Hardwood Paroxysm: Five Things the Spurs Do Better Than Anyone

[BillMc]

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2015/11/27/the-pocket-pass-five-things-the-san-antonio-spurs-do-better-than-anyone/

Article is too detailed to post here but the 5 things are:

1. Own the Elbows
2. Make the Ball Cross from Left to Right Multiple Times
3. Get the Ball Across MidCourt in 4 seconds or Less
4. Defend the Rim
5. Box Out

It's an interesting read, would definitely recommend it.

[benefactor]

Thanks man. Good read indeed.

[Mr Bones]

"The Spurs lead the league in passes per game despite playing at the 8th slowest pace, yet even that stat doesn’t seem to do the Spurs justice. What makes their high passing numbers more impressive is how well they move the ball back and forth from one side of the court to the other. It’s almost as if their goal is to quickly read a checklist of options on one side of the court and if nothing opens up, the ball gets swung around to the other side for that checklist to start over."

Great read. :tu

[ceperez]

"The Spurs lead the league in passes per game despite playing at the 8th slowest pace, yet even that stat doesn’t seem to do the Spurs justice. What makes their high passing numbers more impressive is how well they move the ball back and forth from one side of the court to the other. It’s almost as if their goal is to quickly read a checklist of options on one side of the court and if nothing opens up, the ball gets swung around to the other side for that checklist to start over."

Great read. :tu

When I read that stat about the Spurs having one of the slowest paced teams, I was a bit surprised knowing how quick the brought the ball up the court. This article explains it, they spend a lot of time moving the ball around. The key is to tire out the defense. That is IMHO what won the championship. The Heat and the Thunder got tired catching the Spurs around. The problem with post-up play is that it doesn't tire out defenders other than the center. Parker and Mills job on the court is to keep moving around and tiring out their defender.

[Tbiggums47]

Nice find. The writers are finally beginning to see the style of this Spurs team evolve. I believe this team will be scary good come playoff time. His observations were spot on.

"Spurs have a lot of weapons on offense and they still tend to trust their offensive process more than any individual heroics, but it appears as though they are leaning more and more on Kawhi to make something out of nothing in late game situations. It will be very interesting to follow them in close games throughout the season to see if they continue to go to Kawhi, and if he continues to produce points."

[TXstbobcat]

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2015/11/27/the-pocket-pass-five-things-the-san-antonio-spurs-do-better-than-anyone/

Article is too detailed to post here but the 5 things are:

1. Own the Elbows
2. Make the Ball Cross from Left to Right Multiple Times
3. Get the Ball Across MidCourt in 4 seconds or Less
4. Defend the Rim
5. Box Out

It's an interesting read, would definitely recommend it.

Thank you for posting!

[Mr Bones]

When I read that stat about the Spurs having one of the slowest paced teams, I was a bit surprised knowing how quick the brought the ball up the court. This article explains it, they spend a lot of time moving the ball around. The key is to tire out the defense. That is IMHO what won the championship. The Heat and the Thunder got tired catching the Spurs around. The problem with post-up play is that it doesn't tire out defenders other than the center. Parker and Mills job on the court is to keep moving around and tiring out their defender.

Yeah, no matter how athletic the opposing defenders are, they aren't quicker than a pass, and they can't move faster than multiple passes.

[will_spurs]

When I read that stat about the Spurs having one of the slowest paced teams, I was a bit surprised knowing how quick the brought the ball up the court. This article explains it, they spend a lot of time moving the ball around.

Yes, the ball arrives very quickly within shooting range, but unless there's a great shot available, the play is going to slow down until there's an opening in the defense.


The key is to tire out the defense. That is IMHO what won the championship. The Heat and the Thunder got tired catching the Spurs around. The problem with post-up play is that it doesn't tire out defenders other than the center. Parker and Mills job on the court is to keep moving around and tiring out their defender.

The loop is a great tool for that, and especially to tire the guards out, as they have to be running all the time and fighting through screens. Then their efficiency rockets down on the offensive side (remember Portland 2 years ago).

On top of that being active on D not only requires great physical conditioning but also great mental conditioning not to skip a rotation. And if I dare say, I don't think most basketball players are used to focusing so much (in terms of being mentally engaged), especially when physical fatigue kicks in.

