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  1. #1
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    Tim Duncan

    Offense: When you think of the best Tim Duncan defenders, DeAndre Jordan doesn't immediately come to mind -- but the stats say he should be considered. This year, Duncan scored only 17 points on 6-for-18 shooting in 52 minutes when defended by Jordan. Last year, Duncan's numbers were even worse against Jordan: 12 points on 4-for-15 shooting in 47 minutes. Watching the tape, Jordan's length and athleticism have bothered Duncan. In this series, Duncan needs to use his strength advantage to power through Jordan and not try to score over the top of him. The Grizzlies had success doing just that and basically made Jordan a non-factor in the first round. Add capable defenders in Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans off the bench and this isn't going to be a walk in the park for Duncan.

    Defense: Duncan will spend a lot of time in pick-and-rolls that involve Chris Paul. He needs to show enough to not allow Paul to get an open jumper and then drop to the rim quickly enough to thwart alleyoop attempts. The good news is that the Clippers bigs don't shoot very well from the outside so Duncan can always retreat to the paint when in doubt. Outside of pick-and-rolls, Duncan's objective is to basically force the Clippers to do anything else other than layup or dunk the ball.


    Manu Ginobili

    Offense: Individually, the Clippers don't have anyone who should be able to slow Manu Ginobili. L.A.'s best option may be Caron Butler -- but he's average at best defensively. The most difficulty Ginobili will face is when the Clippers switch pick-and-rolls and Ginobili has to contend with a big. But as long as his three-point shot is falling, that strategy should backfire. All in all, I don't see a reason why Ginobili shouldn't explode offensively.

    Defense: This end of the court won't be nearly as easy for Ginobili. He'll likely be forced to spend most of his minutes chasing smaller, quicker shooters like Mo Williams and Randy Foye. Preferably, Pop will find ways to allow Ginobili to defend Butler, however that will probably not be the case. When guarding Williams and Foye, he needs to be wary of flare screens. The last time these two teams played, Ginobili got stuck behind screens a few times and gave up wide open threes. With Chris Paul and Blake Griffin potentially limited by injuries, Ginobili's sole focus should be denying three-pointers. Roaming off of his man is highly discouraged in this series.


    Tony Parker

    Offense: The Clippers are sure to throw a number of looks at Tony Parker. I expect Chris Paul, Randy Foye and Eric Bledsoe to be the players Vinny Del Negro calls on the most to try to slow Parker. Of those three, Bledsoe is the one who may be most capable of staying in front of Parker. The Clippers like to switch pick-and-rolls, especially in the fourth quarter. In the regular season, L.A. had success when Kenyon Martin switched onto Parker and then forced him to shoot. If Parker is hitting his jumpers, he shouldn't have too much trouble in this series. But if his jumper goes cold, he'll need to find other ways to make the Clippers pay for switching pick-and-rolls.

    Defense: Parker has historically defended Paul relatively well. Staying out of foul trouble is key in that matchup, which is easier said than done against Paul and his acting abilities. That said, I don't think Parker will be the main defender against Paul. Instead, I think Parker will spend most of his time defending either Foye or Bledsoe, with some time on Mo Williams also mixed in. Parker is usually good at denying three-point attempts -- a trait that will come in handy this series.


    Danny Green

    Offense: The Clippers don't want to run and they don't defend the three-point line very well. Danny Green's job on offense will be to run the court whenever possible -- even force the issue if need be. Green should also get plenty of open looks from deep and he has to take those shots with confidence.

    Defense: I expect Green to be the main defender against Paul. In fact, I'd be surprised if he doesn't start off games on Paul. It'll be a somewhat dangerous move by Pop because Green's glaring weakness as a defender is an inability to swiftly maneuver around screens. Considering that Paul will be going around screens constantly, Pop needs to be ready to alter his gameplan if Green isn't up to the job. Then again, if Green shows any ability to slow Paul, this could end up being an easy series for San Antonio. I don't think Green will have much success against Paul but it's within the realm of possibilities.


    Kawhi Leonard

    Offense: Like Green, Kawhi Leonard's job will be to run, run, run and shoot open three-pointers. The Clippers are only an average defensive rebounding team so Leonard might be able to also help by grabbing a few offensive boards. However, three-point shooting will make or break this series for Leonard. If the Clippers are able to rotate off of him without any repercussion, Pop will have to look elsewhere.

