Will Pop go against the accepted norm in the playoffs?

[phyzik]

The mass concesus is that one must shorten the rotation in the playoffs to your best 6-9 players for best results (depending on the matchup) and sticking to those guns. Im not so sure thats the best way to go about it with this Spurs team and I have a feeling (hope) Pop wont go with the conventional 8 man rotation this year. We just have too many weapons to let go to waste on the bench during any given game.

Not only do the Spurs have a good chance at a title, they have a good chance at challenging the norm by going against the accepted belief of shortening the rotation for the playoffs. Winning the whole thing would be a feat in itself, no doubt, but imagine doing it with the same rotation we have had all season long (with a bit of cherry picking here and there).... It would be unprecidented in this era of basketball.

The Spurs have a chance to buck the trend of current NBA standards of setting up "super teams" with shitty benches and the way the game is played in general. IF they make it that far and take it all, the implications could be league wide and I say the NBA would be better for it. The average fan might not like it, but it could be a new age for basketball purist.

What do you think Pop will do in the playoffs? Shorten the rotation or go with an onslaught of fresh legs throughout a series? Or will he mix up the linup depending on the matchup?

[Arcadian]

It needs to be at LEAST a ten-man rotation. How could it possibly be any shorter?

PG - Parker/Neal/Mills (pick two)
SG - Green/Ginobili
SF - Leonard/Jackson
PF - Diaw/Bonner/Blair (pick two)
C - Duncan/Splitter

So yeah...for the Spurs, it's a 10-12 man rotation.

[Manu-20]

Spurs roatation is going to be this

PG-Parker/Neal
SG-Green/Ginobili
SF-Leonard/Jackson
PF-Diaw/Bonner
C-Duncan/Splitter

Thats a championship team there and also our second unit is probably better than a couple of starting lineups in the nba.

[jesterbobman]

Most teams go short to have better players playing. For us, there's not a chasm of difference between S-Jax and Green and Leonard, Or between Bonner and Splitter and Diaw. Should be a 10 man rotation with 3 spares(Blair, Anderson, Mills) but a slight movement in minutes towards Duncan, Manu & Parker(They play slightly more)

[ace3g]

I think Pop will use a 9-10 man rotation in the playoffs and coincidentally the Spurs starting line up isn't built around their top 5 players. Gives Pop the ability to make subs based on how the game unfolds. How are teams in the playoffs going to deal with the Spurs bench when we sub in Manu, SJAX, Neal, Bonner, and Splitter. In a way it forces other teams to play their top players extended minutes (fatigue sets in), while Pop can use a balanced attack, especially if a series goes 6-7 games.

[phyzik]

I think Pop will use a 9-10 man rotation in the playoffs and coincidentally the Spurs starting line up isn't built around their top 5 players. Gives Pop the ability to make subs based on how the game unfolds. How are teams in the playoffs going to deal with the Spurs bench when we sub in Manu, SJAX, Neal, Bonner, and Splitter. In a way it forces other teams to play their top players extended minutes (fatigue sets in), while Pop can used a balanced attack, especially if a series goes 6-7 games.

Thats pretty much my line of thinking... war of attrition.

Teams might have better specialists groups but we can throw waves at them like no one else... they will tire themsleves out over a 7 game series if not succumb to our superior offense.

At least thats my hope and I think thats what Pop is banking on.

[mabrignani]

james anderson got left out of your sig

[angelbelow]

Against the Jazz/Suns, I'd expect Pop to utilize depth and manage minutes. However, against some of the more competitive teams like Memphis, LA Lakers, and the Thunder, I would expect to see something like this:

7 players will see 20 minutes or more:
Duncan, Diaw, Leonard, Ginobili, Parker, Jackson, Splitter

The next 3 will get 12-18 minutes a game depending on match ups.:
Bonner, Green, Neal.

Garbage minutes:
Blair, Anderson and Mills.

