Too many 3's

[YODA]

Those who live by the 3, die by the 3. Am I the only one to notice were jacking up way to many 3's?? The only people with any drives are Manu and Parker. When was last time you saw Finley make drive to the basket? or Brent? or Bowen? Horry? Seldom to never. Its great that we have a high percentage of 3's going in, but Id rather have a higher percentage of easy baskets going in for myself.
The solution?? Not saying to give up on the 3's, but taking over 15 shots a game is way to much. We definitly need to have some more mid range shots being taken and obviously some more drives other then the big 2.

Until we get this taken care of, Good D will be futile. In the past, We have always been able to get different players involved in the game or to have big games, but this year other then the big 3, who has had big games? Barry once? Oberto early in year? OF course we need the big 3 to contribute, but the rest of the team needs to feel part of the team to make any real contribution. This I feel is lacking.
Speaking of Oberto, is it just me or are players just forgetting about him under the basket? Some easy passes to him are definitly being rerouted to the big 3. Same could be said for Elson. Finley is the one I see getting his hands on the ball, but if your over 6 feet 8, it doesnt seem like you will get a chance to get your hands on the ball unless your name is Duncan. Maybe Im just complaining, but it order for to move foward, our big men are gonna have to get more involved on offense and Defense.


Just my 2 cents worth

Yoda

[boutons_]

yep, Spurs have become dependent on 3Gs. More dependent on 3Gs than they are on (non-existent) team defense to win games.

If they are hitting them, they have a chance to win, if not, they lose.

[Viva Las Espuelas]

not the way yoda speaks, this is

[Slomo]

Just my 2 cents worth

Yoda

Sound like him you don't!

Welcome to the forum :)

[VaSpursFan]

all i have to say is, in a league that's softened the rules on perimeter d, attack the fucking basket. pump fake the 3 and either get to the basket or take the mid-range jumper. all these 3 balls drive me insane...it's fools gold.

then again, with our personnel, the 3 ball for finley, bowen and barry is probably the best option...

[Phenomanul]

Manu has also taken more threes than usual (this season).... but I imagine he will be driving more come playoff time... no needless risks required now.

[Oscar DeLa]

I don't know what it is but- keep going too practice, and keep visualizing the ball going intwo the hoop!

[AFBlue]

Good analysis of the situation. The lack of "scorers" was the reason for interest in Maggette, and the lame play of the Spurs' "other" bigs has been a hot topic of late.

Most on this forum feel that a trade is needed to satisfy those deficiencies, which is why you'll see a "trade for ______" thread a few times a day, as well as a thread entirely dedicated to "reasonable trade ideas".

Welcome...

[SenorSpur]

Good analysis of the situation. The lack of "scorers" was the reason for interest in Maggette, and the lame play of the Spurs' "other" bigs has been a hot topic of late.

Most on this forum feel that a trade is needed to satisfy those deficiencies, which is why you'll see a "trade for ______" thread a few times a day, as well as a thread entirely dedicated to "reasonable trade ideas".

Welcome...

Good analysis of the analysis. Finley's reluctance to drive should be no surprise to anyone. He was roundly criticized for his jump shot-only dependence during his last 3-5 years with the Mavs.

[AFBlue]

Good analysis of the analysis. Finley's reluctance to drive should be no surprise to anyone. He was roundly criticized for his jump shot-only dependence during his last 3-5 years with the Mavs.

I've got to give Barry a little credit though....at least his old ass is trying. He has answered Pop's call for him to be more aggressive and slash to the basket, but it just hasn't yielded much. After all, he doesn't exactly have the killer first step anymore.

Finley just pisses me off....

[Testing]

I agree that we are settling for too many jumpshots. That was highly evident in the Suns game more than ever. Suns players were driving into the paint for layups and or attempt to get to the foul line, meanwhile no one outside of Duncan was going for the paint. Parker did for a stretch there, but for the most part, Spurs have been getting to the FT line less and less (which I guess given their FT shooting is probably a good thing).

PS I don't EVER want to see Bowen go to the hoop...he needs to stick to 3 point shots, ironically he's the only player who's consistently been going to the hoop.