    Defense: Leonard will begin games defending Caron Butler. Against Butler, Leonard's focus should be to keep him out of the lane. Since Butler is playing with a broken hand, the Spurs will gladly live with him taking outside shots -- they just can't have him driving to the rim and getting the bigs in foul trouble. When Nick Young enters, Leonard's gameplan should change completely. Young's only strength is to shoot catch-and-fire jumpers, so Leonard needs to force him to do anything else. There's a chance Leonard could be called upon to defend Paul. If that happens, his best bet is to lay back a few steps and try to bait Paul into shooting contested jumpers.


    Boris Diaw

    Offense: When Boris Diaw has Blake Griffin on him, he needs to stay on the move. Griffin's injured knee limited his mobility at the end of the Grizzlies series so Diaw being in perpetual motion is a good way to push Griffin. Also, since Griffin tends to fall back into the paint defensively, Diaw should get plenty of open looks from the perimeter. The Frenchman needs to be aggressive taking those outside shots to force Griffin to play the entire court.

    Defense: Diaw will start games defending Griffin. While the Clippers power forward is a very good player, his knee injury makes him even more limited than usual -- and should make Diaw's job easier. Diaw's first goal should be to stay between Griffin and the basket to take away any dunks. When Griffin gets the ball, Diaw needs to make him shoot; don't fall for pump-fakes or give him driving lanes. Back off and force Griffin to use his iffy outside touch. And if he ever gets Diaw in a bad position, Diaw needs to foul him instead of giving him an easy shot at the rim. This is one series where it's okay to use fouls liberally.


    Stephen Jackson

    Offense: Like all the other shooters, Stephen Jackson has to be prepared to pull the trigger from three-point territory. Against Utah, Jackson actually passed up a handful of open threes. Since the Clippers have relatively short wings, going to Jackson in the post is a legit option. He's shown good post-up ability in his return to San Antonio and that could be a lucrative source of points for the second unit.

    Defense: No player has a bigger adjustment to make defensively from the first round to the second round. Jackson was mostly in the paint versus the Jazz. Against the Clippers, he'll be needed to get a hand up against their shooters -- specifically Nick Young. If Jackson proves not to be up to the task, Pop will be tempted to replace some of his minutes with smaller combinations.


    Gary Neal

    Offense: Gary Neal's ballhandling ability is going to put the test in this series. Chris Paul and Eric Bledsoe will pressure Neal fullcourt in an attempt to cause turnovers. If Neal can take care of the ball -- which is far from certain -- he could be an explosive weapon for the Spurs. When the Clippers dare to switch pick-and-rolls against him, Neal will get wide open shots from three-point land. And we all know how much he likes to take (and make) those shots.

    Defense: This is one of the shakiest aspects of the entire series. Can Neal survive defensively? It's going to be a challenge. Shifty, dynamic guards give Neal a lot of trouble and the Clippers boast four such players. The best hope may be for Neal to be put on Eric Bledsoe and then have Neal back off and dare Bledsoe to hit perimeter shots. Bledsoe is ultra quick but he can't shoot, so perhaps that's how the Spurs can hide Neal.


    Tiago Splitter

    Offense: Just keep doing what you do, Tiago Splitter. His pick-and-rolls should be really effective, especially because the Clippers don't have any players on their bench that challenge shots at the rim. Splitter also has a size advantage over Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans, so he should be able to provide some hoops via post-ups. However, one thing Splitter has to beware of is Evans flopping on him. When Splitter rolls to the basket or goes into a post-move, Evans will be looking to draw an offensive foul every time.

    Defense: Splitter will really need to protect the rim this series. The Clippers small guards have a speed advantage and will thus find their way into the paint often. If Splitter can patrol the paint without getting into foul trouble, he'll be extremely valuable. Defensive rebounding should also be a point of emphasis. In fact, the only reason Splitter should leave the paint is if Martin gets hot from the perimeter -- and that doesn't happen very often.


    Matt Bonner

    Offense: On paper, Matt Bonner should have feasted against the Jazz. On paper, the Clippers are an even better matchup. Which of L.A.'s bigmen will want to sit on the perimeter defending Bonner? Certainly not Reggie Evans, who will probably spend a lot of minutes against Bonner. Evans is horrible at defending the perimeter -- so let's hope that's something Bonner is able to exploit.

