Adjustments for Game 2 - Spurs vs. Suns 2010

[timvp]

-Start Parker. Hill can't guard any of the Phoenix's starters. Force Nash to play some defense.

-Establish Duncan early. Not only will Duncan play better but the Spurs will give three-point shooters a chance to get on a role.

(These adjustments are so needed that they warrant a thread mid-game)

.... add more ...

[ALVAREZ6]

-Establish the big 3 early, adding to only Duncan. Stupid Manu jumpers early only gives takes away our opportunities to establish anything and control the pace in the slightest.

-Play like you want to win

[DAF86]

Do not play Bogans I don't give a fuck how many fluke shots he makes. RJ and Dice were doing decent. Put any of them instead of Keith right now.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Dude its like my worst fucking nightmare. Hill can't guard anyone and he's letting it affect his aggressiveness on offense. He's become a rookie again.

And Duncan being established early is impossible if he's not scoring on any move he makes.

Also Blair got the rookie jitters again.

It's like playing 4 on 10.

[ALVAREZ6]

oh yeah:

don't allow wide open threes to the best three point shooting team

[ALVAREZ6]

tell Duncan to not get fouled

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Also Suns seem very committed to fouling Duncan hard. Duncan picked a bad time to have his worst playoff free throw shooting streak ever.

[ALVAREZ6]

no more quick Ginobili 3s with 20 seconds still on clocl, as this is part of the recipe for a Suns win.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

what can be done so that the spurs make their free throws? seriously.

[ALVAREZ6]

-get back on fucking defense in transition...one of the easiest things to do.

[G-Nob]

Don't out small-ball the suns. Rediculous.

[DAF86]

Bogans will always hurt us in the long run. Fuck you Pop.

[urunobili]

No more Bonner

[Spurs Brazil]

Don't play Mason

[MannyIsGod]

-Trade Parker.

Oh wait.

[ALVAREZ6]

oh yeah:

don't allow wide open threes to the best three point shooting team

.........................

[Spurminator]

We got game 2.

[4>0rings]

- Play 48 minutes. Not 24.
- Goes with the first one, stop getting yourself intoa huge hole you can't dig yourself out o.

[ShoogarBear]

Do Something to get RJ aggressive early. Right now he is truly what Bruce Bowen's critics (Ghost) mistakenly always accused him of being--worthless on offense. And it ain't like his defense is winning prizes.

[ALVAREZ6]

We got game 2.

I'm not even close to being convinced.....

[ECZ]

Spurs have to find a way to get RJ some easy baskets...

Maybe pull the bigs out on high screens and dump it down to him so he can go one-on-one vs a defender and not have to worry about shot-blockers or making an inside pass. Also if he misses, our bigs are already near the 3pt line and can get back on D

[Drewlius]

Get to the lane, stop shooting jumpers right inside the f'n 3-point line, christ that's terrible.

[superjames1992]

- Play small ball with one big for a majority of the game. We seemed to have greater success with small ball lineups. That means we'll see mostly Duncan and Dice playing center. If Pop elects to do this, we won't see much, if any, of Bonner or Blair. I know I and others have hated on small ball all season long, but I feel that it's appropriate in this series against a fast-paced Suns team.

- Maybe play Bogans more. Perhaps, this was just a fluke game, but we played well there for that stretch with him playing the power forward position.

[ALVAREZ6]

I want to rip my balls off

[Cry Havoc]

Stop.

Playing.

Mason.

[polandprzem]

Big three got issues with each others

I'm 100% sure spurs will make accurate adjustments, but the suns can have ridiculous runs.
Now this series is dangerous as hell

[MannyIsGod]

Really, the simple fact of the matter is the Spurs need some production from the bench. Don't count Parker's numbers as part of that tonight and Pheonix simply owned them.

Dogs speech time?

[ShoogarBear]

Dogs speech time?

I'd give a million bucks if Pop used a more feline term this time.

[Spurminator]

I'm not even close to being convinced.....

Just check the +/- for the likely game 2 starting lineup. With Parker starting we are much better.

Don't forget, Nash can't play 40 mpg. I think our bench is competent enough to match theirs.

[baseline bum]

It was like George was shell-shocked after Nash murdered him for 17 in the first. I think Hill will bounce back OK, but I never want to see him guard Nash for an extended period again. Why the hell did you not bring Bruce Bowen back, Pop? He would be perfect to throw on Nash for 15 minutes a night.

[Cry Havoc]

I'd give a million bucks if Pop used a more feline term this time.

:lol

I'll bet he does, just not to the media.

[Biggems]

Make their fucking layups...you miss like 12 layups and lose by single digits...just horrible

[MannyIsGod]

Seriously though, we can make all the "don't play bonner, don't play bogans, don't play mason" threads in the world but the starters can't play the entire game against the Suns. There's just far too much running.

Those guys will have to step up and provide them with something in order for the Spurs to win.

[itzsoweezee]

benching hill now is stupid. he'll be much better next game.

[Cry Havoc]

Seriously though, we can make all the "don't play bonner, don't play bogans, don't play mason" threads in the world but the starters can't play the entire game against the Suns. There's just far too much running.

Those guys will have to step up and provide them with something in order for the Spurs to win.

9 man rotation.

Parker
Hill
RJ
Duncan
Dice

Bench
Manu
Bonner
Bogans
Blair

[DAF86]

We have the size advantage over a team for once, take advantage of it. We have no three point shooters outside of Manu and Hill stop trying to find it. We don't need three point shooting to win this series. The line-up of Tony, Manu, RJ, Dice and Duncan was like +10 on the game. Use them.

Tony, Manu, RJ or Hill, Dice and Duncan should be our go to line-up.

Please no more Bogans and/or Mason.

[tp2021]

I want to rip my balls off

You already sound like a pussy

[Bob Lanier]

Don't out small-ball the suns. Rediculous.
:tu :tu :tu :tu :tu

And get Manu under control on offense. Where there's a whip there's a way.
http://www.collectoybles.com.au/catalog/images/lotr_ss_helm_frodo.jpg

[HarlemHeat37]

-Trap Nash early, like NewJers said..either that or simply give him the jump shot, even though he's obviously a great shooter..he got 4 easy layups in the 1st quarter, giving him a rhythm for the entire game..Hill couldn't stay with him, but Duncan was also paying too much attention to Collins..Collins is one of the worst offensive players in NBA history, Duncan shouldn't be paying attention to him..he should overplay on Nash early, it doesn't bother me..

-Avoid playing Mason..this one is obvious..

-Avoid having Hill guard bigger players..it's taking too much out of him..having Hill come off the bench will allow him to guard Dragic or whoever, so it's better than having him guard Richardson or Grant Hill..he was exploited when he had to guard them..

-Give minutes to Bogans or Hairston, not too many minutes, but give them the spot minutes that Mason was receiving..it's risky..Bogans is a below average NBA player and Hairston hasn't proven to be a legit NBA player, but they're the only 2 guys on the roster that have the physical tools to match up with guys like Richardson, Hill and Dudley..

-Stop taking so many jump shots..the Spurs got more points inside the paint in the 2nd half, they just kept attacking..Phoenix has horrible interior defenders, even worse than the Spurs, keep attacking..

-More McDyess..


Obviously things like Duncan, Ginobili and Hill playing better + better bench production is obvious, not really an adjustment though..

[MannyIsGod]

9 man rotation.

Parker
Hill
RJ
Duncan
Dice

Bench
Manu
Bonner
Bogans
Blair

Yeah but when Bonner gives you shit then what? Bogans actually played ok for the few minutes he was in but Blair played pretty badly.

[4>0rings]

I want to rip my balls off:lmao Feels like the Spurs should win every game doesn't it

[EricB]

Start Parker. Hope that hill decides to show up next game and not play like a silverstar. Run some dives to hue basket for RJ get him going.

Make freaking lay-ups..

[Bob Lanier]

Tell Bonner that when somebody closes out on him and he doesn't have a passing angle, a fadeaway is far better than a drive.

[DesignatedT]

thought the spurs played a good game. Hill and Dice are obviously having trouble defensively but nothing we cant fix. Suns came out with a lot more energy and physicality from the get go (which was to be expected) but the spurs did a good job matching it in the 2nd half.

