I watched the game. The Spurs had Dallas's number, and attacked the goal with a passion. Ginobili looked exceptionally good at doing the old draw-and-dish.
But the two players who impressed me the most haven't been mentioned yet. George Hill for the Spurs looked unstoppable. I felt he really was the X-factor in the game for the Spurs. And J.J. Barea of Dallas was the only sign of life from Dallas at all. It was a great move getting him in there. I've always liked that kid.
Interesting (and poor) choice of having Kidd on Jefferson. While Butler looked bad, I think if I'm Dallas, I'd rather have had Kidd on Ginobili and Butler on Jefferson, and let Terry sit down. While Terry hit a few, he missed on some REALLY POOR CHOICES.
That was a classic Maverick offensive failure; other team gets a lay-up, you get a jumpshot - quite often a tough one.
And while you're panning Bonner here, understand what Popovich has done. Dallas will now have to adjust to get people more focused on stopping the drive next game. Expect big outside shooting games from Ginobili and Bonner with a lot of very wide open looks. Wouldn't surprise me if Ginobili hits 5 threes PLUS gets to the line for 6 to 10 free throws next game, and Duncan will turn in a big assist game. Believe it or not, I'm actually going to have to give Popovich credit for this one; it was well coached from both a single game and a series perspective.
Finally, one VERY notable thing, and it was painful to watch for me because this is what happened to my Upward team this year....EVERY LONG REBOUND went to San Antonio - especially long rebounds on the San An offensive end. Every hustle play went to San An. In that regard, Dallas looked MUCH SLOWER than San An. In fact, Barea was the only one who showed any real energy for Dallas.
I can honestly see this being over in 5, if Dallas doesn't make *MAJOR* adjustments - especially to their energy level.
