Princess Pimp
04-06-2008, 12:18 AM
According to Charley Rosen and I fully agree, The Spurs are not going far this postseason...
Here is the article Read and Weep!
Spurs' blowout loss leaves gaping questions
Game Time: Jazz 90, Spurs 64
In years past, the Spurs have stepped-up their often ho-hum regular-season performances into a full-bore playoff mode during their annual rodeo road trip, which usually takes place after the All-Star game. But this year, they've waited until late-March to step on the gas — winning eight straight before getting pounded by the Jazz.
Was the humiliating defeat merely an aberration for the defending champs? Or did the game reveal any potentially fatal flaws in the Spurs game plan?
Here's what happened:
OFFENSE
The Jazz swarmed to the middle on virtually every ball-penetration. Only Tony Parker was able to find the hoop (often in sensational style) on his drives — 7-14, four assists, 17 points. Otherwise, every interior shot was challenged — many of them successfully.
In all the Spurs missed nine layups — two each by Parker, Eme Udoka, and Manu Ginobili, and one each by Fabricio Oberto, Jacque Vaughn, and Kurt Thomas. That adds up to 18 squandered points that would certainly have made a difference in the outcome.
San Antonio's mid-range game was good enough to win — 11-24 — but their 3-point shooting was atrocious — 2-12 — and their interior scoring was unsteady. For the game, they shot a collective 36.4%.
In addition to collapsing in the middle, the Jazz also slipped a defender into the direct-line passing lanes. That's primarily why Utah came up with 10 steals.
By scrambling on defense, the Jazz likewise forced the Spurs to uptempo their half-court offense — a pace that was obviously out of the visitors' comfort zone.
Oberto, in particular, was a victim of the speeded-up tempo — 0-1, no points, three turnovers. As was Michael Finley — 1-4, two points.
I've been insisting all season that the best way to contain Tim Duncan is to double him late, i.e., when he puts the ball on the floor — which is exactly what Utah did. As a result, TD was often forced to shoot in a crowd and wound up with only 6-12, one assist, and 15 points, to go with three turnovers.
Ronnie Price and Andrei Kirilenko both did admirable jobs of denying Ginobili, thereby limiting the Spurs' go-to scorer to 2-12, one assist, and eight points, while also inducing two turnovers.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of Utah's smothering defense was its physicality. Cutters were bumped, bodies collided, and unavoidable fouls were committed with bone-to-bone ferocity.
What with the quickened pace and the routine banging, San Antonio's precision offense simply broke down — especially in the 2nd half. A measure of this was the fact that the Spurs recorded only eight assists on their 24 buckets.
DEFENSE
The Jazz were just as physical on offense, nailing defenders on brutal screens, taking advantage of every switch by being extremely aggressive in post-ups. For example, Kyle Korver versus Parker, Kirilenko versus Finley, and Matt Harpring versus everybody.
The Spurs concentrated so much on trying to contain screen/rolls (and did achieve a modicum of success here) that their strong-side wings cheated toward the S/R action. Unfortunately for the Spurs, these roving wings were caught out of position with snappy passes and their Utah counterparts wound up with wide-open shots. That, along with some screen/pops, was why the Jazz shot a sizzling 10-18 from beyond the arc.
Also, whenever the Spurs two-timed Boozer, the Jazz moved the ball much quicker than the defense could recover, ergo, even more open shots for Utah.
Utah's constant off-the-ball movement also caught the Spurs unprepared.
The Spurs did a poor job of controlling their defensive boards. The Jazz battled their way to 11 offensive rebounds, which included four put-backs.
Kurt Thomas showed that he's not nearly as effective defending face-up scorers as he is in guarding post-up scorers. Indeed, it looks like he's lost a half-step in his lateral movement.
While Parker was too weak to contain Deron Williams, Bruce Bowen was too slow — especially in navigating his way around screens.
In fact, the only reliable defense offered by any of the Spurs was provided by TD, who single-handedly clogged the middle (3 blocks), and stymied most of Boozer's attempts to score in the shadow of the basket.
So, then, what to make of this game?
Jerry Sloan clearly out-coached Gregg Popovich, which makes any subsequent rematches in the playoffs that much more intriguing.
The Jazz are well-nigh unbeatable at home against any opponents.
The Spurs must make their perimeter shots to open up the middle for Duncan.
The Spurs must control the tempo and trump quick, aggressive defenses with slicker passwork (and better passing angles), better screens (some back-screens would soften ball-denial defenders), more back-cuts, and more efficient rotations when TD is two-timed down low.
Moreover, the defending champs will be also-rans if they can't improve their perimeter defense.
Nor can the Spurs afford to be bullied in the paint.
If the Jazz can play with the same consistent intensity on the road as they generally do at home, they'll have as good a chance as anybody to survive the conference playoffs.
On the other hand, the lop-sided defeat suddenly puts the Spurs in a crisis mode.0 With only eight games left, there may be enough time to make the necessary adjustments and get their game plan back in gear.
