“I never let Tim do what he wants to do,” said Denver’s Kenyon Martin, the man most often assigned to Duncan. “I never have, I never will.”

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Jeff and I talk a lot about the Spurs needing help at center and the Spurs bench being nonexistent. We break down the game and the box score and call it a show at about the 20 minute mark. We’ll back for a full episode this weekend, so you can expect that on Monday for all the latest Spurs news and our regular segments.

Download ep. 135

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• 4 of20

I could be making enough to buy season tickets if I built houses with the bricks the Spurs keep throwing up.  Ime Udoka and Roger Mason together made four of their 20 attempts from the field. Udoka had open looks all night and had trouble connecting whereas Roger Mason looks to be missing Tony Parker. Parker used to be able to drive, draw double teams and pass out. I think part of Mason’s success was due to Parker and he’s having to make an adjustment to George Hill and he’s also spending some time running the point. Anthony Tolliver was also 2 of 8 and made one of his six three-point attempts and Jacque Vaughn put up a doughnut on five attempts. If the Spurs want to swim, or at least keep their heads above water without Tony and Manu, they’ll have to knock down shots.

• Defense

The Spurs have been last in defensive efficiency early this season, but last night we saw several glimpses of defense. George Hill, Mason and Udoka were able to jump into passing lanes for steals and turn them into baskets at the other end. Tolliver also hustled for rebounds and loose balls, and I hope Satan enjoys the snow in hell, because Fabricio Oberto had 9 rebounds to go along with four aces and two kills.

• Lineup Experimentation

I like that Pop changed the lineup a bit to try to get the most out of his players and experiment with different rotations in an attempt to try to find out what works best. Bowen and Finley seemed to do well off the bench and I liked the energy Hill, Mason and Udoka brought to the starting lineup. I’m sure Pop will continue to shuffle the lineup to adapt to different teams or situations.

• The Verdict on Hill

George Hill started his first game at point guard but it’s not easy to give an overall grade on his performance. I liked some of the things he did, disliked others and saw areas for improvement. Normally, I’d want to see more of him distributing the ball, but with Parker out, the Spurs need offense. He was too tentative early and looked to pass when he had a clear path to a layup. After Pop got in his ear during a timeout, he looked to penetrate and get his shot more. He’s also a little shaky at setting up the offense, but I really like what he did at the defensive end. He was only credited with one block, but I saw at least two and he grabbed rebounds from all over the floor. He also limited both Chris Duhon and Nate Robinson to a combined 3 of 17 shooting performance.

Overall, it was good to see the Spurs get a win at home over an improving and inspired Knicks team. I liked that they were able to sustain the lead at the end, but it’ll still be a rough road ahead until Tony and Manu come back.

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When you are passionate about a team, it is easy to allow your emotions and bias to control your perception of your team.  With our high hopes of every year being “our year” sometimes we have to take a step back and look at the big picture. I attended the Portland Trail Blazers’ home-opener last night against your San Antonio Spurs, and here are my impressions of the Spurs squad this season:

Come back soon Manu…
This team needs Manu Ginobili back desperately. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker are doing everything they can to keep this team afloat, but they just don’t have enough reliable scorers outside of these two to put pressure on opposing defenses and ultimately put up enough points to win the games that they expect to. The Spurs seem to have a lot of great role players, but none of those players seem to fill the role of “third scorer” that Ginobili has held for quite some time.

Their depth and matchup ability (right now) is suspect
While the Spurs have always had that consummate “team mentality” this year’s squad seemed noticeably thin. In all likelihood, the addition of Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto would alleviate this feeling, but when guys like Matt Bonner, Desmon Farmer and Roger Mason (who played surprisingly well I might add) are getting significant run – this is not a good thing for your team. I think the losses of players like Brent Barry prove to be more substantial than people initially expected. I couldn’t help but snicker to myself when the Spurs matched up Bonner to guard LaMarcus Aldridge to start the game.

They are still the Spurs
Duncan and Parker looked just as good as ever last night and showed no signs of slowing down anytime soon. I was about ripping my hair out when Duncan was abusing Aldridge and Joel Przybilla in the first half like he was playing against sixth-grade B-teamers. Parkers lightning fast first-step and solid mid-range/inside finishing abilities make him extremely deadly. The Spurs have always exuded a calm confidence, and that certainly wasn’t absent last night. Even with the Rose Garden at full force, I think everyone in the arena had a feeling that the Spurs would somehow find a way to win, as they have for the past decade. This feeling was certainly heightened as the ball went off of Michael Finley’s fingertips in a last-second shot from the baseline. Although it was a disorganized and frantic play, I think most Spurs fans would put good money on a mid-range jumpshot from Michael Finley to win the game, so this one almost did go their way.

Everyone discounts the Spurs every year. There are always sexier teams, with new transactions or highly-marketed stars that always capture the leagues limelight and high-expectations. But the Spurs have been a model of consistency, and they will likely be in the thick of things once the playoffs come around. While I think this team’s gigantic championship window is beginning to slowly close, I still wouldn’t want to face them in a seven-game series.

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Before the game I posted four questions I wanted answered, so I’ll revisit those first before adding a couple other thoughts.

