We can beat the Warriors, here's how

[Dave_ET]

Hello All, I dont post much, but felt the need this morning after seeing so many cliff jumpers. Have faith people!

After watching all 4 games of the regular season, heres how, in my opinion, we beat the Warriors:

The reason why our offense sucks is no activity in the paint. It has happened all season since we got LMA - the posters who were worried about combining LMA's mid range with Kawhi's mid range were correct - it's too much in one area. We got away with it/made it work against the other 28 wasteland teams of the NBA, combined with great defense.

The other posters saying none of this (Free agent signings) matter if Parker isnt himself were also correct. This giant Spurs offense engine has no spark plugs without Tony's penetration. Patty is very quick, but for some odd reason he loves to run around the 3 pt line instead of towards the basket. Very annoying.

Keep in mind last night - we didnt have TD or Boris, arguably 2 of our best low-post bangers.

Here's how we beat the Warrriors:

1) Feed Boris, TD, LMA down low, and back them the fuck down into the paint.
2) Kawhi, Tony, and whoever else need to PENETRATE. Trying to out-shoot the Warriors at mid-range is a formula for complete disaster. 1000% more pics and running straight to the basket. Use the physicality, especially Kawhi. Luckily, Spurs penetrated much more the second half of last nights game. Why it took this long I dont know.
3) And of course, fiery defense like our first home game against them.

#3 is a given. The point is that if Pop is the God-coach that everyone says he is, he will get these guys to PENETRATE and LOW POST ALL GAME LONG against the Warriors. I saw blips of it, but it has to be absolutely relentless, every possession.

Thanks for reading - thoughts?

[DMC]

Why did this need a new thread?

[Poolboy5623]

My thoughts are(after 4 games), that the Spurs offense isn't good enough to keep up with the Warriors.

[TheDoctor]

Hello All, I dont post much, but felt the need this morning after seeing so many cliff jumpers. Have faith people!

After watching all 4 games of the regular season, heres how, in my opinion, we beat the Warriors:

The reason why our offense sucks is no activity in the paint. It has happened all season since we got LMA - the posters who were worried about combining LMA's mid range with Kawhi's mid range were correct - it's too much in one area.

The other posters saying none of this (Free agent signings) matter if Parker isnt himself were also correct. This giant Spurs offense engine has no spark plugs without Tony's penetration. Patty is very fast, but for some odd reason he loves to run around the 3 pt line instead of towards the basket. Very annoying.

Keep in mind last night - we didnt have TD or Boris, arguably 2 of our best low-post bangers (booty banger for Boris :toast).

Here's how we take it to the Warriors:

1) Feed Boris, TD, LMA down low, and take them inside-out circa 2005 play.
2) Kawhi, Tony, and whoever else need to PENETRATE. Trying to out-shoot the Warriors at mid-range is a formula for COMPLETE disaster. Need to see 1000% more pics and running straight to the basket. Use the physicality and take it to them! Especially Kawhi. Luckily, I saw a lot of penetration the second half of last nights game. Why it took Pop and the team this long to figure it out I dont know.
3) And of course, fiery defense like our first home game against them.

#3 is a given. The point of this post is that if Pop is the God-coach that everyone says he is (I am one), he will get these guys to PENETRATE and LOW POST ALL GAME LONG against the Warriors. I saw blips of it, but it has to be absolutely relentless, every possession.

Thanks for reading - thoughts?

Fuck you.

[Dave_ET]

Fuck you.

:tu

[Cowboys_Wear_Spurs]

Who's "WE"

[Obstructed_View]

1. Motion offense needs to happen without Danny Green touching the ball.
2. The team, particularly Danny Green, needs to hit open shots.
3. The team, particularly Kawhi Leonard, needs to sacrifice getting shots off for drawing fouls.
4. Stop fucking with lineups and just play your best players, get out of the way and let them go.
5. 4 down still sucks.

[xtremesteven33]

Gotta hope by WCF time the warriors are pretty worn out and hopefully a little more vulnerable and maybe they wont be playing at such a high energy as they are right now. Pop understands it a marathon not a race and pace is key when making a playoff push. It may not be the case for these Warriors but its still a possibility.

As it stands right now the Warriors are the obvious better team all things considered but that doesnt mean the Spurs have no chance. Ive seen my Spurs steal Game 1 on the road many times and tip the scales in their favor. Boris Diaw is a major x factor. He will be relied upon alot to carry the Spurs thru slumps and I can see the offense running thru him alot. Lineups is also going to be interesting. Will Pop bring Duncan off the bench? Seemed to work pretty well last time. I also think Patty Mills should be given less minutes due to the horrible matchup with Livingston. Run Manu at point IMO.