I expect the spurs to win game 2. If duncan can stay healthy they absolutely have nobody to stop him

[SpursTillTheEnd]

why the fuck do mason and bonner see so much playing time? Fucking play blair and bogans, atleast bogans plays d.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Waive/ Cut Mason from the team if its possible. Please!

[superjames1992]

We have the size advantage over a team for once, take advantage of it. We have no three point shooters outside of Manu and Hill stop trying to find it. We don't need three point shooting to win this series. The line-up of Tony, Manu, RJ, Dice and Duncan was like +10 on the game. Use them.

Tony, Manu, RJ or Hill, Dice and Duncan should be our got to line-up.

Please no more Bogans and/or Mason.

Dice was -4 in the game.

Manu was +5 and Parker and Bogans were +4.

And George Hill was a nasty -22.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

We have a greater chance at getting something out of Bonner and Blair.

We need some damn shooting for spacing. It's very difficult to do anything without consistent outside shooting. Such a far cry from the past two Spurs seasons.

RMJ is finished. End of story. And playing Bogans is a loser's strategy. It's fact. Bogans works in small small small doses only. Any extended time is fucking yourself.


It takes round 2 of the playoffs for us to realize we have no bench :(

[MannyIsGod]

Man, Bonner really breaks my heart. I want the guy to succeed so badly but it just doesn't happen.

[ALVAREZ6]

:lmao Feels like the Spurs should win every game doesn't it

lol I just hate when they play like this, i care too much

[alchemist]

If there is anything to take away from this game is that Parker starting the game will do wonders for the Spurs. I saw some good things here that really makes me believe the Spurs will win in Game 2.

[DAF86]

-Give minutes to Bogans.

Fuck no.

[MannyIsGod]

The worst thing that is going to come out of tonight is that Bogans is going to get more playing time in game 2.

I promise you Bogans comes in during the first quarter of game 2. Be prepared.

[DAF86]

Dice was -4 in the game.

Manu was +5 and Parker and Bogans were +4.

And George Hill was a nasty -22.

I was talking about that line-up combined.

[ALVAREZ6]

You already sound like a pussy

Wanna touch my clam?

[VBM]

This game did prove one thing...a 15 point Phoenix lead is like a 5 point lead by any other team...they can't hold a big lead worth shit...

[Bob Lanier]

Bogans is not a player who will hurt you against Phoenix the way Dick and obviously Mason will. He's an adequate defender against Richardson and he won't chuck egregiously. As a weak-side shooter he's far superior to Dick.

[EricB]

Lol you people that don't want brogans and mason playing who e he'll should play!?!?!
You can't run with a six man rotation

[Mikesatx]

benching hill now is stupid. he'll be much better next game.


Agreed, he sucked in game 1 vs. Mavs and rebounded nicely. After tonight I am convinced we are the better team. Still need to play with the same tenacity we played against Mavs.

[SpursRulez4eVeR]

it is absofucklutely unneessary to play mason AT FUCKING ALL, left alone playing him along with bogans, bonner and blair.

[ShoogarBear]

Man, Bonner really breaks my heart. I want the guy to succeed so badly but it just doesn't happen.

I'm getting sick of him putting the ball on the floor at the slightest hint of someone running at him. At this point I'd rather see him jack it up aggressively than dribble into No Man's Land.

[ShoogarBear]

They also need to find some way to slow down J-Rich. If he's not going off, the Suns are very takable.

[SpursTillTheEnd]

Fuck no.

So you would rather want mason to play instead of bogans? gtfo, mason cant shoot cant play d, atleast bogans plays d

[HarlemHeat37]

I've been one of the more vocal posters against Bogans all year, but he's pretty much the only option..Pop isn't going to go with an inexperienced Hairston coming off an injury, and Temple looked shaky vs. the Mavs and is too skinny to deal with their wings..

It's Bogans or Mason..Bogans is the lesser of 2 evils, he can at least play decent D, especially in comparison to Mason..

Roger's confidence is completely gone and he doesn't even try on defense..

[Cant_Be_Faded]

We have too much working against us.

Duncan is choking at the FT line.
Our two bench shooters are chokers.
Hill, our new star, matches up horribly.
The opposition runs 10 deep.

Too much.

[ALVAREZ6]

I'm getting sick of him putting the ball on the floor at the slightest hint of someone running at him. At this point I'd rather see him jack it up aggressively than dribble into No Man's Land.

Yeah lol, it baffles me when it leads to points too...

[DAF86]

Bogans is not a player who will hurt you against Phoenix the way Dick and obviously Mason will. He's an adequate defender against Richardson and he won't chuck egregiously. As a weak-side shooter he's far superior to Dick.

RJ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bogans

Keith hit a couple of bullshit shots and then air balled a wide open three. He will always hurt the Spurs in the long run. Stats back this up.

RJ may not be a reliable three point shooter but guess what neither is Bogans (in fact Bogans is even worse than RJ) at least Richard can take it to the hole and with his athleticism make things happen at both ends of the floor.

[phxspurfan]

Key in on JRich and don't leave him or rotate faster. Let A'm'a'r'e' go for 30 if he doesn't foul out guarding Big Time Timmy Jim... have Parker (best Nash defender) and Nash go at it. No easy way out of this...this series may go 7

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Only positive is our ability to get to the line.

But Tim choking at the line = fail.

[MaNu4Tres]

Play our most consistent role player (McDyess) more than 18 minutes.

Play Mason zero minutes.

Go to Jefferson more on the block or 15 feet from the basket when he has Barbosa/Nash/Richardson on him. (Which is pretty much the whole game.) That's a matchup that favors the Spurs.

[Libri]

I'd give a million bucks if Pop used a more feline term this time.

I see. :lol

[DAF86]

So you would rather want mason to play instead of bogans? gtfo, mason cant shoot cant play d, atleast bogans plays d

I want none of them. Play TP, Hill, Manu, RJ, Bonner, Dice, Duncan and Blair like we did against the Mavs. And do you also bealive this urban myth than Bogans is a good defensive player?

[HarlemHeat37]

It sucks that Richardson did so much damage..he's such a dirtbag..

[royal2006]

in the time where spurs comeback and tie the game, RJ learns to dish out when attacking the rim, we should have give him more the ball

the most important, the whole team should have another FT lesson

[phxspurfan]

Slow the pace of the game. Definitely slow it down too. Walk it up like snails or old men at the Y

[Kori Ellis]

I agree with starting Parker, but it doesn't have to put Hill on the bench. You could start Parker/Hill/Ginobili. The Spurs need to get as much offense as possible, because they don't have the personnel to stop both Nash and JRich. It's possible, if you have the substitutions down, to start those three, and still always have one of them on the court to handle the ball.

RJ isn't doing anything as a starter anyway... no defense, rebounding, scoring, etc. Maybe as a reserve he can call his own number and get involved.

[HarlemHeat37]

They can't play the same rotation that we saw vs. Dallas..the Spurs are wearing down, they can't go with the short rotation for the entire playoffs, especially since Phoenix is deep..one of Bogans/Mason/Hairston/Temple has to contribute SOMETHING..

RJ should definitely get some touches..he actually contributed very well when he got the ball..he got to the line and he made some nice passes..this is a good series for him, they need to utilize him..his D was weak, but that seems to happen when he isn't involved offensively, since he's mentally weak and all..

[ALVAREZ6]

Slow the pace of the game. Definitely slow it down too. Walk it up like snails or old men at the Y

Well easier said than done...can't really do this unless we get rebounds and/or make field goals, period, especially early. And these are definitely what needs to be addressed the most IMO.

[Mikesatx]

We have too much working against us.

Duncan is choking at the FT line.
Our two bench shooters are chokers.
Hill, our new star, matches up horribly.
The opposition runs 10 deep.

Too much.


JRich is ubber confident right now. You start to shake that and it is definitely shakeable he starts to jack threes that aren't falling and the Spurs pounce. GHill deserves the benefit of the doubt he will be better than he was tonight.

[Lebowski Brickowski]

HOW THE FUCK DID THE suns OUT-REBOUND THE SPURS 44 TO 38?

[m33p0]

-to George, Manu and Mason: set your feet first before shooting the damn rock.
-Bonner has to stop watching tony parker highlight reels.
-more spacing
-tell Blair that when you rebound, you're supposed to jump not walk.
-attack Nash early and often.

[DesignatedT]

Spurs guarded Nash a whole lot better in the 2nd half.... Starting Parker will already slow nash down by forcing him to play defense.

