Game 39: Memphis 92, San Antonio 86
The nice thing about NBA League Pass is that I can go back and watch games later if my schedule doesn’t allow me to do so live. Yesterday I opted to watch the NFL Playoffs live and catch the Spurs game later.
The football games, however, sucked. Really just a bad day of football. I was keeping my eye on the Spurs game, and was shocked to see that we were all of a sudden down by just one point with 2 minutes left (after trailing by as many as 14 in the 2nd half). So I jumped away from the football and watched the last 2 minutes of the Spurs game live. Here is what I saw:
“Fat” Zach Mugs Timmy
Photo by Mark Weber
–Spurs get a stop; Duncan misses a bunny on the other end.
–Spurs get a stop, somehow have Keith Bogans guarding Zach Randolph. Bogans is unable to box out “fat” Zach, who gets offensive board, gets fouled, and makes both free throws. 87-84, Grizzlies.
–Mason, Jr. badly misses 3, Ginobili gets rebound, gets it back to Mason, Jr., who steps just inside the arc and makes a 2. 87-86, Grizzlies.
–Spurs get stop, Duncan gets rebound; Randolph “steals” ball as Duncan tries to outlet to Hill. Randolph is fouled, sinks both free throws. 89-86, Grizzlies.
–Spurs run good out of bounds play for Mason, Jr. who badly misses the 3. Grizzlies get rebound, get fouled, sink both free throws. 91-86, Grizzlies. Game (essentially) over.
Three things I noticed:
1. We got the three defensive stops in a row that we needed, but we were unable to convert any of them to take the lead or tie the game. We gave up one offensive rebound and had one ball “stolen” (Randolph blindly stuck his hand out, and Duncan threw the ball right into it).
2. If there’s one knock on Duncan, it’s that he is often careless with the ball post-rebound. How many times has he thrown the ball away trying to get a quick outlet pass up the court, only to have it picked off? When it works, it’s beautiful. But sometimes I wish he’d just hold the ball for an extra second and secure the possession. Randolph was very lucky to get that steal, and it’s hard to fault Duncan. But there was no need to get the ball to George Hill that quickly. There was plenty of time left on the clock; we probably should have called a timeout, anyway. If he’d just held the ball, the Grizzlies would have retreated to defense, and we would have had a chance.
3. I have no problems giving Roger the big shots in the end of games. He has proven that he can make them. But when we were down 89-86, I feel like he took that 3-pointer too quickly. The play was drawn up the way it played out, but it felt like he rushed the shot, turning around, setting his feet, and shooting all in one motion. It didn’t feel like our best option the way it played out.
It was a tough loss. From what I can gather, the team was listless and lifeless. Duncan kept us in the game for the majority of the time, and Roger shot us back into it late. But again, it was too little, too late. The Grizzlies are a good team, and we were playing our 5th game in 7 nights. We didn’t play with the energy necessary to beat a good team. It happens. It sucks to lose, but it happens.
Looking Forward
We have a Monday (Martin Luther King, Jr. Day) matinee in New Orleans. The Hornets are playing better as of late. We need a win. 3 losses in a row would erase all of the positive strides we had made in the week prior.
For those interested, 48MoH has linked to a great article on DeJuan Blair. A very enjoyable read.
