Alright, the REAL season. What would YOUR gameplan to beat the Nuggets be???

[T Park]

Mine would, you keep Duncan on Marcus Camby and rotate on offense putting a good offensive player to get him out of the game.


Defensively, key on Camby and Andre Miller, shut them down, you curtail the Nuggets offense.


Offensively, get it To Ginobili and Parker and drive to the hole. Pick camby off from blocking shots with Duncan, Rasho, and Mohammed.


Rebound the basketball. Duncan, Mohammed, NEsterovic, and Horry need to REBOUND the ball, and keep the Nuggets OFF the fast break.

Get the Nuggets bigs into foul trouble by being agressive with the bigs Duncan, Nesterovic, Horry, and Mohammed, and DRIVE to the hole.


All loose balls need to be gotten to, if you let them get too many loose balls, then there confidence gets going.


The nuggest are on a slide worse than the Spurs, and they are banged up.


It doesnt hurt also to bang back at them either.



WHAT SAY YOU?

[SequSpur]

Play physical ball and its a sweep. Nice guys finish last and go home after the first round.

Denver sucks.

[mookie2001]

make duncan take 24 shots per game

[Leetonidas]

The X-Factor for us I think will be Nazr's defensive play and rebounding, and Glenn's shooting.

[Dre_7]

Defense!

SA plays SA D, and they win this series. Plain and simple.

[Obstructed_View]

Defense!

SA plays SA D, and they win this series. Plain and simple.
Agreed. Their defense leads to turnovers and easy baskets.

[LilMissSPURfect]

"FULL METAL JACKET DEFENSE"

Clamp DOWN...NO one gets easy DUNKS !!



TIMMY take it to the HOLE!!!!!! NO jumpshots!

[T Park]

Bump for the intelligent posters getting home from fun out on the town ;)

[spursfan05]

run and gun with ginobili

[Kori Ellis]

Manu should easily be able to dominate his man and I expect him to really have a great series.

The Spurs should figure out a way to get Tony Parker back out on the floor when Boykins is out there, because Beno isn't going to be able to guard him.

Nazr needs to rotate better defensively to try to limit the Nuggets in the paint.

I think it will be Spurs in five.

[T Park]

Nazr needs to rotate better defensively to try to limit the Nuggets in the paint

Agree 100%.

That, and Duncan need to trust his ankle and go block some of Anthony, Miller, or Boykin's layups is gonna be big.

That and defending Nene's and Kenyon Martin's easy shots.

[whottt]

Slap Bruce Bowen on Carmelo...........end of series.

[Kori Ellis]

True. Bowen owned Carmelo this year. Did he even shoot 30% against the Spurs?

[whottt]

Dunno, I just know that when Carmelo sucked, so did the Nuggets..and I know that Bruce is capable of shutting him down...this is when Bruce Bowen's skills come at a premium and why I am in favor of saving him for the post season....right now he might looked rested but after 4 or 5 games D'ing up on Melo he's going start looking a whole lot less rested and I hope he doesn't lose his shot like he has in past seasons(after a series guarding a tough scorer).

But bascially, if Bruce wins the matchup with Carmelo our team wins...even with a gimpy Duncan...and then I kind of hope we avoid the Rockets...

But Bruce is the reason we whipped teams like Seattle and the Lakers with Duncan injured...he'll do the same here...

Denvers two wins against us were highly circumstantial...No Duncan or Manu in a 3 point loss...no Duncan and a late start in Denver in the second loss(and we were playing our worst basketball of the season then)

I am not worried about Duncan in the slightest...his shot may be off, but Duncan is still dominating even if he doesn't score a point, with his rebounding an shotblocking...


Denver is going to try and beat us with hustling and harassing D...that shouldn't be enough to beat this team, gimpy Duncan or not....Big Dogg will pick up the scoring slack for Duncan...

[T Park]

Thanks for picking up my spirits Whottt.

For some reason, the injuries have got me down.


I guess all the critics talking about how Denver can beat us blah blah blah.


You hear that, then the injuries, Duncan still favoring the ankle.

You get worried.

Then you remember, Manu is gonna have 3 straight days off :smokin

[milkyway21]

1. Zone might be effective. Let them shoot from the arc. Clog the middle-Nazr/Rasho & Duncan/Horry.

Man, this team sucks from the 3pt line. :D

see this season's stats from the arc.
Anthony=26.6%
Martin=0
A.Miller=15.4%
Camby=0
Nene=0
only Boykins=33.7%
Lenard =33.3%
...have decent 3ptFG %.

SPURS
Duncan = 33.3%:angel
TP=27.3%
Manu=37.4%
Big Dog=40%
Bowen=40.3%
Barry=35.7%
Brown=37.3%
Horry=37%
Udrih=41.5%
Rasho=0
Nazr=0

we have a lot more players who are better shooters than Nuggets.

