Pop's subtle adjustments

[George Gervin's Afro]

Has anyone noticed that the last couple of games Pop has started the 3rd and 4th qtrs with a full court press? I believe he is doing that to ensure (or at least attempt to) that the team comes out with the proper energy. I like it because as we are all very aware the Spurs are getting killed in the 3rd quarter.

Pop is also taking TD out earlier in the 1st qtr and 3rd qtr.

Ok this one may not be so subtle but earlier last week (prior to Pop making the change) I remarked that I REALLY like vaughn's energy when he came into the game. I believe that his defensive intensity is infectious for the other players on the court. He moves his feet very well and almost always seems to be in front of his man. I am glad that Pop has decided to go with him as the back up.

[MrChug]

I like it. I also noticed that Pop seems to be putting in Bob Horry for shorter periods of time yet more often. He seems to be more effective when playing stretches of 5 minutes versus 7.

[RC's Boss]

Me likes it a lot

[romad_20]

I like the rotation that he has used the last two games. I hope we stick to it the rest of the year. I don't want to see Manu flip-flopping on and off the bench or a line up of Oberto, Horry, Finely, Vaughn and Bowen on the floor. I wonder how Bonner will fit in when he gets back?

[Solid D]

No, I didn't notice the Spurs do a full court press but once in the 2nd half versus the Pistons. The Spurs never did it in the 3rd. They started the 4th quarter with 3-man pressure after the inbounds but never went back to it.

[George Gervin's Afro]

No, I didn't notice the Spurs do a full court press but once in the 2nd half versus the Pistons. The Spurs never did it in the 3rd. They started the 4th quarter with 3-man pressure after the inbounds but never went back to it.


They opened the second half of the Nets game the same way. I guess you and I saw 2 different games.

[Solid D]

I can't speak for the Nets game but I can speak for the Spurs @ the Pistons, 2/14/2007.

[LEONARD]

Pop = genius

...unless you read all threads between yesterday and a the beginning of Jan... :lol

[Solid D]

George Gervin's Afro, just for clarification, Pistons game aside, the Spurs have used full court pressure by the PG frequently for a good portion of the season. TP does it all the time. Pop tried to get Beno to do it but Beno usually ended up starting pressure at 3/4 court. Jacque Vaughn pressures on-ball full-court frequently, including the game against the Nets. Pop once said on his radio show he had asked Beno to do it to get him engaged more defensively.

Generally speaking, over the course of Coach Popovich's tenure with the Spurs, Pop will apply pressure full-court to eat up the first third of the shot clock. He likes to do it against half-court prominent teams. He likes to do it against Phil's triangle offense. Against the Suns or other up-tempo teams (Nets with J Kidd) who are so good in transition, Pop doesn't usually pressure full-court. He gets his entire team back to handle the early offense attacking them.

[timvp]

The most major change of all over the last two games is Oberto is out of the rotation. He only played against the Nets because it was a blowout and against the Pistons because Elson got hurt for a second.

I think it's a good move because for some reason Oberto doesn't bring it on a nightly basis and his lack of shotblocking has become more of an issue of late. It'll be interesting to see how the additions of Bonner and Ely effect the bigman rotation.

Vaughn over Beno is a must at this point. If Vaughn can play halfway decent, that's a plus.

[Solid D]

Elson has really done a great job the past 2 games defensively, besides the rebounding. This has been a pleasant departure from his old defensive ways. His hard hedges on the high screen/rolls totally blew up the Nets ball-handlers' rhythm...including Vince Carter, surprisingly. He was almost as good against the Pistons in the first half, although he gave up a bit early on them in the 2nd half.

Elson was also quick to close-out on the perimeter and if he did help on the inside, he was much more active and on time. Once again, this has been an improvement over what he has shown prior to this week.

Francisco also took an interest in running the floor against Detroit, almost as though on cue to our jokes about the lack of such only a couple of days earlier.

[FromWayDowntown]

Pop's down to 9 guys now (he played 9 in the guts of the game in NJ and other than Oberto's 7 minutes, he played 9 at Detroit). I actually think that's a positive because it allows for some clearer definitions of roles and minutes, which I think this team has needed for a while.

I think timvp is right that the addition of Bonner is going to create some havoc with all of that -- I'd expect that initially at least, the rotation will be pushed back out to 10 (Parker, Barry, Bowen, Duncan, Elson, Vaughn, Manu, Finley, Horry, Bonner) at least for a little while. If Pop is being sincere with his comments about Ely's conditioning, I'd expect that Melvin is a couple of weeks away from having any chance to see meaningful playing time, though it might be that Pop will dress him early on to get him in the flow and acclimated to the environment. All of that makes for some interesting decisions as to who's inactive each night among Beno, Oberto, and Ely.

I don't mean to overblow its importance, but I also wonder how much the trade might have opened some eyes about roles. Taking Pop's statements about Ely with a grain of salt, Elson could reasonably feel that his role is in some jeopardy following the acquisition of a long guy who's a much better shotblocker and pure defender. Elson has plenty of reason now to play with great energy and exploit his strengths -- particularly his quickness and leaping ability -- on both ends. Whether he continues to do that is a question, but so far, so good.

[T Park]

watching the replay of the game last night, Elson's rotations are miles better than a month ago.

Someones got a touch of the Brent Barry disease.

[timvp]

Elson has really done a great job the past 2 games defensively, besides the rebounding. This has been a pleasant departure from his old defensive ways. His hard hedges on the high screen/rolls totally blew up the Nets ball-handlers' rhythm...including Vince Carter, surprisingly. He was almost as good against the Pistons in the first half, although he gave up a bit early on them in the 2nd half.

Elson was also quick to close-out on the perimeter and if he did help on the inside, he was much more active and on time. Once again, this has been an improvement over what he has shown prior to this week.

Yeah, I was more impressed with Elson's D than his rebounding. His rebounding was more of a fluke. Of the 18, maybe one or two of them were in traffic.

But if he can defend with that level of energy, he's at least good enough.


Francisco also took an interest in running the floor against Detroit, almost as though on cue to our jokes about the lack of such only a couple of days earlier.

:lol :nerd

Hopefully it wasn't just because he had the one-legged Chris Webber trying to chase him around the court. If he can get out and run like that, it'll make teams have to account for him in transition.

[rr2418]

The Spurs have also taken less three point attempts the last two games, which I like to see.

[nkdlunch]

The Spurs have also taken less three point attempts the last two games, which I like to see.

but Finley hasn't :bang

[RC's Boss]

but Finley hasn't :bang
Fuck it man, let him shoot. As long as he doesn't hesitate before he releases.