[Obstructed_View]

Those of you that are feeling down, I need you to answer a question:

When's the last time the Spurs' offense was clicking?

[Dave_ET]

Gotta hope by WCF time the warriors are pretty worn out and hopefully a little more vulnerable and maybe they wont be playing at such a high energy as they are right now. Pop understands it a marathon not a race and pace is key when making a playoff push. It may not be the case for these Warriors but its still a possibility.

As it stands right now the Warriors are the obvious better team all things considered but that doesnt mean the Spurs have no chance. Ive seen my Spurs steal Game 1 on the road many times and tip the scales in their favor. Boris Diaw is a major x factor. He will be relied upon alot to carry the Spurs thru slumps and I can see the offense running thru him alot. Lineups is also going to be interesting. Will Pop bring Duncan off the bench? Seemed to work pretty well last time. I also think Patty Mills should be given less minutes due to the horrible matchup with Livingston. Run Manu at point IMO.

Agreed. What goes up must come down...Curry and Co are playing out of their minds lately, hopefully we have great timing by WCF.

Also, this team is still finding its max effectiveness with LMA, West, KMart, Boban with less than 1 year under their belt in a Spurs uniform. Throw KA in there as well. If we make it to WCF that is 2 playoff rounds of experience added to the mix, which isnt huge but still something to take into account. Im betting our offense has a stronger and more defined identity by then.

[cutewizard]

Diaw, Manu, Anderson are key

[houston spurs fan]

Those of you that are feeling down, I need you to answer a question:

When's the last time the Spurs' offense was clicking?
2014, we've looked uncomfortable all year but have been able to set a franchise record for wins due to very poor rest of the league play (except the top 5-6) and good defense. Pop has to figure this out and get the ball in Kawhi's hands so he can make plays. We need heavy dribble penetration against this team so Manu and Kahwi are going to have to come up big here. Get to the line. I disagree with you that 4 down isn't a good strategy. If it is only used in moderation and LMA is clicking.

Diaw was missed last night, almost think Pop kept him out on purpose. Boban got minutes at a very pivotal time in the game which leads me to believe Pop was going uber vanilla so he didn't show Kerr his hand...For some reason I think Pop still has a strategy he is holding back...

[Keepin' it real]

"we" ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWf3A9KN0Ms

[Dave_ET]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWf3A9KN0Ms

:lol I actually watched that episode recently

I can change it if yall really want..

But my real name is Boban

[cutewizard]

If we beat gs, then there is no question that Coach Pop is the greatest coach of all time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:bobo

[Budkin]

The fact is that the Spurs realistically don't match up well with the Warriors and don't have much chance of beating them, but we'll all still watch and bitch/moan/celebrate/meltdown per par because we love dem Spurs.

[Obstructed_View]

2014, we've looked uncomfortable all year but have been able to set a franchise record for wins due to very poor rest of the league play (except the top 5-6) and good defense. Pop has to figure this out and get the ball in Kawhi's hands so he can make plays. We need heavy dribble penetration against this team so Manu and Kahwi are going to have to come up big here. Get to the line. I disagree with you that 4 down isn't a good strategy. If it is only used in moderation and LMA is clicking.

Diaw was missed last night, almost think Pop kept him out on purpose. Boban got minutes at a very pivotal time in the game which leads me to believe Pop was going uber vanilla so he didn't show Kerr his hand...For some reason I think Pop still has a strategy he is holding back...

I think their offense had clicked this year in stretches. Hasn't been any good in at least a month. The good news is that it can come back.

[houston spurs fan]

I think their offense had clicked this year in stretches. Hasn't been any good in at least a month. The good news is that it can come back.
Hope you are right. TP looks like a 34 year old point guard with more miles on his legs than any other PG in the league and Danny looks awful...

[Obstructed_View]

Hope you are right. TP looks like a 34 year old point guard with more miles on his legs than any other PG in the league and Danny looks awful...

Parker looked like he was going to be a pass-first guy there for a bit, but that's gone out the window. Danny has honestly been shit on both sides of the ball. I guess he was reading all the Bowen comparisons earlier this year.

[NameLess Scrub]

The fact is that the Spurs realistically don't match up well with the Warriors and don't have much chance of beating them, but we'll all still watch and bitch/moan/celebrate/meltdown per par because we love dem Spurs.

[spurs10]

Well one way to beat them in the WCF would be to not play your bench 10-12 players the majority of the fourth quarter. It's a crazy thought I know.

