DieMrBond
06-24-2005, 01:27 AM
Popovich outdueled his mentor Brown
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3714520
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 7 minutes ago
Going into Game 7, the Spurs had to make more adjustments than Detroit. That's exactly what San Antonio did, and that's a huge reason why they won. In other words, Gregg Popovich dramatically out-coached Larry Brown.
Here are the most significant of the Spurs' tweaks:
For most of the fourth quarter, Pop put Bruce Bowen on Chauncey Billups, and had Tony Parker guard Richard Hamilton. The reasoning behind this combo-move was sound. Billups does the bulk of his scoring in one-on-one situations and Bowen is arguably the best solo-defender at any of the skill positions (that is, point guard, shooting guard and small forward). This is a matchup that the Spurs had employed for short periods throughout the series, but in the latter stages of Game 7, it was a full-time commitment. Indeed, with Bowen in his chest hairs, Billups could no longer power his way into the lane. In the deciding quarter, Billups missed a free throw and had a 3-pointer blocked by Bowen.
On the other hand, Hamilton utilized various screens to help generate most of his point-making. This means that there was always a big in a white uniform in the vicinity — so help for Parker was only a step or two away. Faced with Parker's speed instead of Bowen's muscle, Hamilton was clearly uncomfortable.
What else?
Nazr Mohammed spent the majority of the game on the bench in favor of Robert Horry. And after an error-filled beginning (slow defensive rotations, and allowing himself to be repeatedly faked off his feet above the foul line), Horry finished with a flurry of 3-balls, free throws, offensive rebounds, loose-ball recoveries and excellent decisions on defense.
In the third quarter, Horry two-timed the ball as Lindsey Hunter carried it across the time line. The idea wasn't to come up with a steal, but simply to take several precious seconds off the shot clock. The Pistons were 1-for-2 here, but were bothered by having to accelerate their half-court offense.
In the second half, the Spurs pounded the ball inside to Duncan. When he was assaulted by an energetic double-team, Duncan waited as long as possible, then whipped accurate passes to undefended perimeter shooters. For the first time since Game 2, the Spurs were thusly able to play inside-outside basketball.
San Antonio also surprised Detroit with a 2-3 zone. On the four sequences when the 2-3 was set up, the Pistons came away with three missed shots (including two air-balls!) and a 24-second violation. A brilliant move by Pop and associates.
The Pistons likewise tinkered with their game plan:
The Spurs had been doubling Tayshaun Prince whenever he caught the ball along the right baseline, thereby preventing him from taking full advantage of Ginobili's so-so defense. Late in the second quarter, however, Prince stepped toward the entry pass, then quickly spun baseline (away from the incoming double-team) and hit his jumper. For some reason, though, the Pistons never went back to this catch-spin-and-shoot action.
Previously, Ginobili had been able to drive into the paint whenever the Spurs spread their offense and he received the ball on the right side of the court. The only time San Antonio tried this alignment, the Pistons were ready — a quick double-team induced a bad pass from Ginobili.
Also, whereas Hamilton had been doing his curling and popping in tandem with left-side screens, Detroit reversed the alignment and ran Rip off right-side screens. The first time this happened, Bowen was confused and Hamilton bagged a wide open jumper. But this new wrinkle was attempted only twice more — both times Bowen was late getting to Hamilton, and both of Rip's ensuing shots misfired.
However, no pregame blueprints by either coaching staff could have anticipated early foul trouble on both Ginobili and Billups that required them to be benched for most of the first quarter. Yet, while Ginobili returned with a vengeance, Billups never got his mojo working for the duration.
In general, the rather tight officiating favored the Spurs by reducing the Pistons' ability to play smash-mouth defense on a regular basis. Rasheed Wallace was tagged with his fourth foul early in the second half, and McDyess followed suit shortly thereafter.
While Billups was a surprise no-show, Parker's abysmal performance was somewhat expected. As he'd been doing since Game 1, Parker was routinely turned over whenever he tried to pass in the paint. He was reckless with the ball, he over-penetrated, forced several shots, and ignored TD in good post-position at least twice. Under extreme pressure, younger players tend to reprise all of their bad habits — and Parker's game devolved to his rookie season.
The Pistons played hard throughout, and their defense never rested. For a while, their offensive rebounding compensated for their poor shooting (Antonio McDyess being the exception). But with Billups out of sync and Hamilton shooting blanks, Detroit's defense simply had to carry too much of the load and eventually petered out. By the fourth quarter, Ginobili was easily plunging into the paint and coming up with unopposed dunks.
Add up all the adjustments and counter-adjustments and the Spurs had a slight advantage. With the notable exception of the dimes dropped by TD in the pivot, San Antonio's biggest plus, however, had little to do with chalk-work. The Spurs simply hit the perimeter shots they had to hit — Ginobili, Horry, and Brent Barry. Hey, even Duncan made his free throws!
Accurate shooting in the clutch covers multiple sins, overcomes excellent (if over-burdened) defense, and wins gold rings.
