roycrikside
06-06-2012, 05:14 AM
1) Here is your minute breakdown and rotation:
Center: Duncan 36 minutes, Splitter 12. Have Splitter come in at the 3:00 mark of the first and third quarters and play until the 9:00 mark of the second and fourth quarters.
Power Forward: Diaw 28 minutes, Leonard 20. Play Diaw the first seven minutes of each period. Play Leonard the final five minutes of each period.
Small Forward: Leonard 14 minutes, Jackson 34 minutes. Have Leonard play the first 3:30 of each game at the three, leaving the final 8:30 for Jackson. You’ll note that Leonard gets 3:30 of rest before checking back in for Diaw at the four spot. The most Leonard plays is 8:30 at a time, with a lengthy quarter break.
Shooting Guard: Green 14 minutes, Ginobili 34 minutes. Green plays the first four minutes of the first and third quarters and the first three of the second and fourth quarters. Ginobili plays the final eight minutes of the first and third quarters and the final nine minutes of the second and fourth quarters. If Green is terrible in the first half, replace his seven second half minutes with Neal.
Point Guard: Parker 40 minutes, Neal 8 minutes. Parker plays the whole first and third quarters. He plays the first three minutes of the second and fourth quarters. Neal checks in at the 9:00 mark and plays until the 5:00 mark of the second and fourth quarters.
Here is the minute distribution: Parker 40, Duncan 36, Ginobili 34, Jackson 34, Leonard 34, Diaw 28, Green 14, Splitter 12, Neal 8. You’ll note that two of the big three is on the floor at all times. You’re welcome.
2) For the love of God, pack the paint.
You can live with the jumpers from Ibaka, Harden, Durant, Westbrook, whoever. Just don’t give anyone any layups or dunks. Nothing easy. They’re due to miss some jumpers, aren’t they?
3) Less than 15 turnovers.
I can’t imagine us winning a game if we have more than 15. Some of the turnovers, like when they draw a BS charge or when we get a ball poked away on a drive, can’t be helped. But so many of them are preventable. Careless passes, dumb moving screens, guys not paying attention on the fast break… we can’t have those.
4) Parker needs to dominate.
Somehow, someway, he has to have a 30-10 kind of game. Either his jumper has to be on or he has to put his head down and throw his body at people over and over again, no matter how much they knock him down. He needs to have the pick-and-roll going with his bigs because they’re trapping that way less than they do with Manu. The pick-and-pops with Duncan are there. The three pointers to Diaw are there. They’re doing a good job of taking away corner threes, but that’s no excuse to average four assists a night. If Parker doesn’t come out on fire and have like a 10 point first quarter, we’re probably in big trouble.
5) Show them the game film of Celtics-Heat Game 5.
Show them what it looks like to play with balls on the road. Show them the difference between a team that expects to win no matter how athletically superior their opponents are. Show them how they dig in the paint defensively. Show Parker how a point guard who’s 1-of-10 shooting can still dominate a game and contribute so many ways to a win. Show Duncan how Garnett is still kicking ass and taking names at 36 years of age. Show the bench players how guys like Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling and Greg Stiemsma aren’t afraid, whether they play 8 minutes or 28. Show what swagger, smarts and heart look like.
Yeah, it’s not a fair comparison. The Thunder are way better than the Heat. They’re younger, there’s three stars as opposed to two, and they shoot way better. Well, guess what? The Spurs – supposedly – are supposed to be way better than the Celtics. They’re not playing like they are.
6) We need to find our Robert Horry, and we need to bait Westbrook.
This goes into the territory of the dark arts and most of you won’t care for it. I don’t care. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’d rather listen to all the pundits and writers bitch and moan about our asterisk fifth championship the rest of my life than not win it at all.
We’ve all seen Westbrook’s act by now. We’ve seen how he reacts to plays both good and bad. We saw him block Green’s practice shot (at the other basket) way after the halftime buzzer. (How the hell was that not a technical foul for taunting by the way? Oh right, because Pop didn’t make an issue of it.) To be tactful, he’s a hothead. To be honest, he’s a punk. To be blunt, he’s a complete dickhead.
We can get to this guy. I know it and you know it.
I’d prefer for it to be Green who gets him back, but I’d settle (and expect) for it to be Jackson. Give him a hard foul. Get in his face and say something about his family or his choice of social companions. You get my drift.
I bet anything he swings. Not a subtle one the refs can ignore, either. A full-fledged roundhouse or an uppercut. One so bad it’ll definitely get him ejected for that game and most likely suspended for the next one. Maybe in a miracle some kind of melee breaks out and a couple of their guys leave the bench and get suspended for Game 7.
Would I prefer not having to resort to that to win? Of course. But again, desperate times call for desperate measures. And there’s nothing to feel guilty about because ultimately we’d be leaving fate in the hands of Westbrook and the Thunder. It’s his decision whether to retaliate or to laugh off the foul and the insults and to prove he’s far too smart and mature to take the bait. It would be his teammates’ decision whether to leave the bench or not. Nobody is pointing a gun at their heads. Let’s see if they keep their composure.
Do I think we’ll do this? No. Do I think a team that wants to win bad enough should try it? Absolutely. As if Westbrook doesn’t deserve to be knocked on his butt anyway.
Just do me a favor Spurs and either win the damn game or lose by 40. My heart can’t take another heartbreaking loss.
