Spurs Road Defense Still Pathetic
San Antonio Spurs defense is still downright pathetic when playing on the road. Last night, the New Orleans Hornets, who before last night had not broke the 100 point barrier before last night, broke that barrier against the Spurs.
Tim Duncan was able to save the Spurs with a great running hook shot last night, but it was not very pretty. The Spurs did a lot of things wrong on the road, just as they have been doing all season. Greg Popovich has to get the team to do things the right way if the Spurs want to keep winning.
The Spurs were absolutely atrocious at rotating last night, as far too many times there was an open Hornets player in the paint. This starts not only with the starters, but with the substitutes and everyone coming into the game.
Secondly, the Spurs could not rebound the ball at all. They were horrible at boxing out, in which the Hornets out-rebounded the Spurs 40-27, including an advantage of 11-4 on the offensive side of the glass. Tim Duncan and Tiago Splitter had seven and six rebounds each, but there were not many with more than that. There were five players that had only one rebound for the Spurs. The Spurs have to get to after the loose balls.
The Spurs shooting defense have also been pathetic this season. New Orleans was able to shoot over 50% for the game, something that multiple opponents have been able to accomplish, including some of the worst teams in the league, including the Sacramento Kings, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
San Antonio has much to work on this season, and with Ginobili back in the lineup, that should help the Spurs on the defensive end as he is a scrappy player who gets after it. Though he has lost a half step, his defensive presence is still missed. Let’s hope that he can get back soon to help this defense.
Follow Paul Troupe on Twitter @gamin4HIM
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