hitmantb
06-08-2014, 10:31 PM
Honestly Spurs played a very good game overall against LeBron's hot hand. We had 28 assists, 11 turnovers, 46.2% from 3's, this is usually enough to beat any opponent on our home court, however LeBron had an amazing streak and we inexcusably pulled a Nick Anderson in the fourth quarter which killed our chance to break away.
It was a close game to the end but against Heat's big three in the final minutes in a tied game when they are not wore down is an extremely difficult match-up for the Spurs without a dominant 1v1 scorer. If the Spurs play like the way they played tonight and lose 3 more games, well we just have to hand it to LeBron and accept our fate as Utah Jazz. It is impossible to stop someone who drives like an NFL player and shoots like Jordan. You can only hope he runs out of gas and we played perfect up tempo throughout the game and while LeBron cooled off a little bit at the end, we could not execute in the final two minutes.
I was hoping luck would tip just a bit on our side today but considering we already caught a lucky break in game 1, the four free throws was as good as it gets.
Adjustments:
1) Unlike OKC, Heat manages the minutes of their stars carefully, LeBron only played 38 minutes tonight, same as Duncan (very bad for us). They also didn't go through nearly the same grind OKC did during regular season and post season, with well over 40 minutes a night for Durant. LeBron in the fourth still had legs, we can only hope we can tire him out toward the end of the series and our bench must put more pressure on the Heat when they are in the game. His cramp is bound to happen again unless he reduces his weight, we have to go for his legs.
2) Too many minutes for Belinelli, too few for Green. Green had early foul trouble but there is no excuse for him to not be in the game when he only had 3 fouls in the fourth quarter. I understand Pop is trying to play our strongest hand, the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili/Diaw/Kwahi combo, but we need more of Kwahi + Green with Green on LeBron every now and then to reduce the fouls on Kwahi and give him a bit of breathing room so he can do a bit more on offense. No one can defend LeBron 1v1, we need to run some plays for Kwahi to get him going on the other end to eat into LeBron's gas tank.
3) Duncan needs to pace himself. I think Pop overplayed him in the first quarter and he was too active with dunks and what not as well. Duncan can give you one dominant quarter a game if he unload his entire tank, but we really need him to be slow and steady throughout the game.
4) Early foul trouble killed our chance to break open the game. We need to be a little smarter. I still say with the choice between a LeBron drive vs LeBron jumper, I still rather give him a bit of extra space for a jumper than a drive, especially earlier in the game. He shoots extremely efficiently if he is open but he is not a volume shooter like Jordan, Kobe or reaper mode Durant because of the two-way game he plays. You know he is going to have a dozen jumpers at very high percentage, just eat them early and hope he doesn't last. We saw a bit of that in the fourth quarter, I just think Pop should stick to his guns and gamble on LeBron jumper versus LeBron penetrate and dish.
5) We need to do a better job closing-out on Lewis. Let big three beat you, don't over-help.
6) Less minutes for Duncan, don't try to call 1v1 plays for Duncan, Bosh is better than hobbled Ibaka logging over 40 minutes prior to OT. I said it before the series started but the Heat wants Duncan to go 1v1 against Birman/Bosh, guaranteed way to wear him down later in the game.
Overall, Heat is showing what a good coach would do against the Spurs with a stronger roster. I believe if Erik Spoelstra coached the Thunder, they would have beaten the Spurs for sure. Spurs fans suffered from game 6 before so nothing will really shake us at this point. Enjoy what could be the last run for the Spurs at a title and cheer for GDP. To see Duncan/Manu put up bigger numbers than Bosh/Wade is incredible. Parker can not match LeBron's production so the Spurs system has to step up and everyone have to play at the highest level. Margin of error just much bigger for the Heat.
We could very well be in a 0-2 hole. We must win one in Miami, let's see if this team has the fortitude to make up for the huge talent gap.
It was a close game to the end but against Heat's big three in the final minutes in a tied game when they are not wore down is an extremely difficult match-up for the Spurs without a dominant 1v1 scorer. If the Spurs play like the way they played tonight and lose 3 more games, well we just have to hand it to LeBron and accept our fate as Utah Jazz. It is impossible to stop someone who drives like an NFL player and shoots like Jordan. You can only hope he runs out of gas and we played perfect up tempo throughout the game and while LeBron cooled off a little bit at the end, we could not execute in the final two minutes.
I was hoping luck would tip just a bit on our side today but considering we already caught a lucky break in game 1, the four free throws was as good as it gets.
Adjustments:
1) Unlike OKC, Heat manages the minutes of their stars carefully, LeBron only played 38 minutes tonight, same as Duncan (very bad for us). They also didn't go through nearly the same grind OKC did during regular season and post season, with well over 40 minutes a night for Durant. LeBron in the fourth still had legs, we can only hope we can tire him out toward the end of the series and our bench must put more pressure on the Heat when they are in the game. His cramp is bound to happen again unless he reduces his weight, we have to go for his legs.
2) Too many minutes for Belinelli, too few for Green. Green had early foul trouble but there is no excuse for him to not be in the game when he only had 3 fouls in the fourth quarter. I understand Pop is trying to play our strongest hand, the Duncan/Parker/Ginobili/Diaw/Kwahi combo, but we need more of Kwahi + Green with Green on LeBron every now and then to reduce the fouls on Kwahi and give him a bit of breathing room so he can do a bit more on offense. No one can defend LeBron 1v1, we need to run some plays for Kwahi to get him going on the other end to eat into LeBron's gas tank.
3) Duncan needs to pace himself. I think Pop overplayed him in the first quarter and he was too active with dunks and what not as well. Duncan can give you one dominant quarter a game if he unload his entire tank, but we really need him to be slow and steady throughout the game.
4) Early foul trouble killed our chance to break open the game. We need to be a little smarter. I still say with the choice between a LeBron drive vs LeBron jumper, I still rather give him a bit of extra space for a jumper than a drive, especially earlier in the game. He shoots extremely efficiently if he is open but he is not a volume shooter like Jordan, Kobe or reaper mode Durant because of the two-way game he plays. You know he is going to have a dozen jumpers at very high percentage, just eat them early and hope he doesn't last. We saw a bit of that in the fourth quarter, I just think Pop should stick to his guns and gamble on LeBron jumper versus LeBron penetrate and dish.
5) We need to do a better job closing-out on Lewis. Let big three beat you, don't over-help.
6) Less minutes for Duncan, don't try to call 1v1 plays for Duncan, Bosh is better than hobbled Ibaka logging over 40 minutes prior to OT. I said it before the series started but the Heat wants Duncan to go 1v1 against Birman/Bosh, guaranteed way to wear him down later in the game.
Overall, Heat is showing what a good coach would do against the Spurs with a stronger roster. I believe if Erik Spoelstra coached the Thunder, they would have beaten the Spurs for sure. Spurs fans suffered from game 6 before so nothing will really shake us at this point. Enjoy what could be the last run for the Spurs at a title and cheer for GDP. To see Duncan/Manu put up bigger numbers than Bosh/Wade is incredible. Parker can not match LeBron's production so the Spurs system has to step up and everyone have to play at the highest level. Margin of error just much bigger for the Heat.
We could very well be in a 0-2 hole. We must win one in Miami, let's see if this team has the fortitude to make up for the huge talent gap.