Spurs actually played pretty good defense. Besides the first half on Nash and Jrich hitting some really tough shots.

[DesignatedT]

Spurs guarded Nash a whole lot better in the 2nd half.... Starting Parker will already slow nash down by forcing him to play defense.

Spurs actually played pretty good defense. Besides the first half on Nash and Jrich hitting some really tough shots.

[Capt Bringdown]

They also need to find some way to slow down J-Rich. If he's not going off, the Suns are very takable.

Problem is, no one in these PO's has yet to figure out how to slow him down. He's just might be the Spurs killer the Suns have been waiting for. Undoubtedly he's a huge upgrade over Shawn Marion.

Credit the Suns for a great scouting and game plan on Hill. We lost the game in the 1st quarter when we allowed Nash to score 17pts. Hill assumed the fetal position after that, and although we made it close, we didn't have enough firepower.

Hill better shake it off, because we need his production. If not, Suns will win the series, it's that simple. The big 3 can't carry the entire load anymore.

[TampaDude]

Adjustment for Game 2???

MAKE YOUR FUCKING FREE THROWS!!!!!

[DAF86]

We need Bonner to step up.

[Warlord23]

1. Start Parker.
2. Slow the pace down.
3. Establish TD early and get their bigs in foul trouble ... we didn't throw it into the post on our first 5-6 plays and Phoenix jumped out to an early lead
4. Do not play both Blair and Bonner at the same time
5. Do not play Mason ever
6. Do not match Hill up vs Nash or Richardson. I'd rather see him on Dragic, Grant Hill or Dudley
7. No lapses in transition D. Richardson got several easy points simply because nobody hustled back to stay in front of him.
8. Trust Dice enough to play him in the clutch, rather than going small and hoping Bogans contributes offensively

[rayray2k8]

Spurs played pretty bad, but kept the game close and when they got behind, they kept coming back.
Spurs got to find some shooters, but the players known for their 3 point shooting (Bonner, Mason, Bogans) the fans don't want to see on the floor.
So what do you want Pop to do, force Manu and Hill to chunk the 3's?

[ElNono]

We need to hit the outside shot. We need *something* from the outside from Hill, Mason or Bonner.
One other thing to try is try a couple of gimmicks to slow down JRich. Maybe put a big like Dice on him while Collins is in the game?

[Bob Lanier]

RJ >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Bogans

Keith hit a couple of bullshit shots and then air balled a wide open three. He will always hurt the Spurs in the long run. Stats back this up.

RJ may not be a reliable three point shooter but guess what neither is Bogans (in fact Bogans is even worse than RJ) at least Richard can take it to the hole and with his athleticism make things happen at both ends of the floor.
Dick speeds up the pace of the game and misses shots, which ignites the Phoenix fast break. He isn't doing a damn thing on defense.

If you must have him on the floor, play him at smallball power forward and have HIM guard 'A'm'a'r'e' instead of Duncan.

[ploto]

I think a big key for the Suns is that outside their Big Three, they get a little bit from a lot of players. Everyone I saw play for them tonight did something well. They were able twice to build up big enough leads to play these bench guys for stretches that rested their starters- not only for the late push but also for the next game.

Oh, and never, ever let Richard Jefferson run a fast break!

[NewJerSpur]

-Trap Nash more (at SOME point they're going to have to call him for that shuffle he does to buy himself more time); he looked like Butler looked in the last series when the Spurs hit him with a double team and it knocks him out of theflow of the pnr.

-Give Bogans more minutes and tell him to shoot no matter what when he's open so the Suns aren't allowed to regain their balance when they're scrambling on rotations

-No Bonner on Amare; Blair is the only guy strong/quick enough to stick with him outside of Dice.

-More TP, this is his kind of series.

[TDMVPDPOY]

whether duncan is chokin or not when his on a good run, wtf are they stop feedin him the ball...the sonner you get those clowns in foul trouble the better it is for us...no one on the suns can defend us

[ace3g]

1. Have to agree, Parker has to start the rest of this series, Nash went off in that 1st quarter and that was the difference in the game the rest of the quarters the Spurs were either only pt down, tied, or a pt up.

2. Fix the transition D, the Spurs down 10 at halftime actually had decent transition D, then in that 3rd after the Spurs went up 3, their transition D just fell apart.

3. Pop don't take out Manu, Dice after a run that got you a lead up 3. Suns went on a 12-2 run to end the quarter after that move.

4. Pop call a timeout when the Suns get on a run like the 12-2 run to stop their momentum.

5. No more Mason, I don't mind Bogans. I didn't watch the rest of the game after Mason and Bogans were in the game together (something I've started from the beginning of the playoffs) But Bogans did seem to hit a big 3 in the 4th quarter to keep the Spurs within 3-5 pts I believe.

During that 12-2 run that offensive foul on Duncan really hurt the Spurs, would have kept the game tied I think. He took a extra dribble to slide around amare and the ref still called the charge.

I knew this series was going to one of adjustments because during the regular season both teams had various starting lineups, so there was little help probably from watching video of the regular season matchups.

The Spurs are one of the best teams in the playoffs making adjustments after a loss, lets hope that trend continues.

[MannyIsGod]

I think a big key for the Suns is that outside their Big Three, they get a little bit from a lot of players. Everyone I saw play for them tonight did something well. They were able twice to build up big enough leads to play these bench guys for stretches that rested their starters- not only for the late push but also for the next game.

There is no doubt the Suns have a much deeper and effective bench.

[m33p0]

I think a big key for the Suns is that outside their Big Three, they get a little bit from a lot of players. Everyone I saw play for them tonight did something well. They were able twice to build up big enough leads to play these bench guys for stretches that rested their starters- not only for the late push but also for the next game.
truth

[Waps1980]

21% from down town does anything else need to be said! Give it up we are not that team anymore.

Bring Parker back in to start not sure who will come off the bench then Manu Hill even RJ.
Someone need to stop J Rich also can’t have him getting his way with us.

Fukn Nash 21 first half points and finished with 10 assists too……….Christ!!!

[Bob Lanier]

Problem is, no one in these PO's has yet to figure out how to slow him down.
Guard him with a smaller player and hard trap him in the low post.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

Also, the trend from round 1 continues tonight......

Whoever wins the 1st quarter wins the game.

Food for thought.

[scottspurs]

Nash WILL NOT stay that hot from the field. I think the spurs need to make some adjustments, but this game down to Nash coming out of the gates on fire. The spurs can't start that badly against a team like the suns.

[Kamala]

First adjustment: Pop retire the khaki pants and navy sports coat with little gold buttons. Go a little metrotesticle baby!
Second: No more mad scientist line-up to start the third please.

DO this and game 2 will be the teets

[Bob Lanier]

Nash WILL NOT stay that hot from the field.
I wouldn't count on that. Nash hit the shots that were open and missed the ones that were contested. Perhaps one or two of the shots he made could have gone the other way, but 11/19 is still incredibly good shooting for a point guard. Nash is arguably the best shooter ever to play; it's not like this is a hot game from Jason Terry.

[VBM]

Nash WILL NOT stay that hot from the field.

If we let Nash shoot 10-footers all day, he will

[Cant_Be_Faded]

ehhhh virtually every shot Nash took he's been hitting against us since he's been playing against us


thats what he does against us

[ShoogarBear]

RJ, 32 min, 3 boards, might have had something to do with it.

[NewJerSpur]

First adjustment: Pop retire the khaki pants and navy sports coat with little gold buttons. Go a little metrotesticle baby!
Second: No more mad scientist line-up to start the third please.

DO this and game 2 will be the teets

Hey, Hey, HEY.....he's doing the best he can with what he's got to work with. :lol

[carina_gino20]

- Get Timmy to get it going early. I think it hurt us tonight when Nash was having his way at the other end but our stars, especially Timmy, was not being aggressive on our own end. I saw too many jumpshots in that opening sequence.

- Start Tony. But I don't know if I want to send Hill to the bench. It could mess up his mind.

- 3-pt shooting. If Pop still plays Bonner and Mason more minutes, they better earn their paycheck. That said, I don't want these two to put the ball on the floor. Jack up those threes if you don't know what to freakin' do with the ball.

- Bogans over Mason, if at all necessary.

- Attack Nash. I want TP to make Nash work on defense.

[Cant_Be_Faded]

RJ, 32 min, 3 boards, might have had something to do with it.

