Scott Brooks's adjustments have changed the series..

[Malik Hairston]

Ibaka's return is obviously a massive factor, but the Spurs have been getting outplayed even when Ibaka is on the bench:lol..

Brooks finally benched his shitty players(Sefolosha, Collison) in favor of players that aren't liabilities(Lamb, Adams)..limiting his players that killed his team's flow has played almost as big of a part as Ibaka's return, tbh..

Pop needs to adjust, too..he can't control the terrible energy and lackadaisical play of his team, but it's time to make some rotation decisions, particularly benching Belinelli and Mills, tbh..

[HemisfairArena]

Pop adjust?,,,,,thats funny.

[Dingle Barry]

All the minutes for Belinelli make no god damn sense. And putting him on KD.

[Baam]

SpursTalk said that backup backcourt was dog shit months ago...

[Uriel]

Disagree. He did that in 2012 by massively altering the rotation and even inserting DeJuan Blair. The team completely lost its rhythm and floundered in Game 5. I hope he doesn't make that same mistake again this year.

[Malik Hairston]

Benching Belinelli and Mills, while swapping some of Splitter's minutes for Diaw, isn't considered "massively altering", tbh, they don't affect the major players..every minute counts, though..

[Malik Hairston]

Brooks' switch has led to stupidity from Pop, too..

Westbrook has been atrocious against Danny Green in this series, shooting less than 35% against him, but after Brooks finally benched Sefolosha(obvious move, he's no longer a rotation-caliber player) in favor of Jeremy Lamb's hideous, ostrich-looking ass, Pop decides to switch Parker and Green's assignments..

This results in Parker getting torched by Westbrook all night, as expected, tbh..

Why not have Parker guard Lamb, instead?..is Tony guarding Lamb really scarier than Tony guarding one of the 10 best players in the league and wearing himself out?:lol..

I don't expect Brooks to get any credit(since he's one of the worst coaches in the league, tbh), and I also don't expect Pop to receive any blame from non-Spurs fans or media..

[ducks]

Pop adjust?,,,,,thats funny.

he did tp got to the lane in different ways
minutes for belinelli was because manu got in foul trouble

[crc21209]

Brooks' switch has led to stupidity from Pop, too..

Westbrook has been atrocious against Danny Green in this series, shooting less than 35% against him, but after Brooks finally benched Sefolosha(obvious move, he's no longer a rotation-caliber player) in favor of Jeremy Lamb's hideous, ostrich-looking ass, Pop decides to switch Parker and Green's assignments..

This results in Parker getting torched by Westbrook all night, as expected, tbh..

Why not have Parker guard Lamb, instead?..is Tony guarding Lamb really scarier than Tony guarding one of the 10 best players in the league and wearing himself out?:lol..

I don't expect Brooks to get any credit(since he's one of the worst coaches in the league, tbh), and I also don't expect Pop to receive any blame from non-Spurs fans or media..

:tu. Green should be on Westbrook, that's obvious. Pop needs to leave Tony on Lamb or Jackson...

[ElNono]

This is an underrated aspect of this series, tbh. It's not all Ibaka (which granted, it's a boost for them). The Thunder switched the coverages after Game 2 and are basically now playing the same way as Dallas did (switching P&R, staying with the shooters, extra effort rebounding, nullifying the medium 3, etc), with the exception that they have better athletes. It's obviously a scheme that works well considerably slowing the Spurs offense, as we seen in the 1st round.

The Spurs were eventually able to overcome it with a stellar game from the big 3, but it did take us to the brink. In one hand, it's good Pop has seen this movie before, and hopefully he's been analyzing how to counter. On the other hand, he really didn't have a "solution" in the first round, he basically hoped for the big 3 to take him over the hump.

[Malik Hairston]

The solution in the 1st round was Parker waking up + the Manu/Splitter pick&roll + exploiting Dirk on defense..

OKC has defensive flaws to exploit, but nothing egregious like Dallas/Portland, tbh..

- Westbrook is a poor off-ball defender
- Perkins is slow
- Ibaka bites for everything
- Butler sucks, but it's easy to hide him with Ibaka back

They gamble a lot and are undisciplined, Pop will need to figure out a way to exploit that..

[BillMc]

The solution in the 1st round was Parker waking up + the Manu/Splitter pick&roll + exploiting Dirk on defense..

OKC doesn't have many defensive flaws to exploit, tbh..

