ducks
06-11-2007, 04:56 PM
Almost Perfect
by John Schuhmann
SAN ANTONIO, June 10, 2007 -- Before Game 2 of the 2007 NBA Finals, coach Gregg Popovich explained how his team can sometimes get into an offensive funk, like it did in Game 1.
"It's usually a combination of turnovers, missed shots, which is normal and can happen to anybody, and a lack of movement, lack of ball and player movement, not letting the game come to each individual but forcing the issue, not playing within the system," Popovich said.
Most of that came into play Thursday night, as the Spurs dealt with an eight-day layoff after defeating the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. But the Spurs did what the Spurs do on the defensive end, holding the Cavs to just 76 points on 42.9 percent shooting to take Game 1.
Tonight was a bit of a mixed bag. In short, they played well offensively for three quarters and well defensively for two.
Three Quarters of Offense
For the first 36 minutes, the Spurs' offense was sharp. Through three quarters, the Spurs had scored 89 points on 66 possessions, an average of 1.35 points per possession, which, with how well the Spurs play defense, just isn't fair.
To give you an idea of just how unfair it is, consider this: When the Spurs have averaged at least 1.20 points per possession (0.15 less than they were averaging through three quarters tonight) in a game this season, they're 20-0 with an average margin of victory of 21.9 points.
"We were moving the ball real well," Tim Duncan said. "We had guys making shots."
It peeked with a stretch in the third when they scored on five straight possessions, including consecutive threes from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and a brilliant feed from Ginobili to Tim Duncan underneath the basket on a secondary break.
Not coincidentally, it was the Big Three that was leading the way all night. They combined for 78 of their team's 103 points for the night, with no other Spur scoring more than six. Parker got to the rim with ease once again. Ginobili was money from downtown once again. And Duncan did his thing in the low post ... once again.
And while both Parker and Ginobili outscored the Big Fundamental, Duncan finished with eight assists, which he has topped only three times in 136 career playoff games.
But in the final period, the Cavs stepped up the defensive intensity and the San Antonio offense went south a bit. They scored on only two of their first 11 possessions of the fourth, and finished with just 14 fourth-quarter points in 20 possessions. That dropped their offensive efficiency for the game below that magical 1.20 mark.
"We got too over confident, and we stopped moving the ball offensively," Ginobili said.
Two Quarters of Defense
On the defensive end, the Spurs held the Cavs to just 33 points on 45 possessions in the first half, an average of just 0.73 points per possession, which is just as unfair as their offensive proficiency in the first three quarters.
One particular possession, which took place near the end of the half, sticks out.
On that possession, a double-team on LeBron James led to some crisp ball movement from Cleveland. But the Spurs rotated beautifully, and just when Daniel Gibson thought he was open for a three in the opposite corner after three passes around the perimeter, Michael Finley got there to contest the shot and force a miss.
It helped that James misses more than nine minutes of first-half action with foul trouble, but even when he was in, the Spurs kept him frustrated to the tune of 4-of-11 from the field. And his teammates couldn't pick up the slack, shooing just 7-of-30.
But in the second half, the Spurs got comfortable, James got aggressive and his teammates made shots. And even though San Antonio still led by 27 points after three quarters, the Cavs had scored 29 points in the third. So, when the Spurs slowed down offensively, Cleveland was already in a groove.
In total, the Cavs scored 59 points in 41 second-half possessions, a 1.44 points per possession rate that was even better than the Spurs at their best.
And while some of that can be blamed on letting up a bit, there was also a change in strategy.
"We tried some different things defensively," Robert Horry said. "They didn't work out. They made some shots. It's a typical thing where you're up by that many points, you try some different things in case you want to use them in the next game. And whatever we tried didn't work, so they were able to come back. Sometimes, that happens."
Popovich agreed, blaming himself.
"I thought a couple defenses I called were inappropriate," he said.
Closing the Door
In the end though, the Spurs did enough in the first three quarters to keep the Cavs from coming all the way back. Still, as the Cavs were closing in down the stretch, the Spurs needed a couple of huge plays on the offensive end to put the game away.
First, with less than five and a half minutes to go and with Cleveland on a 10-0 run, Brent Barry saved an errant Tim Duncan pass on the baseline. Tony Parker ended up with the ball, drove the lane and make a miraculous shot in traffic to take the lead back to 95-84.
Barry made just one of his six shots on the night, but his save certainly helped make up for the poor shooting.
Then, with the game still not quite decided, Robert Horry had the ball on the right wing, looking to hit Tim Duncan, who was being fronted by Damon Jones after a switch, down low. But when Daniel Gibson sunk down to help, Horry threw a skip pass to Manu Ginobili on the left wing. Gibson tried to recover, but he was too late. Gibson fouled Ginobili, who hit the shot and completed the four-point play to make it a 12-point game with just over two minutes to go.
Dagger.
"I tried to pump fake, pump fake to get him to bite, and he finally bit," Horry said. "Because Tim had the little guy on him, I was gonna throw it over the top, but the little guy on the other side saw it, so I just hit Manu for the shot."
"I was feeling good with my shot," Ginobili said, "so when I saw the rotation a little late, I didn't hesitate."
Still a Lot of Work to be Done
In the end, they got the win. And that's most important. They're heading to Cleveland up 2-0 and still holding the home court advantage. But with the second-half letdowns on both ends of the floor, there's room for improvement.
