SB Nation - San Antonio Spurs

Spurs vs Kings: Stats of the Game

BlaseE — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 05:52:55 -0000

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

Ever since they lost Kevin Martin, they've really been a team. I was impressed with the Kings' effort last night. They are a scrappy bunch. We could learn a thing or two from them. Oh yeah, Casspi was meant to be a Spur. I'm praying it still happens someday. Come inside for a couple stats....

Here is your song. It's the Beatles' Good Night off the White Album for anyone stuck behind a firewall who is curious what the song was.

1. Manu had an outstanding game.

Exhibit A: 20 points...in 26 minutes!!! Most of them were pretty timely too.

Exhibit B: 8 FTA's on 11 FGA's and he made all 8 of them

Exhibit C: 3 assists and 2 steals to 1 turnover

Exhibit D: Tell me you saw that fake out and then the dunk he had in fourth. If that didn't get you up out of your seat (computer chair, couch, or AT&T center fold out), then you are crazy and/or stupid and/or lame.

I think that is like 8 fingers around the rim. Pretty nice.

2. We got our turnovers down to 13 this game from those disgusting atrocities we'd been forced to witness. At the end of the 3rd and beginning of the 4th, there a particularly terrible stretch though. To go all ATS on you, Bonner turned it over to Evans on a bad pass with 1:38 left in the 4th. That lead to Tony fouling Evans. We missed our next two shots, Bonner and Manu. Tony Parker has the ball stolen with 4 seconds left in the 3rd and Evans gets another layup. Manu misses to start us off in the 4th.

RJ comes through with some points finally and makes his 3. Manu misses another shot. Dejuan Blair gets loose ball foul. Richard Jefferson gets called for an illegal defense. Bonner misses another shot with 9:53 left in the 4th. The lead was still 8 at this point because the Kings failed to capitalize on our poor shooting and execution over this period.

Finally after all of that Hill and Mason come in and score 7 points over the next minute to get our lead up to 13. We then let them back into it again with a missed Mason 3, George Hill turnover, and then a Blair defensive 3 seconds. Just like that, we are up by only 6 with 6:33 to play. The Spurs failed twice to end this game early and send the Kings packing.

3. The Kings had 62 points in the paint to our 48. They left 7 points on the charity stripe (7 of 15 FT's). They played an aggressive game and if they had made a few of their free throws and had one or two less turnovers themselves, then they could have really made this game interesting. I mean they were within 3 with 4:00 minutes to play. Yes, Manu and Parker took it over and Duncan had an EPIC BLOCK, but the Kings really showed something to me.

I like their chemistry with this group. I think they should trade Kevin Martin and try to get another big man to move Hawes to the bench. Kevin Martin had 1 assist, 29 points and a +/- of -28 the first time we played them. Hawes was the only other player to score over 7 points. He had 22 off the bench. I'm not saying they are a playoff team yet, but they sure are way better than last year's travesty.

Game Preview #20: Charlotte Bobcats @ San Antonio Spurs

silverandblack_davis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:37:51 -0000

So we beat a Kings team pretty unconvincingly. Tonight, we're going up against another below .500 team. Will we play to their level or hand them a beatdown like we're supposed to?

I'm going to stop making epic previews until the Spurs get their shit together. Like 12-game win streak-get our shit together. So for now, your pre-game entertainment is a slew of meaningless statistics of which experience I'd like to call "stats-gasm". They are as random as the Bobcats giving hell to unsuspecting championship contenders.

Bobcat Blues

- Ever wonder why the Bobcats SBN blog is called Rufus on Fire? Well, the scientific name for a Bobcat is Felis rufus. Betcha didn't know that.

- Bobcats can take down prey animals that are eight times their own weight. They routinely kill deer and sheep in parts of their range. (see: Denver Nuggets)

- Average lifespan in the wild: 10 to 12 years (I worry for the Bobs' lifespan with Michael Jordan managing the franchise)

- If a bobcat thinks that it is in danger, it will stay in its home for days at a time without ever coming out. (so that explains Charlotte's 1-8 road record... wait, the Spurs are 1-5 so I should just shut up)

- Bobcats should not be mistaken for lynx, although both are closely related. (do not, however, hesitate to compare the Bobcats to the WNBA's Lynx)

Not a Bobcat.

Definitely maybe Bobcats.

- Although both the bobcat and lynx have about the same build, the lynx has tufts at the ears and have long pale ruffs of fur on their face that gives the appearance of a beard.

A rare photo of a Lynx in the wild. Notice the beard-like fur on its face.

- Average age kids stop believing in Santa Claus: 8

- Assuming Rudolph was in front, there are 40,320 ways to rearrange the other eight reindeer.

Random Stats of the Young Season

PER Madness

- Tim Duncan is currently 3rd in PER in the league (1st among "Centers"... bleh) with 27.62, Manu Ginobil is 26th (4th among SGs) with 20.56, and Tony Parker is 38th (7th among PGs) with 19.48.

- Matt Bonner has the fourth highest PER on the team with 18.13 and ranks 15th among power forwards (somewhere, Fred Silva's head explodes)

"Don't mess with me. I have the fourth highest PER on this team, dammit!"

