE WIN

An interview by FIBA with the San Antonio Spurs Matt Bonner on being able to suit up for Team Canada this summer. FIBA.com - Latest basketball news

And lastly, a few weeks ago I penned a piece on the little situation brewing in Hamilton regarding some former NEDA girls playing ball at a local high school. It looks like the forum post on the subject at the basketball website it began on had reached 17 pages before the site administrator seemed to have ended all additions to the thread. Well, the upshoot is that the team with the NEDA girls is headed to the city finals. Just read the last post by a rival basketball coach and remember that adults can still act like children. TheSpec.com - Sports - 'X' stars as St. Mary's march on

More Canadian players signing to NCAA scholarships in the early period ...

Jabs Newby from Toronto - Eastern Kentucky University Athletics - Colonel Men's Basketball Signs Three Recruits in Early Signing Period

Micaella Riche from Gloucester, ON - Minnesota Inks Impressive Recruiting Class - Gophersports.com

Diana Lee from Vancouver - Women's Basketball Signs Four To National Letters of Intent - Boise State

Some college and university news bits from around the country ...

Basketball a bonus for SAIT's Chiek

The Sil " Blog Archive " Marauder women sweep Kingston trip

The Sil " Blog Archive " No. 4 Marauders kick off conference play

newsdurhamregion.com | Fab-five from Ajax lead way for Durham Lords

And last but not least, our favorite east coast minor league basketball team has announced their upcoming schedule. rainmenbasketball.ca: News

Canadian Content

rbala — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:27:45 -0000

There is some big commitment news from some high profile Canuck ballers, Canada Basketball has new vintage tees, Andy Rautins goes 7-10 from arc in the Syracuse win, newest NBA Canadian Matt Bonner throws one down and some assorted news bites in today's Canadian Content.

First we have some National Program news ...

Canada Basketball has a new line of vintage tees just in time for the holiday season. Support the National Program and pick one up. Canada Basketball | CANADA BASKETBALL LAUNCHES CB CLASSIC COLLECTION TSHIRTS

National Team invitee will be heading out to Iowa to try to make the opening day Energy roster. Russell Hicks drafted to NBA D-League - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

Second we have some news on a few Canadians in the NBA ...

Of course Captain Canada get a look. SLAM ONLINE | " The Post Up: Nasty Nash

Some Joel Anthony news. Miami Heat bench strong, reliable - Miami Heat - MiamiHerald.com

Burn this into your mind - Bonner dunked a ball. YouTube - Matt Bonner Dunks over the Raptors

Some NCAA news ...

Rautins had a monster game going 7-10 from the three for 22 points. Syracuse University Athletics - Rautins Leads Orange to 100-60 Win Against Robert Morris

A profile look on Gonzaga's Olynyk. Player Preview: Kelly Olynyk

Now for some prep news that includes three NCAA commitments for the coming year ...

Ludovic Ndaiye to Cleveland State. Hoopstars Canada

Things Heating up: Nastic picking up offers from big time programs | Crown Magazine

Melvin Ejim Inks With Iowa State - Iowa State University Athletics Official Web Site - www.CYCLONES.com - The home of Iowa State Cyclone Sports

Men's Basketball signs Tristan Thompson to National Letter of Intent - TEXAS LONGHORNS Official Athletic Site

Some headlines from the last few days around the CIS:

Gee-Gees no match for Badgers - Sports

Men’s basketball opens season with two losses - Queen's Journal

Women’s basketball drop both weekend games - Queen's Journal

You win some, you lose some | theVARSITY.ca

Brock gets taste of top program - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA

Mavericks Vs Spurs:Game 8 Preview

Phillip Baggett — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:39 -0000

The Match-ups:

Point Guard

Jason Kidd: Everyone continues to make claims that Kidd simply cannot stand up against the young, quick point guards in the league, yet he continues to prove the naysayers wrong. Last night against the Rockets was no different. The Rockets Aaron Brooks was on fire in the first quarter, making acrobatic shot after acrobatic shot, but Kidd stayed steady and in the end it was the leadership and experience of Kidd that won out in the end.

vs.

~~Tony Parker~~ George Hill: The Spurs 2008 first round draft choice should get his second consecutive start due to the ankle injury suffered by Tony Parker. Hill is a good shooting point guard, as he is shooting 46% from the field and 57% from beyond the arc. Make no mistake though he is not Tony Parker.

Edge:Mavericks

Shooting Guard

Josh Howard: Josh in his second game back had another solid scoring night, dropping in 14 points. Josh's ankle is still very tender and bothersome at times, this was very visible last night in the third quarter. Josh had to move very gingerly on it, and it is the ankle that is causing him difficulty getting the proper lift that he needs on his jump shot. Josh is going to be fine, the more he plays the better that tender ankle will get, and so will his jump shot.

vs.

Michael Finley: The first look at "Sir Bricks-A-Lot" of the year for the Mavs. Fin is going to make a few dazzling shots, but you can also count on several hideously ugly shots as well, and at least once he will dribble the ball off his feet. Finley's job these days is to simply stand behind the arc and then not to screw up when he gets the ball.

Edge: Mavericks. This match up is not even close, even with Howards bum ankle.

Forward

Shawn Marion: While Shawn did not have an extremely significant impact on the offensive end last night against the Rockets (10 points) it was his defense on Trevor Ariza that allowed the Mavericks to pull away from the Rockets. Once again though, his lack of trips to the free throw line is a major area of concern.

vs.

Richard Jefferson: Scoring wise Jefferson is off to his worst start since his sophomore season in the league. With the Spurs missing Duncan and Parker the bulk of the Spurs scoring will be left upon the shoulders of Jefferson and Ginobili tonight. Look for the Spurs to try to get Jefferson involved early and often.

Edge: Even. As good as Jefferson can be offensively the defensive prowess of Marion is that good as well.

Power Forward

Dirk Nowitzki: Dirk continues to struggle from the field, but he well makes up for it by getting to the line, and it is his energy that is keeping him and the team in games. Dirk has been somewhat quiet since his 29 point 4^th quarter explosion, tonight could be the night that he flips the switch again.

vs.

~~Tim Duncan~~ Antonio McDyess: While I have McDyess listed as the starter replacing Duncan do not be surprised if the rookie DeJuan Blair gets the nod. It is all going to depend on how Pop decides he wants to attack the Mavs. If he decides (and I think he will) to slow the pace down and turn the game into a half court beat and bang affair, the rookie will see a lot of action.

Edge: Mavericks. There are not many times the edge will not go to the Mavs as long as Dirk is here.

Center

Erick Dampier: It is amazing what a contract year will do for a player's ability. Suddenly Dampier is playing like he did in his final year in Golden State.

vs.

Matt Bonner: This guy is just not good, never has been and never will be. How is it possible for a center in the NBA over a six year career to average only 3 rebounds a game?

Edge: Mavericks. Not even close (did I just say, that the Mavs had the edge at center and it is not even close? I got to stop drinking so much)

Injuries/Suspensions

San Antonio Spurs

OUT - Tony Parker- Sprained ankle Tim Duncan- Sprained ankle

Dallas Mavericks

OUT - Tim Thomas- Recovering from knee surgery

Prediction: No Tim Duncan + No Tony Parker = No chance for the Spurs

Mavericks- 104

Spurs- 89

Mavericks vs Spurs coverage