Tim Duncan will see fewer double teams today

[MannyIsGod]

If I had to bet money on how Byron Scott reacts to the game 3 loss I'd bet it being in the way he facilitates double teams on Tim Duncan. So far in the series Duncan has been held in check and hasn't had a dominating game due to the lack of airspace from the double teams he's seen. I think that changes today.

I believe the Hornets will come out and play a much more straight forward defense and allow Chandler opportunities to play Duncan one on one. I think the double teams will still come but they'll come later at times and not at all at others. This is the only change that makes any sense to me. You obviously have to double still, but if you give the shooters wide open looks from the get go you run the risk of getting them into a great rhythm early. By staying home and giving them different looks you can try to keep both Duncan and the shooters guessing and making poor decisions. I think the Spurs shooters need to be ready to let that ball fly but they will likely have to make a few extra passes and try to penetrate as well. Decision making will be a premium today. Make the right choice and get buckets or play tentative and end up forcing up bad shots late in the shot clock.

Of course Byron could just stick with the same plan and try to force San Antonio to beat NO at the 3 point line again, but if they give up the same quality of looks that they've been giving up then I believe the only way the Spurs lose is to play tentatively. Coming off a victory where 3 point shooting was key I don't see that happening so I think he has to make a change to his double teaming. If he does indeed change that, expect Duncan to have his best game of the series by far.

Offensively I don't believe there is anything they can do except hope for a better game out of Bonzi and Mo Pete. Paul will likely continue to get his as will West, but if Bowen is on Peja he's not going to get any looks all game. You might see additional playtime for Wright in this game as well.

[saxman]

I could be wrong, but I doubt the Hornets will over-react and scrap their own defensive scheme. I bet they'll probably see how the game goes and depending on the situation they'll probably double Duncan on the dribble this time....

[BonnerDynasty]

I could be wrong, but I doubt the Hornets will over-react and scrap their own defensive scheme. I bet they'll probably see how the game goes and depending on the situation they'll probably Duncan on the dribble this time....

Exactly. Some Spurs fans think one game means they have blown the Hornets game plan out of the water.

Spurs have to hit their shots to win this series. That is not good.

[VoiceofReason]

Not a bad analysis, but I think the Hornets really want to prevent Parker and Ginobili from getting as many points driving to the basket. Scott was hot about those stats after the game.

The Hornets will look for more offense from MoPete and Wells, but they are really looking for Pargo to start hitting again. If he does, the Hornets are in much better shape.

[Trainwreck2100]

I think Byron Scott is stupid enough to rationalize that his scheme worked 2/3 times so at least in the 1st half there will still be crash doubles on duncan.

[MannyIsGod]

I think Byron Scott is stupid enough to rationalize that his scheme worked 2/3 times so at least in the 1st half there will still be crash doubles on duncan.

I think he's far more likely to start off the game with fewer doubles then send them at Tim in the fourth.

[MannyIsGod]

Also, I don't really think his scheme worked in Game 1. The Spurs shot pretty well from the 3 point line in that game, but really just folded in the 2nd half. That may have had a lot to do with Duncan being ill that game, but its hard to say. Either way, they got production from the shooters that game and would have won the game with better defense on Peja and ANY production from Duncan.

So - Scott's scheme has worked ONCE out of 3 games.

[TDMVPDPOY]

i see duncan posting 25 15 this game for the win...chandler to be fouled out and cp3 to get BWNED

[itzsoweezee]

i don't see that happening. scott wouldn't expose chandler like that. his bench is anemic at the center position.

[ElNono]

Terrible analysis. Chandler in foul trouble means no shot blocker against Tony and Manu.
Chandler one-on-one on Timmy is automatic foul trouble, even more so in San Antonio.
Scott said he thought the difference was the physicality. We'll see if they can be more aggressive out there. Don't forget it was a close game all the way to about 5 mins left. I don't see them changing drastically.

[PlayoffEx-static]

I think they'll double Tim, they'll just do it later, instead of denying the entry pass with a double team. They'll wait until he puts the ball on the floor and then send the hard double. I think at some point in the possession, they'll have to double, or Tyson won't last 3 quarters.

[CosmicCowboy]

I could see Pop moving Tim out of the low block and back to the top of the key and giving Scott the choice of making Chandler play Tim one on one with the fouls that go with it or doubling and opening up the lane for Parker and Manu to make layup after layup.