- DeJuan Blair is 5th in PER among rookies with 16.68

- Statistics show that one out of four people have mental illness. (I think it's more of a 1:2 ratio when talking about PtR members)

- A different scoring leader each night (from Elias Sports Bureau and ESPN)

Richard Jefferson scored a game-high 23 points to lead the Spurs to a 118-106 win over the Kings. San Antonio has had a different outright scoring leader in each of its last five games; Matt Bonner, Tony Parker, DeJuan Blair and Tim Duncan did it over the previous four games. That matches the longest streak of its kind for the Spurs during the Gregg Popovich era. Parker, Duncan, Beno Udrih, Manu Ginobili and Brent Barry took turns leading the team in points over a five-game stretch in April 2006.

- Of the 240 million television sets in America, 2 million are located in the bathroom. (Watching Spurs games in the loo is probably normal, after all. Not that I'm saying someone actually does it.)

Turnover Watch: Maybe it's not as bad as we think?

- The Spurs are 9th best in the league in limiting their turnovers (14.1 tpg), but rank 29th in forcing the other teams to turn the ball over

- Based on John Hollinger's stats, the team's Turnover Ratio (percentage of a team’s possessions that end in a turnover) is 10th best with a 23.7 rating.

- The Spurs average 12.8 TOs in wins, and 14.3 turnovers in losses.

- The most lopsided turnover comparison in a game so far this season was against the Mavs in a loss, where San Antonio committed 18 TOs to Dallas' 5. (that game was very close and went into OT)

- Turnover composition: 13% (32) came from offensive fouls, 41% (105) on bad passes, 43% (109) on ball handling, and 4% (9) on other kinds of turnovers.

- The longest dump ever verified was produced by an American, who produced a staggering turd over a span of 2 hours and 12 minutes. The toxic waste was officially measured at 12 feet, 2 inches. The offender has been banned from 134 washrooms in his state.

A Final Salvo of Random Stats-gasm

Totally unrelated, but 20 games into the season, a T-Mac slant is in order.

- The Spurs currently rank 3rd in the league in Rebound Rate (percentage of missed shots that a team rebounds)

- Gerald Wallace leading the league in rebounding might be the craziest statistical abberation in the history of the NBA.

- Another in-depth statistical analysis of DeJuan Blair's short but stellar college career.

- The average person eats 8 spiders while asleep in their lifetime.

- New Jersey's 0-18 start reset the record for poorest start to an NBA season. (yeah, everyone knows this already but I just wanted to rub it in)

- 82games.com has the Parker-Bogans-Jefferson-McDyess-Duncan 5-man unit with the highest +/- of any 5-man combination that the Spurs have used so far with +26.

- A BAM unit of Hill-Mason-Finley-Bonner-Blair is second with +15, while our supposedly "most talented" unit of Parker-Ginobili-Jefferson-McDyess-Duncan registers a -12, the worst +/- out of the ten top five-man units used.

- Right handed people live, on average, nine years longer than left handed people.

- Tim Duncan ranks 26th in All-Time Rebounds with 10,728. To crack the Top 25, he has to surpass Dolph Schayes who has 11,256 boards.

- More impressively, Timmeh is already 11th on the All-Time Blocks list with 2,153 swats. He trails Alonzo Mourning, who has 2,356 blocks.

Smile, Timmy! You're on PtR camera!

- At any random time, approximately 0.7% of the world's population is drunk. (I'd rate the PtR populace much higher than that)

- So far, 68% of our attempts have been jumpshots, 29% were near the basket, 2% on dunks and another 2% on tip-ins. Benchmarking it with our championship seasons, in 2003 it was 63%-29%-6%-2%, and in 2005 we had 64%-31%-3%-2%. So yes, we are shooting a little bit more outside this season.

- And lastly, based on various sources, an average 54.1% of all statistics are made up and 40% are completely useless to any relevant conversation.

The Bobcats are waiting. Let's move.

(thanks to Google, Basketball Reference, 82games.com and ESPN for the stats. My apologies for using them blasphemously)

Charlotte Bobcats @ San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: December 11, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: FSN Southwest

How They Stack Up


9-4	Home	8-3
1-5	Road	1-8
100.0	Offense	90.3
97.1	Defense	90.6
46.6	FG%	43.3
36.1	3-pt%	31.0
74.5	FT%	70.8
42.4	Rebounds	42.2
14.2	TOs	16.3
5-5	Last 10	4-6
Won 1	Streak	Won 2
3rd, Southwest	Position	4th, Southeast


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
argentinosaurus777's lair	11:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Pacman Country	9:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
Snowville	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 pM

Spurs (10-9)	Matchups	Bobcats (9-11)
Tony Parker I Can Has Passing Skillz?	Point Guard Raymond Felton is a decent point guard with decent numbers who's always subject of multiple trade rumors. Shows you how loyal MJ is to his Tar Heel guys. On the other hand, what Tony wants, Tony gets (and that's not just basketball stuff). TP all day. Advantage: Spurs	Raymond Felton Trade Bait

Keith Bogans Boganvillea	Shooting Guard It's a homecoming of sorts for Captain Jack, who helped put up one of the banners in the rafters. I'm hoping he'll be on our side just for tonight. But if S-Jax heats up, the Bogeyman will be in for a long night. Advantage: Bobcats	Stephen Jackson Captain Jack

Richard Jefferson Dunk-thlete	Small Forward Gerald Wallace has been a scary good player this season. How scary? He's 1st in the league in rebounding (12.4 rpg) and he's a small forward for chrissake! He's also one of the best defenders in the league at his position. This should be a good test for RJ offensively, so let's see how Rage follows up on his one-game revival. Advantage: Bobcats	Gerald Wallace Crash