2.And don't let Marcus Camby abuse us(blocks). :eyebrows

[T Park]

Great post Milkyway, I think you do slap the Zone on the Nuggets early and offten, I think you treat this series, the same way the Spurs played the Nets in 03 in the Finals.

Take away the transition game, play the D Zone to force threes.

keep the big men like Nene, Camby, Martin out of the lane to block shots.

It also wouldn't hurt for if Camby is guarding Duncan to get Camby in foul trouble, then either Mohammed or Horry get Nene in foul trouble.

If you have just Martin and Fransico Elson out there, you could be alright.

[milkyway21]

Great post Milkyway, I think you do slap the Zone on the Nuggets early and offten, I think you treat this series, the same way the Spurs played the Nets in 03 in the Finals.

Take away the transition game, play the D Zone to force threes.

keep the big men like Nene, Camby, Martin out of the lane to block shots.

It also wouldn't hurt for if Camby is guarding Duncan to get Camby in foul trouble, then either Mohammed or Horry get Nene in foul trouble.

If you have just Martin and Fransico Elson out there, you could be alright...thanks.
actually i take note of the nuggets' last game vs. the Suns, and i was actually laughing. the Suns practically let them on shooting 3s. it was an embarrassment for the Nuggets... they were exposed... :lol they can't shoot treys!

[xcoriate]

Duncan punks Kenyon Martin as well almost dropped that quadriple-double on him in the 2003 playoffs. Look for Manu to draw fouls driving into Camby (I think he is the nuggest x-factor) early in the game.

That should be enough to set the tone.

Obviously Bruce locking up Carmelo will help and like Kori said its important that Parker guards boykins as the Udrih mismatch is to much

[T Park]

Well Andre Miller is notorious for not being a good three point shooter, but a great mid range shooter.

Boykins can do it, but not consistently.

Anthony IMO might be pretty good, but he posts up all the time.


Leanard, and Wesley Person are there best, but, he might keep Person on the bench due to being more of a sieve on D than Glenn Robinson or Brent Barry.


Once again, play D on the Nuggets like you did against the Nets.

Play agressive offense against their D, and get their bigs in foul trouble.

[T Park]

Look for Manu to draw fouls driving into Camby (I think he is the nuggest x-factor) early in the game

Actually to go deeper, look for Manu to try and do it, and if the refs give the fouls.

Hopefully the whining about Ginobili being a flopper doesn't hurt him.

Hopefully though, Ginobili does get the calls.

Either him or Duncan when going up AGAINST Marcus Camby.

Get him off the floor, then you can run the offense even easier.

[milkyway21]

Play agressive offense against their D, and get their bigs in foul trouble.yeah. that, too :rolleyes

[drpill]

Gotta unleash the Big Dog IMO. If he is hitting his shots he needs to be a big part of this series, especially in the third quarters, when the Spurs tend to let down offensively...

[T Park]

yeah. that, too

hey hey hey hey

be nice ;)


DrPill, I somewhat agree, id have to say, he is lookin good right now, IMO, he is ready.

Fire him out there in the latter parts of the 2nd, and the majority of the 3rd.

Then, if Bowen isn't needed, and you could play Big Dog out there, then fire him out there for the last 3 minutes of the 4 th quarters.


Hopefully Don Newman is already got the Nuggets totally undressed to the Spurs's eyes, and the Spurs have tremendous confidence.

Although, admitedly, with injuries, its gotta be disconcerning.

[drpill]

I'm sensing a lot of hesitation around these parts... I think the Spurs have the offense this year to compensate for any defensive road bumps they run into... Timmy's still gimpy but we have the soldiers to lean on until he's fully recovered... He just needs to get the confidence back in that ankle -- we all know he's a bit of a wuss when it comes to playign through injuries, but once he gets used to putting weight on it again, he'll be fine. We just need to make sure the Nugs don't steal either of the first two and then the series is ovah.

[milkyway21]

Bowen has a lot to do in this series. that is guarding Anthony.

i just wish Rasho could play vs. Camby. we really need the big men right now.

[T Park]

Exactly Milky, Rasho could be huge defensively against Camby with Duncan back, but now it doesn't even look like hell be back for freakin game 1 wich is unreal, he looks like hes running well too.

Maybe the thing in the paper is just CIA Pop. hope so.

[milkyway21]

if they said was true that Rasho could have played vs. minny, then, he'll be in the lineup soon.

there's only devin left on IL.:cry

[ManuTastic]

Gotta agree on the zone. Do it. Somewhere on the web recently there was an article about Denver's poor 3-pt shooting.
Only problem with a zone is it can allow more offensive rebounds, which could be a problem if we don't watch athletic rebounders like Kmart and Nene and Camby. Cannot give up the boards and win.
Spurs in 6.