    Defense: Bonner needs to be an asset on offense because he's going to have issues on the defensive end of the court. While he's pretty good at boxing out, Evans is an all-time great when it comes to pulling down contested offensive rebounds. If Bonner is on Evans, he's going to have to use every once of energy just to keep him from giving the Clippers repeated second chances. Pop might switch Bonner onto Kenyon Martin but that won't be much easier. Not only can Martin rebound, his toughness and ability to score around the rim will test Bonner's mettle.


    DeJuan Blair

    Offense: DeJuan Blair actually played really well offensively against the Clippers in the regular season. In 62 minutes, he had 36 points on 18-for-26 shooting from the field. For some reason, he's always had a lot of success scoring against Blake Griffin down low. If the Spurs start getting too perimeter oriented, Blair could be called upon to provide muscle and some points in the paint.

    Defense: In the regular season, Blair was able to body up on Griffin and keep him off the offensive glass. However, that's about the extent of Blair's potential positives on that end in this series. Griffin is able to score over him and I don't love Blair against any of the other bigs on L.A. He's just not big enough or crafty enough to hang at this point in his career.


    Patrick Mills

    Offense: If Neal's ballhandling falters, Patrick Mills may get a chance to run some backup point guard minutes in this series. Mills is also an option if the outside shooting goes cold. Since the Clippers are so small at shooting guard, Mills could actually buy minutes at that position in this round.

    Defense: Mills is far from a great defender but his skillset on that end could be useful against the Clippers. He can pressure the basketball and guard against speed, two traits that could be in high demand. If Neal can't hang on offense or defense, Mills will be the next in line. Personally, I think he's going to get a shot at some point. Let's hope he's ready.

  2. #2
    bandwagoner fans suck ducks's Avatar
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    neal will not see lots of minutes this series if he dribbles the ball
    cp3 is very good at steals

  3. #3
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    Martin can't rebound. He's never been much of a rebounder (he's only had two solid rebounding seasons in his career) and he's fallen off a cliff this season, to the point that he's barely been better than Diaw and Bonner. Don't be fooled by yesterday. Between this and your "Nowitzki's a great rebounder" comment in the Evans thread, it's clear you need to view rebound rates.

    Depending on how things are going, I wouldn't be totally opposed to giving Blair a 6 or so minute 1st half stint. Let's face it, neither Diaw or Bonner is the type you want playing major minutes anyway, so it's worth it to see if Blair can give the Spurs a burst of energy here and there.

    As far as Neal, I wouldn't be surprised if he only get's a five or so minute 1st half stint at the point. Other than that, if it's close in the second half, I could see a three guard rotation, with him being the odd man out or a three guard alignment, with him playing alongside Parker and Ginobili, when the Clippers go small along the perimeter. Either scenario would allow them to either severely limit or avoid altogether having him defend Williams. Really, the only two players he should defend are Foye and Bledsoe.

  4. #4
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    Martin can't rebound. He's never been much of a rebounder (he's only had two solid rebounding seasons in his career) and he's fallen off a cliff this season, to the point that he's barely been better than Diaw and Bonner.
    It took me a while to figure out what you were talking about. I said Martin can rebound in reference to Bonner. Compared to Bonner, Martin is a good rebounder. Martin had more rebounds in Game 7 alone than Bonner had in the entire Jazz series. And it came in almost one-third of the minutes.

    That was a stretch even for you, tbh.

    Between this and your "Nowitzki's a great rebounder" comment in the Evans thread, it's clear you need to view rebound rates.
    Did you just cherry-pick something out of a thread from six years ago? Really?

  5. #5
    One of the most best jag's Avatar
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    Well done. Thanks for the writeup, LJ.

    It's going to be interesting to see how these second units match up against each other.

  6. #6
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    It took me a while to figure out what you were talking about. I said Martin can rebound in reference to Bonner. Compared to Bonner, Martin is a good rebounder. Martin had more rebounds in Game 7 alone than Bonner had in the entire Jazz series. And it came in almost one-third of the minutes.

    That was a stretch even for you, tbh.
    If that's what you meant, fair enough. But like I said, this season he's not that much better than Bonner on the glass.