[cariocaz]

Thanks for the link!

[ceperez]

Yes, the ball arrives very quickly within shooting range, but unless there's a great shot available, the play is going to slow down until there's an opening in the defense.



The loop is a great tool for that, and especially to tire the guards out, as they have to be running all the time and fighting through screens. Then their efficiency rockets down on the offensive side (remember Portland 2 years ago).

On top of that being active on D not only requires great physical conditioning but also great mental conditioning not to skip a rotation. And if I dare say, I don't think most basketball players are used to focusing so much (in terms of being mentally engaged), especially when physical fatigue kicks in.

Pop wants to see that mental engagement every second on the floor. That's why he pulls out KA right after he makes a poor play.

Leonard is unbelievable in that he's engaged both ends of the court.

LMA is a disaster because he not only takes a nap on defense, he also does the same during the offense. It's the mentality where he's lacking.

What I like about Simmons is that he's out there working his butt out.

[Mel_13]

LMA is a disaster because he not only takes a nap on defense, he also does the same during the offense. It's the mentality where he's lacking.



You either don't watch the game or don't understand what you see.

[ceperez]

You either don't watch the game or don't understand what you see.

Telling you how I see it. Too often LMA gets the ball and he's momentarily surprised that he's got it. So far I'm not impressed with the big free agent catch.

Regarding his defense, against the Hawks there was a layup drill to the basket when LMA was defending.

[BillMc]

LMA is a disaster because he not only takes a nap on defense


San Antonio excelled defensively last season, too, giving up 97.0 points per game to rank third. LaMarcus Aldridge (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2983/lamarcus-aldridge) has helped fuel the improvement with the Spurs allowing 96.0 points per 100 possessions when he's on the floor. Tiago Splitter (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3233/tiago-splitter) (100.9), Aron Baynes (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2968439/aron-baynes) (102.5) andBoris Diaw (http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/2167/boris-diaw) (104.1) split the majority of the starts at power forward in 2014-15.

From the ESPN preview of tonight's game: http://espn.go.com/nba/preview?gameId=400828144

Agree with your points about Pop, Simmons and Kawhi.

[GSH]

Good article - thanks.

If asked, I would have said that they aren't boxing out all that well, but I guess that's not fair. They do have extended lapses where they just forget to get bodies on guys, but compared to other teams, they're still pretty good about it.

Defending the rim they are just freaking amazing, because it's not just their bigs. Technically, I guess you could say that Duncan defends the space under the rim, but it works out the same. :)

[GSH]

Telling you how I see it. Too often LMA gets the ball and he's momentarily surprised that he's got it.

So after two years of kicking ass in college, and 9 years in the NBA - 9 years of steady year-on-year improvement, 5 straight seasons averaging over 21 PPG. He gets the ball and he's "momentarily surprised that he's got it"? Seriously? THAT is your explanation for what you see on the court, and it doesn't occur to you that you might need to think of something else?

And the Spurs have the best defense in the league, with one guy playing matador? The other four starters must be freaking awesome to make up for that. As in, they all got MUCH better than they were last season, all of a sudden. They would have to be, to make up for how bad you say LMA is playing.

Dude - it's okay to have a theory. But you still have to consider the results. If LMA is defending THAT badly, someone out there must be compensating like a madman.

[Mel_13]

Telling you how I see it.

You can see his mentality? Awesome.

[TrainOfThought5]

So after two years of kicking ass in college, and 9 years in the NBA - 9 years of steady year-on-year improvement, 5 straight seasons averaging over 21 PPG. He gets the ball and he's "momentarily surprised that he's got it"? Seriously? THAT is your explanation for what you see on the court, and it doesn't occur to you that you might need to think of something else?

And the Spurs have the best defense in the league, with one guy playing matador? The other four starters must be freaking awesome to make up for that. As in, they all got MUCH better than they were last season, all of a sudden. They would have to be, to make up for how bad you say LMA is playing.

Dude - it's okay to have a theory. But you still have to consider the results. If LMA is defending THAT badly, someone out there must be compensating like a madman.

