Welcome to the post season, San Antonio.
After The Spurs’ disappointing Game 1 loss in which the team played with a noticeable lack of energy and intensity, Pop called out the team, saying many of them had played like “dogs”. The most obvious target of these comments was Richard Jefferson, and with good reason. He had a horrible game. But I feel like the canine criticism extended well beyond Jefferson, even as far up as Duncan and Ginobili, who both had spotty outings in the opening game.
In Game 2, everything seemed to turn around. Jefferson was a new man, hitting jump shots, driving to the basket, nabbing offensive rebounds, diving to the floor for loose balls. We saw the player we envisioned when we signed him in the offseason. We don’t need a player that averages 20 points a game–we just need a player who is a threat to score 20 points a game. If Jefferson has to be accounted for, then that opens everything else up for Duncan, Ginobili, and Parker. Then it becomes pick your poison. You can cheat off Jefferson, but run the risk of having him go off for 17 points in a half. Stay at home and honor his scoring prowess, and watch Duncan and Ginobili put the game away in the second half. Beautiful.
While Jefferson was the most dramatic improvement between games, everybody played better. Duncan was masterful with 25 points and 17 boards. But more important was the way in which he ripped out the heart of the Mavs comeback and put the game away with 8 straight points late in the 4th. He just looks so good right now. Ginobili is still being a bit too careless with the ball (especially around Kidd), but his ice water-in-the-veins 3 pointers were vintage Manu. Parker played another solid game off the bench, preventing us from really ever having a dip in offense. Bonner hit some open 3s (and needs to continue taking them whenever they give them to him). McDyess continued his unheralded scrappy play, keeping so many balls alive on the offensive end and playing solid D on Dirk.
I’m still worried about Hill. He needs to show up in this series. He started to show some flashes in the second half as he drove to the rim off turnovers and got to the free throw line, but he doesn’t look right. He’s guiding his shot, rather than just shooting it; and he seems timid, fearful of the moment. We need Hill to step up. I feel like we’re getting close to a break-out game for him. Call it a hunch. I think playing at home will help his confidence.
I’m not quite sure what to make of Blair at this point. I think he’s being used exactly as he should, which is mostly to spell Duncan. That gives him about 10 minutes a game. Right now his energy and his tenacity is doing just slightly more good than harm, but he’s having a lot of trouble scoring the ball. His offensive rebounds and putbacks are a big part of our offense (even if it’s just 8 points a night), and right now he can’t get the ball back in the basket. Plus, he’s struggling to guard anyone on the Mavs since he’s so undersized compared to the Mavs frontline. Again, like Hill, I think playing at home will help his confidence and might allow him to have more of a positive impact on the next two games.
The other big development from Game 2 was Pop’s shortening of the rotation. Quite honestly, it was a very welcome sight. He went to (more or less) an 8-man rotation, with Parker, Ginobili, and Hill in the backcourt, Jefferson at the 3 (with Ginobili subbing in for him primarily), and a four-man front court rotation of Duncan, McDyess, Bonner, and Blair. Mason, Jr. got some spot duty in the first half, but outside of that, no other Spurs player saw the floor until the final minute. This is the rotation that we need moving forward. For better or worse, these are our 8 best players, and the players that we are going to win or lose with. Mason, Jr. and Bogans have had their moments, but over the course of the season, have proven to be more of a liability than a help, and this isn’t the time to be hoping for turnarounds. You dance with who brought you, and you only play the players you can trust unconditionally.
Game 2 was a great win, but don’t read too much into it. As I said in the series preview, every game is going to have its own unique character and feel, and there really won’t be any momentum carry over between games. What happened in Game 1 really had no bearing in Game 2; what happened in Game 2 won’t affect anything in Game 3. At this point, between these two teams, there really aren’t even any adjustments left to make. Just roll the ball out there, and see which team beats the other team on that given night. Eventually, one team will win four of the games.
