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  1. #1
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    While I believe the Spurs will sweep the Jazz, I don't think it'll necessarily be an easy series. The Jazz are tough, physical and execute well on both ends. Jazz head coach Tyrone Corbin has done a better job than anyone could have predicted after taking over for Jerry Sloan and losing Deron Williams. Plus, winning in Salt Lake City is difficult regardless of who the Jazz have in uniform.

    Pop and the coaching staff have much to consider heading into this series. Here are the top ten most pressing issues:

    1. Establish Duncan Early
    Tim Duncan has been fantastic lately, particularly early in games. Countless blowouts in the past month have been kickstarted by Duncan catching fire in the opening minutes.

    Traditionally, establishing Duncan meant giving him the ball in the post and getting out of the way. However, that's not the case anymore; Duncan establishes himself by hitting mid-range jumpers. If he can knock down those shots, he'll force his defender to run at him, which then opens up room for Duncan to drive. Additionally, those early shots would force the Jazz to send help from the perimeter --- opening up the three-point shooting even more.

    2. Pick-and-Rolls Ad Nauseam
    Statistically, the Spurs run the most efficient pick-and-roll sets in the NBA. The Jazz, on the other hand, are the third worst team in the NBA at defending the pick-and-roll. It doesn't take a degree in Soviet Studies to figure out the Spurs should rely even more on pick-and-rolls than they usually do. In fact, down the stretch of close games, I think the Spurs should run a pick-and-roll literally every time up the court.

    The Jazz have two players to specifically attack in pick-and-rolls sets. First and foremost is Al Jefferson. While he's not bad at defending the post, he's well below average in terms of defending pick-and-rolls. When rookie center Enes Kanter is on the court, he's the other player to go at relentlessly.

    3. Find Shooters
    The Spurs are one of the very best shooting teams in the NBA. The Jazz, conversely, are one of the worst. That said, if the Spurs aren't able to take advantage of this strength, the series suddenly becomes a lot closer than it is on paper.

    With more than a half dozen three-point shooters on San Antonio's roster, Pop and the coaching staff don't have much excuse to stick with a cold shooter. Especially if a shooter is timid, the coaches should have a quick hook. This is particularly true for players who are banged up (Read: Neal, Gary) or have a history of not shining in the spotlight (Read: Hunter, The Sandwich).

    4. Keep it Moving
    Just because the postseason is tipping off doesn't mean the Spurs have to revert to playoff basketball of yesteryear. The 2012 Spurs depend on their ability to be dominant on the offensive end. While the defense may be able to shine from time to time, it simply won't be the consistent force it used to be.

    In practical terms, this means the Spurs need to maintain as fast of a tempo as possible. Pushing after defensive rebounds is mandatory. Even in halfcourt settings, quick pick-and-rolls or early-offense motion is much preferred throwing the ball into the low block or over-dribbling out on the perimeter.

    5. Pack* the Paint
    The Jazz score a lot of points in the paint (second most in the league) but aren't able to shoot accurately from beyond the three-point arc. As a result, it should be no surprise that packing the paint should be a priority. In their regular season matchups, San Antonio made it a point to send extra defenders into the lane as much as possible.

    However, packing the paint doesn't mean the Spurs should sag off of everyone. In April, Gordon Hayward and Devin Harris have been on fire from beyond the three-point arc. Alec Burks has also been shooting the ball well. Those should be the last three players the Spurs choose to leave open when making defensive rotations.

    6. Size Might Matter
    Heading into the playoffs, it appears as if the postseason plan is to always pair a pivot (Duncan or Tiago Splitter) with a stretch four (Boris Diaw or Matt Bonner). And while that alignment is proven to make the offense run smoother, Pop and the coaching staff should be open to the idea that size (or the lackthere of) may become a concern.

    If the Spurs are having trouble controlling the paint, going away from that alignment has to be a possibility. Corbin will deploy lineups that include three bigmen at the same time, which could call for added height (Splitter next to Duncan) or extra bulk (DeJuan Blair next to Duncan). Speaking of Blair, his success against Paul Millsap shouldn't be completely ignored.

    7. Don't Ignite Harris
    Recently, Devin Harris has played quite well. In the first 40 games of the season, Harris averaged 9.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. In his final 23 games, he raised his averages to 14 points and six assists.

