So, why did the Spurs go away from the run&gun?..

[HarlemHeat37]

I’m usually very critical of Pop, but I made multiple threads, earlier in the season, applauding him for altering the style of play of these Spurs, to a style that plays to their strengths, and attempts to mask their weaknesses..a style of play that would allow the Spurs to counter bigger teams, such as the Lakers, by running on them(albeit probably unsuccessful, but it would still have given them a chance IMO)..

Through December, the Spurs were 3rd in fast break points, and a top 5 team in pace..not a coincidence, this helped lead the Spurs to the best record in the NBA, by a significant margin, and it emphasized the strength of this team, which was running and shooting 3s..not only that, but the Spurs were also the 6th ranked defense, at that point, using a “best defense is offense” philosophy..

Whether this style of play would translate to the playoffs is irrelevant..this Spurs team was not a contender, coming into the season, but this style of play helped elevate them, and give them a new identity..players like Jefferson and Bonner had a use, in this system, where their strengths were emphasized, especially Jefferson in a fast break system..

For some reason, they decided to go back to a traditional style of play, which clearly hasn’t worked out for this team..since the switch, they have still been a pretty good team, but they have looked more like last year’s Spurs team, a 2nd round exit, far from dominant..

The Spurs ended the season 14th in pace, a huge fall from where they started..they ended up 8th in fast break points, 5 spots down from where they peaked..the defense fell 5 spots from where they peaked, as a running team..

With no size and a limited amount of defensive players, why did they decide to switch back a more traditional style of play?..was it the wrong decision?..

[silverblk mystix]

I thought that Memphis's defense took away the spurs up tempo game...they suffocated the spurs offense with very, very physical and active defense....

[DarrinS]

I thought that Memphis's defense took away the spurs up tempo game...they suffocated the spurs offense with very, very physical and active defense....

this

[MaNu4Tres]

It's on the guards/wings' defense more than anything to be honest.

In the beginning of the year Parker, Hill, Manu, and even Jefferson were very active on the defensive end- making deflections, getting steals, securing long rebounds and forcing the ball down the opponents throat in the open court very frequently.

For whatever reason, as the season wore on, the defensive effort out of the wings drastically changed. Which can lead to the change of pace, because as we all know good active defense(steals/deflections) leads to easy transition offense.

Seriously though, in the beginning of the year the guards and wings were very focused and active aggressors on the defensive end-- For whatever reason that all disappeared as the season wore on as they displayed very conservative defensive activity; which is now very evident in the playoffs.

That's the main reason for the change of pace imo..

[HarlemHeat37]

I thought that Memphis's defense took away the spurs up tempo game...they suffocated the spurs offense with very, very physical and active defense....

Memphis has done a good job, in that regard, but the Spurs stopped running months ago, well before this series..they played much slower during the 2nd half of the season..

[HarlemHeat37]

It's on the guards/wings' defense more than anything to be honest.

In the beginning of the year Parker, Hill, Manu, and even Jefferson were very active on the defensive end- making deflections, getting steals, securing long rebounds and forcing the ball down the opponents throat in the open court very frequently.

For whatever reason, as the season wore on, the defensive effort out of the wings drastically changed. Which can lead to the change of pace, because as we all know good active defense(steals/deflections) leads to easy transition offense.

Seriously though, in the beginning of the year the guards and wings were very focused and active aggressors on the defensive end-- For whatever reason that all disappeared as the season wore on as they displayed very conservative defensive activity; which is now very evident in the playoffs.

That's the main reason for the change of pace imo..

Great point..the first Lakers game might be the best example, too, where the Spurs guards ran all over them, on both ends of the floor..

The defensive intensity definitely took a downfall, on the perimeter, especially from Parker, Jefferson and Hill IMO..Parker playing the passing lanes was deadly, earlier in the season..

[Warlord23]

The viability of run-and-gun depends on:
1. Energy of the guards/wings
2. Confident and fearless scoring, both at the rim and from deep
3. The opponent having a less-than-stellar transition D

1. Our energy was questionable throughout this series. As Manu4tres said, the guards/wings didn't show enough defensive effort, and the bigs weren't able to secure rebounds and make the quick outlet (only Timmy was able to do this somewhat regularly, most rebounds were secured after a lot of banging in the paint)
2. The Spurs struggled to score overall, turning it over frequently when breaking toward the rim. The shooting was also hopeless.
3. In the playoffs, a good defensive team will take away transition offense, which is why run and gun isn't suited for the post season. The Spurs should know this well, given that they shut the door on D'Antoni three times in 4 years.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

I thought that Memphis's defense took away the spurs up tempo game...they suffocated the spurs offense with very, very physical and active defense....