Tim Duncan Prizefighter	Power Forward Because Boris Diaw's hair is ugly, Tim gets the automatic ATS white box. On a more serious note, Tim Duncan is awesome. Just thought I'd rub that in on Diaw's face. Advantage: Spurs	Boris Diaw French Invader

Antonio McDyess SAM I Am Not	Center No CPunk3 means lesser eye-in-the-sky opportunities for Tyson. Injuries have also been limiting him, so I don't think he poses such a big threat compared to when he was playing Scooby with the NOOCH. Old Man Dice FTW. Advantage: Spurs	Tyson Chandler No-Fly Zone

Manu Ginobili Mr. 4th Quarter	Bench & Role Players I fear for the safety of Charlotte's bench when the BAM is unleashed. Advantage: Spurs	Flip Murray Strictly A Scorer

Gregg Popovich The Student	Coach Much respect to Coach Brown. Let's just fuhgeddabout New York, okay? Advantage: Tied	Larry Brown The Mentor
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles A Larry Brown-coached team always seems to play better than what its collective talents suggest. Advantage: Bobcats
	Mojo The 'Cats are riding high after their conquest of Denver. They've shown that despite their record, they can hang with the better teams in the league. I don't know if that Kings win restored some of the Spurs' mojo, but I hope it did. Advantage: Bobcats
	Winner Despite some of Charlotte's advantages, the Spurs are just flat out the more superior team - on paper, at least. If we don't take care of business tonight, it'll surely hurt. Prediction: Spurs by twin digits

Keys To The Game

Mindset - The thing that the Lakers and Celtics have is that they immediately impose their will on opponents, showing them from the get-go who the superior team is. I wish our team had that kind of mentality against the weaker teams, and not let them hang around too long for them to develop belief that they can beat us.
Balanced offense - The Big 4 came through last game, but we're up against a much better defensive unit tonight. Say what you will about Charlotte's offensive woes (29th in the L), but they are second in the league in holding down their opponents' scoring. Sharing the rock and getting everyone involved should break down the Bobcats' tough D.
Bench - Slam BAM, thank you, ma'am. Let's end this early if we can and get the older guys a rest in preparation for a three-game West Coast swing.

Last Time They Met

We demolished the Bobcats on our home floor last March 10, 2009. RoMaJu still had his shot back then (21 points, 5-8 on threes).

Strength of Schedule

The every other day schedule continues. After this game, we embark on a three-game Western road trip in a span of four nights. Tiring days up ahead.

The 'Cats are coming off two days' rest after a home victory over the Nuggies, and is on the first leg of a Texas back-to-back.

Some Other Reading

Bobcats

Rufus On Fire - The Bobcats SBN blog is actually one of the places I like visiting. David Arnott is doing a heroic one-man job in running the site, and his pre-game Pump Up music choices are cool.

Queen City Hoops - This is the TrueHoop affiliate blog for Charlotte. Orange is a pretty nice color if used in the right amounts.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: I do wish Tim and Graydon would write more, but unlike us here at PtR, they have lives. Still, TBDTNOTP - The Best Damn TrueHoop Network Out There, Period.
Project Spurs: Part of the Bloguin network with lots of good content.

Other Things of Possible Interest

Here's a throwback moment from funny man Bob "Bobcat" Goldthwait on the Arsenio Hall Show. Old school.

Where to Tune In

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

As always, NBA league pass is recommended for those who are willing to pony up the cash. Almost every Spurs game will be broadcast there, which is especially helpful for those of us who aren't in the San Antonio area.

Please don't post links to illegal game feeds in the game thread. Links to illegal feeds are not permitted on SBNation, but you can probably find them out there on the internets if you're resourceful and desperate. In fact, nobody can stop you from googling "atdhe". You can also shoot an email to dmenendez@gmail.com for more assistance.

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Spurs Offense Explodes, Kings Fall 118-106

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

More photos » by Darren Abate - AP

Browse more photos »

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.

PtR Quickcap: Spurs Outgun Kings, 118-106

Tim C. — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 05:19:43 -0000

The Spurs won a game tonight, despite suffering from a bit of suckitude. Annoying, but I think most of us will take the win at this point. Oh, and somebody we've been looking for finally decided to show up.

Damn, those are some tiny ears.

That's right, Richard Jefferson, Mr. Big Offseason Acquisition, got going early in this game by playing above the rim, and he shot the ball very well for us. This, of course, opened things up for everyone else when the Kings got scared of RJ taking it to the rim. The Big 4 was in full effect tonight... on offense.

BOX SCORE

Now, I'll admit to not being able to watch most of this game, so take my "analysis" with a grain of salt. But, here are my observations:

Offense

The Spurs' offense fired on all cylinders tonight, and turnovers were limited compared to the previous 4 contests. Only 3 Spurs shot less than 50% from the field: Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Dejuan Blair. When those 3 guys aren't having to do all the heavy lifting, it's a beautiful thing. What that also tells me is that our designated shooters were kicking some ass. Now, let's see a graphical representation:

Surprisingly, the Spurs shot well on mid-range jumpers. A few of those are from the usual suspects(Tony, Dice), but quite a few of those dots in the 10-20 foot range are from RJ. That might seem disappointing at first, but it's the most encouraging thing I've seen all year from RJ. For his career, he has a deadly jumper - and if his J has returned to form, it will force opposing defenses to respect it, giving him more opportunities to drive to the rim. Let's hope Richard's jumper is really back, because that would open up the offense tremendously for us. Not only for him, but for Tony and Manu as well, since teams have been giving RJ space on the outside in order to protect the paint. RJ finished with 23 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Oddly, he didn't take a single free throw in this game, despite his early aggressiveness. I also could have done without the 4 turnovers, but I'll take the offense.

