DieMrBond
11-02-2005, 01:52 AM
Is Finley already a Sixth Man favorite?
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5045944
Posted: 2 minutes ago
The first stop in our initial swing through the league was San Antonio, where the Spurs began their title defense against the ambitious Denver Nuggets by claiming a 102-91 decision.
Let's take a close look at San Antonio's three significant newcomers — Michael Finley, Fabrico Oberto, and Nick Van Exel — as well as the return to the starting lineup of an all but forgotten veteran, Rasho Nesterovic.
MIN FG 3FG FT REB A BS TO ST PTS
Nesterovic 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 1 0 2
Oberto 14 3-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 0 2 0 6
Van Exel 14 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 2 0 2 0 5
Finley 28 7-10 1-1 1-2 5 1 0 2 0 16
Nesterovic
Among all the Spurs' "true" centers (which also includes Oberto and Nazr Mohammed, and excludes Tim Duncan), Nesterovic has the most potent offense in screen/roll (S/R) situations. This is because he's an excellent passer and shooter, and because he can fade and post as well as roll to the hoop. Being mindful of Nesterovic's accurate mid-range jumper, opponents have to tighten up their S/R defense and beware of using his defender to double the ball handler. In his lone post-up opportunity, Nesterovic bagged a neat fadeaway-turnaround jumper over his right shoulder.
Defense is another story: Nesterovic was properly situated in one-on-one face-offs, but his weak-side to strong-side rotations were usually late. Also, Nesterovic is very slow off his feet, and both Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby routinely beat him to rebounds despite his having optimum position.
Mohammed can't match Nesterovic's offensive skills, but is much quicker both vertically and laterally. With Nesterovic in the game, however, the Spurs have still one more player who can move the ball and facilitate an often erratic offense.
Oberto
Even though he hit a low-slung jumper from 18-feet, Oberto is best without the ball in his hands. He made several nice cuts to the hoop, and he also had a nifty put-back when his man stepped up to help on a penetrating guard. Also credit Oberto with a slick pass to a cutting Robert Horry, and discredit him for a silly turnover pass into heavy traffic.
Simply put, Oberto's defense was horrible. His rotations were late, he failed to box out, he got lost several times in transition defense, and Eduardo Najera (not noted for his offensive prowess) took him to school on a four-dribble one-on-one move. At one point, Oberto was so lost on defense that he had no idea who he was supposed to be guarding. Like Nesterovic, Oberto is slow off his feet and spring-legged smaller players routinely beat him to the top of rebounds.
Sure, as the season progresses, Oberto will figure out all the angles and assignments, and, yes, he's strictly a role player. But Oberto seems to the kind of marginally athletic and minimally skilled player who could only survive (and contribute) on a team that plays with discipline and is also loaded with scorers. It's hard to imagine Oberto meriting more than garbage-time minutes for any other squad in the league.
Van Exel
His first rotation was his best: Being guarded by Camby in a switch, Van Exel's initial shot for his new team was a 3-ball that split the net. A few minutes later, another defensive switch had Van Exel being guarded by Najera. This time, Nick was quick to the hoop with one of his familiar flippers. (The Spurs also ran a pair of staggered screens to get Van Exel good looks, but he missed them both.) He tossed one assist-pass to Duncan and another to Finley that resulted in scores. And that was just about all that Van Exel registered in the plus column.
On the debit side of his offense, Van Exel forced a drive and was tooted for a charge, threw a pass to nobody when confronted with full-court pressure, and was understandably tentative with the ball.
On the defensive end he was roasted by Earl Boykins, to the point of being faked off his feet twenty feet from the basket. Boykins beat Van Exel downcourt once (an unforgivable lapse), and generally had his way with the X-man in Denver's half-court sets. Defense is, always has been, and always will be the most vulnerable part of Van Exel's game. As much as he can, Popovich will have to match Van Exel up with point guards who don't look to score.
Finley
After Carmelo Anthony had opened the game by abusing Bruce Bowen with two quick spins in the low post, Finley was the Spurs' first sub off the bench. Right away, Anthony received a pass near the foul line, drove right, and pulled up for a jumper — and Finley was right there as close as a tick on a dog, forcing Melo to miss.