No doubt. I think one of most blatant things Pop can do is get on RJ, Dice, and Hill's ass to rebound MUCH better.

[HarlemHeat37]

Nash got hot by getting in a rhythm..he got FOUR easy layups in the 1st quarter..when it's a good player like Nash, he'll make you pay later on..

Basketball is really easy when you start games off by making easy shots, as everybody here obviously knows..

[Mr.Robinson]

Seriously though, we can make all the "don't play bonner, don't play bogans, don't play mason" threads in the world but the starters can't play the entire game against the Suns. There's just far too much running.

Those guys will have to step up and provide them with something in order for the Spurs to win.

Bogans played good. Got some bull shit calls called on him. Hill has to play better in game two. Jefferson was a ghost once again. There was plenty of times he attacked but he needs to it twice as much. Too many jumpers from him.

[Capt Bringdown]

Also, the trend from round 1 continues tonight......

Whoever wins the 1st quarter wins the game.

Food for thought.

Harder to come back in the playoffs? Game momentum much more important than in regular season?

It sure seems that way.

[Mr.Robinson]

Nash got hot by getting in a rhythm..he got FOUR easy layups in the 1st quarter..when it's a good player like Nash, he'll make you pay later on..

Basketball is really easy when you start games off by making easy shots, as everybody here obviously knows..

He walked in on those lay ups. The help D was horrible tonight.

[mavsfan1000]

Start Parker and make Nash guard Parker as much as possible. Wait until Dragic comes into the game before putting in Hill.

[TD 21]

Call it a radical adjustment if you will, but the Spurs need to go back to being the old Spurs offensively in this series and that means plenty of four-down, Parker starting and plenty of pick-and-rolls involving Parker. Ginobili needs to become the third wheel offensively again.

Hill, there's no excuse for him not being able to adequately defend Nash. Theoretically he should be able to and that, along with his three point shooting and him spelling Ginobili and Parker is going to have to be his value to the team in this series. If it's not, he's not of much use, because he's too small to guard Richardson and Hill.

[Capt Bringdown]

Call it a radical adjustment if you will, but the Spurs need to go back to being the old Spurs offensively in this series and that means plenty of four-down, Parker starting and plenty of pick-and-rolls involving Parker. Ginobili needs to become the third wheel offensively again.


It seems to me they've got to get more players involved and make the Suns D work harder. Just as in the Mavs series, getting RJ going is essential.

Funneling everything through a struggling Duncan seems like it would work right into the Suns hands. I can see Tim getting stripped as he wheels (ever so slow these days) into the middle, leading to fast break buckets for the Suns.

[crc21209]

The simplest and easiest adjustment is obviously starting TP. Hill got abused by Nash too many damn times, and when he wasnt being abused by Nash...he was being abused by Jason Richardson. Not good...at all. So start TP with Manu, RJ, TD, and Dice, and let Hill come off the bench where he can do his thing against some of their bench guys like Dragic...

[DAF86]

Call it a radical adjustment if you will, but the Spurs need to go back to being the old Spurs offensively in this series and that means plenty of four-down, Parker starting and plenty of pick-and-rolls involving Parker. Ginobili needs to become the third wheel offensively again.

Hill, there's no excuse for him not being able to adequately defend Nash. Theoretically he should be able to and that, along with his three point shooting and him spelling Ginobili and Parker is going to have to be his value to the team in this series. If it's not, he's not of much use, because he's too small to guard Richardson and Hill.

Duncan was awful on the low block tonight. I think he got all his points from pick and roll plays, jumpers and put backs. I will obviously try to establish him early but if he doesn't "get established" we can't keep going at it 'cause our offense will suck.

[TD 21]

We can talk adjustments all we want, the reality is the Spurs needed to win this game, because of the amount of rest they had going in, the lack of rest they're going to get after it, the fact that Nash was supposedly hurting and the fact that Lopez was out. Plus, psychologically it would have affected the Suns. It's likely that the Spurs just lost not only this game, but this series.

Unfortunately, the Spurs can't guard the Suns like they use to be able to and offensively, they don't have clearly defined lineups to play against them, which they had against the Mavs. Play the three guards and Hill is forced to cover Richardson in the post, which he can't do. Play a guard at the four and Duncan has to guard Stoudemire, which he no longer has the lateral quickness to do.

If you can't slow the Suns, you at least have to dominate them on the boards, which the Spurs can't do if they're closing with Bogans at the four and Mason seeing some time there as well. Between the horrific free throw and three point shooting as well as the fact that they're not a great transition team, the Spurs put a ton of pressure on themselves to score almost exclusively at the rim or from mid range. That's a losing combination. It sounds great to not rely on the three, but when you're this inept at it and you struggle in the other two areas I mentioned offensively, it's going to be tough to beat a team that's as good as the Suns are offensively.

[HarlemHeat37]

Running 4-down is completely dependent on how Duncan looks in that game..as Duncan228 has said, with the way Duncan's knees are, it's unpredictable as to how he'll play for a particular game..

I'd test it early, they have to try it out in the first few plays, get a feel of where Duncan is..Tim seems to be better at facing up these days though..if Amare/Amundson is guarding him, I'd love to see some post action, but it might be better if he faces up Frye and Lopez..

If it doesn't work early, just keep running p&r..gets Duncan easy shots, and he gets into a nice rhythm as we saw in the 2nd half..

Getting RJ touches is essential..

[crc21209]

Running 4-down is completely dependent on how Duncan looks in that game..as Duncan228 has said, with the way Duncan's knees are, it's unpredictable as to how he'll play for a particular game..

I'd test it early, they have to try it out in the first few plays, get a feel of where Duncan is..

If it doesn't work early, just keep running p&r..gets Duncan easy shots, and he gets into a nice rhythm as we saw in the 2nd half..

Getting RJ touches is essential..

+1. TD looked pretty bad/off in the 1st half, but he ran the floor pretty damn good and finished well at the rim in the 2nd half...

[TD 21]

"We" can't keep going to Duncan, but "we" can keep putting the ball in the hands of Ginobili, who's not only playing the worst of the big three, but has the least advantageous match-up of the three? That makes a lot of sense. Ginobili is right back to being his old, inconsistent self. If the Spurs are going to go down in this series, then they should go down going to their most advantageous matchups most. Did Duncan struggle in the post at times? Sure. It's probably because he's not used to getting the damn ball down there, since it hasn't made it's way down there in about a half a season.

It's going to be all for naught, though. I hate to say it because I picked the Spurs in six, but they can't defend this team and it's clear Pop has no idea what he wants to do rotation-wise, but it is clear that we'll see plenty of small ball. What that means is you can forget about pounding them on the boards. So you can't keep pace with them offensively, can't slow them defensively and can't dominate the boards. How do you expect to win? Maybe Ginobili can shoot 15 threes and throw the ball away 10 times next game off of cross body pick-and-roll passes. That will get it done.

[tuncaboylu]

RJ should attack to the rim more often, I'm expecting a similar performance to 2dn game of Dallas series next game. Hill is inexperienced and Nash is very different type of player than Kidd. He will adjust, but he shouldn't start next game. Start TP to next game and you can flip flop it in 3rd game at home. And keep giving cahnce to all players in the roster in this series. Because it seems that this series will be long and we need every weapon we can use. I believe that Mason and Bonner will play 2 games in this series and we should give them a chance in next game. They can be x-factor, you can't be sure.

[Bob Lanier]

Getting a mediocre slasher like RJ touches is like playing smallball; you've decided to play the Suns' game, and they're better at it.

[DAF86]

"We" can't keep going to Duncan, but "we" can keep putting the ball in the hands of Ginobili, who's not only playing the worst of the big three, but has the least advantageous match-up of the three? That makes a lot of sense. Ginobili is right back to being his old, inconsistent self. If the Spurs are going to go down in this series, then they should go down going to their most advantageous matchups most. Did Duncan struggle in the post at times? Sure. It's probably because he's not used to getting the damn ball down there, since it hasn't made it's way down there in about a half a season.

It's going to be all for naught, though. I hate to say it because I picked the Spurs in six, but they can't defend this team and it's clear Pop has no idea what he wants to do rotation-wise, but it is clear that we'll see plenty of small ball. What that means is you can forget about pounding them on the boards. So you can't keep pace with them offensively, can't slow them defensively and can't dominate the boards. How do you expect to win? Maybe Ginobili can shoot 15 threes and throw the ball away 10 times next game off of cross body pick-and-roll passes. That will get it done.

