Spurs of the Moment

The Spurs defeated the Mavs 97-87  and won the series 4-2. The Suns finished off the Blazers last night 99-90 and will be the next team the Spurs face.

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 It’s not looking good for the home team right now. Road records, trades, winning streaks…. none of that matters if you can’t get it done in the post-season. The Dallas Mavericks should know that better than any other team, but they still fall apart every year to the point that I’m starting to think they are cursed. Well, forces of darkness aside, the forces of San Antonio took a commanding 3-1 lead in this series with a well fought 92-89 victory. It was close but the Spurs get the W on Tim Duncan’s birthday (34 years old) despite Tony Parker’s best efforts… five turnover having… anyway.

Tim Duncan, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili combined for 31 points on 9-of-34 shooting. Ginobili, playing with bandages on his nose (we don’t need no stinking mask), did finish with 17 points, and Parker had 10 points off the bench. Duncan was particularly bad shooting 1-of-9 from the field and finishing with only four points to go with his 11 rebounds. He didn’t have his first field goal until four minutes left in the game. He sat for about 25 minutes of real time while the Mavs relinquished a 15-point lead in the third quarter by going 4-of-17 and letting DeJuan Blair and George Hill run all over them.

The Mavs responded by getting a technical (Dirk) and a flagrant 2 foul instead of scoring or getting stops. The worst moment came when Eduardo Najera yanked Ginobili down by the neck and was ejected. To be fair, I like Najera and don’t think he is a dirty player. I think he was trying to be physical and it went awry when he basically horse-collar tackled Ginobili. They don’t allow that in the NFL, let alone the NBA so that was it for Eddie in this game after only 47 seconds. DeJuan Blair and Richard Jefferson also had flagrant 1′s.

DeJuan Blair finished with seven points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and one block in only 12 minutes. He only played half the minutes that Haywood or Marion played and about seven minutes less than the useless Dampier, but had a much bigger impact on the game. I also think it’s interesting that Marion is on the bench in the 4th quarter a lot in this series. What is going on with Rick Carlisle? Does he not trust Marion or something? He actually had a decent game this time with 14 points and seven boards, but was a mere spectator down the stretch.

George Hill was the star of this game leading all scorers with 29 points, four rebounds, two steals and a block. He was efficient shooting 11-of-16 from the field including a deadly 5-of-6 from downtown. The Mavs had no answer for him aside from Jason Terry’s late appearance which was nowhere near enough.

Richard Jefferson had his way with the Mavericks again going for 15 points, including a nice dunk under the basket with none other than the defensive stalwart Jason Terry trying to guard him. Of course, Terry rolled his ankle earlier in the game, so I’ll cut him a little slack.

These teams were about even in every way except the Spurs once again shot better at 45.3% to the Mavericks 41.6%. The Spurs were out-rebounded 48-43, but had two fewer turnovers. As Coach Carlisle stated, “If you additionally get your ass kicked on five to seven loose balls, that certainly contributed to losing. We played hard, but there’s a set of plays in the last couple of games where you’ve got to get down and dirty. We have to come up with balls that are 50-50 balls. That’s where the game is being won and lost, in the trenches.”

I don’t see that changing in Game 5. The Mavs better get Joey Crawford and Bennett Salvatore to officiate if they want a chance to win the next one at home.

Manu Ginobili is at it again. Bleeding from a nasal fracture from a Dirk elbow in the third quarter, Manu bandaged that sucker up and scored another 11 points in the 4th quarter to keep the Mavs at bay in a 94-90 win. Dallas went on a little run to take a nine point lead late in the game, but it wasn’t enough. Ginobili finished with 15 points, five rebounds, seven assists, three steals, and one block. He is now averaging 21.3 points in this series. He did much of his damage last night by getting to the free throw line where he was 7-of-8. The Spurs shot 20-of-26 from the line in this game while the Mavs went 14-of-15.