And what of Manu Ginobili? Sure, Manu was one of the guys who shot less than 50%(5-11), but he did what Manu does: making great plays when it counts. Manu scored 10 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, made the right passes, and came up with a couple of steals. Oh, and 8-8 from the free throw line ain't bad either. Manu makes this team so much better when he's doing his thing.

The other 2 members of the Big 4(tonight, it really was 4) both had good nights on the offensive end as well. Tony shot very well, and added 11 assists for his most complete game of the season. Limiting himself to 2 turnovers also tells us that he was making good decisions, just in case the assist total wasn't convincing enough. He led the team in +/- as well, with a +25. Timmy had a less obviously good performance, but he gets a pass since he's been carrying the team for most of the early part of the season. Tim shot 7-15 for 17 points, adding 8 rebounds and 4 assists for good measure. He also had 0 turnovers, for a very efficient game on offense(corrected turnover figure from earlier).

Defense

While the Spurs did a great job on offense, the defense was... terrible. The Kings shot 52.3% for the game. Six Kings players scored in double figures, led by 20 points on 9-14 shooting from backup SF Omri Casspi. The Kings moved the ball extremely well, but there's no excuse for the kind of lazy defense I witnessed in the few minutes I was able to watch. The bad thing is, there's not one Spur that can be singled out for this, it was a lack of effort on the team level. Where Casspi was hitting jump shots, any number of other Kings were getting to the rim almost at will. This is disturbing, especially when you consider the defensive "performance" against Utah in the previous game.

It's hard to figure out what happened to the Spurs' defense. After the game against Toronto, they were playing good D for a long stretch of games, but in the last 2-3 games, it's all gone to hell. Letting the Kings shoot over 50%(The KINGS, ffs) is completely unacceptable for a team that has championship aspirations.

OK, that's enough deriding. Enjoy the win.

Your 4 Stars

It's pretty obvious, don'tcha think?

1. Tony Parker

2. Richard Jefferson

3. Manu Ginobili

4. Tim Duncan

One Final Note

How crazy is our division? We're not far removed from 1st, but we're also not far removed from last. Look at those "Last 10" records... it's insane how good this division is, now that Memphis and New Orleans have their shit together.

Preview: Kings at Spurs

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

by Darren Abate - AP

View full size photo »

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.

This Week in San Antonio Spurs Basketball: Really, Really Late Spurs Update

Tim C. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 05:50:16 -0000

Yeah, I know. This is really late. We can't make deadlines around here. Anyway, the Spurs had a pretty ugly week, but we can't just pull a blanket over our heads and pretend it didn't happen. Spurs stuff, after the jump.

Here we'll provide information, links and summaries for all the games the Spurs played during the week, so that no one has to miss Pop sneering at a reporter.

This week:

Date	Game	Result
Thu 3	Spurs 83 vs. Celtics 90	L
Sat 5	Spurs 99 vs. Nuggets 106	L
Mon 7	Spurs 101 @ Jazz 104	L

That's too many L's.

Standings: 9-9

Upcoming games:

Date	Opponent	Time	Local TV	National TV	Radio
Wed 09	vs Sacramento	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Fri 11	vs Charlotte	7:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200
Sun 13	@ LA Clippers	8:30pm	FSNSW		WOAI-AM 1200

Game #16: San Antonio Spurs 83 vs. Boston Celtics 90

Boxscore

Official recap

Highlights

Tim Duncan - Postgame
Coach Pop - Postgame
Tony Parker - Postgame
Dejuan Blair - Postgame

Pounding the Rock: Game Preview #16: Boston Celtics @ San Antonio Spurs
Two teams on the rise meet for the first time this season. What do the Spurs have to do to beat the Celtics?

Pounding the Rock: Boston @ San Antonio GameThread, Dec 3, 2009 6:00 PM MST
Yeah, it was hackish.

Pounding the Rock: Celtics @ Spurs: The Game Thread, Part Deux
We'd better cut it out with this "hope" stuff.

Pounding the Rock: PTR Quick Cap: The Sky Is High And I Can't Touch It - Pounding The Rock
We lost, but we're prettier.

Pounding the Rock: Celtics Beat Sloppy Spurs 90-83
WVATS gives us a full recap of the night's events, with photos from janieannie.

Pounding the Rock: Spurs vs Celtics: Stats of the Game - Pounding The Rock
BlaseE stops by with some analysis of the game.

Monroe: Spurs lack precision in loss to Celtics
"The frustration the Spurs experienced in a 90-83 loss to the Celtics on Thursday was encapsulated in their perfect execution of an in-bounds play that appeared, for just a moment, to have given them a chance to pull out a victory..."

Boston 90, San Antonio 83 | 48 Minutes of Hell
The official 48MoH take on the first loss of the week.

