Adam Morrison Made Me Cry… but not really

Game 8 vs. Charlotte: Bobcats 95, Spurs 92 OT
Record: 6-2 Streak: L-1

Well how was that? Was that fun for you? Did that taste good?

We just got whooped on by the love child of Larry Bird and Jack White.
+ =

I like Adam Morrison A LOT, but he looks like he’s going to be this generation’s Allan Houston, the ultimate 25-1-1 guy.

And why was he allowed to go off, boys and girls? Because was “guarding” him all night.

Remember a couple of years ago when Bowen would have long stretches of defensive dominance with an occasional lapse of toastage? Now we’re witnessing long stretches of toastage with the occasional spell of competence.

Plus, Pop was leaving him out there in our dreaded SMALLBALL lineup. I thought the whole point of smallball was to score. Why even have Bruce out there if you’re trying to score, dummy? I’d have preferred to see Bones play more.

Bowen wasn’t the only culprit though, not by a long shot. Tony had a ghastly six turnovers and went through several periods of the MeMeMes.

You wanna know what the difference is between how Manu thinks and how Tony thinks?
A)
B)

But it looks like the biggest problem was that we’re just too damn old. Plantar fasciitis or no, back-to-backs are not going to be kind to us this year. Our guys just don’t have the legs for it. And it was a mistake by coach to not play any bench guys in the OT, at least for a minute or two. Tim and Manu were exhausted. We should have given them a blow for a few possessions and unleashed them for the final three minutes.

Anyway, don’t be fooled by the lopsided offensive rebound numbers. We had 24 of them because A) We missed so many bunnies B) The Bobcats were so small C) Okafor tries to block everything and takes himself out of position. The 2 for 17 on threes didn’t help any either. And how do we only force 12 turnovers in 53 minutes against the club who was leading the league in giveaways? Not very hustleriffic, methinks.

Just chalk it up to a night where we couldn’t throw it into the ocean and move on. It’s a good lesson for the fellas that we can’t just turn it on for five minutes a game and expect to win. I’m a bit concerned we’re falling into the Pistons/Heat/Shaq-Kobe Lakers-like pattern of only turning the switch on when you have to. C’mon Pop, whip these guys into shape!

Your 3 Stars…(such as they were)

3) Tim Duncan– Another ho-hum 24-13 looks great on the statsheet, but he should have gone to the rim a lot harder in the 4th quarter and OT instead of trying to lay everything up all Rasho like.

2) Manu Ginobili– Probably as great a game as anybody can play with a 3 for 14 shooting line. 12 rebounds, 7 dimes, (easily would have had the triple double if guys could hit some more shots for him) and a huge block of Okafor at the end of regulation that led to a couple of free throws to tie the game up and send it to OT. He…just…couldn’t….make….anything though. How did that three at the end not go in? At least he was taking it to hole strong.

1) Michael Finley– A season high 17 for the Findog, and he pretty much kept us in it during the 1st half. While I know it’s an encouraging sign in the big picture, you can’t hide that his shooting tailed off in the 4th quarter and OT along with everyone else.

Up Next: Vs. Chicago Bulls
Should be another tough night on the offensive end for us, but the good news is they can’t shoot it either. Still, I’m gonna let you in on a little secret. This is a ’06-07 Finals preview. Don’t tell anyone. I’m just happy they’re finally letting Nocioni start. Fantasy points! Anyway, the boys couldn’t possibly drop two in a row at home, could they? Huh? Spurs by a touchdown.