First, I wondered if Duncan could repeat his strong showing from Wednesday. They definitely need him to play like a MVP without Ginobili around. He answered with 27 points and 10 rebounds. He was aggressive early on and finished with 12-of-19 shooting. I would have liked to see some more rebounds and a couple blocks, but I think he held back a little bit knowing that he couldn’t get in foul trouble. The Spurs spent most of the game playing small out of necessity because Matt Bonner and Kurt Thomas are useless these days, so Duncan has to play as much as he can, which was 42 minutes tonight. I worry that he will burn out because of too much play time early this season, but Pop has no other choice.

I also wondered where the extra scoring would come from. Finley provided an extra scoring punch early on and finished with 16 points. However, the Spurs only had four players score in the first half, and one was Desmon Farmer with two points. Pop’s beard must have light into Roger Mason at half because he had yet to attempt a shot. Mason was a different player in the second half, showing a willingness to drive and find his own shot. He finished with 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting. Both players will have to continue, especially Mason because he is the best at creating his own shot after Tony Parker.

My third question was whether another big man would step up. That was a resounding no. Matt Bonner should not play. It’s as simple as that. Don’t expect his game to change. We know what type of player he is by now. He picked up four fouls in 12 minutes and provided five points and two rebounds. He can’t defend, rebound, move his feet, dribble or post up. I would rather the Spurs start in smallball mode because it’s more effective. Thomas wasn’t much better, grabbing five boards and committing three fouls in 20 minutes. He can’t jump or stay with faster big men anymore, and the Blazers young bigs abused him. Even their young small forwards abused him down low. The Spurs are traditionally one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA, but I don’t like how they look right now up front.

Finally, I was curious how Nicolas Batum would play considering many expected him to fall to the Spurs. Unfortunately he played as well as I expected. A 6′8” small forward who sweats athleticism, Batum simply outhustled the Spurs on numerous occasions to finish with 12 points, 2 blocks and a steal. The Spurs could have used a player like him tonight and pretty much every night from here on out. Only 19 years old, it hurts not having Batum. Just another player to add to the list (Josh Howard, Luis Scola top it).

I just wanted to throw out a couple more thoughts before putting this game behind me.

I really liked how Mason played in the second half. He blew past his man a couple times to finish at the rim, which is something rarely seen outside of Parker or Ginobili. He will have to continue this aggressive play. Normally Pop is slow to integrate new players, but he has no choice but to play Mason major minutes with Ginobili sidelined. However, I do have one complaint. On the last play of the game, Mason was coming down the lane with only one player in his way, and if I remember correctly it was a guard. Instead of passing to Finley he should have gone up strong and tried to dunk or lay the ball in. He had the momentum and an opening to finish strong.

Finally, I must admit that I don’t like how the Spurs look right now. Games that used to be gimmes are going to be battles. Duncan and Parker, who finished with 24 points and 11 assists, have to play perfectly every night as long as Ginobili is out. Every night is going to be a battle to score 90-95 points. Bruce Bowen, Jacque Vaughn, Fabricio Oberto, Bonner and Thomas simply aren’t scoring options. Perhaps they can average 15 points combined this season, but I honestly don’t expect much more than that. Seriously. None of these guys can score. You’ll notice that every big man besides Duncan is on that list, which is another major problem. Expect the Spurs to play more smallball this year than before because Duncan has no help up front. Traditionally they are one of the best defensive rebounding teams, but the Blazers abused them with 13 offensive rebounds and attempted 14 more shots. Folks, this could be a long month or two until Ginobili returns. Expectations will have to adjust.

You can’t say that you weren’t warned.

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Can Duncan repeat his stellar performance from two nights ago? He will have to look for his shot often without Ginobili to shoulder some of the scoring load. He was aggressive against Phoenix and I’m looking for that attitude again.

Who will be the third scorer? Roger Mason looked good against Phoenix and he might be the most reliable scorer right now after Parker and Duncan, which isn’t saying much. I’m looking for him to find open threes and also attack the basket. He isn’t the best slasher but he is better than the other options.

Will any other big man play well? Without Fab and Mahinmi, the Spurs are thin on the frontline. Like Manute Bol thin. Kurt Thomas can grab some boards, but his struggled on defense at times against Phoenix. LaMarcus Aldridge is a quicker power forward and can give him trouble. Lets not talk about Matt Bonner. I don’t expect much from him and he didn’t show much.

How will Nicolas Batum play? Spurs fans will remember how Batum wanted the Spurs to draft him. He would have been an absolutely perfect fit as a long, athletic 3. Just perfect. Of course Houston drafted him and traded him to the Blazers. Instead we have George Hill, a shooting guard moonlighting as a backup point guard. Just think about what could have been.

I’ll be back after the game to take a look at these questions. Hopefully it will be a better finish that on Wednesday. 

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Note: We apologize for the audio problems. We tried a new streaming audio service and unfortunately it was the source of the problem.

Mike and Jeff recap the Spurs opening night loss to the Suns, go over the box score and give out our first shiny and rusty Spurs of the night. In the Silver & Black Insider, we talk about two audio clips from Charles Barkley and Eric snow discussing the Spurs chances and Ian Thomsen of SI says the Spurs will beat the Celtics in the finals this year. After a few Spurs notes, including a Fabricio Oberto injury update, we go to our new segment, the hot seat. It’s great to be back and we look forward to bringing you weekly shows again as well as one live blog a week.

<a href=”http://projectspurs.com/podcast/download/sc102908.mp3″>Direct Download</a>

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