Ginobili was our best player tonight.

[Bob Lanier]

Except for Parker, yes.

[Capt Bringdown]

We can talk adjustments all we want, the reality is the Spurs needed to win this game, because of the amount of rest they had going in, the lack of rest they're going to get after it, the fact that Nash was supposedly hurting and the fact that Lopez was out. Plus, psychologically it would have affected the Suns. It's likely that the Spurs just lost not only this game, but this series.

Unfortunately, the Spurs can't guard the Suns like they use to be able to and offensively, they don't have clearly defined lineups to play against them, which they had against the Mavs. Play the three guards and Hill is forced to cover Richardson in the post, which he can't do. Play a guard at the four and Duncan has to guard Stoudemire, which he no longer has the lateral quickness to do.

If you can't slow the Suns, you at least have to dominate them on the boards, which the Spurs can't do if they're closing with Bogans at the four and Mason seeing some time there as well. Between the horrific free throw and three point shooting as well as the fact that they're not a great transition team, the Spurs put a ton of pressure on themselves to score almost exclusively at the rim or from mid range. That's a losing combination. It sounds great to not rely on the three, but when you're this inept at it and you struggle in the other two areas I mentioned offensively, it's going to be tough to beat a team that's as good as the Suns are offensively.

Depressingly accurate take. We let probably the best chance of winning this series slip through our fingers tonight. Winning game 1 would have put tremendous pressure on the Suns, and we need all the advantages we can grab at this point. The matchups tilt heavily in the Suns favor it seems to me.
It looks grim.

So far the Spurs playoffs have been about defying odds and exceeding expectations, all we can hope for is for that trend to continue.

[NewJerSpur]

If RJ can get the ball coming off of a good screen/rub while motioning to the basket he'll either get to the baskset and get a high percentage shot off, score, or get fouled most of the time....it's when he stops dead in his tracks and tries to create from nothing when issues arise. He made a great pass to Dice off of a similar play during one of the runs.

[TD 21]

No, he wasn't. The ridiculous shots and passes that were mostly absent during his brilliant run to end the regular season are back with a vengeance in the playoffs. In all three of the losses we've seen at least one or the other, if not both in tandem.

Bob Lanier makes a good point. Pop coached a terrible game, got caught up in trying to match the Suns, couldn't settle on a rotation, sat Duncan and Parker too long late third/early fourth as the game was getting away from the Spurs (again) and it cost them.

[HarlemHeat37]

It doesn't matter if it fits into their style..

Jefferson has to be a factor..yes, it was a bad acquisition, but he needs to be involved..he's a mentally weak player that doesn't do anything else unless he's getting touches..sadly, he won't play D or rebound unless he's getting the ball..

He actually made some good plays in this game though..he's an average player at creating for himself, but he needs the occasional touches..

[DAF86]

Except for Parker, yes.

Manu: 27 pts in 20 shots, 5 assts, 5 rbds, 4stls. And our best defender. Left the game tied in the third quarter and came back with a 10 pts deficit.

Parker: 25 pts in 21 shots, 3 assts, 2 rbds, 0stls.

[tuncaboylu]

"We" can't keep going to Duncan, but "we" can keep putting the ball in the hands of Ginobili, who's not only playing the worst of the big three, but has the least advantageous match-up of the three? That makes a lot of sense. Ginobili is right back to being his old, inconsistent self. If the Spurs are going to go down in this series, then they should go down going to their most advantageous matchups most. Did Duncan struggle in the post at times? Sure. It's probably because he's not used to getting the damn ball down there, since it hasn't made it's way down there in about a half a season.

It's going to be all for naught, though. I hate to say it because I picked the Spurs in six, but they can't defend this team and it's clear Pop has no idea what he wants to do rotation-wise, but it is clear that we'll see plenty of small ball. What that means is you can forget about pounding them on the boards. So you can't keep pace with them offensively, can't slow them defensively and can't dominate the boards. How do you expect to win? Maybe Ginobili can shoot 15 threes and throw the ball away 10 times next game off of cross body pick-and-roll passes. That will get it done.

We played terrible in defense tonight during first 3 periods and even that we could win it. The score was 94-93 and Suns was panicking. Only 2 or 3 good possesions in that situation could bring the game to us, despite our poor performance.
They shot %52 in whole game, I don't think that they can repeat it in this series. Of course we can make Suns slower than this, tonight was not the best defense we can do.
No need to be hopeless, it's very similar to first game of Dallas series. Nowitzki was extraordinary there and Nash was here. It's obvious that his injury is not a big deal.

[NewJerSpur]

Agreed that Manu is becoming careless again. His help defense has been key but his ball security has been poor, though it was nice to see him hit a few 3's in rhythm. The no-look passes on pnr's are proving costly still.

[DAF86]

No, he wasn't. The ridiculous shots and passes that were mostly absent during his brilliant run to end the regular season are back with a vengeance in the playoffs. In all three of the losses we've seen at least one or the other, if not both in tandem.

Bob Lanier makes a good point. Pop coached a terrible game, got caught up in trying to match the Suns, couldn't settle on a rotation, sat Duncan and Parker too long late third/early fourth as the game was getting away from the Spurs (again) and it cost them.

The stretch that cost us the game was when Manu left the game (which was tied at 71) with 5 minutes remaining in the third and the Suns went on a 12 to 2 run.

[Capt Bringdown]

No, he wasn't. The ridiculous shots and passes that were mostly absent during his brilliant run to end the regular season are back with a vengeance in the playoffs. In all three of the losses we've seen at least one or the other, if not both in tandem.


Fair enough, but the comparatively spry Duncan we saw earlier in the playoffs is gone.

Cement legs Duncan is what we've got now.

Anyway, just as in the Mavs series, one can talk all day about the Big 3, but the dogs will have to make a contribution.

If they had stepped up today, we would have won, despite what Manu and Tim did or didn't do.

[kace]

Manu: 27 pts in 20 shots, 5 assts, 5 rbds, 4stls. And our best defender. Left the game tied in the third quarter and came back with a 10 pts deficit.

Parker: 25 pts in 21 shots, 3 assts, 2 rbds, 0stls.

no TO in those stats ? probably an omission.

[tuncaboylu]

We've made two big runs in this game: 12-0 when we were down 64-55 and 13-0 when we were down 94-80.

These are the tricks of the next game's adjustments I guess.

[DAF86]

no TO in those stats ? probably an omission.

3 to 1, big deal. For every ball that Manu turn the ball over, he got two possesions backs with his steals, deflections and charges. Manu was our best player tonight, simple as that.

[Bob Lanier]

And our best defender.
And what a job he did.

[DAF86]

And what a job he did.

A pretty good one. He got us a lot more stops than any other player tonight.

[jiggy_55]

Do not play Bogans I don't give a fuck how many fluke shots he makes. RJ and Dice were doing decent. Put any of them instead of Keith right now.

Bogans was much better than Hill was in his limited minutes today.

Hill will pick it up for Game 2, I have no doubt, but someone HAS to play minutes off the bench. We are not a team that can play a 6 or 7 player rotation. That's why after tonights performance, he played decent D and made his only 2 shots, Bogans will likely see an increase in minutes in Game 2. We also need someone to defend Nash and J-Rich, and with our guard lineup of Hill and Parker their will always be one mismatch on the floor. We'll be abused by them. So expect more minutes for Bogans. If he can make a shot or 2 and keep himself in a game, he'll find himself guarding J-Rich and getting some minutes.

And trust me, this is a better alternative than seeing Roger Mason in there. Give Bogans 15 minutes a night for some defense, hope he makes his open 3's, and keep that retard RMJ on the bench.

[awktalk]

* Keep GMJ off of the floor. No matter what it takes. Even if Ian has a broken leg. Do not let GMJ onto the hardwood. He doesn't even resemble a D-Leaguer (no offense to D-Leaguers)
* Tim MUST make a direct move to the basket when he's posted down low 1-on-1. When he hesitates and wastes 6 seconds off the clock looking over his shoulder, he doesn't generate anything and our offense breaks down. The Suns are not doubling on the entry, they double on the first dribble. So as soon as receiving the ball, Tim MUST go straight to the hole or into a move and force their hand early in the shot clock
* Make shots down the stretch. In the last 3 minutes, Tony missed a layup, Hill missed a 3, Tim missed free throws, Manu missed an open look. If you're going to win on the road, you can't miss ALL your shots in crunch time
* Do not allow their 2s & 3s to post up against Hill. How can he possibly check them 1-on-1? They abused that matchup. As bad as Hill was on Nash, there's no way he can defend in the post by himself, against anyone.