    Did you just cherry-pick something out of a thread from six years ago? Really?
    I saw it on the first page, clicked on it, read some of your initial post and came across that comment. It was ridiculous enough on its own, but when I saw the the Martin one on top of it, I couldn't resist.


    Forgot to add (shouldn't the saying go, remembered to add?), really good point about Ginobili not straying and over helping. Griffin is the only post up threat they have and though I actually think he's underrated with his back to the basket, he's not exactly prime Olajuwon/Duncan, either. Particularly with his knee injury, the Spurs should mostly play him straight up, especially when Diaw is defending him.
    Last edited by TD 21; 05-14-2012 at 06:56 PM.

  7. #7
    OH YOU LIKE IT!!! slick'81's Avatar
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    yup if theres a team as deep as sa its the clips

  8. #8
    uups stups! Cant_Be_Faded's Avatar
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    We don't need Duncan to be great. Just solid. We need manu to bust out a vintage all start manu series, and Parker to be the Parker we've seen this season. this should be an easy series, but I've learned to never count chickens in the playoffs.

    I've tried more than at any point in my spurs fandom to just sit back and enjoy this run for better or worse. I still get worked up sometimes, but overall im making it a point to enjoy the good like crazy, and not get so torn or angry at the bad.

    I didn't even get mad at the spurs mavericks game I went to here in Dallas. I laughed, clapped, yelled, cheered, but didn't care we lost cuz I got to witness the Return of Stephen Jackson live, in person.

    This season has not had very many moments even a pessimist could get mad at.
    However I see this series as a potential pitfall.

    If the spurs don't take the clippers for granted, and bring their mental A games, it will be an extremely easy second round.

    but I would not be surprised if this game goes six games or even the distance.

  9. #9
    Chopper Ed Helicopter Jones's Avatar
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    Damn this was a nice write-up! I love Timvp....for the record. Love him. Not a manly, bro-hug kind of love, but true, all-encompassing, go live on an island somewhere kind of love. Scoot over Kori, Chopper's home!!

    Whew, glad I was able to get that off my chest......





    Ok, on to the business at hand. I'm really looking forward to this series. For some reason I think Blair and Leonard are going to play well...Blair offensively and Leonard on the defensive end of the court. Stephen Jackson can dominate, but for some reason I feel him emerging in round 3, with this round being solid, but nothing extraordinary.

    Diaw getting a little practice time with the Spurs these last few days should up his confidence on the offensive end. I think we'll see him take, and make, more shots this round and see his assist numbers go up. A little two man game with Timmy will start to come through.

    Splitter will need to play tough. He looked a little pushed around out there at times against Utah when the Jazz were playing desperate. The Clippers are playing a physical brand of playoff basketball, and Tiago will need to adjust. I like his emergence, though...he's been impressive. I expect similar numbers against the Clips that we saw in the Utah series.

    As for Mr. Duncan, I don't mind that Tim hasn't had great success against the Clips this year. It might make the Spurs try to not run the playoff offense through the post. The isolations they were setting for Tim in Rd 1 seemed to bog down the offense, and I thought it hurt the team's rythym. The key for Duncan will be to stay engaged and not get frustrated if the shots aren't falling. Tim should aim for 12 pts and 12 boards a game in this series to go along with a handful of assists. If that were his statline, and the Spurs score 100 pts, I don't see them losing.

    Tony will be fully geared up for the challenge of facing CP3. I think they'll both have their moments, but to some degree they'll negate each other in the series. I expect to see a couple of near-30 pt games out of Tony and a couple of duds offensively. The 'dud' nights will be fine as long as he continues to look for the open shooters like he's done so well this year.

    Manu should be the man in this series. I see him as the team's leading scorer in round 2. I don't see anyone on the Clips slowing him down. Manu is the difference maker in this matchup.

    Ball movement will be key. The Spurs need to stick to the formula that worked so well for them through the second half of the regular season and 3 and 3/4 of the playoffs so far.

    Spurs in 5.












    (kidding about the Timvp man-love)







    (no I'm not)

  10. #10
    Kawhichael 100%duncan's Avatar
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    Well done , although the Clips' bigs are tough I can see that Matt will have a good series against them on the defensive side. I also agree that no one could stop Manu, but let's hope he doesn't destroy himself by being in a slump, we need him in this series badly. About our 3 point shooting guys, I'm confident that they will win this for us, they are just different and cold-blooded, guys that will shoot that open look no matter how their percentage has been going. And if Timmy somehow gets that Pick and Pop J going it will be a quick series.