    To make sure he doesn't explode in this series, only two Spurs players should be allowed to defend him: Tony Parker and Danny Green. No one else -- especially Gary Neal -- should be put on Harris. Parker has had a fine defensive season and while Green has had some issues maneuvering around picks this year, the Jazz don't run pick-and-roll sets well enough to think twice about putting Green on Harris (Utah is statistically the second worst pick-and-roll team in the NBA).

    8. Gang Rebounding
    Outside of the Bulls, the Jazz are the best offensive rebounding team in the league. When they opt to play Millsap at small forward, that will make Utah even deadlier on the offensive glass.

    On paper, the Spurs should be able to neutralize this issue since they are the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA. That said, paper isn't going to go out and get those boards. The coaching staff needs to emphasize that all five players need to drop down and help on the glass. Aggressively boxing out is another must for San Antonio to survive against this bigger opponent.

    9. Ignore the Refs
    Yes, the Jazz foul a lot. Yes, the refs won't catch every foul. Yes, the Jazz fans will probably be able to intimidate the refs. All of these are known issues going into this series. Utah, just like they were under Sloan, is going to relentlessly pound. It's a trait that is partly responsible for their franchise being so successful over the years. (And, if you ask me, the Jazz have the best fans in the NBA.)

    But because the Spurs should already know all of that, they shouldn't even attempt to whine their way into more calls. If they are getting bumped, they just need to bump back. If a team plays soft or tries to depend on whistles against Utah, they are unlikely to have success.

    10. Use Depth Liberally
    This regular season, Pop's usage of San Antonio's depth was extremely impressive. Only one player averaged more than 29 minutes (Parker at 32.1), while 11 players averaged at least 19 minutes. Though Pop can't spread the minutes that thinly in the playoffs, he also shouldn't change the rotations too much.

    Going into this series against the Jazz, Pop should definitely use a rotation that features ten players. The plan should be to increase Parker's workload up to about 36 minutes, Duncan up to about 34 minutes and Manu Ginobili to about 30 minutes. But, unless something goes wrong, that's as much as Pop should shift things. Preferably, all ten players in the rotation should play more than a dozen minutes per game. Not only will that allow San Antonio to ease their way into the playoffs, it will also make the Spurs the fresher team coming down the stretch of games.

  2. #2
    Veteran honestfool84's Avatar
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    timvp with the goods, as always.

  3. #3
    Veteran spursfan1000's Avatar
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    1. Defense

  4. #4
    Ruffy RuffnReadyOzStyle's Avatar
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    Thanks timvp, great rundown.

    Will be a physically tough series even if we beat them 4-0 (and I don't think we will - they'll steal one game in Utah on the back of Harris going off in the 4th Q), and I just hope we can stay healthy through it.

    As you say, we should pick'n'roll them to death.

  5. #5
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    It's funny alot of those things in the list are things the Spurs failed to do last year. Let's see if Pop can continue to play regular season ball in the playoffs. The Spurs need to keep their regular season iden y.

  6. #6
    Got Woke? DMC's Avatar
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    Those are things that need to be done in every game tbh (subs ute any decent score first PG's name instead of Harris).

    I don't think they can ignore the refs. They get on their asses for a reason. If it didn't matter, they wouldn't do it. I think it's to get the refs attention to certain things, and almost always, when a ref admits they missed a call, you see it given back at the other end. ty I know, but it happens.

  7. #7
    5. timvp's Avatar
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    Game 1:

    1. Establish Duncan Early
    Tim Duncan has been fantastic lately, particularly early in games. Countless blowouts in the past month have been kickstarted by Duncan catching fire in the opening minutes.

    Traditionally, establishing Duncan meant giving him the ball in the post and getting out of the way. However, that's not the case anymore; Duncan establishes himself by hitting mid-range jumpers. If he can knock down those shots, he'll force his defender to run at him, which then opens up room for Duncan to drive. Additionally, those early shots would force the Jazz to send help from the perimeter --- opening up the three-point shooting even more.
    C+

    The Spurs did attempt to establish Duncan but, IMO, they went about it the wrong way by going to him too close to the basket. In the second half, the Spurs attempted to allow Duncan to establish his jumper. He missed the shots but it was cleaner offense. Going forward, I hope to see more of what the Spurs did in the second half as far as where to feed Duncan.