[Dave_ET]

2014, we've looked uncomfortable all year but have been able to set a franchise record for wins due to very poor rest of the league play (except the top 5-6) and good defense. Pop has to figure this out and get the ball in Kawhi's hands so he can make plays. We need heavy dribble penetration against this team so Manu and Kahwi are going to have to come up big here. Get to the line. I disagree with you that 4 down isn't a good strategy. If it is only used in moderation and LMA is clicking.

Diaw was missed last night, almost think Pop kept him out on purpose. Boban got minutes at a very pivotal time in the game which leads me to believe Pop was going uber vanilla so he didn't show Kerr his hand...For some reason I think Pop still has a strategy he is holding back...

Time to take it to them down low. I dont understand why the Spurs keep running around the 3pt line handing off the basketball like some NCAA team. It's like Dikembe Mutombo is down there instead of meathead Bogut and undersized Raymond.

When teams burn you via outside shooting, dont try to outshoot in return. Get physical and penetrate.

[BillMc]

Well one way to beat them in the WCF would be to not play your bench 10-12 players the majority of the fourth quarter. It's a crazy thought I know.

This. Pop was still experimenting last night. Only guy in the building who realized that game was meaningless with the seeds set.

[pgardn]

We have beaten the Warriors and we saw how.

[siraulo23]

The fact is that the Spurs realistically don't match up well with the Warriors and don't have much chance of beating them, but we'll all still watch and bitch/moan/celebrate/meltdown per par because we love dem Spurs.

[Mikeanaro]

We are gonna play, Im running the offense you can run the defense Boris and West can cook some nice bistake but they need to watch Porker he eats everything.

[GSH]

Pop always says that "good defense leads to good offense". And he's right. But he leaves out the other side. When you play shitty/stupid offense, it's the same as if the other team had played good defense. "Bad offense leads to good offense - for the other team."

Go back and look at the play-by-play of some of GSW's games. (I'm not going to take hours to get exact numbers - you can tell enough by looking.) When Golden State is forced to inbound the ball on the opposite end of the floor, they are mere mortals. Where they eat other teams alive is on missed shots and turnovers. (And defensive fouls, where they get to inbound on their end of the court + offensive boards of course.) They score at a much higher rate, usually within 8 seconds - often a lot less.

You want to beat the Warriors? Fix the damned offense. Every time our 3P shooters lay another brick, it's a high percentage chance that the Warriors will jam it back down their throats. Missing layups and crying for a whistle? The Warriors are off to the races. I don't know anything Pop can do about the bricks from distance, so I hope he as some wrinkle on the rest. Because the key to defending the Warriors, IMO, is making them play the length of the floor.

Since they are scoring a lot of the time before our bigs are even back and set up on defense, maybe change things up and scratch for some offensive boards? At least you stop the jailbreak some of the time.

When you're beat, foul before the shot and foul the shit out of them. No and-1's. And like Charles Barkley says, "See if he can drag his ass up off the floor and make the next one."

David West is one of the best guys in the league for baiting Draymond into losing his cool. Use it. Klay Thompson is a hothead, too. Use Kevin Martin for that - he's been around enough to understand how.

One thing's for sure - you can't beat Golden State at their own game. If the Spurs are going to post up, the bigs are going to have to be salty, and love the contact, instead of constantly looking for a whistle. They need to deliver their own punishment, instead of playing victim. The attitude needs to be - "If they bring a knife, I bring a gun." And every individual player on the team has to be thinking that way. That part's on Pop.

The Spurs did a good job of making the game ugly last night, and keeping it close. For 3 quarters. If they had come out REALLY physical in the fourth, and not let the Dubs' shooters into any kind of rhythm, they could have had a shot at the end. I think it's pretty clear that the Warriors are a better team, which means the Spurs are going to have to grit out a series with them. I believe they could do it, but every player on the team would have to want it badly and dig deep. They need some nasty.

[james evans]

Green and Parker must be on the bench for any of this to happen

[spurs10]

This. Pop was still experimenting last night. Only guy in the building who realized that game was meaningless with the seeds set. :lol Exactly! Thank you! Pop is playing the long game and was indeed using the game as an experiment. The first half we really got into them defensively. I think it was a great time to give Martin and Boban some burn to see what they looked like against GSW. When I went back and watched parts of the game I felt more confident than ever we can play these guys very tough in the playoffs. They were not planning their best, but definitely trying to win.

:boboTime to get healthy, start getting in the playoffs zone, and building momentum. If we play GSW in the WCF- go out there and leave all on the floor.

