Spurs, Celtics Reaction: Roger Mason Jr. is Clutch

In my previous post, I made the argument that the Spurs are much improved from last year because of the additions of Matt Bonner, George Hill, and Roger Mason Jr. I think the victory over the Celtics proved my point. In this game, Matt Bonner scored 23 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, George Hill scored all seven of his points at a critical juncture of the game, and Roger Mason hit yet another game winning shot on national television.

As I wrote, Matt Bonner is an excellent complement to Tim Duncan because Bonner can spread the floor with his shooting ability. When Bonner is playing the 4 position, Tim Duncan can sit on the block surrounded by 4 great shooters. This makes it very difficult on the opponent. If they double Tim Duncan, the Spurs will get a wide open shot, and if they do not Tim Duncan will go to work. Bonner is also adept at catching the ball, giving a fake, and driving into the lane for an easier look. This move confounds teams because now it’s not enough to just chase Bonner off the three point line, they must close out on him knowing that if they are overaggressive, Bonner will drive right by.

Looking at the stat sheet, it might appear that George Hill did not have an impact on the game. However, this is far from the case. In previous years, if Tony Parker had a bad game, there would be no way that the Spurs could pull out a victory. Our backup point guards were used to buy some rest for Tony Parker, rather than help to build a lead. George Hill is different. With 2:47 remaining in the third, George Hill entered the game for Tony Parker. At this point, the Spurs had foiled their halftime lead of 8 points and were struggling with the momentum of the game; the score was 74-72. George Hill played so well that Popovich chose to ride him deep into the fourth. From the 10:08 minute mark to the 8:36 mark in the fourth, George Hill scored 7 points and grabbed one rebound. Tony Parker is finally put in to replace Hill with 5 minutes remaining, at which point the Spurs were up 87-83. I would argue that the minutes that Hill played were the most critical of the game. If the Spurs had gone down by 10, which easily could have happened, the Spurs lose and Tim, Tony and Manu probably do not get off the bench in the fourth. George Hill changed the momentum when he took that hard hit from Big “Fat” Baby, which served to wake the Spurs up.

Roger Mason Jr. has no conscience. He doesn’t. With 20 seconds remaining, down by one, you run a play in which Tim, Tony, or Manu can drive to the basket to draw contact. You do not take an off-balance three point shot. That is, unless you are Roger Mason Jr. We’ve seen this before. Against Phoenix and then LA, the guy likes the big shot. He is reminiscent of a loose cannon that the Spurs employed during the ‘02/’03 championship campaign. Does he not remind you of Stephen Jackson? Jackson was our big shot guy back then. When everyone else appeared nervous, Jackson wanted the ball to jack up a shot, and he definitely did that. He saved the ’03 season on many occasions with his fourth quarter heroics. In ’05, Robert Horry was our big shot guy. Obviously, he loved that time of the year when he could come in and single-handedly win big games. And let us not forget about Steve Kerr. In ’99, he and Sean Elliot took the big shots. The Spurs were missing that big shot guy last year. The guy that everyone forgets about until it is too late. Manu is too well respected to fill that role. Everyone sees Manu coming a mile away; they do not see Roger Mason. Opponents concentrate on Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker at critical moments, as they should. But this is when Roger Mason Jr. flourishes. Every championship season we have had a guy with ice running through his veins. A guy who wants the big shot, takes the big shot, and consistently makes the big shot. This year, Roger Mason Jr. is that guy.