[TD 21]

We played terrible in defense tonight during first 3 periods and even that we could win it. The score was 94-93 and Suns was panicking. Only 2 or 3 good possesions in that situation could bring the game to us, despite our poor performance.
They shot %52 in whole game, I don't think that they can repeat it in this series. Of course we can make Suns slower than this, tonight was not the best defense we can do.
No need to be hopeless, it's very similar to first game of Dallas series. Nowitzki was extraordinary there and Nash was here. It's obvious that his injury is not a big deal.

Fools gold. The Suns were firmly in control of this game from start to finish. Even the two times the Spurs closed the gap and on one occasion even took a brief lead, did you ever get the sense that they were in control? I didn't. They were playing the Suns game, Pop had no clue what he wanted to do rotation-wise, they were a mess defensively for most of the game.

The Suns shot slightly better from two than they usually do, but much worse from three. In the end, they hit their average for points anyway, so it all balanced out.

If Duncan didn't dominate after three days rest and with an advantageous matchup, then that doesn't bode well going forward, when it's every other day. This is why the Spurs probably won't win another championship in the Duncan era. No matter how much help he get's or how much rest he get's, asking Duncan to play a grueling regular season and then go four grueling rounds in the playoffs is probably asking too much.

[DAF86]

Bogans was much better than Hill was in his limited minutes today.

Because he just hit two fluke shots. You can't rely on Bogans making shots.


Hill will pick it up for Game 2, I have no doubt, but someone HAS to play minutes off the bench. We are not a team that can play a 6 or 7 player rotation. That's why after tonights performance, he played decent D and made his only 2 shots, Bogans will likely see an increase in minutes in Game 2. We also need someone to defend Nash and J-Rich, and with our guard lineup of Hill and Parker their will always be one mismatch on the floor. We'll be abused by them. So expect more minutes for Bogans. If he can make a shot or 2 and keep himself in a game, he'll find himself guarding J-Rich and getting some minutes.

You don't have to play a 6/7 man rotation. Stay with what worked against Dallas: Tp, Hill, Manu and RJ covering the 1/2/3 positions (they are all guys that are able to play 35 minutes per game) and bring Bonner when Dice needs to rest and Blair when Duncan has to go to the bench. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

[NewJerSpur]

Tim and Manu looked good on the pnr down the stretch (helped with spacing the floor) and the team defense in the paint helped to stabilize the game which are good things to focus on moving into Game 2.

[Capt Bringdown]

Ah well, whoever wins this series is going to get pulverized by the Lakers.

[tuncaboylu]

Fools gold. The Suns were firmly in control of this game from start to finish. Even the two times the Spurs closed the gap and on one occasion even took a brief lead, did you ever get the sense that they were in control? I didn't. They were playing the Suns game, Pop had no clue what he wanted to do rotation-wise, they were a mess defensively for most of the game.

The Suns shot slightly better from two than they usually do, but much worse from three. In the end, they hit their average for points anyway, so it all balanced out.

If Duncan didn't dominate after three days rest and with an advantageous matchup, then that doesn't bode well going forward, when it's every other day. This is why the Spurs probably won't win another championship in the Duncan era. No matter how much help he get's or how much rest he get's, asking Duncan to play a grueling regular season and then go four grueling rounds in the playoffs is probably asking too much.

I didn't claim that they didn't control the whole game. But despite ther commanding performance we were not too far away from winning the game. I'm trying to comment it, they shot their best and we shot one of our worst; and it was a close game under these situations.

Duncan didn't dominate as we hope, but i don't believe that Hill and RJ and helped us too much also. If at least one of those 2 guys could show a better performance, it would diminish the pressure over Duncan.

Yes the packed schedule of this series will affact Duncan badly, but it will affect Nash either. And we all know what will happen if Nash slows, it will hurt Suns too much. Not only the offensive production of Suns will decrease, but also their defense will be damaged.

Moreover Suns was not too bad from 3 point territory tonight, %35 is an ordinary average when you come to deeper play-offs and against Spurs. Even we assume that their regular average was %40, it means only 3 more points for Suns(8-20 instead of 7-20). But their 2 points performance is nowhere near to what they usually do. Their 2 points avarage was 34-59(%57.5) This is better than career play-off average of the most dominant center of game Shaq(%56). Moreover this was against a team like Spurs, not against a team like GS.

That's why you can call it fools gold, but i'm still not feeling to pessimistic after this game.

[polandprzem]

I thought our p&r O will be better and we will dominate inside.
Tim was unable to do anything when we were setting up for 4-down. Suns defense seems to be perfect when Tim is on low block, you always have that double team guy around and all the passing lanes are closed. gentry have every angle covered with Timmy down low.
Tim needs to catch the ball in the movement - easier said it then doing.

With manu and TP we need to attack the basket! I don't know why but most screens were set weak. Spurs were not concentrated on details and in this series screens are important.
We got figured nash on pick good though - problem was the execution !

We had just one stretch when we dictated the tempo of the game and changed the game from running one to the half court more and it works.

Suns made a run - Pop did not even thought about taking timeout. he wanted to see if this group of players were able to stop the bleeding.

one trick - Pop put Mason back into the game , then timeout and put RJ in.
he knew mason was a disaster and maybe Gentry would try to exploit it after TO - mason was not there.

We can't let Amare having isos against Tim. we need to double the guy and make him pass.

And X-factor J-Rich -> I don't know what pop will do to cover this guy.

[Xylus]

JRich is no longer the Suns' X-Factor. Right now, he's our #1 offensive weapon.

[VivaPopovich]

when hill is in there have him post up nash

that will wear him out

[Fabbs]

Do Something to get RJ aggressive early. Right now he is truly what Bruce Bowen's critics (Ghost) mistakenly always accused him of being--worthless on offense. And it ain't like his defense is winning prizes.
Completely agree ShoogarBear and it was either the 1st or 2nd possession of the game that RJ got the ball early in the shot clock out on the wing and did his indecisive/passive nothingingness with the ball. Simply allows the Suns to rest, position and gear up for whomever he lobs the ball to. It also sets a very bad passive attitude tone.

[mavsfan1000]

JRich is no longer the Suns' X-Factor. Right now, he's our #1 offensive weapon.
It's still Nash and Stoudemire. It's just that the Spurs are putting extra attention on those 2 players and JRich is taking advantage of that.

[NewJerSpur]

JRich is no longer the Suns' X-Factor. Right now, he's our #1 offensive weapon.

If the Spurs can revert him back to his 18-foot fadeaway self, I'm all for it. Nash is still carving us up though and that has to be addressed/limited.

[mavsfan1000]

when hill is in there have him post up nash

that will wear him out
Suns will double team him. He is probably not used to playing that way either. Hill should only come in when Nash is on the bench. Make Nash guard Parker the whole game. Parker should strive to score 40 points or have a big assist count.

[jag]

I think getting RJ involved is one of the most important things for the Spurs on the offensive end (especially in transition). He can be a huge matchup problem and can really throw the suns defense off if he's getting to the rim.

[ace3g]

We've made two big runs in this game: 12-0 when we were down 64-55 and 13-0 when we were down 94-80.

These are the tricks of the next game's adjustments I guess.


The stretch that cost us the game was when Manu left the game (which was tied at 71) with 5 minutes remaining in the third and the Suns went on a 12 to 2 run.

This, plus Dice was also taken out prior to that 12-2 run by the Suns.

Also I agree the Spurs need to look at the video when they made those 2 runs to see what they can exploit in the next game.

Parker needs to start this series for match up purposes.

[bigdog]

Time to start Parker. Nash doesn't have to worry about defense when Hill is playing like that. Let Parker wear him out, then bring in Hill. Also, Use the clock wisely. I've seen people say that the Spurs need to outrun the Suns, which is nonsense, to me. With Manu bringing the ball up the court and jacking up 3's with 19 seconds left on the shot clock, those misses turn into Suns transition points. Slow it down and play some damn defense. You can't leave the best 3 point shooting team wide open for 3. Its dumb.