[Dave_ET]

Pop always says that "good defense leads to good offense". And he's right. But he leaves out the other side. When you play shitty/stupid offense, it's the same as if the other team had played good defense. "Bad offense leads to good offense - for the other team."

Go back and look at the play-by-play of some of GSW's games. (I'm not going to take hours to get exact numbers - you can tell enough by looking.) When Golden State is forced to inbound the ball on the opposite end of the floor, they are mere mortals. Where they eat other teams alive is on missed shots and turnovers. (And defensive fouls, where they get to inbound on their end of the court + offensive boards of course.) They score at a much higher rate, usually within 8 seconds - often a lot less.

You want to beat the Warriors? Fix the damned offense. Every time our 3P shooters lay another brick, it's a high percentage chance that the Warriors will jam it back down their throats. Missing layups and crying for a whistle? The Warriors are off to the races. I don't know anything Pop can do about the bricks from distance, so I hope he as some wrinkle on the rest. Because the key to defending the Warriors, IMO, is making them play the length of the floor.

Since they are scoring a lot of the time before our bigs are even back and set up on defense, maybe change things up and scratch for some offensive boards? At least you stop the jailbreak some of the time.

When you're beat, foul before the shot and foul the shit out of them. No and-1's. And like Charles Barkley says, "See if he can drag his ass up off the floor and make the next one."

David West is one of the best guys in the league for baiting Draymond into losing his cool. Use it. Klay Thompson is a hothead, too. Use Kevin Martin for that - he's been around enough to understand how.

One thing's for sure - you can't beat Golden State at their own game. If the Spurs are going to post up, the bigs are going to have to be salty, and love the contact, instead of constantly looking for a whistle. They need to deliver their own punishment, instead of playing victim. The attitude needs to be - "If they bring a knife, I bring a gun." And every individual player on the team has to be thinking that way. That part's on Pop.

The Spurs did a good job of making the game ugly last night, and keeping it close. For 3 quarters. If they had come out REALLY physical in the fourth, and not let the Dubs' shooters into any kind of rhythm, they could have had a shot at the end. I think it's pretty clear that the Warriors are a better team, which means the Spurs are going to have to grit out a series with them. I believe they could do it, but every player on the team would have to want it badly and dig deep. They need some nasty.

:ihit:ihit:flag:

I saw saw a couple possessions where Spurs missed a jumper and complained about no call instead of getting back on D, leading to a Warrior bucket...hope Pop is ripping

[sasaint]

GSH, I agree with your prescription for defeating the Dubs, but I personally doubt that LMA has much "nasty" to bring. I also wonder how much "nasty" Kawhi has to offer. I love the guy, and his physical assets allow him to beast, but I haven't really seen him bring what I would call "nasty."

Last night we had the pace where we wanted it for most of the game. If our shooting touch hadn't completely abandoned us, we would have won. If we can continue to dictate that kind of pace, a little "nasty" would probably put us over the top.

[tholdren]

1. Motion offense needs to happen without Danny Green touching the ball.
2. The team, particularly Danny Green, needs to hit open shots.
3. The team, particularly Kawhi Leonard, needs to sacrifice getting shots off for drawing fouls.
4. Stop fucking with lineups and just play your best players, get out of the way and let them go.
5. 4 down still sucks.

Pretty much this and add
6. play like you have a set of balls

[Proxy]

I think their offense had clicked this year in stretches. Hasn't been any good in at least a month. The good news is that it can come back.

a playoff series can do that, like first round '14

[Obstructed_View]

Pretty much this and add
6. play like you have a set of balls

The Spurs played lock down defense in the first half, then let up in the second half. Two solid quarters in a meaningless game is good enough for me. Wish they'd shot better but oh well.

[Obstructed_View]

a playoff series can do that, like first round '14

It can also go the other way, like backdoor sweep '12.

[GSH]

GSH, I agree with your prescription for defeating the Dubs, but I personally doubt that LMA has much "nasty" to bring. I also wonder how much "nasty" Kawhi has to offer. I love the guy, and his physical assets allow him to beast, but I haven't really seen him bring what I would call "nasty."

Last night we had the pace where we wanted it for most of the game. If our shooting touch hadn't completely abandoned us, we would have won. If we can continue to dictate that kind of pace, a little "nasty" would probably put us over the top.


I'm afraid that may be true. But if the Spurs can't be the more physical team, they have to have the perfect game to win. Hard to do that for four games. Somehow, they have to get the Warriors reacting to what they are doing, and not the other way around. I don't know of any other way they can do that. They are going to have to want it more than Golden State. Scratch and claw for 50-50 balls. Make every foul hurt. Hell, flop on those moving screens.

