Dex
01-22-2008, 01:47 PM
Spurs pick on flaw -- and roll
Bobcats struggle defending basic play
RICK BONNELL
[email protected]
Here's a team that knows how to extinguish an opponent's strength: The San Antonio Spurs held Charlotte Bobcats Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson to 10-of-36 shooting.
Here's a team that didn't know how to extinguish an opponent's strength: The Spurs ran the pick-and-roll continuously, and the next time the Bobcats disrupt it might be the first. :lol
That was the subtle but defining difference Monday in Charlotte's otherwise close 95-86 loss at Bobcats Arena.
"Our pick-and-roll defense was a big factor to us,'' Wallace said of the matinee loss on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "They probably ran that 90 percent of the time. It was the biggest thing that hurt us.''
It was more than big, it was overarching. Spurs big man Tim Duncan (19 points, 10 rebounds) was the roadblock, springing teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to go just about wherever they wanted -- often to the rim. Those two were a model of consistency, combining for 32 points on 14-of-29 shooting.
When the Bobcats (16-25) occasionally shut off their path to the basket, Ginobili and Parker found jump-shooters Michael Finley and Ime Udoka along the perimeter. The Spurs were 8-of-16 from 3-point range, the Bobcats 2-of-14.
Pick-and-roll isn't some radical concept; it's typically the most basic play in an NBA offense. The defending-champion Spurs (26-13) just execute it better than most, and the Bobcats are hit-and-miss defending it this season.
"Tim sets such a big screen because he's allowed to sit down a little bit" while setting the pick, coach Sam Vincent said. "That's really hard on our guards because he's able to stick his butt out so far."
Ginobili said Bobcats big men hang back in the lane to defend the play, which can leave pull-up jump shooters wide open in the lane. Ginobili and Parker both love that pull-up.
The Bobcats might have overcome their defensive flaws, but their top two scoring options, Wallace and Richardson, were nonfactors after halftime. Richardson (13 points) was scoreless in the second half on 0-of-7 shooting. Wallace, playing with a calf strain and knee bruise on his left leg, was 1-of-8 in the second half for seven of his 15 points.
"If we got a big scoring night from either one of our (big) two -- and either is capable of a 40-point night" they'd be fine, Vincent said. "They just weren't hitting their shots."
Bobcats struggle defending basic play
RICK BONNELL
[email protected]
Here's a team that knows how to extinguish an opponent's strength: The San Antonio Spurs held Charlotte Bobcats Gerald Wallace and Jason Richardson to 10-of-36 shooting.
Here's a team that didn't know how to extinguish an opponent's strength: The Spurs ran the pick-and-roll continuously, and the next time the Bobcats disrupt it might be the first. :lol
That was the subtle but defining difference Monday in Charlotte's otherwise close 95-86 loss at Bobcats Arena.
"Our pick-and-roll defense was a big factor to us,'' Wallace said of the matinee loss on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. "They probably ran that 90 percent of the time. It was the biggest thing that hurt us.''
It was more than big, it was overarching. Spurs big man Tim Duncan (19 points, 10 rebounds) was the roadblock, springing teammates Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili to go just about wherever they wanted -- often to the rim. Those two were a model of consistency, combining for 32 points on 14-of-29 shooting.
When the Bobcats (16-25) occasionally shut off their path to the basket, Ginobili and Parker found jump-shooters Michael Finley and Ime Udoka along the perimeter. The Spurs were 8-of-16 from 3-point range, the Bobcats 2-of-14.
Pick-and-roll isn't some radical concept; it's typically the most basic play in an NBA offense. The defending-champion Spurs (26-13) just execute it better than most, and the Bobcats are hit-and-miss defending it this season.
"Tim sets such a big screen because he's allowed to sit down a little bit" while setting the pick, coach Sam Vincent said. "That's really hard on our guards because he's able to stick his butt out so far."
Ginobili said Bobcats big men hang back in the lane to defend the play, which can leave pull-up jump shooters wide open in the lane. Ginobili and Parker both love that pull-up.
The Bobcats might have overcome their defensive flaws, but their top two scoring options, Wallace and Richardson, were nonfactors after halftime. Richardson (13 points) was scoreless in the second half on 0-of-7 shooting. Wallace, playing with a calf strain and knee bruise on his left leg, was 1-of-8 in the second half for seven of his 15 points.
"If we got a big scoring night from either one of our (big) two -- and either is capable of a 40-point night" they'd be fine, Vincent said. "They just weren't hitting their shots."