Not really. This is not the same offense as we had earlier in the season.

For anyone paying attention, Pop let the team run and gun until the All-Star break, then shifted into corporate knowledge / old Spurs basketball after the break.

Problem was, his team isn't built for that.

[DBMethos]

It's looking more and more like Pop just wasn't comfortable with the uptempo running game, despite the great results in the standings. As such, he quietly shifted the gameplan to a hybrid of the run-n-gun and the traditional Spurs' system, with the result being a half-assed version that doesn't do either one very well.

[Dex]

Not really. This is not the same offense as we had earlier in the season.

For anyone paying attention, Pop let the team run and gun until the All-Star break, then shifted into corporate knowledge / old Spurs basketball after the break.

Problem was, his team isn't built for that.

It's like Pop totally scrapped all of the success that they had during the regular season, just so he could "take another try" with the same old team and same old tactics from last year.

Since Neal has been doing his best Mason impression, the only difference has been exchanging a green rookie Blair for an even greener rookie Splitter.

[Muser]

Memphis has done a good job, in that regard, but the Spurs stopped running months ago, well before this series..they played much slower during the 2nd half of the season..

I've been wondering this, the Spurs were normally good for 1/2 Parker to RJ Alley Oops a game which would normally get RJ going, haven't seen one of them in months.

[TDfan2007]

Because Pop knew that it was a gimmick scheme meant for one purpose and one purpose only: keep Manu and Tim fresh for the playoffs, especially Tim. Pop hoped to groom our run and gun into a playoff ready offense toward the end of the season. However, he started too late and forgot about Splitter's development. Pop's tardiness combined with Tim's injury threw his plans of getting our guys used to a playoff system into the shitter.

Therefore what we're left with now is a team that doesn't know what can it can/wants to play. They occassionally run the break, run a lot of pick and roll, and occasionally try and score off off-ball movement/cutting. Problem is that they forgot about the big guy. Timmy is not touching the ball enough throughout games. Timmy needs to put more pressure on the defense of Memphis' bigs, and thus far he hasn't had a chance to do so.

Our sputtering offense has also put far too much pressure on a defense that is inconsistent at best.

Essentially, poor coaching and injury prevented this team from developing a rhythm with an offensive sytem conducive to playoff success.

[DesignatedT]

Because Pop knew that it was a gimmick scheme meant for one purpose and one purpose only: keep Manu and Tim fresh for the playoffs, especially Tim. Pop hoped to groom our run and gun into a playoff ready offense toward the end of the season. However, he started too late and forgot about Splitter's development. Pop's tardiness combined with Tim's injury threw his plans of getting our guys used to a playoff system into the shitter.

Therefore what we're left with now is a team that doesn't know what can it can/wants to play. They occassionally run the break, run a lot of pick and roll, and occasionally try and score off off-ball movement/cutting. Problem is that they forgot about the big guy. Timmy is not touching the ball enough throughout games. Timmy needs to put more pressure on the defense of Memphis' bigs, and thus far he hasn't had a chance to do so.

Our sputtering offense has also put far too much pressure on a defense that is inconsistent at best.

Essentially, poor coaching and injury prevented this team from developing a rhythm with an offensive sytem conducive to playoff success.

Seems like this pretty much sums it up. This team has no identity. Doesn't know what it wants to do.

[blizz]

BS...not a gimmick when you whip everyone's ass. They went away from it and you see what's happened over the past few months and this is what we're left with. Tim just cannot do it anymore. He has nothing and if we don't run we're done.

[DaBears]

Spurs did not- just stop all of a sudden.. Grizzles took it away from them.. And to be quite honest did it pretty easily..
Spurs coaching staff and players did not have a game plan against that.
And that my fellow Spurs fan is poor coaching.. A good coach can adapt and over come..

Now the players them selves did not adjust either.. Maybe they were just too old to keep up wit the younger hungrier Grizzles..