Game #17: San Antonio Spurs 99 vs. Denver Nuggets 106

Boxscore

Official recap

Highlights

Tony Parker - Postgame
Coach Pop - Postgame
Manu Ginobili - Postgame
Tim Duncan - Postgame

Game Preview # 17: Attack of the Moonmen (Nuggets @ Spurs) - Pounding The Rock
Nuggets @ Spurs - whose defensive specialist is better? Oh, wait... make that, here's a game preview.

Denver @ San Antonio GameThread, Dec 5, 2009 6:30 PM MST - Pounding The Rock
I needed RJ to make me look good. That bastard.

Nuggets @ Spurs: 2nd Half Game Thread - Pounding The Rock
Being ahead at the half doesn't mean squat.

PtR Quick Cap: Spurs Lose 2nd Straight at Home to Melo and the Nuggets, 99-106 - Pounding The Rock
Davis did a really nice job of breaking this one down.

Boom goes the Ugly...Turnovers doom Spurs in 106-99 loss to Nuggets - Pounding The Rock
WVATS has to use visual aids from janieannie as a crutch to do his recaps. I kid, I kid - he uses his media credentials as a crutch, not the photos.

Monroe: Spurs can't overcome 19 turnovers in loss
"An hour before his Spurs took the court Saturday night against the Denver Nuggets at the AT&T Center, Gregg Popovich ticked off the priorities his team needed to avoid a second straight loss to one of the NBA's best teams."

Game #18: San Antonio Spurs 101 vs. Utah Jazz 104

Boxscore (highlights are on that page as well)

Official Recap

Spurs.com didn't upload any videos after this one. I doubt the players wanted to talk to the site after that debacle, anyway. So, here's some practice videos from today in place of that.

Richard Jefferson - Practice

Matt Bonner - Practice

Pounding the Rock: Game Preview #18: San Antonio Spurs @ Utah Jazz
There was a game? I'm too busy re-watching that Gervin vs. Maravich game of HORSE.

Pounding the Rock: San Antonio @ Utah GameThread, Dec 7, 2009 7:00 PM MST
CapHill wanted the Spurs to bring the fire. She just didn't know they would be consumed in that fire.

Pounding the Rock: Second Half game thread
Yeah, I killed the mojo. Blame it all on me.

Pounding the Rock: Spurs Fail Again In Loss To Jazz
"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." Well said, Wayne... well said.

Pounding the Rock: Spurs @ Jazz: The Red Rant
Fred still hates Bonner, but only when he tries to make plays in the clutch.

Monroe: Spurs hit another flat note
"After dragging the Spurs out of a deep, fourth-quarter hole to within one shot of victory, Matt Bonner had the Spurs poised for a dream ending to their Monday night game against the Utah Jazz." Fred? Comments?


This is the section for all the original Pounding the Rock content, including the FanPosts that have been recommended by the community.
	Pounding The Rock: Spurs International Roundup [December 1] Wayne found Marcus Williams. Pounding The Rock: Dunking is Good For Your Health Stats say Duncan hates Popovich. It's true! Pounding The Rock: Partying With The Toros Wayne talks about the time he's had covering the Toros so far this year, and the PtR Toros get-together. Pounding The Rock: The Perception of the Third Quarter How bad are those third quarters, really? LasEspuelas tried to answer this question before the Utah game, when he was proven wrong. Pounding The Rock: Spurs International Roundup [December 8]: Finding James Gist. Hah, I did it. Yep, Wayne found Mr. Gist. Apparently, he had some kind of injury.
	Pounding the Rock: Updated: My STANDING pledge to the Basketball Gods SiMA doesn't like Rand anymore. But Rand responds in the post itself. Pounding the Rock: "Basketball Bats" earns me a "Manu Moment" & gets a laugh from Manu JanieAnnie gets Manu to laugh. Pounding the Rock: MORE photos from Nuggets game JanieAnnie gives us some more of her photographic goodness. Pounding the Rock: Why? Big50 gives us his take on the losing streak. Pounding the Rock: Man I Wish This Was Real WillyD doesn't like Mark Cuban. Who does? Pounding the Rock: That Final Play doggydogworld breaks down that failure of a last play that the Spurs ran against Utah. Pounding the Rock: oxygen Manuwar misses Bruce. So do I. Pounding the Rock: Some Rather Articulate Ramblings About the Last Three Games Romeo has such a way with words. Pounding the Rock: Ginobili vs. Dracula, Chapter 7 PEN keeps going... Pounding the Rock: Ginobili vs. Dracula, Chapter 8 ...and going... Pounding the Rock: Ginobilli vs. Dracula, Chapter 9 ...and going with his awesome story.