[mavsfan1000]

Time to start Parker. Nash doesn't have to worry about defense when Hill is playing like that. Let Parker wear him out, then bring in Hill. Also, Use the clock wisely. I've seen people say that the Spurs need to outrun the Suns, which is nonsense, to me. With Manu bringing the ball up the court and jacking up 3's with 19 seconds left on the shot clock, those misses turn into Suns transition points. Slow it down and play some damn defense. You can't leave the best 3 point shooting team wide open for 3. Its dumb.
Agreed. It worked in the past because the spurs used to badly outrebound the suns. The suns are a little bigger and the spurs are a little smaller now. Run if possible but don't force the tempo to go faster without a clear advantage.

[NewJerSpur]

One thing should be for certain: The Suns should see a HEAVY dose of PnR basketball between TD & TP. Phoenix was still trying to stay home on the spot-up shooters even though no one was hitting 3's with any type of consistency and Timmy had a relatively easy path to the basket, and by the time they collapsed on him he was either to deep to defend or it left someone with a totally uncontested shot.

[polandprzem]

There were so many areas that spurs failed that it's not funny.
Rebounding? So many fucks came out of my mouth because of it.

We need to have the ball in our hands more then them.


Don't get me started with mason

I was watching the game and all of sudden I've noticed number 8. I said what?! Is that Mason? I came closer to the screen, fuck damn, that's mason After that I knew every shot he was attempting was a miss so I was saying fuck word on a letter F before the ball clanged the rim.
defense? Christ he was so lost that he would be a superstar in a Lost series.

Horrible play by the spurs in the first half with the rust covering the spurs more then Suns players. Second half was better but still not what I was expecting.

[mavsfan1000]

One thing should be for certain: The Suns should see a HEAVY dose of PnR basketball between TD & TP. Phoenix was still trying to stay home on the spot-up shooters even though no one was hitting 3's with any type of consistency and Timmy had a relatively easy path to the basket, and by the time they collapsed on him he was either to deep to defend or it left someone with a totally uncontested shot.
Agreed. Nash is not a good defender. Parker should be the leading scorer in this series. And once the Suns start doubling early, players will be open for shots.

[NewJerSpur]

Agreed. Nash is not a good defender. Parker should be the leading scorer in this series. And once the Suns start doubling early, players will be open for shots.

:tu

I think Parker's licking his chops after seeing what he was able to get starting the 2nd half.

[onarollbaby]

If the Spurs can the turn the heat on their defense then the Spurs would have no problem beating this team. Limit the Suns to 80's -to low 90's and we win this series 4-2. The Spurs should set the tempo and not play with the Suns uptempo type of offense. The Suns have no interior defense, the Spurs should exploit this to the hilt

[jiggy_55]

Because he just hit two fluke shots. You can't rely on Bogans making shots.



You don't have to play a 6/7 man rotation. Stay with what worked against Dallas: Tp, Hill, Manu and RJ covering the 1/2/3 positions (they are all guys that are able to play 35 minutes per game) and bring Bonner when Dice needs to rest and Blair when Duncan has to go to the bench. If it isn't broke, don't fix it.

I never said Bogans is going to be better than Hill in the series or anything. Just the fact that he hit some shots and playing decent D kept him in the game. This will likely lead to an early call up from the bench in Game 2. If he can finally hit a shot or two, play some good D, he WILL see a few more minutes. After all, he is better than RMJ no matter what you say! Also, you fail to consider that against the Suns, sometimes you HAVE to go small or your done. This means some minutes for RJ at the 4.

Today's minutes:

Manu: 38
Parker: 36
Hill: 33
RJ: 33
Total: 140 out of 144 max for the 3 positions you considered.

If these were our only guys at 1/2/3, than there are some minutes missing. Considering that RMJ and Bogans played a total of 20 minutes, you can say that the Spurs went small for at least 8-10 minutes of this game (I didn't even bother with the math here so not sure what the final # is).

What I'm saying is you'll need around 12 minutes per game from a 9th rotation player. I don't see it fit to play Manu, Parker, Hill and RJ around 38-40 minutes per game. Bogans is a much better fit against these Suns than RMJ. Bogans can guard J-Rich for those 12 minutes, as he is still decent on defense, and he CAN hit some shots from time to time. No matter how bad his offense is at times, he still shot 36% from 3 this season. RMJ is in the biggest funk of his life and he is shit. I would rather we never see him again in this series, even in garbage time.

[Fabbs]

We played terrible in defense tonight during first 3 periods and even that we could win it. The score was 94-93 and Suns was panicking. Only 2 or 3 good possesions in that situation could bring the game to us, despite our poor performance.
I didn't like the 94-93 possession offensive either.
The transition D after the miss was the blunder play of the night tho. The Spurs ran back on D and looked like the Keystone Cops, all 5 of them withing arms reach of each other while Stoudamire pranced down the sideline and Nash lobbed the easy touchdown pass to him. Couple Spurs recovered (4 of them were looking the other way when the pass went up) so they hammered Stoudamire on the dunk attempt but he made both fts.


93-96 on D, Bogans guarding Grant Hill, that was a super bogus call to award China Doll two fts. Bogans merely maintained position and his feet were stationary! Hill just jumped into him and got rewarded for what should have been an offensive charge or at worst a no call/missed shot.

Couple other momentum calls went Phx way. Stoudamire bodying Tim yet Tim being rung up for the offensive call. Frye also able to body on Tim.

98-95 that Stoudamire banker was pure grease. Tim defended it perfectly, caught a little ball to i think and then Oscarmire regained possession and kind of just threw up a prayer and it fell.

[carina_gino20]

Our 'shooters' that we don't want to see on the court have to take those open shots. I lost count of how many possessions there were today where we had wide open guys who passed it up. Either they dribbled themselves to a turnover or they passed it again to TP, who then had to try and set up another play with less than 14 secs left in the shotclock. That pissed me off.

I also don't want to see George Hill playing the point when TP is on the floor.

[slayermin]

Starting Parker makes sense. He knows Steve Nash better than anyone plus he'll get more respect from the refs on defense.

But it throws the rotations off. If RJ gets moved to the bench, I think Manu has to come off the bench too. They are pretty much a package deal at this point. Without Manu, RJ is a spectator. I'm not sure who you start with Hill and TP. It would probably be Bogans, or Mason. Or maybe, just maybe Pop gives Temple or Hairston a shot.

I still think we are in excellent shape to win this series, regardless of what happened tonight. Pop and crew will adjust.

[jhuan16]

no more mason

[vander]

eh, this was just like the mavs game one, nash was unconscious, and even then, we kept it close and could have won if the ball had bounced differently in a couple places.

GHill was just caught off guard defensively, and he'll do better in the rest of the series...

as long as we don't let them string together fast break points and 3s, and as long as we keep making Nash a scorer, and if Manu stops shooting ill-advised 3s, and everyone does a better job of finishing at the rim, we'll be in good shape

[DBMethos]

Secure the defensive rebound. PHX killed us with 2nd chance buckets after missing long range contested jumpers (i.e. the shots we want them to take).

[timvp]

Do Something to get RJ aggressive early. Right now he is truly what Bruce Bowen's critics (Ghost) mistakenly always accused him of being--worthless on offense. And it ain't like his defense is winning prizes.Yeah, Bowen at least spaced the court offensively. Especially in the playoffs, teams knew that an open corner three-pointer by Bowen was deadly.

RJ's confidence on his jumper is so low right now that he's not even setting up behind the three-point line. He's getting closer and closer to the rim as these playoffs progress. The result is worse and worse spacing.

RJ is a decent enough three-point shooter that he can't be scared to attempt wide open looks. Diving to the rim when TP or Manu is penetrating because he doesn't want to shoot is unspeakably lame. He's literally trying to hide.


-Trap Nash early, like NewJers said..either that or simply give him the jump shot, even though he's obviously a great shooter..I would trap him here and there to give him a different look but the basic defense against him has to be just tough one-on-one coverage. TP pulled it off for much of the game. Hill has always gotten lost on pick-and-rolls against the quicker PGs, so this result wasn't too surprising.

But you can't trap Nash too much or the three-point shooters will get going. And you can't simply give him jumpers because he's too good of a shooter. Pressure him, follow him to the rim and make his attempts much more difficult. Turning Nash into a scorer is still a key ... they just can't allow his scoring to be so easy.


