View Full Version : Bibby compares Heat's defense to 1999 Spurs
lefty
05-31-2011, 10:39 AM
Bibby compares Heat's defense to 1999 Spurs (http://projectspurs.com/2011-articles/may/bibby-compares-heats-defense-to-1999-spurs.html)
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Written by Jeff Garcia | 31 May 2011
Tonight the 2011 NBA Finals kick off in Miami as the Miami Heat and Dallas Mavericks square off once http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0cdG001gQ5cBk/x610.jpgagain since 2006. It will also mark Heat's Mike Bibby's first trip to the Finals and when asked about what got Miami to this point, he says it has been all about the team's defense.
In the same vein, he likens (http://blogs.sacbee.com/sports/kings/archives/2011/05/bibby-coaching.html) Miami's defense to the 1999 Spurs championship year defense when he was a rookie with the then Vancouver Grizzlies:
As for the team he joined in March, he repeatedly mentioned how impressed he was with the defense. "It reminds me of my first year in the league (with the Vancouver Grizzlies)," he continued. "I remember playing San Antonio. Everywhere I turned, there was somebody guarding me, helping out. They (Spurs) made it hard to do anything. I haven't had that again until I got here. It's all about defense, helping out.
Indeed the Spurs - during their dynasty years - proved defense wins championships. Miami is doing it in their current playoff run and the 1999 Spurs team defied an opposing team to score which led to the franchise's first NBA title. It also helped having one of the NBA's all-time defensive greats David Robinson and a young Tim Duncan patrolling the paint.
Hopefully the Spurs will get back to a defense-first mindset next season and once again look for title number five before Duncan and Manu Ginobili hang up their jerseys.
spurs777
05-31-2011, 10:40 AM
miami's defense is better than the Spurs in 99
ambchang
05-31-2011, 10:59 AM
Good to know that Bibby views the 1999 Spurs team as the gold standard of defense.
Ryan Fitzpatrick
05-31-2011, 11:35 AM
Miami's playoff defense is the best I've ever seen.
mingus
05-31-2011, 11:44 AM
Miamis defense is great but not as good as '99 Spurs.
mingus
05-31-2011, 11:47 AM
And like five months ago I said they had a chance to be the best defensive team ever, but I wanna see how they guard a legit seven footer. I think that's there weakness defensively and they'll be somewhat exposed there this series.
birdy219
05-31-2011, 11:58 AM
Miamis defense is great but not as good as '99 Spurs.
The Spurs front court defense is FAR superior to the Heat's :hat, but the Heat's perimeter defense is OUTSTANDING.:wow
I have enjoyed every minute of watching defense :corn:; I miss seeing that defensive effort on the Spurs. :depressed
The '03,'04, and '05 Spurs were all better than '99 AND this year's Miami team. The '99 team didn't have Bruce Bowen - don't underestimate how good he was on the perimeter.
Don't let the .4 shot re-write history for you. In 2004, the Spurs limited their opponents to just 84.3 PPG. (And that wasn't a lockout season.) That was an incredible defensive team, regardless of losing the series to the Lakers. Had the Finals matchup that year been between the Pistons and Spurs, it would have been the epic defensive battle of all time.
For that matter, the Pistons who won the Championship that year ('04) were a better defensive team than Miami is this year. That's not to take away from Miami - it's just fact.
lefty
05-31-2011, 12:48 PM
The Heat's defense is good, but they haven't faced great offensive teams in the playoffs
Rose is the only Bulls' scorer, Rondo can't shoot and KG and Green didnt have an impact offensively, and the Sixers don't have a lot of firepower either
But the Mavs....
spurs_fan_in_exile
05-31-2011, 01:29 PM
Similar in effect perhaps but quite different otherwise. The Heat are really, really aggressive out on the perimeter and they can be because they are so much more athletic than that 99 team ever was out there. They fucking swarm like a football defense, create a lot of turnovers and generally pressure and disrupt a team's flow all over the court. The 99 D (and the league in general) was much more physical all the way around and built on the Twin Towers.
When I say similar in effect I mean that it just seems to wear opponents down, mentally as much as anything. Just watching on TV you could (and can) feel an offense's frustration. Even the most aggressive of players seem to go from "Time to take it to them" to "Fuck, these guys again?"
PDXSpursFan
05-31-2011, 01:38 PM
The Heat defense is as good as it gets on the wings. But the real test comes now against Nowitzki.