To be fair.... it would be two matadors because of Parker. Not trollin. Just sayin.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

To be fair.... it would be two matadors because of Parker. Not trollin. Just sayin.

Parker has actually been quite good defensively this season. LMA has been great defensively.

That said, you don't need 5 great defenders on the floor to have a great defense. 2 or 3 elite defenders and a good system can carry and mask even terrible defensive players and produce a great team defense.

[GSH]

To be fair.... it would be two matadors because of Parker. Not trollin. Just sayin.


LOL. Yeah, I read that a lot here.

So LMA is a matador on defense, and Tony Parker is a pylon. And the Spurs STILL have the highest-rated defense in the league. Think how fucking good Tim, Kawhi, and Danny have to be. You would think the other teams would just avoid those three, and run everything at Tony and LMA, and score 130 a game.



Parker has actually been quite good defensively this season. LMA has been great defensively.

That said, you don't need 5 great defenders on the floor to have a great defense. 2 or 3 elite defenders and a good system can carry and mask even terrible defensive players and produce a great team defense.


The funny thing is, they replaced Tiago with this shitty Aldridge character, and Tony is another year older and slower... and the defense has gotten better?

[benefactor]

You either don't watch the game or don't understand what you see.
The latter tbh.

[TheDoctor]

http://hardwoodparoxysm.com/2015/11/27/the-pocket-pass-five-things-the-san-antonio-spurs-do-better-than-anyone/

Article is too detailed to post here but the 5 things are:

2. Make the Ball Cross from Left to Right Multiple Times

I LOL'd after reading this: "In the clip below, keep your eyes on poor Chris Kaman as he tries to keep his head on a swivel" then watching the clip. Matt Moore is such a troll.

[YGWHI]

I LOL'd after reading this: "In the clip below, keep your eyes on poor Chris Kaman as he tries to keep his head on a swivel" then watching the clip. Matt Moore is such a troll.

Adam Mares' article.

[YGWHI]

Too often LMA gets the ball and he's momentarily surprised that he's got it.
Not sure if he's surprised when he gets the ball...he leads the team in FGA per minute the last 12 games. That means he shoots more than any other player on the team when he gets the ball.

[loveforthegame]

Good read. Thanks. :tu

[TheDoctor]

Adam Mares' article.

That's what I said fam, those guys are a bunch of trolls :D

[Seventyniner]

The funny thing is, they replaced Tiago with this shitty Aldridge character, and Tony is another year older and slower... and the defense has gotten better?

Aldridge has been nearly as good as Splitter on D, which is quite a compliment. He's also a better rebounder.

Tony has gone from being a bottom-5 defender in the league to a bit below average. As the weakest link on the defense, that raises the floor of the defense considerably. The ceiling is still sky-high because the rest of the starters are all A- and better defenders.

[SAGirl]

Good article - thanks.

If asked, I would have said that they aren't boxing out all that well, but I guess that's not fair. They do have extended lapses where they just forget to get bodies on guys, but compared to other teams, they're still pretty good about it.

Defending the rim they are just freaking amazing, because it's not just their bigs. Technically, I guess you could say that Duncan defends the space under the rim, but it works out the same. :)
I think the majority of the bigs box out big time, so do our two SF.
The boxing out fail is WEst.
TD/LMA/Diaw box out with dedication. We know Kawhi is a beast, and Kyle boxes out most of the time, and guys a lot bigger than him, have to give him credit as he's played a lot of stretch 4, and he has held his own helping us win games.

West is a disappointment in the rebound department. He ballwatches a whole lot, instead of holding on to his guy. He's old at this point, I am not sure he can improve his fundamentals at this stage.

[pookenstein]

"The Spurs lead the league in passes per game despite playing at the 8th slowest pace, yet even that stat doesn’t seem to do the Spurs justice. What makes their high passing numbers more impressive is how well they move the ball back and forth from one side of the court to the other. It’s almost as if their goal is to quickly read a checklist of options on one side of the court and if nothing opens up, the ball gets swung around to the other side for that checklist to start over."

How can this be? Don't we have this cancerous dribble, dribble, dribble for 23seconds PG? I'm confused
BillMc Thanks for the link. Interesting read!
:bobo