  11. #11
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    It'll be a good match up for sure between Tony and CP3. I really don't know what to expect out of Manu in this series. As long as some of the other guys can step up and score if he continues to struggle we'll be ok as long as he can do some of the little things.

  12. #12
    Veteran Fabbs's Avatar
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    Defense: will test Bonner's mettle.
    Bonners mettle.
    It's been tested.

    Patrick Mills

    Offense: If Neal's ballhandling falters, Patrick Mills may get a chance to run some backup point guard minutes in this series. Mills is also an option if the outside shooting goes cold. Since the Clippers are so small at shooting guard, Mills could actually buy minutes at that position in this round.

    Defense: Mills is far from a great defender but his skillset on that end could be useful against the Clippers. He can pressure the basketball and guard against speed, two traits that could be in high demand. If Neal can't hang on offense or defense, Mills will be the next in line. Personally, I think he's going to get a shot at some point. Let's hope he's ready.
    Yes i think Mills will indeed get a shot and will respond.

  13. #13
    Believe. admiralsnackbar's Avatar
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    I can't think of many players of CP3's caliber whose game suffers so much when they get flustered (...though his ex teammate D. West gives him a run for his money) -- it's like watching Isaiah Thomas' swagger ride a moodswing to DeMarcus Cousins' sullen suicide-watch body-language. You instantly know when it starts happening because he'll start forcing plays, over-committing on steal-attempts, and usually, getting T'd up for blowing up over something trivial.

    The trick, then, is to get into Paul's head, and as far back as 2008 (and as recently as the Memphis series), the best way for that to happen is to have the officiating stop going his way. Given the success our team has had in defending without fouling, and the Clips abuse of flopping in their previous series, I like the odds of the refs giving us the benefit of the doubt more often than buying what Paul is going to want to sell.

    I also like that our team this year is built such that there are hardly any line-ups we can run in which Paul can hope to be outside the range of any of our gifted help defenders. Not only does this mean that the passing lanes will be better guarded in general than they were in Memphis, but that any cut to the basket (even if Paul shakes his cover on a screen) will have arms darting in from all angles to disrupt his possession, force a turnover, or block his shot. The earlier a team successfully executes its defense on him, the quicker he'll feel thwarted and become utterly unproductive (anybody remember that game the Hornets had against the Nuggs in the '09 POs, when CP3 was held to something like 5 pts?), and it's likely this hasn't escaped Pop's notice.

    All said, I'll be surprised if there's a game 6.

  14. #14
    Chillin' like a villain... TampaDude's Avatar
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    Spurs will win.

    Next!

  15. #15
    He's Manu Ginobili carina_gino20's Avatar
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    Damn this was a nice write-up! I love Timvp....for the record. Love him. Not a manly, bro-hug kind of love, but true, all-encompassing, go live on an island somewhere kind of love. Scoot over Kori, Chopper's home!!

    Whew, glad I was able to get that off my chest......
    Spammeister, where have you taken the SPAM? Although the Spurs are doing pretty well so far...

  16. #16
    fuk yo team clown Legacy's Avatar
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    AWESOME write-up yet again!

    Now let us get this started already, FFS!!



  17. #17
    Believe. Beanzamillion21's Avatar
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    Damn this was a nice write-up! I love Timvp....for the record. Love him. Not a manly, bro-hug kind of love, but true, all-encompassing, go live on an island somewhere kind of love. Scoot over Kori, Chopper's home!!

    Whew, glad I was able to get that off my chest......





    Ok, on to the business at hand. I'm really looking forward to this series. For some reason I think Blair and Leonard are going to play well...Blair offensively and Leonard on the defensive end of the court. Stephen Jackson can dominate, but for some reason I feel him emerging in round 3, with this round being solid, but nothing extraordinary.

    Diaw getting a little practice time with the Spurs these last few days should up his confidence on the offensive end. I think we'll see him take, and make, more shots this round and see his assist numbers go up. A little two man game with Timmy will start to come through.

    Splitter will need to play tough. He looked a little pushed around out there at times against Utah when the Jazz were playing desperate. The Clippers are playing a physical brand of playoff basketball, and Tiago will need to adjust. I like his emergence, though...he's been impressive. I expect similar numbers against the Clips that we saw in the Utah series.