George Hill decided to finally join the party last night. He had 17 points, five rebounds, one assist, one steal, and one block. Nice to see you, George. The Spurs needed him to step up since RJ faded into the background again and Tony Parker is playing well enough as a reserve that Popovich probably would like to keep that going. RJ finished with six points, three rebounds, and three assists. Parker finished with 23 points, four rebounds, three assists, and one steal. He is averaging 19 points in the series.

Tim Duncan had 25 points, five rebounds, four assists, and one block. He didn’t really crash the boards, but then again, no one did. There were no double-doubles in this game from either team. The main thing for Duncan is he had another five turnovers. He had six in Game 1, but none in Game 2. He is averaging 25.7 points in this series.

The rebounding edge belonged to no one as both teams were even in that department. Turnovers were about the same as well. However, the Spurs shot 11 more free throws than Dallas. Of course, they also missed every three-point attempt while Dallas went 8-of-20 from downtown. In the end, it was just slightly better shooting that made the difference as the Spurs shot 48.7% from the field compared to 44.7% for Dallas.

Dirk was the best player for the Mavs, as usual, with 35 points, seven rebounds, three asssits, two steals, and one block. Also, Jason Terry is doing his thing off the bench still. He finished with 17 points and was 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

The Dampier/Haywood tandem was as pitiful as ever finishing with a combined four points, eight rebounds, one steal, one turnover, and seven fouls. Wow, they can’t even manage a double-double  between them – and in a combined 45 minutes? Even the Spurs’ DeJuan Blair had two points, five rebounds, one assist and no turnovers last night, and he only played about 4 minutes. Caron Butler and Shawn Marion have been non-factors in the past two games, well Marion has been a non-factor in all three. Granted Rick Carlisle opted to go with the hot-shooting J.J. Barea (14 points) for much of Game 3 instead of Butler, the fact of the matter is Butler needs to show up for the Mavs to have any chance. Shawn Marion is not any better and hasn’t reached double digits in scoring or rebounding once in this series. The Mavericks picked these two guys up specifically for this moment and neither is worth a flip right now. The Mavs have no chance of winning it all this year even if they miraculously make it past the Spurs. Frankenhead will probably spend another few million to bring in another fringe star, former All-Star, or overrated has-been this summer and everyone will get all excited until this time next year when the Mavs start falling apart yet again. Tsk. Tsk.

Check out the Game Highlights.

I couldn’t help but goad Chris Stuckey from MavsBall.com into a little smack talk over the first round matchup between the Spurs and Mavs. Here’s our email exchange:

Brian (Spurs of the Moment) vs Chris (MavsBall)