One more thing - the Spurs' philosophy of "good to great" is fine. But when they work for 18 seconds to get that "great" shot, they need people to have the balls to take it. I'm so tired of watching guys pass up great looks, and then seeing the team take some off-balance, fall-away shit shot at the buzzer. The team works to get a great shot - you're part of the team - take the fucking shot.

Pop should bring in Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn (maybe John Salley) to talk to the team about the Bad Boys, and what it takes to be that kind of tough. If not, he needs to bring Don Nelson in to consult on helping this offense.

[Kikoluna]

I'm still bummed 24 hours later. I despite the Warriors but I'm starting to think we can't beat them, or we won't rather. My only 1% of hope is diaw being the difference maker. But yeah , it's 1%.

[sasaint]

I'm afraid that may be true. But if the Spurs can't be the more physical team, they have to have the perfect game to win. Hard to do that for four games. Somehow, they have to get the Warriors reacting to what they are doing, and not the other way around. I don't know of any other way they can do that. They are going to have to want it more than Golden State. Scratch and claw for 50-50 balls. Make every foul hurt. Hell, flop on those moving screens.

One more thing - the Spurs' philosophy of "good to great" is fine. But when they work for 18 seconds to get that "great" shot, they need people to have the balls to take it. I'm so tired of watching guys pass up great looks, and then seeing the team take some off-balance, fall-away shit shot at the buzzer. The team works to get a great shot - you're part of the team - take the fucking shot.

Pop should bring in Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn (maybe John Salley) to talk to the team about the Bad Boys, and what it takes to be that kind of tough. If not, he needs to bring Don Nelson in to consult on helping this offense.

I said in the game thread last night that when we play against the Dubs across the board every one of our guys suddenly becomes two inches shorter. We could learn a lot from Laimbeer or Mahhorn or Salley!

Our judgment is just screwy against the Dubs. The "good to great" mantra does seem to kind of boomerang on us quite a bit. Moreover, focusing on slowing down the game compounds the problem. But playing uptempo is a recipe for disaster against the Dubs. We are struggling to find the optimal balance between taking the good shots whenever they present themselves on the shot clock and working to control tempo. I hope we find it.

[GSH]

The Spurs played lock down defense in the first half, then let up in the second half. Two solid quarters in a meaningless game is good enough for me. Wish they'd shot better but oh well.


Not exactly. The Spurs came out after the half, and went up by 8. They got stops and caused turnovers, and things were looking good. Then this happened:

Kawhi committed a bad foul, and 5 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
Kawhi shot and missed a shittty turnaround hook shot, and 4 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
LMA missed a shot, West got the offensive board and tried to force up a shot that got blocked - 5 seconds later, Thompson got a layup.
Tony threw the ball away, Curry missed a 3, and they let Bogut get an offensive board that he shouldn't have gotten - 5 seconds later, Bogut scored.
Green missed a 3, Bogut scored on the other end, and that capped off a 12-0 run by Golden State.

That run was totally fueled by bad offense on the Spurs' end of the floor. The game turned right there. The Warriors had only made one basket on a tip-in by Draymond for the first 3 minutes of the second half, and none of their shooters were in rhythm. That 12-0 run let them start feeling it. It was bad offense that fueled the good offense on the other end.

[spurs10]

The Spurs played lock down defense in the first half, then let up in the second half. Two solid quarters in a meaningless game is good enough for me. Wish they'd shot better but oh well. Pretty much. I think it was good enough for Pop as well. By the time we entered the 4th quarter- tied after Steph's miracle 3rd quarter- Pop went the other direction.

[Dave_ET]

I'm afraid that may be true. But if the Spurs can't be the more physical team, they have to have the perfect game to win. Hard to do that for four games. Somehow, they have to get the Warriors reacting to what they are doing, and not the other way around. I don't know of any other way they can do that. They are going to have to want it more than Golden State. Scratch and claw for 50-50 balls. Make every foul hurt. Hell, flop on those moving screens.

One more thing - the Spurs' philosophy of "good to great" is fine. But when they work for 18 seconds to get that "great" shot, they need people to have the balls to take it. I'm so tired of watching guys pass up great looks, and then seeing the team take some off-balance, fall-away shit shot at the buzzer. The team works to get a great shot - you're part of the team - take the fucking shot.

Pop should bring in Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn (maybe John Salley) to talk to the team about the Bad Boys, and what it takes to be that kind of tough. If not, he needs to bring Don Nelson in to consult on helping this offense.

