Sefolosha

[ElNono]

Tony was playing great until Brooks put Sefolosha on him (again)... now, Tony has played against bigger guys before and haven't seemingly had this much trouble... is it a mental issue at this point?

How can the Tony solve this riddle?

[Amuseddaysleeper]

By passing it to Ginobili

[Paranoid Pop]

TP doesn't play well vs his friends tbh, he also struggle vs Batum.

But seriously the added length of Thabo + Durant-Ibaka-Perkins rim prtection is huge to overcome.

[TDMVPDPOY]

he sucks a dick when teams adjust to him...it is what it is

[racm]

Tony Parker's a great PG and all but teams led by traditional point guards, scoring or otherwise, don't do jack in the playoffs. That's why the most successful playoff PGs are bigger guys like Kidd and LeBron.

[Malik Hairston]

This was the case in Chicago vs. Miami when Lebron covered Rose..Bowen covering Nash..Chris Paul has been bothered by longer defenders in several big games..

PGs don't lead teams to titles, tbh..for the Spurs to beat OKC, Duncan and/or Ginobili need to produce at a star level to support Parker..it would also help if role players made their shots vs. OKC..

[ace3g]

anytime Sef is on TP, if one isn't out there, Pop has to put another playmaker/ball handler out there: Manu, NDC, SJAX

[timvp]

As I said in the game thread, if Parker is defended by Sefolosha, then trapped by one of their long defenders and with a waiting shotblocker in the middle ... there's really no magic solution to solve that riddle without the help from teammates. Parker has to pass it and someone else has to force their defense to adjust. Parker is damn good but he's not in that pantheon of greats who can overcome a defense that is overloaded to stop him. TP isn't LeBron, Prime Duncan, Prime Jordan, Prime Shaq, etc. He can be slowed down if you make that priority 1A.

And that fact is why the Spurs won't be championship favorites at any point this season. They don't have a player who is impervious to defensive gameplans. To win, they'd have to maximize their talents, have multiple players playing above their heads and still get a couple breaks.

It's not impossible but it's going to always be a longshot.

[racm]

As I said in the game thread, if Parker is defended by Sefolosha, then trapped by one of their long defenders and with a waiting shotblocker in the middle ... there's really no magic solution to solve that riddle without the help from teammates. Parker has to pass it and someone else has to force their defense to adjust. Parker is damn good but he's not in that pantheon of greats who can overcome a defense that is overloaded to stop him. TP isn't LeBron, Prime Duncan, Prime Kobe, Prime, Shaq, etc. He can be slowed down if you make that priority 1A.

And that fact is why the Spurs won't be championship favorites at any point this season. They don't have a player who is impervious to defensive gameplans. To win, they'd have to maximize their talents, have multiple players playing above their heads and still get a couple breaks.

It's not impossible but it's going to always be a longshot.

And that doesn't annoy me, really. Because at the end of the day, you take that small chance. If all 30 teams were equal, then a team would have 8/15 chance to make the post season, a 4/15 chance to advance a round, and 1/15 to advance to the Finals. And since they aren't, some team's chances are better than others.

Tim Duncan is playing great ball at this point of his career and he's part of the reason the window isn't slammed shut.

[UZER]

As I said in the game thread, if Parker is defended by Sefolosha, then trapped by one of their long defenders and with a waiting shotblocker in the middle ... there's really no magic solution to solve that riddle without the help from teammates. Parker has to pass it and someone else has to force their defense to adjust. Parker is damn good but he's not in that pantheon of greats who can overcome a defense that is overloaded to stop him. TP isn't LeBron, Prime Duncan, Prime Jordan, Prime Shaq, etc. He can be slowed down if you make that priority 1A.

And that fact is why the Spurs won't be championship favorites at any point this season. They don't have a player who is impervious to defensive gameplans. To win, they'd have to maximize their talents, have multiple players playing above their heads and still get a couple breaks.

It's not impossible but it's going to always be a longshot.

Last team to do that was Pistons in '04.

