Did The Spurs Play Scared In The Second Half?

We think of the San Antonio Spurs as the most composed team in the league. They may not always have the talent, but when the going gets tough, they always find a way to at least execute their offense well enough to get a good shot.

Except that didn’t happen last night against the Lakers. The Spurs scored just 35 points in the second half, allowing the Lakers to rally from a seven-point halftime deficit and get a nine-point win. Tim Duncan shot 2-11, and George Hill, who torched the Lakers for 20 first-half points, had just one point in the second half.

This was not your typical bad shooting night either. As SB Nation’s Spurs blog Pounding the Rock writes, this was a result of terrible ball movement and scared shot attempts. In other words, the opposite of what the Spurs are known for being.

In the second half, the Lakers turned their game up another level. Especially on defense. The Spurs response was to panic. Instead of moving the ball more. They moved it less. Instead of leaning on their teammates. They went one on one. The Spurs took more forced, contested, and rushed shots then I have seen in any game this year.

The semi-open looks from the first half were now rushed almost contested looks. Instead of moving the ball, the Spurs rushed shots. Everybody was guilty. Manu [Ginobili]. Matt [Bonner]. Roger [Mason]. [Antonio] McDyess. [DeJuan] Blair. I can mentally see all of them rushing shots. Tim [Duncan] and George [Hill]did too. But they deserve their own bits.

Tim got owned last night on our offensive end. The first time I have ever seen it. Ever. Pau Gasol shut Tim down one-on-one and in embarrassing fashion. I can’t say any more. I’m just shocked. I’m not shocked that Tim would go 2-11 from the floor. I’m shocked because with the shots he was taking, he’d go 2-11 every game.

George. George disappeared in the second half. I think it is the next step in his growth. He has to find a way to continue to produce offensively when teams give him some real attention. I can’t be down on him for the second half, though I’m sure he’s down on himself, because it is new territory for him. You just don’t carry teams offensively for 48 minutes in a playoff intensity game without a lot of learning.

It was almost like a role reversal. Usually, the Spurs hang back and beat you with their execution down the stretch. Last night, they raced out early, only to be caught from behind by not executing.

In my mind, this truth more than anything displays the reason why the Spurs cannot be taken seriously come playoff time. They’re the Spurs only in name, because this year’s Spurs team doesn’t come close to resembling the Spurs teams of the past.