    2. Pick-and-Rolls Ad Nauseam
    Statistically, the Spurs run the most efficient pick-and-roll sets in the NBA. The Jazz, on the other hand, are the third worst team in the NBA at defending the pick-and-roll. It doesn't take a degree in Soviet Studies to figure out the Spurs should rely even more on pick-and-rolls than they usually do. In fact, down the stretch of close games, I think the Spurs should run a pick-and-roll literally every time up the court.

    The Jazz have two players to specifically attack in pick-and-rolls sets. First and foremost is Al Jefferson. While he's not bad at defending the post, he's well below average in terms of defending pick-and-rolls. When rookie center Enes Kanter is on the court, he's the other player to go at relentlessly.
    B

    The Spurs ran a whole lot of pick-and-rolls. By doing so, they scored a ton of points in the paint. But I actually thought they could have run it a lot more. The Jazz couldn't defend it at all; going to any other set is letting Utah off the hook, tbh.

    I did love that they specifically went at Kanter. Parker vs. Kanter wasn't even a contest.

    3. Find Shooters
    The Spurs are one of the very best shooting teams in the NBA. The Jazz, conversely, are one of the worst. That said, if the Spurs aren't able to take advantage of this strength, the series suddenly becomes a lot closer than it is on paper.

    With more than a half dozen three-point shooters on San Antonio's roster, Pop and the coaching staff don't have much excuse to stick with a cold shooter. Especially if a shooter is timid, the coaches should have a quick hook. This is particularly true for players who are banged up (Read: Neal, Gary) or have a history of not shining in the spotlight (Read: Hunter, The Sandwich).
    A

    Green and Leonard weren't hitting so Pop instead leaned more on Jackson and Neal. That's exactly the type of quick adjustments that Pop has to make going forward. Find the hot hand(s) and then ride said hot hand(s).

    4. Keep it Moving
    Just because the postseason is tipping off doesn't mean the Spurs have to revert to playoff basketball of yesteryear. The 2012 Spurs depend on their ability to be dominant on the offensive end. While the defense may be able to shine from time to time, it simply won't be the consistent force it used to be.

    In practical terms, this means the Spurs need to maintain as fast of a tempo as possible. Pushing after defensive rebounds is mandatory. Even in halfcourt settings, quick pick-and-rolls or early-offense motion is much preferred throwing the ball into the low block or over-dribbling out on the perimeter.
    B+

    The offense wasn't as crisp as it could be and the Spurs are capable of playing a lot fast, however things never bogged down too bad and the game ended up having about 94 possessions -- an acceptable amount.

    5. Pack* the Paint
    The Jazz score a lot of points in the paint (second most in the league) but aren't able to shoot accurately from beyond the three-point arc. As a result, it should be no surprise that packing the paint should be a priority. In their regular season matchups, San Antonio made it a point to send extra defenders into the lane as much as possible.

    However, packing the paint doesn't mean the Spurs should sag off of everyone. In April, Gordon Hayward and Devin Harris have been on fire from beyond the three-point arc. Alec Burks has also been shooting the ball well. Those should be the last three players the Spurs choose to leave open when making defensive rotations.
    B+

    The Spurs did a good job of packing the paint overall. They ignored their non-shooters and stuck with Harris. The only issue was Ginobili leaving Hayward too much. But since Hayward didn't really make the Spurs pay from the perimeter, it's difficult to be too upset about it.

    6. Size Might Matter
    Heading into the playoffs, it appears as if the postseason plan is to always pair a pivot (Duncan or Tiago Splitter) with a stretch four (Boris Diaw or Matt Bonner). And while that alignment is proven to make the offense run smoother, Pop and the coaching staff should be open to the idea that size (or the lackthere of) may become a concern.

    If the Spurs are having trouble controlling the paint, going away from that alignment has to be a possibility. Corbin will deploy lineups that include three bigmen at the same time, which could call for added height (Splitter next to Duncan) or extra bulk (DeJuan Blair next to Duncan). Speaking of Blair, his success against Paul Millsap shouldn't be completely ignored.
    N/A

    After Splitter's injury, the bigman rotation basically just went into survival mode.

    7. Don't Ignite Harris
    Recently, Devin Harris has played quite well. In the first 40 games of the season, Harris averaged 9.8 points and 4.4 assists per game. In his final 23 games, he raised his averages to 14 points and six assists.