Thereafter, just about every time Anthony ventured into the low post, the Spurs sent a double-teamer to help Finley. In the fourth quarter, however, the Spurs let Finley try to handle Anthony on his own. The result was consecutive baskets on a trio of tight spin moves, and another score when Anthony utilized a surprise screen from Camby.
Michael Finley can only help the Spurs' chances of a championship repeat. (D. Clarke Evans / Getty Images)
(Indeed, one-on-one moves by either Anthony or Boykins represented the most successful aspects of Denver's half-court offense.)
If defending Anthony unaided was beyond Finley's (and most likely any other single defender in the entire league) capacity, the Spurs' prize free-agent catch was much more successful on the downhill end of the court: An understandable parley of caution and confusion caused Finley to make several weak passes — the most egregious being a softly-bouncing attempt at a cross-court pass along the baseline that plopped weakly out of bounds.
And later in the fourth quarter Finley was expecting one of his teammates to shoot when the extra pass (a specialty of the Spurs) caught him by surprise and bounced off his hands. A wily veteran, Finley was usually stationed beyond the 3-point arc on the weak side, but he hustled himself into a put-back in transition, and also executed a sharp cut to the hoop whereupon he turned a pass from TD into a dunk.
But Finley demonstrated that there was one particular aspect of his game that will undoubtedly enhance San Antonio's chances for a repeat — his ability to catch and shoot in the clutch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Finley nailed four big ones in the closing minutes of the game enabling the Spurs to pull away from the overmatched Nuggets and cement their win.
So, then, Nesterovic appears to be a useful, but strictly part-time big man. Oberto will need lots of time to figure out who he's guarding and how to successfully accomplish this task. Van Exel's inferior defense will most likely insure that he spends the majority of the season being a stranger in paradise. But it's Michael Finley who will eventually make the biggest difference for the Spurs.
Is it too early to tout Finley for Sixth Man honors?
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.
Charley Rosen / Special to FOXSports.com
http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/5045944
Posted: 2 minutes ago
The first stop in our initial swing through the league was San Antonio, where the Spurs began their title defense against the ambitious Denver Nuggets by claiming a 102-91 decision.
Let's take a close look at San Antonio's three significant newcomers — Michael Finley, Fabrico Oberto, and Nick Van Exel — as well as the return to the starting lineup of an all but forgotten veteran, Rasho Nesterovic.
MIN FG 3FG FT REB A BS TO ST PTS
Nesterovic 10 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 1 0 2
Oberto 14 3-4 0-0 0-0 4 0 0 2 0 6
Van Exel 14 2-5 1-3 0-0 0 2 0 2 0 5
Finley 28 7-10 1-1 1-2 5 1 0 2 0 16
Nesterovic
Among all the Spurs' "true" centers (which also includes Oberto and Nazr Mohammed, and excludes Tim Duncan), Nesterovic has the most potent offense in screen/roll (S/R) situations. This is because he's an excellent passer and shooter, and because he can fade and post as well as roll to the hoop. Being mindful of Nesterovic's accurate mid-range jumper, opponents have to tighten up their S/R defense and beware of using his defender to double the ball handler. In his lone post-up opportunity, Nesterovic bagged a neat fadeaway-turnaround jumper over his right shoulder.
Defense is another story: Nesterovic was properly situated in one-on-one face-offs, but his weak-side to strong-side rotations were usually late. Also, Nesterovic is very slow off his feet, and both Kenyon Martin and Marcus Camby routinely beat him to rebounds despite his having optimum position.
Mohammed can't match Nesterovic's offensive skills, but is much quicker both vertically and laterally. With Nesterovic in the game, however, the Spurs have still one more player who can move the ball and facilitate an often erratic offense.
Oberto
Even though he hit a low-slung jumper from 18-feet, Oberto is best without the ball in his hands. He made several nice cuts to the hoop, and he also had a nifty put-back when his man stepped up to help on a penetrating guard. Also credit Oberto with a slick pass to a cutting Robert Horry, and discredit him for a silly turnover pass into heavy traffic.