"We want to take care of the home court," Bruce Bowen said, "and unfortunately it wasn't the way we would have liked it to be in the fourth quarter here, but we got the victory and we are happy with that."
by John Schuhmann
SAN ANTONIO, June 10, 2007 -- Before Game 2 of the 2007 NBA Finals, coach Gregg Popovich explained how his team can sometimes get into an offensive funk, like it did in Game 1.
"It's usually a combination of turnovers, missed shots, which is normal and can happen to anybody, and a lack of movement, lack of ball and player movement, not letting the game come to each individual but forcing the issue, not playing within the system," Popovich said.
Most of that came into play Thursday night, as the Spurs dealt with an eight-day layoff after defeating the Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. But the Spurs did what the Spurs do on the defensive end, holding the Cavs to just 76 points on 42.9 percent shooting to take Game 1.
Tonight was a bit of a mixed bag. In short, they played well offensively for three quarters and well defensively for two.
Three Quarters of Offense
For the first 36 minutes, the Spurs' offense was sharp. Through three quarters, the Spurs had scored 89 points on 66 possessions, an average of 1.35 points per possession, which, with how well the Spurs play defense, just isn't fair.
To give you an idea of just how unfair it is, consider this: When the Spurs have averaged at least 1.20 points per possession (0.15 less than they were averaging through three quarters tonight) in a game this season, they're 20-0 with an average margin of victory of 21.9 points.
"We were moving the ball real well," Tim Duncan said. "We had guys making shots."
It peeked with a stretch in the third when they scored on five straight possessions, including consecutive threes from Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili, and a brilliant feed from Ginobili to Tim Duncan underneath the basket on a secondary break.
Not coincidentally, it was the Big Three that was leading the way all night. They combined for 78 of their team's 103 points for the night, with no other Spur scoring more than six. Parker got to the rim with ease once again. Ginobili was money from downtown once again. And Duncan did his thing in the low post ... once again.
And while both Parker and Ginobili outscored the Big Fundamental, Duncan finished with eight assists, which he has topped only three times in 136 career playoff games.
But in the final period, the Cavs stepped up the defensive intensity and the San Antonio offense went south a bit. They scored on only two of their first 11 possessions of the fourth, and finished with just 14 fourth-quarter points in 20 possessions. That dropped their offensive efficiency for the game below that magical 1.20 mark.
"We got too over confident, and we stopped moving the ball offensively," Ginobili said.
Two Quarters of Defense
On the defensive end, the Spurs held the Cavs to just 33 points on 45 possessions in the first half, an average of just 0.73 points per possession, which is just as unfair as their offensive proficiency in the first three quarters.
One particular possession, which took place near the end of the half, sticks out.
On that possession, a double-team on LeBron James led to some crisp ball movement from Cleveland. But the Spurs rotated beautifully, and just when Daniel Gibson thought he was open for a three in the opposite corner after three passes around the perimeter, Michael Finley got there to contest the shot and force a miss.
It helped that James misses more than nine minutes of first-half action with foul trouble, but even when he was in, the Spurs kept him frustrated to the tune of 4-of-11 from the field. And his teammates couldn't pick up the slack, shooing just 7-of-30.
But in the second half, the Spurs got comfortable, James got aggressive and his teammates made shots. And even though San Antonio still led by 27 points after three quarters, the Cavs had scored 29 points in the third. So, when the Spurs slowed down offensively, Cleveland was already in a groove.
In total, the Cavs scored 59 points in 41 second-half possessions, a 1.44 points per possession rate that was even better than the Spurs at their best.
And while some of that can be blamed on letting up a bit, there was also a change in strategy.
"We tried some different things defensively," Robert Horry said. "They didn't work out. They made some shots. It's a typical thing where you're up by that many points, you try some different things in case you want to use them in the next game. And whatever we tried didn't work, so they were able to come back. Sometimes, that happens."
Popovich agreed, blaming himself.
"I thought a couple defenses I called were inappropriate," he said.
Closing the Door
In the end though, the Spurs did enough in the first three quarters to keep the Cavs from coming all the way back. Still, as the Cavs were closing in down the stretch, the Spurs needed a couple of huge plays on the offensive end to put the game away.
First, with less than five and a half minutes to go and with Cleveland on a 10-0 run, Brent Barry saved an errant Tim Duncan pass on the baseline. Tony Parker ended up with the ball, drove the lane and make a miraculous shot in traffic to take the lead back to 95-84.
Barry made just one of his six shots on the night, but his save certainly helped make up for the poor shooting.
Then, with the game still not quite decided, Robert Horry had the ball on the right wing, looking to hit Tim Duncan, who was being fronted by Damon Jones after a switch, down low. But when Daniel Gibson sunk down to help, Horry threw a skip pass to Manu Ginobili on the left wing. Gibson tried to recover, but he was too late. Gibson fouled Ginobili, who hit the shot and completed the four-point play to make it a 12-point game with just over two minutes to go.
Dagger.
"I tried to pump fake, pump fake to get him to bite, and he finally bit," Horry said. "Because Tim had the little guy on him, I was gonna throw it over the top, but the little guy on the other side saw it, so I just hit Manu for the shot."
"I was feeling good with my shot," Ginobili said, "so when I saw the rotation a little late, I didn't hesitate."
Still a Lot of Work to be Done
In the end, they got the win. And that's most important. They're heading to Cleveland up 2-0 and still holding the home court advantage. But with the second-half letdowns on both ends of the floor, there's room for improvement.
"We want to take care of the home court," Bruce Bowen said, "and unfortunately it wasn't the way we would have liked it to be in the fourth quarter here, but we got the victory and we are happy with that."