    To make sure he doesn't explode in this series, only two Spurs players should be allowed to defend him: Tony Parker and Danny Green. No one else -- especially Gary Neal -- should be put on Harris. Parker has had a fine defensive season and while Green has had some issues maneuvering around picks this year, the Jazz don't run pick-and-roll sets well enough to think twice about putting Green on Harris (Utah is statistically the second worst pick-and-roll team in the NBA).
    A

    I almost shed a tear in the fourth quarter when Pop specifically didn't put Neal into the game because of Harris. Parker needed a rest for a couple minutes but because Harris was in the game, Pop went with a backcourt of Green and Ginobili. It's great that Pop not only is aware of Neal's defensive shortcomings, but that he's willing to find alternate alignments when necessary.

    In the regular season, Pop went with Neal rain or shine. He just can't do that in the postseason against ace PGs.

    8. Gang Rebounding
    Outside of the Bulls, the Jazz are the best offensive rebounding team in the league. When they opt to play Millsap at small forward, that will make Utah even deadlier on the offensive glass.

    On paper, the Spurs should be able to neutralize this issue since they are the best defensive rebounding team in the NBA. That said, paper isn't going to go out and get those boards. The coaching staff needs to emphasize that all five players need to drop down and help on the glass. Aggressively boxing out is another must for San Antonio to survive against this bigger opponent.
    C+

    Typically, the Spurs get ~76% of the available defensive rebounds. In Game 1, they got ~69%. That said, it could have been a lot worse if not for great individual efforts -- particularly by Duncan and Jack.

    9. Ignore the Refs
    Yes, the Jazz foul a lot. Yes, the refs won't catch every foul. Yes, the Jazz fans will probably be able to intimidate the refs. All of these are known issues going into this series. Utah, just like they were under Sloan, is going to relentlessly pound. It's a trait that is partly responsible for their franchise being so successful over the years. (And, if you ask me, the Jazz have the best fans in the NBA.)

    But because the Spurs should already know all of that, they shouldn't even attempt to whine their way into more calls. If they are getting bumped, they just need to bump back. If a team plays soft or tries to depend on whistles against Utah, they are unlikely to have success.
    B+

    Pop got a technical but otherwise I thought the Spurs ignored the refs well. There was some whining but it could have been a lot worse.

    10. Use Depth Liberally
    This regular season, Pop's usage of San Antonio's depth was extremely impressive. Only one player averaged more than 29 minutes (Parker at 32.1), while 11 players averaged at least 19 minutes. Though Pop can't spread the minutes that thinly in the playoffs, he also shouldn't change the rotations too much.

    Going into this series against the Jazz, Pop should definitely use a rotation that features ten players. The plan should be to increase Parker's workload up to about 36 minutes, Duncan up to about 34 minutes and Manu Ginobili to about 30 minutes. But, unless something goes wrong, that's as much as Pop should shift things. Preferably, all ten players in the rotation should play more than a dozen minutes per game. Not only will that allow San Antonio to ease their way into the playoffs, it will also make the Spurs the fresher team coming down the stretch of games.
    A

    If the starters weren't pulled at the end, Parker would have played 39 minutes, Duncan would have played 33 minutes and Ginobili would have played 27 minutes. That Parker number is a bit high but those numbers for Duncan and Ginobili are great for a playoff game. If the Spurs can beat the Jazz while limiting Duncan and Ginobili, that'd be pretty darn impressive, tbh.

  8. #8
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  9. #9
    Kawhichael 100%duncan's Avatar
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    Good stuff

  10. #10
    The OL' Perfessor wildbill2u's Avatar
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    Use Depth Liberally.

    Depth is the strength of this team on both offense and defense. We can literally send waves of competent players at teams who utilize a so-called standard of a short playoff rotation.

    Fresh legs and high intensity on both offense and defense can be an asset. We can run another team, especially one using heavy big men, into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. And the closeout time in the 4th should belong to our Big 3 against tired opponents.

  11. #11
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    Use Depth Liberally.

    Depth is the strength of this team on both offense and defense. We can literally send waves of competent players at teams who utilize a so-called standard of a short playoff rotation.

    Fresh legs and high intensity on both offense and defense can be an asset. We can run another team, especially one using heavy big men, into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. And the closeout time in the 4th should belong to our Big 3 against tired opponents.
    Well said sir.

  12. #12
    2 Doors Down BillMc's Avatar
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    Use Depth Liberally.

    Depth is the strength of this team on both offense and defense. We can literally send waves of competent players at teams who utilize a so-called standard of a short playoff rotation.