The worst thing that is going to come out of tonight is that Bogans is going to get more playing time in game 2.

I promise you Bogans comes in during the first quarter of game 2. Be prepared.At this point, I don't see another option. RMJ is worthless. Bonner is pretty much worthless. Small ball will be needed and the Spurs will need a bench perimeter player to play a little bit. Bogans sucks but I think Pop just has to hope that he gets hot and knocks down like 33% of his open three-point looks.


Starting Parker makes sense. He knows Steve Nash better than anyone plus he'll get more respect from the refs on defense.

But it throws the rotations off. If RJ gets moved to the bench, I think Manu has to come off the bench too. They are pretty much a package deal at this point. Without Manu, RJ is a spectator. I used to hold that theory as well ... but it hasn't played out that way in the playoffs. RJ has been spectator most of the time, with or without Manu. In fact, most of RJ's jumpers in the playoffs have come off of TP's penetration.

In the regular season, Manu's passing was allowing RJ to stay involved. But in the playoffs, that has changed. At most, Manu being on the floor with RJ is giving RJ one extra good look per game ... if that. Teams are focusing on transition defense so RJ won't get as many cheapies.

RJ needs to fend for himself. Rebound. Move to open spots. Attack the rim. Nobody can hold his hand at this point.

[ElNono]

eh, this was just like the mavs game one, nash was unconscious, and even then, we kept it close and could have won if the ball had bounced differently in a couple places.

GHill was just caught off guard defensively, and he'll do better in the rest of the series...

as long as we don't let them string together fast break points and 3s, and as long as we keep making Nash a scorer, and if Manu stops shooting ill-advised 3s, and everyone does a better job of finishing at the rim, we'll be in good shape

Is your boy Bonner going to show up?

[sa_butta]

We need to do a better job getting out on the shooters, they shoot the 3 ball so well. It also seemed like we were shooting some 3's when we didnt have to. We are not as good a 3pt shooting team as them and should not try to compete in that category. This is where we really needed Bonner and Mason.

Oh one other thing to add, drop Mason from the lineup all together, I dont even remember the last time he made a shot.

[DarrinS]

We need to do a better job getting out on the shooters, they shoot the 3 ball so well. It also seemed like we were shooting some 3's when we didnt have to. We are not as good a 3pt shooting team as them and should not try to compete in that category. This is where we really needed Bonner and Mason.

Oh one other thing to add, drop Mason from the lineup all together, I dont even remember the last time he made a shot.


Pick your poison. They were living in the paint too.


I agree with your last point. NO MAS MASON.

[Parker2112]

Start Tony. Trim George back to about 20-25 min per. Trim RMJ to 0. PLAY
GARRETT TEMPLE!!!!

[Brazil]

Make your damn FTs and rebound the damn ball !

[Big Empty]

Sit Matt Bonner.

[lefty]

We all know what Pop has to do


The question is if Pop is going to make those adjustments

He is so fucking stubborn; what does he see in Bonner and Mason? They are the opposite of what modern basketball players should be

Bonner should have played in the 50's; he reminds me of those unathletic white guys from the Minneapolis Lakers who were riding Mikan's domination

[nkdlunch]

release Mason, sign up Eduardo Najera

[Brazil]

eh, this was just like the mavs game one, nash was unconscious, and even then, we kept it close and could have won if the ball had bounced differently in a couple places.

GHill was just caught off guard defensively, and he'll do better in the rest of the series...

as long as we don't let them string together fast break points and 3s, and as long as we keep making Nash a scorer, and if Manu stops shooting ill-advised 3s, and everyone does a better job of finishing at the rim, we'll be in good shape

I disagree with you it was not like game 1 against the mavs not at all. We lost the mavs game 1 by 6 points with a huge FTs differential. The mavs didn't outplayed us totally like yesterday.
We have lost yesterday by 10 points with the same amount of FTs, the suns outrebounded us, they are deeper than the mavs. This serie is going to be tougher than the mavs one. I still believe but I'm more worried today than I was after mavs game 1.

[pawe]

Man, what happened to playing the best 5 players of the team to start the game. Phoenix does it, why cant pop do it? Is this his version of gimmick offense?
No more Mason, he seems so lost in the court.

[vander]

Is your boy Bonner going to show up?

I wish he would start hitting the open 3, but at least he guarded Stoudamire pretty well, better than TD.
he needs to learn to "pull the chair" when stoudamire lowers his shoulder and drives through him.

also, god help this team if it is actually dependent on Bonner hitting 3s to have a chance to win. no contending team is dependent on it's 6/7th best player

[blkroadrunners]

What are y'all's thoughts on this lineup for Gm2?

C Tim Duncan
PF Antonio McDyess
SF Keith Bogans
SG Manu Ginobili
PG Tony Parker


Bench
George Hill
DeJuan Blair
Richard Jefferson
Matt Bonner
Roger Mason
Garrett Temple
Ian Mahinmi

[ManuTastic]

The first half was horrible. But after that it was nothing to get too unhappy about. No unfixable problems there. Hill won't play that bad again. Tim was awful in the first half, he needs to wake the fuck up, and he will. Spurs historically don't play well until their backs are against the wall; I figured they'd lose this one, same as game 1 vs. Dallas. It's always the same. They'll make adjustments.
My theory is they're too cerebral a team: they have to know intellectually how to handle their opponent before they can actually do it physically. First half they were tentative, missed easy shots, didn't know whether to pass or shoot, all that shit that shows they're thinking too much. Once they get a theory in their heads about how to beat Phx, they will. I expect big bounceback games from Hill. And Tony looked good!

[slayermin]

Tim was awful in the first half, he needs to wake the fuck up, and he will.

Didn't you see Dragic fall into his knee? That shit was scary.

[TD 21]

I didn't claim that they didn't control the whole game. But despite ther commanding performance we were not too far away from winning the game. I'm trying to comment it, they shot their best and we shot one of our worst; and it was a close game under these situations.

Duncan didn't dominate as we hope, but i don't believe that Hill and RJ and helped us too much also. If at least one of those 2 guys could show a better performance, it would diminish the pressure over Duncan.

Yes the packed schedule of this series will affact Duncan badly, but it will affect Nash either. And we all know what will happen if Nash slows, it will hurt Suns too much. Not only the offensive production of Suns will decrease, but also their defense will be damaged.

Moreover Suns was not too bad from 3 point territory tonight, %35 is an ordinary average when you come to deeper play-offs and against Spurs. Even we assume that their regular average was %40, it means only 3 more points for Suns(8-20 instead of 7-20). But their 2 points performance is nowhere near to what they usually do. Their 2 points avarage was 34-59(%57.5) This is better than career play-off average of the most dominant center of game Shaq(%56). Moreover this was against a team like Spurs, not against a team like GS.

That's why you can call it fools gold, but i'm still not feeling to pessimistic after this game.

Here's the thing you fail to realize about this game: The Suns played a regular game by their standards. This wasn't one of those games where it was the best the opposition could play and the Spurs still had a legitimate chance to win the game coming down the stretch. Go look at their team stats throughout the regular season, then look at what they did last night. The scoring was dispensed differently than it usually is, but it was a typical Suns game all the same. You say their two point percentage was high, but their three point percentage was low.

Duncan was fine. Could he be and do the Spurs need him to be better? Yes, on both accounts. But at the same time, people are being too hard on him. The expectations are through the roof. He's 34 with bad knees and quad tendonosis. I don't care who's on him, at this late date in the season he's not going to throw up an efficient 30/15 (or thereabouts) more than on occasion.

Nash slowing is a bigger blow to the Suns than Duncan slowing is to the Spurs. Duncan will always be 6-11 with long arms, so he'll still be able to provide rim protection and rebounding, even on his bad days. Nash, on the other hand, controls the Suns offense. If he's hampered in any way, they're not winning this series. For as proficient as they are offensively, they don't have a lot of shot creators. Whereas the Spurs could easily play with the ball in the hands of Ginobili or Parker throughout a game, the Suns have no such option. It has to be Nash. That's why the Spurs need to put him on his ass when he comes down the lane, hope he falls awkwardly on his ailing hip and isn't the same for the remainder of the series.

Good for you that you're not feeling pessimistic. I was I could share your optimism, but I know better. The reality is the Spurs probably needed to win game one to win this series.