WCSF/WCF/Finals minutes allocation:
C: Duncan - 35 mpg
PF: Diaw - 25 mpg
SF: Leonard 24 mpg
SG: Ginobili - 30 mpg
PG: Parker - 36 mpg
6th: Jackson- 25 mpg
7th: Splitter - 22 mpg
8th: Bonner - 14 mpg
9th: Neal - 12 mpg
10th: Green - 15 mpg

[phyzik]

[unecesarry post apparently, used to the NBA forums] :lol

[therealtruth]

Thats pretty much my line of thinking... war of attrition.

Teams might have better specialists groups but we can throw waves at them like no one else... they will tire themsleves out over a 7 game series if not succumb to our superior offense.

At least thats my hope and I think thats what Pop is banking on.

The Mavs used that strategy pretty well. I think if the Spurs can defend good enough they're a lock.

[polandprzem]

I've mentioned that somewhere on this board few days ago and I think Pop might do just that and go with 10man rotation for the most part of the playoffs.
I mean every guy knows his role and even with this rotation the spurs play fluent ball and tha't the most important thing.

The issue is the minutes, as all season long all spurs players were limited. They cannot just go now for ~40 minutes.

Usually it's 8man
Pop can play the 1st r with 12 man but I doubt he will.
10 man is okay. Spurs also can play against different teams with not big matchup problems, they can adjust better to others then others to the spurs.

[Fireball]

No reason not to play with 10 men ... we really can tire out the other teams even more after that hard regular season ...

[100%duncan]

As many have said, 10-man rotation tops. While other teams will do an 8-man rotation

[Outlier]

Coach Pop will be the first to do it. SWAG

[Splits]

9-10 man rotation won us a chip in 07, even though there's not a lot of love for Vaughn and Barry as contributors in that run. There is no precedent that says playing a 7-8 man rotation in the playoffs is "the recipe". The prime advantage is that the Spurs have the versatility to adjust to matchups and force the other team into their tempo or matchup accordingly.

I would hate to try to coach against this team in a 7 game series, just too many weapons if the ball movement continues to be as crisp as it has been the last 8 weeks of the season.

[Spursfanfromafar]

Pop will choose from a 10 man rotation, as many have pointed out..

I think this is the lineup he will close with in most games in the crunch -

Parker, Ginobili, Jackson, Bonner/Leonard/Splitter, Duncan ..

If he is going to adopt small ball, Leonard will close instead of Bonner.. If he is playing the Lakers/Bulls/Grizzlies, he could finish with Splitter and if he is playing others, he might most likely close with Bonner.

Neal and Diaw will be available situationally.

[SA210]

I've said before, it would be ridiculous to shorten the lineup. We need to use our weapons. We have too many of them. That's our advantage.

[TampaDude]

I've said before, it would be ridiculous to shorten the lineup. We need to use our weapons. We have too many of them. That's our advantage.

^ this :toast

[Wild Cobra Kai]

Most teams play 7/8 because that's all they really have. We have 10/11 ready to lock and load.

[Russo21]

Nobody knows what the fuck Pop has in his stealth CIA crazy mind. Predicting what he will do is futile.

[emanueldavidginobili]

tbh honest this team is built for a champsionship, the spurs are so deep and everyone knows their role, and the ball movement lately is just text book. Its been a pleasure this season watching all these young guys getting better by the game...Danny Green has been a joy to watch. Pop has to go with the 10 man rotation but give Tony Manu and Tim some more minutes and I'd like to see Jax and Boris play more in the playoffs.

[Keepin' it real]

Spurs can disprove two NBA truths in this year's playoffs:

1. Star power > depth (so yes, i think Pop will go against the norm and play a 10-man rotation)
2. Defense wins championships

Will be verrrrry interesting to watch.

[elbamba]

I think the further the Spurs go, the more shorten the lineup should be. You don't want to wear the Big three down like 2008 so they are out of gas in the WCF.

[TheSkeptic]

Spurs can disprove two NBA truths in this year's playoffs:

1. Star power > depth (so yes, i think Pop will go against the norm and play a 10-man rotation)
2. Defense wins championships

Will be verrrrry interesting to watch.

Not really.