[BigVee]

I sure hope Duncan has been playing possum or gets better. He looks awful defensively. Several rebounds off his hands that he would normally swallow up, guys driving to the hole and he offers no resisitance. I don't think he is anywhere near 80%...better pull his head out of his ass soon.

[Kori Ellis]

it was an embarrassment for the Nuggets... they were exposed... they can't shoot treys!


Somewhere on the web recently there was an article about Denver's poor 3-pt shooting.

They've shot over 40% from 3 as a team since the All-Star break.

[Jimcs50]

Play Spurs defense.

Hit open shots

make FTs at a 72% clip

That is all.

[nkdlunch]

Said outloud and in sign language:
"GIVE THE BALL TO DUNCAN"

[Jimcs50]

Denver will need to have their guards contain TP and Manu, and I do not see a guard on their team that can keep up with them.

If Camby is 100%, Denver wins the inside battle, but we win the outside battle.

Coaching should go to Pop and we have HCA.

If Denver wins one away game, then they will win series.

[whottt]

If Camby is 100%, Denver wins the inside battle, but we win the outside battle.



That's crap...Camby isn't that much of a difference maker...he's basically a hustle guy with shotblocking skills...he's never been the same player he was in College, and he's never been able to handle Duncan anyway.

[BigVee]

Unfortunately we are not talking about typical Duncan that Camby has to handle...at least not yet.

[CosmicCowboy]

Unfortunately Denvers game plan probably involves someone putting their foot under Tims foot when he is in the air...

[whottt]

Unfortunately we are not talking about typical Duncan that Camby has to handle...at least not yet.

He still doesn't have the size to keep Duncan off the offensive and defensive boards, and he's still a weaker offensive player than even an injured Duncan.

injured Duncan, Rasho, Horry & Mohammed > Camby, Najera, KMart, and Nene.


Who would you rather have? Right now...would you trade our injured rotation with theirs for this one series, even if we could get our guys back in the next round?

I wouldn't. I'd take our guys over theirs, even in their current conditon, any day of the week.

I'd also take our guards and bench over theirs..and I'd take our coach over theirs as well.

I'd also take our late season addition of Big Dogg over their late season addition of Voshon.

This team only has one chance of beating us and that's by being a better team...because their parts are not going to be greater than our parts...and that's going to be hard for them to do....The Spurs play the best team ball in the NBA...

No way should we lose this series.

[BigVee]

Unfortunately Denvers game plan probably involves someone putting their foot under Tims foot when he is in the air...
And don't think that is not on his mind like 100% of the time

[weebo]

I have a suggestion. How about we play more zone defense? I know the Spurs are great at man on man D, but if anyone saw the Houston-Denver game you would also have noticed that the Rockets turned the Nugs into a jump shooting team. They don't really have anyone outside of Boykins who can create a shot for themselves [not even Melo]. I say make the Nugs beat us from the outside.

[Jimcs50]

That's crap...Camby isn't that much of a difference maker...he's basically a hustle guy with shotblocking skills...he's never been the same player he was in College, and he's never been able to handle Duncan anyway.


10 pts 10 reb and 3 blks a game and he is NOT a difference maker???

The Nuggets win when he is in the game and lose when he is out of the game....and he is NOT a difference maker???

:rolleyes

[exstatic]

1) Large doses of Big Dog. He should be able to OWN Carmello, and demand a double team.

2) No plays for Tim. Let him work his way back into shape by scrapping on the boards, and being ready to knock down a kickout jumper. He's struggling in traffic right now.

3) Nazr must play a LOT of minutes. They need his rebounding with Tim still hobbled.

[whottt]

10 pts 10 reb and 3 blks a game and he is NOT a difference maker???

The Nuggets win when he is in the game and lose when he is out of the game....and he is NOT a difference maker???

:rolleyes


He's not enough of a difference maker to make the difference against Tim Duncan, injured or not.

[cherylsteele]

Nazr needs to rotate better defensively to try to limit the Nuggets in the paint.

.

I agree as well...plus keep the Nuggets' offensive boards to a minimum....they seemed to hurt us with 2nd chance points during the year.

[CosmicCowboy]

I suspect that the Spurs are gonna be practicing and practicing and practicing zone defense tomorrow....

[RuffnReadyOzStyle]

Although Camby is a great help defender, he is also a whinger, so maybe send TMass out to beat on him a bit late in the 1st/early second and see if you can get into his mind.

Otherwise, totally second the zone and letting Tim find his groove. Forcing it to TD when he's not ready and they are expecting it will be a disaster. Let him play himself into form.

Our keys are TP and Nazr (Manu is a given!) - force Dre to defend, defend Earl; Nazr must be TOUGH!

Bowen is tha shzit and will stop Anthony.

Their keys are Camby and Boykins.