If the Spurs can't be more physical than Curry and the Warriors...then no way they deserve a championship.

Pop has proven he can get his guys to be more physical, obviously the "nasty" game pops up first, but through both Heat series. I remember, as I'm sure we all can, playoff games where they look instantly more physical on opening tipoff, and end up winning. This has to happen against the Warriors.

On the topic of Pop experimenting, I hope that is the case in terms of physicality. I am hoping he waits till WCF to tell his team to go apeshit, not only for surprise factor but possibly he's thinking it would prevent any potential injuries before hand.

[DMC]

Pop is not going to get physical with Curry. It's a conflict of interest since he's coaching the Men's team now.

[daslicer]

Pop should bring in Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn (maybe John Salley) to talk to the team about the Bad Boys, and what it takes to be that kind of tough. If not, he needs to bring Don Nelson in to consult on helping this offense.

I'm all for playing physical but who on the Spurs really has that mentality outside of David West. You think Laimbeer could really teach LMA,Kawhi,Mills,Parker,Ginobili,Green to be dirty and confrontational. It takes a certain type of person to play like that and the Spurs don't have those type of guys on their roster. In the past Horry,Bowen,Jax,Kwill were those guys.

[daslicer]

Maybe the Spurs should sign Hibbert for cheap during the offseason.

t_tgRnnVD5g

[Spurtacular]

Diaw, Manu, Anderson are key

:lmao

...Sorry, you were serious?

[Spurtacular]

Maybe the Spurs should sign Hibbert for cheap during the offseason.

t_tgRnnVD5g

Just another wussy NBA "fight" tbh.

[Obstructed_View]

Pop is not going to get physical with Curry. It's pussy bullshit and only losers do it and only loser fans ask for it.

[spurs10]

Pop is not going to get physical with Curry. It's a conflict of interest since he's coaching the Men's team now.

[Obstructed_View]

Not exactly. The Spurs came out after the half, and went up by 8. They got stops and caused turnovers, and things were looking good. Then this happened:

Kawhi committed a bad foul, and 5 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
Kawhi shot and missed a shittty turnaround hook shot, and 4 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
LMA missed a shot, West got the offensive board and tried to force up a shot that got blocked - 5 seconds later, Thompson got a layup.
Tony threw the ball away, Curry missed a 3, and they let Bogut get an offensive board that he shouldn't have gotten - 5 seconds later, Bogut scored.
Green missed a 3, Bogut scored on the other end, and that capped off a 12-0 run by Golden State.

That run was totally fueled by bad offense on the Spurs' end of the floor. The game turned right there. The Warriors had only made one basket on a tip-in by Draymond for the first 3 minutes of the second half, and none of their shooters were in rhythm. That 12-0 run let them start feeling it. It was bad offense that fueled the good offense on the other end.

The Spurs hit some shots for the only time in the entire game and went up by 8. Getting their teeth kicked in after that is the best thing that could have happened. I want them angry and desperate. A content Spurs team has zero chance against what is an amazing Warriors team.

[skulls138]

We just need to get physical in the right way like battling for position and playing out of our minds on D. Theres a fine line between not letting them punk us inside and hitting them to instill fear. The latter, many times, will backfire plus its plain ol ugly. If a head is in the way of swatting the ball, swat the ball, his head shouldntve been in the way.

[spurs10]

We just need to get physical in the right way like battling for position and playing out of our minds on D. Theres a fine line between not letting them punk us inside and hitting them to instill fear. The latter, many times, will backfire plus its plain ol ugly. If a head is in the way of swatting the ball, swat the ball, his head shouldntve been in the way. Well yes you have to be insanely aggressive without the intent to injure someone. Are people going to get hurt? It's possible. :hat

[NameLess Scrub]

On the topic of Pop experimenting, I hope that is the case in terms of physicality. I am hoping he waits till WCF to tell his team to go apeshit, not only for surprise factor but possibly he's thinking it would prevent any potential injuries before hand.

This. This gives me a bit of hope that maybe he's just trying to protect his guys until the more important games..

[NameLess Scrub]

Pop is not going to get physical with Curry. It's a conflict of interest since he's coaching the Men's team now.

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every competition USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.

[ceperez]

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every competition USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.

Why do you think the Spurs brought in Andre Miller?

[SAGirl]

Well.. in any case there's physical and there's just dirty.

I don't think Pop should be afraid in any way to play physical with Curry. Even if Curry got injured everybody knows every competition USA takes NBA players to is theirs to lose, Curry or not.
The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up.