In this section you'll find every bit of Spurs-related news we were able to find through the Intertubes during the week.
	On the Five Game Winning Streak \| 48 Minutes of Hell Varner writes about better times. Times that are hard to remember now. An Update on Viktor Sanikidze \| 48 Minutes of Hell Well, I guess Wayne can't keep up with all the international players associated with the Spurs.
	Project Spurs: Spurs Team Of The Decade No, olf - that's not what they meant. Project Spurs: Reveling In The Spurs Offensive Depth Remember what it felt like to win? Me neither. Project Spurs: Spurs vs. Nuggets Recap Jeff Gracia relives the loss, quarter by quarter.
	Harvey: MG as KG — winding path back Buck likes his "paragraphs" short and sweet. Monroe: Spurs' Ginobili lacking confidence Manu Ginobili is encouraged with his physical condition and his level of fitness. Next up: Regaining the confidence that has made him one of the NBA's most dynamic players. Monroe: Spurs lose Finley to ankle sprain Forward Michael Finley suffered a grade-two sprain of his left ankle and will not make the trip to Utah for the Monday's game against the Jazz. Monroe: Popovich: If refs weren't honest, I'd quit "If Spurs coach Gregg Popovich thought there was any truth to disgraced referee Tim Donaghy's allegations that NBA whistle-tooters routinely let personal bias rule their on-court judgment, he would walk away from the game."
	Making Sense of the Spurs' Losses with Numbers, Plus Raja Bell Talk \| Bleacher Report "The Spurs' two-game losing streak is perplexing, infuriating, and frustrating." You're telling us. Spurs.com: Tim Duncan Named Player Of The Week The San Antonio Spurs Tim Duncan today was named the Western Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday, Nov. 23, through Sunday, Nov. 29. Spurs Dynasty - 3-Game Measuring Stick JT writes: "Starting tomorrow they'll have a three game stretch against some elite teams, that won't be all candy and hugs, however." No kidding, JT, no kidding. Spurs Dynasty - No...more...turkey... Secretchord53 gives us his take on the season so far(before the losing streak).

That's it for this TWSS. If you want to help us with the TWSS posts or have any suggestions, drop us an e-mail.

Spurs vs Kings Preview

Tim C. — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:57:32 -0000

I'm not going to beat around the bush. We really need a win. We also need a game in which we play for 48 minutes. A solid 48 minutes of good, well-executed, hustling basketball. We need to make the Kings uncomfortable and we need to pummel them. Seriously pummel them into the court.

So tune in and grab your sword. We are storming the castle. It's Bastille Day.

You knew it was coming.

Sacramento Kings @ San Antonio Spurs
Where: AT&T Center - San Antonio, TX
When: December 9, 2009, 7:30 PM Spurs time
Watch: NBA TV

How They Stack Up


8-4	Home	8-3
1-5	Road	1-8
100.0	Offense	104.3
97.1	Defense	105.0
46.6	FG%	47.1
36.1	3-pt%	38.9
74.5	FT%	73.8
42.4	Rebounds	42.9
14.2	TOs	16.1
5-5	Last 10	4-6
Lost 3	Streak	Lost 3
3rd, Southwest	Position	4th, Pacific


Country/Time Zone	Game Time
Argentina	11:30 PM
West Coast	5:30 PM
Philippines	9:30 AM
Central Europe	2:30 AM
Palestine/Egypt	3:30 AM
East Coast	8:30 PM
CapHill's Chaisse	6:30 PM
Perth, AUS	9:30 AM
Tokyo, JP	10:30 AM
Sydney, AUS	12:30 pM

Spurs (9-9)	Matchups	Kings (9-11)
Tony Parker Wee Frenchman	Point Guard Tony in a landslide. No, not really. Tyreke is getting better and better and he is big and physical. He could end up abusing us the way Russell Westbrook did. Scary thought there. Advantage: Spurs	Tyreke Evans Big Bad Boy

Manu Ginobili The Sickness	Shooting Guard Donte got the start last night against the Hornets. We'll see a lot of Beno as well here. Either way, I'm going with the Gino. Advantage: Spurs	Donte Greene Not George Hill

Richard Jefferson Shoots Too Little	Small Forward Close. But, I have to go with RJ even if he isn't playing well. Advantage: Spurs	Andres Nocioni Shoots Too Much

Tim Duncan Skilled Vet	Power Forward Tim is still named named Tim. In case you didn't know. Advantage: Spurs	Jason Thompson Semi-skilled Soph

Antonio McDyess Roll Tide	Center Maybe, just maybe, SAM will break out of whatever has him locked up. Advantage: Spurs	Spencer Hawes U of W

Georege Hill Long	Bench & Role Players Kenny Thomas and Ime Udoka are getting a lot of minutes off their bench. Advantage: Spurs	Beno Udrih Gone

Gregg Popovich Mad Pissed	Coach Pop better be mad. I expect an all business from him for 48 minutes. Advantage: Spurs	Paul Westphal Mad Crazy
	images via yahoo.com

	Other Factors
	Intangibles The Kings are scrappy and have been playing pretty well since Kevin Martin went down. The Spurs have not been scrappy. Intangibles favore scrappy. Advantage: Kings
	Mojo We appear to be mojo-less. Advantage: Kings
	Winner We better be one hell of a motivated team. If we don't come out and play the best game of the season, I'll be disappointed. Advantage: Spurs

Keys To The Game

Intensity - We better be right, and by right I mean sharp, from the opening tip.
Jump the Gun Early - Leftover from last game against the Kings, but we need to crush them early. They lost a tough game in New Orleans last night. Step. On. Their. Throat.
Bench - Our bench is way, way better than theirs. We need them to show it and give Tim some rest.

Last Time They Met

Was the third game of the season and we whipped them 113-94. We need to do the same again.
Oh yeah, it was also the night Manu swatted the bat.

Some Other Reading

Kings

Sactown Royalty - The Kings SBN blog. They also have members who actively comment during games. Go visit them and drop a friendly line or two, olf-style

Cowbell Kingdom - This is the TrueHoop network blog for the Sacramento. I hate the sound of cowbells, but these guys do a great job covering the ~~Maloofs~~ Kings.