    Fresh legs and high intensity on both offense and defense can be an asset. We can run another team, especially one using heavy big men, into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. And the closeout time in the 4th should belong to our Big 3 against tired opponents.
    Brilliant!

  13. #13
    unity in diversity
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    The absence of Splitter actually effected several of your Keys, and perhaps explain why we did not do as well with them:

    Establishing Duncan Early:
    Duncan is forced to carry almost all of the post and pick-n-roll scoring with Tiago out. That means, to keep the offense balanced, he just can't take that many perimeter shots.

    Pick-and-roll
    The only bigs that are effective in the pick-n-roll are Duncan and Splitter. Splitter is almost exclusively scoring within this play. Without Splitter, we just can't be as effective running this; hence, we ran it less.

    Rebounding:
    Tiago is a good, not great rebounder, and is probably the 2nd best rebounder on the team. giving his minutes to Blair, who this year is not as good at rebounding as years passed, alone hurts us here.

    Size Might Matter
    (as indicated)

  14. #14
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    In regards to depth, Im glad Pop is not only "keeping it deep", but isn't scared of trying different line-up combinations. That usually goes hand in hand in the regular season but doing it in the playoffs is awesome.

    We got the depth for it, no reason to exclude someone on the bench if another player is having an off night.

    I expect, as/if we advance through the playoffs, the rotation might tighten up a bit but Im hoping Pop wont be afraid to dip deep into the bench when/if we get into trouble to see if someone comes out hot.

  15. #15
    bandwagon hater
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    The absence of Splitter actually effected several of your Keys, and perhaps explain why we did not do as well with them:

    Establishing Duncan Early:
    Duncan is forced to carry almost all of the post and pick-n-roll scoring with Tiago out. That means, to keep the offense balanced, he just can't take that many perimeter shots.

    Pick-and-roll
    The only bigs that are effective in the pick-n-roll are Duncan and Splitter. Splitter is almost exclusively scoring within this play. Without Splitter, we just can't be as effective running this; hence, we ran it less.

    Rebounding:
    Tiago is a good, not great rebounder, and is probably the 2nd best rebounder on the team. giving his minutes to Blair, who this year is not as good at rebounding as years passed, alone hurts us here.

    Size Might Matter
    (as indicated)
    Im not worried about it... Diaw and/or Jackson can play the 4 or 5 if needed against the Jazz. Tiago will be needed if we face a trully big team like Mephis or Lakers though.

  16. #16
    Veteran Arcadian's Avatar
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    You're wrong about Duncan. I loved when they established him in the low post early, and I hope they keep doing it. It sets the priorities for the offense: inside first, outside second. I agree that Duncan is most potent in pick-and-rolls, but he can go to that all game long. Early in the game, I say pound the post. Tim is still one of the best post players in the league.

  17. #17
    Out with the old... Obstructed_View's Avatar
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    Use Depth Liberally.

    Depth is the strength of this team on both offense and defense. We can literally send waves of competent players at teams who utilize a so-called standard of a short playoff rotation.

    Fresh legs and high intensity on both offense and defense can be an asset. We can run another team, especially one using heavy big men, into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. And the closeout time in the 4th should belong to our Big 3 against tired opponents.
    They remind me of the '92 Cowboys, rolling in fresh reserves that could start for other teams.

  18. #18
    Believe. flipspursfan's Avatar
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    Good stuff timvp!

  19. #19
    Spur-taaaa TDMVPDPOY's Avatar
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    size might matter, buut th ejazz players are a fkn joke on offense and defense when we go small start spreading the floor...they look loss in transition when the spurs start to pull out the playbook

  20. #20
    2 Doors Down BillMc's Avatar
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    Game 1:



    C+

    The Spurs did attempt to establish Duncan but, IMO, they went about it the wrong way by going to him too close to the basket. In the second half, the Spurs attempted to allow Duncan to establish his jumper. He missed the shots but it was cleaner offense. Going forward, I hope to see more of what the Spurs did in the second half as far as where to feed Duncan.



    B

    The Spurs ran a whole lot of pick-and-rolls. By doing so, they scored a ton of points in the paint. But I actually thought they could have run it a lot more. The Jazz couldn't defend it at all; going to any other set is letting Utah off the hook, tbh.

    I did love that they specifically went at Kanter. Parker vs. Kanter wasn't even a contest.



    A

    Green and Leonard weren't hitting so Pop instead leaned more on Jackson and Neal. That's exactly the type of quick adjustments that Pop has to make going forward. Find the hot hand(s) and then ride said hot hand(s).