As I mentioned before Westbrook's off the ball defense is suspect. He, like his former teammate Harden, often lose their man when he doesn't have the ball. Tony and Patty should be able to exploit this when they have someone else set up the offense.

[UZER]

Brooks has changed the series by sitting his old vets and playing the young energetic athletic lineups. Every time pop brings in a older vet, Brooks substitutes a young buck to harass them and their energy is overwhelming the spurs. Notice Collison butler and Fisher haven't been playing that much.

It's worked so far, you just hope experience will eventually win out, but not if pop makes no adjustments.

[TheGoldStandard]

When has Pop ever out coached a better team in the playoffs? Hasn't happened in a while. He's hoping and praying the Thunder go cold or get tired.

[crc21209]

The solution in the 1st round was Parker waking up + the Manu/Splitter pick&roll + exploiting Dirk on defense..

OKC has defensive flaws to exploit, but nothing egregious like Dallas/Portland, tbh..

- Westbrook is a poor off-ball defender
- Perkins is slow
- Ibaka bites for everything
- Butler sucks, but it's easy to hide him with Ibaka back

They gamble a lot and are undisciplined, Pop will need to figure out a way to exploit that..

1. Parker can wake up if Pop takes him off of Westbrook and puts Green back on him. Parker will then have more energy for the offensive end. However, in order for Tony to have a better chance of getting in the paint maybe Pop should...

2. Start Diaw to try and take Ibaka out of the paint a bit. Even if Boris misses a midrange or long J, he's more of a perimeter threat than Splitter is. And if this move happens, then that means...

3. Manu and Splitter can run the pick n roll off the bench.

[Malik Hairston]

Ya, I edited my post to expand my answer..

They're gonna have to divert from the Duncan/Splitter combination and go with Diaw or Kawhi, tbh..

We all want Kawhi to drive more, but its impossible when he's playing with Duncan/Splitter, as Ibaka is just sitting in the lane and waiting, tbh..

Pop is gonna have to make Ibaka's man move more with quick cuts/space out, along with attacking Westbrook off the ball with Parker cutting/screens for Danny Green 3-pointers..

Also, when Durant is at the 4, Diaw needs to get the ball every time, tbh..I'd like to see the same thing when Butler is guarding Kawhi(assuming he isn't playing with the Duncan/Splitter combo, which just doesn't work in this series)..

[ElNono]

The solution in the 1st round was Parker waking up + the Manu/Splitter pick&roll + exploiting Dirk on defense..

OKC doesn't have many defensive flaws to exploit, tbh..

Yeah, but they do have some. Especially when Scotty goes small, something he loves to do. The Spurs just have been extremely undisciplined attacking in the last two games.

It's like OKC throws a punch and we go running the other way trying to punch back in the next play with some hero shit.

They're obviously a different team than Dallas, and they're much better covering the pick & roll than Dallas is. But Pop needs to figure out a way to make guys like Tiago, Green and Kawhi be more effective on offense. If we can't get some relatively solid production from those guys for two more games, we're not going anywhere.

[Malik Hairston]

And ya, I agree with running Manu/Splitter pick&roll off the bench, it was one of the biggest adjustments of the Mavs series..

[crc21209]

As I mentioned before Westbrook's off the ball defense is suspect. He, like his former teammate Harden, often lose their man when he doesn't have the ball. Tony and Patty should be able to exploit this when they have someone else set up the offense.

Pop needs to go to a Parker-Manu or Parker-Mills lineup a little more. It will take the pressure off of Tony handling the ball so much. A Parker-Ginobili-Green-Leonard-Duncan or Diaw lineup would be perfect to counter OKC when they play small ball..

[Malik Hairston]

I don't expect Pop to run 3-point plays for Green, since he rarely does, but Leonard is being completely wasted by playing with the Duncan/Splitter combination that forces him into becoming a jump-shooter, tbh..

Leonard is supposed to be the biggest difference from the 2012 Spurs, yet the Spurs have been putting him on the floor in lineups that eliminate his biggest offensive strength(the interior game)..he can't drive with Ibaka camping in the lane(because Duncan and Splitter are on the floor together)..

Everybody is begging for him to attack, but they're ignoring the fact that the Duncan/Splitter combination kills the spacing against OKC and allows Ibaka/Perkins to camp out in the lane..Leonard can shoot Js, but that's far from his strength, it completely wastes his ability as a player..