[spurs10]

The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up. Like it! They don't hesitate to post Tony up is right!

[GSH]

The Spurs hit some shots for the only time in the entire game and went up by 8.


Horse shit.

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing shit defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:


That problem will compound when you play a team like the Dubs who are very physical and basically dare the refs to call it. The Spurs need to start asserting themselves now or that's going to be the difference in the playoffs.

Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

[NameLess Scrub]

Why do you think the Spurs brought in Andre Miller?




The Curry post ups are coming right up.
BOOK It!!!!!!
Seriously. They like to post Tony up with everyone they got? Wait until Curry starts to get posted up. That's a jewel I hope Pop is sAving for the playoffs. Even A.Miller is going to be posting up.


Well I like what you guys are saying. I doubt Andre will play much, but if Curry can get worn down on a couple of switches then good.

[NameLess Scrub]

Horse shit.

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing shit defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:



Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.


Well.. this. They have been getting away with stuff the entire season for some reason or other, and I doubt they will just start calling it all of a sudden. Matching their physicality is probably the only way.

[Dave_ET]

Horse shit.

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing shit defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty. In fact, I thought I was saying something similar to this:



Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

Agreed. This thread slowly moved to the defensive side, but my original post was on Spurs offense being the key. Defense needs to be great of course, but that's not the main area of improvement.

The more I think about it, the more I wish Kawhi was practicing his penetration game all season long instead of his mid-range game. With Tony's regression, as well as addition of LMA, more mid-range is the last thing we need right now. The excitement of signing LMA was thinking 'my God think of all the wide-open jumpers and easy baskets he's going to get'...that is nowhere to be seen.

Spurs have settled on disgusting iso plays with embarrassing results - they have to get back to 2014 penetration, ball movement, and easy buckets. Kawhi has to lead that charge.

[Obstructed_View]

Horse shit.

Beginning of the third quarter:

Curry Turnover - West Steal
Thompson Turnover - Kawhi Steal
Thompson and Green - missed shots
Thompson Turnover - Steal Green
Thompson - Missed 3 with three seconds on the shot clock (Green gets the tip-in basket)
Curry - 3P shot missed

I said that SA got stops and turnovers, because that's what happened. Yeah, they hit some shots... that's usually part of taking a lead I think. But the Spurs DID NOT come out playing shit defense in the second half. You can read a play-by-play as good as me. It didn't happen. It was when the Spurs got sloppy on the offensive end that the avalanche started.

Wrong.

I didn't say the Spurs came out in the second half not playing defense, I said that they played lockdown defense in the first two quarters and let up in the second half. At no point did I say they came out playing shit defense in the third quarter, you did. I said they let up. Is that not correct? Did they let up? Did it happen in the second half? Hint: Scroll down about three lines on your box score. It starts about there.

And I think you need some help reading the play by play, because from what I see, the Spurs hit four shots to go up 8, just like I said, and from what I see, the Warriors came back and tied the game off Spurs misses before the Spurs committed a turnover, so their offense didn't get sloppy until they'd given up the 8 point lead.


The Spurs can defend the Warriors in the half court well enough to beat them. But they can't stop them when they can get out and run - nobody can.

Wrong.

The Warriors weren't getting out and running at that point. On the second Curry three, which came off a Leonard miss, Curry grabbed the rebound and brought the ball up. Everyone in the arena that was paying attention knew he was going to shoot the three, and the Spurs inexplicably backed off him for the first time in the entire game. Pop called a timeout. Once again, my characterization that they let up after hitting a couple of jumpers sure seems to match what I see in the play by play.


I agree that a content Spurs team can't beat them. But you say that playing physical with Curry is a loser thing to do and only loser fans call for it? Nobody said to play dirty.
Wrong.

That's not at all true. There are people, DMC, included, that want the Spurs to start hard fouling. There's another thread about it. I don't recall you saying that the Spurs should play dirty and at no point was my comment about it directed at you. But don't say that nobody's been suggesting it since the Spurs got beat.


Are you saying the Dubs play dirty... or just very physical? Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality. Playing dirty was something you made up - not my words.

Wrong.

My quote from four weeks ago in its entirety was the following, with the part you cut out put back in.