    B+

    The offense wasn't as crisp as it could be and the Spurs are capable of playing a lot fast, however things never bogged down too bad and the game ended up having about 94 possessions -- an acceptable amount.



    B+

    The Spurs did a good job of packing the paint overall. They ignored their non-shooters and stuck with Harris. The only issue was Ginobili leaving Hayward too much. But since Hayward didn't really make the Spurs pay from the perimeter, it's difficult to be too upset about it.



    N/A

    After Splitter's injury, the bigman rotation basically just went into survival mode.



    A

    I almost shed a tear in the fourth quarter when Pop specifically didn't put Neal into the game because of Harris. Parker needed a rest for a couple minutes but because Harris was in the game, Pop went with a backcourt of Green and Ginobili. It's great that Pop not only is aware of Neal's defensive shortcomings, but that he's willing to find alternate alignments when necessary.

    In the regular season, Pop went with Neal rain or shine. He just can't do that in the postseason against ace PGs.



    C+

    Typically, the Spurs get ~76% of the available defensive rebounds. In Game 1, they got ~69%. That said, it could have been a lot worse if not for great individual efforts -- particularly by Duncan and Jack.



    B+

    Pop got a technical but otherwise I thought the Spurs ignored the refs well. There was some whining but it could have been a lot worse.



    A

    If the starters weren't pulled at the end, Parker would have played 39 minutes, Duncan would have played 33 minutes and Ginobili would have played 27 minutes. That Parker number is a bit high but those numbers for Duncan and Ginobili are great for a playoff game. If the Spurs can beat the Jazz while limiting Duncan and Ginobili, that'd be pretty darn impressive, tbh.
    Love the write-ups.

  21. #21
    Spur-taaaa TDMVPDPOY's Avatar
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    with splitter out, apparently more PT for the dancing bear


  22. #22
    The OL' Perfessor wildbill2u's Avatar
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    Thanks but I have to admit to a bias toward using bench players to help wear out a team that sticks with its starters that developed from my own experiences. As I went from high school to college I was a bench player myself since I was only 5'9" and we all know it is a big man's game. I was also playing football so I came in late every year.

    We were a small team sizewise so the coach started using the bench more than most teams do in order to keep us running on offense and pressing on defense--the Flying Fleas.

    At some point in time, the coaches realized I was fast, tough, and willing to play defense like a cornerback. I loved getting up belly-to-belly all over the court and denying my guy the ball or go where he wanted. My role was to hound and punish their best perimeter shooter for as long as I lasted.

    And I kinda enjoying giving hard fouls if (actually when) I got beat since I knew I wasn't gonna play the whole game anyway. Hey, I had 5 to give so I'd make 'em count. Maybe Jax is our "designated hitter"

    I got the chance to do some player/coaching in amateur leagues later and put to work this theory about using depth as a weapon. Aside from some obvious benefits about keeping the players fresh and intense, it's amazing how it really improves morale over-all. The starters begin to appreciate their less gifted teammates more and the bench guys really give 100% effort in practice and the games because they know they'll get some playing time.

    Plugging in the right parts in the rotation at the right time is the key and Pop has done a great COTY job this year with the concept. It really isn't that unusual when you think of teams that sometimes 'go small' to create matchup problems, but it is a little different concept when you use depth as a weapon of physical endurance and speed.

    Personally I think it is a smart way to play basketball and I'm excited to see if it is as successful in the playoffs as it worked in the regular season. Of course traditional NBA thinkers believe in the short rotation in the playoffs as the proven way to win, but the old Celtics used to have a pretty deep bench and Auerbach used it to advantage.

    Pop and the Spurs can create a whole new NBA paradigm with this concept if it is successful.

  23. #23
    Believe. dylankerouac's Avatar
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    Use Depth Liberally.

    Depth is the strength of this team on both offense and defense. We can literally send waves of competent players at teams who utilize a so-called standard of a short playoff rotation.

    Fresh legs and high intensity on both offense and defense can be an asset. We can run another team, especially one using heavy big men, into the ground over the course of 48 minutes. And the closeout time in the 4th should belong to our Big 3 against tired opponents.
    Good take.

  24. #24
    Believe. dylankerouac's Avatar
    My Team
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    Pop and the Spurs can create a whole new NBA paradigm with this concept if it is successful.
    Agree. Good take.

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