[Isitjustme?]

Not really. This is not the same offense as we had earlier in the season.

For anyone paying attention, Pop let the team run and gun until the All-Star break, then shifted into corporate knowledge / old Spurs basketball after the break.

Problem was, his team isn't built for that.

Guess I wasn't paying attention then :rolleyes

[spurtech09]

so spurs to have a chance they need to go back to running and gunning.....

[Cane]

The Spurs simply haven't looked anything like what we've seen in the regular season or even the first round last year. Like what Sean was saying on the broadcast, the Spurs have been making terrible decisions which is reminiscent of the inexplicable meltdowns that led to the Spurs losing the no.1 overall record. Things like Parker and RJ going for a rebound and somehow losing it out of bounds.

Give plenty of credit to Memphis but imo this team's fragile mojo started to fade when Duncan and Manu got injured. Parker has been a turnover machine and looks like Beno Udrih out there; even Rondo has a better jumper than Tony nowadays. The Spurs have had too many costly turnovers that turned into huge momentum runs for the athletic and confident Grizz. They're also getting bullied by the younger, bigger, stronger, and more athletic Grizz players.




I've been wondering this, the Spurs were normally good for 1/2 Parker to RJ Alley Oops a game which would normally get RJ going, haven't seen one of them in months.

Seemed like it was an easily scouted-out play to defend against.

[Venti Quattro]

I'm surprised you ask this. Cos it won't win a championship...?

[leemajors]

I'm surprised you ask this. Cos it won't win a championship...?

Might get you outta the first round tho

[rmt]

The viability of run-and-gun depends on:
1. Energy of the guards/wings
2. Confident and fearless scoring, both at the rim and from deep
3. The opponent having a less-than-stellar transition D

1. Our energy was questionable throughout this series. As Manu4tres said, the guards/wings didn't show enough defensive effort, and the bigs weren't able to secure rebounds and make the quick outlet (only Timmy was able to do this somewhat regularly, most rebounds were secured after a lot of banging in the paint)
2. The Spurs struggled to score overall, turning it over frequently when breaking toward the rim. The shooting was also hopeless.
3. In the playoffs, a good defensive team will take away transition offense, which is why run and gun isn't suited for the post season. The Spurs should know this well, given that they shut the door on D'Antoni three times in 4 years.

This.

All year long the Spurs have had great depth and help from the bench. Sometimes, I actually thought the 2nd unit was equal to if not better than the starters. With the playoffs, each possession is valuable and the starters are playing more minutes/tired and the energy necessary to run is not there. So one of their great strengths (the bench) is neutralized by Pop's rotation.



Spurs did not- just stop all of a sudden.. Grizzles took it away from them.. And to be quite honest did it pretty easily..
Spurs coaching staff and players did not have a game plan against that.
And that my fellow Spurs fan is poor coaching.. A good coach can adapt and over come..

Now the players them selves did not adjust either.. Maybe they were just too old to keep up wit the younger hungrier Grizzles..

Pop really is stubborn. Playoffs are all about adjustments and he's still defending Conley the same way. Why not try something different - hedge with the big man, go over the screen, trap him - something other than watching Conley make jumper after jumper.

He is so arrogant - believing that his system, his game plan, corporate knowledge and team defense will overcome this young, hungry defense-minded team. They remind me of the old Spurs defense - hard-nosed, grind it out. "Our shots just didn't fall" is the worst excuse to bolster the team and expecting them to execute and play error-free b-ball is fool's gold. Mem's defense is putting a spoke in that and playing soft interior defense with Bonner/Blair makes for a tired, frustrated Spurs team trying to cover for their inadequacies.

[Venti Quattro]

Might get you outta the first round tho

Yeah, but the Spurs drew a team that can run and can mix it up inside.

[024]

Probably since pop knew the truth. This new offense is an abomination though. This team doesn't have the personnel to play a disciplined half court offense and defense. If pop wanted to do this in the playoffs, there should have been some trades.

[Chomag]

Because the Gizz are in full control of the games. They are getting exactly what they want for themselves and for the Spurs.

I honestly hate saying this (feel sick) but simply put the Grizzlies have made the Spurs their bitch in this series.

[ginobili fan]

The thing is POP has no answer anymore the past two years...