[Testing]

Also, did anyone here that interesting stat during the Suns game by the annoucers? Spurs are 2nd to last in the league (Suns are last) in fouling the opposing team.

[itzsoweezee]

Those who live by the 3, die by the 3. Am I the only one to notice were jacking up way to many 3's?? The only people with any drives are Manu and Parker. When was last time you saw Finley make drive to the basket? or Brent? or Bowen? Horry? Seldom to never. Its great that we have a high percentage of 3's going in, but Id rather have a higher percentage of easy baskets going in for myself.
The solution?? Not saying to give up on the 3's, but taking over 15 shots a game is way to much. We definitly need to have some more mid range shots being taken and obviously some more drives other then the big 2.

Until we get this taken care of, Good D will be futile. In the past, We have always been able to get different players involved in the game or to have big games, but this year other then the big 3, who has had big games? Barry once? Oberto early in year? OF course we need the big 3 to contribute, but the rest of the team needs to feel part of the team to make any real contribution. This I feel is lacking.
Speaking of Oberto, is it just me or are players just forgetting about him under the basket? Some easy passes to him are definitly being rerouted to the big 3. Same could be said for Elson. Finley is the one I see getting his hands on the ball, but if your over 6 feet 8, it doesnt seem like you will get a chance to get your hands on the ball unless your name is Duncan. Maybe Im just complaining, but it order for to move foward, our big men are gonna have to get more involved on offense and Defense.


Just my 2 cents worth

Yoda

i agree, but the question is, is the problem an inadequate offense or inadequate personel? bowen has only one offensive ability: shooting threes. same basically goes for bonner. finley looks good when he drives to the basket, but he seldom does. maybe he's too old. brent is scared enough as it is when he's out there.

i think you're right about oberto and elson though. so the same question can be asked, why are they not getting shots? Is it because popovich's offensive scheme is lacking (ie, four down and hope finds the open guy) or are the spurs just not good passers?

[LEONARD]

Spurs have clearly become jump-shooting team...

[wildbill2u]

Notice that the lane is clogged up and teams usually double team with impunity--by ignoring Bowen alone in the corner where he likes to stand. They can afford to let him take some shots if they can stop our Big Three.

It immaterial if he shoots a good percentage if he only makes a couple of shots and our situation is worse if he's missing his shots.

[Duncanoypi]

quick question...do you want Bowen to shoot the corner 3 or slash to the basket?

[itzsoweezee]

Notice that the lane is clogged up and teams usually double team with impunity--by ignoring Bowen alone in the corner where he likes to stand. They can afford to let him take some shots if they can stop our Big Three.

It immaterial if he shoots a good percentage if he only makes a couple of shots and our situation is worse if he's missing his shots.


it's not immaterial if bruce shoots a good percentage. it's very important for the spurs chances of winning for bruce to shoot a good percentage. here are bruce's stats for the month of january (not including the portland win. for some reason the stats for that game aren't showing up).

as you can see, there's a very strong correlation between spurs winning and bruce shooting well. and there's a very strong correlation between spurs losing and bruce shooting poorly:

FGM/FGA in January wins
4/7
5/6
3/5
3/8
2/4
4/7
3/7
2/8
---
26/52 (50%)
(6.5 shots/gm)


FGM/FGA in January losses
0/6
0/6
2/6
4/10
2/9
1/5
2/6
---
11/39 (28%)
(5.6 shots/gm)

[The Great Fantastic]

Bowen needs to keep shooting corner 3's when he's open.
Barry needs to jack 3's without hesitation, then fake and go to the basket.
Ginobili needs to take it to the rack, get his game going, then see if he's feeling the 3.
Finley needs to get his mid range game going, then see if he has the 3 ball going.

I like Finley's confidence. I just don't like him shooting 3's all night when they're not going down. Take a couple steps in or post up. Get into a rhythm.

I need to start analyzing my relationship with my girlfriend instead of basketball so she doesn't leave me.

[cheguevara]

small ball = more space = more 3pt attempts

that plus Pop has given the green light to all for 3pt attempts.

Finley has no business shooting 3s, and manu needs to stop his love for the 3. hope he's saving it for the playoffs.

Remember when Pop used to bench players for a silly 3pt attempt? not anymore. thanks Pop.