Brian: Chris, I noticed you mentioned that Popovich was being arrogant since he benched Duncan and Ginobili for the season finale. I think it was more a testament to a) not wanting to risk injury to a key player after finally getting everyone healthy again, and b) not wanting to risk facing the Jazz. What do you think?
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Chris: If you say that resting Ginobili and Duncan was in part due to the fact that the Spurs did not want to risk playing the Jazz, you are disrespecting Mavs. I understand not wanting to risk injury, but the Jazz excuse is weak.
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Yeah, Utah is crazy good at home and if the Spurs had to play the Jazz they would be playing that series without the luxury of home court advantage.  That would certainly be a tough task but why would playing the Mavs be an easier?  Who has the best road record of any team in the Western Conference?  That would be the Dallas Mavericks.Â
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Let me get this straight.  The Spurs would rather play a team that is great at home and the best on the road than a team that is one game over .500 on the road?  Child, please.
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Brian: Given that the Jazz beat the Spurs all four times this season I am personally more worried about them than those choke artist Mavs, then again, maybe I am crazy (probably) and Popovich could care less. That’s entirely plausible and probably the case. The concern over injury is legit though. After all, Manu missing the playoffs last year sure didn’t hurt the Mavs effort to advance.
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Chris: Sounds to me like Pops is trying to channel his inner-Phil Jackson.  Head games galore.  The media is making this more of a story than it really is and I guarantee you Pops is loving it.  But I do think that Pops wanted the Mavs and that’s exactly what he got.  Be ready.
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Brian: What do you think are keys to this series for the Mavericks?
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Chris: The Mavs can’t let Ginobili beat them.  Manu is by far the best player on that eyesore of a Spurs roster and when healthy he is borderline dominant.  But that’s where Shawn Marion enters the picture.  The Matrix is the best defender in the league…yeah I said it.  Beware.
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Some other keys are bench scoring and the battle of the second scoring options.
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Brian: Which league are we talking about again? I’m just wondering if that’s the same Shawn Marion that let Richard Jefferson drop 29 on the Mavs earlier this year, then have a 13-point and 11-rebound game, and a 15 point game after that? I’ll be the first to admit that RJ took a long time to adjust to the Spurs system, but the Mavs are going to have to account for him cuz he seems to have an easier time against them.
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Bench scoring I think will be a wash. The Mavs have some nice backups in Terry and Beaubois, the Spurs have Blair and Hill. Even Matt Bonner and Roger Mason can be problematic when they come in and start hitting threes right away. The problem for the Mavs is that Blair is a madman on the glass and can grab a ton of offensive boards. Dirk or Marion are likely to get an arm ripped off they try to battle him for a rebound. I gotta admit that Haywood is going to be a nuisance, but I think McDyess and Blair can hold down the fort – not to mention Duncan.
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Chris:  It’s hard to take Matt Bonner seriously when my banker looks more athletic. The dude can shoot but he’s streaky at best. Just another reason to not like the Spurs.
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Is Blair going to get many minutes? He’s a rookie with no playoff experience or ACLs.

Brian: Ahh, the ACLs again. They didn’t stop him from having a 27-point, 23 rebound game in the season finale in Dallas. I don’t expect that in the playoffs, but he is clearly a force on the glass and can give the Mavs problems in the paint.
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What matchup do you think the Spurs should be most worried about?
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Chris: The big German. Honestly, who on the Spurs can guard Dirk Nowitzki?  Still thinking?  Perusing the roster?  Yeah, I can answer that.  No one.  Prepare the double-team.  But just want to let you know, Dirk will throw 10 assists on the Spurs if they double him.
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Brian:  You may have forgotten about this guy named Tim Duncan, but he is a pretty decent Power Forward and has been known to play some good defense. Now if Dirk actually remembers how to take the ball to the hole he might do well, but I don’t see him sticking a ton of those jump shots over Duncan. Never know though, they usually have a pretty good battle, especially when the teams are both at full strength which neither team has really been in any meeting this year. I don’t think Dirk can count on another silly foul from Ginobili to help them squeak into the next round though.

What matchup are you most worried about?
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Chris:  You must be talking about the Mavs currently unknown second round opponent…right?  Nah.  I’m just kidding.  The Mavs should be worried about Ginobili. They can’t sleep on him or his bald spot.
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Brian: I would agree with that. And yes, the bald spot has a dizzying, hypnotic sort of power. We have already seen it work against Dampier, or is he always that useless?
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Chris:  Ask Timmy D if Dampier is useless then get back to me.

It’s your turn.  What matchup are you most worried about?

Brian: You mean besides a classic Duncan vs Dampier battle? Hmm, I would have to agree with you and say Dirk. Like I said, if he settles for jumpers all series then the Mavs are beatable. When he goes to the rack, the rest of the team follows his lead and that’s when they get to be the most dangerous since as soon as teams start clogging the paint it starts raining threes. Duncan’s lateral movement isn’t what it once was, so if Dirk insists on taking him or McDyess off the dribble more often than not then we’re in for some long nights. Heaven forbid Popovich puts Bonner on him.
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Chris:  Let’s get this on the record.  What is your official series prediction?  I have the Mavs taking down the Spurs in six games.  The Mavs are simply a better basketball team.  Don’t be a homer, Brian.

