do you maybe go the crazy route...back to the regular rotation?

[K-State Spur]

that's what got the team here. and put them up 2 games earlier in the series.

Pop's got no faith in Green/Bonner right now - rightfully so. But if we're only going to play 7 or 8, well - OKC's top 7 are better than ours.

No reason to think that those guys could bounce back, but odds are not particularly good regardless. Something to be said for going down swinging playing your game.

[Blake]

I'd like to see Jack start over Manu.

Maybe throw in Mills for a few minutes.

Other than that, what can they do?

[Poolboy5623]

Not sure what you mean by the "regular lineup" but that's how we got to this pt in the first place...the spurs r being out played no matter who they pt in. Bottom line.

[gospursgojas]

No. It's an elimination game. Play your best players the entire game. Tony, Manu, Leo, Tim, diaw start. Blair, splitter, Jax sub. That's it.

[GrandeDavid]

I wrote just this in my post. Go with what got you there and if necessary yank Green or whomever earlier. You figure eventually a shot will fall.

[Poolboy5623]

Eventually a shot will fall? Its an elimination game..there's no time for "eventually" now.

[Dr. John R. Brinkley]

I would play Blair more than he has been.

[DirtyP1]

I'd like to see Blair in for Diaw, Green back in, and have Diaw and Manu off the bench. DJB and Tim played most of the season together in the frontcourt, why not give it one rotation? Ibaka is starting his shots at least 10 feet out, not in the paint, so you can put DJB on him.
I have no faith in Neal or Bonner right now, and Tiago is a liability at the line.

[TDomination]

No. It's an elimination game. Play your best players the entire game. Tony, Manu, Leo, Tim, diaw start. Blair, splitter, Jax sub. That's it.

I can already see it. We will be up for most of the game if we do this and then we will run out of gas in the end.

What was great about our deep bench was the fact that our big 3 did not need to play 35+ minutes to win.

And lets say we win, then is this the rotation for the remainder of the playoffs? Will we be able to last with Timmy, Parker, Manu playing 35+ minutes?

[ginobili fan]

Start Sjax!!!!!

[DeadlyDynasty]

Starting Manu reeked of desperation. I agree Green needed to sit, but Jackson was the obvious choice to start--and still is. If he goes with this same line-up in Game 6 it'll be a blowout. We all know OKC is gonna come out with a ton of energy on their home floor, and if they build an early lead the Spurs won't have a Manu to turn to on the bench. They'll have a bunch of spot-up shooters instead.

Parker
Jackson
Leonard
Diaw
Duncan

w/ Manu the first off the bench is the only way to go.

[cheguevara]

Till the wheels fall off

[ginobili fan]

Starting line up:
Duncan-Diaw
Leonard-SJax
Parker

Then Manu comes with Splitter,Neal(or Green) and Blair.

A 9 men rotation will be perfect.
No Bonner,No Neal at the point, I prefer Manu at PG far better.
Blair does the early job provoking inside and giving fouls there and there, making OKC big men works hard, tiring them...
Diaw needs to play at least 30 minutes, he's one of the few making shots with good form, and can create as well.
P&R Manu -Splitter, trust Thiago he can be valuable we don't care if he's not a FT shooter.It's better making them work on defense and provoking even though it ends with 1 FT made.
If Neals doens't make his shots take him off fast from the court.
If Neals makes his shots take him off fast from the court. He musn't get more than 10 minutes PT.
Splitter shoulgget at least 15 minutes PT.(or deal with Blair partially)
Liked the early agressivness of TP last night but too bad they didn't make a profit of foul advantage in the first quarter, it should have been a +10 for the Spurs.
But the main thing is still... Duncan goes to work early.
Draw the fouls, take shots, no more pump fake and dribble dribble...Play simple

[41times]

During the 20 Game Winning Streak......

What starting lineup was used most often?

Use that one.

[Canibspur]

But if we're only going to play 7 or 8, well - OKC's top 7 are better than ours.



Exactly. More than a few teams have a top 6 or 7 than the Spurs. Mostly just due to their top two players. Said that in a thread a couple months ago. The Spurs biggest strength is still depth. Just keep throwing your guys out there. Trust in them to not fuck it up. Everyone knows when they're coming in and about how many minutes they play. One or two regulars might be off for whatever reason and that's ok because someone else can be a spark. Doesn't matter who, in what game, or what series. The Spurs depth chart doesn't read 1-11 it is 1-8a,8b,8c,8d. Now why mess with that? That is their advantage over the Thunder. That is their advantage over every team in the league. That is what led to a twenty game win streak. That is why you should believe the Spurs can win this series.


Didn't think it was going to be that long a post.


That

[Spur|n|Austin]

I'd like to see Jack start over Manu.

Maybe throw in Mills for a few minutes.

Other than that, what can they do?

I also like Jax over Manu, with Manu bring that intensity off the bench but for more minutes.

[DarrinS]

We can't beat OKC without a great game from Tony. We've beaten them twice in OKC without MANU!!!! And a completely different lineup. And with Richard Jefferson!

What those wins had in common was great play from Parker. If he sucks, we're dead. He's been rattled since game 3. How does Pop get his head right?

[therealtruth]

I also like Jax over Manu, with Manu bring that intensity off the bench but for more minutes.

I agree Green is the guy who's struggling. Just bring him of the bench with Manu to help get him going. He played well with Manu in the Clippers series. He also had enough speed to defend Durant or Harden of the bench.

[Keepin' it real]

Yes. "Dance with who brung ya"

[LnGrrrR]

The series changed when Parker started getting guarded better. If Pop doesn't figure out a way to free up Parker or others for easy shots, the series is over. I'm not familiar enough with the Spurs to know how they'll do that (for instance, the C's usually call a ton of screens and rely on Rondo to see angles, whether it's himself cutting and dishing or looking for the backdoor cutter).

