Expose the Hornets

[Soul_Patch]

My wife and i were talking about this last night. If the Spurs can get them flustered (grant it that is difficult) and make them play from behind or with some pressure on them, their shooting percentages go way down. These guys have become so used to just burying their opponents and walking around with that swagger that translates into money shots, when you take that away and make them sweat a bit, they get lost.

This is the case for most young inexperienced teams. If they start feeling the pressure, they fold up. The Spurs need to try and lean on them as much as possible to keep them out of their rythym.

I dont think it will be easy, they are a pretty calm cool and collected bunch, but you could see it in the later part of the game yesterday. They looked a bit scared and lost, and the shots that they couldnt miss earlier were all bouncing out.



anyway...just my take i guess...

:flag:

[florige]

It's always easier to play when your ahead. When you are down you start pressing.

[Soul_Patch]

I agree, to some extent...there are some teams though (like the spurs in my opinion) that actually perform better from behind. (HARHAR)


Some teams cant handle that pressure, and others thrive off of it. I dont think the Hornets can handle it right now. It shakes their confidence they are riding.

[boutons_]

Paul's self-confidence and game precludes folding, but it's always welcome :)

West looks more vulnerable. For a gifted, devasting shooter with FT 82% career:

West Free Throw 1 of 2 (23 PTS) 4:26 [NOH 91-103]
West Free Throw 2 of 2 missed 4:26

West Free Throw 1 of 2 missed 4:01
West Free Throw 2 of 2 missed 4:01

West choking for 1-3 FTs in crunch time is a good sign for the Spurs. :)

He has tendency to get pissed in a bad way. punkass

Veterans like Tim and Manu get pissed in the best way. Champion

[BonnerDynasty]

The Spurs didn't expose anything.

They were finally able to penetrate to the basket, make big shots, and limited turnovers.

It was one game.

[hater]

West is worse than a 10 year old kid. I think Oberto exploited him.

I was laughin when CP3 had to "protect" West and go talk to Oberto. Spurs have this team right where they want them.

[MoSpur]

You can tell they kind of lost their cool in the 4th when the Spurs made that 11-0 run. We'll see what happens in Game 4.

[MI21]

When I started reading the initial post, I thought it was going to be about the Hornets apparent swagger and cockyness. They are really on edge... some veteran savvy, jersey pulling, nudging etc could really make things boilover. I feel like a couple of them are ready to explode even at the hint of an on court confrontation.

[Shaolin-Style]

All I remember was seeing the hornets players, namely David West stamp their feet and pound on the scorers table in the 4th quarter, especially after that Bowen 3.

[smeagol]

My wife and i were talking about this last night.

You can talk hoops with you wife?

Lucky bastard . . .

[TampaDude]

You can tell they kind of lost their cool in the 4th when the Spurs made that 11-0 run. We'll see what happens in Game 4.

Yeah, even Coach Scott said the Hornets "lost their composure" there at the end...could the Spurs finally be getting under their skin and making them doubt? We'll see on Sunday night. GO SPURS GO!!! :flag:

[ElNono]

I liked the face-to-face between West and Manu either on the 3rd or 4th quarter. No Dirk pussy back off, just stay in his fucking face when he has a problem.

[SPARKY]

Paul gripes a lot but he's able to not let that affect his play. West, OTOH, seems to have a problem when things don't go his way.

[Red Hawk #21]

All the Spurs have to do is get under their skin, frustrate them, anger them, they will lose their composures and fold imo. Especially David West

[Soul_Patch]

They are extremely confident, bordering on over-confident (rightly so, they have been steamrolling)

I think you start making them play from behind, and getting them frustrated, and they will crumble....


maybe not, but id put money on it.


And yea, my wife and i's first date was dinner at that italian place near stone oak...then to a bar down town to watch the spurs in their playoff run back in 03. She would say she is a bigger fan than i am...but, not likely.

[florige]

They are extremely confident, bordering on over-confident (rightly so, they have been steamrolling)

I think you start making them play from behind, and getting them frustrated, and they will crumble....


maybe not, but id put money on it.


And yea, my wife and i's first date was dinner at that italian place near stone oak...then to a bar down town to watch the spurs in their playoff run back in 03. She would say she is a bigger fan than i am...but, not likely.




Yeah I agree. Like I said earlier I was really suprised that we were down in the 3rd qtr. While I'm of course hoping for a win Sunday, a blowout would be great going back to NO's. When I saw the score I started thinking, who in the hell is doing all the scoring for them for them to be up? But obviously it was Paul and West. We also can't let scrubs like Pargo come in and get these wide open looks either. I notice when they start rolling their entire team seems to catch fire. And at the point it is too late because Paul has a wide range of choices then.

[jman3000]

they showed west's face on the jumbotron right after he missed the 1st freethrow and he was making all these weird faces and looked pretty flustered.

i could tell he was gonna miss it and sure enough ... *clang*

[101A]

Spurs have this team right where they want them.

1-2?

Seriously.

No.

[Jon1798]

Well, I agree with some things ya'll say. The Hornets have played in this series basically the same way they have played all season. Remember the Spurs had leads at half in the first two games.

The Hornets have a way of starting off REALLY slow some times, and then they come out after half like gang busters and really run away with things some times. This was not just something that happen to the Spurs, it happened all season, and I don't know why.

As you saw last night, the Spurs had a lead, and would score, and the Hornets would come right back and answer. A lead is not going to deter this team.

I guess all I'm trying to get across is the Hornets are not going to just fold for you guys. They always play angry, West always makes jumpers, Peja always makes 3's, and CP3 has had his way with everyone the entire season and in this series as well.

The Spurs are a very good team on their own(obviously). Last night they attacked the rim, and made some shots, and the Hornets missed some. The weirdest thing of the whole night was West missing those 3 free throws in a row. But he played good too and went for 20+ and 10+.

The Hornets generally struggle on help defense in the paint(yes, even with tyson there), and if you get Tyson in foul trouble, we're REALLY weak down low. That is their biggest weakness if you're really looking for something. The Spurs need to keep attacking with Manu and Parker, and they will be fine.