[ElNono]

Last team to do that was Pistons in '04.

That team played some serious D... I mean, serious, serious D

[timvp]

And that doesn't annoy me, really. Because at the end of the day, you take that small chance.

Agreed. Last year they got pretty darn close. They had the breaks, they just needed a few more players to step up.

It's damn difficult to get as close to a championship as the Spurs are so there's no way you blow that up. In the NBA, there's always at most like six or seven teams with a chance to win it all. The Spurs are one of those teams and that's a great place to be when looking at the big picture.

[racm]

Last team to do that was Pistons in '04.

Which is exactly his point. Talent, i.e. superstars, i.e. "people the league has decided to be its face and thus receives favorable calls" win championships.

[racm]

Agreed. Last year they got pretty darn close. They had the breaks, they just needed a few more players to step up.

It's damn difficult to get as close to a championship as the Spurs are so there's no way you blow that up. In the NBA, there's always at most like six or seven teams with a chance to win it all. The Spurs are one of those teams and that's a great place to be when looking at the big picture.

Hell, some teams don't even sniff the post-season yet still blow it up. I think the Spurs remain in contention while Tim Duncan plays, so I expect the string of 50 win seasons to end when it's time to pass the baton to Kawhi, Tiago and the younger ones.

[therealtruth]

As I said in the game thread, if Parker is defended by Sefolosha, then trapped by one of their long defenders and with a waiting shotblocker in the middle ... there's really no magic solution to solve that riddle without the help from teammates. Parker has to pass it and someone else has to force their defense to adjust. Parker is damn good but he's not in that pantheon of greats who can overcome a defense that is overloaded to stop him. TP isn't LeBron, Prime Duncan, Prime Jordan, Prime Shaq, etc. He can be slowed down if you make that priority 1A.

And that fact is why the Spurs won't be championship favorites at any point this season. They don't have a player who is impervious to defensive gameplans. To win, they'd have to maximize their talents, have multiple players playing above their heads and still get a couple breaks.

It's not impossible but it's going to always be a longshot.

I think it speaks of a larger problem where good players with a lack of a goto move and/or post game can be stopped by good defenses. TP is almost like Bonner in that way where you rely on him so much so that when the defense is focused on him it hurts the team.

[Fireball]

Its not just Thabo. Ibaka, Perkins and Collison defend the P&R very well ... TP ran circles last night but just never seemed to find an opening

[Johnny RIngo]

I think it speaks of a larger problem where good players with a lack of a goto move and/or post game can be stopped by good defenses. TP is almost like Bonner in that way where you rely on him so much so that when the defense is focused on him it hurts the team.

lol at comparing TP to Bonner. But seriously, TP is like any other top tier point guard in the league - none of these guys are unstoppable...that includes Rose/Paul/Rondo. It's been decades since a point guard has led a team to a championship as the best player. Blaming TP is retarded when every other PG has the same problems as him.

[therealtruth]

lol at comparing TP to Bonner. But seriously, TP is like any other top tier point guard in the league - none of these guys are unstoppable...that includes Rose/Paul/Rondo. It's been decades since a point guard has led a team to a championship as the best player. Blaming TP is retarded when every other PG has the same problems as him.

Like I said you need a goto move and/or post game which is why it's harder for PG's.

[racm]

Like I said you need a goto move and/or post game which is why it's harder for PG's.

The only PGs who've won as the first option in the past two decades were Magic, Zeke, and LeBron. Two of those guys are big and have post games while the third was good on both ends of the court.

[McGusto55]

You know what it all has to do with heart playing with passion and I didnt see that..from the spurs ..

[will_spurs]

The only PGs who've won as the first option in the past two decades were Magic, Zeke, and LeBron. Two of those guys are big and have post games while the third was good on both ends of the court.

And only one of these guys is actually a PG.

[exstatic]

You know what it all has to do with heart playing with passion and I didnt see that..from the spurs ..

Hard to play that way when you're facing games 7 and 8 in 12 days, all but one on the road, and short handed, to boot.