[elbamba]

KL needs to stop shooting contested jumpers. I thought he was going to have a great game in 4 but he killed himself. The home crowd should give the Spurs some energy. I think Parker needs to be on Lamb and Jackson when they play. Neither player is going to take shots from Westbrook. I would be okay benching Tiago quickly if he continues to play so weak. Diaw looks to want to play and Baynes is a better rebounder.

Spurs keys to winning the next game are rebounding and limiting transition points. They do both of these things and I think the Spurs win.

[wildchild]

Pop adjust?,,,,,thats funny.
Pop is slowly adjusting because he wants the players execute his game plan at a perfect level, it's not about the plan can fail, in his mind the players don't play like the plan requires.
The guys said "we'll play better" "it's all we can do" because that the message they receive "the system is good, you're playing bad, you need play better, trust in the system".
And it worked and was successful for years.
We can ask ourselves now if it was the system or was Duncan -young and healthy- and Tony and Manu.


This is an underrated aspect of this series, tbh. It's not all Ibaka (which granted, it's a boost for them). The Thunder switched the coverages after Game 2 and are basically now playing the same way as Dallas did (switching P&R, staying with the shooters, extra effort rebounding, nullifying the medium 3, etc), with the exception that they have better athletes. It's obviously a scheme that works well considerably slowing the Spurs offense, as we seen in the 1st round.

The Spurs were eventually able to overcome it with a stellar game from the big 3, but it did take us to the brink. In one hand, it's good Pop has seen this movie before, and hopefully he's been analyzing how to counter. On the other hand, he really didn't have a "solution" in the first round, he basically hoped for the big 3 to take him over the hump.
Other seasons Pop could afford to wait and doesn't make quick and big adjustments because the Big3 dominated.
Now this scenario is completely different and extremely dangerous, and the Spurs need the small adjustments which make all the difference.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

What are the chances Pop will actually start Diaw and put Green back on Westbrook?

Parker on Westbrook is dumb because Parker is already expected to do so much for the offense, he would be completely gassed on the other end having to chase Westbrook.

[Amuseddaysleeper]

It's gonna be incredibly annoying if Pop doesn't make this adjustments until Game 6, at which point it will be too late.

[wildchild]

Most people want the 4th/5th offensive option in regular season take the leap in playoffs.
Sadly, Pop didn't involve consistently Leonard in the offense during all season...it would have been useful for him and the team now.

[baseline bum]

When has Pop ever out coached a better team in the playoffs? Hasn't happened in a while. He's hoping and praying the Thunder go cold or get tired.

Miami

[Budkin]

Miami

:lol Pop was a mental midget against Spo

[Seventyniner]

:lol Pop was a mental midget against Spo

Disagree. Pop came within a whisker of beating a team with a 66-16 record and superior talent.

[baseline bum]

:lol Pop was a mental midget against Spo

Pop coached circles around Philibeaner. Spoelstra came a rebound away from getting beaten by Danny fucking Green with Parker on a bum hamstring.

[look_at_g_shred]

...again just like 2012

[Beaverfuzz]

1. Be smart with the ball
2. Take the ball to the hole
3. Box out on rebounds
4. Crash the boards, don't start running back to stop a fast break

[Amuseddaysleeper]

Don't know how to embed tweets but here are some from today:


Dan McCarney ‏@danmccarneysaen 1h

Popovich said he cited Joseph at film session today at the approach he's looking for: "Everybody has to take the attitude of Cory Joseph..."

"...kind of a take-no-prisoners, bunker mentality. He was fantastic, and he did that better than anybody on our team.”


Popovich's message was the same as last night: More than any tactical tweaks, Spurs mainly have to match OKC's intensity and desperation.

Pop on possible lineup changes: "We’re considering a couple of tweaks, just in the game plan. I don’t know exactly where that will be...."

"...but we saw some things that might warrant a little tweak here and there."

[MannyIsGod]

Scott Brook's massive adjustment was going Mister Miagi on Ibaka's calf.

[Hoops Czar]

Who's Mills suppose to guard? He's gary neal in 4 inch high heals. Maybe the NBA's best bench in the history of the NBA has to show up on both ends of the floor. If the Starting unit struggles, insert Ginobili for green. That's all you can do.

[Johnny RIngo]

Kinda hilarious that Pop's been dubbed by some members of the media as the "greatest coach of all-time" when he's been outcoached by:

Phil(numerous times)
Brooks(2012, this year)
Spo(last year)
Avery Johnson(2006)
Rick Carlisle(this year)

[crc21209]

One of the keys to winning is to NOT PANIC. It seemed the Spurs got taken out of their offense when the Thunder would send 2 guys at one of our ball handlers. It froze our guys which led to over dribbling or a stupid pass that turned into a turnover. If the Spurs just kept calm and protected the ball they would fine the open man. Take a deep breath, be calm damn it!