Spurs

48 Minutes of Hell: Speaking of THN blogs, we're extremely lucky that the best one is dedicated to the Spurs. Tim and Graydon are really good.
Project Spurs: Good Bloguin blog with lots of good content. Spurs fans are lucky to have so many good blogs out there.

Where to Tune In

(Note: The League Pass free preview is available until Nov. 3 for both broadband and television.)

TV

This game is not on national TV, so for those of you staying at home, you might want to read on below...

Online

Spurs League Pass audio is still free this year, so check it out.

Radio

If you're in the San Antonio area and aren't near a TV, tune in to WOAI (1200 AM).

Spurs International Roundup: Finding James Gist. Hah, I did it.

Wayne Vore (ATS) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:47:13 -0000

James Gist is on the radar. He has signed with the Russian team Lokomotiv Kuban after rehabbing an unspecified injury. Unfortunately, he didn't play for them today and they dropped to 0-3 in the EuroChallenge.

Tiago Splitter

Caja Laboral

ACB (Spanish League): 7-3

EuroLeague: 4-2

Age: 24

Height: 7' 0"

Weight: 240

1st round, 28th pick, 2007

Caja Laboral improved to 4-2 with a solid 67-60 win over Lottomatica Roma. Tiago was again very good with 15 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists in 28 minutes. 5-10 from the field and 5-6 from the line.

They have a big road game against Maccabi Electra who leads the group. Caja will advance to the next round regardless, but this game will be a good indicator of whether or not they are still a top-tier EuroLeague squad.

In Spanish league play, they continued their way of easing past bottom feeders. This time it was a 78-68 win over Estudiantes. The entered the fourth up only 4. Tigger led his team in scoring and rebounding with 16 and 8. 5-10 from the field and 6-6 from the ilne. He also corked a couple shots.

This Saturday they face a solid DKV Joventut team on the road. For those of you who want to watch, it will be streamed here at 1:00 Spurs time.

Highlights of the win over Estudiantes

The ball fake at 1:14 is fantastic.

Tiago can hang on the rim with the best of them.

Nando De Colo

Power Electric Valencia

ACB (Spanish League): 8-3

EuroCup : 3-0

Age: 22

Height: 6' 5"

Weight: 185

2nd round, 53rd pick, 2009

Valencia got their second win in as many games in EuroCup last Tuesday with a great 78-77 win over the French squad Le Mans. SpurNando only had 12 points, but he shot efficiently-ish and only had 2 turnovers in 22 minutes.

Valencia completed a sweep of the first round of group play today with a 67-59 win over BC Triumph of the Russian League. Again, Nando didn't have big numbers. Only 13 points and 6 rebounds, but he limited his turnovers to two in 22 minutes. He also was clutch with 8 of his points coming in the fourth quarter of a wild game. Valencia, playing on the road, jumped out to a 46-22 halftime lead thanks to a 29-9 second quarter. However, BC Triumph entered the fourth only down 4 on the heels of a 24-4 third quarter. 4. Yes, 4. Valencia scored 4 points in the quarter. Nando was 4-7 from the field, 3-3 from the line, and 2-3 from distance.

In Spanish League play, Valencia got handed their third loss by an undefeated Real Madrid 77-66. Nando had a great stat line in the loss. 19 points and 3 assists (only 2 turnovers). He was 6-9 from the field, 5-5 from the line, and 2-3 from 3-point.

Highlights of the loss to Real Madrid.

You HAVE to see the Nando pass at the 30 second mark. Pure Ginobili.

James Gist

Lokomotiv Kuban

Russian League: 4-2

EuroChallenge: 0-3

Age: 23

Height: 6' 9"

Weight: 220

2nd round, 57th pick, 2008

I feel so complete now. It's crazy.

Here is the press release from the Lokomotiv Kuban site. As I said earlier, he didn't play today in the EuroChallenge loss to Gravelines-Dunkerque. G-D is where Austin Toro Russell Carter, the guy who went to the bench when Malik was assigned, played last year.

Robertas Javtokas

BC Khimki

Russian League: 5-1

EuroLeague: 4-2

Age: 29

Height: 6' 10"

Weight: 240

2nd round, 56th pick, 2001

In EuroLeague play, Khimki dropped a roadie to Real Madrid 70-59. The loss dropped them to 4-2, but they are in no danger of not advancing to the round of 16. Robertas was a beast, going for 17 and 9.

The Russian League was on hiatus this week to play a round in the VTB. This week they play the undefeated CSKA Moscow team.

Jack McClinton

Aliaga Petkim

Turkish League: 3-5

Age: 23

Height: 6' 2"

Weight: 185

2nd round, 51st pick, 2009

Aliaga dropped a tight one 77-75 to Bornova Belediye. Jack Mac wasn't shy about shooting in this one as he hoisted 17 shots in his 26 minutes. Unfortunately, he wasn't making much. 0-8 from two point range and 3-9 from long range. That's 3-17 total. Yuck! Teammate Quinton Hosley had 23 and 16. Albert Brown had 29 and 12 for the winners.

Asvel Basket

Tony's Team

French League: 3-7

EuroLeague: 2-4

Asvel picked up their second EuroLeague win with a 77-67 win over Zalgiris Kaunas. Rawle Marshall had 20 points and 5 boards for Asvel. They just recently signed him. Dainius Salenga had 25 for Zalgiris.

In league play, they eeked out a 77-76 win over Chalon. Drew Neitzel plays for Chalon and had 23.

