Search Results for: duncan
Not much about this game matters beyond the extent of Duncan’s injuries, but we’ll discuss it just the same. The first half was incredibly efficient and beautiful Spurs’ basketball, even after the injury. In fact, the team went on a tear after the injury. Scoring 51 points and holding the other team to 26 is just incredible. Everybody was playing hard, the defense was completely locked in, and we were…
In coach Bud’s in-game interview, when asked what the team does in the absence of Pop and Duncan, and with Parker out injured, he gave an illustrative quote as to why the Spurs continue to be so successful year after year: we try to stick with the system. Over the last half decade, more than anything else, that has been the key to this team’s continued stay at or near…
How ironic that a game in which the Spurs couldn’t buy a free throw would come down to Manu sinking a few to keep the Hornets at bay. Or that New Orleans would score 64 points in the first 24 minutes, 28 in the next 23, and then rip off 10 in the final minute. With the end of the bench playing, because the coach had already pulled the starters….
To call Tony Parker a “shoot first” PG (a sort of short hand backhanded compliment in the NBA) is to miss the point. The Spurs’ offense is built around ball movement, player movement, spacing, execution, and a million other things we’ve mentioned a million times in these recaps. But, really, what the Spurs offense is built around is Tony Parker. Shoot or pass, it doesn’t really matter what you want…
This team has been kind of hard to get a handle on lately. Midway through the 3rd quarter, I had the notion that this might be the game in which I start to abandon any hope of long-term (read: championship) success this season. We just looked too choppy, slow, and out of sorts. Then the bench comes in–without an injured Manu– in the 4th quarter and just runs the Timberwolves…
In a game of playoff intensity with numerous story lines and subplots, the headline is turnovers. The recent mediocre play of the Spurs might also be headlined by turnovers. The surest way to allow any team back in a game and/or prevent yourself from remaining in one is to have empty offensive possessions that lead to highly efficient ones for the opposing team. Tonight, there were just too many turnovers…
Last night’s game can be summed up in one word. Ewww. First off, that is terrible grammar. Second, it is accurate. This game felt like a high school game — a lot of craziness with a few oohs and ahhs that made it seem better than what it was. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was a Homecoming Dance after the game. With the final score,…
Some teams are just always tough match-ups. Since Chris Paul left, the Hornets have just not been a good team. But they always play hard. And they always give the Spurs fits. If one were to judge the Hornets based solely on watching them play the Spurs, one might think they were an above-average team. For example, take me: I assumed that the Hornets would probably have a decently rated…
After spending the last two recaps gushing about one of the Big 3, might as well make it a clean sweep and praise Duncan. But what can you say about Duncan that hasn’t already been discussed thousands of times amongst the Spurs faithful. He is the rare breed of brilliant player whose contributions show up in the box score and yet exceed what any metric could ever measure. He is…
Watching the game, I started writing a draft of the story in my head. On the heels of last game and the Manu love fest, it was going to be an article in appreciation of Tony Parker, how his game has matured, how he continues to grow and improve as a player, how he runs the most efficient offense in the NBA with a maestro’s touch, always knowing when to…