Brian: I say Spurs in six. It will be Miami and Golden State all over again. High expectations and no delivery, but either way it should be another great Texas Shootout.

 

Thanks, Chris! I know we’re both looking forward to Sunday night’s tipoff and more smack talk next week!

Go Spurs!

The Washington Wizards, desperate to turn over probably their entire roster after the Agent Negative 80 Million fiasco, completed a seven-player trade with the Dallas Mavericks today. That’s not a big deal until you realize that the Mavericks just got a whole lot better. The Wizards gave up Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson for a package of Josh Howard, Drew Gooden, Quinton Ross, and James Singleton.

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There is a rumor now that the Spurs are pursuing a deal for Amare Stoudemire that could include Manu Ginobili and/or George Hill. Read more »

The Spurs lost to the Mavericks 112-103 after they blew a 10-point 4th quarter lead by getting outscored 42-23 in the final period. Yes, you read that right, 42-23. That’s insane. Not just losing the lead but giving up 42 points in a quarter. The game was wack from the jump though with DeJuan Blair getting whistled for two fouls in the first minute of the game, Pop getting ejected soon after for arguing with the inept refs, and Dirk going into God Mode in the 4th quarter. The Spurs shot well for the most part, hitting 52.6% from the field in the game, and both teams went 7-of-15 from downtown. The Spurs shot one more free throw than the Mavs but made one less. The Mavs out-rebounded the Spurs 39-32 including a 12-5 edge on the offensive glass. The Spurs committed 12 turnovers in the game. The Mavs had 7. But it really all came down to that brutal 4th quarter when Dirk, after missing 13 of his first 16 shots of the game, went bonkers and started hitting everything regardless of what the defense threw at him. So I can’t really blame it on the refs even if Zach Zarba is an idiot and Joey “I Want To Destroy Tim Duncan” Crawford was on hand.

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So the Spurs lost another game to another quality team when they dropped 106-99 to the Denver Nuggets. Once again, a Spurs player was injured (Michael Finley). Once again, the real cuplrit was an ungodly amount of turnovers. Once again, there are still no excuses. The Spurs have now lost two games in a row and are threatening to reverse the trend of winning games that we were just beginning to get accustomed to. I’m not saying it’s time to hit the panic button, but there are some alarming trends with this Spurs team. Instead of doing another recap or even an in-depth preview of the Utah game, I’m just gonna throw a few facts out there for some perspective. Read more »

The Spurs lost to the Mavs in OT last night even after holding them to less than 40% shooting for most of the game. The Spurs played some good defense, but there were still some glaring problems, namely injuries, interior defense, and turnovers. I won’t play the injury card since the Mavs were without Shawn Marion (ankle), Josh Howard (ankle), and Erick Dampier (illness). However, it is worth noting that the Spurs did not have Tony Parker last night, who aggravated his ankle injury against the Thunder. Manu Ginobili started but played only seven minutes before retreating to the locker room with a groin injury. Still, the bigger problems were that, A) the Spurs allowed 46 points in the paint compared to the Mavs allowing only 22, and B) the Spurs turned the ball over 18 times leading to 19 Mavericks points. Meanwhile, the Mavs turned it over only 5 times leading to only 2 Spurs points. Read more »

The Spurs, playing without Tony Parker and Tim Duncan for the second straight game, beat the Mavericks with relative ease last night. They led most of the way, although Dallas made a push in the 4th quarter when they outscored the Spurs 19-13. The Mavs went on a 15-4 run that saw the Spurs shoot an ugly 1-of-10 from the field and commit six turnovers while the Mavs cut the lead to 83-79. Fortunately, with three minutes to go, Matt Bonner nailed a three-pointer that gave the Spurs enough breathing room to hang on for the win. It was a timely shot since the Spurs’ three-point shooting started tailing off right at the end there and was looking a little flat. Read more »