- Predictably, Bowen was matched up against Deron Williams, and actually did give him a tough time. Most of the 26 points put up by Williams were in the open court, which negated Bowen’s defense.
- Tony Parker absolutely dominated the first half of the game. He didn’t miss a shot early, and when it was all said and done, he finished with 14 assists. Sure, he had 7 turnovers, many of which led to the Jazz getting back into the game, but he set the tempo in the first half with scrappy defense, smooth penetration, and smart distribution.
- How does 13-26 three point shooting sound? If you give a team with Tim Duncan the opportunity to knock down 50% from deep, you’ll lose, no matter if you’re the 2007 Jazz or the 95-96 Bulls.
- As much as the Spurs rode Tony earlier, when the game got tight Duncan took over. He had an almost quiet 26 points, 14 boards, 5 blocks, and 4 assists. That is, if it’s even possible to have a “quiet” 26 and 14.
- Nice to see Brent Barry make his first appearance in the series with 9 points on 3-4 shooting. But in case nobody noticed, Robert Horry has still thrown up a goose egg through two games.
- Francisco Elson had considerably more fouls (3) than rebounds (0). Oberto had a solid 14 points on 6-7 shooting, replicating his 14 points on 6-8 shooting in game 1. There should be no questions about who the starting center is for this Spurs team. The Elson experiment was fine for awhile, but this team works best with Oberto on the court.
- People assume Okur just isn’t playing well, but it’s obvious that the Spurs are making a conscious effort to shut him down. Parker lit into Elson after he failed to follow Okur on the pick and pop, and Popovich called an immediate timeout. Okur would finish 4-13, and that’s taking into account a desperation three and a long two while being fouled.
- Bench scoring was 28-8, just in case anyone was keeping track. Basically, you could take out Manu Ginobili and his 17 points, and the Spurs bench would still have outscored the Jazz bench.
All in all, game 2 was stunningly similar to game 1. Early lead, late run by the Jazz behind Williams, but the Spurs kick it back into gear late. The Spurs were -8 in turnovers, which gave the Jazz a chance to get back into it, but it’s obvious that they are just outmanned. The Spurs, and their average of 106.5 points a game through the series, are making a joke of the heralded Jazz defense. They are threading the needle on their passes, getting whatever position they want in the post, and outworking the Jazz defenders on their cuts.
The Jazz are a quality team, but their shortcomings are often masked by their stellar rebound dominance. The Spurs, however, actually outrebounded the Jazz 44-35 in game 2, negating the biggest strength of Utah’s frontcourt. Other than relaxing at the end of games, there is no facet of the game that the Spurs aren’t winning right now. They are more aggressive, executing better, and suffering far fewer lapses than a Jazz team that suddenly looks lost on the defensive end. Things may change in Utah, but for now, the series looks like JV against varsity.
(AP photo/Eric Gay)
No comments:
Post a Comment