The trend that I don't like going toward the post-season is the jumpers. Some people think a long 2 is a bad shot because another step back and it's a 3. That's poor logic. A long 2 does all the same things as a 3 pointer to keep the defense honest, and usually the percentage difference is more than enough to make up the scoring, particularly with the Spurs having probably the four best midrange shooters in the league. The jumpers are bad for the same reason all jumpers are bad: You don't get fouled. The Spurs aren't getting calls, so they aren't going inside, so they aren't drawing fouls, so they aren't getting into the bonus. Frankly the only thing saving them to this point is that they don't foul on defense, which doesn't help when you play a team like OKC that attracts whistles like nobody we've ever seen. That problem will compound when you play a team like the Dubs who are very physical and basically dare the refs to call it. The Spurs need to start asserting themselves now or that's going to be the difference in the playoffs.

So my suggestion that the Spurs needed to be drawing fouls on offense by going into the paint instead of settling for jumpers, especially against the Warriors who the Spurs will never draw 50/50 touch fouls on, was perfectly clear. At no time did I say anything about Spurs defense. You had to go out of your way to cut the six sentences from the beginning of my post to imply that I meant something else.

[G-Dawgg]

Golden State's godly offense is just so much better than our stifling defense. I don't think we lose to them because we do poorly defensively, they're just THAT good offensively. So, the only way the win is to play the same sharp defense that we do night in and night out but pick it up on offense. Our defense will always be solid, but it can only take us so far against a team of this rare caliber. The only way to win is we need to be sharper on offense. Our defense is phenomenal. Basically everything rests on our players making shots. Plain and simple. If Danny And Patty had only hit the shots that were normally going down for them last year, vs Golden State... We would have won the game last Sunday. Danny Green, Patty Mills and whoever.. need to step up and hit their shots. Our defense is immaculate, but it isn't enough. Plain and simply we need our shooters to be a threat from behind the arc again...

[peacemaker885]

Spurs beat them by focus and intensity...

719925467042582528

[Spurtacular]

Someone needs to beat the Warriors. I can't stomach these articles coming out already calling them the greatest team of all-time.

[DarrinS]

Fouling on the floor, rather than during a shot, can keep a good shooter from getting into rhythm. But if Curry has you beaten, and you're going to foul him anyway? Make sure that he doesn't get the shot up, and you don't give up and-1's. As far as I remember, that's always just been called good playoff defense. And the Spurs need to at LEAST match the Warrior's physicality.


Yep. A great example of this was the and-1 foul on Curry by Danny Green near the end of the 3rd quarter. If you're going to foul there, make sure it's a hard foul.

[SpursforSix]

Golden State's godly offense is just so much better than our stifling defense. I don't think we lose to them because we do poorly defensively, they're just THAT good offensively. So, the only way the win is to play the same sharp defense that we do night in and night out but pick it up on offense. Our defense will always be solid, but it can only take us so far against a team of this rare caliber. The only way to win is we need to be sharper on offense. Our defense is phenomenal. Basically everything rests on our players making shots. Plain and simple. If Danny And Patty had only hit the shots that were normally going down for them last year, vs Golden State... We would have won the game last Sunday. Danny Green, Patty Mills and whoever.. need to step up and hit their shots. Our defense is immaculate, but it isn't enough. Plain and simply we need our shooters to be a threat from behind the arc again...

so you're saying the Spurs need to tighten up the defense?

[I. Hustle]

so you're saying the Spurs need to tighten up the defense?

Tight! Like anus

[SpursforSix]

Tight! Like anus

not your mom's though

that'd be like playing defense with 5 Tony Parkers

[NameLess Scrub]

We definitely needs the playoffs to start already.

[Snaq O'Meal]

Spurs beat them by focus and intensity...

719925467042582528

Was that how Bobo strained his ass?

[Slippy]

:eyebrows:eyebrows
Not exactly. The Spurs came out after the half, and went up by 8. They got stops and caused turnovers, and things were looking good. Then this happened:

Kawhi committed a bad foul, and 5 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
Kawhi shot and missed a shittty turnaround hook shot, and 4 seconds later, Curry knocked down a 3.
LMA missed a shot, West got the offensive board and tried to force up a shot that got blocked - 5 seconds later, Thompson got a layup.
Tony threw the ball away, Curry missed a 3, and they let Bogut get an offensive board that he shouldn't have gotten - 5 seconds later, Bogut scored.
Green missed a 3, Bogut scored on the other end, and that capped off a 12-0 run by Golden State.

That run was totally fueled by bad offense on the Spurs' end of the floor. The game turned right there. The Warriors had only made one basket on a tip-in by Draymond for the first 3 minutes of the second half, and none of their shooters were in rhythm. That 12-0 run let them start feeling it. It was bad offense that fueled the good offense on the other end.

This strectch killed it for the spurs . Poise will play a big part heading into playoffs. Being the most experienced outfit out there should help but most of that starts with your PG.:depressed