21+20+9+50=4 Rings
05-31-2011, 01:42 PM
No way you can compare the two. We had the Twin Towers and Sean Elliott who was a waaay better defender than LeBron will ever be
spurs777
05-31-2011, 04:07 PM
the spurs 1999 defense wasn't anything special, Bowen was a pretty terrible defender back then even Joe Johnson would have dropped 40 on him regularly
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/9493/1999spurs.jpg
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=Finalists1-10
:wow :depressed
the spurs 1999 defense wasn't anything special, Bowen was a pretty terrible defender back then even Joe Johnson would have dropped 40 on him regularly
Yeah, I bet Joe Johnson would have dropped 100 on him... maybe 200. Bowen didn't even show up for the games back then.
Fuckstick. Bowen wasn't even with the Spurs until 01-02. And you're the one who said Miami's defense was way better than the '99 Spurs up above? Figures. I bet your other 12 posts are real gems, too.
Spursnlego
05-31-2011, 04:21 PM
But with less class :p:
Yeah, I bet Joe Johnson would have dropped 100 on him... maybe 200. Bowen didn't even show up for the games back then.
Fuckstick. Bowen wasn't even with the Spurs until 01-02. And you're the one who said Miami's defense was way better than the '99 Spurs up above? Figures. I bet your other 12 posts are real gems, too.
You got trolled.
spurs777
05-31-2011, 04:44 PM
Bowen didn't start to become a dominant defender till 2007, TD 2005.
lefty
05-31-2011, 06:27 PM
the spurs 1999 defense wasn't anything special, Bowen was a pretty terrible defender back then even Joe Johnson would have dropped 40 on him regularly
Didnt know Bowen was a Spur back then
Sleepy_Floyd
05-31-2011, 10:14 PM
It took 2 players to replace what sean Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Lu ck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_Luck_The_Fakers_ brought to the team in bowen and jax, sean was a lock down defender and excellent shooter and slasher. The combination of David and a young Tim Duncan made it impossible to get to the basket, 99 Spurs team peroid would of taken a giant shit all over the teams in the playoffs this year.
Sleepy_Floyd
05-31-2011, 10:15 PM
ahaha elliott :lol :downspin:gnsf
Josepatches_
05-31-2011, 11:04 PM
Overall I think Miami is as good as Spurs were but they are very different teams so you can't compare their defensive game.
Miami has his weakness but we had in 99 too
dbestpro
06-01-2011, 07:30 AM
Miami's playoff defense is the best I've ever seen.
Look at the tape of any Spurs or Pistons championship team and you have seen better. It's just that Dallas is the premiere choke team on the big stage and makes Miami's defense look better than it is.
Sec24Row7
06-01-2011, 07:41 AM
No way you can compare the two. We had the Twin Towers and Sean Elliott who was a waaay better defender than LeBron will ever be
:rolleyes
Trill Clinton
06-01-2011, 10:15 AM
No way you can compare the two. We had the Twin Towers and Sean Elliott who was a waaay better defender than LeBron will ever be
http://i944.photobucket.com/albums/ad289/bhilde1/o_oStareKattWilliams.gif
TDomination
06-01-2011, 11:55 AM
Overall I think Miami is as good as Spurs were but they are very different teams so you can't compare their defensive game.
This.
And the rules are different too, back then you could be more physical on the perimeters which allowed Mario Elie to be such an effective hard nosed defender.
Now you can't touch anyone on the perimeter without it being a foul. Luckily we got Bowen later on who was quick with his feet and was able to do wonders on the perimeter on defense.
I actually think Miami defense is more like the Jordan-Era (first three titles) Bulls defense Pippen/Jordan/Grant to a smaller extent). Not a great shotblocking tandem like Spurs 1999. Miami has two great defenders in Wade and Lebron that generate turnovers and steals, with respectable rotations from the other players.
And BTW, no way Sean E. was better defender than Lebron. Not even close. Lebron, like it or not, is a total package player as far as NBA skills go. We'll see if he has the intangibles, i.e. heart and passion to win.
johnnymoore
06-01-2011, 12:49 PM
Eff Bibby.
But HEAT D is suffocating.
Sean Cagney
06-01-2011, 02:09 PM
The '03,'04, and '05 Spurs were all better than '99 AND this year's Miami team. The '99 team didn't have Bruce Bowen - don't underestimate how good he was on the perimeter.
Don't let the .4 shot re-write history for you. In 2004, the Spurs limited their opponents to just 84.3 PPG. (And that wasn't a lockout season.) That was an incredible defensive team, regardless of losing the series to the Lakers. Had the Finals matchup that year been between the Pistons and Spurs, it would have been the epic defensive battle of all time.
For that matter, the Pistons who won the Championship that year ('04) were a better defensive team than Miami is this year. That's not to take away from Miami - it's just fact.
Right, I remember the Pistons and SA having flat out suffocating DEFENSE in 04 and setting that record! Those D's were the best or one of the best I had seen.
GOOD LORD I miss the SPURS D.
The real problem with Detroit of 2004/2005 was that it was all defense and little to no offense.