Or maybe not.
Here is the article Read and Weep!
Spurs' blowout loss leaves gaping questions
Game Time: Jazz 90, Spurs 64
In years past, the Spurs have stepped-up their often ho-hum regular-season performances into a full-bore playoff mode during their annual rodeo road trip, which usually takes place after the All-Star game. But this year, they've waited until late-March to step on the gas — winning eight straight before getting pounded by the Jazz.
Was the humiliating defeat merely an aberration for the defending champs? Or did the game reveal any potentially fatal flaws in the Spurs game plan?
Here's what happened:
OFFENSE
The Jazz swarmed to the middle on virtually every ball-penetration. Only Tony Parker was able to find the hoop (often in sensational style) on his drives — 7-14, four assists, 17 points. Otherwise, every interior shot was challenged — many of them successfully.
In all the Spurs missed nine layups — two each by Parker, Eme Udoka, and Manu Ginobili, and one each by Fabricio Oberto, Jacque Vaughn, and Kurt Thomas. That adds up to 18 squandered points that would certainly have made a difference in the outcome.
San Antonio's mid-range game was good enough to win — 11-24 — but their 3-point shooting was atrocious — 2-12 — and their interior scoring was unsteady. For the game, they shot a collective 36.4%.
In addition to collapsing in the middle, the Jazz also slipped a defender into the direct-line passing lanes. That's primarily why Utah came up with 10 steals.
By scrambling on defense, the Jazz likewise forced the Spurs to uptempo their half-court offense — a pace that was obviously out of the visitors' comfort zone.
Oberto, in particular, was a victim of the speeded-up tempo — 0-1, no points, three turnovers. As was Michael Finley — 1-4, two points.
I've been insisting all season that the best way to contain Tim Duncan is to double him late, i.e., when he puts the ball on the floor — which is exactly what Utah did. As a result, TD was often forced to shoot in a crowd and wound up with only 6-12, one assist, and 15 points, to go with three turnovers.
Ronnie Price and Andrei Kirilenko both did admirable jobs of denying Ginobili, thereby limiting the Spurs' go-to scorer to 2-12, one assist, and eight points, while also inducing two turnovers.
Perhaps the most significant aspect of Utah's smothering defense was its physicality. Cutters were bumped, bodies collided, and unavoidable fouls were committed with bone-to-bone ferocity.
What with the quickened pace and the routine banging, San Antonio's precision offense simply broke down — especially in the 2nd half. A measure of this was the fact that the Spurs recorded only eight assists on their 24 buckets.
DEFENSE
The Jazz were just as physical on offense, nailing defenders on brutal screens, taking advantage of every switch by being extremely aggressive in post-ups. For example, Kyle Korver versus Parker, Kirilenko versus Finley, and Matt Harpring versus everybody.
The Spurs concentrated so much on trying to contain screen/rolls (and did achieve a modicum of success here) that their strong-side wings cheated toward the S/R action. Unfortunately for the Spurs, these roving wings were caught out of position with snappy passes and their Utah counterparts wound up with wide-open shots. That, along with some screen/pops, was why the Jazz shot a sizzling 10-18 from beyond the arc.
Also, whenever the Spurs two-timed Boozer, the Jazz moved the ball much quicker than the defense could recover, ergo, even more open shots for Utah.
Utah's constant off-the-ball movement also caught the Spurs unprepared.
The Spurs did a poor job of controlling their defensive boards. The Jazz battled their way to 11 offensive rebounds, which included four put-backs.
Kurt Thomas showed that he's not nearly as effective defending face-up scorers as he is in guarding post-up scorers. Indeed, it looks like he's lost a half-step in his lateral movement.
While Parker was too weak to contain Deron Williams, Bruce Bowen was too slow — especially in navigating his way around screens.
In fact, the only reliable defense offered by any of the Spurs was provided by TD, who single-handedly clogged the middle (3 blocks), and stymied most of Boozer's attempts to score in the shadow of the basket.
So, then, what to make of this game?
Jerry Sloan clearly out-coached Gregg Popovich, which makes any subsequent rematches in the playoffs that much more intriguing.
The Jazz are well-nigh unbeatable at home against any opponents.
The Spurs must make their perimeter shots to open up the middle for Duncan.
The Spurs must control the tempo and trump quick, aggressive defenses with slicker passwork (and better passing angles), better screens (some back-screens would soften ball-denial defenders), more back-cuts, and more efficient rotations when TD is two-timed down low.
Moreover, the defending champs will be also-rans if they can't improve their perimeter defense.
Nor can the Spurs afford to be bullied in the paint.
If the Jazz can play with the same consistent intensity on the road as they generally do at home, they'll have as good a chance as anybody to survive the conference playoffs.
On the other hand, the lop-sided defeat suddenly puts the Spurs in a crisis mode.0 With only eight games left, there may be enough time to make the necessary adjustments and get their game plan back in gear.
Or maybe not.