Marcus Bryant
06-20-2005, 02:10 PM
I thought this was a good summary of Pop's adjustments in Game 5.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime?page=dailydime-050619
Pop on top of Game 5
By John Hollinger, ESPN.com
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Robert Horry hit the big shots, but the man who might have been the Spurs' MVP on Sunday didn't make any shots, or grab any rebounds, or block any shots.
Instead, it was Gregg Popovich's adjustments, both before the game and during, that enabled the Spurs to recover from two one-sided losses and steal Game 5 in Detroit.
Popovich's first challenge was to eliminate the plague of turnovers that led to so many easy transition points for the Pistons in Games 3 and 4.
His two-pronged response was masterful. First, Popovich yanked backup point guard Beno Udrih from the rotation. With eight turnovers in 43 minutes, Udrih's miscues were playing right into Detroit's hands.
Instead, Manu Ginobili was his backup "point guard" in Game 5. Tony Parker played 45 of the 53 minutes, but when Parker went out it was the two-headed guard of Ginobili and Brent Barry that handled the ball and managed to keep it in the Spurs' hands most of the time.
At the same time, Popovich made a second adjustment – he would not allow any Spur other than Parker to bring the ball up against Detroit's Lindsey Hunter. If Hunter guarded Ginobili, then Barry would bring it up. If Hunter guarded Barry, then Ginobili would bring it up. At one point, he even put Devin Brown in the game to bring the ball up because Hunter was matched up on Ginobili. Forced to play off the ball, Hunter couldn't force the Spurs into traps as he did the previous two games.
Popovich also adjusted the defense late in the game by switching Bruce Bowen onto Chauncey Billups, who was destroying Parker. But with Bowen on him in the game's final six minutes, Billups shot 1-for-5.
However, those moves by Popovich pale in comparison to one last adjustment that nobody is talking about but is easily the most important – he stuck with Horry. It's easy to call this a no-brainer in hindsight, but that greatly underestimates what a difficult decision this was.
In the first half, Horry looked completely overmatched. He played 15 minutes without scoring, missed all three shots and looked terrified every time he went to the basket. The other Spurs had played extremely well, but the game was tied at halftime largely because Horry was keeping Detroit in the game.
If Popovich had yanked Horry after that dismal first half, nobody would have blamed him. Instead, he left Horry in position to do his thing. And when Rasheed Wallace had one of the greatest playoff brain cramps, leaving a sizzling Horry wide open at the 3-point line while he doubled Ginobili in the corner, it was Horry who was there to make Detroit pay.
"It was supposed to be a pick-and-roll with [Tim Duncan]," said Horry. "I saw Rasheed bite and I said, 'Oh, let me stay out here.' I just got the ball back, since I was shooting well I wanted to let it fly."
Horry's shot gave the Spurs a 3-2 series lead, so Popovich's reward for his move will in all likelihood be his third NBA championship. The changes he made – to replace Udrih and avoid dribbling against Hunter – certainly proved important. But sometimes it's the moves you don't make that are the best. Horry in Game 5 was a perfect example.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs2005/dailydime?page=dailydime-050619
Pop on top of Game 5
By John Hollinger, ESPN.com
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – Robert Horry hit the big shots, but the man who might have been the Spurs' MVP on Sunday didn't make any shots, or grab any rebounds, or block any shots.
Instead, it was Gregg Popovich's adjustments, both before the game and during, that enabled the Spurs to recover from two one-sided losses and steal Game 5 in Detroit.
Popovich's first challenge was to eliminate the plague of turnovers that led to so many easy transition points for the Pistons in Games 3 and 4.
His two-pronged response was masterful. First, Popovich yanked backup point guard Beno Udrih from the rotation. With eight turnovers in 43 minutes, Udrih's miscues were playing right into Detroit's hands.
Instead, Manu Ginobili was his backup "point guard" in Game 5. Tony Parker played 45 of the 53 minutes, but when Parker went out it was the two-headed guard of Ginobili and Brent Barry that handled the ball and managed to keep it in the Spurs' hands most of the time.
At the same time, Popovich made a second adjustment – he would not allow any Spur other than Parker to bring the ball up against Detroit's Lindsey Hunter. If Hunter guarded Ginobili, then Barry would bring it up. If Hunter guarded Barry, then Ginobili would bring it up. At one point, he even put Devin Brown in the game to bring the ball up because Hunter was matched up on Ginobili. Forced to play off the ball, Hunter couldn't force the Spurs into traps as he did the previous two games.
Popovich also adjusted the defense late in the game by switching Bruce Bowen onto Chauncey Billups, who was destroying Parker. But with Bowen on him in the game's final six minutes, Billups shot 1-for-5.
However, those moves by Popovich pale in comparison to one last adjustment that nobody is talking about but is easily the most important – he stuck with Horry. It's easy to call this a no-brainer in hindsight, but that greatly underestimates what a difficult decision this was.
In the first half, Horry looked completely overmatched. He played 15 minutes without scoring, missed all three shots and looked terrified every time he went to the basket. The other Spurs had played extremely well, but the game was tied at halftime largely because Horry was keeping Detroit in the game.
If Popovich had yanked Horry after that dismal first half, nobody would have blamed him. Instead, he left Horry in position to do his thing. And when Rasheed Wallace had one of the greatest playoff brain cramps, leaving a sizzling Horry wide open at the 3-point line while he doubled Ginobili in the corner, it was Horry who was there to make Detroit pay.
"It was supposed to be a pick-and-roll with [Tim Duncan]," said Horry. "I saw Rasheed bite and I said, 'Oh, let me stay out here.' I just got the ball back, since I was shooting well I wanted to let it fly."
Horry's shot gave the Spurs a 3-2 series lead, so Popovich's reward for his move will in all likelihood be his third NBA championship. The changes he made – to replace Udrih and avoid dribbling against Hunter – certainly proved important. But sometimes it's the moves you don't make that are the best. Horry in Game 5 was a perfect example.