"or whether you're big time, like Mike Bibby"
mingus
06-01-2011, 03:47 PM
I don't know if there will ever be a better defensive team than the 99 Spurs. They basically had 2 Dwight Howards in the paint defensively to put it in today's terms.
tmtcsc
06-02-2011, 10:13 PM
The '03,'04, and '05 Spurs were all better than '99 AND this year's Miami team. The '99 team didn't have Bruce Bowen - don't underestimate how good he was on the perimeter.
No way, no how is that a true statement. When the 1999 team needed a stop, it got it. A younger David Robinson with Tim Duncan made the lane practically impenetrable.
Not only was the 1999 team the best defensive team the Spurs ever had, that was most likely one of the best defenses in league history.
When Sean hit the memorial day miracle against Portland, some people forget that there was still about 7 to 9 seconds left. Still, it felt like a done deal. We were not going to allow Portland to score. Ok, so Williams got off a shot but everything was tough.
tmtcsc
06-02-2011, 10:16 PM
Not even close. Lebron, like it or not, is a total package player as far as NBA skills go. We'll see if he has the intangibles, i.e. heart and passion to win.
That mouth piece chewing grunt makes me ill. I am so glad we SWEPT that sorry excuse for a team leader right out of the finals. Nothing but a quitter and immature poor sport.
He had every right to leave Cleveland but they way he did it is unforgivable. I hope he never gets a ring. And yet, I hate the Mavericks. Too bad the Mavericks didn't get him. He'd be a perfect fit to run with Jason Terry. Douche bags.
No way, no how is that a true statement. When the 1999 team needed a stop, it got. A younger David Robinson with Tim Duncan made the lane practically impenetrable.
Not only was the 1999 team the best defensive team the Spurs ever had, that was most likely one of the best defenses in league history.
If we don't agree now, we never will - no matter what the other one says. The '99 team played great defense, I won't argue that. There are a couple of reasons I think the later teams were better overall, defensively: It was the lockout season, and after 50 games none of the offenses around the league were stellar. The '99 team limited opponents to 84.7 PPG, while the '04 team (full season) held their opponents to 84.3 PPG. And Bruce Bowen had the ability to shut down the best player on the opposing team, most nights. I still remember Ray Allen going nuts on everyone - except the Spurs. I agree that the '99 team was better in the paint, but I think those later teams were better overall defensively.
Arguing about it is pointless. Either way, all of those Spurs teams had the ability to shut the other team down defensively, when the game was on the line. It felt like they could hold an opponent scoreless for the last 4-5 minutes of a game, almost at will. Tonight's game is a good example that this Heat squad isn't up to that level.
tmtcsc
06-02-2011, 11:10 PM
If we don't agree now, we never will - no matter what the other one says. Arguing about it is pointless. Either way, all of those Spurs teams had the ability to shut the other team down defensively, when the game was on the line. It felt like they could hold an opponent scoreless for the last 4-5 minutes of a game, almost at will. Tonight's game is a good example that this Heat squad isn't up to that level.
Fair enough.
Sean Cagney
06-03-2011, 12:44 AM
NOT EVEN CLOSE! Spurs of 99 would have won that game easily.
Axe Murderer
06-03-2011, 01:08 AM
NOT EVEN CLOSE! Spurs of 99 would have won that game easily.
This.
Another thing people aren't realizing is that the Heat are actually leaving a ton of guys open for three but the Mavs have just been missing the shots or the guy getting double teamed just can't see them. I have a feeling this will be exposed big time in Dallas since the Mavs will be comfortable on their home floor
Jason Kidd and Stevenson have gotten a ton of WIDE open looks. No way the 99 Spurs have this many breakdowns
41times
06-06-2011, 03:28 PM
Miami's playoff run so far this year
Philly 86.6 ppg
Boston 91.0 ppg
Chicago 87.2 ppg
Dallas 88.7 ppg
I am not sure if it is their quickness or athleticism or what but they just don't give up many easy shots.
cantthinkofanything
06-06-2011, 03:45 PM
Miami's playoff run so far this year
Philly 86.6 ppg
Boston 91.0 ppg
Chicago 87.2 ppg
Dallas 88.7 ppg
I am not sure if it is their quickness or athleticism or what but they just don't give up many easy shots.
That's a little misleading. They really haven't played anyone.
galvatron3000
06-06-2011, 05:33 PM
One thing about the 99 Spurs, they beat a offensively stacked Portland team, that team was a defensive beast inside and out with emphasis inside. Jaren Jackson, Sean Elliott, Mario Elie, David Robinson, Tim Duncan, is nothing to laugh at but neither is Robinson, Duncan, Stephen Jackson, Bruce Bowen, Manu, or throw in Horry on '05. Nothing to sneeze at either way.
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