TJ Parker is now playing for Asvel.

Eric Dawson

Mitsubishi Diamond Dolphins

JBL (Japanese League): 2-16

Age: 24?

Height: 6' 9"

Weight: 235

Austin Toros 2007-2009

Mitsubishi has a two week break. Well, the whole Japanese league does.

Marcus Williams

Zheijang Wanma

CBA (Chinese League): 0-0

Age: 23

Height: 6' 7"

Weight: 210

Austin Toros 2007-2009

Marcus signed with Zheijang Wanma Cyclones. You can read the news here. It makes it sound like he is still trying out. So who knows. The schedule hasn't been posted yet, so I don't know when they started the season.

Spurs @ Jazz: The Red Rant

Fred Silva — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:42:51 -0000

9 wins, 9 losses. Given our upgraded roster, if you would have told me during the preseason that the Spurs would be 9 and 9 after 18 games, I would have gone all-in on you without a second thought. It all seemed so perfect. The best supporting cast that Tim has ever had is what everyone was claiming. Well, boys and girls, we are 9 and 9. In the standings, we are surrounded by The Heat (they have one player,) The Rockets (they have 0 players,) The Thunder (half the team cannot legally drink a beer,) The Bucks (sucked before they lost all their players to injury,) The Kings (The FREAKING KINGS!) and the worst franchise in the league (The Clippers.) Our record is as useless as the ninth chick to come forward regarding Tiger Woods. (Who gives a crap? We got the hint when number four came forward. Nobody even cares, number nine. You aren't that popular. No one even knows who you are. You suck.) More after the jump.

I feel like Matt Kennedy Gould in the season finale of Joe Schmo. "WHAT IS GOING ONNNN?!?"

Tony, Manu, RJ, Tim and Bonner on the floor with 10 seconds left down by one in an extremely hostile arena. Bonner catches the ball four feet inside the half court line. "PASS! PASS!" He puts his head down and begins to drive. "WHAT THE EFF ARE YOU DOING? WHAT IS HE DOING?" His head is down, he is moving like a pregnant penguin towards the bucket, 7, 6, 5.... "Tony, Manu, RJ, Tim, someone steal the ball from him! WHAT THE EFF IS HE DOING?" He pulls up and takes a shot with 5 seconds remaining that rims out with no Spur under the basket for the offensive rebound. "AAGHHHH!" I don't even know if that shot has a name. It was kind of a hook shot, kind of a runner, it was off-balance at a horrible angle with Boozer contesting in perfect position. Game over. -254.

That, my friends, is exactly why McDyess should be closing out games for the Spurs. If McDyess were in for Bonner, he would have caught the ball and calmly waited for Tony or Manu to get open. I guarantee he would not have panicked as Bonner did. Ten seconds is a ton of time. There was absolutely no reason to panic with a full ten seconds on the clock. If it gets to five, then by all means, get a shot off. But at ten, you wait for your play-makers. You do not put your head down, avoid contact, and take a miserable shot.

Now, some may argue that Bonner was having a career night. He was making everything and he deserved to be in there at crunch time. No, he did not. And we all saw why. Crunch time is a completely different animal than the first half, when it's fine if Bonner pulls a Bonner. In crunch time, every possession matters. It's all about execution. How many of you can seriously say that you would prefer Bonner in that situation over McDyess? McDyess would have executed, where as Bonner panicked and took an awful shot. If you want to stretch the defense with a three point shooter, then why not go small for the final play? Sub in Finley, when healthy, or Mason in this situation. We have all seen them hit the big shot consistently and it would have forced Sloan to make a last second substitution, throwing off whatever he drew up in that final timeout.

The Spurs are rattled, I am rattled, we are rattled. But, all is not lost. Let's see if I can dream up a silver lining. Our last 6 losses have been by an average of 5.3 points and all to playoff worthy teams. (I am counting the Thunder as playoff worthy because I think they will only get better as the season progresses. ) In other words, the Spurs were very capable of winning each of these games against very good teams. Costly turnovers, offensive rebounds, and boneheaded [read: redheaded] plays resulted in these six losses. But these are all things that the Spurs can improve upon. Take care of the ball, block out, and give Bonner a position that he is capable of handling. (I am thinking water boy.)

The thing to keep in mind is that the Spurs essentially turned over their roster during the off-season. Finley and Mason have been given a lesser roll. Hill is now the backup point guard. RJ, McDyess, Blair and Theo are all brand new to the system. Basically, the Spurs are trying to build team chemistry from scratch. The Spurs have not retooled in such a dramatic fashion since we landed Tim Duncan. We all need to be patient. (I'm talking to myself more than I am to you.) The Spurs are a few good bounces away from riding a 15-3 record right now. At the least, they should have won 3 of their last 6 losses, putting them at 12-6.

Things are not as bad as our record indicates and the schedule should seriously help the Spurs out in the near future. The rest of December serves us the Kings, Bobcats, Clippers, Suns, Warriors, Clippers, Blazers, Bucks, Knicks, Wolves, and Heat. I mean, cupcakes, right? Only three of the next eleven teams should pose a challenge, and if the Spurs can find themselves and get some momentum, it is not improbable to think that they may run the table. I mean, we own the Suns, the Blazers greatly rely on mid-range jumpers, and the Heat only have one player. I just talked myself into it. That's right, 11-0 is my prediction for the rest of the month. How's that for a silver lining?

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.