The champs are dead! Long live the champs!
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/3714520
Charley Rosen / FOXSports.com
Posted: 7 minutes ago
Going into Game 7, the Spurs had to make more adjustments than Detroit. That's exactly what San Antonio did, and that's a huge reason why they won. In other words, Gregg Popovich dramatically out-coached Larry Brown.
Here are the most significant of the Spurs' tweaks:
For most of the fourth quarter, Pop put Bruce Bowen on Chauncey Billups, and had Tony Parker guard Richard Hamilton. The reasoning behind this combo-move was sound. Billups does the bulk of his scoring in one-on-one situations and Bowen is arguably the best solo-defender at any of the skill positions (that is, point guard, shooting guard and small forward). This is a matchup that the Spurs had employed for short periods throughout the series, but in the latter stages of Game 7, it was a full-time commitment. Indeed, with Bowen in his chest hairs, Billups could no longer power his way into the lane. In the deciding quarter, Billups missed a free throw and had a 3-pointer blocked by Bowen.
On the other hand, Hamilton utilized various screens to help generate most of his point-making. This means that there was always a big in a white uniform in the vicinity — so help for Parker was only a step or two away. Faced with Parker's speed instead of Bowen's muscle, Hamilton was clearly uncomfortable.
What else?
Nazr Mohammed spent the majority of the game on the bench in favor of Robert Horry. And after an error-filled beginning (slow defensive rotations, and allowing himself to be repeatedly faked off his feet above the foul line), Horry finished with a flurry of 3-balls, free throws, offensive rebounds, loose-ball recoveries and excellent decisions on defense.
In the third quarter, Horry two-timed the ball as Lindsey Hunter carried it across the time line. The idea wasn't to come up with a steal, but simply to take several precious seconds off the shot clock. The Pistons were 1-for-2 here, but were bothered by having to accelerate their half-court offense.
In the second half, the Spurs pounded the ball inside to Duncan. When he was assaulted by an energetic double-team, Duncan waited as long as possible, then whipped accurate passes to undefended perimeter shooters. For the first time since Game 2, the Spurs were thusly able to play inside-outside basketball.
San Antonio also surprised Detroit with a 2-3 zone. On the four sequences when the 2-3 was set up, the Pistons came away with three missed shots (including two air-balls!) and a 24-second violation. A brilliant move by Pop and associates.
The Pistons likewise tinkered with their game plan:
The Spurs had been doubling Tayshaun Prince whenever he caught the ball along the right baseline, thereby preventing him from taking full advantage of Ginobili's so-so defense. Late in the second quarter, however, Prince stepped toward the entry pass, then quickly spun baseline (away from the incoming double-team) and hit his jumper. For some reason, though, the Pistons never went back to this catch-spin-and-shoot action.
Previously, Ginobili had been able to drive into the paint whenever the Spurs spread their offense and he received the ball on the right side of the court. The only time San Antonio tried this alignment, the Pistons were ready — a quick double-team induced a bad pass from Ginobili.
Also, whereas Hamilton had been doing his curling and popping in tandem with left-side screens, Detroit reversed the alignment and ran Rip off right-side screens. The first time this happened, Bowen was confused and Hamilton bagged a wide open jumper. But this new wrinkle was attempted only twice more — both times Bowen was late getting to Hamilton, and both of Rip's ensuing shots misfired.
However, no pregame blueprints by either coaching staff could have anticipated early foul trouble on both Ginobili and Billups that required them to be benched for most of the first quarter. Yet, while Ginobili returned with a vengeance, Billups never got his mojo working for the duration.
In general, the rather tight officiating favored the Spurs by reducing the Pistons' ability to play smash-mouth defense on a regular basis. Rasheed Wallace was tagged with his fourth foul early in the second half, and McDyess followed suit shortly thereafter.
While Billups was a surprise no-show, Parker's abysmal performance was somewhat expected. As he'd been doing since Game 1, Parker was routinely turned over whenever he tried to pass in the paint. He was reckless with the ball, he over-penetrated, forced several shots, and ignored TD in good post-position at least twice. Under extreme pressure, younger players tend to reprise all of their bad habits — and Parker's game devolved to his rookie season.
The Pistons played hard throughout, and their defense never rested. For a while, their offensive rebounding compensated for their poor shooting (Antonio McDyess being the exception). But with Billups out of sync and Hamilton shooting blanks, Detroit's defense simply had to carry too much of the load and eventually petered out. By the fourth quarter, Ginobili was easily plunging into the paint and coming up with unopposed dunks.
Add up all the adjustments and counter-adjustments and the Spurs had a slight advantage. With the notable exception of the dimes dropped by TD in the pivot, San Antonio's biggest plus, however, had little to do with chalk-work. The Spurs simply hit the perimeter shots they had to hit — Ginobili, Horry, and Brent Barry. Hey, even Duncan made his free throws!
Accurate shooting in the clutch covers multiple sins, overcomes excellent (if over-burdened) defense, and wins gold rings.
The champs are dead! Long live the champs!
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.