    As for Mr. Duncan, I don't mind that Tim hasn't had great success against the Clips this year. It might make the Spurs try to not run the playoff offense through the post. The isolations they were setting for Tim in Rd 1 seemed to bog down the offense, and I thought it hurt the team's rythym. The key for Duncan will be to stay engaged and not get frustrated if the shots aren't falling. Tim should aim for 12 pts and 12 boards a game in this series to go along with a handful of assists. If that were his statline, and the Spurs score 100 pts, I don't see them losing.

    Tony will be fully geared up for the challenge of facing CP3. I think they'll both have their moments, but to some degree they'll negate each other in the series. I expect to see a couple of near-30 pt games out of Tony and a couple of duds offensively. The 'dud' nights will be fine as long as he continues to look for the open shooters like he's done so well this year.

    Manu should be the man in this series. I see him as the team's leading scorer in round 2. I don't see anyone on the Clips slowing him down. Manu is the difference maker in this matchup.

    Ball movement will be key. The Spurs need to stick to the formula that worked so well for them through the second half of the regular season and 3 and 3/4 of the playoffs so far.

    Spurs in 5.












    (kidding about the Timvp man-love)







    (no I'm not)
    Chopper is a pimp. My personal favorite poster on here.

  18. #18
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    The Spurs would be wise to let Manu be the primary ball handler when Parker sits. He is better dribbler and passer. If they run together Neal can get better looks by Manu running point in my opinion.

    Plus Neal cannot use Splitter like Manu can on the pick and role. The extra 2-3 inches really helps Manu find Splitter.

  19. #19
    Veteran ginobilized's Avatar
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    Great write up, as usual!

    My question about this series hinges on the mystery of the Spurs new chemistry. On some levels, even the Spurs don't know who they are, yet. And, if that has emerged and grown since their last series, how is anybody going to be remotely prepared for them? If this team has yet to peak, good luck Clips. My gut says that a LOT of things have to go nearly perfectly for LAC to have a chance. If most things go well for SAS, we win in 5.

    I guess we can start finding out tonight.

    Go Spurs!!!!!

  20. #20
    Believe. skin's Avatar
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    Thanks!

  21. #21
    Veteran EVAY's Avatar
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    Tony Parker


    Defense: Parker has historically defended Paul relatively well. Staying out of foul trouble is key in that matchup, which is easier said than done against Paul and his acting abilities. That said, I don't think Parker will be the main defender against Paul. Instead, I think Parker will spend most of his time defending either Foye or Bledsoe, with some time on Mo Williams also mixed in. Parker is usually good at denying three-point attempts -- a trait that will come in handy this series.

    Defending someone other than Paul would make sense from the perspective of not collecting fouls from flops, but didn't Parker hold Paul to something like
    29% shooting in the two regular season games that Parker played in against the Clips?

    IIRC, that defensive effort would likely be characterized as something other than being done "relatively well."

    But maybe it was someone else on CP in those two games. Certainly in the game in which Parker didn't play, Paul went off for something like 38 points or something. But I don't know who (for the Spurs)was defending him in that
    game, do you?

  22. #22
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    ^Danny Green spent a lot of time defending CP3 in the second and third games these two teams played in the regular season.

    And "historically" accounts for more than one season, tbh.

  23. #23
    uups stups! Cant_Be_Faded's Avatar
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    Timvp are you taking your baby to the game?

  24. #24
    Veteran superbigtime's Avatar
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    The Spurs would be wise to let Manu be the primary ball handler when Parker sits. He is better dribbler and passer. If they run together Neal can get better looks by Manu running point in my opinion.

    Plus Neal cannot use Splitter like Manu can on the pick and role. The extra 2-3 inches really helps Manu find Splitter.

    Absolutely. Neal should not be primary ball handler when TP sits. He will turn it over guaranteed. He can create off dribble but setting up offense, bringing up ball...not his strengths and he WILL get picked. Use Manu or Mills. Pop will figure this out by game 4 or 5.

  25. #25
    No darkness Cry Havoc's Avatar
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    Not sure if it's been posted yet, but Griffin is listed as "questionable" for Game 1 and is a shootaround decision.

    http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/s...e-1-coach-iffy

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