I don't think that playing guys 9 through 12 on the roster are really the key. Rotations tighten up in the postseason for a reason: you want your best players on the floor. Depth is great for regular season but means a lot less in the postseason. (Of course, as the postseason goes on, it helps to be able to spell guys here and there, but you should only need three to four quality bench players)

[z0sa]

Let's just say we are seeing firsthand why the vast majority of NBA coaches shorten their rotation during the playoffs.

[Manudona]

Let's just say we are seeing firsthand why the vast majority of NBA coaches shorten their rotation during the playoffs.

At this point and watching how much Tony deferred to Manu when "the potatoes were hot" I would start Patty instead of Tony

Start Tim, Boris, Kwahi, Stephen an Patty with Tony and Manu from the bench FTW. :)

[Keepin' it real]

At this point and watching how much Tony deferred to Manu when "the potatoes were hot" I would start Patty instead of Tony

Start Tim, Boris, Kwahi, Stephen an Patty with Tony and Manu from the bench FTW. :)

Why not start Manu at point and have Tony lead the 2nd team? Manu's done it with great success. Why not Tony?

[therealtruth]

Why not start Manu at point and have Tony lead the 2nd team? Manu's done it with great success. Why not Tony?

Unfortunately I think you might be right. Patty Mills might be able to provide a spark like JJ Barea did for the Mavs in the Finals.

[K-State Spur]

Let's just say we are seeing firsthand why the vast majority of NBA coaches shorten their rotation during the playoffs.

we all know why they do it. but few teams in recent memory got as much production from rotation guys #8, #9, & #10 as this spurs team has.

and pop road that long rotation to 10 game playoff winning streak.

it hasn't been the rotation length that's hurt us, it's guys in the rotation not playing to their preset standards. bonner this was expected of. but parker's struggles, green being awful on both ends, manu & splitter's inconsistency - these are somewhat surprising.

i don't know that there is a right answer. if OKC plays their A game, it really doesn't matter what buttons Pop pushes*. But there is a crazy logic in going down doing what you do, as opposed to adjusting to match the other guy in an area where he already has an advantage (shorter rotation).

* Ever so quietly, Spurs played a pretty decent Game 4, and still got beat because OKC's role guys went nuts.

[K-State Spur]

Why not start Manu at point and have Tony lead the 2nd team? Manu's done it with great success. Why not Tony?

because there's probably no formula for winning on the road in OKC that doesn't involve Parker playing major minutes and winning his match-up.

plus, playing them together is the only way to ensure that sefolosha can't focus on just one. Manu had some success against Thabo earlier in the series, but lately he's been shutting down whichever one he's on.

Sefolosha's a spectacular defender, but Tony is capable of beating him. When he's hitting jumpers like he did game 2, he's unguardable - which may the kind of herculean effort Spurs need again.

[Mr Bones]

I feel like Pop has to change things up. OKC started the series with Westbrook on Parker-- that didn't work, so they made an adjustment by putting Sefolosha on him. That's what the playoffs are all about-- adjusting to the specific team and match ups in front of you. The fact that a certain line up helped the Spurs beat teams like Sacramento, Phoenix, and Cleveland on their way to a 20 game winning streak is fine, but it really shouldn't have any bearing on what line up works best when facing a team that has a 6'10" superstar at SF and all other sorts of difficult intangibles to deal with. I'd like to see Stephen Jackson start at SG between Parker and Leonard, with Manu the 6th man and Green ready to step in if someone's in early foul trouble. I think Jackson could be the most effective at trying to help get Parker free with screens and picks, which seems to me the priority for game 6.

[therealtruth]

we all know why they do it. but few teams in recent memory got as much production from rotation guys #8, #9, & #10 as this spurs team has.

and pop road that long rotation to 10 game playoff winning streak.

it hasn't been the rotation length that's hurt us, it's guys in the rotation not playing to their preset standards. bonner this was expected of. but parker's struggles, green being awful on both ends, manu & splitter's inconsistency - these are somewhat surprising.

i don't know that there is a right answer. if OKC plays their A game, it really doesn't matter what buttons Pop pushes*. But there is a crazy logic in going down doing what you do, as opposed to adjusting to match the other guy in an area where he already has an advantage (shorter rotation).

* Ever so quietly, Spurs played a pretty decent Game 4, and still got beat because OKC's role guys went nuts.

The benefit of having a larger rotation is so there's more of a chance of getting some guys playing well on any given night.

[romsho]

that's what got the team here. and put them up 2 games earlier in the series.

Pop's got no faith in Green/Bonner right now - rightfully so. But if we're only going to play 7 or 8, well - OKC's top 7 are better than ours.

No reason to think that those guys could bounce back, but odds are not particularly good regardless. Something to be said for going down swinging playing your game.

Of course you do. Insert Manu in to the starting lineup? That's an adjustment. Blair over Bonner? Adjustment. Shortening the rotation, putting guys on the floor in groups that didn't play together all year is a panic move at best and hurts your teams confidence and boosts OKC's. Clearly this aproach doesn't work.

The Spurs strength all year has been depth, continuity, and guys playing their roles brilliantly in a collective effort. If they don't? You lose..but at least you go out playing Spurs basketball. What we've witnessed the last few games is nothing like what we've watched all year. Credit to OKC for some of it, and some of it is self imposed. Pop needs to show some confidence in the system, some belief in the way they do it will work. It's the best chance they have to win..everything else is throwing crap against the wall. One game, our way. Ride or Die.