1. I thought the Pistons did a decent job of proving it could be done if your teamwork was good enough. The Spurs would just be continuing the tradition.

2. The Spurs are still mostly offensively oriented but have been playing better defense as of late. Wasn't there a thread showing that the D has been getting better since the trade and that it's actually been very solid these last few games?

Assuming the team's defensive efficiency makes it into the top 10 for the playoffs that wouldn't exactly disprove the old "defense wins championships" adage...

[cheguevara]

doesn't matter how many we play. Goal #1 in round 1 is to win it in 4. regardless wether we play 8, 10 or 12 deep

again, it's key we dispose of #8 in as few games as possible.

[SA210]

doesn't matter how many we play. Goal #1 in round 1 is to win it in 4. regardless wether we play 8, 10 or 12 deep

again, it's key we dispose of #8 in as few games as possible.

It would be awesome if we came out the gates with that killer instinct. All the way thru the playoffs.

[Spursmania]

Assistant Coach Brown confirmed on the radio after the game on Sunday that Pop will stick to using a 10 man rotation and will not shorten the rotation to 8 players like many teams do. He said this team brought the goods and Pop will stick with them.

[dunkman]

That's what has me worried tbh, however Duncan and Manu can't play +35 mpg and the second 5 best players have starter quality. After some playoff games it will be clear if the RS was fools gold.

[TJastal]

Spurs roatation is going to be this

PG-Parker/Neal
SG-Green/Ginobili
SF-Leonard/Jackson
PF-Diaw/Bonner
C-Duncan/Splitter

Thats a championship team there and also our second unit is probably better than at least half of the starting lineups in the nba.

fify

[timvp]

The mass concesus is that one must shorten the rotation in the playoffs to your best 6-9 players for best results (depending on the matchup) and sticking to those guns. Im not so sure thats the best way to go about it with this Spurs team and I have a feeling (hope) Pop wont go with the conventional 8 man rotation this year. We just have too many weapons to let go to waste on the bench during any given game.

Not only do the Spurs have a good chance at a title, they have a good chance at challenging the norm by going against the accepted belief of shortening the rotation for the playoffs. Winning the whole thing would be a feat in itself, no doubt, but imagine doing it with the same rotation we have had all season long (with a bit of cherry picking here and there).... It would be unprecidented in this era of basketball.

The Spurs have a chance to buck the trend of current NBA standards of setting up "super teams" with shitty benches and the way the game is played in general. IF they make it that far and take it all, the implications could be league wide and I say the NBA would be better for it. The average fan might not like it, but it could be a new age for basketball purist.

What do you think Pop will do in the playoffs? Shorten the rotation or go with an onslaught of fresh legs throughout a series? Or will he mix up the linup depending on the matchup?

Great post and I agree that Pop should at least start with a ten-man rotation. If things go sour he can adjust but from the get-go, he should just try to continue this regular season dominance. Since it's unprecedented, who knows if it will end up working ... but it'd be unwise not to at least try.

I also think Pop should continue to somewhat limit minutes in the playoffs. In the perfect world, he'd bump the Big 3 up to 40 MPG ... but I don't think they'd survive the run.

I'm thinking something like:

C Duncan 34
C Splitter 15

PF Diaw 23
PF Bonner 20

SF Leonard 24
SF Jackson 21

SG Green 25
SG Ginobili 28

PG Parker 34
PG Neal 15



Of course we'd probably all like to believe Pop would transfer at least six of Bonner's minutes to Splitter ... but that is unlikely to happen.

[rjv]

usually at this time of the year, you'll see a coach narrowing the rotation and pop never seemed to do this. then again, pop also had to rest players. one would think that we will probably go deeper than eight though.

[sprrs]

If there was ever a time to try a 10-man rotation in the playoffs, it would be this year with the shortened season. Hopefully players are more tired than usual which means the Spurs bench will do even better against them.

[DesignatedT]

10 man for Spurs.

Tony/Neal
Green/Manu
Leonard/Jack
Diaw/Bonner
Duncan/Splitter

[therealtruth]

2. The Spurs are still mostly offensively oriented but have been playing better defense as of late. Wasn't there a thread showing that the D has been getting better since the trade and that it's actually been very solid these last few games?