[AFBlue]

quick question...do you want Bowen to shoot the corner 3 or slash to the basket?

Bowen puts the ball on the floor and I cringe. Bowen has the ball any other place than at the corner and I cringe.

[ArgSpursFan]

the thing is, Barry,Finley and Horry are too old to penetrate any defence,so they just depend on their outside shot.

[SequSpur]

When you have old shitty ballhandlers like the Spurs have, that's the best shot attempt you can get.

[The Truth #6]

It would be great if Finley could take it to the rack. Not likely at this point.

I remember hearing Pop on his show say something to the effect that he wants Finley to shoot the ball even more quickly than he has been. I almost ran into the car next to me. That's the last thing we need - more Finley jacking it up every second he touches the ball. I can't believe how much blind faith Pop has in Finley. It's clearly the anti-doghouse.

[AFBlue]

Bowen needs to keep shooting corner 3's when he's open.
Barry needs to jack 3's without hesitation, then fake and go to the basket.
Ginobili needs to take it to the rack, get his game going, then see if he's feeling the 3.
Finley needs to get his mid range game going, then see if he has the 3 ball going.

They know what they need to do, but it's a matter of them having the ability to do it.

Barry tries to drive and kick, but he's just not as quick as he used to be, Finley has made attempts to come off screens and shoot the mid-range shot but they're often contested, and Bowen does take the corner three when it's given to him.

IMO, the problem is more on the "declining ability" side than it is on the "not making the right play" side.


I need to start analyzing my relationship with my girlfriend instead of basketball so she doesn't leave me.

Basketball is SO much easier to figure out....it's often best to just give up...

[objective]

This team is just like the 02 team.

That team could win a lot of games when the shots were falling.

But when they didn't, the old dinosaurs couldn't do anything else to help the team.

[The Great Fantastic]

They know what they need to do, but it's a matter of them having the ability to do it.

Barry tries to drive and kick, but he's just not as quick as he used to be, Finley has made attempts to come off screens and shoot the mid-range shot but they're often contested, and Bowen does take the corner three when it's given to him.

IMO, the problem is more on the "declining ability" side than it is on the "not making the right play" side.



Basketball is SO much easier to figure out....it's often best to just give up...


Barry has been hesitating shooting the 3, Bruce thinks he has a reliable runner, and Finley does come in the game and start jacking threes immediately. So while I, for the most part, agree with your post, I still believe my "analysis" is valid.

[YODA]

small ball = more space = more 3pt attempts

that plus Pop has given the green light to all for 3pt attempts.

Finley has no business shooting 3s, and manu needs to stop his love for the 3. hope he's saving it for the playoffs.

Remember when Pop used to bench players for a silly 3pt attempt? not anymore. thanks Pop.

That may be a problem too. Pop has definitly in my opinion been much softer in his management of the team. I havent seen a red faced Pop in a long time. Most times the Players reacted well to his tirades. His patience has been beyond his normal tendacies this year . BTW, when was the last you seen Pop in anyones face? Besides Beno, noone. In years past, you would have seen pop all over parker, Manu, and even TD at least a few times during the year. This is just an observation and I hope im incorrect.

:dramaquee
Yoda

The dark side cloudeth everything

[E20]

In Manu's case it's kinda of justified. I don't think there hasn't been a season where he drives in and gets injured and has to stay out for 2-3 weeks. He's saving his body for the PO's I guess. Also, I guess by shooting the three more he'll get better at it so not only do you have to respect his drive, but his three ball as well -- on a side note Manu is averaging his highest PPG at nearly 17 in all his 5 years in the leauge.

[dg7md]

We are the 05 Sonics.

[Russ]

Three point shooting is the lazy way out.

On the other hand, why mix it up inside at this point in the season? It risks injury and wastes energy. For what?

When the playoffs come expect more energetic, aggressive play and fewer threes.

[vander]

the spurs are putting up threes because they are open, what's wrong with that? its just as easy, if not easier, to hit an open three; than to hit a mid range jumper over an outstretched hand, or drive the lane and challenge the shot blockers.
i'm glad when the spurs take the open 3, pissed off when they pass it up