Or, how about you just win the damn game? Thanks.
Center: Duncan 36 minutes, Splitter 12. Have Splitter come in at the 3:00 mark of the first and third quarters and play until the 9:00 mark of the second and fourth quarters.
Power Forward: Diaw 28 minutes, Leonard 20. Play Diaw the first seven minutes of each period. Play Leonard the final five minutes of each period.
Small Forward: Leonard 14 minutes, Jackson 34 minutes. Have Leonard play the first 3:30 of each game at the three, leaving the final 8:30 for Jackson. You’ll note that Leonard gets 3:30 of rest before checking back in for Diaw at the four spot. The most Leonard plays is 8:30 at a time, with a lengthy quarter break.
Shooting Guard: Green 14 minutes, Ginobili 34 minutes. Green plays the first four minutes of the first and third quarters and the first three of the second and fourth quarters. Ginobili plays the final eight minutes of the first and third quarters and the final nine minutes of the second and fourth quarters. If Green is terrible in the first half, replace his seven second half minutes with Neal.
Point Guard: Parker 40 minutes, Neal 8 minutes. Parker plays the whole first and third quarters. He plays the first three minutes of the second and fourth quarters. Neal checks in at the 9:00 mark and plays until the 5:00 mark of the second and fourth quarters.
Here is the minute distribution: Parker 40, Duncan 36, Ginobili 34, Jackson 34, Leonard 34, Diaw 28, Green 14, Splitter 12, Neal 8. You’ll note that two of the big three is on the floor at all times. You’re welcome.
2) For the love of God, pack the paint.
You can live with the jumpers from Ibaka, Harden, Durant, Westbrook, whoever. Just don’t give anyone any layups or dunks. Nothing easy. They’re due to miss some jumpers, aren’t they?
3) Less than 15 turnovers.
I can’t imagine us winning a game if we have more than 15. Some of the turnovers, like when they draw a BS charge or when we get a ball poked away on a drive, can’t be helped. But so many of them are preventable. Careless passes, dumb moving screens, guys not paying attention on the fast break… we can’t have those.
4) Parker needs to dominate.
Somehow, someway, he has to have a 30-10 kind of game. Either his jumper has to be on or he has to put his head down and throw his body at people over and over again, no matter how much they knock him down. He needs to have the pick-and-roll going with his bigs because they’re trapping that way less than they do with Manu. The pick-and-pops with Duncan are there. The three pointers to Diaw are there. They’re doing a good job of taking away corner threes, but that’s no excuse to average four assists a night. If Parker doesn’t come out on fire and have like a 10 point first quarter, we’re probably in big trouble.
5) Show them the game film of Celtics-Heat Game 5.
Show them what it looks like to play with balls on the road. Show them the difference between a team that expects to win no matter how athletically superior their opponents are. Show them how they dig in the paint defensively. Show Parker how a point guard who’s 1-of-10 shooting can still dominate a game and contribute so many ways to a win. Show Duncan how Garnett is still kicking ass and taking names at 36 years of age. Show the bench players how guys like Mickael Pietrus, Keyon Dooling and Greg Stiemsma aren’t afraid, whether they play 8 minutes or 28. Show what swagger, smarts and heart look like.
Yeah, it’s not a fair comparison. The Thunder are way better than the Heat. They’re younger, there’s three stars as opposed to two, and they shoot way better. Well, guess what? The Spurs – supposedly – are supposed to be way better than the Celtics. They’re not playing like they are.
6) We need to find our Robert Horry, and we need to bait Westbrook.
This goes into the territory of the dark arts and most of you won’t care for it. I don’t care. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and I’d rather listen to all the pundits and writers bitch and moan about our asterisk fifth championship the rest of my life than not win it at all.
We’ve all seen Westbrook’s act by now. We’ve seen how he reacts to plays both good and bad. We saw him block Green’s practice shot (at the other basket) way after the halftime buzzer. (How the hell was that not a technical foul for taunting by the way? Oh right, because Pop didn’t make an issue of it.) To be tactful, he’s a hothead. To be honest, he’s a punk. To be blunt, he’s a complete dickhead.
We can get to this guy. I know it and you know it.
I’d prefer for it to be Green who gets him back, but I’d settle (and expect) for it to be Jackson. Give him a hard foul. Get in his face and say something about his family or his choice of social companions. You get my drift.
I bet anything he swings. Not a subtle one the refs can ignore, either. A full-fledged roundhouse or an uppercut. One so bad it’ll definitely get him ejected for that game and most likely suspended for the next one. Maybe in a miracle some kind of melee breaks out and a couple of their guys leave the bench and get suspended for Game 7.
Would I prefer not having to resort to that to win? Of course. But again, desperate times call for desperate measures. And there’s nothing to feel guilty about because ultimately we’d be leaving fate in the hands of Westbrook and the Thunder. It’s his decision whether to retaliate or to laugh off the foul and the insults and to prove he’s far too smart and mature to take the bait. It would be his teammates’ decision whether to leave the bench or not. Nobody is pointing a gun at their heads. Let’s see if they keep their composure.
Do I think we’ll do this? No. Do I think a team that wants to win bad enough should try it? Absolutely. As if Westbrook doesn’t deserve to be knocked on his butt anyway.
Just do me a favor Spurs and either win the damn game or lose by 40. My heart can’t take another heartbreaking loss.
Or, how about you just win the damn game? Thanks.