[HemisfairArena]

Kinda hilarious that Pop's been dubbed by some members of the media as the "greatest coach of all-time" when he's been outcoached by:

Phil(numerous times)
Brooks(2012, this year)
Spo(last year)
Avery Johnson(2006)
Rick Carlisle(this year)

Dont forget him getting swept by Alvin Gentry and the Suns. One of the pinnacle moments in his overrated career.

[kobexxx]

its not yet over.. though Spurs are heads down already

[dougp]

The thing I find odd is we played the perfect team to prepare for the Thunder. The Trailblazers have the same length as the Thunder, so why were we able to draw their bigs out of the paint but we can't do that against the Thunder?

[slick'81]

Go strong if u have to throw a pump fake fuck this weak layup shit go strong or go home

[DMC]

Just remember Coach of the Year is a regular season award.

[spurfan81]

Would like to hear other opinions on this possible adjustment. In game 4, westbrook and Durant scored 71 between them and no other thunder player cracked double digits. I think you have to focus on westbrook more than Durant. Make him carry the thunder by himself. with reggie Jackson hobbed, move parker on him. put leonard on westbrook and green on Durant. Durant just makes difficult shots even with good defense by leonard. I just think the bigger threat is westbrook and he needs to be contained so they aren't scoring so many points between the two of them. make Durant earn that mvp trophy.

[Baseline]

Pop getting outcoached. What else is new?

Is throwing a zone at Westbrook actually rocket science? If Carlyle were our coach, he'd do that in a heartbeat, and he'd win by doing so. But of course, Pop will stick to his guns, and we'll blow another championship opportunity. Same old story.

[cd021]

Brooks' switch has led to stupidity from Pop, too..

Westbrook has been atrocious against Danny Green in this series, shooting less than 35% against him, but after Brooks finally benched Sefolosha(obvious move, he's no longer a rotation-caliber player) in favor of Jeremy Lamb's hideous, ostrich-looking ass, Pop decides to switch Parker and Green's assignments..

This results in Parker getting torched by Westbrook all night, as expected, tbh..

Why not have Parker guard Lamb, instead?..is Tony guarding Lamb really scarier than Tony guarding one of the 10 best players in the league and wearing himself out?:lol..

I don't expect Brooks to get any credit(since he's one of the worst coaches in the league, tbh), and I also don't expect Pop to receive any blame from non-Spurs fans or media..

Yeah there is no defense for Parker on WB. He has to be back on Jackson (who is hopefully hobbled) Green has actually dominated WB (since the WCF, during the regular season meetings WB has shot 39% for 22 points on 20 shots) He has the "Sef affect" on WB.

I'd actually like to see some Joseph on 'Brook as well. Maybe a Mills-Joseph-Manu-Green/Leonard-Diaw lineup for a small stretch to see how effective it can be.

Its a bold move but having Diaw go at Adams in the post (who is a foul machine) and force him away from the basket when sets screens and spots up from 3.

Its big enough to match-up any of OKC's small ball units and has enough boarding (Joseph, Manu Green/Leonard all are solid rebounders for their positions)

[apalisoc_9]

Super easy tbh..

- Give Cory a shot and bench Beli

- Play Danny more and less to no Patty

- More Diaw with Duncan to allow a leonard drive and more diaw post ups on ibaka

- PnR with Tiago and Manu of the bench..

But Don't expect pop to make any of these adjustmens he's stubborn...

Duncan and Parker will probably try too hard next game thus killing the team's rhythm in the process.

[DesignatedT]

Ibaka coming back wasn't an adjustment

[Malik Hairston]

Great adjustments from Pop tonight, finally..

- Stretch 4, not only forcing Ibaka to cover more ground, but it also allowed Duncan and Leonard to have much more room to operate

- Mills with only 5 minutes in the 1st half, Belinelli with 0..Belinelli didn't check in the game until the Spurs were up by 17 towards the end of the 3rd

- Leonard and Green mixing coverage against Durant and Westbrook

- Ginobili and Splitter working the pick&roll off the bench

- Diaw becoming a focal point for a large volume of plays, the biggest mismatch the Spurs can exploit

[DAF86]

Pop needs to put Daye instead of Ayres in the eligible roster for game 6 as a Bonner insurence, imho.