Mismatches the Spurs haven't exploited so far in the series

[Boomersgold]

Blair on Duncan
Monta or Harris on Kawhi

What makes the Mavs so deadly down the stretch is the fact that no one can block Dirk's fadeaway, which means everyone's a mismatch to him. Whilst the Spurs have to create plays the hard way, all Carlisle has to do is throw it into Dirk or let Monta iso from the top of the key. Duncan shouldn't be having problems with someone as small as Blair down low. The man was a defensive disaster when he played for the Spurs.

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

But Dallas has been able to exploit a huge matchup in their favor, anyone but Green on Ellis, and luckily for them SA's coach is unable to see how well Green can guard defend Ellis so he lets Green rot on the bench.

[wildchild]

Pop didn't try to exploit Harden on Leonard matchup in regular season...The Spurs system is all about Big3 and pick and roll

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

Pop didn't try to exploit Harden on Leonard matchup in regular season...The Spurs system is all about Big3 and pick and roll

Maybe Stephen Jackson wasn't 100% right about Pop.

[Malik Hairston]

The Spurs' offense hasn't been the problem, as of late, tbh..

[Spurs21Fan4Ever]

The Spurs' offense hasn't been the problem, as of late, tbh..

Yep, for sure. and that makes me more pissed at Pop, constantly preaching the importance and need for defense without doing anything to prove it. Having Gino guard Ellis with Green on the bench in the 4th quarter is proof of that. If defense was #1 to Pop, Green would be guarding Ellis every moment he's on the floor.

[wildchild]

Funny. I remember this...by ESPN Dallas guy after game 1.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4701524/does-ellis-on-leonard-have-a-side-effect?ex_cid=espnapi_public


"As smart as three-time Coach of the Year Gregg Popovich is, it’s stunning that the San Antonio Spurs didn’t exploit their biggest mismatch against the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1.

Dallas got away with using undersized shooting guard Monta Ellis to defend muscular small forward Kawhi Leonard for long stretches.
That apparently won’t happen again.

Leonard averaged 12.8 points on 52.2 percent shooting this season. He’s a phenomenal finisher and the second-most efficient post-up scorer in the league according to Synergy Sports data, averaging 1.16 points per possession.
Yet Leonard only attempted five shots in the paint Sunday despite the mismatch with Ellis.

“Hey, Leonard’s a terrific player,” Mavs coach Rick Carlisle said. “He’s one of the guys on their roster that’s taken quantum leaps the last two years. We know that he’s a major threat. Whoever guards him is going to have their hands full.”

Can Ellis still carry a heavy scoring load for the Mavs while fighting a guy a few weight classes above him on the other end of the floor?

Just imagine the weight on Ellis if the Spurs decide to pound the rock into Leonard on the block."

Yeah...just imagine...

[rmt]

Funny. I remember this...by ESPN Dallas guy after game 1.
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/mavericks/post/_/id/4701524/does-ellis-on-leonard-have-a-side-effect?ex_cid=espnapi_public

Problem is that Pop didn't have Leonard practise playing on the block during the regular season to take advantage of this mis-match. He had him sit in the corners waiting for the 3 ball. No more Belli. Green on Monta every second he's out there. Leonard on Carter/Marion.

Yeah...just imagine...

[Mal]

Manu on Ellis in crunch time...

Why Pop didnt run pick and rolls with Kawhi, when Dirk was guarding him. Carlise made adjustment and Spurs lost their main weapon.

[therealtruth]

There are multiple ways to exploit height mismatches that don't just involve throwing it into the block. The ability to exploit mismatches is something I wish the Spurs were better at.

[Proxy]

When the starting 5 is on the floor, feels like there's always going to be some mismatch to exploit down low with Kawhi, TD, or Tiago posting up.

[cjw]

But Dallas has been able to exploit a huge matchup in their favor, anyone but Green on Ellis, and luckily for them SA's coach is unable to see how well Green can guard defend Ellis so he lets Green rot on the bench.

Playing Marco those five minutes was a travesty (Danny should have gone 34 instead). Nobody should ever shoot 7 for 7 in an NBA game - get Danny more shots if he's hot!

One of those games too where +/- is misleading. Tiago had the worst on the team but had tough matchups with Dirk - also paired a lot with Manu who had his first awful game this postseason at -9.

[superjames1992]

I think some of you are overrating Green's defense on Ellis, tbh.

In addition, Ellis himself is being overrated. He's shooting 44% from the floor in this series, so it's not like he's completely torching us or something, tbh.

[Horse]

Pop seems to have a problem sticking with the hot hand. No way Green should'nt have played the whole 4th quarter he's young and we all know when he gets hot he hits everything.

[Spurs_Be_Beastin']

Manu guarding Ellis in the 4th was a huge mistake Tbh. Manus old ass can't chase around Ellis , that was just stupid of pop, i said that to myself last night too ' why the fuck is Manu guarding Ellis ? '
that's why he killed us late in the 4th.