[ShoogarBear]

Not a bad analysis, but I think the Hornets really want to prevent Parker and Ginobili from getting as many points driving to the basket. Scott was hot about those stats after the game.


Yep, that was what beat the Hornets last game. If they can stop that, the Spurs will be hurting.

[PlayoffEx-static]

Yep, that was what beat the Hornets last game. If they can stop that, Tim might go for 40 again.

FIFY

[bonesinaz]

I think Manny is right. After game 3, Chandler even brought up all the the uncontested shots the Spurs had made ( I think he said it was after watching tape).

I think Chandler gets in foul trouble this game.

Spurs should be ready for anything though, this is a do or die game.

[nfg3]

Not a bad analysis, but I think the Hornets really want to prevent Parker and Ginobili from getting as many points driving to the basket. Scott was hot about those stats after the game.

The Hornets will look for more offense from MoPete and Wells, but they are really looking for Pargo to start hitting again. If he does, the Hornets are in much better shape.


:tu

Scott was disappointed in how TP and Manu get in the paint all night. If the Hornets play the type of D they did in games 1 & 2 then this will be a tough game to win for the Spurs. Will see if the double teams are as frequent as in the past 3 games but if I'm reading the tea leaves correctly it seems TD is almost 100% now. If NO doesn't double team as frequently then he could get going and put Chandler in foul trouble. A healthy TD is a game changer/breaker.

So far NO has played exceptionally well and I don't think that is going to change. Scott has this team ready. He deserves a lot of creidt for that. And it doesn't hurt to have a couple of studs in Paul and West, either.:lol

As for Pargo I think he seems a bit out of sync or confused/unsure as to what to do. 2nd round jitters? Hesistating too much? I don't know but he seems to lack confidence right now. If he goes off like he did against Dallas - he got what 28 pts in game 4 IIRC - then that will not be a good thing for us.

Bonzi and Mo are wild cards to me. They seem to be either on or off. If both step up then that's in your favor. And Bonzi is such a head case, though. I've seen him just kill us and at other times ???? With Bonzi I guess you never know what you're going to get.

[Trainwreck2100]

They played with the exact same defensive scheme in games 1 and 2 only this time the spurs made their shots and when they weren't falling they didn't just settle for jumpers

[ducks]

this is the first game duncan could be 100% not smart to not double him to begin with

[1Parker1]

I think they'll continue double Duncan. I do think that Scott is going to try to get Pargo going. He's the type of player that can score in bunches. The Hornets desperately needed one more shooter to step up in Game 3, Bonzi, Wright, Pargo, Peja all were held in check. With Bowen now on Peja, Pargo is his best option offensively I think to get going.

[honestfool84]

im kinda worried duncan hasn't had a big series, points-wise.

[duncan228]

im kinda worried duncan hasn't had a big series, points-wise.

He was sick the first 2 games, recovering the 3rd. He'll be fine.

[MannyIsGod]

Eff my haters. Tim Duncan saw more single coverage in that half than he has in the rest of the series combined. And he scored on it almost every single time so I don't expect it to continue.

[polandprzem]

Eff my haters. Tim Duncan saw more single coverage in that half than he has in the rest of the series combined. And he scored on it almost every single time so I don't expect it to continue.

Still he is moving the ball perfectly.

He is a quarterback as he was in 2003 vs NJ :tu

[polandprzem]

Now Scott will have to think if to give more doubles or refuse the tactic and not let shooters make the shots.

[hater]

this is a very good call. Duncan is not seeing fewer double teams. but he is seeing lazier double teams. It seems NO Hornets are saying to themselves "ok, I gotta double team, but damn, why???"

[DespЏrado]

im kinda worried duncan hasn't had a big series, points-wise.

At this point that seems silly...Timmy was clearly sick, and his poor play can pretty much be attributed to that. The spurs losses also appear to be a thing that they can put behind them now that he has recovered.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

It's hard to double him when we've gone away from four down like we have. We only ran it five times tonight in the first half.

[polandprzem]

It's hard to double him when we've gone away from four down like we have. We only ran it five times tonight in the first half.

True dat

They (SA)are not letting Hornets to settle on Tim wehn down low.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

True dat

They (SA)are not letting Hornets to settle on Tim wehn down low.

NO can't guard the pick and roll. We've basically gone almost exclusively to it in games 3 and 4, and are shredding them.

[MannyIsGod]

No one can guard that PnR when Tony shoots like this. No one.