Assuming the team's defensive efficiency makes it into the top 10 for the playoffs that wouldn't exactly disprove the old "defense wins championships" adage...

I think the question is going to come down to how well the Spurs can play against the very good defensive teams. The good defensive teams will focus on taking out the role players. That means there will be more pressure on the big 3 to step up. That's where the defense becomes much more important because the Spurs won't be able to score as easily.

[TD 21]

He can and he will. I'm not sure why so many are acting as if the playoff rotation is some great mystery. It's pretty straightforward.

Obviously, some of this is match-up dependent, as well as based on how well certain players are playing, but for the most part, in non blowout games, we're probably looking at something like this . . .

Diaw (28 mpg), Bonner (20 mpg)
Leonard (18 mpg), Jackson (24 mpg)
Duncan (34 mpg), Splitter (14 mpg)
Green (24 mpg), Ginobili (30 mpg)
Parker (38 mpg), Neal (10 mpg)

As far as the Spurs starting a trend, I don't see it. This is a near impossible situation to duplicate.

[spursince#99]

i think pop will use a 9-10 man rotation in the playoffs and coincidentally the spurs starting line up isn't built around their top 5 players. Gives pop the ability to make subs based on how the game unfolds. How are teams in the playoffs going to deal with the spurs bench when we sub in manu, sjax, neal, bonner, and splitter. In a way it forces other teams to play their top players extended minutes (fatigue sets in), while pop can use a balanced attack, especially if a series goes 6-7 games.


+1

[spursince#99]

Assistant Coach Brown confirmed on the radio after the game on Sunday that Pop will stick to using a 10 man rotation and will not shorten the rotation to 8 players like many teams do. He said this team brought the goods and Pop will stick with them.


This is true

[Splits]

Consensus in this thread seems to be Blair will not play, but I'm not so sure. Pop could very well use him extensively (he loves him) if there is a favorable matchup. Does anyone have Blair's career splits vs. Utah?

[Mugen]

Consensus in this thread seems to be Blair will not play, but I'm not so sure. Pop could very well use him extensively (he loves him) if there is a favorable matchup. Does anyone have Blair's career splits vs. Utah?

:lol Pop doesn't love Blair. He's been spending the last two years finding any excuse to take him out of the SL.

I can't think of one playoff matchup where playing Blair would be considered a "favorable" option ahead of tiago, boris, and even Bon Bon.

[maverick1948]

Also, something not addressed by anyone. There will be back to back games according to DS. He said that early in the year when he was asked how the schedule going to the end of April would effect the playoffs. If this happens, b2b's, we are in the drivers seat there again. Rested players against teams with 8 man rotation will give us one clear and easy victory.

[Spurs4#5]

danny green wont get less minutes than khawi in the playoffs...especially if he's shooting the way he's been shooting

[phyzik]

looking good so far. Still a long way to go but IF the Spurs manage to win it all, I wonder what, if any, rammifications this will have on the league.

R.C. was a major contributor to the lockout trying to help out small-market teams and put a curb on the whole "super-team" craze that was starting to sweep the league... Now the Spurs have an excellent opportunity to emphatically back up Buffords point that large markets shouldnt be able to, and shouldnt try to, buy their way to a ring.

Go Spurs!

[Spurs and Mavs fan]

Until the Spurs' current winning streak comes to an end, I see no reason to change the current rotation which keeps the starters rested.

[therealtruth]

looking good so far. Still a long way to go but IF the Spurs manage to win it all, I wonder what, if any, rammifications this will have on the league.

R.C. was a major contributor to the lockout trying to help out small-market teams and put a curb on the whole "super-team" craze that was starting to sweep the league... Now the Spurs have an excellent opportunity to emphatically back up Buffords point that large markets shouldnt be able to, and shouldnt try to, buy their way to a ring.

Go Spurs!

Because of the CBA the Spurs likely won't be able to keep the same team without someone getting a huge paycut.