Simply put, Oberto's defense was horrible. His rotations were late, he failed to box out, he got lost several times in transition defense, and Eduardo Najera (not noted for his offensive prowess) took him to school on a four-dribble one-on-one move. At one point, Oberto was so lost on defense that he had no idea who he was supposed to be guarding. Like Nesterovic, Oberto is slow off his feet and spring-legged smaller players routinely beat him to the top of rebounds.
Sure, as the season progresses, Oberto will figure out all the angles and assignments, and, yes, he's strictly a role player. But Oberto seems to the kind of marginally athletic and minimally skilled player who could only survive (and contribute) on a team that plays with discipline and is also loaded with scorers. It's hard to imagine Oberto meriting more than garbage-time minutes for any other squad in the league.
Van Exel
His first rotation was his best: Being guarded by Camby in a switch, Van Exel's initial shot for his new team was a 3-ball that split the net. A few minutes later, another defensive switch had Van Exel being guarded by Najera. This time, Nick was quick to the hoop with one of his familiar flippers. (The Spurs also ran a pair of staggered screens to get Van Exel good looks, but he missed them both.) He tossed one assist-pass to Duncan and another to Finley that resulted in scores. And that was just about all that Van Exel registered in the plus column.
On the debit side of his offense, Van Exel forced a drive and was tooted for a charge, threw a pass to nobody when confronted with full-court pressure, and was understandably tentative with the ball.
On the defensive end he was roasted by Earl Boykins, to the point of being faked off his feet twenty feet from the basket. Boykins beat Van Exel downcourt once (an unforgivable lapse), and generally had his way with the X-man in Denver's half-court sets. Defense is, always has been, and always will be the most vulnerable part of Van Exel's game. As much as he can, Popovich will have to match Van Exel up with point guards who don't look to score.
Finley
After Carmelo Anthony had opened the game by abusing Bruce Bowen with two quick spins in the low post, Finley was the Spurs' first sub off the bench. Right away, Anthony received a pass near the foul line, drove right, and pulled up for a jumper — and Finley was right there as close as a tick on a dog, forcing Melo to miss.
Thereafter, just about every time Anthony ventured into the low post, the Spurs sent a double-teamer to help Finley. In the fourth quarter, however, the Spurs let Finley try to handle Anthony on his own. The result was consecutive baskets on a trio of tight spin moves, and another score when Anthony utilized a surprise screen from Camby.
Michael Finley can only help the Spurs' chances of a championship repeat. (D. Clarke Evans / Getty Images)
(Indeed, one-on-one moves by either Anthony or Boykins represented the most successful aspects of Denver's half-court offense.)
If defending Anthony unaided was beyond Finley's (and most likely any other single defender in the entire league) capacity, the Spurs' prize free-agent catch was much more successful on the downhill end of the court: An understandable parley of caution and confusion caused Finley to make several weak passes — the most egregious being a softly-bouncing attempt at a cross-court pass along the baseline that plopped weakly out of bounds.
And later in the fourth quarter Finley was expecting one of his teammates to shoot when the extra pass (a specialty of the Spurs) caught him by surprise and bounced off his hands. A wily veteran, Finley was usually stationed beyond the 3-point arc on the weak side, but he hustled himself into a put-back in transition, and also executed a sharp cut to the hoop whereupon he turned a pass from TD into a dunk.
But Finley demonstrated that there was one particular aspect of his game that will undoubtedly enhance San Antonio's chances for a repeat — his ability to catch and shoot in the clutch.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Finley nailed four big ones in the closing minutes of the game enabling the Spurs to pull away from the overmatched Nuggets and cement their win.
So, then, Nesterovic appears to be a useful, but strictly part-time big man. Oberto will need lots of time to figure out who he's guarding and how to successfully accomplish this task. Van Exel's inferior defense will most likely insure that he spends the majority of the season being a stranger in paradise. But it's Michael Finley who will eventually make the biggest difference for the Spurs.
Is it too early to tout Finley for Sixth Man honors?
Charley Rosen, former CBA coach, author of 12 books about hoops, the current one being A pivotal season — How the 1971-72 L.A. Lakers changed the NBA, is a frequent contributor to FOXSports.com.